A/N: My beta, Tristan, said this was the best chapter yet. I tend to agree, though it is short. Please review.

To those who have every felt this way.

Chapter 2: Goin' Out of My Head: An Interlude

Hermione sat back in her big armchair with her latest textual endeavor and a cup of hot tea. But she'd read the same sentence four different times and had finally given up.

Ron was on her mind. As her eyes skimmed the text, all of the words would morph into his name and every picture was replaced with a delicious image of him standing in the doorway, challenging her.

She had known he worked for the UMC, but she'd always hoped to avoid him, as she had been doing for several years now. They had been together in a shy relationship starting the summer before their seventh year at Hogwarts and, soon after graduation, moved in together and turned into very familiar lovers. He was barely nineteen at the time and had been such a passionate man. They were unexplainably happy. Long days of enjoyable companionship and then blissfully heated nights that took her breath away. She loved him then. Then, his mother was abducted by Death Eaters shortly before they defeated Voldomort. Molly was missing for weeks and during her absence Ron had become a wreck. He didn't eat, never slept, and the tension began building between he and Hermione. The pressure built until it's breaking point. One evening they were involved in the biggest row in the history of their relationship and they had both committed unforgivable offenses against each other.

"Ron, you can't try to go and save her on your own. I won't let you!!" she yelled.

"I can go alone and I will go alone, Hermione! We helped fight Death Eaters through our whole childhood!"

"But magic is unreliable when a person isn't trained to use it in battle! You could get hurt or killed, Ron!" she tried to reason with him.

"That is the rationalization of someone who obviously grew up MUGGLE!"

Hermione's eyes when wide and Ron's hand clamped over his mouth in surprise.

"I didn't mean-"

Tears filled her eyes and she stiffened, "I don't know why I've wasted my time trying to protect you! I might be a muddblood, but at least I'm not a pureblood, pauper in a world full of old money!"

Ron felt as thought she had thrown a punch at his stomach. Hermione wanted to throw up.

She grabbed her cloak and turned to leave, but hesitated, "So, now we know exactly what we think of each other. Goodbye."

And with that, she walked out on their life together, slamming the door and apparating away from that house for the last time.

She rubbed her face and sighed. It wasn't the first time she had relived that argument over the years since that night. Sometimes it was more than she could bare but, that didn't keep thoughts of Ron from floating around up there.

Hermione, what are you going to do with yourself? she thought. She didn't have an answer to that, but she had a pretty good idea of what she would do with Ron if he were there.

Crookshanks, now feeble and skinny, jumped slowly up to Hermione and lay down in her lap.

"Crookshanks," she whispered, "I am in trouble."

Ron had seen better days. After he left the morning briefing where he'd encountered Hermione, he'd slammed his fingers in the door of his office, nearly splinched himself apparating home, and then burnt his dinner to a pile of ash in a final, successful attempt to make it the worst day of his natural life. He finally gave up the ghost and realized that the only way to prevent these things from happening was to sit still. But, when his body stopped moving, his mind began to wander.

He set his half-empty glass on the side table and let his head fall into his hands. Her picture was burned into his mind. When the door had opened that afternoon and he found himself face to face with his past, her looking...unbelievable. He'd nearly had a heart attack right there. He let his eyes scrape over her figure. Long, beautiful curls had been replaced with a neat, yet massive bun, pinned tightly to her head. Her uniform was flawless, but still hung a bit too snug around her best attributes. He took a deep breath and tried to knock that thought from his mind.

The look on her face made her distaste clear. Merlin, she hated him. Or, at least she wanted him to think she hated him.

He couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth tug upward. He knew her too well and part of him couldn't believe that she hated him. He didn't hate her. She had been too wild, too hot-blooded back in the beginning. They had really had something huge back then and...it had changed her. She went from being a stubborn school girl to an attractive, sexy woman in such a short time after leaving Hogwarts. Ron was totally enamored with her and she was...beautiful.

Still is, he thought.

A rush of sound filled the silence all around his flat. Drumming against the outside walls, an early spring rain assailed his ears. He stood up and went over to the window. He looked out at it and let the vibrating sound lull him into a trance. He opened the window and let the drops sprinkle his face. He needed to feel something...but, no amount of harsh wind or splashes of rain would make him feel the way he wanted to feel. That was an emotion. That was lust. That was passion. She was that. This? This was just rain.

Okay, this is where I really need the reviews to pour guys. I need some encouragement on this one. I'm currently working on a half-finished rough version of Chapter 3. So go, press the button! It's calling your screen name!