A/N:

A Very Merry Christmas to All of You!

Most of this chapter is a flashback and answers many of the questions you asked in the reviews to the previous one. More will be clarified in due time, please be patient and enjoy and don't forget that review!

Thanks a ton for being fantastic readers.

All characters, props and places mentioned here belong to JKR, no copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 19: Reaping the Fruits of the Past

On hindsight, Hermione always knew somewhere deep down that it was all a blissful dream, one that broke in the middle of the dark night and left one feeling lonelier than ever before.

She sat on the rug by the fire in the living area of her chambers. The large, airy room felt suffocating or maybe it was her heart that was squeezing painfully inside her chest? Quite possibly, it was both. Large volumes, quills and parchment lay scattered around her while she sat hunched as the fire crackled and danced merrily in the grate in stark contrast to her own emotions. There were no more tears left to shed, perhaps because her heart knew there was no longer a broad shoulder around to find solace on, no longer a warm chest to hold her in its secure embrace and drive her nightmares away. And that, it was her own doing.

She looked at the scattered scrolls and carefully pulled out one and unrolled it. Handwriting with larger letters than hers and a tad bit untidy too, looked up at her and she gently ran her fingers over the dried ink, smiling at the misspelt words and the memories of the day the three of them had laughed over this essay and she had kept it for her amusement after helping him out with her own notes. She didn't really think he was horrible in studies. It was just that the boys were too lazy to do tedious research work for the sake of class assignments.

It was a strange twist of fate how she had found comfort in two least likely people. And devoid of any family or people she earlier called her friends, she had realised how much she wished now that she would have been sorted into Gryffindor instead. Perhaps then she would have had these boys as her best friends since her first year? Maybe then she would not have been the way she was, not made mistakes she made now and most of all not pushed him away so far that there seemed to be no way to go back, or call him back for that matter.

With a deep sigh and painfully dry eyes she summoned her pillow and blanket and curled down in front of the fire, wishing for the umpteenth time that she would be back in that warm, Gryffindor coloured four poster bed, enwrapped in his fragrance instead.

The weeks after Christmas would always be those special memories one held on to for life. In fact at present the future looked so terribly bleak that those six weeks would perhaps be the best one she would have in a long time to come.

She turned at the stone Pensive that sat in the far corner and beckoned her with its magic but she refuted its charm. It was much too painful to see his wispy, non material form, the one that could not be touched, not be pleaded with to listen to her. She ached for the real Ron, the one who lay in that familiar bed just beyond the wall yet so far, rock solid and warm and yet so full of hatred for her.

She curled inside the blanket instead, craving for a warmth that the fire or the quilt could never provide and surrendered to her thoughts that brought him to her, if only in her dreams.

Day after Christmas

She woke up with the cacophony of the birds and the soft murmur of a pair of voices. Still too drowsy to open her eyes, she held on to the heat of the covers and the whispers became clearer as her sleep faded between heartbeats.

"Do you think we should wake her up?" asked one voice.

"I don't know... Maybe we wait for a few more minutes till she wakes up by herself?" asked the other, more familiar one and she felt a strange sense of calm and yet jittery feeling wash over her at his voice. Her cheeks coloured of their own accord and the sleep dissolved faster as her ears seem to be more eager to hear him again.

"Alright." Conceded the first voice and there was a soft woosh of someone sitting down on a mattress.

"How are you feeling? Do you reckon you should see the nurse?" asked Harry again.

"Nah I'm fine, still a little sore but nothing too terrible." She could almost see him shrug his shoulders and opened her eyes infinitesimally, adjusting them to the light.

"I've been thinking Ron, I mean if she was so suspecious about the Order's intentions, how does she not suspect us of murdering her parents?"

"You don't really know of this Fiend Fire, do you mate?"

There was a silence from the other end and Hermione struggled to control the pain that erupted at the mention of the curse.

"It's not an Unforgivable perhaps because I have heard there are venomous plants that can only be destroyed using it. But it is a dark curse by nature and is not really used because once released it is very hard to control or put out. Use it and the Auror's will be at your doorstep, provide a very valid reason for casting it in front of the Wizegamont or be ready to be shipped to Azkaban. Well that is considering no one was injured in it. It's not really something our side uses, and for good reason. The effects are ghastly to say the least. And honestly if it was anyone but the Death Eaters in case of the Grangers, the Ministry would be quite eager to pack them off to Azkaban to show they are actually doing something worthwhile. Hence the crap about the kitchen fire burning down the mansion. "

There was silence while she closed her eyes. He was right. It was a curse that had long fascinated her, not anymore though...

"Ron I think Dumbledore knows we have been taking her out." Said Harry after a while and she felt her heart rate speed up again, she was barely holding on for him to complete. "You know the way he appeared yesterday and literally took Malfoy away couldn't really be a coincidence." He reasoned.

Yes that indeed was strange and yet why would the Headmaster not prompt them for taking her out of the wards he had so painstakingly put up?

Hermione considered getting up and putting her thoughts on the table but a small part of her heart wanted to stay hidden and hear what Ron had to say, if he would confide in Harry about what he thought about her now. It could not be clearer that he cared for her and, she glowed red at the thought, there was a dangerous amount of attraction from both sides as well. He truly was gentleman enough to know where to stop and not take advantage of her when he easily could have... She closed her eyes as her cheeks burnt. If anything it made him all the more appealing.

"Well then I should be prepared for a reprimand for flaunting the rules or worse. I sure hope Mum doesn't send me another Howler though." He answered, "But you don't really suppose Dumbledore would do anything of the sort, right?"

"Yeah... I kind of felt like he knew what we were up to..."

"I have had that impression for some time now to be honest. He is not really a stranger to our rule breaking, is he? And last I checked he doesn't really seem mind that much either, does he?" he laughed and soon the two boys were rolling in laughter, trying hard to keep their voices low but failing miserably.

It was getting hard for Hermione to continue feigning sleep. Not that she found their rule breaking amusing or Dumbledore's marked fondness and leniency when it came to Potter and Weasley anything less than annoying. But she did find the sound of their laughter liberating. It had been a long time since she had laughed like this; in fact she couldn't even recall a single instance. Loud laughter was not really a common thing in her house hold or among the Slytherin's for that matter and when it did come, it was mostly targeted at someone in a jeering sort of way that made it sound rather cruel and not really heartfelt like now.

And most importantly she wanted to see his face, see those mesmerising eyes lit up with the laughter. She turned and removed the covers slowly and pushing herself up, looked around. Harry was half lying on the bed and Ron was sitting on the floor, bend double at his waist. His long legs were folded at the knees. At the sound of her movements they stopped abruptly and adjusting themselves, turned around. Her eyes automatically found his blue ones that still held the lingering traces of his laugh. The stubbled face looked light-hearted, carefree and amazingly adorable. She could hardly stop the smile that struggled to break free.

"Good Morning..." she said softly, glancing from one boy to the other. "I'm sorry I-I took your bed." She told Ron, feeling extremely conscious of the blush that was rising up her cheeks.

"It's okay, not a problem really..." he muttered somewhat consciously himself and ran his fingers through his hair messing them up further.

"Ahem..."

They turned around at Harry at the noise, Hermione feeling more embarrassed by the minute.

"Ron and I were planning to take our brooms and ..."

"... Oh I'm sorry..." she cried softly. Of course she would have to go back to her chamber or they couldn't leave. "Ron if you..." she gestured at the wall and he picked his tall form up from the floor.

"Well what do you say you wait for us and we can have breakfast together?" suggested Harry suddenly and she turned at him with a grateful smile.

"I would really love that." She replied softly and turned at Ron for some sort of confirmation. His face was neutral, the traces of the laughter all wiped off and it hurt her a little till he spoke. "And may be later we can finish that homework you were pestering us about." He added softly.

..

The next week was a pleasant blur, passing away much too quickly for her liking. They had frequent meals together although the two Gryffindors had to leave to eat in the Great Hall at least twice a day to avoid any suspicion. She hated those lonely meals and counted minutes till their return. She really loved spending time with the boys and realized she was growing fond of Harry as well although she felt much differently about the two.

Somewhere mid of the week their conversations drifted to their families and although it was still hurting, talking to them also had a kind of a therapeutic effect.

"I am an only child and to be honest it was quite lonely. So I found friends in the books."

"Well my parents didn't really have a choice there." Muttered Harry with a sad laugh and as she looked into his eyes could almost see the pain similar to hers, though she had to admit he had it worse. She wanted to ask more, not as a noisy gossip seeker but as someone who knew what it felt like to miss their parents, and have no family.

"How is your family like Ron?" she asked instead before noticing the flair up in his eyes. "I really want to know." She added honestly, "You are the only one amongst us who has... siblings. It must be nice."

He watched her closely, perhaps looking for a deceit and after a while he turned away. "We are six brothers and we've a younger sister, Ginny."

"Wow, it must be..." she began but was cut off mid sentence by him.

"Crowded?" he sneered in that familiar way that caused guilt and shame to flood up her veins.

"No... Lively." She whispered softly meeting his eyes but unable to hide the hurt. He really didn't think she had changed much, did he? Ron looked away and an uncomfortable silence proceeded till Harry had the good sense to divert the topic elsewhere.

"Ron is the youngest of the brothers. The eldest, Bill is a curse breaker with Gringotts, Charlie studies Dragons, Percy ..."

"... is a prat who works for the Ministry." Provided Ron before Harry continued.

"Fred and George have their own joke shop." He finished and Hermione was sure she saw a glint of pride in Harry's eyes for his best mate although Ron himself was resolutely looking away.

"Wow... that's impressive..." she replied truly stunned although Ron was still looking annoyed for some reason. "I remember Fred and George, that swamp they created last year was some great magic. And so were those fireworks although it was against the school rules really."

Harry snickered.

"Ginny wanted to stay back in Hogwarts for the holidays. Ron's Mum wasn't too eager." He provided a little dreamily.

"Oh...why?"

"She thought the protection on the school would be low."

"And what about the two of you?" she asked again.

"Actually she wanted all of us back at the Burrow..."

"...Burrow?"

"Ron's place, but we couldn't, you know..."

"Leave me behind... I get it." She smiled half heartedly. "I'm sorry..." she said softly as she turned towards the taller boy as he glanced up questioningly. "For being the reason you couldn't go back to your family during Christmas." She added. She really did feel bad for him.

"It's a job." He replied casually with a hint of gruffness. Obviously he could not really believe that she thought any better of his family now than she did before. That hurt.

Surely she was a tad more than just a job for him now?

His behaviour had really convinced her that it would be the end of their developing friendship but things turned for the better and she found herself spending the New Year Eve waiting for the midnight and celebrating with butterbeers with the boys. It was a little ill feeling with which she welcomed the reopening of the school which brought along Ginny, the rest of the Gryffindors and ... Lavender Brown forcing her to keep to her chambers again. But to their utter surprise, Harry found the entrance to her room from his side of the bed one day and after that the boys came in after the rest of their dorm-mates were off to bed. She looked forward to those hours the whole day.

But all good things come to an end and so did that phase.

...

Two nights ago.

She was waiting for the boys for their late night chat. The scrolls of completed assignments lay on the table to be handed over to Ron and she sat with her legs up on the couch, something that would have given her mother a heart attack. She didn't bother anymore; it was way more cosy this way. She turned pages over pages, glancing frequently towards the two entrances. They were late. She wondered why and hoped that a blond haired, curvy someone was not the cause of Ron's delay. She hated that girl and felt bitter about Ron for it too, but what could she say? There was nothing between them that allowed her to question him for his dating choices, nothing apart from a maddening attraction and hopeless longing to have him as hers and hers alone.

Ron.

He baffled her. How could someone be so contrast of behaviours was beyond her understanding. After much thought that took hours and sometimes nights, she had concluded that behind that rowdy exterior lay the Ron she had seen that night at the Room of Requirements. And while his rough exterior aroused her body tremendously, her heart craved for that softness in his eyes. She smiled a little to herself. Someday perhaps he would get tired and leave Brown or she would move away and maybe, just maybe he would think of her more than a friend? She could see he was still guarded and despite all the fun times they had, he ensured to keep a distance from her- both physical and emotional.

She turned at the timepiece again and closed the book shut and placed it on the table.

What was taking them so long?

She curled on the couch and stared at the door leading to Ron's door as she called it. She never knew when sleep claimed her.

...

She woke as rough hands grabbed her arms jerking her awake. The fire had burned down and so had the candles leaving the room in darkness except for the moonlight that streamed in through the glass window.

"Wha-" Her heart drummed madly in her chest.

"RON! MATE! –" Ron and Harry! She cooled down immediately at their voices but why was he-

"KEEP OUT OF THIS HARRY!" bellowed Ron in the darkness and she was pulled up on her legs, causing her to wobble to find her footing properly.

"YOU LITTLE PIECE OF –"

Lights filled in the room as someone, possibly Harry, lit the candles and she blinked furiously trying to adjust her vision and grasp the strange happenings.

"Ron?! What –" she stared in horror at that rage filled face, not even registering the pain he was causing on her upper arms with that vice grip.

"RON LEAVE HER!" yelled Harry and came forward trying to extricate Hermione from his clasp but failing as Ron was simply stronger.

"I SAID KEEP OUT OF THIS HARRY!" he barked at his best mate.

"LEAVE HER!"

"I WON'T TILL SHE ANSWERS ME! TELL ME GRANGER AND DON'T YOU LEAVE OUT ANY DETAILS. TELL ME WHAT EXACTLY I DID." He barked and then added in an even dangerous low whisper.
"You know both these rooms are charmed to avoid anyone touching you against your wishes, right?"

She nodded fearfully, suddenly realizing with horror where this was going.

"Which means nothing, I mean NOTHING could have happened if you were not willing, am I correct?" he asked again and she nodded once more looking down in shame as tears pooled up in her eyes.

"And you told her I 'Molested' you." He gripped her harder and Harry too stunned to react, watched on. "What did I exactly do Hermione? What did you tell them? Did you tell them that I snogged you without your consent or perhaps I tried raping you? And when may I ask? Was it that morning in the infirmary when you seemed to be too willing to give yourself up? SPEAK DAMNIT!"

There was a bit of stunned silence that greeted that outburst as Harry stopped trying to set Hermione free and stared at her instead.

"W-What?" he asked looking between the pair as Ron continued to bore his eyes into hers. Hermione was shaking lightly now, with fear, guilt or shame, Harry couldn't say for sure.

"Why would Hermione do that?" he asked in a shocked whisper in the silence of the room.

"Ask her." Replied Ron as he gritted his teeth and releasing her from his grasp, pushed her back into the couch.

"Well played Granger, I really did not see that coming. You disgust me to no end." He spat and turning around, barged out.

She slid down from the couch on the floor, the shock, the guilt wrenched out in form of loud sobs.

"Why would you do that to him?"

She lifted her head up with difficulty to look at Harry who was glaring at her with deep loathing etched on his features. She used the centre table to help herself up. She had to explain, but what and how?

"Harry..." she beseeched.

"I really thought we were getting to know you..."

"I-It's not like you think..." she pleaded knowing well that nothing could sort this mess.

"Are you denying what he said?"

She bit her tongue. How could she explain that the girl who wrote that note was not her anymore, it was way before she knew Ron, the real one, way before she knew who she herself was? How could she explain that it was a mistake from a time when she viewed the world through a dark tinted glass?

"Tell me he is mistaken Hermione."

She couldn't lie. She wouldn't.

"I did write that note." She managed with difficulty looking down at her feet, "But believe me Harry that was a long time ago!" She managed to add but he had already left.

A/N: Well that had to come out.

Please don't forget that review.