"Ginny, this is serious!" Hermione moaned. The young witch was sitting on her friend's bed in the Burrow, her legs tucked up under her as she leaned against the wall.

"I know, but would you stop panicking? We're never going to figure this out if you don't calm down," Ginny reasoned with a heavy sigh.

Hermione had been at the Burrow for an hour and so far all she'd done was freak out. This was a side of her that Ginny did not see often, and it worried her. However, it didn't make her think her best friend was over reacting any less.

"How can I calm down? I would love to know," Hermione growled sarcastically.

"You could start by taking a deep breath."

"Shut up, you know what I mean."

A whine echoed from the back of Hermione's throat as she reached up to rub her temples. As her hair fell over her shoulders to be caught in her line of site, she scowled, wishing she could just jinx it into oblivion.

"I don't know, it looks kind of nice on you," Ginny offered as she reached forward to experimentally stroke Hermione's hair. "And it's nowhere near as bushy as it was. Still thick and a bit unruly maybe, but better than before. I'm surprised you're not happy about that."

"Ginny, my hair is black! I could be Harry's sister like this!" Hermione snorted in frustration as she glared at the witch beside her.

"Nah, you don't have the eyes for being Harry's sister," Ginny said with a definitive shake of her head. She knew Hermione wasn't in the mood for humor—she was rarely in the mood for humor—but she seriously needed to calm down.

"Damn right I don't, my eyes are bloody amber!" Hermione shouted in frustration. In her panicked annoyance, she ended up tugging hard at her hair as she buried her face in her knees.

"Again, I think it suits you."

"But it's not me!"

"Then who is it?"

"How am I supposed to know? I went to bed looking normal and woke up three inches taller with all . . . this!" Hermione huffed as she gestured to her hair and face.

"And what do you think caused it?" Ginny asked calmly. If Hermione could get a grip on herself, it would be fairly simple from there to nudge her towards the right answer.

"A . . . jinx or a hex. That's all it could be, someone playing a joke," Hermione told herself convincingly.

Seeing movement from the corner of her eye, she looked over to see Ginny stand up. After the younger witch drew her wand, Hermione held in a breath without realizing it.

"Finite Incantatem."

One second. Two. Three. Hermione stared and stared at the dark locks she felt could never be hers and panic rose up, all over again "Oh Merlin Gin, what if I'm stuck like this forever?"

"Bloody hell woman, you're not going to be stuck like that forever," Ginny snapped as her patience wore out for Hermione's pity party. "If someone or something is causing this to happen, a Healer at St. Mungo's can take care of it."

A Healer! Why hadn't Hermione thought of that? She wasn't technically sick, but surely there was something that could be done? Of course there was! She wouldn't leave that hospital until they had changed her back into herself, she'd already decided.

"You're right, I just need to go to St. Mungo's. Everything will be fine . . . " Hermione said, forcing a deep, calming breath through her lungs. "Thanks Ginny, you're a life saver."

Ginny rolled her eyes. Hardly, she thought. "Don't forget your birthday dinner or mum's going to have a fit! You only turn twenty-one once, y'know," she called after Hermione's retreating form.


Author's Note:

You guys are awesome! Thanks so much for all the views and the reviews :) Well, you guys wanted more, so here you go. I'll be working on A Beast in the Night and another special project for now, but you can expect another update for this within the week.

I want to thank my awesome beta Freya Ishtar for helping out with ironing out the little details, and my good friend Bamon for giving me the challenge to write this fix. Go check out both their works, they are amazing authors!