AN: I went back and realized I had messed up some details from the beginning of the story until now, namely the timeframe before the wedding and Ron's job. I decided that the wedding is supposed to take place 2 weeks after this scene, not two months and that Ron is working in the ministry and NOT a Chudley Cannon. If anyone else spots any inconsistencies, please let me know. Thanks!
Hermione went back to her apartment and put on proper attire of jeans and a t-shirt before heading back out to wander the castle grounds. She was embarrassed at her dress in front of her colleague and former professor and didn't want to chance that happening again. Self-consciousness crept in as she thought I let Snape see me in my pajamas. Now he is going to think I am unkempt and messy and won't take me seriously.
She left the North Tower and set out towards the grounds, not really knowing where she was heading until she got there. She wandered without seeing towards the green grass before coming to a stop at the marble monument in front of the castle. The monument was of a great marble phoenix, modeled after Fawkes, who had left the castle when Dumbledore died. The phoenix served as a memorial to all those who died in the Battle of Hogwarts and commemorated the downfall of the most notorious wizard in history. The symbolism of the phoenix was not lost on Hermione as she remembered how Hogwarts rose from the ashes of the battle to be as strong and powerful as ever. She sat staring at the statue, memories flooding back into her head of that day…that was the day Ron kissed her for the first time as they were sure they were about to face certain death. Picking that moment to replay in her mind, Hermione started to wonder why she and Ron got together in the first place. Sure, they had all been friends since they came to Hogwarts and the journey to find the Horcruxes brought them closer together. But what was it about Ron that made Hermione decide to marry him? She was rather chagrined that she could not put her finger on it. Perhaps the heat of the moment in battle led them to each other and beckoned them to take the chance before it was too late. However, now that the battle was over and they had settled into "normal" lives, Hermione realized how little they had in common besides the shared experience of Hogwarts. Lately it seemed all Ron wanted was accolades for everything he did and found ways of subtly putting Hermione down over her career. She had worked very hard to be a potions mistress and had several offers to work at St. Mungos or for the Ministry in several capacities. Ron never understood her desire to be a teacher. His attitude was one of "those who can, do. Those who can't do, teach" and he always seemed to wonder when she was finally going to get a "real" career like he had at the ministry. God, he spent so much time around Percy, he was beginning to sound like him.
Irritated as to why Ron was dominating all of her thoughts still, Hermione tried to focus on Severus. She never thought she would see him as an ally in anything more than work. They had grown to respect each other's work and she frequently consulted him on different topics regarding potion making. She staunchly defended him when students suggested he hadn't truly declared his allegiance to Dumbledore's side or whether or not his Death Eater tendencies had ever gone away. So what was it about him that made her speak to him today or open up even a little bit about her problems? She couldn't come up with an answer to that one so she mentally kicked herself for the last question she asked. Hermione had no clue where that had come from or what possessed her to ask him whether or not he thought her pretty. It really was no business of hers whether he thought she were pretty or not. But his answer surprised her…not in that he had answered at all but at the honesty she felt behind his answer. Ron would sometimes tell her she was pretty, usually when he was trying to get his own way. She couldn't always vouch for the sincerity of his claim. With Severus, however, she immediately felt the uncharacteristic warmth and honesty behind his answer. She remembered being so stunned that she got up and left without saying a word, lest she betray her true feelings on the whole situation to man she had no business talking to. Ron's warning echoed in her head and for a moment she worried whether or not he would find out before brushing that aside.
However, Ron still refused to go away, even when not at Hogwarts. Hermione heard a familiar owl screech and saw Pig flying towards her with a letter and large package in her beak. Hermione read the letter first before looking at the package.
Dearest Hermione,
I hope this finds you well. I hope you have been doing some thinking about us. I know I have been thinking about you since you left this morning. ("wait…didn't he leave first?" she thought). I also want you to know I can find it in my heart to forgive you and your childish ways. You are under a lot of stress, so I suppose such outbursts are to be expected. Anyhow, these came in the mail finally and I knew you would want to see them. Enclosed also is an early wedding present. I love you so much Hermione. I can't wait for you to be mine forever.
Love,
Ron
Hermione about lost it. It was as if Ron had a very selective memory about how events happened. Even in his "love letter" he still insinuated everything was her fault along with making her feel guilty about wanting to call off the wedding. Numb, she also saw two tickets to the Weird Sisters reunion tour in London ("his favorite band, not mine," grumbled Hermione) enclosed in the letter. Picking up the package, she heard the tinkle of glass so she opened the package slowly and saw it was the champagne flutes for their wedding, engraved with Ron & Hermione, together always as one and their wedding date on them. It was as if Ron was reminding her that he wouldn't take no for an answer and that she should resign herself to her fate.
Shoving the package aside, Hermione sat down in the grass and put her head on her knees and started to cry. However, Pig was not about to be ignored. "Ron probably instructed her to not leave until I gave a reply," thought Hermione as she swatted the bird off her lap. She transfigured a small stick and stone to a parchment and pen before writing:
Dear Ron,
I made it to Hogwarts fine. Yes, I have been doing a lot of thinking. Thank you for the tickets but they are for September 1 and you know that I have to be here for the Beginning of Term Feast. Maybe Harry will want to go with you. (or Lavender…the bitter thought couldn't escape her mind). I will talk to you later.
Hermione
Knowing that Ron would not be pleased with her, but not caring one bit, she tied the letter and tickets to Pig's leg and sent him off before crumbling back to the ground in agonizing defeat. In her mind she sighed to herself I feel so alone….
I feel so alone…
Those words jostled Severus out of his work and he sat up as if someone had spoken them in his very office. He looked around and could not see anyone, even a ghost. He thought about it for a second and realized the voice sounded like Hermione.
Not taking the time to question why he heard her thoughts or why she felt alone, Severus got up from his office and walked down the corridor to the potions laboratory. Finding it empty, he swiftly went out into the courtyard leading to the area he had seen her earlier in the afternoon. Not seeing her there, he cursed to himself and wondered where to go next in search of her. She obviously needed a friend or at least SOMEONE at the moment. Before he could ponder his next move, however, one of the school owls came at him with a small note tied to its leg.
Severus, please join me for dinner tonight in the staff room in ten minutes. I don't feel like eating by myself. Minerva
Severus decided he imagined her voice and turned toward the staff room, ready to question Minerva about Granger's sudden reappearance.
Meanwhile, Hermione had received an owl with the same message from Minerva and was debating on whether or not to just take dinner in her apartment that evening. She was confused by a sensation she had felt not long after sinking to the ground in desperation. It was almost like she felt someone decide to come looking for her, not out of anger but out of concern. Chalking it up to imagination or tenseness about Ron's reaction to the whole scenario, she decided Minerva would be a good person to talk to and set back her reply. She then got up and straightened her clothes, brushed the grass off her pants, and gathered the champagne goblets before heading towards the castle.