~Two Weeks Later~

"Those in favor of conviction?"

I hold my breath as the members of the Wizengamot begin to raise their hands. Beside me I hear Malfoy counting them under his breath; he swears when they lower their hands before he gets to all of them.

"Those in favor of clearing the accused of all charges?"

My head begins to swim as I watch a few hands raise. How could they be so blind? Anderson was guilty; there was not a doubt in my mind. After a moment, the hands fall and the Chief Warlock clears his throat.

"The Wizengamot has found the accused guilty of six counts of murder and torture. Sentencing will take place tomorrow at one o'clock. Until that time, the accused with be held by the Ministry in a holding cell. You are dismissed."

I let out a long sigh of relief, my eyes glancing at Malfoy just in time to see his shoulders relax. It was over. Anderson was going to Azkaban- for the rest of his pathetic life if we have our way.

"How'd I do?" Reed asks as he approaches us.

I give him a smile. "You did beautifully."

"Don't make him overconfident," Malfoy sneers. "Need I remind you that this twat is the reason he was released over the weekend and was able to double the charges brought to him?"

I watch as Reed's face pales and make a mental note to punch Malfoy in the face later. "Ignore him, Reed. You couldn't have known this would have happened. But it's over now. He was found guilty and he will, hopefully, never see the light of day again." A swift kick to Malfoy's leg under the table keeps him from responding.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" he hisses after I have ushered Reed away.

"What do you mean 'what was that for'?" I snap. "Reed's got enough guilt over what happened; he doesn't need you adding on to it and making it worse. What's done is done and he needs to learn to accept that."

"Hey, well try explaining that to the families of the children Anderson was able to kill. I'm sure they'll see it your way."

"That is not fair and you know it!" I growl as I follow him out of the trial room and on to one of the elevators. "No one can be blamed for what happened to those children except for Anderson. He is a monster and he will never be able to hurt anyone else ever again."

"You're lucky we're alone or I'd never say this, Granger," Malfoy says as the doors close and we set off for Level Two of the Ministry, "but I hope to Merlin you are right."

"Ron, I'm home!" I call as I walk through the door to our flat. "The case is closed! Anderson was found guilty and he'll be sentenced tomorrow! How's about we go out and celebrate, huh?"

I walk through the kitchen to the living room, noticing no signs of my fiancé. I open the bedroom door to find the bed made and untouched. I toss my cloak on the bed and move to the closet, pulling my dress over my head and rolling down my pantyhose. I find a pair of sweatpants that don't smell dirty and pull them on with a shrug, followed by a simple t-shirt.

"Ron? Is that you?" I yell at the sound of the door opening.

"Yeah," is his bored response.

I hurry toward to meet him in the living room, my smile wide. "The case is closed and I am a free woman! Do you want to go out and do something? We can do anything you want."

"Honestly, Hermione, I'd rather just stay in tonight."

I try not to let my face fall. "Oh, okay, that's fine. I just thought it would be nice to get out of the flat since I've practically lived in my office for the past two weeks making sure we would nail this case. But it's fine! As long as I get to spend time with you."

Ron gives me a smile that I'm sure I'm only imagining is tight and forced. He brushes past me to the bedroom and I watch as he shuts the door to the bathroom behind him. I stare at the closed door for a moment before walking back to the living room and turning on the telly. I listen absentmindedly as I move to the kitchen, searching the cabinets for popcorn. I find it hidden behind a few bags of chips and silently curse Ron for having little to no organizational skills. I pop it in the microwave and glance at the TV screen. It's some movie I've seen a dozen times, but I can never seem to remember the name. I watch it without really seeing, snapping out of my haze only when the microwave dings.

I settle in on the couch and flip through the channels, hoping something good will catch my eye.

"Ron, is there anything you want to watch? I can't seem to find anything."

"What? Oh, no, I don't care. Actually, I'm gonna turn in early tonight. G'night," he calls from our bedroom.

I furrow my brows together and glance at the time. It is barely nine in the evening. Something is definitely wrong with him. I chew my popcorn slowly, analyzing Ron's mood. He should be thrilled that I'm home and willing to do practically anything with him. I haven't had a day off since the body count for the case doubled. Now I'm home. He should be ecstatic and bouncing off the walls, or at the very least helping me get rid of my pent up sexual tension. Merlin knows we haven't shagged in nearly two weeks, let alone have a good shag.

I glance toward our closed bedroom door again. Making up my mind that tomorrow I'd figure out what's the matter with him- even if I have to beat it out of him- I relax into the cushions and continue my search to find something mildly interesting. I settle on a documentary about some ancient civilization and let the narrator's smooth voice lull me into a comfortable sleep.

0000000

Oh Merlin, what the hell did I do to my neck? I wake up in pain, my hand rubbing the back of neck in an effort to relieve some of the tightness. I sigh when I remember I fell asleep on the couch last night. The telly is still on, now playing some dull news station and my bag of popcorn as fallen to the floor, a few spare kernels scattered around it.

I stand up and stretch, cursing myself for sleeping so awkwardly, before stooping down and cleaning up my mess. I toss the bag in the trash and turn on the coffee maker when I start to yawn. This is my first day off in two weeks and I'll be damned if I sleep through it. I pull two mugs out of the cabinet and pour the hot coffee into them once it's finished brewing. With one mug in each hand, I make my way to the bedroom, pushing the door open with my foot.

Ron is still in bed. He is spread out like a starfish, the sheets tangled around him and snoring loudly. I smile to myself and place his mug on his bedside table before retreating from the room and heading back to the kitchen. I riffle through the frig as I sip my coffee. We're running low on groceries; I'll need to go shopping soon. Deciding against breakfast, I walk to our door and open it to collect our newspaper. I smile as I read the headline: Christopher Anderson Found Guilty; Sentenced to be Decided Today. It was nice knowing there was one less killer and predator out in the world.

I look up from the paper when I hear sounds of life from the bedroom; Ron's awake. I set the paper on the counter and walk back to the bedroom to find Ron sitting up and drinking his coffee.

"Thanks," he says when he sees me in the doorway. "I need this today."

I smile. "Big plans, huh?"

Ron's ears go read. "Uh, kinda, I guess."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "Really? I didn't know you had something going on today; I was hoping we could do something. I took the whole day off."

"Don't you want to be at the sentencing?"

I shrug. "Reed will be there; he can fill me in. Besides, I haven't spent a lot of time with you recently because of this case. I wanted to fix that."

"Mhm."

"Ron, is something wrong? You're acting very… weird."

"I am not," he says defensively, setting down the mug and crossing his arms.

"Okay, easy. Didn't mean to offend you," I say with my free hand out toward him, palm face toward as a sign of peace. "Maybe I think that because you just woke up. You tend to be a little crabby in the morning."

"Whatever, Hermione," he grumbles, swinging his legs out of bed and heading to the bathroom.

I frown and follow him, leaning against the doorframe as I watch him wash his face. "How's training Sarah going?"

"Fine."

I pause, waiting for him to elaborate. He doesn't and instead moves to shut the door on me. I stand in shock long enough to hear the water of the shower running. My eyes narrow and I stalk out into the living room. I set my mug down on the small corner desk and pull out some parchment and a pen.

Ginny,

Can you do lunch today? I need to get out of the flat.

Hermione

I fold the letter in half before tucking it into an envelope. On the opposite side of the living room, Pig is sleeping soundly in his cage. I feel a small twitch of sympathy when he hoots sleepily at me as I stroke his feathers. I hate waking him up.

"Hey Pig," I coo softly when he shakes himself awake. "I've got a letter for you. Could you give it to Ginny, please?"

I offer the owl my arm and he hops on after accepting the letter from me. I carry him to the window, opening it when my free hand. Pig hoots at me again before stretching his wings and taking off in the crisp morning air. I watch him fly until I can no longer see him and then slowly shut the window. Behind me, I hear Ron stumble into the kitchen no doubt looking for food.

"I'm going to go grocery shopping today after lunch," I say when he reappears with toast in hand. "Care to join me?"

He shakes his head before slipping back into our bedroom.

I sigh. "Well is there again you'd like me to pick up?"

"No."

When he comes back out of the room he's carrying his Qudditch bag and his broom. I arch an eyebrow.

"I didn't think you practiced on Sundays."

"We don't usually, but I've been giving Sarah extra lessons," he says dismissively as he drops his things to lace up his boots. "I'm gonna be out all day so don't bother with making dinner for me."

"Oh, I just thought since we really didn't hang out last night, we could tonight… I hardly get any time off, you know."

"And whose fault is that?" he snaps.

I watch in stunned silence as he opens the door and storms out.

"Don't wait up!" he yells before slamming the door behind him.

"Oh no, what did my idiot of a brother do this time?" Ginny asks the moment I take my seat across from her at our favorite café.

I shake my head and play with the silverware in front of me. "He was just in a mood this morning. Nothing unusual."

"Bullshit, Hermione Granger. Spill."

I sigh. I really don't want to drive a wedge between Ginny and her brother; the last thing I need is for Ron to blame me for the two of them fighting. Luckily our waiter makes an appearance and asks for our orders.

"The club sandwich and some black tea, please," Ginny says, her brown eyes still fixed on me.

"I'll just have a water and the soup of the day," I say, handing our menus over.

After a smile and a promise to have our food to us as soon as possible, my only hope of avoiding Ginny's questions disappears.

She folds her arms against her chest and raises an eyebrow. "Well, go on then. I'm ready to begin thinking of punishments for him."

"Gin, please. I hate getting in the way of you two; I feel like I'm tattling on him or something."

"Hermione, we are best friends. We are supposed to complain about boys together. Merlin knows how many times I Apparated over to your flat crying because Harry and I had some silly spat. Right now, Ron is not my brother. He is my best friend's fiancé who I have every right to be pissed at solely because he made her upset. Now, on you get."

I smile at her. "It's just… you know how's he's been lately. Ever since I got my promotion we've been fighting. It's like he assumed nothing would change with my new job. I have more responsibilities now and I work on Saturdays. I think he's just got his wand in a knot because it seems like I'm never home."

"He should be happy for you; you've worked your bloody arse off for that job."

I nod. "I really have! And I wouldn't change a thing about it. I love everyone I work with. Well, with one notable exception."

Ginny's face contorts into a scowl. "I still can't believe Malfoy was offered Department Head. Isn't that typically reserved for older, more experienced witches and wizards?"

"Usually, yeah. But from what I've gathered, Malfoy got the position because he had a stellar application and recommendations. Apparently, someone argued that his past with Dark Wizards would help him think more like a criminal so he could gather new information that other wizards wouldn't necessarily think was relevant."

"Hmm," Ginny hums. "Not a bad thought, actually. Does he? Find new and better information, I mean."

I shrug. "I guess. He really is the first Head of Investigation I've had to work with so I wouldn't be able to notice too many changes with him. I mean, so far we have a pretty good conviction record, but it's only been a month at most."

"Still an ignorant ferret though, right?"

I laugh. "You have no idea."

Ginny smirks before her face becomes serious again. "Back to business. What are you going to do about my brother?"

"I don't know… Just wait for him to get over this, I suppose. Once his new tournament starts up next week I think he should be back to normal. Maybe he's just bored being at the flat all the time. I mean, the only time he really gets out is when he's practicing."

"Perhaps. You should sit him down and make him tell you what's going on in that thick head of his though. There is no way I'd tolerate this kind of shit from Harry, and you shouldn't either."

"You are absolutely right! I am going to give him a piece of my mind when he gets home tonight."

"Now there's the Hermione I know and love!" Ginny says with a toothy grin.

I glance at the clock again. It is a quarter past midnight, why on earth was Ron out so bloody late? I sip my wine slowly, my eyes locked on the door. Sitting at the kitchen table, I have several cases spread out before me and no motivation to work on any of them; I stopped looking at them an hour ago. My eyes narrow at the door, my patience wearing thin.

I stand, gulping down the last of my wine and placing the glass in the sink; I'd wash it in the morning. I return to the table and begin packing up my files. No use waiting for Ron here and getting a sore back. I'll wait for him in bed. Just when I finish stacking the cases, I hear the door open and whirl around to find Ron.

"Where the hell have you been?" I try not to wince at how my voice hitches and sounds like my mother's.

Ron's eyes narrow. "I was out; I told you not to wait up."

"Out where?"

"What is this, the fucking Spanish Inquisition?" he snarls as he slams the door and storms past me. "I don't need to tell you."

"Ronald Weasley! I am your bloody fiancé! I was worried about you!"

"Well you sure have a funny way of showing it, don't you?" Ron yells, turning to look at me. "You don't get to start bossing me around just because you have one bloody night off, Hermione! Nor do you get to dictate where I go or when I come back!"

"What are you talking about? I just asked where you were for Christ's sake!"

"And I'm asking you to back off!"

My jaw locks and my eyes narrow. Fine. If he wants to fight, I can bloody well fight.

"What the fuck has gotten into you? You have been acting like a complete arse lately!"

"Well maybe I'm just sick and tired of my fiancé ignoring me!"

"Ignoring you?! I've been working, Ron! I have a bloody job!"

"And I'm tired of hearing about it! Day in and day out it's 'my job this' and 'my job that'! I don't give a flying fuck about your promotion, Hermione! You are never home anymore, we haven't shagged in ages-"

"Is that what this is about?! Us not fucking shagging?"

"No, but it is certainly a contributing factor!"

I throw my hands in the air. "You are impossible!"

"So are you!"

Ron storms away from me and into the bedroom, but I am not nearly finished. I stalk after him, only to find myself tongue tied when I discover him throwing clothes into a bag.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he snaps. "I'm leaving; I've had enough of this shit."

He is throwing far too many clothes into that bag for this to be an overnight trip.

"When are you coming back?"

Ron stops and glares at me. "Why the fuck would you care?"

"Because I love you, you prick!"

He laughs without humor. "Yeah, right. Don't owl me." Then he turns on the spot and vanishes.