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Hermione Malfoy was furious. Downright mad. Of all the things to say, her husband had to say that.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Draco asked, joining Hermione in a small room of the main chamber at the Ministry. He came forward to touch her arm, but Hermione moved away.
“Don’t you honey me. Why did you say that? That was private Draco” she reprimanded him. Draco quickly waved his wand at the door so no-one could hear then slapped Hermione. He grabbed her and slammed her against the wall.
“You listen you filthy mudblood bitch. I do whatever the fuck I want with you” he said, throwing her to the ground. He stomped his foot right next to her head, it wasn’t uncommon for him to kick her in the stomach while she was lying down. He got down right near her ear and whispered in a voice dripping with venom. “I am your husband. You are my property. When we get home and the kids are in bed, you’ll learn your lesson” he said, undoing the charm and leaving the room. This hadn’t been the first time she had been beaten by Draco. She was certain the number ran into the hundreds, if not thousands, so she should be used to it. But no matter the amount, it always hurt her body and her spirit.
She tried to stand up, looking at her body to determine if they were any marks to give away the abuse Draco gave her. There were some bruises, so she used glamour charms to hide them. But while physically she was fine, emotionally, and mentally she was broken. Her life should have been happy, three kids, happy marriage, great job as the Minister of Magic. Her parents were close to her, she had many great friends that she loved. But underneath that image, she was a broken woman, broken physically, mentally, emotionally. She had the amazing kids, parents, friends, but hidden away from the world, she was scared. Just the sight of Draco sent fear down her spine and made her body cower. She didn’t know whether he would hit her, or verbally abuse her, but every interaction with her husband always ended up with some form of pain.
Steeling herself, and rubbing away the tears in her eyes, Hermione swayed on the spot and took some deep breathes. She had done it before and she could do it again: act like everything was ok. She opened the door to what was a beautiful sight. The atrium of the Ministry had been converted into a dancefloor. Due to the sheer amount of people invited it was a very large space, with lots of tables on the side for the guests to sit. Hermione walked on, looking for a conversation. Some of her co-workers offered congratulations for 3 years in office as Minister. Hermione plastered on a genuine smile; she did have tons of respect for them and some were genuinely nice people.
Hermione found journalists interviewing guests, Ministry workers having a drinking contest at the bar, Fleur Weasley being hit on by some drunken fool, before she nutted him and the man ran away in pain. Her husband Bill had seen the whole exchange, a massive scowl on his face, until Fleur came over and snogged him hard. They soon vanished from view, and Hermione chuckled to herself: she knew exactly what they were going to do. The thought of family made her decide to see where her kids were, and it was no great surprise to find them playing a game with a ginger-haired man.
“Now, Rose, move your knight here” he said. Rose giggled, then moved the chess piece exactly where the man said it. Her daughter looked smugly over the board to her brother's Hugo, and Scorpius. They were looking scared and lost on the chessboard, as they shared a little meeting for their next move. Hermione chuckled and felt her spirits soar, it was great to see her kids having such a good time at such a boring event.
“I think it’s pointless to try and beat Ron. He is the best at wizards’ chess” she smiled at her kids. They all smiled widely at their mother, going up and hugging her.
“Mummy, Uncle Ron is showing me how to play wizards’ chess” Rose said happily. She was beaming, smug at the fact she was beating her brothers. Hermione sat down next to Ron, who had Rose on her lap.
“I think he’s doing a good job” she said, scanning the board. She knew enough about chess due to the fact Ron had explained the game in great detail. She moved her gaze to Ron, who was still studying the board intently. Chess had always been his forte, but being an Uncle was the thing he was best at. He was completely natural with kids, happy to look after nieces and nephews for weekends and entertain them. And it only made sense for her kids to be left in his care when she and/or Draco needed some time off. Besides, Ron was one of her best friends, if not her best friend in the world.
“Hello Ron” Hermione said happily. Ron turned to face her and gave her a brilliant smile. Hermione blushed.
“Hey Hermione. Congrats on three years as the big boss” he said cheerily. Hermione smiled back.
“Thank you” she said with a big blush covering her cheeks. “How’s George and work going for you?” she asked as Hugo and Scorpius finished planning their move. They confidently did their move, high fiving each other. Smug grins on their face. Ron turned to Rose, then whispered something in her. She grinned, then moved one piece.
“Check mate” she announced triumphantly. She gave Ron a big hug while Hugo and Scorpius were in disbelief at being defeated so easily.
“How?” they asked Ron at the same time.
“Oh well, just luck I suppose” he said, winking at Rose. Rose giggled. He then looked back to Hermione, whose heart had melted. Seeing the interactions between Ron and her kids was sweet and tugged at her heartstrings. “Things are going good at the shop. George has got some mad ideas going on, but some are pretty cool. And business has never been better” he reported. The kids seemed bored by the constant chatter, so Rose hopped off Ron and led her brothers to their friends at another table.
This left Hermione and Ron alone, as they sat together and chatted like old times. Their bickering had remained the same over the years, as had their chemistry. Hermione found herself laughing from another of his stories, he really did have an amazing sense of humour. The room seemed hotter than normal, and Hermione was blushing when he complimented her on the dress.
“You look handsome too in your suit” she said, picking at the sleeve of his suit jacket.
“Well thank you Minister” he said with a lop-sided grin she knew too well. She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ears and blushed scarlet.
“Stop it you” she flirted, smiling coyly. Ron laughed, sending chills up her spine.
“Okay Minister” he said, saluting her. Hermione giggled.
“Ron” she pushed his arm playfully. Ron gasped.
“Is the Minister abusing her authority and power by attacking a co-owner of one of the biggest stores in the world?” Ron joked, threatening to push her back. Hermione was giggling like a little girl, she couldn’t remember the last time she had giggled like that.
“Yep, she definitely is” Hermione joked. Ron moved within an inch of her, then touched her. It sent sparks up her arm as she tried to pass it off as nothing. The air become uneasy with sexual tension, as desire shot through her body. That ginger hair she absolutely adored and a handsome face. Ron stopped touching her and engaged conversation about some terrible dance moves. Hermione chatted absent-mindedly. It was totally fine that she loved his complexion and hair, and it was totally normal to masturbate to the thought of him eating her out, licking her nipples, loving her, sucking his pole, bent over on a desk with him slamming into her. And it was fine to be totally turned on by all of it, by thinking about him. That was ok.
It felt like no time had passed at all as they chatted, but her bladder cried out.
“Sorry Ron, I need to go the loo” she said apologetically. She didn’t mean to say it with such sadness, but even just being around Ron made her day better. He nodded, so Hermione went to the bathroom. On the way back, she saw Draco and Ron involved in a tense discussion over by their table. Judging by the smirk on Draco’s face and Ron’s scowl, it wasn’t pretty. Hermione used a disillusionment charm to cover herself, then found a good position to eavesdrop without anyone knocking into her.
“She’s brilliant, isn’t she?” Draco asked condescendingly. Hermione perked her ears up, interested in Ron’s response.
“Shut up Draco” he said angrily. Draco smiled evilly.
“Hermione is quite a good speaker. Even better when she screams in bed when I make her squirt all over the bed sheets. I swear, I spend your salary on bed sheets every year” he said. Hermione gasped, anger boiling inside her body. Firstly, she had never squirted from sex. Secondly, Draco was awful at sex, keen to only pleasure himself. And thirdly, even if he was really good, bragging about it as if he were some kind of sex god was a complete breach of her trust. That was private, and as far as she was concerned, Draco had shown once again how little he cared for her. What happened next made Hermione even madder and upset.
“Does that tick off you Ronald? I got her, she’s mine. Not yours. How does it feel to see my and Hermione’s kids, not yours, to know I’m her husband and you’re not. She’s mine Ron, not yours” he said with venom, intent to hurt him. Ron didn’t move a muscle, but merely walked away and chatted to someone else.
Hermione couldn’t deny the flutter in her heart. Ron as a kid would have punched and beaten him within an inch of his life, but the Ron of now just walked away. He had grown up well, but also retained his boyish enthusiasm when it was required. She undid the enchantments and walked over to Draco.
The rest of the party had gone smoothly, though Hermione found it quite hard to keep acting like everything was ok. The interaction between Draco and Ron had her temper rising beneath the surface, and Draco’s promise to teach her a lesson once they got home didn’t fill her confidence. Still, at least the illusion was kept for the night, before she said goodbye and Draco grabbed her along with the kids and apparated home.
Putting the kids to bed took quicker than expected, as they spent a large portion of the night running around. Once Rose was put to sleep, Draco used his wand on the kids room so they were none the wiser to his actions. He dragged Hermione out of Rose’s room, quickly, making sure they couldn’t hear a thing. Hermione was trying desperately to get out of his grasp, but Draco had strong arms and he kept his hold on her, dragging her kicking and screaming into their bedroom.
He closed the door with a loud bang, then threw her against the vanity. Glass shattered and Hermione yelped as the glass shards cut into her skin. The pain was unbearable, but even deeper her heart was crying out in agony. Her husband should have challenged her, made her want to be better, made her feel respected and loved. But Draco didn’t, he made her feel worthless, like an accessory rather than an equal partner. Hermione was laying on the ground until a hand grabbed her shoulder and lifted her clean off the carpet, blood oozing of out the wounds on her face.
“What are you?” Draco asked scathingly. Hermione summoned her courage and spat in his face. Draco shook his head in anger. “Let’s try that again” he said, then grabbed a piece of sharp glass and cut Hermione’s wrist. The sharp glass hurt her more than she was willing to confess, but her face was still defiant.
“What are you?” he asked. Hermione steeled herself for another blow.
“I am a witch. And I am not your property to do whatever you please” she said. Draco smirked.
“I knew there was some fight in your little body. But you wife are wrong for once. You are mine, and I can do whatever I want to you. Rape you, slit your throat, break every bone in your body. All good options” he said. Hermione felt her brain ticking over.
“Then why marry me?” she asked. Draco laughed.
“To get back at that stupid ginger Ron Weasley, your friend. To use you to get what I want. You have a good reputation after all” he said. Hermione scowled.
“You faked falling in love with me just to piss of Ron? You are the most disgusting and vile man in the world” she said with as much hatred as she could muster up.
“Then why did you fall for me?” he asked back with a big, evil grin on his face. That question was a good one for Hermione, because she did wonder on a lot of occasions as to why she married him. Those days after the war were hard for all the survivors. And she wondered why herself and Ron hadn’t got together. They had agreed after the war to remain close friends, after so close to losing each other many times. She couldn’t bare to live a life without Ron. And while she was helping the world, she had met Draco when she went back to Hogwarts. His whole family had been pardoned by Harry, so he went back to finish his education.
“Because I thought you had changed. I believed your bullshit, the lies. That you actually cared about me and my wellbeing. I was so wrong, unbelievable wrong” she said and the tears fell. Not because of the pain his beating cost from him, but for herself. She couldn’t believe this was her life, her awful life, a living nightmare. She prided herself on making the right choice, doing the right thing, of making the best decisions. Marry Draco, let alone being in a relationship with him was the biggest mistake of her life. Shame, regret, sadness, anger all washed over her body, her soul. How could she have gotten herself into such a shambles?
“You were. I couldn’t believe it actually. I thought for sure Ron would swoop in and save the day. Of course he was ticked off, but he didn’t stop. Never was bright that one” he said.
“Don’t insult him” she said. Draco punched her right in the temple so hard she felt her head spin and she felt sick.
“He’s a bumbling idiot. He tried to threaten me if I hurt you the coward, as if he could actually hurt me. Hah! What a tool. He’s the loser, the ultimate loser, no-one to go home to, no girlfriend, he’s a pathetic man” he said with a Cheshire grin on his face, then looked into her eyes. Their was happiness and evil staring into her soul. “Enough about that oaf, time to teach show you just what a wife should do for his husband” he threw right her against the wooden bedpost. Hermione screamed out in agony, as her back was bent
awkwardly. There were shooting pains going up her spine when she dared to move. Her head was pounding with her heartbeat and she couldn’t even stand up if she wanted too.
“Moody bitch” Draco kicked her in the stomach. Hermione howled in pain and tried to protect her body, but to no avail. “Stupid cow” he kicked her in the head. Hermione recoiled and let loose the floods of tears in her eyes. The blows didn’t stop, and neither did the insults as her walls were being broken physically and mentally. Draco was kicking the life out of her, yelling insults and slurs right into her ear. They were reinforced by the heavy blows that hurt her far more than she was willing to admit. Their had been beatings before, but this was the longest and most violent she had ever received.
Each punch, each kick, each threat, all cut deep in Hermione’s heart. She was ashamed, bleeding, bruised, horrified, terrified, scared. She was barely conscious, too much pain in her body. No response to Draco’s insults, no response to the faint beating of her heart. Suddenly, she remembered being at Malfoy Manor in the war, going through unimaginable pain caused by Bellatrix. Holding on because of one person. The person she needed then, and the person she needed now.
“Ron” she whispered in the smallest and most defeated voice she could muster. It had taken all of her effort, as she could hardly keep her eyes open. Draco picked her up and placed her on the bed. He went into the bedside table and poured some potion down Hermione’s throat. She couldn’t resist it, as the world became clearer and her head stopped feeling so dizzy and heavy. Draco was cupping her cheek.
“Knew you’d come around soon. But the lesson is only just beginning, as is my fun” he said, ripping her pants and underwear off, then doing the same with his own pants and undies. Before Hermione could understand exactly what was happening, Draco fell on top of her body, stiff as a board.
“Hermione are you ok?” a voice called out. Her heart felt lighter and she involuntarily smiled: Ron was here to save her again. Ron came into view, nothing but concern and worry in his gaze. Her saviour was here, but she could only just see him, her bruises on her face obscuring her vision. She shook her head, bursting into tears when Ron picked her up and held her close. She was only vaguely aware of what was happening, all that she cared about was staying as close as possible to Ron.
Soon, Harry and many other aurors apparated directly into their bedroom, surveying the scene. They picked Draco Malfoy up and placed him on the bed. The aurors checked the room while Harry had a brief conversation with Ron. Ron then quickly left the room with Hermione still in his arms.
“Can you hear me?” he asked quietly into Hermione’s ear. She had just enough energy to nod.
“Ok. I’m going to take you and kids back to my place. That prick is going into a cell while we figure out the charges. Then we’ll have to question you about all of this stuff. But all in a while, ok?” he said. Hermione nodded again, eager to escape this hell that was her life. Ron walked to the nearest bedroom, were Hugo was sleeping soundly.
“Hugo, buddy, wake up” Ron said loudly. Hugo started in bed, then woke to see his mother in the arms of Uncle Ron.
“What’s happening Uncle Ron?” he asked in fear. He rushed out of the bed, and into Ron’s leg, hugging him close.
“I’ll tell you once we go back to my place” he said. They exact same conversations happened between Scorpius and Hugo before he grabbed them all and apparated to his home. They all congregated in the living room, where they all snuggled up on the couch. Ron’s work as an auror and later business partner with George at Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes made him quite well off in regard to money, and his home was quite large and comfortably furnished.
“You guys reckon you can look after Mummy for a bit?” he asked the kids. Although they were extremely confused and upset by the state of their mother, they rose to the occasion as they helped Ron lay her on the couch.
“No, no, Ron” Hermione muttered, as Ron tried to get her off him. She was stubbornly holding onto him, clinging to him for dear life.
“Hermione, I need to contact Fleur. She can heal you much better than I can” he said. Hermione shook her head.
“I need you” she said quietly. Then she looked at him, really looked at him. It was similar to Shell Cottage, when Hermione had woken up for the first time since her torture that night. She had burst into tears and hugged Ron then, not letting him go. The look she was giving him now was even more desperate and needy. He was powerless under her demands.
“Okay, well, any of you know how to floo call someone?” he asked the kids. They nodded.
“Fleur Weasley is it?” Scorpius asked. Ron nodded, rocking Hermione on his lap. Hugo and Rose moved over to join the hug as Scorpius quickly called Fleur. She had been to the party and looked ready to crash, but as soon as she heard that Hermione was in serious pain, she flooed straight in. She was still dressed in her dress robes, looking absolutely stunning, as she hurried over to Hermione.
“Give me room please” she said quickly, as Ron laid her down. Hermione protested at first, but realising that Fleur was going to heal her, she relented. She kept a vice like grip on Ron’s hands though, hard enough that Ron was in actual pain. Fleur used her wand effortlessly, performing extremely complicated and complex spells to check Hermione’s vitals. Ron noticed tears in Fleur’s eyes.
“She will live. But she has a major concussion, internal bleeding of the stomach and lungs, multiple bruises. It will take a long time for those wounds to heal, but I can fix it” she said, wiping her eyes. She went to work, applying essence of dittany to her wounds first then giving Hermione some potions for the pain, the concussion and the internal bleeding.
“Have Hermione take some Dreamless Sleep just before she goes to bed. If her condition gets any worse, go straight to St Mungo’s. The rest of the potions I have here and I trust all of you to keep to this schedule” she said, pointing her fingers at the kids. They all nodded their head sternly. Fleur smiled at them all. “I am only stressing this to you as missing this could cause irreversible damage to Hermione. And I know none of you want that. Floo me tomorrow with an update please. And thank you Ronald, brother, for what you are doing” she said to Ron. Ron smiled at her, as Fleur gave everyone quick hugs while giving Ron big kisses on each of his cheeks.
“I will tell Bill how good of a man you are. Though I already had my suspicions that all Weasley men are amazing. Stubborn and annoying but amazing all the same” she joked. Ron chuckled. “Au revoir” she said, disappearing in the green flame going back to Shell Cottage.
“What happened Uncle Ron?” Scorpius said. Ron was a bit confused to answer, as he didn’t know exactly what to tell them.
“Your father is a bad man. He beats me up when I don’t agree with him. He has slapped me, punched me, kicked me in the stomach, he’s sexually assaulted me, he’s raped me. I’m going to divorce him, and we can find somewhere else to live” Hermione said in the softest voice she could. Ron marvelled at the strength of the woman he was holding hands with, how she could say she was raped to her own children, her own flesh and blood. Her eyes stayed on his though, her gaze not breaking. She was still holding onto his hands like a vice.
“Oh Mummy” Rose said, hugging her. Soon, all of the kids jumped up and hugged each other. They had tears down their face as they cried and cried. Hermione did the best she could hugging them back.
“We’re still a family. The four of us, we don’t have to worry anymore about father. He is a terrible, awful man but he no longer will be a part of our lives” she said, reassuring her kids. They nodded, all squeezing Hermione as lightly as they could so to not cause her any additional pain or stress. They kept holding on.
“Alright, how about you three go to sleep and I look after mummy here? I can take you to the rooms if you’d like” he asked them. They nodded in agreement, as Ron kissed Hermione on the forehead. Hermione felt much better as he let go of her hands and led the kids to their rooms for the night. They had sleepovers previously, so the kids knew where the rooms were. Ron took the youngest Hugo to bed first.
“Mummy will be ok Hugo. I’ll make sure of it, you’re safe here buddy” he said, ruffling Hugo’s hair. Hugo snuggled into the bed and smiled at Ron.
“Thanks Uncle Ron. For getting rid of that evil man, and saving mummy” he said, coming close and hugging Ron. Ron returned the hug, kissing the top of his head.
“Sleep well. If you need anything, let me know” he said, tucking Hugo under the duvet.
“Love you Ron” Hugo said, closing his eyes.
“Love you too buddy” Ron said, watching Hugo’s chest rise and fall. He stayed with Hugo until he was fast asleep, then took Scorpius and Hugo to their room.
“Same applies to you two. You need anything, just let me know” he said, as Scorpius and Rose settled comfortably into the bed.
“Of course Uncle Ron. Just look after mummy please” Rose pleaded. Ron bent down and kissed the top of head.
“I will. Sweet dreams guys” he said. Scorpius and Rose held out their hands and Ron grabbed onto them and squeezed them. They held on, squeezing hard until they fell asleep and Ron let them hang off the bed. The snores of Scorpius made Ron chuckle as he left the door just a little bit open. He checked in on Hugo, happy to see him deep asleep. Walking back into the living room, he found Hermione sitting up in the chair, eyes locked on his with a constant flow of tears down her face.
“The kids are alright. I reckon they will wake up though” he said, sitting next to her. He placed an arm around Hermione’s shoulders, she immediately moved her head into the crook of his neck and her arms around his waist.
“Can you take me to your bed?” she asked. Ron nodded, kissing her temple. He picked her up again, and kept her close, as Hermione kept her head hidden in the crevice of his neck and her arms locked around his neck. Ron walked into his bedroom, and laid Hermione on the bed. She kept her arms around him, so he laid down next to her and kept his eyes on hers.
“Get under the duvet” he said kindly. Hermione nodded, as Ron lifted the duvet up and scooted underneath it, letting his body absorb the warmth. Hermione snuggled into the fluffy pillows and moved immediately into Ron’s side.
“This bed is lovely” she said, struggling to keep her eyes open. She was smiling lazily, playing with the edges of Ron’s cotton pyjamas.
“It is, isn’t it? Cost a lot, but it’s nice after a long day” he said, smiling back at Hermione. “What are you going to do about…” he was interrupted by Hermione, who placed her finger on his lips and shook her head.
“Not tonight. I can’t even think about it, I just want to do two things. Go to sleep and this” she said, kissing Ron full on the mouth. Ron kissed back, cautious to not seem too eager, though his heart was jumping for joy inside. He had all but given up hope of kissing the girl he had loved since he was little kid once she and Draco had started dating. Then they got married, then came kids. Three of them. A picture perfect family, controversial definitely. But it was a sham, a lie.
“Hermione” Ron muttered once she broke the kiss. Hermione kissed him on the cheek.
“I believe that was long overdue. And my fault” she admitted in shame. Tears in her eyes for a different reason this time. “I’m sorry for taking so long to act on this, it was always there Ron, but I really did think that Draco was better. I thought he had changed, and I couldn’t damage and threaten the most important person in my life. And when he got violent, and sadistic, I got scared. There was no way out, I was terrified that if someone found out he would kill me. So I hid and covered myself. I should have been with you from the very beginning, it’s all my fault” she said, biting her bottom lip. Ron could hear the shame and regret in her voice, as her words brought back the pain from watching her fall in love with someone else. It had been the most painful thing in his life.
“No matter how hard I tried or how many women I met, none of them have ever made me feel so much and be grateful to be alive then you Hermione. I’m here if you want me Hermione. Always have been. But it’s your choice” he said, laying the cards on the table for Hermione.
“You’re my king and have been since I was 12 years old. Of course I want you” she sealed it with a kiss. “I love you, then, now and forever” she said, snuggling deeper into Ron’s warm embrace.
“I love you too. I’ll keep you and the kids loved and safe here. We’ll get through this and make Draco pay for even daring to touch you. I promise” he said. Hermione kissed him again, then moved her head onto his chest.
“Good night my love” Hermione said, taking off her wedding ring and destroying it instantly. Ron passed over the dreamless sleep potion and Hermione downed it in one. She didn't flinch from the taste, just closing her eyes.
“Good night” Ron said, happiness flowing through his veins and his soul at finally having the woman of his dreams in his arms. He tucked the rebellious curls of Hermione’s bushy hair behind her ears and kissed her temple, as he placed his cheek on the top of her head. She kissed his heart, as she drifted off. It was no surprise, that Hugo, Scorpius, and Rose poked their heads around the door and looked at Ron. He waved them over and they walked quietly over to the bed. Ron opened the duvet as the kids gathered around Hermione and cuddled up to her. Hermione was too deep in sleep to notice, but she smiled as the kids started to drift off. Ron kissed the tops of their heads and moved Hermione even closer to him.
He could now see the fun in life, as long as Hermione was his. Turns out, she always had been.