New Romantics | Hermione Granger Book IV

|70| Chapter Seventy

 S E V E N T Y 

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The lead up to Christmas passed quicker than any time before for Saffron as it very much so felt like the build-up to the Yule Ball more than anything. After spending a nice day with her siblings and closest friends, receiving gifts from them, Sage, Sirius and Noah, and Amanda, the real event of the day was underway For Saffron and her roommates, that started long before the Ball was due to take place, as Lavender had an extensive schedule ready for the four of them and was adamant on sticking to it.

"Saffron and Dean, Lavender and Rowan, Parvati and her school champion, dragon slayer, boy who lived, God to all, Harry Potter and Hermione and her mystery man, us Gryffindor fourth years could have done worse, I suppose,"

Lavender had a wide range of utensils scattered around their dormitory as the four girls sat on their beds, preparing to prepare to ready themselves for the Ball. The girl had practically scheduled their entire three-hour process right down to the minute, allowing them all to have time to get their hair, makeup and initial showering done.

"Hermione, you're a quick showerer, you first,"

Once the shower was to be heard, Lavender and Parvati instantly rounded on her, wanting to know the details of who Hermione was going with. Saffron had the same answer every time.

"I'm telling you, I have no idea, she told me she's going with someone and she's not going to lie about something like that,"

The other two girls didn't really believe that Saffron didn't know, which they were right to think, but they didn't persist too much.

"Alright then, keep your secret," said Lavender, sounding disappointed. "Won't be too long until we find out anyway, I'll just pretend I knew the whole time,"

"I'm going to do exactly the same thing," lied Saffron in agreement.

Time passed quite quickly with all the commotion going on in the dormitory. Saffron followed the other girls lead in how they were making themselves look nice for the evening ahead. She even was watching what Hermione was doing. Hermione had never been one to change her appearance much, but she was making quite an effort to do so tonight, using a lotion to straighten her hair. Saffron was in awe of her as seeing Hermione without bushy hair was a rarer sight than seeing Saffron without her mother's ribbon on her person.

"What's that you're using?" Saffron asked Hermione, with a towel wrapped around her body, being the final one of the girls to take a shower.

"It's called Sleekeazy's Hair Potion," Hermione informed Saffron bracingly, lathering more of it onto her scalp. "It's supposed to get rid of the frizziness and seems to be doing the trick thus far,"

"It definitely is," nodded Saffron with a smile. "You look amazing, not that you don't always look amazing... I can't wait to see that dress on you, the blue is beautiful,"

"It really is," agreed Lavender, who was currently doing Parvati's hair for her. "It suits you,"

"Thanks," Hermione offered them a small smile. It made Saffron truly happy to see that smile on her best friends face. Perhaps the Yule Ball wasn't the fairy tale that Saffron dreamed it would be for her, but maybe it was destined to be so for Hermione and nothing would make Saffron happier.

The dress Saffron was wearing was one she had picked out with Sage during the Summer, therefore, they had ensured that it sat on her body perfectly. Its lilac satin folds were in place tightly against her body, contrasting her olive skin nicely. Lavender insisted on applying some ruby red lipstick on her lips and played with a highlighter to define more of her facial figures. Then, of course, her red ribbon was in place, tying her hair back as it so frequently did.