By Katie
Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own any character from the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling has the honor of that. I must also state that no money is being made from this fanfiction. Clearly, since you're reading this, you know that this is fiction! Did you catch that? Fiction!
Author's Note: All right. First off, let me say this: YAY!! I got some reviews!! I'm so excited. Seriously, when I saw that I had just two I freaked out, to say the least. Well, my other Harry Potter story bit the big one, it sucked, and well, no one liked it… at all. Don't worry though, this has a happy ending. So now I've got this whole new perspective on the Harry Potter characters relationships! As a result of this epiphany, I've finally come to my senses and think that Ron and Hermione belong together and I'm ready to write a wicked great story, so if you're ready too, then let's get going!
Later that week Hermione received letters from multiple members on the Weasley family, including Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. She also received one from Harry. She gave Mrs. Weasley the information about the time she had off, and also declined an invitation to stay at the Weasley's house during her break. Ginny wrote to her about the update with the never-ending job search for Ron, how she and Harry were doing, and what they should do while Hermione is spending time with her family. They'd agreed on shopping and eating. Not to mention she'd be getting plenty of sleep. Harry had written her apologizing for the lack of communication between the two, and also stating that he'd heard from Ron that they'd all be spending the holiday together; just like old times. He promised that they'd stay in touch even after Christmas and they'd all get together more often. "For being best friends practically since we can remember, we sure don't see a lot of each other anymore, so we should get together." He said in his letter. She couldn't wait to see him.
During school Harry helped out a great deal with Ron and Hermione's relationship. Even though many thought that once both of them finally got over themselves enough to admit to the other that they indeed liked each other in that special way the bickering would stop between the two of them, but no. It hadn't really changed except for the fact that they held hands wherever they went when they were together, kissed goodnight, kissed before they had to be separated, and broke rules for each other. Yes, Hermione Granger, head girl, broke the rules… for a boy.
But that was a long time ago.
Tonight was the first night of festivities at the Burrow. Hermione couldn't help but notice that she actually had butterflies in her stomach, to say the least. She was already late, true they wouldn't mind, but she still didn't want to be late the very first night after a very long time of not seeing each other. She could just apparate at the burrow, or she could go by floo- powder, but she could use the time in the car alone. She glanced in the mirror once again, she never was one to be obsessed with looks when she was younger, but now all she could think about was how she looked at that very moment. Her once frizzy, big hair had calmed down a lot, and now were soft, flowing curls and she only had a touch of make up on.
After her time in the car on the way to the Weasley's she'd gathered her thoughts and was calm. She parked her car and took one deep breath before taking the steps inside. Once she reached the door she knocked and waited for someone to answer. The door swung open and Hermione was met with a bright red haired girl with a big smile on her face. Ginny held out her arms and pulled Hermione in for a hug.
"Oh I'm so happy you're here!" She said cheerfully.
"Hi, Ginny." She laughed uncomfortably. "It's nice to see you too."
"Oh, enough with all of this formality!" She exclaimed. Ginny then dragged Hermione behind her to where everyone was gathered. "Look whose here everyone!"
Hermione smiled, "Hi." She glanced around the room to see if Ron was there yet. Of course he's here. This is his house, Hermione. Maybe you shouldn't think stupid thoughts. But she didn't see him. She didn't see Harry either. Where were they? Were they together? Were they okay? Did Ginny know? Her brain was asking rapid fire questions to her that she didn't know the answers to and she was tensing up. He's probably just… in another room for a second, she tried to assure herself. It was almost too much, but when Mrs. Weasley stood up to give her a hug and take her coat she felt herself loosen up. "Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Weasley."
"Oh, nonsense." She smiled. "This was Ron's idea, dear. Come along, we'll go hang your coat up."
"Oh, all right." She answered. She followed Mrs. Weasley to the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley had already hung up her coat. "What do you mean this was Ron's idea?" She couldn't help but wonder, except it unintentionally came out as a question directed towards his mother.
"Nothing really. He just suggested we invite you for Christmas because he had a feeling that you'd be alone, that's all." She answered, as she got a glass out from a cupboard for Hermione. "Would you like anything to drink?"
"Um, no thank you." Since when had she become so unconfident? She'd always known what she wanted and where she was going to end up, basically she had planned out her entire life. The downside was, this part of her life happened to not be in the plan.
"All right, dear." Mrs. Weasley said, handing her Hermione her a glass anyways, "Let's go back into the other room."
The two women made their way back into the living room and both sat down. Hermione found a seat next her Ginny, who quickly jumped into conversation. Hermione wasn't paying attention for most of it. She would randomly interject with yes's and uh huh's every now and then. She couldn't keep the statement that Mrs. Weasley had said, "Oh, nonsense. This was Ron's idea." It was difficult to make her brain not wonder if it was truly Ron who wanted to see her after all this time. If it was, then he knew what time she was going to be at his family's house, but why wasn't he there? Just as she was coming up with reasons that he wasn't there, such as he'd gotten in an accident or something as impossibly lame like he'd gotten lost, he was already in the living room, with Harry close behind.
"Harry!" Ginny screeched, "You're home!" She jumped out of her seat and threw her arms around Harry's neck. She kissed his cheek a couple times and hugged him closer to her.
"Hi, honey." He said with a sincere smile. "I've missed you." He told her quietly. "I've got to go overseas again, remind me to take you with me." They let go of each other finally and Harry at last noticed Hermione's presence. "Hey, Hermione." He said, coming closer to her.
She stood up to greet him with a smile. "Hi, Harry."
"It's been a while." He stated. Hermione nervously glanced down at her shoes and then looked back up. "It's great to see you," he finished.
"It's great to see you, too." Hermione couldn't help but notice that Ron was saying hello to his entire family before coming even close to Hermione. Before she knew it, Harry had brought her in for a hug. Once they let go of each other, it was finally the part she was nervous and excited about. She was face-to-face with Ron… after almost 2 and a half years.
"Happy Christmas," he wished her, as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Early, I mean."
"Happy early Christmas to you." She nodded, with a half smile.
It felt as though the entire room was watching awe-struck as the pair exchanged hellos. It felt like the whole world just stopped to watch them interact. Hermione racked her brain for something say. She came up blank. She was usually quick on her tongue, but right now she was at a loss for words. She giggled anxiously to maybe break the annoyingly awkward silence. Ron cleared his throat again, and Harry immediately brought the attention upon himself to break the silence with a very lame joke, but at least it got the attention off of Ron and Hermione.
"You look good." Ron said, almost with feeling. Almost.
"Thanks." Hermione accepted his compliment graciously. "You look good too."
"Okay, well, I guess I'm gonna go sit down then."
"All right." She sat back down in her seat and shut her eyes tightly.
After a while at the Weasleys and after dinner, Harry took Hermione aside, meaning he brought her outside to talk for a bit. Even though she'd grabbed her coat, it was still colder than she thought it would be. She didn't even remember it being that cold outside.
"Harry, what is it?" She asked, knowing exactly what was coming.
"I cannot sit back and watch you two dance around each other like you two are complete strangers." He told her. "You two are my best friends in the world and I'd do anything for either one of you, you know that. And I'd help you with this if I could, but I knew that if I told you that Ron was the one who wanted to have you spend Christmas with him and his family he'd essentially hate me, so I didn't." Hermione started to shiver and shake because of the frigid temperature. "Hermione, it kills me to see you two acting this way."
"Harry, I don't know what to say." She whispered, her teeth chattering. "I don't know if I would've come if I knew this was Ron's idea."
"Why wouldn't you have come?" He exclaimed.
"Because, honestly, I'm not ready to be around him." Harry opened his mouth to interject again, but she held her hand up to silence him. "You saw how uncomfortable it was when we saw each other for the first time in a long time. It never ever was that bad before. Even after we broke up!"
"Yeah, it was uncomfortable. I didn't know." He said, shaking his head. "I didn't know it'd be like that… I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." Her teeth started chattering again. She brushed a few curls out of her face because of the gust of wind that just blew. "I'm really cold and I just want to go home." She confessed. She tried to blink back her tears that came out of nowhere, but they were just overflowing. They were now unstoppable. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, "I hate Christmas. I don't have a family, I don't really have friends, I don't have anyone special to spend it with, and I'm alone. It's just me."
"You have us," Harry reminded her.
It was always really hard on Harry to see her cry. After Ron and Hermione started dating he'd gotten to the point where he felt like he needed to protect her. Which was strange because she had Ron there for that, but at the same time it was Harry who she came to when she and Ron had a fight. And as more and more fights happened, it started taking a bigger toll on him than he thought it would. He'd watched her cry her eyes out because Ron might've laughed at a joke that she was the center of, or maybe he'd unintentionally blow her off, but whatever it was that made her heart ache, it made Harry hurt as well.
"We don't see each other all the time. I don't have you there with me twenty-four-seven." She whimpered softly.
"Well, I guess you're right."
"Since my parents died, I've basically been on my own." She told him, even though she knew he knew. "Not that I've minded, I mean, yes I miss my parents, but I've always been very independent. I've worked hard to be where I am in my life, and yet, I'm still not happy. Believe it or not, I had my life planned out. Everything was mapped out down to the day practically. All right, I'm exaggerating, but you know what I mean. I knew what my life looked like. I knew what my life looked like when I was seventeen. And now I'm what, twenty-two and I'm a workaholic with no social life at all."
"Harry, Hermione, we're gonna drink some hot chocolate and play charades… that muggle game."
"We'll be inside in a minute, Fred." Harry answered.
"All right." He nodded. "It's freezing out here, guys. How can you stand it?"
"I'm not," Hermione sort of laughed. She was grateful that Harry had told him that they'd be in a minute because she was sure she looked like she'd been crying.
"We'll work on that." Harry smiled half-heartedly. "We'll make it so you feel like your old self. I'll help you."
"Thanks, Harry." She said, still not too confident. What was he going to do? Cast a spell, and poof, all of a sudden a knight in shining armor would ride up on a white horse? Yeah, right.
By the time Harry and Hermione got inside, everyone was sitting around the very large table in the kitchen. Of course there were two seats, left with a spoon magically stirring their hot chocolate. Harry took the seat next to Ginny, leaving Hermione to sit in the seat next to George and Mrs. Weasley, conveniently situated across from Ron. Just then the whole room burst into laughter at a joke or story that Hermione had definitely missed the punch-line of. Ron could tell my the expression on her face that she'd felt bad for missing the joke, but tried to shrug it off with a sad smile. What had Harry told her? Why wasn't the night turning out like he wanted it to?
Not once had he said what he wanted to, and not once had he made a special effort to bring her back into his family. He'd let her sit by herself, be forced to laugh at the stories that Fred and George told, and listen to his mother rant about how hard she'd been trying to wash the dishes the muggle way. Mrs. Weasley had gone into explaining that she was setting up new challenges to overcome every week because all of the kids were out on their own now and she had a lot of free time. Hermione had also heard how Mr. Weasley had retired, but since he got bored not know everything about muggles that he would still go into the office and do some work.
"Mum," Ginny interjected, "Do you think we could open just one present?"
"I don't know." Mrs. Weasley answered, looking at her husband, "What do you think, Arthur?"
"I think that's a brilliant idea, Ginny." He looked back to his wife with a smile.
"All right, just one though, we have to save some for Christmas."
"I didn't bring my presents with me tonight." Hermione said quietly.
"That's fine, dear." Mrs. Weasley assured her. "We should save yours for later anyways."
Once they were back into the living room, Mrs. Weasley kindly handed out the gifts to everyone in the room. Hermione had received one that was wrapped very differently than everyone else's. It was wrapped in newspaper, a muggle newspaper no less. She examined it before slowly untying the red ribbon. There was quite a bit of tape holding the corners together but surly, Hermione got through. She couldn't help but notice there wasn't a tag saying who it was from. All it said what her name, sloppily written, but even the handwriting she couldn't place. Once she'd gotten it open she felt a huge smile cross her face. There was another box with her name on it, but a card attached to the top.
To Hermione
With love on Christmas, from Mr. & Mrs. Weasley.
She lifted the box top off and she saw a book of some sort. She lifted the book from the box and opened it up. On the very first page was a picture of Hermione, Ron and Harry all together during their first year at Hogwarts. She felt herself tear up, but willed herself not to cry. She turned the page and saw more pictures of their childhood. When she looked up to see the rest of the room showing each other their gifts, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley smiled and her. Hermione stood up and gave each one a big hug.
"Thank you." She whispered, wiping her eyes. "It's beautiful. I love it."
"You're very, very welcome, darling." Mrs. Weasley said, beaming, "I knew you'd like it."
"How was my wrapping?" Mr. Weasley said, smiling ear-to-ear with triumph.
"Fabulous." Hermione laughed. "You did a very good job." She hugged the older man once again before Harry approached them giving Hermione another hug.
"What'd you get?" Harry asked.
"A photo book." Hermione said holding it out to show him. "It's got a bunch of pictures of us growing up." She opened it up to show him the first picture then flipping through the next few pages.
"Oh look at this one." Harry said, turning the page. "That's Ron and I playing quidditch the summer after fifth year." Soon after Ron heard his name for the third time he came over to see what they were looking at. He took a seat next to Hermione, who was in the middle holding the precious book.
"Oh, remember when that bloody bludger hit me square in the stomach?" Ron winced, clearly remembering the pain he suffered through.
"Yeah, yeah I do." Harry laughed.
"I remember I was so worried about you." Hermione giggled. "Harry had sent me an owl right away saying that you were hurt and I wrote back as soon as I could saying that I'd be out to see you soon." She shook her head, smiling.
They turned the page, and immediately broke into laughter again. Sure enough, it was an after picture of all three of them together after Ron was hit. He was laying on his bed with a look of pain on his face. Both Harry and Hermione were sitting on the side of the bed, Hermione by his head and Harry down by his feet. Hermione was holding onto his hand tightly and Harry couldn't wipe the smile off his face. Fred was slightly in view, clearly meaning that George must've taken the picture.
"I didn't know you took a picture of that!" Ron complained. "I look so pathetic."
"That's what I was telling you." Harry cut in. "No one believed me." He told them, shaking his head in mock despair. "You were complaining, and you," he said, pointing at Hermione, "wouldn't leave his poor pitiful side. And to think you kept telling me to be sympathetic… that's what you get, both of you."
"Shut up, Harry." Ron laughed.
They continued to laugh at the next few pictures, but then it became uncomfortably silent between the three of them. They'd reached Christmastime during their sixth year at Hogwarts. Both Ron and Hermione were painfully quiet as they flipped through the photos of the two of them. Harry tried his best to keep the atmosphere light and happy, but it would only last so long. Hermione hoped they were reaching the end of those pictures. When she looked down again she saw one of them sitting close to each other on the couch holding hands and cuddling. It was bizarre to look back at pictures like that. Pictures that documented the love that they shared.
Once they'd passed the Christmas pictures, they'd gotten back into weird things that they'd done during school, but still there was Ron and Hermione holding hands, or hugging in almost every picture. For Ron it was difficult to see Hermione wince when she saw pictures of just the two of them. He didn't know what to do to make it seem less awkward.
Finally they'd finished going through all of the pictures. Hermione stood up and thanked Mr. & Mrs. Weasley once again for the photo album. She also thanked them for the evening, but told him that she should probably get back home. She said good night to everyone, and told them she'd see them all later.
