Hello! I am very pleased to announce that this chapter will be the last one before we get back to the 'original' timeline where it is more familiar (will hopefully also be easier for me (((crosses fingers))) This is definitely a transition chapter, but I think we all know that those are sometimes necessary and hope it's enjoyable nonetheless.

I also hope that everyone had a happy holiday, whether/whatever you celebrate, and I wish you all a happy new year as well!

I'm lazy so I didn't go over this very much, so if there are any mistakes (which I'm sure there are, please politely ignore :)

oOo

When Ron walked into science class only a few minutes late the next Monday afternoon, he was not at all surprised to find that his usual chair was occupied by somebody else. A blonde haired boy by the name of Ernie Macmillan was sitting in the seat Ron had been, up until then, situated in all year. Ron didn't know Ernie very well, but the other boy didn't seem to be at all unhappy in his new seat next to Ava. In the past, Ava had always saved Ron's seat for him, but after what had happened Friday night, he couldn't blame her for not doing so. As he walked further into the classroom, she didn't even look up from the table, though Ron could tell that it was a deliberate act on her part not to do so. Intentionally or not, he had hurt her, and not for the first time he felt the heavy weight of guilt settle into his stomach and knew it was going to be a lousy day.

"I'm happy you decided to join us, Mr. Weasley," Snape drawled out, causing Ron to remember just where he was.

The disgusted look on the teacher's face belied the fact that he was, most definitely, not happy to see Ron. Biting his tongue in order to not say something he might regret, Ron made it over to the first empty seat he could find and tossed his backpack onto the large desk. Wishing he had a magic invisibility cloak to spare, he sat down and stretched out his long legs, slinking as low in his chair as he could manage.

"Backpack off the desk," barked Snape, and Ron rolled his eyes before obediently moving his bag to the floor next to his chair.

oOo

Even though Ron felt drained from school and then a short stint at his job, he decided he still wanted to stop by and see Hermione. Instead of heading to his house after the short walk home from work, he went to hers, already feeling better at the prospect of seeing her. Mr. Granger was the one to answer his knock, and the older man opened the door with a clean plate in one hand and a small dishrag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey, Ron," he greeted. "Hermione's upstairs doing homework. You can head on up."

"Thanks," Ron replied, giving Hermione's dad a grateful smile.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he reached her door in only seconds and gave it a few light taps.

"Come in."

He could immediately hear the exhaustion in her voice, and when he opened the door, Ron found Hermione sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room, an excessive amount of papers surrounding her. Her hair was wild and was sticking up from her head in various angles, and she had noticeable bags underneath her eyes. There was an empty plate to her left and Ron frowned as he realized that she had been too busy to even go downstairs to have dinner with her parents.

"Hey," he said gingerly as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "What are you up to?"

Hermione looked up, and even though her expression was weary, she gave him a genuine smile. "Hey, you," she said before giving a loud yawn. "Trying to finish up the rest of this homework."

Ron lowered himself to his knees on the carpet in front of her and took one of her hands in is. "Not that I can help with your homework or anything," he said with a grin, "but is there anything else you need me to do for you?"

She smiled. "Just being here is enough," she assured in a soft voice. "I'm always happy to see you, Ron."

A warm feeling spread through Ron's body and he couldn't help but grin wider. "Anytime." He reached his other hand out and Hermione took it without hesitation. "You need to remember to take breaks though," he lightly scolded as he laced their fingers together. "We both know how you can run yourself ragged."

"A lie down sounds great, actually. My back is starting to hurt from hunching over like this for so long."

Ron sprung to his feet. "Cuddles!" he yelled before diving onto her bed. "Mmm," he moaned as he snuggled into her overly plush light purple comforter. "Your bed is always so soft and comfortable." He lowered his face to her pillow and took a deep inhale. "And it always smells amazing. Like your shampoo."

Hermione laughed. "Some might say those are very creepy things to say."

Turning so that he was on his back, Ron gave her a shrug. "Well, I haven't managed to scare you away yet. I reckon after being your best friend for all these years you already know what you're getting so there's no need for me to pretend to be normal in your presence."

Hermione stood up and Ron immediately scooted over to make room for her. She laid down beside him and wrapped her arms around his torso. "I suppose you're right," she relented. "Besides, you're much too snuggly to let go of."

"I am the snuggliest," he replied with a deep chuckle.

Hermione's hand traveled up to his head and she ran her hands through his hair before starting to scratch his scalp with her nails.

"How was your Monday?" she questioned as he closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, his body further relaxing against hers.

Ron moved his arm over her body and started to reciprocate the favor by rubbing Hermione's back in the way he knew she liked. He thought about how to answer her question. Although Hermione knew that something had upset him on Friday night, he was grateful that she hadn't pestered or questioned him about the matter once they'd made up. She knew nothing of Ava and the girl's had-been crush on him, and wouldn't understand the guilt he was still feeling or the sense of rejection today's science class had brought him. If he was being perfectly honest, the whole incident had sadly concreted the fact that it was a horrible idea to ever tell Hermione how he felt about her. If Ron did tell her, he would be like Ava, only it would hurt a thousand times worse because what he felt for Hermione was far more than a mere high school crush.

"It was okay," he finally answered, smartly choosing to avoid the whole topic. "Snape was an ass, but that's nothing new."

"And how was work?"

He shrugged. "Monday's aren't usually busy so it was really easy. Just a few oil changes and flat tire repairs."

"Mmm," Hermione hummed, her fingers still absentmindedly running through his hair although she had stopped scratching his scalp.

"What about you?" Ron asked. "How was your day? Besides drowning in homework, I mean."

She sighed. "Not much. Just trying to juggle all my classes plus the job at the bookstore. I like keeping busy, of course, but sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming."

Ron sighed as well. "We both know how I feel about you adding a job on top of everything you've already got going on, so I'll be smart and I won't tell you I told you so."

Hermione poked him in the ribs. "You just did, you prat."

He laughed. "Well yeah, but I did it indirectly, so it's permissible."

Ron could practically feel her rolling her eyes. "Well I'm comfortable right now so I'm going to let that one slip. Just this once, though," she warned.

"I thank you for sparing me," Ron teased. "You are oh so merciful. How can I ever show the extent of my thanks, My Queen?"

As soon as Ron completed his sentence, there was a light tap on the door.

"It's getting late and one of Ronald's brothers is here to fetch him," Mrs Granger said as she cracked the door open and poked her head into the room, an expression of disapproval appearing on her face as she caught sight of the two of them on the bed.

Feeling like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Ron sat up and was pleased to see Hermione frown as he did so. "Thank you, Mrs Granger," he said in a polite, albeit a little embarrassed, voice. "I'll be right down."

After throwing another wary look in her daughter's direction, Jean Granger nodded at Ron and retreated to head back downstairs without another word.

"I guess it's goodbye, then," he said as he stood up and stretched his arms high up above his head. "Your mum obviously wants me to go."

"Don't mind her," Hermione rushed as she stood up as well. "She knows good and well that nothing nefarious was going on in here."

"But it's her house, Hermione," Ron reminded her as he pulled her in for a hug. "I don't want her to ban me from coming over because I was laying in bed with her only child- no matter how innocent it was. I mean, we know nothing was going on, but if I had a daughter I probably wouldn't like it either," he admitted.

Hermione snorted into his chest. "Ban you? Ron, she would never! My mum knows how much you mean to me. To ban you would be the ultimate betrayal and I would never forgive her for it."

"Still," he muttered. "It's not worth it to me to be on her bad side. I need need need you."

"Need need need me?" She snorted again. "Do you know that you're just a bit dramatic?" she laughed as she moved her head back in order to better peer up at him.

"That may be true," he affirmed. "But I really do need you, Hermione. Always."

Hermione rolled her eyes but still looked pleased as she stepped away from him and took his hand. "Come on. I'll walk you to the front door."

When the two made it downstairs, George was standing in the living area partaking in a lively conversation with Mr Granger. "There you are," he said as he spotted his little brother. "Mum's not happy that you didn't check in with her when you got home from work."

"I'm bloody seventeen," Ron grumbled. "I can see my friends without checking in with my mum like a little kid."

"Ah, but it's a school night, baby brother," George quipped. "And it's past your bedtime."

Resisting the urge to throttle George, Ron turned to bid Hermione goodbye. "See you tomorrow?" he asked.

She nodded. "I work late, but I should be able to see you before your… bedtime."

Ron's mouth gaped open as George burst into laughter behind them. He felt his cheeks redden and narrowed his eyes at Hermione, who was now laughing as well. "Ha. Ha. Hilarious, you are." He shook his head. "Karma, Hermione Jean Granger. It comes back around, you know."

"And I'm terrified," she replied before standing up and kissing him on the cheek. "Sweet dreams, Ron. Be sure to tell your mum to tuck you in extra tight."

George was still snickering as they made their way next door. "For such a serious person, Granger sure has a wicked sense of humor," he said.

"She's not always serious, you know," defended Ron. "But you wouldn't know that because you don't know her as well as I do."

George hummed. "Touche."

"Why did mum send you, anyway? It was bloody embarrassing being fetched like that!"

His brother chuckled. "I'm not sure, but if I had to take a guess, it's probably because she's worried that you're going to make her a grandmother far too soon for her liking."

Ron scoffed. "Yeah right. She can't possibly believe that I'm over there having sex with Hermione."

George turned his head and cocked an eyebrow in question.

"I'm not!" Ron loudly insisted.

"Not yet, anyway," his brother replied.

Ron took a deep breath. "I've told you- and everyone- over and over. We're just friends," he said through gritted teeth. "And Hermione isn't-"

"Hermione would shag you in a heartbeat if you were to admit to her how you felt," George interrupted. "Girl's as barmy for you as you are for her. Anyone with eyes can see that."

"Shut up!" Taking a few long steps, Ron passed his brother and made it to the front door first. "Stop talking about things you know nothing about," he growled before turning the knob and heading inside, effectively ending the conversation.

oOo

Ron's senior year of high school seemed to fly by, and before he knew it he was only a few short weeks shy of graduation day. With Hermione's constant encouragement (that was oftentimes more like nagging) he'd put more effort into his school work than he ever had before. For the first time in his life, he was making all A's and B's. Admittedly, Ron was both extremely pleased and surprised with how well he had done during the year, and though he was proud of how far he'd come, nothing compared to the elation he felt about Hermione's opinion of him. Her face lit up everytime he told her he'd aced a test, or passed along information about his exceptional behavior at school. She told him often how proud she was of him, and nothing made him happier.

His eighteenth birthday had come and gone without much incident, though his parents had managed to gift him Percy's old little hand-me-down scrap junk of a car. It was pathetic, really, but Ron didn't have any complaints because a car was a car, and besides, he knew how to fix up the engine and it hadn't taken him long to get it running properly.

Fred and George had opened up a joke-shop together and to everyone's surprise, business had been going great for them. They now lived in a small flat above the shop, but they visited as much as they could at the persistence of their mother. After they'd moved out, Ron's house felt much too quiet, but then again, he also appreciated the peace that their absence brought.

To Ron's utter distress, Hermione had been accepted to a big live-in University and was going to be moving away right before summer started. He tried not to think about how miserable life was going to be when she didn't live right next door, but the thought was always in the back of his mind, taunting him daily. Over and over, Hermione had tried to reassure him that nothing was going to change between them, but Ron wasn't fooled for a moment. His nightmares were fraught with smart and handsome college men falling in love with her and taking her away from him forever. Although he knew something like that was going to happen eventually, he wasn't remotely ready for it to be reality.

When the prom committee had started putting up posters all around his school advertising for their senior prom, Ron had ignored them. That was until he'd been daydreaming in class and an image of he and Hermione dancing together popped into his mind out of nowhere. It had been a lightbulb moment and from then on, it was all Ron thought about. He brainstormed on how he would ask her, whether or not she'd accept, and if she did accept, how would it all play out? She was leaving, and convincing her to go with him was something Ron needed to do. It wasn't as if he believed anything substantial would come from it, he was still a realist after all, but he'd be damned if he wouldn't be able to show Hermione the best night of her life while he still could.

He was still musing about prom as he strolled into science class on a Wednesday afternoon and took his seat at the desk he'd been at since Ava had stopped talking to him. Sitting by himself had been miserable at first but Ron soon found he didn't really mind and actually enjoyed working alone.

They were making some kind of goo today, and after Snape laid out the steps on the white board, the students got to work. Rose petals, Ron thought as he added a third ingredient to the large science beaker. Birds liked that sort of romantic stuff, right? Not that Hermione would see it as romantic, coming from him, but he figured she'd enjoy the gesture anyway.

"You must not be paying a lick of attention," a voice came from above him, and Ron's head snapped up to see Snape sneering down at him. "The directions are written clearly on the board, Weasley."

Ron's face and neck burned as he realized he had been throwing in random ingredients without a second thought, his mind too busy to pay attention and read the step by step directions. "Sorry," he muttered. "I'm having an off day, professor."

"I seriously doubt that," replied Snape. "Only an imbecile such as yourself would be able to muck this lab up."

Ron jumped to his feet. "Why do you always have to be such an uptight bastard, huh?" he challenged. "I make one bloody mistake and suddenly I'm an imbecile?"

Snapes eyes darkened in anger and Ron immediately knew he'd taken it a step too far this time. "Principal's office. Now," he growled.

Ron reached down and grabbed his backpack from the floor. "Gladly," he replied before walking out of the class without a backward glance.

oOo

"I'm going to get straight to the point," McGonagall started as she sat back in her chair, a serious expression on her stern face. "Severus is asking for your permanent expulsion."

Ron couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Of course he bloody is," he said. "Perfect timing too, the git. Just when there's only a few weeks of school left." He sighed. "Honestly, McGonagall, I've been biting my tongue for months now. I swear he was goading me. He bloody wanted me to snap!"

"As you can imagine," the principal went on, "with it being the end of the year, expulsion wouldn't allow you to graduate and I do not believe that's fair, especially given this year's improved behavior on your part."

"Well then what about detention?"

McGonagall shook her head. "Severus mentioned that your many trips to detention in the past made little difference. He wanted something more extreme."

"Did you point out to him that I've improved?" Ron questioned. The look on McGonagall's face proved that she had. "And let me guess," Ron said sharply, "that didn't sway him at all?"

"From what I understand, you embarrassed him in front of the entire class."

"Maybe he should work on that, then?" he suggested. "He can buy himself a few self help books on how not to get so easily triggered. Maybe a book on hygiene as well so he can learn how to get the pound of grease out of his hair."

The principal didn't seem amused by his joke. "Anyway, together we decided that you should be banned from attending senior prom."

"What?!" Ron yelled. "That's not fair!"

The principal seemed surprised at his outburst and arched an eyebrow. "I wouldn't think a kid like you would be the type to care so much about a school dance."

"I…I had plans for prom," he replied weakly.

She shook her head. "Well, I'm sorry, but you are going to have to change your plans because that was the one punishment the two of us could agree on."

"But-"

"My hands are tied, Mr Weasley. I'm sorry, but rules are rules, and cursing at a teacher, no matter how much you may dislike him, deserves some kind of consequence."

Knowing there was no point in arguing with her, Ron sat back in the cushioned chair. "Yeah, I know." He sighed. "Well, thanks for trying. Even if I don't agree, I appreciate not being expelled."

McGonagall gave him a small smile. "You're dismissed," she said before starting to gather a few papers from her desk. "I hope you have a good rest of the day."

"Yeah, you too," Ron muttered as he stood up and drug his feet out of her office in defeat.

He was ashamed that he hadn't been able to keep his cool this close to the end of the year. Even though he knew it wasn't at all true, it currently felt like all the progress he had made was for naught.