In Between

Author's Note: Hi again! This is the next installment in this series. Fluff 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.

** Just a note, I am taking a little break from writing at the moment. I won't go into details but it's been a rough time lately. This chapter was written so I decided to update. I hope to be back updating regularly soon. Thanks for all the support.

Please review!

Chapter 24: Distractions and Ring Talks

Well, he'd done it. After some, well a lot, of owls between him, Harry and Ginny, Ron had decided on a ring for Hermione. He ended up choosing the one that had been at the top of his list all along. When he thought about her wearing it, it just fit. He could see it in his mind. He could see it on her finger. It was simple and elegant. It had an oval blue topaz stone in the middle with three little leaf-shaped diamonds on either side. It had a white gold band and vine-like swirls going down the sides of the band. It was Hermione.

He had been planning on surprising her at the castle for a while now since they hadn't been able to see each other since his birthday. So, with a little courage, he owled McGonagall and asked her for permission to enter the grounds for the day on his Saturday off. He knew she'd be in the library studying, and he was eager to get there and distract her. He'd meant it when he told her in the past that even if he was sitting with her, watching her study, it was better than not seeing her at all. Though, he had a feeling he might be able to pry her away from her books for a little while at least. He could be very persuasive when he wanted to be, and he'd even picked up some of Hermione's favourite sugar quill flavours to entice her to take a break with him at some point. They weren't going to be able to re-enact that dream she'd had of them on the grounds just yet—it was far too cold out still for that—but that didn't mean they couldn't have a bit of a snog in the library.

But first, he had to speak to Harry. Ginny too, but mostly Harry. He wanted to show them the ring in person since they'd been very helpful to him in the process of choosing it. When he got into the castle, he felt a bit odd. He hadn't been inside for more than five minutes since everything happened the year before. It was odd to walk through the halls when he wasn't a student anymore. It made him wonder sometimes if he should have come back to finish school. He knew he'd made the right choice to help George, but that didn't mean he couldn't wonder what it would have been like.

He'd given Harry a heads up that he would be stopping by to see him on his way to Hermione, so Harry had given him the common room password so he could get in without any trouble.

"I thought you'd left!" said the fat lady as he approached.

"I did. I'm here for a visit. Cauldron Cakes."

"Well, alright. Go on in." The portrait swung open, and he entered the common room for the first time in… he didn't know how long. It felt kind of surreal to be back there. He spotted Harry on the couch, a book in his hands. He picked up a ball of parchment that was lying by his feet and hurled it at Harry, laughing when it countered off the back of his head.

"Oi, what the hell?" Harry said, looking around and rubbing the back of his head. When he spotted Ron grinning from the entranceway, he rolled his eyes. "Could have just said hi, Ron." He commented, a bit of snark to his voice.

"Where's the fun in that?" Ron said with a shrug, approaching. "Where's my lovely sister? I've got the you know what to show you both."

"Said she was going to grab a snack from the kitchens, but she'll be back."

"Snack?" Ron asked, intrigued.

"Yes, Ron, you seem to have perfect timing." They both laughed. "So, you got it then? Officially?"

Ron nodded, a small smile playing at his lips at the thought of it. He had Hermione's engagement ring! "Yeah, I went and got it yesterday. Still don't know when I'm going to pop the question, but I think I have an idea how."

"Okay, well, don't tell me or show me until Ginny gets here because she'll murder us both if we don't include her." Harry commented, shuddering at the thought. Ron chuckled.

"I'm glad you're so afraid of my sister, Harry. That means you won't dare to do anything to endure her wrath." Harry rolled his eyes in response to Ron's comment as Ginny walked through the portrait hole and over to them.

"Whose wrath won't he endure?" She asked, perching on the end of the sofa.

"Yours," Ron said with a smirk. Ginny reached over and pinched him. "Ouch, Gin, Merlin. Take a joke." He shook his head and rubbed his arm where she'd pinched him.

"Alright, let's go upstairs away from the general public so Ron can show us the you know what." Harry said, lowering his voice at the end of the sentence.

Ginny looked at him. "You brought the actual you know what with you?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, so let's go."

They headed up to Harry's dorm and closed the door.

"Alright, let's see it." Ginny said, clapping her hands together in excitement.

Ron pulled a little velvet box out of his pocket and opened it, holding it out towards Harry and Ginny to show them. "So, what do you think?"

"It's gorgeous, Ron!" Ginny exclaimed. "She's going to love it."

"Yeah, mate. Knew this was a good option as soon as you showed us. It's perfect for her. Good one." Harry reached over and clapped Ron on the shoulder, making Ron smile.

"Yeah, now I just have to figure out her ring size." Ron said off-handedly. He looked up to see Ginny rolling her eyes. "What?" He asked her.

"Are you a wizard or not, Ron?"

Ron furrowed his brows as he looked at Ginny in confusion. "Huh?"

"Charm it to fit her, you idiot!" Ginny sighed, slapping a hand to her forehead.

"You can do that?" Ron asked, genuinely not having known that was a thing. How on earth would he have known this? He didn't wear rings. "Well, brilliant! Do you know the spell?"

"I know of it, but don't know it personally. But I'll find out and owl it to you," Ginny replied.

"See, mate? No need to panic," Harry threw in, leaning on his bedpost. "Now I suggest you either hide that thing, or cast a disillusionment charm on it before meeting up with Hermione today. Or shrink it down in size so she doesn't spot it in your pocket. You know how observant she is. She'll notice it, and then your plan will be ruined."

"Right." Ron agreed, pointing at Harry as he spoke. He pulled out his wand and shrunk the box, casting the disillusionment charm for good measure before placing it back in his pocket. "Well, I'm off to see Hermione, then. Thanks for the help guys."

—

Ron didn't even bother looking for Hermione anywhere else but in the library. He knew that's where she would be. He pictured her at her favourite table in the corner, surrounded by stacks of books, rolls of parchments and several quills (in case she needed a backup, of course). He could picture her bent over her parchment, scribbling furiously as she checked the open book next to her. He could see the hair falling in front of her face as it was wild over her shoulders, or coming out of the plait or ponytail she'd pulled it back into.

When he reached the library, he headed right back to the spot he knew she liked best and when he found it, he was met with the sight exactly the way he predicted. Hermione was so deep into her studying, she didn't even notice him approaching. She was surrounded by books, parchments and quills just as he suspected.

He tried to approach quietly, but he wasn't the stealthiest of people and ended up walking right into the corner of a table. He cursed loudly and got quite a few shushing noises from around him.

"Blimey! Sorry, sorry." He held up his hands in apology and when he looked over at Hermione, she was eyeing him suspiciously with raised eyebrows, but still smiling.

"Ron, what are you doing here?!" She asked, hand on her hip as she stood from her chair.

"Came to surprise you. Don't worry, I have permission to be here." He moved towards her and rested his hand on her hip, leaning in for a kiss. "Hi, love."

He smiled when she returned the kiss, but pulled away flushed. They were in the library after all, and she wasn't much of a PDA person… especially not in her favourite place at Hogwarts.

"You do know I have to study, right? I didn't know you were coming, so I didn't make sure I was available."

He laughed. "Yes. I know, Hermione." He shook his head good-naturedly, "Of course I know that. Remember, I said I'd come and spend time with you even if it was just to watch you study. I meant it. Even brought a bit of paperwork for the shop." He patted his back pocket as he spoke to indicate that he'd stashed it there.

Her face softened into a loving expression. "You meant that? I thought you were only saying it to make me feel better."

"'Course I meant it. Means more time with you, doesn't it? Plus, it'll be a lot of fun trying to distract you, yeah?" He raised an eyebrow and smirked, which turned to a grin when she blushed again.

"This is the library, Ronald! And, I'm head girl."

"So?" He asked, "you know those fantasies I have of you and me in the library? Nothing's going to stop me from trying to make those a reality."

She smacked his shoulder and he pretended to be hurt, pouting at her. When she rolled her eyes, he grinned and took a seat next to her at the table, moving her book bag to the floor so he could actually sit on the chair.

"I'm thrilled to see you, really, but I do have to study," she repeated, looking from her book to him and back again.

He chuckled at her expression. "I know, 'Mione! Go ahead, study!" He shook his head with a smile and pulled out his paperwork, stealing one of her many quills to use. She seemed to look over at him a few times, trying to judge if he was actually going to let her study before turning her full attention to the book and parchment in front of her.

Ron finished his paperwork in about fifteen minutes, and then decided to just watch Hermione in her element. She got this look on her face when she was concentrating, and she often bit her lip or chewed on the end of her quill. Today, she was doing the former, sucking that pink lip of hers between her teeth. He watched her silently, wondering how she didn't feel his eyes on her but knowing it was because when she studied, she went into this zone where she barely noticed the world around her. He used to be the only one who could distract her from that zone, and he was sure he still was, but he wanted to give her a chance to actually get some studying done before he tried distracting her.

Instead, he found himself studying her, and starting to sketch a picture of her on a spare bit of parchment. It wasn't something he had a lot of practice in, but if it meant being able to stare at Hermione for long periods of time with an excuse to do so, he would. He didn't care if he was horrible at it.

Another twenty minutes went by, and he'd actually managed to sketch a pretty good picture of her. He wasn't amazing by any means, but he wasn't horrible either. It actually looked like her. With that bushy, curly hair, and the freckles on her nose. He had gotten so wrapped up in it, he hadn't noticed Hermione come up for air from her book. When he looked up, she was smiling.

"What do you have there?" She asked, nodding her chin to the parchment.

He shrugged, "Have a look." He turned it to face her and he saw her eyebrows raise and mouth open in surprise. "Is it that bad?"

She shook her head immediately. "No! Ron, this is lovely! You drew this right now?"

He shrugged again, feeling his cheeks go a little pink. "Yeah, finished my paperwork and just started drawing. Why, it can't possibly be good. I'm no artist!"

"Ron, it's good! Who knew you could draw?" She grinned at him, placing a kiss on his flushed cheek. "Can I have it?"

"Yeah, 'course." He said, handing it to her.

She took it with a smile and looked at it for a moment, as if she were considering something and then set it down on the table and took his hand. "Will you come help me find a book?" She asked, tugging on his hand so he stood.

"Er, sure?" He answered, though it came out as a question. Since when did she not know where each and every book in this library was?

Hermione pulled him through the shelves until they were in the back corner of the library, away from everyone and everything, in the section of books that no one ever used because they were so outdated.

"You need a book from here?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow at her in disbelief.

"No, I don't. But I wanted a quiet place for a thank you snog, and this is it." She didn't even give him time to react before she was gently pushing his back against the secluded shelves and pressing her lips to his in a heated snog. He grinned against her lips before returning the kiss with fervour.

"Liked the drawing that much, did you?" He mumbled against her mouth in between kisses.

"Mm, yes, I did." She murmured back, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. He turned their bodies around so her back was against the shelves, and pressed his body against hers.

"Hermione!" He gasped, pulling back and pretending to be scandalized. "We're in the library!" His voice was laced with sarcasm, and his eyes twinkled with the teasing nature he was exhibiting.

"Oh, hush," she let out, breathily.

"I thought you needed to study?" He couldn't help but push the limits a little bit, teasing her. It was just too much fun!

"Hmm, well, I was due for a bit of a break." She leaned forward and nibbled on his ear. He let out a low growl, gripping her hips with his hands.

"'Mione, you can't do things like that to me in public!" His voice was low and husky. "Don't make me pull you behind these shelves and have my way with you."

She pulled back and looked at him innocently. "Well, alright then, if that's how you want it." She started to let go of him.

"Oi!" He tugged her closer, "that didn't mean I wanted to stop snogging!" He protested by leaning down and pressing his lips to her neck. He smiled against her skin when she tilted her neck to give him access.

"Well, I think I could spare a few more minutes." She said out of breath, her hands going into his hair.

He increased his efforts on her neck, kissing and nibbling the skin, careful not to leave a mark that was visible. Her little breathy sighs, and her grip on his hair only spurred him on.

"Hermione," he mumbled against her skin, "as much as I love this," he pulled back and looked at her, "I'm on the verge of getting carried away and I know you actually have studying to do. Plus, I don't think you're too keen on things going further in a semi-crowded library, yeah? Neither am I, really. Don't want anyone else getting a glimpse of your goodies." He looked pointedly down at her chest to emphasize his point.

"Ronald Weasley!" She chastised, smacking him lightly across the top of his head.

"Ow, Hermione! Merlin!" He reached up and rubbed his head. "I was having a go! Can't make a bloody joke around here."

Hermione rolled her eyes and tugged Ron's wrist so it was in view, glancing at his watch. "Alright. How long can you stay? Because I think all I need is another half hour or so of studying and then we can retreat back to my room for a while. Unless you need to get back?"

Ron shook his head and grinned. "Nah, I don't work tonight. I'm all yours."

"Good, because I'd like to finish what we started here," she replied with a small smile, heading back towards her table.

Ron followed behind, grinning as he watched her. "I love the way you think, have I ever told you that?"