The Wrong Time

Choose Your Battles

Hermione’s face grew hot as she cast a Muffliato around the room. She didn’t want to wake up her sweet baby, after all. Lavender began to look a little uncomfortable.


“Moving in?” Hermione repeated, advancing on Lavender dangerously.


“Well I just thought that since you knew about us, you would be moving out, and I would be moving in,” Lavender trailed off, eyes darting from Hermione’s face to her wand.


If the witch wanted a fight, she would get one.


“Acnemora!” Hermione screamed, flicking her wand at Lavender.


Suddenly, Lavender grabbed her face as giant zits began to form all over her face and neck, rapidly spreading to the rest of her body.


“Why you little bitch!” Lavender screamed, aiming a bat bogey hex at Hermione.


Hermione deflected it easily and then cast another hex at Lavender.


“Tripectorus!” she screamed, and grinned in satisfaction as a third breast began to form between Lavender’s perfect ones.


“Hermione, please, I’ll just go,” Lavender said, starting toward the door.


“You will go when I am ready to let you,” Hermione sneered.


Lavender looked horrified as Hermione raised her wand again.


“Nausutus!” she shouted, and smirked in satisfaction as Lavender’s nose began to grow to gigantic proportions.


Lavender screeched in mortification.


“Hermione, please, really I’m sorry, you don’t need to do this,” Lavender begged.


Hermione stepped closer to her and drew back her fist. She felt the crunch of Lavender’s nose beneath her knuckles as she swung against it with all her might. Blood sprayed all over the carpet.


“Get the fuck out of my house,” Hermione snarled.


Lavender squealed in fear as she ran from the room and out the front door.


Hermione slumped to the floor. She had never felt so humiliated in her life as she did when she saw Lavender moving her things into the closet.


She found the radio and tapped it with her wand.


“Silvano?” she asked into it, heart racing.


“Nancy?” he asked back after a few moments.


“Yes, it’s me,” she said, feeling a sense of relief at his voice.


“When I didn’t hear from you last night, I began to worry. Is everything alright?” He asked her.


“I added the moonstone, but I didn’t get a chance to test it on a niffler. I talked to my husband. Things have just gone from bad to worse, Silv, I don’t know how much more I can take of this,” she confessed, beginning to sob.


“I’m sorry,” he said, at a loss for anything else to say.


“I just have no idea what I am going to do! I need to get out of here! I don’t know where to go though. I mean, I have friends who would take me and Josiah in, but I hate to impose, they are all married and have children. I just--” Hermione said, breaking down.


Silvano thought for a few minutes. He was fighting an internal battle.


He longed to ask her to stay, but what if she recognized him? What would she think? What would she say? He weighed the pros and cons. It would be much simpler to work on the potion if they were both in the same place, but if she recognized him, she might ask uncomfortable questions about things he would rather forget.


Then again, what if she barely knew him then? What if she did now know him well enough to recognize him? He rubbed his temples. Then he spoke, knowing he would regret his words.


“You could bring him here, if you like,” he said, hating himself.


“There? In Italy? Why, Silvano, that’s so very generous of you, but I could never impose like that--”


“Nonsense,” He said. “My villa is quite large, I assure you I have plenty of room to accommodate you. Besides, it would give us plenty of time to work on the potion together.


“I don’t know, I--”


“Think about it. You still have my address?”


“Yes,” Hermione replied.


“Come whenever you like,” He said. “I will set the wards to recognize you, and you can floo whenever you need to. I have a public floo on the outer edges of my property, so it will take you there, and then it is a short walk up to the villa.”


“Thank you, Silvano. Thank you for being my friend,” Hermione said, barely above a whisper.


She had to talk to Ron. Maybe Silvano was right. Maybe it would be good for them to go to Italy. Far away from Ron and Lavender, to a new place, where she could immerse herself in Josiah and her work. At least for a little while. After all, Rose and Hugo where still in school, so it would make no difference to them either way.


She set about to packing herself and Josiah a suitcase. Whether she went to Silvano’s or someplace else, one thing was certain: after she talked to Ron, she was not staying here. And if Lavender had the audacity to show up with Ron, well, may the gods help her.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed that, Please review!