Woo! I am on a roll! That's like 2 chapters in a week! Yay me! *claps quickly like London Tipton*.

So yeah. Have fun reading it!

"I am so sorry, I tried to stop him, but he would not go away!" cried Gabrielle.

Ron stepped forward, blocking Krum's way. "Krum, get out of my house. Now."

"I am here to bring my vife back to vere she belongs, Veasley. Let me past or there vill be consequences," murmured Krum. No matter how softly he spoke, he still sounded menacing. Ron's face darkened.

He took another step towards the hook-nosed man. "Hermione told us what happened," he growled. "And if you know what's best for you, you'll leave. Because Hermione doesn't stay with men who treat her like you did – I should know that. And you should know that I'm not exactly your biggest fan either. Krum, just leave."

But instead of relenting, Krum matched Ron's step forward, so that he was nose-to-nose with him.

"If you think I am going to do that, you must be dreaming. Hermione is my vife, and mother to my children. I vill not let her go – Hermione! Come out from behind this idiot – and I do not see why you chose him to stay vith. You could haff chosen anyvun, yet you choose him. Anyvay, ve vill discuss that later. Talk to me!" He gestured to Hermione, who was trying incredibly hard to become invisible behind Ron. Andrei and Stefan were looking confused.

"Daddy?" Andrei asked uncertainly. "What's going on?"

He stepped tentatively forward. "Daddy?" he said again.

Krum turned his head to look at his son. "Andrei, my son, it is alright. Mummy and I are going to go back to the house together, aren't we, dear?" He said this last part looking pointedly at Hermione.

"Viktor, we can't pretend that none of this ever happened. You said you were sorry for what you did. I trusted you and gave you a second chance. But you threw that chance away before it had even begun! How can I ever trust you again?" Hermione looked up at him with a defiant expression.

"Mummy? Is Daddy bad?" Stefan said softly.

His little face looked worried. He stepped out from behind his mother and looked at his dad. "Daddy? Какво е станало?*" He spoke in Bulgarian, appealing to his father. Krum frowned.

"Stefan! This does not concern you!" he spat. Stefan whimpered, cowering behind Hermione once again. She picked him up and stepped towards Krum.

"Viktor, stop involving the children in this! If you want to get me back, this is not the way to go. My children mean more to me than anything, and if you ever hurt them again, I will hex your ars" – she glanced at the two boys – "I mean, butt, all the way to Timbuktu!" She kneeled down to Stefan and Andrei.

"Go to the lounge, boys. You can watch some TV. Maybe Gabrielle will make you a snack."

The boys looked up at her, and then toddled off to the living room. Hermione heard the sound of the television being turned up high. She turned to Krum.

"Over the last few weeks, you've proved to me that you're not the caring man I married. I'm sorry, Viktor. But it's over." She gathered herself and pushed past her husband up the stairs.

Ron heard a door slam and then muffled sobs. He glared at Krum, raising his wand.

"Get out. Get out!"

Krum looked daunted, yet stayed put. "I-I did not vont this to happen. I vonted – "

"You wanted Hermione to fall into your arms and come home with you. But obviously that isn't going to happen. So get out of my house!"

"But she is my vife! I demand that she come back vith me!" Krum exploded. He waved his wand threateningly, sparks shooting from the end of it. But Ron was quick. He flicked his wand arm and a silvery trail shot from the end of it. It wrapped itself around Krum, bonding his arms to his sides. It forced him to the door. Ron frowned.

"Krum, I didn't want to do this. But if you insist on ruining Hermione's life and ours in the process, I have to. Now go."

Another flick of his arm and the door opened. Krum was practically thrown through the frame and onto the pavement. His bonds were released, and just as he turned around to say something else, the door slammed in his face. Ron waved his wand once more and the lock clicked.

"He won't be able to get through that," he remarked loftily to nobody in particular.

Gabrielle looked shaken. "But he... he could return. I am sorry, bonbon, he just arrived... I could do nothing, I – he would not leave." She looked close to tears. Ron put his arm around her and gave her a loving kiss.

"Don't worry, Gabby. It's fine," he murmured.

She snuggled against his chest. "I am so lucky to have a kind, mignon man like you," she whispered. Then she looked up as a particularly noisy sob escaped the confines of the spare room. "I should go and help her. She is very upset."

Ron smiled. "I'm lucky to have a caring, sensitive wife like you," he said softly.

She smiled back and began to make her way up the stairs.

Hermione was curled up on her bed, sobbing her heart out. Her face was red and blotchy, her eyes swollen. When Gabrielle entered the room, she hiccupped loudly. She raised her eyes to the beautiful woman in front of her.

"Gabrielle, I'm s-s-so sorry. Viktor should ha-have known better than to b-b-barge in. But how did he find m-me? I've only been away f-for a few d-days! I-I don't know w-w-what to doooooo!" She ended on a desperate wail. Gabrielle sat down on the bed and put her arms around her.

"Oh, non, ma cherie, non! You must not cry; the fault is not yours! Do not worry about it. Men are often stupide, they do not think with la tête, they think with – " Gabrielle gestured to her crotch. "You must be strong!"

Her words made Hermione chuckle through her tears.

"I sup-suppose so. I'll try and be strong – for the kids and for myself. Right?"

Gabrielle nodded. "Right. So, come downstairs in a while and I will make you some dinner." She patted Hermione's shoulder, got up and left the room.

After about half an hour, Hermione felt it safe to come downstairs. She made little eye contact with Ron, who looked preoccupied anyway. Instead she focused on comforting Andrei and Stefan. She was just cheering them up with their new toys and breathing in the scent of French onion soup, when Ron entered the living room.

"Er... Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"There's a letter from the Ministry here. Krum's been to them – I don't know how he did it in an hour, but... they want you both to come in. Tomorrow."

A/N: And another short chapter. I apologise. And another sort-of cliffhanger. Sort of.

I really have no idea what's going to happen in the next chapter, so you'll be as surprised as I am when it's finished.Thank you for all the reviews! Special thanks to my reviewer 'firefly' for reviewing like every chapter! There are many others who have reviewed almost every chapter too, but firefly is special because they reviewed one chapter twice, the second time simply saying 'update'. Which is really funny and also touching. So yeah, thanks to firefly :)

* Oh yes. Forgot to add this in at first. Какво е станало is apparently Bulgarian for, simply, 'what has happened' or 'what happened'.

Hopefully the next chapter might be out soon, but it might take a bit longer... the Ministry is tough stuff :D

Thanks for reviewing!