cleverness | you will see your beauty every moment that you rise

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you will see your beauty every moment that you rise

Hermione feels her chest tighten from the moment she steps into the dress shop. There are soft colors surrounding her on all sides, a mixture of white and faint pastels, in such quantities that Hermione can't even imagine how she'll ever be able to find the right dress in time. For years, she's dreamed about what her wedding day might look like, and even if Hermione doesn't have the extensive notes that others her age might, there's an excitement that thrums just under her skin as she hurries into the shop.

She's invited some of her friends to join her — anyone who has a couple hours and the patience to spare. Even though Hermione knows that the wedding will be perfect simply because of the man who will be standing at the end of the aisle, she wants all of the other details to fall in place. Having more eyes and opinions will only make her feel more secure in her skin.

"Do you know what style of dress you're looking for, dear?" the shopkeeper asks her, a sweet woman with a heart-shaped face and delicate brunette curls.

Hermione parts her lips, on the cusp of deferring to her judgment entirely, but a moment later, she nods. "I think I'd like a long dress," she admits, feeling her cheeks flush. "White, perhaps with a hint of lace."

Half an hour later, Hermione stands back up on the stool in front of the tri-panel mirror, turning around slowly and feeling the weight of the skirt.

"What about this dress?" she asks, brushing errant curls of hair out of the way as she spreads the skirt, feeling the fabric against her palm.

[ help hermione pick between dress one, two, three, four. ]

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"I think I had the benefit of watching... well," Hermione offers a bit of an apologetic look. While Kate seems perfectly happy with her fiance and has clearly moved on from Harry, the mention of him might still be a little awkward. "Watching one of my best friends get married first. Harry and Ginny were pretty eager to get to the altar. I think the war was sobering for all of us."

Hermione's lips quirk at the corner. In a way, Hermione's glad that she and Ron have a bit of distance between those tumultuous times and their wedding now. What's transpired doesn't have to be what colors their ceremony the most.

"And it's been wonderful for the two of them, so it makes it a little easier to imagine myself in that same position. I guess. It's still definitely strange, being the one in the dress, but that doesn't change the fact that we know it's the right step."

It doesn't surprise Kate even a little that Harry and Ginny have ended up married and she smiles faintly, thinking of the time she'd spent with both of them on the island. While she would never have really said she and Ginny were friends, neither of them had gone out of their way to be a dick to the other, and they'd managed to have fairly easy conversations, despite the situation.

"I kinda always figured it would end up that way," she admits. Harry wouldn't have wanted her in the long term and Kate is okay with that.

Shaking herself out of her memories, Kate grins at Hermione and says, "So try on another one, I want a fashion show. I'm pretty sure that's what I'm here for. Unless you don't want opinions. I saw this show once called like, Say Yes to the Dress or something like that. It was some dumb reality show, but these women always brought like, a thousand friends and their mother and their groom's mother to the fitting and everything always got super complicated with that many opinions flying around."

There's no easy way to respond to Kate's remark, even though in her heart of hearts, Hermione thinks that Harry and Ginny were as much meant for each other as she and Ron are. If anything, sometimes Hermione wonders if the draw was even stronger between the two of them. They were drawn to each other even across years, and their interests were always aligned. Hermione doesn't necessarily believe in the idea of soulmates, but she knows when she sees a strong connection.

And, having seen the way Kate speaks of Newt, she thinks that life may have turned out for the best for everyone involved.

"You are definitely here to help me put on a show, yes," Hermione agrees, laughing as she makes her way over to the rack and picks up the next hanger on the rod. The mermaid shape is an immediate draw, and Hermione likes the softly feminine look of the gown. "I could never subject myself to the scrutiny of so many people, though. And the groom's mother, really? I love my mother-in-law, but if she were here, I'm... pretty sure I would still rather search for my gown without her. Otherwise I would worry too much about appeasing her wants instead of my own, you know?"

She steps into the dressing room, pulling the curtain mostly shut, leaving enough of a gap for sound to pass through.

"Yeah, exactly," Kate says, though the way Newt talks about his family, his uncle in particular, she still kind of likes the idea of them being here. She's not sure she'd want them all trying to give her their opinions on whatever dress she ends up deciding to wear, but she's fairly strong willed and doesn't have much of a problem shutting people down when it becomes necessary. She's actually pretty sure Hermione would be more than capable of that, too, except she'd probably be a little nicer about it than Kate can ever manage to be.

"Are you ready?" she ask after a moment. "Do you need me to zip you up?" Even though she has no intention of buying a traditional gown for herself, she can't deny that this is kind of exciting. She's never imagined herself to be the type of person who gets excited over gowns and flowers and stuff like that, but it's nice. It makes her feel good.

Sliding the curtain open a little, enough for Kate to slip through, Hermione nods bashfully. She could probably manage the zipper by stretching a bit more, or with the help of her wand, but Hermione doesn't want to risk damaging the dress at all. Each one that she tries on could be it, could be the one, and she treats them delicately as a result.

"If you could?" Hermione asks, glancing over her shoulder with a smile. "I promise I won't force you to stay if I end up trying everything in the store."

"Are you kidding?" Kate asks, raising her eyebrows as she places her hand against Hermione's back and gently draws up the zipper. "If you even try to get rid of me before you've tried on at least half a dozen more I will be seriously offended. Fashion is the one thing I love more than Newt and my dog. And my friends. And a lot of people. So it's the one non-living thing I love the most."

And even though she's not going traditional herself, it's still nice to see the dresses Hermione is trying on. They're seriously gorgeous and Kate steps back to look at her. "Well, this is another wow."

While Hermione's gained a greater appreciation for fashion in recent years, she can't claim nearly the amount of interest that Kate expresses now. Rather than a lack of interest, Hermione finds herself mostly hindered by second-guessing. It's hard to make any sort of objective statement about fashion when so much of it is about helping people express themselves more fully.

Or at least, that's what Hermione believes until her gaze falls upon her reflection in the mirror.

"I'm afraid I may be on the cusp of offending you, then," she murmurs, one hand raising to rest over her mouth. "Kate, I think this might be the one."

Kate thinks about arguing with her, telling her that she should try on a bunch more, but the truth is that Hermione looks absolutely gorgeous in the dress she's just put on. It fits her perfectly and it flatters her shape and the shade of white is gorgeous against her skin and Kate has to just throw up both her hands in mock defeat.

"You look ridiculously beautiful in it," she says with a smile, crouching briefly to arrange the hem properly around Hermione's feet. She knows there's a sales person to do that for her, but it's second nature now, she does it every single day at work that it's just what she does. Besides, she's here to help, the sales person can get lost.

Hermione doesn't lower her hand just yet. Faintly, she's aware of Kate crouching down to fix the hem, she knows that she should tell Kate not to trouble herself, that Kate's here to give her opinion rather than be on the clock. But she can't bring herself to just yet, because she's still staring at her reflection in the mirror, and it feels right. There are other dresses that have looked beautiful, and there are more still on the rack that Hermione could try for the sake of covering her bases, but she looks in the mirror and sees herself, and she can't help but think that this is it. This is what she wants.

"Oh, wow," she says instead, finally dropping her hand to her chest, where she can feel her heartbeat pounding. "Kate, thank you, I — I can't even explain it. This one just feels like the one. I can see myself walking down the aisle in this, feeling like myself." Laughing, she fans her face, willing herself not to cry all over the dress. "This is happening. By the end of the month, I'll be married."

It's so interesting to her, planning her own wedding around this time, seeing the different reactions Hermione is having. Kate doesn't like to cry, she doesn't cry over very many things and she doesn't expect to cry over her dress, but she still can't help but smile at how emotional Hermione is. She's just so happy that Kate feels happy for her and she knows her own reaction will be very different, but that's okay. There's nothing that tells either of them how they have to react and all that matters is that they're happy.

"You will be," she agrees, fixing the back of the dress carefully once more before she steps to the side. "So are you going to let Ron see you in it before the day or are you going to do the whole secret reveal thing?"

Glancing over to look down the back of her dress, Hermione can't contain the flush that rises faintly on her cheeks, the contentment that she feels while in the dress. It's a little bit frivolous, she has to admit. She wants to purchase the dress rather than rent it, wants to have it in her closet to revisit at a moment's notice. Wants to save it so that if she ever has a daughter, her daughter can at least play pretend with the dress, and imagine what her own wedding could look like someday.

"I think I might do a secret reveal. I could Transfigure the dress, too, making it look slightly different just in case he peeks, though I don't think he will," Hermione murmurs, tilting her head in contemplation. "If he were pickier about fashion, I would probably want to show him the dress first. But he isn't, really. So I would rather save that special moment for the ceremony."

Kate's given it some thought and she doesn't think she'll do the same. She wants Newt's opinion on the dress she gets, she wants him to see her before it's all formal and official and see what he thinks, mostly because she's kind of convinced he might cry if he just sees her on the day and if he cries, she's definitely going to cry. And she gets it, weddings make people cry, but she's not really a big fan of crying at the best of times, never mind on her wedding day when she's supposed to be all pretty.

"Is he gonna cry when he sees you, you think?" she asks with a grin. "Are you gonna cry if he does? Is it gonna be a big waterworks fest?" She's teasing, her smile making that apparent, but at the same time she's entirely genuine.

"You know, I'm not sure," Hermione says, smiling as she runs her fingers lightly over the fabric of the dress. She's pretty sure that this is the one, and it just feels right in comparison to everything else she's tried. She can picture herself getting married in this, she can see it as something that complements her appearance, rather than overwhelming it. She grins to herself, chin dipping slightly as she tries to imagine how Ron might react.

"He's not actually much of a crier compared to me. I've been tearing up every step along the way. We're rather different that way. He tends to feel most of his anxiety before something happens, whereas I tend to get caught up in the moment," she muses. "I might cry even if he doesn't. Though I haven't managed to find a spell yet which would stop my makeup from running."

"You don't need magic for that, you just need to buy the expensive shit," Kate says with a laugh. "Totally worth it, by the way, some of that stuff won't budge even if you take pounds of makeup remover to it." She doesn't indulge in makeup as often as she does in clothes, but she knows her way around the store anyway and she has more than a small collection of makeup that isn't exactly what one might call cheap.

"I can help you with that," she offers. "Trust me, I've got that stuff down pat." It's not that she cries a lot -- in fact, she almost never cries -- but she's just done a lot of research and she's tried a lot of different products. She just considers it part of the job for some reason, even though the Dressing Room doesn't even sell makeup. She's just had a lot of people ask for her opinion and she feels like she should be educated enough to give one.

Plus, she just really likes makeup.

"You'll have to show me where to go," Hermione admits, wrinkling her nose sheepishly. Even though she's come a long way in caring for her appearance and finding what type of fashion leaves her the most comfortable, Hermione still hasn't quite learned the ropes of all the new types of makeup that are available in Darrow. It's amazing, she thinks, how much can happen over the course of a few years. Makeup might not be the first area that Hermione looked to for progress, but it's clear that it's an industry that's flourished nonetheless.

"Usually, all I wear to work is a little bit of mascara and lipstick. Which is fine, but... I don't know," she says, smiling softly. "I certainly want to make sure that I look like myself on the big day, but I don't think there's anything wrong with dressing up a little, too. So expensive makeup sounds good. Besides, I'm sure there will be plenty of events and parties where I can continue using whatever we buy."

"Yeah, I don't wear a lot normally either, but sometimes it's fun to really go all out," she says. "And your wedding is like, the perfect excuse. Oh, you know, you can go to all the fancy makeup counters and they'll do makeovers for you so you can test out their products. That could be fun."

Sometimes Kate's a total jerk and does it when she needs to look especially good, then only buys like, the cheapest thing they've used on her so she doesn't feel like a complete asshole. "I could go with you," she says brightly. "We could make a day of it. Then you'll have a better idea of what you like and what you don't, what works on your skin and what doesn't."

"I'm always afraid that sitting through such a makeover will leave me weak to purchasing all of the products. I don't know them well enough to tell when someone's exaggerating or not — but if you're with me, you have to be firm with me, alright?" Hermione asks, unable to suppress a giggle at the thought. Kate's full of such fire that Hermione can easily see the other woman guiding them through the store and pulling Hermione away before they remain trapped at a counter.

"Making a day of it sounds wonderful, though. Ooh, maybe we could even visit a spa shortly beforehand, get some treatments for our skin so that we start the day fresh. Plus, I've been meaning to try and find a nice nail shop around town, find a nice manicure style for the big day."

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you will see your beauty every moment that you rise

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