Never Should Have
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters nor the realm created by J.K Rowling.
She closed the heavy oak doors with a soft sigh. She wanted nothing more than to break down and cry as her thoughts drifted to the press conference that had just been held in the room behind her.
'Ms Granger…' a nasally voice called out over the chaos. 'It is said that you repeated blunders as the Head of the Ministry of Magic will mean that you will be sent packing.' Hermione bit her tongue, holding back on the anger.
'Sir. Whoever told you that was wrong. I have saved the Ministry of Magic from bankruptcy, Death Eater attacks and countless other issues, not to mention I have served for 7 years. My team here at the Ministry hardly wants to get rid of me.' But Hermione knew better. Though she had worked her hardest the past 7 years everything appeared to be falling apart and there was bound to be a mutiny amongst her colleagues.
"Ms Granger?" Hermione was woken from the haunting memory and turned to face a plump woman a couple of years her junior and she forced a bright smile.
"Bonnie." Hermione smiled at her secretary, possibly one of the few that she could trust.
"The Head of Goblin Rights and Responsibilities wants to see you." What does the Old Fart want now? Hermione thought, already dreading the tedious meeting with the aging man. As she followed Bonnie down the corridor, Hermione took in her surroundings, seeing the hundreds-of-years-old arched corridors of a murky marble color. The room was draughty, the cool mid-winter's breeze drifting mercilessly through the already cold hallway. In front of her, Bonnie opened another large oak door and gestured for her to go inside.
"Have fun, Ms Granger." Hermione stepped confidently into the room bracing herself for absolute boredom.
When she finally managed to escape the rantings of the cranky Head of G.R.R, Hermione rushed to her warm office. As she raced through the door, Bonnie looked up at her and stood up to speak. There was a look of concern on the kind woman's face and Hermione felt uneasy. Not more bad news. She'd had enough of her floundering attempts to keep her job; she had worked so hard but recently had made some tough decisions. Not many people had liked the choices she had made and majority of those people had been powerful people in the wizarding world. Letting out a shaky sigh, she turned to her friend and braced herself again for the worse.
"Your husband is in your study. He wants to talk to you. Apparently something of great importance." Bonnie reported gravely. They both knew that this couldn't be good news. Her marriage was falling to bits, but being an optimist, Hermione had clung to the fraying threads of her marriage with utter desperation, not wanting to let go. Hermione flexed her hands and fought the tears back bravely. Today just wasn't her day. Grabbing a mug of coffee, she strode into her office and met a tired Ron, who sat with his head in his hands. The past few months Ron and Hermione had argued relentlessly and she knew that her six-year marriage was coming to an end. The fights hadn't been the ridiculous bickering like when they had been students at Hogwarts. Instead, they were more serious and heart breaking. Being 27, Hermione wanted nothing more than to be popping out children but Ron wanted otherwise. He had told her that they had plenty of time and if she really wanted to spend time with screaming babies she could always visit Ginny and her growing family. But that had just made her even more determined and angry.
"Ron," Hermione looked at her husband. "Now isn't the best time to visit me," she stated calmly even though her heart was pounding at a million miles per hour.
"I know but it's important," he flung back at her. Stiffly, Hermione made her way to her desk and sat down, finishing her coffee in one gulp. She said nothing, waiting for him to speak.
"Look, I know you're having a tough time at work at the moment…"'That's the understatement of the year' Hermione wanted to say. "And I know this isn't the best time but I really think we should get a divorce," he gushed, obviously wanting to get it over and done with. Though Hermione had been expecting this for some time now, she nodded curtly, trying to hide any emotion. Her head instantly went into survival mode and she began to plan what she was going to do and, more importantly, where she was going to live. Absently, she began running her index finger in a small circle on her mahogany desk as she stared into space, deep in thought. She vaguely remembered that she had bought a penthouse apartment a while ago and had been renting it off to people but she hadn't had anyone living in it for months now. Now armed with a plan, she stood and faced Ron with a sigh.
"I guess you are right. I'll go back to the house later this evening and pick up my stuff," she admitted tiredly. Ron looked pleased that she actually agreed with him for once.
"Where are you going?" he asked, curious. After a moment's pause she told him that she would be at the apartment. Ron just stared at her in surprise.
"Isn't that where Harry lives?"
Hermione had forgotten that small fact because, perhaps, Harry had seemingly forgotten her. The last time she had seen him was at her and Ron's wedding and he had been acting strange. Her thoughts drifted for a while and went back to when she was seventeen, sitting at Harry's bedside when Madame Pomfrey had let her see him. She sat there, amazed that he was still alive after the ordeal with Voldemort, when he began muttering in his sleep, twisting and turning trying to escape some unknown assailant. Gently shaking his shoulders, Hermione woke him up and told him that it was just a nightmare.
'Harry… Harry! It's alright, it's just a nightmare," she told him soothingly, taking his battered hand in hers. His gaze was unfocused at first but when he registered where he was he smiled up at her.
Hermione still remembered how her heart had leapt and her stomach filled with butterflies with that one smile. She had known that instant that she loved him. Something had told her that he loved her too but when Ron had proposed to her four years later, Harry had been just as supportive as any best friend would have been. That was, until the wedding came. He had stood at the altar next to Ron with a melancholy look on his face. When the priest had asked if anyone didn't want the two newlyweds to be joined in blissful matrimony, Hermione knew that Harry had wanted to say something but he never spoke up, as much as Hermione wanted him to. Since then Harry had distanced himself and lost all contact with Ron and Hermione. She should have married Harry. Hermione was woken up from her thoughts when the door to her office slammed shut telling her that Ron had left abruptly. She took this chance to let the tears come. The horrible memories coming back: all the arguing, screaming and yelling. Sinking to the floor, Hermione left out a muffled sob and curled up into a ball, letting everything out.
Bonnie became concerned for Hermione when she saw Ron storm out of the room, leaving without saying good-bye. But now Hermione had been locked up in her office for over an hour. Stretching tired muscles, Bonnie moved away from behind her enormous desk and walked down a short hallway to Ms Granger's office. The sight that greeted Bonnie at the door shocked her to the core. Never before had she seen Hermione in such a state, clearly distressed and sobbing uncontrollably on the white plush carpet of her office floor.
