Two years after Ron had taken Rose out to fly on his broom; Rose had become a very proficient flyer. In that time, Ron had also taught Hugo how to ride, who had also taken to Quidditch very quickly.

And all the while, Hermione found she wasn't very happy with her life at the moment.

The conflict had started one day when Ron had purposely started an argument with her for the first time since he returned.

The fight had ended like this:

"Hermione, would you stop being a know-it-all for five seconds?" Ron had shouted at her exasperatedly, his face red from arguing so much. "It's driving me mad!"

"Fine, Ron!" Hermione shouted back, her face equally red. "If I'm such a know-it-all, I suppose you don't need me anymore!"

Ron had looked like he wanted nothing more than to take back everything he had said, but she turned away from him, disgusted, gathered Rose and Hugo, and left for her parents' house in London.

Looking back, she couldn't remember what had started the shouting match. She hadn't fought that strongly with Ron since they were teens. Now it felt strange and foreign. But she did know that it was Ron who had stormed into their home from work after a bad day, it was Ron who had been in a bad mood, and it was Ron who desired to fight with her only to spread around his anger. She had done nothing to deserve it.

Ron had arrived on her parents' doorstep the next day with a bouquet of roses, and of course, he had quickly been forgiven. It had only been a stupid argument.

But as the days went on after this one quarrel, Hermione began to notice that she and Ron would break out fighting more and more. Usually it was about very little things that didn't matter, and that's what scared Hermione. When they used to argue, it was about bigger things that seemed to matter more when they were younger, but still mattered nonetheless. Now they would break out arguing every few moments.

Hermione wasn't sure she could take the constant bickering for much longer. She loved Ron more than anything, but it seemed like she was losing the sweet, loving, prat she had fallen in love with, only to be replaced by a moody, dark, snappish shadow of Ron Weasley.

It was also mysterious how less she saw of Ron. Over time, she had stopped seeing him around work because the Auror department had been moved to the other side of the Ministry. Ron also arrived home two hours later than herself, and he barely talked to her when he finally did arrive home.

One day, after a particularly nasty argument in which Ron had brought up Viktor Krum after nearly ten years, he had finally reduced Hermione to tears for the first time since they were eighteen. As she turned her back on him to leave the room, she caught his hard glare soften only the slightest at the sight of her tears. However, he let her leave without another word.

Hermione cried in their bedroom for the rest of the day. Nine-year-old Rose wandered in after witnessing her parents' fight and Hermione spilled her feelings out to her daughter. Eventually, Rose left after Hermione's request and Hermione fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next time Hermione woke, it was dusk. She could hear the television blaring downstairs, and knew Ron was probably watching it. Lying in bed, she finally decided what to do.

She headed downstairs with her head held high, walked in front of the television, and turned off the Muggle baseball game that Ron was watching. Ron's mouth opened in protest, but Hermione held up a hand to stop him. "We need to talk. And I really need you to answer me honestly when I ask questions and I need you to respond maturely without bringing up anything in our past." She kept eye contact with him and made sure he didn't break it. "Please, Ron. Our marriage is at risk here."

At those words, Ron's eyes widened and he nodded slowly.

"Thank you," Hermione said, sitting down in front of him and taking his hands in hers. "Ron, what's happening with us? Why are we fighting so much? We haven't fought like this since we were teenagers."

Ron sighed. "I don't know, Hermione. I guess I've been starting it, I haven't really been in a good mood lately."

Hermione could understand this, but she wasn't completely convinced that it was only a bad mood. "But – why? I mean –" Tears were springing to her eyes and her voice was starting to shake. "You act like you hate me; do you really not care for me anymore? You haven't told me you love me since I don't know when – you need to tell me, Ron: do you really want me out of your life?"

At this point, Hermione saw tears shining in Ron's eyes for the first time in fifteen years. He shook his head vigorously. "No, Hermione, no. That's not it at all. I love you more than anything." He squeezed her hands to convince her, and Hermione accepted that their relationship was not the reason for Ron's moodiness.

"Then what is it?" she asked, more confused than ever. "Why have you been so moody lately with me? Why have you been purposely starting these fights with me?"

Ron's hands suddenly left hers and made it to her face, where they wiped away her tears while cupping her face in his palms. He stared deep into her eyes, and she suddenly knew he was hiding something from her.

"I'm going to tell you something, Hermione," he said, his eyes never leaving hers. "But I need you to be understanding, like I know you can be, and I need you to forgive me, for both our sakes, and Rose and Hugo too."

Hermione nodded silently, dreading the worst. She closed her eyes, not wanting to hear what he had to say next…

"I was fired."

Hermione's eyes shot open. His hands were still on her face, but she jumped away from him as if she had been shocked. "You were fired?" she asked in disbelief, emotions swirling around inside her, not knowing what to think. "When?"

Ron glared down at his feet and looked as though he thoroughly regretted saying anything. "Three weeks ago," he said softly.

Hermione's eyebrows shot up in shock and her hands flew to her hips. "Three weeks ago and you didn't tell ME?"

Ron was silent. Hermione couldn't believe him; since when did he keep secrets from her? "So when were you actually planning to tell me? When the money runs out?"

"I wanted to tell you tonight, but…" Ron trailed off and looked away again.

"But what?" Hermione asked. "What reason do you have for keeping a secret like this from me?" Ron, I've known you and Harry longer than anyone else, and I know you better than I know myself. This isn't like you, just tell me –"

"FINE, HERMIONE!" Ron suddenly burst out. Hermione stepped back a half a step, startled by his outburst, but very unwilling to back down. "I wanted to tell you tonight, but I got angry again because I was so stupid for losing my job, so I chickened out! I've been going round town for the past three weeks to find a job, but no one's hiring!" Ron stopped and exhaled, still breathing heavily. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to think I'm a failure! I knew I would disappoint you, so I thought if I found a new job, I wouldn't have to face you."

Hermione's expression softened. Even after fifteen years, Ron still had very low self-esteem when it came to pleasing his family and everyone else.

There was a moment of silence, and then Hermione spoke. "Why did you get fired?"

Ron was silent again. Then he said, "I yelled at my Head of Department. A lot."

"What? Why?" Only a few months before, a certain man by the name of Zacharias Smith (who had been Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office) had been accepted as Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Department. Hermione knew Ron hated Smith, and could only guess what he was going to tell her next.

"He was on a rampage. Honestly, he was yelling at everyone, telling us we're all terrible Aurors and that we'll never be fit to capture criminals. Then he started yelling at Harry, and he brought his parents into it. He started screaming at Harry that his parents would be disgusted with his work, and Harry just stood there like a statue. I finally couldn't take it anymore and I yelled at him that Harry was ten times the Auror he could ever be. And then…he brought you into it."

Hermione looked up from the spot on the floor she had been staring at as she listened; Ron's face was growing red, and his whole body was shaking.

"He said…he said that I should've never become an Auror and that I could go home to my Mudblood wife."

Hermione closed her eyes momentarily; she knew how angry prejudice wizards made Ron, especially when they call her a Mudblood.

"So I cursed him. Just the Jelly Leg Jinx, but he told me I could get out of his office and never come back." He laughed bitterly. "Smith is such a bloody idiot, I'm shocked Kingsley allowed him the Head of Department job."

Hermione buried her head in hands. Pictures of Ron and Smith screaming at each other came to her mind.

"Ron, you great prat!" Hermione yelled angrily. "Why can't you hold your anger in for once? And do you really think I care what anyone calls me anymore? I've been called a Mudblood hundreds of times, and it got old a long time ago!"

Ron glared at her, looking as if he would fight back, but to her surprise, he shut his mouth and sat down. At this sight, she suddenly lost the urge to argue, and sat down next to him. "So what are we going to do? Does this mean you can't work for the Ministry?"

"No, I can work for the Ministry, just not in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. But I reckon Harry'll try to get my job back, and he probably could, being Head Auror and all.

"Ron, you're only trained for the Auror Department! How do you expect to get a job anywhere else in the Ministry?"

Ron seemed to wilt on the spot. Now, Hermione knew, he was wishing he had paid better attention while he was in school at Hogwarts. "I don't know," he said softly, staring at his clenched hands between his knees.

At this apparent pathetic display, Hermione kneeled next to Ron and grasped his hands in hers. "So what are you going to do?" she asked quietly.

Ron stared at a spot on the floor, and she could tell his mind was millions of miles away, struggling to think of a solution.

"I reckon I should stay away from the Ministry for a while, just until this whole thing blows over. We can easily survive on your pay." He tried to feebly flash her one of his you're-great-at-everything-and-I'm-a-prat smile, but Hermione didn't fall for it.

"Fine, but this doesn't mean you're staying home and doing nothing. I'm making sure you're getting a full-time job, whether it's at the Ministry or a twenty-four-hour diner." Hermione stood up and crossed her arms, her sudden tenderness melting away as her anger boiling once again as she turned away from Ron.

"Hermione."

She turned and shot him an exasperated look. However, the look he was shooting her almost melted her bitterness away.

Almost.

He stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist, taking her into his arms. "I really am sorry. I just couldn't stand this guy anymore, and I wanted to tell him how I really felt."

Hermione gave a half smile for Ron's sake, which never failed to paint a full grin on his face. She took his face in her palms and looked as deep as she could into his eyes. "Ron, I need to know that there won't be anymore secrets between us. No more secrets. I need you to promise me that."

Ron nodded frantically, willing to do anything to get Hermione's forgiveness. She kept her eyes locked on his, searching to see if he meant it.

"I mean it," she said, sounding more serious than she had ever been. "You need to promise with your life. This is very important, Ron."

"I do promise, Hermione. I'll never do something like this again, I know it was stupid." Hermione finally saw that one spark in his eyes which told her that he did mean it with every ounce in his body. She smiled and softly kissed him on the lips.

"Don't do this to me again," she said seriously.

"I won't," he responded solemnly, and Hermione knew he would never do something this stupid again.