I hope you like the new chapter. If you don't like fanfiction cliques or makeovers, maybe you should just skip this chapter. I happen to love both and had probably too much fun writing this. Enjoy!
Albus awoke to three girls staring down at him.
"AAAGH!" He yelled, and toppled off of the couch that he had been laying on.
"Well good morning to you too." Stephanie laughed as Albus picked himself up off the floor.
Tess tossed him a small bottle that he recognized and the potion Sullivan had gave him last time he had drank with the Slytherins. Albus quickly drank it down, but realized that it didn't have the same effects as last time. His head felt clear but his attitude did not reflect the change. He still felt lethargic and depressed.
"No potion for rejection and betrayal huh?" He asked. Each girl reacted differently. Wendy pouted, Tess laughed and Steph just rolled her eyes.
"God spare us, no more being a sad sack, we got enough of that last night." Steph complained. Albus tried to think back to the night before, after they had arrived at Tess' house, he drunkenly recounted over and over what had happened, what he did wrong, what could have gone differently. Albus was pretty sure he had cried at one point too. Not his finest hour.
"You're right, I'm sorry. I should just go home." Albus began looking for his shoes, but Tess stopped him.
"Not so fast there Gryffindor." She smirked, "We're not done with you quite yet. Last night after you passed out, we stayed up talking and we came up with a perfect solution to your current predicament." Albus had no idea what she was talking about, but didn't like the idea of the three scheming at all.
"I thought I already told you guys." Albus sighed, "I'm done. I want out. This may be normal for you guys, all the mind tricks and games but I cant take it. If Scorpius doesn't want me then I don't want to pine over him and beg for scraps, I'd rather be alone again."
Albus located his shoes next to the couch and began to put them on when Tess interrupted him again.
"What if we could make Scorpius pine over YOU?" she said, sitting down on the couch next to him. The other two joined each sharing an equally devious smile on their face.
Albus just shook his head, "That would be a miracle." He said, "And I don't believe in miracles."
"We're not talking about miracles," Wendy got up and crouched in front of Albus. "We're talking about a make-over."
The girls managed to get Albus to floo Tess' Dad's shop in Knockturn Alley. They dragged him all the way to Diagon Alley. They even got him to the Leaky Cauldron but when they tried to get him to into the back room of the pub Albus finally dug his toes in.
"Let's just say I do believe in this plan," Albus said, "Which for the record I don't! I don't understand why we have to go to London. There are plenty of the shops in Diagon Alley to choose from."
"Oh please." Tess laughed, "We're not looking for wizard fashion. Muggle fashion is all the rage right now, and I know some fabulous shops in London, we go there all the time."
"But I don't even have any muggle money." Albus complained
Stephanie waved his words off and pulled a small plastic card out of her bag. "That doesn't matter, I have this."
"What is it?" Albus took Muggle Studies, but it was more of a history class, he didn't know much of how muggles lived today.
"It's called a credit card." Stephanie replied. "You hand it over when its time to pay. They use it like money."
"But how does it work?" Albus asked staring at the card in amazement.
"Oh, I don't know, all I know is that it works. Now, come on!"
"But, I can't let you pay for everything." Albus retorted stubbornly.
"I'm not paying for anything dear, my father is, and I hate my father so you're really doing me a favor. Now no more complaints."
He followed the girls into the back room of the pub and stood by as Stephanie tapped the appropriate bricks with her wand. He contemplated whether he was making the right choice. Waking up this morning Albus had been thoroughly convinced that he never wanted another thing to do with Scorpius Malfoy, but in less than an hour these girls had wrapped him up in their make over plan. Apparently, all he had to do was change his image, be a little less bookworm and little more bad boy. Steph promised that that if he paired a hot new look with a bold new attitude Scorpius would be eating out of his hand. Albus ended up going along with the idea mostly so he wouldn't have to go home yet. He also was convinced that no matter what they girls had up their sleeve he would never be considered "hot".
As the brick wall rearranged itself Albus began to regret his decision, was he just prolonging his pain by continuing to play their game?
Wendy looked back at him and reached out her hand. "Come on Albus, this is going to be fun!"
"No, absolutely not, there is no way." Clothes were one thing, but his hair? They would butcher it! His mom had cut his hair from the day he was born. It was unruly and wild and she never tried to style it, more like contain it.
The four of them had taken a cab from the muggle-side entrance to the Leaky Cauldron into the heart of the city. Albus had been so busy taking in all the sights that he hadn't even noticed when they pulled up in front of a hair salon.
"Don't worry Albus." Tess assured him, "I come here all the time, Dylan is a god. He'll make you look amazing!"
"Seriously Albus, you are hiding behind all that hair! It has to go!" Steph announced.
Albus glanced at his reflection in the storefront window. He gave a resigned sigh at what he saw. The girls were right, there was nothing attractive about him. No matter what this Dylan guy did it couldn't be any worse than what he looked like right now.
"Fine." He grumbled while the girls cheered.
As soon as they entered a large man approached them.
"Tess, my god it's been ages!" He said, giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek. He grabbed the ends of her hair and inspected them. "And not a split end in sight, I do not know how you do it my dear, its like magic." It was then that he noticed Albus.
"My god, you weren't kidding were you, this is a mess." He walked over and ran his fingers through Albus' hair. "At least its healthy." He gave the hair a tug "Strong too." Albus cleared his throat and the large man looked down at him.
"God, excuse me. I'm Dylan. And you can only be Albus. Tess told me all about your boy troubles. Well do not worry my friend you have come to the right place. I'm going to have you walking out of here looking so hot that even Adonis would take a second look. Now why don't you just follow me."
Dylan led them back past the reception desk and to what Albus could only assume to be his work station. He sat Albus down while the girls gathered round and discussed what had to be done to the boy's hair.
Wendy pulled some magazines out of her bag and flipped to pages that she must have marked in advance. The girls and Dylan huddled round the page pointing and discussing each different style.
Albus kept leaning over and trying to see what they were looking at, but Wendy would always pull it away. "It's a surprise!" She giggled. Albus was not amused. She flipped another page and Dylan exclaimed. "That's it! I've found it my inspiration! It will be gorgeous." The girls examined the magazine and then all looked back at Albus. Slowly each one of them nodded and smiled.
"Perfect." Steph said.
"Great, lets get you all washed up then!" Dylan pulled Albus out of the chair and down the hall to a row of chairs in front of large sinks. Albus sat down where Dylan indicated and waited as the man put down towels and collected various bottles to use on his hair.
"Now just lean back. You'll like this part I promise."
Albus almost wanted to ask what was so great about having your hair washed, but a moment later he knew. Dylan expertly moved his hands through Albus' hair and massaged his scalp, leaning Albus practically in a puddle.
"Wow…" Albus mumbled a few minutes later. He was pretty sure that he had floated away on a cloud and was just now returning to earth.
Dylan chuckled and started to rinse out Albus' hair. "I tend to have that affect on men." Albus opened his eyes and stared at Dylan, confused for a moment. Dylan just winked and continued on. "When Tess called me this morning and told me your situation I cancelled my other appointments. I really feel for you Albus. I've dated some assholes in my day and the key is to not let them get you down. When you see them again you have to look fiercer than ever and show them what they are missing!"
"Wait, you're g-gay?" Albus asked.
It was Dylan's turn to stare now. He seemed surprised that Albus was surprised. A moment later however he laughed it off. "You know I've never had someone express disbelief when I told them that." He mused, "Most people refer to me as 'flaming', but you and Tess go to that tiny little boarding school, must being pretty sheltered there huh?"
Albus replied after a moment, "I guess you could say that." He paused a moment to think about it. "I don't think I've really talked to many gay people in my life though. I mean I don't know how you can tell when someone is gay."
"It's just a sense," Dylan said with a grin, "I have an excellent gaydar, that is gay-radar. But some people can be harder than others."
Dylan finished rinsing out Albus' hair and started to towel it off. He looked down at Albus and seemed to think for a moment before saying, "I know I don't know you, but I just wanted to tell you that if you have any questions, I mean it can be confusing if you have no one to talk to…" Dylan trailed off.
Albus' eyes lit up. "Really? That would be great!"
Dylan looked taken aback by Albus' enthusiasm, but after a moment he gave a small smile. "Alright then, let's go get this hair cut and you can ask me anything."
Dylan led him back to the chair, where the girls were still excitedly looking at the magazine.
Tess glanced up, "Oh, I like the sexy out-of-the-shower look."
Albus rolled his eyes and sat, while Dylan wrapped a thin plastic sheet around his neck. He picked up a pair of sheers. "Here we go."
Albus was glad that Dylan was such a talker, it helped to distract him from the very extreme haircut he was receiving. Every so often he would glance at the ground and shiver as the pile of hair grew larger and larger. Albus' hair wasn't particularly long, but it was incredibly thick and after not too long the pile on the floor could have easily made him a wig to wear if the whole haircut thing went awry.
Albus had asked Dylan about his past relationships, and Dylan was excitedly telling him about him the time he had met a guy in Fiji.
"I took a holiday there because I heard how beautiful the country was but I hardly got out of bed the whole time." Dylan laughed loudly.
"Oh no, did you get sick?" Albus asked, he had heard that the water quality in other countries could be less than desirable.
Dylan laughed again loudly, although Albus didn't see why being sick was funny.
"No he's serious." Tess told Dylan. She then turned to Albus, "He means they never stopped having sex." She said quiet loudly, but Dylan didn't seem concerned. In fact he looked at Albus with a hint of pity.
"Oh right…" Albus muttered, wishing he could sink down into his chair, but there was a pair of very sharp scissors near his head, so he didn't dare move.
"I take it you're a virgin then…" Dylan continued, causing Albus to blush.
"Oh, it's nothing to be embarrassed about." Dylan said quickly, "You're only what, 16? That's very young, especially for gay men. Lots of guys don't even come out until their late teens or even their twenties."
"Albus isn't even out yet." Wendy chimed in, though Albus wish she hadn't.
Dylan stopped cutting. "What?"
"Yeah he hasn't told his parents. Everyone at school knows but only because his cousin promised to keep it a secret and then told everyone."
"Oh dear…" Dylan said quietly. "That's awful."
"Oh yeah," Wendy continued, "And then his homophobic roommates beat him up for it and-"
"Wendy! Stop!" Albus interrupted her. Wendy's eyes widened and she glanced at Albus anxiously.
"I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking!" She said earnestly.
Albus nodded, "It's ok."
Stephanie and Tess both looked extremely uncomfortable, while Dylan looked horrified.
"Is that really true?" He gasped.
"It was a while ago." Albus replied, "I don't like to talk about it anymore. My cousin and I made up, so I don't like to dwell on it."
"Oh my god, you poor thing!" Dylan said. "No wonder you don't want to tell your parents!"
"What do you mean?" Albus asked.
"Well, I mean someone forcibly pushed you out of the proverbial closet and that's enough to scar anyone." Dylan picked his sheers back up and continued cutting as he spoke. "But then to have the negative reaction of your peers, who seem more relatable because they are your same age and go to your same school, that's incredibly difficult. Now it makes you feel like your parents will never understand. And someone who is as sheltered as you, no offense, well I can only assume that you have always been the good boy in your parents eyes and you're terrified to upset them."
Albus sat staring at Dylan through the mirror. "How do you do that?" He asked incredulously.
"Being a stylist is half hair, half therapy. Trust me, you should here all the daddy issues that this one comes to me with." He said pointing to Tess. Tess just shrugged.
"So… what do you think I should do?" Albus asked a moment later.
"Is your family homophobic?" Dylan asked.
"Not that I've ever seen." Albus replied, "But like I said, I don't know any gay people really."
"Do you usually talk about your problems with them?" Dylan asked.
"Yeah." Albus replied, "My mom can be tough, but she gives the best advice. And my dad is a great listener, and he always makes times for my brothers and sister and me. I've never really lied to them up until recently."
"My advice, don't wait until you think it will be more painful for them than it is for you. What I mean is, your parents love you, and they don't want you to be struggling with it alone. The longer you hide it the worse they will feel when you finally come out. I remember when I told my mom she cried because she thought the only reason I would keep it from her was fear that I would be rejected, and it made her so upset that I didn't know she would love me unconditionally."
Albus had to chuckle, "That sort of sounds like my dad. He gets all misty eyed sometimes when he talks about unconditional love and stuff."
"I really think you have nothing to worry about." Dylan answered sincerely. "But you can still take your time. I only told my parents when I got into my first serious relationship. I was just scared of the transition period; you know when everyone walks on eggshells around you, afraid of somehow saying the wrong thing. But the truth is, the sooner you tell everyone the sooner they can all get over it and you can get back to your life."
Albus thought that what Dylan was saying made a lot of sense. He had to suspend reality to come up with some sort of terrible "you're no son of mine" or "get out of my house" type reaction from his parents.
"Thanks Dylan that really helps." Albus smiled.
Dylan smiled back and then put down his sheers again and grabbed something else out of a drawer.
Then he spun Albus' chair around. "I want the final product to be a surprise." He said. In his hand was an electric razor. He turned it on and it buzzed menacingly.
"What are you going to do with that?" Albus asked, terrified.
"Don't worry we're just going to shave the sides." Dylan said reassuringly.
"SHAVE?!" Albus yelped. "You can't shave my head!" He insisted.
"Just the sides Al." Steph repeated, "Here, look." She handed him the magazine they had been looking at earlier.
Albus had to admit that the model in the magazine was very hot, but that was probably mostly due to his chiseled face and piercing eyes, not because of his haircut.
Albus handed the magazine back, still shaking his head.
"No no no." Tess wagged her fingers at him, "It's way to late for that. We've already started. Stop being such a baby."
Albus looked around at the three girls and then at Dylan who was still holding the buzzing razor. He sighed, "Well just get on with it then."
The feeling of the razor against his skin was terrifying. Skin that had always been protected by locks of hair was now freed, and overly sensitive to the touch.
Dylan kept shaving for what felt like hours. Albus couldn't see himself but he could see the reactions in the girl's eyes. They were oohing and aahing and getting more excited every minute.
When Dylan finally put the razor down Albus tried to spin around to get a good look at it, but Dylan held him back.
"You don't ask to see an artists work when he's halfway through!"
Albus frowned "You can't possibly take off any more!"
"Cutting is only half the job Albus, now coming the styling." Dylan grabbed a hairdryer and a comb and started to blow Albus' remaining hair in all directions. Once he was done he got a bottle from a cabinet and squirted a bunch of clear gel into his hand.
He then ran that through Albus' hair, tousling it and pushing it back. He kept staring at Albus, and then reaching forward and moving a piece of hair over and over until he finally clapped his hands. "Perfect!" He grabbed Albus' chair and spun him around.
Albus gasped.
The first thing he wondered was how a haircut could change his face. The bangs that used to hang down around his eyes had been trimmed and pushed back, make his face look much longer and causing his eyes to pop out.
The shaved sides of his head caused his jaw to stand out more and made his face look much more angular, and to be honest much more handsome.
Dylan had used Albus' messy hair to his advantage by leaving it in a tousled state atop his head that made it look wind blown and effortless.
Albus reached up and touched it. The hair was soft and silky from being blown dry. The product had made it a little crunchy in places. Albus touched the sides of his head loving the soft velvety feel from the buzzed hairs.
"Merlin's beard." He muttered.
Dylan looked confused by his statement, "Does that mean you like it? Or..."
"It looks amazing!" Albus responded. "I can't believe it."
"You look amazing Albus!" Shouted Wendy, "I knew this would work, you're gorgeous!"
The girls all looked at him with pride and smug satisfaction.
Albus stared at himself for a good few more minutes, touching his hair and inspecting it from all angles. Tess, Wendy and Stephanie seemed to find this immensely hilarious.
Dylan explained to Albus how he should take care of his new hair, how to style it and when to get it cut again.
Finally they all got up and made their way back to the front of the salon. People who had seen Albus come in oohed and aahed just like the girls had.
Stephanie paid for his haircut with her little plastic card and also bought him a bottle of the hair gel that Dylan had used in his hair.
As they were about to leave Dylan approached Albus and handed him a business card, "Next time you need a trim." Albus accepted the card. "Thanks, for everything." He said.
They all walked out and Dylan called, "And if you take a pic and put it on Instagram don't forget to tag me, it's good for business."
"Will do Dylan thanks again! See you later!" Tess called back.
They walked down the block the girls already planning their next stop.
"Wait," Albus said, "Tess, what was he talking about? What's instagram?"
Tess scoffed, "You think I understand anything these muggles are talking about? I just smile and nod."
Their next stop was a tiny little boutique where Wendy said they were going to buy him shoes so that she "never has to see those god-awful filthy trainers ever again".
Albus had no idea that she was so opposed to his footwear. He really only wore one pair of shoes at school, and sure they were a little beat up, but they were black and simple and practical.
When he tried to explain this to Wendy she just laughed at him.
They spent what felt like an eternity in the shoe store. Albus finally gave up trying to have an opinion in the matter and just let the girls pick out shoes.
Albus figured he would just get one pair but the girls seemed determined to not let him walk out with less than 5. He finally managed to talk them down to three. He picked a pair of black leather boots. They came up over his ankle and laced up the front. The next was a pair of slip on shoes, with a navy canvas top and white rubber soles. Finally Wendy had picked him out a pair of dark maroon suede oxfords. The suede helped them not look so formal, but Albus still felt like they looked ridiculous next to his current attire.
"These wont go with anything I own." Albus complained looking at all three pairs of shoes.
"Where do you think we are going next?" Stephanie laughed.
Next turned out to be an equally as small boutique that seemed to only sell sweatshirts and graphic t-shirts. They all immediately split up with the girls dashing off to pick out their favorites. They came running back to Albus a few minutes later to show him what they had picked. Albus immediately dismissed all things pink and yellow. He actually really liked a few of them. Tess had picked out a t-shirt that had an intricate geometric pattern on it, and Stephanie had picked one with a cartoon lion wearing a crown. Wendy convinced him to get one that was a drawing of a bald guy in a hat and glasses it said "Heisenburg".
"It's a muggle thing I think." Wendy said, "Muggle things are cool, just get it."
They also grabbed him an "I heart LDN" shirt just because.
After going through all the piles Albus had 3 sweatshirts and 7 shirts.
"This is more clothing than I have in my closet right now." Albus said as they were checking out.
Stephanie groaned, "Albus this is getting sad."
They kept shopping and soon Albus was overwhelmed by all the clothes. The girls had picked him out a new coat, a vest, a blazer, belts, scarves, a beanie, patterned button ups, denim button ups, henleys, and jumpers.
Albus' arms were numb from carrying all the bags. He felt uncomfortable that Stephanie was buying him all these clothes but every time he protested she just scoffed and said, "Please, we are having much more fun than you are. We should be apologizing to you."
That wasn't necessarily true however. All three of his friends had really great style and the things that they picked out were really cool. They were normally things that Albus would never think to try on, but Steph, Tess and Wendy kept explaining to him how he should wear something and what he should pair it with to look the best.
The last store they went into sold a variety of clothes, but the girls pushed him straight to the back of the store where Albus saw shelves and shelves of trousers.
Tess and Wendy started searching through the piles and pulling out trousers at random it seemed. Meanwhile Stephanie told him that this was the only store she bought jeans from.
"The fit is just so perfect, and they are so comfortable." She explained.
Albus looked around but felt very overwhelmed. He always got his school uniform trousers from a shop near his house. They only had to be simple black ones, he never thought there could be so many options.
Wendy and Tess came back with a surprisingly small pile.
They pushed him into a dressing room and started handing him clothes to try on.
"You mostly have to wear black trousers for school, but the boys get away with dark grey so I threw in those as well." Tess said through the door.
Albus pulled them on, but they were tight on his thighs and butt.
"These are too small!" Albus called back. A moment later the door was pulled open.
"Hey!" Albus tried to complain but Tess wasn't listening.
"What are you talking about?" Wendy asked, "Those are perfect."
"No they are too tight," Albus repeated turning around so they could see how tight it was on his backside.
Stephanie whistled loudly. Albus spun back around to see them all grinning at him.
"Nice bum Al." Tess laughed, "How come you've been hiding it this whole time."
Albus blushed and glared at the girls.
"Oh come on," Wendy giggled, "I know they feel different than normal, but have you even looked in the mirror?" Albus walked out of the dressing room and looked at the large mirror on the wall. The trousers made him look very slim. They were fitted in the thighs and then tighter around the ankles as well, making his legs look long and lean.
When he turned he saw what the girls had meant about his butt. The fabric wasn't stretched tight, but it was much more fitted than he was used to, and it gave his bum a curve that Albus hadn't ever really known existed.
"Like what you see?" Stephanie said with a smile, "Because I know Scorpius will."
Albus blushed again, only harder this time and ran back into the dressing room. He took off the trousers and threw them back over the door.
"I'll take them." He said. He heard Stephanie cheer.
Albus turned around to grab another pair to try on, when he heard Wendy's voice behind him. "Oh no…"
He hadn't even heard the door open, but there she was, standing with the door open while he was in his underwear.
"Wendy! Close the door."
She ignored him and instead called over Tess and Stephanie.
Albus didn't understand what was going on, but both girls shook their heads.
"I didn't even think of that." Stephanie muttered.
"What?" Albus said again.
"Your pants." Tess bluntly. "They are baggy and worn out and terrible."
It took a moment for Albus to register what she was saying. He looked down, sure they weren't brand new, but terrible? What made pants terrible?
He glanced back up at the girls and shook his head, "Oh no, no way, that is where I draw the line."
"Wendy smiled and began to close the door, "Keep trying on trousers, we'll be right back."
After Albus had finished trying on all the trousers and the jeans the girls had insisted on having him try on pants. They had picked out colorful ones and ones with patterns on them.
Albus tried to refuse to let them see, but Tess had just shoved the door open.
Albus thought he would die of embarrassment as they stood around agreeing that yes, boxer briefs looked best, and that darker colors were the most attractive.
"I can't let you buy me pants!" Albus had shouted as Stephanie tried to take all the clothing to the register to buy.
"Albus listen to me." Stephanie said calmly. "We're only trying to help. You can't have a gorgeous new wardrobe and then when it comes time to undress let someone see you in baggy white pants. You need sexy pants, when Scor gets you undressed you need to look hot."
Albus had absolutely nothing to say to that, so he stood aside and let her buy the trousers and the pants.
At the register the man who was working had presumably heard their conversation, because he was smirking at them as he bagged all the items. Albus tried to avoid eye contact with the guy, instead looking at what he was wearing. He had the kind of style that Tess, Steph and Wendy had been trying to create for him. Something that stood out however was his face. He had 5 or 6 piercings, one through the bottom part of his nose, one on his eyebrow and a few in each ear. He looked so cool with them all. Albus had never really thought about getting a piercing before, but suddenly he felt very courageous. After all, it had been a whole day of risks.
"Wait, " he told the girls as they left the store, "There's one more thing I want to do."
A half-hour later Albus and the girls were sitting having lunch in a cute little restaurant they found down the road from where most of their shopping had taken place.
Albus was tugging on his earlobe where two small studs now sat. The bottom one was just a little black circle. The top one was gold and in the shape of a tiny lightning bolt.
"Stop pulling on it." Steph told him.
When he had told the girls he wanted a piercing they had all looked rather impressed.
Steph new of a tattoo parlor only a few blocks away.
Once they got inside a very tattooed woman had helped him decide what to get. When he saw the tiny lightning bolt it was like fate.
The woman had convinced him that it would look good as an accent to a lower piercing, so he ended up getting both, one right on top of the other.
"It's so bad-ass." Tess said, "You pull it off really well, especially with the new hair."
"You should change the bottom one to an emerald when you can take them out, it would look amazing with your eyes."
When the food came they all stopped to eat. Albus smiled to himself while chewing on his sandwich, it had been a really great day. He realized that had made some amazing new friends. They took care of him the night before and today managed to keep his mind off of the New Year's Party all day. He put down his sandwich and cleared his throat.
"I just wanted to thank you all for today. It was crazy, but also really fun. You are really great friends."
Wendy immediately wrapped Albus in a huge hug. "Of course, we love you so much!" She said.
"And we know Scor can be a giant asshole. We're on your side here, so don't worry. I cant always keep him in line, but I can promise you I wont be cutting him any slack for last night." Stephanie added.
"Speaking of last night." Tess said a moment later, "We need to finish figuring out the plan for going back to school."
All three girls put their food down, Albus sensed that they were now all being very serious.
"First is clothes," Wendy said, "On the train you need to wear the black jeans with the blazer. Then underneath the blazer wear the dark green zip-up. Make sure you roll up the sleeves of the zip up around the blazer like I showed you." She lectured him.
"And wear the boots." Tess chimed in, "And the lion t shirt under the zip up."
"And do your hair, exactly like Dylan showed you." Stephanie added.
Albus almost had to laugh with how seriously these girls were talking about clothes and hair.
"The most important part is how you act though." Steph continued. "Under no circumstances can you talk to Scorpius. If you see him on the platform you have to make eye contact for no more than 3 seconds, then look away as if you couldn't care less."
"And you can't sit with us on the train." Wendy said, "Sorry, but it has to look like you have better people to hang out with than us. It'll make Scorpius really jealous."
"Once we get to Hogwarts, make sure you say hi to us all and ask us about our breaks but don't ask Scorpius. Just say hi and leave it." Tess told him. "If he asks you questions, make sure your answers and short and disinterested."
"The most important thing though Albus," Stephanie looked at him intently, "is that if he asks about New Years at all, even if he apologizes you have to act like it doesn't bother you at all. No matter what he says just pretend you don't care. If he approaches you in the hallways or during meals, keep the conversation as short as you can. Tell him you have to be somewhere and leave as quickly as possible."
Albus' head was beginning to spin.
"How long do I have to keep this up for?" he asked warily.
Steph just grinned, "Trust me, you'll know."
When they got back to Tess' house after lunch Tess found a bag that was bewitched to hold much, much more than it looked like it should and gave it to Albus to put all of his purchases inside. He was going to have a hard enough time explaining the hair and earring to his parents, he didn't want them to also know how much Stephanie had spent on him in a day.
Albus was the first to leave; he hugged all his friends goodbye and flooed back to his own house. Stepping out of the fireplace and into his living room Albus felt like he had been gone a month. He looked up at the clock that hung on the wall and saw that it was only 2 pm. His parents probably expected him home around now. It was a good sign that someone wasn't in room waiting for him. Albus walked up the stairs to his bedroom and put down his bag. He caught a glance of himself in the mirror and ran his hand over his hair self-consciously. What if his parents didn't like it? Worse, what if they hated it? There was only one way to find out. Albus walked back down the stairs and poked his head into the kitchen. His mother was sitting at the table reading a book.
"Hi mom." He said, walking in.
"Albus you're ho-." She cut off mid sentence and stared at him. "You're hair." Was all she said a few moments later.
"I got it cut." Albus said nervously. "What do you think?"
Ginny Potter glared at her youngest son, "I think that you told your father and I that you were spending the night at Scorpius Malfoy's house and now you show up clearly having gone somewhere else." She said in a stern voice.
"I did spend the night, and we went to London this morning. The girls wanted to go shopping and they took me to get my hair cut." Albus said hurriedly.
"Albus Severus Potter, you can not going to London for the morning without your parents' permission!" She said loudly.
Albus heard someone coming down the stairs. A moment later Lily appeared in the door way.
"HOLY SHIT!" She yelled when she saw her brother.
"Lily Luna Potter you watch your mouth!" Their mother yelled.
"Al, you look amazing!" Lily said, ignoring her mother. "Woah, are those real?" She asked pointing to his ear.
"Are what real?" Ginny yelled, "Albus if you got a piercing without telling us…!" she trailed off.
Albus heard the back door open.
"There were hardly any gnomes dear," He heard his father call, "the cold much be keeping them away."
"Harry get in here," Ginny shouted, "Look what your son did."
Albus heard James with his father, it sounded like his brother was laughing excitedly.
"Wow." Was all Harry had to say when he entered the room.
"HOLY SHIT!" James yelled. Ginny glared at her oldest son but seemed to have given up.
"And a pierced ear!" Ginny told Harry, pointing to Albus.
"What happened Al?" His dad asked him. Albus repeated the story he had told his mother. At the end of it Harry just looked confused.
"I didn't know that you were tired of your hair." He said sounding concerned.
"I just wanted a change dad." Albus said quietly.
Harry nodded, "Well let's see this earring then." He walked over to look at it and a moment later smiled. "I love it." He said ruffling his son's hair.
Albus sighed, relieved that he father had been so calm. He glanced over at his mom and noticed that her attitude had also shifted.
She sighed heavily and walked over to her son as well. "It's very handsome." She said finally. "The hair I mean. I still don't like the earring." She frowned. "You look grown up." She said finally, "How dare those Slytherins take my baby for one night and hand me back some sort of adult with fancy hair and earrings." Albus chuckled as his mom smiled at him and kissed him on the forehead. Albus saw James roll his eyes.
"No more London without a heads up, eh?" Harry said waking out of the room.
"Sure thing dad." Albus smiled.
Ginny followed her husband and Albus could hear her whispering. They were probably discussing him still. He didn't mind too much, he couldn't have a transformation like this without some sort of repercussions. Albus just hoped that they thought it was some sort of teenage angst, or rebellion, instead of an attempt to attract a boy.
James approached his brother after their parents were out of the room. "Gay much?" he asked.
"Don't tell me, you got dumped last night and this is your sad attempt to win him back." James said quietly. Albus internally shivered at how close to the truth his brother actually was.
"We aren't dating." Albus responded quietly, "You have to be dating to be dumped. I did this for me. I wanted a change, I wanted to look more confident so I can feel more confident."
James stared at Albus, his eyes showing that he wasn't fooled. Finally he sighed angrily. "Just give up on him Al. He doesn't deserve you." Then he walked out of the room.
Albus stood there confused for a moment before turning to his sister. "That was…weird." He said.
"When is James not weird." Lily responded quickly. Albus couldn't argue with that. He was about to say something else when he noticed his sister was staring at him.
"What?" he asked.
"You're holding out on me." Lily whispered, eyeing him closely.
Albus smiled, "Oh yeah I am. There's like 10 bags of clothes upstairs that Stephanie's dad paid for." Albus whispered back with a grin.
Lily shrieked and then two of them went running up to Albus' room.
A few notes:
I tried to stay true to English meanings of words since my characters are in Britain after all. I don't know how well I did but in case you were confused pants=underwear.
Also, one thing I didn't consider is the fact that most stores would be closed on New Year's Day… oops, lets just all suspend reality for that one.