I watch silently as Ron puts his signature on the divorce papers, feeling suddenly a little lost. I am no longer Hermione Granger-Weasley.
When he looks up and meets my gaze, he seems a little lost, too. "It's done," he whispers, and I nod, unable to form words that would soothe the pain both of us feel.
"The press will be in a frenzy," he says finally, standing. The distance between us seems like an abyss – deep and devouring, impossible to cross.
I smile a little sadly. "Yes, probably. Do you –"
Ron tilts his head, as if asking what I'd wanted to say. And somehow the words bubble out of my mouth and pour into the silence between us.
"Do you remember their reaction when we announced that we'd married in secret?"
A laugh escapes his lips, and it sounds genuine. "Yeah. Skeeter almost hyperventilated." Still smiling, he mimics her high, panicked voice, "What do you mean you 'got married'? When? How? Why?"
I snort. Yes, that were her words exactly. We were so happy back then. I remember everything about the moment when we exchanged our vows; my dress – not white, but blue like his eyes; Harry's proud smile when he handed us the rings; Ron, promising to love and honour me, and I, offering my heart and soul, body and mind to him.
All that is etched into my mind forever.
I know exactly how elated I felt when he put the ring on my finger, a feeling as if the world had crumbled and reformed in a blink of the eye and it was no longer gravity holding me there but him. I remember the love I felt for him, a love I thought would last until we both died.
I never imagined I'd lose that feeling, but I had lost it. We had lost it.
"Yes," I breathe, and the sadness catches me again. "What happened, Ron? What happened to us?"
And I can watch the cheerfulness leaving him, like a light being snuffed out. "I don't know," Ron replies dejectedly.
We stare at each other for a moment; the distance like an impenetrable wall between us is back. Then, he seems to brace himself, his posture tensing, and with a last nod in my direction, he leaves.
The door falling shut behind him is final. There is no longer an us; memories are all we have left.
*Written for the Houses Competition, Year 2 - Round 8*
House: Ravenclaw
Category: Drabble
Prompt: "What do you mean you 'got married'? When? How? Why?"
W/C: 403