Hermione couldn't forget the note, no matter how she tried. She fought with herself internally, and became withdrawn from her husband. Ron often questioned what he had done to make her be so distant, and she would always come up with either a snappy reply or an excuse. They fought constantly, and Hermione would frequently cry herself to sleep, now not caring if the sounds were hidden from him or not. He finally stopped trying to console her. She was miserable, of her own accord, but miserable none the less.

In one final act of desperation to save their marriage, Ron arranged for the children to stay with his mother for a long weekend, and he swept them away to the South of France for a mini-break. He hoped that sipping wine and lounging in bed would re-kindle their romance. He didn't know what else to do, even Harry and his sister were clueless as to why this was happening.

So, they arrived in a small magical town on the French Riviera, and stayed in a less than quaint little villa what was nowhere near the water. In fact, it was a small disaster. The place smelled of mildew and the bedding looked to not having been changed in the past several years. The view out the large picture window was charmed to be a view of water, but it was obviously a lake and not the ocean. The place was something that the old Hermione would have appreciated and ignored, but to this woman she had become she felt stifled and trapped. She took a couple of deep breaths, closed her eyes and made a decision.

Hermione opened her eyes and smiled up at her husband, who had this look of sheer desperation on his face. She would try this weekend, she owed him at least that much. She reached up and cupped his cheek, forcing a smile on her face.

"It's wonderful, Ron. This is just what I needed… Time for us", She tried to sound excited, but it came out strained. His grin made her heart tighten and her lungs felt like they restricted. He leaned in a kissed her tenderly. He tried to pretend that he didn't notice her stiffen at his touch. He pulled away and leaned his forehead to touch hers.

"I can't lose you, 'Mione. Whatever is happening we will figure it out. I promise." She felt her eyes well up. She knew it wasn't that simple. If she told him about her transgressions, he wouldn't feel the same way. She was fairly sure he would kick her to the curb and she would never see the children again. She drew in a shaky breath.

"We will, Ron." She whispered.

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Draco regretted his decision to bring the young, blonde and very French witch with him to his estate in Cannes, but he did it on a spur of the moment whim. She was beautiful and smart, having graduated top of her class at Beauxbaton, and she had only eyes for Draco. She laughed at his jokes, got along wonderfully with Scorpius, and came from a very affluent French family; on paper she was literally perfect for him. He just couldn't get past the fact it just didn't feel right.

They had been dating for over 5 months now and she was pushing for the next step in their relationship. So, when Scorpius enthusiastically agreed to visit a street carnival in a small magical town with her that happened to be near the Malfoy estate in France, he decided to forget the witch that was driving him crazy, and decided to just go for it. So, he smiled at his French companion, even though he wished desperately that she was somebody else, and kissed her forehead. If he couldn't have who he wanted, he would at least have somebody.

Hermione saw him from across the carnival, smiling softly at a gorgeous blonde who had to be at least 10 years his junior, and then kissing her on the forehead. She felt like she was going to vomit. Ron was oblivious to Malfoy being there, so she touched his arm and lied. She said that she didn't feel well and wanted to go back to the villa. They couldn't leave quick enough, and as it turns out they didn't.

"Mrs. Weasley!" She heard a voice yell above the crowd. She didn't want to turn to look, but unfortunately Ron heard it was well, and stopped her. She saw the smiling face of Scorpius Malfoy running through the crowds towards her. His father was a few yards behind, his face even more ashen than it normally was, his blonde defensively gripping his elbow.

As soon as Ron saw who it was he muttered something under his breath. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs, and strained a smiled on her face.

"Hello, Scorpius." She said as the boy came to a halt in front of her.

"Hi, Mrs. Weasley, I thought that was you!" He started to look around excitedly, "I'm here with my dad and his girlfriend. Did you bring Rose?"

"No. Why do you want to know?" Ron immediately snapped at the boy. He would be damned if his Rose would be handing around a Malfoy. Hermione elbowed him again, to which he just wrapped his arm over her shoulders. She tried to shrug him off, but he just moved the arm lower, gripping her waist.

"Sorry about Mr. Weasley, Scorpius. No, we didn't. She is spending the weekend with her grandmother." Hermione said.

"Oh." Scorpius sounded disappointed. At this point, Draco and his blonde came to a stop a foot or so behind Scorpius, and they were engulfed in an uncomfortable silence. Hermione wouldn't look directly at them; she couldn't stand to see him touching another woman.

"Hullo." The perfect woman piped up with her heavy accent, "I am Monique, and you are 'Ermione Granger and Ronald Weasley!" She turned to looked pointedly at Draco, "You didn't tell me you knew an honest to goodness war hero, Drakes!" He opened his mouth to speak, but she continued to ramble on. "It is truly an honor to meet you! I am writing a book on the effects the war had on the three European wizarding schools, I would love to talk with both of you about it!" She de-attached herself from Draco, and stepped closer to Ron, whose arm was suddenly absent from Hermione's waist.

Hermione started to respond, but to her surprise Ron cut her off, "We would love to." She turned to look at him, but he was oblivious to her glare. He was too busy making plans to have dinner with the other couple that night. For the first time since the conversation started, Hermione and Draco locked eyes. The terror she felt was mirrored in his eyes. She had no clue how she would make it thought a dinner.

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Hermione pleaded with Ron to cancel the dinner, but he was insistent that it would be good for them, citing the same things she had said when she was the one defending Draco's character. She wondered silently if it had anything to do with the beautiful woman who had paid extra attention to him. She quickly put the thought to the back of her mind, knowing that she had no room to be suspicious.

They stepped though the small floo in the villa and ended up walking out of an outdoor fireplace that overlooked the ocean. Rows upon rows of deep burgundy grapes hanging heavily on their vines stretched across the countryside, the sun slowly setting along the horizon. It was the most breathtaking view Hermione had ever remembered seeing.

"You are 'ere!" Monique's voice rang out from somewhere behind them. Ron quickly walked over to her, already chatting pleasantly about something dull. Hermione could feel Draco's gaze on her back. She took a deep breath and turned to face him. He was staring at her with such an intensity it made her heart seize.

She felt the need to break the silence. "Monique seems pleasant." She spoke, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice.

"She is." He answered, his eyes never leaving her face. Silence ensued again, and she turned to admire the sunset again.

"The view is breathtaking… " She could hear him take a step closer to her.

"It truly is." She knew his eyes never left her back as he continued, "I've imagined bringing you here before. I just didn't imagine it would be with your husband." She didn't jump when she felt the fabric of his jacket brush against her back. She could feel his breath, causing her to shiver. He stepped away as he heard the telltale click of high heels walking towards them