Getting Over It

Thanks to –

yellowrosesinateacup,
illyria-light,
Morena-Forever,
RandomSmirf13,

Chapter 5
Get Away

The first thing Hermione did was reach for the bottle, three drinks down the line she still felt awful. Curled up on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around her she let the tears dripped down onto her shirt, making patches of dampness all over it. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't even think. The only thing spinning through her mind was.

This can't be it, he can't have left me, how can I cope alone?

This was the most daunting thought for Hermione, having to live alone. She had never been alone, in all her years. She had gone from home, to Hogwarts, to sharing a house with Harry and Ron and then to moving in with Mark and getting married.

She had also never had a job; she hadn't needed one when she had been living with Harry and Ron, as it was Grimmauld Place, belonging to Harry already. There was no rent and she hardly ever had to pay for food. Then, when she had met Mark and fallen pregnant it had been him to get the job and earn a living. Although Hermione had the smarts she didn't have the experience that the job market was looking for. This was her main worry: being alone and not being able to support herself or her children.

It was a mercy, that evening when a flame shot up into the fireplace and Ginny stepped into the living room. As soon as she saw Hermione she knew instantly what had happened, she rushed over and wordlessly pulled her into her arms.

"Oh Hermione!" She sighed, not knowing what to say to offer sympathy.

"H-he's w-wa-was ch-cheating on m-m-me!" Hermione shocked out through the sobs.

"That bloody bastard!" Ginny hissed, "How the hell can he do that to you?"

"A-an-and h-he sa-says th-th-that we have to se-sell the hou-house, I ca-can't aff-afford to b-buy him ou-out!" Hermione wailed.

It was half an hour before Hermione calmed down enough to string together a full sentence and explain what had happened.

"He says that we have to sell the house or I have to buy his half of it." Hermione said sadly.

"Why can't you take him to court? He's walking out on you so you should get to keep it." Ginny said with fury.

"I said that to him, but he says if I cause a fuss of delay the divorce that he'll claim custody on the children."

"He can't do that!" Ginny yelled.

"Yes he can, he can take them, he's got a house and a job and money and everything, I'm just a useless ugly woman who couldn't even keep her husband. She's older than me you know, by four years! He left me for a woman four years older than me!"

"You are not useless Hermione, you have raised two wonderful children, you are a great mother, and were a wonderful wife. The amount you had to put up with I'm surprised you didn't kill the bloke. I know you didn't want to see it before but you have to now, look back and think about the way he used to treat you, it was awful wasn't it? He used to fly off the handle all the time and you used to do whatever he said." Ginny told her trying to be sympathetic, "You are so different when you're around him; he treated you more like a maid than a wife most of the time."

At these words Hermione started to think about all the times she and Mark had been together, and realised with a great gust of shock that Ginny was right. She had happily settled into the role of housewife and had become the mother figure, the one that cooked, cleaned, washed and looked after everyone. Mark had happily taken advantage of this fact and had let her do everything.

She then thought about the times when she wasn't with Mark; when she saw Harry and Ron, or visited Rachel, or gone shopping with Ginny, she was happy, loud and able to relax.

"But I still love him." Hermione croaked.

"Then you're crazy." Ginny said, unable to keep it to herself.

A small part of Hermione's mind agreed with her friend.

--

The next afternoon Hermione travelled back to her parents' house and picked up her children. She wanted to have someone else in the house, the fact that the house was empty emphasised the fact that Mark had left her and the fact that she was now alone.

Once the children were back Hermione had to get on with things, she couldn't brake down in front Millie and Sam, when her children were around she had to be strong. Being strong all day helped her; she learnt to get on with things and block out all the pain.

--

A month passed and a 'For Sale' sign appeared in the front garden of the house. Hermione wasn't allowed to show people around the house; Mark didn't think that she could be trusted to do it without trying to put people off in able to buy herself more time in the house that she wanted to stay in. Whenever there was a viewing Mark would turn up and show them round, focusing on all the good points.

Divorce papers turned up, delivered by a large black, scary looking owl. Hermione sadly signed them and sent them back, knowing that if she took too long on returning them he would begin proceedings about custody of the children.

The papers said that Hermione was able to keep all the furniture and have shared custody of the children.

--

Another week passed and Hermione started spiralling into a pit of despair, she still had no house to move into and had no job to earn money, she was living off benefits at that time, but that scarcely cover the shopping bill and clothes that Millie and Sam needed.

One evening Ginny came baring good news.

"I've been thinking," she said as she stepped out of the fireplace, "remember your birthday present? Well I think that you should still use it?"

"What that book? How can I use that? It's not like it has a cure for going through divorce."

"No stupid!" Ginny groaned at Hermione's slowness, "I mean the holiday! You should still go on it! In fact why don't I get a ticket and come with you? I'm sure that there'll be enough room in the villa."

Hermione thought about it for a while before smiling, "Yeh why not! It's already all paid for, it shouldn't go to waste."

"And better still Mark paid for it all!" Ginny said and the two began laughing.

"Ok great, I'll get you the number and see if you can get on the same portkey as us." Hermione said and went to find the tickets and information.

--

A couple of months passed and Millie and Sam started school. They both loved their new surroundings and Hermione started to get used to being in the house on her own. Finally half term came, bags were packed and the four of them got ready to go to Australia. Their portkey was at seven in the evening of the first Saturday of the holidays. The first thing that struck them was the heat as their knees buckled as they landed.

"Oh wow!" Ginny exclaimed as stood up and looked around her, putting on her sunglasses.

Sam squealed with delight looking at the villa they would be staying at. It was large and had palm trees in the front garden. They rushed inside and looked about themselves.

"Wow! Look at the bedrooms!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Look at the pool!" Ginny laughed running into the back garden to look around.

They spent the whole afternoon running around and grinning with happiness at the place they were staying. The villa was part of a whole complex so that evening Millie and Sam went down to the club to see the magical firework display. Hermione and Ginny stayed in the villa and cracked open a bottle of wine.

"See aren't you glad that you came?" Ginny asked as she stretched out on one of the sofas.

"Very." Hermione nodded, "This is the first night I haven't felt like crying."

--

The next morning Millie and Sam were eager to get out of the villa and down to the club to meet the children they had befriended the previous night; Beth and Nick.

It was mid afternoon before they returned.

"Mum! Beth and Nick are going to play a game of miniature golf can we go with them?" Millie called as they ran inside.

"You've been with them all day! I'm sure their mother won't want to have to look after you two as well." Hermione told them and they both pulled a face.

"She said we could go!" Millie whined.

"Well how about I come down with you and check that it's ok with her, just to be sure." Hermione said and the three of them set off together leaving Ginny to work on her tan.

They arrived at another villa and Sam happily knocked on the door. A woman opened the door; she was short with blonde hair and large bags under her eyes.

She would be pretty, Hermione thought, if she didn't look constantly worn out.

"Hi I'm Hermione Walker, I mean Granger sorry; I'm Millie and Sam's mother."

"Hi there I'm Alison. You're divorced too?" She asked with a half smile.

"Yes, did you know?" Hermione asked.

"I changed my name back when I got divorced too; it took me ages to get used to my maiden name again." She told her and Hermione relaxed a little, she found someone to empathise with her.

"So, I came to check that it was ok that the kids go miniature golfing with you?" Hermione asked

"Oh yes of course! It will give Nick and Beth someone to talk to and it means I don't have to play." Alison laughed.

"Ok well let me cook you and your family dinner tonight as a thank you." Hermione said with a smile.

"That would be lovely, oh but my brother is with me too, I hope you don't mind?"

"No of course not, that'll be great."

Hermione stopped off on the way back to the villa at the small shop to get food to cook for that evening. As she walked out of the door the person in front of her's bag handle broke and the contents tipped out all over the floor.

"Oh bugger!" He exclaimed and bent down to start picking it all up.

Hermione stooped down to help him.

"Thank you." He said as she placed the food into the other bags her was carrying.

Only when he spoke did Hermione recognise him. "Oliver? Oliver Wood?"

"Yeah that's me, how did you know that?" He asked, frowning slightly.

"I'm Hermione Wa-Granger. I was a friend of Harry's at Hogwarts." She explained and recognition finally spread across his face.

"Oh yes of course! Hi, how are you? How life been treating you?" He asked her with a smile.

"Not too well actually, I'm in the middle of a divorce at the moment, I'm here with Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister, and my two children."

"Oh I'm sorry that your marriage didn't work out." He said and Hermione felt like he was really being sincere.

"Thank you," She smiled warmly, "So what about you?"

"Pretty much the same, I've just come out of a long relationship, came here to get away with my family."

They stood and caught up for a few more minutes before Hermione excused herself, telling Oliver that she needed to begin preparing the meal she was cooking for that evening.

--

"Guess who I just bumped in to!" Hermione declared as she joined Ginny out in the sunshine of the garden.

"Who?" Ginny asked, yawning and starching herself out.

"Oliver Wood." Hermione told her.

"From school? What's he doing here?"

"Holiday duh!" Hermione laughed and whacked her with a magazine that was lying about.

"You know what I meant! So that's what took you so long, you and him were getting chummy?" She teased.

"No I was at the shop; I invited Alison and her brother and kids for dinner tonight I needed to get some food." Hermione told her while rubbing sun tan lotion into her skin, she had put the food on to cook it would be an hour until she needed to check it, until then she could work on her tan.

--

At five thirty that evening Millie and Sam happily bounded through the door followed by two other children Hermione took to be Beth and Nick. Alison stood on the doorstep with another figure stood behind her.

"Come on in!" Hermione called as she pointed her wand at the saucepan making the wooden spoon sat in it stir the contents.

"Hermione this is my brother, Oliver." Alison said as they joined her in the kitchen and for the second time that day Hermione found that she was face to face with Oliver Wood.

--

Everyone had a lot of fun that evening, it was spent telling countless embarrassing tales of Oliver's youth by Alison and Hermione and Ginny reminding him of how Quidditch obsessed he had been.

Sam had been in awe of him, he was one of his teachers at his school. And to see a teacher out of school, let alone be allowed to call them by their first name, was a rare treat for a seven year old.

For the rest of the week the two families spent the days together, sharing looking after the children and cooking meals. They all got on very well and on the last night exchanged addresses so they could keep in touch by owl.

--

It was nine o' clock when the portkey left to take them back home, dropping Ginny off first then transporting Hermione, Millie and Sam to their home. Still in high spirits the three walked up to their house and Hermione got out her key. She tried and tried again but it would not fit into the hole.

After a few minutes a man opened the door looking very angered.

"Can I help you?" He snapped.

"This is my house!" Hermione exclaimed.

"No it isn't we signed the deeds to it at the start of the week, we moved in three days ago." He told her.

"What? No I live here; Mark said that he'd wait until I found a house!" Hermione wailed, forlorn realising what her ex-husband had done.

"Wait you're the wife right? He left you something. Hold on." The man told her, shutting the door. A few minutes later he opened it again and handed her a piece of parchment. "Now please leave my property." He shut the door again and this time Hermione heard a click as the door was locked.

Hermione,

I got tired of waiting for you to get your arse into gear so I took action. All the furniture is in storage in your vault in Gringotts I took my money out of it and have my own now, the key belongs to you. Please find a new place to live.

I cannot have the children on my next weekend as I am throwing a party so I shall see them in a month.

The solicitors say that proceedings are nearly complete and the final papers should be here soon.

Mark Walker.