Chapter 9


As the snow fell heavily outside, the celebration roared loudly in the Burrow. Christmas carols were being sung by the rather drunk duo consisting of Fred and George. A cheery melody was coming from the radio on the mantle and Mr. Weasley danced with Mrs. Weasley around the tiny living room. Remus stood and pulled Tonks up with him, swaying both of them to the rhythm of the music.

I sat at the table in the kitchen watching the merriment in the living room. I spotted Ginny and Harry quietly conversing among the loud festivities going on around them. I smiled at Harry as he caught my glance. He raised his eyebrows at me, nudging his head toward the radio. I nodded and watched as he whispered in her ear and whisked her up and around the room. Ginny looked surprised and completely happy at the same time.

As the party died down, people began to leave while others went up off to bed. Mrs. Weasley tried to help me clean up the kitchen, but I waved her off to bed. I was picking up the last of the dishes when Harry and Ginny said good night and climbed the stairs. I peered up through the network of staircases and saw Harry outside Ginny’s door. He leaned cautiously toward her and she bridged the gap. I turned away, smiling to myself, leaving them to have their first kiss in private. I continued to smile, remembering the first time Ron kissed me.

~~~
One night in the Astronomy tower after the evening’s lesson, I had unintentionally lagged behind collecting all of my materials. Whilst gathering my things, I hadn’t noticed Ron had waited behind for me. I started on the stairs down when someone grabbed me and kissed me.
I struggled at first, unsure of the person’s identity. Then I saw his red hair glowing in the moonlight and I gave in. I had waited so long for this moment and I took advantage of every minute. We explored each other for the first time in this ‘intimate’ way. I breathed in the familiar scent of him, a scent that now had a brand new meaning. We broke apart and grinned bashfully at one another, marking the beginning of our flowering relationship.
~~~

The silence of the night settled in just as I was finishing up. As I put the last plate in the cupboard a pair of arms snaked around my waist. I twisted around slowly in his grasp and wrapped my arms around his neck. Ron reached for my back pocket, took out my wand, and pointed it at the wooden beam overhead. I peered up and saw a tiny sprig of mistletoe begin to sprout from the beam and creep down from above. I brought my gaze back to Ron as he returned the wand to my pocket. “Merry Christmas, Hermione.”

“Merry Christm--” Ron quickly pressed his lips to mine and began kissing me more passionately than I could ever remember. I kissed back with the same intensity. In the heat of the moment, Ron scooped me up in his arms and carried me up the stairs. When we reached the top landing, he placed me back on my feet. Ron broke away and pushed his bedroom door open.

“Would you like to come in?” he asked nervously. I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks and was glad the darkness of night hid it.

“Um- sure,” I replied hesitantly. Ron stepped aside and, very gentlemanlike, ushered me inside. I couldn’t help but smile. I examined Ron’s room. I saw all kinds of childhood keepsakes and many scattered Hogwarts items tossed about the room. I turned back around to find Ron peeling off his Christmas sweater, leaving his bare chest exposed in the moonlight glow. I again felt my cheeks growing hotter and brought my hands up to cover them.

Ron moved silently over to me, a small grin on his face. He reached for my hands and removed them from my face, placing them over his heart. His hands moved from mine to the knot at the base of my skull. He tugged at the tie, letting my hair flow down my back. He bent his head and lightly pressed his lips to mine. My arms wound around his neck, my fingers knotting in his hair.

He began to pull us both backward toward his bed and I no longer felt anxious. Ron lay back on the bed and pulled me to him. My lips moved down his cheek to his neck as he slipped his arms tightly around me. Ron paused and opened his eyes, staring into mine. “I love you.” He raised a hand to my cheek and I kissed his palm.

“I love you too.”