A/N: I own none of the HP characters or Julliard. I own the plot and my own created characters.

I couldn't just pick one quote for this chapter; I had to pick two!!

Enjoy! I hope this makes you all happy!

Chapter 11: Mistakes

            "Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is not mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself."

            "You know you're dancing when tears of pain and happiness blend in with your sweat."

"All right, girls, let's start out with some plies to get our legs warmed up."

            Madame always opened class with plies, so it was no surprise.

            "First position!" she barked.

            Feet in a straight line, heels together….I knew these positions by heart and rarely had to think about them. Today was horrible though, so I was mechanically forcing myself through every dance move.

            I had woken up to find an owl sitting on the windowsill. My heart skittered-had one of the Weasleys sent it? Ron? Harry? I didn't recognize the owl, though.

            I took the scroll, unrolled it, and read:

            Dear Miss Granger;

                        It has come to our attention that you Apparated transatlantically from London, England, to New York City, New York, the United States of America, at approximately 3:00 A.M. two nights ago. This is a violation of Security Code 113 Section C, which prohibits any Apparition into the United States borders from foreign countries without passing through the appropriate security checkpoints before and after Apparition.

            Because you have not committed any major misdemeanors before this incident, the American Ministry of Magic will not prosecute you for this violation; however, if it takes place again, you will be fined and tried in an American wizard court of law.

            Sincerely yours,

            Jackson S. Hamilton

            Head of American Wizarding Security, New York Branch

            I shredded the parchment into pieces and tossed them into the wastebasket. All right, as long as I didn't get into any real trouble…It didn't even matter anyway….I wasn't going back until-Ginny's wedding! I gasped, and then my heart sank. It wasn't a fact, but I was almost positive I wouldn't be welcome.

            The day proceeded to get worse. In jazz, I kept starting my axels on the wrong foot and even ran into the person next to me more than once. In hip-hop, I forgot about doing facial expressions until Damian, our instructor, yelled at me; then I did the wrong type of facials (I just pasted on a fake smile and was done with it). During voice, Chaley decided to sing "Seasons of Love" to rehearse for some fancy benefit dinner she was performing at next week. I had to leave the room.

            And now was ballet. I had to perform the dance to the music Madame had given me before my holiday. The trouble was, there was no dance. I could've just told her I wasn't ready…but I knew what the response would be: "Tomorrow, then, you will be ready." She hated procrastination. I might as well just get it over with.

            "All right, Hermione, are you ready?" We were finished with warm ups too quickly. I answered Madame, "Yes, I'm ready, Madame."

            The rest of the girls sat in a neat row in front of the mirrors, ready to judge me. I raised one arm in the air and looked down. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Malia wink.

            "Your music is on," Madame said. A second later, the violins began to sing their sad song. I stood, frozen in my pose for a moment, and then moved. I waved my arms gracefully in a circle, then got up on releve. I did a chaine and then a pirouette. While I was spinning, I caught a glimpse of Lindsey's red leotard. It reminded me too much of his red hair. I collapsed.

            The music ceased. I could hear the girls whispering, except for Ellie.

            "Hermione, are you hurt?" Madame asked gently.

            "I—I'm fine," I sputtered.

            "Would you like to start again?"

            "Yes, Madame." At least I got a second chance. I stood up, struck my beginning pose, and the music played again from the beginning

            This time, while I was frozen, I really listened to the music. There is a difference between just hearing the music and listening to the music. The first time, I heard it. The second time, I listened. Something was different. It gave me life.

            As I did my pirouette for the second time, I caught the same flash of red that had knocked me down before. This time, though, it transported me back to the past.

            A red haired boy was trying to turn his rat yellow with some rubbish spell his brothers gave him. I couldn't help but laugh inwardly. What an idiot.

            I remembered the time he called me a nightmare-it broke my heart. Yes, I thought he was an idiot, but at the age of eleven, I thought he was quite a cute idiot. When he saved me from the troll (in the dance, I cowered in fear), I knew he would be a loyal friend.

            I watched as he fell to the floor, hit over the head by the chess queen. I wanted to help him somehow…but I could only stay where I was.

            I saw him burp hundred of disgusting slugs-all because that git Malfoy called me a stupid name. I joyfully skipped across the room (both in the barre room and in my memory) as I caught sight of Harry and Ron after I've been revived from being Petrified.

            I remembered rowing with him during third year over Crookshanks and Scabbers. I remembered his confused expression every time I returned from a different class via the Time Turner. I remembered watching Sirius drag him away. I was sure he was dead. I was horrified….In my dance, I did grand jetes. I was bounding after him, trying desperately to save him.

            Fourth year…we began growing up…My dance now became a bit more mature, more dignified. When he hadn't asked me to the Yule Ball, I was so upset. What was wrong with me? Wasn't I good enough?

            I recalled that first Quidditch match for him. He was so scared…so sure he would let everyone down. I tried desperately to cheer him up, and even kissed him on the cheek, to his (and my) great surprise. It killed me to see him play so poorly in the beginning, but when he won the Quidditch cup-well, it felt to me almost as if I'd won it for myself. I was so proud.

            I kept recalling memories of our schooling together until the music slowed and grew quieter. This was the five-year period we spent apart from each other. I mimicked a person lost. He was gone, and though I'd hid it well the first time, I missed him terribly…I danced a pax de deaux, though I was missing my partner: the dance for two was missing its man.

            The music began to pick up a bit, ready for the grand finale. A pas de bourre….the first meeting was a little awkward and strange, just like the step…I remembered our night at Acromantula…My fouettes came perfectly now….And finally, the night we went to the show….I pulled my body into an arabesque, my head held high and majestic. The music swelled dramatically. I slid into a perfect split, pulled my legs in, rolled on the floor, and raised my hands to the sky, longing fro that one being, the only person that would pick me up when I was down and make me feel like an amazing, beautiful woman. The cymbals crashed one last time. I covered my head with my arms and put my face to the ground. The music ceased. It was finished.

            I sat in my final position, gasping for air, as the girls applauded and cheered. Madame strode over to me. I stood up respectfully, ready to accept her criticism. I truly had no idea what I'd just done.

            Instead of criticizing me, she put her arms around me and squeezed. "Very beautiful, Hermione. You made it your own and you felt the music. There was a real emotional connection."

            Of course there was. "I have to go," I said quickly.

            "What? But you're in the middle of class?" she protested.

            "I have to go." I removed my pointe shoes and walked out of the room barefoot. As I made my way out the door, I could have sworn Ellie gave me a thumbs-up. I smiled back, then focused on what I had to do next.

            Loving Ron hadn't been the mistake. It's never a mistake to truly love someone like I loved him. Running away from him was my mistake, and I was sure it was too late to repair it-but I had to try, even if it was the last thing I would do.

A/N: Yay!!! She's going back…going back….hooray! I was getting tired of writing depressing chapters where everyone was sad. Anyway….press the pretty blue button and let me know what you think!

Shout outs to:

Melody: Glad you think it's awesome!

Hermione-Tonks: I guess "not as smart" is one way to put it…on the other hand…she's just so focused on her dance goals and she doesn't want to let them go. But yeah, a lot of people just call it "stupid". Glad you like it!

Liza: Ron has changed…but he grew up. A lot of formerly stupid teenage boys grow up to be awesome guys, as we all have just seen!

KateM: Erm…okay…I'll probably fix that little detail sometime, since it'll nag and nag at me forever…But thanks for pointing it out.

Anyone else I may have forgotten that reviewed: You are my heroes, and you are just really cool! Sorry if I didn't answer your questions, etc. I only replied to reviews for the last chapter (10). Next chapter title: Making Up Is Hard To Do!