A/N: Hello all! I decided to try my hand at a little cannon romance, here is the result! I always felt like the Ron/Hermione romance was a little too sudden. I mean I don't blame J.K.R. (it was Harry's story after all...), but I was always curious about the moments that lead up to the happily ever after with our favorite sidekicks. How did they fall in love? What happened in the moments when Harry wasn't there with them? Is that when the true spark started? How close were Ron and Hermione before and/or during the Hrocrux hunt? In other words, what happened in those stolen moments that no one ever mentions? This is the result! Hope you enjoy!

Also, there will be some lemon/lime to this story, but I will always warn you before hand so those who are too young or are otherwise ill at ease can skip those sections/chapters.

Please review, I would love to hear your feedback!

"You'd think with the amount of children this family has, they would at least have a properly paved drive!" Mr. Granger complained under his breath as he made his way down the rutted country lane just west of Ottery-St. Catchpole.

"Dad! I told you that they're car is running wild in the Forbidden Forest! They have no need for a 'proper drive'!" Hermione said, her excitement rising as she made out the hedge that marked the edge of the Weasley Property.

"And don't forget, John, that was also a flying car," Mrs. Granger said in a matter-of-fact tone so like the one often used by her daughter, holding onto the handle above the door for dear life as the car bounced down the road.

"Yes, well," he winced as the new Lexus hit another pothole sending them jarring once more into the air. He had long since given up on trying to understand some of the things that came out of his daughters mouth, but he always tried-even if talk of flying cars seemed a bit bonkers.

"There it is!" Hermione squealed excitedly as the crooked walls of the unnaturally tall and lopsided Burrow came into view. The morning light had just crept over the hills surrounding it giving the place an even more magical glow. Hermione could barely contain her excitement. She had missed Ron, Harry and Ginny so. She could barely believe her luck that her parents had actually agreed to let her come to stay for the rest of the summer holiday.

Chickens scattered as the car pulled up outside of the shed, terrified by the foreign noise. Something she didn't recognize, scurried about the haggle of wellington boots around the stoop. Soft whirs of magic sounded from inside the house. Hermione's smile broadened. The soft purr of the engine must have alerted the entire house of their presence because within moments, the whole of the Weasley clan were pouring out of the kitchen door with varying states of bedhead—save Mr. and Mrs. Weasley who looked wide awake.

Mr. Granger shut off the car smiling up at the sea of gingers that were gathered in front of the car. Mr. Weasley, he noticed, had already taken several steps forward and was closely examining the new car with a great gleam of curiosity in his eyes.

"Hermione!" shouted the youngest two redheads who both came rushing forward, though at seeing her, Ron stopped awkwardly blushing like mad. Ginny, however, greeted her with a warm hug looking incredibly happy to see the bushy haired brunette.

Hermione eagerly returned her hug and moved toward Ron, her arms still outstretched. Still blushing profusely, he held out his hand with a slight grimace. Hermione mirrored his blush and gave him an awkward handshake before being engulfed in hugs from the rest of the Weasley Clan.

Mrs. Granger watched the exchange with a small smile on her lips, briefly catching the eye of Ron's Mum and sharing a knowing look with her.

"Jean, John, do come in for a spot of breakfast before you head back," Mrs. Weasley said, wiping the flour from her apron in attempt to make herself a little more presentable.

"We would love to, Molly, but we really only have the morning off," Mrs. Granger said apologetically.

"I am sorry that we couldn't have come to fetch her, Jean, but with taking off for the World Cup—"

"That's quite alright, we don't mind." Mrs. Granger cut her off laying a hand on the older woman's arm.

"I just wish the road was a little less rough..." Mr. Granger winced under his breath.

"Percy!" Mr. Weasley beckoned. "Didn't your Mum ask you o fix those ruts last night?" He wasn't yelling, but the disappointment that showed on his face made the other Weasleys and the Grangers look away uncomfortably.

"Er..." Percy began.

"It's really not a prob—" Mr. Granger said embarrassed that his comment had been heard.

Mr. Weasley cut him off by moving forward and waving his wand lazily toward the lane. Immediately the ruts popped up, gravel that had been buried rumbled to the surface so that within minutes, the road looked as if it had been newly laid. Not wanting to make a scene, Mr. Weasley simply smiled back at the Grangers, ignoring his son's mumbled protests about being busy with work. "There you are! Should be smother on your way out!" He turned giving Hermione's arm a warm squeeze. "It is good to see you Hermione. Molly I really must be off to work."

Molly nodded, giving her husband a ppeck on the cheek.

Aurthur nodded to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, sending one last look at the fantastic muggle car before disapparating with a pop.

"Thank you, Molly!" Mrs. Granger embraced her only daughter. "No, you will write before you board the train and owl us about the holidays?"

Hermione rolled her eyes in a rarely seen display of teenage embarrassment. "Yes, Mum."

"We love you sweetheart!"

With a few more genial goodbyes, The Grangers returned to their car and made their way down the now smooth lane and back towards the muggle world.

As soon as the car disappeared around the bend, the group began to meander back towards the house. "Come now, dear, you look like you could use a spot of breakfast before what is sure to be a thrilling day of quidditch," Mrs. Weasley said genial putting her arm around her surrogate daughter.

Hermione, however, barely heard her. Her eyes were scanning the cluttered kitchen for the familiar face of Ron. In the past, when they had spent time together without Harry, things had been comfortable if not full of slight squabbles about one thing or another. But the sight of a now taller and more muscular Ron had made her blush more than ever. Nerves filled her at the prospect of an entire week with him without Harry. However, for now it seemed that her nerves were for naught. The boy she had spent a good part of the summer thinking and dreaming about had vanished inside the house and seemed to have gone back upstairs without so much as a followup hello to his awkward handshake.

Ron barely made it up to his room before he heard the first creaks of the kitchen door and rumble of talk as the rest of his family entered the house behind him. He held his breath, hoping that his brothers—namely Fred and George—wouldn't notice his sudden absence. All he needed was a moment, just a moment to process the sea of feeling that had washed over him the second he saw one Hermione Granger. A moment, that is, away from everyone that would use his annoyingly red ears and blushed cheeks (those traitors) to tease him senseless.

A breath escaped his lips as he heard no telltale footsteps following him. He slumped onto what was soon to be Harry's camp bed in a weeks time and ran his hands through his long shaggy locks.

What the bloody hell had happened? One moment, Hermione was nothing more than a bushy haired book worm with an annoying tendency to nag about homework, then, one and a half months later, she was –well he had no doubt that she was still addicted to books, nothing could change that—but now she had breasts? And were those hips? For once in his life he was praising muggles for their fashionable tight tank tops and short shorts. Her smooth legs had to be five miles long! Lord knows he hadn't seen her in anything but robes in ages. What had she been hiding all those years? Her hair was even slightly tamed and pulled into a loose pony tail up and off of her tan skin. It was liberally streaked with blond highlights that almost made her glow. Summer, all in all, had been good to Hermione.

Very good.

Stop it! He tried to reason with himself. That is Hermione Granger you are thinking about sliding her legs around you and running her hands through your hair and feeling those incredibly plump soft lips— STOP! "Bloody Hell!" He said aloud, cursing the tent in his too short pajama trousers. She is your friend! He berated. Not to mention that she is probably pining after Harry! Every girl pined after Harry. He tried to choke off the wave of jealously at the thought. After all why would anyone in their right minds chose him over the famous, rich boy-who-lived? He shook his head trying to rid himself of the murderous thoughts about his best friend. Now get yourself showered and go down there and treat her like the nerdy know-it-all that she is!

With that pep talk, he got up grabbed his clothing out of his wardrobe and made his way to the washroom, grateful that for once it was blessedly vacant.

Breakfast dishes were being cleaned up by the time Ron finally made his appearance in the kitchen freshly dressed and washed. As soon as he spotted her he felt the red in his ears betray him once more. Taking a deep Breath, he came down the last few steps.. Smooth, he told himself, just be smooth. He tried to slide into his seat across from Hermione without being noticed, but unfortunately caught a wrinkle in the rug with his toe at the edge of the kitchen, falling in a heap painfully into one of the chairs.

"Oh my gosh, Ron!" Hermione said, rushing to the his side. "Are you alright?"

He cursed under his breath, much to the laughter of Charlie, Bill, Fred and George. "With feet like those it is a miracle that he can even walk!" Ginny quipped.

"Bugger off, Gin—" Ron began.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley!"Mrs. Weasley scolded. "If I ever hear you say that word again! I swear!"

"Yeah, Ronnie," Fred smiled looking at his brother said with mock consternation.

"Plus Gin is right you know," George added. "Bout as sneaky as Hagrid—"

"—on roller skates—" Fred added.

"—trying to do a waltz-"

"-while drunk."

Everyone save Hermione and Mrs. Weasley laughed loudly. Ron's face got red as he jumped to his feet, roughly righted the chair and sat in it ignoring Hermione's outstretched hand.

"Actually, your feet being big is not a bad thing, Ronald. Did you know that in general, a boy's feet don't stop growing until the growth plates fuse about five years after puberty begins? They will stop growing at about two years before you reach your full height. So having big fee is just a sign that you are going to be quite tall. Probably the tallest of all your—"

"Shut it, Hermione!" Ron said, his ears burning with embarrassment at the mention of Puberty in front of his entire family. Yep, same old Hermione, he thought with slight relief.

"Ronald!" Mrs. Weasley scolded.

Hermione's face went scarlet. Well, all hopes that Ron had grown out of being an insensitive prat were lost.

He said nothing as he was about to help himself to a large link of smoked sausage in front of him along with a pile of eggs. Fork poised to dig into his late breakfast, he cried out as his food suddenly disappeared. "Hey! What are you playing at?"

Snickers went up around the table as Mrs. Weasley turned around brandishing her wand at her son threateningly. "With the language you just used, you should be glad that all you are missing is Breakfast!" Her angry look made him cower slightly as he pouted at her. "Now I suggest you all find something to do before I find something for you to do!" She said to the rest of the table at large.

Feeling slightly cowed by his Mother's scolding, Ron got up and joined Hermione and Ginny as they trudged outside and into the garden. With his fuse unbearably short, he found it much easier to talk to Hermione. Thankfully, his apologetic look seemed to suffice for his outburst at her, so he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked by her in silence until they reached the pond, listening to her chatter with Ginny about her summer in the muggle world. Allowing himself to zone out for a few minutes, he barely heard his name when a question was finally directed at him.

"Ron?" Hermione said, waving her hand in front of his face. "Did you hear a word I said?"

"What?" He said snapping back to reality.

"I asked if you had heard form Harry or not?"

And there it was. Of course she wanted to know about Harry. Not about his summer, but about Harry. He again tried to choke off the sudden surge of jealousy that tried to rake his hormonal adolescent brain before he answered. "Not much. Just enough to hear that he will be down in a week so we can all go the the World Cup."

"Oh that will be great!" Hermione said, smiling happily.

As talk started up once more, Ron again let his thoughts wander, trying hard to ignore the confusing feelings he was having about both his friends. In the end, he decided that it wasn't worth the worry and put the thoughts aside, instead shooing Ginny away and starting up a conversation about Sirius Black and their adventures the year previous. After an hour of normal bickering with the brainy girl, all awkwardness was gone.

For the time being at least.