His brain felt foggy. He used his hand to find his wand, not wanting to open his eyes while the curtain was open. How had he forgotten to close those again last night? Once he knew there was darkness in the room, he slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to adjust. On the table next to his bed, he found a cool glass of water, as well as some Pepper-Up. Thank Godric drunk Ron actually cared about hungover Ron enough to leave the things that made him feel better right next to his bed.

Once his brain had cleared up a little, he the next thing he needed to feel more like himself. Some toast and tea should do the trick. He wandered downstairs, where he found George and Harry sitting at the table, each with their own cup of tea. He nodded at them as a greeting, also indicating that he was not yet ready to actually talk. He looked at them again, as they were sitting almost as if they were waiting for him. He shook his head and moved to the bench where he sat about organising his breakfast. Once done, he joined the other two boys at the table.

He was a few bites into the first bite of his toast, when he realised what was making he feel put out at that time. Neither Harry nor George had said a single word to him since he entered the kitchen. They hadn't even greeted him when he walked into the room.
"Nothing wrong with you two is there? You're being quiet."

Harry looked straight at him, considering the question, and thinking about how best to answer Ron. He was still absolutely lived at him, and it was hurting him to look at him right now, knowing what Ron had done to Hermione.
"Tell me, Ron, do you remember last night at all?"
Ron shook his head, "Nah, I don't."
George looked to Harry, then to Ron.
"Ron, do you remember any night for the past month."
"Sure! I've just been having a couple of drinks at the pub and then coming home to bed." Ron couldn't quite understand why they were questioning him about his memory, or why they kept looking at each other before saying anything and when he answered them.
"Oi, what's going on here?"

Harry and George decided to rip the bandaid off and go straight into it. They told Ron everything, about how he had been having more than a few drinks each night and how he had actually been getting home. Harry finished the storytelling by filling Ron in about his behaviour the night before.
"No. You're lying. You're both lying. What's wrong? Jealous that I have friends other than you Harry? Who don't have a kid tying them down so they can actually hang out after work. And you George? Who do you think you are trying to pull this crap?"

It was at that point that Arthur Weasley made the choice to remove himself from the door way behind Ron and say his piece.
"Ronald, they are not lying. I have been here every night to help you into bed. I've been keeping the brew of Pepper-Up Potion topped up so there is always some for you. I've been hiding all of this from your mother because I don't want her worrying about something she shouldn't have to. So, do not sit here and call Harry and George liars. They are the two people who have been looking out for you the most this last month."

Ron sat back in his chair in total disbelief. Surely he hadn't been acting this way. He wasn't like that. Wasn't he? He would never do anything to hurt Hermione. But then he really started thinking. He had been having trouble remembering the night before for weeks now. He had thought he was just having problems sleeping, but maybe it was excessive drinking. And if he was doing that, and couldn't remember anything, who knows what he may've done. Maybe the girl Harry had told him about wasn't the only one. He really hoped she was but he couldn't know for sure.

Suddenly, a loud shriek was heard from the front yard. All four men jumped with their wands out at the ready, as Molly Weasley came running through the house.
"Put your wands down! It's me! It's me, Mollywobbles, I swear!"
Arthur instructed them to put their wands down, as Molly entered the kitchen. She was holding a copy that morning's Daily Prophet.
"Ronald, what have you done?" She threw the paper on the table, which had a front page emblazoned with the headline 'Goldren Trio No More?', accompanied by multiple photographs of Ron with multiple women. Some were tame, just a friendly hug here and there, but there were other ones too, which more much more explicit, including, Harry recognised, the girl Ron had been with the previous night. Interspersed with these photos were ones of Ron and Hermione, with Harry also making an appearance.

Molly, Arthur, George and Harry simply looked at Ron, as he sunk into his chair. His mother was right. What had he done?

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Breakfast was a great time for Hermione. She was able to chat to Ginny, she would receive OwlPost and she got to have a read of the Daily Prophet to keep up with current events. The paper was so much better now Skeeter was finally definitely gone.

She made her way to the Gryffindor table, not noticing the students at neighbouring tables staring at her and talking in hushed tones about her. She was focused on her time table for the day, while also thinking if Harry had receieved her owl the night before. She knew she wouldn't have a response yet, as Harry would've let Venus stay the night and have some treats, before sending her back on the long flight to Hogwarts. What she did find at the table though, was Ginny waiting for her, holding a copy of the newspaper she was intent on reading while eating some bacon and eggs.

Ginny was looking at her oddly, almost as if she were apprehensive to speak to Hermione, like she needed to tell her something but she really didn't want to.
"Everything okay,Gin?"
"Uh, sure. Look, I need to show you something. Let me just say I had no idea about this but I am so sorry you have to find out this way."
Ginny then placed the Prophet on the table in front of Hermione, so the front page was facing up at her. She glanced down, and automatically wished she hadn't. She was straight away repulsed by the images, having to watch her boyfriend kiss other women. Women. Not even just one but multiple women. Is this what he had been doing while she was at school?

She looked up from the paper, to look at Ginny who had tears in her eyes. Hermione moved her gaze around the Great Hall and realised many people were staring at her and whispering. Of course they'd all seen it. Most students had a subscription to the paper or read over their friend's shoulder. Staring back at Ginny, she uttered that she needed to leave. She stood and paced quickly out of the hall, heading straight to her dormitory, not letting a tear fall until her head hit the pillow on the bed.