Apologies for not getting this out sooner. Hope you enjoy it! DRAMA. More soon.

Also, although this is a NaNoWriMo project, I think I will continue it on into December. I think I will hit 50,000 before the story is complete, and I don't want to leave Hermione and George in the lurch!

Thanks as ever for the support :)

Disclaimer: Characters and world are Ms Rowling's.

Chapter 21 – Hermione

'Well, isn't this cosy? Didn't take you long to move on, did it?'

Time seemed to freeze as Ron uttered those words, his voice filled with venom. Hermione saw the scene as he must see it – two couples cosied up by the fire, making Christmas decorations, like something off the front of a naff Christmas card. Hermione's head resting on George's shoulder, his whispered words to her…well, she knew what it looked like. She was ashamed of herself. She knew she shouldn't be. She knew Ron was still the bad guy here but, honestly. Of all the times he could have walked in. Why not earlier when she was setting the table with Ginny for dinner, or helping Molly in the kitchen, or any other more innocent moment? This moment had been innocent, her gestures nothing more than friendly…but my had they painted quite the pretty picture for Ron.

At the sound of his voice she had scooted away from George, and turned around. Her ex-boyfriend looked down at her with disgust. There had been many fights between the pair of them over the years, but he had never looked at her with such hatred before. He still had his coat on, clearly he had stormed right in here to find her. Typical Ron. Patience had never been his strong suit. The peace of the moments before seemed so distant now, like a whole other world. Now the air was thick with tension, with the expectancy of a fight looming over them. Ron was a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off. Maybe she could get him out of the room, maybe this fight didn't need to be a show for everyone. It was pretty late. She had thought by now that he wouldn't be coming today, that she could at least put this off until tomorrow. No such luck. She stood up, and stepped towards him. His eyes were hard, and his words cutting.

'Well, you didn't waste your time in finding a replacement.'

The contempt he had for her was ridiculous. She had done nothing wrong. She hadn't hurt him, she hadn't cheated on him. If anyone had the high ground here, it was her.

'That's not what this is Ron. You know that. And even if it was that, at least I would have had the grace to wait until we were broken up. Unlike yourself. Now, can't we talk somewhere more private?'

'Oh yeah, so cuddling my brother by the fire is nothing, huh? Please, Hermione. You've bagged a better Weasley and now you're here to flaunt it.'

'Ron, please. Let's just step outside.' Oh she had words for him, angry bitter words sharpened to a point over many weeks of heartbreak, but she didn't need her friends to hear them. This had been enough of a spectacle already.

'You're the one who came to my house, Hermione. Deal with it.'

Fine. If he wanted to do this here then, so be it. She was too angry to try and rationalise with him anymore. Besides, he never had responded to reason. If he wanted a fight, he sure as hell would get one.

'Okay, I will. We can do this right here, right now if that's how you want it.'

'Fine.'

'Fine.'

He stepped closer, looking down at her menacingly. She took a step forward herself, refusing to be intimidated. She wouldn't back down from this fight. She hadn't realised until this moment how much she had wanted to have this out too. He had picked the wrong witch to mess with. The others were all standing now, hovering cautiously. Harry stepped forward.

'Stay out of this, Harry.' Ron snapped. 'This is private.'

'Yeah, so don't make a show of it, Ron.'

Ron turned on Ginny, jabbing a finger at her.

'Shut up, Ginny. This is so typical. You're my sister, yet you're on her side. And as for you' he spun around to face George 'you engineered this whole thing to steal my girlfriend. Some fucking family you lot are.'

'Good evening!' Percy had walked into the room. The smile slid off his face as he looked from side to side, finding himself flanked by an angry Hermione and Ron. 'Um. Er.'

George took Ginny's arm, and left the room, beckoning Percy and Harry to follow. Hermione sighed with relief. This was awful as it was, having the others see it made it even worse. Ron's bitter words hung in the air. He was getting redder and redder in the face. He tugged off his scarf, tossing it aside.

'Ron.' Hermione's voice was sharp, and his gaze snapped back to her. 'I'm not with George, and he did not make you cheat on me. You cheated on me, you went behind my back. There was another woman, another women, I don't know. That's the bottom line here, okay?'

'He shouldn't have told you.'

'He shouldn't have had to.'

'You shouldn't have broken up with me.'

Hermione sighed heavily. She couldn't believe him. She put her hands on her hips, jutting out her chin. When she spoke, her voice dripped with sarcasm.

'Oh sure, sorry sweetheart. Should I have just been a good little girl and kept studying while you slept around? Or maybe I should have been having some fun myself at Hogwarts? Is that what I was meant to do? Did I miss the 'hey it's cool to snog Ernie MacMillan memo'?'

Ron choked. 'Ernie? You're doing Ernie?'

'Oh for Merlin's sake, Ron. You are completely missing the point.'

'Ernie?'

Merlin. He was so dense. This was about how he had neglected her, then cheated on her. This was about what he had done, not some stupid name she'd just thrown out there. She had only picked Ernie because they had so many meetings together. Of course that would be what Ron latched onto. He would try to flip this to make it sound like she was the one in the wrong.

'No. I just picked a name, okay? The only one doing someone they shouldn't be here is you.'

'You're completely overreacting here!'

'No I'm not. I trusted you, Ron. Hell, I even loved you. And you betrayed me.'

'But –'

'No, there are no ifs or buts about this. You broke my heart. And I hope you're fucking happy now.'

Ron actually stepped back, struck by the force of her words, or maybe just surprised that she swore. She didn't say another word, just glared at him defiantly. She wouldn't look away, she wouldn't concede him any victory, however small. Let him try to get out of this, she thought. He had caused her far too much pain for her to ignore this. There was no way she would let him make out that this was her fault, or that he hadn't been a total arsehole. No way.

'Come on, Hermione. Broke your heart…'

This hurt more than anything, the idea that he would deny that it had been love between them. That he would dismiss their relationship as some kind of school fling or something trivial. It had been so much more than that. After everything they'd been through. How could be so offhand about this?

'Yes, Ron. I loved you. You knew that. I thought you loved me too.'

'Well I…I…'

Emotions had never been his forte. She waited, arms crossed. She knew he was hoping she would jump in with more angry words so he could avoid this. She wouldn't play into his hands. If he didn't love her, well that was up to him, but he would have to say it. She wasn't afraid of admitting how she felt. She just wanted him to do the same.

'Look…' he tried again. He was clenching and unclenching his fists, breathing heavily. 'I just think you're making too big a deal of all this. I made a mistake.'

A mistake. Oh, this was so much more than some little error, some misstep.

'Oh so it was a singular event? A one time thing? Or did she bear a remarkable resemblance to me? Maybe you got confused?'

He sighed heavily, no longer meeting her eye. 'No.'

Her heart sank. The little part of her that had been hoping this was all maybe some kind of misunderstanding, the kind of bad timing that had just happened here, shattered. Yes, she had broken up with Ron. There had been no other option, really. But she had still thought maybe, just maybe, things could be smoothed over, that a Christmas reunion might be a possibility. Once more, she had been a fool. She pressed her lips together, fighting not to let her emotions take over.

'I thought so. Don't try to pin this on me. I let you break me, but I won't take the blame for the damage you caused.'

'Don't be so dramatic.'

'I'm not being dramatic, Ron.'

'You never gave me a chance to explain myself.'

'There's no explanation that could fix this. I was shattered, I still am. You cheated on me. End of.'

'Yet you came here. Can't have been that bad, then.'

'Yes, to be with my friends.'

'You knew I'd be here. You wanted to cause a scene.'

'Ron, I can't avoid you forever. Our lives are far too connected. And this scene would have happened anyway, sooner or later.'

'But in my home? Come on, Hermione. You're rubbing my face in it. Flaunting the breakup. Flirting with George. You're turning my own family against me.'

'I'm not flirting with George, okay? And your family can make up their own minds. Look, I've said what I need to say. We're done.'

She walked off, head held high. Ron didn't try to stop her. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad. She wasn't sure of anything right now. She had thought having this fight, saying the things she had been storing up in her mind, would be cathartic somehow. She had thought she would feel vindicated. Instead she felt deflated.

She let herself out into the garden, not wanting to face the others in the kitchen. She really wasn't able for conversation now. Things hadn't gone as planned, and she saw just how broken things were with Ron now. Their friendship was not something that could be salvaged. They were over in more ways than one.

She wandered across the lawn, until she got to the tree she would always think of as theirs, the spot where Ron had held her before she left for Hogwarts. She tried to hold onto the sweet words they had exchanged then, but the bitterness of tonight was too sharp. It was freezing outside, she had no coat on, but she still sat down at the base of the tree. It was dark here, cold and quiet. It was perfect. She needed to be alone.

The worst part was that she couldn't entirely dismiss Ron's words. It wasn't right for her to be here. She was turning the Weasleys against Ron, even though that hadn't been her plan. It wasn't fair. He should have some sanctuary here at home, and she had taken that from him. She didn't like this version of events, the one in which she was also at fault, but she couldn't deny it. Maybe she should have heard him out…no. She didn't need his excuses. Cheating was cheating. She didn't regret breaking up with him. But being here, maybe it was the wrong decision. Either way, she had to fix this somehow. Their conflict couldn't colour the entire holidays. The Weasley family had enough to cope with, and she didn't want everyone taking sides. This was between her and Ron, no-one else. Certainly not George. She would have to be more careful. They were just friends, but Ron always had been jealous, and once an idea took hold of him it could be near impossible to talk sense into him. She knew how hurtful it must be for Ron, he had always compared himself to his older brothers. Thinking Hermione was with George would be another sign to him of how he was second best. She thought of how horrible he became when he thought she fancied Harry. This was even closer to home, literally.

There would be no talking to him, so she would have to show him with her actions. Surely George would understand that. She hoped so. She had already lost one friend. She was here now, she wouldn't leave, but she would make this as painless as she could. Hopefully this blow up would be their last for the holidays anyway. She leaned back against the chilly bark, and let the tears she had held back during their confrontation flow freely. He was gone. He would never be hers again.