Study Breaks

Chapter Five

As Hermione walked into the girls dormitory Thursday evening, she steeled herself for the conversation ahead. It wasn’t so much that she was afraid as that she was, well, actually yeah, afraid. The thought of asking the giggle twins for fashion and hair advice was definitely intimidating, especially since she knew that there were going to be questions as to why she wanted to look so nice. To be putting herself through this was yet another sign of her determination to date George, she thought.
“Hey Hermione,” called Lavender as Hermione entered.
“Hey Lavender.” Hermione paused to drop her books by her bed, then kept walking towards the other girl’s part of the room. “Umm… Lavender, could I ask you something?”
Lavender looked up from the book she’d been reading, confusion visible on her face.
“Uh, sure. What?”
“Well, I was, uh, wondering if you could, um, show me some of your cosmetics charms” stuttered Hermione. “Like the one for making your hair go all smooth and wavy.”
“Well, sure, yeah! Cool.” Lavender tossed her book onto the floor and moved towards her dresser. “But why? I mean, why this sudden interest in your appearance? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Don’t mind?” asked Hermione. “I wouldn’t have thought that would stop you.” Lavender turned back to glare at her. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude, but…”
“But you think I’m nosy and pushy, right?” She had stopped rummaging through the dresser and was glaring at Hermione.
“Well, you and Parvati are big gossips, and you do like to know everybody’s business, and I just thought…” Hermione trailed off as the brunette sat down on her bed with a sigh.
“Yeah, you just thought that I was going to bug you until I learned all your secrets, I know.” She shook her head. “I’m not really like that. I mean, I like a good gossip, and I like to know what’s going on, but I’m not as empty headed as you think. Just because I’m not studying 24/7 like you are doesn’t mean I’m brainless.”
“I know. I mean, I should have known. I’m sorry, Lavender. I really didn’t mean to offend you.”
“It’s okay. I’m just a little sensitive right now, I guess.” Lavender sighed once more, then shook her head and jumped up. “But we have more important things to think about, like getting you looking your stunning best.”
Hermione watched in awe as the other girl started pulling jars and bottles and sachets and a whole variety of funny looking brush things out of the top drawer of her dresser. Lavender hummed and muttered to herself as she sorted through the various cosmetics and potions, every now and then glancing up at her amazed friend. Eventually she tossed a last handful of small pots back into her dresser and turned to Hermione.
“So, what’s the plan? Are we going for date night wow ‘em look, or simply an everyday routine? Because there is a big difference. And if you know where the date’s going to be, that would help.” She paused for a moment. “I mean, if it is a date.”
“Yeah,” admitted Hermione, blushing slightly. “It’s a date.”
“Oooo! Cool.” Lavender clapped her hands. “With who? Harry? George? Not Ron?”
“No, not Ron.” Hermione grinned at the thought. “It’s with George. I’m not sure what we’re doing, but yeah, we’re going on a date.”
Lavender moved towards Hermione, paused, and then reached out and hugged her anyway.
“I’m so glad for you! You two are pretty great together. I mean, from what I’ve seen while you’ve been studying. And the first of us to really start dating. This is so cool. I can’t wait to tell…”
“You can’t tell anyone,” Hermione interrupted her mid-flow. “We’ve decided to keep things low profile until Harry can break to news to Ron. Cuz we’re thinking he might be upset.”
Lavender sighed. “Yeah, I can see that. I mean, the boy is hopelessly in love with you, isn’t he. Idiot.” She blushed slightly. “Sorry, not an idiot for being in love with you, but, uh, um, well, just an idiot.”
“Yeah,” agreed Hermione. “He’s a bit of a twit, isn’t he? Sweet, but a twit.”
“Yeah, an adorable little twit.” Lavender turned to her selection on the bed and continued in a more business like tone. “So, do we want to start with hair, or with face?”
Hermione answered Lavender’s questions vaguely, submitting to being placed on a stool by the window and having her hair tugged this way and that. In her mind, though, she was running over the last part of their conversation, trying to decide if Lavender had been implying that she was interested in Ron. It did seem that way. Which meant that this would be great for the ‘hook Ron up to get him out of the way’ plan. She decided to do some more digging, although she wasn’t quite sure where to start. Well, the best place to start was with the obvious.
“So Lavender, who do you think is the cutest boy in our house?”
Lavender stared at Hermione blankly, as though she’d just sprouted a second head. Hermione reached up to touch her scalp gingerly, in case the potion that had just been applied to her hair had caused just that result. Since there was no extra bits there, she decided to try again.
“I mean, I’m obviously biased, but I think that the Weasley boys are the best looking.”
Again Lavender stared at her in silence, then shook her head as though to clear it.
“Okay,” she said cautiously. “I’m confused. You want to talk about boys? You, Hermione, want to discuss boys?”
“Yeah. I figure since I’m dating one, maybe I should, um, talk about them” she finished lamely.
Lavender snorted. “Hermione, I’d have to say that was the stupidest excuse I’ve ever heard. But if you want to talk boys, why don’t we give it a shot.”
“Great.” Hermione beamed at the other girl. “So, as I said who do you think is the cutest boy in the house?”
“Pffft, I don’t know. I mean, I have to agree that the twins are really cute, but obviously, now they’re both taken.” She tugged Hermione’s hair gently and grinned at her.
“Well, what about the guys in our year? Like Dean or Seamus or Ron?”
It wasn’t subtle, Hermione thought, but subtle wasn’t working.
“Umm…”Lavender tilted her head to one side. “Well, Dean’s okay. Seamus, he’s a little short for me, plus he has a girlfriend, I think.”
“Yeah? Who?”
“Oh, some Hufflepuff girl. Can’t remember her name, you’d have to ask Parvati.” She paused, reaching for a new pot of eye shadow. “I can’t believe this. Are you gossiping?”
Hermione giggled. “I guess I am. And I giggled. Something in that hair potion is rotting my brain.”
“Hey!” Lavender pulled a mock-offended face. “I’ll have you know that gossiping and giggling is a perfectly healthy outlet of the stress of being a teenage girl. So there.”
Hermione laughed again, then returned to her original mission.
“Okay, so since we’re on the gossip train, how about the other guys our year: Harry, Neville, Ron?”
Lavender looked thoughtful as she brushed shadow across Hermione’s eyelids.
“Well, I suppose Harry’s kinda cute, in a messy way. But I just never thought of him that way. And Neville. Well, Neville’s just Neville. He’s like the clutzy brother I never had.”
“I know what you mean,” said Hermione. “He’s sweet, but a doofus. Which leaves Ron. What do you think of Ron?”
This was starting to be like pulling teeth, she thought, as she tried to keep at least one eye open while Lavender attacked her with make-up brushes. Her hard work paid off, though, as the other girl started to blush faintly at the third mention of Ron’s name. Hermione had to shut her eyes immediately after she noticed the blush when Lavender came at her with what looked like a pencil.
“Well, Ron, he’s… Okay, yeah, I think he’s cute” she admitted. “But he’s totally into you, Mione. He wouldn’t notice another girl if she hit him upside the head with a broomstick.”
Lavender stopped fussing with Hermione’s face and sat staring at her hands as they lay in her lap. Hermione grinned, then assumed a sympathetic expression. Feeling a little awkward, she reached out and patted the other girl’s hand.
“Don’t worry Lav, I’d bet that all Ron needs is a little push. Y’know, just open his eyes a little. And then he’ll forget all about me.”
“Sure,” Lavender snorted. “Yeah, like he’s going to be interested in me. I’m not exactly the great adventurer you are, or a brain. I mean, all I know is cosmetics and gossip. Not exactly much competition there.”
“Hey, hey,” Hermione protested. “You’re great at this cosmetics thing. And really, there’s nothing wrong with the gossiping. And I bet that if you and Ron spent some time together, you’d find there were lots of things you could talk about. I mean, if I managed to find something in common with George “dungbomb” Weasley, I bet you’ll have no problems with Ron. At least he’s sane sometimes.”
Lavender finally looked up and grinned. “Sometimes? Barely ever.” She stood up and took Hermione’s hand. “C’mon, enough of this mopey girl talk. Come see the miracles I have worked.”
Hermione followed Lavender to the mirror in the corner of the room, her eyes closed as instructed. When Lavender told her to open her eyes, she gasped with surprise. Her hair was lying in smooth waves, all it’s usual frizz completely gone. The powders and pencils Hermione had been sure would make her look like a raccoon had simply accented the shape and deep chocolate shade of her eyes. There was a hint of colour on her cheeks and her lips looked natural, but different, more there, she finally decided.
“Wow!” she said when she’d absorbed everything. “You’re amazing at this, Lavender. Wow! I’m really, really impressed. Can you do this again for tomorrow? Wow.”
Lavender smiled at her in the mirror.
“Sure I can. It’s really not that much. You don’t have to get all excited.”
“No, seriously, Lav, this is pretty incredible. You really know your stuff. Can you show me how to do this? And tell me where to get all this stuff?”
“Yeah, it’s easy. Although I actually made almost all of the stuff I used on you. But I can just make you some of your own.”
“You made this stuff? You know how to make all these things?” Hermione turned to stare at the other girl, amazed.
“Yeah,” Lavender shrugged. ”S’easy. I just took some basic potions and reworked them. Not much.”
“Not much?” Hermione stared. “This is a real talent. How come everyone’s surprising me these days? This stuff is really impressive Lavender, really it is. You could start up your own line of products like this, wow.”
“Well, actually,” admitted Lavender. “I’d kinda thought of doing that. I mean, starting a make-up and hair shop, like a salon, when I finished here. But that’s not exactly the kind of ambition to admit here, now is it.”
Hermione had to agree. If Lavender had mentioned the idea before Hermione had seen her working her skills, she would have probably laughed it off. But now… Hermione tried to reassure the other girl and encourage her, but Lavender just laughed.
“Look, you can say all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that only big brains like you, or adventurers like Harry, get taken really seriously around here. But I’m okay with that. I’m happy with where I am. You don’t need to reassure me. But thanks.”
She smiled, moved to her bed and started to return her cosmetics to the dresser.

After further discussion, the two girls agreed that they would save the unveiling of the “New Hermione” until the following evening, so when Hermione ran down the stairs to the common room, she was make-up free and had tied her hair up tightly to hide it’s new look. She was hoping to talk to Harry about what she had learned about Lavender, but he was deeply involved in a game of chess with Ron, so instead she moved towards the fireplace, where the twins, Lee, Angelina and Katie were sitting. Although in Fred and George’s case it was more like sprawling, she thought to herself.
“Hey guys,” she said as she approached the couches.
“Hel-lo Her-mi-o-ne,” chorused Fred and Lee.
She laughed and asked “Do they plan these things?”
“Very possibly. It’s not as though they spend their time worrying about useless things like school or anything” answered Angelina, earning a glare from her boyfriend.
“Hey, I resemble that remark!” Fred protested jokingly.
“Very good, weirdo,” she teased. “Soon we’ll have you answering to your own name and dressing yourself in the morning. Because I’m hoping that you didn’t choose your sock combination today. I don’t know if I could date anyone who thinks that blue and orange are a matched pair.”
As the pair continued to bicker, George stood and offered Hermione his seat. When she sank into the corner of the couch, he sat on the arm beside her and leaned to whisper in her ear.
“Ah, the loving relationship, as interpreted by my brother. So healthy, so sane.”
Hermione smiled up at him, and he felt a strange catch in his breath. Strongly conscious of his younger brother sitting across the room, he returned her smile and restrained his impulse to stroke her cheek.
“So,” he finally asked “are we still on for tomorrow?”
“Yes,” Hermione answered, suddenly feeling shy. She could see in George’s eyes that he wanted to kiss her, and to be perfectly honest, she wanted it too. But Ron was still in the room, and in the interest of avoiding his tantrums, she knew she couldn’t kiss George. Not yet at least.
“Oh, guess what?” she asked.
“What?”
“You know how we were talking the other day about distracting Ron by getting him his own girlfriend?”
“Yeah, kinda. Potter was going to play cupid, if I recall.”
“Yeeps! The thought of Harry with a bow and arrow scares me” she shivered theatrically. “But my point is, I was talking with Lavender today, and I found out she has a crush on Ron! Which is perfect, don’t you think?”
“Oh no!” groaned George. “Are you going to turn into a matchmaker too? Spare me, please!”
“Hey! I’m just trying to think of a way to make things less, y’know, awkward for us” Hermione said defensively.
“Hey, hey…” George looked down at her with concern. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. This is great news, really. I guess I’m just a little uneasy about the whole interfering in his life.”
“So you won’t interfere in his love life, but you’ll bewitch his book bag to give him studying advice?” Hermione asked.
“Well, that’s different, I mean, he was being a…”
She reached up and put her fingers over his lips. “Kidding, George, kidding. It was really funny when the bag started telling him that his library books were overdue. Most fun I’ve had in Potions class in weeks.”
He took her hand away from his mouth and held it in his. Looking over his shoulder at where Ron was sitting, staring intently at the chess board he asked
“So if you approved of that little trick, I don’t suppose I could interest you in being an accomplice on our next adventure in talking objects?”
Hermione looked at him speculatively.
“Well, I suppose I could at least hear what you’re planning. Not that I’m saying I’ll help,” she said quickly, “but it wouldn’t hurt to know which chairs I shouldn’t sit in for fear of being insulted.”
“Oh, it’s nothing like that. We’ve figured out a way to enhance the charm on the chess set so that the pieces will, well, talk back.”
Hermione snorted. “You mean, question the player’s moves?”
George nodded. “Exactly. And since Ron always plays black, we wanted to enchant his pieces before his next game. But for that we need to get the pieces away from him long enough to work the charm. Any ideas?”
Hermione thought for a moment, then nodded decisively. She stood up from the couch suddenly, causing George to nearly collapse into the space she’d just vacated.
“All right. I think I’ve got a plan. Exactly how long do you need?”
George stared at her in awe for a moment, then poked his twin in the arm.
“Hey Fred, Mione’s going to get Ron out of the way so we can enchant his chess set. How long should we have him stay away?”
Fred stared up at Hermione with the same look of amazement as his brother. Finally his brain seemed to process the information, and he spoke.
“Well, I think we probably need about ten minutes, but if you can get us twenty, that’ll be plenty of room for error.”
“Okay, twenty minutes,” Hermione said. “Are you guys ready now?”
The twins nodded, still staring at her in wonder.
“Wish me luck.”

As Hermione approached the table where Harry and Ron were sitting, Ron declared checkmate and watched smugly as Harry’s king surrendered. Harry groaned and dropped his head into his hands.
“So that would be 28 in a row for me,” gloated Ron. “You’re really going to have to work on your strategy there Harry.”
His friend raised his head to glare at the red-head.
“Well, I’ve been a little busy with the whole passing school, averting disaster, dealing with life as a teenager stuff that keep getting thrown in my path,” Harry said defensively.
“Yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses.” Ron began to gather up the chess set to return it to its case. “Maybe I’ll give you another chance later, after we’ve dealt with this impossible Herbology assignment.”
“Hey guys,” Hermione said, seeing her chance. “About that Herbology assignment. I was thinking that maybe we should go and check with Hagrid. I’m thinking he probably has a few ideas. And at the very least, we haven’t been to see him in ages. He probably thinks we’ve forgotten about him.”
“Hey Mione,” said Ron. “Sounds like a plan. I could use getting out of here for a little while. Let me just go put these in my trunk.” He gestured with the chess set.
“But I thought you were going to play again later,” Hermione asked, trying come up with a way to keep Ron from locking up the pieces.
“Well, yeah,” he admitted. “But I don’t want other people playing with them, y’know. So I’ll just run up stairs. Won’t be a second.”
“Oh, don’t stress about that Ron,” said Harry, unwitting coming to Hermione’s aid. “We’ll just stick them under our book bags, no one will bother them there. Then we don’t have to wait for you to try to remember whatever code word you’ve enchanted your locks with this time.” As his friend blushed, Harry turned to Hermione. “Yesterday I had to lend him a full outfit of underclothes, since he couldn’t remember whatever cunning word he’d used to lock up his stuff. Didn’t fit so well.”
Hermione laughed at the image of Ron wearing the other boy’s clothes. Ron was several inches taller than Harry, and gangly where Harry was stocky. It would have looked like Ron’s clothes had gone through the clothes dryer about ten times too many. At least Ron hadn’t had to borrow robes as well, that would have been hilarious, she thought, with knobby wrists and ankles coming out where the difference in size was really obvious.
Ron grumbled for a few moments, and then agreed to Harry’s plan, tucking his chess set under their pile of books and papers. Soon the three friends were on their way across the lawns to Hagrid’s cottage, Hermione grinning to herself in anticipation of the look on Ron’s face when he started to play his next game of chess.
As she had predicted, Hagrid was thrilled to see them, and offered them tea and rock cakes, which the trio were careful to not eat. As Ron and Hagrid discussed the Herbology assignment which was driving Ron nuts, Hermione snagged Harry’s sleeve. The black haired boy looked up from trying to feed Fang a chunk of his cake.
“Yeah Hermione?” he asked.
“Shhh…” she cautioned. “I wanted to talk to you about the plan to get…” she jerked her head in the direction of Ron “a girlfriend. I was talking with Lavender this afternoon, and I found out that she had a crush on Ron. So I was thinking that maybe you could work on Ron, y’know, encourage him in that direction. Cuz the sooner we get this sorted out, well, y’know…” she trailed off.
“The sooner you can play kissy-face with George?” Harry finished mockingly.
“Harry!” Hermione could feel herself blushing.
“Yeah?” he asked innocently.
“Oh shut up! You know, if you weren’t my best friend, I’d seriously consider dumping you in the lake some days.”
“All part of my charm,” Harry declared. “You love me anyway.”
“Well, yeah,” admitted Hermoine. “Against my better judgement. So, do you think we’ve been gone twenty minutes?”
“Not quite, why?”
Hermione told Harry about the Weasley twins plan for Ron’s chess pieces, and when he started to howl with laughter, Hermione was required to come up with some lame excuse for Hagrid and Ron. The four chatted for a while longer, but Hagrid finally shooed the students out, telling them to hurry home.
“Like we haven’t been out after dark before,” grumbled Ron.
“Well, Ron, he has a point. We haven’t been having problems,” pointed out Hermione, “but that doesn’t mean we should get complacent.”
“Well, yeah, but still...”
“Ron, stop whining. At least this way you’ll be able to get your Herbology homework done and get another game of chess in.”
This thought cheered Ron up and he started walking faster towards the castle. Harry and Hermione exchanged a grin, then hurried to catch up to their friend.