In Between
Author's Note: Hi again! This is the next installment in this series. Having such a lovely time revisiting this world. Fluff and mature moments ahead!
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read, leave a review and follow this story. Please do leave any ideas for moments you might like to see written between Ron and Hermione.
It goes without saying that nothing pertaining to Harry Potter belongs to me and is the work of J.K. Rowling.
Please review!
Chapter 8: A Birthday Visit
Business was booming, which meant Ron had little to no time to himself. He knew he was doing the right thing in helping George, and George appreciated it greatly, but he wished he was at school... with Hermione. He was able to go out on his lunch break to pick up a gift for his girlfriend, because it was her birthday after all, though he wasn't able to send it. Not this kind of gift. And it wasn't until eleven thirty at night that he was able to take the gift and his broom to bring it to her.
As a surprise to Hermione, he had owled with McGonagall a few days prior. He knew he probably shouldn't just try to sneak onto the grounds to see Hermione and he was quite sure security had been increased after the war so he decided to actually ask for permission. Surprisingly, McGonagall had granted him permission to visit Hermione! She arranged for him to be let onto the grounds at the Hogsmeade entrance the students used to go back and forth to the village. He rode his broom to that point, entered the grounds and grinned, on his way to Hermione. Okay, so he was late, really late but he hoped she would understand. Once he was on the grounds, he had to fly outside up to Gryffindor Tower since the girls' staircase would surely not let him up, and he couldn't be seen. Eleven forty-five he was on his broom, hovering outside as he tapped gently on the window.
Hermione had been sulking most of the day. Harry and Ginny had asked her numerous times what was wrong and why she was so down on her birthday but she had just shrugged, not wanting them to know how upset she was over something so small as not hearing from Ron. Okay, so maybe it wasn't that small, not hearing from her boyfriend on her birthday, but she wasn't one to dwell on such things.
Harry and Ginny had been spoiling her all day. They had even surprised her at breakfast with a special cupcake with a single candle in it and had all of Gryffindor sing to her. But through all her classes she kept glancing out the window hoping she might see Pig or any other owl for that matter carrying a message from Ron. With no such luck, she had resorted to spending the evening in her Head Girl Quarters, munching on the sweets she had gotten from a few friends and sulking some more. It wasn't until almost midnight did she decide to go read in bed and take her mind off it but when she walked over to her trunk which sat under the window she was met with the sight of Ron hovering on a broom on the other side of the glass.
"Ron!" She exclaimed, opening the window. "What on earth are you doing? You could have been killed!"
"Shh!" he flew into her room once she opened the window, dismounting as he ran a hand through his wind-blown hair. He looked at the wristwatch his mum had given him when he came of age, and smiled. "Eleven fifty-two. I made it!" He set down his broom and walked over to Hermione, taking her hands. "Happy birthday," he said with a smile. "Sorry I'm so late."
"Late doesn't even begin to describe it. You realize in eight minutes it won't be my birthday any longer? I thought you'd forgotten." She told him softly, a tone of sadness in her voice. She looked at the ground, a mixture of emotions running through her: sadness because he had taken so long, annoyance with herself for getting so upset when she knew how busy he was and happiness that he had still made it in time in true Ron fashion.
He frowned, biting his lip some. "Hermione, I'm really sorry. We were so busy and George had to stay at the Diagon Alley shop all day so I was the only one at the Hogsmeade shop- I couldn't send your gift ahead of time, I had to wait for him to come since he was special ordered..." he tried to explain, tightening his grip on her hands. "And I wanted my visit to be a surprise, see? I even arranged it all with McGonagall so you wouldn't have to worry about breaking any rules!" He was rather proud of that part. He didn't get clearance to stay the night, though, which he fully intended on doing, but he didn't have to mention that part.
Hermione felt her heart leap at his genuine remorse and attempt at explaining and she shook her head. "You spoke to Professor McGonagall?" She asked, amazed. He did that for her? "Oh, It's alright. I might have overreacted a bit. You're here now." She squeezed his hands before letting them go and giving him a proper hug hello.
He hugged her back, but then pulled away. "Wait! You've got to see your present- but close your eyes," he broke off, walking to where he placed his broom and the cage covered in cloth. He brought it over to her desk, setting it down. Unveiling the cage, he pulled out the baby tawny owl, holding him in his hands as he walked over to Hermione again. "All right, open."
Hermione took a breath before opening her eyes and felt her mouth drop slightly. "You… You got me an owl?" She asked softly, in disbelief, surprise and awe. It was so unexpected!
"I... well, I knew you didn't have one, and I reckon it's good to have one now, especially since you'll be sending a billion out when you apply for jobs and since we've been writing so much. I did some- er- research on the types and Tawny Owls are the best for Muggle communication, so when you write to your parents..." he said quickly, realizing he was rambling and his cheeks pinkened a bit. He stroked the owl's feathers, and he hooted in delight. "He doesn't have a name yet."
"He's gorgeous." She said, "Thank you, Ron." Standing on her toes, she kissed him sweetly for a few moments before settling back down on her feet and reaching over to pet the owl. "Oh, I've no idea what to name him!" She thought for a moment. "How about 'Merlin'? Do you like that?" She cooed to the owl who hooted and chirped. "I'll take that as a yes." She said with a grin.
"I'd reconsider that name, Hermione," Ron said a bit sheepishly as he handed over the owl. "He might think you're calling him when you're in bed with me." He chuckled a bit, but hey... it was true.
Hermione turned instantly red. "Ron!" She chastised, cracking a smile. "Anyhow, it's too late now. He seems to love the name. Don't you Merlin, hmmm?" She cooed at the bird once more, petting its feathers and mothering it just as she did with everyone else she cared about. Walking over to the cage, she carefully placed the small owl inside and closed the latch. "You're just full of surprises, you know that?" She asked, tilting her head to the side with a smile.
He shrugged, walking over to the cage and plucking out a small bag. "His treats are in here- two a day, that's what the petshop bloke said." He grinned at the owl, who flittered happily in his cage. "I'm glad you like him. And I'm sorry again I'm so late, I really am. I thought about you all day." Not that that was different than every other day.
She walked over to him, placing her arms around his neck and looked up at him. "You're forgiven." She said with a smile before she stood on her toes slightly to kiss him. "I missed you! I'm so happy to see you."
"Mm," he muttered, kissing her back for a short while. "Missed you too. So how're your classes? How's being Head Girl? Did you start studying for the NEWTs yet?" He wanted to know everything desperately, feeling very out of the loop.
Smiling slightly at his eagerness, they had talked about a lot of this in their letters but she supposed it was different when you were in person. She took his hand and pulled him over to the sofa she had in her room, sitting him down before perching on his lap sideways.
"Classes are wonderful. The material is far more challenging this year but it's all so interesting! I was able to take all the classes I wanted to. I'm absolutely fascinated by Arithmancy. It was intriguing in past years but its far more complicated than I knew! I'm really enjoying it." She could go on for hours about her classes but she cut her speech on that topic short for Ron's benefit. "And Head Girl is wonderful! Just what I imagined. I've so many responsibilities and I do spend a lot of evenings doing rounds but I'm allowed to give detentions and everything now. I'm very fair, of course. And I just love having my own room. No more sharing with that witch and Parvati listening to their gossip all night. Much more peaceful this way." She nodded as if agreeing with her own statements.
He snickered at 'that witch' and Parvati. "Plus, you've got a nice big window your sneaky boyfriend can climb through whenever he wants a snog." His arms were wrapped around her as he leaned back against her couch, relaxing some. In the firelight she'd be able to see the dark circles under his eyes. He really was working very hard.
"But enough about me…" She said, catching sight of his tired eyes and worn out features. "How are things at the shop? You look exhausted. Are you doing alright over there?" Worry instantly took over as it usually did. She raised one of her hands to cup his cheek, running her thumb over the dark circles under his eyes. "Have you been getting enough rest? Eating right? It's very important you take care of yourself, Ron."
He smiled, leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers. "I have a mum already, thank you," he said smartly, pecking her lips with his own. "Busy. Business is growing everyday, I'm pretty much running the Hogsmeade branch on my own. Stocking, selling, cleaning, ordering new merchandise, dealing with defective products..." He took a deep breath. "George really appreciates it though. Says he couldn't do it without me, so..." he shrugged.
"I'm very proud of you." She told him, holding his face in her hands and looking into his eyes. "Stepping up and putting your family first the way you did. I'm very impressed and proud. It was very honourable of you."
He shrugged modestly. "It's not a big deal, Hermione. I just hope... well, I hope it's only a one year thing. I'll stay longer if George needs me, but I'd... I'd like to do something else with my life, not just fill in for Fred." He loved working with George and he was good at it but he knew it wasn't a forever thing. He was sure George knew that too.
"You haven't mentioned lately what you planned to do after." She said, resting her head on his chest to listen to his heartbeat. "Do you still want to be an Auror? You'd be very good at it, you know."
"Yeah, I think so. I mean, hopefully I can apply without NEWTs... maybe they'll understand and let me into the training program anyway." He ran his fingers through her hair, cradling her. "I don't have to think that far ahead right now, I just want to be here with you."
"I've missed you so much, you know." She whispered into his chest. Well, he should know. They'd said almost nothing else but that in their letters. "It's the oddest feeling not having you here. There's always an empty chair beside me." She laid a hand on his chest, playing with the fabric of his shirt. "I didn't know it would be this hard."
He kissed her temple, nodding in agreement. "I know. Drives me mad that I can't be with you everyday. But it... just makes the time we have together more special, yeah?"
Hermione nodded, lifting her head to look at him. She placed a kiss on his cheek. She wondered if she should tell him about getting asked out by a Ravenclaw boy in his absence and decided against it. There was no need for an argument. She had turned him down straight away anyhow. A lot of things were different in his absence and it seemed as though boys thought her to be available when he wasn't around. "I'm rather disappointed they've cancelled Hogsmeade weekends this month. I mean I understand why, of course, but it's still not pleasant." They had just found that out the day before and their letters had been filled with complaints about it and regrets they wouldn't get to have the Hogsmeade weekend they wanted to. There had been news about former Death Eaters gathering and trying to avenge the death of their leader and the school thought it safest to cancel the weekend coming up. She hadn't had a chance to speak to McGonagall about spending the night either because of it.
"I know, it's ruddy ridiculous. Not like Death Eaters are going to go waltzing down Hogsmeade streets in broad daylight without their bloody master around anymore." He sighed some. "It's like... someone's deliberately trying to keep us apart."
"The world's against us at the moment." She said, shrugging a bit, not wanting to dwell on it much longer than necessary. "How long can you stay?" She asked, glancing at the clock and seeing it was well after midnight now. It was Friday night so she didn't have classes the next morning and could be up as late as she pleased. "You don't have to work early tomorrow, do you?" She asked, placing a few light and feathery kisses on his neck.
He shuddered at her kisses, missing them so very much. "We don't open until eleven," he said with a grin. "But don't you have to be up? Study schedules and homework to do?" She was always up well before he was on weekend mornings at school, so he recalled.
"Hmm, there's always the afternoon and evenings for studying. I was going to have a bit of a lie in tomorrow morning anyways. Or this morning rather." She said, indicating to the time before trailing butterfly kisses along his cheek.
"Well, it is your birthday night, you do deserve a lie in," he said with a nod, his grin widening a bit more. "Isn't it against Head Girl rules to have a boy in here overnight?" Plus, there was the pesky fact that McGonagall did not okay him staying overnight.
"This is one rule I'm completely willing to break." She said with a smile, tilting her head up and pecking his lips before rubbing her nose with his playfully.
"Good answer," he whispered, reaching out to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. "I reckon a birthday snog is in order," he said with a smile, capturing her lips with his own before she could reply.
Hermione sighed into the kiss, having missed his kisses so much. It had been a while since they had a chance to just be together, to talk and snog. Merlin hooted loudly from his cage at the other side of the room and Hermione broke the kiss to chuckle. "I think he's jealous." She said softly, looking over at the owl and then resting her forehead against Ron's.
"C'mon, Merlin. I thought we had this discussion on the broom ride up here? No hooting while I ravish my witch," he called over, grinning madly at Hermione.
Hermione blushed, letting out a small laugh. "You're terrible." She said with half-hearted roll of her eyes. She ignored the hoots of her new owl and pressed her lips to Ron's again.
He chuckled, but quickly sobered as he kissed her back, the kiss growing in fervor each passing second. He tightened his arms around her, humming against her lips as his tongue dueled frantically with hers. It had been too long since he had been able to kiss her, feeling her body against his. Too bloody long. He would not waste another moment.
Hermione reached up and threaded her fingers in Ron's hair as they kissed, marveling in the fact that kissing Ron felt like the most natural thing in the world. In desperate need of air, she broke the kiss and took in a deep breath. "That's one thing we've got down." She said breathlessly.
She broke the kiss, but he trailed his lips down her jawline, latching onto the skin of her neck. "I've missed you so bloody much, like hell," he muttered, kissing another spot on her neck, just over her pulse point. "I think about our last night together all the time." He was itching to touch her again, to be with her again; his movements and kisses were near desperate.
Hermione's neck immediately tilted back, giving him better access to her skin. She sighed softly, breathlessly, clinging to him and desperately wanting to feel more. "I love you…" She murmured. "I love you so much." It came out as desperate and wanting and displayed every emotion she was feeling being in his arms after missing him so much.
"Mhm... I love you too, so damn much," he repeated, wasting no time as he began to urge her shirt up over her head, kissing the exposed skin over her bra nearly immediately. He tossed the garment to the floor, his hands roving over her bare skin, reaching behind her to fumble aimlessly with her bra clasp.
Hermione reached behind her, not being able to wait another second, and helped him get the clasp of her bra undone. Once it was so, she let the garment fall to the floor, no longer concerned with feeling embarrassed around him. Before resuming their frantic kissing, she reached down and tugged on the hem of his shirt, lifting it up and off his body before tossing it aside. She pressed her lips to his again, frantically reaching behind her to her back pocket for her wand and only breaking the kiss for a moment to cast a silencing charm and an unbreakable lock charm on her door.
"Mmm, Hermione," he said huskily, his mouth lowering to kiss and suckle at her breasts, his hands cupping and kneading them as well. "Want you... so much," he murmured against her skin, all thoughts of his job forgotten instantly.
"Want you too…" She murmured in between her breathy sighs at his attention to her breasts. Making herself useful, she reached down and undid the button of his trousers, pulling down the zipper with one hand while the other hooked around his neck.
His hand mirrored hers, unbuttoning and unzipping her trousers as well, his mouth continuing his administrations. He then shifted slightly on the couch, urging her to lie back, resting her head on one of the throw pillows as her body stretched out along the length of the furniture. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of her trousers and knickers, urging both off at the same time.
Hermione lifted her hips off the sofa as Ron pulled her trousers and knickers off in one fell swoop. She gazed at him shyly from her spot, though this not being their first time doing this, still feeling a slight case of the nerves.
He positioned himself over her, capturing her lips again in yet another fervent kiss, his body putting himself into position; he urged her one leg up against the couch, the other onto the floor as he settled himself between them, kicking his trousers off since his arousal was feeling quite strained against them. He left his boxers on for now, though, as he continued to kiss and nip at her lips, another deep snog that took his breath away.
Hermione responded to his every touch with one of her own, responded to his every kiss with one of her own. Her hands went down and rubbed Ron through his boxers for a few moments. Not wanting to get so close to finishing everything before it started like the last time, she stopped after a few strokes, snaking her hand over his backside and up his back to his shoulders.
He shuddered against her, hips involuntarily bucking against her hand as she cupped him through the oh so thin material, and he was grateful when she stopped, because he had other things planned. His mouth trailed down, paying attention to her breasts for a moment, before they trailed down further, kissing a trail of hot kisses down her abdomen, his tongue dipping into her navel, before traveling lower…
She let out a gasp as his head traveled lower and lower on her body. Was he going to…? "Ron…?" Her voice came out a little shaky. She shivered in anticipation as goose bumps erupted all over her body. Her fingers went to tangle in his hair, gripping it lightly.
"Relax," he whispered, hot and heavy against her skin. He turned his head and kissed the inside of her thigh, trailing upward as his fingers gently began to shift through her folds, just like last time.
Hermione let out a soft moan from the back of her throat as he began to touch her. She knew he knew what he was doing now and she was already starting to feel the sweat beading on her forehead.
Especially for her birthday, Ron prepared for this. He'd done a bit of reading in a book George happened to have lying around the flat above their shop... a book about technique that Ron knew George left on purpose for him to read. Ron studied harder than he'd ever studied for everything, and knew he wanted to try everything he'd learned as soon as possible... and what better day to start than her birthday? He opened his eyes to watch her as he ran the tip of his tongue through her folds, just as his fingers were. The trick that the book said was to try different motions, since every witch had different sensitive spots, so that's what he did.
"Oh, God, Ron…" Hermione moaned breathlessly when his tongue replaced his fingers. Her hips arched off the sofa pressing herself into Ron. She gripped the material of the couch beside her with one hand while the other lay behind her head holding on tightly to the pillow her head lay on.
Finally finding her clitoris, that magical button he'd read about in the book, he rubbed that gently with his tongue, applying direct pressure as he let his fingertips slide along beneath his mouth, his index finger slowly rubbing teasingly against her slick entrance.
Hermione could feel herself already approaching her peak and she went to open her mouth to warn him what was about to happen when he touched her in just the right spot and instead of a warning escaping from her lips, it was a loud whimper that did. She couldn't help it when her hips arched off the sofa again and her hands were clutching the material of the sofa and pillow tighter than ever.
Sensing that she was close, Ron doubled his efforts, applying more pressure with his tongue as his finger slid a bit deeper within her, mimicking what his arousal was desperate to be doing at the moment. A soft hum of his lips would send a shocking jolt against her, just enough to bring her to a climax.
Not even a second after he did his little hum did Hermione reach her climax. Her toes curled, her body arched, her fingers tightened on the material she was grasping and she let out a high pitch moan, slumping onto the couch after. Her breathing was heavy and her eyes were closed. "My God…" She whispered, opening her eyes to look at him.
Smirking like the cat that ate the canary, Ron predatorily crawled up her body, his eyes dark and deep with arousal as he stared down to her. His hand reached up to push her hair off of her sweaty brow. "Happy birthday, love," he rasped, still grinning like mad.
Hermione looked at him with pure lust, taking his face in her hands and crushing her lips to his roughly. "God, Ron, that was amazing…" She whispered huskily in between fiery and hot kisses.
"I'll say," he said gruffly, kissing her back with equal desperation. Her coming undone by his mouth was the most arousing thing he'd ever seen, and he continued to kiss her, wondering if she could taste her intoxicating scent on his tongue.
Hermione clung to him tightly, still feeling flushed, warm and tingly from the orgasm he had given her. Reaching one hand down, she slid her hand down his body to the waistband of his boxers and pushed at them frantically, not able to reach far enough to get them off. "You're wearing far too many clothes…" She breathed in between kisses.
"That's for damn sure," he said huskily, reaching a hand down to help her as he kicked the remaining garment off of him. Settling himself back between her legs, he pressed his mouth to hers again, deepening the kiss with a yearning groan.
Hermione could barely catch her breath. Their actions were so frantic, filled with want and need after being apart. She could barely stand the tension and she wanted him more than ever. Lifting her legs, she hooked them around his lower back, hooking her ankles together and looked at him. "Well…" she breathed, "what are you waiting for?"
He chuckled. "Always impatient," he said breathlessly, though he was quite antsy as well. In one sweep, he pushed his arousal deep within her, burying himself to the hilt. She was so tight and slick around him it was difficult to keep himself in check, but he was able to maintain a steady rhythm, rocking his hips against hers. Now that he knew what was coming, he felt confident he could make it last a bit longer this time.
The position of having her legs wrapped around his back allowed for him to go deeper inside her and Ron was hitting a spot inside her with each trust that sent chills down her spine and tingles all the way to her toes. "Oh!" She exclaimed when he hit the spot the first time. "Yes, Ron keep doing that…" She was letting out high squealing moans with each of his thrusts into her, her head falling back in pleasure.
He wasn't sure what he was doing to make her react a lot more as opposed to last time, but he certainly would take orders this time, continuing his deep thrusts as he lowered his head, his mouth latching onto her neck as he suckled harshly, knowing she'd be bruised in an hour from it. It was all so much after so much time apart, and he muttered incomprehensible phrases against her sweaty skin.
With every thrust he made into her, Hermione let out a moan that was so breathless and filled with pleasure she could hardly stand it. Clutching his neck, she pulled his head up to be at eye level with her and kissed him desperately, moaning into his mouth a few times as the movement of his thrusts shook the sofa beneath them.
To see someone whom he'd known for years as a proper and prim young lady, very reserved, unleash into a wanton sex goddess, was too much for Ron to handle. Kissing her back with equal passion, he was glad she'd set a locking and silencing charm in the room, because they'd surely be found out if she hadn't.
A few more thrusts of Ron hitting that spot inside her and Hermione felt her impending climax. Her body began to tingle, her muscles tightening and then, after one more thrust, her orgasm hit her like a spell in the chest: hard, sudden and powerful. Her muscles clenched around him, she moaned loudly and she was sure she blacked out for a moment.
When he felt her inner walls contract around his length, he cried out hoarsely, the volume of his yell nearly matching hers as he let himself go deep inside of her. Collapsing on top of her, it took a good three minutes for him to catch his breath.
"Merlin…" she whispered (so her new owl wouldn't hear), her breathing heavy and uneven. She reached up and brushed some sweaty hair from Ron's forehead, gazing at him lovingly. This would never get old and she had a feeling it would never be bad either. They just had too much passion between the two of them, too much love.
His eyes were still glazed over from the aftermath of his climax, and he grinned lazily at her, pressing his lips to her cheek. "That was the... sexiest damn thing… I've ever seen in my life." It was true, his fantasies about her paled significantly in comparison to what had just transpired.
After everything they had done with each other, a simple comment like that from Ron could still make Hermione turn as red as a tomato. "Glad you enjoyed the show, then." She said softly, laughing slightly. If anyone had told her she'd be doing this with Ron in the Head Girl's room a year ago, she'd have laughed. But here they were, tired and spent from an amazing shag on her sofa, no less.
"Mhm," he nodded, kissing her again before sitting up, reaching down to his trouser pocket for his wand. He pointed it over to the bed and muttered "Accio", the knitted blanket soaring over to him and he caught it with his free hand. Returning the wand, he tossed the large blanket around his shoulders and then scooped Hermione to sit up as well, wrapping both his arms and the blanket around her as he kissed her again. "We should get to the bed, there's no bloody way I can fit on here to sleep."
"Mmm, alright. Bed sounds lovely right about now." She agreed with a lazy smile, her breathing now normal but subdued. "You'll spend the night then?" She asked, looking up at him.
He smiled, his arms around her as he stood up, urging her to follow him to the bed, walking slowly since they were both still wrapped in the blanket. "You're the Head Girl, how can I say no? Wouldn't want you to give me a detention now would I?" He crawled up onto the bed with her, stifling a yawn.
"Well, detention with me would still be far more pleasant than detention with anyone else I would think." She said with a smile as she crawled under her covers and snuggled into Ron's side, her head resting in the crook of his neck.
He chuckled some, the heat between their naked bodies was calming, and he felt himself drifting off. "This was damn worth the wait," he whispered, his fingers playing with her loose ringlets.
Hermione sighed as her body relaxed completely. She flicked her eyes up to his face. "I love you, Ron." She whispered softly, gazing up at him from her spot nestled into his side.
"I love you more." He responded sleepily, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Happy birthday, love." He added, smiling at her as his eyes began to fall shut.
She smiled up at him, her eyes fluttering closed as he kissed her forehead. "Mmm, thank you." She responded, snuggling into his chest more, tangling her legs with his under the covers. "Best birthday ever." She commented, not sure if he even heard her, before drifting off to sleep, content and blissfully happy.