Title: No More
Rating: T
Pairing(s): Snape/Hermione, Ron/Hermione, Ron/Lavender
Warnings: AU (Snape lives), Infidelity (emotional and physical), EWE
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 978
Summary: Hermione and Ron implode.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry – Muggle Studies Class: Write about the Muggleborn, Hermione Granger, and the exact word count (without a/n) is 978.
Prompts Mania Challenge – Maniac Level. Prompts Used:Rolling in the Deep by Adele, One More Night by Maroon 5, Fuchsia, Ivory, "Gosh, you are so frustrating!", "Give it a break.", Stormy, Venomous
Take a Lyric Competition – Lyric: Apologize by OneRepublic: "It's too late to apologize."
Pick a Card, Any Card Challenge – Queen of Diamonds – Write about Hermione Granger.
As Many As You Want Comp – Prompts Used:"Pain is temporary. Victory lasts forever.", black swan, Falling fast and hard, iron chains, His dreams had turned to ashes., Night and Day, Snape/Hermione, cross-gen
The Great Maze Challenge/Comp
Feedback: Yes
Hermione wanted to pull out her hair as the argument escalated. "I'd do absolutely anything for you, but when I ask you to support me in one thing, you can't do it. Why do you want to keep me from reaching my full potential? Why are you so threatened about the fact that I want to work at the Ministry of Magic instead of being a stay-at-home mum like your mother. Why do you always underestimate me? Why?"
Ron's look was positively stormy. "Why are you always trying to get away from me? Why isn't what we have good enough for you?"
Hermione brushed her bangs out of her eyes, brown eyes venomous and filled with tears as she took a breath. "Gosh, you are so frustrating!" Hermione wanted to try to forget about this fight, but there have been too many fights lately and it was time they addressed their problems. It was time they stopped ignoring everything that was wrong.
Part of the problem was they fell fast and hard, and with Voldemort, they didn't really date. They got engaged almost as soon as the war was over and didn't wait too long before they had a wedding. They never got the chance to see if they would be compatible in the long run, especially when they were as different as night and day. "I feel like I'm in iron chains." As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew it was the wrong thing to say. Knowing Ron, he'd take the words as a personal insult instead of her genuine feelings.
And like she expected, he clenched his fists, turned around, and began stomping away. "Fine, if you're a captive, leave," he said over his shoulder, as if it was a throwaway comment about the weather.
Hermione scowled at his immaturity. "Give it a break. If I didn't know any better, I would think you enjoyed the fighting because everything I say, you twist it around, and then walk away before we're able to fix things. So nothing ever gets resolved!"
Ron sighed and his shoulders slumped. "You're right. All we do is fight. We yell, we slam doors, and every word out of our mouths starts an argument."
Hermione's voice was softer when she approached Ron. "Then why do we not talk it out? Why do we walk away from each other before the problems are resolved?"
"You tell me. You're the smart one after all."
Hermione looked down at her slipper-covered feet. "Maybe we'll afraid that if we talk it out, we'll realize there isn't any relationship to salvage, and neither of us wants to admit that."
"That won't make the problem go away, though. Will it?"
The way Ron asked it, Hermione knew he was hoping for her to say they could keep ignoring it. She couldn't, though. Not this time. "Everyone at our wedding said the sexual tension between us was so obvious when we were at school. According to them, that was why we always fought. Maybe it wasn't sexual tension, though. Of course, that could have been a part of it, but maybe the real problem was we weren't compatible, at least not for a long-term relationship.
Ron nodded. "Harry always had to act like a buffer between us. If it hadn't been for his presence, we probably would have killed each other."
"We can't have a buffer throughout our whole marriage. If we can't make it work without one, we don't belong together."
Ron nodded. "You're right. Like always. We can't keep doing this, not when we're miserable."
"Do we even love each other?" Hermione asked.
They were silent for a moment. Hermione thought about obsidian eyes, thin lips, a tall, lanky body, a deep voice, and potion stained fingers. A shudder went through her body, and she doubted her own feelings for Ron.
Ron bit his lip, and she waited for him to say something. Finally, he quietly whispered, "I've been having an affair."
"Who?" She asked, her voice even.
"Lavender."
Hermione wanted to scream, but truthfully, she was relieved. She didn't need to feel guilty. Not really. She had never acted on it. She nodded. "It's over." It was said concisely, no emotion in her voice.
"Now that everything's out in the open, we can try to make us work. It won't happen again. I'm sorry."
"It's too late to apologize. Do you know how much I've longed for another man, but I denied myself, trying to be faithful to you, trying to make us work, even after I realized the mistake we made when we got married. And you didn't even have the decency to be honest about your affair until now." She paused, needing to catch her breath and reign in her emotions. She ignored Ron's look of surprise. "I'm in love with another man. I'm going after him, and I hope I'm not too late."
And she was gone. She didn't want to waste another second with Ron, not when she was free to be with the one she truly wanted, even if the divorce wasn't final, yet. She left, not caring that his dreams had turned to ashes with her refusal to try.
When she went to his small house, she knocked. She waited and prayed that he was there. She breathed easier when he opened the door.
They stared at each other, both remembering the last time they talked. He had begged her to not marry Ron, to be with him instead, and she had rejected him, something she regretted with her whole heart.
"It's over," she said and hoped it wasn't too late.
Severus looked at her and finally pulled her into his arms. "Good," he breathed into her hair. Then he claimed her lips with such fiery passion that it made her knees buckle. Finally, she was home.