Standard disclaimers apply!

I do not own Harry Potter. I have nothing to do with Scholastic, Warner Bros or Bloomsbury. I'm not JKR and I am certainly not making any profit out of this.

4th January, 1999.

"It's raining," Hermione wrinkled her nose as she turned from the window.

"It's half six," Ron mumbled, rubbing his face and rolling over onto his side. "Come back to bed."

"But we were going to go walking with Harry and Ginny today," Hermione reminded him, leaning against his desk.

Conceding defeat, Ron gave an exaggerated sigh and rolled slowly out of bed, wincing slightly as his bare feet made contact with the cold boards of the floor. Ducking his head to avoid an inconvenient rafter, he sloped to the window and peered out into the garden and the fields beyond with a practised eye. "It'll clear up by morning tea," he yawned and then stretched, accidentally whacking his knuckles on the rafter he'd just avoided with his head.

Stifling a giggle she watched has he rubbed his hand and swore under his breath. She grinned and took his hand to plant a quick kiss on the knuckles in question. "At least it wasn't your head."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Ron chuckled ruefully as he, too, leaned on his desk ... but then changed his mind when it gave a warning creak. "Are you -"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door and grumbled under his breath a bit more when Harry's voice floated through to them. "Everyone decent in there?"

"Too bad if we weren't," Hermione muttered and pointed her wand at the door.

"Breakfast is on the table," Harry said as he walked in through the now-open door. "Ginny said she wants to get an early start."

"Good morning to you too," Hermione laughed.

"Where are we going?" Ron wanted to know, searching under the bed for his slippers.

"Ullswater," Harry said promptly, and, at Ron's blank look, added, "no idea. Cumbria, so she says."

Apparently none-the-wiser, Ron looked to Hermione.

"Its part of the Lake District," she informed them both and pointed her finger at Ron. "We went there in August."

"Oh ..." Ron nodded slowly. "The waterfalls? Yeah ... yeah, that was good."

oOo

"Do you think it's going to let up any time soon?" Harry asked, shaking the water from his hair as the four of them took shelter in the recessed front of a shoe-shop.

"Soon enough," Ginny predicted.

"After we've had a cup of tea and a bun," Ron nodded toward a small shop across the road, and grinned at Hermione. Taking his hand firmly in hers, she set off across the road at a smart pace leaving Harry and Ginny to follow in their wake.

By the time Harry and Ginny pushed open the door of the little tea-shop, Ron and Hermione were already seated side-by-side and looking at the menu.

"Do we really need a menu for a cup of tea and a bun?" Ginny raised her brows as she slid into the chair opposite her brother.

"Definitely," Ron said as Hermione handed Harry the menu.

"So what are we having?" Harry asked.

"WE aren't having anything," Ron snorted, "I'M having a cream tea, and Hermione's having ..."

"A cappuccino and a cinnamon scroll," Hermione said, with a little laugh and a pointed look at Ron. "And if I'm lucky I might get a bit of scone from Mr No-Share here."

Ron let out a long-suffering sort of sigh. "You could just get your own."

"But I don't want an entire cream tea," Hermione frowned playfully, resting her hand on his thigh under the table and squeezing it gently. "Just a taste."

"A taste?" Ron slid his fingers over hers and kept them there. "I know all about you and your just a taste. You'll gobble up the lot."

Hermione was saved from coming up with an answer by the timely arrival of the waitress.

oOo

Ginny studied the information board carefully. "We take this path here," she told Harry, "from behind the National Trust," she gestured with her hand vaguely, "and we head north along the woodland walk."

"The one which that crowd of people just went toward?" Harry pulled a bit of a face.

"That's the one," Ginny agreed, "Hermione said most people go straight for the Aria waterfall, isn't that right?"

"That's right," Hermione confirmed, "we're going to go across the footbridge, and then over to the right, which takes us up to High Force waterfall and Gowbarrow Fell."

Of the four of them; Harry was definitely the least inclined to walking – or rambling, as Hermione liked to call it - as a form of relaxation and entertainment, but he had to admit that the gently undulating path was nothing if not picturesque. He also wouldn't have chosen quite such a ... uh ... brisk ... day to visit, but now that the rain had slowed to a fine drizzle it was really rather nice. Even better, the higher they climbed the less people they came across; so soon enough the four of them were the only ones about and it seemed a natural progression that their steady flow of conversation soon turned to a comfortable silence with only a few murmured remarks about a particularly beautiful tree or unusual snatch of bird-song.

He supposed he should just enjoy the day for what it was, but he couldn't help thinking about the weeks to come. Ginny and Hermione would be going back to Hogwarts in the morning, and then he'd be back to Auror training the week after that. Then what?

His days went by quickly enough, filled as they were with 5am starts and various fitness exercises (though he could have done without last months "quick dip" in the North Sea), followed by Defensive Theory and Poisons Recognition. It was the nights when everything ground to a halt.

Part of him was starting to regret signing up for training so quickly after the war. It was the same part of him that wished he'd stayed on at the shop to help George for a couple of years, with Ron. On the other hand, there were still dark wizards out there and he knew he had to help.

He'd got a bit of a ribbing from his fellow trainee's. Surely The Chosen One didn't need training? But it was all in good fun, and they understood well enough – there were only three of them. Harry himself, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Michael Corner. Countless others had chosen to go straight to the Auror department, to be paired up with an experienced Auror, and start tracking the remaining Death Eaters straight away.

Justin had had "a hell of a time" convincing his parents it was safe to re-enter the wizarding world. Personally he would have chosen to go straight to the department as well, but taking the training was the compromise he had made with his mother.

Michael Corner wanted to do the thing properly. He wanted to know everything there was to know and he wanted to be the best he could possibly be. By his reasoning, that wouldn't happen if he didn't go through the proper training process.

Both of them had laughed and nodded when Harry had told them he quite liked the idea of not being a mortal danger for a while, thanks very much ... and Michael had added, rather "helpfully" that Harry was sure to have a great big target all over his back until the remaining Death Eaters had been rounded up.

Michael and Justin were alright, but Harry was starting to feel isolated. He was hard pressed to decide who he missed the most.

Then he gave himself a mental shake. He got to go back to The Burrow for weekends to spend time with Ron and work on Grimmauld Place, and things could have been a lot lonelier if George hadn't given them those mirrors. Being able to have a chat with Hermione every night was a great relief, and (very soppily) he loved falling asleep listening to Ginny's breathing. By the middle of the year Ginny be out of Hogwarts and back at The Burrow. Even better, second year trainee's weren't obliged to live-in at the Ministry.

No, he really had no reason to complain at all.

"Sickle for them?" Ginny asked, and he thought she looked a little amused at the way he'd clearly been lost in thought.

"Not worth the money," he murmured, turning to look at her properly. Her cheeks were pink (as was her nose, just a bit) and her eyes were sparkling. A few little wisps of hair had escaped from under her hat and she wore the same exhilarated expression she had whenever she was playing Quiddich. He laughed for no particular reason. "I was just thinking what a nice day it is."

oOo

Hermione heard it first. A low rumble from some distance away. Tugging at Ron's hand, she pulled him along even faster.

"Calm down, it'll still be there in 20 minutes." Ron had heard it just after she had, and had no difficulty adjusting his long stride to her quicker one. He looked back at Ginny and Harry, several yards behind them. "Hurry up you lot," he called, "we're almost there."

"You go on ahead and wait for us," Ginny laughed, "it's not a race."

"Suit yourself," Ron shrugged, "follow the main path and you can't miss it." Turning his back on his sister and best friend, he added in a low voice. "Remember the last time we were here?"

"I've been thinking about it all morning," Hermione admitted quietly and shot him a significant look as she took hold of his arm.

She was quite sure she could hear laugher following them into the crushing blackness of apparition, but it was gone the moment they handed heavily on the spongy earth.

"Me too," Ron said, glancing around to make sure they were on their own.

There wasn't a soul to be seen; just them, a few birds who had hung around to brave the winter and the waterfall. They'd come out right beside the top of it, could have dipped their hands in the rushing water just before it started the long drop if they'd wanted.

Hermione had their favourite privacy charms set up in no time at all, so that the great gushing boom of the waterfall receded into a muffled rumble and the temperature rose a little as the wind dropped away.

Turning around, she found Ron standing close and studying her through half-shut eyes. "You ate half of my scones again," he murmured, lips twitching.

"I did," Hermione slid her arms around his neck, "sorry about that."

"No you're not," he touched his lips to hers, "you're not sorry at all. I knew you were going to do it all along."

"And yet," she returned his kiss with one of her own, "you failed to stop me."

"Funny about that," he walked her backward to lean against a tree and his hands began to rove along her sides, sneaking under her heavy jacket and pullover. "I learned a new trick the other day," he whispered against her cheek. "What to see it?"

"Go on then."

Unhurriedly he stepped away and pulled his wand from his coat pocket, holding her gaze all while. She broke into a grin, impressed at the two tidy piles of folded clothes just to their right.

"Did Ginny show you the spell?"

Ron shook his head and smirked slightly. "I figured it out on my own; I don't even know if it's the same as yours." Tilting his head to one side, his eyes narrowed and his smirk deepened. "Bit cold?"

Hermione just laughed. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Dunno." He pointed his wand at the ground and then sat, leaning back on his arms and stretching out his legs. "We could have a nice chat for 15 minutes, or you could come here and sit on my cock."

Hermione pretended to think it over for a few moments before finally stepping over him and settling on his thighs, pouting slightly. "No foreplay?"

"Do you think you're going to get foreplay," Ron chuckled, cupping her cheek with one hand and swiping his thumb over her bottom lip, "after scoffing down half of my morning tea?"

"I did offer you some of my cinnamon scroll," she pointed out as she leaned forward and kissed his shoulder.

The last time they had been here they'd whispered to each other and taken their time with things. It had been a slow, sensual series of shared hours, gentle in the extreme and unutterably romantic.

There was nothing romantic about the way he sunk one hand into her hair and pulled her head back to expose her neck, and nothing gentle about the way he slid two fingers inside her without preamble, only to pull them out again just as quickly and slide them up to, over and around her clit repeatedly – all the while watching her with those half-closed eyes and self-satisfied smirk.

She loved it when he got like this. He was as far away from passive as a person could be, which suited her perfectly, but on very rare occasions the alpha side of him would come all the way out, and she'd find herself well and truly at his mercy.

His hands and mouth seemed to be everywhere, stroking and squeezing, licking and sucking and biting, and all she could do was remember to breathe between gasps and moans and the occasional whimper of protest when he deliberately took his hand away from her at just the right moment, only to have him start it all over again.

Finally. He sunk his hands into her hair and kissed her hard on the mouth before moving his lips to her ear and growling out an order. "Get on."

oOo

"At last!" Ginny laughed as she and Harry rounded the last corner and found themselves staring up at High Force.

"OK, that's worth the walk," Harry nodded and waved at Ron and Hermione, who were sitting on a picnic rug under the trees and drinking tea.

"'Bout time you lot got here," Ron called out cheerfully, "we were about to send out a search party."

"Oh, stop it," Hermione chided as Harry and Ginny approached, "we were going to do no such thing. Tea? Sandwich?"

"Thanks," Harry took the bacon sandwich Ron handed him and bit into it hungrily. "I'm beginning to see the appeal of all of this nature business," he admitted. "You two certainly look relaxed and happy."

Ginny snorted into her tea, but chose not to state the obvious. Instead she consulted the map. "Gowbarrow Fell next?"

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