A/n: I'm so sorry! It's taken me forever to get this chapter uploaded! These past few weeks have been so crazy. I went to New York to visit some family and friends only to be hit with a damn hurricane! We lost power for about three days and it was terrible! After that I flew back to England and started my third year of University and moving in was really hectic and starting classes was a nightmare. My courses this year are going to murder me, I'm sure of it. I already have so much work to do.

Now, I want to apologise in advance for this chapter. Once again, I'm not entirely happy with the way it turned out BUT NEVER FEAR, now that Hermione is going back to Hogwarts after holiday, things with Graham will pick up and the story will start to get interesting again! Right now I fear it's very flat and dull with not much going on but I wanted to spend a few chapters with Hermione on holiday just so we can have some nice Romione moments and have some nice soothing ~free from drama moments~. Thanks again for your patience!

The Fallen

Chapter Eleven


The laughter coming from Shell Cottage could probably be heard from miles away as the Weasley's plus Hermione, Harry, Angelina and Audrey gathered together to celebrate the New Year. Unfortunately, Charlie and Alexandra had to return to Romania to get back to work, much to Mrs. Weasley's dismay. It was clear she wanted her son to move closer to home as she repeatedly dropped hints to him throughout the week. Hermione didn't think he would fold anytime soon.

Hermione watched as Mrs. Weasley, a bit tipsy, sang along to Celestina Warbeck as Fleur watched on with a grimace on her face. Mr. Weasley and Bill were discussing something in the corner of the kitchen while George and Angelia were looking quite comfortable on the couch. Hermione smiled at them and felt a surge of happiness enter her. She was so glad the two of them were finding comfort with each other. Fred meant a great deal to Angelina as well.

Letting out a sigh, Hermione looked around. If she was going to be completely honest, Hermione wasn't entirely thrilled when she found out she would be returning to Shell Cottage. She didn't have many happy memories within these walls. The first thing they did after Apparating onto the cliff side was visit Dobby's grave. Hermione had cried, much like she had on the day they buried him. She didn't want to think about where they would be if it wasn't for Dobby-she would be dead, without a doubt. Would Harry have escaped Malfoy Manor? What about Ron? A chill went down her spine as she thought about the tiny elf with the large eyes and ears and said another silent thank you to him, hoping that it met his ears wherever he was.

"You alright?" asked Ron, coming up beside her. She hadn't seen him much since they arrived. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest. "Hey, what's wrong?" She grinned at the concerned tone in his voice and looked up.

"Nothing," she said. "Just thinking about how much I love you,"

He grinned down at her and kissed the top of her head. "It's almost midnight,"

Looking at her watch, Hermione nodded. "Another thirty minutes."

Ron looked at his family and then back down at her. He suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of champagne. "Want to go for a walk?" he asked. He had a mischievous smile on his face that made her grin and roll her eyes. "Come on, you know you want to."

"It's freezing outside,"

"Are you a witch or not?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye.

She laughed and pulled out her wand, waving it over the two of them. She instantly felt warmth spread throughout her body and held out her hand. "After you, Mr. Weasley."

He smiled down at her and pulled their jumpers off the hooks. "Thank you, Ms. Granger."

"It's so beautiful out here," said Hermione as she sat on cliff side and looked out at the icy water as it crashed onto the shore. "I just wished this place housed nicer memories for us."

Ron sat down beside her and placed an arm around her. "I know, love." He paused and side-eyed her. "It it hard to come back here?"

She shrugged. "A bit." She looked at him and smiled. "Are you going to open that champagne today?"

Ron laughed and nudged her side. "Cheeky."

Hermione watched as Ron popped the cork and took a long sip from the bottle. He handed it to her once he was finished and she did the same.

"Tastes good," she commented once the bottle parted from her lips. Ron leaned over and pressed his lips against hers quickly.

"Yeah, you're right," he said once they parted. He licked his lips and Hermione felt her cheeks turning red. She took another sip and looked out at the water again.

"Are you ready for your logic training?" she asked, handing him the bottle. He drank from it and shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess," he answered. "I still need to look over potions a bit more."

"I can help you before I go back to school,"

Ron shook his head. "I only have three more days with you and we're not spending that time studying."

"Oh no? What else do you have in mind?"

He smirked at her and kissed her again. She felt his tongue lick her bottom lip and she immediately opened her lips and allowed his tongue to slide in and rub against hers. She moaned and moved her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to his body. She felt his arms snake around her waist and before she knew it she was sitting on his lap, her legs wrapping around his middle.

"Oh that," Hermione breathed once they broke apart.

He chuckled and kissed her nose. "Yeah, that."

She sighed and leaned forward, resting her head on his shoulder. She felt his hands playing with her hair and she grinned. "This holiday went by too fast,"

"Don't I know it,"

"Promise you'll come to Hogsmeade sometime? I don't think I can last till Easter holiday till I see you again,"

Ron nodded and held her tighter. "I'll try my best, love."

"It's almost midnight," she whispered, looking at her wrist watch. "Just another five minutes." She lifted her head off his shoulder and looked at his face. "Where do you think we'll be in a year from now?"

Ron arched an eyebrow and tucked a curl behind her ear. "I don't know...I do know that we'll be just like this no matter what or where we are."

Hermione smiled widely. "Maybe you'll be dominating the Auror department."

Ron laughed. "I think that champagne has gone to your head already."

She giggled slightly and took another sip of the drink. "It's not that crazy. You're going to do so well, Ron. I can already tell."

He shook his head. "I won't be as good as Harry,"

Hermione sighed and slid off his lap. She handed him the bottle and faced the waves again.

"Hey what's wrong?" he asked.

She frowned and looked at him, her brow creased in frustration. "I hate it when you do that,"

"Do what?"

"Compare yourself to Harry...think you're beneath him...think that he's better than you." She turned away from him and shook her head.

He chuckled slightly, but his face showed some discomfort. "Hermione, come on."

"No, you come on. When are you going to realize how amazing you are?"

His ears turned red but he remained silent.

"You're perfect Ron, just as you. You don't have to constantly compare yourself to Harry or your brothers," she said, still not looking at him. "You're brilliant and gorgeous and amazing. I can't stand it when you put yourself down. I really can't." She chanced a glance in his direction and saw that he was staring at her with a serious look on his face. "What?" she asked.

"Come here," he whispered, his voice husky. Hermione smirked and leaned forward, pressing her lips against his. He opened his mouth immediately and she slide her tongue in, massaging his against hers in slow movements. She felt his arms lift her and place her on his lap again and his hands were tangling themselves in her hair as his mouth hungrily attacked hers.

"I love you," he said once they broke apart. Hermione nodded and kissed him again.

"I love you too," she whispered against his lips.

"Happy New Year!"

Both of them broke apart and looked towards the house where they heard cheers and clapping.

"Happy new year," Hermione said with a smile. Ron grinned at her and pressed his lips to hers again. She cupped his face with her hands and gently moved her lips against his slowly. Just as they started to deepen the kiss, a loud scream from inside caused them to jump and pull apart quickly.

"What the bloody hell was that?" asked Ron, jumping to his feet and pulling out his wand. "It sounded like Mum."

Hermione quickly stood and pulled out her wand as well. Just then Ginny ran out of the house, a huge smile on her face.

"Percy proposed to Audrey!" she said before running back inside, her long red hair flowing behind her.

Ron sighed and pocketed his wand. Hermione laughed and did the same.

"Let's go congratulate them." She said, taking his hand in hers. "We'll continue this later in your room."

Ron smirked and allowed her to lead him back into his brothers home.


"I guess we'll have another wedding to plan," said Mrs. Weasley in a drowsy voice as she, Mr. Weasley, Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione returned to the Burrow later that night. "I do hope she wants to have it here. We'll have to discuss it with her family, of course, but I don't see why we can't."

Mr. Weasley smirked at his wife and placed a hand on the small of her back. "Let's get to bed dear,"

Mrs. Weasley nodded slowly. "Yes, it is very late. Good night dears,"

"Night mum." Said Ginny, kissing her cheek. She watched her parents climb the stairs and once she heard their door shut she turned around sharply. "Another wedding? Can you believe it? I don't think I have it in me to plan another one! Hopefully Audrey's family want to host it because if we have to go through what we did last summer..."

"Ginny, calm down." Said Hermione with an amused expression. "They just got engaged a few hours ago. I don't think they're thinking about venues yet."

"Percy takes after mum," said Ron. "He'll want to start planning right away."

"Well, I'm exhausted." said Harry, his eyes landing on Ginny for a quick second.

"Yes, as am I. Goodnight," she said quickly before running up the stairs, Harry close behind her. Hermione turned towards Ron and saw that he was staring at the wall, his lips in a tight line.

"Surely you're not upset." said Hermione with a smirk.

"I'm not upset," said Ron. "I just don't like knowing when my best mate is shagging my little sister. I'd rather be left in the dark."

Hermione sighed and walked towards him. She lifted herself up onto her toes and kissed his jaw. "Perhaps I can help distract you," she whispered.

Ron looked down at her and traced her cheekbone with his thumb. "Oh yeah?"

She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yeah," she breathed against his lips before closing the space between them and pressing her lips to his. It started off slow but soon their bodies were pressed together and their lips were moving quickly against each others, sucking and pecking and biting. Hermione took his tongue in her mouth and sucked on it gently, causing him to moan.

"Wait," she said breaking away. "We should go to your room,"

He nodded and took her hand. "Right-right."

They quickly climbed the stairs up towards Ron's attic bedroom and shut the door firmly behind them. Hermione waved her wand at the door and then again at her stomach. Ron nodded and quickly threw clothes off his bed, causing them to land in a messy pile on the floor.

"Honestly Ronald, it's like a tornado swept through here."

He smirked and shrugged. "I'll clean it up later."

Hermione sighed but nodded. She walked towards him, reached out and slowly began unbuttoning his shirt. She lowered it down his shoulders and let it join the other clothes on the floor, smirking at the irony.

"Do I need to fold it, love?" he cheeked.

"Shut up," she whispered, placing her hands on his firm chest. She leaned up and kissed his lower lip lightly before moving her hands down to his jeans and unbuttoning them. Soon he was standing in just his boxers and Hermione didn't try to hide the fact that she was staring at his body.

"Turn around," he said in a husky voice. Hermione obeyed and lifted her hair as she felt Ron's hand travel up her back. He tugged at the zipper of her dress and slowly pulled it down. She felt his breath on the back of her neck and chills went down her spine. His hands moved up her arms and rested on her shoulders as he leaned forward and kissed the nape of her neck before lowering her dress down her arms and letting it pool around her already bare feet. She turned around and smiled at him. He stared at her and shook his head.

"I can't believe you're mine,"

He didn't sound possessive or like he was taking ownership of her, he sounded awed and amazed and it made Hermione blush.

"And you're mine," she said. "All mine,"

He smirked and wrapped his arms around her. "All yours," he said.

Their lips met and moved together slowly. Ron began moving backwards towards his bed, his hands holding her hips firmly. The back of his legs hit his bed and he lowered himself down, pulling Hermione onto his lap.

He flipped them around and lowered her onto his bed softly. He began sucking on her neck and collarbone, causing her to arch her back and grip his shoulders. He trailed kisses down her chest and lowered the straps of her bra, exposing her breasts. He took her left breast in his hand while his mouth sucked on the right, his tongue flicking her hard rosy nipple.

She moaned, her legs hooking themselves around his waist. He squeezed her breasts before detaching his mouth and kissing down her stomach. He reached her knickers and looked up at her.

"Want me to?" he asked, his fingers tracing the elastic. Hermione looked down at him and nodded shyly. He smiled at her and lowered her knickers down.

He kissed down her leg, sucking on her inner thigh. Soon she felt his hot breath on core and her hands immediately tangled themselves in her hair. When his mouth made contact with her she gasped loudly and closed her eyes.

"Oh my god," she moaned. She heard him chuckle slightly and she smirked. "Quiet,"

His sucked on her nerve while his hands reached up and cupped her breasts again, squeezing and fondling them. Hermione had never felt anything like this before in her life. Her hands were pulling at her hair as Ron's tongue licked and his month sucked. She felt one of his hands leave her breast and move down her body before he softly and slowly sank a finger into her. She let out a cry.

"Is this alright?" he asked, his mouth still on her.

"Yes," she said, although it sounded more like gibberish to her own ears. He must have understood her though because his finger began slowly moving in and out of her while his mouth continued to ravish her core.

"You taste so bloody good," he muttered causing Hermione to moan again. He added another finger and began pumping them quickly.

"Oh R-Ron," Hermione moaned. "I'm going to cum," She felt the building pressure and her eyes squeezed shut. "Ron,"

"Cum for me, love." he said. Hermione didn't need to be told twice. She felt his mouth attach itself to her again and she felt the explosion within her. She cried out as a shutter travelled up and down her entire body. "Oh...my...god," she breathed once her organism subsided a bit. She opened her eyes and saw Ron staring at her, his mouth open slightly.

"Have I ever told you you're dead sexy when you lose it?"

She smirked and turned red when she saw Ron licking his fingers clean of her juices.

She lifted her body up and crawled over towards him. "My turn," she said. She reached into his tented boxers and pulled out his muscle. He gasped slightly as her hand moved up and down.

"You don't have to," he said.

"I want to," she answered. "Unless you don't want me to."

He chuckled. "You're joking, right?"

She giggled slightly and kissed him. Once their lips parted, Hermione lowered her mouth and slowly eased down on his hard, pulsing member. She ran her tongue along it, licking the precum off his tip.

"Hermione," he breathed through clenched teeth.

She moaned and began moving her head up and down, closing her lips around him. She heard Ron breathing heavy and moaning her name and it only sparked her encouragement and she continued to suck and lick.

"Hermione," he said, his hands finding her curls. "I'm not going to last much longer,"

Hermione lifted her mouth and looked at him.

"I want to cum inside you," he said, his eyes never leaving hers. Hermione blushed slightly but nodded and leaned back down on the bed. She smiled as Ron hovered above her, grasping his length in his hand, directing it towards her opening.

"You're amazing," he said, looking down at her.

"So are you," she said. They smiled at each other before Ron sunk himself into her. She felt her body shake as he began moving in and out. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her passionately as he continued thrust inside her.

"Fuck," he moaned against her lips. "You're so tight, Hermione."

She wrapped her legs around his waist and ran her nails down his back. She felt the pressure building up in her middle again and she felt the sweat dripping down her forehead. Her entire body felt like it was on fire. "Ron," she moaned. His lips were attached to hers again, his tongue sliding into her mouth instantly and rubbing against hers.

"I'm going to cum," he said against her mouth.

She nodded, feeling her own organism reaching its end. He thrust a few more times before exploding inside her, filling her up. Within seconds he felt her muscles tense around him and a cry escaped her lips. They continued to move together, both riding out their orgasms.

"That was incredible." said Hermione, reaching up and moving Ron's sweaty hair away from his eyes. He grinned down at her and kissed her gently before rolling off and landing on the bed next to her.

"You're always incredible." he said, kissing her shoulder. Hermione grinned and rolled onto her side.

"So are you," She buried her face into his chest and felt his arms circle around her, their sweaty bodies pressed together underneath his thin sheets on his bed. "I don't want this holiday to end,"

He kissed the top of her head and sighed. "Me either, love but we still have three more days and I'll try and find a way to Hogsmeade. I don't plan on celebrating my birthday with you, you know."

She smiled and looked up at him. "I love you." She said before kissing his jaw.

"And I'm so in love with you," he answered, tightening his arms around her. Soon both their breathing evened out and they were asleep.


"Promise you'll look at the notes I made for you,"

Harry laughed and looked at Ron. "Yes, we promise."

"And promise you'll look at the more than once. I worked hard on those."

"Yeah, they're colour coded and everything," laughed Ron.

They were standing on the platform in front of the Hogwarts Express. Mrs. Weasley had trust Harry and Ron to escort Ginny and Hermione to the train, ordering them not to get sidetracked or distracted in any way. She was glaring at Ron as she said this, causing the other three to snicker. They had promised and had kept their word, for the most part.

"And now for the most important promise," said Ginny. "Promise you'll come to Hogsmeade at least once before Easter holiday. And try to come to one of my Quidditch games you prats. We're doing really well this year."

Harry wrapped his arms around her and buried his face into her hair. "That is a definite promise."

"Good," she whispered, her arms going around his neck.

Hermione sighed and looked at Ron. "We should really be getting on the train. It's going to leave any minute."

Ron shook his head and copied Harry by wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist. "I'll miss you," he said.

Hermione felt tears well in her eyes but managed to keep them at bay. "I'll write as soon as I get back,"

Ron nodded. "Yeah and I'll study those notes like a mad man. We'll be the smartest blokes on the team thanks to you,"

The whistle blew loudly and the doors began closing.

"Hurry up guys," yelled Jade out the window of one of the cars.

Ginny quickly kissed Harry and raced off towards the train. Hermione clung onto Ron tighter before leaning back and pressing her lips against his.

"See you," she said once they broke apart.

He grinned. "Yeah, see you."

"Bye Harry!" she said, giving her friend a quick hug.

"Stay safe," he said his voice serious. Hermione pulled away from him, wondering for a brief moment if he knew about her upcoming plans to investigate Graham further. Nevertheless, she nodded and followed Ginny, just managing to get on the scarlet steam engine before it started moving down the tracks. Hermione moved towards the window and waved to Harry and Ron. She remained at the window until the platform was no longer visible.

"Come on," said Ginny, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Luna is in an empty compartment down there. She said she has those books for us."

Hermione nodded and gripped her bag and Crookshankes cage tighter. "Yeah, let's go."

She was very interested to see what the books Luna had brought with her would hold within them, but she was almost reluctant to look at them or even start this whole mission of sorts. She already missed the safety and security of Ron's arms and the warmness of the Burrow. Now she didn't know what Hogwarts and Graham would have in store for her. She was going back to uncertainty and nervousness and it wasn't a welcome transition.

A/N: I plan on updating much sooner with the next chapter. I also want to address one thing: In one of my previous chapters, Hermione says that this was the first Christmas she had spent that the Burrow. Some people had told me that she spent the holiday with the Weasleys fifth year.

Now, I didn't say the Weasley's. Fifth year, they were at Grimmauld Place, not at the Burrow. I just want to make myself clear. Thank you!

xEB.