3

Ron's Accusation

Erin returned home to an empty house. She'd forgotten Draco would be working late at St. Mungo's. In order to calm her shaking hands, she walked into the kitchen to make some tea.

Suddenly, the kitchen door flew open. Erin let out a scream of surprise as a young man with red hair angrily stormed through the door.

"Ron," Erin gasped, clutching her chest, "normal people knock first."

"How could you do this to Harry?" he snapped. "How?"

"Ron Weasley, you had better not be accusing me of hurting Harry Potter in my own house!"

Ron glared at her. "I'll accuse you of whatever I want, wherever I want."

Erin poured herself and Ron a cup of tea. She slammed Ron's cup in front of him and firmly grasped her own. She couldn't stop trembling.

"Drink some tea," Erin instructed. "And then speak to me in a respectful tone."

Ron angrily sipped his tea. With as much as he disliked Erin right now, he had to admit she'd always made a good cup of tea.

"Harry is really upset," he said after calming down a bit. "He just told me the news."

Erin toyed with the ring on her finger. "Is he?" she asked.

"I haven't seen him this broken up since the time you threw him out of the flat all those years ago," Ron replied. "He misses you. I think he even . . . well, loves you still."

Erin said nothing. Ron took a deep breath and continued to speak, "Do you realize he hasn't been with anyone else in five years? All he can talk about is how much he misses you and the good times you two had."

Erin sat down across from Ron and looked him in the eyes. Ever since Ron got married, the spark they once held had disappeared.

"Ron?" she asked quietly.

"What is it?"

"Are you happy?"

Ron didn't say anything for a long time. Instead, he continued to sip his tea. Finally, he replied, "No."

"What's wrong?"

Ron sighed. "It's Lavender. I know she's not right for me—I've always known. But I married her because I thought she was the only one who would ever love me. But the only girl I can think about is Hermione. She's the only girl I ever think about. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I'd never let her get away."

Erin nodded, but didn't say anything.

"That's why I was so angry when Harry told me about your engagement," Ron continued. "I don't want you to marry Malfoy out of convenience and leave Harry heartbroken, left with no one but the first girl who'll say 'yes.'"

"I'm not marrying Draco out of convenience," Erin commented. "And I'm sorry about Harry's current state. But you must remember that things between Harry Potter and I do not work."

"And why not?" Ron asked.

"He's not happy unless he has something to do. All I ever wanted from him was for him to settle down and perhaps give me a child someday. I wanted us to be a happy family. But that's not what he wanted."

"Erin, that was five years ago. We were still at war with Voldemort. Don't you understand? He had to be the one to destroy Voldemort. The prophecy-"

"Yes, I know all about the damned prophecy," Erin interrupted. "I know Harry had to defeat him. But he's still an Auror. He is still a Dark wizard fighter. And I can't have a life of fear, wondering whether or not my husband will come home alive!"

Once again, the kitchen door opened. "You'll never have to wonder that, dear," came a drawling voice from behind Ron.

"Good. You're home," Erin said blandly.

Draco's grey eyes turned from his fiancée to Ron. "Weasley, what are you doing here?"

Ron looked up at Draco and replied, "I came to talk to my friend. That's all."

Draco leaned very close to Ron and snarled, "You came to talk to her about Harry Potter. But what you two need to understand is that Erin is my fiancée, and I'm the one who is going to spend the rest of my life with her."

Ron got up from his seat. "I'll see you later, Erin." He turned to Draco. "Nice seeing you again, Malfoy."

Once Ron had left, Draco poured himself a cup of tea and sat down next to Erin. After a few sips, he turned to her and asked, "What did you do today, dear?"

"Not much, darling," Erin replied. "I visited Hermione for a little while and went for a walk. Nothing special."

"Mmmm," Draco replied, not listening to her.

Erin sighed and got up from her chair. She left the kitchen to go lie down on the sofa in the living room.

Draco walked in shortly after. He sat down on the sofa next to her and stroked her hair. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Draco only called her "sweetheart" when he was truly worried about her. But right now, Erin didn't want to tell him what was up. She wanted to keep it a secret from him.

"Nothing," she replied. "Just tired."

Draco stopped stroking her hair and turned away from her. "It's Potter, isn't it?" he asked harshly.

Erin sat up and looked at the back of Draco's head. "No, it isn't."

Draco turned back to her. "Why are you so tired, my dear?"

"I don't know. Probably all the stress of the wedding," Erin lied.

Draco smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Don't worry, sweetheart. It will all be over in a few months. Then we'll be married, and with my newest promotion, we'll be able to start a family soon after. Would you like that?"

Erin nodded slowly. But, somehow, she didn't think that Draco was the one she should start a family with.

Draco kissed her forehead again and got up. He walked over to his work desk, slipped on a pair of reading glasses, and began thumbing through papers. After a few moments, he stopped, looked over at his beautiful fiancée stretched out on the sofa, and took off his glasses.

"You know you mean more to me than anything else in the world," he told her.

Erin smiled. "I know."

"So, why don't you come over here and distract me from my work?"

Erin rose from the sofa and strode over to Draco's desk. She promptly sat in his lap.

"Is this enough of a distraction?" she asked him.

He put his hands around her waist and kissed her deeply. Once he pulled away, he said, "No, but you could be a much better distraction upstairs . . ."