บท 356: Extreme Makeover Edition

The morning after was Saturday most students generally tended to arrive late for breakfast, but this time around when Rowan and Regulus, who usually were the first ones up on Saturday morning were actually not the first to arrive. There were over forty students in the entrance hall, some eating toast and others examining the Goblet of Fire. It had been placed in the center of the Great Hall on the stool that normally bore the Sorting Hat. A thin golden line had been traced on the floor forming a circle ten feet around in every direction.

"Think anyone's put their name in yet?" Regulus idly remarked out loud.

"All of Durmstrang already did," chimed in a nearby Slytherin 7th year.

Nodding in gratitude to the 7th year for the information, Rowan and Regulus moved to the Slytherin table, when a loud popping sound was heard from behind them. Turning around they saw two Gryffindor boys with great white beards having been thrown out of the circle.

"I did warn you," said a deep, amused voice, as they turned to glance at Professor Dumbledore entering the Great Hall. "I suggest the both of you head up to Madam Pomfrey, she is already tending to a few like-minded students who thought to age themselves by a few months. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything as fine as yours."

Rowan and Regulus shook their heads, before observing the changes in the Great Hall as they searched for a seat. The decorations in the Great Hall as usual had changed to reflect Halloween. A cloud of live bats is already fluttering around the enchanted ceiling, while hundreds of Hagrid's carved pumpkins, both giant and small pumpkins leered at them from every corner of the Great Hall.

Plopping down in an empty seat, Rowan served herself a nice plate of hash browns, scrambled eggs, and sausages. With a good squirt of ketchup, she happily digs into the meal as Regulus asks, "Have any of the 7th-year Slytherins entered yet?" With a mouth full of food, he peered at the crowd.

"Vern Crabbe has," Rowan mumbled and pointed at the annoying pudgy git in question. "But I doubt he will be chosen as Hogwarts champion given that he barely managed to pass his final exams last year. It'll be a miracle if he doesn't fail all of his N.E.W.T.s."

"Fair point," Regulus said with a sigh. "I don't think this year's Slytherins have much of a chance."

"No, I would hazard to say that it'll be Frank Longbottom or Zaid Patil," Rowan gestured to the head boy and older brother of the pretty Ravenclaw seeker, Asha Patil. Both Gryffindors and the future fathers of one Neville Longbottom and the Patil twins.

Regulus glances at the Gryffindor table and reluctantly nods his head. "Longbottom is powerful and clever, while Patil is as well. And though I think you might be right, it's still a shame really. I would have liked to see a Slytherin champion for once. Maybe next time."

Rowan nods her head in agreement as they return to eating. She finished first and excused herself leaving Regulus with his two friends, Florinda and Flortentia. The two girls still looked alike as ever with their only distinguishing features being their hair and colored hair ribbons.

Deciding to go for a brisk morning walk, Rowan is on her way out when she sees Madam Maxime enter the hall before her followed closely by her students. Stepping aside she waits as she watches Madam Maxime organize them into a neat line.

One by one the Beauxbatons students stepped across the Age Line and dropped their slips of parchment into the blue-white flames. As each name entered the fire it turned briefly red and emitted sparks. When all the Beauxbatons students had submitted their names Madam Maxime led them back out of the hall and out onto the grounds again.

Rowan trailed after them as she made her way across the grounds. It was not surprising at all to find the gigantic powder-blue carriage parked a mere two hundred yards from Hagrid's front door. The students were quickly climbing back inside, while the elephant-sized horses were grazing in a makeshift paddock alongside it.

Hiding a knowing smirk, Rowan knocks on Hagrid's door, Fang's booming barks can be heard from inside. "Bout time!" said Hagrid when he flung open the door. "Thought you'd forgotten where I live!"

"I'm an apprentice to Professor Dumbledore," Rowan apologized. "Severus and I are busy all the time, Hagrid."

Hagrid looks rather sheepish as he adjusts his best (and very horrible) hairy brown suit, plus a checked yellow-and-orange tie. This wasn't the worst part of the fashion police travesty. No, he had evidently tried to tame his hair, using large quantities of what appeared to be axle grease. It was now slicked down into two bunches – two pigtails', perhaps?

Channeling her inner Tiffany, Rowan says, "Hagrid go wash that ridiculous grease out of your hair. And then I'm going to give you a makeover!"

Hagrid blankly stares at her until Rowan barks, "Chop! Chop Hagrid! I don't have all day!" Hagrid hurriedly removes his coat and tie, before pulling out a large metal basin enchanted to refill itself with water. As best as he can he begins to wipe off the axle grease until his hair at least looks manageable.

Tsking out loud, Rowan merely gestures at Hagrid to sit as she pulls out her wand and studies him for a moment. "You've got nice rugged facial features, but all that d*m hair gets in the way." Pointing her wand, she sternly warns, "Don't move, I'd hate to cut your face."

Hagrid pales thinking this isn't such a great idea when great clumps of hair begin to fall off from his hair and beard. Nodding in approval, Rowan pauses and chants a spell to smooth Hagrid's hair out and make it look all shiny and glossy. There were some props to being in a girl dorm, one tends to pick up beauty spells like no other.

With a pleased hum, she begins to cut anew, before grabbing the dropped hair tie. Climbing on top of a chair, Rowan says, "Kneel down in front of me, Hagrid." Hagrid quickly did as with care she neatly tied his hair back. "Good now take a look in the mirror," she said as she cast a spell to toss all the previously gross hair into the trash.

Hagrid gapes at his reflection in the mirror as he didn't recognize the suave man in the mirror. His hair was silky smooth, neatly tied back in a long, thick tail that reached his mid-back. His beard was trimmed short no thicker than his nails. Even the style of the cut on his bearded face accented his cheekbones giving him an attractive rugged dimension that would cause many a witch to jump him in a dark alley if they could.

"I'm beautiful!" Hagrid whispered in disbelief as he touched his face.

"I know," Rowan said acting as though she hadn't just performed a miracle, which she had.

"Thank you!" Hagrid stomped over as Rowan much too late tried to jump off the chair only to be swept up in a painful, bone-crushing hug!

"Hagrid, I can't breathe!" Rowan painfully gasped as Hagrid hastily released her.

Wincing Rowan says, "Now give me that tie, it's hideous."

Hagrid wilts as Rowan calmly explains, "Your choice of colors and materials is the problem." Waving her wand, she transfigures the tie into an elegant red shade suit handkerchief that would contrast nicely with what she had in mind.

Turning to eye the hairy brown suit, Rowan makes a gesture, and all the hair falls off the brown suit that leaves the suit a hideous brown color. Humming, she points her wand again feeling a bit like Hagrid's fairy godmother. If she was, she probably was not the good kind, yet she had a heart and upon occasion performed random good acts throughout the fairy kingdom.

The suit had changed colors to a navy-blue suit that made Hagrid look better. Motioning for Hagrid to put on his coat again, he quickly does as he is told. With another wave of her wand, Rowan fits the suit to a perfect tee. All of a sudden, she has the desire to drool just slightly.

Feeling her ears turning pink, Rowan glances away in embarrassment. "You can take a look now."

Hagrid hurriedly walks over to the mirror, where his mouth simply plops open. The ruggedly attractive man in the mirror looked as though he walked out of some weekly wizarding ad. His suit fit him to a tee showcasing his muscled broad shoulders and firm chest. The black button shirt only served to make him look thinner with a smaller waistline. And his fitted pants made his legs seem to stretch for miles.

Coughing, Rowan says, "If you're going to wear cologne go for something like pine or citrus. You're trying to appeal to your masculinity, but you don't want to smell as if you work in some kind of workshop. If you don't have anything, mint leaves will do in a pinch."

Without glancing at Hagrid, Rowan waves her wand as the first two buttons on his shirt come loose. "You're a rugged man of the forest, Hagrid. Use that to your advantage. A tie or a tight collar will never fit you well, but this is much more your style. If Madam Maxima isn't drooling after you by the end of the night, there's something wrong with her," Rowan said as she hands over the red handkerchief.

"Now stick that into your front pocket and if you do decide to button your jacket only the middle button. If not leave it loose, it'll look better on you," Rowan briskly ordered.

Hagrid neatly places the crimson silk handkerchief into his front pocket immediately creating a sharp contrast. "I can' ever repay ya," Hagrid beamed as Rowan held up her hand to stop him from giving her another bone-crushing hug.

"Just come to the Great Hall tonight looking like that," Rowan said as she cast two more spells on him. It was to keep the dirt and dog hair off of him for the next 24 hours. The spell would wear off after that but should last anything that was thrown at him.

Waving goodbye Rowan escaped as the heat in her ears was slowly creeping into her face. Fanning herself with her hand she smirked as she passed Madam Maxima's carriage. Madam Maxima had no idea that a missile by the name of Hagrid was coming for her. If not, well, who knows, Rowan did have a thing for older men.

And on a side note, she really did have to remember to send her grandfather a letter. If she wanted things to end differently for Hagrid, she'd need Silvia's father, Stephen Flint's aid. With a firm purpose in mind, Rowan hurried back to the Slytherin quarters, she had an important letter to write.