A/N: Thanks for all those who reviewed! Please keep on reviewing coz it forces me to write better and longer fics! Enjoy Chapter 2!

Chapter 2 – Too late to say sorry

Inside, Hermione leaned against the door, tears streaming down her face endlessly. Her head ached, her legs ached, her arms ached, and, most of all, her heart ached. She kept taking small gasps of breath as she walked towards her bed. She quickly slumped on the bed and lay on her stomach, crying her eyes out. How could he do this to me? She thought as she lay on her tear stained pillows. I knew this plan would go wrong right from the start! I thought he loved me…. A voice suddenly popped in her head. It was what she called her 'inner voice' with which she would conclude her homework or get ideas from. Now, it wasn't comforting her, as she would have expected. Now, it was arguing with her.

You prat! What were you thinking? You knew perfectly well how Ginny is when drunk!

She rolled her eyes gently. It was terrible enough that she had screamed at Harry for no reason. Leave me alone, I don't need you here!

Fine! Be that way! Just don't come looking for me when you get into another of your romance mishaps!

No! I was just kidding, sorry.

That's better! Now, first of all, you shouldn't have argued with Harry, coz we both know that he didn't love her.

Well, I suppose, but –

And we both very well know that you were exaggerating when you threw that inkbottle at him.

Oops! Yes, I forgot, I guess I got carried away…

You should apologize for your horrid behavior! Tomorrow, he should be ready for that, and so should you!

Yes, yes I will. Now I have to sleep. G'night, inner voice…

Don't call me…huh? Oh, goodnight, Hermione…

She had cried herself to sleep, and she dreamt of him that night…

She dreamed that they were in a garden, and Harry was leaning on a tree, and she was leaning on his stomach, sitting between his legs. It was a cool, fragrant night where the stars shone brightly and not a cloud in the sky. Then, a shooting star…

'Make a wish, Hermione,' came Harry's voice, and it echoed through her head. She supposed that was how all dreams were supposed to sound like. 'Ok, Harry,' she giggled as she shut her eyes tight and wished silently. As she slowly opened her eyes, he gently pecked her cheek and asked in a whisper, 'What did you wish for?' Hermione giggled again and pulled Harry's muscular arms around her and cradled them. 'I simply wished for you to stay with me forever and ever,' came her response. Harry sighed, which meant he understood. He carefully turned her around and locked eyes with her. This only meant one thing; he was going to give her the kiss of a lifetime. Slowly they neared each other, inch after painstaking inch, leaning forward and not looking away from each other. He was going to kiss her, and there would be nothing that could ever separate them again. Two inches away…one inch…

"Hermione!" screeched Lavander frantically, "'Mione, wake up! Wake –"

"Huh...what?" replied Hermione blearily. It was such a great dream…

"Hurry up!" screeched Lavander again, "We've already missed the first train!"

Hermione sat bolt upright. She couldn't have, "No way," she whispered to herself. She quickly reached out for her watch and saw that it was already late, and that she had slept through her alarm. "No!" she said again, louder and panicky.

"Yes! And if you don't hurry, we'll be late for the next train, and that's the last one!"

"Lavander, Why are you still here?"

Lavander blushed, "Oh, well, I slept through my alarm, too. And Parvati left me."

Hermione looked at her disgustedly and decided not to waste any more time. She quickly jumped out of bed, bathed quickly, and groomed herself, and with a flick of her wand, her trunk was packed and ready, Crookshanks waiting on her bed. She and Lavander quickly took the stairs two at a time with their trunks levitating behind them. A train whistled in the distance, signaling the departure of the first Hogwarts express. Hermione and Lavander quickened their pace and came into Hogsmeade station just as the train disappeared in the distance. "Huh, we still missed it," said Lavander, panting. They had both placed their hands on their knees, catching their breaths. "Don't worry," replied Hermione, very much exhausted, "The next train will come almost immediately,"

"How do you know so much?"

"I read…"

And sure enough, a whistle blew in the distance, signaling the arrival of the second Hogwarts express. It pulled up at the station, and the girls noticed it was not bright red like the first one, but a sleek, shiny black color. They hopped on to the train and searched for an empty compartment. They got a compartment near the door and sat down. The chairs were not the same, either. They were very squashy, much like the ones in the common room, and they were of black leather. As they sat down, the train blew its whistle again, and pulled out of the station.

Hermione and Lavander sat quietly for a while, when the food trolley came. They bought the lot and enjoyed a fulfilling meal. As they started desert, Lavander said sadly, "I guess we're never going back, huh? Unless you're taking a teaching course?" Hermione nodded and sighed too, "Yes, we're not going back, but only temporarily, I hope. And, no, I'm not taking a teaching course." Lavander almost choked in her cauldron cake, "You aren't?" she asked, utterly bewildered, "Then what course will you take?"

"Oh, I'm thinking of studying to become a part – time lawyer or tutor, but I want to devote most of my time in recording and composing songs,"

"Really?" squealed Lavander excitedly, "You can sing? Great! Show me a demo, will you?"

Hermione blushed and said, "Ok, I guess I could," and she sang a song that had been playing in her head for a while now.

You were my strength when I was weak,

You were my voice when I couldn't speak

You were my eyes when I couldn't see

You saw the best and worst in me

Lifted me up when I couldn't reach

You gave me faith coz you believed,

I'm everything I am

Because you loved me.

Lavander giggled excitedly as she finished the verse, and clapped like wild. "Oh, Hermione, that was brilliant. I would love to become a singer myself, but I want to apply for a job in the Ministry, particularly the Dept. of Seers and Divination," she said proudly, at the same time, giddy. "Anyway, Have Ron and Harry ever heard that voice of yours?"

Hermione sighed, shook her head, and looked out the window. Harry. It was only then that she realized that she would never again get in touch or see either Harry or Ron for a long time. Then she realized, with an even hurtful thought, that she never got to apologize to him for what she had done. She looked at Lavander and saw that she was too occupied in eating, so she let out the tears she didn't realize she had been holding for a while. She brought back her thoughts to Harry. She realized that she would never get to speak to him again, that it really was too late to say sorry.