Hermione and Rose returned to their house and found Hugo sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter. In front of him was a plate of food that nobody had eaten the night before.

"About time you got home. Do you know where Dad is?" he asked. Food sprayed out of his mouth as he tried to chew and talk at the same time.

"Hugo swallow first please," Hermione said. He reminded her so much of Ron when they were teens that it was scary.

Hugo finished chewing and quickly swallowed, "There, so where is Dad I have to ask him something."

Rose was standing beside Hermione the whole time but she decided that she didn't want to hear this again so she left to go to her bedroom. Hermione heard her door slam and then her music being turned on.

"Hugo," Hermione began gently.

Already he could tell that something was not right. Fear overcame him and he shakily said, "Is he okay? What happened?"

"He's fine," Hermione said quickly. She hadn't realized that how she had begun would scare him so much, "It's just your Father and I feel that things aren't working out like they used to. We both think that it would be best for us and you and Rose as well if we didn't live together anymore," she chose her words carefully because she knew that a lot of kids thought it was their faults that their parents split up, "We don't get along like we used to and we don't want to hurt anybody because of it."

"Cool," Hugo replied as he turned back to his food, "Is that it?"

Shock registered on Hermione's face, she thought Hugo had to be joking or not understanding what she was saying, "I guess you don't understand…" she said.

"What's not to understand, you and Dad avoid each other and if you are in the same room for very long you argue. So who's the lucky guy?"

"Excuse me?"

"Come on there is always another guy involved when people get a divorce or was it a girl?" Hugo looked up and smirked at her.

"Don't be cheeky with me young man."

"So who is she?"

"It's not a she," Hermione protested.

"So there is somebody then who is it, do I know him?"

"Hugo," she sighed.

Hermione hadn't heard the music stop but she did hear her daughter yelling down the stairs at her brother, "Draco Malfoy."

"Oh my god," Hugo laughed, "I never thought…you sure…wow…you aim for the top."

There was a pop as somebody apparated outside the house.

"Who was that?" Hugo asked.

"I don't know," Hermione replied as the new arrival knocked on the door, "But I'll go and see."

She didn't make it to the door though because Rose barreled down the stairs and raced to the door. As the door opened the temperature in the kitchen seemed to drop ten degrees. Out the window snow had started to fall lazily from the sky. Because of the clouds being so low the sky in the distance over the nearest town had taken on a pinkish orange glow from the muggle streetlights. Hermione loved when it snowed, everything was so peaceful. Somehow she knew that the night was only going to get worse.

"Mom," Rose called out.

Hermione walked toward the door and called out, "Why did you run so fast to get the door Rose?" As she rounded the corner she saw Rose chuckling softly. There standing in the doorway was none other than Harry, Ginny and their kids.

"Hi," she said trying to sound excited to see them. They could see right throw her act right away. Ginny walked over to her and grabbed her arm, "Talk to me," she said quietly.

"I'd rather not."

Ginny motioned to the kids to leave the adults be for a little bit. They understood what their mother meant by her crazy hand gestures and so they pulled Rose into the kitchen with the promise of new gossip.

Ginny pulled Hermione into the living room and sat her down in the chair. With the knowledge that only somebody who spends a lot of time in a place has she expertly walked over to the bar and poured them all a drink.

"Go ahead help yourself," Hermione laughed.

"It looked like you needed something strong," Ginny justified.

"Like poison," she joked, "Would end all my problems."

"That bad?" Harry asked.

"You wouldn't even believe."

Ginny handed her the glass of liquid and sat down beside her with her own, "Okay now talk to me, why did my brother appear at my parents place with all of his belongings?"

"It's over," she said simply.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah well it was time," she didn't want to tell them that the only reason it had lasted this long was because she didn't want to hurt them. She knew that if she told them that they would feel guilty and she didn't want to on her conscious also.

Harry observed the two women talking. He had lived through enough of Ron and Hermione's arguments to know that it was best to stay out of them, they always sorted them out in the end. He had a feeling that this time would be different though, he feared that they had both given up and realized that it was over for good.

Hermione told her two best friends what had happened, leaving out the part about Draco. Just as she was finishing the tale there was a knock on the door. She could hear the kids running to the door so she didn't bother move.

"Mom," Rose called.

Laughter could be heard from the next room as Hermione placed her drink on the coffee table and stood up.

"Who is it?" she questioned.

"You might just want to come," Hugo laughed.

"Damn," she muttered under her breath, how much worse could this evening get? It was probably her parents or even worse Mrs. Weasley coming to bite her head off," she walked into the foyer which her kids had quickly vacated when she walked in. Sitting on the steps was Draco, "Go upstairs," she hissed, "I'll be up in a minute."

He would have made it undetected if Harry had not chosen at that moment to walk out of the living room to see his worst enemy climbing his sister-in-laws staircase, "Malfoy?" he said confused, "What do you think you're doing here?"

"I would ask the same of you Potter," Draco replied coolly.

Ginny was standing in the doorway to the living room no observing what was unfolding. On the other side of the foyer the five cousins had come out to see what was going on.

"I don't need a reason to be here, unlike you who better have some insanely good reason for me not to hex you," Harry reasoned.

"To bad I can't share that reason with you, if you would excuse me Granger and I have something to discuss, privately!" he turned and walked down the hallway and into the spare bedroom the Hermione had turned into her office.

"Hermione what is he doing here?" Harry demanded.

Ginny wasn't stupid and she had figured it out almost as soon as she saw Draco standing on the staircase. She walked over to Harry and put a calming hand on his shoulder, it didn't work thought because Harry had started screaming at Hermione, "Hermione by god he had better have put the Imperious on you, that is the only rational explanation I can think of because I know you would never go with him in your right mind."

"Harry," Ginny said. Usually she was able to calm him down but she realized that today wasn't the norm.

"Do you not remember what he did to you, to us? How could you? You're as bad as him, a traitor."

Hermione hadn't moved, it was as if her feet had been crazy glued to the floor. She wouldn't allow the tears to fall, not in front of her kids, niece and nephews, friends and Draco, especially not Draco. Finally summoning up all of her Gryffindor courage she said, "Harry get out of my house, now!"

"It's Ron's house also and he said I have an open invitation."

"Yeah well Ron doesn't live here anymore so get out."

"Yeah you screwed him over too now didn't you?"

"Harry don't make me throw you out," she threatened.

The five teens were watching the adults arguing and couldn't help but laugh. All the time they were telling their kids to behave like adults and look at how they were behaving.

Ginny tugged at Harry's sleeve trying to get him to leave before he got injured. She had seen both Harry and Hermione duel and they both were amazing, but never had she seen them battle anybody other than the Dark Side. She didn't want to see them turn their wands on each other because it wouldn't be good for either of them.

"You would never pull your wand on me," Harry said confidently, "It's him you should be hexing," he pointed at Draco who had made his way down the stairs and was standing beside the rigid Hermione.

She pulled her wand out so fast that nobody even saw her hand go to her pocket. No longer was she frozen in her place, with her wand she had a new burst of confidence. Using it she walked over to Harry and said, "I suggest you don't tell me what I can and cannot do. When the enemy threatens me I retaliate and right now you are the enemy."

Draco was standing trying not to laugh. He could see that he wasn't the only one that was finding this funny when he looked over at the five teens that were snickering behind their hands. It felt good to watch her threaten somebody that wasn't him, and it felt amazing that it was Potter. When the tables turned it could be great.

"You don't really believe that do you Hermione?" Harry asked no longer as boldly.

"I suggest you listen to her Potter, she's got one nasty punch," Draco said.

"You stay out of this, this isn't your argument."

"When Hermione's a part of it I'm a part of it. Why don't you listen to her and leave."

Harry's shoulders sagged as he realized that he wasn't going to win this one, it was three against one, "Why?" he asked softly, "Why him?"

Hermione shook her head sadly, "You'll never understand," the damn broke and the tears she had been holding back spilled out. Draco saw the distress that she was going through so he walked to her and pulled her away from the argument. He led her up the stairs to her bedroom. She was no more than a ghost, she had gone into shut down mode. He laid her down on the bed and found her night clothes which he slipped her into. Only once she was safely tucked under the cover did he leave her. With a peck on the cheek he walked back downstairs where to his dismay Harry was still standing arguing quietly with Ginny. The kids had left to go do who knows what and only the three enemies remained. Ginny nodded to Harry who finally disapparated. Once he was gone she walked over to Draco, "I'm sorry about him," she apologized, "He didn't mean it."

"Yeah he did, he'll always mean it but what can be done about that?" he shrugged.

"How's she doing?"

"Exhausted, it hasn't been an easy day for her."

Ginny found that unlike what she had always thought conversation wasn't that hard to do with Malfoy, "Yeah I'd assume so."

"Yeah with her having to tell her kids and then you and Harry showing up. I don't know if she told you this but the reason she stayed in her marriage this long was so she didn't hurt you and Harry. She knew that you were all so close and them splitting up would be likely to tear you friendship apart."

"She didn't tell me that."

"No she probably never would have."

"Well Ron was never the easiest one to get along with, to be honest with you I never thought they would last this long."

It seemed that they had used up all their ideas for conversation as they fell into silence.

"Well I'd better get going before Harry blows up the house. By the way Rose and Hugo came with us as to not be a burden to Hermione. Take care of her," she gave a slight smile and then disapparated.

Once she was gone he felt like an intruder. Only a few times had he ever set foot in Hermione's house. He didn't think it was safe to leave Hermione by herself seeing as the state she was in so he set off back up the stairs. As he pushed open the door to her bedroom he couldn't shake off the feeling of being an intruder. When he had brought Hermione up to bed that had been his first time in her bedroom and it felt like Weasley was watching him. To say the least it had given him the creeps.

He could see Hermione's sleeping form curled up into the fetal position in the bed. She looked so small and vulnerable laying there under the thin sheets. Out the window the snow was falling harder and it had started to stick to the ground and trees. When it snowed it was always Hermione's favorite time but he had a fear that it would always remind her of what had happened today and thus she would come to resent it.

He was jolted from his thoughts as Hermione began to thrash around moaning. He had seen her do this before, whenever she was extremely stressed her scared she would start having nightmares again of the war. He sidled over to the bed and lay down beside her. Shaking off the feeling of being watched because Hermione needed him and he wasn't going to let her down.

He pulled her close to him and she started to settle down. With a final moan of defeat she drifted back into a peaceful sleep of which he was grateful for. Without realizing it his eyelids started to droop. It felt like eternities had passed since he and Scorpius had gone to the Ministry when it had not even been twelve hours ago. He couldn't even begin to imagine how long of a day it had felt for Hermione. He had gotten through his divorce with little trouble because he knew that he had never really loved the person he called his wife, she had just been somebody to fall back on. With sorrow he realized that it wouldn't be as easy for Hermione. Sure she had never felt the love for Ron that she should have but she still cared for him deeply. It was going to be a horrible few months for her, today was only the beginning of it. He vowed as he was falling asleep that he wouldn't let her go through it alone. Morning would bring more realizations and unhappiness but it would also make everything a bit easier. Ever day that passed things would get easier.

xxx.:.x.:.xxx

a/n This story was never meant to go this far so I apologize if it seems like nothing really interesting is going on. You guys have been so great with your encouragements though and that's the only reason why it's continuing. I have an idea for the next chapter but after that if I don't have much support I'm sad to say this story will end. So if you still want to see new chapters for this story then keep the reviews coming. I promise if you keep the support coming that I will work to get this story back on track. Thanks