A/N Hi everyone, first off I'm sorry about how long it's taken me to post an update! But I wrote so much this time that I decided to make it into 2 chapters. So the good news is that the next one will be up very soon! :)

Thank you to everyone who has read/ favorited/ followed me or the story/ reviewed this story! It really means a lot to me :)

I've tried to listen to my lovely reviewer and make this chapter a bit more readable by having more paragraphs, so hopefully this is better!

Goodbyes and Warnings

Ron awoke suddenly just as the sun was coming up. It took him a few minutes to remember where he was, the dream he'd had was so vivid that it was still etched into the back of his eyelids and for one horrible moment he thought he could still hear Hermione's screams. Giving himself a shake he looked over and saw Harry lying on his back, mouth wide open and fast asleep.

'It was just a dream', he thought to himself. He really needed to pull himself together some time soon. There were only so many times a bloke could wake up from a nightmare drenched in sweat before feeling like a right little wimp.

He decided that since he was awake he may as well get up and have a shower; there was never any point in him trying to resume sleep after waking up from those nightmares.

Besides, today was going to be pretty damn good. He and Hermione had finally got the plans together and had arranged a portkey that would take them to Australia to bring The Granger's home. He wasn't exactly sure what would happen when they found Hermione's parents, he knew that she was worried about it but didn't know what to say to help. All he knew was that it would be night by the time they got there, what with the time difference, and since they couldn't go marching up to their house at some un-godly hour they had decided to book themselves into a hotel for the night. Hermione had of course been the one to do all of this; he hadn't a bloody clue how to work any of that muggle technology that she used.

This meant of course, that he and Hermione would be alone…in a hotel room…for the whole night. This thought made him incredibly happy, and he was all too aware that the thought made his dick happy too as it gave a jolt every time he had thought about the hotel room over the past week since it was booked.

He was slightly worried about it all too. Although being alone with Hermione was exactly what he had been hoping for since just over a week ago when they'd first kissed, he wasn't sure about what they would do once they were alone and how far he should go. He knew that he wanted to have sex with her, didn't every bloke? But he wasn't sure if she was quite ready for that yet. Plus, he wasn't exactly 'experienced' in that area. Yeah, he and Lavender had snogged a lot and she was always trying to get him to touch her boobs and everywhere else but he had always stopped it before he went too far. He still had no idea how he'd had enough self -control to stop himself when she'd practically been begging him for sex. The truth was that she wasn't Hermione and he could never have lived with himself if he had done that with Lavender.

He realised at this point that he was still standing under the water of the shower which had now gone cold and was in the process of turning it off when a loud bang on the bathroom door caused him to jump and slip, hitting his toe off the shower door.

"Oi, mate! Have you drowned in there or something?! You've been in there almost half an hour!" came the voice of Harry through the door.

"Piss off Harry! You've just gone and made me bang my bloody toe off this fucking door!"

"Oh, now now Ronald! Don't let your mother hear you talking like that, or your girlfriend for that matter haha," said Harry while chuckling at himself.

Ron wrapped the towel round himself and opened the door to find Harry standing with a smirk on his face.

"How did you know it was me in there anyway? It could have been my mum, how would you have felt then if you'd given her a near bloody heart attack eh?" he grumbled feeling more annoyed than he ought to be.

"Well you see, you weren't in your bed and your mum and everyone else are all downstairs so I used my detective skills and worked it out" laughed Harry.

"You're a dick," Ron said and he stomped off to his room, red faced and grumpy.

"Yeah but you love me anyway mate!" he heard Harry shout from upstairs.

He knew he wasn't really angry at Harry, as the pain in his toe subsided he thought to himself that he probably would have done the exact same thing to him and found it hilarious if Harry had hurt himself. 'Still a dick,' he mumbled to himself and then began thinking of ways to get his revenge as he got dressed.

When Ron entered the kitchen ten minutes later it was to the smell of bacon, eggs and sausages. His stomach gave a loud rumble announcing his arrival to the room and causing his mum to smile at him and immediately push him into a chair.

"Quickly, sit down Ron. Eat up, you've got a big day ahead of you and you'll need to be well fed," She said, piling food onto a plate and putting it in front of him.

Hermione and Ginny were across the table from him, already started on their significantly smaller portions of food. He gave Hermione a quick smile and mouthed 'morning' to her before tucking into his huge breakfast. This was something he was definitely going to miss while they were away, he wasn't sure what Hermione's mum's cooking was like but if it was anything like her daughter's well…he had put up with Hermione's terrible cooking for months, he wasn't sure he could go back to that kind of food again.

'Better stock up while I can,' he thought, and he piled a few more sausages onto his plate.

"What was all that noise I heard up the stairs dear? It sounded like you and Harry were shouting," said his mum with a concerned look on her face.

"Just Harry being an arse," he replied with his mouth full of food.

"Watch your mouth! And-"

"-Don't talk with your mouth full," Hermione finished the sentence for his mum.

Ron rolled his eyes at the pair of them and returned to his plate. Hermione was picking up way too many of his mum's habits for telling him off. If he wasn't careful he was going to end up with a girlfriend who was exactly like his mum. He shuddered at that and decided that this was just one more reason why going to Australia for a few days would be a good thing for them.

Just then Harry came in and sat at the table next to Ron.

"How's the toe?" He said turning to face him with a sly grin on his face.

"Still sore you toss pot," said Ron and he threw a bit of sausage at him which hit Harry right on the nose.

"Ron, for goodness sake, are you a toddler? Don't throw your food!" said his mum looking cross.

"Sorry," Ron grumbled, his ears going red.

This just satisfied Harry even more and he winked at him while wagging a finger in a mock disapproving way.

Hermione was smirking at them both from across the table, "have you finished packing Ron? The portkey leaves at 11 so we need to be ready."

"Umm yeah I reckon I've got most of it done…just a few things to go in…" he trailed off hoping that she couldn't tell he was lying. He had meant to pack a few days ago but it had completely slipped his mind and it was only now that he realised he had an empty rucksack waiting on him in his room.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Honestly Ron, do you think I'm thick? I knew you hadn't packed at all so I've gathered most of your things together and they're lying on my bed. You'll just need to get some of your underwear and your toiletries. Think you'll manage that?"

He didn't know whether to feel grateful that she'd packed all his stuff for him, amused that she knew him so well or annoyed that she was talking to him like he was stupid.

"Aw thanks Hermione, what would I do without you?" He smiled over at her and praised himself inwardly when he saw the beaming smile she returned him. Giving her compliments was definitely the way to please her. 'And it might even get me lucky,' he thought with a grin.

It was 10 minutes to 11, the bags were finally packed and Ron and Hermione were standing in the garden saying their goodbyes before taking the portkey to Australia.

"Now be careful won't you?" his mum was saying to him with a tear in her eye, "look after each other!" She pulled him in for a surprisingly strong hug considering how much bigger than her he was.

"Yeah, don't worry mum, we'll be fine. We'll find Hermione's mum and dad tomorrow, reverse the spell and we'll be back before you know it," Ron said, not entirely believing his own words. He had a feeling it might not be that easy, but he wasn't about to say that out loud.

He moved onto his dad who looked strangely sombre, he was just about to ask what the problem was when he pulled him in close and spoke quietly into his ear.

"Watch yourself out there Ron, I've heard some nasty rumours about death eater activity that went on over in Australia during the last year. I haven't heard anything about Hermione's parents being involved but just make sure you look after her. It might not be the happy reunion you're expecting over there." He pulled away from him and gave Ron a brief smile before patting him on the back and announcing that he had to return to work.

Ron didn't know what to make of what his father had just said to him but there was barely time to think about it before Ginny threw herself at him and told him to have a good time. He grasped hands with Harry, said goodbye and then took Hermione's hand as they walked out of the garden gate to the point where the safety enchantments broke and they could safely travel by portkey.

He took the old glove out of his pocket that his dad had given him that morning from the ministry. "Are you ready?" He asked Hermione, still running over his dad's words in his mind.

"Yes, let's just get it over with," she replied with a tentative smile.

The glove began to glow a blue colour and they both placed their hands on it, ready to go. Ron felt that familiar hook-like sensation pulling him forwards, his head was spinning uncontrollably and then suddenly it stopped. He was on his feet, completely still and looking out onto a darkened street lit only by the occasional orangey glow here and there of the street lights.

Ron knew that Hermione's parents were living in a house somewhere in Melbourne but he had no idea where, he guessed that Hermione had picked out a hotel not too far away from the place they were staying. He glanced around him to find the hotel they would be staying in and immediately noticed the huge building reading 'Travel lodge' across the very top, which was a long way up.

"Woah, is this where we're staying? It looks brilliant!" his neck was starting to ache from looking up so far so he turned to face Hermione and noticed she was glancing at a map. "It must have cost a lot though," he frowned, thinking. "You didn't tell me how much this place was Hermione, how much am I due you?"

"Hm- oh sorry, what was that? Oh, no Ron it's fine. It's only a travel lodge, it wasn't expensive, honestly." She smiled at him and reached out for his hand, "besides, I paid for it in muggle money so I don't know exactly how much it would be in wizarding money."

He still didn't feel happy about her paying for him and it must have shown on his face because she placed her hand on his cheek and said: "seriously Ron, don't worry about it. You being here with me is all I want so you've already paid me back in a way. I don't want your money, just you."

She reached up and kissed him, running her fingers through his hair at the same time. He placed his hands on her waist, returning the kiss enthusiastically and teasing her lips with his tongue.

"Mmm, Ron", she hummed against his mouth. "Come on, we should go inside, I'm freezing."

She pulled away from him and headed towards the hotel leaving him standing in the street with ruffled hair, red ears and a blank memory as to why he was annoyed with her. 'Merlin, she's good,' he thought. 'Knows exactly how to soften me up.'

A/N - I hope my characterisation is okay and you guys don't think I've completely ruined your favourite characters! So let me know if you have any issues with it :) P.s If you're here for the 'M' rating then stay tuned for the next chapter when there will be some of that! ;)