A/N: Hello! This is my first fanfiction ever so hopefully it's not that dreadful! This is going to be a seven or eight part missing moment/thought type fic with some "Almost" moments in Ron and Hermione's relationship. I will certainly be keeping as close to cannon as strictly possible.
So, here is the first part from Ron's point of view during the trio's first year at Hogwarts. Enjoy!

Almost

"....almost, sort of glad..."

He was never the emotional sort.

From a household of seven children, there wasn't really the time to be. Mrs Weasley would be too busy bustling around the house picking up wayward socks; Mr Weasley would dash out the door, a piece of charred toast held in his mouth and would topple as he haphazardly apparated to work.

Bill, as the oldest, was head of the pack. He took little Ron under his wing and imparted upon him all his worldly wisdom from his long and hard fought fifteen years on the planet. Bill bestowed upon Ron the secrets of being a fantastically successful wizard and his rules were four-fold.

"Okay, listen carefully," Bill said as they both sat, cross-legged in the Weasley's sitting room, "I'm only going to say this once."

The five year old, Ron gazed up at his older brother, eyes alight with admiration. Bill clapped his hands together and started; "Right. Rule number one: Whatever Fred and George say – do the opposite." Ron nodded fervently. "Number two: if there's no blood, you're fine." The younger Weasley gazed at the purple bruise on his leg mournfully then stiffened with resolve.

Bill continued, "Number three: there is a family tradition that each sibling must give one of their own Christmas presents to the eldest sibling of the family. That is to say, each Christmas without fail, you owe me one present." He paused, "And it's not allowed to be the jersey either!" Ron's brow furrowed. "And finally, rule number four, most important of all – do not trust girls. They are our natural enemy!"

"But what about Ginny?" Ron exclaimed. "She's a girl isn't she? You like her!"

Bill grunted and rolled his eyes. "She's our sister, Ron," he said reminiscent of the tone he used when explaining to Ron the precise use of toilet paper. "Completely different. Trust me, you're better off without them. They're just.... they're girls."

Ron cocked his head to the side, surveying his older brother with the quizzical nature that a five year olds possess.

Sighing, Bill sought to comfort him, "Have I ever put you wrong before, Ron?"

"No..."

"Okay then. Right little bro', I'm off to meet with Cecilia."

"Hey! That's kind of a girly name!" Ron shouted in an accusatory tone, complete with finger point.

"It's okay, I know what I'm doing. You, however need practice." Bill said, as he picked up his jacket from a nearby table and swept it over his shoulder.

At the same moment Fred's voice sounded out from down the hallway, calling, "Oh Ronnie! We have a little present for you!"

George echoed, "Yeah! Come here and get it!" This was followed by two identical, quiet, but albeit utterly insane laughs.

Bill gave Ron a knowing look, "What did I tell you?"

It had been six years since since Ron had learned "The Four Commandments" and was yet to break them. Bill had since grown up, grown a ponytail and moved out of the Burrow – all to Mrs Wealsey's dismay – but Ron still thought about his brother all the time.

In fact, despite all the day's excitement – traveling on the Hogwarts Express, meeting Harry Potter, befriending Harry Potter, nearly turning Scabbers yellow, not breaking a hundred year tradition and being sorted into Gryffindor – Ron found himself thinking about Bill.

Indeed, he had employed one of his rules today, this being the "don't trust Fred and George" one. The twins thought it would be hilariously amusing to tell Ron that in order to be sorted, he had to perform some sort of waltz with his pet rat. Needless to say, Ron was not thrilled to hear this but before he began to panic too much and practice his 'two-step', he recalled rule number one.

But this was not why Ron was thinking of his older brother. No, you see, today he met a young witch by the name of Hermione Granger. She had the teeth of a beaver and Ron likened her hair to that of someone who had just stuck a knife into his fathers 'toaster' - whatever that thing was. She barged into their compartment acting like a ridiculous swot – who was she to tell him his spell was rubbish? What would she know about magic that he didn't?

Honestly, something about that girl irritated the bowtruckles out of him but yet, he found himself drawn her. He clapped loudly as she was sorted into Gryffindor and was almost, sort of glad when he realised that they were in the same house.

Ron couldn't understand it.
She was a girl, and according to Bill, should be hated on principle. Add to that the fact that she was exactly the sort of person he would usually hate regardless of gender. And the fact that she seemed to be a bossy know-it-all.

This was very odd.

As he bade goodnight to Harry and yanked the curtains shut around his bed, Ron decided that tomorrow he would go and locate the owlery and send an urgent message to Bill, asking for his opinion on the matter. This comforted him greatly, Bill would know what to do and he wouldn't ridicule him for asking.

With this thought, Ron drifted off into a sleep which was oddly filled with strange dreams in which he had to tango with a beaver...

So there's the first part! I hope you enjoyed it and would love to hear what you think - what parts you liked, what needs improving.... I'm still learning the ropes!
Thank you so much for reading!