All in all, Draco Malfoy was deliciously pleased with himself.
It had been a good morning, he decided, strolling through Diagon Alley, massaging both his bruised pride and bruised cheek. That ankle incident was unfortunate, but good had come out of it.
Oh yeah, good had definitely come out of it.
And he bet every Galleon he had that right at this moment, Granger was screaming her lungs out at him for that trick with the spell.
He actually hadn't done anything to the spell. After leaving Granger's room, he had headed straight for the bookstore, sneaking into the fashion and beauty aisle. Wouldn't do for anyone to see him nosing through a book joyfully proclaiming on its pink cover, "Be The Most Beautiful You Can Be!"
Every page illustrated some new way to improve yourself. From yoga to self-manicures, no stone was left untouched in this quest for beauty. And there were certainly some quests in there, Draco snorted to himself, the unhappy witches pouting and looking all together miserable in the "Before" section of the "Before and After Photos". One witch sported chipped nails, another pointed at her wrinkles already developing. Yet another wailed over her eyebrows, but the one that caught his attention was the girl holding a strand of dry, what the book called "damaged" hair. She looked similar to Granger, Malfoy decided, and made a mental note to ask Granger if she'd done any modeling before.
And then he flipped to the "After" section. Draco had to stare in awe at the pictures. These girls couldn't be the same ones shown previously, could they? The nail-biting witch waved perfectly manicured, shiny nails at him. Unibrow Witch proudly sported two separate eyebrows. All wrinkles had deported from the "I'm Too Young for Wrinkles!" witch. And the witch with the hair problem, well…
Miracles do happen, a newly humbled Draco admitted.
Encouraged by the picture, Draco read the instructions.
"Get the Look!" The book proclaimed.
Step One: Wash and condition hair. Make sure to leave conditioner in for at least two minutes.
Step Two: Wring water out from hair. Do not towel dry.
Step Three: Apply straightening serum, beginning at roots, and working way down to tips of hair.
Wait a minute, Draco had thought, I thought the girl had curly hair! A quick look at the picture revealed a very curled witch tossing her locks about. With a shrug, Draco continued to read.
Step Four: Allow serum to thoroughly coat hair and leave on for twenty to thirty minutes, until hair feels ¾ of the way dry. Beware beginning step five too soon or too late. If you continue with hair too wet or too dry, you must return to Step One.
This book is bloody daft, Draco rolled his eyes, scanning down the page.
Step Seventeen: Apply two coats of hair spray: one on the top of the hair and one underneath.
Step Twenty Three: Wrap inch-wide sections hair tightly around wand after casting a heating spell.
Step Thirty: Congratulations! Enjoy your beautiful new hair!
Warning: Extended use of this method may cause split ends.
"So much for that book," Draco muttered, pictures of cooing and winking models disappearing as he shoved that book back on shelf. "Granger would never do all that. She just wants some kind of spell."
Muttering to himself, Draco had traveled down the aisle, head sidewise, reading the titles of books lining the shelves.
Become the New and Beautiful You!
Spells and Charms for the Genetically-Impaired Witch!
Tricks of the Trade: Miss Witch 2002 Shares her Makeover Story
CosmoWitch Winner Speaks Out: "Not Everyone Can Be as Beautiful as Me!"
Oh, please, Draco snorted.
Continuing at his half vertical, half horizontal position, Draco stopped at the end of the aisle, defeated. He slumped down on the floor, head in hands, trying to think of what he should do.
None of these books are right, he grumbled silently. It's not like Granger isn't beautiful, her hair just needs some help.
If anyone had walked by at that moment, they would've seen Draco Malfoy beating his head against 101 Ways to Bring Your Inner Beauty Out.
"I do not think Granger is beautiful!" he spoke, voice still somewhat muffled by 101.
"Good thing, dear," an absent voice answered him.
Horrified, Draco withdrew his face from 101 and searched for whoever had spoken to him.
"Over here, hun," the voice beckoned.
Cautiously sticking his head around the corner, Draco searched for another person. "Where are you?"
"Look down, dollface," the voice instructed.
Draco looked.
Propped up on a small shelf was the thickest book Draco had ever seen. Worn, burgundy leather stretched over what looked like an impossibly heavy cover, gold writing embossing Find the Book You Want on its cover.
"What can I do for you, babycakes?" It asked him, ruffling its pages.
Stop calling me pet names, Draco thought sourly. "I need to find a spell to either straighten or curl frizzy hair." As an after thought, he added, "Preferably one where there's less than five steps."
Flipping through its pages faster than Draco's eyes could follow, the book finally stopped at a page. As if an invisible hand reached down, the leaf was ripped out of the majestic book. Draco grabbed it just as it was about to float to the ground.
Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, 'taking a page out of your book'.
Looking down at the slip, Draco had read, Charming Your Hair, page 218.
And the rest, as they say, is history. Draco had looked the book up, turned to the page, copied the one-word spell on the card, conveniently leaving out the "this spell can take anywhere from five to ten minutes to take affect" warning the book advised he keep in mind, and sent it off to her via the Ready Owl Office next to the bookstore.
And now, Draco was strolling along, soaking up the sun, pondering on what he should give Hermione as a gift.
It's not a peace offering, he tried to convince himself. But the furious look in her eyes sorta scratched that idea.
Okay, okay. It's definitely a peace offering.
So what would bush- er, No-Longer-Bushy-Haired Granger want?
Draco stopped at a cart filled with fresh flowers ("Charmed to last longer than our competitors!"). Every girl liked flowers, right? But after sniffing over a dozen different kinds of flowers, he couldn't find one he liked, and moved on.
Jewelry, he pondered, perhaps jewelry would be nice. But as he browsed through the racks of gold baubles, pendants, brooches, and earrings, he couldn't find anything that screamed "Granger!" at him.
Then he realized what was wrong with this picture. Granger never had flowers around and she never wore jewelry. So what did she always have with her?
Books. Lots and lots of books.
Going into a different bookstore (not because he was afraid that one of the clerks would remember him, Draco told himself, but because everyone wanted a bit of the Malfoy money), it only took a few minutes to pick out the perfect book for Bookworm Granger. One stop at the pet store, and then he was on his way back to his hotel room to get ready for the evening.
Ladies and Gentlemen, watch out: Draco Malfoy had a date.
---
Author's Notes: this chapter was almost effortless compared to the last one. And I got it out much quicker, too! Perhaps Draco is just easier to write then Hermione, I dunno. But I like this chapter much more than the last one- I think I got my voice back for the story. What do you guys think?
Now, about this upcoming date. I need help from you guys. First, I need help from someone who can speak French. If you could just tell me in a review or an email that you can speak the language, I would be eternally grateful. Second, I want to know what you think this book Draco bought for her should be called. I have an idea, but I'd like to hear yours. I enjoy listening to your opinions and speculations on what will happen… you guys rock!
p.s. I re-uploaded chapter 12, because the italics got screwed up. So, if you care to go back and read the correct version, you're more than welcome to.
White Crow- thank you for your steady reviews and encouragement!
Rinaula- *grins* I like the spell part too. I can just imagine uncoordinated Hermione headbanging…
ThreeEaredBunny- I think you get the prize for most ego-boosting review. The fact you noticed the pains I take to make the grammer in this story as accurate as I know how makes me love you even more than I already did! By the way… your penname rocks.
Amber-rules- well, I've definitely read some really funny fics about D/Hr that aren't mine, but thank you muchly for the compliment. I do try to make it amusing. Here's your update!
Pingwin- is your penname supposed to be like 'penguin'? cause if so, that's brilliant… anyway, your review totally brought a smile to my face. I'm so glad you've picked up on the fact I enjoy this story (probably more than I should). Thank you for your review!
Blue-chick- oh yeah, longest review award definitely goes to you. I love all your crazy ideas. I think one day, I'll just write a story based purely off of your ideas, how about that? I'm definitely loving the ideas you're giving me, I'm sifting through them to see which will work in with my plans… *rubs hands together evilly*
Cinder122- whew, I'm glad you think the story is paced well. I mean, D/Hr is definitely not happening in the series, so I guess I can see why some people would just want to through them together, but I wanted this story to be a bit more realistic. But who am I to call this realistic? *throws up hands*
Draco's-Tootsie23- you're very welcome for another chapter J I'm very glad to give it to you.
TokyoBabe2040- your scientific study amused me greatly! Was this update in time? *rushes chapter to your side* don't die on me! I need all the reviews I can get! *laughs*
And finally…
Kate! Kate! She's our girl, though she doesn't live in an oyster, she's quite the pearl! --okay, so that was the cheesiest thing ever, I'm sorry, it's late and I was up early this morning. But the fact I'm willing to rhyme for you (and I'm a horrible rhymer) should make you feel even specialer! Thank you for your constant support!