She Believed

Over the course of the next few months, things between Ron and Hermione had returned to normal. In an effort to show his remorse, Ron made sure that every day was special day for Hermione. He made her breakfast in bed, sent a fresh bouquet of flowers to her office weekly, and he occasionally sent her owls bearing messages of his undying love for her. Hermione was so in love that she had nearly forgotten about the whole negative affair. This blissful existence would all change on the night of the Ministry of Magic’s Yule Celebration.

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After a fun night of drinking and chatting with old friends at the Ministry of Magic’s Yule Celebration, Ron and Hermione Apparated back to his flat.

“Boy that was a lot of fun,” a tipsy Hermione giggled as she swayed her way to the bedroom.

“Sure it was”, Ron grumbled loosening his tie and following closely behind her.

“Aww, come off it Ron. It was only a joke,” she sighed. She slipped off her dress and placed it on a hanger.

“Hermione, you, as well as everyone else knows how much I dislike that Cormac. And for you, my woman, to stand there and laugh at that tosspot’s jokes was simply embarrassing.” Ron huffed sitting on the bed removing his pants.

Hermione glared at him through the full length mirror that hung on the front of the closet door.
“Embarrassing”, she repeated, nodding her head with a look of contempt on her face because for apparent some reason, that single word highly offended her. “Well, excuse me MR. WEASLEY for embarrassing you.” she replied rolling her eyes. Standing in a slip, she opened the closet door and hung up the dress.

It was either the alcohol or a lapse of maturity that she would later blame for the next comment she was about to make.

“I’ll tell you what’s more embarrassing, watching you struggle to have an intelligent conversation with your peers that didn’t involve Quidditch. Too bad you couldn’t glance into my brain and bluff your way out like you use to glance at my tests in school.”

She knew that had been a low blow and she regretted saying it the moment it spewed for her mouth. ‘Oh boy’, she thought to herself, ‘If he’s ever going to forgive me, I’m really going to have to be amazing in bed tonight.’ She took a step back and closed the closet door.

“Ron”, she sighed, “I’m sorr-“. She looked into the mirror and noticed he was no longer sitting on the bed.

Then suddenly, she felt a large hand grab a clump of hair on the back of her head. The hand shook her head like a ragdoll and forcefully pulled her backwards. Hermione desperately fought to keep her balance and frantically tried to seize the hand and release the crushing pressure it had on her head.
He pulled her close to him.

“I’m sick of that mouth of yours,” Ron growled in her ear. “Sometimes I wish you would just shut it,” he said through his clenched jaw. He took his other hand and clamped it around her mouth.

“JUST. SHUT. YOUR. FUCKING. MOUTH!” He howled as he shook her head with each emphasis of the words. He then violently shoved her hard.

Hermione landed roughly on the floor. The impact badly bruised the side her hip. Ron stood and glared at her for a few seconds before he stormed out of the room. By some miracle, the tears that welled in her eyes had not shed through the violent shaking or the shove.

Hermione lay frozen on the floor, eyes wide staring at the carpet. Then as if someone has released a dam in her mind, she began to cry and wail loudly. She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe he had hurt her again. After all of his promises and queenly treatment, Ron had hurt her again.

Regaining her composure, Hermione slipped on a pair of jeans, grabbed as many on her belongings as she could hold, and rushed out to the living room. Ron sat on the couch and watched her walk to the fireplace.

“Where are you going?” he asked. She ignored him and grabbed a handful of Floo powder. She quickly said her address and hurried into the green swirling flames. When she stepped into her sitting room, she immediately dropped her things and casted spells to disconnect the Floo and prevent Ron from Apparating into her home. She collapsed in a heap on her couch and wept.

Several thoughts rushed through her head. What just happened? Why did it happen? What was wrong with Ron? Why was he acting this way? What should she do now? But before she could try to answer any of these questions, she heard loud banging at her front door. The noise almost startled her to death.

“Who is it?!” she yelled hysterically.

“Mione it’s me, please open up,” the voice, which belonged to Ron, replied.

“No! Go away! I never want to see you again!” she screamed.

“Mione please, I’m really sorry. My temper got the best of me. Please let me in.”

She could tell that he was crying through the door. “No Ron! You PROMISED. You promised you wouldn’t hurt me and you broke it. I never want to see you face again!” she sobbed.

There was silence on the other side of the door and for a moment she thought he had left. Then she heard a sickening dull thud against the door. The sound of it made her jump. The noise continued and it created a horrifyingly rhythmic beat.

“Ron?” She questioned, “Ron is that you? What are you doing?”

The thud continued. “Ron, stop. Please stop and go away,” she said cautiously. The thud only continued. She began to panic; it sounded as if he were violently banging something against the door. She placed herself against the door and was shocked at the shaking force that was behind it.

“Ron please!” Hermione yanked the door open, screamed, and almost fainted at the sight before her.
Her door had been covered in long streaks of blood that raced their way to the ground.

Ron stumbled in and fell face first into the flat. Copious amounts of blood oozed from his forehead and pooled onto the carpet below him. The bloody scene reminded Hermione of that terrible muggle horror movie Harry had convinced her to watch last year. “Oh, No!” she cried.

She crouched down and turned Ron over onto his back. She looked in dismay at the gaping wound on his forehead. He had been using his head as a battering ram against the door. “Mione… Please…” Ron sputtered due to the vast amount of blood that poured from his mouth. “Shh, it’s going to be alright Ron. I’m here. I’m right here with you.” She said.

She gathered him into her lap to lull him while she assessed the damage that had been done. Besides the gaping hole, he managed to break his nose and knock six of his front teeth loose. As bad as the damage had been, he didn’t need to go to St. Mungo’s. Luckily for the both of them, Hermione had taken a summer course in Magical First Aid.

Her first task was to close the wound on his forehead. She ran to her medicine cabinet and retrieved the Essence of Dittany vial. A few years ago, she had used the same potion on Ron when he was accidently Splinched. She poured a few drops on his injury and in a few moments, new skin was already starting to appear.

Next, she used episkey to mend his nose and a simple spell to stop his bleeding. After he was stable, she levitated him and laid him gently on the sofa. She ran to the loo, grabbed a towel, filled a basin with warm water, and placed it on the coffee table. She scourgifyed the blood from the carpet and door, and then she shut the door.

She knelled down next to Ron and began to wipe the blood away from his mouth and face. ‘How could he do this to himself?’ she pondered silently. ‘The sheer willpower it took to continue pounding his head with a broken nose is mind-boggling.’

“Hermione…” Ron moaned.

“Shh, I’m here.” She whispered.

“Hermione I’m really sorry.”

“I know.”

“There’s something I want to say to ask you.” He tried to sit up but she pushed him back down and said, “No. It’s too soon. You need to remain still for a little while. When you fall asleep, I’ll bring you to the bedroom.”

“No.” he moaned, “I need to do this now. Please help me sit up.” Ron braced the sofa and began to raise himself up. Hermione quickly placed her hands on his back to help him up. He sat dazed for a moment, and then he slipped off the sofa and onto his knees. Hermione swiftly stood and scooted out of his way because she figured he probably needed to vomit.

Ron looked up at her with blurry red drowsy eyes and said, “Hermione, I know I messed up again. I’m really sorry. I can understand if you really never want to see me again.”

Hermione was confused. Her emotions were too scattered to make any decisions right now. All she knew was that Ron was hurt and she really wanted him to rest right now. So she said whatever she could to calm him. “No, it’s okay Ron. We both said and did some things that were stupid and irrational tonight.” As soon as she said that, a tiny voice buzzed in her head and said, ‘Why are you excusing him?” Hermione instantly shook the thought away.

“Hermione, I know I have hurt you again, but tonight, I vow that I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. “ Ron said.

He leaned forward and she suspected he was going to hold her and cry again, but that wasn’t the case. He painfully stuck his hand in his pocket and began rummaging for something. Once he found it, he pulled out the small object and held it tightly in his closed fist. Hermione noticed his hands were trembling terribly and she thought it was because of his injuries.

Ron looked up at her and said, “Hermione Jean Granger, will you please bestow me the wonderful honor of being my wife?”He said the last word with a gulp and opened the box. The ring inside was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life.

This was the day she had hoped for. This was the day she had dreamed of since she was sixteen years old. The man that she loved more than anything in this world had asked her to be his wife. As a fresh sheen of tears welled in her eyes and slowly ran down her cheeks, she said in a barely audible breathless voice,

“Yes Ron. Yes I will.”