Hermione
Hermione sat in silence as she read through the reports of the Queen Doxy infestation at the Caddell Manor. The house had evidently been invaded by Doxies- otherwise known as Biting Fairies. She looked at her silver watch tiredly to check the time, and realised that she had been unintentionally working after hours once again.
Hermione sighed and rubbed her temples. She found that she had been working after hours more often than she had before, because she had dreaded what awaited her at home. As Hermione finished writing down the last few sentences of her report on how to restore the Manor from the Doxy infestation, her mind wondered what state she would discover Ron in when she got back to their flat.
Perhaps she would find him unconscious on their couch, with a bottle of firewhiskey slipping from his hand. Or maybe in the bathroom, where he was vomiting out the vile substance that was in his system. Either way, Hermione knew that she wanted to do anything but go home.
Still, she knew that at one point she had to. So, Hermione sent her report to the head office, packed her things, and left the Ministry.
Once she was outside, Hermione felt the cool, midnight rain trickle down her face, waking her up after the long hours sitting in her tiny ministry office. She looked at the busy streets of central London, cars and double decker buses zipping past her despite the time. Hermione shivered in her coat as the chilly winter air grazed her skin. Not wanting to stay in the cold any longer, but still worrying about what she might find at home, Hermione took out her wand and apparated into her flat.
Hermione suddenly found herself in her living room. The curtains were drawn, the telly was on in full volume, and Ron was drunkenly circling the house with an empty bottle of beer doing what looked like searching for more alcohol.
"Ron," Hermione said weakly, anxiety coursing through her. Ron's head snapped up and his eyes met hers- sunken and glossed over.
"'Mione!" He said drunkenly, "You're home!"
Hermione scanned the room, counting the amount of bottles that were strewn across their flat. She had counted six in total. Three bottles of beer, two bottles of whiskey, and a single bottle of brandy. Unsurprised that Ron was able to consume all of this alcohol while she was gone, Hermione approached the young man cautiously to inspect him.
"How did you get those?" Hermione asked as she examined him. Ron's skin was pasty, his eyes droopy and tired. He was dressed in his old checkered pajama bottoms and a black graphic t-shirt. He reeked of liquor and the stench had assaulted Hermione's nose, causing her to almost back away.
She remembered him visiting her at her office only hours before he went off home, giving her a single camellia flower and kissing her sweetly on the cheek. Now he was a wreck, his ginger hair wild and messy with a half drunk bottle held tightly in his hand.
"Oh, I bought 'em from the liquor store on the way 'ome," He drawled. He began to stroke Hermione's hair roughly, and it took all her efforts to not pull away.
"I thought you promised you wouldn't drink anymore," Hermione spoke softly as she gently pulled his hand away from her hair.
"I did?" Ron questioned, cocking his head up and furrowing his eyebrows. Then he smiled and guffawed, "Oh, yeah, I did, didn't I?"
The way Ron didn't take this seriously rubbed Hermione the wrong way. He had begun drinking two years ago just after the Second Wizarding War. It had taken a toll on him, losing his older brother and his friends. He had become addicted to alcohol while she was away finishing her education at Hogwarts. When Hermione came back, she had done everything to get him to stop- all the while keeping this secret from all of the people whom she and Ron knew.
Hermione knew that Ron was still grieving the losses of the war, but he had to move on. When she finished school, she had tried to do everything in her power to try and help him. She hid the liquor, cleaned him up, and tried to hide the money so he wouldn't buy any more. But somehow, even with her strongest spells, Ron would always find a way to sneak in some more alcohol. Just a week ago he had even promised Hermione that he would stop, after their argument on Ron's addiction. But even as he said this, she knew that he was making promises he couldn't keep.
Hermione wanted to help him. She didn't want him to be in the state that he was in. she couldn't stand seeing him in this condition, knowing that her efforts were not enough for him to stop. That she wasn't enough for him to stop.
"Ron," Hermione said, looking at his sunken eyes. "You promised me you would stop drinking. You said it to me yourself. That is all I could ever ask of you- to just stop. For me." Her eyes started to cloud as she spoke. She desperately tried to get through Ron, but he just looked at her blankly.
"Please, Ron. I know what you're going through. Everyone is going through the same thing. The war hurt us all in different ways, and we have to learn how to move on. But drinking is not the answer to overcoming that fear, Ronald. It may make you forget for a few hours, but it won't help you in the future."
"You're not my doctor," Ron said gruffly, "and I'm not scared."
Hermione tried to blink her tears away. She couldn't bear seeing Ron like this. It hurt her more than anything. The pain in her chest rose up to her throat and the tears threatened to break free. But Hermione willed them to stay where they were. "I may not be your doctor Ron, but I am your girlfriend. And you are the person that I care about. I need to know that you're going to be okay. That the alcohol won't turn you into someone you're not."
She wasn't getting through him. He took another swig from his bottle, turning away from Hermione. "Ron," She choked, "Ron, please listen to me."
Despite Hermione's plea, Ron finished up his beer and went to open another. As he popped off the lid with a bottle opener, Hermione made one last desperate attempt to get Ron's attention and tried to grab the new bottle from his hands.
"NO!" Ron roared as she struggled to rip it out of his hands.
Suddenly, Hermione felt the stinging sensation of Ron's hand as it struck her hard across the face- so hard that her head snapped sideways and she saw dark spots dance before her eyes. The impact of his hand on her cheek caused Hermione's teeth to gnash on her lip, and she could taste the blood that trickled down; sour, vile, almost as if she had licked a scrap of metal.
Hermione gasped and blinked, her hand touching the cheek that Ron had hit. When her fingertips met the surface of her skin, she felt a wet substance, warm, and sticky run down her cheek. She then looked at her fingers, and Hermione saw it. Blood. Bright, scarlet blood.
She almost doubled back, but Hermione was able to stand her ground. Her breathing became ragged as she stared, dumbfounded at the sight of it. Ron had done that. Ron had done that.
When she recovered, her eyes snapped up to stare at the boy with utter anger, furious with what he had done. Hermione whipped her wand out and screamed, "Furnunculus!"
Ron doubled back from the impact of the spell, almost tripping on the floor. He coughed, and when his eyes met hers, he was covered in boils and pimples. "Leave," Hermione spat, looking at him with fiery anger, "Come back when you're sober and ready to apologize."
Ron, wide eyed and shocked with his pimply face, slowly backing towards the door as Hermione followed, her eyes dark with fury. She pointed her wand threateningly at his chest. "Never approach me at the ministry," She snapped, "Never come to this flat. Never speak to me until you've fully gotten over your problems, and when you've realised how much damage you've caused me. Do you understand?"
"Hermione-"
"GET OUT!" She roared. Ron scrambled to the door, Hermione still holding out her wand. As he backed out of the flay, he tried to open his mouth to speak.
"Hermione I-"
But before he could finish, Hermione slammed the door shut in front of his face.
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Oooh, Ouch.
SO! That was the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed and will hopefully keep reading!
*Proceeds to cross fingers.*
So to all you ftrs, HI! Fun fact: This is, along with every chapter until Chapter 12 are re posted chapters! Why, you may ask, have I re posted so early into the book? Because I really felt like I wanted to add more depth into the characters and make a really good slow burn between Harry and Hermione.
To all of y'all who are re-reading, there is nothing really new about this chapter or the next, I just fixed a couple of mistakes and added a new thing or two. I've also added a chapter and deleted one because I really didn't like the one idea I had. ALSO, you will see more humor in chapter three and there was a huge change in scenery. I don't know why, but I LOVED writing that chapter. It's probably my favorite so far.
Please vote, and fan, and please feel free to comment! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this story, as it is my first one. Please also give me some feedback!!
Anyways, have a nice day!
- Em