I do not own Harry Potter.
Life After the Last Battle
Chapter 36, Fault
September 1st. Depressed.
September 2nd. Worried.
September 3rd. Anxious.
September 4th. Lonely.
September 5th. Hurt.
September 6th. Concerned.
September 7th. Frantic.
September 8th. Demented.
On September the ninth, Hermione sent an owl to Ron. It said:
How long will this last? I miss you.
I love you.
- Hermione
It came back fairly soon.
Dunno.
He hadn't even signed his name.
I need you, Ron.
- Hermione
Alright. What are you doing tomorrow?
Nothing. Can I come by or something?
- Hermione
That's fine.
I love you.
-Hermione
Love you too
Hermione took a deep breath. She was going to see Ron tomorrow.
Hermione took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It swung open after a few long moments. Her heart did a backflip when she saw Ron.
It didn't even matter that he hadn't shaved once since she last saw him, or that his clothes were stained and wrinkled, or that he held a large bottle of firewhiskey in his hand. She was just happy to see him. She grinned and threw her arms around his neck.
"I missed you," she breathed. He hugged her back lightly with one arm. She let go after a few moments and looked at him. His hair was unwashed and his face dirty, but she didn't care. She kissed him urgently, but pulled back when he did nothing. His breath smelled strongly of alcohol. She followed him up to his room, where there were many empty bottles of firewhiskey and liquor.
"What's all this?" Hermione asked, gesturing at the mess.
"You want some?" Ron asked.
"No…"
"Was there something you wanted to talk about?" he asked.
"I… no, I just wanted… to see you…"
"Oh.. ok.. well…."
"I miss you, Ron. Seeing you…"
"Hm…"
"Don't you… don't you miss me?"
"I… yeah…"
"Please come back. Or let me come here. I… I don't know what to do when you aren't around… Please…"
"I just… I need a little more time… to think about things…"
"I love you, Ron."
"Same here."
"Do you?"
"Yeah…"
"It's hard to be away from you for so long," she smiled and laid her hand on his cheek.
"I think you should leave."
"But I… I just got here…"
"I know… look, I'll see you on your birthday, ok? At your house, right?"
"Ok…"
"Please go," he said mechanically.
"Ron... what did I do?" Hermione cried. Ron said nothing, so she left the room and ran out of the house. She was halfway down the sidewalk when she remembered she could Disapparate. She vanished with a SNAP.
"What do I do," Hermione whined.
"I don't know what to tell you..."
"Ginny, I think... I think it's over..." Hermione started weeping.
"No, no, no, Hermione! I promise that won't happen!"
"Yes, he's g-g-going to... t-to... to..." Hermione couldn't finish.
"But why?" Ginny seemed just as upset as Hermione.
"I have no idea!" Hermione cried harder. Both girls were panicking, and Ginny was on the brink of tears. The door flew open just then, and there stood Harry, looking irritated.
"Ginny, I made dinner for you and everything and it's getting cold now, why is Hermione here, what's going- oh... um..." Harry said everything so fast it took him a while to register that Ginny and Hermione were crying. "Is everything ok?" he asked uneasily.
"No!" Hermione cried.
"What is it, Hermione?" Harry asked, walking over to her.
"It's Ron, she thinks he's going to break up with her," Ginny said quietly to Harry.
"What? No way! Ron would never do that! Why... why do you think that?"
"W-w-when was the last time you talked to him?" Hermione wailed.
"Uh... about a week ago..." Harry said guiltily. "Ginny and I have been really busy... But, I mean... he seemed fine to me..." Harry trailed off.
"He's not!"
"Ok, ok, why don't I go talk to him?" Harry suggested.
"Would you?" Hermione looked up. her face blotchy and tear stained.
"Yes, of course. He's at your parents house, right?"
"No!" Hermione started crying again. Harry looked helplessly at Ginny.
"He's at the Burrow," Ginny supplied.
"Alright, I'll go see him. Everything is gonna be fine, ok, Hermione?" Harry asked. Hermione only nodded. Harry took her hand and squeezed it for a moment. He let go and disappeared.
"Is Ron here?" Harry asked Mrs. Weasley when she answered the door.
"Yes, follow me," she said oddly. Harry followed her up the stairs to Ron's bedroom door. She knocked on the door.
"Ron, dear? Harry's here to see you," she called quietly. There was a grunt from inside the room. "Go on in," Mrs. Weasley told Harry, and gave him a small smile.
Harry walked in and suppressed a gasp.
"Ron... mate... what the hell..." he mumbled, looking around. There were dirty clothes all over the place, along with dirty dishes and old take away containers. But that wasn't the worst part. The room was littered with empty bottles of liquor.
"What?" Ron groaned from the bed.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Huh?"
"Why is this," Harry gestured to a particularly large, empty bottle, "here?
"What'sitlooklike?" Ron slurred.
"You're hurting Hermione," Harry said angrily.
"You don't know a damn thing about Hermione," Ron grumbled.
"What is the matter with you?" Harry asked, a little disgusted.
"Nuffin! Whatsa matter with you?" Ron moaned.
"You need to fix this Ron. I mean it. I know Hermione means more to you than this. I know it," Harry said. Then Ron got all depressed and his eyes had tears in them.
"You should leave," Ron said. "I'll see you at the party." Ron's words were thick and smushed together.
"Alright, mate. But clean it up." Harry turned towards the door.
"It's my fault, Harry!" Ron croaked. Harry looked back at him.
"What?"
"Fred! He's dead! It's my fault!"
"Oh no, Ron... no, it's not your fault," Harry hurried over to Ron.
"Yeah, it is. I'm a-" Ron hiccuped, "murderer!"
"No! No, Ron, no, don't believe that! You know that's not true! You can't think that!"
"Just leave!"
"Ron, I can't leave while you sit here thinking you're a murderer. How can you think that all of a sudden?"
"I always knew it!"
"Ron, there was nothing you could do."
"Leave me alone!" Ron shouted, reaching for his wand. He blasted a spell at Harry, but missed by about a foot. Harry looked at his best friend sadly and Disapparated.