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When Two Broken Hearts Collide	By : LumosNox93 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 7424 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or any of its characters or details, nor do I make any money from this fanfic.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
The next morning Hermione got up and sat on her sofa with her cup of tea in complete silence. Last night had been a whirlwind of emotions and she was still trying to process what the best course of action.
Ever since she had been a young girl, Hermione had always been a highly practical and logical individual. She believed that if everything was organised and looked at logically, a solution would appear. The problem was that when it came to matters of the heart, logic and love weren't synonymous. She knew that deep in her heart she would always love Ronald Weasley, maybe it wouldn't be in a romantic way, but they had spent too much of their life together to forget about him and resent him completely.
Was she hurt by his betrayal? Of course she was, there was no denying that. But it hurt her more seeing him so angry and resentful towards her, as if she had purposefully ruined his life when in reality she had wanted nothing but the best for him. He may not have realised it but she hadn't stayed in the relationship to punish him or trap him, she had stayed because she had wanted to help, but the lack of communication had made that impossible and had lead them to this point.
She sighed and put the mug down on the glass coffee table and cradled her head in her hands. The image that haunted her the most from last night was that of Ginny being completely distraught. She had known her since her second-year at Hogwarts, she had at first only been Ron's little sister who was in love with Harry, but now, now she was her closest friend and more like a sister than anything else.
As Hermione had watched Ginny grow she had realised what a strong, fierce woman she was and had always admired that about her. The truth was, when you were use to seeing someone happy and strong, you forgot that they could also be hurt and vulnerable. And yesterday, Ginny had seemed anything but strong.
Hermione had seen first-hand how much pain the Weasley's had been through. She had been there at Fred's funeral, amidst the Weasley family, as one of their own. She had shared their pain and saw how they had pulled together.
But Ron hadn't really gotten over it all, thought Hermione sadly as she made her way to the bathroom and turned on the shower. He had never surpassed the loss of Fred and then shortly after that Percy running away to America.
She quickly showered, dressed in a simple white shirt and jeans and slipped on a pair of plain black flats. She knew what she had to do, but she didn't feel good about it, in fact she felt nervous and scared of what may come as a result of her actions. But she had to. She owed it to the family that she had been a part of and who had welcomed her as one of their own. She owed it to her best friend.
Grabbing a brown leather jacket and her bag, she went out the door and found a quiet street. Making sure no muggles were in the surrounding area she turned on her heel and thought of the Burrow.
Her feet touched solid ground and she opened her eyes. There in front of her was a sight that was so familiar to her that she was torn between relief and anxiety. The crooked house with several chimneys perched on top was there in front of her, with chickens scattered in the front garden, and amidst them stood Molly Weasley
"Hermione dear?" She called out, dropping the chicken feed and making her way towards the front gate of the Burrow.
"Hello Mrs Weasley" said Hermione making her way forward and smiling warmly at her former mother-in-law.
"How many times must I insist on you calling me Molly" she sternly. She paused and looked at her scrutinisingly before wrapping her arms around her and embracing her, hard.
"How are you?" Asked Hermione, her voice muffled by Molly Weasley's hug.
"Oh don't worry about me dear, I'm fine. Just fine" she said quickly "how are you? Do you have time for some tea and a catch up?"
"Actually, I was hoping to talk to Ronald" said Hermione nervously glancing up towards the top floor of The Burrow where she knew Ron's bedroom was located.
"Oh" said Mrs Weasley her face dropping "well I'm not going to lie to you dear, he isn't well and right now he's asleep because I managed to make him take a potion to get some rest. You're more than welcome to wait for him to wake with me"
but before Hermione had a chance to answer she added
"unless of course you'd rather I send you an owl or patronus telling you he's woken up."
"No" said Hermione smiling "I'd love to catch up with you Molly. It's been too long"
Mrs Weasley's face lit up and she beamed happily.
"Fantastic. Why don't you head into the living room and I'll make a nice pot of tea!"
The two women made their way into the house and Hermione proceeded into the living room as Mrs Weasley fussed over the kettle and summoned two mugs. The living room was exactly as Hermione remembered it from the many evenings that she had spent at The Burrow. Everything seemed the same, yet nothing was the same anymore.
Moments later Mrs Weasley entered the living room holding a tray with two steaming mugs of tea , a teapot and an assortment of biscuits on it. For a moment they sat in silence sipping absentmindedly at their tea. Hermione noticed that Mrs Weasley had changed. Once a woman who was so full of joy and life, she now seemed sad, she had visibly lost weight and looked dishevelled.
" … I mean Molly" Hermione corrected herself quickly "are you quite sure that you're ok?"
Mrs Weasley didn't answer her at once, she stared at the fireplace in which a roaring fire was crackling away and she stirred her tea.
"Things have been difficult dear" she said finally "but we've been coping"
"Do you mean things have been difficult with Ron?" Hermione pressed on gently and Mrs Weasley looked up and observed her curiously.
"I know you two… The marriage… It's over" she said "but I don't know why. Every time I try to talk to Ron about it he gets angry and storms out and I don't see him until the next morning when he stumbles in looking a right mess"
Hermione didn't answer. She didn't know what to say to that.
"If I just knew what had happened" said Mrs Weasley imploringly "then maybe I could help him recover. But I cant keep seeing him like this"
"I can't tell you" said Hermione her heart breaking as she saw Mrs Weasley's face fall "I'm sorry I wish I could but it's not my place to tell you. He would never forgive me if I did and honestly, I haven't quite come to terms with it all either"
"Well" said Mrs Weasley her tone suddenly a lot more stern "you seem to be coping much better than Ron is by any means"
"That doesn't mean I don't care" said Hermione putting down her mug and frowning "just because I don't go out and drink myself into oblivion and come back in the early hours of the morning doesn't mean I'm not hurting as well. If there had been any chance of me saving this marriage and him, then believe me I would have. But there wasn't Mrs Weasley, and I understand if you blame me for it, but that doesn't stop me from caring about Ron"
Then there was silence and the only thing that could be heard was the crackling of the fire.
And then after a few minutes…
"I'm sorry" said Mrs Weasley in a hoarse voice "I know you care dear. It's just Arthur and I don't know how to get through to him anymore. No one seems to be able to. I just know he's hurting and one day you'll realise that not being able to diminish your child's pain is the most heart-breaking thing you'll ever experience"
"I came here to help" said Hermione earnestly leaning forward and taking Mrs Weasley's hand and giving it a tight squeeze "I am going to get through to him whether he likes it or not. Even if we're not together I'm not giving up on him"
Mrs Weasley smiled and quickly wiped away the tears that were forming in the corner of her eyes.
"Thank you dear. I just wish it hadn't come to this. Is there no way you two could…?" Her voice trailed off and she lowered her gaze into the fireplace again.
"I'm sorry but there's not" said Hermione quietly "and it'll be for the best for both of us once we let go of the demons that are haunting our lives. Ron deserves to be happy and with me he wasn't. But he will be happy again."
The stairs creaked and the two women suddenly fell silent and their eyes fell upon the corridor were a tall thin outline appeared.
"Who's there? Is it Ginny?" It was Ron's voice and it sounded drowsy. Like he had just woken from a deep sleep and hadn't fully awoken yet.
"No dear" said Mrs Weasley gently getting up and moving towards him "it's Hermione, she wants to talk to you"
"I don't want to speak to her" he said gruffly and turned and made his way into the kitchen
"Ronald" said Mrs Weasley imploringly "you won't speak to me or your father, or your brothers or your sister. At least talk to someone who isn't family. Please do it for me. I don't know what to do" and then she suddenly started crying and Hermione could see the outline of shock on Ron's face as he stood frozen to the spot, too in disbelief to know what to do.
Hermione strode over and hugged Mrs Weasley who's sobs grew louder. She looked at Ron and said "Please give me fifteen minutes of your time. If you never want to see me again after that, I understand, but we need to talk"
"Fine" he said and walked outside.
"I'll be back after I've spoke to him" Hermione said to Mrs Weasley patting her on the back
"Thank you" she hiccuped "thank you for trying to help him"
"You might want to wait before thanking me" said Hermione grimly and she made her way outside where she saw Ron perched on the fence at the entrance of The Burrow.
"Did she send you to talk to me?" Asked Ron as Hermione walked up to him and sat next to him
"No" she said "I came because I can't stand the thought of yesterday being our last conversation and leaving it all on those terms"
Ron snorted "Yeah I'm sure you really care about me"
"Why wouldn't I?' she asked
"Because I wasn't faithful to our relationship. Because I fucked it all up. Because I hurt you" said Ron and it was the first time in a long time that she could tell he was being sincere with her.
"I don't want anything bad to happen to you" she said "You did hurt me, but we weren't happy and it was both of our mistakes for not calling it off before it got that bad"
"I didn't want to" he said "I wanted to believe it would be different. That it would be like before the end of the war. But I couldn't do it and sometimes I still can't"
"What do you mean?" She asked looking at him
"I wake up sometimes and I can't cope with how meaningless my life is. How empty and heavy it's become. I thought after the war everything would become light and happy, but it hasn't. I didn't care if I hurt you because I didn't care who I hurt, I just wanted to feel something other than emptiness"
"Then it's time for a clean start" said Hermione "It's time for you to start over and move on from everything"
"And how exactly am I suppose to do that?" Snapped Ron turning to glare at her "you didn't have to bury your brother and watch his twin crumble and become a ghost of his former self, you didn't have to watch your other brother run away to the other side of the globe because he was too cowardly to deal with it all"
His voice and temper was rising and his face was growing red, and Hermione could feel a bubbling anger start to rise in her stomach.
"Oh and it was a walk in the park for me wasn't it?" Hermione's voice was trembling with rage as she glared at him "Obliviating both my parents minds, sending them to Australia, and since I found them and reversed the spell they have resented me ever since, I didn't see my friends die in front of my eyes and buried people I loved and considered family. I forgot YOU were the only one who suffered"
She jumped down from the fence and turned around to face him, glaring ferociously, as if daring him to say another word. Ron looked down at her, pale as a ghost.
"I didn't know…"
"How could you have?!" Yelled Hermione "you've been so preoccupied with yourself you never once took a second to stop and look around and ask me how it had all affected me, but I understood and I tried to help you, and all I wanted was for you to try, not to let yourself become this person!"
"And who would that be?!" His eyes narrowed
"This pathetic excuse of a man, who drinks his life away, who doesn't have to courage to tell me who you left me for, the man who won't even try to make an effort for his own family" Hermione bellowed "haven't your family lost enough? Haven't they suffered enough? Why are you so damn selfish Ron, why can't you try for them?!"
"Don't you dare talk about my family!" Ron bellowed back standing up and facing her
"Why not!?" Hermione screamed "they use to be my family too remember?! Am I just suppose to sit back and watch you hurt them all and not say a damn thing?! No one has the heart to tell you to the truth but I do, and you're an embarrassment and a coward, you didn't ever belong in Gryffindor is this is who you are"
Ron raised his wand but before he had the chance to utter a word,
"Expelliarmus!"
His wand was sent spinning and fell right into Mrs Weasley's outstretched hand.
"Ronald Weasley" she growled as she made her way towards them
"Give it back. NOW" Ron rounded on his mother
"Don't you speak to me like that" she warned him
"Oh fuck off!" He yelled "who's bloody side are you on?!"
"Ron it isn't about choosing sides, it's about helping you" said Hermione trying to place a hand on his shoulder but he pushed it off and glared at her, his usually kind eyes were filled with rage and hatred.
"You happy finally" he growled "you did this. You came to MY house. Turned MY family against me and as always you come out looking like little miss perfect. Well guess what; you aren't. You ruined our marriage and pushed me into the arms of another woman and this woman actually loves me and knows how to be a partner, unlike you, you miserable fucking hag"
Ron's wand fell to the ground.
Mrs Weasley was staring at him, her mouth hanging open an expression of shock and horror on her face. Then SLAP.
Mrs Weasley had slapped Ron so hard it echoed around the garden and his face was burning red.
"You'll regret that" he muttered as he scooped his wand from the floor and turned around.
"Don't you dare threaten your mother Ronald!" Hermione said raising her wand and pointing it straight at him "you want to hate me, fine. You want to say all those horrible things, I'm strong enough to hear them. But don't for a second hurt those who have done nothing but love you, you ungrateful little…"
but before she could finish her sentence Ron had turned on the spot making an obscene hand gesture at her and the next second he had disappeared.
Hermione turned around and looked at Mrs Weasley who was still rooted to the spot, silent tears cascading down her cheeks.
"Molly lets get you inside" she said and wrapped her arm around her shoulders, and without another word the two witches retreated back into the Burrow, Hermione glanced back to look at the spot where Ron had disappeared moments before and her heart sank at the thought of everything he had said.
They entered the living room in complete silence and Mrs Weasley sank into an armchair and put her head in her hands. Hermione quickly levitated the tray with the mugs and the tea pot and busied herself in the kitchen. Moments later she returned and placed a steaming hot mug into Mrs Weasley's hand. She looked up and smiled at her weakly.
"Thank you dear" she croaked.
"Molly… I'm sorry you had to witness that" said Hermione earnestly
"Is it true?" Mrs Weasley asked looking up at her
"Is what true?"
"Was he unfaithful?" She asked
"Yes" she said "but I didn't want you to know. I didn't want anyone to know."
"I'm sorry" said Mrs Weasley standing up and pacing up and down the living room "I'm sorry my son, who I thought I had raised to be a loyal, good man, hurt you"
"It's not you fault" said Hermione quickly "and it's not his either, he wasn't happy and as a couple we should have ended it before it got that bad. Honestly Mrs Weasley there's no resent…"
"Then you don't love him" she said curtly, continuing to pace.
"Excuse me?" Said Hermione shocked
"If someone you love is unfaithful to you and you don't resent them, how can you claim you loved them?"
Hermione thought deeply before answering "Because I did resent him when I found out, when I realised he may love another woman more than me it broke my heart, and I did the screaming, and shouting, and crying. But now, I've taken a step back and realised why it happened, and if Ronald was that unhappy and in that much pain, he had a right to leave our marriage. Yes, he did it in the wrong way and hurt me in the process, but he did what was best for him, and I accept that."
Mrs Weasley looked at her thoughtfully and sighed.
"I'm sorry dear. It's just difficult for me to understand all this. Ronald has never spoken to me about any problems and has always been very private about your marriage which I thought was normal. If I had had any idea, I could have spoken to him, I could have done something to help…" she broke off and stared off out the window.
"I don't think anyone could have helped us" said Hermione softly, patting her arm. She looked at the watch on her wrist and said "I should get going Molly unless there's anything else I can do?"
Mrs Weasley looked up and smiled "no dear, but thank you"
Hermione gave her a big hug and made her way to the front door and just as she was about to leave Mrs Weasley appeared in the door way.
"Hermione dear" she called
"Yes?" She said turning around
"Just remember that to us, you'll always be family"
And with tears streaming down her face Hermione made her way through the garden and turned on the spot.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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When Two Broken Hearts Collide