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Author's Notes: ::eyes brim with tears:: You guys have been so kind, I can not even explain. You have made my day, my week, my year! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews! You're the best!

A Red And Gold Scarf

Part III: The Learning Curve

There's nothing like being called a "a stuffy, stuck-up, bushy haired, know-it-all, bookworm" to dampen your Christmas holiday, and Hermione's was already sufficiently wet. She spent a good bit more time crying before she could convince herself that Ron hadn't meant what he said (or at least not all of it). Still, it took a review of every good thinghe had ever done for her before she could start breathing normally once again.

Though the constant weaving in and out left her hands aching, knitting allowed her mind to wander and could sufficiently calm her down. She had added a distance between the most recent hole and her working point. Her tiny fingers slid up and down, weaved and wound, before a quiet clearing of the throat interrupted her.

There was Ron, looking down shamefully at his shoes and holding two large cups.

"Uh…I'm…really sorry 'Mione. I don't…I didn't mean it…"

Hermione smiled. "I'm sorry too. We really do need to start working on getting along."

Ron took this as a sign that he could proceed without being brutally attacked. He sat down next to her on the usual couch and handed Hermione a steaming mug. She looked down suspiciously at the brown liquid and took a sip.

"Hot chocolate?" That was something she hadn't tasted in awhile, and certainly not this rich. She frowned. "From the house elves?"

"No, made it myself," he guaranteed, thoroughly pleased by the sweet liquid. "Harry mentioned that Muggles drink it during the holidays."

"What's in it?" she asked, not sure whether she was enjoying the bittersweet beverage.

Ron grimaced, feeling he hadn't followed "the recipe" exactly, and took another sip. "Just melted chocolate at first, but it wouldn't come out of the cup, so I had to add some milk."

Hermione grinned; Harry should have specified what he meant by "hot chocolate." "It's great," she assured him. After all, it was the thought that counted. She took another sip and let the warmth of it slide down.

"About what I said…" Ron started.

"It…" Hermione searched. She shook her. "I acted just as poorly."

"It doesn't matter…I should have never…I don't think that your any of that, Hermione. I mean…sure, you like books and all, but that's not a bad thing. And well, just, I think… Krum had the right idea…and I shouldn't have be angry…just because he was the first one to notice it," Ron said firmly.

"Thanks," she blushed, a little too stunned at Ron's response to comeup with a decent one of her own."I think Fleur was a fool…and I certainly did mean a word of what I said. I was just trying to say what I thought would make you angriest," she admitted.

Ron's eyes shifted, feeling awkward about the apologies, and he caught sight of Hermione's knitting.

"Did I…?" he asked guiltily, looking at the most recent hole.

She laughed. "Don't worry about it. I just wish I knew how to fix it. I keep losing stitches."

"Is it difficult?" Ron asked. He had already gulped down all of his hot chocolate and placed the mug on a nearby table.

"I don't think so. It hurts your hand a bit, and it takes some patience…but it's nice…to work on something long enough and patiently enough that once you're finished, you're proud that it's yours," she ended feeling a little foolish.

Ron nodded with surprising apprehension. "Could you show me how?"

"You want to learn to knit?"

He shrugged. "Couldn't hurt."

She smiled lightly and gave a slight nod. "Alright." She handed him the two needles. "Well," she thought aloud. In all honesty, she wasn't sure how to teach someone to knit. Her grandmother had first taught her by standing behind her, guiding her hands into the correct motions, but she was determine to teach Ron without any awkward contact. "First you cross the right needle with the left." Ron clumsily moved the needles into the wrong formation.

"No," Hermione laughed. "Other left."

"Like this?" he asked. She wasn't sure how he had created that position.

"No, not at all like that," she admitted. "You've got to go in like this, and then out like this-" she was trying to demonstrate with her hands and nonexistent needles.

Ron, looking utterly confused, twisted the needles around hopelessly, losing stitches as he went.

If there was one thing Hermione couldn't stand, it was seeing something being done wrong. Disregarding her earlier resolutions, she wrapped her arms around him, putting her hands on his.

"Like this. In. Back. Loop. Threw. Pull. Push. In. Back. Loop. Threw. Pull," she mumbled to him quietly, guiding his hands gently in and out.

Ron, bright red and trying not to show it, began to relax as their hands developed a slow rhythm.

Hermione waited until she felt his hand moving with hers, and a few moments beyond that, before lettting go. "I think you've got it now," she told him softly, feeling slightly embarrassed, and started to move her hands away. Ron stopped her, squeezing them tightly with his own.

"'Mione…" he started, but couldn't seem to get any farther.

Hermione waited anxiously, her brown eyes locked on his blue, silently trying to urge him to finish.

"Are we…interrupting something?" Ginny asked suspiciously.

Automatically, the two dropped their hands.

"I was teaching your brother how to knit," Hermione said, recovering quickly.

"Uh huh," she smiled. "I'm sure."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Ron asked, uneasily handing the knitting back to Hermione.

"Came to ask you if you were up for some Quidditch," Harry said, itching the back of his head.

"Sure, I mean…" he looked at Hermione, realizing Quidditch was not her favorite pastime.

"I could use some fresh air," she admitted, gathering her things. Harry shrugged to Ron as Ginny elbowed Hermione, giggling hysterically, and the four friends walked out the door.

-

"IT'S SNOWING!" They were the first words out of his mouth.

"Ron-" but it was too late, he had grabbed Hermione by the hand and was dragging her out the door.

"RON! Stop! What are you doing?! We're in our pajamas!"

"You've got slippers!" he said, as if that made all the difference.

"No! I don't want to! Ron!" Try as she might, she couldn't hold back the laughter associated with the absurdity of being dragged from your common room at 7 in the morning, in your pajamas, by a tall redhead, tosee the snow. Quickly, she grabbed up both of their jackets, which had been left on a large chair the night before.

Moments later, they were standing in the middle of a winter wonderland. Ron stood looking satisfied, as the snow continued to fall down.

"Ron?" Hermione questioned quietly. "You know, I've seen snow before. Was there a reason you couldn't wait till I got dressed?"

"It's part of your rehabilitation therapy," he said. "I'm trying to show you there are better things in the world then books and papers."

Hermione looked out on the silence before her and couldn't find an argument.

Ron dropped down happily, laying straight out, arms held out above him. Hermione laughed, tucking her jacket under her before sitting cross-legged beside him.

"Hermione," he groaned, sitting up to look at her, his bare hands grasping the snow. "Why can't you learn?"

"I thought I wasn't allowed to learn," she pointed out.

"You've got to learn how to have fun." With that, he threw the snow he had been scooping onto her and stumbled away.

"RONALD!" she screeched, as his laughter continued from the distance. "RON!" She attempted to brush it off, but that made the snow melt, and the cold water seep into her light pajamas.

Now, she was up and running. Ron Weasley would pay.

"Aw, 'Mione, it was just a little snow," he attempted sweetly.

"A little snow? A little snow?" She squeaked through snow covered hair.

Ron eyed the large chunk ofthe white stuffin her hand. "Come on Hermione, I'm in my pajamas!"

"You're in your pajamas? Let's recall who dragged who out here, Mr.Weasley!"

Any argument he was considering was knocked out of his head by an oncoming snowball.

He looked up to see Hermione laughing hysterically.

He grinned. "Alright then, Ms. Granger. This means war."

-

"TRUCE!" Ron yelled through staggered, laughing breaths. "Truce!"

Hermione was only too glad to oblige; she feel down against a tree and tried to regain her breath.

Ron stumbled over to her and sat down as well.

"You were right, that was fun," she laughed, pushing her soaking hair from her face.

"Don't they have snow in the Muggle world?" Ron asked.

"Of course," she scoffed. "Just…I'd never really 'played' in it before."

"Well, you did bloody well for a beginner," Ron grimaced, slicking back his own drenched hair.

Hermione smiled. "Thanks…for doing this I mean." Her teeth chattered slightly at the end of the sentence, as a cold breeze blew through. She rubbed her frostbitten hands together for warmth.

"You're cold?' Ron asked with sincere concern.

"Just a bit," she lied. She was freezing.

Ron paused for a second. Hermione felt a soft pressure on her shoulders.

She looked up curiously to find that Ron had wrapped his arms around her.

"Uh…just to keep warm…" he fumbled, taking her hands in his. She smiled.

Physically, Ron was possibly the least likely being to keep anyone warm. He was tall, skinny, and at the time, soaking wet. Still, Hermione found herself unexplainably warmer with his arms around her.

Of course, it was very cold, and it was only a matter of time before the winter air had sucked up any warmth they had preserved.

"Ron," Hermione spoke up sadly. It wasn't that she wasn't enjoying herself...but she could no longer feel her face.

"Reckon we should head in?"

She nodded. Awkwardly and blushing, he slipped his arms away, and stood up.

Silently and regretfully, they headed back inside.

:O! To be continued! ;)Once again,thank you IMMENSELY for the reviews! They mean the world to me :D I love you! On a slightly sadder note, there's a chance the next chapter will take longer to get up, since school has once again returned, but it won't be too long, promise! :D

Back to math homework ;)

Love, warmest regards, and best wishes,

Soragirl

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