Hermione stared bleakly at the frozen vegetables in the ground. How was she going to tell Ron? They were engaged for Merlin’s pants! Their relationship wasn’t stellar in comparison to Harry and Ginny’s, but it was strong. They were destined. They had lived through a bloody war for crying out loud!

Hermione had forgiven Ron for his indiscretion with Lavender after the war, and their relationship had come out stronger for it. They were more committed to each other after that little fiasco of a fling and kept no secrets from the other. But then she ended up working with him in the Ministry of Magic. They got to know each other really well, and they had a lot of interests in common, surprisingly enough. Hermione was delighted to find she could carry on a conversation that didn’t include her constantly stopping to explain the topic at hand or that revolved around Quidditch. Before she knew it, she found herself lying to Ron just to meet him, Ron’s brother, in discreet places all over wizarding London. It had all been innocent and simple until Ron asked her to marry him, and she said yes.

And of all the Weasley brothers, why did it have to be Percy? Ron hated Percy! Actually, hated was too harsh of a word, perhaps greatly disliked would suit their brotherly love better.

Nonetheless, she was at a total loss. She knew she loved each redhead, though not equally. Hermione was only ‘in love’ with one of them, and it wasn’t her fiancée. However, she knew she had to tell Ron before they got married. It wasn’t right to keep such a huge secret from him. If he would still have her after, she’d happily marry him.

~~~
Sighing in defeat, Hermione didn’t notice the figure that had crept up behind her and now stood off at a short distance, admiring her in the dark light the moon provided. He knew his brother would go from slight and subliminal hate to full on blind hatred when he found out he had fallen in love with his childhood sweetheart. He knew that the rest of the family wouldn’t understand either. His mother would scowl for sure, his father shake his head in disappointment, and his brothers…they would glare at Percy for taking from Ron the only ‘thing’ that had ever truly been his alone.

After the war, he had come back, the prodigal son, to a family that took him with wide-open arms. He hadn’t meant to fall in love with Hermione. Percy deeply admired her for her wit, intelligence, and beauty. However, he knew that Ron was madly in love with the young lioness. So he stayed away from her as much as possible until she was assigned to work at the same department in the Ministry. It had been nearly impossible to avoid her. And then they fell in love. He asked her to leave Ron and go away with him, to be his wife instead. But she refused. Hermione was such a noble creature, she was willing to give up her happiness with him, and marry Ron. It angered him slightly. But she always made a good argument out of any situation claiming that if she left Ron to be with him, the family would never forgive him for it; instead of losing only one son to the war, they’d lose three: Fred from a spell, Ron from a broken heart, and Percy as the ultimate traitor. So he resigned himself to loving her from afar. But it was Christmas Eve, and Percy couldn’t stand it anymore. He needed to say a proper goodbye to her before she married Ron tomorrow.

~~~

Ron stood off to the side of the vegetable garden staring in disbelief. Percy and Hermione were snogging the living daylights out of each other. He couldn’t understand. Why were they kissing? Was Percy the reason Hermione had lied to him all those weeks ago? He knew she was meeting someone, and in his heart he had already forgiven her because he loved her too much to let her go; but for the other man to be his own brother. He couldn’t bear the betrayal.

He saw red.

He pulled out his wand and aimed it at his own blood. One spell crossed his mind over and over. He wanted him to feel his pain; the excruciating pain that seared his heart in two. His knuckles were white from gripping his wand so tight, and the pressure on it snapped it in two.

As the broken piece of wood fell to the frozen ground, Ron’s eyesight blurred with un-shed tears. Hermione wasn’t in love with him anymore. She hadn’t been for years, not since his fling with her.

He knew he was partly at fault. If he hadn’t fallen to Lavender’s womanly wiles then perhaps the pain and sorrow on Hermione’s face two years ago wouldn’t be mimicked by his own expression now, a day before his wedding.

A sole tear ran down his face even as the bitter betrayal was forgiven already. He couldn’t fault the love of his life. He whipped the tear away and saw that he’d been discovered: fear mixed with worry on his loved one’s visage; resent and jealously on his brother’s countenance.

~~~

A deafening silence permeated the frozen vegetable garden. Everyone was at a loss for words, lost in tumultuous thoughts of betrayal, anger, hate, and jealousy.

“Why did you play me this way, Hermione? My own brother? I didn’t know you were so vindictive. I thought you had forgiven me for my indiscretion with Lavender! I guess what you said was true back then: I could never be the right kind of man for you. And you could never the right kind of woman for me.�*

“Ron, no wait, I can explain!� she cried, pulling away from her lover’s arms. “It was a mistake! I was going to tell you!�

“So just tell me already, Hermione! I know you were planning on saying something weren’t you? You’re too Gryffindor for your own good to let me marry you without telling me the secrets you’ve been keeping for the past couple of months. I’ve been waiting for so long to heart the truth, Hermione. It really comes as no surprise what I see here today. I knew you were seeing someone…so cut the crap and tell me that we’re through. Is it him or is it me?�*

“Ron…it’s complicated.�

“NO, it’s not, Hermione! Who do you love? Me or him?� Ron screamed, swallowing his pride, wanting to know an answer. He hadn’t lived through a war for her just to be upstaged by the prodigal bastard that was his brother.

“Him…� she cried harshly into the night.

“I knew it,� he whispered harshly, turning his back on the couple in front of him. “You never loved me, did you?�

“I do love you, Ron! It’s just people change! We’ve changed, the war has changed us…Harry told me about you two in the lake…and Ron, I…�

“You what, Hermione? You took pity on me? You stayed with me because of what Harry told you happened at the lake? My own insecurities had driven you away even before we had a chance, didn’t they?�

“No, Ron! I love you. I always have. It was always you that I loved.�

“Stop, Hermione! Just stop! I’m tired of these games. I thought you would realize that I’m not like other guys. I don’t want to live a lie anymore. I’m leaving. I can’t keep living in the shadows of the war. It’s too much. It’s just torture now to lose you to him.�

“Ron, I can explain,� came the booming voice of Percy from behind him. Ron turned around and stared angrily into the eyes of the man who he could no longer call his own flesh and blood.

“You? You took from me the only person that was ever truly mine. I had to live with hand-me downs all my life. I hate you, Percy.�

“Ron!� gasped Hermione.

Percy scowled. “No, you don’t, Ronald.�

Ron punched him, breaking his nose, “Yes, I do Percival Weasley.�

~~~

He glared at Hermione trying to hate her; his expression softening at the last possible minute, finding he couldn’t.

“I forgive you. It was never your fault, but I need to go away for some time. I’m sure you and Percy can explain to everyone my whereabouts�

“Ron, no. We can still get married tomorrow. Percy…understands.�

“No, Hermione, that’s enough. I’m strong on the surface, but not all the way through, and this…this was the breaking point. I can’t stand next to you on the altar tomorrow pretending this is all I need. Don’t resent me for leaving the day before our wedding, please. Forgive me for all the pain I caused you in the past; I just can’t be who you wish I were or want me to be. I’m just Ron. And ‘just Ron’ can’t make you happy. I need to find the place I belong and apparently it’s not in your arms. I’d give it all away to call you my own, Hermione, but you’re not. This was the December I was dealt by fate, it’s all so clear now…I can’t stay.�

He smiled wanly, picked up his broken wand, and walked away, leaving his life, love, and heart in pieces.

---

*Quoted & Paraphrased from “Your Woman� by White Town
Other parts were blatantly quoted and paraphrased from Linkin Park songs I was listening to and thought fitted right in. –shrugs-