AN: I own nothing

Hermione slammed the door of her office, silencing the commotion on the other side with a flick of her wand. Pulling off her coat and hanging it on the hook, she slumped into her desk chair and surveyed her duties for the day. As a senior employee in the department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, her work never really came to a stop. Whether it was dealing with the mistreatment of a house-elf or a rogue hippogriff, her job kept her on her toes, and she loved it. However, she could still be doing the same job in 20 years time if she didn't take action. She wanted to make a change. She was ready for a new challenge and she was achieving everything she had planned to do. Her next big change was to revoke many of the old pureblood laws in place, which allowed them precedence over others. She'd sent her application off for Deputy Head of the MLE last Monday and today was the day to find out whether she had got it.

She knew that she had proven herself more than capable of dealing with such a task. A couple of years ago, with the help of the Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Hermione managed to get a monumental bill passed. The Bill for the Protection of Elvish Welfare, which sentimentally she called "Dobby's Bill." Harry had actually broken down at her announcement and, although it was unintentional, the sight of the Saviour of the Wizarding World breaking down in tears helped her course enormously. A photo of Harry with tears pouring down his face had circulated on the front page of various newspapers for weeks. It also provided his friends and family with valuable ammunition to tease him for a while. George had made a joke Harry toy for the shop which when squeezed started crying and wailing uncontrollably until you squeezed it again. It was a big seller.

The Bill meant that all house-elves were subject to 8-hour working days, with 1-2 days off per week. There would also be immediate prosecution for people who were found to be mistreating their elves whether it is by not adhering to the new elfish working week or by causing them actual bodily harm. The Bill had left her drained and the first thing she did was climb into bed but the outcome of the Bill was more than she could hope for. She was initially overwhelmed with the number of cases pouring in, but once she had established a system of how to deal with them, the caseload decreased to the point that she could actually get her 8 hours of sleep each night.

Passing another bill like that felt like a lot more manageable today than what she faced outside her office. All she wanted was an uneventful day at work with minimal stress so she could plan how to deal with Ron. She'd selfishly spent the rest of her weekend wallowing in her new single life eating nothing but Ben and Jerry's and reading dozens of Chick-lit books. Monday was her day to start being sensible again and deal with the situation that was 'Ron Weasley.'

She'd planned to finish answering all the mail her office received over the weekend and then pop round the Auror's offices to see Harry about the situation. Once she'd got him on side, she would work with him to contain Ron and any outburst he would make to the Press. In her mind, it was a soundproof plan, as Ron didn't have a reason to get up particularly early, as he was unemployed, single and living at the Burrow with his parents. She snorted at that thought; it was quite satisfying to think that for once Ron was on the bad end of things and not her. She never understood how he always managed to land on his feet in whatever situation they were thrown into.

Unfortunately, today was just another example of this. What she hadn't anticipated this morning was that Ron did have reason to get up regardless of his pathetic life situation. And that reason was his former fiancée, Hermione Jean Granger. When she'd stepped out of the elevator and into the bustling offices this morning, she failed to notice the not so subtle stares in her direction from her colleagues. She failed to notice how people rose from their desks, with Cheshire cat grins and follow her around the corner. She almost failed to notice the crowd assembled around a very smug looking Ron.

That was when she knew she was in trouble. Ron had put on his best dress robes and was holding a bouquet of a dozen red roses. Harry stood behind him, his grin reaching either ear. Well there went her plan! And Ron clearly hadn't worked out that when she said they were over, they were over. They hadn't yet announced their engagement to the public yet, as he'd only asked her the day before the Victory Day ball. That proposal had been Ron shoving a black box in her direction and saying,

"Put that on, will you."

Hermione had been so taken aback she had acquiesced to his demand. As soon as she had done so, Ron had simply patted her hand, and walked away to get himself a beer. All in all, it was not the most romantic proposal in the world. That proposal paled in comparison to this very public proposal. Ron knew how much she hated the press and public attention, but he thrived off of it. If she said yes, he would parade her around like some kind of trophy wife and he would make a living off his fame. If she said no, he would play the heartbroken man and Hermione would be a pariah. She would be the woman who turned down a member of the Golden Trio regardless of the fact that she was a member herself. She made a note to tackle this sexist double standard when she had a chance but for now she just stood before the crowd gaping in shock and horror.

Ron took a step in her direction and began what was obviously a very prepared speech.

"Hermione Jean Granger. I would be hopeless without you. The last few months have been tough but you have stuck by me and I love you for that. I love you. I know I have screwed up more times than I can count but I know that we are made for each other.

I may not have much right now. I am an unemployed Qudditch player with not many prospects right now. But our love will see us through."

He handed her the roses and got down on one knee, and grinned up at her. Hermione was quite disconcerted by the look he gave her. This behaviour was very odd. All he ever did during their relationship was smile patronisingly at her and make lewd sexual advances. The sad part about all this was that Ron actually appeared to believe what he said, he'd never been that good a liar.

"So, Hermione. Will you marry me?"

The usual office commotion had dissipated into a tense silence. By the time Ron finished he speech, everyone on the floor had gathered around to watch the spectacle that Ron had created. The secretaries were gathered in a group giggling like lovesick teenagers. It almost made Hermione want to roll her eyes. However, what made Hermione the most nervous was the expression on her boss' face. The usually somewhat dour man had tears of joy running down his face. His hands were placed on the point above his heart and a peculiar grin had grown on his face. She was fucked. If there was any doubt before, the look on her boss' face did it.

"Hermione?" Ron's tone remained calm but Hermione could see his jaw tighten in annoyance at her hesitation.

"I…uh…" Hermione spluttered, clutching the roses to her chest like a shield. People started muttering. Her boss' grin dimmed somewhat. She could do this, she was a Gryffindor, so, she took a deep breath and readied her answer.

"I'm sorry Ron. But No."

The office descended into chaos, her boss looked like he was about to keel over. The secretaries looked half-horrified, half-ecstatic at her refusal. No doubt news of the proposal would make its way around the entire ministry by the end of the day.

Ron slowly rose to his feet, and grabbed her by the waist pulling her close. He practically spat in her ear,

"You'll live to regret this Hermione. Why couldn't you have been a good girl and said yes, I'll never understand. "

And with that he stormed away, melting into the crowd.

All Hermione saw around her were looks of disappointment and anger. She felt like she was suffocating. The volume slowly grew into loud shouts of exclamation and of people spreading the news. Her breaths grew shorter. Hermione turned on her heel and entered her office….

Hi everyone, hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Now don't hate me but I am going away next week with the family next week and I won't have my computer with me. So, I will try and get two chapters out to you the following week when I get back. I promise!

Please review!