"Harry! Ginny!" Hermione excitedly leaped toward them through the doorway as they opened the door to their flat, wrapping an arm around each of them, hugging them tightly and not letting go. "Happy Christmas!"

"If you three are done now, I wouldn't mind getting out of this blizzard. You know, at your earliest convenience, but maybe before we open presents tomorrow morning?"

Hermione quickly turned around with a smile and flushed pink for a moment when she saw Ron standing there, holding bags of Christmas gifts and getting completely snow covered.

"Sorry, I just can't wait to see their new flat!" She said excitedly.

Much to Ron's relief, he and Hermione were finally let inside. The recently married Harry and Ginny had just moved into their flat a few weeks before Christmas, and, as Aurors and professional Quidditch players are not typically loaded with free time, didn't get a chance to decorate or unpack very much. Among the unpacked boxes though they did manage to hang some garland and holly here and there, and there was a large, half-decorated Christmas tree in the corner by the fireplace.

"I really like what you've done with the place. Very cozy." Ron grinned as he set down the gifts.

"I'm glad you like it. We constantly strive for your approval, Ron." Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother before nudging Harry in the side.

"Oh, right… Do you guys want something to drink?" Harry asked politely.

"Just some tea." Hermione replied.

"Firewhiskey for me, thanks." Ron said as he hung up his coat and brushed the snow out of his hair.

Harry went to get them their drinks while the other three got settled in and sat in the living room. Hermione sat down across from Ginny, who watched curiously as Ron sat down on the opposite end of the couch from her. Hermione noticed her friend's quizzical look and quickly shuffled to the other end to be next to her boyfriend, taking his hand in hers. Ginny watched as Hermione interlaced her fingers with Ron's and noticed that, still, there were no rings on either of their hands.

Ginny's thoughts wandered some, thinking about their relationship as Hermione filled her in on life in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. They had been together for several years now, since the end of the war like her and Harry. She wondered if things were going as well as they made it seem, or if things were perfectly fine and they didn't want to get married at all, which was the total opposite of what she and her brother had talked about in the past. She knew for a fact that Ron wanted a wife, kids, and the big family, but it was never something that Hermione brought up to her. These thoughts left her as Harry returned with their drinks and sat next to her, the conversation quickly turning to Ginny's latest Quidditch match.

Christmas together became their tradition since the end of the war. At the very least it was always the four of them, but other friends and family would sometimes pop in here and there over the years. It was this time last year when they last saw Neville. Once he decided he wanted to train to become Hogwarts' next Herbology professor and things between he and Hannah Abbott got serious they saw less of him than they liked, but still stayed in touch by owl. This year it would just be the four of them, except for much of the evening it felt more like it was just the three of them. No matter how much Hermione, or anyone, tried to get Ron more involved in the conversation, he rarely got out more than a few words at a time, even with the help of the Firewhiskey.

Several hours after dinner, where they all ate and drank way too much, and stayed up well past midnight, Hermione found herself in the kitchen in her slippers and a heavy fleece robe, the room dimly lit by two small blue flames that she charmed to follow just behind and above her.

"You've always had a knack for the Bluebell charm."

"Harry!" Hermione jumped, almost hitting her head on the cupboard door. "You scared me…"

"Sorry… You couldn't sleep either?"

She shook her head and pulled out some leftover dessert grabbing a fork for each of them. She handed it to Harry and sat at the counter.

"Are you too excited for presents in the morning?" He asked with a grin, but when he noticed she barely acknowledged him, he knew what it really was. He had noticed the near-absence of his best friend earlier in the evening. "Is it Ron?"

She sat in silence for a moment, picking at the cake before her, only occasionally bringing a tiny morsel to her mouth. She looked at Harry with worried eyes and nodded.

"I…" She started, but couldn't find the right words, and instead took another bite of cake.

"Did you guys have a fight or something before you came over?"

"No, but that's what worries me." She saw the confused look on his face and continued. "We don't fight anymore. At all. About anything." She sighed and looked down and began picking at her food again. "I know that it sounds mad, but I miss having a row with him every once in a while about the stupidest, little things..." She smiled softly before it faded again. "But now… It almost feels like he's going through the motions."

"Maybe he's finally learned to accept that you're just right about everything."

"If only…" She managed a small laugh. "It's not just that though. He's not sleeping well. He spends all night on the roof of my building just…" Her restrained frustration showed as she stabbed at the next bit of cake a little harder than she needed to. "I don't even know what he's doing! At first, I went with him, thinking he was being romantic, but it was almost like I wasn't even there. I would stay with him as long as I could manage before I got too cold or it was too late. But he would just stay there, laying on the roof for hours, well after I've fallen asleep. I asked him why, once, but he changed the topic and..."

She took a moment to calm herself down again. She was happy to finally vent about this to someone, but at the same time she was so frustrated she could barely contain herself. They were silent for a moment before Harry spoke.

"He did say something to me," Harry began. "maybe a few months ago, and I really didn't think much of it at the time..."

"What was it?" He now had her full attention. She sat upright in her chair, reminiscent of her days at Hogwarts during any lesson.

"Well, I think he's… bored?" He saw she was expecting more of an answer and tried to explain himself. "I mean, that's oversimplifying it a bit, but he asked me if I missed any of it. If I missed the war or when we were at Hogwarts and in constant danger."

"Well, what did you tell him?" Hermione replied, rather impatiently.

"I told him he has to be mad to miss all of that… Well, I didn't know he might have actually been serious!" He quickly added in his own defense after seeing the look on Hermione's face. "I mean, why would anyone miss any of that?"

"Well, it's not the most bizarre thing to miss…" Hermione slumped in her chair a little. "I kind of missed it for a bit. I just mean that it was hard readjusting. We spent seven years having anything but a normal childhood. It was hard to move on, and maybe… I mean, it's been a few years now, but maybe Ron never did? Maybe that's why he didn't want to go work at the shop with George?"

"Yeah, maybe…"

They continued talking until the last of the cake was gone before they both decided to go back to bed for what little time there was before the sun would come up. Harry slid into bed completely unnoticed, thanks to Ginny's innate ability to sleep like a knocked out troll. Hermione slipped into bed beside Ron, getting as close as she could to him before placing an arm over his chest. He woke up easily, so she coaxed him into falling asleep again by gently stroking his hair. Hermione stayed awake the rest of the night, thinking about what Harry had told her until she heard Ginny running down the hallway to start opening presents.