Chapter 4

"Mornin', 'Mione!" Harry called out as she appeared from the fireplace, brushing the dust off of her clothes.

"Good morning, Harry. Is Ginny home yet?"

"She got home about an hour ago. She was at the Wimbourne Wasps match against Pride of Portee to get things ready for her next column in the Daily Prophet. It was a hell of a match from what she said! Olius Oxman is probably the greatest beater they've had since Ludo Bagman! I think they'll be winning the cup this year!"

Hermione chuckled at Harry as she sat down, placing her bag on the table and taking her coat off. "You speak to me as if I know who in the world Ludo Bagman is, Harry!" She laughed a little more as Harry looked at her, dumbfounded.

"Ludo Bagman is probably the single greatest beater that ever lived, Hermione! How about that, I found something that Minister Granger doesn't know." Harry smirked as he teased Hermione.

"Oh please, you know the thing I know least about in the wizarding world is probably quidditch!" She replied, rolling her eyes. Just moments later Ginny emerged from upstairs, tying her hair up into a ponytail as she descended the stairs. A 5 year old James followed closely behind her with his little brother Albus the last one down, taking a little bit more time to make sure he made his way safely down the stairs.

"Aunt 'Mione!" James and Albus called out, hurrying over to the table towards her. She extended her arms out to scoop both of them into a big hug.

"Ohhhhh hi boys! It's so good to see you! Morning Ginny!"

"Morning! Boy, I wish I could get that kind of greeting when I come home from my trips sometimes!" Ginny teased.

Harry chuckled. "They see you much more than they see their Aunt Hermione, love," He responded before placing a light peck to her lips. "Lily asleep?"

Ginny nodded. "She just went down about 5 minutes ago. Mum should be here in just a moment and then we can head to the house to collect your things!"

Hermione had been trying to figure out in her head what would be the best way to make Harry and Ginny aware of her situation with Ron from last night. She knew the moment she told them they both would probably be out for his head. She contemplated not saying anything and just hoping Ron would make no mention of it while they were there, or maybe, just maybe he wouldn't be at the house when they arrived, but that was highly unlikely. So, she felt it was best to just get it out and tell them, at least before they got there so they could have a few moments to cool down before they flooed to her soon-to-be former home.

Hermione was broken away from her inner thoughts when a flash of green lit the room, Molly Weasley emerging from the fireplace.

"Hello Mum!" Harry and Ginny both welcomed, but Molly was too fixated on Hermione to have responded to them. Hermione looked over at her and smiled initially, but her smile soon faded when she saw the look on the woman's face.

"Molly, are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione dear, why didn't you tell me straight away?" Molly's face turning into more of a mixture of both upset and sympathetic. Harry and Ginny both looked on at their exchange quite confused. Hermione glanced at them and then back at Molly.

"I afraid I'm a little conf- -"

"Why didn't you tell me, Arthur, Harry or Ginny about what happened between you and Ron last night?"

"I- - wait who told you?"

"Ron did! The darn fool showed up to the Burrow in the wee hours of the morning and told us what had happened. Broke my poor heart to hear he had acted in such a way."

"Hang on," Harry interrupted. "can one of you please tell Ginny and I what in the world happened last night?!" He eyed them both intensely. Hermione was the first to speak.

"I- -I was getting ready to tell you both before we went to the house. I didn't anticipate Ron having the courage to say anything at all. . ." She glanced at Harry again with sad eyes, and he gave a kind nod for her to continue.

"I returned home from the ministry late last night, I've been trying to catch up on all of the things Kingsley left me with after his resignation. And if I am to be completely honest, I haven't been exactly hurrying to return home when Ron is there, since the finalising of the divorce has caused tension to grow. Ron was half a bottle deep in firewhiskey when I came home to collect some things before going to Senna's house to sleep, and he got quite nasty with me. He accused me of sleeping with someone and when I made an attempt to leave the conversation he- -" Hermione's voice faltered, feeling a lump form in her throat. Tears were starting to develop in her eyes, and she quickly wiped at them.

"He grabbed my wrist very tightly and then he was right in my face, yelling and accusing me. He had me back into the wall when he hit me across the face. . ."

Ginny brought her hands to her face, cupping her mouth, but Harry's face turned furious. More tears formed in Hermione's eyes, and she allowed them to fall down her cheeks. Ginny went straight to her, pulling her best friend into a hug.

Harry's fists were clenched, trying very hard to not apparate right then and there and blow up on his long time friend.

"What in the world has made Ron turn into such a right foul git over this last year or so?! I could strangle him right now. I'm so furious!" Harry yelled. Ginny turned her head to him and stuck out a hand, motioning for him to calm down.

"Harry please, James and Albus are right outside and Lily is asleep. The last thing Hermione needs is you and Ron getting into a big fight as well." She turned her attention back to Hermione.

"It's going to be okay, Hermione. We're all here for you through this transition. It's been difficult and it's going to continue to be, but I promise you're not alone in this and you never will be."

Hermione cried even more at Ginny's words. Going through what she had been going through and putting on her 'Minister for Magic face' was proving more and more difficult as the days had gone on. Despite knowing that she had people around her that would always be there for her, she had a few moments where she felt alone in all of this.

"Thank you, Ginny. All of you. Thank you for being here for me through all of this."

"At least now we do know that Ron is not going to be there when we are." Harry managed to say quietly after giving himself a moment to calm down.

"Let's go get this taken care of," Hermione said. "Senna told me this morning she should be there by the time we get there to help as well."

The move went smoothly, thanks to the help that Hermione had. It started out a little bit of a hassle in the beginning, shuffling around and not having much of a plan as to who would be taking care of what during the transition. But it didn't take long for a brain like Hermione's to come up with a good system, and they soon had all of her things in boxes and situated at her new flat.

"I won't bother you three with my troubles any longer today. I can't thank you enough for all of your help."

"It's never a problem at all, 'Mione. You know that. Let us know if you need anything else, and we'll let you go ahead and get settled in."

"Make sure you have us over for a housewarming party once you get everything unpacked and sorted!" Ginny said.

Hermione nodded. "Duly noted," she replied with a smile.

She spent the remainder of her day levitating boxes to their designated rooms. She was absolutely knackered by the end of it all, a grumbling in her stomach reminding her that she should probably find herself something to eat.

With the nearest shop closing soon, she didn't have enough time to get essentials for the kitchen, so she settled for some leftovers Molly had sent her with from their dinner the night before.

"I probably won't need to go to the store for a week knowing how much food Molly packed up." Hermione chuckled to herself.

She didn't realize how famished she was until she took the first few bites of food, filling her stomach was proving to help give her another boost of energy she needed to do what she was planning to do that evening. She changed her clothes and double checked herself in the bathroom mirror before making her way outside. As she walked away from the mirror she felt an odd sensation on her hand. She looked down and realized her ring was …. vibrating? As she walked away from the mirror, the sensation faded, and she chalked it up to exhaustion. The ring is magical, but certainly not like that.

The flat was only a short walk from the Ministry, and Hermione was looking forward to her daily walks for a change of pace, especially in the autumn weather. That is, depending on what she would be discovering tonight.

She reached the Ministry, apparating to her office just as she entered. It was quiet again, just like yesterday evening. She flourished her wand to flip on the lights and stopped in the middle of the room. She glanced around the several shelves of books she had, looking for one in particular. A recent purchase she had made at a small bookstore in the countryside of France while on holiday just a couple years ago.

"Aha! There it is," she said to herself, walking over and pulling it from the shelf. It was a book listing some theories in regards to parallel universes, and different encounters others had experienced with it within the magical world.

She flipped through it, trying to see if there was anything similar to what she was about to attempt, something suggesting what she could do or a spell she could recite, but she found nothing.

Darn it. . .I guess I'll have to just try and wing this myself.

She placed the book back on the shelf. She conjured up a silver goblet and grabbed the candle from her desk. She took a big deep breath before apparating to the magical artefacts area, popping up in front of the door that led her to the mirror.

She entered, seeing that the mirror was still exactly the way she had left it. She felt her heart start to pound, growing more and more anxious and eager to see if this was going to work. She removed the thick velvety cloth with a wave of her hand, letting it fold itself into a nice square pile on the floor. Taking another deep breath, she lit the candle with another wave of her hand and closed her eyes. She stepped in front of the mirror with the candle in her left hand and the goblet in her right.

At first, nothing happened. She closed her eyes again, and concentrated even more. Nothing, still. She could feel her frustration level rising and she took a step back, knowing that good magic comes from stable emotions. She briefly put the goblet and candle down to stretch out and try to relax her shoulders. She took another deep breath, and subconsciously played with her mood ring. Once she looked into the mirror, the ring flared to life, glowing with a bright, white light. She slowly picked up her amulets, focused and closed her eyes again.

She opened her eyes, and she was both shocked and excited to see that the mirror had definitely changed. The glass of the mirror began to ripple and move, showing a distorted reflection of Hermione. She could've sworn that the reflection of herself was motioning for her to come on. She could see him a little further back. His obsidian eyes locked with her dark brown ones. She stared for what seemed like several moments. Just like the first time she saw him in the mirror, there was little emotion on his face. Nobody would be able to read his features just as nobody was able to all those years ago when he was her professor. But there was something, something in the look that he gave her that she was trying to detect. Hopefulness? Longing? She wasn't exactly sure what he may have been trying to portray, but in the midst of her looking at him to try and figure out what it was, she didn't even realize how much closer she was to the mirror.

Standing just a foot from the glass at this point, she watched as Severus began to walk away from her, looking back over his shoulder, and giving her the smallest nod before turning and walking away, his robes billowing behind him.

Hermione reached the hand with the goblet out, and she watched as it disappeared behind the glass, almost like she had reached her hand into a thick pool of unicorn blood. She looked back, thinking for a moment if this was the right thing to do.

What if I am unable to come back?

But there was a feeling in her gut that told her to continue forward. So, with one more deep breath, she took a step forward and disappeared into the mirror.