A/N: Hello and welcome back to another late chapter! If you haven't noticed by now, I didn't get to update this story on its birthday, which is honestly sad. Although, let's give a little birthday cake to story! Not to mention, we should give cake to the twins! Anywho, I want to congratulate everyone on the Romione Awards! Woohoo, fangirling power! My birthday is in 10 days, and I'm so excited (April 25th)! I want to thank those who've reviewed last chapter! I'm so glad to see that there were still people reading this story, even though I'm a slug at updating. So, thank you to those! But wait, there's more! The story's hit 100+ followers! Enough with the rambling! Let's get on with the story!
Feedback is always a delight! :D
Warning: Swearing and... SO MUCH ROMIONE GOODNESS!
Disclaimer: You know the drill!
Chapter 54 ~ Christmas Chills
Ron's father was back from St. Mungo's with numerous stitches on his forehead, and wrapped up bandages from wounds that were still a bit open. His eyeglasses were a bit askew, but his eyes still tinkered with joy and curiosity. Ron had always admired at how optimistic his father could be, even after getting attack by a huge servant.
As Ron walked upstairs of Twelve, Grimmauld Place, he stopped over by where his twin brother's room was. He took a turn, seeing the door across the gloomy hallway. He slowly opened the door to find Fred there, all alone, while reading about fairies.
"Really, Fred? Fairies?" Ron managed to keep in his laughter.
He simply grinned. Looking up from his book, "I've gotta know where the nearest location a fairy sanctuary is, so George and I will be able to snatch some pixie dust."
"And why is that?" Ron asked, amused to what they're planning.
"Don't you ever pay attention in Herbology, you dolt? It's what the fairies use to make them fly!"
"They have wings!"
"They're used for directing them where to go," Fred rolled his eyes, as he sat up on his bed.
Ron stood there, feeling like a complete idiot for not knowing.
The youngest son quickly cleared his throat, "Well, I'm here to check on the potion."
"For Miss Granger," Fred winked at him, making him groan out.
Ron went over to their desk to see the potion almost turning to a tinted blue. He smiled at his accomplishment, grinning proudly at how successful the potion seemed to be. The smell of lilacs filled his head, which made him feel fuzzy inside. He, Ronald Weasley, brewed a magical perfume for Hermione has his Christmas present.
The magical part of the perfume was that he added an ingredient that helped make a werewolf relaxed and less tensed. No wonder why he felt so calm and collected all at once.
From his pocket, he grabbed out an empty perfume bottle and started to pour the liquid into it. He twisted the cap tightly, and waved Fred a quick goodbye, leaving the door behind him closed.
Tomorrow was finally Christmas, a holiday in where Ron was hoping for since last Christmas. It was going to be him and Hermione's first Christmas today, as a couple! He couldn't help but smile at the thought of her name. He could never thank her enough for her strong and continued support over the years, even if he was a gigantic git once in awhile. What made the perfume magical was that it increased the chances of him not going out of line.
He went to him and Harry's room, grabbing out the box he was going to put the bottle of perfume in it. The lavender scented perfume filled him with determination, as he went to put another thing in the box. A box of sugar quills, Hermione's favorite candy, was in along with a little brown teddy bear. Ron got out his wrapping paper, filled with red and gold stripes across it, and started to wrap diligently.
"I see you're wrapping a present for Hermione," Ron looked up to unsurprisingly see Harry's cheeky grin.
Ron rolled his eyes playfully, "I didn't forget about you, mate."
His best friend just chuckled.
A knock on the door came from the room.
"Shit, it's Hermione," Ron said, picking up the scent of her vanilla and coconut shampoo.
He superficially ducked the present under his bed, letting the hanging bedsheets to secrete it. Harry opened the door to find that it was indeed Hermione, who so happened to have a broad smile on her delicate features.
"Hey, Harry," she greeted with.
"Hello, Hermione. What brings you here?" he inquired her, giving her a smile back.
"I came here to check on Ron," Ron could feel his face starting to heat up at the mention of his name.
Harry's emerald green eyes looked explicitly at him, signaling him to go with Hermione. Ron stood from his stance and went with Hermione, closing the door behind him. As soon as he turned around, Hermione gave him a welcoming hug. Ron, being taken by surprise, stood there very briefly, but eventually hugged her back.
"What's wrong, love?" Ron whispered softly to her.
"I just wanted to see if everything was fine," she replied back. "Anything odd happened to you today?"
"Not that I know of," he answered.
"Brilliant," her face seemed to soften a bit. "Anyways, your mother wants up to bake the cookies, as a midnight snack for everyone."
"Blimey, I'm not the best at baking," Ron started to rub his back neck. "I almost burnt the whole house down, when I was five."
"Oh, come on! That's when you were five," Hermione rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. "Let's just do already."
As they made their way downstairs, they saw Sirius and Remus sitting by the fireplace, drinking eggnog with a hint of firewhiskey. George was helping Ginny out with placing on the last of the ornaments on the Christmas tree, while his father read the Daily Prophet once more. Ron felt a surge of home. He had missed that feeling.
"Ronnie, Hermione, over here!" her mother called out at them.
They ran to her, seeing a layout of ingredients before them. Assortments of flour, water, cups, chocolate, and more were right in front of their very eyes. There were baking sheets near the heating stove as well.
"I'll leave you to it! Hermione here has read the instructions," Molly said. "Good luck, dears!"
With that, the plump mother briskly walked out of the room to do other errands around the mansion.
"I'm betting ten sickles that she did this just for us to get closer," Ron groaned out, already getting the batter ready.
Hermione felt hurt by his words, "That's not a bad thing… Is it?"
The redhead looked up from the mixture, to see Hermione's glistening eyes.
"Oh shit, I didn't mean what I just said, love. You know me, I'm a fucking prat," Ron went over to her and gave her a hug.
She gave him a small smile and went back helping him out mix the batter. Ron was right behind her, inhaling her scent, watching her vigorously mix the contents. Her perseverance was radiating off to him as if it was the actual sun that was burning him whole. Ron guided her in adding the ingredients, enjoying every minute of it.
They would always compliment each other every second.
"We need more flour," Hermione pointed out, wiping the flour on her own polka dotted apron.
Ron went to grab the bag of flour. When he turned around, he had a mischievous little grin. A grin that the twins would always have. A grin so mischievous that it rivaled the twin's own signature look.
"Ronald Weasley," the brunette said in a dangerously low voice. "If you dare-"
Ron blew a handful of flour on her face, making her cough and wheeze.
"You prat!" she shrieked, as she went in to throw flour at him.
He laughed to see Hermione's playful eyes lighting up his night. White dust was floating in the air. Coughs and laughter erupted the kitchen, although it did get messy. The laughter started to die out, as they stood there exhausted. Her mane of hair was covered in flour, along with her whole apron. Ron's appearance was the same story. They sat on the singular corner chair panting like mad. She leaned her head against his muscular chest, letting both of them hear the rhythmic beats of their heart.
"I missed feeling so stress-free," Hermione gave Ron a peck on the cheek.
Ron wore his famous lopsided grin, "Watch out of O.W.L's, love. I'm betting galleons that you're going to stress out more on that than anything before in your life.
She playfully punched him on the shoulder, "I'll be the one reminding you about the O.W.L's, thank you very much!"
They stared at each other's eyes. Chocolate brown met with crystal blue. They started to move closer and closer. Ron's hand traveled to her hair, interlocking with her silky curls. Hermione cupped her soft palms onto his freckled cheeks. The suspense was something to take note for. The tension was seeping through the old walls of the mansion. Love was what the couple had breathed in and out from ever since that day.
"I'm here to check on — WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" Ron's mother shrieked at the scene before her.
An embarrassed Hermione jumped off of a flustered looking Ron. Molly looked bewildered at the mess of the kitchen, and the two teens. She stared them down, looking incensed. Her face matched the same color of her distinct Weasley colored hair. It was the same for Ron, too.
"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY, HOW DARE YOU MAKE A MESS IN A KITCHEN THAT'S NOT EVEN OURS, AND HOW DARE THE BOTH OF YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS SIMPLY REQUEST TO GET ALLS STEAMY AND WHAT NOT!" she bellowed from the top of her lungs.
She looked at them briefly and continued on by declaring, "I want the both of you to not be in the same room until Christmas is over! Am I clear?"
Hermione looked at her with an agape mouth and widened eyes. Ron looked over to see her close to tears. In an instant, Hermione walked out of the kitchen, not making any eye contact with anyone. Ron tried to stop her, but his actions failed. The youngest son looked at her mother with narrowed eyes, as he rushed out the kitchen door, slamming the door behind him. Ron ran to his room and yelled profanities at his pillow. It reminded him of doing this when he was just five. Good thing Harry wasn't here.
He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Everything that he had ever hoped for. Everything that he had dreamt and prayed for, gone in an instant. He and Hermione were finally genuinely jocund.
Ron looked up, looking around his room to feel a sense of familiarity. This was the same exact state he was in, while he was separated from Hermione. The dark, gloomy room was a dead giveaway. He started to tug on his hair, not wanting to feel like this again. Didn't his mother know the consequences of him being separated from Hermione? Sure she was just a hall away, but that still didn't matter. Her smile — her face — her scent — her skin… They weren't in his reach anymore.
He looked under his bed, remembering that he still had to wrap his Christmas present for Hermione. Ron groaned out, feeling a bit too lazy to do anything right now. Before he actually did it though, he looked at the bottle one last time. The perfume potion was starting to fizz a bit, and it started to turn grape purple.
"What the hell?" he uncapped the spray cap.
Suddenly, he was overwhelmed with the smell of mint for it sprayed all over his face. Some of it even managed to get to his mouth.
Oh shit, he mentally kicked himself.
He read somewhere in the potion book that there was a chance for it to turn into a rage potion if it wasn't heated up for exactly a day. The scent started to mock him, as he felt all these emotions erupting from the depths of his heart and mind. The feelings of jealousy, hopelessness, sorrow and more were becoming potent. Then, rage kicked in furiously.
Ron started to back up from the perfume, bumping into his drawer, knocking a picture frame out from the counter. He looked down to see a picture of him and his best friends, Harry and Hermione, waving at the camera during their trip to Hogsmeade in their fourth year. He gave a small smile at the memory.
"Harry…" he croaked out, as he started to crouch from the increasing pain. "Her-Hermione… Help me."
Hermione sat alone in the room she and Ginny shared. In her grasp was Hogwarts: A History. A book in where she would never get tired of. As she flipped through the pages, she couldn't help but worry nonstop about her boyfriend. She knew for a fact that his mother would keep a close eye on us, knowing fully well that they would come up with some sort of plan to just see each other.
Sometimes, she would blame him and herself for the cause. He was the one who started it, but she did join along with him. The brunette groaned out with frustration, tying her hair into a tight ponytail. It was just a couple more hours until Christmas had finally arrived. Two more hours to be exact.
Before she could take a sip of her glass of hot chocolate, she heard frantic footsteps coming up the stairs. That certainly wasn't a good sign.
"Mum, hurry!" came Ginny's trembling voice.
Ron, she immediately dropped her book and sprinted out the room.
She went down the hall to see Molly, Ginny, and Harry surround Ron's room. The lot of them looked terrified from their findings.
"What's the meaning of this?" Hermione inquired, feeling her stomach doing summersaults.
Harry looked at her, "H-he swallowed a rage potion."
"What? How?" her eyes were widened in fear.
"He was planning a present for you. A perfume, actually. He brewed from ingredients to make the potion magical. The magic element to it was so that if he were to smell the scent, it would lessen out the chances of him transforming," The-Boy-Who-Lived informed her. "I remember him telling me that there was a chance of it becoming a rage potion if he wasn't careful in brewing the potion."
She looked confounded by Ron's doings. Her heart and legs started to melt from how charismatic Ron really was. Her palms become a bit sweaty, but she quickly wiped it off.
Suddenly, Ginny opened the door to reveal Ron savagely ripping his and Harry's bed sheets and pillows. His eyes were a wild shade of dark blue that shimmered under the crescent moonlight. He eyed them with one hell of a stare. Sadly, he couldn't see the person he was hoping to see. Instead, he only saw his mother, Ginny, and Harry.
Anger started to kick in, "I HATE ALL OF YOU!"
Molly looked at her son, frightened to the point of fainting.
"Calm down, mate."
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I'M PERFECTLY FINE, DIMWIT!" Ron yelled at him, as he continued on gnawing on the already ruined bedsheet.
Suddenly, Ron started punching the walls, diminishing the wall. The brunette looked at him with frightened eyes. Her eyes were flooding with panic to see him so down again. She reached her hand outward but remembered that he might harm her. She looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet Ron's eyes.
"Ronald Weasley! Calm down," said the scared mother. "Why are you acting out like this? I know you can fight off the rage potion!"
He started at his mother with those fighting, dark blue eyes. Eyes that Hermione hated to see. It was like he was a new person. Not that charismatic, immature, cheerful Ron. Harry seemed to notice this and held onto Hermione's hand to give her some comfort.
"Hey, he's still in there. I can promise you that," said a whispering Harry. "Maybe you could try to comfort him."
"Harry, I'm scared that he won't let me. Just like all those other times," she said, trying to hold back tears.
Harry gulped, "Just try…"
In an instant, they saw a chair being flown across the room. Luckily, Ginny had ducked on time or else she would've been severely injured. Ginny started breathing at an erratic pace. Her heart was pounding from the adrenaline.
"That's it. Let me have him," said the brunette. "Leave us alone, please."
Molly looked at her, "Hermione, dear. Are you sure?"
"Positive," Hermione declared boldly.
That was then, she stepped away from hiding from Ron.
His mother then asked him, "So, what is it that you want to just calm you down then?"
His ablaze dark cerulean eyes burnt her mother's kind brown eyes, "Her. I want her."
Hermione looked at Harry nervously. Her lips started to tremble a bit.
"C'mon, Hermione. He needs you," he tried to persuade her. "Please, you love him. I know you do."
Rejection, that single word echoed into her conscious. The fear of being rejected from none other than Ron, just like all those other times. Her mind, soul, and body were contraindicating at the situation at hand. That was then, she heard a roar coming from the bedroom.
"RONALD, NO!" Molly screamed out loud as if she had witnessed something so horrific that it managed to get all of the residents within the resident to come to see what was going on.
Her eyes slowly looked up in horror to see a large, muscular red furred werewolf in a powerful, towering stance. Suddenly, he started to destroy his room and Harry's down in the dumps again. Pieces of furniture went flying everywhere, as he started clawing the flooring. Pictures of family and friend were nearly unrecognizable from all the scratch marks and cracks.
"Holy shit," came Sirius's flabbergasted gasp.
Quickly, he turned into his animagus form. A black furred dog was at the scene, trying to tackle the menacing werewolf. Arthur cast stupefy on the bulky figure, making him restricted to do anything at all. Remus finished it off with taking out a long metal chain from his small pocket. He tied Ron up in a securing manner, yet not too tight to harm Ron in any way.
It was then, the werewolf broke from being stupified and started to go back and crawl at the dog, only to realize the familiar feeling of being grounded down. He stifled a low growl at the dog and Remus, remembering them from trying to hit him years ago.
"Isn't that a bit too extreme?" Molly questioned them.
"It's for the better good, Molly," Arthur tried to comfort his wife.
Molly gulped the lump from her throat, "That's our baby son, Arthur! I — I can't bear to see him like this!"
Through the atmosphere of sorrow and terror, a conflicted brunette stood in the midst of it all. That was then, she rushed through the wave of red, and managed to get inside of her boyfriend's bedroom.
"Hermione!" Ginny called out.
It was too late. As she went to approach the laying werewolf, she accidently stepped on a picture. Out of curiosity, she picked it up to see a picture of him and her near the Black Lake in their fourth year. She remembered it. How Ron was all moody to see Viktor Krum swimming in the lake, making all the girls gush and ogle over him. That was until a vivid memory came into Hermione's view to stop her from thinking further more about Viktor.
Her thoughts were brought back to reality, as she saw Sirius about to tackle Ron again.
"St-stop! Stop hurting him!" Hermione pleaded to them. "Please, stop."
Hermione went in front of the large werewolf's body, which was sitting on his knees. His dark eyes widened at the newcomer, for see looked awfully familiar. Bushy brown eyes and fierce chocolate brown eyes. Gentle features and a passionate expression to top it all off. His heart started to beat faster than average, letting his face heat up from it.
"Don't chain him up, too!" the brunette sobbed out. "He — He's not a monster."
She sniffed, as she turned around to face Ron. She fell to her knees, taking an attentive approach towards the beast before her. Her trembling hands untied him from the chain, letting it slide across the room. Hermione started to lean in closer to him, searching to see Ron through his eyes. The werewolf seemed to see something in her expression that yelled out the truth.
"I — I'm here, love," she started to stroke his silky red fur. "Sorry, it took so long."
Ron gently cupped her fragile cheeks with his talons, tickling her a bit from his fur. He took a good look at her remarkable eyes.
"Love," he said in a deep, gravely voice.
"Yes, love," Hermione gave him a teary smile.
Remus cut into their little moment, saying, "We appreciate your perseverance, Hermione, but we strongly advise for you to keep away from Ron's reach."
Hermione's eyes started to tear up, "I don't want to leave him!"
"Stubborn girl," all heads turned to see Professor Snape's figure at the doorway. "You never learn. Do you, Granger?"
She turned her head towards Ron's now, ignoring that fact that Snape just came out of nowhere. His dark blue eyes started to tint at the sight of his girlfriend. Their blood flow started to speed up at the sensation. Her presence was the sole reason why he felt more human. His reassuring eyes gave her hope that he was indeed still in there. Before Hermione went to embrace him, she felt herself being levitated a bit in the air. She tried all her might to refrain from it with little success.
Snape had his wand out, pointing it explicitly at the brunette.
"N-no! Let go of me!" Hermione yelled out, seeing that she and Ron were distancing from each other. "Stop!"
His eyes widened further to see them taking her away from him. The werewolf started to struggle out of the confines once more, seeking her comfort again. A whimper erupted from his chest, heavy breathing was evident as well. From all the thrashing, there were numerous of scratch marks all over the floor.
Then, she disappeared into the unknown into the gloomy halls. Ginny and his mother went along with her and Snape.
His happiness was gone just like that.
Anger. So much negative emotions to let out. He wanted them to suffer. Suffer until he got his Hermione back.
In a fit of fury, he managed to break through the magical chains. Shocked, Remus and Arthur started to fire spells towards the rampaging beast. Ron roared ferociously at them, threatening them. Just like how they threatened Hermione — his Hermione — his mate — his true love.
When the black furred dog went in to tackle him, he threw him back with a loud THUMP!
The werewolf would do anything — anything to just be reunited with Hermione. He started to roar down the hall, warning them there that he was coming to fetch her up into his arms. His heavy erratic breathing pattern was as loud as a person mumbling little secrets.
There was no stopping him now.
"Please, let me get back to him!" Hermione pleaded to Molly.
Molly looked at her with pity, "Dear, let them take care of the situation. They do have a point, though. Ron's under the influence of the rage potion still."
"No, he's not!" Hermione retorted hotly. "He's there! I saw it! I saw it through his eyes!"
Ginny snorted, "Blimey, Ron's turned you mental."
The brunette glared at Ginny's inappropriate joke, wiping her little grin off her freckled face.
Hermione looked away from him, wiping incoming tears vigorously. She didn't want them to see her this down. She sniffed up courage and breathed in Ron's remaining love. She hung her head down her and Ginny's bedroom. Snape's still figure was just outside the door, guarding it.
Suddenly, a roar. A roar from Ron!
Hermione smiled to herself. She summoned her Gryffindor courage and zoomed out of the room, knocking out Snape in the process. He glared at his student at her reckless action. As she proceeded down the long hall, she got closer to see a gleam of red eyes in the distance. Her chocolate brown eyes widened.
A particular word started to bug her again:
Rejection…
As he ran down the hall, he could smell and sense a presence running towards him. His tail started to wag in excitement. Ron was just a step away to see and embrace her again! He started to pick up the speed and went to gently as possible tackle Hermione to the ground.
The werewolf sniffed her everywhere just to confirm that it was indeed her. He started to playfully lick her cheeks, oblivious to see her scared, teary expression. It took about a moment until he realized that something was off. His red eyes crawled up to see her scared chocolate orbs. In an instant, he stepped back away from her.
Why was she scared? Did he harm her without knowing?
That was then, he heard a sob coming from her soft lips. He ran towards her, lifting her up bridal style. He started to brush away the plait of her hair back with the rest of the group. He looked around the hall to see them cornered. He roared at them, wanting them to back away from them. To give them privacy.
They seemed to not understand the message he was trying to get through to them, so he broke out of the house, into the backyard of piles of snow.
Hermione felt herself being in the air and then plopping perfectly onto the ground. She was cuddling with Ron's fur, loving the soft, silkiness of it and hisincredible body warmth. It was like his fur was a blanket of sorts. She felt so secure in his arms, that she forgot that she was crying. Another tear came dripping down, making her realize why they were here.
"Love?" he whispered softly in his deep vocals.
"I'm here," she croaked out in response.
In a moment of silence, they let the snow precipitate on them. The cool, soothing breeze swept them away from reality. The scent of vanilla, coconut, and cinnamon was a blessing. Radiating warmth from each other was just there to take them away from the cruel, cold world upon them. His claws gentle stroking her frizzy hair was comforting for not only him but for her as well.
In that moment of silence, they were in deep love. It's not like they were already.
Her tantalizing eyes seemed to bore into his ever tinting shade of blue. The recognizable crystal blue she knew and loved for years.
"I suppose you want to know why I sobbed…" Hermione sadly broke the peaceful silence. "It might sound silly though."
Ron gave her a light nudge with his snout, wanting to know the truth. She smiled at the action, making her lovingly stroke his fur. The young woman sat up, wiping away the remaining of her tears. She breathed in the cold air, letting it settle into her lungs and nostrils. It was quite soothing to her. Of course, Ron took note of it.
She cleared her throat, "Well, haven't you noticed that whenever you transform, you just — I don't know how to say this but — you just push me away. As if, I'm nothing to you."
She bit her lips, scared to be made fun of. Ron took in her features, feeling immense remorse. Was that how she truly felt like?
"I — I feel rejected, Ron," she poured it in with all her heart and soul. "I — I just want to help you. To care for you. To love you."
Ron's eyes started to water about from the speech. Hermione's chest heaved, as she started to confess out her feelings to him. She laid herself like a vulnerable prey in the middle of him. She was letting him see another side of her. A side she despised people to see and to associate with.
"I do stupid things because I love you," the brunette cuddled with herself. "I love you, Ronald Weasley."
The werewolf swept her up and lovingly embraced her like none ever before. She started to calm down, as she felt his steady pounding heart going in sync with her's.
"So sorry," he said with remorse. "Love you, too."
The clock struck twelve at midnight. The old grandfather clock ring echoed throughout the household. Everyone looked out the window and the open hole to see the two lovebirds, snuggling like there was no tomorrow.
That's how Ron and Hermione wanted life to be like. Nothing but peace, quiet, and most importantly love.
A/N: If you've noticed that there wasn't any evident errors on this chapter, congrats! I actually checked everything out, yay! Happy Easter, and please be safe! :D