It was the beginning of January and there was still snow on the ground (but was beginning to melt). Inside the Hogwarts Library was Hermione who yawned as she rubbed her tired eyes before turning the page of her book.
"You know normal people would go outside and enjoy the snow while it's still around."
Hermione turned to see her boyfriend smiling at her before giving her a kiss on her forehead.
"Come on let's walk around in Hogsmeade."
Ron softly grabbed the book out of her hands and placed it on the table; he then grabbed her small hands but Hermione stayed seated with a frown on her face, unhappy that her boyfriend took the book from her hands.
"Please? Please Hermione?"
Ron begged her.
"Please come outside and get some fresh air."
Ron gave Hermione his irresistible puppy dog eyes which Hermione couldn't say no to and after a few seconds of begging, she gave in and nodded. Ron cheered at his triumph and pulled her up from her chair and started leading her outside to Hogsmeade, smiling all the way.
As they were walking through melting snow holding hands, they went inside the Three Broomsticks to keep warm. As they were drinking hot chocolate, Hermione got Ron's attention.
"Ron?"
Hermione softly called out making Ron look up and smile at her, causing butterflies in her stomach.
"Thank you for everything."
She whispered softly making Ron's smile grow even bigger before saying,
"I should be thanking you Hermione for making me so happy."
Hermione smiled as well.
"Want to walk back and cuddle in front of the fire?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and couldn't help but smile at her boyfriend's newfound love for cuddling. After agreeing to Ron's question, he paid for their drinks and walked hand in hand back to Hogwarts. On the way back, Ron swore they were being followed so he made sure he was holding her close. Hermione noticed this and whispered,
"What's wrong?"
Ron leaned in to make it appear that he was giving her a kiss on her cheek but then began to speak in her ear in a very low voice.
"I think we're being followed."
She froze in fear at the prospect of being tailed.
"Just stay close to me alright?"
Hermione nodded slightly as Ron held her hand tightly and started to move again. Ron and Hermione turned behind a stone wall corner and hid behind it. When a hooded figure passed by, Ron grabbed the person and threw them against the wall.
"Who are you?"
Ron asked angrily as he pulled down the material that covered the face. It was a woman who was around twenty six, had dark brown eyes filled with fear and dark greenish blue hair. Hermione could see that the woman was shaking in fear of Ron who gave her a stony glare.
"I'll ask again- WHO ARE YOU!"
He shouted making Hermione put her hands on Ron's hands to calm him down.
"Ron please, she's frightened."
Hermione spoke making Ron sigh and nodded as he gave her some space.
"Who are you?"
Hermione asked softly as the woman looked around to see if anyone was watching them.
"My name is Erin Rose Woods...I'm looking for Ronald Bilius Weasley…"
Ron and Hermione stared at her and then at each other. Deciding it was ok to reveal his identity to the stranger, he said,
"I'm Ron Weasley."
The two watched Erin's eyes widen in shock and surprise.
"Why are you looking for me?"
He asked sceptically.
"I was sent by someone..."
She saw that the two wanted to know who that someone was but she cut them off before they could question her.
"I'm sorry but I can't tell you yet...but we will be watching you, all we'll be clear soon."
She looked at Hermione.
"You are very kind."
She started walking away, leaving Ron and Hermione stunned. They then decided to follow her and saw that she had disappeared. They then saw horseshoe prints indented in the show wondering who Erin Rose Woods was.
"We better go."
Ron grabbed Hermione's hand and started walking back to Hogwarts but in his mind was thinking:
'Why are there so many secrets from me; why was that girl following us?'
Trying to shake off these plaguing thoughts, Ron just kept a firm grip on Hermione's hand and continued back towards the castle.
When they returned to Hogwarts, they noticed that the school was practically empty as the others must still have been at Hogsmeade; so, taking advantage of this opportunity, Ron and Hermione decided to make good use of the common room. Ron and Hermione cuddled with each other in front of the fire to keep warm when Hermione broke the silence.
"Ron?"
She said quietly, making Ron look at her instead of the fire.
"Professor Slughorn is throwing a party for us to meet his old students and colleagues and we're allowed to bring a guest and I was wondering if you wanted to go?"
Ron smiled and nodded before giving her a kiss.
"Sure that will be fun but I'm guessing I'll be wearing dress robes right?"
Hermione nodded making Ron sigh as he frowned making Hermione roll her eyes. She then took his chin in her fingers to make him look at her and leaned in and whispered in his ear seductively,
"Personally I think you look good in your dress robes as well as your Red Archer costume."
Ron blushed as Hermione kissed him.
"I love you."
She whispered before lightly biting his ear making him beam with happiness.
"I love you too."
He hugged her tightly and said rather forcefully,
"And I'll never let anything happen to you- that's a promise, love."
Hermione smiled as she sat against his chest and listened to his strong heartbeat. Ron silently slid his hand down to her sides and started tickling her while Hermione squealed in shock and tried to escape Ron but he kept her in place, his eyes filled with amusement as Hermione kept giggling.
"Ron please...hahaha...stop...ha…please…"
She begged through her laughter while Ron stopped and watched her regain her breath. She then smacked him on the arm with a frown on her face.
"RONALD WEASLEY"
She said strictly before getting up and move away from him.
"Ugh, you can be so annoying sometimes!"
Ron shrugged before hugging her and kissing her on the lips. After a few minutes she parted and smacked him again.
"RON I'm mad at you and I can't be mad if you kiss me like that!"
Ron smirked as he leaned inches away from her lips.
"Really so if I keep kissing you, you won't be mad?"
He asked smugly as Hermione folded her arms across her chest and raised one of her eyebrows curiously at Ron.
"Well it's very distracting when you kiss me…"
She said as Ron wrapped his strong arms around her waist and kissed her forehead before kissing her on the lips. But when Ron pulled back, Hermione pouted while Ron only laughed at his girlfriend's cute expression.
"Hermione I have something for you…"
He said as he reached into his pocket and handed her a velvet square box and placed it in her hands.
"Open it."
Hermione looked at Ron and then at the box before slowly opening it to reveal a charm bracelet with three charms. One of the charms had the letters R and H interlocking, the other one had a book that was open and the final one was a small diamond heart.
"May I?"
Hermione nodded tearfully as Ron gently pulled it out and held her left hand and put it on her wrist. She gazed it at lovingly, still with tears in her eyes as he spoke.
"The letter charms represent Ron and Hermione, the book well...you are not Hermione without a book in your hands and the heart is my heart which belongs to you."
Tears were now freely falling down her face as she heard Ron's words.
"I promise to give you more charms that have lots of meanings later."
Hermione just hugged him tightly and whispered softly,
"I love you so much."
With that, the two engaged in a very heated snogging session.
Ron descended down the stairs, wearing his dark blue dress robes but was having a bit of a battle with his tie. When he reached the common room, he saw Hermione wearing a pale pink dress and light make up which took Ron's breath away. He stopped fiddling with his tie and walked over to Hermione and kissed her.
"You look beautiful, love."
When they parted, Hermione giggled at her boyfriend's tie and helped him fix it. When she was finished he said sheepishly,
"Thanks"
He then kissed her softly.
"Come on, let's go."
They then walked hand in hand to Slughorn's party, smiling and laughing at each other's funny comments.
When they got there, Ron looked around the room filled with strangers and people he knew. Ron then spotted Slughorn who he noticed was a short fat, bald man. His waist coat buttons were threatened to burst as he was bragging about his new and old students to his friends.
"Ron...Ronald Weasley?"
Ron turned around to see a tall thin man with black but greying hair at the sides. It was Noah Ericson, Adam's good friend and a top Auror who secretly helped the Red Archers and Black Arrows by sending backups for them. The two shook hands.
"What are you doing here lad?"
He asked Ron, who cleared his throat,
"Hermione invited me here."
Ron nudged his head towards Hermione who was talking to Luna and Harry. Noah smiled and the two started to talk to each other; of course when Horace noticed this interaction, he grabbed the boy who lived and dragged him towards the men to interrupt.
"Noah...I want you to meet one of my prized students, Harry Potter."
Horace introduced Noah to Harry who put his hand out unsure, while Noah shook it slowly as both exchanged pleasantries.
"Now who is this?"
He asked while eying Ron from head to toe making him feel a little uncomfortable.
"Ron Weasley, sir…I'm Hermione Granger's boyfriend."
"Ah, splendid my boy- Good taste in Ms Granger!"
They then shook their hands shortly before Slughorn started talking about how marvellous Harry was to Noah. Ron, seeing his opportunity to escape, walked over to get a drink where he saw Hermione who smiled at him.
"Hey Ron"
The couple shared a quick kiss.
"Did Slughorn talk to you?"
She asked Ron, who started snickering before saying,
"Yeah… for a few seconds before he introduced Harry to Noah; they then started talking about Harry's future and that was that."
Ron shrugged while Hermione frowned at her teacher's ignorance.
"Are you okay?"
She asked Ron knowing that he could be feeling neglected with Harry overshadowing him. Ron nodded as he smiled before hugging her tightly.
"Are you sure?"
She asked while her head was on his strong chest, inhaling his heavenly scent as Ron softly laughed causing a shiver to course through her body.
"I promise I'm fine; besides, I just want to spend time with you. I nearly see Noah almost all the time when Adam invites me to dinner with the others."
Hermione nodded.
"Want to dance?"
He asked making her grin as Ron led her to the dance floor where there was other couples dancing. Ron wrapped his strong arms around her petite waist while she put her slender arms around his neck and they started slow dancing.
"I don't know if I already told you this… but you look beautiful."
Hermione smiled and mouthed thank you before Ron hugged her closer to him, for fear that if he let her go, she would disappear forever. As they were dancing close, Ron had to check his watch; he sighed deeply as Hermione understood.
"You need to go don't you?"
She guessed and Ron nodded.
"When will you be back?"
She asked Ron who breathed out and said,
"Two days...that's it and then I won't be leaving anymore. I just need to check something with Adam and Mark."
Hermione nodded before kissing him on the cheek.
"Goodb-"
He was cut off by Hermione who placed her finger tips on his lips to prevent him from saying the word she didn't want to hear.
"No. I'm afraid that it would be a real goodbye, so please don't say it."
Ron nodded, feeling badly for Hermione who was getting sick of him leaving her and frightened that he wouldn't come back alive. Ron understood this and before hugging her tightly, he whispered in her ear,
"I'll see you soon then."
Hermione nodded as tears welled in her eyes.
"I love you."
She replied by saying I love you back to him. Ron started to move back and blew a kiss to her and disappeared in the crowds making Hermione sigh as she walked sadly towards Harry and Luna.
Ron walked towards Dumbledore's office to speak to his Headmaster about who would disapparate them to HQ to speak about what do about Voldemort and next year and plan ahead. Ron sat next to Dumbledore and Adam, while across from him sat Mark and Noah. These five people were the highest ranking in BARA and they started planning. It was almost midnight and Ron was having trouble keeping awake as were the others.
"Ron, get some sleep and you can go back to Hogwarts tomorrow."
Ron nodded and said his goodnight before finding an empty room and slept peacefully. Once he was gone, Mark spoke,
"When are we going to tell him that he's the one that will kill Voldemort?"
He asked angrily of the others who sighed and shook their heads.
"If we tell him now, he might panic and interrupt his training."
Mark sighed as he ran his hand through his hair.
"Besides it will be quite a shock to him; we can't just go and say 'Ronald, you're the reincarnation of Merlin so you're the most powerful wizard in the world!' We don't have any word from the sages yet- they are the ones who will need to tell Ron. Just let him enjoy this year with Ms Granger and his friends."
Dumbledore spoke making everyone agree.
As all of this conversation was taking place, Ron's sleep was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Come in"
Ron said in a groggy voice as he pulled himself to a sitting position and rubbed his tired eyes and watched the door open to reveal Mark, who was smirking.
"Tired mate?"
Ron rolled his eyes as he stretched his body and put on his shoes as Mark spoke.
"Follow me, there's something you need to do before you leave."
He followed him as he yawned and reached the stables, making Ron confused as to why they were at this particular place.
"I don't understand..."
Ron yawned again before finishing his sentence.
"Why are we here?"
He asked Mark who smirked again and led him over to the corral where there was a pure black Pegasus (except with white legs and some white markings). Ron saw that the winged horse, who was wearing a saddle and bridle, looked rather wild and untamed. Finally, Ron pieced everything together.
"I know what you're thinking and I will not do that!"
Mark shook his head as he sighed.
"I will not try and break Diablo; if anything, he will break me!"
The horse then charged towards them causing them to take a step back.
"Ron, you are the only one that can break him."
Mark explained to Ron who shook his head.
"Mate, come on."
Ron sighed and entered the corral before walking slowly towards Diablo who was just staring at him, not moving. Ron got on the saddle and held tightly onto the bridle as the Pegasus started to act crazy, trying to buck him off. But Ron stayed on causing Diablo to start to gallop around the corral and gathered momentum before flying off in the air, flying dangerously close to trees and other birds with Ron holding on and determined to break and tame the horse.
"Come on Diablo what else have you got you stubborn-"
Ron gritted his teeth together as Diablo flew to a lake.
"Oh no"
Ron closed his eyes and held his breath when he felt the Pegasus dive into the icy cold water. Mark started to get worried when ten seconds passed as they hadn't resurfaced yet; but suddenly, they flew out of the water, making him sigh in relief. Ron was soaked through but didn't let go to which Diablo started to get annoyed and started to fly back the corral and flew higher in the sky before catching Ron off guard. The Pegasus flew upside down causing Ron to fall off the saddle. Realizing that Ron didn't have his wand on him, Mark quickly cast a cushioning spell so his fall wouldn't be so bad; however, and the fall caused Ron to break his right collar bone and to receive a cut on his left eyebrow. Panicking, Mark ran over to Ron to check on his mate while Diablo flew back into the corral.
"Ron, are you okay?"
Ron shook his head as he tried his right arm but couldn't.
"Let me take you to the infirmary, mate."
Mark helped him up so he could support him and took him to be checked out.
"I guess Diablo doesn't want to be ridden."
Ron painfully agreed.
The next day, there was a knock on the door causing everyone in the classroom to turn and stare at the person who interrupted their lesson.
"Come in"
Professor McGonagall spoke clearly as the door opened and revealed Ron wearing a sling on his right arm and a plaster on his forehead.
"Mr Weasley"
Ron walked over and handed her a note explaining everything with Dumbledore's signature as confirmation.
"Please take a seat."
Ron nodded and sat down on the seat. Ron slyly looked over to Hermione who was looking at his injuries making him sigh deeply knowing she was worried about how he got them. After the lesson, Hermione gently dragged Ron to an empty classroom to talk to him in private.
"What happened?"
She asked worriedly as she touched Ron's injuries. Ron could only sigh and look sympathetically at his girlfriend's worried expression.
"I was trying to break a horse but it didn't end well...Hermione it's just a broken collar bone and a small cut-nothing too serious."
Hermione didn't say anything causing Ron to hug her with his left strong arm.
"Do you want me to quit being the Red Archer?"
He asked Hermione who looked shocked that Ron would consider quitting if she wanted to him to quit.
"Well what do you say?"
"What do you want?"
She asked back making Ron just shrug causing her to scoff.
"Ron, it's your choice; do whatever makes you happy but please just be careful."
Ron nodded and hugged her closer to him.
"I love you-I love you so much that sometimes it hurts."
She whispered in his ear causing him to grin from ear to ear as he lifted her in the air with one arm causing her to squeal.
"RON put me down!"
She ordered through her giggling as Ron put her down gently but then started to feel pain, causing her concern. She cupped his stubble cheeks with her hands.
"Please don't injure yourself anymore love."
She begged Ron who nodded and then Ron's stomach grumbled demanding for food causing the two of them to laugh as they went to eat.
"Ron, are you okay?"
Ron nodded as Harry continued speaking.
"Bad luck that you can't play Quidditch for the team."
Ron just shrugged and said,
"It's okay; besides I'm still having some problems with exercising because of the surgery."
Harry nodded sadly while Ron just smiled.
"Hey, it's okay; we'll be cheering for you mate."
The boy with glasses smiled and they all continued eating.
"HARRY POTTER my boy!"
A voice boomed happily as Slughorn walked cheerfully over to them.
"Miss Granger"
He then looked at Ron.
"Rupert"
He sighed as he just gritted his teeth and smiled.
"His name is Ron, sir"
Hermione said through gritted teeth, clearly annoyed by her teacher's ignorance. Ron seeing this could only smile lovingly at his protective girlfriend.
"Ah yes, my apologies. Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to have tea in my office tonight."
He asked Harry who nodded.
"Very well"
Then he left.
"Why?"
That was all Ron could say to Harry who sighed and leaned in closer and whispered,
"Dumbledore asked me to get close to him"
The two nodded and finished their lunch.
That night Harry went to Slughorn's office for tea while Hermione was at the library and Ron was getting checked out in the hospital wing to see if he was able to deal with school; after he was done, he went to search for Hermione who was in the corner and sat on the window sill reading a thick and heavy book. Ron grinned evilly as he sneaked behind her and covered her eyes preventing her to read her book.
"Guess who"
Ron said in a husky voice and he swore she shivered making him smile more.
"Hhmmm...Let's see… is it… Goyle?"
Ron frowned as his hand dropped from her eyes while she turned and giggled.
"I'm joking"
She hugged him tightly.
"I love you."
She whispered before he whispered back,
"I love you too"
Hermione could see the mischief in his eyes.
"What is my beautiful girlfriend doing being cooped up in this dusty, stuffy library?"
Ron grabbed her hands in his uninjured hand and put it over her head against a bookshelf.
"Instead of spending time with her poor injured boyfriend who desperately needs tender love and care?"
Hermione blushed at Ron who leaned in close so their lips were inches away from each other. Ron kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear,
"Are you alright Hermione? You seem a little red."
Ron teased Hermione who was getting redder by the minute before they shared a passionate kiss, lost in each other.