Hermione lay in the strange bed, looking around the strange room. The pink walls that surrounded her seemed to mock her pain. She lay there listening to the voices down the stairs, she could not hear what was said but she found the sound comforting. Molly would have finished cooking breakfast by now and the Weasleys would be crowded around the table, enjoying their lives.

She met the eyes of a stuffed unicorn sitting on the desk next to the door. The posters of famous wizards, stripped of their shirts, all seemed to stare at her.

Hermione rolled over, Ginny's old mattress was not the comfiest thing in the world. It was definitely not as comfortable as the bed she shared with- No, she would not think about him. She could not. She felt as if there was a gaping hole in her chest, as if that part of her had gone missing last night, leaving only a bleeding chasm behind.

She knew she would have to face the Weasleys sooner or later. Hermione preferred the latter option, she did not want to have to see them. As soon as she walked down the stairs into the kitchen, she would have to see his red hair, his freckles, his eyes… It was too much for her to even think of.

Hermione, you need to get up, she tried to will herself into getting out of bed, go and eat with your family, well, if you can really class them as your family now…

A soft knock at the door disturbed her thoughts. She lay in the bed silently, hoping that whoever was knocking would believe she was still asleep. The door clicked open quietly.

'Hermione?' Ginny whispered. 'Are you awake?'

Hermione did not answer she only wanted to be left alone. A lone tear escaped her eye and trickled across her face. She did not want to cry, she did not want to waste her tears on somebody who could be callous enough to treat her so horribly.

Hermione heard the door close and breathed a sigh of relief. However, the sigh turned into a cry of shock as she felt Ginny climb into the bed with her.

'Come on Hermione, you're gonna have to budge over, this bed wasn't built for two.'

Hermione moved across to the edge of the bed as Ginny tucked the quilt around them both. She felt a warm arm snake around her waist hugging her gently. Suddenly, Hermione found she could not keep back her emotions. Her single tear became a multitude of wracking sobs, she turned over and buried her face against Ginny's neck.

After a few minutes, she felt the tears start to subside. She pulled back from Ginny and wiped her face.

'Oh, Ginny, I got your top all wet,' Hermione whispered.

'It's okay, don't worry, Hermione. It's one Harry got me last Christmas, it's not as if you've ruined it, though, to be honest, it's not as if I really like it that much anyway,' Ginny whispered conspiratorially, she grinned as she felt Hermione relax a little.

'What am I supposed to do Ginny?' Hermione asked as the tears started to well up in her eyes again.

'Nothing that you don't want to do,' Ginny replied, gently stroking Hermione's face. 'It's up to you what you do now, apart from going to work that is. I flooed to your office today and told your boss you were too ill to come to work.'

Hermione nodded. She did not think she would be able to work very effectively at the moment. She would probably end up backfiring a spell and blowing one of her arms off.

'Also, I thought I should let you know- Ron's here.'

'What?!' Hermione cried.

'Don't worry, Bill and George are getting rid of him now, he's lucky they haven't started cursing him yet…'

'I can't talk to him! Not yet at least.' Hermione was starting to look a little panicked.

'It's okay, Hermione. We told him he's banned from the house, he's been trying to justify what he was doing with Lavender, but we told-'

'Lavender?' Hermione cut in. 'As in Lavender Brown?'

'Yes, I thought you saw her… with him…'

'I… did, but I… well, I tried not to look… it- it hurt too much.'

'Oh, Hermione. If it's okay with you, can I go and beat the skinny bitch up?' Ginny asked. Her face lit up a little at the thought. 'Mmmm, she's only a waif- I'm sure a couple of well aimed blows, maybe an extra strong bat-bogey hex…'

'No, it's okay Ginny, she isn't worth it. He isn't worth it. I know he's your brother but-'

'Right now, he's no brother of mine,' Ginny cut Hermione off, 'You're more family to me than he is. What he did was inexcusable.'

Hermione nodded, 'You're right, it is inexcusable, that's why I don't think I can forgive him. I don't want to forgive him, but Ginny…' Hermione sighed, 'Ginny, it hurts so much to think that it's over.'

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was determined not to cry over him again. Another soft knock at the door made them both jump. They laughed at themselves lightly as Molly opened the bedroom door. The laughter felt strange to Hermione, as if it was slightly forced, she could hear the edge of hysteria behind it.

'He's gone now dear, we've told him not to come over again without letting us know. That way, you can tell him whether you want to see him or not.'

'Thank you, Molly, I'm sorry to put you in this position. You shouldn't be turning your son away for me.'

'Nonsense, Hermione, you are as much my family as any of my children. What Ron did to you… Well, he deserves everything he gets.' Molly looked at Hermione with kind eyes, but Hermione could not help but see the pain behind them. She knew she was not the only one who was hurt by Ron's actions.

'Now, there is food downstairs when you're ready to eat. Please don't be afraid to spend time with us.' Molly smiled and left, gently closing the door behind her.

'Are you ready to go downstairs?' Ginny asked gently.

'Well I've got to do it at some point, I might as well get it over with.'

.

Hermione spent her days at the Burrow doing her chores with the little energy that she was able to muster. She had decided to take her share of Molly's household tasks, so she could feel useful about the house. Molly, of course, was not happy with this, she had tried to make Hermione rest and build up towards getting back to work, but Hermione needed to keep busy.

It had been three weeks since the eventful day which had completely changed Hermione's life. She had still not spoken to Ron, even though he owled everyday begging to be allowed to visit to explain. Hermione could not find it in her heart to see him, she hated him for what he had done. If he was not happy with their marriage, why hadn't he told her?

Hermione tried to find more jobs to do around the house, she could not allow herself to start thinking along those lines again. She had not been to work since the day she had come to known as that day. It was too hard. Her colleagues had informed her that Ron was spending the majority of his days waiting outside the Department of Mysteries. He was waiting to talk to her, but she was in no way ready to hear his pathetic excuses.

It was as she was standing in the kitchen, hand washing the dishes and thinking of how little she wanted to see him, that Ron arrived.

At first Hermione could not believe her eyes. He was a shadow of the man she had seen that day. His eyes were shadowed and slightly sunken, like he had not slept or eaten properly in the past few weeks. His hair was in need of a good cut and his face a shave. He looked a beaten man, yet Hermione could not take her eyes away from him. She must be hallucinating- he would not dare come to the Burrow, would he?

Hermione dropped the plate she was washing, splashing the kitchen with water in the process, it hit the floor with a clatter but did not break. The noise seemed to break Ron out of his trance.

'Hermione…' he started, 'I need to talk to-'

'Ronald! What did we tell you about coming here?!' Molly yelled. The sound of the dropped plate must have concerned Molly, she had previously been in the garden weeding the flowerbeds. 'Hermione, go and wait in the living room whilst I have a word with Ron.'

Hermione practically sleepwalked into the living room. She heard Ron call out her name as she left, but she was in too much of a daze to really listen. She perched on the edge of one of the squashy couches and stared at the empty fireplace.

The voices in the other room were hushed, they obviously did not want her to hear what they were saying. Suddenly, Ron came bustling through the door.

'Hermione, I aren't leaving 'til I've spoken to you!' Ron walked closer to Hermione and took one of her hands. Hermione made no attempt to shake him off but she did not hold onto him either. 'Hermione, you can't keep ignoring my letters, we need to discuss what happened… what happens next.'

'Ronald Weasley,' Molly chided, 'do not make me call your brothers!'

'It's okay, Molly,' Hermione croaked, as she fought to hold back the tears, that she promised herself, she would not allow to spill. 'He's right, we should talk.'

'Well, Bill will be here in half an hour, so Ron,' Molly looked at him pointedly, 'behave yourself!'

Molly left the room muttering to herself about disappointments and doing wrong.

Ron looked at Hermione, but she could not bring her eyes to meet his. She could feel his thumb rubbing the back of her hand. It always irritated her when he did that, his skin was too soft and all it did was tickle. She pulled her hand away.

'Hermione…' Ron tried to take her hand again but she stood up and walked away from him. 'Hermione, I'm so sor-'

'I don't think I want to hear you apologise, Ronald.' Hermione said sharply.

'Please, Hermione, let me explain myself. I really am sorry.'

'You're sorry? Sorry?! Do you think that means anything to me?' Hermione knew that he would apologise, but she had no idea whether she would forgive him. Whether she could forgive him.

'Of course I'm sorry, I regret what I did so much.'

'What part do you regret?'

'What?' Ron asked, he was not sure what she meant. Did she want him to go into detail?

'What part do you regret? Do you regret ruining our marriage? Or do you regret betraying my trust? Or perhaps, it's just the fact that you were fucking some cheap whore and I found out?!' The tears that Hermione was trying to hold back were gradually winning. Her eyes stung and she could not help but wipe them.

'Please don't cry.'

'You haven't answered my question.' Hermione kept her voice monotonous, she did not want to show how much he meant to her. Or at least how much he had meant to her. 'What part do you regret?'

'All of it. I should never have done it.'

'Did you miss out the 'to you'?'

'What?'

'You're supposed to say 'I never should have done that to you.' Hermione replied scathingly. 'Otherwise it means nothing. It means the only thing you regretted was sleeping with her and getting found out, and Ron, you really shouldn't. You should not regret the thing that tore our marriage to shreds. What you should regret is the fact that our marriage is in shreds because of what. you. did!'

'Hermione I'm sorry, please, I'm begging you. Forgive me.' Ron got down on his knees in front of her. 'I mean it Hermione, I'm sorry, I will do everything in my power to make it up to you. This doesn't have to be the end.'

Hermione turned from him and started to head for the kitchen door. She heard him stand behind her but did not turn to him.

'Actually Ron, I really think it is the end… I- I want a divorce.' Hermione felt his hand grab her arm. He yanked her around to face him.

'No I won't let you go. I love you, Hermione.'

'Ow, Ron, you're hurting me' Hermione cried.

'And you're hurting me, pretending you don't love me anymore. I know you do, I can see it in your eyes.' He gripped her arm tighter and pulled her closer to him. 'I know that you still want me.'

'Ron, stop! Let go of me.'

'Ron, let her go, now.' A new voice had joined in. Hermione tried to twist to see who had walked into the room, but Ron held her too tightly. She could hear the icy venom in the mans words, though, the silent threat they held.

'Back off bro, this is between me and my wife.' Ron spat.

'You keep treating her like this and she won't be your wife much longer.'

Hermione assumed that it was Bill standing behind her, but for some reason his voice sounded off.

'Why can't any of you see my side? If she hadn't been such a frigid bitch in the first-'

A fist shot out of nowhere, it smacked into Ron's face and knocked him off his feet. He automatically lost his grip on Hermione's arm. She ran from the room, almost flying up the stairs, before locking herself in Ginny's room. She curled up on the bed trying not to listen to the raised voices below. She no longer held the tears back, Ron had won. He had managed to hurt her yet again.

She thought that she had felt the worst pain imaginable that day, when she had found him and Lavender together. But this, this was a hundred times worse. Now she knew how he really felt. She should have known he would try to blame this on her. The apologies, the letters- all fake, all lies that she had almost fallen for.

The loud knock on the door startled Hermione. It made her realise just how noisily she had been sobbing. She wiped her eyes and flattened her hair, knowing it was the most she could do to make herself look presentable.

'Come in,' she answered to the knock.

The person who opened the door was not the one she had expected. She had thought that Molly would come to check in on her or perhaps Bill would have come to let her know that Ron had left. However, this man, who was so obviously a Weasley, was different to Bill. He was shorter and slightly stockier. Hermione could see the long muscles of his tanned arms clearly beneath the skin.

He had less freckles than his brothers, but Hermione wondered whether that was due to them blending into his tan. His hair was slightly sun-kissed, making it less red than the rest of the Weasley clan's hair. Yet, his smile was his most shocking feature. Even though it was consoling and soothing, it still managed to light up his face with what could only be described as his own internal sunshine.

'Hi Hermione, are you alright?' He stood awkwardly in the doorway. It was obvious that he did not know whether to come in or just leave her alone.

'Um, I'm fine,' she replied quietly. 'Was that you downstairs, Charlie?'

'Yeah,' he grimaced a little as if the memory was upsetting. Hermione had never heard Charlie speak to anyone the way he had spoken to Ron. She was not sure whether he had never spoken like that at all, but he was always polite and well mannered around his family.

He still stood in the doorway, as she sat on the bed in awkward silence.

'Would you like to come in?' Hermione asked.

Charlie finally stepped over the threshold of the bedroom. He walked over to the bed leaving the door open, as if to leave an easy escape route.

'I just thought I'd let you know that he's gone.'

'Oh. Okay.' Hermione was not sure what to say. They had seen each other in passing at the family dinners, but had never really said more than three or four words to each other. 'Thanks for…um…earlier.'

'It's alright. Would it sound horrible if I said it was my pleasure?'

'Only slightly.' Hermione answered, a small, reassuring smile on her face.

Charlie laughed. 'I can live with that. Well, Hermione, it was my pleasure. Trust me, it's been long overdue.'

Hermione nodded. She was not sure what response to give. She agreed that Ron had needed to be put in his place, but this was his brother that she was talking to.

'I spoke to Ron a little just. Well, I think spoke is a little bit of an understatement, you probably heard most of it up here.'

'I was trying not to listen. Also, I was kind of making a bit of noise myself.' Hermione blushed a little. She did not know why she was embarrassed about crying. It was perfectly natural when the man you loved cheated on you, hurt you and then called you a frigid bitch.

'I'm sorry.' Charlie replied. He took a seat on the very far corner of the bed. The distance between the two felt as uncomfortable as the silences.

'It's not your fault.'

'No, but we know whose fault it is. Maybe I should have hit him again.' Charlie looked thoughtful, as if he was imagining it, a ghost of a smile played over his face before he came back to earth. Suddenly he looked uneasy. 'I…He told me to tell you something before he left. If I didn't think it was important I wouldn't have done him the honour. I edited it slightly, but the gist of it is that… well… you can have your divorce.'

'Oh.'

'Hermione, are you okay? You look a little pale.' Charlie asked worriedly.

'I'm fine, I think I just need some time alone.' Hermione could not see properly again. She wished the tears would stop filling her eyes.

'Don't take too long. He really isn't worth it, Hermione.' Charlie stood and walked to the door. 'I know you probably won't want to go down to everyone just yet, so I'll get Mum to bring some dinner up to you later.'

'Thanks Charlie.'

'It's fine, I've got to head back to the reserve after dinner so I'll probably see you on Sunday. Look after yourself.' With that he left and shut the door behind himself.

Hermione lay down on the bed. She could not believe how she felt. She knew her marriage was broken, but she had expected to have to fight Ron for a divorce. She had expected to be married for a few more months still yet, but the fact was that she would be single again by the end of next week. She would be divorced and her marriage would be well and truly over.

If that was supposed to be a good thing for her, why the hell did it make her feel so bad?

Thank you for reading this chapter, and thank you to all who reviewed my last chapter. It made me so happy to come online and see that people were actually reading my work. Well, not just reading it but enjoying it.

I would really appreciate some new reviews on this chapter. I tried to leave you wondering what would happen and if you want to find out whether Hermione changes her mind it's going to take some more reviews : )

Thanks, Steff x