Ello ello ello.

Sorry I haven't updated in ages, as I said I went to Hong Kong (it was awesome, by the way) and now I'm back in England! Cold, boring England! Woopdidoo!

So yeah. Here's Chapter 15.

When she woke the next morning, Hermione felt somehow dirty. Like her skin was covered in invisible grime, that you can feel but cannot see or touch.

She sat up and brushed the hair out of her face, remembering the previous night.

"Oh, I don't know what to do!" she whined softly, turning her head to the window. The morning sun was streaming through a wide gap in the curtains. Andrei and Stefan, who usually slept in the bed with her, were long gone, downstairs already.

Hermione shuddered as she remembered Krum's pawing of her last night – her skin crawled where he had touched her. Why had he done it? Why had he asked her back when thousands of girls would gladly come to him? Did he simply want someone there all the time, a wife he could run from but would always be there when he got back?

The biggest question of all was: what was she going to do about all of this? She lay back on her pillow and ran through her options in her mind. They were as follows:

Go back to Viktor, be cheated on frequently and only get any attention when he wanted her in bed or when he was out of love with someone else. Although she would have a nice house and rather a lot of money in the process.

Stay with Ron and Gabrielle. Obviously not going to happen, at least for long.

Stay with them for a few weeks or months more, then get somewhere else to live. This way she would avoid awkward confrontation with Ron and could keep him and Gabrielle (and others from Hogwarts) as friends.

Stay with someone else.

Panic.

None of the options stood out as particularly inspiring. Option 3 seemed the most appealing, although rather difficult to achieve.

She sighed. Having listed her remaining options, her brain was too tired to figure out which one to go with. She decided to leave it for now, and decide later.

She went into the nursery to feed Katerina and to take her mind off things. The baby was still asleep when she came in, but Hermione picked her up gently anyway. She waved her wand.

"Accio baby bottle and milk!"

Soon Katerina was fed and back in her cot, alternately gurgling and sucking her feet. She paused in her endeavour to beam up at her mother in the way that only babies do. She reached out her arms, so Hermione picked her up once more and gave her a cuddle. The baby was still restless afterwards, so Hermione lifted her into the playpen that had recently been erected. Soon Katerina was busy playing with a squeaky frog toy. Hermione left her there, grinning at the simplicity of pleasing a baby.

As she neared the bottom of the stairs for what seemed like the millionth time since she'd arrived, Ron came into her line of vision. He had just come out of the kitchen and into the hall. He glared at her as she reached the bottom step.

"How was your date last night?" he sniffed.

Hermione couldn't understand him. Last night, he was parading his wife and the love they shared around, and this morning he was treating her like a criminal for seeing Viktor! What was wrong with him?

The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"It was brilliant, actually," she said haughtily. "He was very nice. I really think he means well. In fact... in fact, I found it difficult coming back here!"

Well, that was a downright lie, wasn't it Hermione? she thought to herself. She didn't know why she'd said it. It wasn't as if she really had anything to prove to Ron. It was just that he angered her so! Since their kiss he had morphed back into the silly little 18-year-old boy he'd been when they broke up! She wished she could take back her words. But they were out now, and she couldn't do anything to stop them.

Ron's face was reddening.

"Well, then," he said stiffly. "If you liked it so much, maybe you should have stayed there!"

And he hurried to the front door, stepped through it, and slammed it shut behind him.

#####

"Ron?"

Harry opened the door to find a very red-faced Ron standing there. Not that his red face was surprising – what vexed him was that Ron hadn't simply Apparated into the apartment as he did all the time, much to Cho's exasperation.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, holding the door open for him. Ron stepped in silently. He walked into the living room, which the front door opened onto. It was a spacious room, with dark wood flooring and a leather sofa, on which Cho was reclining. Harry shut the door behind his friend and looked quizzically at him. He didn't say anything, but simply waited for Ron to speak.

Cho was writing something on a long piece of parchment. She didn't look up.

A long pause ensued.

Eventually, Ron moved from his standing position by the sofa. Slowly he leaned down and picked up a cushion. Then, suddenly, with no warning, he hurled it with all his might across the room. It hit a picture frame standing on a small table, which fell to the floor. The glass smashed across the wooden floor, and Harry heard Cho audibly sigh.

"I can't believe her!" Ron bellowed. He picked up another cushion. "I can't" – he threw it at the window – "fucking" – he picked up another – "believe her!" The third cushion hit Cho in the head. She turned her head towards him, and if looks could kill, he would have been dead before he even realised what hit him. Harry gave her a warning look.

"That bitch!" Ron was still shouting. "She thinks she can bloody go back to that bloody wanker, just like that! After all he did to her; after all she did to me!" He reached down for another cushion. Realising that he'd already thrown them all, he grabbed the coffee table with both hands and lifted it clear off the ground. Teacups, glasses and coasters went everywhere, the liquid within them spilling out onto the floor. A white vase of black flowers smashed loudly. The table itself was flung to the floor and, with a crash, broke apart. This was too much for Cho.

"Ronald!" she cried, standing from her sitting position on the sofa. Harry immediately sank into the cushions to take her place.

Cho took a step towards Ron, who was still fuming. "Ronald Billius Weasley! It's a bad enough thing doing this sort of thing in your own house, but in my flat it is totally out of bounds! Now, you may be Harry's best mate, but unless you stop doing that" – she pointed to where Ron was flexing his fingers around an unbroken mug – "I will have to kick you out. What's your plan of action?"

She waited several seconds for Ron to answer. He said nothing.

She was about to say something else, when Ron seemed to snap. He threw back his arm and tossed the mug at the floor, where it shattered. Cho's chest heaved.

"That's it, Ron! Out! Come back when you've grown up!" She pushed him towards the door. He hesitated.

"Out, Ron."

Eventually, he opened the door. He nodded to Harry. "See you later, mate." Then he was gone. Harry turned to his girlfriend, a half-annoyed, half-amused expression on his face.

"Did you really have to do that?"

A/N: Sorry for the short-nosity of this chapter.

Suggestions for chapters? Stuff you wanna see?

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