The Right Thing To Do

Chapter 27

Madame Michele was quite taken aback to see her in Pansy's clothes that night.

She was even more taken aback when Hermione burst out, "I can't handle this handshake thing! I—I just really can't get around it. I'm at work in a professional environment with men who shake hands like men and they aren't trying to shake hands with a lady. I can't do it and I won't." She huffed. "I'm sorry."

She looked at her feet, embarrassed.

"Az long az you know ze difference, Mz Granger" was her cool reply. She looked her up and down. "You look quite lovely. What 'as 'appened to you."

Hermione reigned herself in. "Thank you, Madame Michele." She added, "You're too kind." She looked down at her dress. "I have become the spokesperson and model for the Parkinson line."

"Oh! Mz Parkinzon. What an enchanting girl."

Hermione kept from rolling her eyes. Of course she was.

That night Madame Michele took the opportunity to teach her how to walk in heels and how to treat expensive clothes.

Hermione thought it was the only lesson thus far that she'd found in the least bit helpful for everyday life.

~*~

The next morning, Hermione called Pansy in a panic at seven in the morning.

"I'm so, so sorry, Pansy," Hermione said as the tall girl stepped out of her fireplace. "But I tried to do what Daphne and Tracey did yesterday, and I don't think it worked."

Pansy looked at her. "It didn't."

"I know, I know. I just don't want to be wearing this amazing dress, if my hair and makeup don't match." She gestured down at the lovely burnt orange dress that Pansy had her in. She looked up at Pansy – whose makeup was perfection for this time in the morning – and begged her with her eyes.

"Take it all off." Pansy frowned. "Take the dress off, take the makeup off, take that disastrous pony-tail out. Merlin, Granger, what were you trying to do?"

"I was trying to do the 'power-pony' thing that Tracey did yesterday!" she growled.

"Granger, you can't wear your hair in the same style two days in a row!" Pansy pulled a face at her.

"You can't just give me a closet full of beautiful clothes and expect me to know these things, Pansy!"

Hermione groaned and stomped away to take everything off. When she returned in her bathrobe five minutes later, Tracy and Daphne were in her living room, looking barely awake.

"Oh," Hermione said. "I'm so sorry to be such a pain to you all."

Tracey shook her head, like she wasn't a pain. Daphne didn't disagree with her.

"Alright." Pansy appeared from the kitchen, having brewed them tea. "We are going to do this in front of a mirror for the next three days."

As the girls started in on her, and Pansy went to throw away anything she didn't like in Hermione's closet, she wondered if this was what growing up in Slytherin would have been like. She didn't regret her seven years with the boys, and it was nice to have Lavender and Parvati leave her alone most of the time...

But she felt like this was how a weekend morning in the Slytherin dormitories would have been.

~*~

The Daily Prophet came out on Sunday morning, sporting the picture of Draco, Blaise and her on Draco's couch above the fold.

Perfect. It was her least favorite of all the pictures taken, but of course it was on the front page of the Prophet.