Hear Me Out

Chapter 5: Trouble In The Making

Hermione screamed. Harry gasped. Dinah shrieked. Everybody in the store, including the staff members, grew quiet and turned in their direction to see what caused the ruckus. Harry quickly bent down and snatched it off of the floor, and hid it in his hoodie far enough to avoid exposure. Too late. Everybody's already saw it. Dinah's already seen it! "Is that a WAND?" Dinah shrieked loud enough for the store to hear. Everybody screamed, and ran all over the room. "He's gonna KILL us all!" one man in a top hat shouted, flailing his arms in the air like a maniac.

        Hermione shot Harry a warning look, and he shrugged his shoulders in a panic. Dinah quickly dove underneath the dusk, and shot up. To Harry and Hermione's disbelief, she held a wand in her hand. A wand with unicorn hair, and it looked about 10 inches. "You're a-" Harry started. "Yup. A squib. I think it's time to actually test out one of these spells I learned, aye?" She said, aiming her wand directly at them. "Petrificus Totalus!" She yelled. Too late, Harry and Hermione both ducked and they shot back up. "Stupefy!" Hermione yelled. Suddenly, Dinah's eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she crashed to the floor. "Run!" Harry yelled. They still had their dress robes in their hand, and ran for their lives.

       They were aware that they were over the age of 17, and were able to do magic without getting in trouble from the Ministry. But it was still a risky business. They had to avoid the deadly spells, to also avoid a life sentence in Azkaban. "Harry-you're-so-stupid!" Hermione yelped, out of breath the minute they were in an alleyway and stopped running. Hermione's hair stuck out in her face, and she vigorously shook her hair behind her ears. Harry panted, his arms on his knees. "It-wasn't-my-fault," he stretched out the words, out of breath as well. "Who's fault was it then? The tooth fairy's?" Hermione asked sarcastically, and Harry rolled his eyes at that comment. Harry dug his hands into his gray hoodie, and pulled out his wand. He stared at it for a little, laying it in his hands, holding it with both palms open.

"We've got to get back, before anymore muggles or squibs see us," Hermione said wisely, looking around in case of anyone spying on their conversation. "Yeah, you're right. Come on, let's get going? Should we Apparate? Or is it too risky?" Harry asked, placing his wand back into his pocket. "No, I think we should be safe. I mean, we just knocked a squib unconscious. What other harm can we really do?" Hermione replied. The two of them locked arms, and then swirled like they were falling all the way into a deep pit.

* * *

When they arrived home, Hermione jumped onto the couch, panting desperately. Harry sat down beside her, and patted her on the back. "I'm sorry," he said. Hermione sat up to face him, and gripped a pillow tightly to her chest. "It's ok. It wasn't your fault. Just a pocket mishap," she assured him. "How long until the gala?" she added. Harry glared down at his watch. The little hand on the clock of the seconds began to tick rapidly. "Oh shoot, we only have 2 hours left!" he responded. Hermione's eyes-widened. "How long does it take for you girls to get ready anyway?" Harry asked obliviously. Hermione threw the pillow at him, and it grazed his face. "Blimey, Hermione! It was a question!"He yelled, placing a hand on the spot she hit him with. "Not a very decent one." Hermione joked. "Oh you big baby, it's a pillow!" she exclaimed as he dramatically checked his hand for blood. Hermione giggled while Harry rolled his eyes. "Keep doing that, and your eyes will get stuck like that," she said. "I'll take my chances," he answered, getting up.

"I'll be in the shower, see you eventually," he said, walking to the bathroom. Hermione nodded, and stared off deeply into the horizon. The sky was painted a blissful pink and orange, and the sun was setting into evening. The gala was coming up soon, sooner than to count. Hermione got up, and pushed open the slide door leading to the back porch. She stood there for a while, her arms over the ledge, just blankly thinking. When was this ever a plan in her schedule? Go to the gala with her best friend, except of her boyfriend she was supposed to spend her life with until he made a huge mistake. Hermione felt especially lucky though. If she was being 100% honest, she would much rather go to the gala with Harry than she would with Ron.

She would've felt bad if she felt that way when her and Ron were still dating, but since they weren't, she felt nothing but joy and smiled off. Hope he's happy. That jerk. Harry was so much better than him. Not to mention, any girl would die for a chance to be with him. He was Harry freaking Potter. A little while later, she felt a tap on her shoulder, and jumped. She turned around, and there stood Harry. He laughed, while she slapped him on the shoulder. "Don't do that-" But her words were cut off while she looked at him. He was all dressed up in his dress robes. He had his hair cute and messy, and his glasses were placed onto the tip of his nose. He looked amazingly handsome. Hermione gasped. "Harry you look-" "Terrible, I know," he interjected. "---Amazing," she finished. He chuckled softly, but she could hear the awkwardness.

She still couldn't believe her eyes, and had no words. She hadn't seen him this dressed up since the Yule Ball. Even then, he wasn't as dressed up as he was now. "Uh, Hermione?" he asked, waving a hand in her face. Hermione snapped out of her dreamy state, and shot up. "Huh? What?" she asked. He laughed. "You should go get dressed, or shower, or whatever you need to do. We have a little while until we have to leave." Hermione nodded. She slid back through the door, and waved to Harry as she turned across the hallway to the bathroom.

              *                              *                              *
     A little bit later, Hermione came out of the steaming shower, and stared into the foggy mirror. Barely any part of her was visible with all the fog, but she wiped a part in the center and her face shone in the lights reflection off of the square mirror. She smiled, trying desperately to look pretty. She didn't think she was pretty, no matter how many others told her otherwise.

     Hermione made it to the guest bedroom, and looked at the blue dress laid out on the bed, and the pair of heels decked underneath it. They managed to find a pair on their way out of running from the store. The heels were velvet black, and the heel was a nice brown color. Hermione sighed, and then got dressed. It was a hassle getting on the heels, as it was genuinely complicated to clip all parts together. She finished, and thought about her hair. She should probably do that too, shouldn't she?

       She watched a couple of hair tutorials on some muggle website.... but couldn't remember the name of it. She remembered the braid-bun she watched, and thought it would fit best for this occasion. She walked to the bathroom, and she always kept a couple spare clips, hair ties, and scrunchies just in case she wanted to have her hair up on a lazy day. It took a lot of effort, but she managed to do a perfect updo, and spray it with some hairspray. She looked in the mirror and smiled a big, toothy smile. She never ever dressed like this, not once. Well, except for the Yule Ball. She looked alright, but she felt like she was missing something.

     Makeup! She thought. Makeup was a muggle substance used for "beauty." She had a little of that, but never used it because she never thought she would have to. But it was a gala. And she was getting sick revenge on Ron. If this wasn't the perfect time, she didn't know what was. She opened up the drawer situated with eye-shadow palettes, powder, lipsticks, blushes, and all you need. She sighed. She couldn't wait until she could take it off after!

       After about an hour of watching a tutorial and applying makeup, she looked in the mirror. She never saw a day when she looked this graceful, let alone gorgeous. She now shined the biggest smile ever, and squealed with excitement. Her eyes were a pale pink, her cheeks also. For her lips she applied a pink/red gloss, and finished off by dousing herself with perfume. She looked magnificent, she's getting revenge on Ron, and she's going to the gala with Harry. What could possibly go wrong?

       Hermione stepped out from the bathroom, and to her surprise Harry was already standing in the living room, facing her, supposedly waiting for her to come out. He was tapping his foot. Hermione walked out slowly, and faced Harry with a smirk on her face. The second she did, Harry's eyes flashed. He was jaw-dropped, and in complete awe. Hermione stood there awkwardly. "What? Did I get some gloss on my cheek?" She asked, touching her cheek. He shook his head, still in complete admiration. "Hermione you look..... beautiful!" He exclaimed, looking at her directly in the eyes. She bit her lower lip awkwardly.
"Thank you Harry, you look amazing yourself!" He said. Yet again, complements. Undoubtedly weaknesses to her.

      She walked out next to him, and stared at him, while he stared at her. The tension in the room was at its greatest peak. "Shall we go then?" Hermione asked, breaking the silence. "I think we shall," he said smiling. They had to go the muggle route again, using a car. So they actually looked like normal people. They both headed out the door, and slammed the door shut behind them. Harry smiled to himself, as he opened the door for Hermione to get in. Ron's a git.