Forgive and Forget
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
A/N: Bonjour! Good day! How is your family? Bonjour! Good day! How is your wife? Haha, hello guys, so this is a brand new fanfic called Forgive and Forget, it is Rated T for possible things implied and language. Eventually Dramione. Romance/Hurt/Comfort and Humour. I really hope you enjoy it! Read and Review if you want me to carry on :)
Chapter 1: Rain and Thunder
Hermione sniffled between uncontrollable sobs as she watched her parents' coffins being lowered into the ground. They had been killed two weeks prior by a large lorry going above the speed limit on a quiet road. He crashed straight into their little mini cooper, destroying it completely. Helen and Thomas died on the scene. The driver was charged with twelve years in prison. A police officer appeared at Hermione and Ron's flat later that day.
Hermione opened the door to their flat with a bowl of noodles in her hand and faint traces in her face told that she had been crying. Ron still hadn't returned from work, although Hermione knew that his shift ended at 4:30. It was now nine. She gasped and almost dropped her bowl in shock.
"C-Can I help you, Officer?" Hermione asked with wide eyes.
"Are you Miss Hermione Granger?" He asked softly. His eyes were full with such sorrow and pity that Hermione was getting more anxious by the second.
"T-That's me,"
"I'm sorry, Miss Granger." He said.
"What for?" Hermione asked timidly, not wanting to hear the answer.
"Your parents were killed in a car crash earlier today." The officer said with such melancholy that Hermione knew he was telling the truth.
"No." Hermione whispered faintly, her face contorting and tears welling up in her eyes. The bowl slipped out of her grasp and shattered onto her wooden floor, splattering noodles everywhere.
"I'm sorry, Miss Granger." He repeated again.
Hermione let out one heartfelt sob. Tears streamed down her face as she cried. Both hands flew up to her face and covered her nose and mouth. "Who-Who-Who…?"
"A lorry who was going over the speed limit. He had consumed much alcohol before driving."
Hermione said nothing, but only sobbed harder.
"I'm sorry, Miss Granger." He said, yet again, before walking away.
Hermione closed the door with a soft click and sunk to her knees in despair.
Ron did not return that night.
She placed a bouquet of violets, her mother's favourite, on top of the grave and threw in the dirt, melting into Harry's tight embrace. She could now relate with Harry not having parents. It felt awful.
"Where's Ron?" Harry asked. He should be hugging his girlfriend, not Harry.
Hermione shrugged. "He- he said he'd be here, but..." Harry nodded.
"Harry, would you stay and make sure they bury them properly? Please? I can't stay here much longer…I can't…" She trailed off as tears blurred her vision once again.
Hermione looked so distraught and weak with despair that Harry couldn't say no. He nodded.
"Thank you," She whispered, walking away. Harry heard a crack a minute later.
Upon returning back to their flat, Hermione found that Ron was nowhere to be seen. Sighing, she went and sat in his armchair. She hardly ever saw him anymore, which was hard to believe considering they live together. He was always gone before she woke up and back by the time she fell asleep. It was like he was avoiding her on purpose. Ron had stopped giving excuses to her last month. Since her parents had died, Hermione felt as lonely as ever. They didn't even kiss anymore. She had tried to kiss him that morning, but Ron purposefully turned his head and so she kissed his cheek. She felt as if she was losing him. An owl tapped at the window. Hermione drew one, shaky breath and got up to let it in. It was carrying the Prophet and a note from Minerva, insisting that she takes up the roll of Transfiguration Professor, or at least an apprenticeship.
Putting aside Minerva's note, as she knew exactly what would be inside, Hermione picked up the prophet with a slight sniff and turned to the front page. She saw Ron kissing a slim girl at a nightclub. Hermione gasped. She squinted to make sure that it wasn't another Weasley, but it was definitely her boyfriend. They seemed to be kissing rather passionately. Tears threatened to fall as Hermione read the caption.
Ronald Weasley, War Hero and one third of the Golden Trio, was spotted making out with a blonde girl, going by the name of Heather, at eleven o'clock last night. Is it over for Hermione Granger, Brightest Witch of her Age, one third of the Golden Trio, War Heroine? Read Article on page 4.
Hermione felt her heart break. She raised a hand to her mouth in the hope of containing her sobs; she had already cried so much that day. The door opened, and Ron came stumbling in.
"Ronald." She hissed, whipping round to face him. "What is this?"
Hermione thrust the paper at him. He looked at the picture and gulped.
"It's…uh, it's not what it looks like…" Ron stammered, his ears going crimson.
"Isn't it? Because it looks like you, Ronald, are cheating on me. How dare you?" She was practically seething now.
"How dare I? How dare you! You're the one who's always moping about and reading. You act as if you're invisible, and I got tired of you. You dress the way Madam Pince used to, and your hair! Have you seen yourself, Hermione? You're a mess!"
"Don't you dare try and blame this on me, Ronald. Maybe if you were actually at home when you were supposed to be, I wouldn't be in this state!"
"Oh, please! Hermione, you're boring! You don't have any fun, I don't know how you can live with yourself. Heather; she's everything that you're not. Beautiful, funny, happy, fun to be around. You disgust me!" He scoffed at her in his rage.
"Right. That's it, Ronald. If you think you can just t-throw around women like they're pieces of clothing then fine. I honestly could not care less. I'm leaving." Hermione stated, walking into their bedroom. She came out a moment later with a suitcase packed.
"Good! Finally!" Ron said spitefully. "Don't come back."
"Believe me, Ronald, I wouldn't dare."
And she slammed the door shut.
Walking away from their home, possibly for the last time, Hermione let a few tears roll down her cheeks. Once outside, she stood, dumbfounded at the side of the road. She really should have thought her plan through. After walking out on Ron, she did not have a home to go to. Her parents' house had been sold to a young couple, whom Hermione had personally showed around her old childhood home. She definitely couldn't go to the Burrow, she didn't want to have to face another Weasley any time soon. Grimmauld Place was hardly suitable, as Harry and Ginny lived there with their little boy, James. She couldn't go to The Leaky Cauldron, the Daily Prophet would spot her and ask questions almost immediately.
Instead, Hermione wandered around the city, looking for a hotel, or even a bed and breakfast. There wasn't one anywhere. Soon, it started to rain.
Hard.
It was raining cats and dogs, and Hermione hadn't a coat nor an umbrella to shield herself with. She also hadn't eaten that day; she couldn't stomach any food on the day of her parents' funeral, and was left feeling rather light-headed. After fully assessing her situation, the tears started to form. She was, technically, homeless and hungry. Feeling more light-headed by the second, so much that she couldn't think straight. The sides of her vision became blurred, and Hermione stumbled, landing with a thud on the wet pavement, hitting her head in the process, knocking her into unconsciousness.
This is how Draco found her.
Curled up, unconscious, on the pavement, shivering and possibly catching the flu. She had a suitcase in one hand and a broken picture of Weasley in the other. He tried so hard to walk away, to just leave her there, but it was pouring and she was shivering and her cheeks were rosy and tear-stricken and her hair was a bushy mess and she was wearing a black dress. He knew that she could die just lying there, and she wasn't noticeable on the dim and dismal day. He didn't have enough willpower to laugh, kick her leg and walk on. He just couldn't. So, instead, Draco lifted the know-it-all up and, careful not to get her splinched, apparated away.
A/N: So that was the first chapter! I really hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please tell me if I should continue in a review or a PM :)
Oh, for any of those who read my other stories, I am currently working on the next chapter of Teacher's Pet an Toying with Love is on a hiatus until I get out of my case of writer's block for that story and finish the chapter I've started. Sorry it's been so long!
Until next time!