Silken Red Hair

By corset-rebellion-follower

Disclaimer: I don't own HP

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Chapter 2: Hogsmeade

Sunny skies greeted Hermione the next morning. She smiled at the pleasant weather. Perfect for Hogsmeade. She pushed herself out of bed and got dressed quickly, still pulling on one of her shoes while hopping down the stairs to the common room. Harry and Ron were already down there. Ron was the first one to spot her. He smiled shyly at her until Harry turned around and saw her too.

"Hey Hermione. Getting ready to have fun with the giggle pair?" Harry asked sarcastically. She rolled her eyes.

"I l-like your outfit, Hermione," Ron said quietly. Hermione smiled and looked at her outfit. It was a red polo with a miniskirt, a silver purse and red ballet flats. "Thanks, Ron. That's sweet of you. I'm starving, let's get some breakfast."

They went down to the Great Hall and started filling their plates with food as soon as they could sit down. Nearly every boy in the Great Hall stopped to look at Hermione. Every boy except the boys at the Syltherin table. They looked at her in loathing, especially Draco Malfoy. Hermione didn't notice though. She was happily eating her porridge. Harry and Ron looked at each other before turning back to Hermione.

"Are you alright, Hermione? You seem a bit… overexcited," Harry noted. She shrugged. "I guess I'm just in a good mood."

Professor McGonagall stood up at the professors' table. "All students going to Hogsmeade, come with me."

They pushed their plates toward the center of the long table and left the Great Hall. Once their permission slips were collected; which took awhile because Harry had to get his old slip that Sirius signed from Filch, which was hard because Filch wanted to make sure that he didn't forge Sirius's name; they made their way down to the village.

Hermione checked Ron's watch. "It's nine o' clock right now. I have two hours with you guys before I have to meet Parvati and Lavender to go shopping." Ron snorted. "I still can't believe you're going shopping with Lavender. She's probably going to say a bunch of horrid things that will make you hate me," he scoffed. Harry knit his eyebrows. "Am I missing something?" he asked, looking from Ron to Hermione.

"I'll tell you after Hermione goes off with Parvati and Lavender," Ron assured him. Harry looked at both of them strangely before shaking his head. "Let's go to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer." They walked into the crowded pub. It was already filled with students, including Parvati and Lavender. When Parvati saw her, she waved for Hermione to come over.

"Sorry, guys, got to go. I'll talk to you later." She got up and walked over to where Parvati and Lavender were. "Hey, Hermione! Ready to go shopping?" Parvati asked excitedly. "I thought we weren't going shopping until after lunch," Hermione said quietly. "Well, we thought that you could use a day with the girls. You're always with Harry and Ron, and when you're not with them, then you're studying. So have some fun today! It'll be great!" Parvati insisted.

Hermione looked at Lavender. She had a sour look on her face. "Are you ok, Lavender?" she asked.

"I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into. Ron went out with me to get another girl jealous. And I wouldn't be too surprised if he does it to you, too," Lavender said sharply. "Actually, um, I was the one who Ron was trying to make jealous. Sorry 'bout that." Lavender's eyes widened. "Oh. Well, um… ok. It's alright… I think." Hermione smiled. At least she doesn't hate me.

"So where do you want to go first?" Parvati asked. Hermione thought for a minute. "How about Honeydukes?" The other girls nodded and they all exited the Three Broomsticks. Honeydukes wasn't much less crowded. Everyone was running around, trying to find their favorite candies before their friends moved on to other shops. Hermione bought at least twenty jelly slugs. Parvati stuck an entire hand in a vat of chocolate fondue until the owners kicked them out of the shop. She was still licking chocolate from her hand as the three girls made their way back to the Three Broomsticks for lunch.

"I still can't believe that you did that, Parvati," Lavender said in disbelief. "It was great. That chocolate was just the right temperature, so my hand didn't get burned. Plus it tasted like a chocolate frog," Parvati retorted. Hermione giggled. They continued talking while eating sandwiches and drinking butterbeer.

At about noon, they stood up from their seats. "We should probably start shopping if we want to find good dresses for the ball," Lavender suggested. Parvati and Hermione nodded in agreement. They left the pub and started looking at the various windows.

"Hermione! Lavender! Come look at this shop!"

Both girls joined Parvati, who was inside the shop. Once they were both through the door, Lavender and Hermione stopped. The shop was decked out in red and green, plus the ceiling had icicles hanging from it, and the floor felt as if it were made of real ice. "I wouldn't want one of those to fall on my head," Lavender said cautiously, stepping out from under a particularly large icicle.

"You wouldn't have to worry about that, dear." A woman in a beautiful white dress glided over to them on ice skates, being careful not to leave any scratch marks on the perfect ice. "I'm Loraine Lustbalm, the owner of the shop. And those icicles are bewitched so that they don't fall and don't melt and ruin my stock. Now, how can I help you girls?" she asked, smiling brightly.

"We're looking for dresses for a ball. Especially my friend here." Parvati pushed Hermione in front of Loraine. Loraine smiled at Hermione. "I'm sure we can find you a perfect dress, dear. Follow me." She led them to the back of the store. There were beautiful dresses lining the entire back wall. "You have a very pale complexion, so we should try something a little bright… how about… this one?"

Loraine held out a yellow chiffon dress. "Um… no thanks. Yellow really isn't my color," Hermione insisted, looking at the dress with a hint of disgust on her face. "Oh, you're right, silly me. How about this?" Next was a black satin dress with orange, vertical stripes on it. Hermione shook her head.

"I want to try that on," Lavender exclaimed, "The colors are so appropriate." She took the dress from Loraine and went back to a row of changing booths.

"Or this," Loraine added, displaying a deep purple dress. "Hermione, do you want that? If you don't, I want to try it on," Parvati whispered. Hermione gestured toward the dress. Parvarti squealed happily and took the dress from Loraine.

Hermione sighed. Great. I still have no dress. "Dear, if you really want to impress someone at this ball, I may have a dress you could try," Loraine said in a nervous voice. Hermione shrugged. "What have I got to lose?" Loraine pulled Hermione through a door that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Inside was one dress.

It was a brilliant red. Hermione cautiously touched it, not wanting to damage it in any way. "Would you like to try it on?" Loraine asked, smiling at Hermione's reaction. Hermione merely nodded. Loraine carefully took the dress off it's mannequin and handed it to Hermione before disappearing out the door. Hermione slipped off her clothes and stepped into the dress.

It fit perfectly, as if it had been made just for her. The dress's skirt went to her knees, and a red tulle was underneath the silk so that the skirt would be a little fuller. The straps were made of gold silk, and the bottom of the dress was edged with the same material. Hermione sighed happily. This is the perfect dress.

"Hermione, come out! We want to see your dress!" She took a deep breath before stepping out of the door. There was a slight silence. Parvati and Lavender stared at her with wide eyes. She looked down. Is there something wrong with it?

"Hermione… you look… beautiful," Lavender breathed.

"More than you did for the Yule Ball in fourth year," Parvati added.

A grin spread across Hermione's face. "This is our finest dress. I was saving it for a special customer. Shall I ring you up?" Loraine asked excitedly. Hermione nodded. "Just slip off the dress in the other room and bring it out here when you're dressed," Loraine called, heading to the register with Parvati and Lavender.

Hermione went back through the door and changed, then emerged with her own clothes back on and the red dress folded neatly in her arms. Loraine took it from her when she reached the register and put it in a big white box. "That'll be nineteen galleons and four sickles." Hermione handed her the money and took the box. Parvati and Lavender each had white boxes under their arms. They all exited the shop together. And as they made their way back to Hogwarts, Hermione felt completely ready for the ball. She smirked a little. Wait until Ron sees me in this.