Yay! Welcome to my second story. This is going to be a darker side of Harry. I always thought he settled for Ginny and that he was all too well balanced after being killed off and then recalled from death. You don't just bounce back from certain death with a spring in your step and carry on! Anyway, I digress, there will be Weasley bashing and I will warn if there are triggers. Please let me know what you think. I will update on Mondays or earlier. It was meant to be a shorter story but it keeps growing as I edit. I do not own this world.

Don't Forget Me

The dinner table was in complete disarray. The occupants of the room consisted of many red heads, one with messy black hair that stuck out at all angles and one head sporting a profusion of honey brown curls. Each face, save one, wore a mixture of shock, anger, and disbelief. In the silence Molly Weasley cleared her throat. "What was that dear? I must have misheard you?"

"I said, that I have taken a magical theory and magical law apprenticeship in France and I will be leaving in the morning." Hermione's voice was steel. "It's at a secret location and you won't be able to contact me for as long as I'm there."

"You've got to be joking!" Ron burst out furiously. "You took this? Without even speaking to me about it first? What about us? You are my girlfriend!" Ron's face had turned a deep shade of purple that clashed with his hair.

"Well, that's the thing." Hermione said calmly. "I'm not your ONLY girlfriend, am I Ron?" Ron's mouth dropped open and he began to sputter. Hermione put her hand up. "Save it. I've already had a very long talk with Diana. She's told me all about it and how you've told her that it's your duty to me that's standing in the way of you being with her. I don't want to be your road block Ron." Hermione's eyes suddenly filled with tears. "So, have at it. You have my permission. But, you'll excuse me, I don't want to be around to watch it." She nodded ato the table at large and walked quickly from the room. She had strategically placed herself close to the exit when dinner began for this purpose.

"Hermione! Wait up!" She heard Harry shout but she only quickened her pace. In quick, precise movements she whooshed through the floo to her apartment. Turning quickly she disconnected the fireplace with a quick charm that Arthur Weasley had taught to her. She sighed. There would be no more chats or close moments with any of the Weasley's now. Hermione knew that she had been welcomed into their numbers as a potential wife for Ron. Molly and Ginny had always been friendly enough but after the war Hermione could feel their suspicions about her relationship with Harry. She knew that in the past she and Harry had crossed many boundaries between what would be an acceptable platonic friendship. After enduring the many pointed barbs over the years from the Weasley women Hermione hoped that they never found out that their suspicions might be rooted in some carefully hidden truths.

It had been two years since the battle of Hogwarts. In the aftermath Harry had been a mess of shock and soul shattering guilt at all that had been lost. His grief over the fact that he was still living after so many had died had nearly destroyed him.

As the Weasleys had locked themselves away to mourn Fred's passing, Harry and Hermione had holed up in Grimmauld Place. Hermione's parents had been murdered early on in the war and she was left with an empty feeling that had never felt filled since. Harry and Hermione had eventually been swept back into the Weasley fold as Molly had joined the world again. It was clear, even then, that she looked on Harry as her future son-in-law and Hermione was regarded with a mild suspicion.

Molly had pushed Ron to pursue her and Ron had been more than willing. Molly shrewdly saw the advantage of keeping Hermione close and occupied with her younger son who frankly needed the direction that Hermione afforded him.

Hermione had never quite been able to forgive Ron for abandoning them while on the run, but had reluctantly given in to his advances. She had loved him for years before and was afraid of losing the comfort that he and the Weasley's promised. They felt like all the family she had left. She hoped that in time she would be accepted as one of them as Harry had always been. In her practical way she also admitted that her and Harry's friendship would suffer if she distanced herself.

They had been happy at first. She had grown up to be quite beautiful and Ron had been proud to have her on his arm and to take her to bed after. He had adored the attention of being a part of the Golden Trio. That Hermione was his alone had added to his glee. Ron has loved the envy he saw in other wizard's eyes. It had been a favorite pastime of his to run his hands possessively over her whenever Draco Malfoy came close. The subsequent scowl that would steal over the blonde's face would have Ron chortling for hours after. Hermione had thought his possessiveness cute, until it wasn't.

As a teen Hermione has seen his insecurities as charming and a problem that she could trouble shoot and fix. As an adult she found these traits bloody irritating. Ron had sworn them to secrecy about when he had abandoned them in the tent during the war. Harry and Hermione has readily agreed. They were so happy to have Ron back with them.

When Harry had finally come out of his depression following the battle he had immediately been offered a place with the aurors. Having nothing else planned he had accepted. Ron had followed him. Harry with his lightening fast reflexes and survival instinct had soared to great heights among the auror's ranks while Ron...hadn't.

It wasn't that he lacked magical ability it was more that he did not feel it necessary to apply himself. Ron had decided that since he had helped to win the war he would be able to coast on that glory for the rest of his days.

Hermione had finished her schooling and had been offered a spot working in Kingsley's offices. The older wizard had kept her close and she had come to see him as one of her closest friends and mentors. It was he who recognized the fierceness and power of Hermione's magic. It was he who had insisted she try out any branch of magic that took her fancy. And finally, it was Kingsley who sadly insisted that she take the transfiguration and magical theory apprenticeship in France. He had watched Ron become more and more possessive and it had not pleased him. As much as he would miss her he knew that Hermione had to go away and learn to stand on her own. She had always taken second to Harry and Ron, the most overlooked of the golden trio. Hermione had not grabbed for glory like Ron or been thrust into the spotlight like Harry. She had been content to let the past go into the past. Kingsley had disagreed and was always pulling strings to get Hermione's brilliance noticed. It boosted his protege's self esteem and supported his pro-Muggleborn agenda.

Ron had not appreciated how easily Hermione had risen to the top. He had hated that she had been deemed the brains of the trio. A series of articles had come out in the last month chronicling Hermione's movements during the war. The author had praised Hermione's intelligence, beauty and strong moral compass. The articles had also hinted that Hermione might have settled too early with Ron. Even worse, it stated rather boldly that Ron was not her equal in intelligence, bravery or looks. He had been livid when he'd read it. His rage had lasted weeks and he had chosen to take it out on Hermione. It had been the last straw. For as long as she had known him, she had excused Ron's bad behavior. Hermione had been looking for a graceful exit to the relationship when it came in the form of a weepy witch named Diana.

She had been furious and hurt to learn of Ron's infidelity at first, but after speaking to Kingsley, she had almost been grateful that her escape would be so clean cut.

Now she sighed as she thought of Harry. He had come back from his battle with Voldemort a different person than before. In many ways he was still the same Harry. He laughed at jokes and was always willing to put others before himself. He could be brave to a fault and took on the problems of others as his own. But he was darker now. Only Hermione seemed to notice that his smile rarely reached his eyes. No one else saw that Harry was prone to long silences and barely contained anger. The Wizarding world only saw what the wanted to see when the looked at "The Boy Who Lived."

She hated how Ginny Weasley paraded Harry around like some tricked out pony. She had shamelessly used her association with him to get herself placed with the Holyhead Harpies. To be fair, Ginny was a fairly good quidditch player but she had been equal to, not the best of, the players who had tried out with her. The redhead had slyly suggested to the captain that with Harry Potter in the stands to cheer her on it might increase the Holyhead's popularity. This tactic had cemented her place on the team and Ginny had gloated over this to Hermione at length.

Hermione had tried to find a true friendship with Ginny but found that they had little in common. Ginny grabbed for what she wanted with both hands and once she had it she gripped it tightly. It was a year after the war that Hermione realized that she was accepted by Ginny as long as Harry wanted Hermione close. She had been deeply hurt when she had seen this. After the loss of her own family Hermione had been grasping at whatever she could find to make life worth living again. The Weasley's had promised warmth and comfort. This illusion had worked for a while but Hermione felt that the time had come for her to step away from them. It had always been a false security after all.

Harry and Hermione rarely spoke these days as it was. She had always hoped that they would work their way back to their friendship. They never had. Harry remained distant and slightly aloof. Hermione had asked him several times why this was but he would only shrug moodily and walk away from her. In the beginning Hermione had tried to strike off on her own but Harry had always come looking for her. She had cycled back to him and the Weasley's each time hoping that it meant that their friendship was at last on the mend. She shrugged, after two years of trying she was ready to let Harry go at last. A tear slipped down her cheek. Of all the things that Hermione was walking away from this one would hurt the most. At one time she and Harry had known one another so well that they could have whole conversations without words. Now he was a stranger who appeared at Sunday dinner.

She looked around her bare apartment. Everything had been packed into her small beaded bag. Only her bed remained. She and Ron had spent many lovely times in that bed together. She did want to take it with her. She did not want to be reminded of all the dreams she had built with him while laying side by side on soft pillows. Hermione was enough of a realist to see that they had always only been dreams. Ron would never have satisfied her in the long run. And she in turn would have always felt that her wings had been clipped.

The more she had thought of the idea of traveling and escaping from the memories, the more she yearned to do it. Hermione wanted to be where no one knew her. She did not want the expectations of who she had been and what she had done at seventeen years old to always preceed her into a room.

Hermione drew in her breath as she felt her wards breeched. She whirled around as the handle on the front door began to jiggle violently. A fist pounded the door and when Hermione made no move to respond it suddenly exploded into pieces. Quickly, she drew her wand, expecting to see an angry Ron. From the cloud of settling dust stepped Harry, his green eyes were intense.

"Harry!" Hermione said surprised. "How did you get through?"

Harry smiled coldly. "I'm a top Auror now or did you forget. I'm capable at getting through wards. And I know you Hermione, I'll always know exactly how to get to you."

"You're angry." Hermione whispered, noting his icy gaze and rigid posture.

"Livid." Harry agreed. "Wouldn't you be if your best friend decided to take off one day without telling you?"

"Best friend?" Hermione scoffed and Harry looked hurt. "We don't speak anymore Harry. We haven't for a long time. We were best friends. I want to do this. I'm hurt. I'm heartbroken. I want to go out on my own now. Harry, please don't try to keep me here." Hermione was crying now. Fat tears were leaking down her cheeks and dropping from her chin. "Please just let me go." She whispered. Her brown eyes searched his green ones for the boy that she used to love. He wasn't there, only hard uncomfortable edges remained. She stepped away from him, suddenly afraid of this stranger who stood before her.

It occurred to her then that she had not been this close to Harry in months. It seemed he was always across the room or walking in the opposite direction. He had changed physically over the years. No longer was he the skinny half starved boy. He was a man now, filled in with hard muscles from his Auror training. Hermione took another step away from him, hoping that the distance would help her to gather her thoughts. "I don't know who you are anymore." She whispered.

Harry angrily closed the space that Hermione had made between them. He quickly yanked her wand from her hand and threw it on the bed. His hands cupped her face and his thumbs began to stroke the tears gently away from her cheeks. "Who else knows me in this world but you?" He asked her. Hermione tried to break from his grasp but his arms were around her clasping her body to his. "I came back from death just to hear your voice." Harry's voice was muffled by her hair, his lips ghosted over her neck. "You can't leave me." Hermione shivered as his cold hands made their way under her shirt and caressed her waist.

"Harry," she whispered "what are you doing. She brought her gaze up to his and gasped at the heat she saw there. "No, what about Ginny?"

"Ginny who treats me like a trophy? Ginny who loves me in her own way, I suppose. Ginny who is fucking at least one other quidditch player behind my back? What about Ginny?" Harry's hands spanned her flat stomach and continued upward, his thumbs moving in slow, calming circles.

Hermione swallowed. She had heard the rumors. "Why not just break up with her then?" She asked, willing her body not to respond to his questing hands.

"Well that's the thing, breaking up with Ginny would have effectively taken me away from you wouldn't it?" He leaned down and began to kiss the tears from her cheeks. " No more seeing you at Weasley dinners. No more Weasleys for that matter." Hermione's hands found Harry's and she grasped them, pulling them away from her torso.

"Harry, what are you doing. You are just angry because you heard about Ginny. You don't want me to leave and you are using my heartbreak over Ron to confuse me. For some reason I can't fathom, you want me to stay. I don't know you anymore. Please stop this." Hermione pleaded.

Harry regarded her for several moments with hard eyes. Slowly he brought Hermione's hands to his mouth and began to kiss her fingers. "No, I don't think I will stop, thanks." He turned a hand over and placed a soft kiss on her inner wrist. Hermione shivered. "You see, I'm tired of being good, of doing what's expected of me. I remember us at Grimmauld Place, after the battle. Do you remember Hermione?"

Hermione closed her eyes and her mouth turned down. "Of course I remember. How could I ever forget?" Her lower lip began to tremble again. Harry caught it in his lips and nipped at it before capturing her in a kiss. Hermione hesitated for a moment and then gave herself over to him. She had forgotten how good it felt to be held by Harry like this. Their tongues met and she could feel the long length of him hard against her stomach. They broke apart so that Harry could tug her top over her head. "Harry! Wait!" She began.

Harry place a finger to her lips. "Don't stop this Hermione. Don't play the sensible witch now. We've been through too much and in spite of everything, I know you. And you want me as I want you. Let's stop denying ourselves." Harry's hands were on her again removing her bra and teasing her nipples into tight points. His shirt fell to the floor, followed by the rest of his clothes. Hermione could see how well muscled he was now.

Harry lay her down on the bed and slowly, trailing kisses as he did so he removed the last of her pants and underwear. He took a moment to survey her naked form with hunger in his eyes. "So beautiful, you are so fucking beautiful. Do you know it?" He glanced at her face not really expecting an answer. His fingers trailed down between her thighs and entered her. "So wet for me already?" His fingers toyed with her and made her moan. "Tell me," he said conversationally "did you ever get this excited for Ron?" Harry laughed harshly and withdrew his fingers. Hermione gasped and mourned the loss. He slid down her body, parting her thighs as he went.

"You sent me back to him! You told me it was right, that we couldn't break his heart. You told me that you l-loved Ginny" she gasped. Harry had begun to kiss her inner thigh. He stopped and looked thoughtful.

"Did I? I suppose I did." He began to kiss the other thigh. "It turns out that I didn't love Ginny after all. Maybe the person I was before I died could have loved her. But that's not what I want to think about right now." Before Hermione could protest his mouth was on her, sucking and licking relentlessly. She tried to hold back but somehow he could sense it and ruthlessly pleasured her until she came apart. She could feel his smile as she exploded in pleasure all around him. She came hard and long. Harry moaned as he tasted her. "So sweet. I've missed you." He murmured sliding up her body once more. Hermione tasted her own excitement on his tongue as he invaded her mouth. His hands found hers again and he held them down to the mattress above her head. Breaking away he looked at her. "You want this?" He asked as he positioned himself at her entrance.

Hermione who was still in a daze nodded. "Yes, please Harry." And then he was pushing his full hard length into her. He began to thrust into her. She had forgotten how large he was and her passage stretched to accommodate him. It was a deliciously full feeling. She moaned in pleasure.

"You are mine aren't you?" He murmured above her. Hermione's eyes popped open. His voice had that cold edge to it again. "Say it." He urged as his body pleasured her. His pupils had dilated turning them almost black. Hermione finally recognized what it was she had been seeing on Harry's face since the battle. It was the darkness that had plagued them both since sharing the locket that had housed a part of Voldemort's soul. Harry was going faster now, hitting her in a spot deep inside that he knew from experience would push her over the edge.

They came together and he cried out her name. He hovered above her. Their breaths came out in pants and all the while his eyes stayed locked on hers. Hermione could feel him softening but he did not slip from her body. After a moment his hand that had been gripping her wrist tightened. "You are mine, Hermione. I don't want to hear any more about you leaving. We belong together. We always did."

Her heart jumped in her chest. His voice was flat and emotionless and his green gaze still as cold as ever. She wanted to hold him and try to find the Harry she had once known. Hermione also admitted that she wanted to run away from this stranger who did not love her as fast as she could. Her stomach clenched in disappointment as she searched his face. No, he did not love her. Whatever this was, she saw only possessiveness and perhaps triumph in his eyes. In the end she opted to remain silent. Harry nodded once, taking her silence as an affirmation, and moved off of her. He curled around her and put a strong arm around her. "Let's go to sleep now. We can figure out all the details in the morning." His voice was softened by fatigue. Hermione knew that he had come directly from a mission right before dinner. He was likely exhausted.

Harry's breathing became slow and steady. Once he was asleep Hermione disentangled herself from his arms and sat up to look at him. His face was peaceful in sleep. The cultivated mask of politeness he wore during the day was gone. She tenderly brushed a lock of hair from his cheek. He smiled at her touch. In slumber he looked like her Harry once again. Hermione's eyes filled with tears.

She wondered what had happened to Harry in the forest with Voldemort. It as if he had left a piece of his heart behind when he crossed the line to come back. She hoped that one day he would find peace with himself.

She thought guiltily of Ginny. Hermione has never wanted to be anyone's other woman. Regardless of how strained their relationship had become she did not think Ginny deserved this. She shuddered to think what would happen if what she had just done with Harry became known. Ron would be furious. She shook her head, she had never been able to resist Harry. For his friendship she had followed him into a war that had cost her dearly. Her parent's faces flitted across her mind's eye. It was her love for Harry that had kept her here in England bound to the Weasley's who did not really want her. Remembering his coldness from earlier Hermione stood up quickly and cast a quick contraception and cleansing spell on herself.

It was clear that Harry wanted her to stay. She knew herself well enough to know that she would give in to him if she waited for him to wake. Deep in her chest her heart thudded painfully against her rib cage. This was a crossroads, she saw the two ways clearly marked. One road was to follow this beloved childhood friend, now a stranger, in hopes of healing his soul, which had so clearly suffered. She admitted that this was unlikely to happen, it had been years after all. The other path that she saw was one of sunlight and living a life entirely her own. Hermione was tired of selflessly giving in hopes of making the situation better. She chose herself.

The decision made, she quickly found her bag and pulled a pen and parchment from her bag. Placing the hastily scrawled note into the pillow next to Harry she stood up and apparated to the train station. She had set up a portkey for the morning but Hermione wanted to get away as quickly as possible.

As the train carried her away she gazed out into the darkness and hoped for a different life. She let go of the darkness and the haunting memories. She said farewell to her childhood friends. Memories of her parents were carefully put away for the present. When the train pulled into Paris Hermione stepped out ready to make a new life for herself.

Back in London Harry Potter woke with a start. He blinked and took a moment to remember where he was. Reaching over his hands found only cool pillows and a piece of parchment. He sat up quickly and reached for his glasses. Casting a Lumos he read what Hermione had written.

Harry,

I'm sorry but I had to leave. Besides the fact that I don't want to betray Ginny I would also like to not sink to the same levels as Ron. I just went through that heartbreak and I never wanted to cause another witch that kind of pain. The truth is that you and I have not been close for a very long time. I don't know why you want me to stay. You don't love me and I think that I deserve more. Let me go Harry. Don't try to find me. I don't want to see you. I hope that you can find happiness, I intend to find some for myself.

-Hermione

Harry's body tensed with anger. He picked up his wand and vanished the note. He pointed it at the bed and vanished that as well. Pulling his clothes on he stormed from the now empty apartment. She had left him. Somewhere inside his mind he was mourning but outwardly he was bracing himself for another day. He would not think of her again, he decided. He should not have been surprised. Didn't they all leave him eventually?