Breaking the Ties that Bind

Ch 2 – Giving In

Hermione grunted as she pushed against her jammed apartment door. Finally the door gave way, sending Hermione stumbling forward. She stomped back to the door, grabbing the groceries she had left outside and slamming the door as she passed it.

Hermione's mood had steadily been getting worse throughout the day. After her meeting with Percy, Hermione's help had been needed several times, keeping her busy enough to keep her thoughts from wandering. During the day, she saw Ron several times, but he made a point of ignoring her or going out of his way to avoid her. Word of the job proposal had quickly spread through her department. Hermione only hoped word didn't get to Ron. She knew he would be angry if he found out she turned the job down because of him, which she knew would be the conclusion he would jump to.

"Hello Hermione."

Hermione screeched as she jumped, hitting her head on the cabinet. She let loose with a stream of curses as she spun around to see a grinning red-head sitting at her kitchen table.

"Ron! How on Earth did you get in here?" She yelled angrily.

"Well, I live here so I don't know why you're freaking out." Ron tilted his head as he took in Hermione's expression.

"No Ron. You used to live here. You left." The smile slid off Ron's face as he moved to stand in front of her.

"'Mione, you can't still be angry about our last fight."

"Can't I?" Ron flinched under Hermione's piercing glare.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. It was just another petty fight. Besides we both know you're going to forgive me, otherwise, you wouldn't be talking to me."

"I might not forgive you this time." Hermione stated flatly only to be greeted by Ron's laughter. "Is something funny?"

"'Mione, you always forgive me. You forgave me when I left you and Harry when we were looking for the horcruxes. You forgave me when I insulted you all those time in our first year. You forgave me for my arrogance when I joined the Quidditch team. And you have forgiven me for all my jealousy and every stupid fight we've ever had. What makes you think you won't forgive me now?" Ron's smirk had returned as he spoke. He was completely aware that he was provoking her into another fight, but he knew the truth of his words would get to her.

"Maybe I'm sick of forgiving you for every mistake, every fight."

"You were sick of forgiving me last time, but you still forgave me anyway. I'll be back later. Harry wanted to talk to me." Ron took a step back from Hermione and smiled, ignoring her still present glare. He turned and darted towards the door, grabbing his keys from the table as he passed.

"Don't bother coming back." Hermione snapped just before the door closed behind him.

It had been two hours since Ron left and still his words echoed in her head. He was right. She couldn't stay mad at him, no matter how hard she tried. His cocky smile was still imprinted until her brain as she watched him leave in her minds eyes again.

The book she had been trying to read slid from her hands, falling to the floor with a dull thud. Hermione thought of picking up her romance novel, but her thoughts would only go back to Ron. She missed him. And she knew when he showed up again, she would forgive him. Because she could not hold a grudge against him for any real time period.

He was her addiction. She couldn't say no because she needed to be with him. She knew they would fight again and then she would be angry at him only to forgive him days later. And she craved it. She craved his presence, his kisses, his hugs, and she knew she would even miss their fights.

She walked to the kitchen her thoughts wandering to what she should make for dinner. There were so many options that she couldn't seem to make up her mind. Ron would have been able to decide, she thought. Ron was decisive enough to choose a meal that he would like. But Ron wasn't here.

She reeled back in shock when she realized she had thought of asking Ron. Could she really not make such a simple decision without him? Of course she could. She just valued him opinion is all. Yea, that was all.

She went back to searching her cabinets when a creaking sound reached her ear. She jerked back and looked around, hoping to find a certain person to go with the unexpected sound. She hadn't realized how dark it had gotten until she found herself straining her eyes to see through the shadows in the adjoining room. She took the few steps to the light switch, flipping it to on. The kitchen and living room were flooded with light, but there was nothing else to greet her.

Hermione turned to resume her searching for her meal when a ball of light flew from above the oven towards the door. "Ron!" She yelled only to hear a snickering sound as the ball of light returned to the oven.

Hermione spun around to see Ron leaning against the doorframe leading into the hall. "Hey Hermione." He said with his cocky smile as he slipped the deluminator back into his pocket. "Have you had enough time to think?"

"Yes." Hermione whispered as she looked down at a stain on one of the old kitchen tiles.

"And?" Ron had begun to move towards her, stopping on the other side of the kitchen counter.

"I forgive you." She whispered so quietly he had to strain his ears to hear her.

He smiled, making his way around the counter, and pulled her into his arms. He planted a gentle kiss upon her forehead as she settled into his embrace. They continue to stand that way for several moments until Hermione's stomach gave a low rumble. She slipped from his arms with a quiet chuckle as he let out a joyful laugh.

Bending down in front of the refrigerator, she glanced at the food and asked, "What would you like for dinner?"

AN: So in the last chapter I forgot to write my author's note. Breaking the Ties that Bind is loosely based on Sara Bareille's song Gravity. This fic is only going to be about four chapters long. I was happy to see that the last chapter got 120 hits and 108 visitors. I was slightly disappointed by the fact that only two people reviewed, but I understand cause I don't review most of the stories I read. So thank you to Kailey Roxanna Rose and Ferrari08 for reviewing. And thanks to all of you for reading. Oh and special thanks to my friend Kellen, who proofread this chapter for me.

Pheonix