The Wrong Time

The Truth

Ron looked at the parchment for what seemed like the hundredth time. Hermione hadn’t contacted him at work in years. He was worried about what this could be about. Was it possible she found out about Lavender? No, he reasoned with himself. I’ve been way too careful for her to find out about that.


Hermione paced the living room. Ron was due home any minute. Molly had come three hours ago to pick up Josiah. Her stomach was in knots at the prospect of confronting him. It seemed odd to her, since she had known about the affair for so long that she should be so nervous.


She had pretended for so long that she was imagining things. She pretended that it wasn’t Lavender’s lavender perfume, or her rose colored lipstick on his collar. She reasoned that the lipstick and perfume were her own, even though she preferred the scent of jasmine, and a natural gloss on her lips. Now she couldn’t deny it any longer. Her marriage was over, and she had to be the one to admit it.


She jumped nearly half a mile when she heard the front door open. She looked up to see a disheveled looking Ron walking through the door.


“So you got my note, then,” she asked, willing her voice not to crack under the strain.


“Yeah,” Ron said, not meeting her gaze.


“Well perhaps we should sit down, then,” she said, gesturing toward the couch.


“Right,” Ron said, putting his broom by the door and setting his briefcase down.


They sat side by side on the couch, deliberately not allowing themselves to touch each other. The tension was palpable, and Hermione felt sweat beading on her forehead as she tried to compose herself.


“Are you alright, Mione?” he asked, looking at her finally.


“No, Ron, no I’m not,” she said truthfully.


“Whats…?” Ron asked, his voice trailing off.


“I think you know perfectly well, what, Ronald Weasley,” she snapped, feeling her courage come back to her.


“No, no I’m sorry, but I don’t,” he said, wiping his own sweaty brow.


“I had a lovely little chat with your girlfriend today,” Hermione said curtly.


“I-uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ron said, ears a sickly shade of magenta.


“Yes, you do. You’re not as clever as you think you are. I’ve known about you and Lavender for quite some time,” Hermione said.


“Hermione, don’t be silly,” Ron said, face flushing furiously. “There’s no one but you, you know that.”


“Ronald, the least you could do is tell me the truth!” she shouted.


She was so tired of all the lies. She was so sick of the deception and the secrets.


“Lavender told me herself! She said you two have been seeing each other for five years now! FIVE YEARS! If you didn’t love me anymore, the least you could’ve done was tell me that! To go behind my back that way is just cruel! Did you honestly think you could keep this from me forever? Did you honestly think she wouldn’t fall in love with you and demand more?”


“Hermione, I--I don’t know what to say,” Ron croaked.


“Do you love me? Is there any bit of your heart left for me?”


Ron looked away.


“Just tell me the bleeding truth,” Hermione begged.


“The truth?”


Hermione nodded.


“The truth is, I don’t know,” Ron said, blue eyes meeting amber.


“If you don’t know, Ron, then the answer is no,” Hermione said softly, eyes brimming with tears.


“How did we get here?” Ron asked no one in particular.


“It probably started when you decided to shag someone else behind my back,” Hermione said coolly.


“It wasn’t like that, Mione. You don’t understand. It wasn’t something I planned, it just sort of happened,” Ron said hastily.


“And yet, you let it happen,” Hermione said pointedly.


“Hermione I don’t know what to say,” Ron said.


“Just leave,” Hermione said. “Sleep on the couch tonight. I don’t want to be near you.”


Ron looked as if he were about to say something, but stopped. He turned around and walked out the door.


Hermione buried her face in her hands and began to cry again. She cried until her chest burned and her eyes were swollen shut. Then she went to her bedroom and fell asleep in a heap on the bed, not even bothering with the blankets or getting undressed.


A/N: I hope that satisfies for now…I doubt I will update again before tomorrow, but hey, cut me some slack lol, that was four chapters in one day!