Chapter 6

The Scarlet Letter


Authors note: Please be warned – there is some Ron bashing and domestic violence in this chapter. Hermione finally finds out the true nature of her ex-best friend.

The Scarlet Letter is by Nathaniel Hawthorn, I found it to be very enjoyable – though a tad too wordy. Perhaps you might enjoy the movie version instead.


Friday morning.

Damn my body clock – 6 am again. Even though I only got to bed at 1:30 I know that if it's 6 then it's time to get up. I suppose I can always have a nap before the Karaoke spectacular tonight.

I stumble into the bathroom and splash some water on my face, eyes are a bit bloodshot but that's nothing a few eye drops won't fix. Thankfully no hangover, I didn't mix drinks and feel quite alright. Time for a spot of exercise.

30 minutes later I've graduated from a brisk walk to a quick jog and I find myself at the local park. I'm not the only one apparently that can't sleep in this London dawn, there's a group doing some Tai-chi exercises and as I watch the leader nods at me to join in. I do. Tai chi is very relaxing and the body movements feel very organic and remind me of other places and people I have known. As the group finishes my Minnie watch (named after Minerva who gave it to me) tells me it's 7:15. I bow my thanks to the group and their leader tells me in broad Londoner accent that I'm welcome anytime 6:30 am 7 days.

I jog back to the Cauldron with my only thoughts firmly on a large mug of tea. I'm in the door and the morning maid greets me before I ascend the stairs with a worried look on her face.


"What's wrong Janie" I ask placing my hand on her shoulder, I have to lower my face to look into her shy down turned one "Has something happened?"

Young Janie is Tom's niece and she's normally very quiet "There's people waiting for you in your room Mistress" she finally mumbles out.

I look at her and knit my brows. "People" I ask "Who are they, do you know?"

"It's Missus Weazley Maam"

"What would Molly want at this time of the morning" I'm thinking aloud.

"No Maam" she counters quickly "It's the other Missus Weazley and I reckon she's in a bit of bother."

I start to wonder how many Mrs. Wesley's there are in the Wizarding world and conjure my wand just to be on the safe side. It's best to arrive with a show of force especially if I don't know exactly what I'm up against.

Making my way up the stairs I hope my intruder hasn't ransacked the room and found my hand pistol.

I knock and stand back and aside from the door. No sound at first then a small shuffling and the door opens. It's Luna Lovegood's face that pokes out.

"Luna?"

"Hermione" she steps back and the door falls open. I walk in and she sits back on the edge of the bed. First thing I notice is 3 small children curled up asleep.

Luna's face is downcast and her shoulders are slumped. What could have happened, is Ron dead perhaps?

"Luna, what's wrong" I ask her gently as I kneel in front of her.

Her faces rises to meet my eyes, she looks like she's been in a fight. Her eye sports a good sized bruise and her lip is split and bruised as well. I notice that she's also heavily pregnant, maybe 7 or 8 months gone. I reach to touch her face and she tries to move her head so I can't see the marks.

"Who did this to you?"

Her response is barely a whisper as the tears start to roll down her tired face "He did"

He, who is he I wonder. "He who?"

"My husband" the words come out in a hiss like she is naming Voldemort "Ron Weazley."

I rock back on my heels and land in a heap on my bum with a thump "Shit, Ron. Shit" I don't know what to say. Ron can be a sulky bastard but I never imagined he would hit Luna like this.

"When, how, why?" I need to know. I sit cross-legged on the floor and listen.

Her story came out in blurts, interspersed with sobs. It seems that since the last baby was born, he's now 1 years old, things have been going down hill. Ron has been drinking and has been moved to the Reserve team for the Cannons (Quiddich team). He has complete control of all of Luna's assets and has sent her back to work at the Quibbler full-time which she has barely managed with the children in tow. Since he found out she was pregnant again he kicked her out of the house and they have been living in a room above the office of the newspaper. No matter how much money she earned he seemed to spend more than there was. When the eviction and notice of foreclosure on the paper's premises came to her 3 days ago she went to Ron and he beat her up.

Finally she told me "We've been staying at the office until they came to lock us out today. I'd heard that you were here and I hoped that maybe you could sort Ron out for us."

Sort him out – I'll kill the fucking bastard!

"What are Molly and Arthur doing about this?"

Her head bows again "Ron told me to stay away from them, they think I'm filth and don't want to see me."

I'm incensed, Molly would never… would she? "Did Molly actually tell you this or did Ron say that"

"Ron" just one softly spoken word.

"Alright love, you stay here I'll get Tom to send up some breakfast. Try to get some sleep while I sort things out" she looks at me sadly and I just hug her. Poor thing, I'd never imagined it would come to this.

I kiss her on the forehead then give her my wand for protection. "Don't be afraid to use it if he comes OK?" she nods.

I organise things with Tom, then apparate directly into the Kitchen of the Burrow.

"Molly" I call out loudly "Arthur, it's Hermione!".

Molly appears "Hermione Love, how are you" it's the normal smiling Molly I've always known. Wiping her hands on her apron "Are you Ok Hermione?" she looks worried when she sees the look on my face.

"Ron isn't here is he" I look around - no, she shakes her head "Can we sit and talk Molly, it's important" yes she nods.

We sit at the kitchen table, a cup of tea in my hand.

I'm pleased to note that Molly is completely shocked, Arthur joins us. He's shocked too. They had no idea at all that Luna and the children were in dire circumstances. Ron had come to visit and brought a different child each time except the youngest one. He'd told them a variety of excuses over the last few months as to why Luna didn't come to visit. The excuses always had to do with work duties or family sickness. They didn't even know she was pregnant again.

Molly had finally come to the conclusion that maybe Luna simply didn't want to see them. Ron had agreed that was indeed the case and it was best not to push the issue. He was sure it was just a passing phase.

We discussed a battle campaign and grabbed a few essentials before apparating to the Leaky Cauldron.


Molly and Luna cry and hug each other. "My baby girl" Molly cries so much Luna may drown in her tears. The children are gathered and everyone goes downstairs to floo back to the burrow. I warn them to put up defensive barriers to prevent anyone from getting in or out of the house.

I change into business clothes, meaning boots, camos and a beret and go downstairs to where Arthur is waiting for me. A rather disheveled George has joined us leaving Fred to care for the store.

We try to apparate directly into Ron's house but there are wards up and we get catapulted back into the bar room at the Cauldron. No surprises there, however that would mean that his alarm should have gone off and he'd know someone was trying to get in. Next we hold hands and side apparate as close as we can to the property which is just outside Sussex.

It's a lovely house, a country manor – 2 stories with about 7 bedrooms. Our plan is to scout the perimeter eliminating any guards we can and then meet back at the hedge line to report before tackling the wards. Wands out for the men, and then we are off.

I head left and find a security guard with an Uzi. Grabbing him from behind I cut off his air supply just enough to knock him out. Taking the machine gun and his pistol I apparate with him to Brighton Pier, dump him, then apparate back. That should confuse him for a while.

George does the same to another large man with a dog. The dog seems to like George so he apparated him to the shop to find Fred. Fred likes dogs too and agrees to keep him. George then pops back and finishes his round.

Arthur doesn't have our luck and only finds a woman picking oranges from an orchard. She agrees to leave quietly to avoid trouble and apparates to her family home.

We meet back at the front hedge, discuss what we've found and then decide to send Arthur up to the front door. We use the gentle approach first just to see if Ron knows we're here.


The door opens, he's in. I have him fitted with a two way microphone transmitting wire and we can hear all the conversation. The maid tells Arthur that Mr. & Mrs. Weazley are upstairs in the bedroom. Would he care to wait. I hear a thump through the wire, "She's down come inside."

George and I run quietly to the main door, enter, and see the maid asleep in the hall chair. Arthur looks very pleased with himself as he twirls his wand. We fan out and check the downstairs for any other staff, all's quiet.

"Who's this other Mrs. Weazley" I whisper to the men, they both shake their heads and frown.

"No idea" says George. Arthur nods in agreement.

"Must have another woman up there with him" I say.

"I'll kick his arse" Arthur says in a low menacing way I've never heard him use before "we didn't bring our boys up to be disrespectful"

George and I both nod, we believe Arthur. The elder Weazley was a trained Ministry Auror before he moved into administration and he shouldn't be toyed with. I motion that I'll go first, we ascend the stairs.


Arthur motions to the master bedroom, we check it for wards and find none. I cast a quiet locking charm so who ever is inside can't get out. We fan out and check all the top floor rooms.

George finds 2 scantily clad women sleeping together in one of the rooms. We come to interrogate them and discover that they're groupies who've been living as kept women at the house for 6 months. They claim to not know anything. Apparently they are under the impression that Ron loves them, I sigh deeply at this admission. I hear a noise not unlike a kettle boiling and turn to Arthur - he has turned an interesting shade of puce and continues to clench and unclench his fists.

George and I take the women outside and we apperate with them to Knockturn Alley before dumping them unconscious in front of a brothel. We quickly apperate back to the house before Arthur gets the chance to kill Ron.

When we get back we find Arthur in a sitting room hugging a cushion, rocking and softly weeping. George stays to comfort him and I decide to tackle the errant Ron on my own. Ascending the stairs once more I drop the wards on the master bedroom and knock.


"Ronnie, are you up" I use my best girly voice.

I hear a voice from within inviting me in for a threesome. Who ever he thinks I am he sure as hell doesn't know squat.

George appears and we count to three before kicking the door in. The explosion creates screaming from the bed and when the dust settles I'm standing with a pistol pointed at Ron's head.

George grabs the naked girl and drags her out the door, I notice in passing that even in the Wizarding world she is probably jailbait. If nothing else sticks then statutory rape should.

"Hello Ron" I say sweetly "Have you missed me honey?"

At least he looks shocked, I see his hand reaching for the wand on his bedside table.

"Accio Wand" I say, and it flies into my hand. I promptly snap it in two before putting in into my side leg pocket. "No need for wands Ron, lets talk."

"Is this about Luna" he looks worried but tries to hide it "listen she left me Mione, it's all lies, I didn't do anything." He sits up in the bed, the sheet slides down to his lap - I notice he's naked and very white – I shudder.

He couldn't miss the look on my face, pure disgust "Sweetie, you know I still love you, it's always been only you. Come here and let me show you how much I still want you." what a fucking slime ball, he's patting the bed beside him and leering at me.

As he was still patting the bed Arthur steps out from behind me. He'd heard it all and without hesitating for a moment he goes straight over to the bed and punches Ron in the jaw. Ron manages a scream, high and girly, before Arthur grabs him and punches him again.

"You piece of shit" Arthur fumes as he draws back to hit him a third time. George runs in and restrains his father's arm. The bed is covered in Ron's blood as is Arthur's fist. Ron is mercifully unconscious by this stage.


Half an hour later under Auror escort we're at Azkaban prison in a trial room. The on-call Magistrate is hearing the matter, the rape and battery of one Luna Weazley by her husband Ronald; the statutory rape, multiple counts, of Simona Johanson, 14 years; the deprivation of sufficient funds to care for his three children; and the deliberate destruction of one business, namely the Quibbler Newspaper and press.

Our Ministry appointed lawyer is very good. She recommends immediate dissolution of the marriage; all marital funds and goods to be given to Luna Weazley; and Ron to be sentenced to prison for 18 months with a non-parole period of 12 months.

The Magistrate allowed the immediate marital dissolution on the grounds of cruelty and adultery and decided to hold Ron in custody until the rest of the charges could be heard by a higher court. All of Ron's money was allotted to Luna as was the property and sole custody of the children. A ministry official was appointed as Luna's case worker and would take her to Gringott's later to work out the legal settlement and discovery of property and monies.

Molly is holding Luna and they were both crying, the children are safe with Ginny at the Burrow. Harry, George and Fred stand looking at Ron in pity. Even Percy is here and he looks disgusted. Ron's head is bowed into his hands and he was crying.

Arthur and I are standing next to the Lawyer with stoic looks on our faces. We were angry and that anger went beyond sorrow so we shed no tears. We all watch as the guards take Ron away to the holding cell, only Luna and Molly continued to cry.

The Magistrate left and so did the family. Arthur kissed me on the forehead as he left trailing after Molly and Luna. George, Fred and Percy each shake my hand in turn. Only Harry and I are left standing in that cold unforgiving place.


Harry turned to me "I should have known, I didn't see anything. I was blind." A silent tear slipped down his cheek. "Can you ever forgive me Hermione!"

I look at him then, it had been 5 years since I'd last seen Harry. He was a man, strong and handsome yet so vulnerable, still a boy. "It's not my forgiveness you should be seeking Harry. Sometimes we are all guilty of being blind."

I offer him my hands and soon we're hugging each other in silence. It felt just like hugs of old in times of need. "I love you Harry, I always will" no tears, just our hugs in the aching silence.

We flooed back to the Leaky Cauldron together. I simply didn't feel like an outing with Lavender and Padma so I sent word that I couldn't make it tonight. I let it slip that I was spending the night with a man, not telling them who said man was. That at least would satisfy them and get me off the hook.