A Bit Early

Getting Ready

Once we had all gathered in the center of the girls dorm, we made our game plan.

"Alright girls," Parvati said strategically, "we have hair, makeup, jewelry, shoes, accessories, dresses," she paused and sighed a bit, "getting cleaned, and most importantly, presentation."

"It sounds so complicated when you say it like that," squeaked Cho.

"It isn't really," replied Luna, "it s just a bunch of things that will add up to be a lot, but aren't really. Washing up is almost the same as hair, and someone can do your hair while you do your makeup, we have our dresses, shoes, and jewelry picked out. The only thing left is presentation." she smiled dreamily. Just as the girl were about to attack, I came up with a brilliant solution.

"Wait! Luna might be on to something. We'll all take our showers one after the other, so some of us will have down time until then. Parvati, you're the makeup artist. Padma, you make sure the outfits stay in pristine condition. Ginny can match accessories, jewelry, and shoes. And maybe Luna can keep our pets under control while I keep everything running smoothly. Cho can go first," after I had finished, I was engulfed in a group hug.

"What would we do without you, Hermione?" asked Parvati.

"You work so hard to keep us all in order," said Ginny.

"Especially for those who really need it," chimed in Padma as we all giggled.

"I'm just thankful she'll be around the whole time," sighed Cho, who was closest to me.

When we finally broke apart, Cho left for the showers, and we all got busy. Ginny found a pair of heels that matched Cho's bubblegum pink dress perfectly while Padma and Parvati debated what shade of blush to use with her complexion. I broke up the fight before it got nasty, and Luna kept Alice quiet throughout the whole argument.

When Cho finally emerged, Parvati wasted no time drying her hair and fixing it into a simple, yet elegant twist. After, adding several pink accessories, she finished the look with some pink glitter; which she added to her eyes, cheeks, and even a dab to her lips. Her nails were done up in hot pink.

"How about you next, Luna?" I suggested. She looked up from her copy of The Quibbler.

"Alright. I hope this won't cause too much trouble," she said. Her tone reflected an emotion I had never heard her use. She's embarrassed, I thought.

She took a quick shower, and came out looking refreshed and cheerfully indifferent once more. Parvati rung out her hair, and let it curl naturally before braiding it. She gave her a smoky eye, and a foundation that made her skin appear almost translucent. She had delicate gold jewelry, so different from her usually butter beer cork necklace that I had to do a double take. She walked up to the mirror, curtsied to her reflection, and said to no one in particular, "Yes, I'd love to dance."

"Ginny, it's your turn," I told her as she gave Luna the shoes she had decided on.

"Alright. Do your worst," she laughed. "But don't really." She added seriously. I rolled my eyes.

"You'll be fine. I'm the one in charge. And it'd look pretty bad for a girl to mess up the sister of her boy-" I stopped short. I was so used to calling him my boyfriend, but was he. I shook the thought from my head, and helped Ginny zip her dress up; she had already taken a shower.

Parvati gave her some neutral foundation, red lip stick, and golden eye shadow while I painted her nails a glittering gold.

Padma had taken her shower next, in hopes of getting herself over with so she could continue her dress guard duty. When she came out of the bathroom, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Are you sure about this, guys?" she said taking in her burnt orange dress surrounded by nothing less than the brightest magenta she'd ever seen.

"Trust me. This is going to look great. You just have to stop being so afraid," soothed Parvati, now finished with her touch ups. Padma swallowed and allowed herself to be led to the vanity that had appeared in every girl s room. After getting a blowout and several layers of mascara and purple eye shadow, she worked her way into her dress. And adding all of her accessories, she dashed to the mirror.

"Wow," she admired herself from all angles.

"One more touch," said her sister, tossing the rest of the pink glitter onto her head and working it through her thick hair. "Perfect." The sisters hugged, and I slipped away to take a shower.

It's sweet how they argue like that all the time, I thought. And they know they don't mean it, so it's so easy to make up. Why can't it be easy to make up? My thoughts once again flew to Ron. It was just a little fight. And with all of his drama, I never did figure out why we were fighting. I miss you, Ron. I thought desperately.

I turned off the water, and stepped onto the cold, marble floor. Openly the door slowly, I saw five pairs of eyes staring at me.

"It's about time," said Ginny, grabbing my elbow. "Really how long were you planning on keeping us waiting?" I mumbled an apology as Parvati began putting my hair in a complicated up do. Padma whisked my dress towards me, and Ginny grabbed the matching accessories.

"What do you think? They're to die for, right?" Padma asked. I nodded my head enthusiastically. They were to die for. Especially the necklace that I vaguely remembered seeing in a copy of a European magazine Parvati had brought.

"That's so cute," I gushed. "How did you buy that necklace? It must have cost a fortune."

"Think of it as your going away present," said Cho, looking happier than she had in days. "We all chipped in, and it wasn't as expensive as you'd think. But it is real." I ran and gave them each a hug, even the now spectacularly pretty, Luna.

"I love you, guys. You know that right?" I said genuinely.

"We know," they said in unison. "You only told us about a million times." I giggled, and finished getting ready. I wore dark red lipstick with light, smoky eyes. My skin looked dazzlingly white, and my brown eyes looked huge. Parvati was a miracle worker. Her sigh startled me.

"Gorgeous. Absolutely stunning. Well I'm going to get myself ready. Does anyone know where that long formal dress I had picked out went?" she asked, looking around.

"You won't need that," Padma said grinning coming up behind her. She pulled out a beautiful blue and white party dress from behind her back. "Do you love me or what?"

"Where did you get that? It looks like the one-of-a-kind I've been wanting, except with much more detailed coloring. Who is the designer?" she nearly begged.

"I take it you like the improvements I've made to your 'destroyed' short formal attire?" asked Padma calmly. I gasped. Before, Parvati's dress had been simple-for her taste anyway-just a little beading at the hem. Now it was bold, daring, and highly fashionable.

"I love it! I'll never doubt you again. How did I ever doubt you in the first place? Do you know you're the best sister I've ever had? Never mind, you're my only sister. Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you," Padma held up her hand to silence her.

"It was the least I could do," she spoke gesturing towards her outfit with her freshly manicured hands. The two had once more, and Parvati started to get ready. Padma set about getting the final touches ready; straightening hemlines, rubbing at smeared lipstick, and tucking loose curls back into place.

When Parvati walked out of the bathroom, her hair was fluffed and curled. She had on her 'new' dress, tall cobalt heels, matching nail polish and eye shadow, and bright pink lipstick. She had drenched herself in silver glitter, which only she could pull off without looking even a bit tacky.

"Let's go dance the night away!" she called, sassily. We all cheered, and walked towards the Great Hall to meet our dates. Ginny had put on a thick coat, so that she could reveal her dress once the Ball was in full swing. Poor Neville will be in for a scare, I chuckled.