A/N: Here is the other half of the chapter. The part that I would have posted on the 27th if Miss Xirleb hadn't decided to distract me. Lol.
CH18: My Name
Previous Chapter: Harry stormed back down to the Entrance Hall, muttering to himself. Sirius and Remus would just have to understand why he wasn't stopping by: he just wanted to get out of this forsaken school.
As he pulled open the front door, a voice behind him made his blood freeze.
"Harry?"
"Hermione," Harry said shortly. He couldn't turn around and face her. He knew that, if he did, he'd do something he would later regret.
Well, maybe regret. A little bit.
"I've missed you," she whispered. "It's not the same without you around here."
"If that's all you wanted to say, I really have to get going."
"Don't be like that, Harry."
"I'll be however I please," he snapped.
"Please. Look at me, Harry. Please." Harry slowly turned around, his nails cutting into the palms of his hands. A tear-streaked Hermione stood before him.
They stared at each other.
"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry!" sobbed Hermione and she moved forward to hug him. Harry crossed his arms across his chest, stopping her in her tracks.
"Don't touch me."
Hermione flinched. "The Harry Potter I knew wasn't this cold," she said, mostly to herself.
"The Harry Potter you knew was sent away to Azkaban months ago."
"Dammit, Harry! I said I was sorry! Please, you have to forgive me! I just want it to be like it used to be. I want the old Harry back." She stepped towards him, tentatively. "He needs to come back home, back to Hogwarts. He needs to be with his friends again."
"What friends? Oh, you mean the people who turned their backs on me when I needed it most? The people who betrayed me in the worst way possible? You were going to send me to Azkaban, Hermione. You were going to lock me in a cell with my worst fear. You were going to let me be tormented with the memory of my parent's death every single fucking day. If that's friendship, then I'd rather be alone."
"I'm sorry, Harry," she repeated. She was shaking now, almost hysterical. "I'm so sorry. I was just so confused. Everyone was telling me that you were guilty! I didn't know what to believe!"
"So you took the word of corrupt government over the word of your best friend."
"But even Dumbledore was – "
"Do you think I fucking care what Dumbledore was saying! You were my best friend! I thought that I could count on you for everything! When I found out that I was being accused of murder, I wrote to you first. I needed you to believe me. I thought that if I still had you on my side, everything would turn out alright. But, you didn't respond. You didn't even give me a reason. At least Ron at least sent me a letter telling me that he hated me. It was like you couldn't even be bothered to think about me anymore; after all we had been through together." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a crumpled envelope. "You sent back my letter."
"You still have – "
"Yeah." He laughed bitterly. "A reminder of what friendship really is." He spun around and started back out the door.
"Harry?" Hermione ran up to the entryway and watched as his figure descended the stairs.
"My name is Denicalias." And he disappeared into the night.