Accusations

Hermione sank into the cushions of her new sofa, exhausted. She'd bought the apartment from Astoria, of course, and had just finished furnishing it with furniture she'd bought today.

Considering the fact that the apartment was bright and airy, she'd chosen a very aesthetic light gold along with hints of red (Gryffindor to the core) color scheme. She'd moved in on her own, the only person knowing where she lived being Astoria, whom she trusted, even if they had just reconnected a few days ago.

She was reluctant to tell Ginny where she was, not because she didn't want to see her, but she wasn't really in the mood. Seeing Ginny meant remembering Ron, and his betrayal. At least with Astoria, it was a clean slate. She made her way to the bedroom, and collapsed on the soft mattress, falling into a deep sleep.

***

Hermione woke up the next morning to the bright sunlight filtering through the light drapes, bathing the whole room in a golden light, as if the room was lit with the heavenly fire of angels. She got out of bed, preparing for work, but then remembered she had resigned days earlier to avoid Ronald at all costs.

She changed out of her grey slacks and grey blazer into navy sweatpants and a loose white t-shirt. Sipping on a cup of coffee, she read through There wasn't much that caught her attention, until the third page.

After that, Hermione saw no more. Her eyes seeing red, she was unable to continue reading the article. Her coffee slipped from her hands, splattering the hot drink all over the floor, but all Hermione could do was feel betrayed.

While Zara Skornsky had a reputation for being the new Rita Skeeter, it infuriated her even more that Ron had the to blame her for their breakup.

How dare he? How dare he accuse her of cheating when all he was good for was being a bastardly ass who never appreciated anything? She had given him She cooked, she cleaned, she made his life so easy it was practically a dream. And this- is how he repays her?

The more she thought about it, however, the more she realized how much of an he was. He never thanked her, never did anything romantic, never cared to do , really. She was free now, and the only price she had to pay was being shamed in the press.

She'd handled that before, and she'd do it again.

***

Draco sat in his apartment, thinking. Hermione was still the only person he'd interviewed and frankly he wanted to give her the job. He was more frightened of her reaction.

However, further reflection told him that was and to just

Quill in hand, he mulled over what he should write.

With a small spark of hope as he tied the letter to the leg of his owl Draconian, he watched the latter fly out until he was a small speck in the sky.

***

Hermione sat on her couch, watching She was so caught up in the thriller that she nearly didn't notice the two owls hurtling towards her window. Throwing it open just in time, she saw one was a smoking Howler. She had just silenced the apartment (so that none of her Muggle neighbours would pound on the door, demanding she shut the hell up) when it exploded.

The voice that was trembling with shock and rage was none other than Ginny's.

While she had stayed at Ginny's, she hadn't talked to the other girl much, preferring to stay alone. Ginny knew how Hermione operated and sometimes isolation was one of the ways she coped, especially in the years after the war, even with Ron.

Ginny known what happened- surely her mind was deceiving her? But no, it was definitely the youngest Weasley's, yelling at her about her betrayal to Ron and how she was a liar to the whole family. In the background, Harry could be heard faintly trying to calm her down, but to no avail.

When the Howler was spent, it burst into smoke, fogging up Hermione's entire kitchen. The owl, who was Harry's second (named Merlin) flew out the window, hooting indignantly, probably about all the smoke. The second owl, however, stayed. She chuckled darkly.

"Do you carry another letter to berate me?" She muttered, untying the letter. However, her interest was piqued when she saw the letter bore the seal of Malfoy Enterprises. Tearing into the letter, she scanned it.