The Wedding Rings

Chapter 6: The Downfall

"Alright, that is it."

"That is what, Harry?"

"Hermione, do you think I'm stupid? Wait, you don't have to answer that, but d'you really think I don't see what's going on here?"

Hermione exhaled sharply and closed the file in her hand, her eyes dancing across the room. She refused to meet his gaze simply because she was afraid of what she might see in there, her hands trembling slightly. After a long day at work Harry decided to stop by her office and check upon her, obviously worried and wondering. They hadn't talked much in the last few weeks or so and she knew it was mostly her fault – he did try getting into touch with her but she was always refusing for Merlin knew what reason.

Like everything in life, Hermione enjoyed overanalyzing her feelings. Granted, it was much harder for her to sit down and mull things over when it came to Draco and their relationship, but it gave her a sense of calm, a sense of... familiarity, in a way. There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary in her little fling with Malfoy – except the fact that she was cheating on her husband with him, she added bitterly – but overanalyzing things meant that she was still her old self, that she didn't lose her annoying and exhausting ways and it pleased her. But only a bit.

"What are you talking about, Harry?" She sighed, putting her file down and bringing her hands up to rub her aching temples.

She could feel an incoming headache and it made her scowl slightly, the pain not welcome at the moment at all.

"I'm talking about you and Ron! What is going on?" He demanded worriedly, green eyes half-lidded and intense.

She sucked in a sharp breath and let it out with a simple chuckle, obviously dismissing his assumption. If she had the opportunity to freeze time for a moment and actually register a reaction, she would likely swear and bang her head against the wall, because that was the last thing she wanted to talk about. Especially with Harry.

"Nothing is going on, honestly! We're just... going—"

"—Through a rough time, yes," he finished for her in a rush, clearly annoyed.

"Ron keeps telling me the same thing, did you two decide to spill the same story to everyone or—"

"Look, Harry—"

"No, listen. Please."

Hermione exhaled and nodded once, her hands clasped together in her lap now.

"I know it's none of my business, but I see that there's something going on and it really annoys me that I can't help. He seems unhappy, you seem miserable, so what gives?"

He smiled at her after a moment or two, his body relaxing. It seemed as if he had wanted to get that out of his system for quite a while, and Hermione bit her lip and smiled back slightly, her fingers clenching the hem of her skirt.

"You're right, Harry. It hasn't been that amazing and I don't think I'm happy," She said honestly, looking away.

It felt good to get things out in the open without revealing much, and Hermione suddenly found herself unable to stop, everything she had wanted to spill now coming up and bubbling over.

"I just can't see us anymore. We used to be so fun. We fought, we—we cared, we cared about every single thing and now it's all automatic; fake, really. And I feel like I'm being suffocated and I hate it. I just wish I could do something about it, but I look at Ron and I see that he's given up as well – we both have."

That felt amazing. Taking in a deep breath, Hermione forced herself to look at him, their eyes meeting half way. He only nodded once and inhaled, seemingly thinking things through. She knew he was only looking out for them, trying to help – and she was grateful, really – but she also knew that she hadn't told him everything and it killed her.