Hey guys, sorry for the late update but I have a lot going on at the moment! Hope to get another chapter up soon! Finally I have a beta and she's great! Thank you Steph! She's harryandhermionesdaughter so be sure to check her work out!
"Argument is the worst sort of conversation" -Jonathan Swift
Chapter five: Family Discrepancies
"George, pass the salt"
"Why Ronnikins? Can't you just accio it yourself, you're a wizard y'know?" George smirked. Ron glared at his older brother and accioed the salt to his placemat. The raucousness of the monthly Weasley family meal was irritating him and he wanted to escape. The fact that Hermione was seated next to him made him ever more nervous. It had been a week since their argument and she had tried her best to avoid him as he had done her. Few words had been exchanged and few looks had been shared, it had been a lonely week.
"So Ginny, how's work at the prophet? As you expected?" Arthur asked as the family tucked into their meal.
"Absolutely fantastic, why just the other day I was telling Harry that they intend to keep me on my toes, they love it!" she replied enthusiastically.
"Just how did you get that job so quickly? I didn't think you were looking for one?" Bill voiced.
"Probably resigned on excellent terms with the boss" George smirked.
"George!" Molly scolded, "We have children at the table, honestly!" she huffed. The whole table burst into hysterics except for a sullen Ron and an unusually quiet Teddy.
At the far end of the table Teddy Lupin stabbed at his meal crossly as he heard the rest of the older Weasleys laugh at George's joke. Casting a glance at Harry he could see him laughing along as he wrapped an arm around Ginny's waist. He felt guilty for knowing what he did, as if he was betraying his godfathers trust.
Telling Harry about the affair would be easy. To then watch his family fall apart would be the hardest thing he would have to witness. He adored Lily and his other two 'brothers' too much to do such a thing. At this moment in time, Teddy could do nothing but fake a smile and play the role of the unknowing godson. Even though it pained him to keep the secret locked away, he knew he would be protecting his family for the better, or so he hoped.
"What about you Ron? What's got you so troubled?" Molly asked in him all too familiar motherly tone.
Ron rudely ignored her and the rest of the tabled turned to Hermione as if waiting an answer. She shrugged her shoulders casually and quickly felt Harry's gaze fall upon her. She met his gaze and found the curiosity he held within his blatant stare.
You ok? He mouthed as the others continued with their meal, oblivious of the pair's silent conversation.
She nodded in response and returned to her meal, all the while ignoring Harry's imploring look. She knew he wanted answers as to why Ron was acting strangely, but she was too busy trying to hide the anger she felt within.
Just over a week ago, Harry had told her of his problems with Ginny. He had been close to ending their relationship and had even considered divorce. Yet today, he seemed to be on good terms with her. Had he lied about their marital problems just to find out about hers? Had he used it as a front to intrude into her personal problems?
Daring herself to cast another glance she grimaced as she saw Ginny land yet another kiss upon Harry's cheek. As she raised her fork to her mouth she froze as she analysed her previous actions, had she grimaced? She shook her head at her juvenile actions but she couldn't deny the ever growing feeling of jealousy she felt when she saw the two swap intimate gestures.
It reminded her of the crumbling marriage she was stuck in and it pained her greatly. She had somehow liked the idea of Harry having marital problems; it meant that she had a reason to pass on her woes and to seek solace in her best friend. However he had been too busy to meet over the past week as he kept dropping in on Ginny, leaving her to eat her lunch alone. Life at the moment for Hermione was abysmal. She laughed inside at her own analytical view of her life and then sulked once again as Ginny slipped onto Harry's lap.
"Anyone up for a trip to The Leaky Cauldron?" Percy called. Ron released a grunt of agreement as George, Bill and Arthur grabbed their cloaks.
"Harry?" Arthur asked.
"Not tonight Arthur, I've got an early start tomorrow, plus, I think the girls need a hand in the cleaning of this feast." he passed the offer politely. Molly placed a hand atop her chest and beamed at Harry's offer.
"A true gentleman!" she sighed contentedly.
"Suit yourself then." George grinned as he grabbed his father's sleeve and pulled him into the fireplace.
With a loud shout of "THE LEAKY CAULDRON" the quintet vanished in a swirl of emerald green flames.
"If you don't mind, Molly, I'm off." Fleur yawned as she gathered her two children who were not old enough to start Hogwarts. Dominique and Louis yawned along with her and Louis groaned, lifting his arms so that his mother could carry him.
"I think I'll take a leaf out of your book," Angelina added, "George is taking Roxanne and Fred to the next Tutshill Tornadoes tomorrow. He's insisting that when they get to Hogwarts, they're going to be on the quidditch team. Runs in the family is his motto." she shook her head.
Percy's wife Audrey followed suit with her offspring leaving the remaining diners to tidy the mess of their previous meal.
"Trust the men to leave before helping." Molly sighed as she sent the plates soaring to the kitchen sink.
"Hey! I'm all man!" Harry joked as he lifted the dirtied dishes into his arms.
"I can vouch for that." Ginny added. She pouted her lips at Harry's brazen smile and once his back turned, rolled her eyes in a bemused fashion. Acting as if she even cared for his masculinity made her cringe slightly, she had become rather good at acting lately and she knew for a fact that she was playing the role perfectly.
Unbeknownst to Ginny, Hermione had caught every forced smile, every roll of the eyes and the voice laced with forged sweetness did not pass her by.
Hermione faked a laugh to suppress the anger silently ebbing away at her self control. She now found herself observing the two with what she knew to be an unhealthy obsession, just to find anything that proved that they were having marital problems. As the two disappeared into the kitchen, she let out a loud exhale and turned back towards the table, only to jump at the sight of Teddy.
Her cheeks flushed, he had probably seen her staring after the two elder Potters and she cringed at the thought.
"Won't last five minutes." Teddy nodded towards the kitchen at the pair.
"What?" she asked him quizzically. She couldn't quite work out as to what he was referring to.
"Harry and Ginny." he added reaching for his coat. Opening her mouth to question his words, she was reduced to silence as he apparated on the spot, leaving her to ponder on his words.
"Hermione?" the voice broke her thoughts and she jolted out of her frozen state.
"Hmm?"
"Ginny's taking Lily home, Hugo wants to go and Lily just invited him to sleep over- that ok with you?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded and smiled, returning her attention back towards the mess of a dining table.
She jumped as he grasped her arm in his hands and turned her to face him.
"Are you sure you're ok?" he asked quietly whilst glancing over his shoulder to check that the others were out of earshot. He had expected her to shrug off his question and admit that everything was fine, what he hadn't expected was for her to break down in his arms, sobbing onto his shoulder.
"I can't t-take it anymore…" she whispered quietly as her sobs grew louder.
Harry panicked. Hermione rarely ever let people see her cry and so he was unsure of what to do, grabbing her in a tight embrace, he did the first thing that came to mind- he apparated.
"Ron! Brother! Why so sullen?" Bill shouted over the several conversations that sounded throughout The Leaky Cauldron.
Downing his fifth pint, Ron drank the alcoholic beverage in several gulps and raised his hand for another. The other Weasley males were too busy crowding around the magical wireless with the other drunks, waiting to hear the latest information on the Chudley Cannons score.
"I-I'm not s-shullen!" he shot at his eldest brother. Bill placed his drink back onto the table as Ron slurred over his words and gestured for another drink.
"Thanks Hannah, but I think my brother has had enough for tonight." Bill told Hannah Longbottom as she carried another beer towards Ron. She smiled sweetly and turned on her heel back towards the rowdy bar.
"BILL! What d-di you do that for?!" Ron shouted angrily.
"Whoa Bro, look at yourself, Hermione's going to go spare when she finds out we got you drunk again."
"So?"
"So, she's your wife. Merlin, you barely made eye contact with her this evening, you need to get a grip Ron. I f you two have had a fight you need to stop being stubborn and apologise. Stop moping around and for Merlin's sake smile!" Bill advised him.
"Piss off Bill." Ron retorted snidely.
"See Ronald, that's your problem. People waste their time being nice to you and you throw it back in their face!" Bill's tone had started to deepen and become less calm as he voiced his opinion.
"Bill. I've got two words for you…Fuck off!" Ron snapped in his drunken stupor.
"I don't know what Hermione ever saw in you." Bill sneered at Ron's state. At Bill's words, Ron leaped from his chair and clenched his fists around Bill's shirt, forcing him into the pub wall.
"You don't know anything Bill. You don't fucking know anything!" Ron hissed through clenched fists. Having noticed the potential brawl between the two brothers, the pub had silenced and the other Weasleys rushed to pry Ron from pummelling Bill. However, Bill raised his hand and looked back towards Ron's face.
"Don't know what?" he asked curiously.
Ron released his brother slowly and stumbled backwards, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
"Y-You don't know anything…" he repeated.
"Don't know what?!" Bill asked furiously.
Ron stared at Bill for a few seconds and looked around at his dumbfounded family, before retreating out of the exit.
The cold night's air stung Harry's cheeks as he apparated Hermione and himself to the first destination he could think of- the muggle playground in Little Whinging.
Sniffing gently, Hermione raised her head from Harry's shoulder and stifled a laugh.
"A girl cries on your shoulder and so you apparate her to a muggle park?" she asked disbelievingly.
"Hermione, I panicked. They say in apparition that you should focus on whereyou want to go, but I was more focussed on the fact that you were crying, as a kid, this is where I did most of my crying." he told her, now somewhat embarrassed.
"What's going on Hermione?" he asked worriedly, "Is it Ron? What's he done now?"
She exhaled loudly and shuffled her feet as another tear slipped down her rosy cheek. Vulnerability was something she hated; the feeling of being helpless and weak annoyed her to the very core. Choosing to tell Harry about her desperation once again, made her feel weak, as though she couldn't fight her own battles. The fleeting thought that he could be prying into her life crossed her mind, but she needed an outlet, and she needed Harry to be that outlet.
"I slapped him." she whispered.
"Ron? You slapped Ron? Why?" he asked quickly. For Hermione to resort to such actions, excluding the canary attack in the sixth year, Ron must have done something harsh to deserve her actions.
"H-he's changed Harry, h-h--" she sobbed harder into her hands and Harry brought her over to the nearest bench so that she could sit down.
"How?" Harry asked solemnly.
He hated that Hermione was upset, after the war he hoped that the angst in his life would subside, so that he could live a happy and carefree life, of course, he expected his friends to also lead perfectly happy lives-they deserved it. The thought of Hermione-his best friend, having to live life in a loveless marriage was heartbreaking.
"The day you and I had lunch together, he was called to the ministry. I told you I was suspicious and I was right. He blatantly lied to me, so I asked him where he'd gone and he replied 'nowhere'." she told him with a nervous laugh.
"So for hours of the day, he'd been…nowhere." she sniffed, "Told me to mind my own business, minus the foul language. Told me he didn't want to hurt me, and then he got really defensive when I quizzed him on that. Not the 'Ron we always knew' defensive it was…terrifying. I ended up slapping him, and for the first time in my life, I thought he was going to hit me, and then, he went back to the television, waking up Hugo in the process." she explained wearily.
Harry felt guilty. He'd been so obsessed with Ginny's new job and meeting her for lunch; he'd disregarded Hermione's company and completely forgotten about her problems. He didn't think things were so serious.
"It's not working Harry; I don't think it ever will. We tried and we f-failed." she bit her lip. Failure in Hermione's book was not an option. "Y-you lied to me." she whispered, as a bit of an afterthought.
Harry jerked his head at her comment and furrowed his brows, "When?"
"Problems with Ginny? You seemed, I daresay…happy tonight" she said bitterly, "are you enjoying my misery? Laughing about it behind my back?"
"Hermione! Where the hell are you getting this from?" Harry asked her immediately, "You know I'd never do such a thing!"
"Really?! Last week you were considering divorce, this week it's an entirely different story!" she vented her anger on him.
"What am I supposed to do Hermione?! Brush her off with an apology 'oh I'm sorry, I'm actually considering divorce, so if you don't mind'. My daughter was sat at that table, along with the rest of the family. Since when did you become jealous of my relationship with Ginny?"
"I-I'm not." she stated firmly.
"Could've fooled me" Harry raised his eyebrows.
"You know, I hope she's sleeping with her boss behind your back." Hermione spat. Her sudden burst of anger helped her to release the emotions she had kept pent up inside.
"Hermione, that's out of order," he warned her, "she's been making an effort over the past week, coming home early, looking after Lily, she's been more of a wife this week than I think she's ever been." Harry revealed.
"Ha. She's already slept with him then. I guess Teddy was right, you won't last five minutes together." she smirked, whilst standing up from the bench.
"Teddy said that?" Harry asked seemingly hurt.
"Goodnight Harry…" she sighed. Taking one last look at his puzzled expression, she apparated into the night.
He stared at the spot where she had vanished and cursed. Teddy had said that? His thoughts ran over the memory of the night Teddy left the dinner table in a huff. He had been unusually quiet this evening and he had been avoiding the Potter household throughout the week; despite the number of invitations he had been sent.
Running a hand through his tangled locks, he was soon halted by the calling of his name.
"Harry?"