Last time:

I hate myself so much. That was the only thought in my head few hours later. Ron acted like a perfect gentleman, he promised me he's not angry and he let me go. I didn't miss my boyfriend Ron. I missed my best friend Ron. He said this won't affect our friendship, but I knew it would never be like it used to be.

Next few days were torture. I wanted to skip dinner with Weasleys but Ron insisted. It was terrible. Ron did his best. He tried to cheer me up and make conversation. But the rest...Mr. Weasley was quite nice, at least polite. Mrs. Weasley tried to be decent but the cold in her eyes was unmistakable. The worst part came with Ginny. She didn't talk to me whole night. Broken heart, broken friendships. What have I done? After dinner, I went to the kitchen to clean the dishes. I heard somebody walk in. I turned around and saw Ginny.

"I need a spoon," she murmured.

Those were the first words she said this evening. My hands continued with the dishes when something fell and broke.

"Oh Merlin, that was mum's favourite cup."

"There, let me..." I offered but Ginny protested.

"No, it's none of your business."

"Come on Gin, I'll help," I laughed.

"No!" she yelled. The smile on my face wiped off. Ginny looked absolutely mad. Her long, red hair was now exactly matching the red furious blush on her face. "I don't need your help. Everything you touch breaks down. Look at Ron, how devastated he is. You destroyed him, Hermione. He will never get through this. And I will never forgive you."

Ginny turned around and went away. I couldn't even cry. She made a point. Everything I touch breaks down. I lost Ron, I lost Ginny and I lost Weasleys. Is there anybody on my side? Harry! Oh, Harry! Note to self ,Call Harry tomorrow'.

And so I did. Harry was very sweet. He had planes but he cancelled. We agreed to meet in a Muggle café, very nice place. I got there first. As I waited, I kept thinking about the fight Ginny and I had. The hate in her voice, when she said she will never forgive me. I loved Ginny, she was my best friend. Seeing her so mad at me caused me incredible pain. Luckily, Harry came and stopped my dark thoughts.

"Hey 'Mione," he smiled and at that second, I knew that at least this friendship stayed untouched.

"Harry..." I breathed. He didn't wait for anything; he took me into his arms and held tightly.

"Shh, I know. I know everything."

"You do?"

"Yes, Ginny told me everything. Well, ehm, told. That's not exactly how she put it. I was supposed to use a better word. Yell, perhaps?"

He made me sit and ordered us a coffee.

"What did she tell you exactly?" I wanted to know. Harry, on the other hand, obviously felt uncomfortable.

"She told me everything. About the proposal, about how insecure you were, about the rejection. Everything."

I nodded. "And? You don't despise me?"

He gave me a quick look, in shock. "What do you think of me? Of course not! You were not ready. I hardly think it's a crime."

My heart, finally after all those days, jumped in happiness.

"Thank you, Harry. And Ginny? She's really mad at me."

He laughed a bit. "Mad is quite a weak word. She's furious. But don't worry; she can't stay angry for a long time. I'll talk to her."

I grabbed his hand. "Thank you," I whispered.

"Anytime," Harry smiled.

The rest went okay. We started to talk about work. Harry was working as an Auror and he promised me to look out for a job abroad. I decided that's the right thing for me now. Leave England, start again. I don´t know why it felt right. It was like I had an invisible advisor in my head. I knew that leaving England was the right thing to do. We drank our coffee and when we were saying goodbye, I finally felt better. At least one person was with me.

Harry kept his promise. He called me in a few days.

"There is a very nice offer. Working as an ambassador with a foreign Minister of Magic. The job is in Paris. What do you think, 'Mione?"

Paris. My head started to spin. I loved France and I wanted to see Paris again. Without any more thinking, I made my decision.

"Thank you, Harry. That's exactly what I wanted."

"Merlin, I still can't believe you want to leave. But I only wish you the best. You are going to be great."

I smiled. "I hope so. Don't worry Harry; France is not so far away. And I will call you every day, I promise."

Harry heavily breathed. "Yes, we'll be in touch. I have to go. Ginny's coming."

"Tell her I say hi," I tried to say but he hung up. Maybe that was for the best. "Stop it Hermione." I told myself and focused on more important thing. Work in Paris as an ambassador. Work I dreamed about. The last time I was in Paris, my parents had to force me to leave. There are just a few things as beautiful as view from Eiffel Tower. I knew this time it would be different. I didn't go there to have fun. I went there to work and I was determined to work hard. Just because my life wasn't exactly walk through a pink garden didn't mean I will not work as hard as always. I felt terribly tired so I crawled to my bed. An idea jumped into my head. My parents! So many things were going on in my life that I completely forgot I have parents. For a second I considered an idea to just write them a letter, with explanation about everything. But that seemed so unfair. After everything, I wanted to give them better goodbye than just a piece of paper. Somewhere between lying on my bed and thinking, I fell asleep. I had my dream again. But this time, mysterious person held me more urgently, like he was afraid we don't have much time to spend together. I didn't feel safe again. Something was dragging this person away from me. I couldn't see his face or clothes and I couldn't recognise the voice but I could clearly hear him yelling at me:

"Always, love, I will always find you."

I screamed, tears rolling down my face. The darkness around me crashed and I found myself falling down into nowhere. I hit the lowest point and I woke up. My heart was beating so fast, I was afraid I'll pass out. Tears from my dream became reality.

I wanted to go back there. My mysterious person was scared, he was in danger. I had to save him. The bad thing was, I couldn't go back to sleep. No matter how hard I tried, sleep didn't want to come. I was lying on my bed for hours, staring at the ceiling. The first sparks of light touched the sky. I left my bed and started my day with a smile, pretending my life wasn't crashing.

Too short? I´m afraid my chapters won´t be very long, but there will be quite a lot of them. Anyway, the second chapter is here. Read, enjoy and don´t forget to leave a review for me. They make me go on.
Betty xxx