Authors Note:
OOOOOOKAY, so this story was written as a whim because the idea was floating around in my head. I have more written but I wanted to see if it was something that people wanted to see. Warning there is a bit of Ron bashing. I don't own HP ANYTHING, love you all, let me know. PS THIS ONE HAS NO BETA ( I love my beta, but this was a suprise he had no part of)
Hermione was doing busy work, she hated it more than anything. This whole domestic scene wasn't exactly her forte. She loved her children, dearly. Rose and Hugo were her very life, every morning, it was their faces that got her out of bed, got her going through her day. Hugo was just going to school now, Rose already at Hogwarts and putting her mother's genes to the test. It was the first time that she had the house to herself in a long time. Gods, she was BORED. Wanting nothing more than to be doing something, anything, other than busy work. She heard the snick of the door, and tensed. Her husband was home. Something foul smelling hit her nose as he walked into the kitchen humming to himself, completely oblivious to her musings. Her nose prickled, and she could almost see the stench wafting off his clothes.
Hermione wanted to sigh, she knew that scent was a mix of the natural smell of him, seeing as he hadn't been home in almost a week and that was EXACTLY what he was wearing when he left. Also bits and bobs from the shop, and probably some other grossness from his pickup quidditch games on tuesdays and thursdays. Watching him from the corner of her eye, she spotted something that made her blood run quite cold. " Merlin 'Mione. There is nothing to EAT in here." He whined walking into the dining room again from the larder, his suit jacket clenched in his fist.
"What?" She took in his rumpled hair and clothes with an even more calculating eye. His face was turning the color of his hair, she knew he was going to explode on her, just like last week when she told him she wanted to go back to work. "You expected a meal after being gone a week." Her voice was quiet, which should have worried him, but it didn't. He missed the venom clearly dripping off of her words.
"Well, yeah, I mean I do work for..."
"Don't you DARE finish that sentence Ronald Weasley!" Her voice rose in pitch only slightly and just on some words, "I have told you that I WANTED to go BACK to work. YOU are the one who has REFUSED to see why I want to do that." Ronald huffed and she cut him off, "I will have you know that I got a rather interesting letter today from the ministry." All the air seemed to deflate out of him. "It seems that that you have lied to me Ronald. King's has been asking for me, he wanted my help on some contracts, just as an extra set of eyes, and you told him that I was working on something rather large and I was unable to help him." Her hands curled over the top of the chair in front of her as she leveled her eyes on her husband. "Kings also saw fit to let me know that the rest of your things will be arriving at the house since, when you left permanently over six months ago, you didn't take everything with you. Miss Edgcomb was quite upset that some of your items came out of her desk and that of Miss Cartwright, and Miss Clearwater's desks."
Hermione could almost hear the wheels in Ron's head running a mile a minute, she could almost smell the smoke, "How unfortunate, Do you know that I spoke to Fred today too, and he told me of how you have gone down to only about 15 hours a week because they had increased your workload at the ministry. In fact, all those weeks at a time that you would go on those top secret missions, left him in a bit of a lurch."
"Come... come on 'Mione. It's not what it looks like... " Ron was flustered, and he looked like he was about to lose his temper. "How dare you..."
"How dare I? Ronald Bilius Weasley! How DARE YOU. How DARE you have the audacity to get mad at me in my own home, when I have done nothing but confront you with facts." Her knuckles were beginning to turn white, "All the while you try your damndest to come up with lies and excuses!"
"I am not Lying to you 'Mione!" His face was red with rage and turning purple at the edges, His voice echoed off the walls and he slammed his hands down on the table.
"You honestly believe that don't you?" Her voice was soft, all the fight had gone out of her. Ron let out a frustrated roar and threw his jacket down onto the table. He was panting heavily when he looked up at her, his eyes catching hers for the first time. "Whose is it Ron?"
"Wha?" He gave her a dumbfounded look after a moment.
"The lipstick on your collar? Whose is it?" Ron stiffened and his face drained of all color, "We both know you haven't been home in a week, and I hardly believe that particular color of horrid pink comes from your mother's collection. Merlin knows I don't get fancy anymore." She smiled weakly and released the chair. "I would like you to leave then." She spoke softly when he could do nothing but stare at his hands. "I will be out of the house tomorrow and I would like all your things to be gone."
"But..." He grasped at her hand as she walked past him into the kitchen,
"No Ronald. It's over, it has been for a while hasn't it? We just... we fell into this routine and now we are both stuck. Perhaps it's better if we just start off fresh."
"The children!"
Hermione's eyes closed, "What about the children Ronald? You missed seeing them off to school, they are used to you not being home all the time. We can let them know once school is over, we can sit them down and talk to them..."
"They are children Hermione! My children!" He was shouting again. "They are Mine aren't they?" He spat, and before she could think the Smack of her hand across his cheek echoed in the space.
"Get out," She whispered harshly as the tears started to fall freely, "You get out right now. How dare you..." She turned into the kitchen and clutched at the sink as she heard him stop up the stairs and start to throw things around. Trying to regain her composure, she looked for anything she could focus on, and she saw the Prophet sitting there on the island, where Ron must have left it. There in big bold letters she saw something that made her heart break just a little bit more:
Death Eater found Dead in the Thames!
Draco Malfoy's body was found on the bank of the Thames river just this morning, according to Prophet Sources..."
Hermione jerked awake in bed, sitting straight up and glancing about in the dark to find her wits. One hand clutched at her rapidly beating heart, the other covered her mouth as she let out a sob, the wet trails of tears dripping from her cheeks. 'What was THAT?' she wondered to herself as she tried to right her breathing. She and Ron never fought like that, after the war... things had gotten tense but never... She glanced sharply to her left thankful to see that Ron was not in bed this morning. Blowing out a breath and pushing her hair out of her face she then rubbed at her cheeks with the sleeve of her shirt. The pale lavender color made her jerk back a moment, and then look quickly at her surroundings.
She was in her room, her CHILDHOOD room, a room she hadn't seen in so long. Jumping up from under her covers, she rushed to her door and looked out at the hall. The door to her parents room was closed, the bathroom door was slightly ajar with the soft night light her mother had put in there when she was very small. The guest bedroom door was closed tight as always. A quick glance to the left, she saw her mother's crafting room door closed, as well as the office. Taking in a gulp of air, she made her way down the stairs and into the living room. Tears began anew upon her cheeks as she looked at all the pictures on the mantle. She was IN them, Merlin, that hurt.
"Sweet Pea, is that you?" Her father's voice was coming down the stairs, he stood at the foot of them now. "What are you doing up so..." The rest of his words came out in a huff as Hermione launched herself at him. Her arms grabbing him tight around the middle. "Are you alright? Are you crying Hermione? What has happened my sweeting? Normally you are so excited the night before getting back on the train. You still have this year and all of next year at Hogwarts, there is no need for tears love." Hermione stiffened in her father's arms at that last."Come on, I know what always cheers you up, breakfast. Last one to the kitchen makes the bacon, yeah?" He smiled and rubbed one of the tears from her cheek and started off to the kitchen.
For a long moment, Hermione stood frozen at the foot of the stairs, staring off in the direction her father had gone. Clutching the post at the bottom of the stairs she looked down at her hand where the beautiful little topaz glint of her wedding band should be. A soft smile graced her mouth as she thought about the day she saw it in the muggle shop, they were shopping for a gift for Ginny. She was pregnant again, this time with Albus, but she wanted to get something muggle for her and Harry to commemorate the birth of her son, and the coming birth of her second child. The soft glint of the topaz stone set in a light gold band was beautiful, and she couldn't stop staring at it. Of course, she didn't know that Ron had picked up that ring the very next day as a surprise, and the weekend after Ginny's mini baby shower, he had proposed to her in a park.
The soft tinkling of utensils in the kitchen reminded Hermione where she was, and she softly walked to the kitchen, standing in the doorway watching her father pull out the bits and pieces of his recipe. Her mother was a force to be reckoned with in the kitchen, but her father loved his breakfast. Best meal of the day in his opinion, and he loved to be the one to do the cooking in the mornings. "Ah, there you are my sweet pea. I told you, last one in does the bacon." He smiled and handed her a spatula, and pushed her over to the stove. A smile she was trying to stop slid its way onto her face, and she started cooking. This felt like old times, like something she never thought she would have again. The smell of vanilla hit her senses and she grinned even wider. He was making pancakes!
Once the bacon was done and plated, Hermione set out to make tea, the staple her mother could NOT do without in the mornings. Her father returned to the stove and began pouring the batter on the stove as she heard her mother's footsteps. Quickly placing a cup and saucer down in her mother's spot, she poured the tea and set out cream and sugar, not that her mother used cream, and the small pot of honey. "Smells wonderful Richard, oh Hermione you are a dear." Her mother kissed her father's cheek at the stove and placed her hand on Hermione's cheek before sitting down and fixing her cup. "Up a bit early aren't we? We have a few hours before we need to get you to Kings Cross."
"I know mum," She said as she poured herself a cup of tea and her father came back with the bacon and syrup. "I just... I couldn't sleep a moment longer." She smiled and got the butter, watching as her mother got out the plates and the silverware. Her eyes clouding over with tears a moment, before she shook her head and sat back down in her seat. They ate quietly and she greedily drank in the sight of her parents. It brought to mind her first large fight with Ron, right before the wedding.
"What do you mean you can't do this?" Ron's voice was rattling the windows in the burrow. "This is our wedding Hermione. I thought you wanted to marry me!" He shook the chair he was standing behind, his mother was behind him with a dish towel clutched to her heart.
"I do want to marry you Ron! Of course I do!" Hermione stood from the table, the legs scratching against the floor.
"Then why are you backing out of this?" Ron began to pace, his hand in his hair in frustration.
"You don't know? Ron I have told you..." The tears were welling up, did he ever listen to her when she spoke? "I can't do this without... I always thought that I would..."
"Are those tears? You are bloody crying and acting like this is my fault! You are the one running away from her own wedding!" His face was blotchy and he was puffed up in annoyance.
"Running away? I am not running away Ronald."
"How is flying off to Australia not running away?" He bellowed and Ginny came up and smacked the back of his head
"Ron, her parents are in Australia! How could you be so stupid! Every girl wants their parents to be at their wedding." Ginny was outraged and Mrs Weasley looked like she could smack Ron as well.
"Well they bloody don't remember her do they? She obliviated them didn't she?" He gestured wildly in her direction and Hermione cried then. "Bloody hell Hermione. That is why you don't want to do this? Because your muggle folks can't be there?"
"Sweet pea, is everything alright? It looks as if you are about to cry?" Her father had set his fork down on the table and was looking at her with concern.
"I'm just... thinking about Harry..."
"Oh, that's right he lost his godfather last year? That poor dear. I know you said that his family wasn't that nice to him, and that his Godfather was pretty much the only person he wanted to live with... Richard we should do something." Her mother had set down her tea cup forcibly and her father winced.
"Like what dear? The children only have two years of school left. I hardly think there is anything we can do." Her father looked to her for guidance, but her mother continued on.
"Oh! What if we made him some sort of care package! Hermione, you be a dear and tell me some of the things Harry needs or likes this year, and I will see if we can't come up with a few things, at least for the holiday!" Her mother seemed pleased as punch and Hermione smiled.
"I can agree to that." Her father finished off his bacon and stood, gathering plates as he went. "Hermione, you get the bathroom first, off with you." He smiled and shooed her from the kitchen. On her way out into the hall, she pinched herself making sure that this wasn't some dream that she had fallen in. 'What is going on?'