A/N: I do not own these characters and I am not profiting from this fanfic.
This is a story of 18 chapters and an epilogue; it is finished, but I am editing some of the chapters before publishing. I appreciate all constructive criticism and reviews. Thank you for reading!
Chapter 1: The Road to Nowhere
Suddenly a glass shattered somewhere in the pub and broke Hermione's concentration on nothing; she was lost in thought, though she couldn't remember what she had been thinking about. Two tall men came out from behind the bar and cleaned up the glass with their wands, she noticed there was more than whiskey in the mix, the distinct shimmer and smell of blood hung in the air, instantly triggering her gag reflex. It was the last thing she needed, because now she would have to be "on", her job never ending. A momentary flash of the badge, magical law enforcement, made the men step back and allow her to see the victim and it dawned on her suddenly that she'd been so lost in thought that she never heard the bottle break, the glass shatter, and a man get stabbed in the neck. It was time for a vacation.
After apparating home, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, some days it was difficult to cross the threshold into her shared home with Ron, they affectionately called Lavender House due to all the natural lavender growing in every available acre of which they had five. With Rose and Hugo both at Hogwarts, she noticed quickly how often she failed to make it home before Ron went to sleep, they rarely spoke even to fight, it was as though they were ghosts haunting the same home, unaware of the other. And it didn't get much better when the kids were home. She awoke each morning seconds before the alarm, made some coffee and drank it before her shower, kissed Ron on the forehead and went to the Ministry of Magic.
Some days they saw each other at work, some days they didn't cross paths for more than the hours they slept in the same bed, and when they were both on assignment, they might not see each other for months. She wracked her brain searching for the moment things changed, but she always ended up empty-handed, perhaps it was like this before and she just hadn't noticed. They'd obviously loved each other enough to produce two beautiful children, but Hermione just could not feel that love anymore. Each moment spent with others only magnified the pain, especially when they had dinner with Ginny and Harry, or her parents-in-law, she felt the sad sting of forcing herself to smile and touch Ron's arm or hand, to claim him as hers even if she didn't really feel connected to him anymore. Harry and Ginny had never gone through the same rough patch or at least if they had, they never mentioned anything. It only cemented the fact that she and Ron were ill-suited when she saw him with work friends or even their old school chums; he was effortlessly funny and popular, still the brave Gryffindor from Hogwarts, even the years as an auror hadn't slowed him down. All his personal fears of acceptance vanished after the Battle of Hogwarts, but her own fears had somehow multiplied year after year.
Creating a to-do list for the next day, Hermione scribbled her initials over and over, thankful she had never taken his name...it would make things so much easier if she ever left. Immediately, she chided herself, she shouldn't even be thinking about divorce; Ron deserved a good wife, but she just wasn't sure if she could be that for him. Humming, she focused on her task, write to Rose and Hugo, buy Christmas presents for everyone and her white elephant gift for the annual Weasley Christmas party, buy new robes for Hugo who had grown four inches since summer, and sell the old Nimbus 2000 Ron had been teaching Hugo to fly on since childhood. She scratched the broom, she wasn't ready to sell it yet, too many memories with Hugo. She added one more task, check on Snape and the task force, and took a large gulp of tea before washing her face and settling in next to Ron. As she put out the light, he rolled towards her, his arms enveloping her in the first embrace of days and she tried to calm her tears as they rolled down, gentle sobs making her wish more than ever that Voldemort hadn't ruled so much of her young adult life, robbing her of the clarity she now possessed. Often, she dreamt of Bellatrix Lestrange and the torture she received at her hands, and even though she eventually realized it was a dream, she couldn't help but feel the same pain, the same anger as she finally awoke. The final battle, killing Nagini, and seeing the death of so many often kept her awake, unable to close her eyes without seeing their faces, hearing their screams, and wondering if she would ever be able to forget them. It was as though all the years later, she was finally feeling the full force of everything they'd been through.