So I know I only posted an update yesterday, but after the comments I'd received I made some tweaks to this chapter which resulted in two extra chapters. I got so excited about this chapter, I decided to post about it today. To give a bit of context to my writing process; I set out all the chapters and what's going to happen in each one and try to stay around 5 chapters ahead of myself. So this has been written for ages. I had always planned for Ron and Hermione to have the conversation towards the end of the chapter and it's been written for a month, but then something AzureAlquimista said to me rang true 'Most [fics] are "I love you; all problems solved...'". That and a few other ideas we discussed made me change how the conversation went, but I think it's better this way. Strap yourself in - long chapters equals a rollercoaster. Hopefully we'll be back to our regular scheduled posting Thursday (although I still have to squish posting another chapter in somewhere if I want this fic to be finished and posted by the end of the year! Anyway, long Author notes are long but I wanted to explain myself a little. I really hope you "enjoy" this chapter. It was hard to write, I cried. But I promise it will be worth it.
Hermione finally experiences her first Christmas at the Burrow.
Hermione could count on one hand the number of times Ron would be awake before her. In fact, she probably wouldn't need all five fingers.
Christmas was number one on that list.
True to form, he had woken up exceptionally early. Hermione could feel his eyes on her, burning into the back of her head and she grumbled, burying herself further into the bright orange pillow. She didn't have to turn to look at him to know he was sat up next to her, fidgeting with excited energy.
Ron noticed her slight movement and grinned. "You're awake!" He almost pounced on her, pushing the duvet cover off her body before pressing kisses anywhere on her back not covered by her pyjama top. It had ridden up overnight, revealing a slash of bare skin at the small of her back; another of his favourite spots.
"Are you ill?" Hermione lifted her head, throwing a teasing frown at him. "Why are you awake?"
"Because it's Christmas – my favourite day of the year! There are presents and all of my favourite foods…"
"What? No, it isn't, you're completely wrong. Go back to sleep you fool!" Hermione let her head fall back to her pillow, trying to fight the smile creeping over her face. His enthusiasm was always infectious, even at ridiculous hours of the morning (as long as he wanted to be awake that is).
Ron sat back on his heels and frowned at his girlfriend. "Hermione, wake up!" He lifted her arm and pulled at it gently.
She let out an exaggerated sigh and rolled over, making a big show of forcing her eyes open and 'waking up'. She finally set her sights on Ron and her heart immediately filled with love for him. His face was lit up with joy and he looked just like the 12-year-old who'd run down the dormitory stairs, taking them two at a time before bounding into the Gryffindor common room to wish her a Merry Christmas. Despite the fact they faced testing their own potion-making skills with the polyjuice that afternoon, his puppy-like energy had been infectious and it had remained that way in all the years she'd known him.
"Merry Christmas Ron!"
Ron's grin grew wider, filling his face right up to his eyes. "Merry Christmas, love!"
He leaned down to give her a soft kiss. Hermione looped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her, laughing as his body crashed down on top of hers. She carried on kissing him until the thunder of footsteps on the stairs disturbed them.
"I guess I should put you down…" Hermione pouted up at Ron with a sigh.
"Yeah, I guess… although now we've started kissing, I kind of just want to stay here and make all my presents bed-related…" He wriggled his eyebrows at her, causing her to burst into a fit of giggles.
"Don't ever change Ron Weasley, I love you…"
"I love you too!"
"Now, as much as I want nothing more in the world right now than to stay in bed with you all day, all the security charms in the world would not stop your mother from coming up here and splitting us up. We're lucky we're being allowed to share a bed as it is. It's far too dangerous…"
Ron groaned in mock protest but started to move off her anyway. He carefully climbed off the bed and started getting dressed. "We have ridden dragons, broken into Gringotts and destroyed Horcruxes and still it's my mother that scares us the most!"
"And with reason. Ginny told me about how Molly killed Bellatrix to protect her. There's no way I'm getting in between her and her wand…" Hermione pushed her feet into her slippers and held out her hand for Ron, who took it and gave it a tight squeeze before leading her downstairs.
They were immediately greeted by a chorus of Merry Christmases from the rest of the family.
"Nice of you to join us…" George smirked at his brother and girlfriend as they finally joined everyone.
"Sorry, mum did give us an official time for present opening…" Ron scowled at his brother.
"Never mind, you're here now…" Molly stepping quickly. Christmas morning was far too early for the children to be arguing. "Right… you all know where your piles of presents are. On your marks, get set, go!"
Hermione stood in the doorway of the room, watching in surprise as the family located their presents and tore into them with gusto. She was more used to an orderly affair. When she was with her family, they each took it in turns to unwrap a present and the paper got put away in a black bin bag before they started on the next. The Burrow living room currently looked like a Christmas crime scene with wrapping paper spread across the place and a myriad of sounds coming from every corner. Victoire was the only one taking her time, but that was because presents were still a new concept to the 18-month-old toddler.
Hermione felt a pull at her arm and she turned her attention to Ron.
"Your presents are here next to mine…" He patted the floor and she sat down next to him, kissing his temple before reaching for her own pile.
She received the usual presents from the family; tubs of homemade cookies and sweets, new quills, and a collection of books she'd been eyeing up recently in Flourish and Botts.
Her favourite present was a knitted Weasley family jumper in deep navy with a gold 'H' on the front. She pulled it on eagerly, laughing as Ron made his usual protestations about his maroon jumper.
She waited for Ron to finish unwrapping the presents from his family before digging in her pocket for her present to him. She placed it in his hands with a proud smile.
"What's this?" Ron frowned at the wrapped twig. He held it between two fingers, trying to work out what it might be.
"Oh wait… I did that wrong…" She tapped the present with her wand and laughed as it grew to full size, forcing Ron to drop the present to the floor. His eyes lit up with excitement.
"No way?!" Ron gasped and tore at the paper eagerly. "It's a new broom!"
"Well you've been using the same one for a few years now and I thought it was time you got an upgrade. Don't worry! Ginny and Harry made sure I was buying the right one!"
"This is brilliant, thank you, Hermione!" He leaned over the broom to give her a kiss.
"You're welcome handsome…" She pulled away from the kiss and watched him expectantly, waiting for him to present her with a gift but instead he just turned back to admiring his broom. She frowned and nudged him with her foot.
"Yes, sweetheart?" Ron looked up at her with the cutest smile.
"I just wondered if I had any more presents to open?" She tried to match his cute smile, but it fell quickly off her face as she saw the realisation hit his face. She immediately regretted asking as it became obvious he'd forgotten.
Ron abandoned his new broom, looking guilty.
"Oh… shit…" His cheeks burned bright red. Hermione could see his brothers paying attention to their conversation and she kicked herself mentally for even bringing it up. "I guess I just thought the other night at the hotel… it cost me quite a bit of money…"
Hermione forced a smile on to her face. "Oh yeah of course… sorry Ron, I didn't realise that was my present. It was perfect though…" She leaned towards him to give him a kiss. She felt awful, but so conflicted. Everyone else was unwrapping presents from their partners. It wasn't as if she had gone without, she'd been thoroughly spoiled by the rest of the family and it wasn't like her to be so bothered about a lack of material things; it was always the moments and experiences that were more important to her. She settled back against the sofa and watched as Ron went back to fussing over his new broom with Harry, although he seemed less happy about it now. She felt really bad and she sat in silence, her cheeks burning bright red as she worked out how she could make things better.
Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of a car pulling on to the drive. Hermione cast her eyes around the room; everyone was accounted for and the family had no further partners or friends who were planning on showing up today and especially not by car. She watched curiously as Molly stood and pushed the net curtains aside to look out of the window.
"Just in time for lunch…" The Weasley matriarch gave her youngest son a meaningful look. Curiously, Ron stood up and stowed his broom away somewhere out of Victoire's reach before offering a hand to Hermione. She just frowned at him, her heart pounding as the rest of the family watched them.
"Who's in the car, Ron?" She narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend.
"Why don't we go and see?" Ron smirked at Hermione and took her hand, forcing her up on her feet. He pulled her towards the front door and opened it wide, ignoring the blast of cold air that greeted them.
Hermione gasped as she watched the driver's side door open and her father stepped out. The middle-aged man hurried around the car and pulled open the passenger side for her mum. Hermione felt Ron's arms wrap around her from behind and she could feel the smug smile on his face.
"And you thought I hadn't gotten you anything…" He nuzzled his head in her hair briefly before letting go of her, smiling as he watched her rush to greet them.
Hermione closed the gap between her and her parents quickly, wrapping her arms around them both at the same time. It had been months since she'd last seen them in person and although she was used to spending long periods apart from them, she'd grown a lot close to them while she was in living in Australia. She let out a laugh of joy at how nervous they looked; this would be their first time spending a whole day in the presence of this much magic.
She took both their hands and pulled them towards the Burrow, keen to start introducing them to the Weasleys. Her parents seemed overwhelmed at first by the small crowd of people, fighting to be the first to meet Hermione's parents properly.
"Don't worry if you don't remember everyone's names to begin with. If they're ginger, they're a Weasley – that's the best rule to follow…"
Hermione smiled as she watched her parents get pulled further into the Burrow and followed them eagerly. She wriggled her way through the group to Ron, who was waiting nervously by the fireplace, his hands jammed into his jeans pockets. She slipped an arm through his and leaned into him as she waited for her parents to make their way over to them.
"Of course, you know Ron already…"
Hermione's mum, Jean, was the first to step forward and offer Ron a hug. Hermione reluctantly let go of him and watched him move into her arms. Jean was completely dwarfed by him, but it didn't put her off.
"It's so nice to finally get to see you in person again Ronald. It's really not the same over Skype…"
Hermione raised her eyebrows at Ron as he was released from the hug, an amused smile on her face. "You've been using Skype?"
"Took us a few weeks to sort this all out. I've been taking scheduled calls with your parents for a while now, usually on the nights I don't stay with you. They already had their flights booked when they told you they weren't coming…"
Hermione bit back a laugh and resisted the urge to throw herself at Ron. He was always full of surprises and it completely bowled her over to find out how eager he was to learn more about muggle technology to do something nice for her. Of course, it was a sneaky prank to play; making her feel like he'd forgotten her Christmas present but she thought she might be able to forgive him.
The reappearance of Molly in the living room signalled to everyone that Christmas dinner was ready. Arthur appeared at Jean and Malcolm's side and offered to escort them through to the table, questioning them about aeroplane mechanics as they moved.
Hermione reached for Ron as the room emptied, pulling at his arm to hold him back. Once they were alone, she turned to him with a huge smile.
"You are a sneak… first the hotel room and then this…"
Ron wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight to him. "I'm an enigma. But seriously, it was so hard keeping all of this from you; especially when you were upset about them not coming home. I almost told you there and then that they were coming so that it would cheer you up!"
She buried her head against his chest and held him for a brief moment before letting go of him. "Is your mum okay with the extra mouths to feed?"
"You're kidding right?! She's been desperate for a chance to meet them properly for years and she's warned the whole family to be on their best behaviour. My dad has been rabbiting on for weeks about getting a chance to grill them about muggle things…"
"Because he doesn't know anyone who's lived in the muggle community…" Hermione laughed and led him into the kitchen, swinging their hands happily between them. The kitchen table, and probably the kitchen itself had been magically enlarged to fit the entire tribe in and as Hermione sat down next to her mum, she marvelled at Molly's ability to cater for the hundreds without seemingly breaking a sweat.
Hermione had never experienced a Weasley Christmas at the Burrow. The one time at Grimmauld Place had been overshadowed by the threat of war and Arthurs injuries. She was glad she had her parents by her side so she could experience it with them too. It was loud and there wasn't a moment where one of the family wasn't telling a joke or arguing with each other. There had been an epic game of Monopoly, which had resulted in Percy flipping the table when he'd discovered George had been magically duplicating his money when nobody was paying attention and Ron finally suffered a defeat in chess when he took on Malcolm. Mr Granger had been excited to use the magical pieces, although Hermione had to tell the players where to go as they seemingly didn't take orders from muggles.
When they weren't playing board games, Hermione found herself tucked away in the corner of the house with her parents, catching them up on her progress with Dobby's Law or boasting about Ron's performance at Auror Academy. There had been a constant flow of food for them to eat, even though most of them had been stuffed after the massive roast dinner Molly had presented them with.
The evening drew in and the Weasley tradition of listening to Celestina Warbeck signalled the end of the night for most of the family. Hermione settled on the loveseat to listen to the music and had happily let Victoire climb into her lap. She stroked the toddler's hair as she started to drift off to sleep and surveyed the room, feeling a peace wash over her. Ron was sat in the corner of the room, his head bent close to Bills. The pair of them were probably discussing his new broom; Ron hadn't stopped talking about it all day. Her parents were chatting happily away with Molly and Arthur, helped greatly by the free-flowing wine and eggnog. Hermione let her eyes drift back to Ron.
Ron felt a pair of eyes on him. He lifted his head and gave Hermione a smile before wrapping up his conversation with Bill. He wandered over to his girlfriend and dropped on to the loveseat next to her.
"You're now the chosen one… Victoire is fussy over who she naps with…"
"She's probably just exhausted and I had the closest available lap…" Hermione smiled as Ron gave her a quick kiss.
"Do you fancy getting some fresh air with me? Celestina is giving me a headache…"
"Sure… that will be nice…"
Ron stood up, carefully pulling his niece into his arms. Hermione watched as he expertly passed her over to Bill without her even stirring. She let their parents know that they were going before heading to the back door to wrap up warm. Once Ron was in his winter coat, she took his hand and headed out into the cold.
The couple walked together slowly, gravitating towards their spot in the field down by the lake. It had been a while since they'd been there – the months had flown by since Harry and Ginny's wedding. Despite the earlier threats of snow, the field was still clear, the frosted grass crunching under their feet.
"I'm surprised you didn't force me out for a fly on your new broom!" Hermione turned to Ron teasingly once they got to the lake.
"It's not quite the weather for it today. If it doesn't snow tonight, there may be a family game of Quidditch tomorrow!"
"That will be nice, my parents would love to watch that…."
"Good! Do you think they've enjoyed themselves?"
"I think they have… the busy-ness must have been overwhelming at first, but it seems they've adjusted to it."
"Good… mum was grateful for the chaos…"
"I invited mum and dad to come and stay with me for the rest of the week at Primrose Cottage, so they're not stuck in a hotel room, but the way they're getting on with Molly and Arthur, I wouldn't be surprised if they stay here!"
Ron laughed. "Mum would love that…"
"I know…" Hermione gave him a smile.
Ron smiled back as the conversation came to a natural end. He shifted a bit nervously, which didn't go unspotted by Hermione.
"Are you okay Ron?"
Ron looked surprised by the question. "I kind of had an ulterior motive for asking you out for a walk tonight…" He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking like he was fumbling with something. He looked so nervous; Hermione was worried he was on the verge of proposing. She quickly tried to organise her thoughts as her heart started pounding. What would she even say if he asked? Were they even ready to get married?!
"I've been thinking about what happened at the hotel and the conversation we had yesterday morning. Bill asked how our night had gone and we had a bit of a chat and I think I've worked out why we keep on having the same argument…" Ron was staring at his feet now, afraid to make eye contact with her and Hermione felt her stomach plummet; now it was sounding like he was going to break up with her.
"Why's that?" Hermione took a deep breath, knowing she had to face whatever he was planning on throwing at her with a brave face so as not to let it completely ruin her Christmas.
"I think we're kind of seeing our relationship a bit differently…" Ron's brow was creased in concentration. He was trying hard to set out what he meant in a way that wouldn't upset Hermione – an indication that he'd matured over the years since he'd left school. He still found it difficult to voice his thoughts, which often made him feel frustrated but he knew he had to push forward with this.
"I think I'm seeing this as something completely brand new but you still see it as a continuation of where we broke things off last year as if the seven months in between didn't happen. Neither is bad, but I think while we're still on different tracks things will still be difficult. Like you getting upset whenever I mention Lavender. We were apart when I was with her, but I think you kind of see that as me cheating on you…"
He lifted his head, his heart pounding as he watched her digest what he'd said. If he'd read Hermione's mood right, they'd be able to work this out but if he hadn't; he may have just thrown away the best thing in his life.
It took Hermione a while to think about what Ron had just told her. In the past, she might have felt offended by the stark truth being laid in front of her, especially because she hadn't been the first person to realise it, but instead she felt been floored by his honesty. His maturity in his approach completely changed her perspective on everything. And scarily, it was ringing true in her mind too. She had been seeing things as a continuation of what they had been before – but was that the right thing to do?
"I…. wow… this has come completely out of the left-field…" She let out a shaky breath. "I think I understand what you're saying though. Thank you for being honest with me, Ron. I think you're right…" The admission scared her. She'd been working hard to get things 'back to normal' for them, not realising that maybe normal wasn't what they needed. "We're not Ron and Hermione from last year…"
Ron shook his head. "Sorry if this has come as a bit of a surprise for you. I have been thinking about it this afternoon and I didn't want to wait until after Christmas to talk to you. That wouldn't have been fair. We're not Ron and Hermione from last year, far from it and it's not a bad thing. We've both had to do a lot of growing up since the war, a lot has happened…"
Hermione nodded in agreement. "I think that's the problem. I've been hanging on to everything we went through and not realising that what we have now is stronger and more brilliant than before…" She felt tears come to her eyes. "We wouldn't have been able to have a conversation like this before…"
"No, you're right… I wouldn't have been able to face it. I liked to hide away from dealing with stuff…" Ron laughed softly. "I was just happy to do the things that kept you happy, even if they didn't feel right to me. And I think you did the same. Sometimes, I think you're walking on eggshells because you're worried you'll upset me. I don't want you to do that." He reached back to scratch his neck, a sign to Hermione he was still feeling nervous.
"Thank you for being brave and talking to me about this tonight Ron…" Hermione stepped closer to him and slid her arms around his waist, smiling as he immediately wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head against his chest. "What do we do now?"
Ron kissed the top of her head then rested his head on top of hers, letting out a heavy sigh. "I think maybe we should go back to the Burrow and enjoy Celestina's encore before the family miss us. Then I think maybe I should give you a few days to enjoy your parents' company. I still want to talk to you, every day if I can but I think it's really important you spend some time with them, they've missed you loads and they've come a long way to see you. Maybe I can come to the airport with you to see them off and then we can decide how we're going to move forward with everything?"
"This isn't us breaking up though, is it Ron?"
"What? No way!" Ron pulled away enough so he could look down at her. "This is us making things stronger. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me and I don't want to lose it. I plan on showing you tonight just how much I mean that too…" He nudged her softly before pressing a kiss against her lips.
Hermione let herself get lose in his kisses, her arms drawing tighter around him. What Ron had told her felt like it had come out of nowhere, hitting her like a barrage of bludgers but at the same time, it made sense to her. They needed to have a sit-down, proper adult conversation about things instead of arguing and immediately making up again if they ever wanted to stop the never-ending cycle.
Hermione eventually had to break away for breath, using shorter kisses to fill the gap. It felt like if she stopped kissing him, she'd never get him back.
It was Ron who eventually stopped the kisses properly, lifting his hand to run a thumb under her eye to get rid of the tears.
"We need to get back or you may miss your parents leaving for the night. I know you'll want to make sure you have plans put in place for tomorrow…" He rubbed his nose against hers before taking hold of her hand firmly and starting to walk back up to the Burrow with her.