Disclaimer: The usual; I don't own anything. *Sigh* The characters all belong to the talented JKR. Well, with the exception of Faith… but she is blossoming into her own little person and I have lost control of her. ^_~
AN: Some of you wanted a sequel and I wasn't sure what exactly ya'll were looking for so this is a Christmas fic. Faith walks and talks and is generally annoying to everyone except for Ron.
Rating: PG to PG-13. I'm not sure what fits better. There will be some swearing of course because Ron is in this story. ^_^
Chapter One"Hermione! Pst! Hermione wake up!"
Hermione groaned and rolled over. "Mm… go…way… sleepin…"
Ron laughed quietly and sat down on her bed, bouncing up and down slightly, obviously trying very hard to be annoying. "Don't think you can get rid of me that easily. Get up!"
Hermione rolled onto her stomach and pulled her pillow over her head. "I'm tired, Ron. Go away." She whined.
Ron pulled the pillow off her head and lied down on top of her. "You don't want to miss this." He whispered in her ear. "You'll kill me if you miss this."
"I'll kill you if I fall asleep in class tomorrow because you kept me up all night."
Ron grinned and rolled off her. "At least you're fighting back now. Too bad we don't have classes tomorrow. We're on holiday."
Hermione groped for her pillow and rolled over, staring Ron in the eyes. "If we're on holiday, how did you get in my house?"
"Floo Powder my dear." He looked out the window at the clear night sky. "I have something to show you, now get up!"
Hermione sat up and rubbed her eyes and face. "What time is it?" She asked as she slid her feet into her slippers.
Ron grabbed her hand and pulled her off her bed. "Doesn't matter, just come on!"
Hermione reached for a maroon jumper on her chair as Ron dragged her out of her room and down the stairs. "Wait! Is it cold outside? Let me-"
"You won't notice the cold when you see this." Ron said as he opened the front door and pushed her outside. He shut the door quietly behind him.
Hermione pulled her oversized jumper on and frowned at Ron who was looking at the sky. She adjusted her pajama bottoms and tugged on the bottom of her jumper. "It's freezing out here! You could have let me put on a coat!"
"Hermione! Stop talking and look up!"
She growled and turned her gaze to the sky and gasped. A meteor shower. Streaks of red and gold shot across the black winter sky. She felt her jaw drop slightly. She remembered reading about this in Astronomy and she had planned on watching it but forgot entirely. A strange feeling took hold of her as she recalled that she had told Ron about it. At the time he said there was no way he was going to get up at three in the morning to watch a bunch of rocks fall from the sky.
"I wanted to surprise you." Ron said softly, seemingly reading her thoughts. "I'm sorry I woke you and I didn't owl but I wanted to be here and watch with you."
Hermione blushed deeply. Ron had been romantic in September before school started but all the romance seemed to fade away as soon as they set foot in a classroom. Ron had forgotten her birthday and she was almost entirely sure he had forgotten Christmas as well. She didn't mind too much, he was a boy after all. Somewhere deep inside though her heart ached wondering if Ron still loved her… or even liked her for that matter.
"Your parents let you leave at this hour?" She asked, not looking at him, she kept her eyes fixed on the sky.
"Everyone's up." Ron explained. "They're all watching this. My Mum let me leave because she thought it was romantic." Ron rolled his eyes. "Women."
Hermione punched him lightly. "You're very lucky my parents didn't hear you. They might have mistaken you for a burglar."
Ron bit his lip. "Yes, good thing."
She turned and searched his face. His eyebrows were drawn together and his mouth was forming a small mischievous smile. She put her hands on her hips. "Ron, what are you hiding?"
He couldn't help but grin. "Your parents already know I'm here."
Hermione frowned at him, puzzled. "How do they know?"
"I used the felly tone thing. I'm staying here tonight and tomorrow night, then we're all going to the Burrow for Christmas Eve."
"Really?"
Ron nodded. "Yeah. Your parents already accepted the invitation but if you don't want to go then-"
"No! I was just surprised! I think that sounds wonderful!"
Ron sighed with relief. "Good. You had me worried for a second."
Hermione smiled and turned back to watch the sky.
~*~
After all the trouble Ron went through to make this work he was glad that the look on Hermione's face was of shock and not horror.
They had only been on holiday for two days and Harry and Ginny were already driving him mad. Apparently they had both forgotten each other's proper names and were resorting to using ridiculous pet names for every occasion.
So Ron had spent his two days away from the both of them, hiding in the safe depths of his room or in the kitchen. Which is where he found his Mum's planner. Circled in red ink was the upcoming Wednesday.
"Hey, Mum?" Ron asked through a mouth full of cookies.
"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Mrs. Weasley scolded.
He swallowed. "Sorry."
"Just don't do it again. What did you need?"
"What's happening Wednesday?"
"A meteor shower. You're father and I are planning on watching it."
"Oh no!" Ron groaned. He had forgotten to tell his mother about his plans.
"What's wrong, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking up from the stew she was preparing.
"Hermione wanted to see that! She was going on and on at lunch about it a month or two ago."
"I must be missing something." Mrs. Weasley said, shaking her head. "What's so wrong with that?"
Ron blushed profusely. "I wanted to be there with her."
Mrs. Weasley smiled. "Well invite her over. Everyone else is here… might as well have a full house."
Ron cringed at the thought. Angelina and Katie and Penny were also staying at the Burrow for the week. There wouldn't be room for Hermione even if they tried. For some reason though, Ron didn't want to be at the Burrow watching the meteor shower with his family all around him, he wanted to be with Hermione. Alone.
"What if I went to Hermione's house?" Ron asked quietly.
"For how long?" His mother asked knowingly.
"A couple of days. I was hoping maybe we could invite her family over here for Christmas Eve." Ron stuffed his hands in his pockets nervously.
"I don't see why you couldn't go over there. As long as the Grangers don't mind."
"They don't, I already asked them."
Mrs. Weasley eyed her son suspiciously. "Did you already ask them to come over for Christmas Eve?"
Ron nodded. "But only because I know you like babies and I know you love having company." He smiled, trying to muster all the charm he could.
Mrs. Weasley couldn't hold her glare long, she gave up with a cry of defeat, slapping Ron with the spoon she was holding. "You and your father! You must get it from him! You know your brothers can't get away with that! Using that against your own mother! Honestly!"
Ron laughed at her rambling. "So s'all right?"
"It's fine, dear."
Ron leaned against the counter and fumbled for a small box in his pocket. "Mum? Will you do me a favor?"
"I might. Depends what it is."
"Will you tell me if I got Hermione the right kind of Christmas gift?"
Mrs. Weasley set her spoon down. "Of course I will!"
He handed the small box in his hand to his mother. "It's not much. I found it in Hogsmead in September and I had to save up for months to get it."
"Goodness!" Mrs. Weasley gasped, looking at the small silver ring in her hand. "How did you know her size?"
"I asked a girl in her dorm to find out for me." Ron shook his head thinking of Lavenders reaction to his request. She screamed and cried and hugged Ron telling him he needed to talk to Seamus about romance.
Mrs. Weasley looked as if she felt the same way. "Oh!" She wailed, looking close to tears. "I knew one of you boys would grow up and know how to treat a lady!"
Ron shrugged. "Well… I had her name engraved on the inside. The quills that are engraved in it caught my eye first. She likes those things you know. Mad woman she is… thinks they're so interesting."
"It's a wonderful gift. She will love it. Now go get ready to leave. Make sure you're back here on the twenty-fourth at three o'clock. We're eating dinner at four!"
Ron shook his head, ridding himself of the memory. He looked down at Hermione who was shivering slightly. He unbuttoned his cloak and pulled her into him wrapping the garment around both of them. She sighed and turned her face up to him. "Thank you for coming, Ron. I missed you."
He leaned down and planted a quick kiss on her soft mouth. "I missed you, too." He grinned down at her. "And your sister. How is she by the way?"
Hermione turned around in his arms and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Ron! You're incorrigible!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Okay all! There's the first chapter to the sequel. I know it's short but I had to start somewhere. Thanks for reading. Please review!
~Lenny