Prologue

Coming Home

Hermione drove back to her parent's house in Hampstead from Heathrow and was relieved to find it empty without Ronald there, demanding answers about where she had been and why she went to Australia in the first place. Hermione had been married to Ronald for 12 years and had spent most of her marriage and her life cleaning up after him, cooking for him, looking after him, mothering him and catering to his ever-lasting temper tantrum and ever-lasting whim, walking on eggshells until one day she just cracked up and fled to her best friend/brother Harry and confessed she could not take any more physical/emotional abuse or economic abuse from the man who was supposed to support her, her husband.

*Flashback* "Hermione!" Harry found Hermione sitting on his front door step with her head rested on her knees in the pouring hard rain. He gently led her into his house "I can't do it, anymore, Harry, I feel broken…" Hermione sobbed as Harry rubbed her back. "Are Rosalie and Hugo at school?" Harry asked her seriously. She nodded but could not stop her hands from shaking and Harry tenderly rubbed soothing circles on her back "Hermione" Harry said "Look at me, that's it, cup your hands and put them over your mouth, now breathe deeply." Hermione followed these instructions and took ten deep breaths as Harry looked onwards.

As Hermione calmed, Harry got her a steaming cup of herbal green tea with lemon and place the warm cup in her hands. "Now, I want you to start from the beginning, how long has Ronald been like this"

Hermione smiled as she sat down on her sofa in her house and listened to the silence as she reflected. She shouted at the empty room. "No more, Ronald, I will reclaim my life!"

*Flashback* "Of course I would find you here, you whore!" Harry was astonished by Ronald's language "She is your wife, Ronald! how long have you been abusing her?"

"Of course, you would take her side, you bastard!" Harry shook his head at the pitiful person that was once his brother in arms. "I will take the kids away from you if you ever leave me again!" Ronald Weasley screamed in Hermione's face. She was huddled in the corner shaking in fear. "I will only tell you once, Ronald Weasley, leave my home immediately and if you ever threaten Hermione again or my godchildren, I will make sure that you spend the rest of your natural life in Azkaban!" Harry growled with his wand out.

Hermione made herself a cup of her favourite herbal tea and settled down to write her next chapter. This was what had started Ronald's resentment of her. Hermione was the manager/counsellor at a Woman's refuge in the muggle world when she had married Ronald. He was so sweet and loving and kind when they first married. A few weeks after they had married, she noticed that she had less and less housekeeping or bill money from their joint account. Gadgets that they didn't require for the joy of living or items would suddenly show up in their home that Hermione had no knowledge of buying like a play-station or a new flat-screen television. Then Ronald would take three-quarters of Hermione's wage and spend it in the wizarding bookies, gambling away her hard-earned money on the outcome of the quidditch world cup or the national league of quidditch. Worse still, Ronald demanded that she gave up her job in the refuge to look after their children. They argued all night until Ron lost his rag and punched Hermione so hard, it rendered her unconscious. When she woke up, she was in bed and Ronald was weeping with sorrow and regret. "I am so, so sorry, I don't know what happened, I just felt the red mist descend and that was it, I couldn't stop myself, I promise you, that it will never happen again." Hermione nodded and just said softly "I forgive you, I don't want to argue, I love you, Ronald" Ronald never changed though. Every week, Hermione was hiding bruises with a clever glamour charm, so her colleagues would not spot her many injuries. Her magic had managed to heal the broken ribs under the sacred wiccan magic she possessed and when Harry saw her, he could see the many glamour's that she used. He and Luna pulled her aside one day and gently coaxed the truth from her. They were horrified when she took away the glamor, but she made them swear on their magic to not tell a soul. So, they did, they kept her secrets and patched her up with potions and their healing skills every-time she showed up. For sixteen years, Hermione's best friends kept her awful secret. But the psychological abuse that Ronald inflicted turned out to be the worse thing, designed to crush Hermione's self-esteem. She ran and ran hard on her bare feet until she came to Harry's house in the next town. There, she broke down sobbing and then the rain started as she huddled under the sheltered door-step and waited for Harry or Luna.