AN: This is a submission for Harmony Shippers' Break Up and Wake Up Fest. Please R&R.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter. Le sad.

Empty Rooms

Chapter One – Gone

The door slammed. Hermione looked up from her book and saw Ron yank his tie off his neck and toss it onto the table next to the door. He kicked off his shoes before he shrugged off his jacket and tossed it onto the floor next to the coat rack. Hermione bit back a snide comment because he was clearly in a bad mood. Next, he unbuttoned his shirt and sat down on the sofa across from her.

"Bad day?" Hermione asked, placing her bookmark between the pages of the book she'd been reading before his arrival. She set the book on the table next to her chair, took a sip of her tea, and then turned her full attention to him.

"The worst," Ron grumbled.

"Tell me about it," she said, giving him her full attention.

Ron stared at her for a moment before he shook his head. He ran his hand through his short ginger hair. "Just the same stuff it always is," he explained. "I've got Price breathing down my neck, watching every tiny thing I do. Harry's the star of the department and can't do anything wrong. I only get noticed when someone assumes I've screwed up again. Honestly, I'm sick of it and I'm ready to just quit."

"But being an Auror is your dream job," Hermione argued. "It's what you've wanted to be for as long as I can remember."

"Yeah, because I met Harry and got sucked into the whole You Know Who drama," Ron bitterly spat. "You know what I wanted to do with my life before I met him?" Hermione shook her head. "Quidditch. I wanted to play for the Cannons. I would have, too, if he hadn't come along. Ruined my goddamn life."

"You don't mean that, Ronald," Hermione sighed. "Harry's our best friend. We owe him everything."

"No," Ron snapped. "No, I don't owe him a bloody thing. He owes me. I saved his arse when he was drowning with the locket. I saved him when we were pawns in wizard chess. I tried to be the perfect best friend. I even gave him permission to date my little sister. I don't owe him anything."

Hermione sighed. "We've all saved each other," she said. "We've all been saved by each other. The checks and balances between the three of us are so back and forth that it's impossible to know anymore who owes whom. Harry isn't just the Boy Who Lived anymore. He's the man who defeated Voldemort." Ron flinched. "No matter what you do, no matter what anyone does, he will always be better. You work in the same department. You will always be second when you're measured against him. If you want to get out of his shadow and stop being the hero's best friend, work in a different department or find a different job."

"I can't find a different job," Ron snapped. He gestured to the house they sat in. "I take a different job and how the bloody hell are we going to afford this place?" he demanded. "You don't make enough to cover what I might end up losing."

"We'd make it work, Ron," Hermione promised. "We can cut back some of our spending to pick up the slack of the house payment. It's doable. If you're this miserable as an Auror, find a new job. Just find a new job before you quit this one."

"Yeah, whatever," Ron muttered. He shook his head as he yawned. "What's for dinner?" he asked.

Hermione stared at him. "Did you forget?" she asked.

Ron stared at her blankly. "Forget what?"

She sighed. "We have dinner with your parents tonight. Everyone is going. It's your mother's birthday."

Ron closed his eyes and let out a breath filled with expletives. "You're telling me that I have to see him for dinner after being flattened by him at work?" he demanded. He shook his head. "No. I'm not going."

"It's your family, Ron," Hermione argued. "Your mother told us about this weeks ago. It's the only thing she said she wanted for her birthday."

Ron groaned before he let out a loud "FUCK!" He shoved himself up off the couch and marched down the hallway to the bedroom. He slammed that door as well and Hermione assumed that he was getting changed for dinner.

When it took too long for him to return, Hermione stood up and walked down the hallway to see what the holdup was. She opened the bedroom door, expecting to find him sitting on the bed staring mindlessly at the wall. There was no one. The room was filled with belongings, but it was completely empty.

"Ron?" Hermione asked.

She noticed a piece of paper tucked into the frame of the mirror above their dresser. Hermione reached for it and unfolded it to find a letter.

Hermione,

I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore. I need out. I'm suffocating.

I hope you can forgive me.

Tell my mum I'm sorry.

Ron

Hermione dropped to the floor, staring at the letter in shock. Her hand started to shake. She felt ill. Tears burned at her eyes and she let out a sob.

Sometime later, Hermione picked herself up off the floor. She straightened her clothes, washed her face, combed her hair, and went to the Burrow for dinner. She walked in through the front door and heard everyone gathered in the kitchen, so she made her way to the back of the house.

"…and everyone just—" Harry's sentence ended abruptly when he saw Hermione at the doorway.

"Just what?" Fleur asked before she looked at him. She saw the shock on his face and turned the other way to see Hermione.

Harry put down his glass of juice and rushed to her. He could see the redness in her eyes and puffiness in her face. He knew she was crying. He hugged her when he reached her without knowing what was wrong.

It was Hermione's undoing. She broke down in tears again and clung to Harry. When he asked her what was wrong, the only thing she could do was hold out the letter Ron had left behind.

Harry took the letter from her, read the words, then hugged her again.

"What is it?" Molly asked. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Ron?"

Harry looked at the Weasley matriarch and shook his head. "He left," he said. "He's gone."

"What do you mean, gone?" Molly asked. "He can't be gone." Harry handed her the letter. Molly scanned the words and stammered when she finished. She looked up at Harry. "Where would he go?" she whispered. She rushed to the clock to see where Ron could be. His hand pointed to LOST.

Molly looked at everyone before her gaze settled on Hermione. "What happened?" she asked.

Hermione shook her head. "He was upset when he got home," she said through her tears. "He went to change for dinner and then never came back. When I went to see what was taking so long, I found that letter."

Harry hugged her again. "I don't know what to do," she whispered.

"Shh," Harry replied. "It'll be okay. I promise."

She didn't believe him, but she didn't have the energy to argue with him either.

Later that night, Hermione sat on the sofa at Harry's house with a warm blanket wrapped around her. Harry handed her a mug of hot chocolate and sat down with her.

"You said Ron came home upset?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "He was going on about living in your shadow and hating it. He said your boss was being unreasonably hard on him. He wanted to quit but knew we wouldn't be able to afford it if he did."

Harry sighed as he shook his head. "Merlin, Hermione, I wish I'd known something was wrong. I might have been able to talk some sense into him."

Hermione stared at her mug in her hands. "I'm going to lose my house," she whispered.

"What?" Harry demanded.

"I can't afford the payments on my own," she said as she met his eyes. "Even if I cut out every other luxury we have, my vault will be empty before the house is paid off. I'm going to have to move. I'll have to give the house back to the bank. I—" she cut herself off as she started to cry again. She blinked back her tears and looked up at the ceiling as if she could somehow hold them back. "God, Harry, I could kill him for leaving me," she whispered.

She felt his hand on hers and immediately leaned into him for comfort. Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her as she cried.

"Move in here," he said. "I've got an empty room. It's yours. Stay for as long as you like. Get your feet back under yourself. Don't worry about a thing."

Hermione pulled away and met his eyes. "You're sure?" she asked. "You won't mind?"

Harry shook his head. "Not at all," he said. "It's actually quite lonely around here, so I'd love the company. I can help you get everything you need. Whatever you don't want to bring here, we can put into storage."

Hermione nodded. "Okay," she whispered. "Thank you, Harry," she whispered. "I think I'll give it a few days. He might come back home once he's calmed down."

Harry smoothed Hermione's hair away from her face. "Whenever you need it, my door is open," he promised. "I'll see if I can find anything when I go to work tomorrow. I'll search his desk and everything. Maybe there'll be a clue as to where he's gone."

"Thank you."