Sour Grapes

Chapter 23 - Ron

Ron Weasley sat tucked away in a dark corner of the Leakey Cauldron, fire whiskey in one hand, quill in the other.

He was working on a letter to his parents, and struggling a bit with the wording. It was extremely important to him that they understood Hermione was not to blame for the divorce. He'd put her through enough already, and could not stomach the idea of his mother seeking her out to convince her to reconsider.

And he knew full well that she would, unless he was completely honest.

His stomach turned as he imagined the looks on his parent's faces.

Telling them in person would, of course, be the braver option. However, he knew himself well enough to know that going in person would result in half-truths, at best. He always lost his nerve in confrontations such as these. Unwilling to risk that, he'd settled on writing it all out in a letter that he could check and re-check to ensure he hadn't missed a detail.

This, among other things, was why he hadn't shared what was happening with his parents by the time Gabrielle's party happened. He knew that his whole family, let alone just his parents, would likely have something to say to Hermione, and he wanted to protect her from that. Of course, she'd seen it as him wanting to save face. He supposed he couldn't blame her for thinking of him that way, as if he only ever thought of himself. If he was honest, he'd spent the better part of the last five years thinking mostly that way.

First, the auror job became too difficult for him, and with the promise of quidditch fame calling his name, he did not resist. He'd left Harry's side without very much deliberation. Harry hadn't fought hard for him to stay, and that had only strengthened his resolve. Hermione tried to tell him that Harry was not being fully honest with him. That Harry had known how much Ron yearned for the spotlight and did not want to be the reason why his friend stayed at the ministry and missed out on quidditch. In truth, however, Harry really did not want to lose his friend to fame.

Hermione had tried to tell him, but Ron hadn't wanted to hear it, and so he'd gone to accept his new fate. It had been a whirlwind two years playing with his dream team, the Chudley Cannons. When it had started to put a strain on his relationship with Hermione, however, he'd come home for good. He and Harry had already grown apart during that time, and he didn't want to risk ruining his marriage. Taking a job in the Department of Magical Games and Sports, he settled for working around the world of quidditch rather than being a star player.

It was fine work, and if he was honest, he wasn't the greatest quidditch player in the world anyway. The offer to play was really made to bring more fans to games, his war hero status drawing large crowds. He'd done well enough, but he suspected that if he stayed much longer he would wear out his welcome, and Hermione hated how much he needed to be away. No, the quiet life was better for him. Only, in two short years he'd severed most of his close relationships, and didn't know how to repair the damage.

Even his relationship with Ginny had suffered. They'd both been equally busy with their quidditch teams, but somehow Ginny had made more time to see Hermione then he had. They'd grown close, and he had never been sure how to tell Hermione that it bothered him. He felt like he'd lost his best friend and his little sister, but it was all because of his own doing, so how could he complain?

And this was the unfortunate conclusion he kept coming to in the last few weeks: everything was his fault, so he had no room to be angry.

When he looked around, he noticed that he really had no one to confide in.

Ginny and Harry were on Hermione's side.

Neville was busy at Hogwarts or with Hannah, and also seemed to be with Hermione on this.