Chapter One: Forgiveness No More

The sun is shining and the birds are chirping around a small flat in London, creating a sense of calm. The flat is small, with only two rooms painted light blue and with white wood floors. The sun reaches through the large windows to the kitchen where a boy and a girl sit, beginning their breakfast.

Suddenly, a CRASH rings through the house, shattering the silence.

"AHHHHHHHHHH CROOKSHANKS! HERMIONE, I'M GOING TO KILL THAT BLOODY THING!" rings through the air.

"Ron! Calm down, he just wanted food!" Hermione responds, a laugh in her voice.

"Well why'd he have to go and take my food?" Ron responds with a huff, sitting back into his wooden seat.

Standing from her own whitewashed seat, Hermione shuffles around the light wooden kitchen table covered with food over to the mess created by her beloved cat-Kneazle mix. Hair in a messy bun, curls dangling from the sides of her face, wearing a loose white tank top and blue flannel bottoms with-what else- books all over them, she cuddles the mass of orange fur, cooing as she carries the cat into another room down the hall.

Ron watches her go and flicks his wrist, sending the plate of bacon back onto the table and angrily grabs a piece.

"I swear, that bloody cat's gonna be the end of me... Now, how can I get rid of it... Hm. Fred and George perhaps?" he grins, chewing his bacon with a renewed mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Hermione returns and sighs, "Sorry about that hun, he's in his room now, so don't worry about him. Are you alright?"

Ron's excitement is gone as he recalls the many times Crookshanks messed up his plans; dinners, breakfasts, his clothes, EVERYTHING. His face turns to ice, and he just grunts, staring at his plate filled with bacon.

Hermione frowns, "Ron, we talked about this before. I'm not getting rid of Crooks. I'm sorry. And if that bothers you so much, I can take him and leave!"

She crosses her arms over her chest with a huff, staring daggers into the top of Ron's head.

Ears turning red, Ron, voice low, says, "Fine. Get out. I never want to see that stupid ball of fur again."

He returns to staring at his plate of food, appetite suddenly gone.

Hermione just stares back, mouth open, in disbelief. The words hit her like a stack of bricks. She knew Ron hated Crookshanks, but was it really enough of a hatred to kick her, his girlfriend, who he supposedly LOVED, out of their home?

Her face becomes steel, and voice tight, she says, "Alright then. If that's how you feel, I'll be out by noon."

She gets up and walks calmly out of the small kitchen. Turning right and walking the short distance to their bedroom, tears begin to fall. She doesn't dare make a sound, showing him her pain. Reaching their room, she dries her tears roughly, "He doesn't deserve to see my tears. Clearly he doesn't love me enough to care anyway."

Yanking out her wand, she waves her wand quickly as her things fly into her small suitcase she pulled from their closet. Once all of the items are in the suitcase thanks to an Undetectable Extending Charm she calls Crookshanks over, and picks him up. She stands upright once more, her face like stone.

Grabbing a quill from the bedside table, where she often wrote, she grabbed a piece of parchment and begins to frantically write, forcing her tears back into her eyes.

"Dear Ron,

I am sorry about Crookshanks and about everything. But I am astonished that you truly have no feelings for me at all, no forgiveness in your body at all. I will see you at school, and if you feel ready to apologize, then go ahead. If not, I'll simply take it as a sign that you no longer wish to remain friends. This truly hurts me Ron, and if you don't know that, then you truly don't know me.

Love,

Hermione"

Sighing once more, she glances around the room, placing the note on the pillow on the bed covered with red sheets lined in gold lines. The bed where so many memories had been made between the two in the short time between the end of the war and now.

"Goodbye Ron." she whispers.