Not Always Right

A/N: Just to let you know, this is going to be a short one—only two chapters.

Enjoy!

Not Always Right

Chapter 1 – The Break-Up

December 18, 1998

19-year-old Hermione Granger carefully concealed her emotions from her boyfriend of a little over a year, Harry Potter.

The two had started dating in October of their 7th year at Hogwarts, after confessing their mutual love for each other. Everyone could tell how much they loved each other—they were all sure that the two would raise a family and grow old together. They were just so…perfect together—they were made for each other.

But things weren't as perfect as they seemed. As a matter of fact, Hermione was more pissed off at Harry right now than she had ever been at anyone in her whole life. Harry had been growing more and more distant with her over the past month, and she was sure that he was preparing to break it off.

They were sitting in a fancy muggle restaurant right now, and Harry's general behavior seemed to confirm her suspicion that he was going to end it tonight. He was sweating and shaking, which definitely showed that he was afraid. He was also clutching something in his pocket, which Hermione assumed was his wand just in case she hexed him in retaliation. As if I'd use magic in a muggle restaurant, she thought to herself.

All Hermione knew was that she wasn't going to let Harry end this—she was going to finish it on her terms. He was going to break her heart, but she wasn't going to go down quietly.

Harry pulled his hand out of his pocket and brought it to his lap, then said, "I want to tell you something important, Hermione."

This is it, Hermione thought as she used her anger to temporarily beat down the pain in her heart. "No, I have something important to tell you, Harry," she growled.

Harry flinched, taken aback, and asked, "Hermione?"

"I'm done, I've had it." Harry blinked. "You're an annoying, miserable little piece of filth that I wished I had never gone out with. And I never loved you; you were just a pathetic teenage crush. You're a giant douchebag, and I hope you never speak to me again."

Harry wasn't breathing as his eyes roamed her face and settled on her eyes as if to test the validity of her statement. Hermione grinned smugly, her heart throbbing, happy to have caused him at least a fraction of the pain that he had caused her. Hermione stood up, dropped her napkin on her plate, left the restaurant, then apparated to her parents' house, where she proceeded to fill her childhood bedroom with anguished sobs.

2 Years Later – December 18, 2000

21-year-old Hermione Granger sighed before apparating to the Burrow for Sunday dinner. She hated the things, because Molly always tried to set her up with someone.

Just as she had asked, Harry hadn't spoken to her once since the break-up. One day she got home from work and all of her possessions, which had been in Harry's house, were packed neatly in boxes stacked in her room. Two weeks later, Ginny had informed Hermione, that Harry had moved to the states.

It took Hermione six months to move on, and when she did, she and Ron gave it a go. They broke it off a few months later and remained good friends. She had gone on a multitude of dates since then, but none of the guys lasted more than two. They were all…missing something, but Hermione didn't know what—she just knew that nothing would ever happen.

It's because you're still in love with Harry, cackled an evil voice in Hermione's head.

She hated to admit it, but the evil voice was right. She had been in love with Harry since she was 13, and not even the fact that he had broken her heart and she hadn't seen him for two years had changed that. She knew deep down that the 'something missing' with all of her dates was that they weren't Harry. She hated herself for being so weak—why couldn't she get over him?

Everything other than her love life was going great for Hermione. She had quit her job with the release of her first novel, a fantasy work that was a best-seller in both the magical and muggle worlds. She was currently working on the sequel, and she had purchased a nice two-story house in Godric's Hollow. Seeing the wreckage of Harry's home sometimes reminded her of him and the pain he had caused her, but other than that she really loved the place.

Hermione knocked on the front door of the Burrow, and Molly hugged her and smiled at her. "Oh, Hermione. The greatest thing has happened! You'll never believe who's here!"

Hermione followed Molly into the dining room, intrigued. There was the familiar sea of red hair, along with…messy, raven-colored hair.

Hermione's breathing quickened and her fists and stomach clenched as her eyes took in Harry's features for the first time in two years. He was a little more muscular and a tad more tan than when she last saw him, and he no longer wore glasses.

"What is he doing here?" she asked no one in particular.

Molly's smile faltered, but then came back full force as she said, "Harry's moving back here, isn't that great? He already has a place in London!"

Harry suddenly stood up, not taking his narrowed eyes off Hermione, and said, "I should leave. I didn't know she would be coming."

He started putting on his coat, and Molly deflated as the rest of the Weasleys awkwardly watched the unfolding drama. "You two…I understand that you had a falling out, but…"

Hermione was about to respond angrily, but Harry beat her to the punch. "Molly, she broke my heart. That's a little more than a 'falling out.'"

Hermione rounded on Harry, livid. "Excuse me! Broke your heart? You completely destroyed me, Harry!"

Harry turned to a frightened-looking Ron and calmly said, "Will you please remind Hermione that she broke up with me, and not the other way around?"

The silence grew more awkward and tense, and Harry struggled a bit as he put on his coat. "Yeah," Hermione said defensively, "but you were going to break up with me first!"

Harry's hands trembled a bit as he finished buttoning his coat. He turned to the Weasleys and said, "I'm sorry," before walking toward the door, which was Hermione's direction. As her passed her, her breathed the first words he had spoken to her in two years. "Who the hell said anything about breaking up with you?" And with that, he was gone, leaving a confused Hermione standing in the Weasleys' dining room.

There was a stunned silence following Harry's departure. Hermione finally broke it, quietly saying, "I should go, too. Sorry." She apparated straight to her bedroom, where she sat down on the edge of her bed, deep in thought.

What did he mean, 'who the hell said anything about breaking up with you?' she thought to herself. As she sat there thinking, it finally dawned on her. He was trying to place all the blame on her just to get back at her.

Ginny suddenly appeared in Hermione's bedroom, looking impatient. "You're going to tell me what happened with Harry, and you're going to tell me now."

Hermione had refused to tell anyone what had happened with Harry, and she hesitated before finally telling Ginny.

"Harry never mentioned spending time apart?" asked Ginny for clarification once Hermione finished her story.

"No, but it was quite obvious."

"So you assumed that was the case and said some pretty horrible things to him," said Ginny with a raised eyebrow.

"Look," said Hermione exasperatedly. "I'm not saying that I broke up with him in the best way, but I wanted to end it on my terms."

"Hermione," said Ginny sadly. "You're really smart—the smartest person I know. But…you aren't always right." Ginny sighed one last time before apparating away.

You aren't always right…you aren't always right…Ginny's words seemed to reverberate in Hermione's head.

Suddenly, Hermione felt the urge to know what was going through Harry's head at the moment they broke up. She began to doubt herself. What important thing was he going to tell her? Was he really about to break up with her?

There was a knock on the door, and Hermione sighed, went downstairs, and answered it. It was Harry. "We need to talk," he said simply.

Hermione folded her arms over her chest. "Talk about what?"

"Why you thought I was going to break up with you. I have to know."

"You were getting distant with me, and that night, you were sweating and shaking, like you were scared," Hermione explained. "If you weren't breaking up with me," said Hermione skeptically, "then what the hell was that?"

Harry suddenly stiffened and shook his head. "That's what I thought," said Hermione smugly. "So you were—"

"No," said Harry quietly.

"Then what?" asked Hermione impatiently.

"I'm not going to tell you, but I wasn't going to break up with me."

"Tell me," Hermione snapped.

"I just said no!" yelled Harry, his voice raising.

"Tell me, goddammit! What had you so scared?" shouted Hermione.

Harry yelled, "I want to see YOU not be scared when you're about to propose to somebody! I was distant with you because I was too busy trying to find the perfect way to propose! But I'm glad you told me what you really thought of me, that really made me feel great!"

A stunned Hermione stared up at a fuming Harry, then her face screwed up and she let out a choked sob. "Thanks," said Harry coolly. "I got what I came for."

"Harry, wait!" He stopped, glaring at her. "I-I didn't mean what I said," Hermione said desperately.

"Whatever," Harry sneered. "You still said it. I've heard you say you never loved me in my head every second of the last two years of my life." And with a crack, he was gone.

Hermione went back up to her bedroom as she hyperventilated and futilely tried to fight off tears. What had she done! She drove away Harry, the best thing that had ever happened to her, because she assumed that she was correct in her assumptions!

Hermione screamed into her pillow as she realized that she had done this to herself, it was her fault that she had been miserable for two years, and if she had just kept her big trap shut, she and Harry would've been married by now!

She finally cried herself to sleep in the early hours of the morning. Unbeknownst to her, a young man that had just moved back to London had done something similar.

A/N: Poor Hermione, and poor Harry! I know it seems bad for them right now, but like I always say: Always keep faith for Harry and Hermione!

Love me, hate me, praise me, flame me—it's all good, I'd really like to know what you think!

Chapter 2 – Christmas

December 19, 2000

Hermione awoke at noon the next day to an owl tapping her window. She opened the window, grabbed the letter, and the owl flew off. She opened the letter and read:

Hermione,

Both you and Harry are coming here for Christmas, and there will be no fighting. You can just ignore each other—that's fine—but I will not have you two ruin our Christmas. And both of you are family, so there's no getting out of this.

I've sent a similar letter to Harry. We'll see you on Christmas!

Love,

Molly

Hermione sighed as she finished reading the letter. There was no getting out of this one—her parents had been killed by Death Eaters, so she couldn't use them as an escape.

Hermione crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it away, then lay on her back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. I've heard you say you never loved me in my head every second for the past two years of my life. Those words haunted her. How would she have felt if Harry had told her he never loved her—that it had all been a lie?

"Oh my god," she whispered as her eyes rapidly filled with tears. She had actually said that to Harry, and it made her feel sick and ashamed of herself. If she thought her last two years were bad, she couldn't imagine how much worse it would've been if Harry had said those words to her.

"Just a pathetic teenage crush?" she asked herself disbelievingly. No wonder Harry didn't want to talk to her, she had completely destroyed his heart.

She needed to make this right somehow, and for help she needed…

"Ginny," she said with her head sticking out of the Burrow's fireplace. "Con you come over?"

"Sure thing," said Ginny.

Ten seconds later found Ginny in Hermione's living room. "What is it?"

"Harry…he…he…he was going to propose to me!" Hermione wailed.

Ginny gasped and covered her mouth with her hands as her eyes went wide. "You talked to him?" Ginny asked, and Hermione could only nod her head as she sobbed. "And that's why he was scared?" Another nod. "And-and you…said those...things…to him." Hermione's sobbing got much harder. "Oh my god, Hermione," Ginny whispered.

"I…I…I s-still l-l-love him!" Hermione finally managed to choke out through her sobs.

"Hermione," said Ginny softly, "I don't want to get your hopes up, so I'm going to tell you…he probably doesn't love you anymore, with what you said and all."

"I know!" Hermione cried with an agonized wail.

"But…you still have to apologize to him." Hermione nodded. "Maybe he'll eventually forgive, and you might be able to start from square one again. It could take a while, but you might even get lucky and have him fall in love with you again. That's your best bet. But his previous love for you…I'd probably put that at nonexistent now."

Hermione cried for a while, and Ginny got up and made her a cup of tea. Once Hermione had calmed down, she and Ginny talked about what they were getting who and laughed at the thought of what Fred and George's pranks were going to be this year.

As soon as Ginny left, misery began to creep up on Hermione again, along with a nauseous feeling at the thought of what she had said to Harry that night. Ginny was right, she definitely had to apologize.

Hermione allowed herself a small smile as she thought of the possibility that she and Harry could be friends again, even if that took a while.

Over the next few days, Hermione either Christmas shopped or wallowed in self-pity. And then, finally, it was Christmas.

December 25, 2000

Hermione woke up at 5 AM, because the Weasley family Christmas traditionally started at 5:30. She just kept on her pajamas—another Weasley tradition—shrunk the gifts, put them in her pocket, and flooed over to the Burrow, where she put the gifts under the tree and unshrunk them.

All of the Weasleys were drinking tea or coffee, already sitting in the sitting room, chatting excitedly. "Hello, Hermione dear," said Molly with a smile on her face.

Hermione beamed at all of them. "Merry Christmas, everybody!" She took an empty seat on the sofa, next to Ron.

Harry showed up five minutes later and all the talking suddenly stopped, the Weasleys waiting with baited breath.

But Harry's face split into a huge grin as he said, "Merry Christmas!" and took a seat next to Ginny.

They all just tore into their gifts at once and said thank you to whoever got it for them before moving to the next on—another Weasley tradition.

Hermione had had somewhat of a dilemma when deciding whether or not to get Harry something. She was glad she didn't though, because Harry hadn't given her anything either.

After everyone was done opening their gifts, half the Weasleys went to cook breakfast while the other half set the table. Hermione took a deep breath, then walked up to Harry, who was examining a joke book that one of the twins had given him.

"Harry?" she asked tentatively.

Harry closed the book but continued to look down at it. "I…I want to apologize for what I said to you. It doesn't matter whether or not I thought you were going to break up with me—nothing gave me the right to say that awful stuff to you. And…I regret every word—I wish I could take it all back. But life doesn't work that way, and I can only hope that one day you can forgive me." Harry was still looking at the book, which flustered Hermione a little. "Um…I've really missed you, and maybe…we can get lunch sometime…as acquaintances? And then…I guess we could see what happens?" she asked, her heart banging against her ribcage.

"I…I don't think so, Hermione," said Harry heavily.

"Oh, I understand," said Hermione hastily. "You need time? I can give you time."

Harry finally looked up, and Hermione noticed that he looked weary and…so defeated. "I didn't mean it like that, Hermione. I meant…I don't think it could happen…as in ever. Every time I see you, I hear those words. I just…I can't do it."

Hermione stared at him, numb with shock, before slowly nodding and hoarsely saying, "Okay," before stiffly walking into the kitchen, still numb with disbelief.

"Hermione?" asked Ginny, looking concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I…I have to go," Hermione whispered.

"What happened? Is it Harry?"

A choked sob issued from Hermione as her eyes rapidly filled with tears. She hugged Ginny tightly, then began sobbing into her shoulder. Ginny rubbed her back and pulled out a kitchen chair, sitting Hermione in it. "What did he say?" Ginny asked softly.

"He…he…he…he'll n-n-never be a-able to f-forgive m-m-me!" she cried.

Ginny sighed sadly. "Go home, Hermione. I'll make your excuse to mum, and you can get your gifts later. Go get some sleep."

Hermione nodded and apparated straight to her bedroom before crawling under her blankets and immediately falling asleep.

When she woke up it was dark outside. She looked at her alarm clock—it was already 9:15, so she had slept for about 14 hours. She got up and sat in a chair near her window, dully staring at the falling snow but not really seeing it.

How was she still alive when she was in this much pain? Surely she should be dead by now.

As she thought of Harry, the tiniest of smiles crept on her face. What was he doing right now? Was he reading in bed with a cup of hot chocolate? Was he watching TV, maybe A Charlie Brown Christmas? Or maybe—

Crack! Hermione almost fell out of her chair as somebody apparated directly into her bedroom. Her eyes widened and she stood up as she saw who it was. "Harry?" Or maybe he was coming to talk to her.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Your words hurt me, Hermione, but…staying away from you hurts even more." Hermione felt hope bubble in her stomach. "These past two years, I've…I've tried…moving on. I thought coming back and seeing you, and…and finding out why you left me would help. But as I was laying in bed thinking, I realized something. I…I realized…that…despite everything…I can't live another second of my life without you, Hermione."

Harry pulled Hermione close to him and pressed his lips to hers, and she froze in shock before kissing him back, her heart pounding like mad. Harry broke the kiss after a while and hugged Hermione close to him, and she hugged him back. "Please," Harry breathed into her ear. "Please promise me that you'll never do something like that again—that you'll never leave my side. I…I don't think my heart could take it," he whispered.

Hermione's lips trembled and a couple tears rolled down her cheeks. She shakily breathed back, "Never, I promise. I love you, Harry."

"We all make mistakes, and I don't want to let one ruin both of our lives. I love you too, Hermione," he whispered.

They kissed again, and this time Hermione broke it off, feeling oddly tired even though she had just slept for 14 hours. "Will you stay with me tonight?" she asked softly.

Harry smiled at her. "I'll stay with you every night."

Epilogue – 6 Months Later

Harry and Hermione were walking barefoot on the beach together hand in hand, watching the setting sun make the water shimmer. Hermione thought Harry was acting strangely—he kept zoning out and fiddling with something in his pocket.

But Hermione wasn't worried. She already knew that she was going to say yes.