"Hello Ron."

"Hello Ron?"

"Yes, I believe it's called a greeting."

"Don't be petty Hermione… Is that how you greet the father of your two children? The man you just spent the night with? A lousy 'Hello Ron'?"

"Apparently."

"Fine. I can be petty too."

"Oh, I'm aware."

"Come on Mione. I didn't come here to pick a fight."

"Then why did you come here?"

"You left…"

"I did."

"Why?"

Silence.

"Hermione… We need to talk"

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Hermione. We. Need. To. Talk. Those were the words she'd been waiting to hear for so long she'd given up hope, yet, as they hung in the air she realized they were the words she had recently come to dread.

"I don't think there's anything to say Ron."

"Of course there are things to say Mione. Shit there's loads to say," he murmured as he moved to cross the threshold into the front entryway of their home. Well, what had been their home.

"Stop," she breathed, bracing a hand firmly against his chest and taking note of the rapidness of his heartbeat beneath his coat, a coat she thought she remembered buying a few Christmases ago.

"Come on Min. Are you really going to leave your husband out in the rain when he's come to say he lov—

"Please, just don't!" she begged as she moved to close the door only to have it blocked by his body.

"God damn it Ron, move, or so help me I will hex you! You don't get to do this… You don't get to just waltz in here and pretend like everything's fine, like we haven't been separated for a year or like things haven't been utter shite for the past five!"

Her chest began to heave as she tried desperately to suck in enough air, and she directed all the strength she could muster into forcing the door closed, as if that thin barrier would somehow block him out of her life.

"That's not what I'm… Last night… I thought—"

"You thought what?! That one night of angry lovemaking could somehow erase years of neglect and emotional abuse! Contrary to what you may believe Ronald, sex cannot fix a marriage, which I thought would have been made pretty clear considering this isn't our first Quidditch Tournament …"

His face reddened, and she could visibly see his temper bubbling to the surface.

"So you're saying last night was a mistake?! Well that's just great Hermione! Here I was thinking we might be able to have a civil conversation for once!"

"Oh and whose fault is that Ron? I have spent years begging you to have a 'civil conversation'! YEARS! What could you possibly want to talk about now?! How about the years of snide remarks and backhanded comments! Or maybe the years of making me doubt every decision, every sacrifice I made for this family! Perhaps you'd like to address the YEARS I spent wondering if you ever really loved me or if it was all just a lie! You couldn't possibly want to discuss that pitiful excuse for lovemaking you so clumsily administered last night. A mistake is exactly what that was! A huge FUCKING mistake!"

Ron suddenly lifted his hand, and she was sure an admittedly deserved slap was on its way, but instead she found a finger wiping a lonely tear from her cheek. By the look on his face, the action seemed to have surprised even him. After all, this wouldn't have been the first time her husband had allowed his anger to go unchecked, resulting in some sort of violent outburst.

"Are you finished?" he muttered, eyes staring intently at his sneakers.

She had never planned to say those things to him. Especially not like this. But as soon as they left her mouth she felt her chest lighten (something she was not proud of), and then the floodgates burst open, and she found herself collapsed weakly against the door.

"Oh Ron, I didn't mean to—I'm so sorry," she managed through sniffles and sobs.

"Her—Hermione… Hermione please don't cry. I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry. I know I've messed up royally, and I don't expect to fix it all right now. I know I've been aloof for a few years. Well, that's an understatement. I've been a bloody prick Hermione. And I should have talked to you… I know… It's just—"

He ran a hand through his shaggy red hair, and she thought, for a brief moment, he might finally gift her with an explanation, or a sincere apology, some semblance of truth or clarity. Instead, she was met with what had become her constant companion over the past five years: silence.

She straightened slowly, and when he reached to touch her arm she quickly shrugged the gesture of comfort away.

"It's just what, Ron?"

His eyes lifted to meet hers, and she could see the wheels turning desperately in his brain, struggling to mold his thoughts into sentences. Words had never been her husband's strong suit, a truth she had known long before they'd married. He was bloody good at saying the things he knew he shouldn't, but not so much at those he should.

Honesty, however, was something she had never thought she would lack from him. Honesty was a characteristic she thought she'd always be able to count on. But looking up at his tired face, she observed now what she'd seen for many years; there was something he was holding back.

There was a time when she had thought it might have been another relationship, another woman. He had always been an openly affectionate person. He wore his heart on his sleeve, a trait she had both admired and feared. But that argument had been put to rest too many times. No, it was something else. Something deeper. Something she had scratched the surface of so many times but never been able to pinpoint or break through.

Finally, he spoke, "Hermione. I love you. And I made a promise to love you for the rest of my life, and I don't want to break that vow."

She was surprised he had brought up their marriage vows, considering they had been the subject of so many of their arguments over the years, namely the fact that Ron had been too drunk at their wedding to remember them...

She was tempted to throw that in his face once more, but decided it wasn't worth it in the end. The truth was that his answer, though simple, was honest, which she supposed was some consolation. But it wasn't enough… Not anymore at least.

"That's nice Ron, but I have a feeling those vows lost much of their meaning a long time ago… I love you too. I do. But I can't keep doing this. It hurts too much. Last night was… Last night was wrong, and it shouldn't have happened. We stopped being good for each other a long time ago, and I think maybe it would be best for all parties if we go our own ways now, for good this time."

She saw the panic in his eyes, and it nearly broke her heart. Just nearly.

"That's not true Mione, and you know it! You don't mean that. Not really. Don't do this. Please! You're the strong one Min. I'm weak, I know, but you make me better. You make US better. Don't give up on us. Don't give up on ME. I'm bloody lost without you!" he cried as he finally won his battle with the door, quickly enveloping her in his arms.

She was suddenly made keenly aware of the scene laid out before her. Here was her husband, Ronald Weasley, her best friend and father of her two beautiful children, clinging to her in the rain, desperately pleading to save their marriage. It was a sight she would have paid a million galleons for a year ago, maybe even a few months ago… But now, looking into those sky blue eyes she realized she no longer cared what he had to say

"Really? Because if all of this is true, if you truly loved me, you had an interesting way of showing it… I'm just so tired Ron… I'm tired of fighting this battle alone, and I think you're tired too."

Her voice was barely above a whisper now, and she felt the exhaustion of their fight beginning to wear on her. But as she lightly traced the zipper on his coat she decided to give him one last chance.

"Just, just answer one question for me Ron. Just one. What happened between us? Things weren't always like this. For a time, they were really good. Like when the kids were little or even back when it was just you and me. We had rough patches, sure, but what happened to make the patches become the normal? Somewhere along the way, something changed… I, I don't know if it was me or if it was you, but something got lost, and Ron I tried! I tried talking. I tried listening. But you wouldn't listen or talk back! Not really… Couples who love each other work together to fix their problems, and you, Ron, you would never do that for us! Why?"

After a few more minutes of deafening silence she gently extricated herself from his grasp.

"Go home Ron. I'm not sure where that is for you, but it's not here anymore. It's not with me. It hasn't been for a while."