All Your Fault by DarthMittens

Rating: PG
Genres: Drama, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 7
Published: 24/09/2011
Last Updated: 24/09/2011
Status: In Progress

Harry's world crumbles around him as he sees the love of his life in anguish following Ron
and Lavender's kiss. The pain he feels from his unrequited love drives him to recklessly seek
out Voldemort. AU. No Horcruxes. Inferred final battle.




1. All Your Fault
-----------------

**A/N: I’ve been sick for a week, can’t concentrate hard enough on my longer stories to make
sure the plot is picked up correctly, so I give you another one-shot.**

**AU.** **No Horcruxes.**

**Enjoy!**

**All Your** **Fault**

Harry Potter’s heart shattered in his chest as he watched Hermione’s face crumple into an
expression of agony as she watched Ron and Lavender kiss.

He couldn’t believe it; he thought that for some reason, mostly because of the looks and touches
Hermione gave him, that she was in love with him, too.

Turns out Harry had gotten the short end of the stick…again.

He laughed quietly to himself—a short, slightly deranged laugh—as Hermione fled the common
room.

Parents dead, Sirius dead, a maniacal Dark Lord forever after his life, and the woman he loved
in love with another. Could his life get any worse? Couldn’t he just die already and get it over
with?

Harry’s eyes widened at the thought.

Death. An escape.

But then he thought of Hermione, and how sad she would be despite the fact that she was in love
with Ron. Because they were still best friends, of course.

He would have to take down Voldemort to make sure Hermione could lead the happiest life possible
in his absence. She and Ron wouldn’t have to worry about Voldemort and could raise their little
batch of Weasleys in content, glad that their best friend had sacrificed himself to bring peace and
harmony to the wizarding world.

Harry, grinning like a madman, ran upstairs and grabbed his cloak. He quickly ran through the
castle and out onto the grounds until he was past the apparition wards before apparating straight
to Voldemort’s location, which happened to be Malfoy Manor (though Harry didn’t know that).

He walked through the mansion feeling oddly calm until he came upon the Dark Lord, who was
talking with a few of his most trusted Death Eaters. Harry whipped off his cloak, garnering gasps
from the Death Eaters and a malicious grin from Voldemort. Harry could almost taste his sweet
freedom from the burden of this world.

“Hello, Tom,” he said. “How about we finish this once and for all?”

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

The first thing that registered in Harry’s ears was sobbing. Heart-wrenching, stomach-churning
sobs.

“He’s all right, Hermione,” said a slightly-annoyed voice. “Look at him, he’s stirring! Lucky
the bloody fool didn’t get himself killed. Thought he was a goner for sure. Wonder why he didn’t
tell us he was going? I would’ve gone with him.”

“You complete prat, Ronald Weasley!” Hermione shouted shrilly at him, squeezing Harry’s hand as
her voice rose.

“Calm down, Hermione,” snapped Lavender. “My Won-Won just showed how incredibly brave he was and
that’s how you treat him? Hmph, we’re leaving.”

As Harry opened his eyes he caught sight of a head of red hair exiting what was undeniably the
Hospital Wing along with a shorter head of brown.

“Harry,” Hermione breathed as she gently set his glasses on his face.

She was the first thing he saw clearly. Her hair was crazy, her cheeks and eyes red, her face
tear-streaked, and still she was the most beautiful woman Harry had ever laid eyes on. It made his
own eyes burn with tears.

“Hermione,” he croaked despite how much his brain was telling him to just ignore her.

The other people gathered around him began dispersing as they saw that he was alright, going
back to their noisy celebrations.

“Wh-what happened?” Harry asked, his head throbbing.

“You idiot,” she said lovingly before giving him one of her signature, bone-crushing hugs. “You
went off and fought Voldemort all by yourself. The Order showed up and fought off the Death Eaters,
and eventually you all won!”

“I’m still alive?” Harry mumbled sadly under his breath, looking down at his hands.

Hermione didn’t catch it and said, “Finally, we’ll be able to just have a normal year at school
without the threat of Voldemort hanging over us!” Then she glared at him stubbornly and said,
“Though I wish you had told me you were going. I-I would’ve gone with you,” she said quietly, the
softest tinge of pink gracing her cheeks.

Harry smiled sadly at his best friend and softly said, his heart rising to his throat with each
whispered word, “Hermione, about the school thing. I…I think I’m done with the wizarding
world.”

“Wh-What?” Hermione gasped, her smile turning into a confused frown. “Why?”

Harry stood up and stretched his limbs, thankful that the headache seemed to have abated while
he was talking with Hermione, who now had hot tears pooling in her beautiful brown eyes. “It’s put
me through enough heartbreak to last me ten lifetimes. I hope you and Ron can work things out and
take advantage of the Voldemort-free world,” he lied through his teeth.

“B-but…” Hermione stuttered as Harry exited the Hospital Wing, trying to keep the tears from
escaping his eyes.

He practically ran up to Gryffindor Tower, eager to finally escape this pitiful excuse for a
life as he took deep, shaky breaths. He threw his clothes and possessions haphazardly into his
trunk as the tears finally escaped, dripping from his cheeks as he leaned over his bed.

Life was so unfair! A lifetime of trials and hardship, suffering and pain, and only the most
miniscule, insignificant drop of happiness that was the time spent with Hermione and Ron. It looked
like he was going to have to start over again, grab life by the horns, go out and seize his
happiness no matter what it took.

Because he couldn’t go on any longer with this dull ache in his chest, the constant feeling of
agony as he pictured Hermione’s beautiful face in his head. If only he had gotten the girl, if only
it could be a happily-ever-after story like the ones from the unread books he used to steal from
Dudley’s trash can! If only she loved him!

He composed himself as best he could and staggered through the castle with his trunk behind him
and his broom in hand, nearly tripping more than once over obstacles he couldn’t see through the
haze created by his pooling tears.

Somehow he wasn’t surprised when he saw Hermione waiting for him in the entrance hall.

He intended to walk right past her, not look at her, but she stood up and said, “Harry.”

“Don’t, Hermione,” said Harry thickly, opening his eyes a little wider to stop the tears from
leaking out. “Don’t make this any harder than it already is.”

But Hermione ran up to him and hugged him hard, softly crying in his ear. She shakily said,
“I’ll go with you,” through her sobs, making Harry’s chest and throat burn at both the irony and
sadness.

“No,” he said forcefully and a tad harshly, making Hermione stiffen up just a little bit. Harry
swallowed, cleared his throat, and tried again. “I mean, ‘no’. This is something I have to do
alone, Hermione. I’m trying to escape everything magical. Everything, even…even…” for some reason,
Harry couldn’t seem to get the single syllable past the extraordinarily large and painful lump in
his throat.

“Me?” Hermione breathed, a couple tears dropping on Harry’s lower neck as she said it.

“I-I’m sorry, Hermione,” said Harry softly.

“It’s okay,” she whispered back. “I…I understand.”

She pulled back from him and looked him in the eyes, her own filled to the brim with tears,
somehow adding on to their radiance. And somehow making his throat constrict even more. She took in
a deep, shaky breath and opened her mouth as if she was going to speak, then shook her head and
closed her eyes, forcing two twin tears to carve tracks down her cheeks.

She softly grabbed Harry’s hand in a gentle handshake before looking into his eyes one more
time. She turned away from him, shoulders hunched in defeat, and didn’t look back even once as she
slowly walked out of the entrance hall and out of sight…out of Harry’s life.

Harry sighed and looked in his hand, where a folded up piece of parchment was sitting, placed
there by Hermione, begging to be read. He was debating whether he should read it or just throw it
away, allow himself to be tempted into staying one more time or finally just putting it all behind
him. He started moving the parchment toward his pocket, intending to burn it once he was at his
final destination (wherever that was), but he somehow ended up unfolding it and raising it up so he
could read it.

Hermione’s handwriting was almost immaculate…almost being the key word. It wasn’t quite her best
and there were a few wet spots on the parchment, and Harry knew she had been crying when she had
written it.

*Harry,*

*When I heard you had left to fight Voldemort, I was scared out of my mind. I asked Ron to
come with me to help you, and all he did was call me crazy and laugh at the notion. And I realized.
Ron was a passing fancy, a silly school-girl crush. He has good looks and he's funny, but
he's a complete pig. You might not be perfect, might not have perfectly defined abs, might not
have perfectly styled hair, but it's what's on the inside that counts (not that I'm
saying I'm not physically attracted to you, of course…or that Ron has any of these attributes.
Trust me; you’re much more handsome than he is…much more handsome than any other man I know,
actually!).*

Harry couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle mixed with a sob as he read her side-note,
imagining her trying to explain herself.

*I am completely and utterly in love with you, Harry James Potter. So you better come back,
preferably sooner rather than later. Because I don't know how long I can go on without you in
my life, no matter if you don't return my feelings and you're just here as my
friend.*

*Hoping to see you again soon and with lots of love,*

*Hermione*


Harry’s jaw dropped and his body went limp as he read the last few lines of her letter, happiness
surging through him. He flat-out ran all the way up to Gryffindor Tower, unable to believe this
change in events. She loved him! She loved him! Nothing else mattered in the world, muggle or
magical!

He gave the password to the Fat Lady, who gave him an oddly maternal smile as she let him in.
The Gryffindors let out a loud cheer and swamped him, all of them giving him hugs or high-fives or
patting him on the back. He pushed them all off, angrily telling them to leave him alone as he
sought out the love of his life.

His heart skipped a beat as his eyes fell on her downcast head, the smile on his face growing
despite her shaking shoulders—she hadn’t noticed that he was there yet. As Harry sat down next to
her he noticed that the page she was open to in her copy of *Hogwarts, A History* was stained
with her tears.

Harry brought an arm around her shoulders as he softly asked, “*The* Hermione Granger,
capable of damaging her favorite book?”

She slowly looked up at him and as her wide, brown, tear-filled eyes met his in awe a
breathtaking smile fell upon her face, making her look absolutely radiant. She asked, “Harry, what
are you—”

Harry huffed in an impression of her, cutting her off, then cracked a grin as he brought his
hands up to cup her face. He gently wiped the tears marring her otherwise flawless face off of her
cheeks and whispered, "It was all your fault, Hermione. It was your fault I left to kill
Voldemort, it was your fault I was going to leave the wizarding world. It was your fault I fell in
love with you, and it's your fault my heart is pounding so hard in my chest right now. It’s
your fault my brain is screaming at me to shut up and just kiss you already."

Hermione said nothing; just bit her lip as she glanced at his. She shyly met his gaze as her
face turned a lovely shade of pink, and he gave her a lazy, content smile before softly touching
his lips to hers, conveying all of his feelings for her with his lips and receiving the same in
return. They both smiled into the kiss and wrapped their arms around each other as it grew deeper,
their need for each other too much to stop now.

Or ever, for that matter.

**A/N: Well, hope you liked it! It only took me an hour and 20 minutes to write, which is
pretty awesome considering I feel like crap right now! (Don’t know whether to be happy or
miserable…ugh)**

**Please be awesome and leave me a review!**



