April 1st, 2007

The cramped and messy council house was filled pretty much to capacity with friends and family of the Weasley family, brought together with the joint intention of celebrating the twin sons of Molly and Arthur. Just the same as each year before, the pranks and practical jokes had been coming thick and fast for the last few hours and screams of laughter could be heard at random throughout the house. Hermione had so far managed to avoid falling victim to any of the traps the twins had set, but she remained cautious, knowing that danger lurked around every corner.

She was sitting alone on one of the rickety, second hand chairs at the kitchen table, listening to the gleeful shouts and laughter emanating from her many nieces and nephews when Ron entered the room and began to rummage through the cupboards in search of food. Hermione rolled her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek to prevent saying anything that could cause an argument. When he gave up on his hunt for junk food, Ron pulled out another chair and she heard it creek under the strain of his heavy form.

"Hello, love." He grinned and she forced a smile onto her face as she turned to him.

"Having a good time?" She asked and he nodded, Hermione almost groaned as a familiar look crossed his features and he reached forward to put his sweaty hand on top of hers.

"I think it's time that you gave up work." He said and she groaned, pulling her hand out from under his and stood from the table.

"Ron," she sighed as she leaned against the cluttered counter, "You know how I feel about this."

"Everyone here has at least one kid, 'Mione!" He snapped as he slammed his hand down on the table.

This argument had been coming up more and more often and she knew how it would go. She would tell him that they wouldn't cope without her job, that she loved her work and didn't want to quit. She would suggest if he was so desperate to have children he quit work and look after them, and he would argue that the man had to be the breadwinner and the woman should be at home. In an effort to avoid rehashing the same never ending spiral of arguments that never got them anywhere, She tried a slightly different approach. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she took a deep breath before she looked up at him.

"Ron, you work a minimum wage job!" She said, trying to remain calm, "The money you earn wouldn't support the two of us, letalone a whole family."

"What are you talking about?" He asked, frowning. "Mum and dad had seven kids on just dad's income. If they can manage, so can we!"

"You cannot be serious!" She hissed, exasperated, "Ron, your parents claim benefits and live in a council house!"

"So? What's wrong with that?" He asked.

"I give up." She sighed, shaking her head and walking out of the room.

She entered the living room, looking around at the huge family squeezed in amongst the sagging bookshelves and hand-me-down furniture with barely enough room to move around each other and sighed. She knew that if she expressed her thoughts on this she would come across as a snob, but that wasn't the truth. Working in her role, she had an deep understanding of the benefits system in Britain and she knew that the only way the Weasleys had survived was because of government handouts.

Housing Benefit paid their rent for the house that was already provided for a ridiculously cheap price by the council, they had received money for each of their children every month and they had qualified for free school dinners and help with their bills because they had a low income and so many children. They had never survived on one wage. They had received almost as much in benefits every year as she earned. But it didn't seem to matter to Ron. Her parents had stopped with her, knowing they would struggle to afford another child and wanting to know that they had supported themselves through their own hard work. That desire had been passed down to her, but she would never make Ron understand that.

Deciding that she would rather not battle through the hoard of redheaded Weasleys in order to get to the twins, she pulled the two small presents that she had bought, wrapped and brought with her knowing that Ron wouldn't bother out of her handbag and put them with the rest and moved towards the front door, hoping to make a quiet exit and be rewarded with some relaxation time at home without Ron asking her to do something for him every five minutes. Unfortunately, she failed when she felt a hand close around her arm and turned to see Harry smiling at her.

"Where are you going?" He asked and she sighed.

"I was just about to head home," she told him tiredly, "I'm really tired and I've got to get to the office early tomorrow, so…"

"Oh, alright." He nodded, "Everything ok?"

"Of course, Harry," she forced herself to smile, "why wouldn't it be?"

"Just wondering. Ron has seemed a bit… Off, lately." He shrugged and she forced out a snort.

"He's done a couple of late shifts at work," she lied, "it's probably just that."

"Yeah, probably." Harry nodded, "Alright, I'll say your goodbyes for you?"

"Thanks Harry." She nodded, turning around and pulling open the front door.

Stepping into the fresh air, Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to compose herself. She was finding it harder and harder to hide how she was feeling and her thoughts about her marriage. She wished more than anything that she had someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't judge her for her opinions but would offer her some useful words of advice and perhaps a shoulder to lean on when times were difficult. Though she had many friends, they all either held such stressful lives already or they were too close to the Weasleys to be objective, as was the case with Harry.

Opening her eyes, she offered a smile to a passing stranger and dug her hands into her handbag to find her car keys, hidden amongst the paperwork she had amassed from her working week and receipts shoved in her bag roughly as she hurried out of one shop or another. She found the keys right at the bottom and pressed the button on the fob to unlock the car and she heard the locking mechanism click on her black BMW, so out of place amidst the old battered cars that lined the rest of the street. She pulled open the door and put her key in the ignition, hearing the engine turn over and clicked her seatbelt into place.

She reversed out of the driveway and began her drive home, reminiscing on her time with Harry and Ron at secondary school. They hadn't started out as being close, but they had saved her from a group of older bullies halfway through their first year and had been inseparable since. It made sense that she would end up with Ron, she supposed. It made for a nice automatic family when her and Harry both married into the Weasley family and it would be perfect if she and Ron weren't polar opposites.

Harry had always been her closest friend and always supported her and would usually be her first choice for someone to discuss this with, but he was married to Rons sister and it wouldn't be fair to confide in him and create secrets within his marriage with Ginny. Other than him, her closest friend was Kingsley and she snorted at the mere thought of confiding minor marital issues with the man who was charged with running the country. Evidently, he had bigger things to worry about.

She turned left and pulled into the underground parking garage of their block of flats, driving nose first into the space designated for her. She turned the car off and relaxed back against the leather seat. She knew that Ron would arrive home angry that she had left the party without him, but she was struggling to find it within herself to care. He could walk the three miles home for all he cared, but she knew he would manage to hitch a ride with Harry.

She sighed as she stepped out of the car and walked towards the lift, pressing the locking button on her keys over her shoulder, satisfied when the click of the car behind her. Pressing the up button, she was happy to find the lift opening immediately and stepped inside, pressing the button for the 10th floor.