"For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: 'It might have been!'" - John Greenleaf Whittier
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"Hermione?"
I shift in my sleep. I faintly hear a voice calling my name. A dreamy, other-worldly voice.
"Oh, Hermione..."
I open my eyes and spot a yellow, blurry form stooped down in front of me. As I regain my focus, I recognize Luna's face. I smile genuinely, but with a sense of confusion.
"Hello, Luna. Erm, if you don't mind my asking, what are you doing here?"
Luna smiles widely, and her eyes almost sparkle.
"Ronald invinted me."
I squint my eyes and begin to sit up. Ron had invited her? But wasn't she here just the other night?
"I hope that's alright", Luna begins, sounding suddnely nervous. I wave my hand at her comment.
"Of course it's alright, Luna. It's just...where's Ron?", I ask. Luna smiles again, and points towards the kitchen. As she points, Ron comes walking out from the kitchen, looking utterly giddy. I narrow my eyes.
"Ah, this is the perfect day. My childhood home, one of my children here, the other at Hogwarts, and my two favorite girls in the world", Ron says in a sing-song voice.
I notice Luna tense at the last portion of his statement. I sigh inwardly, making my decision. My eyes are no longer narrow.
"What about Ginny?", I ask with a smile. Ron comes over to me and Luna and puts his arms around our shoulders.
"Well, what Ginny doesn't know won't hurt her, will it?", He replies. He turns his head towards Luna, and I notice as their eyes lock. It seems like an eternity before I distance myself from our small group.
"Luna, could I offer you some tea?", I ask, attempting to change the subject. She snaps her head in my direction and her face reddens.
"Why, yes, erm, that sounds lovely. I'll sit and wait", She replies. As she leaves Ron's grasp, I see a slight flash of sadness in his eyes, but it quickly passes.
"I'll help you, Hermione", Ron says, sudennly. I smile and nod in his direction, and we begin to walk towards the kitchen when we hear Luna's light laughter. Ron turns to look, but I continue to walk away.
"What is it, Luna?", Ron asked. I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Why, it's Hermione's name. Only, it's her old name. It says 'Hermione Granger'. Isn't that funny?", Luna says.
I stop in my tracks. At that moment, there is a large crash at the window, and I am sure Ron had thrown something. But, as I turn around, instead of a broken window, I see an elderly looking owl shaking it's head, as if to say 'ouch'. It was Luna's owl, Siren. Luna walks towards the window and opens it, letting Siren flutter inside. Luna takes a small envelope from Siren's beak, reads it, then rolls her eyes with a small smile.
"I'm so sorry to cut this visit short, but the babysitter needs some help with Lorcan and Lysander. Those two can be tyrants, I swear", Luna laughs. Siren settles on her shoulder, and Luna waves goodbye before she apparates away from the Burrow.
There is a small pause, and then Ron turns to me. I expect shouting, but instead, there is laughter.
"Hermione, you're so silly sometimes," Ron practically giggles. He picks up the paper, my paper, with my name on it.
"This isn't your name anymore, love. It's Weasley. Hermione Weasley," Ron says with a smile, "Now, doesn't that sound much better?"
He kisses me on the forehead, and turns to go to the kitchen. And then, I snap.
"NO!", I cry. Ron turns around, surprised at my sharpness.
"No, it doesn't sound better! It doesn't sound even remotely good! I am so...so tired of this! You...oh, you...you and your insisting behavior! Have you once, ever in your life, stopped to think of someone else? No! Because there is no one more important that Ron Weasley! There are none more important than the whole bloody Weasley family! You and Ginny, and your mother! Oh, your MOTHER!"
I'm rambling now, and I know I'm just making him angry. But I don't care.
"Your mother created this...this hell for me! For me and you and Harry and Ginny! She had this notion of some perfect Weasley family, some stupid, stupid idea! And she forced it on us! And my name...this whole thing...it took away my name."
I sink to the floor and wrap my head in my hands. I cry and cry and I know I've made no sense whatsoever. But then, I feel Ron kneel down beside me, and he surprises me by not retaliating. I look up at him. There is still anger in his eyes, but he's holding it back. I begin to speak.
"Don't lie to me, Ron. Don't tell me, don't tell me that now, or ever, that you are happy. That I made you happy. Because I know it's not true. And because I know I'm not happy."
He stares at me, the anger flooding from his eyes in the form of tears. I look at him, wife to husband, friend to friend, and I ask him.
"Are you happy?"
There is a small pause, and as he hangs his head, I hear him whisper his answer.
"No."