AN: This will probably be my last update until classes start... which is on Tuesday. gasp So, I'm back and settled in New York... which took a lot of time. I actually finished this chapter before I started the move... so go figure. Anyway, a shout out to all my reviewers (THANK YOU THANK YOU) and I hope you all enjoy this next chapter! Zhe plot iz thickening!

Stand and Watch It Burn

XIX. The Confrontation

Everything was at a standstill. Hermione suddenly found it nearly impossible to think straight, something she had never before experienced. She stood there, staring in disbelief at the person standing in front of her. It was Harry. How could it be Harry? Of all people… why Harry?

"What… What are you doing here?" she managed to croak out.

"Tea with Ginny," Harry said quietly. He seemed calm. Too calm. "We have tea together every Friday afternoon at this place."

"Oh." Hermione's voice was oddly and artificially cheerful. "Well, I mustn't keep you then. Wouldn't want you to be late for your…"

"I saw, Hermione." There was an unmistakable coldness in his voice.

Hermione tried to swallow, but her throat was too tight. There was no point in denying it. She knew he saw, and she knew what he saw. Harry was no fool.

"Well, what now?" Her voice was quiet.

Harry pressed his lips together, not looking her in the eye. He took a deep breath before responding. "Now, I am going to have tea with Ginny." Harry paused. "But we will talk later."

Hermione bit her lip. "When?" she whispered.

"Today," he said firmly. "I will leave work early and go to your place."

She hesitated. "What about…"

"I won't tell him, if that's what you're worried about." Harry's voice was completely icy now. "I'll make sure to leave before he does. I won't tell him – not yet, anyway. I try not to do things that would hurt my friends."

There was a definite sting in his words. Hermione blinked. "I'm not..." she started weakly. "Harry, don't…"

"I don't want to talk right now, Hermione." Harry was starting to sound angry. "I'd rather not say something I'd regret later, if you don't mind, Hermione. As it is now, I can barely look you in the face. So please, stop talking. Just stop."

Hermione nodded dumbly. Harry walked past her, hitting her shoulder with his as he went by. Hermione watched as he disappeared into the little shop. She closed her eyes. What was going to happen now?

x x x

"Hermione, I got your owl… it seemed really urgent. Is everything… Whoa!"

Olivia stared at the mess in Hermione's kitchen. The usually spotless counter was cluttered with bowls covered in batter, used measuring cups, and broken eggshells. Hermione was standing at the counter, consulting a recipe book. Clumps of flour clung to her hair as she frantically flipped through the book.

"Oh, Olivia," she said distractedly. "Are you hungry? I made some sugar cookies and I'm about to make…"

Olivia waved a hand. "Is everything okay, Hermione? What's going on? What… Put that down!" Olivia grabbed the bowl that Hermione had just picked up. "This kitchen is covered in cookies and muffins. You have enough to feed all the elves at Hogwarts." Olivia set the bowl down with a clang. "Now what's all this about? You seemed very upset in your message."

To Olivia's surprise, Hermione broke down into tears. "Olivia, I messed up. I messed up so badly."

"What are you talking about?"

Hermione was crying still. "I…" she hiccupped. "I…"

"Here, calm down first," Olivia said soothingly. She walked over and rubbed Hermione's back comfortingly. When Hermione's sobbing started to slow down, Olivia gave her an encouraging smile. "Okay, now try."

Hermione nodded. "I… I've been seeing Draco."

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't tell me?"

"I… didn't tell anyone," Hermione confessed. "At times, I felt so dirty… I just didn't want anyone to know."

Olivia nodded. "I understand. Go on."

"Well, I've been seeing him in public places and…"

"Why would you do that?" Olivia stared at Hermione in confusion.

"I didn't want things to seem worse than they already were!" Hermione bit her lip. "It didn't seem so bad, you know, if we saw each other in public. Like we had nothing to hide."

"Except you did," Olivia said dryly. "I can tell this doesn't have a happy ending."

Hermione smiled wryly. "Well, I guess it was only a matter of time… Today, someone saw us. Someone I know…"

Olivia's eyebrows flew up. "Not Ron?" she asked, alarmed.

Hermione shook her head. "Not Ron," Hermione replied. "But almost just as bad. Maybe worse." Hermione looked up and took a deep breath. "I saw Harry."

"Oh." Olivia was silent for a while. "Well… what did he say?"

"Not much." Hermione was fidgeting with a dishcloth. "But he's coming later today. I'm not sure when, but he's coming. To talk, he said."

"I imagine he wasn't too happy."

"He was furious," Hermione said.

Olivia shifted her weight from foot to foot. "So… what?" she asked.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"What will you say to him?"

Hermione looked confused. "About?"

"About this whole thing." Olivia waved her hand in the air. "What will you say about it?"

"I don't know," Hermione moaned. "Oh, Merlin, Olivia, how could I have been so reckless? So impulsive? I'm such a terrible person. I'm…"

"Stop." Olivia grabbed Hermione by her shoulders and shook her. "What are you bloody rambling on about?"

"I… I've been seeing Draco… and I'm married… I'm in love with someone else…" Hermione gasped.

"Do I need to remind you, Hermione, how your friends lied to you?" Olivia crossed her arms. "For three bloody years? How they kept the truth away from you? About how you loved Malfoy? About how he was in the Order? How they continue to keep the truth away from you, even when it's brought up?"

"It still doesn't justify…"

"No," Olivia conceded. "It doesn't."

"So how could I…?"

"Hermione! You are a victim here. You were cheated out of three years of your life. And why?" Olivia slammed a fist into her other hand. "Because your friends lied to you!"

"They… lied to me," Hermione repeated hesitantly.

Olivia nodded vehemently.

"For three years…" Slowly, Hermione closed her eyes. "God, Olivia, what am I going to do? In a way I'm a victim, but I'm also being so dishonest to Ron…"

"I know you feel guilty, Hermione, and it's just a sign of your goodness that you do." Olivia smiled sadly at her. "And perhaps Harry's anger is understandable… but maybe you should remind Harry that he's not completely innocent either."

x x x

She watched as Harry walked back and forth in her living room. He hadn't said anything since he arrived. When he first arrived, he sat on the sofa, but when Hermione tried to sit next to him, he had immediately gotten up and walked away. And now, he was pacing back and forth, still not looking at her.

Hermione was feeling uneasy. What Olivia had said earlier was still ringing in her head. She knew Olivia was only trying to help and that in many ways Olivia was right, but now that she was looking at Harry and seeing the anger written so clearly on his features, the guilt came crawling back. It was starting to worm away at her. The longer Harry remained silent, the worse she felt.

Finally, Hermione couldn't take it anymore. "Harry," she said, "say something."

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. "How could you?" he asked in a low voice. "How could you do that? To Ron? To Aiden? How could you betray them?"

"I didn't mean…"

"I can't believe this, Hermione. Of all people, you! Cheating on Ron!" Hermione grimaced at that word. "How could you? How could you look at Ron or Aiden again? Your husband, Hermione. Your husband and your son, for Merlin's sake! How could you turn your back on them like that? Just walk away and betray the people you claim to love the most?"

Hermione shook her head. "Harry, please…"

But Harry was on a roll and picking up steam. "What were you bloody thinking? Were you even thinking? How could you be so completely stupid, Hermione? Have you gone mad? You made a vow, Hermione. You're a wife. You're a mother. What kind of shit terrible mother cheats on the father of her son like you did?"

He had gone too far. He had crossed the line. Hermione was fuming now. "How dare you," she seethed. "How dare you stand there and accuse me…"

"How dare I?" Harry repeated. "Name one thing I've said wrong. You were kissing Malfoy. I bloody saw you two! Is that what you've been doing while Ron's been out working his ass off to support your family?"

"You know I'd be working if I could! You know that isn't my choice!"

Harry wasn't listening though. "And to think, Ron loves and trusts you so much. How long, Hermione? How long have you been seeing Malfoy?"

"How long have you been lying to me?" Hermione snapped back.

Harry's eyes widened. "Wh-what?"

"You heard me," Hermione said nastily. "How long have you been lying to me about Malfoy?"

"How… What…?" Harry looked completely bewildered… and afraid.

Hermione stood up and stared him in the eye. "That's right, Harry," she said. "I remember. I remember that Malfoy was in the Order. And I remember that three years ago, Draco and I were in love."

"You…"

"Yes." Hermione's eyes flashed. "I remember everything."

Harry was silent for a long time. "How long have you known?"

"Not long," Hermione said quietly.

"When did you start remembering?"

"When the Prophet did an article on him. I didn't fully remember until a couple weeks ago though."

Harry sighed heavily. "So you did start to remember," he said slowly. "I was afraid you might."

"How could you, Harry?" Hermione shook her head. "How could you keep that from me? How could you lie to me like that?"

"What choice did we have, Hermione?"

Hermione sputtered. "What choice did you have? You could have not lied to me! You could have told me the truth!"

"But Hermione, don't you remember…?"

"No, instead, you kept it from me these last three years. You lied to me when I asked you about it. You had your chance to explain, but you didn't. You, Ron, Ginny, everyone… you all lied to me, didn't you? You all knew!"

Harry looked at her desperately. "Hermione, honestly, we did what we thought was best…"

"You thought it was best to lie to me?" Hermione spat out in disbelief. "You thought it was best? What kind of idiotic thing to say is that? You thought it was best?!"

"Hermione, please… you know Ron and I care about you…"

"And yet you saw fit to lie to me!" Harry hung his head. Hermione shook hers. "I can't believe you two. You call yourself my best friend, Harry. What sort of lousy person lies to his best friend?"

"The sort that doesn't want to see you hurt!" Harry reached over and took her arm. "Please, listen to me, Hermione…"

"No!" Hermione tore her arm away from him. "I don't care to hear anything you have to say. It's all rubbish! Rubbish."

Harry looked hurt and angry. "So that somehow makes it okay for you to go flouncing off with Malfoy?"

"Don't change the subject, Harry."

"I'm not."

"You are!"

"Regardless of what happened three years ago," Harry barreled on, "right now is what matters. And right now, you're with Ron. What you're doing is wrong, Hermione. You are married to Ron…"

"Only because you lied to me!"

"No, Hermione, no. I know you love Ron…"

"How could I love someone who lied to me?"

"He's not…"

"He is."

"No, I mean that he's not the…"

Hermione cut him off. "I don't care what you say, Harry. These last three years have been a lie. The life I'm living now is a lie. My marriage with Ron is a lie! Everything… It's all… It's a sham! Everything between me and Ron is a complete sham!"

Silence. Harry leaned against the wall and rubbed his head. "So what now?" he asked. "What are you going to do?"

Hermione hesitated. "I… I don't know," she admitted. "I'm just not sure."

"Are you going to leave Ron? For Malfoy?" Harry straightened and looked imploringly at Hermione. "For Malfoy, Hermione. You remember what he did, don't you? It was so terrible and… How could you forgive him, even after…?"

"You asked me that three years ago," Hermione said. "My answer is the same. I love him… that's how I can forgive him."

"Even love has boundaries," Harry replied.

"Not mine."

"Malfoy, Hermione," Harry repeated. "It's Malfoy…"

"I haven't decided anything yet, Harry."

Harry started to say something and then seemed to think better of it. He nodded. "You have to tell Ron."

"I know."

"You need to tell him soon."

Hermione nodded. Hesitantly, she started, "Harry…"

"What?"

"Do you hate me?"

Harry smiled grimly at her. "No, Hermione, I could never do that. I don't understand what you're doing, and I am disappointed in you… But, Hermione, you're my best friend. I love you, no matter what you decide. I just hope you make the right decision."

"I suppose you think that would be staying with Ron."

'Yes," Harry said, "and not just because Ron's my best friend nor because I loathe Malfoy. I don't want to see you hurt again, Hermione. You deserve better."

"I'll decide that," Hermione said coolly.

Harry sighed. "I suppose," he replied.

Neither said anything for a while. "You should go," Hermione finally said. "Ginny will be wondering where you are."

"Talk to him," Harry urged.

"I know."

Harry gave Hermione a hard look before finally turning to go. Hermione started to feel slightly restless and uneasy.

"Harry…"

He spun back around. "What?"

"Don't say anything to Ginny… or anyone else."

"I won't," Harry replied. "At least, not until you say something." With that, he stalked off out of Hermione's view. Hermione heard a soft popping noise and she knew Harry was gone.

x x x

Ron was having a pretty good day. It was a light day at work, and being a Friday, most people had their mind on the weekend already. He, for one, was looking forward to spending time with his wife and son. Harry had left shortly after lunch (starting his weekend early, thought Ron), so there wasn't much activity in the office.

Ron whistled cheerfully as he walked down the hall. Not much work to be done this weekend, so he really could have some family time. Tomorrow would be Saturday. Maybe he and Hermione should take Aiden to the park to look at the ducks. Aiden always liked feeding the ducks.

His stomach growled. It was still early, but he was hungry. I wonder what Hermione has made for dinner, he thought. Shepherd's pie? Oh, Merlin, I hope not… Hermione's shepherd's pie is absolutely dreadful…

After Apparating just outside his home, Ron opened the front door. There was no one in sight.

"Hermione?" Ron poked his head around, looking for his wife and son. Did they go visit Mum? he wondered. Hermione didn't mention going out today…

Maybe Hermione was preparing dinner? Ron walked into the kitchen and was surprised to find the normally organized and orderly kitchen in disarray. Ron's eyes opened with delight when he spotted the muffins sitting on the kitchen table. Hermione hadn't made muffins in a really long time. Gleefully, Ron grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth.

"'ermyyee?" Ron called out through his mouthful of muffin. He wandered through the kitchen and into the living room. Hermione was sitting very silently on the sofa. Her eyes were downcast, her legs crossed, and her hands folded in her lap.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed. Ron swallowed. "Here you are!" Ron walked over and tried to kiss her on the cheek. She pulled away.

Ron frowned. He looked his wife in the eyes, but she was still looking down at the floor. She seemed strangely evasive. "'Mione, is something wrong?"

Finally, she lifted her eyes to meet his. For some reason, Ron started to feel very uneasy. "Hermione?"

"Ron, we need to talk."

x x x

Her husband looked at her with troubled eyes. Hermione felt her heart racing. What am I doing? What am I doing? What am I doing?

"Okay," Ron said uncertainly. He sat down next to Hermione. "What about?"

"About… about something." Hermione shifted in her seat. "Ron, I don't know how to say this…"

Ron smiled widely. "Well, you know you can tell me anything, 'Mione."

Why was he making this so bloody hard? Hermione bit her lip hard, trying to find the right words. How does a woman confess to her husband that she's cheating on him? The guilt was coming back. There he was, sitting in front of her, smiling disarmingly, looking her straight in the face as if he had nothing to hide. For a brief moment, Hermione almost changed her mind. She was almost convinced that she truly did love Ron. But when she blinked, that moment was gone, and she came back to her senses.

"Ron," she said quietly, "I know."

"Know what?" Ron's face betrayed nothing – only confusion.

"About three years ago," Hermione replied. "I know about… everything about Draco."

At the sound of Draco's name, Ron's face clouded over and his body completely stiffened. "What?" he asked through gritted teeth.

For some reason, this gave her confidence. "I remember everything," she said, elaborating. "Since the article in The Prophet. I did research in the library and I learned more… and it started coming back to me." Hermione looked at Ron, but he remained motionless. "And I remembered everything… bits at first, but more came back to me. I remembered it all. And I remembered loving…"

"Don't you dare say it," Ron spat out. "Don't you bloody dare to say that you even cared for that filthy bastard!"

Hermione leaped up. "Don't you call him that!"

"But he is!" Ron yelled, getting up out of his seat as well.

"No," Hermione said, shaking her head angrily. "He's twice the man you are, you liar. You lied to me, Ron! You said you loved me and you lied to me…"

"Hermione, I do…"

"But you lied to me, Ron! How could you?"

"Hermione, I promise on my life, I did what…"

Hermione laughed mockingly. "Don't you even try to claim you did what was best and that you had no choice. You always have a choice. You could have told me… but you decided not to. That was your choice. You lied to me about Draco these last three years."

"And if I did?" Ron threw up his arms. "I did what was in your best interest! Believe me, Hermione, I really had no choice! I couldn't… I couldn't bear to see you…"

"You did it, didn't you, Ron?" she asked suddenly. Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You modified my memory."

Ron said nothing. He stared down at his feet.

"I can't believe it!" Hermione screeched. "You modified my memory?! How could you! And you can stand here and look me in the face and claim to love me!"

"Hermione, you have no idea!" Ron grabbed her hands. "Please, Hermione, I don't know what lies Malfoy has told you…"

"The only person," Hermione spat out, ripping her hands away from him, "who has lied to me is you."

Ron stared at her. "You've been seeing him, haven't you? You've been seeing him behind my back."

"I can't deny that I have."

Ron exploded. "You've been seeing that repulsive excuse for a human being? Is that what you do in your spare time? And you claim that you're tired, that you have to watch our son… Do you even care about Aiden? Do you bloody care about your own flesh and blood?"

"Don't bring him into this! Of course I care about him!"

"You have a shoddy way of showing it!"

"I care more about him than…"

"And what have you been doing with Malfoy, hm?" Ron crossed his arms.

"I don't have to tell you that," Hermione replied in disgust.

"You dirty whore!" Ron bellowed. In a fit of rage, he slapped Hermione across the face.

Hermione stood there, holding her cheek where Ron's hand had met hers. She blinked back tears. He had hit her. He called her a whore.

Ron, too, looked astonished. He stared at his hand in disbelief at what he had just done. Regret flashed across his face. "Merlin, Hermione, I'm so sor…"

"I… I don't have to take this anymore." A single tear rolled down her face. "I thought maybe we could talk… figure something out… I should have known better…" Hermione tried desperately to control herself. "I… I can't be with you anymore, Ron. I'm sorry."

"Hermione, no! Hermione, I'm so sorry! I'm so stupid, please, don't…" Ron followed Hermione as she swiftly walked out of the living room. "Hermione, listen… I'm a bloody idiot, please… Don't leave… You can't…"

"I can, and I will." Hermione pulled away from him. "Goodbye, Ron."

x x x

Monday was a dreadfully long way off, Draco mused. He wasn't sure what he would do to fill the time until then… It was a sort of pitiful existence he now had. Draco had little to live for other than his meetings with Hermione… but they gave him every reason to live. Being with her reminded him how truly wonderful it was to be alive.

Maybe I'll learn how to cook, he thought as he headed towards the kitchen. Draco was amused at this thought. Him? In a kitchen? Maybe he could get an apron and the whole works. Cooking seemed like a rather useful thing to know. He could learn how to make something actually edible. Though, he had house elves for that. He could just tell them what he wanted to eat and they'd have it ready in a minute.

Speaking of which, he had to decide what he wanted tonight. What was he in the mood for? Or maybe he'd ask Mother what she wanted…

There was a loud crack, and Hetty appeared before him. She looked somewhat more hysterical than usual. "Young master!" she squeaked. "There you is!"

"Hetty, I was just looking for you," Draco said smoothly. "For dinner…"

"No, young master, there is something more important! Young miss is here!"

Draco frowned. "Young miss?"

"Your young miss, sir!"

Immediately, Draco's heart dropped. "Hermione?" he asked in astonishment. "But why…?"

"Please come to the front hallway, sir! Young miss is very distressed and needs to see you!"

"I'll be right there, Hetty. You go to the kitchen and prepare some tea for her."

Hetty nodded and disappeared.

Draco practically ran to the front hallway. What was Hermione doing here? Hetty mentioned that she was distressed… was something wrong? Was she hurt?

When he reached the front hallway, Draco spotted her, standing near the centre, her back to him. She looked… okay. "Hermione?" he asked.

She turned around and he instantly saw that he was wrong. She wasn't okay. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Hermione ran towards him.

"Oh, Draco!" She buried herself into his arms. "Oh, God, Draco…"

Draco was slightly taken aback by this. He carefully wrapped his arms around her. "Shhh," he whispered soothingly into her ear. "It's all right. It's okay. I'm here… You're okay now."

When her sobs had died down, Draco tilted her face gently upwards so he could look at her. "What's wrong?" he asked gently.

Hermione sniffed. "H… Harry saw us," she whispered.

Draco's insides twisted. "I see," he said.

"Harry saw us… and I knew… I knew I had to tell Ron, and I did… and we had a huge row." Hermione bit her lip and shook her head furiously against Draco's chest. "Oh, God, Draco, it was so terrible. He said I was a terrible mother, that I didn't care about Aiden…"

"You're everything but," Draco said firmly. "And you love Aiden. That much should be obvious, even to a blithering idiot like Weasley."

Hermione nodded. "It got so out of hand… He… he called me a whore… and he hit me…"

"He did what?"

"He slapped me."

"That coward!" Draco was completely furious. How could any man dare to lay a hand on his wife? How could anyone touch his Hermione? "That damned, weasely coward!" He gripped Hermione more tightly as if protecting her. "I'll get him," Draco growled. "I'll get him…"

"No." Hermione's voice was unwavering now.

Draco looked down at Hermione in confusion. "Hermione, that man hit you. He needs to know he can't do that. He's your husband…"

"Not anymore."

Draco stared at her. Did she really just say what he thought she did? His ears were ringing. "What?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "I'm leaving him, Draco. I can't be with him anymore. It's too much… and I… I love you. I love you so much. I need… to be with you. I need you. I can't live lying to myself anymore. I love you. I want to be with you… if you'll have me," she added a little uncertainly.

"Don't be daft, Granger," Draco said in a gruff voice. He leaned down and kissed her. She was here, in his arms, his again. He held her more tightly, not wanting to feel anything but the touch of her lips and the warmth of her presence.