Here it is Guys! Wish I'd gotten it out for the Holidays, but what can you do? :) Enjoy! (Oh, and I can't get the page breaks to break right now, but it should be pretty obvious when I switch around.)
The holidays arrived quickly for Ron: He and Hermione went shopping together a few more times for gifts, and spent many warm evenings together on her couch. She seemed to be very excited for Christmas but there was something different about her, ever since that strange day outside the pub; She'd often stare off into the distance, as if remembering something terrible, and if Ron touched her even lightly on the shoulder to wake her from her trance, she'd flinch. There was something sadder about her too, and her behavior often left Ron feeling cold.
But he was determined not to let it go on through the holidays.
Ron invited Hermione to stay at the Burrow with all of his family, and she happily accepted. They both arrived at the Burrow on the 23rd, and were rushed into helping Molly with the decorations: But Ron wasn't bothered at all as he and Hermione hung mistletoe from the kitchen doorway, and spent a while afterword using it for its intended purpose. They both blushed when Ginny struggled through the doorway to grab herself a sandwich, but laughed along with Harry when he followed her in.
It seemed everything was going to be just fine.
Later that night, Ron realized he had one more gift to buy, and spent the night tossing and turning in his bed, scolding himself for not buying it earlier and wondering what he could possibly give her.
He hurried off to Hogsmeade the next morning, before anyone else woke up. But nothing he saw really fit Hermione. So he decided to find a muggle shopping center, and search for something there.
He was the only customer in a quaint jewelry store when he found it. It spoke Hermione to him, and so he bought it without a second thought, barely paying attention to the price. He didn't think it'd be a problem after he started practice with the Cannons.
On Christmas morning, Ron woke up even earlier than the day before, and made his way down to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice, and sat down at the table, still in his orange pajamas. He had nearly fallen asleep in his chair when Hermione came into the kitchen.
She crouched down next to him, and ran a hand over his forehead and through his hair. He kept his eyes closed, pretending he really was asleep, and wondered if she knew. He decided she didn't as she sighed, and kissed his forehead.
After she'd turned around and turned the faucet on, he opened his eyes and grinned wide, quite pleased with her private display of affection. He got out of his chair and slowly crept up behind her, wrapping his arms loosely around her middle. "Merry Christmas," he whispered.
She jumped, and nearly elbowed him in the face. Laughing, he stepped back from her, and held his hands up in front of him, in surrender. He grinned sheepishly while Hermione blushed.
"Jeez, Ron," she said, shaking her wild hair out of her eyes, "You scared me!"
"I'm sorry," he said playfully, leaning in to kiss her.
She giggled, and pushed him away. "Not right now, Ronald, I haven't even brushed my teeth."
"I don't care," Ron said, truthfully. Their kiss was over almost as soon as it had begun, but Ron hid his pout and sat back down at the table.
"Pumpkin Juice?" Hermione asked him.
He raised his glass. "Already got some."
She nodded, and poured herself a glass, before downing it in a few large gulps and putting her cup straight in the sink. Ron thought it was kind of sexy.
"I'm gonna go upstairs and get ready," she told him. Ron nodded, but stopped her right outside the kitchen: He had an idea.
"Will you meet me outside, on the Pitch, at eleven tonight?"
Hermione tipped her head to the side, considering him. She smiled. "Sure."
And then she took the stairs two at a time.
Ron thought this Christmas was one of his best yet. After opening gifts in the morning, playing Quidditch with his brothers in the afternoon, and sitting down to a Christmas dinner even bigger than the last, all he really wanted was a good nights sleep. But he still had to give Hermione her gift, which he planned to do at eleven when he met her outside.
At a quarter to eleven, he went upstairs to find grab his coat and scarf, as well as the small square box he'd hidden in his sock drawer. He was about to search for Hermione in the house when he saw her, through the window, already standing outside, under the stars.
He stepped outside into the cold, his breath turning white in the dark night sky. He walked slowly over to where Hermione stood, her gloved hands upturned to catch snowflakes, her eyes shining in the moonlight. He planted himself beside her and listened to her breath in and out slowly: It was a sound he'd begun to love.
She turned to him, and smiled, her hands coming to rest at her side. "Hey," she said.
Ron smiled, and took her hand.
"Beautiful night," he said, as he led her up the short slope to the Pitch.
"Mmm…" she murmured.
When they reached the center of the pitch, Ron turned so that Hermione stood across from him, and fiddled with the box in his pocket, before pulling it out for her. "Merry Christmas," he said again.
Hermione grinned as she took the box from him, and slowly pulled off the long red ribbon he'd had tied around it. When she opened the box, she gasped.
"Oh, Ron, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed, and she lifted the necklace out of its box. It was a simple, square diamond, on a thin gold chain, elegant, and beautiful: Hermione.
She handed it to him, and turned around, lifting her hair off of her neck so that he could put it on her. He fumbled a little with the clasp and brushed his fingers softly against the nape of her neck, sighing.
She turned around and kissed him, harder than she had ever before, her hands clenched around the front of his coat. He responded hungrily, and twisted his hand through her wonderful hair, pulling her even closer. She didn't object, and continued to kiss him as if her life depended on it.
Without thinking much about it, Ron apparated, holding on to Hermione even tighter. They arrived inside his flat, still glued together, but Hermione pulled away from him quickly, and stared at him. Her hair was wild, tangled where he'd run his hands through it, and her lips full. Ron worried for a moment that he'd crossed the line, but Hermione just pulled him back to her.
Bliss was all Ron felt as they stumbled into his bedroom, and ended up on the bed. Hermione's jacket lay in the hallway, his was lost in the living room. He placed fervent kisses along her collarbone, reveling the softness of her skin, and the smell of her perfume on her neck. He lifted up her shirt, and kissed the skin around her belly button, while his hands flew to the button on her jeans: He was struggling to unbutton them when Hermione whimpered. Ron pulled away, a question frozen on his swollen lips, and caught her eye.
"What's wrong?" he asked her.
She turned her head away from him, and squeezed her eyes shut, before whispering, "I'm not ready."
He stared at her a moment, confused, because he'd thought she wanted him too. But he recovered quickly, and pulled her shirt down over her stomach, before wrapping his arms around her small torso.
"I can wait," he told her.
She only nodded, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
Ron stared at her, wishing he knew what to stay, and feeling extremely guilty. But she pressed her small body up against his, and shuddered.
They lay there holding each other for what seemed like hours, before Hermione fell asleep. Ron watched as her chest rose and fell, and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. He reached carefully over her and grabbed the blanket from the bottom of the bed, before draping it over the both of them. Hermione took a shuddering breath in her sleep as Ron grabbed his deluminator from the bedside table and clicked off the light.
As he lay in the dark, there was only one question on Ron's mind: Was Hermione a virgin? He supposed they should've discussed making love before, but the subject had never even been mentioned in passing. He felt like a fool: He'd expected too much from her. He'd been married before, whereas Hermione had never even been in a serious relationship, so far as Ron knew. She might've been trying to wait until she was married, but Ron had no idea.
The diamond on her chest glinted with a sliver of moonlight from the window, and Ron hoped that Hermione would forgive him. He didn't want to lose her again. But he knew he'd hurt her a lot.
He moved a strand of hair off of her forehead, and kissed her eyelids. He'd never felt the way he did about Hermione when he was with Lavender. He realized that now, but he didn't regret getting married. It had lead him back home.
When Ron awoke in the morning, the space in his arms where Hermione had laid the night before was empty.
Sooooo... What'd you think? What is Hermione hiding? I'd love to know what you think, so leave a review!