A/N: Wow, 3 chaps in one day. You must be happy Haha. Anyway, I hope you will like this. You way get some answers you've been wanting. And please, review, it's what keeps me going.

Chapter 6
- A Photograph Full of Memories –

"How was your day, honey?"

Hermione dumped heavily down onto the couch. Her head was aching and she pressed two of her fingers to her temples. Her day had been nothing but stress. She had planned just to do paperwork today, but then some nutter had managed to transform his own head into a light ball, and through the whole day Hermione and one of her Healer colleagues, been trying to find a way to get his head back to normal. They had ended up with getting the light in the ball turned off and on the top of it, it was now hair. The result looked ridiculous, but he would be all right eventually.

Hermione just groaned as an answer to her husbands' question and pressed her palms to her eyes, causing white and red dots to pop out from under her eyelids.

"Hard day, huh?"

He went to stand behind her and gently rubbed her shoulders. "You're tense," he said and kneaded harder.

"Of course I am!" she snapped, sounding a little more annoyed then what she had intended. "You're not the one who has to deal with people who barks instead of talks, or walks around with a light ball as a head or – "

"You wanna come with me to pick up Nicole later?" Brett said, cutting her of. He was too used to her sudden tantrums to be stupid enough to snap back, if he did he was likely to spend the night on the couch.

"What?" Hermione asked, she wasn't quite following, she was too much into her complains to hear him. "I'm sorry Brett, what? Pick up whom from where?"

Brett laughed and kissed the top of her head, "Yeah, Nicole. You know; your daughter? Pick her up from school as I do every day? You wanna come?"

"Right." Hermione bit her lip at her own stupidity. "No, I think I'm just gonna… stay home and relax. That okay?" she tipped her head backwards and looked at him.

Brett gave her an upside down kiss, "Of course, honey. I'll leave you to it." He turned to go out of the room but Hermione called him back. "Brett? There's something I um, I wanted to ask you…"

Brett turned around to face her again, "ask away then."

"Ok, erm, don't freak out or anything-"

He chuckled. "Honey, you know I'm not the freaking out type." He grinned.

Hermione smiled gratefully. "Ok, so…the question is… I'm-taking-Nicole-so-celebrate-christmas-with-Ron-and-his-familiy-you-wanna-come?" She said the whole thing in one breath. She bit the side of her lip and watched him closely for the reaction.

"Aha." He said quietly and looked at her for a few seconds then his eyes travelled around the room once or twice before looking at her again. "So… you want to celebrate Christmas with your ex… and father to your child-"

"I said you could come," she said quickly.

"Right…" he seemed to be struggling with himself, "well, you sure about this, then?"

This wasn't the reaction she had prepared herself to, he actually approved? No questions or suspicions looks?

"Er," she said, "what do you mean when you say sure?"

"I mean, I can't stop you from doing what you want to do; but you just met him again… you know, after what you told me he hurt you pretty badly -"

"Hey, we were young; it's a long time ago, ok? And yes, I'm sure."

"Well, ok then. If that's what you want…' he seemed a little hesitant but knew that if Hermione had already set her mind up on going she would go, with or without him.

Hermione let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, "yeah, that's what I want."

Brett nodded and walked over to give her one more light kiss, "I'm gonna go pick up Nicole, you try get some rest before she gets here, you won't be able to once she's here."

Hermione; who really started to feel how heavy her eyelids were, smiled and nodded.

After Brett had left to pick up Nicole, Hermione walked with heavy feet up the stairs to her and Brett's bedroom on the second floor.

She opened her dresser to find some more comfortable clothes to sleep in; it weren't possible in what she wore now.

She grabbed a baggy t-shirt from the very back of the closet. She hadn't been wearing that one since the school days. As she took it out, something that looked like a little piece of paper flew out and gracefully landed on the floor.

She looked at it helplessly for a few seconds; she couldn't bring herself to bow down to pick it up. It was probably just some old shopping list. So instead she got changed.

Right before she was going to lie down at the bed she noticed the paper on the floor again. She groaned; irritated over how annoyed she got for seeing it just lying there.

With another irritated groan she bowed down and picked it up. She could feel right away that it wasn't just some old parchment or paper, it was a photograph. Hermione had an inkling on which photo it was, since it came from the back of the closet. With a sigh she remembered herself curl it forcefully before throwing it violently the furthest she could muster into the pile of clothes on the floor. In must have followed into the closet when her old clothes were being stored there. With a lump forming in her throat she turned it over.

What she saw, was and eighteen year old self and a seventeen year old Ron, standing forehead to forehead and smiling to each other; it were snowing lightly around them. After a few seconds photo-Hermione turned around to face the photographer, and said with an angry and shocked expression, "Harry!" though, there was no sound in the photograph. Photo-Ron gave the photographer a nasty hand-gesture and photo-Hermione slapped his hand, but smiling all the while.

Hermione remembered when that picture was taken. It was a week after she and Ron had gotten together. It was in February and it was the first Hogsmeade weekend in the New Year. They had been alone until Harry had showed up with Collins camera. After taking the picture Harry had shrugged and said, "What?! You were just too cute, I couldn't help myself."

And now, when she looked at it years after, Hermione had to agree with him. It was an adorable picture and the many memories came floating back to her.

But she couldn't think about the happy memories long before reaching the end. Because after just a few months of a happy relationship, things were bound to go wrong between them.

"Oh, my God! Can you believe this is the final week in here?" Hermione looked at Ron who was slumbering in the sofa. "Hello? Are you even listening to me?" She clapped her hands in front of his face.

"Wha'? Yes, of course I do, 'Mione."

"I've told you before and I do it again;" Hermione sighed, "don't call me 'Mione!"

"I don't understand why you don't like it. I think it's cute…" he mumbled tiredly, "and you get to call me Ron!" he added as an afterthought.

"It's not cute… It's just because you're too lazy to pronounce my whole name, but it's ok, I can call you Ronald if you want." She smirked, knowing he hated that name.

"Ok, you win." He growled, still half asleep.

Hermione smiled proudly of winning another argument. "But I mean… this is the last week in this school! We'll never be here again, unless we become teachers and I highly doubt that's going to be either you or Harry, and won't you miss being here?"

"Not really," He murmured, too tired to really hear her question.

"But, we've had so many happy times here – "

"-yeah, I remember both Aragog and Fluffy being highly amusing."

"-and this was the place we met-"

"-actually we met on the train-"

"-and all our friends are here."

'We'll still see each other after school, relax Hermione.'

"What's wrong with you? It's like you don't care that we've spent seven years of our lives here, and now it's suddenly over."

"Hermione, of course I care, but we have just been through hundreds of N.E.W.T's, and I'm barely able to keep my eyes open, can't you just shut up for one second and stop babbling …"

"Blabbing do I?" Hermione felt her temper rise dangerously.

"Yeah, I'm sick of it. If you aren't nagging on me for something your babbling non-stop, if you aren't yelling then. Shut up for like a minute will you?"

He seemed to instantly regret his words for his eyes fluttered open and he stuttered, "Hermione, I - I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like that, I mean… I just meant you're talking maybe a little too much…" his words trailed off to silent mutter.

"That's what you really think of me is it? It's what you've always thought of me. Little bossy Ms. Hermione Granger who thinks she know it all? Oh, yes, I've heard that one before, thank you very much" Her eyes were now shining with tears.

"Hey, now! I don't think that about you! I'm tired, I don't know what I'm saying… can't we take this tomorrow?"

"No! We're taking this now! Cause I think that you mean exactly what you said! Cause when you're tired you say what you really mean without thinking about it. You really are sick of me aren't you?" Her voice quivered and failed her; her eyes started getting foggy with tears.

"What, no! I mean yeah, you can be bossy but – "

Hermione shot on her feet, "then why are you with me?!" she shrieked, "why do you even bother if I'm annoying you that much?!"

"Hermione, please – "

"No! You listen to me!" She knew that was wrong to say since she had just asked a question but she didn't care, "I guess you're with me because you feel like you have too. Feeling sorry for me or something! You think no one wants to be with me, but just so you know; I've actually had two boys asking me out this year, but I turned them down! Because I was with you," her voice quivered dangerously and she glared at him.

"Hermione, this is insane! I don't feel sorry for you; I'm not with you because I feel like I "have too."I'm with you because I want too! Where do you get stuff like that?"

"I know how you really feel about me." Hermione whispered, "I know you think I'm bossy, nagging and ugly. I've heard all of that before, from you even!"

"Hey! I've never called you ugly!" Ron honestly didn't know what was going on with Hermione. What had he said to get her this pissed of?

"But you think it! I thought you had changed! That you had changed from that eleven year old boy who didn't like me and thought of me like the know-it-all, but you're still him aren't you? You'll never grow up!" she angrily wiped away some tears before she continued; "I think it's time we end this." She whispered, "it's gone too far, it won't last."

"Hermione, come on! You don't mean that!" He was shocked, she had officially lost it.

"Oh, yes, I mean it!"

"OK, if that's how it's gonna be, fine!" If she got to insult him, he wasn't going to let her get away with it. "Yeah, I think you're bossy! And you talk way too much! And you pick a fight for almost everything, you tend to overreact and you're constantly – "

"I hate you." It was a whisper, he almost didn't hear it but he did. She shook with anger and her hair looked like it was full of electricity.

"What's that?" He said, egging her on, "I didn't catch what you said. A little louder?"

"I. hate. you." She said, a little louder this time.

Hurt flashed before his eyes for only a second, before he replied. "Oh, well, then I guess" he narrowed his eyes on her. "I hate you too."

Hermione's lip quivered worse as she scowled down at him from her standing position. She swallowed hard before she said through clenched teeth, "fine! You better remember this day Ronald Weasley; because this is the last day you'll ever speak to me!"

Then she stormed away, out through the portrait hole.

Hermione sighed and laid the photo on the nightstand. It had indeed been the last time they spoke before they met in the Muggle store a few weeks ago. Hermione had been miserable the last week at Hogwarts, wanting to apologize so badly but her pride held her prisoner. She had only looked at him in secret, seen his pain too, but both too stubborn to do anything about it. And when they finally left school, it was too late. Hermione had been angry for years, but she had all the time decided to overlook that it was her who overreacted to the whole thing. She had tried to forget it had been all her fault.

Harry had desperately tried to bridge between them, but no luck. Harry himself had tried to

ignore both of them to get them to understand he couldn't be friends with any of them

if they couldn't, but he had to give up that as well.

Before she fell asleep she looked at the photo again. She remembered wanting to tear it to pieces and throw it in the fire. But somehow she hadn't been able to.