Chapter Text
Hermione looked out the window of her flat as she finished packing the last of her things. Today should have been her wedding day, but instead, she was alone- a pariah amongst the wizarding world after the public humiliation that had been her breakup with Ron. Sighing, she drew the strings together on her beaded bag, and slipped it into her pocket and took one last look around the room. She was leaving a lot behind, including her wedding dress and other items she had accumulated for the big day, opting to take her clothes and books and a few treasured mementos with her. She stopped and considered leaving a note, but decided against it, figuring no one would probably come to check on her anyway and after wiping one last tear, took a swig of polyjuice potion. She felt herself transforming into a random Muggle she had swiped some hair from and when the transformation was complete, walked out the door and away from her former life.
What she was doing was so unlike her. A life-long careful planner, who never did anything without long and careful consideration of all her options, she had decided to fling caution to the wind and hop on the first train out of London, no matter where it was going. It was the last step of many that would have shocked her parents- if they knew who she was. Hermione had never been able to reverse the memory charm she had cast on her parents- they were still happily living in Australia, completely unaware that they had a daughter and a life back in England. They had not raised her to quit her job with no notice, leave her apartment, to not inform the essential people in her life of her plans and whereabouts, and they had most certainly never taught her to get on a train with no destination in mind. But here she was, going against everything she had been raised to think was terrible behavior, stepping onto the train and finding a seat and stared dumbly out the window as it left the station.
Flashback. Three months before the wedding.
“Ron!” Hermione called as he let himself into her flat, and she got up to kiss him. He gave her a perfunctory kiss and followed her into the living room. He smiled briefly as she showed him a few pictures of wedding cakes she had gotten from the bakery in Diagon Alley, but she could see that something was going on. “Something on your mind, Ron?” she asked him, concerned.
Ron blew out his breath. “I guess there’s no point in beating around the bush,” he said. “I can’t marry you.”
Hermione frowned, confused. “You…can’t marry me? Why?” she asked, feeling a tightness in her chest as she processed what he said.
“Lavender is pregnant,” he finally said. “It’s mine. I’ve been seeing her for months.” Hermione didn’t say anything, but looked down, tears in her eyes. “Look, Hermione,” he continued. “I’ve been waiting around for you for forever. First, you wanted to go back to Hogwarts to finish your final year. Then you had to get your job and get settled in your career. I always seem to come last in your life- Lavender at least gives me attention. A man has needs, Hermione.”
“You have needs?” she spat back. “When have I ever turned you away? Yes, I wanted to finish my education- so I sat alone at Hogwarts while you went through Auror training. Even then, I tried to make time for you as best I could, even when revising for my NEWTs. I gave you everything I had- I took a lesser job at the Ministry so I could be here for you. I had been offered much more- careers with travel, higher profile, better pay with better opportunities, but whenever I mentioned them, you got upset because it meant I wouldn’t be around for you. And this is how I get repaid? How many nights when you told me you were on assignment were you actually with her instead?” Ron didn’t say anything. “Guess that answers my question,” she said. “All those nights I sat around here worrying that you were in danger, you were fucking your ex-girlfriend. I should have known. Get out, Ronald.” She sat in her seat, refusing to look at him as he got up and stalked angrily out of the room.
The media had been awful. Ron took his lumps of course, but for some reason, the woman always seems to bear the brunt of the attention in situations like this. Witch Weekly ran a whole article about what happens when you don’t pay attention to your man, like Hermione Granger, and reporters sat outside her flat for days, trying to get pictures, encouraging her to cry and carry on for the camera. She sent an owl to the Ministry taking a sabbatical from her job and became a recluse for a while, afraid to leave her home. For some reason, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny had taken Ron’s side, and Harry was forced to stay away in order not to anger his wife and best mate, leaving Hermione wholly abandoned.
The final straw had been when she saw a photo of Ron and Lavender in the Daily Prophet announcing their engagement, and she had been wearing Hermione’s engagement ring on her waving hand. They were even getting married the same day that would have been hers. No one had come to see her, to see how she was doing since the break-up, and she thought that hurt more than Ron’s leaving had. Everyone was so wrapped up in their own lives that they hadn’t even thought of Hermione anymore. She didn’t want to be around to see photos of the happy couple on their wedding day, so she put in her notice at the Ministry, effective immediately and packed her bag.
As the train rolled along, Hermione took stock of herself. She had money- reward money from her Order of Merlin and her savings from her job at the Ministry, plus royalty money from numerous books that had been written about the war in the last few years- that would get her through for a while. Luckily, spending all those months hunting for Horcruxes, as well as the frugality her parents had instilled in her meant she could stretch that money for a long time. She had her several Outstanding NEWT’s that would guarantee her a job anywhere in the wizarding world, provided they didn’t find out about how she left her previous employment. She had learned a few translation spells so that she could go anywhere, language barriers not being an issue. After studying the train schedule, she decided to start out in Switzerland. She had always wanted to go there, and she could stay in a hostel until she found something. Hermione began to feel better already, having a start of a plan in place.