Arguing

A moment's silence and shock beyond belief. He was the cause of her pain. He was the one that had her so much. He was the reason why she had changed.

Despair.

Confusion.

What had he done? How could this be his fault? Wait, he hadn't done anything! This wasn't his fault!

Rage.

"What the bloody hell did I do!" Harry yelled, losing control. Never before had he lost his temper to this extent… Well maybe once before…

"You're asking me!" Hermione yelled back at him. She spun around wildly to face him, her eyes blazing. Harry half expected her to slap his cheek but doubted that Hermione would lower herself to such childish behavior.

There was a loud cracking sound.

Rubbing a now red cheek, Harry began to wonder what had made him think that.

"Hey! I didn't deserve that!" he muttered indignantly.

"You!" Hermione cursed under her breath, pointing dangerously at him. "I can't believe you!" She ranted noisily, repeating it several times before beginning to pace. She halted and turned to face some invisible by-stander.

"Can you believe that nerve of him?" she asked thin air, waving her hands wildly. "I mean, the ass thinks that even though he's abandoned me over the past six year that I will automatically forgive him and tell him my little secrets!" Harry blushed and wondered if Hermione was still sane. She left her unseen friend and moved to the bookcase, carefully surveying each book. She pulled out a rather large one, preferably, the size (and weight) of a small encyclopedia and studied it carefully. Then, without warning, threw it at Harry's head.

Definitely not sane.

Harry managed to duck the book without receiving any major injuries and sprinted over to Hermione before she decided to use anymore of her precious books as lethal weapons. Hermione was several steps ahead of him.

"Don't come any closer unless you are willing to give me answers Harry." Hermione told him, holding a large Atlas, threatening him with it. Harry put his arms up in surrender, hoping that by doing so, Hermione would put the book away. Instead, she still held onto it, brandishing it in front of him. She eyed him carefully, not trusting him. He had no idea what to say. If he told her the truth, she would hate him. If he didn't say anything at all, she'd hate even more. Before he knew he had said anything, the words spilled out of his mouth.

"Hermione, I can't tell you right now."

It was Hermione's turn to stand in disbelief. She dropped the huge book, a loud thump echoing through the silence. Harry could only stare at his feet.

i Stupid, stupid, stupid Harry/i he chided. He knew that if he looked up, Hermione would be crying. It tore him up in two to know that he had made her so upset.

"Why?"

Harry glanced at her, noticing that she wasn't crying as he thought she would be. Rather, she stood trembling on the spot, her face colourless. Harry felt trapped. If he had of been a good friend, none of this would have happened.

If he had of been a good friend he would never had fallen in love with her.

"I – I just can't tell you Hermione," he noted the look on her face and went on, "What do you want me to say? I love you Hermione and I couldn't stand seeing you with Ron, maybe?"

More silence. Did he just say that out loud?

Harry watched her as she bent down to pick up the heavy book. He cringed and raised his hands to cover his face but Hermione merely put it back on the bookshelf.

"What? Hermione whispered desperately, a deep sadness in her eyes. The anger was buried away leaving vulnerability. Harry felt his heart go out to the woman. The old Hermione he had known was a fighter. She had spirit and never gave up. Grief and humiliation weighed down the Hermione that now stood in front of him. He reached forward and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of his head.

"Harry?"

center /center

Hermione stood in the warm embrace, wanting to loose herself in the moment. She felt sheltered and protected; guarded by an old friend. No one could hurt her anymore. She snuggled closer, wiping away tears on the collar of his shirt. Looking up, she saw that Harry was watching her, a grim smile on his face.

"Harry…"

She wanted to say something. Anything to break the silence. The words choked in her throat, nerves swallowing them whole. Her whole body focused on one single thought:

He was going to kiss her.

She was caught in conflict. She wanted Harry to kiss her. To feel wanted and cared for. But her heart told her no. She couldn't fall for him again. He would break her heart and abandon her again. She didn't care, one kiss couldn't hurt. She watched his beautiful green eyes as he lent forward, lips parted, coming closer and closer. But her heart won the battle.

"Stop it! How could you say that!" she screamed at him. She wasn't going to let this happen. Not again, like it had so long ago. She had grown so much since he had forgotten her and letting him in again would only make it that sturdy wall she had built around her heart crumble. She would have no defenses guarding her heart, defenses, she knew she would need sometime soon. Somewhere, deep down, she knew that there was more to come. She knew that Ron wasn't finished with her yet and that the mysterious person that was out to ruin her reputation at the Ministry wouldn't be happy until she was gone. "Get out!" she commanded, turning to her room, not caring if it was rude not seeing Harry out. She stomped to her bedroom and sunk gratefully onto the bed. She covered her head with a pillow and screamed into it, letting out with it, quavering sobs.


Draco watched his wife as she sat the table in front of him. Cherry-brown hair framed her face, threatening to hide her from him. She leant precariously on the seat, her over-sized belly pressed lightly to the edge. He smiled at her, not daring to laugh, knowing that she would hit him playfully for it.

But the lightness of his thoughts could not hide his concern for Hermione. Yesterday, she had worked overtime at the Ministry even though it was a Saturday! Add that to the stress of work and her lousy, two-timing husband had dumping her. It was a mixture for disaster. But what really concerned the ex-Slytherin was that fact that Hermione was staying in the apartment next to that of Harry Potter. He knew how Harry felt for dear Hermione. His wife worked for man. It was amazing the amount of gossip the naturally perceptive woman had picked up. All of which, much to Draco's disliking, had been relayed back to him. And although he loved his wife to bits, the amount of gossip she had managed to dig up about her boss was enough to drive anyone crazy. Now it seemed what she had told him was coming back to haunt him.

Harry and Celicia were very close, which made Draco extremely jealous but meant that Celicia knew many of Potter's dark secrets. To be honest, Draco wasn't surprised. His wife had a knack of getting very close people in a short amount of time. The fact that she had managed to woo Draco Malfoy was an example in itself. However, if Hermione found out that her supposed best friend was in love with her, all hell would break loose.

"Draco, are you okay?" Celicia asked, tenderness in her voice. She reached out and held his hand.

"I'm worried about Hermione," he muttered embarrassed. A younger Draco one, who hadn't seen the terrors that he had seen, would have wanted to throw up at the thought of even working with Hermione.

He didn't know what that same arrogant, obnoxious Slytherin would have done if he had of known that he would marry a Muggle. Celicia gazed unfocused at him, her eyes blank as if she was recalling something.

"I think things are only going to get worse for her," she murmured in a bare whisper. Draco stared at her. There was something that Celicia knew and wasn't telling him. But she averted her eyes away from his…

…Brilliant green eyes that were filled with tears.


Hermione couldn't believe it. Harry had fallen in love with her.

She was surprised that she hadn't noticed herself. She'd been so blind. He had disappeared from her life because he couldn't cope with the fact she'd married Ron.

It still didn't make her feel any better.

If he had really loved her he would have said something.

He had broken her heart. She wasn't going to forgive him that easily because he had muttered those three simple words. She'd had enough of the 'I love you's' The last time someone had told her that they were in love with her had left her in the mess she was in now.


A/N: There's a bit of a clue in that chapter that links with a previous chapter. But honestly, Celicia is hiding something, which, you won't find out about until the very end…laughs insanely Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it and feel free to leave a review :hint, hint: