A/N Thanks once more to everyone who's taken the time with this, I should be uploading more frequently now (fingers crossed), but I appreciate your patience in my rather erratic chapter postings.

Big shout out to bookworm4life0812; you are special, and your reviews make me smile so much, big hugs for bookworm! It's going to be a little longer than eleven years, and unfortunately I can't promise anything on the bus front, though the idea of him being chased around London by the Knight Bus is quite amusing :P Hope you keep enjoying!
arabellagrace; he's her knight in ginger armour :) and in this chapter Hermione puts her foot down somewhat, so I hope you enjoy it.
pianomouse; I'm glad you liked MLG, and sorry the ending was a disappointment; the sequel to this, 'Girl No More' is going to have an alternate to the ending I have planned so hopefully one of the two will make you happy. Thank you for your kind words about about my writing, and for giving this one a chance, and rest assured that Ron and Fleur will get what's coming to them... Eventually haha :)

Year 5

Ron returned home to find Hermione sat silently in her armchair, facing the door and holding her head in her hands. He gave a grunt in greeting before heading to the liquor cabinet and pouring himself a large tumbler of whiskey. "Ron," Her quiet voice said, and when he didn't reply again, she tried louder. "Ron."
"Yeah love?" He stumbled over to the sofa and collapsed on it, facing her.
"The kids aren't here."
"Oh, they at my mums are they? Means some sexy time for us then." He gave her a leering grin, not noticing her sad look through his drunken haze.
"No, Ron, they're with my parents. I'll be joining them soon."
"Huh? They ill or something?"
"You're the one who's ill Ron. You have a problem."

She leant over the gap between them and gave him a leaflet, and after squinting to read it, he gave a snort of disdain. "What the hell is this?"
"It started off as a muggle thing, but I looked it up and there's a wizarding equivalent."
"Alcoholics Anonymous?! I'm not a bloody alcoholic!"
"Ron, you're coming home past midnight every night, waking up already half-drunk, you never see Rose and Hugo any more. It's not fair on them, and not fair on me. You need help."
"I don't need help! I'm not a bloody alcoholic!"
She sighed tiredly. "You got sent home the other day from work because you nearly hexed another auror. Can't you see? Not only are you hurting your family, you're hurting your career too, you're destroying your whole life!"
He glared at her coldly. "So what, you're just going to take my kids and disappear? Going to do what Fleur did, are you?"
She visibly flinched; they had spent the last few months in non-stop arguing- whenever she wasn't trying to hide his inebriated state from her children or cleaning up his vomit- but to be compared to the French Whore was a new low. Shaking her head, she looked at him miserably. "No, like I said, we'll be at my parents. If you sort yourself out, maybe we can make this work. But I'm not submitting Rose and Hugo to this; they don't deserve it."
"You can't just leave!" He thundered.
"Yes, Ron, I can. I've spoken to your dad and he agrees that you should try the AA group, and maybe some private therapy on the side to try and find out why you're drinking so much."
"Therapy?! So now I'm MENTAL?!"
She closed her eyes, absolutely exhausted. "Not everyone who goes to therapy is mental. Sometimes people just need help."
"I DON'T. NEED. HELP!" He flung his now empty glass at the nearby wall, breathing heavily and staring at her so angrily that she was surprised twin holes hadn't been burned into her face.

Eventually their staring contest- his blue eyes slightly unfocused and furious, and her brown ones sad and tired- ended, when he gave a grunt of irritation and went to get a new glass and drink. "You'll be back before long." He said confidently as he walked away.
Sighing once more, Hermione waved her wand and cleared away the glass, knowing that if she didn't he'd undoubtedly cut himself later. "We'll be back when you're getting better." She murmured as he re-entered, this time bringing the whole bottle of firewhiskey with him.
"Yeah? Well what if I don't want you to come back?" He asked snidely, sneering at her in a way reminiscent of the old Draco Malfoy.
"For Merlin's sake Ron, can't you see how much pain you're causing everyone? Even Harry admits you need help!"
His look turned cold. "Oh, been talking about me behind my back, have you?" He suddenly stood and towered over her, making her instinctively wrap her fingers around her wand.
"This isn't just about you, think about your son! Think about your little girl!"
"This is the fucking horcrux hunt again! You and Harry, the two fucking useful parts of the 'Golden Trio', going off while fucking pathetic Ron Weasley just trails behind!"
"Ron we've never-"
"Save it! D'ya know what? Piss off to your parents. See if I give a shit."
Her shoulders slumped in defeat as he lay back and began staring at the ceiling unseeingly. Gathering her ever-useful pink bag from her feet, she gave her husband one last, sad look. "I'll try to come by and check on you in a few days." She said quietly.
He snorted. "I don't need babying Hermione. Believe it or not, I can actually look after myself."

She seriously doubted this, but knew she had the full support of the other Weasleys and the Potters in her decision to leave. She would not have done it, would have stayed by his side to attempt to help him, if it hadn't been for the look small four year old Rose had given her, when she had asked what she had done to upset Daddy, and why he didn't want to see her anymore. Hermione had made her decision, in that moment, that her gentle suggesting that he not drink was not nearly enough, and that no amount of loyalty to one of her oldest friends could convince her to force her two children to grow up in a home where the parents did nothing but argue and the father was almost always inebriated. So she had made her choice to leave with Rose and Hugo, and base her decision on whether or not she returned on how Ron took to the wizard's AA. After all, surely it was better for her son and daughter to grow up only seeing him on rare occasions, rather than living with an alcoholic. Surely?

"I guess I'll see you at work then." She murmured, walking to the fireplace in silence. Before she stepped onto the hearth, she turned and fixed the red-head she had once been close to with something akin to pity in her eyes. "You have two beautiful children that love you and want their dad back. Don't forget that." She told him, before disappearing in a flash of green.