Chapter 2:
The New Hermione
Hermione stood before her mirror staring at her own reflection.
"I don't recognize that girl," she thought as her eyes surveyed her new look.
"Ginny, are you sure about this?"
The redhead got up off the bed and made her way to Hermione's side. She stood beside her and assessed the other girls' reflection.
"Yes…..yes that's perfect. You look wonderful. I love your hair like that."
The self-conscious brunette wasn't so sure.
"Really, you like my hair all straight like this?"
"Hermione, Harry will flip over it."
But she was actually thinking, 'Yeah, flip out is more like it. It's perfect, he'll absolutely hate it,' but she just smiled sweetly at Hermione as she assessed her handiwork.
Hermione asked, "Gin? Isn't this outfit a little……?"
Ginny finished for her, "What? Daring? Cutting edge? Smashingly stylish?"
"Inappropriate, is what actually comes to mind!"
"Inappropriate, are you nuts? You look amazing! Shorter skirt than normal, tight shirt, a hint of cleavage, a bit of makeup, you're every boys dream!"
Hermione spread her arms out as she looked at Ginny.
"This..... is what Harry wants in a girl?"
"Honey, that's what every guy wants in a girl. Trust me."
Hermione frowned at her appearance and picked at a loose strand of her now long straight hair.
"I don't know."
"Hermione, I guarantee he'll flip over this look. We'll just go down to dinner and you'll see. Actually, wait here for a few minutes, I'll be right back," and she took off out the door and quickly down the stairs.
As she hit the common room she asked, "Has anyone seen Harry?"
From behind her she heard, "I'm right here Gin."
She turned and saw Harry descending the last few steps from his dorm.
"Good, come with me."
She reached out and grabbed his arm and led him out through the portrait.
"I need to speak to you."
"Yeah I'm sure."
She did not like the tone of his voice, and the fact that he didn't look her in the eye.
"What? Are you backing out of this?" She asked pointedly, hands on hips.
He didn't answer.
Ginny looked outraged.
"So what are you telling me, that you're going to break Hermione's heart? After everything that poor girl has done for you over the years? You're such a git!" She angrily turned to walk away from him…… but she knew he'd stop her.
"Ginny wait."
She stopped, and a smile creased her face, a smile she knew Harry couldn't see.
"Just wait. Of course I don't want to hurt Hermione, but this…..this is…." He ran an exasperated hand through his hair.
"Ahh, never mind, I'm good. I want her to be happy."
Ginny's smile grew wider as she remained standing with her back to him.
She turned slowly toward him and asked, "No backing out? If you're in, you're in all the way, right?"
Harry nodded.
"Good. Now I need to tell you a few things." She took his arm and led him down the hall.
"First off, she's changed her appearance a smidge."
"What do you mean, 'she's changed her appearance'?"
"Just what I said. Now listen, she's gone to a lot of trouble to make herself look pretty for you so you better be extra nice and gush about her appearance, understand?"
"Yes I understand. I'll gush about her appearance," he replied while thinking. 'At least that shouldn't be too hard; I've always liked the way Hermione looks.'
"Good. You head down to dinner and I'll bring her along." As she headed away from him she looked back.
"Oh yeah, and Harry, you do realize that you're going to have to officially ask Hermione out on a date. Personally I think you should do it tonight. You know, like they say, don't put off until tomorrow something that you can do today."
Harry stopped and almost swallowed his tongue as he tried to speak.
When he regained his power of speech he blurted out, "You want me to do what?"
"Harry, don't be an idiot. If you're going to date someone then you'll have to actually ask that person out. Get a grip, you'll be fine, she already has the hots for you."
She peered over her shoulder at his petrified face and knew her work was done.
Ginny practically skipped her way back to where she had left Hermione as Harry slowly made his way down to the great hall seemingly lost in a fog.
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Harry sat beside Ron at dinner not really eating; he was basically just pushing his food around his plate. He was too nervous to eat. Hermione was on her way. What would he say to her? How should he act? This whole thing just didn't feel right. He had never been uncomfortable around Hermione before, but he was extremely uncomfortable at the moment and she hadn't even arrived yet.
"Do it for her!" he thought. "With all she's done for you, you should do this for her if it's what she really wants and will make her happy. That's all you're looking to do here, you want to make her happy, right?"
"Yes!" He said out loud, not realizing.
"Yes what?" Ron asked from beside him.
"Huh?" Harry looked at him with a bewildered expression.
"Harry, you just said 'yes'. What the hell are you saying yes to?"
"Oh nothing, I was just thinking out loud I guess."
It was at that second that Ginny strolled into the great hall with……someone.
At first glance Harry thought, "I wonder who the hell that is?" And then he took a closer look and…… his jaw dropped so fast his chin almost hit the table in front of him as he realized just who that someone was.
"Hermione!"
Ron wolf whistled from beside him, and he wasn't the only one in the hall to do so.
Harry elbowed Ron in the ribs.
"That's Hermione you git."
Ron rubbed his side, "I can bloody well see who the hell it is. She looks awesome!"
Harry turned back to have a second look at his approaching best friend.
"Awesome? Is he nuts? I didn't even recognize her! What has she done? Ginny said she'd changed her appearance a bit, but this? Where the hell is the Hermione I know?"
As she got closer he thought about what Ginny had said and plastered a radiant smile on his face and hoped Hermione wouldn't be able to tell that it wasn't real.
Hermione saw Harry smiling at her and was a bit disappointed in him. She had desperately hoped he'd hate this new look so she could go back to being herself. But…..he was smiling at her like a loon so….if this is what will make him happy she thought; this is what he'll get.
She stood across the table from Harry with Ginny at her side. Every eye in the Great Hall was on her and she couldn't have felt more insecure. Her normally sharp senses in regard to what Harry thought and felt were completely on the fritz. If they had been working properly both she and Harry would have laughed at her appearance and this whole Ginny induced silliness would have been over. But unfortunately, that was not the case.
Dinner
Harry sat completely unnerved staring up at the girl who used to be Hermione; at a complete loss as to what to say to her despite his brain working overtime.
'Why? Why would she do that to herself? Does she honestly think she looks better that way than she usually does? Merlin help me, I thought I knew her.'
He looked around at the males seated near him.
'They obviously like her new look. Bloody bastards! Seamus is practically drooling into his dinner! The foul git!'
Ginny cleared her throat, and that snapped Harry back. He looked up at Hermione who hadn't moved, she was still standing directly across from him, saying nothing.
'He's got about two seconds left to say something to me or I'm out of here,' she simmered, when he suddenly surprised her by speaking.
"Hermione…..you look wonderful."
After pausing for a moment he stood up, which he thought was the gentlemanly thing to do seeing as a lady had entered the room. He said to her, "Please, have a seat. Would you like me to pour you something to drink?"
She flinched.
'He thinks I look wonderful, like THIS? He has never said that he thought I looked wonderful before, ever! And what's with the pouring me a drink thing? Oh God, Ginny is right. Bloody hell, he even stood up for me. Well…..that was actually rather sweet of him'.
Hermione shook her head to clear that last though away before replying
"Why thank you Harry, that would be kind of you," 'Bleekk!!!'
She sat down in the place opposite him.
'I don't know if I can do this. He looks so formal and stiff. Where's my best friend?'
Hermione quickly looked over at Ginny for support and Ginny nodded slightly and smiled at her.
At the same time Harry became aware that everyone at their table seemed to be slowly sliding down the benches away from them as if to give him and Hermione a bit of privacy.
He gulps nervously.
When they were both seated he asked, "Pumpkin juice okay?"
"Huh?? Oh, oh yes please, pumpkin juice would be lovely." 'Lovely?'
She rolled her eyes at her stupidity.
'Lovely? Did she just say lovely? She looks even more uncomfortable than I feel. Oh God, I'm sweating now. Bloody hell, someone help me!'
Harry looked to Ginny for help but she cocked her head slightly in Hermione's direction and scowled at him as if to say, 'Go on; get this show on the road you plonker!'
'No help there!' He thought.
He turned his head back toward Hermione.
"Uh, are you hungry?" He managed to spit out without losing the contents of his stomach.
'Merlin he's sweating a lot,' Hermione though as she looked closely at him, then she realized that she hadn't answered his question.
"Oh, yes I am a bit hungry. Well actually more like a little hungry. You know; big lunch and all. Not Ron big mind you, but… I ate a fair amount, you know, of veggies… and stuff, some meat too, obviously …..for lunch. "
'Someone kill me, please!'
She was completely mortified at the sentence she had just uttered, and then looked around the Great Hall for any kind of hole she could crawl into.
Harry sat there staring at her, with a bewildered look on his face…..sweating.
Ginny was in absolute heaven.
Harry and Hermione spent twenty five minutes eating dinner together and didn't have two seconds of comfortable conversation. It was an unmitigated disaster, but since both Harry and Hermione thought that they were doing what made the other one happy, they dealt with it.
As the two left the Great Hall, Ginny shooed everyone away from the pair who were slowly walking back to their dorm. Harry took a quick peak over his shoulder and saw Ginny gesture for him to take Hermione's hand and then she mouthed 'ask her out' before she headed off in the opposite direction.
Harry turned slightly red at Ginny instruction but then made eye contact with Hermione and reached down and took her hand in his. Hermione was momentarily surprised by Harry taking her hand but just smiled demurely back at him.
"Okay, I can do this."
"Hermione?"
"Yes Harry."
"Will you uh, go with me to Hogsmeade tomorrow?"
She instantly thought to herself, 'That's a dumb question. I always go to….'
Then the light went on.
"Merlin's, he's asking me out!"
Hermione blinked twice. Then she noticed that Harry's hand was getting clammy in hers so she glanced down at their joined hands before looking back up at his face. As soon as she saw his face she realized he was still waiting for her answer.
"Oh Harry, I'm sorry."
Then Hermione took a slow, deep, breath and answered.
"Yes, Yes I'll go with you to Hogsmeade tomorrow."
Harry had been half hoping she was taking so long to answer him because she was trying to find a nice way to say no. If she said no, they could go back to the way things were. It might have been awkward for a day or two but he was sure they would have both quickly put it behind them.
And then she said….Yes.
"Oh God, she really does like me like that. What am I gonna do?"
He resigned himself to it.
"Okay then, it's a… a date." He said to her.
She looked straight ahead down the hallway, eyes wide, not chancing a glance at him.
"Yes, I guess it is," she replied.
And then they walked together, hand in hand, back to their common room, in petrified silence.
The Beginning
When they reached the common room they both stopped and stared at each other before slowly letting their joined hands drop.
Hermione yawned.
"Okay, well, I think I'll just head up to bed."
Harry crinkled his brow at her comment. "It's 7:15." He thought, but he said.
"You sure you don't want to….you know, sit a little… or something? It's still pretty early."
"Bloody hell, he's looking to spend some time together. This is soooo uncomfortable. But it shouldn't be. I know him, he knows me, better than anyone in fact. This damn dating thing is getting in the way. So…What should I do? Should I stay? Well…I guess I really should if he wants me to."
"Sure Harry, we can….sit a while, if you like."
They stepped over the oversized red loveseat that they had availed themselves of a thousand times over the years, and sat down, keeping a fairly large amount of space between them. They made uncomfortable small talk for what seemed like forever, but which in fact was less than twenty minutes, when something abruptly changed. Harry remembered a book he had seen in Flourish and Blott's window the week before but had forgotten to mention to Hermione. He did so now, and all of the sudden, the cloud of discomfort lifted and they were just Harry and Hermione, best friends again.
Hermione scooted closer to Harry and didn't even realize that she had done so as she spoke nonstop about all the wonderful things she had heard about that particular book. Harry just sat there beaming at her, thoroughly enjoying her enthusiasm, as he always did.
'That's my Hermione! There's the girl I've been missing all night. She may not look like herself at the moment, but she sure as hell sounds like herself now!'
As Hermione rattled on she noticed that Harry was smiling, smiling broadly in fact, and she abruptly stopped speaking.
"Harry, what are you smiling at?"
Harry chucked slightly, "I'm smiling at you."
"Me? Why, what did I do?"
"I love the way you can go on about a book. Your eyes sparkle when you talk about something that really strikes you fancy. It's always been hard for me not to get caught up, at least a little bit, in all of your enthusiasm."
Hermione was slightly taken aback by his words, and stared down at her lap in a self-conscious manner.
And, as if Harry had just realized what he'd said to her, he blushed.
'Holy crap, I just told her I love her! No wait, I actually said I love her enthusiasm. Whew…There's a big difference there. Still… I hope that doesn't give her the wrong idea. I should be safe; I think... I hope, please God.' And he rolled his eyes heavenward.
He looked back down to see her staring at him.
'Wait…How long was I gone? Why is she staring at me?'
Did he…? Did he just say he loves me? Okay, take a deep breath Hermione and focus on what he said. Damn he looks scared. Stop that, I said focus! Okay, NO, he didn't say he loves ME, he said something about loving the way I love books, I think. Jeez….Got totally distracted after the word 'love' came out of his mouth and headed in my direction.'
After a moments pause, 'Damn it…we were getting back to normal' she thought, now lamenting the uncomfortable silence that had returned.
Then she looked down at where she was sitting.
Wow, I'm sitting really close to him. I don't even remember moving!'
Hermione tried to, as nonchalantly as possible, inch away a bit.
Harry noticed immediately, and inwardly breathed a small sigh of relief.
Ginny, who had entered the common room and had been watching the pair closely, was startled when they fell back into their old familiar closeness. She was about to head over to them to nip it in the bud when she saw them suddenly stop speaking, and then in the silence Hermione slowly inched away from Harry's side.
'Thank Merlin; don't want those two ENJOYING their dating experience! Better go see what's up.'
"Hey guys. How are you to two lovebirds doing?"
'Bullseye!!'
Both Harry and Hermione turned beet red at Ginny's words and inched still further apart.
Ginny clapped her hands together loudly, making them both jump slightly.
"Well I'm sure you guys have loads to discuss, you know, with the Hogsmeade trip coming up tomorrow and all."
She stared at Harry as she said this, her not so subtly way of finding out if Harry had managed to ask Hermione out yet.
"We'll be there," he said to her; giving Ginny the answer she was looking for.
Ginny smiled brightly, "Good, I'll see you two tomorrow then, and…. I'm just so happy for you both," and then she squealed loudly and bounded away.
Hermione watched her go.
"That was a bit ……odd." Hermione murmured as Ginny left.
"Yeah well, that's Ginny for you."
"Hermione?"
"Hmm" she said absently, still watching Ginny.
"Well I uh, guess we have a date then huh?"
She turned and looked at him. He was looking down at his hands.
Despite how uncomfortable this whole dating Hermione thing was for Harry, the guy in him couldn't help a small smile at having successfully asked a girl out.
Hermione watched him closely, and as the corners of his mouth twitched up into the slightest of smiles, she knew right then and there that she had done the right thing. All of this was worth it, Harry was happy, and that was what was most important to her.
"Yes Harry, I guess we do."
Preparations
Hermione was ripped from her sleep by Ginny squealing loudly right near her.
"Ginny! What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to give me a heart attack? What time is it?"
"Who cares what time it is? You have a date with Harry today and we'll need all the time we can get to get you ready. Come on, up, up, up!"
"Wait a minute, what about breakfast?"
"You don't have time for breakfast. Besides, no guy wants to see his girlfriend wolfing down a big breakfast, makes them project into the future and wizards want their wives thin and pretty!"
Hermione frowned deeply at that obviously sexist stereotype, and was just about to launch into exactly what she thought of such a statement, when she was snapped from her pre-rant musings.
"Wait….Did you say wife? Ginny are you totally insane? Today is our first date for Merlin's sake!"
Ginny placed her hands on the other girls' shoulders and stared into her eyes.
"Hermione, listen to me. You're almost 17, in the wizarding world that'll make you an adult. You'll also be out of school soon. You know as well as I do that Harry desperately wants a family so….You play your cards right and you two will be married with children within a year."
Ginny tried her best to hide her smirk of satisfaction at the completely dumbstruck look that appeared on Hermione's face.
Hermione stood in petrified silence, her mouth hanging open, her ability to speak, completely gone.
Ginny snapped her fingers loudly twice.
"Hello…Earth to Hermione, you still with me? I know you must find it absolutely amazing that in a year or so you two could actually have babies together but I need you to focus for me because we have a lot of work to do to get you there."
As Ginny pushed her completely mortified friend toward the bathroom Hermione managed to sputter out only one very shaky word.
"Babies?"
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Harry had been awake for a while. Truth be told, he'd barely slept at all. The sun had just come up when he decided to go take a long hot shower. This whole thing with Hermione was weighing heavily on his mind. He cared for her a great deal, maybe more than he cared for anyone else, but he was so uncomfortable around her now and he hated that. When he was done he opened the bathroom door and stepped into their dorm room, Ron was immediately in his face.
Harry stepped back startled.
"So…Today's the big day huh Harry? You and our girl Hermione, you dirty dog you."
Ron then proceeded to punch him in the arm.
"I knew you had it in ya big guy!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Harry replied rubbing his arm and glaring back at Ron.
"Hermione and I are just going to Hogsmeade together, just like we have a dozen other times."
"Yeah right! Couldn't snog her bloody brains out the other dozen times you went with her now could ya? Well you sure as hell can now! What do you say, gonna go for it? Snog her a bit? Maybe a quick feel her up during the snogging maybe. Merlin knows she looks pretty damn good now that she's showing off what she's got, right mate?"
"RON! For Merlin's sake, that's HERMIONE you're talking about like that. And NO, I'm not gonna go for a quick feel, or anything else for that matter, she's our friend Ron! I wouldn't do that to her."
"Yeah maybe, but you can't deny that her assets look smoking hot, right?"
"Ron, I'm not gonna talk with you about Hermione like that, and you shouldn't talk about her like that either." He then pushed his way past his redheaded friend who was positively leering as he thought about Hermione's newly revealed ... assets."
Harry headed for the door and snapped angrily, "I'm going to breakfast."
Ron fantasy instantly dissolved.
"Breakfast you say? Well wait for me will ya?"
Harry stopped and pointed a threatening finger at Ron.
"I'm warning you, no more of that kind of talk about Hermione, you got that?"
"Yeah, yeah, fine, whatever you say. Not gonna say another word, but you have to admit that the new Hermione looks really good."
Harry stopped walking.
"Ron…So help me!"
"Okay, I hear you, not another word." He then proceeded to take out an imaginary key, lock his lips and throw it away
But he smiled to himself at having gotten under Harry skin.
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While Ron devoured his usual mountains of breakfast, Harry just picked at what was on his plate. Each and every time the doors to the Great Hall opened he would look up from his plate to see if it was Hermione coming to breakfast. He felt completely torn. On the one hand he was hoping it would be her because he missed his friend, but on the other hand he felt relieved each and every time the door opened and it was not his girlfriend. And to make matters worse, every girl in Gryffindor smirked at him knowingly as they passed by. They then proceeded to whisper and giggle amongst themselves.
This whole thing was becoming a nightmare.
While he was watching the door for Hermione, Ron clapped him hard on the back.
"Well mate, I've had enough for now. I gonna head on up and get ready for our little trip today."
Seeing the nervous look on Harry's face he added.
"Don't worry; I'm sure she'll be upstairs waiting for you when we get to the common room. Are you coming? "
"Ah no, not just yet, I'm almost done eating; I'll meet you up there."
Ron looked down at Harry's plate; he hadn't even eaten two forkfuls of his breakfast so far.
"Okay, if you say so. Don't keep our girl waiting…. stud!" And with that Ron set off for the common room laughing as he went.
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"Hermione stop fidgeting. How all that beautiful straight hair can end up like this in one night is beyond me." She lamented as she roughly helped comb through Hermione's hair."
"Oww, Ginny that hurts!" Hermione cried as tears began to well up in her eyes as her hair was roughly yanked for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last twenty minutes.
"I'm almost done. You want to be beautiful; you'll have to suffer a little for it, that's just how it goes! I'm almost done."
"I hate this! It's not me."
Ginny put down the comb.
"Do you remember the way he looked at you when you came into the Great Hall for dinner? Have you forgotten the amazing smile he had on his face? Don't you want him to look at you like that again?"
In a very small voice she said, "Yes," but she thought, 'NO, I want someone to look at the real me like that, not this me.'
"What was that?" Ginny asked.
"Yes, I said yes, okay?"
With great sympathy Ginny reached out and very gently stroked Hermione's hair.
"Hermione.....It'll all be worth it, trust me."
After a few more painful minutes of combing and an outfit change, Ginny declared her charge ready for her date.
Once again Hermione was appalled at Ginny's chose of outfit, and to add insult to injury, her stomach was growling loudly after skipping breakfast this morning and barely eating any dinner last night.
Hermione took at deep breath, shook her head with resignation at the outfit she was wearing, and said, "Okay, let's do this."
Ginny smiled, "that's my girl," and then under her breath, but loud enough to be sure Hermione heard her, she added, "You'll be missus Potter before you know it."
"WHAT!"
"Oh never mind, later, much later okay? Just focus on having the best date EVER!"
She then turned and led the way out the door.