I Hate That I Love You -- Dramione

How Pathetic

Hermione rolled out of bed, the screech of her alarm clock ringing in her head. She slammed the clock with her fist and went to take a shower.

Hermione was finally returning to work today. She still hasn't told anyone other than Ginny, Narcissa, and her parents, and as far as she knew, they hadn't mentioned it to anyone either.

When she mentioned it to her mother, she was immediately skeptical.

"What!?" She dropped the plate she was washing.

Hermione shrieked, "Mum!"

She merely stepped over the plate and grabbed me by the shoulders, "Hermione! The baby! I thought you didn't want people to know!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and put her hands on hers, "Mum, calm down. I'm less than a month in, No one will know."

It still took a little more convincing by Hermione to get her mother's approval, but eventually she got it.

Hermione sat at her desk, working on a case while the busy noises of the office filled her ears. She grinned in satisfaction as she signed off the last bit of the case and stood, ready to hand it to her boss and get right back to the enormous pile of papers on her desk.

Hermione walked out of her office and down the halls, making her way toward her boss' office. Hermione ducked her head as she felt eyes on her the entire way. She even saw some co-workers whispering and gesturing in her direction.

Her heels clicked faster on the tiled floor as she went.

She barely nodded in recognition at her boss' thank you when she dropped the papers onto his desk become turning and making a speedy exit.

She turned to go down the hallway and back to her office when she saw people make eye contact with her and turn away.

Hermione blinked rapidly as she turned and all but sprinted to the bathroom.

She slammed her stall door shut and closed her eyes, calming herself down.

She gasped in surprise when the door to the bathroom flew open and two feminine laughs were heard.

She looked through the crack in the stall to see two women who worked in Muggle Relations.

One woman laughed, "I can't believe she actually came back! And did you see how smug she looked?"

The other one rolled her eyes, "That's probably because she finally found a guy drunk enough to get her laid."

She snorted with laughter, "Oh my Merlin, didn't you hear about why her and Ronald broke up?"

The other woman shook her head, "No, I thought he cheated on her."

She shook her head, "Nope. Apparently that's what Hermione wants us to think. Ronald talked to Skeeter and said that the reason that he broke up with her was because she wasn't good enough... in bed."

The other woman snorted.

She nodded, laughing, "I know, right! I mean, I can see it too. But apparently she got mad at him and she talked to people and spread the rumor that he cheated on her."

The two women were making their way to the door, "How pathetic."

The door shut with a bang behind them and Hermione let loose a sob.

She slapped her hand over her mouth and glared at her shoes.

No. She was Hermione Granger. She was absolutely not going to cry in the bathroom because two grown women had been gossiping about her like they were in third year.

Hermione unlocked her stall and went to the mirrors where the two women stood moments before, fixing themselves. She took a deep breath at the door and pushed it, walking through the halls with her head held high.

However, as soon as she made it into her office, she collapsed in her chair, closing the blinds and putting a silencing charm on her office and letting the sobs wrack her body, cursing Ron's name under her breath.

*—-*