Leaving

Hermione sat and watched her husband's chest rise and fall. She knew each freckle on his pale skin and how each muscle tensed when he was angry. She and Ron had been only 19, and blinded by sudden triumph against Voldemort when they had married. She had loved him.

They had lived in a daze for a year, perhaps two. Then, reality had set in.

The two had begun to settle into a pattern. Hermione would go to work early each morning and come home late. Ron would leave later than his wife for practice as the keeper of the Chudley Cannons, and return early enough to go out for drinks with Harry or one of his brothers. The only time Hermione and her husband spent together was as they slept. They said things would get better once they settled into their new jobs.

Now they were 24 and instead of getting better, they had gotten worse.

Hermione felt terrible. Not only did she not see her husband, but when she did she could not speak to him about her work. Training to be an unspeakable was a rigorous process and only a few were accepted each century. Hermione had pledged to keep her work a secret and she did not intend to break her vow. She loved her work was passionate about the knowledge she gained. She felt as if she were making a difference in the world. But that called for a sacrifice. Ron understood. He always understood.

That did not mean it was fair. It wasn't. Not to Ron. Ron was young and he should have been out enjoying life. Instead, he was tied to her. In sickness and in health…

And it was sick. Sometimes she used to crawl into his bed and Ron would pull her close and whisper in her ear. When his words turned suggestive, she would feign exhaustion. She couldn't bear to lie. It was easier to pretend. Now, he didn't even ask.

It was heartbreaking. He loved her so much and she… she loved him too, but not in the way he needed to be loved.

"Hermione…" Ron sighed in his sleep.

She struggled to stop the tears.

Hermione knew what she had to do. She had been planning for weeks, but she could never bring herself to disrupt the pattern. It's for the best. Hermione told herself. He does not deserve this. He deserves better than this.

Hermione gathered her belongings. Everything she saw sparked a memory of happier days. It was odd. Her and Ron's flat had been her residence for years, but it had been long since it had felt like home.

Then, Hermione returned to the bedroom when Ron lay. She knelt over the side of his bed and touched her lips to his hot cheek. She turned to leave when Ron stirred.

"Hermione?" he asked, blinking as he noticed the suitcase in her hand. She could read the hurt in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry Ron," she whispered, and left.

It was only after Hermione closed the flat's door for what she knew would be the last time that she allowed for her tears to fall.

Just a short story for the Hogwarts Online prompt "leaving."

For the record, I love Ron and Hermione, but this sort of popped into my head the other day and I decided to go with it. Please leave a review!

-Aly