AN: Let me start off by giving a huge thankyou to the wonderful people that have added my story to their alerts, and also to the great ten who have actually added it to their favorites; my respect and gratitude gos out to you.
But on to this chapter!
Oh my god, I couldn't type fast enough, I was so excited writing this! A nice long, thousand words plus chapter full of twists im sure noone was expecting ;)
Enjoy, because I think its something you've been waiting for!
How, within two weeks, could things have changed, so entirely?
How?
When the thread that your life was hanging by suddenly split, leaving you torn and frayed, what could you possibly do?
Except sit and wait for them to come back home?
It had happened yesterday.
Everything seemed perfect, both of them perfectly happy.
The letter had arrived on Tuesday.
"Ron was right, you are a ruddy stupid owl", Hermione frowned, poking the passed out owl with her pinky finger and trying to unlatch the bunch of mail from its leg.
"Our graduation certificates are here from hogwarts!", she called out.
She paused for a response.
"Ron, get out of bed!", she shouted down the corridor when she didn't get one.
She surveyed the scroll of parchment fondly as Ron grumbled at her side.
"Looks like this ones for you too"
The envelope was small and dainty and pale pink; the handwritten name and address adorned in curlicues and calligraphic embellishments.
Ron tore the envelope open with XY-chromosomic disregard and abandon, shredding the delicate fold; tiny, curled up scraps of paper floated to the ground like a stray feather wafting on a warm, summer night's breeze.
She stared at where these shreds still lay, stark against their clean,white kitchen floor, blemishes on the clear face of the room.
She wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, (difficult with her girth) and kissed his neck.
"Whats does it say muffin?", she said in a disgustingly cute voice, tugging on a stray strand of his gleaming hair.
The letter dropped from his long pale fingers.
"Ron?"
His eyes watered furiously.
"Ron, what is it? Speak to me!"
Ron backed away slowly and collapsed into one of the painted wooden chairs surrounding their dining table.
She struggled to bend to pick up the letter, and ended up squatting then heaving herself up, the pale pink piece of paper clenched in her fist.
"Oof", she moaned, rubbing her back.
Ron's eyes stared in horror as she lowered hers to the neatly written characters.
From the desk of Darius Von Cleffington IV, Senior Healer at hospital for magical maladies and injuries.
To Mr. Ronald Billius Weasley,
You may be surprised to hear from me, someone you have never met or even heard of.
But here you are reading this document.
It is necessary to inform you that a client of mine, one Miss. Harriet Irene Worthington requests a DNA sample from you, to test for the biological father of her recently born child.
A hasty reply would be greatly appreciated.
Her heart seemed to be pounding franticly against her rib cage as a prisoner bangs against his cell door.
Her fingers, her hands, seemingly her whole body was trembling (from fear? From anger? From pain? She could not tell!)
"Ron"
"I swear to god"
"Ron!"
Ron cowered before her, his face white untouched snow, his eyes burning with flames of intense pain.
"How?"
"What?"
"HOW?", she thundered, tears streaming down her cheeks as she glared at the terrified man before her.
"I don't know, I don't know! Everything was protected! I never knew! I've never heard of anything until now, never, I swear, I promise, I beg of you, please!"
He was pulling at his hair in open and crushing despair, he looked half crazed, as if he were going to fall to her feet beseeching her at any second.
"HOW COULD YOU?!"
"I've told you all this, before, before! I've told you, I don't know, I cant explain!", he sobbed, shaking his head franticly from side to side.
"I love you Hermione! I don't want a future without you in it, I don't want a MINUTE without you in it! I love you so much, but I was fucking stupid, and I don't know how to fix this! I never wanted to tear you apart!", he finished, tugging on his hair in exasperation.
Hermione choked up.
"I love you too Ron, I never stopped, and I never will, but there is no excuse for what you did! You never wanted to hurt me? Then what gave you the right to? Why did you? You ruined us Ron! Completely of your own accord! Of course you wanted to, why else would you sleep with that whore? Why would you, Ron?", she shouted, her eyes watering.
"I don't know! I don't know!", Ron moaned.
"Out! Get out! Go back to your stupid whore! I hope she was worth it! If that child is yours you will never see me or our babies again! Get out!", she screamed, pushing him towards the door, swatting at him with whatever objects where closer to her.
"Get out of here before I find my wand and gladly kill you Ron Weasley! You weak, disgusting, pathetic excuse for a man!"
Feebly sheltering himself with his bare arms, his face split in pain, he flung himself out the door that sprung open with a magical BANG, as Hermione sobbed and covered her hands with her face.
Only yesterday, she thought as she poured boiling water into her cup of tea.
How things could change in a matter of minutes.
What would she do?
What could she do?
She placed a hand on her enormous belly as she slowly lowered herself into the pale wooden rocking chair.
What about her children?
What about. . .she swallowed, their children?
A BANG erupted into the room and a disheveled Ron appeared before her.
She tried to get out of the rocking chair but failed, so resorted to crossing her arms across her chest.
"What could you possibly have to say to me?", she said coldly, tears welling in her eyes.
"Hermione, Hermione, oh, its not mine", he half said, half cried, crouching down to her level and placing a pale hand on her face.
She smiled as tears ran down her face, and he gazed at her with eyes full of love.
"I don't know what I would have done if it were", she said softly, and went to stand and straighten up, out of the chair.
Ron stared in shock as the cup of tea fell, in slow motion from her hand.
The blue and white flowered china crashed to the floor and exploded at their feet,
Hot liquid showered them both,
Shards of porcelain scurrying into unreachable corners,
She doubled over as another white hot slice of pain cut through her like a razorblade.