Little one shot of a moment in Ronald's and Hermione's life.
Hermione dried her eyes with the nearly shredding tissues in her right hand. She sniffed quietly feeling that her sobs were soon to start up again. She needed her husband to be with her holding her in his arms, but to her dismay he was out on a mission with the rest of the Aurors. As soon as their mission would be over they would make their way down to the three broomsticks or round one of the Aurors house to celebrate. She let her body fall back on to the sofa, her legs coming up to her chest and her arms around her head as she cried. She didn't bother mopping up any more of her tears; she couldn't see the point of drying the constant flow of water.
The little oak coffee table in front of her had a couple of A4 papers and a small envelope on the surface. One of the pieces of paper was from the hospital her father was a resident at. The words that filled the page were just words of fake sympathy. The second piece of paper was from her mother, she had sent both of the letters. On that piece of paper only a few words were written in the middle. Hermione knew what they meant, she'd heard them before.
When she was younger her mother had told the same words to her before disappearing for years on end. She knew her mother had done the same as she did before. She had run away, leaving Hermione to deal with the pain. Hermione sat up slightly pulling her mother's letter towards her. Through her swollen eyes she re-read the only sentence hand written on the page.
It's over poppet, I just can't stay.
Hermione felt like her world was falling apart. Her dad had passed away a couple of nights ago and she was only just told, her mother had run away and left her alone. Her husband was out on missions more, and often with her brotherly figure best friend, Harry. Ginny Potter had taken a trip with the Weasley's and her own new family to Egypt. She was on her own. Hermione started to cry for the hundredth time that night; she carefully made an effort to get up from the sofa. Her steps were slow from the seat to the kitchen door but she got there, her eyes blurred as the tears created a fog in her vision.
She stumbled slightly, falling on her side on the kitchen floor. She didn't feel any pain; she just lay there staring at the floor to her right. Her tears rolled sideways down her cheeks or over her nose and after a while dripped on to tiled floor. She lay there and cried just wanting her husband back home.
Ginger hair ducked behind a pillar as another deadly curse flew his way. His blue eyes met his best friends green ones as they agreed on a plan without speaking a single word. "Go!" Harry shouted and both of the men ran to the positions, where they were joined with their colleges as they got themselves in to their positions beside them. The lunatic wizard snarled slightly at the seven men whose wands were all pointed at him.
He decided to take a shot anyway at the one of the Auror's. "Avada Kad-" Ron quickly stopped him by casting a quick spell Hermione always helped him with "Petrificus Totalus!" The man froze, his body stiff and solid as he fell backwards still unmovable.
"Thanks Weasley" Williamson muttered as he looked at the fallen lunatic, "Could have been a dead man." Ron shook his head slightly before looking around the building. His eyes came across a pile of photos on a worn down table. He picked them up and carefully shuffled through them all. "Harry. Looks like I found the guys 'display of achievements'." Ron spoke gently in the silent room, soon footsteps made their way towards him. "What do you mean Ron?" Harry questioned before looking through the photos, He gasped quietly then handed the pictures to an Auror on his right. "Looks like he took a photo before he killed them…" Harry spoke gravely to no-one in particular.
Harry took a deep breath before addressing everyone. "Right, we'll file paper work tomorrow. Get this creature in to Azkaban, where he'll most likely get the death eaters kiss in the morning." Ron smirked slightly as the still petrified man disappeared with two Auror's. Ron grinned at everyone, "Anyone up for a few butter bears round mine? 'Mione might have made some lovely food as well" He said with a chuckle. Most of the Aurors agreed, some had to call it a night because they wanted to see their families. Ron looked at the Aurors around him. "You all know where I live" and with a small pop he was gone.
Ron arrived just outside his house. He stopped by the gate and waited for the rest of his colleges to arrive. In about a minute everyone was outside chatting about missions and files that had to be completed. Ron opened the front door, keeping it open for everyone to get in then closed it behind him. "Mione I'm home" He jokingly called out as if he was in one of those old fashioned shows Hermione liked to watch. He noticed his colleges had let themselves in to the lounge area and were sitting on the sofas and chairs just chatting away. Ron chuckled at the sight before frowning slightly.
"Mione?" He called out again up the stairs, remembering that he didn't here an answer when he first spoke. Normally she'd run down the stairs or from the study in to his arms the second the key touched the door. Something wasn't right. "Hermione!" He shouted as he ran up the stairs, the Aurors in the front room all got their feet and followed Ron up the stairs. Harry was the first to walk to his friend. "Ron you've got to calm down." He said sternly even though he was finding it hard to stay calm because he feared for the safety of his near to little sister. "Downstairs…" Ron mumbled to himself pushing past anyone who was in his way. Harry mumbled a sorry to his co-workers whilst chasing after Ron.
By the time Harry got downstairs, Ron had already franticly checked most of the rooms. "She wouldn't just go out Harry. Not when she knew I'd be back soon" He huffed slightly as he turned to the final room, the kitchen. "You know her Harry, She wouldn't do that" He was close to a jog by the time he entered the kitchen.
Everything stopped inside of Ron when he saw his wife on the floor. For a couple of seconds he was relived she wasn't harmed, but it quickly disappeared when he noticed her tears. "Hermione." He whispered as he knelt down beside her. He pulled her towards him and held her in his arms, "What you doing on the floor, you silly fool…" He joked quietly in her ear. Harry watched the couple on the floor, "Ron, I'll take the guys to the three broomsticks. Floo me later alright" Ron looked at his friend and nodded. It wasn't long before everyone left and it was just him and Hermione.
Ron carefully picked up his wife, her arms had snaked around his neck but she still had not spoken. Her head buried itself in the crook of his neck taking in his smell and presence. He walked in to the front room, sitting on the sofa sideways and fitting her perfectly between his legs. Her head rested on his shoulder and he vowed in his head that he would hold her until she stopped crying. For about an hour he hummed songs to her, hushed her, kissed the top of her head and rubbed small circles on her back. It was coming up to 10pm when he heard her voice. It was so fragile and weak he felt his heart break just hearing it.
"You're home…" She whispered. Hermione shifted slightly so she could look at her husband in the eyes. He nodded at her when she looked at him, his eyes filled with worry and concern. "I don't… I. I just…" Her eyes looked towards the pieces of paper on the table. He could only watch as her brown eye filled up once again with tears. Ron's arms held her a bit more securely as she rested her head on his shoulder again, sobs shaking her body.
"… Ronald…" "Yes 'mione?" He whispered in to her hair. "You… can read. T-the letters…" She mumbled rubbing her eyes gently trying to stop the tears. His eyes looked towards the pieces of paper on the coffee table. He carefully stretched over, not wanting to move Hermione, and grabbed them in one hand. He settled back on to the sofa and began to read the longer letter first.
In the first several sentences, Ron knew what the letter was about. The hospital address in the corner was the hospital Hermione's Father was placed. The first sentence started with 'we are sad to announce that Richard Granger passed away on the 17th May.' "Oh 'Mione…" He whispered to her softly holding her tightly, He felt tears of his own fall from his eyes at the thought of his father in-law not being around. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Hermione" He kept whispering to her as the both cried together.
Ron managed to calm down and swapped the pieces of paper in his hand. He noticed the handwriting from all the birthday and Christmas cards he had received from the in laws. He looked down at his wife and then read the words that must have killed a part of Hermione. 'It's over poppet, I just can't stay' He frowned at the piece of paper. "I don't understand" He muttered. Hermione looked at him her tears running down her cheeks. She carefully brushed a tear off of Ron's cheek and moved her hand to his hair. She breathed out slightly dropping her hand back on to his shoulder.
"She's gone too." She whispered, watching her husband's expressions change in a couple of seconds. She felt like they were back in Hogwarts around the time of the war. His face hid all of his emotions and she struggled to read what he was feeling deep down inside. "…gone?" he questioned her in disbelief and continued to stare at the scribbled words. "What do you mean 'Mione?" Hermione let out a deep sigh and cuddled back in to her husband arms, which were there waiting to hold her once again. She noted how his hands had clenched slightly as if he was in pain but also hiding a small trace of anger. Hermione took a long shaky breath in ready to explain everything to him. "It means… She's, well. She's decided to disappear too. She said those words when I was 11… It got too much. She… she just broke… So now I suppose…" "She has done it again." Ron finished flatly.
He looked down at his wife, who in return looked up at him. Her chocolate brown eyes had become red and puffy. Her once rosy cheeks were now flushed of colour and streaky from all the tears. Her nose looked like she had been scrubbing at it for weeks. But in his eyes she was absolutely beautiful. He gently placed his lips to hers and gave her a sweet kiss which she always preferred over any other. It was only a quick but it spoke a million words to Hermione. A small sad smile graced her lips as she once again retreated back to his neck. His hands encircled her waist and pulled her close, forgetting about the letters that had softly fallen to the floor.
"We'll get through this 'Mione. I promise" Ronald whispered in to her ear.
Good returning story? Let me know what you think.
- Unlucky-Roses -