Fate Always Finds a Way

Chapter 13

The day had arrived for the Easter gathering at the Weasley household. She was to arrive in a little less than an hour. Hermione stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped securely around herself.

The girl in the mirror mocked her, boring dark brown eyes ridiculing her every imperfection. She dropped her towel, gazing up and down her body's reflection. She cursed her pasty white complexion from the lack of sunshine in the winter to spring months. Her damp hair sat across her shoulders, dripping only somewhat on her skin now. It hung there, lifeless—not wild and untamable like she was used to—framing her face. It had begun curling upward as it dried some, pointing out the flaws in her face, almost as if it were laughing at her. Her eyebrows were in serious need of plucking—and arching for that matter. The freckles on her nose were so large they might as well have been the size of the moon's craters.

Her breasts were entirely too small for her liking. They were a decent shape—round for being natural, but that was the only thing that they had going for them. The amount of time she spent reading or writing or anything sitting at a desk, rather than physical activities was beginning to take its toll as she saw the small bulge that had started to surface around her stomach. Her hips were no where near what she had thought would be large enough to be considered "birthing" hips, but they weren't that small either. Average. The word summed her up perfectly.

But what Hermione felt she lacked in physical attributes, she made up for in smarts. She had rarely taken a break from reading and writing since her and Remus stopped speaking. It had been nearly a month since they had spoken or even exchanged a simple pleasantry.

The thought of the afternoon being awkward suddenly dawned on her and was somewhat plaguing.

For only a brief moment, she thought of calling to tell Ron that she wasn't feeling well or had been called into work. Dismissing it as a childish act, she pulled out her brush and began to detangle her wild mane.

Once she was as satisfied with her hair as she could be, she picked up her toothbrush. Squeezing the toothpaste onto the brush made her think back to when Teddy showed her his missing tooth. She polished her teeth and gum tissue vigorously as thoughts began circling in her mind. Good, bad, naughty, anything—of Teddy's father. She spit into the sink and noticed the blood that she had drawn from her forceful strokes.

Maybe she wasn't as over Remus Lupin as she pretended to be. The thoughts of the beast that she came to care so much about were still so present on her mind.

A touch of makeup, dried, straightened, and re-curled hair later, she went to her bedroom wardrobe and took out the dress she had preset aside for the day.

She climbed into the red cocktail style dress, pulling the two inch straps onto her shoulders. She zipped the back of the dress up, reexamining her reflection—she had to admit that it was better than the girl who had just gotten out of the shower. The dress had a round scoop neckline that was fitted

around her torso, accenting her small breasts, with a high waistband and a flowing skirt that stopped just above her knees. She matched it with a pair of modest two inch red pumps.

Back in her bathroom, she opened the top drawer below her sink and pulled out her makeup bag. Rummaging through it until she found what she was looking for—her pale red strawberry flavored lip gloss. Applying the fruity gloss, she rubbed her lips together, allowing the color to blend in. She placed it along with a compact mirror into her small hand bag, next to her wand and identification card.