The Wrong Time

Breakfast in Hell

Lavender narrowed her gaze at Hermione.


“Well I live here,” she said coldly. “What’s your excuse?”


“I don’t need to give anyone an excuse, least of all you,” Hermione seethed at her. “Suffice it to say that I am here for my children.”


Lavender looked like she was going to say something when Ron walked into the room.

“Lavender, what are you doing here?” he asked her, his cheeks flushing.


Lavender reddened a little.


“I thought you knew I was here when I crawled into bed with you last night and gave you my usual hello,” She said her voice dripping with sweetness. “Unless of course, you thought I was someone else,” she continued, eyes narrowed.


Hermione felt decidedly uncomfortable, as her gaze settled on Lavender’s seemingly flat abdomen. Shouldn’t she be showing a little more for four months?


Lavender noticed Hermione was looking at her abdomen. So Ron had told her then. She smirked evilly and removed the glamour, showing her now rounded belly.


Hermione felt her cheeks flush and she looked away.


“No, love, of course not. I guess I just forgot is all,” Ron said, shifting uncomfortably.


Hermione felt a lump rise in her throat when she heard Ron address Lavender.


“Ronald?” she said, looking to him for an explanation.


“Right,” Ron said, grabbing Lavender’s arm gently and steering her back towards the bedroom.


Hermione stood there, staring after them, face burning hotly. She could not believe Lavender had the audacity to come here, knowing that she and Ron were going to be talking to the kids this weekend.


She put some bacon into the skillet, and set it sizzling with her wand. She turned to get the carton of eggs out of the refrigerator, when she heard slightly raised voices coming from her bedroom. She smirked to herself. Perhaps little miss chit would be leaving soon. She really hoped so.


A few minutes later, Hermione had the table set for four, plates loaded with crispy bacon, eggs and buttered toast. She was filling the glasses with pumpkin juice when Ron came out of the bedroom, followed by a very flushed Lavender.


“Mione, we decided that perhaps it would be a good time for the kids to meet Lavender properly,” Ron said sheepishly.


Hermione’s face reddened noticeably, a fact to which Lavender smirked. She flexed her fingers around her wand instinctively. She wanted to hex the bitch into next week, but the children were here, and she had to keep her composure.


“Fine,” she snapped and put the pumpkin juice back into the refrigerator.


She turned back to find Lavender pulling out one of the chairs to sit in front of a plate she had just fixed.


“That’s Hugo’s breakfast, if you don’t mind,” she snapped at the blonde witch.


Lavender blushed slightly, and moved to the chair next to it.


“And that one is for Rose.”


Lavender did not say anything as she made to take a chair on the other side of the table.


“Mine,” Hermione seethed.


Before Lavender could move to the next chair, Hermione grew exasperated.


“That’s Ron’s.”


Lavender looked at Ron with puppy dog eyes. Hermione thought she might throw up.


“Go ahead and eat mine, Love. I’ll make something else for meself,” Ron told her, looking a little uncomfortable.


Hermione’s eyes narrowed at them. She stalked down the hall and opened the door to Hugo’s bedroom.


“Come now, Darling, breakfast’s ready,” She told him sweetly.


He yawned and threw the covers off of himself, making to climb out of bed.


“Just to warn you, your father’s little friend is here,” Hermione said curtly and headed for Rose’s room.


Hugo’s eyes narrowed. So she was here was she? That would be interesting.


Hermione came back into the dining room with Rose behind her to find Hugo already seated at his place. She looked disgusted at the idea that she would have to sit next to Lavender to eat her breakfast.


“Ron, go ahead and take that one, I’m not really hungry anyway,” She said.


“Oh, well, ok,” Ron said, and sat down next to Lavender and tucked into the plate of food.


Rose looked at Lavender as though she were a disgusting insect, and Hermione turned away smirking when she saw the slight swish of her daughter’s wand. Thank the gods that her kids lived in a completely wizarding home so that any magic her kids did would go unnoticed.


She heard a shriek as Lavender threw down her fork. Every eye in the room focused on Lavender as a rather large spider crawled off of her plate.


Hermione fought with all her might to hold in the laugh that was bursting to come out.


Lavender looked at her menacingly.


“You did that on purpose!” she accused.


“I beg your pardon, but I haven’t the patience for childish pranks, and in case you were forgetting, that was supposed to be my husband’s plate,” Hermione said threateningly.


“Ex-husband,” Lavender seethed.


“Not just yet,” Hermione corrected her.


Hermione turned away again.


“Boy, you’re fat,” Hugo said, matter of factly.


Hermione fought back another laugh and willed herself to look at the expression on Lavender’s face.


Lavender’s were a deep shade of magenta.


“Well, Darling, that’s what happens when you have a baby. Surely you remember your Mum getting fat when she was pregnant when Josiah?”


Hermione felt a surge of anger at the familiarity with which Lavender was addressing her child.


“I’m not a baby,” Hugo said, offended.


“Mum wasn’t quite as fat as you,” Rose said, chewing a piece of bacon. “Perhaps you ought to lay off the clotted cream a little.” "slut," she added under her breath.


Hermione held her breath to keep from laughing.


“You know, little girls ought to be seen and not heard sometimes,” Lavender shot back.


Hermione was about to interrupt when Rose did it for her.


“Well it’s a bloody damn good thing I am not a little girl then, isn’t it?” She said, face red.


“Rose Minerva Weasley, that is no way to talk to anyone,” Ron said warningly.


“Well she shouldn’t talk to me like that either,” Rose shot back, shoving back her chair and storming out of the room.


Ron looked at Lavender apologetically.


Lavender finished her breakfast in silence and when she was finished, she walked over to Josiah. Hermione seethed at the sight of her ruffling her fingers through his hair.


“You’re going to be a big brother, you know,” she said to him sweetly.


“No!!!!!” Josiah screamed.


“Aww, you’re a sweetie, aren’t you,” She said, reaching out to chuck him under the chin.

She let out a shriek as Josiah bit down on her finger, hard.


Hermione couldn’t hold it in any longer. She burst out laughing. She laughed so hard her sides ached.


“Perhaps I ought to go,” Lavender said tearfully.


“Yes, I think that’s best,” Hugo replied sweetly.


“Hugo!” Ron said, appalled.


Lavender began to cry, and threw her arms around Ron’s neck dramatically.


“You and Rose are going back to Hogwarts, as soon as your mother talks to you,” He said sternly.


“I’ll come get you after I take them back,” Ron said soothingly to Lavender.


Lavender nodded.


“Come on, Hugo, I need to talk to you and your sister,” Hermione said, beckoning him towards his sister’s bedroom.


Hermione was unsurprised to find Rose already dressed and packed.


“I want to go back to Hogwarts right now,” She said, tears welling.


“You will, Sweetie. First I need to talk to you both,” Hermione said, and sat on the edge of Rose‘s bed, next to her.


Hugo sat down on the floor in front of them.


“Tomorrow, I am going to take Josiah and go to Tuscany, to stay with a man I have been working with for the last few months. I know that things are rough around here, and you are welcome to come stay with me and Silvano in Tuscany any time you like. You don’t have to stay here with them if you don’t want to.


I can’t keep any of you from your father, but you and Hugo are both old enough to decide what you want to do. Josiah is still going to be spending a lot of time here with your father. I’m so sorry that things have come to this, but I am sure you can both see that this divorce will be for the better.”


Rose nodded in agreement as Hermione continued.


“What’s done is done. There is no changing it now. Your father and I will never be together again. I know that is a lot for you two to handle, but you have to understand that this is about your father and I and that what is going on right now is not either of your faults. We both still love you very much, and even though you are very angry with us--”


“We’re not angry with you, Mum,” Hugo interrupted.


“No, it’s dad and that right cow out there that we are pissed at,” Rose agreed.


Hermione stifled a chuckle.


“Thank you. Even though you are angry with your father, I want you to remember that he is still your father. I would be delighted if you came to the villa in Tuscany and spent time with me, but I think that you should spend some time here if you can find it in your hearts to do it. I will not make you. As I said, you are both old enough to decide yourselves what you want to do,” Hermione said.


She held her arms out, and her children both embraced her.


“I love you, Mum,” Rose whispered into her hair.


“Me too, Mum,” Hugo agreed, hugging her tighter.


“I love you too, children.” They broke away from the embrace, and Hermione wiped a tear from her eye.


“Now get your things ready, so you can go back to Hogwarts. I don’t really think there is anything more here you want to stay for right now.”


Both children nodded in agreement, and Hermione turned to leave.

She felt a certain bounce in her step, knowing that her children were not angry with her.


A/N: Thank you all so much for reading. I know this chapter was a bit longer than usual, but I doubt anyone is complaining. I just really want to get things moving along so that Hermione can get to Severus. Please Review.