Why Me: Confrontation

Why Me: Three Sides of the Same Coin by Pearle

Summary: Another interlude into the marital infidelity of Hermione Weasley and Severus Snape. This time, they take a few people along with them. HGSS

Companion piece to Why and Why, Indeed

Disclaimer: The characters, settings, etc. of the Harry Potter series are not mine they belong to J.K. Rowling and Co. I promise to return them when I am through. Well, most of them anyway.

~~~~~ Why Me: Three Sides of the Same Coin ~~~~~

Chapter 4 - Why Me: Confrontation

Hermione wrung her hands as she paced in front of the desk. Finding a suitable flat had been surprisingly easy. She had found a lovely one bedroom with a small study. It had a tiny balcony, just right for a few flowers and a breath of fresh air when she was feeling closed in. Her heart raced in both fear and excitement as she thought of starting on her own.

The biggest shock had to be the owl she received from Ginny telling her she knew about Ron and his extracurricular activities. She had been even more surprised to discover Ginny was willing to help in anyway she could. Hermione would have thought she would back her brother but there was Ginny, offering a place to live, a shoulder to cry on, whatever she needed to help her through this difficult time. She owled Ginny, thanking her for her support, it meant a great deal to her, and promised to come to dinner sometime next week, after she was settled in. Now all she had to do was get on with her life.

Ron was due back any minute. She was still unsure how she was going to tell him they were through. She had very few fond memories of the last three years with him. Their time together had been marked by anger and resentment. The last few months had seen a dramatic shift occur between the two of them. Hermione no long tried to find a common ground, consequently, they had barely spoken to one another. Ron would often relate highlights of his latest match to her. If he ever noticed she never responded to his comments, he failed to show it.

Hermione steadied her shoulders as she heard the front door of their home open.

Ron's voice rang out through the foyer. "Hermione? Are you here?"

"I'm in the study, Ron." Now or never, she thought.

"Ah, there you are." Ron plopped on the couch, never noticing his wife's stance. "You should have seen this match. It was unbelievable, bloody brilliant. I can't believe the Transylvania Bats were that easy to beat. There we were, five goals behind, when Zyyph goes into a fake dive for the Snitch. He saw it floating high but was trying to throw Ashton off. Aston, he's Transylvania's Seeker. So, Ashton follows Zyyph down and barely pulls up before he's about to crash into the pitch. Zyyph, on the other hand makes a sharp turn and takes off like a demon is on his arse. Ashton realizes he's been taken and goes after him, calling to two of his mates to aim their Bludgers at Zyyph. Zyyph dodges the first Bludger without a problem. Just as he reaches for the Snitch, the second Bludger hits him smack in the right side. He goes tumbling off his broom. Lucky he only fell ten feet. He broke four ribs, but he had managed to grab the Snitch just before he fell. That's dedication for you."

Hermione drew a deep breath. "Ron, we need to talk."

Ron glanced at Hermione. "Yeah, sure. Everything okay? You look serious. What, did you invent something at work?"

"I do research in infectious disease, Ron." Three years of marriage and he still did not know what she did.

"Yeah, I knew that." His face lit up as he said, "Wait, you're pregnant, right?"

Hermione sighed. She took the chair facing him. "No, Ron. I am not pregnant."

"Then what do you want to talk about?" Confusion was clear in his expression.

This was going to be harder than she thought. "I rented a flat in London yesterday, near the hospital."

"That may not be a bad idea. You could stay there when I'm away with the team. Considering the season we're having, I'm sure the management will up my pay a bit."

"Ron, I want a separation. I rented the flat for me. I plan to live there, full time. You can have the house. I really don't want it. I moved my things out yesterday, so you can stay here or leave, it's up to you."

Ron really looked around the study for the first time since entering the room. Most of the shelves were empty. The desk in the corner was bare. "What's going on here?"

"I've tried. For three years I tried. I really did. I don't want to be angry and hurt all the time. I just can't do this anymore." Hermione walked to the window; knowing this was the right thing for her and actually dealing with the fallout, were two different things.

"What are you talking about? You're leaving? Why would you leave?" Ron's face turned red, his anger rising to the forefront. He grabbed her arm, trying to turn Hermione to face him.

"Ron, you're hurting me. Let go!" Hermione pulled back, anger blazing in her own eyes.

"Is there someone else? There is, isn't there? You've been seeing someone else. Who is it?"

"How dare you! After all the groupies you shagged, you accuse me of being unfaithful." Whatever feeling she had left for him disintegrated in a haze of anger. A small voice in the back of her mind asked if she was going to tell him about Severus. Hermione quickly silenced that thought. He had been unfaithful long before she ever made a move. 'Rationalization of the human mind was a wonderful thing. It had to be the driving force that made her get out of bed some mornings,' she thought.

"There has to be someone. Who is it? Is it someone at the hospital?" He couldn't believe she would leave him. There had to be someone else. That was the only answer that made any sense.

Hermione's voice was bitter, her expression hard. "Not everyone fools around at work, Ron. We're through."

Ron recoiled from the hate he saw on her face. "You can't go. There is no such thing as divorce. What will people say? What do you expect me to tell my family?"

"What will people say? You sure as hell weren't thinking of what people would say when you shagged your little groupies. I don't care what you tell your family. In fact, why don't you ask your mum what she thinks of your extracurricular activities? I'm sure she will have a few things to say to you when she finds out that little bint in Romania was not the beginning or the end of the line. I am through with this sham you call a marriage. I may not be able to divorce you but I sure as hell don't have to live with you." Hermione headed for the front door, intent on Apparating away.

Ron caught up with her in the foyer. His voice was charged with anger, "You can't leave. I won't let you."

"Just watch me, you bastard." Hermione wrenched the door open and moved to the Apparition point past the front walkway. She Apparated as Ron grabbed her cloak.

He was left standing on the grass, staring at the empty space she had just occupied, a piece of his wife's cloak dangling from his hand.

He stood staring at the ground for several moments, unable to comprehend the events of the past few minutes. His mind refused to accept Hermione was gone. Now what? "Harry!" Harry would know where she went. More importantly, Harry would know what to say and do, how he could get her back. A loud crack broke the quiet of the afternoon as Ron took off in search of his friend and brother-in-law.

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Harry heard the sound of someone Apparating in just before he heard Ron's voice and the pounding at his door. From the sound of things, Hermione must have told him she was leaving. He was glad Ginny was out shopping with her mother. He would rather she didn't get too upset in her condition. It didn't matter how many times Ginny reminded him she was pregnant, not injured, he still thought she should take it easy and not get upset. Harry sighed as went to answer the door, now what?

Ron rushed in, pushing Harry aside; seeing the empty living room, he turned to his friend. "Harry, mate, I am so glad you're home. Hermione left me. You have to help me. Do you know where she went?"

"What happened?" Harry could only guess at what Hermione had told him, maybe if he had a clue as to what she said, he would know how to handle things.

"Some rubbish about she's had enough. I hurt her, or something like that. Do you know where she is? I need to talk to her."

"Ron, maybe you should leave her alone for a while. Let her cool off before you try talking to her." Harry shook his head, how could Ron be that clueless.

"She's my wife, Harry. What will people say? This could hurt the team. She has to come back. Where is she?" He had to find her before this got out of hand. That was all there was to it.

"Ron, she told me you were fooling around. She's not going to come back that easily." Harry watched his friend, sorry for both of them, Ron and Hermione. They both deserved more, something better than this.

Ron flushed with anger. "You knew she was going to leave me, didn't you? Why didn't you stop her? Some friend you turned out to be."

Harry was getting angry himself. "You've been playing around on her since you got married. What did you want me to do? Hermione is my friend, too. I didn't create this, you did."

"Great, now you sound like her. I will not have her running off. What's she going to do now, go off and start dating? She said there's no one else, but that's a load of rubbish." Ron was pacing back and forth. Harry was supposed to help, not put more problems in his path.

"She left you because she was unhappy, Ron."

"Yeah, well you wouldn't believe what she told me. " Ron shook his head.

"What did she tell you?" Hermione couldn't have mentioned Snape, Ron was much too calm for that. What did she tell him?

"I don't want to go into details, but it had to do with a certain someone and a bit of shagging." He'd be damned if he was going to tell Harry his mum had caught him fooling around. He still didn't know how Hermione had found out about that.

Harry looked surprised. "She told you about Snape?"

"Snape? What about Snape? I was talking about my mum. She was seeing Snape? I'll kill that bastard." Ron flew out the front door and Apparated before Harry could get a word in edgewise.

Harry shook his head. He really needed to let people finish talking before he jumped to a conclusion. The tracking spell he cast showed Ron had Apparated to Hogwarts. Harry sighed as he followed his friend. Why did he think peacetime was going to be easier than the war? All he had to worry about then was Voldemort trying to kill him.

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He never saw it coming, for all his years of spying, for all the times his lightening reflexes had saved his life, he never saw the punch coming. Or so it seemed.

"You son of a bitch. What did you do to her? Did you slip a potion in her drink? Is that what you did?" Ron's face was as red as his hair as he yelled at the dark man. His fist was cocked, ready to launch another blow. Ron had raced into the Headmaster's office yelling and screaming at Snape. Then out of the blue, he hauled back and punched him.

"Ron!" Harry had arrived at Hogwarts just minutes after Ron. It had taken him a moment to perform the appropriate tracking spell after Ron had suddenly Disapparated. The Headmaster helped Severus off the floor while Harry held Ron back.

Severus rubbed his jaw. He pulled a pristine handkerchief from his robe pocket. Blood trickled down his chin where his lip had split from the force of the blow. He gingerly patted the broken skin, attempting to still the flow of blood from the wound. "Weasley." The name was spat with utter contempt from his injured mouth.

"Mister Weasley, control yourself. We are all adults here. I will not have you striking my staff." Albus glowered at the young man.

"Your staff had an affair with my wife. She left me. Did you know that? What did you do to her?" If at all possible, his face grew redder. His voice raised in anger.

Severus was calm in comparison, especially in the face of Ron's rage. "What did I do? I cared for her. A skill you seem to be lacking. I brought her an hour or two of escape - from you. Why don't you return to those little bints you have been having your own fun with? I am quite sure one of them will be pleased to service you."

"Severus!" Albus admonished the Potions master. The scene was quickly getting out of hand.

"Ron, stop it." Harry held on to his friend. He understood Snape was taking it easy on Ron. He knew he could have easily hexed or killed him by now. He thought the Potions master might even have let Ron hit him so he would appear to be the injured party. Harry wouldn't put it past Snape. It was a Slytherin thing to do.

Ron sank down in the chair in front of the desk, his head in his hands, his voice an anguished sob. "She left me. We could have worked it out. I loved her and she left me. Now what do I do?"

Severus's voice was cold with the contempt he felt for this man. "You never deserved her. You have been unfaithful to her from the beginning and you have the audacity to accuse me of adultery. I maybe a lot of things, but I did not take your wife, Weasley. As a matter of fact, she came to me willingly. Such a passionate woman."

Ron was out of his chair in a minute. Harry grabbed for the back of his shirt.

Albus's voice roared through the office. "Mister Weasley, sit down! Severus, control yourself!"

Minerva came running into the office. "Mister Weasley, what are you doing here?" She noticed Severus's bruised lip. "Severus, what happened to your lip? What is going on here?"

Albus looked at the two men in front of him. Ron sat in one chair, Severus in the other. Harry stood between the two, his hand on Ron's shoulder, anchoring him in place. "Thank you, I believe we have things under control now, Minerva."

It was clearly a dismissal. Minerva refused to comply. "What is going on? Mister Weasley asked where Severus was. The next thing I know he is racing through the halls when I told him he was here, in your office."

Ron was still clearly agitated. "You want to know what's going on? I'll tell you. He's having an affair with my wife. She's left me, for him!"

Harry was losing his patience. "Ron, shut up. She didn't leave you for Snape. She left you because you're an idiot."

"For once, you and I agree on something, Potter. She left you for herself, not me. Though I would have to agree, you are an idiot." Severus sat back and traced the sharp crease in his trouser leg. The calmer he remained, the angrier Ron became.

Minerva was aghast. "Is it true, Severus? You had an affair with Hermione Weasley? How could you?"

"He's a Death Eater, that's how. There isn't anything he won't do." Ron was shouting and pointing at the Potions master who, for his part, appeared to be nonchalantly straightening the cuffs of his coat, unfazed by the outburst.

"You can't honestly believe that?" Harry looked at Ron in amazement.

"She never would have left me if he hadn't come along. She might even be pregnant by now. We could have been happy." Ron bemoaned his fate.

"Pregnant? You can't be talking about your wife, Weasley. I know for a fact she has not expressed an interest in having a child with you. Ahh, you must mean your mistress. Well, one of them at least." Severus sat back as he watched Minerva turn on the man.

"Mistress? You have been unfaithful to that poor girl? How could you?" Minerva's hands shook with rage as she confronted Ron.

Harry shook his head. Evidentially Snape didn't matter. Everyone felt sorry for Hermione - Molly, Ginny, even Minerva. He could only hope Hermione was all right, wherever she was.

"What is wrong with you people? She left me for Snape. Snape of all people." Ron looked bewildered, what was wrong with everyone? Didn't they see the truth staring them right in the face?

Harry glared at Snape before turning back to his friend. "Hermione leaving you had nothing to do with Snape. She's been unhappy for a long time. You've been unfaithful to her since you married her. How the hell do you think her getting pregnant would solve anything?"

Ron's tone was sullen. "We would have worked it out, eventually."

"That. Is. Enough." All eyes turned to Albus. "I believe this matter is closed."

TBC

A/N: Now what? What can Albus do? What will Molly say? Where did Hermione go? Dinner with Harry and Ginny? And we won't even talk about Ron right now! Tune in next time for more answers and more questions.

According to the HP Lexicon, Transylvania has a Quidditch team that played in the first World Cup. They have been known to conceal flocks of vampire bats to be released against the opposing team during a match. No name is given for the team, call it artistic license, I decided to name them the Transylvania bats,.

Romania is made up of forty-one counties. The counties are divided, not equally, into four 'Administrative' areas – Transylvania, Wallachia, Moldavian, and Dobrogea.

A grateful thank you to Nakhash, my beta for her corrections and suggestions. Another set of eyes is always helpful, the mistakes, however, are still my fault.

Please review and let me know what you think.

I love hearing from you! As always, thoughts, comments, reviews, whatever are always welcome.

Regards, Pearle