Never Yours

A/N: Thank you to everyone that's reviewed. All of your feedback is special to me. It really is.

& - 4

Harry's hands came to her shoulders, meaning to push her away, but he didn't. They rested there as he involuntarily found himself kissing her back.

And as she relaxed against him, her hand on his cheek as they kissed, she remembered something…

“Harry!” she called, worry all over her pale face. She ran to him as he walked away. “Harry! Where are you going? Harry!”

At first he continued to walk away and he refused to turn around and face her, and she was forced to follow him like some overly zealous puppy dog. But then he stopped and he turned around to look down at her.

She stopped too and stared up at him with a quizzical look on her face.

“Hermione, Hermione I…” he began but he trailed off. The words were so difficult, and he was Harry Potter - he wasn't good with words. He just wasn't.

And so he did the only thing he could to get his point across. He grabbed her and kissed her demandingly, putting every emotion he had into this kiss. When he released her she looked completely dumbfounded, and he stared at her long and hard, savoring this moment in case it was their last.

Finally, he turned and continued to walk away, yet this time she didn't follow. Her fingers touched her lips and she watched him without a single word…

Hermione pulled away from Harry and took a few steps back.

She didn't know why, but suddenly she felt like revenge was in order.

Harry had given her the most special kiss of her life and he hadn't mentioned a word about it to that day, so why shouldn't she kiss him and do the same?

That was just what she was going to do.

She stared at him for a moment, as if with consideration, and he stared at her back, his mouth open in shock and anticipation. She wanted to smirk as she turned away without a word and walked away.

Harry stood there and stared at Hermione as she walked right back into the restaurant.

He hadn't a clue what to think.

Hermione had just kissed him and then pulled away and stared at him as if considering something before turning and walking away.

Really, he hadn't a clue what to think.

&

She had just returned from her internship at the Ministry when he appeared.

She had entered her flat, hanging her cloak in her coat closet, and walking through the living room and into the kitchen to pour herself some nice tea to drink. She had been bringing the glass of nice lemony iced tea to her lips when he Apparated into the middle of her kitchen.

Hermione jumped and she almost dropped her glass of iced tea.

“Ron!” she gasped, choking slightly on nothing but air.

She calmed herself down and gaped at him, Ron Weasley, standing in the middle of her kitchen after two long weeks of silence.

“Hermione,” he said simply, looking as if he wanted to apologize.

She knew this look well; it was that look your puppy dog would give you if you tried to put him or her outside for the night. It was a saddened sort of pleading look. Hermione felt frustration swell in her chest at the look on his face.

Please, oh please, don't tell me he's going to ask to get back together. No, no, no, she thought miserably.

“What is it, Ron?” she asked, turning her back to him as she set down her glass of tea.

She stared ahead of her at the kitchen wall rather than look into his eyes.

“I'm sorry, Hermione,” he said, frowning. “Maybe I was a jerk about the whole sex thing, but you - you've got to admit you are a smidge too uptight sometimes!”

Hermione crossed her arms. She was tempted to be stubborn and turn him away.

But this was Ron. It'd be so hard to hurt his feelings like that, almost as hard as it would be to hurt her Harry.

“Oh Ron,” she sighed, her defenses weakening.

“How about we forget about it?” he offered. “I'm willing to if you are. We can pick up where we left off.”

Hermione really, really didn't want to hurt him. But she didn't want to pick up where they had left off.

She turned back around to face him, an apologetic look on her face.

“Ron, I'm not sure if - if I want to.”

“Want to what?”

“Pick up where we left off,” she told him, feeling awful. “I dunno…these past two weeks have been enlightening, Ron. I think the best thing for me right now is to be single.”

Ron stared at her without a word and a few good seconds passed.

“You dating Krum again?” he asked suspiciously.

“What? Ron, no!”

“Hmmm. Well, I guess. But do you think you'll ever want to pick up where we left off?”

It was all right to give a bloke some hope, right?

Right, she concluded.

“Maybe,” she answered. “We'll pick up where we left off.”

Ron grinned as if she had said a definite yes. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“I knew you'd say yes! Anyway, tomorrow night is Luna's birthday party, so we're going together, right?”

“Wait. Ron,” Hermione said, confused. Did Ron now think they were back together? She was so lost.

“Right. I gotta go, Hermy. Mum's making roast beef and mashed potatoes, my favorite!”

And then he popped back out of the kitchen leaving Hermione gawking stupidly at nothing but her kitchen scenery in utter puzzlement.

“No,” she groaned, clapping her hand to her forehead. “No, no, no! Ugh! Ron you idiot, I said maybe not yes! Ugh.”

&

That night Hermione lay in her bed staring up at the ceiling thinking about the kiss she had given Harry back at Diagon Alley.

She wondered what he was thinking. Did he realize it had been her own personal form of revenge? Or was he completely bewildered and thinking she had finally gone mental, as Ron always said she would?

Hermione turned over onto her side and her eyes looked out of her bedroom window.

She could see the moon high up in the velvety sky from here. She continued to gaze at it as she continued to think, and its bright roundly shape reflected in her light brown eyes.

What am I going to do? Ron thinks we're back together. I kissed Harry today. And Ginny is supposed to be my best female friend, she thought, unable to sleep. Well, this is a fine mess, isn't it?

&

“Miss Granger,” said Amelia Bones, poking her head into the small cubicle that was Hermione's temporary office. “You have a visitor. No more than five minutes, remember that.”

Hermione looked up from her mounds of paperwork and her eyes widened when she saw Harry enter her cubicle. The look on his face as he stared at her was a difficult one to read.

Yet, if Hermione didn't know any better she would've guessed that he at least vaguely knew of her revenge the day before.

“Harry, what are you doing here?” she asked innocently, as if she hadn't kissed him yesterday.

Harry continued to stare at her for a long moment; one she thought would never end.

“Well?” she said when he made no movement or sound.

“How's work?” he asked quietly, though she knew this wasn't the point at all to his visit.

She smiled and shrugged. “It's quite all right. How is your Auror training going, Harry?”

“Fine, thanks for asking.” He continued to stare at her.

“Is there a reason why you keep staring at me?” she asked.

“Oh no,” he replied coolly. “No reason at all.”

They both knew there was a reason, but neither wanted to bring it up.

“So going to Luna's birthday party with Ginny?”

“Yeah, we're going together. Ginny is the one that planned the thing, after all,” Harry said.

The polite conversation was killing her; it felt like they were mere acquaintances rather than best friends.

“You better go,” Hermione remarked calmly, “Madam Bones said no longer than five, and I'd rather it be three. See you tonight, Harry.”

“All right.” He uncrossed his arms and made to go. “Bye, Hermione.”

The last gaze he gave her was very telling. It was one of those `I'm-onto-you' looks.

Hermione smirked with satisfaction.

“How do you like it now?” she asked triumphantly once alone. “How do you like being kissed and having it never to be mentioned? It isn't very nice, is it?”

&

Ron indeed was now convinced they were back together. The moment she arrived at the restaurant where Luna's party was being held, coincidentally the same restaurant where she had eaten lunch and kissed Harry the day before, Ron threw his arm around her and began steering her around the room like some prize.

“Hey McLaggen,” he said, smirking gloatingly.

And Cormac McLaggen glared at them as they passed, seething with jealousy.

Hermione pulled Ron's arm off of her.

“Ron, what are you doing?” she asked, annoyed.

“What? I was being polite! Saying hi to McLaggen!”

“You were trying to show me off to McLaggen!”

“Was not!”

“Hey, how about not arguing at Luna's party?” Ginny asked from a few feet away. She looked to be quite irritated herself. “The party's about to begin and you two are bickering like total idiots.”

“Don't call me a total idiot!” Ron growled.

“Shush,” Ginny silenced, rolling her eyes as she turned and walked away.

Ron grimaced; he didn't like it when his little sister spoke to him with such disrespect. He turned to Hermione.

“Can you believe that girl?”

Hermione shrugged. “She's your sister. Excuse me, Ron. I think I need to use the toilet.”

She started down the narrow hall where the men's and women's restrooms were, and just as she did she heard the restaurant door open and Luna enter, and she could hear everyone back in the restaurant cheer and greet her, party poppers almost as loud as the applause.

Hermione felt guilty about not being one of them. It was Luna's twentieth birthday and here Hermione was sulking in the bathroom.

She splashed some water onto her face and stared at her reflection for some seconds. She thought about Harry and how distant he was from her that night. He had stayed with Ginny and when Hermione would come near he would mysteriously disappear.

The kiss, she sighed in thought, That kiss was a bad idea. He must think I've gone spare.

She groaned at the thought.

This was great, the love of her life thought she was absolutely crazy. That was just lovely.

Eventually she convinced herself to leave the restroom, unknowing to how long she'd really spent in there. Just as she exited she jumped in surprise at the sight of Harry also exiting the men's restroom.

He jumped in surprise too, and then they stared at each other, each waiting for the other to speak.

She wanted to say something - anything - to him, but at the same time she didn't. Again, at the same time she wanted to be stubborn and silent for once about whatever was going on between them.

So she did. She broke their gaze and went to continue down the hall as if she didn't see him.

“For how much longer are you going to be like this?” he asked suddenly, making her stop in her tracks.

She turned around to face him some five feet away.

“What's that supposed to mean, Harry?” she asked, again in that innocent tone.

“You're going to be thick about it?” he asked with annoyance. “You're going to pretend as if it never happened?”

“YOU DID!” she shouted suddenly, such feeling and emotion in her voice it surprised even her.

He looked taken aback by her sudden outburst, but he wasn't softening up just yet. He folded his arms and snorted.

“If the whole purpose of that kiss was to serve as some kind of revenge, you should know it was a stupid idea.”

“Ha, stupid? Do you think I care? And as for revenge? HA! You act as if my world revolves around you,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“You said the same about Ron. Whom does your world revolve around then, hmm?”

“Myself! I'm not some pathetic nagging bookworm that has nothing better to do then think about Ron and you all night and day!” she snarled furiously.

Harry held up his hands. “Your words, Hermione, not mine.”

She let out a strangled breath and put her hands to her forehead. The frustration only kept building…

“You're so impossible, Harry. Almost as impossible as Ron! But at least with him I actually know what the fights about, usually anyway,” she told him. “Right now I have no idea what your problem with me is.”

“I haven't a problem with you. I'm not the one complicating things by trying to get some stupid revenge!”

“So what if it was revenge?! You deserved it, Harry! You kissed me, stop pretending as if it never happened!” she shrieked wildly, not caring who heard. Her emotions were too high to care.

Harry scowled. “I never said it didn't happen.”

“Well you certainly never mentioned it again! Not once! Not a, oh, right, we kissed - it was strictly a friendship kiss, I wasn't aware of what I was doing - something! You could've offered me something - anything! That'd be better than silence than ignoring it!”

“Look it was nothing,” he said, shrugging. “I dunno why I did it. But it was nothing. There, are you happy? Can you rest at night now? You now know what a mistake it was. And I'm sure Ron will be happy to know it was nothing.”

“What's that supposed to mean? Leave Ron out of this! He wasn't there and we're not even together anymore,” she said loudly.

“Could've fooled me. His arm was around you tonight, wasn't it? He was showing you off, too.”

Hermione's eyes narrowed as she said, “So you've been watching us, have you? Why? Aren't you too busy snogging Ginny and drinking alcohol!”

“Cheap shot. You must be desperate to insult me.”

“Ugh! You know what? I'm not having this conversation - argument - whatever you call it, but I'm not having it with you!” she decided, stepping away. “I don't even know what's going on anymore! I give up, I give in! You go back to Ginny and I'll leave you alone! Sound nice? Good.”

She turned around and hurried out of the narrow hallway, tears suddenly coming to her eyes and spilling out down her cheeks.

“Hermione, what happ-?” began Ron as she stormed past him in tears.

She pushed the restaurant door open and hurried into the darkness of the Diagon Alley streets.

Unaware of where she was going she walked down the sidewalk, the only light being the light from the few stores that were still open. She continued to walk, arms crossed, as she cried and asked herself why she always let Harry get to her?

She hated fighting with him, but she was angrier and more frustrated with him than she'd ever been before…

Hermione didn't know how long she'd been walking; she wasn't paying attention or watching where she was going.

When she walked right into something it brought her out of her tearful thoughts.

She stumbled backward and looked up through the shadows at whatever she had walked into.

It was a person, a wizard. He was tall - definitely taller than she was - and the hood of his cloak hid his face from view.

Hermione stared up into his mysterious face before turning around and spotting the sign just above them. It read, “Knockturn Alley”.

&

A/N: Yes, I'm aware Bones died. But I didn't want her to so there. She's alive now. Thank you for reading and please don't forget to review. The next chapter should be up Tuesday night/Wednesday night. Until then!