I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: This is for Season IV of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Finals Round 1.

Team & Position: Caerphilly Catapults, Chaser 1.

Base Prompt: OTP Chaining, Player 5. Ron/Hermione; an example of personification AND a metaphor.

Optional Prompt: #02. (word) hazelnut

Optional Prompt: #08. (song) 'Jingle Bell Rock'

Optional Prompt: #11. (setting) a Muggle café

I have decided to use a common fanon set of names for Hermione's parents: Daniel (Dan) and Emma Granger.

The sounds of the café were nearly overwhelming to Ronald Weasley. There was unfamiliar, upbeat music playing; numerous tables with people crowded around, chatting away; and, over it all, an incessant tapping noise, which was slowly driving him mental.

After another thirty seconds of being subjected to the sound of that tapping, Ron was nearly ready to burst. However, before he could say anything, he felt a hand on his thigh and a voice whispered to him, "Calm down, Ron. It will be okay, it's just my parents. You've met them before." The voice of his girlfriend, Hermione Granger, did manage to calm him somewhat, and the hand on his leg forced him to recognize that the tapping sound was being caused by his own leg bouncing up and down in nervous agitation.

Ron took a deep breath to steady himself before he whispered back, "Yes, but this time I'm not just meeting them as your friend from school, I'm meeting them as your boyfriend. What if they don't like me?"

"They'll like you fine, Ron," Hermione said with a hint of exasperation. "You'll be a part of the family, just like your mother has made me a part of yours."

Not wanting to start an argument in the middle of a Muggle café, while waiting on her parents, Ron kept his mouth shut and looked back up at the clock on the wall. It was looking down at him, mocking him, counting down the minutes ever more slowly in order to draw out the tension and agitation he was feeling. While staring at the clock, waiting for his certain demise, he heard the tapping from before start up again. A soft sigh from Hermione was the only response.

"Remind me again why we had to get here so early?" Ron asked, the tension from the wait causing a sharpness to his question.

"We needed to get an out-of-the-way table where we could discreetly cast some privacy charms. Us getting here early ensured that we could get the best table and cast everything before my parents arrived," Hermione explained with a strained patience. "Now please try to calm down. They will be here in a minute."

Ron looked back at the clock, and sure enough, there was only one minute left until their scheduled meeting time. He nervously ran a hand through his hair and realized that he had just messed it up. He nervously started trying to brush it down with his fingers as the final minute ticked off the clock. As if that were a signal, a jingle sounded and an icy chill from the December air found its way to their table and raked its fingers down his spine. Ron's eyes were drawn to the entryway where he saw Hermione's parents.

While he had met the pair before when shopping in Diagon Alley, he had remembered Mr. Granger being much larger, a great tree towering over him. Now Ron could see that he was taller than the older man. Mr. Granger led his wife through the café, a knight leading his queen, to Ron and Hermione's table. Ron remained seated while Hermione stood up to greet them both with hugs before she returned to her seat beside her boyfriend. Mrs. Granger was helped out of her coat and into her seat by her husband, sitting directly across from Ron. Mr. Granger then sat down across from Hermione.

With everyone seated, Hermione began the formal introductions. "Mum, Dad, this is my boyfriend, Ronald Weasley. Ron, these are my parents, Doctors Daniel and Emma Granger." Ron reached out and shook each of their hands.

They hadn't been seated long before the waiter stopped by their table to collect their order.

"So, just to confirm, one hazelnut cream latte and tea for three," the waiter said. "Did you want to order anything for brunch, or any biscuits to go with the tea?"

"Biscuits would be nice, thanks," Hermione said.

The silence after the waiter's departure weighed heavily on Ron. Hermione's parents were staring at him, making him fidget in his seat. A nervous gulp and large dose of Gryffindor courage were all that stopped his foot from tapping from the pressure—or maybe it was the paralyzing fear. Ron couldn't remember being so afraid since the Battle of Hogwarts.

Before the stares had melted him into a puddle of goo, a new song came on the radio. Ron noticed Hermione shift, and when he glanced at her, she seemed to be lost in listening to the music. A quick glance back at her parents showed both of them with small smiles on their faces, enjoying seeing Hermione's contentment in the song. Listening in, he heard multiple mentions of some strange jingling rock and some lines about taking a sleigh ride and going dancing.

A look of understanding crossed his face as he quickly dug out a spare bit of parchment and a quill—Auror training had drilled home the need to always have writing utensils available. He then furiously wrote down the lyrics. With how much Hermione enjoyed the song, he was sure that he could make a great date out of the idea. The song was not very long and the music continued onto something about a drunk reindeer. He finished his notes, and, still looking down, he asked, "What was the name of that song?"

The silence from the Grangers, as well as the renewed feeling of being stared at, caused Ron to look up from the parchment. All three were staring at him. Hermione still had her smile in place, but her parents were now looking confused.

"What?" Ron asked. At the older Granger's continued confusion, he continued, "I don't hear much Muggle music. I liked the song so I took some notes. If you can give me the name of the song so that I can find it again, I would appreciate it."

Mr. Granger finally broke the silence at the table by answering. "The song is titled Jingle Bell Rock."

"Thanks, Mr. Granger," Ron said, writing the song's name on the parchment with a brief flourish. As he put the parchment and quill away, another question crossed his mind. "Though, I was confused about one thing with the song that I hope you could clear up for me…."

"What's that?" Mr. Granger asked.

"What exactly is a jingle-bell rock? I think I get the jingle bell part, but why would you turn it into a rock? Similarly, why would you use said rock to 'rock the night away?' I feel like I'm missing something. Wouldn't those rocks hurt the horse's feet?"

Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked at each other before they started laughing. Knowing that they were laughing at him, Ron's face began to heat up. Before he had an outburst, Hermione took the initiative to explain it to him. "The rock isn't a physical object, Ron. In this case, rock is a style of music. If I'm not mistaken, the song Jingle Bell Rock was one of the first rock Christmas songs. In the case of 'rock the night away,' it could be considered listening or dancing to rock music."

Mollified by her explanation, Ron tried to start a conversation. "So, you all seemed to like that song, what other types of music do you all like?" He was pleased that he was able to successfully start a light-hearted discussion that continued until their drinks arrived. The discussion paused while the waiter served them their order, and his departure once again left a weighty silence at the table.

"Well, now that we've got our tea," Mrs. Granger said while pointedly looking at Ron's latte, "I think it is time to talk about more serious subjects."

"Oh, come now, Mother. Do you really need to do this?" Hermione asked.

"Of course we do, Hermione," Mr. Granger replied. "As your parents, we need to be sure that you aren't being bewitched or boondoggled by this young man." Mr. Granger turned to look directly into Ron's eyes. "So, Mr. Weasley, what are your intentions with our daughter?"

"Well, first off, please call me Ron." He waited for a moment, allowing time for either of the two to offer him use of their first name. After the moment had stretched to an uncomfortable level, he blurted out, "I love Hermione." Realizing that this wasn't making a great impression, he took a deep breath to try to calm himself down and continued more slowly. "I love Hermione and she makes me really happy."

Hermione interrupted with a whisper. "You make me happy too, Ron."

He reached out and took hold of Hermione's hand. "I feel that she is the one for me, and I can see us getting married at some point in the future. While we have had some ups and downs, I wouldn't trade anything for what we have."

While Hermione was giving him a smile, her mother was looking at him with an icy glare.

"Yes, you have had some downs, haven't you?" Mrs. Granger asked. "Do you know how many tear-stained letters we received from Hermione? How many of those tears were caused by you?" Ron gulped but was unable to reply as Mrs. Granger kept going. "Let's talk about some of those, shall we? Back in your first year at Hogwarts, you caused her to cry, skip class, and get attacked by a troll."

"I was eleven!" Ron objected while Hermione's grip on his hand tightened. "We went to save her from the troll and I later apologized."

Mrs. Granger's wintery gaze intensified, freezing Ron to his chair. "In your third year, you shunned my daughter—your friend—for weeks, over a broom. A broom!"

The added chill in her voice bit into Ron and sent a shiver down his spine. He tried to interject, "It was a Firebolt—"

"Just because she was thinking of her friend's safety with a believed murderer on the loose. One who could have sent the broom. And she was right." Mrs. Granger bit off the last word. Ron could feel his face heating up. He had mostly forgotten about the incident. "Then, in fourth year—"

"Mother!" Hermione said in an attempt to ease the situation.

"No, Hermione. This needs to be said. In fourth year, you caused a scene at Hermione's first school dance, once again causing her to cry and ruining the evening. Sixth year, you intentionally make out with another girl to intentionally hurt Hermione. Finally, in what would have been your seventh year, you left Hermione—your friends—just before Christmas, causing untold anguish. You were one of the two people most important to her, and you left her in the middle of a war!" Mrs. Granger exclaimed as she slammed a hand down on the table.

By this point, Mr. Granger had an arm wrapped around his wife. His hand rubbed her shoulder, attempting to soothe her anger. Mrs. Granger bowed her head to look at the table as she leaned into her husband's embrace. Ron and Hermione were tightly gripping each other's hands. Ron drew strength from the fact that Hermione was still sitting next to him and not trying to get away.

"You left, Mr. Weasley, at a time when my daughter needed you. At a time when both of your friends needed you. A time when we, her parents, were not around to provide her the comfort she needed against your actions." Mrs. Granger looked back at Ron with a tear running down her cheek. "With all of that, Mr. Weasley, how can we trust that you won't leave or hurt our daughter again?"

With her diatribe finished, Ron dropped his head. The shame and embarrassment of having these events brought up were overwhelming. He was sure that his face was beet red at this point, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. He attempted to draw courage through Hermione's hand, her thumb making small circles on the back of his hand in an attempt to provide comfort. Before he could gather enough courage, though, Mr. Granger broke the silence.

"I'm gonna be honest with you, Ron. Hermione is our brilliant, beautiful daughter. There is nobody out there that Emma and I will ever feel is good enough for her," he said. When Hermione looked like she was going to interrupt, he held up his hand. "Luckily for you, it's not up to us. It's up to her, and more than anything, we want Hermione to be happy. So long as you make her happy, we will try to support you."

Mr. Granger looked around at the people sitting at the table. "Well, tensions are running high here, so I think that it's best if we go. Everyone could use some time to cool off."

He slid out of his chair and helped his wife to her feet. As he was helping her into her jacket, Ron finally got the courage he needed, stood up, and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Granger. I don't know what the future will bring, but while I made the mistakes you listed out, I have also learned from them. We may—who am I kidding—we will fight. But I can promise you all," he turned to look specifically at Hermione, "I promise you, Hermione, that I will never leave you like that again."

Hermione had tears in her eyes as she nodded at him, before standing up and wrapping him in a hug. The two shared a moment before she walked over to her parents to give them both hugs before they left. As she was hugging her father, Mr. Granger asked, "So, we'll see you both in a couple weeks for Christmas?"

"Yes, Dad." As she hugged her mother, Ron heard Hermione softly say, "I love you, Mum." Ron couldn't make out Mrs. Granger's murmured response before Hermione stepped back and around the table.

Mr. Granger shrugged into his own coat and was about to escort his wife from the café when he paused and said, "Oh, and Ron…." He waited until Ron met his eyes. "Please feel free to call me Dan." The two elder Grangers left the café, leaving a stunned redhead behind them.

Ron collapsed into his chair and let out a long sigh. "Well, that could've gone better."

"I'm sorry that I didn't say much during my mother's rant," Hermione apologized as she sat back down. "I realized that this was something that had been bothering the both of them, and they needed to get it off their chests."

Ron gave a weak chuckle. "I get it, Hermione, I do. You've met my mum." This brought small smiles to both of their faces. While things were not great with her parents right now, Ron was sure that he would eventually be able to win them over through his actions.

The two sat in comfortable silence finishing their drinks, each lost in their own thoughts, the tray of biscuits forgotten. A couple minutes later, Hermione leaned into Ron and he wrapped an arm around her, unconsciously mirroring the scene set by her parents.