Author Notes: Thank you so much for your support with the last chapter. I was so anxious about doing something like that. It's time to learn a bit more about the Grangers and see how Hermione and Ron are handling the small amount of time apart! Enjoy xxx

Hermione spends New Years with her parents and leaves a small surprise for Ron at his flat.

Muggles always describe the days between Christmas and New Years as a sort of limbo. Nobody truly knows what day it is, only that time merges into a mishmash of seeing family and friends, parties, awful movies and eating all of the cheese out of the fridge. For Hermione, usually so in tune with when in time she was situated, it felt rather similar to her. Her parents had driven her back to Primrose Cottage after spending Boxing Day with the Weasleys in their hire car. Her goodbye to Ron was bittersweet; they had spent hours discussing the pro's and con's of spending some time apart but by doing so, she felt she'd grown even closer to him. They had never struggled to talk about their thoughts and feelings before, but now it felt that nothing was off the table. She really wasn't looking forward to spending some time apart from him.

They had decided that he would stay away, at least physically, so that Hermione would have a proper chance to catch up with her parents. There had been a few awkward questions at first but luckily, George had announced last minute on Boxing Day that he needed a few extra pairs of hands to help him set up the new shop in Hogsmeade. He wanted to be open in time for the start of the new school term; so Ron and his brothers, including Harry, had volunteered. This had the added bonus that Hermione had a ready-made excuse for Ron's absence.

Unable to keep away from him completely, she had taken to flooing Ron in the evenings once her parents had gone to bed, choosing to speak to him via her fireplace rather than visiting him. They had spent at least an hour a night catching up on the day's activities before starting to pick apart the conversation they'd had Christmas night.

It was mentally exhausting, but they'd hit a major breakthrough when Hermione admitted to Ron she didn't like the idea that he'd been with someone else; it sometimes made her feel like "just another girlfriend", something that took Ron a couple of hours to persuade her that she was definitely more than that to him. There had been small arguments over the week; they both felt passionate about their side of things, but they'd worked together to overcome them.

Hermione filled the time she wasn't speaking to Ron by showing her parents the small village at Ottery St. Catchpole and her favourite places around Devon. They'd browsed the Christmas markets in Exeter and spent hours walking along the beaches at Instow and Woolacombe. However, she constantly felt like there was a Ron-shaped hole following her around.

Despite the separation, Hermione found the week had passed pretty quickly and New Year's Eve was soon upon her. Her parents had opted for their usual quiet affair and Hermione had been happy to accommodate them. Ron had warned her that he was planning on attending in inaugural New Years Eve party at the Leaky Cauldron with his siblings. He'd invited her to go with him, but Hermione had politely declined. She didn't think that consuming copious amounts of alcohol was the best idea, given the current state of their relationship.

Instead, her mum had cooked them a delicious lamb roast and the three of them had eaten it around her kitchen table. It was nice to enjoy a meal without worrying about a Weasley stealing her second helpings.

Granger family rules dictated that whoever cooked get to skip the washing up, so Hermione had sent her mum to relax in front of the TV whilst her and Malcolm go to work. Hermione has been making a conscientious effort to limit the amount of magic she was using around them and she relished the opportunity to do it by hand with her dad.

Hermione sunk her hands into the bowl of warm water and started washing up in silence. The sound of the television was just audible from the other room. It was Malcolm who finally broke the quiet.

"So, I know he's been working at his brother's store, but I was at least expecting to see Ron in the evenings. Did we scare him away?"

"He doesn't want to face being beaten at chess again!" Hermione laughed softly. "He just thought it would be good for us to have time to catch-up. He tends to monopolise my time when he's around…"

"Well, that's good to hear. Though I don't think me or your mum would have minded if he were here. We like him."

"I like him too, he makes me happy Dad!"

"Good! I may seem like a quiet dentist and not much of a threat, but even without magic I would be able to find a way to sort him out if he ever did anything to upset you…"

Hermione smiled at her dad as the conversation went quiet again. She concentrated on getting a stubborn piece of grease off a pan, the talk she'd had with Ron at the forefront of her mind again; just like it had been for the past week. She hadn't spoken to anyone about it – her closest friends were Harry and Ginny and Betsy. It didn't feel right for Hermione to speak to Harry and Ginny about Ron and Betsy wasn't very good at providing advice about human relationships. She usually just fed Hermione cake and patted her on the shoulder.

As a teen, Hermione tended to be a bit distant with her parents; only telling them what she thought they needed to know. She had been terrified that if they had known exactly what she had been up to, the dangerous positions she had been in almost constantly; they would have demanded she left the school. Hogwarts had given her something she'd never had before; true friends and being torn away from them would have destroyed her. She also firmly believed that the less her parents knew – the less valuable they'd be to Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

During her time in Australia, she'd learnt to open up more to them – although she'd still been guarded about what she had told them. She was working on increasing what she did disclose to them and figured she had a great opportunity to test the waters with them a little bit more. She had always been a daddy's girl and found it a lot easier to speak to him than her mum.

She concentrated on the dishwater, so as not to have to look her Dad in the eye. "Actually, I was the one who upset him…"

"Oh yeah?" Malcolm frowned at his daughter, leaning against a counter.

"Yeah, but not recently… last year…" Hermione frowned as she tried to work out the best way to explain what had happened. She was very aware that she wasn't currently making very much sense.

"When I broke up with him last summer, but we argued about something the night before Christmas Eve and then Christmas Night we talked about it a little more…"

"Was that when you went out for a walk? You did seem a bit off when you got back…"

"Did we? We were trying our best to act normal…"

"Sometimes, that's the thing…" Malcolm took the next plate off his daughter and started to wipe it dry. "You try so hard to look normal, you look uneasy. You're very good at hiding most things Hermione, but you'd be surprised at how much me and your mum actually know."

Hermione smiled as she washed the next pan. "He thinks I'm a bit stuck in our past relationship…"

"What do you mean?"

"He thinks I want what we had before, that I can just fix everything and we can forget the last year happened but he's focussing more on creating a new relationship and looking for new shared experiences."

"I see…" Malcolm stopped drying up to look at his daughter. "And how do you feel about that?"

Hermione pondered the question for a moment. "I guess I feel guilty that I was the one who broke things off but he's right. I want to move forward with him…"

"I think that's a good decision to make. I'm glad you're planning to keep him around – I rather like him. He's very good at chess and it's nice to play against someone who may eventually beat me." Malcolm chuckled to himself. "You're an old soul Hermione and you definitely prefer things to stay the same way if you can. Considering all the adventures you've had and I'm pretty sure your mother and I only know about half of them, you're still quite set in your ways. I don't think it would hurt you to relax a little more and go with the flow. You like to plan ahead. Don't change too much though. I reckon that boy is besotted with you just the way you are…"

Hermione blushed bright red but smiled. "I think you're right dad. We've been calling each other once you and mum have gone to bed. We've talked a lot this past week."

"Sounds like a pretty grown-up thing to do. I think the two of you will be fine, you just need to work out a way to show him that you want the same things. Will we get to see him before we leave?"

"Yes!" Hermione pulled the plug out of the sink and turned to lean against it as it drained. "He's going to meet us in London and travel to Heathrow with us. If Arthur didn't have work he probably would have tagged along too. Ron's only been to the airport once before…" She winced as her father's eyes lit up. "Do no use this as an opportunity to wind him up, Dad!" She pointed a warning finger at him, laughing as she flicked bubbles at him. "He's very excited and he loves spending time with you!"

"I'll be on my best behaviour!" Malcolm made the 'cross my heart' symbol then held his arms out for his daughter.

Hermione smiled and stepped closer to him, nestling into the hug. "All couples have ups and downs, it's not only about the fun times. You two will survive this – you are strong and you continue to impress me and your mum daily!"

"Thanks, Dad…" She pulled away and distracted herself by topping up their wine glasses, she'd started to get a little misty-eyed by what her dad was saying.

They soon joined her mum in the living room and spent the rest of their evening split between a game of Scrabble and watching the Hootenanny. The fireworks over London were spectacular and as Hermione watched them play out on her television, she wondered if Ron was out in the crowds watching them too. Ever the child, he absolutely loved fireworks and although Hermione never saw the point in them, she would happily endure them for him. Of course, muggle fireworks weren't quite as grand and special as magical ones but they still caught his interest. She fondly remembered how excited he'd been to learn that muggles loved them as much as him.

Her parents retired to bed soon after midnight; like her, they were creatures of habit and preferred an early night and Hermione was left sitting alone in the living room, not quite ready for bed yet. She sighed heavily. Despite the fact they'd not even been apart for a week, she missed Ron the most during the late hours and especially at bedtime. Sleeping without him next to her was difficult; she'd gotten used to the weight of his body in the mattress next to her, his soft snores and the gross heat that always radiated from his body. She knew that she would eventually have to get used to him being away from home whilst on Auror missions, but the thought didn't seem to placate her much.

She also hated the fact she'd turned into someone who pined for their lover. It wasn't as if they were completely joined at the hip yet. They still spent some nights apart, although these were getting increasingly rarer as their relationship progressed. The thought of knowing he would be there when she got home from a difficult day at work; whether they'd arranged to be at her cottage or his flat, always helped her to survive even the most difficult situations and meetings.

Hermione collected up their dirty wine glasses with a sigh and carried them through to the kitchen. Her eyes fell on the trays of leftovers on the kitchen counter. It was odd for them to have leftovers after a family meal; Hermione was now used to her plates being almost licked clean whilst Ron was around and she knew he would have loved her mother's cooking. She found herself automatically putting together a plate for him. He was still out drinking, but he always came home hungry. As an afterthought, she added a plate of dessert then set a long-lasting warming charm and apparated straight into his London flat.

The room was dark, although the noise of the New Years celebrations still echoed around the London streets. The city was always fantastic for a party and Hermione briefly considered leaving the plate of food and heading to the pub to catch up with everyone, but she didn't want to infringe on his time with his brothers or for him to think she was checking upon him. There was a good possibility that Lavender was there and the last thing she wanted, given their conversation the other night, was for Ron to think she didn't trust him around her. In fact, Hermione felt the complete opposite – as soon as the thought of Lavender being there entered her mind, it left again. She was truly unbothered by it; a great indication of the work her and Ron had done over the last few evenings.

Hermione turned on the light and was immediately surprised by how neat and tidy the flat had been kept. Usually, Ron was a whirlwind of mess and noise. Everything had been tidied away and it even smelt nice. She wandered through to the kitchen and left the plates of food where he could easily find them. After a second thought, she conjured a jar of bluebell flames and left them next to the food, ensuring the surrounding unit was placed under a fireproof charm just in case. She then found a scrap piece of parchment and wrote on it, spellotaping it to the plate.

She briefly entertained the thought of just getting into his bed and waiting for him to get home but decided against it. She had her own very comfortable, albeit very empty bed at home and she really didn't fancy getting woken up by his drunken stumbling around in the early hours, especially as tomorrow was her last full day with her parents. She smiled as she checked his flat one last time before turning off the light and apparating home, hoping her parents hadn't noticed she wasn't there.

Across London, Ron was still outside the Leaky Cauldron with his family and friends, watching the fireworks display happily. He loved fireworks. Once the muggle displays had finished, George had set off some of his own inventions, adding to the magical atmosphere. He threw his arm over his sister's shoulder, smiling as she grinned back up at him. They all missed Hermione terribly, but it hadn't stopped them from having a good night. He hoped that Hannah would think the party was successful enough to make it an annual thing and so that Hermione could attend the next one with the rest of them.

Fortunately, not many people had asked where she was. The most important people knew she had her parents staying over, and nobody else's opinion mattered to him anyway. Once the fireworks were over, he followed the crowds back into the pub and ordered another beer with Harry. Ron wasn't drunk; he was just experiencing a delightful buzz that warmed him right down to his toes. It made him want to go and see her even more. If her parents weren't at her cottage, he probably would have risked splinching himself to apparate straight over.

"One more drink and then I'm going home, Harry!" He clinked his pint glass with his best friend's then started to drink. If he got to bed early enough, he'd have time to floo her in the morning before he headed off to the shop.

A few more drinks later and Ron stumbled through his fireplace, scratching his tummy as he let out a yawn. It had been a long day and he was very much looking forward to getting to bed. But first, he needed something to eat. There had been a buffet at the Leaky, but that had been hours ago. He wandered through to the kitchen without turning on the lights, smiling as he spotted the jar of bluebell flames and the plates sat next to it.

"Roast-bloody-dinner and a treacle tart?" He grinned to himself, unsticking the note from the plate and reading it.

"I love you and miss you too Hermione!" He stuck the note to his fridge then turned his attention to his meal. He ate it stood up at the kitchen counter then rinsed the plate off. He picked up the jar of flames, carrying them through to his bedroom. If he couldn't have his girlfriend in bed with him, this reminder of her would have to do. He pulled off enough of his clothes so that he'd be comfortable as he slept then got himself into bed.

Hermione was fast asleep when a bright blue light woke her. She propped herself up on her elbows, frowning into the light until it eventually took on the shape of a small terrier Patronus. The puppy sat on the end of her bed, a grin on its face.

It didn't say anything but instead, it stood up once it saw Hermione was awake and did a turn. She spotted it's wagging tail and laughed as the Patronus disappeared again. She and Ron had agreed that they'd use their Patronuses if they ever needed to send a message to each other. She knew that the terrier's visit tonight was Ron's way of saying thank you and letting her know that he was home safely. She closed her eyes and easily drifted back off to sleep.