A/N: Please remember to leave a comment if you liked it and to leave quietly if you didn't :)

Prompt: One character adjusting the other's jewelry/neck tie/etc. [Bill and Fleur's wedding day - DH]

Surprising

Hermione smoothed down the skirt of her dress, hanging from Ginny's wardrobe, for one last time before wrapping her dressing gown tighter around her and grabbing a small bag with her shampoo, conditioner and other items. Not one to leave things at chance, Mrs. Weasley had organized everything down to the order in which each person would be taking a shower that morning: Fleur had been first, followed by Bill, and the men went next so that they wouldn't get in the way later on. It was Hermione's turn to shower now; afterwards, she would have fifteen extra minutes to do her hair and make-up before handing the bathroom over to the next person in line.

Hermione appreciated Mrs. Weasley's planning. This was supposed to be a wonderful day for the family and a last opportunity for leisure and relax for Harry, Ron and her in Merlin knew how long. Having a schedule to go by and someone who would ensure it was respected helped reduce Hermione's stress levels—which wasn't to say she was entirely stress-free. Before putting on her dress, she would have to check her handbag just in case she needed to sneak anything else from Ron and Harry's trunks. She had managed to hide her fears from everyone else so far—she really didn't want to ruin this day with fear-mongering—but she thought it was too much of a large gathering to be kept secret. She couldn't tell Harry and Ron, so she had to be prepared for the three of them, just in case worst came to worst.

She rounded the corner to the bathroom at a brisk pace so as not to waste precious time, and bounced back as she collided into Ron. They looked up at the same time and found the other: Ron was freshly showered, his hair already drying, and wearing an elegant set of dark blue dress robes. He looked more handsome and grown-up than Hermione had ever seen him, and she felt self-conscious as she stood there with her bed hair and her pyjama trousers coming out of her dressing gown.

'Is the bathroom free?' she asked, just to break the silence—she already knew it was supposed to be.

Ron looked over his shoulder, clueless. 'Uh, yeah, I think?'

Hermione nodded. He was standing in her way, so she couldn't continue to her destination until he moved, but the sudden appearance of him looking like that had left her a little flustered.

'Are those the dress robes Fred and George got you?'

'Yeah.'

'They're nice. I mean—it's—um, it's a good colour,' she spluttered. 'Isn't it?'

'I guess. As long as they were new, I didn't care much for what colour they were,' Ron said, and she could see the moment he regretted his words when his ears turned red. Hermione would have wanted to tell him it wouldn't have mattered to her if he'd showed up in his second-hand robes from fourth year, but she knew it would have mattered to him . 'Unless they were maroon!'

Hermione laughed along with him feebly. Her eyes fell to the collar of his robes, which were upturned on one side.

'Here, let me...' she said. Tucking her vanity case under one arm, she walked up to Ron and reached out to fix his collar. Her eyes were on the work at hand, but she felt Ron stiffen at the unexpected proximity.

Something had changed between them after last year. They were friends again and, as far as friendship went, it was all back to normal. But underneath it, there was an undercurrent of something else that had already been there before Lavender for a whole year, and that now was only getting stronger.

'There,' Hermione said, stepping back.

Ron's whole face was flushed now as he looked at her. There was nervousness there, but it was clear to Hermione now—it wasn't because she scared him, or because he didn't want anything to do with her and didn't know how to tell her. It was because he wanted to be this close, too, closer even, but neither of them wanted to risk a misstep that would set them years back.

'Thanks,' Ron mumbled. Suddenly remembering that she had a schedule to stick to, Hermione jumped.

'I have to go—your mum—see you!' she managed to say, rushing past him without looking back.

They would have the rest of the day to be awkward around each other... and, hopefully, once she had her dress, hair and make-up on, she would be able to surprise Ron, too.