�Ron! Don�t leave!� Hermione yelled after Ron, running to catch up with him.

Now, don�t just walk away
Pretending everything�s okay
And you don�t care about me

When she finally reached him, she grabbed his shoulder to turn him around. �Look at me!� she demanded. Reluctantly, he turned.

�I know you still love me!� she hissed at him.

�Is that so?� he snapped, making her think for a split second that he actually might not�

�Yes, it is so! I can see it in your eyes! You don�t want to leave any more than I want you to go,� Hermione said slowly, hoping her voice wouldn�t falter.

�Well if that�s the case, I best be on my way,� Ron retorted.

�You know what I mean,� glared Hermione.

�Yeah, you�re right,� he admitted with a sigh,

And I know there�s just no use
When all your lies become your truths and I don�t care

�But there�s no point in continuing something that can never be the same again.�

�But it can!� she pleaded.

�No, it can�t,� he replied with a gentle tone of finality. �You lied. And not just about something little � you lied about Malfoy, about cheating on me, about Ben, about everything! Everything I�ve known has been a lie. How do you think that makes me feel? I�ve wasted the better part of my life with you, thinking that I knew you when really I didn�t know the first thing. Do you know what it�s like to not know the person you sleep beside, the person you live with, the person you raise a child with? It�s horrible. So please, just spare me the pain.

�Goodbye,� he nodded as he disapperated out of her life.

Could you look me in the eye
And tell me that you�re happy now?
Could you tell it to my face or have I been erased?
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now?

*

�Draco,� Mandy turned to face her husband, �do you remember the condition I made when you proposed?�

�To shag all night long?� he replied with a smirk.

�Don�t get cheeky with me. You know bloody well what I�m talking about,� she glared at him.

�That if I ever cheated, you would leave me,� he drawled like a bored schoolboy spitting out an obvious answer.

�Yes,� Mandy nodded, �And do you know what I�ve learned?�

�What?� Draco spat.

�You had sex with Hermione Weasley didn�t you?� she confronted him. �I know you did! There�s no point in denying it! Ron caught you two, and he told me! You broke your promise to me, Draco. I�m washing my hands clean of you.�

You took all there was to take
And left me with an empty plate and you don�t care about it

As she turned to walk away, the angered man hissed at her. �Do you think I care? Did you think I loved you? Don�t you know that you�re just another bitch to me? I�m relieved that it�s over! I�ve finally ridded myself of you! Do you know how long I�ve been waiting for this moment?� He smirked with satisfaction at the look of pain in her eyes.

�You � you are a horrible, horrible � monster!� she spluttered hotly as she disapperated away from him.

*

Storming furiously down the streets of Diagon Alley, Ron accidentally bumped into a small hooded figure.

As the person fell to the ground, her hood came off and revealed a gorgeous head of dark locks. He immediately recognized her face and leant her a hand.

�Thanks,� she spoke, her gaze turned to the ground so he couldn�t see her bloodshot eyes.

He lifted her chin up to say �Welcome,� but once he saw her eyes, looking like a pool of mud in the middle of a large flood, he quickly picked her up in a warm, friendly bear hug. He had done this to Ginny after each of her many breakups and wasn�t the least bit uncomfortable.

�What�s wrong?� he asked softly.

�Draco�� she replied with venom cutting through her messy tears.

�That ass hole? Come on, whaddya say we talk it over some ice cream?�

Mandy took him up on his offer. The two sat outside of the ice cream parlor, each with their own cone, as they talked over what happened.

�Don�t worry about Malfoy. He�s a jackass and shall always be a jackass and should never have deserved anyone as pretty as you,� Ron repeated the same cheer-up speech he had given Ginny many times to Mandy.

She sniffed against his shoulder as she licked her mocha-hazelnut praline. �Yeah� you�re right. I just can�t believe I was foolish enough to accept his proposal� hell, to even agree to go out with him!�

�Ahh, it�s okay. We all make mistakes.� Ron silently agreed with himself.

And I am giving up this game

Mandy stood up and held out her half-eaten cone. �After dealing with the worst of the lot, I�m going to swear off all men from now on!� she declared.

�Now don�t go making any hasty decisions,� Ron protested as he pulled her down next to him again. �You made one bad choice� There are better choices out there.�

�Like me,� he unwillingly thought.

�Like you?� she asked lightly, as if she had read his mind.

Ron flushed and looked away. Mandy laughed. �I was joking,� she giggled. �Unless you want me to be serious,� she grinned, gazing at him seductively through her puffy eyes as she placed an arm over his shoulder and pressed her chest against his.

�Eh-heh�� Ron laughed nervously, his entire body stiffening.

She backed off him and smiled. �Thanks. You really cheered me up.� She placed a kiss on his cheek with her small � but plump � lips.

�Just doin my job,� Ron blushed deeply, and waved off her appreciation.

*

Draco�s smug look faded as he recalled what Mandy had said. �Ron caught you two.� Did that mean he had left Hermione? Draco had very mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, he was ecstatic that both he and Hermione were free and able to get together. On the other hand, he knew how much that girl loved the Weasel � much more than she did me, he thought glumly. How was she taking this? Perhaps he could play her shoulder to cry on� then make his move.

Just then, a hyper gray owl appeared at his window.

Draco snatched the letter away from it, unrolled the parchment and started to read the tear-stained words.

I�m leaving you with all the blame cause I don�t care
yeah, yeah, yeah

Dear Draco,

I never want to see you again! All of this is your fault! Ron has decided to leave me � this is probably what you want isn�t it? Why couldn�t you just have stayed true to your words and not come back again?

I�m leaving. And I�m taking Ben with me. Don�t try to find me again. I want you out of my life you evil bastard!

Stay away from me.

Hermione

PS

I just thought I�d inform you that I�m � this word was smudged and illegible � again and it�s your entire fault!

I HATE yOU!!!

Draco stared at the letter in disgust and shock. Then rage took over these emotions � rage doubled with the anger that Mandy had left him. He tore the stiff parchment into tiny strips then blasted them with the Killing Curse.

The embers, ashes, and other remains of the letter steamed on the table as Draco swished out of the room in a mad frenzy.

Could you look me in the eye
And tell me that you�re happy now?
Would you tell it to my face or have I been erased?
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now?

Draco apparated into Hermione�s living room.

�What part of �I want you out of my life� don�t you understand?� Hermione glowered.

�None of it,� Draco replied. �Don�t tell me you could seriously live without me in your life.�

�You mean live without your self-centered, pompous, narcissistic behavior? Gee, I dunno how I�d manage,� Hermione snapped.

�You love me ��

�You�re insane! I�ve never loved you! How could I love the one thing that took away everything I did love?�

Draco smirked. �But you do. You said so.�

Hermione flushed slightly, remembering the circumstances they had been in when she had uttered those three small words. �You asked me to,� she responded.

�And you did.� Draco finished for her. �You love me. You need me. You want me. You��

�Stop it!� Hermione hissed at him. �Don�t talk about things you haven�t the slightest clue on!�

Do you really have everything you want?
You could never give something you ain�t got
You can�t run away from yourself

�I know all about love, want and need. All of the things you desire from me.�

�I don�t want anything to do with you!� Hermione yelled back defensively. �I just want you to leave me alone.�

�Please leave me alone,� she repeated weakly.

Draco looked at the wreck before him. Was this really what he wanted? A Weasley mudblood? Horrified with himself, Draco disapperated from the suddenly uninviting home.

Could you look me in the eye
And tell me that you�re happy now?
Come on tell it to my face or have I been replaced,
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now?

No, Hermione Granger was not happy. She felt broken and wounded and wanted to go to sleep and die. But she couldn�t go to sleep and die � well she could, but she�d have very troubling last thoughts. How much of a comfort death would be now� no, she wasn�t suicidal, but thinking about the end of all this � this brokenness � was somewhat calming. Thinking about the day when it would be over and done with was like her light at the end of the tunnel. She just prayed it would come soon � and that it wouldn�t be the train.

A year had passed and Hermione Granger was still not as comfortable as she used to be. Ben and Rochelle were too much for one person to take care of� especially when that one person also had to deal with running away from an obsessed, former lover and trying to keep track of her ex-husband.

�Would you stop follo�� the red-haired man turned and stopped short as he focused on the middle-aged woman before him. She held a small baby in one arm and was holding her toddler�s hand in the other. He instantly recognized the faded beauty before him.

�What do you want?� he asked in a slightly nicer tone.

Would you look me in the eye?
Could you look me in the eye?

�Er�� she blushed and faced the ground.

�What?�

�I � I want to be friends with you� I can�t stand us not speaking to each other�� she stumbled over the words with difficulty.

�Quite frankly, Hermione, I don�t want to be near you.� She drew back at the ferocity of his words, even though his tone was gentle. �I don�t want to be reminded of those last four years � and being with you would only keep the memory alive.�

I�ve had all that I can take
I�m not about to break
Cause I�m happy now

�And I�m happy now. I�m not just going to give that all up.�
With those final words, the man turned �round with dignity and strolled down the cobblestone street to carry on with his business.