Author's Note: Welcome! This is my VERY FIRST EVER fanfiction story for Dramione. It's a work in progress. But let me know what you think and I'll update for the next chapter! Criticism is very VERY much appreciated! Always looking for new ways to improve. WARNING RON-BASHING!

Disclaimer: "Harry Potter" and all its characters do not belong to me at all. They belong to J.K. Rowling and I do not own any of it. There is no copyright intended and everything is for pure enjoyment.

Summary: Post-war/Hogwarts. Hermione and Ron are in a rocky relationship and it seems that there's more to it then just that. On the off chance Hermione tries to confide in therapy. Her situation is laid into unpredictable hands.

RATING: M

"Ugh! Ronald!" it almost came out as a whine.

She looked on, crestfallen, at the ever-growing mess that was their apartment. Her gag reflexes kicked in at the putrid scent that wafted to her nose with the swing of the door. Hermione hadn't been gone longer than a week and Ron succeeded in turning their living quarters into a barn.

Even after two and a half years after the war, The Ministry was still so heavily backed up with inquires of all sorts. When she took up her new career as the Head of Muggle Management Hermione was doused and buried in her work agenda, investigations, and projects. One of which had her gone from said apartment which now looked to be in a devastating state of piling garbage, pizza boxes, and laundry.

Then she spotted it. What Hermione thought at first glance to be just a pile of dirty clothes invading her couch, she realized the red-hair protruding from the other end. As she stepped closer into the apartment, breathing through her mouth, she could taste the intense linger of alcohol in the air.

"Another bad day.." she thought to herself as she picked up the near empty bottle of firewhiskey on the floor next to an unconscious Ronald Weasley. With observant eyes, she really looked at him. The obvious blotchy features to his scrunched up face let on to the fact that he had well started drinking days before, probably as soon as Hermione locked the door the first night she left. By the ruffled clothes of his baggy ripped jeans to the stretched out neckline of his plain white shirt, his appearance screamed unstable.

She bent down on the edge of the couch and smoothed his increasingly long red locks out of his face.

Hermione knew that you never get over the death of a loved one, especially one as close to your heart as a brother, and everyone had there coping mechanisms. Every once in a while Ron would shut himself out to everyone and go on a drinking binge and said that it helped stipple the loss he felt, and more so than often when she was gone. But Hermione knew better. She realized earlier on that he actually rather enjoyed drinking and it became a deep habit. A few times she's tried to have an intervention staged for Ron with Harry, Ginny, and the rest of the Weasley's but it wasn't much to go by since George and Molly were in worse states than him. Ron became a cause to her. She hadn't really thought of him as an equal partner in their relationship for a long time. Hermione almost thought of him as her second job. Her pity case, her burden because without her Ron would just be lost.

"Mio..no...min..nee?" Ron's butchering of her nickname told her he was still too hammered to even wish her a proper welcome home.

Sigh. "Come on Ronald. Let's get you into bed so I can start cleaning." she said with a little annoyance as she tried to pull him up by his arms, but he dragged her down before she put any leverage to her pull.

"Mione I mishhed choo!" he slurred the words in her ear as he clambered on top of her through the clothes.

"Ronald. Let's just get you to lie on the bed for now and then you'll be much better." she huffed a little amused at his clinging antics.

"NO! I want you! You've been gone soolllongg!" he said as he snaked a hand under her shirt, breathing in her face and making her head cloud with the heavy smell of alcohol.

"Ron, now's not the time for that! Let's just get you into bed and when you feel a little better maybe we'll have a go." she said trying to coerce him into getting off. She wasn't up for his little games.

"Mionnee. Stop squirming 'way! Open up!"

Hermione had enough of his clumsy grouping hands. He may mean lots to her, but she wasn't going to be at the back end of his drunken needs. Trying to buck him off of her, she grabbed her wand and with a little too much strength to her flick, he was propelled to the other side of the room.

Gasping at her accidental overuse of magic, she immediately tried to apologize. Her words were caught on her throat as his features turned from hurt to stricken with rage, and then he lunged for her. Before Hermione could utter a spell he knocked her wand out of her hand with his arms as he flung his drunken weight on top of her capturing her arms between his legs, straddling her chest front.

"I HADN'T SEEN YOU IN DAYS AND THIS IS YOUR WELCOME?! YOU LEFT ME!" Ron bellowed. "YOU LEFT ME! JUST LIKE FRED LEFT! But you're back now and all I wanted was you! But you showed so much love when you threw me to the wall!" His eyes hooded over and took on a hard, dark glare. "There is a punishment that needs to be paid."

Fear instilled itself into Hermione's mind and her eyes widened. She hadn't meant to lose control, but the day had gone just a little too hectic with work and Hermione was just looking forward to relaxing in their nice clean apartment together. She didn't understand why all this pent up anger was coming out now. True, he had his reservations about her leaving, but she couldn't possibly imagine they were this bad. It was work related!

She tried reasoning with him again, "Ronald, I'm sorry. It's been a stressful week and I just-"

The sound of a slap resonated throughout their apartment. Shock was her first reaction, immediately followed by her eyes burning with the sensation of tears coming down her cheeks stinging the left side of her face ensuring that he broke skin. The muggle phrase 'Drunken words are sober thoughts' rung bells in her ear, only with a twist, instead of 'words' it was 'actions'.

"That should teach choo notchoo be disobedient!" he said, "Now clean this place shup!" and stalked to their bedroom on unbalanced steps. With the slam of the door, unknowingly, she let out a shaky breath she was holding. Hermione couldn't process what just happened. She couldn't believe that the man she'd been with so long had abused her physically.

Disobedient? Was she a pet?

Recovering from her shock, angry tears shook her body. But that's all she could be, angry. Angry at Ron for humiliating her, angry at herself for letting his drinking problem get out of hand. She couldn't see fault in him though. He had been drunk more so than ever before.

He was unaware of what just happened. He hadn't meant it. Hermione tried to convince herself of his actions.

Touching a hand to her cheek, she pulled it back and warm, glistening dark blood was present on her fingertips. A sob stole her throat. Then she rose from where Ron had left her and walked to their bathroom to examine the damage done in the mirror. Her shoulders sank as Hermione took in her features. Her once bushy locks had succumbed to gentle waves through the years, but now was a tangled nest from the struggle and her pant suit was wrinkled beyond presentable. The thing that struck her heart chords though was the gash ripping through her porcelain skin on her left cheekbone.

He must have slapped me with his ring hand. She thought.

Walking back to the living room to retrieve her wand from when Ron knocked it out of her hand and returning to the mirror. Slowly she started to heal the mess that was her face. In a couple minutes the gash disappeared and there was no trace it ever existed.

Reluctant to go into the bedroom she summoned her casual clothes to change into. Slipping into olive green pants and a split-neck half-sleeved cream blouse, pulling her tangled hair up into a balanced bun, she started on the disaster of dishes in her kitchen.

A/N: Sooooo... what ya think? Please review and I promise the next chapter will be way longer. XoXo readers!