0.
Ron waited. The large pumpkin underneath him was cold, hard and bumpy, and he shifted, trying to get comfortable. The sun was slowly sinking in the sky, leaving most of the patch drenched in shadow. He was in one of the last corners of brightness, near Hagrid's hut. The air was cool and crisp, the wind sharp, and he tugged at his sweater, trying to cover his hands.

He wondered when Hermione would show up. If she'd show up. But she had to. Hermione never forgot anything.

12.
"Happy Halloween," Hermione said, lifting her tumbler in a toast. She clicked, in turn, with Ron and Harry.

Ron gave his cup of water a little glare and drained it.

Harry did the same. "I miss pumpkin juice."

Hermione raised her eyebrow. "Harry, we're stuck living in a cave. I think we are very lucky to have any water and food."

"Doesn't mean it's any good," Ron said, grumbling.

"I know," Hermione sighed. "Look here. I have an idea. When this is over, the first Halloween after Voldemort is gone, we'll have a grand celebration to make up for this one. All right? We'll meet in the Pumpkin Patch, visit Hagrid, go to Hogsmeade, and make a night of it."

"Sunset," Harry agreed. "We'll have all night to make up for this one."

They toasted to it.

10.
Snow fell in large white clumps, dampening Hermione's hair, knotting her curls and flattening them to her head. She flicked it out of her face impatiently. She tracked Ron's footprints in the snow, following them from the small cottage in Godric's Hollow to the nearby forest. She finally found Ron sitting on a boulder just outside the trees.

"Ron?" She walked slowly, hesitating now. He shifted on the rock, allowing her space to sit. She hoisted herself up, the rock sharp and painfully cold even through her gloves. "White Christmases are supposed to be good luck," she said. "It means that fewer people are going to die. That's what they say."

"As long as it's the right ones," Ron said.

Hermione gave a small smile. "Right." They sat quietly for a few minutes before Hermione's nose and ears started to ache with the cold. She lifted her hand to rub at her face and bumped Ron.

Ron sighed and slid his arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him to shield her face. She felt comforted with the warmth surrounding her, but only briefly. He stood and offered her his hand. "Let's go back."

She accepted his hand and slid down, landing close enough to give him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Happy Christmas, Ron."

8.
Hermione sat close to the fire, trying to thaw herself out. Ron draped a towel over his shoulders, and grabbed a blanket off the couch. He walked behind her and wrapped it around Hermione. He sat down, legs crossed, across from her.

"Thanks," she said, shivering. She wrapped the blue wool tighter around her shoulders.

He scrubbed the rough cotton towel over his head. He could feel his damp hair sticking up every which way, but there wasn't much he could do. He tried to flatten it the best he could.

"That was some snowball fight," Ron said, finally.

Hermione laughed. "Yes, it was."

Her hands were still shaking from the cold, and without thinking, Ron slid over next to her. He put his arm around her shoulder, took her icy hands in his, and they sat like that, huddled together by the fire, until Harry came in.

6.
"This is never going to end."

"Only one more to find. Then it can be over." Ron looked into Hermione's eyes. "Ten months, Hermione. Ten months we've been searching. You can't give up now. We're so close. We've got to be."

Hermione sighed. "I know." She clenched the quill in her hand, the rough and scratchy wood biting into her skin. She squeezed harder.

3.
"Hermione, we have to go!" Harry shouted, trying to tug her to the door.

"No!" she screamed back. "Ron's here! I can't leave Ron!" She wrenched her arm from Harry's grip and raced to the other side of the room, shoving aside broken debris to get to where she had last seen Ron.

Harry found her crouching next to Ron's body, trying to pull off the heavy table that was crushing his legs, her fingernails torn and spattering drops of blood from her efforts.

"Go, Hermione!" Ron was shouting at her. "Just go! You need to get out of here before they come back!"

"I am not leaving you!" she shouted, tears streaming down her face. "I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!" With that final proclamation, she wrenched the wood away and freed him.

They didn't get far before a large green explosion came and confusion descended upon the room.

0.
The sun was nearly set. Ron shivered in the shadows, his itchy wool sweater sleeves as low over his fingers as they could be. He grabbed his cane (two more weeks, the countdown as automatic as breathing), fingers finding the smooth, well-worn groove from daily use, and he hobbled his way over to the wooden fence. Here day was clinging with the last bit of sunshine, and he would take any bit of warmth he could get.

He could hear the Hogwarts students, faintly, as they held their Halloween feast and celebrations. Finally he heard what he had been waiting for. He turned towards the soft pop.

"I didn't forget." Hermione rushed towards him, her bag bumping against her leg. "I'm sorry I'm late. I stopped to visit Harry."

"How is he today?" Ron asked.

"Desperate to get out, still. I swear, though, if I never have to visit St. Mungo's after this, it will be too soon." She sighed. "I have our things, though." She rattled the worn bag and he could hear the stone tumblers from last year thudding against each other. "Do you want to," she hesitated, gesturing towards Hagrid's hut, empty and closed up. "Or do you want to go on to Hogsmeade?"

"I dunno. I thought maybe I'd go home." Ron caught the disappointed look on Hermione's face, obvious even to him. "No, but wait." He took a deep breath and tried to remember what he and his mirror had practiced. "It was a long year, Hermione."

"I know," she said. "But we did it. We found the Horcruxes, and the spells, and Harry killed Voldemort. For good. It's over."

"I couldn't have done it without you," he said, it coming out in a blurred rush. He tried to breathe right. "You were always there when I needed you."

"You were, too," Hermione said quickly. "There. I'm glad you were."

"And I hate that now we're home, I don't see you as much. Or Harry, but you. You know? Everything went and changed even more than it had, and I was glad to see my family again but I missed you."

"I miss you, too," she said.

"So I thought, I don't know, I had already, but now I." He stopped himself, seeing Hermione's eyebrow arching. "Right. Well, then, I thought I'd ask. I can't kneel," he thumped his cane, "But. Would you marry me?" Ron pulled out a small box and offered it to her.

"Oh, Ron," Hermione said, surprised. She opened it. "Ron, I-"

"I thought about asking you to move in with me, but then I thought Mum would kill me, and we don't have to do anything right away," he said quickly. "Just a promise. To be there, y'know? I messed this up, but I do love you, and I need you and well. That's it." He wanted to look down, away, but made himself keep watching her.

"You did fine," Hermione said. She looked at the ring, the smooth gold band and three tiny diamond chips. She gently lifted it out. "It's lovely, Ron." She looked up at him. "I promise. Yes." She slid it on her finger and Ron couldn't stop the beam that spread across his face.

"Well. Good then," he said, still smiling. "Okay."

She stepped closer, dropping her bag, and came close for a full-body hug. Her arms wound around his neck and his arms slid around her easily, drawing her in. He kissed her hair, all he could reach on her. It was soft and tickled at his nose, but he ignored it and just pressed another kiss. She leaned back and rose up on her toes to reach his mouth. Her lips were warm and dry and a little chapped, and he didn't want to let go.

They broke apart, reluctantly, breathing lightly.

"Let's do our celebration," Ron said, Hermione's arms warm under his hands. "We'll have our drinks before we go on to tell Mum and everyone."

"I like that idea," Hermione said. She smiled at him, giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Happy Halloween."

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