The End
“They want us to be aurors?” Hermione would have thought the letter she was holding was a prank had it not come from Kingsley directly. Kingsley had handed Harry the letters when he took the portkey. Harry had forgotten about them as he was focused on getting to Hermione and then the task at hand; getting Hermione’s parents their memory back.
Meeting her parents was torture but true to their words, Ron and Harry were there with Hermione throughout. The memory charm was reversed and her parents were back. She had expected them to be hurt and angry but the look she got from her mother made Hermione feel like dying.
They were back in the hotel. Her parents needed some time to grasp everything that had happened and they needed to be away from her. Hermione surprisingly wasn’t feeling weepy at all. She knew she was wrong and had to make it up to her parents and that it was going to take time. But the first step was taken and she was not alone while taking it. It was more than she could have asked for.
Hermione was feeling strangely peaceful. Maybe the day off worked more than she had expected.
“Are you ok? Your parents were really mad at you,” Ron said and took her hand.
“To be honest I was expecting something even worse. Atleast the charm was reversed properly. All of their memories came back. They may hate me but atleast they know me. I’ll take that,” Hermione replied.
This was when Harry had come to their room with the letters. The letter that offered them special entry into the Auror department thanks to their contribution in taking down the biggest villain of the Magical World.
Hermione looked at Ron. He was looking at the letter like it was a signed jersey of his favourite player. He was smiling excitedly as he read the letter again as if to make sure it was real.
Hermione felt quite the opposite. She felt her just found peace shatter. They were being sucked back into the hopeless world of chasing demons she had just managed to escape. They were too young to be doing this. They had done enough, hadn’t they?
“It’s barmy. I mean we haven’t even taken our NEWTs!” Ron looked at Harry who was looking just as excited and stunned.
“Do you think they will actually take us?” Harry said, sitting down next to Ron.
“I won’t be going even if they do mean to take us,” Hermione said.
“What?”
“I won’t be going. I will go back to Hogwarts to finish the seventh year and take my NEWTs,” Hermione said. Truth be told Hermione hadn’t actually thought about what she was going to do after she got her parents back. But now with the offer for the Auror position in her hand, she knew that Hogwarts was where she wanted to be. She would finish her education and then figure out what she needed to do next.
“Oh,” said Ron.
“You can’t be serious Hermione! We have the chance to do what we have always wanted to do,” Harry had gotten up. He looked at her as if she was being ridiculous.
“I never wanted to be an Auror Harry. It was what you and Ron wanted. I just want to finish my education,” Hermione told Harry more forcefully than she had meant. Harry looked at Ron unsure of how to react. But unlike other times, he didn’t get to share a confused and scared look that usually the boys shared whenever Hermione got angry. Ron was looking at Hermione; his excitement slowly fading away. Harry looked from Ron to Hermione and then back a few times before he decided to excuse himself.
The light, breezy feeling that Hermione had been enjoying that morning, vanished. Dread gripped her and try as hard as she might, Hermione couldn’t think of a single way this would play out that didn’t end in pain. So when Ron cleared his throat, Hermione willed herself to not cry.
“You want to go back to Hogwarts?” Ron’ s voice already sounded defeated. Hermione steeled herself.
“Yes.”
Ron nodded and then looked at the letter he was still clutching. He kept nodding as he folded the letter and put it back in its envelope.
“So do you think we should write back to Kingsley and decline the offer or should we tell him face to face when we go back home,” Ron asked, trying to act as if it wasn’t costing him every bit of his composure.
Hermione felt her legs shake as she realised that this was it. This was the moment when she would have to do what she had been preparing herself for.
When Hermione looked at Ron, she couldn’t help shake the image of him at Hogwarts, telling Ginny that he would spend the rest of his life making up for leaving Harry and Hermione during the war. Ron was going to follow her wherever she would go. He was going to sacrifice his life, his dreams to take care of her out of guilt, out of duty. And she couldn’t even try to convince him that she didn’t need help because it was evident to anyone who looked at her that she wasn’t fine.
“Ron I will be going to Hogwarts and you will accept Kingsley’s offer.”
“If you think that I will let y…”
“I don’t need you to let me do anything Ron.”
“You know what I mean. I didn’t..” Ron stood up.
“You know what Ron, I hadn’t planned on doing this here but… Actually I hadn’t planned on you being here at all. And… and that’s the problem isn’t it?” Hermione was having trouble keeping her voice steady. Ron was quiet but she saw Ron’s hand move up to his chest and grab something but there wasn’t anything there. His knuckles had turned white. Hermione cleared her throat.
“I can’t do this anymore Ron. It’s too much. I thought… I thought we…” Hermione’s voice cracked. She stifled a sob and shook her head. “We aren’t good together Ron. You are smothering me and I just want to not be with you anymore.”
Hermione didn’t know what to expect. She had been preparing for this for some time now but nothing could have prepared her for the look of absolute defeat on Ron’s face. She wanted to rush forward and hold him. She wanted to tell him that she was doing this for him but like always she didn’t have the courage to tell him what she was actually thinking. She waited for him to say something, get angry or give any other reaction but Ron just kept standing clutching his chest, looking at her like it was the end of the world.
“Ron?”
“You said you loved me,” Ron’s hollow voice wasn’t even accusatory. Hermione felt a lump in her throat, her eyes started stinging and she could feel her tears welling up. She didn’t know what to say. She just shook her head, unable to look at him anymore.
“I… I don’t.”
Ron’s hand fell to his side. He nodded and then walked out. Hermione clutched her face, unable to fight the onslaught of tears she had been holding back.
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Ron remembered picking up his bag, Harry trying to hold him back. The portkey at the Australian Ministry and landing in the British Ministry. He remembered the floo back to the Burrow. He remembered he ran into Charlie, who told him that he was leaving for Romania that night. Ron remembered packing up his measly belongings, his mom crying as he left with Charlie. He remembered landing in the Dragon Reserve, Charlie taking him to his room, conjuring an extra bed and asking Ron to come for dinner. He remembered Charlie leaving when he didn’t say anything at all.
Ron remembered everything as he lay in his bed but nothing seemed real. The only thing that was real was Hermione telling him she didn’t love him. Ron’s hand kept reaching for his chest as if this would all go away if he only took off the blasted locket. But the locket was gone. This was not one of its tricks. This was real and it was worse than anything that the locket made him believe.