Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or It's All Over But the Crying by Garbage.
It's All Over But the Crying
Everything you think you know, baby,
Is wrong
It was really all Draco's fault for showing up. They hadn't seen each other in years, always skillfully managing to avoid each other at functions or other social events thrown by the Ministry.
Not that it mattered; they had never belonged to one and other. After the war had ended when Draco was broken and Hermione was restless, angry, frightened, sad it had just been so easy to take it out on him. Meet up in hidden away hotels and claw at his back until she drew blood or suck on his skin so long it bruised.
He never seemed to mind, he just wanted to hold on to her tightly during their sinful acts, always ignoring the scars on her body, put there by his own aunt, so he could pretend she was pure and good and everything he wanted.
Their flickering flame was extinguished when Hermione's relationship with Ron really began to go beyond friendship and Narcissa pressed for Draco to marry Astoria.
She was there as well, pale and frail looking, saying goodbye to their son. Maybe Hermione wouldn't have noticed if Ron hadn't warned their daughter to stay away from Scorpius. She doesn't know if Draco heard or if it was by mere chance their eyes caught each other briefly.
And everything you think you had, baby,
Is gone
In the following time Ron thought she stayed late at work a lot. She was an Unspeakable at the Ministry, it almost too easy a lie, she knew he knew he couldn't ask about details.
The details were that Draco and she had picked up their old habit and were meeting up anywhere accessible to turn the other into something they weren't. Him the embodiment of evil and cruelty, something she could hurt and punish for what she had had to go through.
And her something perfect, flawless, a porcelain doll that could break if he was too rough with her.
When Christmas came around they both silently agreed that their thing was over again. Their children would be home and Hermione would never be able to face the rest of the family if she could still feel his hot breath on her skin.
It was wonderful seeing Rose again, hearing what she had experienced at Hogwarts and little Hugo who loved Christmas so much it brought a smile to her face and tears in her eyes. Guilt was eating her up from inside until she was sure it could be seen on her, that it would blacken her skin and expose her for what she really was.
Certain things turn ugly when we think too hard,
And nagging little thoughts change into things you can't turn off
Even before Draco it had been a long while since Ron had touched her. Or she him. Now she had so much to apologize for and still it seemed even more impossible than ever to reach out in bed and pull him close and love him.
As if he could sense her inner turmoil he kissed her forehead briefly and promised that when she's not so burdened with work anymore, they'll work on it before he wished her a merry Christmas.
Everything you think you know, baby,
Is wrong
It wasn't even New Year's Eve when Hermione sawDraco again. She didn't know why exactly, she wasn't fuelled by the anger or bitterness she couldn't seem to let go of since the war that usually pushed her into his arms.
Maybe it was because it had become unbearable to stay in her own home, but feel like a stranger. One night when she had taken the trash out the door had slammed shut, locking her out. She was so sure it was a prediction of what was to come that she had sunk down on the doorstep and cried until Rose had heard her and opened the door again, light from the living room pouring out and making her daughter look like a saving angel.
It's all over but the crying,
Fade to black I'm sick of trying
When Draco came into the hotel room she was crying again and felt sure the world would fall of it's axis and come crashing down around her. Because it wasn't what they did.
Then something much worse happened. He held her, and let her cry. Stroked her hair, talked to her as if she was a child, undressed her and tucked cold, starchy covers around her before he climbed in and made love to her.
Because they loved each other.
Took too much and now I'm done,
It's all over but the crying
Draco wanted to leave his wife, but Hermione needed more time than him to make the decision.
She wouldn't just be leaving her husband, who was also one of her best friends, it would also mean leaving his family who had become her family. Their shared friends who would take his side and view it as a personal attack when they found out who she was leaving him for. But worst of all in some way it would be leaving her children, only celebrating every other Christmas with little Hugo, another woman eventually listening to Rose's boy trouble.
When she finally made the decision, it took her longer still to tell Ron. She was gathering strength, preparing for battle. She knew Ron would fight just as passionately as her for the children. With them attending Hogwarts they had so little time with them as it were.
She decided to tell him a night when the children were staying over at the Burrow with some of their cousins. Ron reacted exactly like she had imagined he would, but it hurts more than she could've ever foreseen.
He screamed, cried and threw things around, glass vases shattered to a thousand dangerous pieces against the wall. He told her that's what she'd done to their home and family. Shattered it to pieces. And Hermione sits very still and let him rage and rant, call her despicable names. She only looked up when he accused her of not even caring.
Do you really think I'm made of stone?
Baby, come on,
That we only love the things we own?
Baby, you're wrong
Furiously he grabbed framed pictures of their children or all four of them from their mantelpiece and held them close to her face, asking how she could do it, if she didn't love them or cared about them.
He wanted to know why it happened, how it happened and she offered the only explanation that she could. That they had outstayed their welcome. The spark had burned out.
Certain things just happen when you make no plans,
And love can really tear you up and it can break you down
He said she didn't love him, that she never had and she shook her head. She had always loved him, together they had created their children, but they weren't happy anymore. Not happy enough.
Everything you think you know, baby,
Is wrong
They stopped talking and instead cried together. Argued about what to tell the children and how to divide their time. Cried again. He wanted her out and she packed a bag, agreeing to go quietly if he would sit together with her for a bit, before they weren't together anymore.
It's all over but the crying,
Fade to black I'm sick of trying,
Took too much and now I'm done,
It's all over but the crying
He was the first to take off his ring and it physically hurt her to take hers off as well.
Baby, we're done
They had an arrangement for the children now, but she didn't know when she would see Ron again and Hermione suddenly couldn't bring herself to actually leave. She had planned to go to the apartment Draco had acquired for them, but right then she blames, hates him.
If I could I would, I'd change everything,
'Cause I can't forget you, though you don't believe me
She knew the feeling would pass. It was after all how their love had started. So Hermione managed to close the door behind her and briefly thought of the night she had been locked out. It was permanent now.
Now I can't walk back
She had left Ron, but she weren't gone. They would always be linked together by their children, an unbreakable bond.
I can't leave behind,
Where does it go, all the light that we had?
Before she went to her new home with Draco, she visited the Burrow to see her children. It had either become late night or early morning, she wasn't sure anymore, so she quietly snuck up the stairs and found them asleep.
She sat on Hugo's bed first, tugged him towards the middle so he wouldn't roll off and hurt himself. He didn't even stir, having always been told Mom and Dad would never let anything bad happen to him.
Everything you think you know, baby,
Is wrong
Hermione moved over to Rose's bed. Rose, her beautiful, smart, spoiled child. Now she had taken her most prized possession from her, her family, her safe base when some children had teased her about being a know-it-all. And she remembered telling Rose the problem would be taken care of, because Mom and Dad would never let anything bad happen to her.
And everything you think you had, baby,
Is gone
On the kitchen counter Hermione left a note saying that Ron would be by to pick them up the next day, instead of her and another home was closed off to her.
Baby, were done
At home Draco had been waiting with warm tea and warm, strong arms that instantly wrapped around her, protecting her from the world. On the table stood a single lit candle with a steady flame. No more flickering.