Diagon Alley couldn't have been more beautiful that day. There were Witches and Wizards bustling around to gather school supplies for their children. Young Wizards and Witches were running around excitedly, hoping to see some familiar faces, waving to friends and enemies alike. At least, that's what I was doing. I waved at Lavender Brown, the Patil twins, Seamus, and even Blaise from Slytherin. Sitting in the Leaky Cauldron waiting on Harry and the Weasley's, I began to wonder about the Head Boy again. The concept was scary. I would have to live with whomever it was for the entire school year. The Head Students share a common room and it would be Hell if it was someone I couldn't get along with. Silently, I prayed to Merlin it was somebody I could deal with.
"Hermione!" Harry called as he entered the Leaky Cauldron. He came over and embraced me. He looked different. More mature, more attractive, I held him back at arm's length. "Harry! Where are your glasses?!"
"I got contacts."
"Oh, I love it! Ginny is going to freak out. You look so different." I gave him another hug as he blushed and grabbed his hand to pull him into Diagon Alley. "I was already in here once today, but I didn't buy anything because I wanted to wait for you guys, but I saw this book I NEED to get before we go meet the Weasley's at the ice cream shop. We're having lunch there, last minute so if you didn't know you're okay, nobody forgot about you." I gave him a reassuring smile as I led him pass the crowds of people who were trying to get a look at him, into the bookstore and purchased a couple books on dream interpretation.
"I thought you didn't like divination." Harry questioned.
"Just because I don't like something doesn't mean that I can't research it." I replied quickly not wanting him to know that I was worried about why I was having this re-occurring dream. It was driving me wild! There has to be a reason that I was having it. Hopefully these books will give me more insight than the muggle ones did. I'm tired of looking for something that I can't seem to find and it's annoying to always wake up in a cold sweat. "Besides maybe in the midst of one of our future escapades we will come across something dealing with dreams. You know how you have those dreams about Voldemort."
"mm-hmm" Harry was hardly paying me any attention. He was looking straight ahead. I followed his glance.
"Ginny!" I dropped Harry's hand and ran forward to give my friend a hug. She too was distant, and tensely gave me a hug all the while looking over my shoulder at Harry. "Honestly you guys-"
"Ginny."
"Harry."
"How have you been?"
Shaking my head, I left them to their own problems and went a little farther around the corner to find the rest of the redheaded clan. "Ron!" I ran to him excitedly and engulfed him in a hug.
"Hermy!" He said blushing to match the color of his hair. I grimaced at his newfound nickname for me. "I've missed you!" He gave me a hug as well but there was something different about it. "Let me look at you!" He stepped back and gave me a once-over. I had changed a lot over the summer; my normally bushy brown locks now fell in loose waves and my mom took me to get highlights. I'd finally grown into my body over the summer too, so I had a figure now. Ron was looking at me as if he'd just figured out I was a girl.
"Oh, Ronald stop it." I laughed thinking oh Merlin does he have a crush? What will this do to our friendship? To our trio? "You've grown taller!" He looked to be about 6'1". "Amazing!"
"Thanks! You look great too Hermy." He blushed again. What is with that? "Hey, there's something I need to ask you... Fancy a walk with me?" He held out his hand.
I took his hand cautiously. "Did you grow some manners over the summer as well?" I faked swooning and fanned my face. "My oh my, what has happened to my brutish friend?" He glared at me and I giggled. "Okay, okay, where to?"
We walked down some alley and he turned to me. "Hermione, over the summer I started thinking, and something has changed. I think standing here in front of you, I've realized what it is. Between always being anxious to get your letters, to even trying to figure out the fellyfone, I know I developed a crush on you. And I'd like it if you would be my girlfriend?"
I stood there confused and in shock. "B-b-b-but we're friends." I stammered. "How could something like this happen? We've got so much other stuff to deal with, and we're in our final year at Hogwarts and we've got N.E.W.T's and this war with Voldemort still and-"
"Hermione, just give me your answer."
"No, sorry Ron I think we've too much to deal with to complicate it with a relationship. Let's just stay friends and see what happens after the war is over, okay?" I held my hand against his face, gave him a light kiss on the cheek and walked away with an uneasy feeling in my stomach. What if this ruined our friendship? I've been over my feelings for Ron for a while now. It figures that he would finally see me once I had gotten past my little crush.
"Harry, stop it!" I said through my giggles. "You're being super goofy today!" I was leaning over in my chair at the ice cream shop holding my stomach. We had already finished school shopping and were just relaxing. Merlin knows we can't have a normal year at Hogwarts. We were attracting a lot of attention but who cares. The world only has a small idea of the weight that was on Harry's shoulders, and on the rest of us with him trying to keep him alive to save the world. Personally, I think they ought to mind their business. Even now I could see a lady in her twenties, leaning back in her chair trying to hear what we were talking about. I looked at her pointedly, noticing that she was caught she turned around. I shook my head.
"Come on, Hermione. It says right here you can change your appearance. What if I wanted to be a blonde? You think I could beat out Malfoy as the "hottest blonde at Hogwarts?" Somebody has to try it because it seems like fun." Harry pointed out looking at CosmoWitchly, a magazine Ginny had picked up. "You're smart enough to do it. Try it. And see if you can fool somebody into thinking you are someone else."
"Harry really... This is too much." I argued. What if I messed it up? I've never even seen anything like this spell. It seemed like something Aurors would use, someone with some training. Maybe someone invented it because using Polyjuice has it's limitations.
He gave me some puppy dog look. "Hermione, we never get to just have fun. What is the harm in this? It's just a spell. It's printed in a magazine targeted for teenage witches. Surely you aren't worried that you will screw it up." He looked at me whining and making his eyes bigger and poking his lip out.
"Harry, don't do that to me." Ron started laughing as he saw me begin to cave in. "Oh alright! You're right, we don't get to just have fun. Fine. Any suggestions?"
"Hermione, you were supposed to be stronger than that!" Ginny exclaimed. "Some Gryffindor you are!" she started giggling hiding her face in Harry's chest, apparently, they had worked through their problems.
"Ginny, you know you can't even resist that look." I laughed again. "Come on with the suggestions guys, before I change my mind."
"Okay, okay... Do blonde. Like Malfoy blonde. And bright blue eyes. Short pixie cut," Ginny suggested.
"Okay..." I glanced at the magazine to see the instructions. With a few swift movements with my wand I felt my hair shortening and losing volume as it spiked itself in the back. It was different, my head felt lighter. By the looks of my friends I knew my hair color had changed from my soft brown to an almost platinum blonde. Closing my eyes, I did a couple more wand movements and muttered the incantation under my breath and when I opened them again I received a collective gasp. I conjured up a mirror. Looking at myself I was shocked at how good the blonde cut looked on me. The front of my hair was long enough to reach my chin and the bangs were all on the right side of my face slightly covering my eye. I smiled, bringing a twinkle to my bright aquamarine eyes. "So...?"
"Wow..." Came yet another collective gasp.
"You look amazing!" Ginny exclaimed. "But we can still tell it's you because of your clothes." She flipped through her magazine and stopped on a page with a model wearing a sequin gold miniskirt, with a red off the shoulder sweater and red heels. "Order this."
"For who? Surely you can't mean for me to wear that?"
"I'll buy it for you." Harry volunteered and before I could stop him he tapped the magazine page and a menu appeared out of the book. "What size skirt?"
"Harry, really..." He gave me a look that made me feel bad for refusing it. "Small skirt, small shirt, size 7 shoes."
In a matter of seconds, a package appeared on the tabletop. "Come on Hermione." Ginny said excitedly grabbing the packages and pulling me towards the restroom. "I want to do your makeup." I went into the stall and pulled on the outfit. "Come on, Come on." Ginny rushed me. I came out the stall and soon she was waving her wand in my face. "All done." She pushed me in front of the mirror.
"Wow!" I muttered, my breath leaving me. I was a whole new person. The outfit enhanced every dip and curve in my body that I had been too conservative to show off before. "Is that me?" I wobbled on my heels.
Ginny muttered a quick balance spell. Instantly I felt at home in the heels. "You're gorgeous. Let's go show the boys."
We walked out of the restroom and over to the boys. Ron looked up and at the sight of me, fell out of his chair. Harry looked up and his jaw dropped. "Well, well, well..." Came an unreasonably sexy drawl. I ignored it for fear I couldn't handle myself and I walked over to Harry and turned to face him. "What do I do?" I whispered frantically. Harry shrugged his shoulders and whispered back. "Go for it." The drawl came from Draco Malfoy.
"Potter, who is your new friend here?"