Moving On
" 'Mione, could you come here for a bit?"
Fantastic. Ron was pulling her away from another important case so he could whine about his day or ask her a dumb question. He had been really straining her nerves lately with his insensitivity about her work, her feelings... well her in general. She really did not know how much longer she could handle it. But every time she thought about ending it, she chickened out. They'd spent the past nine years growing up together; had spent the past two years since the end of the war in a serious relationship. But the romance that had begun with a passionate in-the-moment kiss had dwindled into an obligation for both of them.
She was scared. Hermione Granger, who had helped defeat Voldemort, who was already a leading attorney in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry, was afraid of her life without Ron.
For so long now he had been a constant, someone she could rely on and she did not want to face the reality of life where she did not know who she would end up with. If she didn't break it off with Ron, she would have the security of knowing she wouldn't end up alone. She knew it was pathetic, but it was how she felt.
As she closed the scroll she was studying for the current case on Augustus Rookwood, who had recently been found in hiding, she stood up and walked into the living room of her flat. Ron was sitting on the couch, looking rather nervous.
"Oh no, I hope he isn't going to propose. There's no way I could say yes," she thought to herself as she sat next to him.
He took a deep breath, "Hermione, I don't think this is working anymore."
Whoa. That was a shock. She couldn't stop the surprised look from showing on her face. She wasn't surprised by the information, she completely agreed, but by the fact that Ron had been the first to suggest it.
Apparently he took her surprise to mean differently, "I mean, Hermione, it's become a chore to be together. Neither of us really has time between Auror training for me and casework for you...Er... and it's not just that. We don't actually want to... er... I mean it seems like you don't and it's been hard for us...er"
As he spoke he turned back into that silly, awkward fourth year student who was jealous of her dating Viktor Krum and didn't know how to express it. She needed to save him.
"Ron, I know. We just aren't meant for a relationship. We are basically just friends who snog right now, and we haven't even been doing much of that anyway" she smiled encouragingly, though it didn't fully reach her eyes.
"Oh" he laughed nervously, "Right then. I guess I should be off." he got up and started toward the door. She followed him.
With his hand still on the doorknob he turned around.
"I really do love you, Hermione, but as my best friend." he said, his eyes sad.
"Bye Ron" she said sadly and waved her wand to lock the door when she heard the telltale pop as he disapparated.
She made it to the kettle to make tea before she broke down, crying hysterically.
The two year relationship was over. In a matter of minutes, something she had tried years to make happen was dissolved and left a huge hole in her heart. No matter if she knew it was supposed to end, if she knew she was better off without him. It still hurt immensely, so much that she almost couldn't take the pain.
After twenty minutes of crying on the kitchen floor with her arms wrapped around her knees, she finally had the strength to take her wand and mutter "expecto patronum", watching her otter swim out of the window.
Within a matter of minutes she heard a pop and the familiar sound of Ginny's voice calling "Hermione?" As she went to call back, Ginny walked into the kitchen and saw her on the floor.
"Oh dear. It happened." she said with a sigh and plopped down next to her friend. Hermione let the redhead put her arm around her shoulder and continued crying.
"Now, Hermione, I know he's my brother but feel free to say anything you want about that ridiculous git. We all know he's been treating you terribly these past weeks because he doesn't know how to understand that you two fell out of love."
Hermione chuckled softly through her sobs.
"He really is quite pathetic: he started being a terrible -hiccup- boyfriend so he could distance himself because he knew it was ending -hiccup- why would he do that?"
"Because he's a get who doesn't know how to handle any feelings" Ginny answered matter-of-factly.
Hermione vaguely remembered a time in their fifth year when she told him he had the emotional range of a teaspoon... she really wasn't far off.
After a few more minutes of crying, she sat up straight and sighed deeply. All of a sudden, she felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off of her chest. Despite the continuing after-crying-sobs she was having, she felt as though she hadn't breathed that deeply or clearly in months.
"Sorry, Ginny. I don't even know why I was crying. I feel like a burden the size of a hippogriff has been lifted from my chest"
"You were crying because a two year relationship just ended, Hermione. Even if it was for the better, it's still a loss." she said knowingly.
Ginny had made and levitated a cup of tea from the counter while Hermione was crying and now handed it to her.
"When you and Ron started dating, honestly, it seemed really strange to me. I mean, he's my brother so I can say this, but he's not good enough for you."
Hermione coughed violently on her tea, "Ginny!"
"What? Okay, maybe he's just not right for you. Hermione, you are the smartest person I know. You need someone smart. No one will be as smart as you, that's just a pointless aspiration, but you need a man who can keep up with you when you start on a crazy train of thought. He needs to be able to understand you both mentally and emotionally. And frankly, you need someone who will be in charge, because you are in charge of way too many things in your life."
She stood up and held a hand out to pull Hermione up too. They walked into the sitting room and sat on the couch where, not too long ago, Ron had ended their relationship.
"In case you didn't notice, Hermione, Ron didn't meet any of the needs I just listed." Ginny said seriously.
"And don't try to analyze them to make him fit one. He doesn't" she continued with a smile.
Ginny was right, and Hermione had known it for some time. Ron was fun to date, and she really had loved him, but he was not marriage material for her. They would never work and would simply have made each other miserable.
"Thank you for being such a good friend, Ginny" Hermione said, smiling softly.
"Unfortunately that's all we'll ever be now. I was really hoping to have a sister-in-law I actually liked" Ginny said jokingly, and then her smile turned mischievous. "Unless you'd like to date Charlie?"
Hermione shoved her friend's shoulder gently, laughing.
Ginny spent the remainder of the evening with Hermione. Hermione tried as hard as she could not to talk about Ron, but eventually gave in to her need to vent all of the problems with him.
"Sorry for talking about Ron so much" she said as Ginny was leaving. But she received a stern look in return.
"If you didn't want to complain about him, I would be surprised. And it's okay that you're going to vent for a while about it. But eventually, you're going to have to let go of the resentment for these last few months. Okay?" she ended cheerfully and Hermione merely nodded.
Ginny disapparated off of Hermione's front mat before the door even closed behind her. Hermione went back to the bedroom she had converted into a study and decided that she would devote herself to her work, instead of finding a new man. She wouldn't worry about relationships for a long time.
A/N: This is going to have a few more chapters so keep a look out if you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot line and my word choice. The rest is J.K. Rowling's magic.
