The clock read 2:00am.

Wind pounded against the windows as a certain red-headed man named Ron Weasley turned his head in his sleep. He was laying across a brown leather couch in a sitting room, a television remote hanging loosely in his hand. A TV screen across the room was displaying an old comedy show, the volume reasonable high. As Ron's body moved, the remote fell out of his hand and smashed into the wood flooring of the sitting room and he jerked awake, sitting up immediately.

Half asleep and paralyzed with fear, Ron reached for his wand from his jeans pocket and stood up, pointing the wand around the room, flinching as he looked for some kind of intrusion. When his eyes fell upon the remote control on the floor, he relaxed immediately and grinned, sighing in relief. Ron picked up the remote, used it to turn the TV off, and threw it against the couch he had just been occupying, and hitched up his jeans as he began to head out of the room. That was when he heard a slight coughing sound from behind him.

Ron started again, a renewed sensation of shock and panic bubbling inside his stomach, and he whipped his head around quickly, his long red hair flying around his face as his eyebrows shot up on his forehead and he pointed his wand at the fireplace, the place he thought he heard the noise from.

Ron saw a face in the coals, something that would have shocked any ordinary muggle, but wasn't surprising at all to a man who spent the majority of his time at work speaking to other wizards who resided in different countries: the only way he knew to communicate immediately with someone was to floo their house.

Yes, it was not the fact that there was a head in his fire that scared Ron Weasley, it was the person to whom that particular head belonged.

Ron lowered his wand quickly and spun around to see that the room was empty, then rushed over to the fireplace and knelt down on the rug in front of it. "Lavender?" he whispered.

Honey why you calling me so late?
It's kinda hard to talk right now.

The woman in the fireplace smiled sadly and nodded. "Hey, Ron," she said. Ron moved closer to her on the rug, still looking worriedly around the room. Seemingly satisfied with the vacancy of the sitting room, he turned back to Lavender with a sad expression on his face. He reached up and tenderly brushed a stray hair from her forehead, heeding the hot coals and low flames. Ron's hand lingered on Lavender's face, and strayed to her cheek, which he saw was wet and glistening with tears. He wiped the tears away and reached with the other hand, holding her face with strong hands as new tears boiled over and fell silently over his fingers. Ron tilted his head, concerned, and said, "Baby, what's wrong?"

Honey why are you crying? Is everything okay?
I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud

"I just miss you so much, Ron," Lavender choked out quietly. "I thought you were going to come and see me this week." More tears fell over Ron's hands and he gripped her face even tighter, forcing her eyes to his.

He whispered to her in a determined, however quiet, voice. "Listen to me, sweetheart." He said strongly. "You know how hard it is for me to visit during the summertime. Hugo and Rose are here, I can't just announce that I'm off to clear my head or to a pub alone while they're sleeping here, I don't want them to think their mother and I are fighting—"

"But you are, Ron. You are fighting." Lavender interrupted him, her eyes watering again. "I thought you were done with her, Ron. I thought—" she sighed dejectedly. "I don't know what I thought." Lavender wrenched her face away from Ron's hands and he jumped as they fell to the hot coals. "Ron, you told me that you loved me more than you loved her. You said you were going to leave her, why wait? Why can't you just be with me now?" Her voice was growing from a whisper to her regular tone, and she was glaring at Ron spitefully. "What good does it do, prolonging the inevitable? Your kids are going to find out eventually, they'll just be mad that you lied to them for so long. Save yourself that and just come with me now! I need you."

Ron shook his head, his facial expression changing from one of pity to one of resentment. "Lavender, hark who's talking!" he said, his voice rising slightly as well. "What about Joseph, Lav?" he asked, incredulous. "You haven't left him either! And you don't even have kids to worry about, you just need to pluck up the courage to admit to him that you're having an affair! I will tell Hermione and the kids when it will hurt them the least, and not a moment earlier. Do you understand me?"

Lavender cowered and looked down ashamedly to the floor. She started crying again, and whispered behind her tears, "I'm sorry."

Ron sighed and moved towards her again, wiping more tears off her face. "Shhhh," he said quietly. "Shhh, Lav, it's okay. I know exactly how you feel right now, Angel." He patted her cheek softly. "Hey," he whispered, leaning even closer. "Hey, look at me." He smiled warmly as Lavender's eyes slowly met his, and he touched his forehead to hers. She smiled back and he continued to speak softly to her. "Baby, I wanted to come see you, I can't stop thinking about you, it's just…"

Well, my girl's in the next room
Sometimes I wish she was you
I guess we never really moved on

Ron stopped and closed his eyes, smile fading. Lavender pulled her face back from his and tilted her head questioningly. "Ron?" She asked. Ron looked up at her again and smiled sadly, blinking away a tear that had pooled in his left eye.

It's really good to hear your voice saying my name
It sounds so sweet
Coming from the lips of an angel
Hearing those words it makes me weak

"I love Hermione too, Lavender." He whispered. He reached up to grab his hair in sudden frustration, and looked up to the ceiling. Ron was suddenly on his feet, pacing the dark and quiet living room. He looked over at the woman whose head was in his fireplace and saw the hurt and pain in her eyes. He shook his head guiltily and continued pacing as he began to speak softly again.

"I do, don't look at me like that you've always known how much I love her and how much I always will love her. She's my best friend as well as my wife; I could never hurt her like that. And Hugo and Rose, they're my life. I couldn't hurt them. I don't want to say goodbye to them." Ron trailed off and stopped in his tracks. He looked back at Lavender, who was crying silently again.

And I never wanna say goodbye

Ron went over to kneel on the rug in front of the fire again, and reached out for Lavender's face. "I love you so much though, Lav, I do. I hate to see you hurt like this. But I promise… Lavender interrupted him by letting a sob escape, and Ron gripped her cheeks even tighter, shaking her slightly to keep her attention. "I promise, Lav. We will be together some day soon. You just have to give me time."

She only continued to cry as Ron held her, so he shook her face slightly again. "Okay?" he asked, his voice once again abandoning the tone of a whisper. Lavender nodded, as tears spilled over her face and Ron's hands faster and thicker than before. Sobs racked through her as she cried and tears finally poured over Ron's eyes as well.

They looked into each other's wet and clear eyes for a long moment, until, finally, Ron reached behind Lavender's head to grip her neck. His hands disappeared from his vision, going into the fire and wherever it was that Lavender was speaking to him from. He looked around his living room once more and, apparently deciding nobody was going to be interrupting them any time soon, he wordlessly gripped Lavender's head tightly and pulled her entire body through the fire into his house, ignoring her gasps of shock. When he was finished, Ron was lying on his back on the hard wood floor and Lavender was lying on top of him, her face inches from his.

Ron's fingers were clenched behind Lavender's neck, underneath her curtain of hair. He pulled her close and kissed her.

But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel

As his lips crashed upon hers, Ron let out a strangled moan of satisfaction. Lavender whimpered and moved into the kiss willingly. Her hands, which were pressed beneath her body, slowly moved from their place and began moving up and down Ron's chest. Their lips parted simultaneously and Lavender's tongue traveled into Ron's open mouth.

Ron moaned again as Lavender's tongue filled his mouth and twirled around his, and her hands moved downwards. Their breath became heavier and hotter as their bodies moved in passion, and Lavender finally broke the kiss to take Ron's shirt off. Once shirtless, he groaned and pulled Lavender to his lips once again and rolled her over so he was lying on top of her. He kissed her hungrily as his strong hands held her at her waist.

It's funny that you're calling me tonight
And, yes, I've dreamt of you too

Lavender's shirt was removed as well and Ron began to kiss her neck passionately. Lavender closed her eyes in pleasure and sighed at the feeling, her hands wound in Ron's hair. They were both breathing heavily, bare chests heaving and Ron's mouth traveled across Lavender's torso down to the waist of her jeans.

She pulled Ron's face back up to her level and kissed him again on the lips while she reached down to unbutton her pants and pull them off. Ron did the same. A few moments later, they were both naked.

Hands continued to brush over familiar territory, and occasional moans or sighs were let out in moments of pure bliss. Ron and Lavender were sweating and heaving for a long time, their argument from only minutes ago long forgotten, as were their spouses, their families, their lives. They made love there on the wood floor of Ronald Weasley's living room. It wasn't the first time.

It was, however, the first time that this had happened while Ron's family was inside the house. Though it was late and despite what Ron assumed, that his wife and two children were fast asleep, there was one awake soul in the Weasley household. She was barefoot and dressed only in a large t shirt and underwear, having just stumbled out of bed moments ago. She too had awoken when Ron dropped the TV remote, and she had heard every word of his and Lavender's conversation, and every sound they had made since.

And does he know you're talking to me
Will it start a fight
No I don't think she has a clue

Hermione Weasley stood, just out of sight of the two lovers on her living room floor, sobbing uncontrollably as she realized that her husband was having an affair.

Hermione had been suspicious for some time now, that Ron had wanted to leave her, that he was tired of his life here. But she never would have imagined that he was cheating on her, least of all with his ex-girlfriend from school! She had thought, for the past two years that he had been acting strange, that he wasn't actually serious about leaving, that he was going through some sort of midlife crisis or was just confused. But she was wrong.

Ron and Lavender were quick, passionate, and louder than they thought when they each came to their climax. When they were finished, Ron quickly scanned the room and stood up to put his clothes back on, rushing Lavender to do the same. Then, as Lavender was about to walk towards the fireplace again to leave, Ron quietly shook his head, grasped her hand firmly, and lead her to the leather couch in the room, sitting her down on his lap. He quietly combed through her soft and silky hair with his fingers as she cuddled into his chest, breathing softly and smiling.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, baby," she murmured into his chest.

I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel

Ron looked at Lavender's face and shook his head softly. "It's okay, Angel." He said, smiling warmly down at her. She smiled back as he leaned his forehead into hers and Ron whispered, "I love you." He then kissed her lips softly.

Just then, Ron's wife Hermione walked out into the room, shaking with pain, betrayal, and anguish. She was overcome with sobs, they shook her body harshly.

Hermione walked straight up to Ron, who had stood up so quickly upon her arrival into the room that Lavender fell down onto the floor, and Hermione stood right in front of him, thick tears pouring down her face and onto her chest. She sobbed unashamedly, looking at him straight in the eyes, chin up and fists clenched at her sides. She stood there for a few moments, nobody talking, nobody moving, Ron and Lavender's eyes wide in shock and fear. Finally, Hermione lifted one of her shaking fists, opened her palm, and held her arm in front of Ron's face, as if to slap him. Ron squinted his eyes in anticipation and flinched, waiting for the blow. But it never came.

Instead, Hermione let her hand fall to her side, closed her eyes, and sighed. Then she turned around, headed straight for the front door, opened it, and walked out, barefoot, into the warm summer night air. Ron and Lavender watched her leave the house and their line of vision, and both flinched as they heard the familiar crack that meant she had just apparated.

Ron looked down at Lavender, who was shaking with fear.

Honey why you calling me so late?