Not So Ridiculous

Chapter 19: Caught up in the Cosmetic Hurricane

Hermione's POV

When Padma had claimed that our dorm had turned into one big beauty salon, it was no joke. There was makeup, hair products, clothes and accessories littering the floor and beds, and it seemed one of the girls had conjured up a two sided, double chair vanity to sit in the center of the room.

That's where I was currently sitting; in fact, I had been there for upwards of an hour, letting Ginny go at my face and curls with whatever she felt I needed. I sighed. "Can I stand for a bit?" I asked her, my legs becoming sore.

She shook her head, several bobby pins held between her lips. "Nnn ee shecknd," she mumbled between shut teeth, and I smiled, "Ellmost din."

I nodded, and after a few more minutes and a few more sprays, clips, and brushes, she nodded. "My work here is done," she declared proudly, and spun my chair so I could look into the mirror, "now get into your dress so I can work some magic on myself, literally and figuratively."

I smiled at myself in the mirror for a second before evacuating the chair. Unlike at the Yule ball, my long hair wasn't up, but down, falling in it's natural state of loose curls down past my shoulders. I twirled a bit of it in my fingers; it was as soft as ever, but I knew that whatever Ginny had put into it would make it never lose it's shape.

Ginny wasted no time in setting herself down on the stool, getting to work on herself. I made my way over to my bed, and pulled my trunk out from under it. I clicked it open to reveal the small dress bag within which I knew my gown was concealed.

I abandoned the 'salon' and brought my dress with me into the bathroom, which was ironically the only area that hadn't been affected by the great cosmetic hurricane. Careful not to disturb my carefully constructed hair, I undid the zipper and slipped the dress over my body. I used my wand to return the zipper to the nape of my neck, and just like that, I was ready.

Seeing myself in the mirror with such a formal appearance really reminded me of the ball I had attended almost four years ago; although the memory of the entire experience now made me cringe. I had no regrets at all about going with Viktor of course, he was nothing but a gentleman; but Ron had ruined it for me.

However I didn't want to think about that then. I instead filled my mind with thoughts about how nervous I was about leaving Blaise and the others in charge of finishing up the decor in the Great Hall. Never leave a boy to do a woman's job, I mused, but decided that I had full confidence in them in the end.

I took one last glance at myself in the mirror before returning to the open dorm. Ginny had finished with her makeup and hair, and now it seemed to be Lavender's turn. I watched as Ginny put her blonde hair up into a large bun, using her wand to tame flyaways and letting a few hairs dangle down near her ears, framing her face.

Lavender looked into the mirror, and apparently saw me in the reflection because she gasped quietly. "You look amazing, Mione," she sighed, "your date's going to faint."

I decided not to tell her that I had no date, but took a seat on the foot of my bed; again gentle as to not wrinkle the fragile fabric I was wearing. "You look great too, Lavender," I complimented, "And you as well, Ginny!"

Ginny smiled, but again remained silent as she was holding a bedazzled hair clip between her teeth while still having two hands fixing Lavender's hair. Ginny had put her hair into loose curls; a nice contrast from her usual straight strands. She had done her own makeup, of course; a smoky eye and shimmering, nude lip.

Lavender, however, was in a red dress, with a bold red lipstick to match. I again knelt beside my bed, reaching for the pair of black flats I knew was hidden below it. Ginny saw them, and frowned at me. She released the hair clip into her hands, and tucked it behind Lavender's bun. "Flats?" She asked me, still focused on the girls blonde locks, "Really, Mione?"