Disclaimer: The characters belong to J. K. Rowling. Only the twisted plot is the product of my imagination.
A/N: This entire chapter just makes me want to cackle like a madwoman! But I guess...oh heck...nevermind. I saw HP6 and god, Draco just broke my heart...
Thank you all for the lovely reviews!!!! And I think I got back to most of you with the promised extra snippet...except for the one person who's email didn't turn up and I couldn't find on the website...sorry...I tried.
Please read the AN at the bottom, it concerns the extra snippet, so pay attention!
Two weeks before…
Difficult though it was, Hermione forced her clenched fist to open.
A silver band encrusted with diamonds fell from her hand and landed in Harry's much larger grasp and she watched as it disappeared from sight into his pocket.
"What did he do, Mione? I thought you two were…"
"Not now, please Harry. I'll…I'll tell you about it when I get back." She rubbed her eyes while she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.
Harry gave her a suspicious look.
"Get back? Are you going somewhere?" He frowned deeply as he grabbed her hand. "Hermione, you need to be here. Running away from Malfoy is not going to solve this problem; you need to talk to him –"
Hermione wrenched her arm away, rubbing the skin as though it burned.
"Talking won't solve this problem either." She held up a hand as he began to protest. "No! Really…I just need to go…somewhere, where ever. Think everything through."
She fought back the tears and leapt forward, sweeping her best friend into a firm hug, hoping that she would not be forced to lie to Harry should he ask any more probing questions. To be honest, at this point, Hermione couldn't be entirely sure that she was returning at all.
There were only five weeks left till the marriage law deadline came into effect and Hermione was too exhausted to even contemplate finding another fiancé.
Marrying another man posed another problem: Hermione didn't think she ever wanted to face Draco again.
Shaking her head, Hermione forced her thoughts away and pasted a tremulous smile on her face, if only to appease Harry. She kissed him fondly on the cheek.
"Please just return the ring to Malfoy…I don't want to see him right now."
Harry stared at her, firm lipped and concerned but he could do nothing. When Hermione Granger decided to keep a secret, only a bottle of veritaserum and a crowbar crow pry it from her, and since he had neither oh hand, Harry was forced to simply nod and acquiesce to her request.
"Come home soon, Mione."
Hermione agreed, eager to leave. Harry with his too perceptive eyes was a danger to her fragile state of mind and she needed to leave before she broke down and lost the courage to do what she needed to do.
When she emerged from the floo at her apartment, Hermione surveyed the organised sort of chaos. Boxes of her most cherished possessions had already been sent away for storage as well as much of her furniture. All that was left were shreds of bubble wrap, wads of used tissues and the broken shards of porcelain.
While she had sent the annulment letter to the ministry, Hermione had destroyed a set of plates. When she had been forced to contact the estate agent to sell her home, she had brooded over a sheet of bubble wrap and destroyed another set. When she had been forced to resign her position in the ministry, Hermione had wept copiously and destroyed yet another set.
