Ron Weasley had gotten quite accustomed to doing battle with a mass of conflicting emotions. The months that had followed Voldemort's defeat had been some of the best of his short life, but they had been peppered with some of the most painful.
His relationship with Hermione was the source of most of his happiness. After so many years of knowing in the darkest parts of his mind that she could never love him the way he loved her, he was somedays still overwhelmed to think that he had been, thankfully, so spectacularly wrong.
Even through the wild, grief-filled aftermath of the Battle, she had been with him; amazing him with her strength and the strength of her love for him. He had been thankful when their trip to Australia gave him the chance to be there for her in the same way.
Her return to Hogwarts had been so much harder than he had even prepared himself for it to be. They had both been unable to predict the hole that would be left vacant in their respective lives. By throwing themselves into other obligations: Auror training and helping George for him, NEWTS and head girl duties for her, they had been able to survive, what they hoped was, the worst part.
Through all the challenges that they had faced, despite the impossible odds that they would even live, he and Hermione were alive, and even better, THEY were THEY. And now, Christmas holiday was only a few short days away.
But again, Ron was left in a swirl of contradictory feelings. The thought of seeing her, holding her, being with her again, made his whole being pulse with excitement. It had been three weeks since they had been able to meet, and to say that he missed her was an understatement of epic proportions.
The problem was, it was Christmas. Christmas. He tried desperately to not let himself tumble down a dangerous slope. The fact that this was the first Christmas without Fred was bad enough, but there was something else.
Last Christmas…he tried not to think about it, but he still carried the guilt of his absence. In fact, when he got right down to it, he had cocked up Hermione's Christmas on multiple occasions. Sixth year still made him cringe, especially when he thought about how she had given up vacation with her parents in fifth year to be with his family after his father had been attacked. And the Yule Ball…best not to even get started on that.
He had to make it up to her this year! This was their first Christmas as a proper couple, and he wanted to make it special for her. He just wasn't sure how. At least he had a few extra galleons this year; he had been saving every knut he earned from helping George. He had gotten her a nice gift, but it still didn't feel like enough. He needed a way to show her just how much she meant to him.
He decided that the best thing to do was try and get some sleep. It surely would not make Hermione happy for him to be exhausted when she came home. No, he would definitely need to be well rested. That thought, at least, made him smile. Having her back beside him, in his arms…he literally ached just thinking about it. Eventually, he did drift off into some very pleasant dreams.
Hermione Granger was a total wreck. She could not stand still, much less truly concentrate on her duties. She had held it together as well as she could during the past week; she had thrown herself entirely into her course work, trying desperately to remind herself that she had only a short time to wait. Today, however, she had reached her breaking point.
She had known that this year at Hogwart's would be difficult; she had tried to prepare herself, but her preparations had been woefully inadequate. Everything she did, everywhere she went, she was reminded of Ron's absence.
And now, only a few scant hours stood between her and her heart's desire. Every piece of her willpower was being exercised to keep her from apparating directly to King's Cross Station. However, Hermione knew she had to make sure that all the younger students made it home safely; she had to put her own needs aside for a little while longer.
She did not think she had ever looked forward to any Christmas more than this one. Of course there were a few complications: her parents seemed to be fine with her wanting to spend so much time with Ron, but she wanted to make sure that she did not make them feel left out. Mrs. Weasley had helped by inviting her parents to the Burrow, but Fred's absence was sure to make the celebration difficult this year.
Well, at least it would be better than last year. The thought made her shiver. So much had changed in a year. Then she had been convinced that she would never see Ron again, or if she did, that he would never feel the same way she did.
Suddenly she had a very clear, yet horrible thought. She really hoped Ron was not thinking about last Christmas, or the one before that either. She sighed deeply, knowing he probably was, and knowing that she would make it her mission to reassure him that none of that mattered to her anymore.
The Burrow was a happy wasteland of ripped wrapping paper and ribbons. Every belly ached from laughter and fantastic feasting. Tears had been shed, but they were like a warm rain tempered by the bright sunshine of fond memories and amusing stories.
Ron pulled Hermione closer and bent down to whisper in her ear. She nodded at his invitation to join him outside. A few minutes later, they met in the backyard, bundled up and bearing gifts. He took her gloved hand and led them toward his father's shed, but instead of going inside, he turned and looked down into her confused face.
"Trust me?"
"Of course."
When Ron pulled her closer, Hermione felt the familiar sensation of apparating. When they landed, it took her a few moments to realize where they were. The sound of the waves crashing below and the soft lights of Shell Cottage told her their destination; however, she was still perplexed seeing that Bill and Fleur were back at the Burrow.
"Needed a little privacy?" She asked, venturing the only explanation she could think of.
"Well, yeah, but I'll explain more in a minute." He took a deep breath, and she could tell that he was nervous for some reason. Wanting to calm his nerves, Hermione decided to give him his gift first. She placed the small box into his hand.
"Happy Christmas, Ron."
"Want me to open first?"
"Yes."
"Alright." He made quick work of the wrappings, and Hermione couldn't help but chuckle at the boyish exuberance that Christmas gifts brought out in him.
Ron opened the carved wooden box and pulled out what looked like a gold pocket watch.
"Hermione, it's beautiful…it's too much."
"Wait, open it."
Inside he found that there was no watch face, but a mirror on one side and an inscription on the other: Ron, You are the best of my past, present, and future. All my love, Hermione
"It's like the one Sirius gave Harry. I have one like it, so we can see each other whenever we want."
"That's bloody brilliant!"
"And here," she pointed to the part that looked like a watch dial, "If you turn it, you can enlarge the mirror; push down the button to return it to normal."
He pulled her into a crushing hug, "This is perfect! This will make next term much easier. I love you, Mione."
"I love you too."
They shared a sweet kiss before he pulled away.
"My turn."
He handed her the neatly wrapped gift; truth be told, he had spent almost as much time wrapping it as he had picking out what was nestled inside. Before she could loosen the ribbon, he spoke again.
"Before you open it, I need to say something…" his voice shook a little as he looked searchingly in her eyes.
"Sure. Ron, are you alright? Look, if…"
"I'm great! But it really is part of the gift and the reason I brought you here." He took a deep breath; she nodded for him to continue. "You see, this place is important to me. You might not even realize it, but last Christmas…"
"Really Ron, that is completely in the past and I don't want you to…"
"No! I need to tell you this! It's important!"
"Ok."
"Right. Well, I stood right here last Christmas, out of my mind with worry and guilt and regret. Then I made a very solemn promise. I promised that if I could just get back to you, that I would never leave you again. Even if that meant I had to watch you be happy with someone else. And then, that miraculous blue light led me back to you." He motioned for her to open the package. Inside she found a silver bracelet with three round charms.
"Ron, it's amazing!" He placed on her outstretched wrist.
"That's the first charm, there" He pointed to a softly glowing blue orb. "The next one," it was a small glass ball filled with what looked like sand, "when I landed with you in arms here on the sand that day, I made my second promise: I promised that I would spend the rest of my life keeping you safe."
"Ron…" her voice choked with tears, but he continued.
"Now, this is my third promise." The third charm was round as well, but made of crystal, faceted like a diamond. "I promise that I will always love you, and I will do everything I can to make sure you never doubt it."
For one of the few times in her short life, Hermione Granger was at a complete loss for words. The bracelet was stunning, but his words were what really filled her heart. She knew Ron well enough to know that he never made promises lightly; the fact that he had shared these vulnerable thoughts with her was almost overwhelming. Several moments passed, and she could tell that Ron was waiting for her to say something.
"Silence is the perfectest herald of joy. I were but little happy if I could say how much."
"What?"
"Sorry, it's from Shakespeare, a play he wrote; it means I'm so happy that there aren't even words to say how much."
"Wow, that bloke is pretty smart. You like it then?"
"Ron, it's perfect…you're perfect…I truly cannot even explain how much…" She reached up, threading her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck, and brought him down into a passionate kiss. His enthusiastic response left her panting when they finally parted.
"Was that from Shakespeare too?" She couldn't help but laugh at his lop-sided grin.
"Yes. It actually was. 'Speak…or if you cannot, stop his mouth with a kiss and let not him speak neither'"
"That's it, you've sold me! He's a bloody genius. You'll have to tutor me."
"Well, as much as I fully endorse expanding your Muggle literary expertise, now is not the time."
"Oh really? What did you have in mind? Before you answer, I'll just add that Bill offered the cottage to us for a couple more hours."
With that, Hermione decided that there had been more than enough talking for one evening; Ron wholeheartedly agreed.
