Ch. 2

Hermione's POV

My alarm went off almost too early, but the clock wasn't lying to me. I groaned as I turned it off, rolling out of bed and stepping into the kitchen. One of my small pleasures was a cup of coffee in the morning before work, and as the coffee would brew I would take a shower.

About twenty minutes later, the entire apartment smelled amazing. I smiled as I stepped out of the shower and wand-dried my hair, wrapping my fluffy grey robe around me. There was a tapping on one of my living room windows and I noticed the owl that brought me the Daily Prophet every morning waiting patiently outside.

After retrieving it and giving the owl its treats, I went back into the kitchen and dropped the paper on the counter before pouring myself a mug of coffee with two sugars and milk. Coffee in hand, I unraveled the paper.

The crashing sound of my coffee mug shattering on the floor barely registered as I stared at the paper. Sure enough, there was a picture of Ron in a lip lock with a blonde girl who barely looked of age. My vision suddenly went hazy as tears filled my eyes, and I felt my chest tighten.

After releasing a few tears and wiping them away, I took a few deep breaths and repaired my mug, cleaning up the coffee that was all over the floor. As much as I wanted to break down and sob my heart out, I knew that I still had to go to work and not hide myself in my bedroom. I didn't want anyone pitying me more than they probably already were.

I tried to make an effort with my outfit, opting for a pair of black skinny jeans and a nice black jumper, wrangling my hair into a bun. I took one look at myself in the mirror and grimaced. It was obvious that I was upset. I quickly swiped on some eyeliner and mascara, not bothering with any foundation since I knew that I would most likely cry it all off before sighing. That was about as good as it was going to get.

Lacing up my black combat boots and grabbing my bag, I lifted the anti-apparation charm, apparating to the Ministry. I tried to hold my head high as everyone gave me sad and sympathetic looks, and if the whispers were any indication, I would say everyone had read the Prophet already.

I made a quick note to my assistant not to let anyone disturb me, and only once I escaped to the safety of my office and cast a silencing charm did I let the floodgates open. I cleared all of my paperwork off of my desk to avoid getting tears on them and dropped my head into my arms, sobbing.

My phone going off caught my attention after what felt like hours of crying and I looked at it to see Harry had texted me.

I unlocked the door with a wave of my hand and yelled for Jenn to let Harry in. Moments later, Harry rushed into my office and he shut the door quickly behind him.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry," He said as he made his way to me, pulling me into a hug. "I don't know what happened but I can assure you that we will get to the bottom of it."

Breaking down again into his shoulder, I sobbed my heart out for what felt like hours. He let me cry it out and finally I quieted down and wiped away my tears. Then I looked at the large tear stains on his shoulder and laughed, though the laughter caught in my throat.

"You shouldn't let me cry onto your nice shirts," I choked out, grabbing my wand and drying the mark.

He only gave me a smile and rubbed my arms. "What kind of person would I be if a shirt meant more to me than my heartbroken friend?"

I laughed slightly as he pulled out his phone and texted who I assumed was Ginny. A few moments later there was a pop that was louder than her normal pop and an angry Ginny stood in the middle of my office.

"I'm going to him!" She raged.

Harry shook his head. "Calm down, dear. I don't think I would be able to keep you out of Azkaban for murdering your brother."

"Oh, I'll just go into hiding, using a polyjuice potion!" She spat in return as she made her way to us. "There are plenty of muggle areas where I could hide; hell, I'll even go to America!"

"It's slightly disturbing that you've almost got it planned out already," I said quietly, trying to smile.

Ginny quieted down once she saw me and her face slowly returned to its normal color. "I can't believe he would do that to you. How are you holding up?"

I shrugged and gave her a weak smile. "Better now that your husband let me cry out everything onto his poor shirt."

"Oh, he can get another one," Ginny said with a wave of her hand. "I'm surprised you're here though, why didn't you take the day off?"

"Because I didn't everyone to think I'm a pitiful mess," I said as I sat back down. "I have too much to do as well, I couldn't possibly take the day off."

I saw Harry and Ginny share a look out of the corner of my eye and Ginny sat down in one of the chairs next to me. "Are you sure you don't want to take the day off? I'd be happy to spend the day with you."

"You don't have practice today?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ginny grinned. "Nope, practice was so brutal yesterday that half the team was unable to move, so the captain called off today."

I shook my head at her and sighed. "I can't take today off, I'm sorry."

"At least let us take you to lunch," Harry said while Ginny nodded earnestly.

I set down my papers and looked at the two of them. "You aren't going to leave me alone unless I say yes, are you?"

"I've already alerted your assistant that you'll be leaving for lunch," Harry answered with a grin.

"I should have guessed," I said with a sigh. "Alright, if it'll make you happy, I will go to lunch with you two."

By the time lunch ended and they apparated me back to my office, I was regretting not taking Ginny's advice of leaving for the day. I had hardly been productive that morning, barely able to read more than about six pages of the case I was working on. And after realizing that I hadn't heard from Ron all morning, I was nearly hysterical again.

It only took about an hour after lunch for me to finally throw in the towel. I knew I wasn't going to get anything done. After gathering my things together and locking my office, I went to my assistant's desk.