Ordinary: Part Two of…?
"We need to talk," Ron told Hermione one night as the two had dinner over at his flat. The two weren't living together-not with his mum still alive and kicking.
"All right," Hermione frowned and put her fork and knife down. "What about?"
"Your job," Ron said, to which Hermione responded with a sigh.
"We've talked about this, Ron," she said. "I'm not giving it up."
"I'm tired, Hermione," Ron told her. "We're going to get married and I don't want you to do that job when we have kids!"
"Excuse me?" Ron had never voiced that opinion before.
"You heard me-whoa, but don't get me wrong! I don't mean for you to take care of them, if that's what you're upset about. I just want our children to have both parents with them, instead of their mother away on sometimes three-week missions."
Hermione gritted her teeth. "That's not just it, Ron… since when are we getting married?"
Ron looked genuinely surprised. "What are you talking about, Hermione? We always knew we would, one day. And then Harry and Ginny would get married and we would all be…"
"All be what, Ron?" Hermioned inquired sharply. "One Big Happy Weasley Family?"
"Well," Ron gulped nervously. "Yeah."
Hermione sat down and put a hand on her forehead, taking a deep breath. This, more than anything else, made Ron angry.
"So what, this was just to be a fling, then?"
Hermione looked up, shocked. "A fling? Good Lord, Ron, of course not, but I'm not looking for a husband. And even if I was, I want to live before I settle down."
" `Live'?" Ron sputtered. "What in bloody hell does that mean?"
Hermione took a deep breath. "It means, Ron, I want to be on my own. I want to travel, I want to do things I've never done before… I want to live, Ron. I want to experience life."
"You can do that after we get married," Ron said, not understanding.
Hermione sighed. She put her head in her hands and the two sat there for a moment, silent. "I think… we need to break up, Ron. I'm sorry. We just… want different things."
Ron didn't answer her for a moment.
Then, finally, with some obvious difficulty,
"Yeah, I reckon… I reckon you're right." She looked at him and saw his eyes were red.
"Oh Ron…"
"It'll… it'll hurt but… I can't… we can't… we're too different," he finally managed to say.
Hermione smiled, trying to lighten the mood as he had once done many times before. "And to think, you once had the emotional range of a teaspoon."
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"Harry?"
Her head was in the flames of his fireplace, waiting patiently.
After a few moments, he came, scuffling out of who-knows-where in muggle clothing. "Hey, Hermione," he said with a smile. "This is a pleasant surprise."
She half-smiled back, but he could see something was wrong. "Mind if I drop in, for just a moment?"
Harry shook his head. "No problem at all."
She was there in a moment, standing before him.
"What's wrong?" He asked almost instantly.
She sighed, trying to summon a smile. "Ron and I… we broke up, Harry."
Feeling an oxymoron of emotions, Harry was a little stunned; but somewhere deep down, he wasn't surprised.
"What? Why?"
"We… we want different things." She plopped down on his couch and he took a seat beside her. "Ron wants to get married and have children and I… I want to live, Harry. I want to go places I've never been, see things I've never seen, do things I've only read and dreamt about! I want to experience life before I settle down."
"Oh." Harry was a bit speechless. "I'm sorry."
Hermione sighed. "Whether Ron admits it or not, it was a long time coming. We've been disagreeing for a while now on important issues-like my job." She laughed bitterly. "I am quitting though-Ron should be happy to hear that."
"What?" Harry frowned. "But you… you like your job."
Hermione smiled. "I do, but Ron and mine's argument prompted me to leave… so I'm going to go. I'm going to go have adventures again."
"You're leaving? Where? When? Why?"
"I'm leaving tomorrow. And I'm going to-"
Harry's frown grew bigger as he interrupted her. "Hang on-I thought you wanted an ordinary life. No more
adventures. That's why the auror thing surprised me. First that, now this?"
She shook her head. "I thought I could do it, Harry," she said. "I thought that was what I wanted. I think, in reality, all I needed was a break… ordinary life bores me, Harry. Even when I was younger, I longed for adventure. Before Hogwarts, I read mainly fairy tales and fiction. Once Hogwarts came, my fairy tale came true… but still." She sighed. "After seven years of adventure, it's a bit hard for me to stop." She looked at him. "I always thought it would be like that for you, as well."
"Me?" Harry laughed. "You've got to be joking!"
Hermione got on that lecture look on her face. "I'm serious, Harry," she said sternly, upset that he was mocking her. "Although you hate it, you'll never be ordinary, Harry. Being extraordinary is a part of you. And I think… I think sooner or later, you'll tire of this life, Harry."
"No, I won't," he said impatiently, a bit upset she didn't understand him as well as he thought she did. Perhaps, he mused, that was Ginny's department now.
Hermione shrugged as if to say, Fine then. I'm still right, though.
Harry's anger grew at that nonchalant gesture. "I'm not going to tire of it, Hermione. So stop acting like you know me so well! You don't, okay, you never did and you never will! I'm so tired of you and your know-it-all attitude! I think… I think it's better if you do go and `experience life' for a while!"
He don't know what possessed him to say those hateful things, but the minute he did, he regretted it.
She got up mechanically, not looking at him, and was trying to hold back tears, Harry could tell.
"Hermione…" Harry started to say, his brain and his heart simultaneously constricting rather tightly with guilt and remorse.
She shook her head. "I'm… I think… good-bye," and she apparated, filled with so much hurt and betrayal she wanted to scream.
Harry couldn't believe he had said those things. He was in so much shock that he didn't even think to go after her. All he could think was, I hurt her. Because of me, she's hurting. Hurting.
Hours later, he realized that he never found out where she was going to.
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A/N: I'm probably going to crank this story out like crazy, reviews be damned. (Although thank you to those of you who did review).
So, Ron and Hermione broke up. One down, one to go.
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