Hermione curled up in a ball sobbing to herself and feeling miserable. She held herself tighter against the cold hardwood floor, her wand lying a few feet away as she tried to hold herself together after the devastation of that morning.

Ronald Bilius Weasley had broken her heart. Broken her heart so thoroughly that she felt she would never be pieced back together again. 'Like Humpty-Dumpty' Hermione snorted at the absurd thought that had broken through this absolutely horrible situation. She felt as though he world had come crashing in on her, worse than it had when Ron had left her and Harry by themselves to search for the remaining Horcruxes.

Hermione sobbed harder as images of Ron, Harry, and herself flashed through her mind reminding her forcibly of all the reasons she had thought he loved her as much as she believed she had loved him.

Now, Ron had left only her. Had left her to pursue his 'dream' of fame, glory, money, Quidditch, while holding hands with former Hufflepuff Hanna Abbot. Ron hadn't even said sorry, hadn't in fact even given Hermione any choice in the matter at all. Ron had simply packed his bags and left in the middle of the night, leaving behind him only memories and a long goodbye note lying on the coffee table.

Said coffee table was currently resting on its side halfway across the room from its normal position all of its contents scattered over the floor, its coasters and glass top smashed to bits, with bloody shards mixed in with the lot. Yet, Hermione still lay there sobbing into her profusely bleeding hands and curled up on her living room floor.

Hermione lay like this for hours, not moving or changing anything except renewed sobs and tears every time anything about Ron entered her mind.

After a few more hours, Hermione passed out asleep from the exhausting emotional ordeal she had been subjected to that morning. Shortly after her deep breathing filled the room with its rhythmic sound, her property charm went off alerting her to the presence of wizarding guests, yet Hermione continued to sleep peacefully on the floor.

Soon voices could be heard outside the door of her flat arguing with each other in an amiable fashion. Shortly after the voices ceased, and a sharp but insistent tap tap tap was heard on her door, but Hermione still remained fast asleep and unmoving.

For ten more minutes knocks continued in a steadily more annoyed sound in various intervals until the two people outside the door of Hermione's flat held a short whispered conversation, then they opened the door.

Fred and George Weasley were standing in the doorway of the flat Hermione had shared with Ron, both of them pointing their drawn wands into the dark flat and staring around them in shock. Picture frames had been torn off walls, thrown off their resting places on small tables and the mantle and were now lying scattered and broken upon the floor in every direction. Fred and George stepped nervously into the room, and immediately saw Hermione lying upon the floor among all the debris with blood covering her, and her wand lying a few feet away.

Fred and George rushed over to her panic written upon their worried faces, attempting to see what was wrong with Hermione. As Fred brushed Hermione's hair back from her face and checked if there was a pulse, George examined her to find where the blood had come from. He tapped Fred's arm and pointed at her hands which were covered in scratches up to the wrists, some deep cuts, others shallow and already scabbed over and were clenched around a crumpled piece of parchment. Fred gently removed the bloodied parchment from her wounded hands while George muttered "Episky" waving his wand over her hands, cleaning out and healing all the cuts there. A few rather large chunks of glass fell from some of the larger cuts, making Fred and George look at each other worriedly then back to Hermione.

Fred and George shook Hermione gently. Hermione stirred, and threw her arm over herself into a more comfortable position. The twins grinned at each other then shook her gently again. This time Hermione's eyes fluttered open, staring groggily up at Fred and George for a few moments before she burst into tears and covered her face with her newly healed hands.

"Hermione, what happened? What's the matter love?" Fred anxiously asked, his hands hovering over her unsure what to do. 'If Ron did this to Hermione I swear on Merlin's saggy left nut that I will make him regret every second of sadness that he has ever caused her.' He thought savagely looking at her body shaking with sobs and feeling the anger coursing through him.

"Maybe it was Crookshanks leaving that made her this upset." George whispered loudly obviously trying to lighten the mood a bit.

However, at this poor attempt at a joke, Hermione started sobbing harder, remembering the time back in third year when Ron had accused Crookshanks of eating the rat they believed to be Scabbers at the time and later found to be a traitor nick-named Wormtail.

Fred smacked George in the back of the head then gave him a 'you're-not-really-helping-things-here' glare. Finally George looked down abashed and whispered "Sorry mate. I just thought it would cheer her up a bit, thinking of her cat instead."

Fred and George looked back down at Hermione still sobbing on the floor in front of them and both shivered at the anger for whatever had caused her to cry coursing up their bodies. What had caused her to fall apart like this?

"What happened Hermione love?" George asked kindly, pulling her hands away from her face so she could see them.

"R-R-Ron s-said . . . . i-in the n-n-note." Hermione said gesturing at the piece of Parchment Fred had taken out of her hands earlier. She choked back fresh sobs and tried to sit up, still crying morosely.

Fred picked up the parchment and flattened it against his knee, then took up one of Hermione's soft hands in his, scooting closer to George who took Hermione's other hand in one of his own as well. Streaks of Hermione's blood had dried into the parchment along with the ink and smeared some of the letters, but it was still legible and still recognizable as to whom had written it.

Fred and George instantly recognized Ron's untidy scrawl filling the parchment. It read:

DEAR HERMIONE,

BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS I WILL HAVE LEFT WITH MY NEW FIANCEE HANNA ABBOT TO GO AND LIVE IN GODRICS HOLLOW WHERE I HEAR THEY ARE HOSTING TRY-OUTS FOR A NEW CHUDLEY CANNONS KEEPER POSITION.

I HOPE IT DOESN'T COME AS TOO MUCH OF A SHOCK TO YOU, THAT I NEVER REALLY WAS THAT INTERESTED IN YOU, AS MUCH AS YOU AND EVERYBODY ELSE THOUGHT I WAS. I ONLY STAYED FRIENDS WITH YOU TO GET THROUGH SCHOOL SO MUM DIDN'T KILL ME FOR GETTING LESS OWL's THAN FRED AND GEORGE. NOT TO MENTION THAT IF I WERE TO EVER GET LAID, I KNEW THAT A PRUDE LIKE YOU WOULDN'T GIVE IT UP AS EASY AS MY HANNAH-BANANA DID.

I KNOW YOU'RE PRETTY SMART SO I KNOW THAT YOU'LL UNDERSTAND THAT IT WAS ONLY SELF PRESERVATION TO LOOK OUT FOR YOURS TRULY, AND TO AVOID YOUR NASTY TEMPER BY ESCAPING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT INSTEAD OF LEAVING IN THE MORNING AND SPEAKING TO YOU FACE TO FACE. HANNAH AND I FIGURED YOU WOULD HEX ME INTO OBLIVION, SO SHE MADE ME PROMISE TO LEAVE IN THE NIGHT AND LEAVE YOU THIS NOTE. SHE WORRIES ABOUT ME SO MUCH, IT'S SO SWEET!

OH, AND IF YOU EVER LAND A JOB AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC LIKE I EXPECT YOU WILL, PUT IN A GOOD WORD FOR ME WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL GAMES AND SPORTS. I FIGURE YOU WOULDN'T MIND DOING THAT FOR AN OLD FRIEND OF YOURS AFTER ALL. IT'S ONLY JUST IN CASE THIS KEEPER POSITION DOESN'T WORK OUT LIKE I HOPE.

SINCERELY,

RON WEASLEY

P.S. The lease is up in two days. . including today. Just a reminder for you.

Fred and George re-read the letter incredulously, their anger welling up infinitely more than it was before reading the letter their stupid younger brother had left to break the heart of the beautiful young witch.

"What the FUCK is that BLOODY GIT thinking!" George shouted angrily trying to siphon off some of his emotions. Fred nodded in agreement to angry to speak.

George grabbed Hermione by the shoulders and pulled her onto the couch off the glass strewn floor tucking her head into his shoulder, where it became damp within moments. Fred sat down behind Hermione, sandwiching her between him and his brother, lending their strength and love to her as she took solace from the kind-hearted and playful men she had known for eight years now. They allowed her to let all her grief out with them, comforting their friend, the girl they had been in love with for years.

After almost an hour spent like this Hermione pulled away from the twins sniffling heartily and wiping her nose on the back of her sleeve, giving them both watery smiles before looking down at her lap ashamed of what they had just seen.

"I don't really have time to be crying do I?" Hermione chuckled humorlessly. "I should be looking for another place to stay, and looking for work. Not sitting in the living room crying my eyes out over the fact that he left me. I'm sorry you two found me like this. You two can go back to the shop now; I know you two are very busy re-opening Weasley's Wizard Wheezes" she shakily finished, the beginnings of her tears starting to slowly leak out of her eyes once more.

"You should know us better than that Hermione." Fred said gravely, catching a tear from beneath her right eye and wiping it away.

"You should know that we won't leave you in such pain and misery by yourself. Not like this." George added just as serious, tenderly wiping an escaped tear from her left eye away.

"Thanks guys." Hermione smiled sadly, looking around them at the room.

"Though, if you don't mind us asking Hermione," Fred began looking around him as well.

"What exactly happened here?" George finished curiously also looking around at the wreckage.

"Well, at first I was really angry at the bugger for having the nerve to insult me and ask me for favors in the same letter he announces that he was cheating on me in and that he's leaving me for. After he'd really just told me he'd been using me all this time . . . so I kind of let my anger out on all the pictures of us from through the years, and I tried my best to destroy the poor coffee table that he'd left the bloody note on. Unfortunately when my hands got so bloody from the glass I realized I wasn't so much mad as I was devastated from what he had said and done. He'd used me, used my hopes, and emotions, everything . . . then just left me here, like I'm worthless. Like this." She waved her hand vaguely around at the mess encircling them all and Fred and George realized how bad it was. She had been trying to deal with the situation Ron had left her in, and ended up in this mess.

"Hmm. Well I guess there's only one thing for us to do Gred." Fred said rising from his seat and dusting down his pants smattered with glittering glass.

"Right you are Forge, right you are." George replied smirking and imitating Fred's actions across him.

"What is there for you two to do?" Hermione inquired nervously, not liking the sound of their voices. "I have to find a place to stay, and pack my belongings, and find a job before the lease is up tomorrow! I can't do anything else until that's settled!"

"Whoever said anything about anything else my dear?" Fred asked mischievously.

"Well . . . . . nobody, honestly. I just thought that it's what you were thinking because it would be just like the two of you to go do some sort of mischief to cope with this problem!"

"You're not wrong about that" agreed George with a wink.

"But we were going to offer you a job and the guest room in the flat above the shop!" Fred winked roguishly at Hermione and giving his best Lockheart-ish smile.