chap16pg2

On Friday afternoon, the students were busily getting ready for the ball. Ron was putting on his new navy-blue robes, which complemented his fiery orange hair perfectly. Harry was looking at himself in a full-length mirror.
�You�re robes are too short, dear,� the mirror said lazily. Harry looked at the hems of his robes, noticing that they really were a few inches too short. After pulling out his wand, he performed a simple lengthening charm, and his green robes stretched down to his feet again. Harry sighed in relief. It was simple things like this that made him extremely glad he was a wizard. He looked back in the mirror again, and saw that his robes looked fine. However, his hair was in dire need of a fix. He began play around with the jet-black locks, pushing it to different sides of his head, but nothing was working.
�You�re just making it worse,� the mirror said, tsk-ing at him. Harry looked at himself, exasperated, but continued to fiddle with with his hair. Seamus Finnegan saw him, and started laughing.
�Having a little trouble there, are you Harry?� he chuckled. Harry nodded, finally giving up on trying to make his hair look normal. Seamus took a blue bottle out of his cabinet and tossed it to Harry. �Try this,� he said.
Harry caught the bottle and looked at the label. �Mitchell�s Hair Miracle� it was called. �Gives you the best style possible for your hair.� Harry shrugged and squeezed some of the white cream onto his palms. After smearing the cream over his palms, he rubbed it into his hair, covering it completely. He looked in the mirror, and saw that his hair looked even worse than before. In fact, it even looked like it was moving.
�Seamus, is this some sort of joke? This cream works like rubbish!� he said impatiently, still looking into the mirror. Seamus sighed with irritation.
�Read the directions, genius,� he suggested sarcastically. Harry turned the bottle over and read the back.
Directions for use: Coat entire head in cream and wait until it tingles. Comb through and enjoy results!
�Oh,� Harry said. He walked over to his cabinet and pulled out his comb. He stepped back over to the mirror, and waited to feel the tingling. Suddenly, his whole scalp felt as though it was vibrating, and Harry instantly ran the comb through his hair. After combing through his hair several times, he peered into the mirror again.
He had never seen his hair look so great before. Instead of sticking up in odd directions like it usually did, it was flat in the back, flipping up in the front. It wasn�t dry looking anymore, but very shiny and healthy looking. He ran his fingers though his hair, and felt that it was very soft and clean feeling. He couldn�t help but smile, wondering what Cho would think, seeing him looking so cool.
�Wow, Seamus, this stuff really works!� Harry said excitedly.
�No, you think?� Seamus laughed. Harry smiled at himself in the mirror. His plan was going perfectly. There was no way Cho could resist him, seeing him looking like this.
After dressing and cleaning up, the Gryffindor boys headed down towards the Great Hall. Hermione had asked Harry to wait for her near the entrance, so he let Ron go ahead to his meeting spot for Lavender. Harry anxiously looked around for Cho, not wanting to miss her. He waited a few minutes, and then saw Cho walking down the hall, holding the hand of the boy that Harry saw at the Three Broomsticks. Cho waved when she saw Harry waiting there. Harry waved back as she walked over to him.
�Hey Harry!� she said cheerfully. She was wearing a bright red, sleeveless robe. Harry noticed that it was very low-cut, but he tried to avert his stare to her face.
�You look� nice tonight, Cho,� he said cautiously, looking at her strong-looking boyfriend. However, to Harry�s great surprise, the guy didn�t look jealous or angry at all. In fact he smiled at him.
�Harry, nice to meet you! My name�s Shane Wilson� I think we�ve played Quidditch together before,� he said, extending his hand. Harry took it briefly. �I�m one of the chasers on Ravenclaw,� he explained.
�That�s cool,� Harry said, trying not to sound too disinterested. He saw Cho give him a once over, which made him a little nervous.
�Well, Shane, we should probably be going inside,� Cho said. Shane nodded, and turned to Harry.
�Well, it was nice meeting you, Harry,� he said politely.
�Same here,� Harry said. �I guess I�ll see you guys later?�
�Sure,� Cho said, walking into the Great Hall. �Bye!�
�See ya�,� Harry said, watching them walk through the doors. He turned to the stream of oncoming students, all dressed very nicely. He restlessly waited for Hermione to arrive. What�s taking her so long, he asked himself. Suddenly, his question was answered as he saw her walking towards him.