A/N: So I swore to myself i wasn't going to post this story before I had more written but I have no self control and I got really excited to see what you guys would think so I'm posting it now. Just like the Next Gen story, however, it is a work in progress and updates will be scarce for the time being since I'm trying to write both stories at once (I don't know how some of these authors do it). Anyway, I hope you guys like it. Please review!
Tallyho!
Chapter 1:
Hermione hesitated before opening the front door to her flat. Today was the day: the day she would break off her engagement with Ron. For the last few months she had been feeling nothing but dread as the wedding approached and she finally acknowledged why: she no longer loved Ron the way she once had. Sure, she still loved him but only as a friend. One year ago, she couldn't wait to be Mrs. Ron Weasley and start her life with the man she had loved since she was fifteen but now, she wasn't so sure that's what she wanted anymore. All she knew was that she wasn't about to marry Ron out of pity. She wasn't that kind of person and Ron deserved better than that. He deserved to marry someone who was madly in love with him and, sadly, that person was no longer Hermione.
Finding her resolve, she took a deep breath and opened the door. "Ron?" she asked, walking into the mudroom. "Ron, are you here?" She asked again as she placed her bag and shoes on the small table next to the door. "I'm in here, Hermione," she heard Ron reply. Taking another deep breath, she walked into the living room to find Ron sitting on the couch looking nervous. Immediately, she knew he could tell something was wrong. She swallowed.
"We need to talk," they said at the same time. Hermione's brows furrowed at Ron. "You go first," he said. She shook her head and sat down next to him on the couch. "No, you- you go first."
He nodded and took a deep breath, seeming to struggle for words. Finally he put his head into his hands and sighed. "Hermione, I'm so sorry."
She tensed. "Sorry for what?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level.
"I- I can't marry you."
She blinked. "What?"
He looked up at her with sad eyes. "I just don't feel that spark anymore. We're too different and we have different goals for our lives and our careers are pulling us in two different directions which is causing us to grow apart. I love you, Hermione, but I can't marry someone I'm no longer in love with. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."
Hermione let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. It was true that work had been causing them to grow apart. Ron was the star Keeper for the Chudley Cannons quidditch team and Hermione was the head of the Spell Damage ward at St. Mungo's. They had been so successful in their careers that they barely had time for each other anymore. This wasn't the cause of their waning feelings however; it was only a factor. No, their relationship was coming to a close because the spark had just slowly died. No one was at fault. They just no longer loved each other as they once had. Hermione bit her lip before looking at Ron with soft eyes. "Oh, Ron. I- I've been feeling the same."
Ron looked at her curiously. "Really?"
She nodded. "Don't get me wrong, Ron, I adore you but I don't think we'd be right for each other. We're just too incompatible and in the end, I think we'd probably kill each other from that." Ron chuckled quietly. Hermione sighed. "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, too."
His eyes softened. "Of course, I forgive you! I can't blame you for feeling the exact same way I am."
She gave him a small smile. "And I forgive you too." She looked down to her left hand slid her engagement ring off and handed it to Ron. He shook his head. "No, keep it. I bought it for you."
She shook her head and took his hand in hers. "No; you bought it for the woman you're going to marry." She placed the ring in the palm of his hand and curled his fingers around it. "You're going to make someone very happy someday, Ron."
Ron gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand with his free one. "You will too, Mione."
She took a deep breath. "Um… are we- are we going to be okay? I mean, is our friendship going to be okay?"
Ron gave her a reassuring smile. "You know you'll always be my favorite girl, Mione. Of course we'll be okay."
Hermione pulled him into a hug. "Thank you," she whispered. They stayed in the embrace for a few more minutes. When she pulled out of the hug, she gave him a small smile. "Don't tell Ginny this, but you'll always be my favorite Weasley."
Ron chuckled and brushed a curl behind her ear. Both knew that the lack of sparks they felt when they touched meant that they had made the right decision. Hermione sighed. "Now what?"
The redhead thought about it for a moment. "I guess we let everyone know and cancel everything. Then we try and continue life as normal as possible."
She nodded. "I guess I'll head over to my parents place and let them know."
Ron nodded in agreement. "I'll head to the Burrow and tell everyone over there. Are you still going to come to dinner tonight?"
Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't think that'd be such a good idea since everyone will be trying to figure out what went wrong. I think I'll just take my parents out for dinner or something."
"Okay." He hesitated before speaking again. "I'll come by tomorrow to pick up my things if that's okay with you?"
She nodded. "Of course. Come by whenever it's convenient for you."
He nodded and stood up. Hermione followed suit. They hugged once more, both relieved that the break-up had gone much smoother than expected. Hermione pulled out of the hug and smiled at the redhead. "I should get going if I want to catch my parents before dinner."
He smiled and nodded in agreement. "Me too." He walked over the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder. "Give your family my love, won't you?" Hermione asked.
He grinned. "Of course. See you around, Mione."
"See you around, Ron."
And then her ex-fiance disappeared behind a green curtain of flames.
To say Helen Granger was surprised to find her daughter on her doorstep at six in the evening on a Friday was an understatement. Hermione usually went out with her friends or Ron on the weekends and would only come by her parent's place once in a blue moon during the week. So to have her come by on a Friday was a bit unexpected. Still, she was always happy to see her daughter and welcomed her with open arms.
Hermione smiled and kissed her mother on the cheek. "How are you, dear?" Helen asked.
"Well, mum, I have some news that I'd like to talk to you and dad about. Is he home?"
Her mother nodded and looked at her suspiciously. "He's in the office."
Mother and daughter walked down the hall and to the office where the Granger patriarch was sitting at a desk typing furiously at his computer. "Tom?" Helen said.
"Yes, dear?" he replied, distractedly.
"Hermione's here."
Her father looked over to the door and grinned as he saw his daughter. His work forgotten, he walked over to his daughter and wrapped her in a big bear hug. Hermione chuckled as she enjoyed her father's embrace. "Hello, pretty," he replied, pulling back and looking at her. "What are you doing here?"
She took a deep breath. "Well, I have some news that I wanted to talk to you two about. Do you think we could sit down?"
Her father nodded and sat her down in a big plushy chair then he sat next to his wife and looked at his daughter expectantly.
"It's about me and Ron," she began.
"Oh my God, you're pregnant!" her mother gasped.
Hermione's eyes widened. "No no no!" she denied quickly. "No, I'm not pregnant. If I were, this would be much more complicated," she muttered to herself.
Helen seemed to visibly relax. "Thank goodness! I love you, honey, but I'm not ready to be a grandmother just yet."
Hermione gave her mother a small smile. "Believe me, I'm not ready to become a mother anytime soon either." Her parents chuckled and Hermione sobered. She leaned forward and clasped her hands together. "No, what I wanted to talk to you about was…" she hesitated. Just spit it out, she told herself. "The wedding is off," she finally said.
Her parents stared at her confused. "What do you mean the wedding is off?" her father asked. "You seemed all set to go."
She bit her lip. "Remember when I came to you guys a couple months ago with some doubts about my feelings for Ron?" Her parents nodded. "Well, those feelings never went away. If anything, they just continued to get stronger and stronger until I couldn't take it anymore. I realized that I didn't love Ron anymore-at least not romantically-and I decided to break it off. Ron beat me to the punch today, though, and expressed that he's been feeling the exact same way I have. We talked it over and agreed that it was best to just call everything off and remain friends. Then he went to the Burrow to tell his family and I came here to tell you guys."
Her parents thought about what their daughter had said and remained silent for a few minutes. Then finally her mother spoke. "How do you feel about the whole thing, honey? In all honesty."
"In all honesty? I feel… lighter." And it was true. Knowing that she and Ron had parted ways so peacefully meant the world to her and she felt like she could breathe for the first time in months. She knew she should feel bad for being so relieved at her break-up but she also knew that it had been dragging her down for a while now to have the weight lifted off her shoulders was a godsend.
Her mother nodded. "Well, I must admit I am surprised to hear about the break-up but if everything is okay with you and Ron and as long as you're happy, I can live with the change. Everything is okay with you and Ron, right?"
Hermione nodded. "Yeah, it was a very mature and calm conversation mostly because we were on the same page. In all honesty, it was probably the most peaceful break-up I've ever experienced. And we agreed to still be friends. We've been through far too much to let something like this destroy our friendship."
Her parents nodded in understanding, knowing the full story of what happened while they were in Australia and their daughter had been saving the world. "And you're happy?" her father asked.
She smiled at her dad. "Yes. I know it might sound bad but I'm so relieved. I feel like this huge weight has been released off my shoulders and I can properly breathe now."
Her parents smiled. "Well, I'm glad to hear that, honey." Helen said. "Can I make a suggestion, though?"
"Sure," Hermione said.
"Now that the engagement is off, I think you should take some time for yourself. You've been with Ron since the end of the war so you don't really know what it's like to really be on your own. Take some 'you' time: go on a vacation by yourself and learn what it means to be your own person. Discover new things about yourself and allow yourself to enjoy life. I promise it will make a world of difference when you're ready to start dating again."
Hermione thought that over. Although she wasn't crazy about missing work, she liked the idea of taking some time for herself and to learn new things about herself that she might not have discovered had she stayed with Ron. She smiled and nodded. "I'll think about it, mum, I promise. But right now, I'd like to spend some time with you guys. Did you have anything planned tonight?"
Her parents shook their heads. She perked up at that. "How about we get dinner? My treat."
Tom looked to his wife and smiled before looking back to his daughter. "I think that sounds lovely."
"Great! How do you feel about Greek?"
P.S. So, for those of you who read When the Day Met the Night, you guys know that I love Ron so this will not be a Ron bashing fic. As for their break-up, I've read a bunch of fanfics where Ron cheated on Hermione or he left her or some sort of drama and while I've found some of those to be wonderful reads, personally, I feel like Ron and Hermione would have a very peaceful break-up if they grew apart. I've seen (and experienced) many a peaceful break-up and I just felt like this is something that would happen between them. I hope you guys feel the same!
Stay Golden!
