TITLE: Five Firsts
AUTHOR: ponderer
SUMMARY: Five firsts with Ron and Hermione. Not the ones you may have thought of.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for the amazing reviews so far. Part the Fourth is also finished, but I might add some more or subtract from it. Also, Part the Fifth is midway through the writing process, so the wait should be rather short. This is a cliff-hanger of sorts, so look out for Part The Fourth soon!

So, as always, your support means everything. Read and review!

Five Firsts: Part the Third

The first real fight with one leaving.

It was over something stupid, she knew. But nonetheless, she was still upset that he would chose to say those things to her, the type of words that would cut her worse than Bellatrix Lestrange's knife ever could.

-

Ron was beyond excited that the Christmas holidays were there because that meant for an entire week that Hermione would be at his flat. Hermione with limited clothing. Hermione's full attention on him. Hermione's mouth on his.

"Oi, stop being so cheery," Harry said, playfully punching his roommate on his shoulder. Ron couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"It's nearly Christmas Harry! I have an excuse!" Ron said, going about their flat with his wand waving, putting up ribbons and bows around every available space. Harry watched from his seat perched at their kitchen counter with a steamy mug of tea.

"I suppose I just don't get the holiday. It's my first outside of Hogwarts so it's a bit odd," Harry explained and Ron nodded to him absentmindedly.

"Do you think the tree would look okay here, by the corner? Or, no! Over here by the window, so people can see the lights down below!" Ron asked, jumping from space to space.

"I guess I never realized how important the holiday is to you, Ron. I always knew it was your favorite, but isn't this a bit overboard?"

"Harry, one can never go overboard with Christmas decorations," Ron said seriously and Harry hid a chuckle behind his mug. "Besides," he added nonchalantly, "Hermione's coming in tomorrow for a week, and since we won't be able to spend the actual Christmas Day together, I thought that I could make what we had our own little Christmas."

Harry watched as Ron began to set up their recently bought tree, his ears a bright red. He nodded to himself and sighed, placing his mug down onto the counter. "I agree, the tree by the window is the best idea. It gives a nice image for Hermione to come home to, don't you think?"

"I think that's brilliant, thanks Harry."

-

It had been over a month since Hermione had seen Ron. Hermione walked down the street pulling her trunk through the snow. The flakes were falling down around her and she hadn't realized that she was humming a Christmas carol she loved as a girl. It was nearly seven in the evening, as she was running late with her duties at school, but had warned Ron of her tardiness. He was upset, but she knew it was also in his excitement to see her. "Don't worry Ron, I'm all yours once I get there," she assured him and his answering growl as almost enough to get her to hurry to his side that instant.

Now that she could see his flat only a few yards in front of her, she began mentally going over everything she had brought with her. She was exhausted, true, and knew she had work to be done, and found that doing it sooner rather than later would be her best option. She hid a yawn behind her gloved hand and trudged forward and finally knocked on the door. She hadn't even heaved her hand up again before Ron opened the door and pulled her into his arms. "Finally," she thought he murmured against her cold neck. She wasn't sure he said it or if she had simply imagined it, but she felt the same. Finally, indeed.

-

They stood over his coffee table glaring at each other. They were both breathing heavily and Ron's eyes were dangerously dark, but Hermione was too stubborn to back down now. "Fine," he said finally. He turned from their eye war and made his way to the front door.

"Ron, where do you think you're going?" Hermione cried out angrily, ready to hash out again. He didn't answer with words; instead the slamming of the door was his response.

She huffed aloud, looking around at the damage their fight had cost. She had been writing a paper for Slughorn, something about the importance of a potion that could heal all cuts and make certain scars disappear forever, and Ron had been interrupting her nonstop, trying to get her undivided attention. She would have loved to give him that, truly, but she only had a week with him during Christmas holidays and then the rest of the time would be spent at home with her parents. She knew that the scroll wouldn't take her long to finish, and she would have much rather been locked in Ron's room for hours, but priorities called for school first. She just wished Ron would have seen it that way too.

Usually, when they both still attended school, neither would walk out of the room like this. But, that was also before they were a couple and time was precious. Hermione felt the strain falling down on her shoulders, how she had missed Ron so much and how boring school was without the three of them, together. It was getting to be too much and several times she had thought about leaving school and just starting work, just to be with Ron forever. But, logistically, she knew she only had months to go and her forever with Ron could finally start without interruptions.

She knew that Ginny felt the same way, but had Mrs. Weasley to deal with; so her decision was made for her.

Hermione could hold herself together like no one else could, and from the way Ron had hovered since she had arrived the day before, she knew he was trying hard to compose himself. His letters held impatience, wishing for her to sneak out and stay with him over the weekend, or he himself going to Hogwarts for a moonlight walk. Although tempting, it wasn't right and she hated to break the rules now that she didn't have to.

She missed him dearly, craved for his touch every moment, but couldn't he see that she was doing this for them, that everything she ever did was to make herself better for him?

-

Ron was completely hacked off at Hermione. He understood that schoolwork came first, like always, but he'd hoped for at least some attention during Hermione's stay during her Christmas break. He'd taken off a full day of work from George's shop to spend it with her, and grew frustrated when he came out from his shower to see his girlfriend working diligently on a scroll.

First, he thought that he could distract her. He planted himself on the couch behind her, running his hands through her silky hair. She tensed, recognizing his ploy, and decided to ignore him. He tried harder, this time leaning forward and kissing her neck, brushing her long hair to the other side of her shoulders. She tilted her head slightly, an instant reaction whenever Ron hit her spot behind her ear, but then she recoiled.

"Honestly, Ronald. I need to work on this for Professor Slughorn," she'd spat out and he was instantly pissed.

"Oi! This is your vacation! You should be relaxing!"

"I fully intend to, Ron, but I need to do this first. Go bother someone else for another hour!" She was angry too, he realized, and he knew he shouldn't have pushed her buttons, that she was right (she was always right) and school did come first. But Bloody Hell, he was horny, he was in love, and he missed her desperately. She was there, but she wasn't fully there.

His words and her angry retorts followed and finally, he stormed out of his own apartment.

So that was why he was walking the streets without a jacket in the snow. He could hear carols being sung within the pub a few blocks down and snuck a look in the window to see groups huddled together at tables that were bursting with drinks and snacks. His stomach grumbled, but he had also forgotten his wallet and he wasn't about to go home; not yet.

Instead, Ron walked it off, pacing up and down the streets of Hogsmeade, cursing Hermione, then cursing himself for having left his girlfriend in his apartment. He was in a load of trouble when he returned.

-

After Ron left his flat, Hermione went back to work on her essay, hoping that her work would keep her occupied. However, as the hands moved on the clock above the fireplace, her frustration grew that Ron hadn't come back to grovel, nor that she could write. Groaning, she threw her papers to the floor into a mess she didn't want to deal with.

"Stupid boy!" she exclaimed, and then corrected herself. "Man! Men! Ugh!" She threw her hands up into the air and stretched her entire body, standing from her spot on the floor. She began to pace the floor, hands held behind her back, watching the door every few moments to see it open with an embarrassed Ron. But the door never opened.

As she continued to pace the floor she felt her resolve crumbling as tears began to fall from her tired eyes. She was tired from traveling and having to schedule herself around Ron's timeframe and her family's. She wanted to spend her time with him, snogging, relaxing, but she knew that work had to come first.

Then the fear came as the minutes ticked by, that maybe he'd had enough. That he had finally decided that she wasn't worth the wait anymore. That he deserved to be first in someone's life. That he wasn't coming back.

Hermione felt herself drop to the floor crying, remembering and feeling the pain she had during the hunt when he left the first time.

Outside in the night, carolers walked down the cold and snowy street into the darkness of the holidays.