AN: Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
"Where have you been?" Ron demanded.
Hermione groaned as she stepped through her apartment door. Well, it was only going to be her apartment for the next fifteen hours. She always liked this place, even if she didn't always like the person she lived with.
Was it bad to love someone and not like them? She'd asked herself that a few times over the last few hours. Still no answers. How disconcerting...
"You're home late." He stood beside the kitchen table. "I'm hungry, and you promised to make me chicken tonight."
"I'm not making chicken tonight."
"But you promised you would."
"Would you get off my ass?" She snapped. "I've had a long day."
"You've had a long day?" Ron retorted. "I had to help George restock the shelves, deal with customers who don't know how to read directions, and try to assuage Mum's fears that we will apply for our marriage license before the Ministry pairs us up with someone else. She thinks we won't get around to it."
"I wonder why she'd think that," she grumbled.
"She thinks I do everything too late," Ron gave her a small grin. "She doesn't understand that I can't wait to be your husband. I'd marry you tomorrow if I could."
Hermione's stomach knotted. It wasn't fair to hurt Ron like this. After everything they'd done together, he didn't deserve this. Still, it wouldn't matter. Nothing would matter! If she could be euphoric, so could everyone else. Even depression couldn't poke through her positivity.
"Speaking of which," Ron's voice was gentler. "Where were you last night? You still haven't told me."
"I, uh," she began pacing across the room. "I was somewhere."
"Yes, obviously, but where?" Ron asked.
"I was with," she took a deep breath. "There's no nice way to say this."
"No nice way to say what?"
"You know how now if you sleep with someone you are now married to them? We didn't think it was important at the time and laughed about it. I remember us laughing about all the poor sods who didn't have as much make up sex as we did. We argue so much the make up sex is great. I think we were both expecting to have it today. Anyway, the law didn't seem important at the time, but..."
His eyes grew.
"Well, that law may be important now."
"Why would that be?"
"I may have had too much to drink and slept with Severus Snape."
"You did WHAT?" Ron yelled.
"Yeah, I'm going to be Mrs. Hermione Snape by ten tomorrow morning."
"Y-you cheated on me with Snape?"
"No," she answered in a measured voice. "We were over so I moved on with Severus."
"No we weren't! We weren't over!"
"Yes, we were. You said we were done."
"I said I needed space. I meant I needed space for the night, not forever."
"Well I guess you'll get your space forever now."
"Would you stop pacing?" He snapped. "I can't keep my eye on you when you won't stand still."
"I'm sorry, but I'm really energetic and emotional." She could not have stilled herself even if she tried. There was too much energy, much too much energy for her to remain still. It needed to go somewhere. Pacing wasn't a terrible release.
"You're emotional?" Ron retorted. "What about me?"
"What about you? Why would you be emotional? You aren't getting married to someone you only recently reconnected with. I am. That's very emotionally taxing for me."
"I just found out I was cheated on, and that you are getting married to another man. How am I not supposed to be emotional?"
"We were broken up. You said you were done with me." She kept moving.
"I always say that."
"You wanted time away."
"No, I needed time away after our last argument."
"It seems like you always need time away."
"It seems like you're always nagging at me."
"I wouldn't nag if you wouldn't annoy me."
"So I annoyed you and you slept with someone?"
"We. Were. On. A. Break!" She answered.
"W-was this the first time you slept with someone when you thought we were on a break?" He demanded.
"Yes," she stopped. "And it should've been the last time since we're over. But…"
"But what?"
"But I need to move out of here and into his house."
"That's it?" Ron spat. "You've cheated on me and are marrying another man, and you don't care."
"Of course I care!" Hermione argued. "I just don't know what else to say. I tried to convince the judge you and I would have the wedding of the century if she'd just help me out and forget this whole sleeping with Severus thing ever happened. I reminded her that I was a member of the Golden Trio, but she wouldn't listen to me. No matter what I said she insisted on enforcing this stupid law. If I don't marry Severus I'm going to have restrictions on my magic."
"He's Severus now?"
"Yes, I tend to be on a first name basis with the people I fuck."
"Were you going to tell me about any of this before the papers reported it?"
"In my defense, this has all happened rather suddenly. I didn't have time to tell you until now."
He shook his head.
"Don't give me that," She pointed to him. "You don't support me finding my parents. Severus did. You said we were done. Severus is willing to marry me to support me."
"He only supports you because he hasn't heard you go on and on about your parents for the last two years."
"Is it so wrong that I want my parents back?"
"No, but you are obsessed with them."
"They are my parents. Why wouldn't I be obsessed with them?"
"I get that you're their daughter, but they weren't that great."
"What?" She shouted.
"They weren't that great," Ron argued. "They didn't like me and weren't big fans of my family."
"Probably because when they need me most, you're keeping us apart."
"I'm trying to get you to accept reality."
"Which is?"
"You'll never restore their memories. No matter what you say or do, they aren't coming back."
"Aren't coming back? Aren't coming back?" She spat. "Let me explain something to you: I am the brightest witch of my age. I can do anything I put my mind to. I'm much better at researching than anyone else. Even Severus had to admit that. He promised to give me some books but I guess he doesn't have to make those promises anymore since they're mine now too. I wonder what this books were. I forgot the titles, not that it matters. I'll ask for them when I move in. Anyway, we're going to undo the memory loss, and then maybe I'll open a bookstore."
"A bookstore?"
"Yes," her eyes glistened. "I'd be really good at running a bookstore. I don't need the Ministry or their long hours or their lack of respect. I'm better than them and they know it. I still don't know how they couldn't take what I said about my marriage to Severus seriously. They missed a real opportunity not to have the wedding for you and me. I wonder if I should have a big wedding with Severus. There's still time to plan something quick. Of course we don't have to have our only wedding now. We can have another wedding, a really big one."
"I don't want to talk about your wedding to Severus," Ron growled.
"I know you don't, but I have to plan things. I want a big wedding." She put up her arms. "I want a big diamond ring and a nice white dress. It needs to be a mermaid dress, with lots of sequins and sparkles. I could make one from one of my dresses. I just need the right books, which brings me back to the bookstore. I could do it. Everyone would come to my opening. All I need is a building and some money. I'm sure I could play the muggle lottery and win it. Do you know how hard that is to do? With some magic I could do it, just not too often. I don't want anyone to get suspicious. I could buy scratch off tickets too. Those are fun. I like having fun. There's a thrill when you're scratching, just waiting to see the next number."
"Hermione!"
"What?" She shouted.
"What," Ron shook his head. "What the hell has gotten into you?"
"What do you mean?" She blinked.
"Nothing you have said or done during the last two weeks has made any sense. Everything you're saying now makes no sense. Nothing about what's happened makes any sense," he answered.
"That's because you could never keep up with me," she answered.
"Excuse me?"
"My mind has always worked faster than yours. It works faster than anyone's. That's why nobody appreciates me. Nobody can understand me. I'm designed for something different than this world has planned for me, something more than anyone else can understand."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I'm going to cure my parents, be their daughter again, and then I'm going to open a bookstore, and then I'm going to cure so many diseases. Everyone will have to admit I'm important then," she argued.
"Hermione," his voice was softer. "I already think you're important."
"I know," she took a shaky breath. "And I'm sorry things ended this way. It shouldn't have happened."
"That's it?" Ron scowled. "It shouldn't have happened?"
"What else is there to say? I made a mistake and I apologized. Those are the big things to say."
"You could also say, 'I'm sorry Ron. I regret that I'm marrying another man. I just made the worst mistake of my life. Please take me back.'"
"I can't take you back. That's adultery."
"Can't you at least say you want me in your life?"
"Only if you're going to be supportive."
"What does that mean?"
"Do you promise to support me in getting my parents' memories back and not complain while I try to do it?"
"I can't watch you bang your head against a wall anymore. I can't watch you become upset with each failure. I can't watch your cry at night because your parents treat you like a stranger. I can't watch you obsess over people who hated me even when they had their memories."
"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm not marrying you then."
Ron's eyes watered.
Her stomach sank at the brokenness in his eyes. Was it wrong to feel this happy? No matter what she did or how everyone around her felt, the excitement of living life remained. If it wasn't so comforting and euphoric she'd feel worse about her situation. At the moment, she didn't know if she was capable of a negative emotion.
It was the most liberating feeling in existence!
"I think you should go," his voice was soft.
"Yes, I should," her throat constricted. "I'm going to pack some things. Maybe Ginny will help me get the rest of my stuff tomorrow, though I'd like to organize the boxes."
"I'll owl her and explain everything."
"No, I can do that. It'll all be fine."
"What about me?" Ron's voice was soft. "I'm not fine."
"I know," Hermione's stomach sank. "I uh, didn't want this to happen."
"But it did happen!"
"I know, and again, I'm sorry."
"Sorry won't fix this, and you know it."
"I'm smart enough to know that, but I'm also smart enough to know that sometimes things don't work out. You will find someone else to marry, someone who can love you the way I couldn't. It won't be as hard as you think."
"You were the only person I ever loved!" Ron shouted.
"I know and," she shook. "I love you too."
"Then why did you cheat on me?"
"I," she swallowed. "I didn't cheat."
"Why did you sleep with Snape?"
"I don't know."
"I don't either. The person looking at me," Ron swallowed. "I don't recognize her. She isn't the person I went to Hogwarts with, the person who claimed to love me, the person I wanted as my wife. You aren't the person I fell in love with."
"Oh shove it! I am the person you fell in love with!" Her body shook with the energy which had been storing inside for the last few minutes. "I'm no different than I was a month ago. It's not my fault the cloud of the war is no longer over my head and I'm happy! I'm fucking happy now!"
"Happy about what?"
"Life. I finally love life again and am living it to the fullest. I think that's amazing. You should think that too."
"Hermione, please leave before you say or do something you can't take back."
"Fine, but one day you'll see. I'll restore my parents' memories and make everyone regret saying it wasn't possible."
"If anyone can do it, it's you," he admitted in a quiet voice.
"Thank you," she turned to the doorway. "Can I get some clothes and toiletries? I need something for my hotel room."
He nodded.
"Thank you," she rushed to the bedroom. As she was packing, she needed to find her prettiest dress. It would be too late to go to a professional for a bridal gown, but she could make one herself. Even if people told her the spells involved were complex, she could do it.
After all, she was Hermione Granger. She could do anything she bloody well wanted.