Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Hermione spent the rest of the week after meeting with Mr. Forsythe alternately buried in her work and trying to find a solicitor in her price range that she felt could handle her case. Unfortunately those seemed to be in short supply. Because divorce was so uncommon, there were not many solicitors who actually had experience. And those who did were uncomfortable with taking her case because there was a chance that the other party would object, not to mention that the two of them were still being lauded as heroes of the war. She knew that Lucius was trying to get her to use Reg, but this was something she wanted to do on her own. She knew there would be questions about why she was using such an expensive high-profile lawyer, that she wasn't prepared to answer.

Actually, she thought there was more than just a chance Ron would contest even though she had not really talked to him since the initial proclamation that she thought they would be better apart. He had sent her flowers with an apologetic note, but she knew it was too little, too late and that the reasons for the separation were irreconcilable as neither of them would relent and give into the other's wishes.

Amazingly, Ron had apparently hadn't told his parents because she had been sure that she would have received a Howler from Molly if he had. She dreaded the reaction from his family the most because they had so readily accepted her, and she hated hurting them.

She was sitting in the lunch room on Thursday, pushing her food around her plate, when Gilles Dumont joined her. He had started work shortly after she had, though he was not in her workgroup. When she had first seen him, she had thought there was something familiar about him, but she did not recognize him from school. It was only when she joined him for lunch one day that she learned they had met when she was on Christmas holidays during her first year of Hogwarts. Her parents had once again taken her on their annual skiing vacation at Les Deux Alpes near Grenoble, France. She hadn't been much for skiing, and he had twisted his ankle, so they had spent some time playing games and chatting in the chalet. Neither of them had realized the other was magical at that time as both came from Muggle families. He had grown into quite the handsome man from the awkward youth of thirteen she had remembered.

After that, they had started to sit with each other during lunch quite frequently. They had a great deal in common as he was also quite bookish, and she enjoyed the opportunity to practice her French. She did use her French when around Fleur and her family, but Ron had never been particularly close to Bill so they generally only saw each other at family gatherings. Of late they had been discussing magical history, especially the period concerning Merlin which Gilles found utterly fascinating as it was not something he had studied much at Beauxbatons.

Gilles set down his fork and angled his head so that she'd look up at him. "Something is bothering you?" he asked once she made eye contact.

Hermione placed both elbows on the table as she put one hand over the one holding her fork. "Oui," she answered in French, indicating she would prefer they not use English.

Understanding her request, he continued the conversation in French. "Do you wish to talk about it?"

She sighed, put down her fork and looked him in the eyes. She did want to talk about it, but it was far more personal than anything else they had discussed at lunch. "I do, but I don't think I should."

He picked up his mug with both hands, his elbows on the table. "Do you not have other friends who can help you?"

She shook her head. "Not with this. I have a very small group of friends, and this concerns one of them."

He lowered his mug to the table. "Well, I am a very good listener, and I would like to think you consider me a friend."

"I do, Gilles, I just... It's very personal. I would love to tell you, I really would, but... I don't know."

He smiled warmly at her. "Consider my offer. If you find you still need someone to talk to, we can talk about it. Until then, I'm sure we can find something else interesting to discuss over lunch."

"Sure," she replied, relieved that he hadn't pushed and feeling better that she'd have someone else to confide in if she'd have wanted to. They spent the rest of the lunch break talking about wizarding life in Renaissance France.

When Hermione returned to work, she was better able to concentrate, finally having gotten her mind off Ron for a while.

On Friday, she still wasn't ready to confide in Gilles, but she did enjoy the distraction provided by sharing the lunch table with him. It was quite refreshing to take a break from discussing all things potions related. That afternoon, she took Lucius' words to heart to not be a recluse and decided to go visit George and Angelina. After work, she headed over to Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. "Hi, George," she said as cheerfully as she could muster.

He grinned at her and gave her a hug. "Hermione! Good to see you. I've been dying to bounce some new product ideas off of you." He took a good look at her face and saw that she was troubled. "Verity, can you close up tonight?"

"Sure thing, George," she replied cheerfully over her shoulder while stocking trick wands in the bin.

George led Hermione through the storeroom and up the back stairs to his flat. He turned to face her and crossed his arms. "Want to talk about it? Want me to knock some sense into Ron?" he offered, trying to lighten the mood.

"Maybe later," she replied, letting him know this was something she wanted to discuss in private with him.

"No problem. Lina! We have another mouth to feed for dinner!" he shouted towards the kitchen.

"Who is it? I'm elbow deep in feeding Fred," she called from the kitchen.

Hermione and George walked to the kitchen. "Hi, Angelina," Hermione said as she smiled warmly at the sight of Angelina and little Fred covered in something that looked like carrots. "You weren't kidding about being elbow deep, were you?" She watched Fred try to grab the spoon and pull it into his mouth, instead missing and dribbling them down his cheek.

"He's a very artistic eater," Angelina replied. "It's good to see you again."

"Yeah, it's been too long, and I've been too busy. Do you need any help?" Hermione offered.

"I'm almost done with Fred and then you can lend a hand with dinner while George gets Fred cleaned up."

"That sounds great."

While they watched Angelina almost futilely trying to feed little Fred, George said, "The latest Daydream Charm has been a real blockbuster."

"I told you it would be." Hermione still admired the magic that went into that charm even if she didn't fully approve of the fact that it could be used in class. Of course, there were a fair few products that didn't meet her approval, yet she still admired the skill and inventiveness it had taken to create them. There were times she thought George's skills could be used to serve the wizarding community, but then she remembered the power of laughter and happiness and knew that George was where he was doing the most good. "So what's this new product you want to bounce off me? Something to skive class?" she joked, knowing that he never asked her about those sorts of products.

"Would I suggest something like that?" he asked, feigning upset. "No, I'm looking at a new line of customizable trick wands. Trick wands are great, but face it, everyone knows their own wand, so you would never get anyone to unknowingly use a fake one." He leaned forward in his chair. "My idea is to figure out some way that the wand would replicate the appearance of another person's wand without the wand losing the trick part of the spell. The buyer would tap the trick wand on their friend's wand and it would Transfigure itself to match. Then they can be switched and hide the real one. This way you could take the Mickey out of your mates when they tried to use the trick wand, thinking it was their own. I could easily do the Transfiguration here at the shop, but that wouldn't be practical if you were trying to swap out someone else's wand, would it? I'm having some problem with the delayed activation of the Transfiguration spell, and I thought you might have some ideas."

She thought about his idea and knew that their trick wands were harmless. "That's really ingenious."

George smiled proudly. "Why thank you. So, any ideas?"

"Nothing comes to mind, but I have some ideas where to look into it. Give me a few days, and I can send you what I come up with by owl."

Angelina set down the bowl and pulled Fred out of his high chair. Holding him at arm's length she offered him to George. "Here you go. All ready for his bath."

George carefully took his carroty son. "You have got to learn to get that spoon in your mouth," he said as he carried Fred out of the kitchen.

Hermione enjoyed helping out in the kitchen, chopping vegetables, and listening to Angelina tell her about Fred's latest antics. After about ten minutes, she could hear George was doing something rather noisy in the living room with little Fred, but Angelina seemed quite oblivious to the commotion. They talked a little bit about what Ron had done this time, but Hermione didn't feel comfortable giving Angelina all the details.

The roast pork Angelina made was excellent as always, and over dinner the conversation had stayed mostly on the topic of product development as George first filled Hermione in on everything he had done so far trying to get the trick wand to function properly. Then the three of them discussed some new ideas for the next round of Daydream Charms.

As Hermione watched the two of them interact, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous about their relationship. They had what she wanted. There was no question the two of them were in love.

After dinner, Hermione asked, "Would it be alright if I talked to George alone?"

Sensing the seriousness of the conversation, Angelina replied, "Sure thing." She took Fred to get him ready for bed.

Knowing their flat was fairly small, Hermione asked if they could go down to the shop and George agreed. They sat on a couple of stools in the storeroom, and George asked seriously, "So, what has Ron done this time?"

She sighed. "That's just it – this time. Like Angelina said, 'what else is new'. There always seems to be a this time, and so many times it's the same thing."

"I know Ron can be a bit thick..." George started, but wasn't sure where to go.

"It's not that he's being thick, it's... more than that. Ron's a great person, but I just don't know how compatible we are. I enjoy his friendship, but what it takes to be a good friend is a lot different from what it takes to be a good husband." She just didn't know how to continue, knowing how Ron and the Potters had reacted.

"So that's why Ron's been over at Harry and Ginny's," George said, filling in the blanks.

"Yeah," she replied quietly. "I just think we would be better apart and able to find someone who truly makes us happy. I see what you and Angelina have together, and Harry and Ginny, and I want that sort of happiness. I just don't have it with Ron, and I don't know that I ever will. We're just too different, and those differences are sometimes... insurmountable."

He gave her a supportive hug. "Oh, Hermione. I'm so sorry. I think we all hoped that Ron would grow up and do right by you," he said sympathetically.

"So you don't blame me?" she asked as she relished his hug. It was nice to know that at least one Weasley would not shun her.

"Every time a relationship falls apart, both sides have to bear some responsibility," George said wisely.

She was always a little surprised when she saw George's serious side. But because he could be so level-headed, despite his outward playful demeanor, she really cherished his friendship. "Thanks for seeing that, though I don't know the same will be said for the rest of your family."

Remembering how Molly had treated Hermione the year of the Triwizard Tournament, he replied, "You're probably right." After a few moments he asked, "So what are you going to do?"

"I need to talk to Ron again, but I just don't see how we can make it work and both be happy. If we stay together, I'm afraid it will only get worse. Some things just can't be reached by compromise, and we'll have strife and resentment and ruin anything we had. We'll be miserable – he'll be miserable. And before you ask, I do know how this is going to look and what a circus it's going to turn into." She anticipated that he would warn her how divorce was viewed in the wizarding world.

He looked at her sadly. "How does Ron feel about this?"

"We haven't talked since I mentioned the idea. I was going to see him tomorrow now that he's had time to consider it." She had no idea how that conversation would go, but she could not see it ending well.

"He really does love you," George said.

"I know, and that's what makes this hard. I do love him, but I think we're better as friends. We're just at different places in our lives, and I don't think we will ever be in the same place." As she looked into George's eyes, she could tell that he thought the same thing.

"I just wanted you to know. Amazingly, it doesn't look like Ron has told anyone."

George offered, "He's probably hoping that you will reconsider."

"If that's what he wanted, he sure hasn't done much to convince me he's willing to compromise or to see things my way at all – that's not fair. We're at an impasse, and if one has to give in to what the other wants, that person will not be happy. It will not... bode well. Thanks for letting me talk to you about this," she said as she gave him one last hug. "I'm going to get going. Say goodnight to Angelina and Fred for me."

"Sure," he said sadly. "And no matter what, we'll always be your friends. Just... it's going to be tense for a while, and you know..." he said sheepishly.

She smiled weakly. "I know – family comes first. Owl me when it's good," she said, leaving the ball in his court. This was going to be hardest part about the divorce. She loved all the Weasleys. She and Ron definitely should have waited, talked more about important adult matters before getting married. If they had dated and then decided not to wed, she probably would not have strained her relationship with the family as much as this would.

Returning home, she felt a little better about her decision. George hadn't tried to talk her out of the divorce, realizing that she was doing what was best.

The next morning she was up early and eager to talk to Ron. Well, eager wasn't really the proper term, but she just wanted to get it out of the way. Unfortunately, it was far too early for her to pay the Potters a visit.

After preparing for the day, she decided to go for a walk and see where her feet took her until it was late enough in the morning to pay him a visit. When it hit nine in the morning, she found a secluded place and Apparated to Godric's Hallow.

She knocked on the door and Harry answered. "Good morning, Harry," she said. "Is Ron around?"

"Yeah, he's in the kitchen. Come on in." Harry indicated she should wait in the living room.

It didn't take long for Ron to join her. She smiled wanly.

"Morning," Ron said quietly and took a seat in the chair. There was a very awkward silence. "So, you haven't changed you mind?" he finally asked.

She sighed. "No. I haven't. I just don't think we are good as a married couple since we don't want the same things. Surely you have to have seen that, and I'm not just talking about kids – it's everything."

"I know it hasn't always been good between us..." Ron defended.

"When has it been really good between us? We either seem to argue or to go off and do our own things," she pointed out.

He looked defeated. "I know that, but think of the family..."

"Ron, that's the last thing we should be thinking about. We should think about ourselves. Do you want to live a miserable life where we each resent the other? I know I don't." She just had to get through to him.

"You say that now, but you don't know how bad divorce is in the wizarding world. It's been ages since there was one," Ron protested.

She rebutted, "That's a bit of an exaggeration. The last high profile divorce happened in 1985."

"But that proves my point – it's just not common!" he said defensively.

Hermione quickly cast the Muffliato, knowing that there was a good chance this would end in a shouting match. "I know it's not common, but if we agree to do this, it can be done quietly with a minimal amount of fuss by anyone, especially the press. Then we can both easily move on with our lives."

"Is that what you are doing already? I know that you haven't been at home this week," he asked accusatorially. "Did you find someone new?"

She tried to hide her shock that Ron was accusing her of seeing someone else, thinking that she would have been looking for someone else, and apparently spying on her. "No, I'm not seeing anyone. I do not have another wizard in my life. I just... there are too many memories at home, and I want to be out around people. Well, truthfully, I've been at the library if you must know. I find solace in books – you know that." That was mostly the truth and was where she had been spending most of her time in the evenings. Lucius was nothing more than a friend, and that friendship had no bearing on the collapse of their marriage. "And I went to see George and Angelina last night – and I told George," she admitted.

Ron jumped to his feet. "You told my brother?" he shouted.

"You told Harry and Ginny," she retorted.

"But George is my brother, not yours," he said angrily.

She knew that this was not an argument that she was going to win. "Fine. So I told George. He's not going to tell your folks or anyone else. I needed to talk to someone about this, and my closest friends are also your family." She did feel a bit guilty hiding her friendship with Lucius, but given how Ron was prone to overreacting, she knew that was something it was best he didn't know.

Ron crossed his arms. "And he couldn't talk you out of it?"

"He just listened. He didn't try to tell me anything, but he understood. However, he doesn't want to take sides. But aside from that, I want you to give me a really good reason why we shouldn't do this – and the wizarding view on divorce doesn't count." She crossed her arms defensively and waited for his reply.

Ron opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to tell her a reason. "Because I love you," he finally replied quietly.

"I love you, too, but we can do this and still be friends. I think we're really good as friends, but I don't think that we're meant to be more than that. I want you to be happy, Ron, and we just aren't in the same place. We want different things out of life. "She leaned forward and took hold of his hands. "I want you to find the witch I know you deserve, that I know will make you happy," she said sincerely. "Please, Ron, look in your heart and find the truth."

He sighed. "All right," he said quietly. "I hate being a failure."

"You aren't a failure. Neither of us are a failure," she reassured him. "We were just young, perhaps too young, and we didn't sit down and ask the big questions or know what questions to ask. I think we were both caught up in the moment when the war was over and rushed into marriage because everyone expected it of us. We didn't really talk things out, discover what we wanted out of life. Our whole relationship was intertwined with Voldemort, Death Eaters, survival, Harry's survival, and the rebound after affects from the war... We never had a normal dating relationship where we got to know us – Us. As individuals."

"Maybe. But I really thought you were the one," he said, tears welling in his eyes.

She looked at him sadly. "I thought the same thing. After everything we'd been through, I thought it was enough, but it isn't, not for a marriage. I'll always love you, but I can't see us working out as a couple. Better to find out now than to live in misery for the rest of our lives, don't you think? We're still young, and there is plenty of time for us to find someone we are better matched with."

"Yeah, I guess," he reluctantly admitted as he slumped back on the sofa.

After a long pause, she asked, "Do you think you can get off work for a couple of hours on Monday?"

"I guess there isn't any point it putting this off, is there?"

She shook her head. "No, not really."

"I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything. Maybe later in the week."

"Tell you what, I can take care of the initial paperwork and bring it over for you to look at. You'll still have to see the solicitor to sign it." She was relieved that she had gotten him to see things her way, and it looked like this could be done with minimal fuss.

"Sure," he replied, no longer meeting her eyes.

"I won't fight you for anything. I just want my clothes and my books and my potions kit. You can have anything else or none of it, just... I just want this to be as painless as possible," she said quietly.

"Yeah," he said in a near whisper, still refusing to look at her. "I think you should go now."

"Sure. I'll come over when I have the paperwork." She stood up and looked back at him before leaving the room. "I'm sorry, Ron. I really am. If it's any consolation, you're not a failure – neither of us are. We're just better off as friends than husband and wife. I know you'll find someone perfect for you. You're a good and decent man."

She left without saying goodbye to Harry or Ginny and went home to cry. No matter what she told Ron, she thought she was a failure. She was bright enough that she should have thought about all things they might have in common and things they might feel differently enough about to make them incompatible. But she really hadn't had any experience in being in a serious relationship, and she had never thought to turn to books, blindly believing what everyone was saying at the time, and sure that she had known what was best.

Monday was a busy day for Hermione. She somehow had to hopefully fit in a whole day's worth of work and a trip to the solicitor's office. She had no idea how long that might take, but she was confident that she could do so without it impacting her work, since there was a lot of dead time in her current project.

Amazingly, she was able to get in to see the solicitor that afternoon. And even more amazingly, it took less than an hour. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. A part of her felt that something that momentous should have taken longer than it did, but at the same time, it was an ugly bit of business, and she did not want to linger over it any longer than necessary.

She tucked the parchment safely into her pocket before returning to work. After work, she debated on waiting until later when Ron was sure to be there and going now when he might be there. She finally decided that the sooner she handed it over, the better.

She knocked on the door to Harry and Ginny's house. After several very long seconds, Ginny opened the door. "Hermione," she said with a false smile.

"Hi, Ginny. Is Ron in?"

"No. He and Harry are still at work," she said rather brusquely.

She pulled the envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Ginny. "Will you see that Ron gets this?"

Ginny acted as though the letter was coated in poison when she took it tentatively in her hand. "Wouldn't you rather give it to him directly? Talk it over some more?" she asked hopefully.

Hermione shook her head. "There really isn't anything else to talk about. We've been trying for months, and we're at an impasse. This is for the best. Please, just see that he gets it," Hermione said sadly before leaving. She really wanted nothing more than to spend time with Ginny, but she just couldn't bear another confrontation with Ron right now. "If he has questions, I'll be at home tonight," Hermione said and then walked through the gate to Disapparate home.

Once there she checked the pantry and saw that she would have to go to the market tomorrow. She sighed and resigned herself to a simple dinner. For the first time in her life, she wished she had spent more time making friends. Her friends were basically Ron's family. There was Gilles and Anastasia in her department, but they were just work friends, and she didn't think they knew each other well enough for her to share this sort of personal information with him. Of course, she was considering writing Lucius, and she hadn't really known him much longer than Gilles, but she reasoned they had different sort of friendship. Theirs was more personal and less professional. Besides, she didn't want to disturb Lucius on such short notice. She had started to write him two letters, but had ended up discarding them. She just was not sure that he was a good enough friend to burden with this sort of personal problem. Not to mention the bad blood between the Malfoy and Weasley families.

After deciding not to write Lucius, she flicked on the Wireless. Unsurprisingly she was assaulted with the Chudley Cannons game, and she immediately changed the channel. The next station was 'Cooking with Cassie', a show that always made her feel inadequate, particularly considering the simple fare she usually prepared for her meals, and she tried another channel. Finally she decided that 'Quinton's Wiz Quiz' was innocuous enough to have on as background noise and decided to drown her sorrows in a box of chocolates, but found it utterly unfulfilling. She flipped off the Wireless and tried to read a book, but found that she could not concentrate, and she casually tossed the book aside and started pacing, trying to find something to keep her mind off the mess that her personal life had become.

For a brief moment she thought about going to her parents' house so she could mindlessly flip through channels on the telly, but she knew that would do nothing to improve her mood and would only lead to her parents asking her questions that she was not prepared to answer.

She decided that rather than wallow in pity and try to pretend that she was not miserable, she really needed someone to talk to – and there was really only one person.

Sitting down at her desk, she tapped the quill to her lips and stared at the empty paper. While it should not be difficult to write a letter, she found herself not even sure of how to start. She first wrote 'Dear Lucius' and then hastily scribbled it out. That sounded far too personal. Of course she was asking him a rather personal favor, and it was not as though they were strangers, but it still sounded a bit too friendly to her.

She scribbled a few more lines on the parchment before crossing them out as well. She did not want to come across as too needy or desperate, but she also wanted to let him know that she really did need someone to talk to. Finally she thought she had the perfect wording and transferred it to a clean sheet of parchment.

Lucius,

Hermione

That surprisingly short note, took her more than a quarter of an hour to write. She knew that he had offered to let her bend his ear, but it still felt odd asking.

"Pig, I've got a delivery for you," she said to the miniscule little owl. She was glad she had kept the note short.

The owl fluttered around her and hooted eagerly before she snatched him out of the air. She was surprised that Ron hadn't taken him. Once she got the note attached to his leg, she said, "I want you to take this to Mr. Malfoy at his manor in Wiltshire and deliver it at breakfast. Don't wake him up in the middle of the night, okay?"

The owl hooted happily about having a delivery to make.

"Then I want you to go Ron at Harry's. You belong to him." She released the little owl, who flew around her once before flying out the open window. She sighed as she watched Pig leave and then decided it was time to turn in. Either Ron had no questions or he hadn't finished reading through the documents.

The petition had been very straightforward. It outlined the reasons for wanting divorce and listed the few possessions Hermione wanted: her clothes, her books, the things she'd kept from her childhood and her Gran Nan's tea pot, and, of course, her part of the savings. She thought it was more than fair.

As she lay in bed, she realized that all of their furnishings were Ron's possessions. The exception being a small, antique oak Welsh cupboard Ron had bought her at an outdoor market and her bookshelf in the living room. She hadn't shown any interest in picking furniture, nor in actually choosing their flat. Those were the types of things that she just did not find important.

Tomorrow she would send Ron an owl letting him know that she was going to find a new place to live and that he could have the flat or terminate the lease as he saw fit. If she was going to start a new chapter in her life, she had to do it from a new place to live.

Now that she had begun the process, she found it liberating and slept better than she had since leaving the Bahamas.

A/N: As always, my deepest gratitude to my wonderful beta, beaweasley2. She has done a marvelous job helping my plug holes and to spur my muses on. Also, many thanks to all those who have taken the time to leave a review. Your feedback also helps the muses stay motivated.