DISCLAIMER:

Everyone in this story is owned by JKR. Although I did think of this plot. Anyway, no suing.

Unexpected Guest

Five in the morning and it was still dark as night. A rough shaking whisper followed by an extensive shrill of protest broke the silence in the air, and then the portrait hole opened. For seconds, the mumbles of disrespected Fat Lady echoed into the common room, "How rude you ghosts are! Inconsiderate to paintings like me who need some sleep! Even when you can just walk through the bloody wall, still you'd wake me up just for the sake of disturbing my quiet rest!"

As soon as the door shut, a lanky redhead appeared from invisibility when he pulled the familiar cloak off him. "I said I'm sorry." he garbled back, still with the hoarse shaking voice. He smiled in triumph as he looked down on his arm where a package of red, gold, and green greeted his eyes. But he was pale and chilling, and wet from snows that had melted over the cloak. "Blimey, 'tis cold!!" He took his wand from the pocket of his robe and chanted a spell that produced fire on the hearth. The entire room lit up, and he almost jumped as the light revealed two figures watching him across the room, "Bloody hell!" he meant it as a bellow, but his voice failed him as it cracked. Better that way though, since he didn't sneaked surreptitiously out and in the castle just to wake everyone up because of possible ghosts he should have been used to by now.

"Shh…Ron, it's us." And the figures weren't even ghosts at all. It was his sister and his best friend. They walked toward him.

"Ruddy, you sacred the hell out of me! What are you two doing in the dark?!" he asked rather suspiciously.

A soft blush crept to both of his companions' cheeks "Waiting for you." The girl answered maintaining her poise.

"In the dark?" he raised an eyebrow on the boy who was giving him an incredulous look just the same. He beamed. Teasing the two has recently become a hobby to him. "Thanks for the cloak!" he tossed the wet clothing over the dark-haired boy to cut the awkward silence. He waived the present over his head proudly. They smiled. That's it?! A smile?! Just that?! He just BOUGHT the gift, and all he got from them were two wry smiles??

Seeing the confused and thwarted look on his face, Harry decided to speak up. "Ron, Hermione left." He exhaled the last two words in a sigh.

He went silent. Thinking. And elected to believe anything but Harry's statement. "All right, all right. You can't pull a trick on me, Potter. It's too early for jokes and it's less than eighteen hours before Christmas."

"I saw her leave. It was around four o'clock. I woke up because I heard noises and got up to see her packed and all…"

"What are you two up to?" he scoffed a laugh, cutting his sister's narration, but tightened his grip on the present nevertheless.

"And I was awake, you know, waiting for you. I heard Ginny and Hermione talking so I went down." Harry added.

"We tried to stop her, Ron…" Ginny said before her brother could push the idea that they were playing on him.

And Ron stopped her likewise, "Student's are supposed to leave by seven o'clock. Thestrals aren't even readied to bring us to the train station…and there aren't even trains yet!"

"That's what I told her. But she said someone's picking her up. And she wished me and Harry a happy Christmas and handed us those gifts." Ginny pointed at the table where two gifts were indeed lying.

Ron realized they were serious; he was suddenly disheartened "She didn't even leave a gift for me." He muttered under his breath, but the two still caught the words.

"It was last night. She's probably still offended…"

But Ron didn't want to hear his sister's I told you so(s). Though he's not blaming her for anything remembering the number of times she had warned him. "Was it her mom or dad who picked her up?" he queried, suspecting they must have followed Hermione even when she'd protested against it.

"Yes."

"No."

The first voice belonged to Harry while the second to Ginny. Ron frowned.

"I mean, No."

"I mean, Yes."

"Who is it that you don't want me to know?" Ron asked straightly. By the look on his face, he wasn't willing to accept anymore false answers.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other as if discussing with their thoughts. They were making several faces, Ron noticed. Ginny bit her lower lip, Harry was nodding slowly. Ginny shook her head the same pace Harry had nodded. Harry's brows rose so high, Ginny's met atop her nose. Harry's mouth would open, Ginny's eyes would glare. They were only interrupted by the sound of Ron's present thudding on the floor. He dropped it and had his arms crossed over his chest.

"We followed her, yes." Ginny started. She turned to Harry.

"And we were led to the garden…well, the view we had from our seat last night, that's where she headed." He turned to Ginny.

"There was this white carriage and a white stallion…I mean, unicorn." She turned to Harry again, as if passing to him the responsibility of giving away the mysterious person.

Harry sighed, "And there was this man…"

"Who?!" Ron cut him off.

"I don't know." Harry backed away, as if Ron's piercing glare could stab his flesh. "Honestly, I don't. He was completely unfamiliar. He seemed to be the coach of the carriage…and he spoke foreign. Ginny and I think he's a…" he turned to Ginny who glared at him.

"We think he's Bulgarian." She said hesitantly. "But we're not sure."

"I bet you are." Ron said firmly.

"No we're not." Harry tried to argue, but there was a lump on his throat he had to swallow. This, however, seemed to Ron that they were hiding something.

"What did Hermione say? Will she be spending the holidays at Bulgaria with her family and relatives and go skiing, or with Viktor bloody Krum?" he asked in between gritted teeth.

"She didn't actually…" Harry tried reasoning.

"Hermione did. Of course, she would. She had because she's expecting you to tell me. Well, she bloody well knows how it would enrage me to know she'll be with that Bulgarian git. Clever witch, isn't she? Knows bloody well how to make bloody revenge bloody sweet." He picked his present from the floor and stared at it regretfully.

The clock hit six and the sound of the chime echoed throughout Hogwarts. Footsteps were heard from the dormitories as students gone awake and readied themselves for the holiday break.

"Yes, it was Viktor's carriage. He had invited Hermione over Christmas after the battle. Hermione refused his offer then, though. But in spite of that, Viktor told her a carriage would still come, just in case she would have a change of mind." Ginny explained softly, sympathizing with her brother. "I'm sorry, Ron."

"We did try to stop her, mate." They walked toward Ron and patted his shoulders. "I'm sure she wouldn't stay mad for a long time. Just give her time, you know how Hermione is."

"I'm such a failure." Ron complained.

Ginny leaned on his arms, rubbing his back, "No, you're not."

"It's Christmas, what fun would it be if she'd spend it with Viktor Krum? That bloke's no fun!" he grumbled even more.

"Well, in that case, let's expect Hermione back very soon." Harry poked his other shoulder. "While waiting for her, let's savor the holiday without being reminded of homeworks and N.E.W.T.s, and S.P.E.W., and…"

"Let's pack! Bet Mum and Dad will be at King's Cross to pick us up." Ron tried to pull his best grin while nodding with Harry's words. They started to walk back their dormitories. "Ginny," he called back to his sister. "Happy Christmas." And handed her the package he had been holding.

"Thanks Ron, but I would love it if you would give that to the rightful owner." She smiled at him so warmly and Ron decided that he would not spoil the holiday's fun. When Hermione comes back, he would give a late Christmas gift, apologize, and see if he could still confess.

--

The Burrow was full as it always has. All the Weasleys were present; Harry was joining them like what it has been for the past two years. Remus Lupin was required to come as it wasn't close to full moon, Sirius Black who miraculously turned up to be alive during the battle, and even Dobby.

They were about to have their dinner when the doorbell rang. Molly stood up to get the unexpected guest and her shriek ricocheted around the house. Everyone jumped to their feet as they still weren't over the edgy feeling of the war. They ran to where the mistress of the house was and there before the open door, stood a familiar face holding a squared-nosed ginger cat. It hissed in cold and jumped inside the house, curled itself before the heated fireplace.

"Oh dear, what a surprise this is!" Molly greeted the guest with a warm hug and a soft peck on the cheeks; she motioned her twins to help the girl with her luggage while she escorted her inside. The girl took off her bonnet as her brown, bushy hair became more obvious. Her cheeks and nose were pink as she smiled shyly, silently regretted why she ever thought of showing up when her eyes fell on the sixth kid of the family.

"We weren't expecting you." The words slipped Ron's mouth. Wrong words though. Very wrong indeed, as they were not even close to what he thought upon seeing her. He wanted to say he was glad she was there, he wanted to ask why or how she got there. Well, she really was unexpected, but what he meant was We were hoping you'd come, or make that I, because he really was. He had been the whole day.

Hermione backed away with Ron's statement, but Molly pulled her arms affectionately. "Of course we were, dear. You came just in time, we're about to have dinner."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley, and Happy Christmas by the way." They walked back to the table where the feast was waiting.

"I'm glad you came, 'Mione." Harry greeted her and so did the rest. She smiled back and stole a glance over Ron who was quietly chewing his dinner while sporting a pair of red ears.

"You're going to fix things up tonight, the two of you, right?" Ginny nudged Ron.

"All depends on how stubborn she'll be." He watched her as she was bombarded with questions about where her parents are, why she was late, and why she came alone…

"My parents will be coming tomorrow morning, they promised. I only apparated here so they couldn't come with me. And we ran out of floo powder so they also couldn't travel by the fireplace."

Ron's heart swell. True, he and Hermione have not shared a smile yet, or a happy Christmas greeting, nor has she shown the slightest clue that he has a gift to expect from her. But the fact that she's here without a sign of Viktor Krum was, if truth be told, more than enough.

AUTHOR's NOTE:

I'm sorry for having kept you waiting…Been really busy training for my job. There you go, the intriguing unexpected guest! I hope no one got disappointed that it was only Hermione. This is important though for the next chapter. What do you guys think?? Well, don't worry for those who wanted a fight. This is Ron and Hermione in the story, so you should know how it is! And there would be a lot of slip-of-the-tongues there!!! LOL.

Thanks to all those who reviewed the previous chapter. I really appreciate it. Please, please review this one!! You help me challenge myself for the next chapter.