She knocked on the wooden door of the only place she could think of to go. She didn't want to enter, just in case she wasn't welcome, despite knowing how preposterous that was. She knew she was always welcome there.
As she thought about what had just happened, the hopes she had that when she got home, he'd snuggle with Rose on the lounge while she showed off the cute outfits she had bought for Rose and the new work clothes she got herself. The thing that bothered her the most was that the reason she was so late was because she searched for over and hour to find the perfect gift for Ron. He had been looking at a watch in the window of a shop for months, but they hadn't been able to afford it. Now Hermione was going to be getting some money, she wanted to get it for him, as a thank you for being supportive of her working to get her old department up and running again.
Now? Now the watch sat in the bottom of her handbag, which she had collected on her way through the living room towards the back yard before she apparated to the front gate of the house she now stood in front of. Now, tears streamed down her face, splashing onto the cheeks of a sleeping Rose and Hermione stood on the doorstep, feeling ashamed and embarrassed.
She heard footsteps on the other side of the door and stepped back one step, before the door swung open.
"Hermione? What are you doing here so late?" Molly asked.
"I… We just need a place to stay for a few days. Can we come in?" she asked.
"Of course, dear, of course, come in out of the cold" Molly said.
Hermione entered the warm, calming friendly house. Nothing had ever hurt her here. Nothing could be bad here. The Burrow was the perfect home.
"You can take Ginny's old room dear, the crib is set up and you have the floor to yourself" Molly said.
"Thank you, Molly" she said, making her way to the stairs and climbing them slowly without another word.
That night, Hermione cried herself to sleep, wondering how her life had become such a mess. She loved Ron. She really did. She loved who Ron used to be, before the war messed him up, before he felt rejected by Rose. If she thought hard about it, their relationship had never been perfect, but it worked. When she was working, before Rose, things were great. They ate at The Burrow more nights than they ate at their own home and they had dinner with Ginny and Harry on other occasions. It was probably only two or three nights a week that they actually spent time at their own home alone for dinner. Those nights were great. They shared the cooking as well as a bottle of wine and actually enjoyed each other's company. Hermione realised, they needed to get back to that. Back to enjoying each other again. No more resentment, no more judgement. She didn't want to break it off with him, despite the fact that she loved him, she didn't want Rose to come from a broken family and she didn't want to lose the Weasleys.
"Tea dear?" Molly asked as Hermione came down from breakfast with Rose in the morning. George was at the table, face behind the daily prophet and Hermione tried her hardest not to pay him any attention.
"Thank you" Hermione said, placing Rose down on the floor, much to her dismay.
Molly left the dining area after handing her a cup of tea, Hermione assumed, to give her some space, for which she was grateful for. The last thing she wanted was 20 questions about what on Godric's green earth she was doing here.
Rose clung to Hermione's leg, crying without tears, saying "up, mummy, up, up".
George looked around from the paper and with the laziest flick of his wand, transfigured a highchair from a stool, complete with a beautifully engraved R on the back. Hermione just look on in awe.
"How do you… never mind" she said, as she picked up Rose and deposited her in the highchair, instantly bringing her near tantrum to a halt.
"She just wants to see what's going on, that's all" George said.
"How is it you know so much about babies, yet you have no children of your own?" she asked fixing Rose's breakfast.
"Keen observation skills" he said, handing her a spoon.
"I bet you observed a lot more than you bargained for last night?" she asked, not looking at him.
"Ron's a git. But you know that. This has happened before, just give him time to come to his senses and he'll change" George said. Hermione knew what 'before' George was talking about and on that occasion, it led her to his arms.
"Why thank you, wise one for your advice…" she began. "I guess I seemed a bit mental last night?" she asked.
"Ron was the crazy one. The guys all gave it to him after you left. He basically told them to shut up or leave. Neville left, but the rest of us stayed to make sure he didn't drink himself to death" George said.
"Was he alright?" she asked.
"He'll be ok" he said. "He'll see what he's done" he added.
"Let's hope so. I still… I don't even want to talk to him right now though, you know? He embarrassed me, he made me feel completely worthless" she said, spooning Rose's breakfast into her open mouth. She reminded her of a hungry baby bird.
"I know. I get it… Don't worry, I've got your back" he said, folding the paper as he stood, rustling Rose's hair and leaving Hermione and Rose alone.
It was quiet. Far too quiet for the Burrow. Everyone had now moved out, except for George, who hadn't been back to the flat above the shop since losing Fred. He even switched rooms, moving to a lower floor of The Burrow, far away from the constant reminder that Fred was gone. It took him at least a year of intense mourning in the time after the war to even begin to show signs of his old self again. Now… George wasn't the same George he was before the war. She doubted he ever would be. She often saw him hesitate when he spoke, still never really coming to terms with the fact that no one was there to finish his sentences.
As Hermione finished up her toast and tea, she heard a faint crack from the fence-line. She knew before she looked out the window that it was Ron. She hastily collected Rose out of her chair and carried her up to Ginny's old room, determined to wait it out till he left.
She spent the time setting up the room so she could be comfortable in there, unpacking the clothes with a wave of her wand and packing them away in the cupboards. She was grateful that Ginny had taken everything she owned when she moved out to the renovated Grimmauld Place.
Hermione remembered feeling completely perplexed when Harry told her what he had figured out about the townhouse after the war. It turned out, that the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black hadn't taken into account what impact muggle methods of building would have on the dark magic of the place. As soon as Harry had started taking walls out using muggle tools, he knew he had found the right method. Walburga's portrait, among other interesting artefacts that still littered the townhouse in mid-1998, was gifted to the Wizarding museum, which had been set up after the war. Hermione was yet to visit the museum, but she could imagine the portrait of Sirius's mother, screaming through the soundproof glass at the passers-by. She had, however, visited Grimmauld place since its renovations had taken place and at the time, had been completely gobsmacked at how much it had changed. The once dark gloomy townhouse had been painted with slightly off-white walls and filled with light magic that only came from the type of love that Harry and Ginny shared. They had installed skylights that lit the stairway and replaced the small kitchen windows with bigger ones to let light into the basement cooking space. They had taken three years to transform that place into their home, but if you visited now, you would never know that it was once a house of horrors. Of course, Harry kept a room dedicated to Sirius, the one with the family tree. He lined the walls with photos and memorabilia and every now and then, he'd take little James in there and show him photos of the people who were lost to the war.
Hermione finished unpacking and sat in the room in silence, listening for any sounds of yelling. She wouldn't deny Ron the ability to return to his childhood home, but for now, she would not see him. And if someone tried to make her, she would refuse. This was a sanctuary and if suddenly, it wasn't, she would find a place that was.
Hermione opened her eyes as the afternoon sun streamed in the window. Rose was asleep beside her on the bed and Hermione wondered how long they had been asleep for. She didn't remember falling asleep, only that she had been reading to Rose on the bed. The book sat on the bedside table and a blanket had been placed over them.
Hermione got out of bed slowly, careful not to wake Rose. If her estimations were correct, she still had another hour left of her day nap.
She opened the door with a creak and crept out into the landing, placing a monitor charm on the room so she'd know of rose stirred.
In the stairway, she bumped into George, who was going up as she was going down.
"Ah you're awake" he said.
"I didn't even know I was asleep" she said.
"I came to find you when Ron left but you were both asleep, so I thought I'd leave you be" he said.
"Thanks, I probably needed that" she said.
"You want tea or something?" he asked.
"Definitely. But its ok, I'll get it" she said.
"I am under strict instructions from the matriarch of the house to ensure you are adequately hydrated so if you will, accompany me to the kitchen where I shall carry out my duties" he said.
"Wow… alrighty then" she muttered as she followed him down the stairs.
They sat talking for the next two hours, undisturbed by anybody. Molly had gone out for the afternoon and Arthur was at the ministry. Rose was taking an exceptionally long nap, which Hermione was grateful for. She needed some time out. Some adult time.
After talking through her relationship woes with George, the only person she had ever been truly up front with, she felt so much lighter.
"You know, I thought that after… you know… what happened years ago, that we wouldn't be able to sit and talk like this" she said, referring to when they once kissed.
"Merlin Hermione, that was a drunken mistake" he said.
"Well, I still feel quite guilty about it actually" she said.
"Nothing to be guilty for. You and Ron had broken up at the time, we were both drunk out of our minds and I was incredibly messed up. Plus, two people like us can't be single in the same room together for long before we're bound to be pulled together" he said.
Hermione laughed.
"Two people like us?" she asked.
"Yes, two smart, attractive, funny, decent human beings" he said.
"Well, speak for yourself" she said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.
"Smart? Ok. Funny? I doubt it. Attractive, please George, I've heard better jokes from Percy" she said.
"See? That was funny. You're funny" he said, feigning a laugh. "But also, it's not a joke. You are an attractive witch, Hermione" he said.
"Yeah, George, ok" she said, picking lint off her sweater.
"I'm serious. If Ron doesn't pick his game up, I'm making a move" he said, getting up as Hermione's wand sparked with notification that Rose was now awake. "I'll get her" he said, climbing the stairs.
AN - Thank you all for sticking by and keeping up with me. Its been an incredible week. Its a long weekend so i hope to spend ALL day Monday, writing.
I'd like to thank you, Chalice13, for sharing your story. Its not hard to live through it and then share it with strangers. So thank you. And you're so right. You never think it will happen to you and when it does, you think of every excuse and reason to sweep it under the rug. And its completely about control, manipulation and instilling weakness within the victims very being.
SereniteRose, as always, your reviews are great. Ron is just this narrative's bully. I hope that when i finish writing this, i can find some redeeming ff's where Ron is the good guy. I'm yet to read any though.
If you're glad that Hermione got out, hold your horses. This story still has a long way to go.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS EXPERIENCING VIOLENCE IN THE HOME, PLEASE REACH OUT FOR HELP. You may not be ready to leave yet and thats ok. It can take an average of three times before someone successfully leaves. Just tell someone. Make a plan so that if it does get bad, you have an exit strategy. If you're in Australia, the national hotline for domestic violence for men and women is 1800RESPECT. There are apps you can download that have loads of information, links, emergency alerts and more. If your life is in danger, call emergency services in your country (000, 911, 999 etc)
UK hotline - 0808 2000 247
US hotline 1800 799 SAFE (7233)