Something to Do With a Bet
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. J.K.Rowling is a genius.
Chapter One: Just a Stupid Game
Hermione Granger smiled as she walked through the King's Cross station. Summer had been fun, but Hermione couldn't wait to see her best friends after more than two months apart. After she received that last letter from Ron, she knew that she was friends with the two most caring people in the world. Sure, she knew she studied a lot, but when her best friends had to tell her to get some sunlight in the Caribbean... She sighed. After that letter, she had dropped all her schoolwork and immediately went to a museum, then she went scuba diving with her parents. Of course, she finished her homework the next day, and spent the rest of her vacation mostly in the shade, finding out as much as she could about the Caribbean...
Hermione glanced at her watch; it was quarter to eleven. Brushing an irritating piece of hair away from her eyes she gripped the handles of her luggage trolley firmly and walked resolutely through the barrier. She stepped out onto Platform 9¾ and was greeted by the usual throng of students and parents, oddly a lot of them appeared to be staring openly at her. She frowned and looked around at the gaping witches and wizards. "What?" she asked, confused. A few people shook their heads and walked away or boarded the train; others just turned back to their parents or conversations. Hermione blinked, Okay, that was strange, she thought casting another suspicious glance around. She spotted a shock of messy black hair beside a red head and pushed over towards them.
She brought her trolley to a halt beside them. Harry and Ron were still gaping. "What is it?" she asked, exasperated. "Is my hair sticking up? Do I have something on my face? Did I forget to put clothes on?" she asked sarcastically.
The two shook their heads, looking suddenly shifty. "Hermione…" started Ron, hesitantly, "…you know we love you, right? No matter what?" Confused, Hermione nodded warily.
"Well..." Ron began again, shooting an imploring look at Harry who continued,
"What he's trying to say, Hermione, is that everyone thought you'd be... Well… hot this year," he stated. He looked Hermione up and down and sighed inwardly. She was slim but had no figure to speak of, and if she did, it was always hidden beneath her robes. Her hair was still frizzy, and a bland mousy brown. Her eyes were pretty, he mused, but she always had bags under them from staying up late to read or do spontaneous experiments or projects. She was.... Well, she was still the same old Hermione that he had known since first year.
Hermione crossed her arms, rolling her eyes and scoffing in the process. "Why would they think that I would suddenly be interested in my appearances this year?" She demanded looking at Harry, she didn't notice Ron blushing guiltily and looking very uncomfortable.
Harry shrugged and Ron cleared his throat, seeming to have suddenly choked on something. Hermione glanced over at him looking mildly concerned,
"Are you alright?" He nodded dumbly and Hermione smiled. "Good. Well, we should get on the train now. We don't want to have to share a compartment with... Oh, hi, Luna!"
Several minutes later, they boarded the train and found a compartment, where they settled with Luna and were joined by Ginny and Neville. The beginning of the train ride passed quickly and uneventfully, with the usual eating and exchanging of summer news. Ron and Harry relaying their antics at the Burrow with input from Ginny, Hermione filling them in on her 'fascinatingly educational' trip to the Caribbean and Neville telling them all about one of his Grandmother's new cats. Fifteen minutes or so into the journey though, the light mood was broken by the inevitable entrance of Draco Malfoy, he opened the door to the compartment and smirked around at the occupants.
His gaze came to rest on Hermione and his smirk twisted into a sly grin as his eyes raked her up and down, "So it's true then. She did--"
"Shut it, Malfoy!" Ron blurted, a deep crimson red staining his face.
"Wait, I did what now?" Hermione asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes and staring at Malfoy then Ron then Harry who was behaving very oddly, and instead of jumping at Malfoy's throat, examining the bottom of his sweet packet.
Malfoy's grin widened. "Why, Weasley, seems you forgot to inform your girlfriend of the--"
"I SAID SHUT IT!" Ron yelled, jumping up from his seat frenziedly.
Malfoy laughed silkily, "Well, Weasley, you owe me a--"
"Later. Out, NOW." Ron hissed through gritted teeth. Still laughing, Malfoy turned and walked out, closing the door to the compartment softly behind him. His mission indeed had succeeded.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Hermione rounded on Ron.
"What was that about?" She demanded.
Ron flushed. "Er... I dunno... Malfoy's just being a prat as usual…"
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him imperiously, "No, Ron, you're hiding something from me! Tell me, now!" she took a meaningful step towards him and he flinched then let out a defeated sigh.
Shooting a worried glance to Harry he sat back down and began mumbling, "Well, see, I was patrolling the halls one day last year, and I ran into the overstuffed ferret -- Malfoy, sorry. Well, in the obligatory Gryffindor Slytherin banter that followed, he…uh…he said something along the lines of... If you were hot, he would... Err..." Ron paused and seemed to be searching for words, "…do you, just to say he... fucked the innocent little Gryffindor, to quote him exactly…" Ron glanced up and saw Hermione's furious face and continued quickly.
"So I defended you! I said that you wouldn't fuck him in a million years, even if you were hot." He paused again, and threw another look at Harry who gave him a meaningful stare back. Hermione caught it.
"What else?" She demanded angrily. Ron took a deep breath,
"So.... He bet me that you wouldn't be able to stay away from him next year... So I agreed to make you hot, and our bet spread around school, with the exception of you. But then you went on that vacation with your parents, and I guess you didn't follow my advice to get a tan and fix up your hair while in the Caribbean."
Hermione glared at him furiously. "Ron! What the hell were you thinking?" She screeched. Harry gulped and stared out of the window, and Ron cowered and stuttered. Hermione threw herself into her seat and rolled her eyes. Great, just what I need, to be a pawn in some stupid bet. "What did you bet?" She asked sharply,
"Err... Well.... If he doesn't succeed, he has to live as a Muggle for a whole week in the summer... And if he does... err... do you... Then I have to be his personal slave for a week."
"And is the bet still on despite my ugliness?" Hermione asked sarcastically.
"Well.... Yes. For now. If we don't make you hot before your first class with Malfoy, though, I lose... So we need to start working on you. Right now," Ron added, hesitantly.
Hermione bit her lip to keep down her anger then sighed. The look on Ron's face was one so petrified of being Malfoy's slave it looked as though he might snap at any minute. It would serve him right, for using me in some stupid rivalry bet. She thought angrily, but then again, I'd never sleep with Malfoy, and having him as a Muggle would be hilarious…
"Alright, Ron, I'll play along with your stupid game.. But I don't want you performing any spells on me. Merlin knows what would happen...." she shuddered dramatically at the thought and Harry smirked.
"Great! Ginny, you work on her hair, get it straight… And whatever you girls do to hair...." Ron said, making vague gestures with his hands at Hermione's head. Ginny grinned and pulled out her wand,
"I know just the spell, I got it out of Teen Witch, its brilliant, hold still…" she pointed her wand at Hermione's head and said clearly, "Levo crines"
Hermione's hair fell down into soft, sleekness.
"Wow!" Harry and Ron chorused.
Hermione raised a hand to touch it… it felt silky. She turned to Ginny with an eyebrow raised, reluctantly impressed. Then she felt an odd sensation on her hair, and heard a quiet 'poof'.
Ginny's face that had been wearing a look of smugness suddenly fell. Hermione gingerly raised her fingers to touch her hair again and then came into contact with the frizz she knew so well.
"Ah well… perhaps we'll need something… stronger…" Ginny said tentatively.
A/N: That's all for now. Don't worry, I have about 6 more pages of this so far (a total of 4062 words including this chapter) and I'll try to work harder to complete this. It's been my goal for a while, but I haven't written much in a few months, so I'm gonna upload it and hope for some good, inspiring reviews. Be inspiring! My Muses await your suggestions. Except that none of you know what's going on so far.... Damn. Oh well.