You Came Real Close

Genre: Angst, with a slightly happy ending

Rating: PG

Pairing (if any): Harry/Hermione

Keywords: Harry and Hermione, Breakup, Tears

Disclaimer: I don't live in Europe, so obviously I own the Harry Potter characters. I'm definitely not richer than the Queen, so obviously I own the Harry Potter characters. I write fanfiction, not masterpieces worth millions, so obviously I own the Harry Potter characters. I thrive on sarcasm… Get it?

The song at the beginning is "Almost Doesn't Count", sung by Brandy. It's a beautiful song, but I don't own it…*sighs* Life. Whatcha gonna do?

Dedication: This story is dedicated to everyone who knows the sadness behind the word "almost."

~*~

Gonna find me somebody

Not afraid to let go

Want a no doubt be there kind of man

You came real close

But every time you built me up

You only let me down

And everybody knows

Almost doesn't count

~*~

            The sun was beginning to set and the sky was an exquisite display of reds, yellows, and purples. It was the most romantic backdrop for a couple that appeared to be deeply in love.

            If only that were the case.

            Hermione's lightly sun streaked hair was pulled back into an unkempt ponytail and the wind was delighting in tossing the loose strands around her face. She had tears in her eyes as well as quite a collection running down her cheeks.

            Harry wasn't fairing much better. His entire body seemed to be sagging out of pure sorrow and shock. His usual messy raven hair blew back and forth in the breeze. His emerald eyes were closed to stop the tears, but his eyes were damp nonetheless. He wasn't sure if the tears were solely from the immense sadness he was experiencing or if it was the wind's awful trick of stinging eyes.

            "So what happens now?" Harry whispered. "We said that we'd be best friends no matter what. But can we go to being 'just friends' after everything that happened between us?"

            Hermione shook her head and replied through her tears, "I can't."

            The next wave of tears came out, and she turned away at the futile attempt to regain her composure.

            "I don't think I could either." Harry's voice was so faint, neither was sure if the words had spoken at all. He cleared his throat to drive up his nerve and said, "Does that mean we're not even going to try?"

            The forlorn look on her face answered his question.

            "I'm sorry for not being what you needed, 'Mione." Harry stated sincerely. "I never deserved to have you in my life, and I knew that. So I selfishly kept you for myself and didn't let you go when I should have." He kissed her gently on the cheek and could taste her tears.

            She looked into his eyes. "Don't say that, Harry. I could have tried harder to make our relationship work. This wasn't your fault. I treated you--"

            "No. You were an angel. Always. I'll treasure what we had forever, but if you never want to see me again, I won't hold anything against you." She didn't answer. Harry nodded and began to walk away.

            "I want to try."

            He stopped mid-step. Placing his foot on the ground, he closed his eyes. His back was turned to her as he whispered, "Okay then."

            Hermione watched him disappear into the house they had bought with Ron, Luna, and Ginny.

            She closed her eyes and whispered against the breeze, "I almost love you, Harry Potter. But almost doesn't mean anything." She breathed in the summer's scent. "And I wish it would."

            A single tear fell down her face as the sun sank below the horizon.

Author's Note: This was the Christmas of CDs and one of the many I got was Brandy's "Never Say Never". I fell in love with the song "Almost Doesn't Count" and I knew that I wouldn't be happy until I wrote a story using it. [Angst, of course! ^_^]

And, as promised, here are all of my "Thank Yous" for Chapters 1-5!

 

Chapter 1 ~ My Angel

eve- I'm sorry…I'm really bad at making long chapters, but I think I'm getting better. Thank you for reading, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Leah6- Oh yes…short & sweet is the best! ^_^ Thank you for reading this story! I really like your stories, so you better keep writing.

emmy-bone-kat- Thank you for reviewing. I'm sorry if you thought it was sad, but that's what I was going for! ^_^

Loraliant Angelisa Snape- Yeah, that is kind of freaky. It was nice meeting you.

permlessgirl- You're pretty cool for a Ron/Hermione fan! ^_~  J/k! To be honest, I don't really know myself why she left, but hey, it made for a pretty good short story, if I do say so myself! Ü

Duckymander- I'm glad you liked them! Nice name, by the way! Thank you for reviewing!

Usha88- You're too sweet! Always a pleasure to meet another H/Hr fan! I hope you think that my other stories are as good as this one! ^_^

HpRoXmYnOnExIsTiNtSoX13- First off, awesome name! I've always wanted to write a mystery [I gave up pretty early on!], but I think that the next best thing is to not reveal things until the end of my stories! Thank you for saying that my writing is beautiful! It really means a lot to an insecure writer like me!

Chapter 2 ~ The Perfect Couple

usha88- Cute is good! I definitely will keep writing more, especially since everyone is being so nice to me!

Leah6- I'm glad you liked it! I'll—for sure—keep writing. Thank you!

Favo de Mel- Hey Melissa! Yeah, I do say that you have talent! ^_^ Thanks for loving my stories! You're always so sweet! Keep up the awesome work on "Here We Go Around Again"! Love ya, hon!

HpRoXmYnOnExIsTiNtSoX13- You know, it was completely unintentional to have Harry and Hermione being sarcastic like that. The real reason I wrote them like that is I had been watching "Ocean's 11" and I've always love the scene where they go "Thief"…"Liar" at the end, so I wanted to add that. But thanks for the review!

Chapter 3 ~ Everything

Leah6- I've been thinking about continuing "My Angel", but I tried and I didn't really like how it turned out. Thanks for the idea though! I'm glad you like this little collection! Thank you for reviewing…again! ^_^

Sarah L. Padfoot- Oh, don't worry, I get ideas all the time, and I'll be sure to keep adding more! I'll be looking if you get any more ideas! Thank you for the review!

Usha88- I could never write Harry/Ginny…even if it was a breakup! It completely goes against my moral ethics! Well, not really, but I just don't like that ship. Thank you for the review though! I'm glad you thought it was a great job!

HpRoXmYnOnExIsTiNtSoX13- Really? Your favorite so far? That's cool! I like D/G, too! Maybe I'll write another one just for you! I'm glad you saw the realism in this story. Thank you for reviewing!

Chapter 4 ~ Wishing

Leah6- I've always loved Ronniekins! I don't think enough people like him… He's such a sweetie, but I know of some H/Hr shippers who hate him! I'm glad you like it!

Usha88- It was awesome? Well, that's awesome! ^_^ I didn't want Hermione to be the only one who survives, but I'm glad you liked how I mixed it up!

HpRoXmYnOnExIsTiNtSoX13- Yes, good weird…I know it well. My friends are pretty much all "good weird"! I wasn't sure if people would like how Ron is [with the books and everything], but hey, if you thought I tied it up nicely…that's great! Yep, I figured people would think it was Hermione [That's why I wanted the books…to confuse people!] Thank you for the review!

Chapter 5 ~ Moon Over Bourbon Street

Leah6- I like sadness, but I'm really happy that you thought it was good through all the sadness! The problem with her falling in love is the war's going on and she doesn't want to be in love and distract him and/or herself from fighting. On my original draft, that was explained more, but I love holding back details! ^_~ Thank you for reviewing!

Usha88- I'm a BIG fan of bittersweet stories, and it's awesome that you love it! Finals really weren't that bad…and I had a great break! Thanks for your kind words! ^_^

HpRoXmYnOnExIsTiNtSoX13- I try my hardest to make my stories realistic! I know what it's like to not have a happy ending, and I want to bring that to my stories. And you really can't have enough angst in the world! ^_~ Thank you for your review!

To Leah, Usha, and HpRoX- You three have become some of my favorite people on this site! You guys have been nothing but sweet the entire time, and I would like to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart! Hugs and kisses to you three! ^_^

I would like to thank anyone who has read my stories. You cannot imagine how much it means to me! Thank you so much! ^_^

Love ya'll!

Brittany Ü