Chapter 29
Arthur Weasley stopped her on the way to her office. "Hermione, how are you? Molly wanted me to invite you for dinner tonight; Ginny and Harry are coming. Have you talked to Ron? He's not here again today."
"I went by there yesterday after work to check on him. He's…why don't you step into my office, Arthur?" she asked, glancing at a curious portrait. "The walls have ears."
Arthur went inside with her and sat down, accepting the coffee she offered him, but not without examining the machine and asking for a filter for his newest Muggle collection. As she sipped her own, she saw his eyes dart to her wrist and realized it was still faintly purple from the night of the club. It felt so long ago that the bruise took her by surprise. She realized that being with Viktor made it feel that way. The peace she felt with him was so different than life here.
Arthur's words interrupted her thoughts. "So, tell me about Ron?"
She sighed. It was so much more pleasant to think of Viktor than to think of Ron. "He's drinking too much, Arthur. He wasn't there when I got to the apartment last night, just Lav—a friend passed out on the couch. He showed up before I left, though, with more beer. Bottles are everywhere and the apartment is filthy. I guess maybe he just doesn't care about anything anymore."
"Is he hurting you?" Arthur asked sharply. Hermione was surprised by the question. Bluntness was normally Molly's specialty. He gazed at her with eyes full of fatherly concern.
"What makes you ask that?" she asked, avoiding answering.
"The bruise on your wrist and the look in your eyes."
"I didn't want to tell you and Molly about everything. You, and Molly especially, will be so disappointed with him."
"We already are, Hermione. Come to dinner tonight, and tell us the truth about him. We've suspected more was up than just the drinking."
She nodded. "I will. I wanted to talk to you today, anyway." She wanted to tell Harry and Ginny first, though. They were her closest friends; they should know before anyone else did.
After dinner, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny stayed in the kitchen to clean up. When the dishes were done, Hermione steeled her nerve and told them she needed to talk to them.
"I'm leaving Ron."
"Oh, I'm so glad!" Ginny exclaimed, and Harry wrapped her in a brotherly hug.
"We've been really worried about you, especially since the night of the party," he told her. "He seemed so violent toward you that night."
"He has been, and I'm not going to put up with it, with the drinking, or with the women. I can do better. I deserve to be with someone that treats me like a person, not like property," she told them, avoiding Ginny's knowing eyes. Hermione continued in a low voice, telling them about the day in the kitchen and the bruises on her back. Harry's fists were clenched; Hermione was touched that he was so angry on her part.
As she finished her story, Molly came into the kitchen, with Arthur and Ana trailing behind her. Ana immediately indulged herself in her favorite pastime, pulling pots out of the cabinet. The adults sat around the table.
"Arthur said we all needed to talk," Molly said.
"Yes, we do," Hermione answered. "First off, I wanted to tell you I'm leaving Ron. Second, I need to tell you why."
Molly patted her arm, with tears sparkling in her eyes. "I know things have been tough on you, dear. You'll always be part of our family, with or without Ron. I hope you'll find someone someday to make you happy."
"Thank you," Hermione murmured, touched that her in-laws could be so kind to her, could love her so much. She told them about Ron's infidelities and his abusive language and behavior. Molly was crying hard by the time she finished, and Arthur looked grim.
Ana toddled over and pulled on Molly's sleeve, obviously distressed to see her in tears. In her sweet little voice, she said, "Ga'ma, no cwy. You can fuck my wife."
Somewhere, in the midst of Molly yelling at Ginny and Harry taking Ana to the other room to talk to her, Hermione was struck by a realization. She could divorce Ron. It wasn't her fault their marriage had failed, and filing for divorce wouldn't be admitting she hadn't succeeded. She had tried, and Ron had ruined it. It hadn't been Ginny's or Harry's fault Ana had made what she surely considered a generous offer to Molly, and they weren't failing anything because she had. Ron had ruined Ana's innocent vocabulary. The two things really didn't compare in scope at all, but somehow Ana's sentence triggered Hermione's epiphany. With tears running out of her eyes, Hermione burst out laughing from relief and joy and a nostalgic pain.