Distracted (before chapter 25)

"Ron, you need to get dressed, they'll be here soon."

Ron wandered into the bedroom, still wearing his pajama bottoms and an old t-shirt at half past noon. "Relax, there's plenty of time."

Hermione was fluttering around the room, picking up laundry and putting it into the clothes hamper. Her parents were coming to visit the new flat at one o'clock and she wanted everything just right, which meant she was in a tizzy. You'd think the Minister of Magic himself was coming over. Of course, he still came round the Burrow from time to time for dinner, so that wasn't as big a deal as you'd think.

She stood at the wardrobe looking through her clothes, her back to him. "Did you clean out Pig's cage like I asked?"

"Mm hmm."

Hermione picked out a top, then changed her mind and put it back before selecting another. "What about clearing off the dining table?"

"Mm hmm."

"You cleared… Ron, are you listening to me?" She had turned to face him and found his attention on lower parts of her anatomy.

"Mm humm."

"You're not even listening to me!"

"Huh? What?" He stuttered as his eyes found hers.

Hermione puffed out an exasperated sigh, hands on her hips, "Ron, I need you to pay attention, this is important to me."

At last, Ron's brain caught up with the conversation. "What do you expect?" He gestured to her body. "Standing there in naught but your bra and knickers, how am I supposed to think clearly?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, but then her lips quirked and cheeks tinged pink. "Yes, well, I still need you to help tidy up." Shaking her head, Hermione walked into the bathroom.

"So, I'm not in trouble?" Ron called after her.

"Provided you've done the things I've asked, no."

He nodded his head in a satisfied way before going back to clear off the dining table. "I'll take it."


A/N: a little something that popped into my head whilst working on the next AUF chapter. This is just a little tide-me-over until chapter 25 is finished; also this lets you know I'm still alive and working on AUF.

Story beta'd by Microsoft Word. Ron and Hermione belong to all of us; J.K. Rowling is the only one allowed to profit from it (we won't count Warner Bros or Universal or Bloomsbury, or Scholastic...)