There was a small pop at the other end, and he was too scared to open his eyes.

'See! I told you'd be brilliant!' It was Hermione's voice. Ron immediately glanced up and saw that he was in front of the Post Office. Hermione was standing there, grinning at him.

'I did it?' he questioned her, before feeling down his body and realizing that he had all of his limbs. 'I did it!' he repeated with excitement.

'You did it!' she confirmed, rushing to him. To his surprise, she gave him a hug, throwing her arms around his neck. He responded gratefully, laughing at the knowledge that he'd made it to her safe and sound.

'Well done, Mr. Weasley,' Twycroft told him as they sprang apart, Hermione still giving him a wide grin. 'We'll just give you a quick once over.'

Twycroft started from the back, but Ron didn't care. He'd apparated! He'd done it! Hermione was here, alone, and proud of him! Matching her excited smile, he knew they must have looked like fools.

'Oh I can't wait to celebrate!' she told him. 'It's just such a shame Harry couldn't be here.'

Ah right, Harry. Ron hadn't really given him much thought. Hopefully things were going okay back down in the dungeon.

'Yes, I always find a Butterbeer to be a delectable congratulatory beverage,' Twycroft beamed at Hermione as he made his way to Ron's front. 'And now it seems that you two can go join some cohorts to cheers to your…oh.'

Twycroft was frowning as he looked up at Ron's face. Ron immediately went red.

'I'm so sorry, Mr. Weasley, but I'm afraid I can't let you pass.'

Ron felt his hands go numb. He had to pass! He was here! He made it!

'What?' Hermione asked incredulously.

'It appears you've left part of your right eyebrow behind.'

Ron's hand flew to his face, searching. Sure enough, he was definitely uneven in the eyebrow department.

He swore internally.

'You'll be able to take the test again this summer, but I cannot grant you a certificate at the moment because of this unfortunate splinching.' Ron hadn't felt this low since his very first Quidditch match. What would his family say? Half a bloody eyebrow. He hung his head down, unable to even look at Hermione's face.

'But hang on,' she said suddenly. Ron could tell from the tone in her voice that she was in full fight mode, which surprised him. 'Article 18 dash 2 subsection 1 in Magical Transportation Laws of Great Britain clearly states that a loss of any body part in an apparition state may only be considered splinching if it occurs to more than 7% of the person's body. Ron's only lost half an eyebrow, and he's well over 6 feet tall. That is decidedly less than 7% of his mass. As such I think he absolutely does qualify for his license.'

Ron looked up at her, in shock. Professor Twycroft was doing the same thing. Twycroft blinked a few times before opening his mouth to reply.

'Yes, but it was then amended in Article 22 saying that the 7% rule should not apply in situations where the attemptee has a proven track record of poor apparition skills,' Twycroft argued back. 'And in this case, I'm afraid Mr. Weasley has not quite reached the threshold where I would feel comfortable granting the license.'

'How can he have a track record? This is his first test!'Hermione argued vehemently.

'Miss Granger, we also have to take into account Mr. Weasley's performance in practice during this situation.'

'And in practice, he has never lost any body part! This is unique!'

'I recognize that, but unfortunately the decision stands. You may retake the test this summer,' he told Ron, who was still staring transfixed at Hermione.

'But-'

'It's fine, Hermione,' Ron said quietly, wanting to remove himself from the situation as quickly as possible. 'It's not a big deal.' She turned to face him, looking as though she was ready to keep fighting. But her face softened as she looked at him.

Professor Twycroft had turned away, ready to mark Blaise who was after Ron.

'Let's get out of here,' he said quietly, not wanting to face Zabini at the moment. Hermione nodded and they began to walk down the main thoroughfare.

'Where do you want to go?' Ron asked her, glumly. He had shoved his hands in his pockets and was trying desperately not to think about the letter he would now have to send to his mother. Fred and George would definitely be taking the mickey out of him the next time he saw them.

'Actually,' Hermione said slowly, looking at him from the corner of her eye. 'I need to run and pick something up.'

Ron raised an eyebrow at her.

'It's my Mum's birthday in a couple of weeks,' Hermione explained. 'I put a wand holder on hold at Schilkies.' Ron had often walked by the store in his visits to Hogsmeade, but had never entered the establishment.

'Your Mum doesn't have a wand,' Ron pointed out.

'No, but she does have dental tools, and this would fit them perfectly. Do you want to come?' Ron shrugged. He knew he wanted to stay with her, but it was tough to think about being chipper right now.

'Have you ever been inside Schilkies?' Hermione asked as she led the way down the street. Ron shook his head. 'Stephen is…well he's always been very nice to me.'

'Oh?'

'He even made my Dress Robes for the Yule Ball,' Hermione said matter of factly. Ron set his jaw. If anything was bound to make him feel worse, it was the reminder that he had to watch Hermione dance with Krum that night. Was that the night they kissed? He bet Viktor had no trouble apparating.

'Here we are!' Hermione said brightly, and Ron could tell she was trying to be chipper for his sake. The door had a stupid little bell on it which didn't help Ron's mood at all.

'Hello!' Hermione called out as they stepped into the store. From the back, a short man with dark hair and bright brown eyes popped out.

'Hermione!' The man called out to her. He bounced along the hallway towards them, wearing lurid red and purple robes. 'Hello my darling,' he continued as he came up to her. Once he reached Hermione, he surprised Ron by placing two kisses on both of her cheeks. 'I've been waiting for you.' The man gave Hermione an admonishing glance. 'I thought you'd forgotten all about me!'

'It's nice to see you Stephen,' Hermione told him happily. 'This is Ron.' Ron gave a nod as he took in Stephen.

'Oh,' Stephen's eyebrows rose high on his forehead. 'This is Ron?' Ron did not like the way the other man was appraising him.

'Be nice,' Hermione told the shopkeeper with a little laugh. 'He's kind enough to come with me today. Did you get my owl order?'

'Ah yes!' Stephen said, tearing his eyes away from Ron to look at Hermione. 'The wand holder! Come, come, tell me what you think.' He jauntily grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her with him towards the counter, speaking very quickly.

Ron was left alone at the front of the shop, a bit bewildered. He was certain he had never stepped foot in this storefront before. Although looking around, it wasn't surprising. It definitely catered towards witches. He could see brightly coloured robes and some beautiful hats. On a mannequin was the starry one Fred and George had gotten Mum for Christmas. Had he not followed Hermione in here, he never would have known that she liked this store. If only he'd come in here for her gifts over the years. Likely it would have been easier than guessing what she might like and Owl ordering it for her.

He walked over to a set of robes that reminded him of the ones Hermione wore to the Yule Ball. They were made of the same floaty fabric, although these ones were in a deep purple, rather than the blue he remembered Hermione wearing. In hindsight, it was probably better that she hadn't gone with Ron to the ball. He would have looked like a complete schmuck next to her. The material was cool underneath his fingers as he reached out to touch it. Was it the same when Viktor held her? He grimaced at the thought and dropped his hand.

'Pretty, huh?' Stephen had snuck up behind him, causing Ron to jump.

'Oh er,' Ron spluttered, not knowing quite what to say. 'Yeah.'

'Would you like to see my latest collection?' Stephen asked, his head cocked to the side. There was a small smirk playing on the man's lips underneath a thin mustache. Ron looked back to the counter to see Hermione engrossed in wand holders.

'Sure?' Ron responded, feeling decidedly unsure about what might happen next.

'Brilliant,' Stephen beckoned Ron to follow and moved towards the back of the store with a flourish. Ron trailed behind him, a bit bemused.

'Now, I'm sure you know all about these,' Stephen said as they moved through the store. 'She inspired me a bit when we were looking at them back in November.' Ron had absolutely no idea what on earth this man was talking about, but Stephen was acting like they were old confidants. 'It was great to keep growing this line.'

Ron just nodded, unsure what to say.

Stephen pulled back a velvet curtain and ushered Ron into a small side room. It was more dimly lit than the rest of the store, and Ron took a moment to adjust to the lighting. When his eyes did, he was shocked.

'So, what do you think of these?' Stephen asked, clapping his hands together.

In front of Ron on a series of mannequins were ladies' undergarments. But not just undergarments, but ones that were more reminiscent of the kinds worn by witches Ron had seen in the magazines Fred and George had hidden under their beds than the plainer ones he had quick glimpses of with Lavender. He felt his eyes grow wide. The one directly in front of him was a pale pink colour, with just a whisper of lace covering the most secretive regions and netting around the rest.

Not only did his cheeks and ears turn red, but it felt like his whole body did too.

'Cheeky, eh?' Stephen said, wiggling his eyebrows, evidently oblivious to Ron's embarassment. 'Now this one here, I bet you've gotten good use out of.' Stephen led him around the corner with a wink, towards a set that was marginally more substantial. It was black, full lace, but with a little jewel in the centre, and more coverage down below. Ron was still so taken aback that he couldn't really appreciate the craftsmanship that had gone into the pieces.

'Nice,' he managed to croak out, seeing Stephen's eyes on him.

Stephen beamed. 'Why thank you! You can give some credit to Hermione. I would have never designed this pair in black if she hadn't suggested it.'

Ron made a strangled cry at the back of his throat. The idea of Hermione suggesting something like that about this made him feel things in places he really didn't want to at the moment.

'Right?' Stephen said, incorrectly interpreting Ron's noise as agreement. 'Of course, as pretty as the black is, I think you can agree that the Robin's Egg blue set she chose for that party last December fits so beautifully against her skin.'

Ron started to feel faint. The image of these knickers on Hermione's skin was too much for him to take at the moment. Had she been wearing these underneath that pink dress? The one that hugged her body so tightly that it felt like Ron couldn't breathe?

Ron couldn't respond, but Stephen beamed at him nonetheless, reaching forward to adjust the bow that sat atop the panties.

'Stephen?' Hermione called from beyond the curtain. 'Where did you go?'

'In here, darling!' Stephen called out, giving Ron another wink. 'Just giving him a bit of a show.'

'A show?' Hermione replied tone confused. The sound of her footsteps were rapidly approaching and Ron had absolutely no idea what to do when she came across them. With a flourish, Hermione opened the curtain that separated the men from the rest of the store. 'What are you-'

She gave a squeak as she saw where Stephen and Ron were. Ron couldn't bring himself to look at her in the eye.

'Stephen!' she hissed as she seemed to take in Ron's bright red face.

'What?' The shopkeeper said, surprised by her reaction. 'The last time we spoke, you said-'

But Hermione gave another squeak, and reached forward to pull Ron out of the room. He allowed himself to be led.

'Would you mind waiting for me outside?' Hermione asked Ron as she marched him through the store, her cheeks bright red. Her voice was nearly an octave higher than it usually was. Ron nodded numbly and left the shop with its tinkling doorbell. The air outside was cool against his burning face. He felt shell-shocked from what had just occurred.

It wasn't like he'd never thought about Hermione in her…well, like that. But he supposed it was just like the way she normally dressed-practical, comfortable and clean. Nothing like what he'd just seen. Bloody hell. This was going to change a lot of…

The Patil twins walked by, clearly on their way to the Hogs Head to join in the party. At the sight of Parvati, Ron suddenly remembered Lavender with a horrible jolt. Oh Merlin. She would go mental if she found out that Ron had just inadvertently seen Hermione's knickers.

Then that thought made him remember what he'd just seen, and he put his hands to his face and groaned in frustration. The bell tinkled again and Hermione stepped out, her cheeks still pink.

Ron tried to look at her, but found he couldn't. What exactly was he supposed to say after that?

'I'm so sorry,' Hermione blurted out first.

Ron gaped at her. 'Why are you sorry? I'm the one who should be saying sorry!'

'Why would you say sorry?'

'Because I just…er….well, he showed me…those…er,' Charming, Ron really, he thought to himself as his ears turned red.

Hermione was shaking her head violently. 'No, I'm sorry! Stephen had no right to tease you like that. He just always gets so…animated and takes things too far.' She blew out her breath with a loud sigh. 'I haven't had a chance to speak with him since he made me the dress for the party and…'

This filled Ron with a horrible feeling. When exactly had she picked up the dress? Because even though he had originally been slated to go with her, she took McLaggen. Had she chosen that bra for that git? She must have. Because the only other option was that she'd chosen it for him, which made no sense. She'd asked Ron to the party out of pity-why on earth would she have chosen undergarments like that for a friend?

Well, just when he thought he couldn't feel any lower than he already did, his ego deflated even further.

'Let's just pretend it didn't happen,' he said tersely. Hermione gave a grateful nod and they stepped into the street.

'Do you still want to get a butterbeer?' she asked him, tentatively. In fact, Ron wanted very much to leave this whole mess of a day behind and just get back to the castle.

But he looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and saw that she was giving him a hopeful expression. Almost as if she actually wanted to get a butterbeer with him.

'Sure,' he told her, before he had a chance to think of a good excuse not to. Hermione gave him a wide smile and led the way down the street towards the Three Broomsticks, Ron following in her wake.