In Which the Exams Approach.

The Christmas holidays were over far too quickly as far as everyone was concerned, and soon Gryffindor Tower and the rest of Hogwarts was full of students again. Only Harry and Ginny knew where Ron and Hermione had spent Christmas eve. They noticed they weren't in their beds on Christmas morning, and upon their return around lunch time, they promptly grilled them on their whereabouts until they cracked under the pressure.

Nothing happened, and they only used that bed to sleep, but even so, they seemed so much closer now. Hermione was much more willing to be affectionate in public, and now let Ron hold her hand as they walked around the school.

The owl with the Sweetheart Quills from Fred and George finally came on the second day of term. The note attached read:

Hermione,
Sorry about how late these are, they've been selling great. Just follow the spell instructions to activate the charm, and if Ron writes you any rude notes just perform the reverse charm to make what he wrote visible to everyone, then you've got evidence against the dirty sod. Don't be afraid to tell him who's boss. He's very ticklish on the sides if you want to torture him into letting you know something.
Have fun!
Fred and George.

Ron was reading the letter over Hermione's shoulder at breakfast. Hermione knew she was a much faster reader than him, and as soon as she finished she spun round in her seat and gave him a good tickle on the side to test Ron's mischievous brother's tip. Sure enough Ron squealed like a girl and leapt out of reach.

That night they performed the simple activation charm on the quills, then tested them. Once Hermione was convinced only she and Ron could see what they wrote, she went up to her room and performed the charm on the Chinese dragon's blood parchment. She then brought the pieces of parchment down to the common room, and proceeded to test them as well. Once fully satisfied that everything was working perfectly, she gave one of the quills and one of the pieces of charmed parchment to Ron.

Buying the Sweetheart Quills from Fred and George turned out to be one of the best investments Hermione had ever made. Four times in the past eight weeks, Snape had snatched the parchment pieces from Ron and Hermione, convinced of what they were doing, but all four time he had found no proof, and been forced to give their 'spare' parchment back.

Passion grew between the couple, and so did a longer for each other, but still they both wanted to wait. It wouldn't be right, they knew, as they both had very high morals and ideals.

End of term exams were only a couple of months away, and Hermione had officially entered high-stress mode. She'd begun to snap at people when they interrupted her late night studying. Ron and Harry knew from experience that it was only a matter of time before she snapped during all study times, and that shortly, all spare time would be made study time.

Ron and Hermione were still writing to each other during class. With one month to go until the start of exams, letters from Ron still looked like this:

Hello Gorgeous,
I must say, you're looking mighty fine over there.
Just wanted to say I LOVE YOU.
xoxox Ron.

But Hermione's letters were now different, and instead of the usual flirting, being sweet, and the gentle nudge to listen in class, this was more likely what Ron was to expect back:

Ron,
Did you even listen to Professor Flitwick?
He just said the British witch Angelica Dearfast invented switching spells! That could be important!
Please pay attention. Oh no! What did he just say about where she was born? It could be on the exams!

Ron knew she was only going to get worse. He needed a plan to get her to relax, for one night at least. All this stress wasn't good for her, and he was worried about her.

Ginny was taking aim with her wand, ready to shoot little paper balls at Harry from across the common room. Harry had shown her how to do it with a straw and your mouth, like muggles, but she found using a wand much easier, and a little less gross.

Oblivious to this, Ron walked across the room to talk to Harry, where he was crouching behind an armchair, and got hit in the head by at least two dozen paper balls Ginny had sent that way.

Crouching next to a ready for attack Harry, he said "What are you two doing?"

"Taking a study break with a paper war," came Harry's reply, as he returned fire.

Ron grinned. "Your so lucky, sometimes I wish Hermione was a bit more fun-loving."

"You know what she's like, mate. You'll be fine, just give her a bit of time, as soon the exams are over, you two will be back to your mushy selves. Duck!" They both quickly pulled their heads back behind the armchair as a wave of paper balls soared over head. A couple hit their sides where the armchair didn't quite shelter the both of them. They ran to behind the wider couch and dived behind it during the break in fire, Harry shooting paper balls as he went.

"I just miss her company, you know," said a sad looking Ron. "I now realise how hard it was for her when I had all those detentions. I just want to do something with her, just us two, to help her relax a little bit." he paused as more paper balls flew at them, and Harry sent some more back at his sister. They heard her giggle across the room as she leapt out of the way. "The problem is how do I get her to agree without her biting my head off?"

A half exasperated, half amused look came across Harry's face as he said "Ron, you ignorant git! If you don't know that the best way to approach Hermione with something delicate is to write her a letter, there's no hope for you!"

Just then Ginny, tired of only being half concentrated on, decided it was time for a full out assault. Paper balls pelting them, she ran the length of the common room, and crash tackled her unsuspecting boyfriend to the ground, where they half-wrestled, half-tickled each other, laughing the whole time.

Ron left them to it. He had another letter to write.