Chapter 2:
Getting Drunk Without the Aid of Alcohol
Staring deep into her very tall glass, Hermione heaved another sigh, and another.
"Hey baby, what's wrong?" asked the kindly, flirtatious bartender, doing what bartenders do best.
Racking another sob, Hermione said, tears nearly streaming down her face, "Well..." and she lost all her will to tell anyone, "I need a sandwich."
"A sandwich?"
"Yes," she sniffed, "to dry up all the alcohol."
"Alcohol? All you've had is cranberry juice!" she burst into tears and he ran to make her a sandwich.
The bartender returned with an enormous turkey, lettus, mayo, and cheese sandwich, smiling pleasantly at the almost-hysterical woman sitting on the bar stool before him. She scowled, left a one-pence tip, and took her sandwich to sit outside on the lovely rainy day it was in Wales, a day which perfectly fit her mood.
"Hermione?" The rich, friendly, ever curious voice greeted her. It was a voice she hadn't heard since she left Hogwarts.
"Ron!" She leapt off the dingy step leading to the dingy bar. "What are you doing here?" She hastily whipped away the tears remaining on her cheeks.
"I live here now, 'Mione," she scowled at the nickname.
"Ron! I haven't seen you for ages! You weren't at any of the Order meetings and you weren't at the Final Battle and Ron, oh Ron...Harry's dead, Ron, he..."
"I know." His tone was more grave than she had ever heard it, resigned to a fate he hadn't seen.
"Why weren't you there, Ron?" her voice was soft and came out barely above a whisper. He looked at her with a sadness in his eyes that seemed almost as great as her own. She swiftly shoved aside her woes and turned her full attention on him. He sat down heavily beside her feet, she in turn sank down beside him. She waited for him to speak, watching the rain, hardly daring to make a sound lest his wild eyes grow more frightened and he skitter off.
"I did a horrible thing, Hermione." More rain. More silence between them. "I k...I k...I can't." He inhaled a deep, shuddering breath, than stood to go.
"Wait!" she grabbed his hand and pulled him down again, "What did you do, Ron? We all did bad things during the War, it can't be any worse than the rest of us!"
He looked directly in her eyes. His blue eyes, which had one been a bright as a summer's sky were dull. As glossy and lost looking as dust-incrusted sapphires. "I killed Ginny." Hermione took a swig of cranberry juice. "And Fred." She could not bring herself to speak. She tried many times to ask "Why?" but her voice would not leave her throat and all that escaped was a faint hissing noise. "I don't know why. I wasn't possessed. I just..." He shook his head, stood, and walked back into the rain. Hermione's mouth was open as she watched him go. She went back inside and ordered a large cranberry juice, on rocks.
A/N:
I know this was a horribly short chapter, the next one will be longer, I promise, and it will show up sooner. I want you all to wish a Happy Birthday to stellagirlsx6 over at WIKTT, the birthday is on November 7, she's the one who created the challenge
Special thanks to "Random Reviewer" for being the ONLY one to review my first chapter, I hop I haven't lost you in the wait!
Zvez