Author's Note: Here is my next story, Forgotten Affairs. This story will be a short story. It does contain some adult themes.

As always, I love feedback.

"I'm going to ask Hermione to marry me."

Harry's heart shattered as he heard those words. Ron was sitting across from him, showing him the ring and grinning with pride.

"You're going to ask Hermione to marry you?"

"That's what I just said," Ron replied, looking at Harry in concern.

"Congratulations," he replied quietly, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice.

"Thanks!"

"When are you asking her?"

"When I return."

Harry nodded, hoping that Ron wouldn't press the subject. He turned and moved back to his desk, pressing his hand against his head.

"Something bothering you?"

"Just all these reports," Harry lied. "There's a lot of them."

"Weasley!"

"I have to go. Talk to you soon."

Harry nodded again and watched as Ron disappeared with the rest of his team. When Ron was out of sight he took off his glasses and pressed both of his hands to his face.

He had just lost her forever.

He told himself time and time again that he hadn't fallen in love with Hermione. He tried fighting it, but it was useless.

He was in love with her.

He had been since their time alone in the tent. He had asked her to dance with him, and that's when he realized. He never said anything, because he knew she was wanting to be with Ron. He wasn't going to come in the way of both of his best friend's happiness.

Even if that meant he wasn't happy himself.

Shortly after the war, he had gotten back together with Ginny, but found the relationship entirely different. It was nothing like it had been when they first got together. It wasn't exciting, it was boring.

They tried to make it work, but it didn't. The relationship lasted a month before they called it quits. Ginny had been the one to call it.

"This isn't working, is it?" she asked softly, looking straight at him. He shook his head.

"No."

"It's been fun, Harry. It really has been. I do think you're in love, just not with me."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, looking at her in shock. She nodded her head over to where Hermione and Ron were sitting.

"It's obvious. You're in love with Hermione."

"I'm not-"

"-Don't fight it. That's why we don't work. We're not meant to."

"I'm sorry, Ginny," he said softly, and he truly meant it. She smiled sadly at him.

"You can't help who you fall for. I fell for you, you fell for Hermione."

"You're not mad?"

"No," she said. "Neither one of us deserve to be in a loveless relationship."

He looked down at the ground, feeling guilty. She gently raised his head back up.

"It has been fun. I'm the one ending it, not you."

"Thank you, Ginny."

She leaned in and captured his lips for one final kiss. They pulled away a second later, and she nodded at him before walking away, her eyes filling with tears.

He saw Ron and Hermione staring at him in concern. He walked over to them.

"I have to go."

"Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine. I just need to go."

He looked down at their entwined hands, and turned away before they could see the pain on his face.

"Potter!"

He shook his head and looked up at Davis, who was glaring down at him.

"I'm sorry, sir."

"How are those reports coming along?"

"I'm working on them as fast as I can."

"Work a little fast, and quit goofing off!"

"Yes, sir."

Davis turned and walked away. Harry sighed as he pulled one of the reports up and started reading through it.

"So much love for the savior of the wizarding world."

Harry smiled as he turned and saw Hermione standing there, smiling down at him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm on break and I wanted to see Ron off before he left, so I thought I would come and see you."

"I wish I could join you, but Davis might rip my head off if I don't get these done."

"The life of an almost-Auror," she replied, looking at the stack of reports on his desk. "Well, I'll leave you to your work."

"I'll see you soon, right?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course. If you're not too busy, why don't you stop by for dinner?"

"I'd love to."

He never got to go to dinner that night. There were so many reports, and not a lot of time. He had sent her the message before he left work that night, and she understood, but he could tell she was upset.

He had seen her a few times since then, but he hasn't seen her for very long. The last time he saw her was days ago, right before Ron returned from his mission.

'Don't think about it!' he thought, taking a sip of his firewhiskey. He paced his living room, determined to finish the report that was sent to him at the last minute, but not finding the energy to do so.

He eventually found his way to his couch and picked up the report again, his eyes straining from exhaustion. He started filling it out as fast as he could, hoping to get to bed early, and have a chance to sleep in since he doesn't work tomorrow.

'Last report,' he thought, rubbing his temple.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He put his report on the table and stood up to answer it.

"Hermione?" he asked, his heart pounding in his chest. His eyes quickly glazed over her features and saw that her eyes were bloodshot, and she saw soaking wet.

"Hi," she replied quietly, looking away from him. He moved aside so she could walk in. "I didn't know where else to go."

"What's the matter?" he asked. She wiped her eyes.

"Ron and I had a major fight and we broke up."

"Hermione, I'm sorry," he replied, shaking his head. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug, not even caring that he was getting wet.

"I've been staying with my parents for the last two days," she said, pulling away from him. "I had to get away. What do you think I should do, Harry?"

'Nothing. He doesn't deserve you.'

"You can stay here, if you want," he replied. "For now, you need to calm down. Let's get you cleaned up and I'll get you a drink."

"I see you're one step ahead of me," she said, looking at the bottle on the table. "I brought some clothes with me so I won't have to go back. Do you mind if I take a bath?"

He bit his lip as he nodded. "Yeah feel free. I was just working on some reports."

"Thanks," she replied, grabbing her bag. "I'll talk more after I take a bath."

"Yeah," he said. She didn't say anything more but turned and walked up the stairs. He closed his eyes and pressed his hands against them as the image of her in the bathtub came into his mind. He quickly went into the kitchen and grabbed another glass before returning to the living room. He walked back over to the couch, put the glass onto the coffee table, and pulled the report back up, struggling to focus on it.

About a half-hour later she returned dressed in her pajamas. She plopped down onto the couch next to him and stared into the fireplace.

"Why aren't you staying at your parents anymore?"

"They had to go out of town and I didn't want to stay there alone. I hope its ok that I'm here."

"I already told you that it was. You can stay here as long as you need to."

"Thanks," she replied. "More reports?"

"Highlight of my life," he grinned, throwing it back onto the coffee table.

"Do you ever go out on missions?"

"I have a few times. I haven't been called out lately. I've been stuck training or working on reports."

"When do you think you'll be called out again?"

"Hopefully soon. I'm getting tired of working on reports."

"You'll get called out soon."

"I hope." He stared at her for a minute, wondering if he should press the subject or not. "Are you ready to talk about it?"

She sighed and looked back at the fireplace. "You know he was off on a mission for the last month. When he came home, he was in a really bad mood. I tried to give him some space, but he started yelling at me. I told him that I was leaving him. I don't know if I want to leave him."

She picked up the bottle and filled her glass before drinking all of it in one gulp. Harry looked at her in worry.

"Go easy on that."

"Relax," she replied, pouring herself some more. "What do you think I should do, Harry?"

He sighed, closing his eyes as he did so. 'Leave him.'

He felt awful thinking these thoughts. These were his two best friends, and up until this moment they were happy together. The minute they begin having issues, he wants them to break up. He was being selfish. He knew that he was.

"Do you still love him?"

"Of course I do. I just-I don't think I can put up with this for the rest of my life."

"I think you should try to work out things out," he replied, his heart breaking in two.

'I love you so much that I have to let you go.'

"You do?"

"Yeah. If you truly love Ron, you need to try to work things out. If he still treats you like this, end it for good."

"That's just it," Hermione said, her eyes filling with tears. "I don't think I can let him treat me like that."

"Has he done it before?" Harry asked in concern. She remained silent. "Has he?"

"Twice."

Harry felt the anger rise up in him, but pushed it back down because tears were running down her face. He moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her.

"Stay with me for as long as you like."

"Thank you," she said, grabbing her glass again. He quickly took it from her. "Why?"

"You've had enough."

"Have some with me," she replied, pouring some into his glass. "Here I have been talking about my life and I haven't seen my best friend in quite a few days."

She took her glass back and handed him the one that was full. He hesitated for a minute before taking a sip.

And, before he knew it, he was getting more.

"I'm sorry," he said, taking sips from his drink. "I've been busy with work."

"You don't need to apologize."

"I should have come around more. I promise that I'll try to."

"Promise?" she asked, cranking her head to the side. He smiled.

"I promise."

He finished his third glass and put it down onto the coffee table determined not to get another. She moved closer to him, and he sucked in a breath.

"What really happened between you and Ginny?" she asked, cranking her head to the side again.

"I told you, we just didn't work."

"I don't think that's it. What's the real reason?"

"We just weren't in love with each other."

"I'm sorry. You were a cute couple."

"Thanks," he replied, trying to move away from her. Her head was laying on his shoulder, very close to his lips.

"You've been single for quite a while. Maybe you should get back out there."

"Not ready yet."

"Any girl would be lucky to have you," she said quietly. "You're a great guy, Harry."

She didn't say anything more, but she looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. He felt his stomach flutter. She pulled away when she stared into his eyes. There was something there, she just couldn't figure out what.

Slowly, she leaned in until she captured his lips with hers. His entire body froze as her lips moved against his. His mind was telling him to stop, but his heart was telling him otherwise.

She moved and straddled his lap, moving in as close to him as she could. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck while his settled on her waist, holding her steady.

"Harry," she moaned, as his lips moved to her neck. Her hands traced the muscles on his chest through his shirt. She then let out a gasp as Harry found a sensitive spot just below her ear.

She grabbed his shirt and lifted it over his head before she captured their lips again. She ran her hands all over his chest, noting how muscular Harry was.

His hands slowly moved from her waist until they settled on her breasts. His mind was still screaming at him to stop, but he couldn't. He lifted up her pajama shirt and threw it to the floor. When his hands kneaded her breasts through her bra, she threw her head back and moaned again.

"Take me to the bedroom," she said, his eyes dark with lust. He picked her up and climbed the stairs to his bedroom. He gently laid her on the bed and stepped back, running his eyes over her body as he did so.

"You're beautiful."

He leaned down and captured her lips with his. He reached around and unclasped her bra before his lips moved to her neck.

The rest of her clothes quickly disappeared, and it just became the two of them. Skin touched skin, and they both wanted more. He looked deep into her eyes, wanting to make sure there was no resistance.

"Are you sure?" he asked quietly.

"Positive," she whispered.

He entered her, and she marveled at how right it felt. Their moans and cries became louder with every thrust until they came together, crying out each others names.

"Oh, Harry," she whispered, as he pulled himself up next to her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in closer to him. She rested her head on his chest and listened as his heartbeat returned to normal.

He didn't say anything, but he leaned over and kissed her again. She rolled over and straddled his lap, grinning down at him.

"That was the best I've ever had," she said, tracing his chest with her hands.

"Really?"

"Really," she replied seductively, leaning down so she was an inch away from his lips. "I think I need some more convincing."

She grinded her hips against his. His eyes grew dark again before he reached up and joined their lips together again.

She didn't know how it was possible, but it was much better than the first time.

The sunlight shining in on the room awoke Hermione. She threw her arm up and pressed it against her eyes in an effort to stay asleep. Her head was pounding, and she had no idea why.

She tried to move but found herself constrained by the arm wrapped around her waist. She smiled slightly and put her arm on top of Ron's, closing her eyes in an attempt to get rid of the headache. She felt Ron stir next to her and she rolled over, smiling.

That is, until she realized that it wasn't Ron who was sleeping with her.

It was Harry.

'No! No! NO!' she thought, trying to move away from him without waking him up. The grip on her waist was tight, and she knew that she wasn't going to be able to move without waking him up.

'Please tell me we didn't have sex!'

She had trouble remembering what happened last night. She had trouble remembering anything at the moment since her head hurt so badly.

She attempted to move again, but her heart stopped as Harry immediately sat up in the bed and clutched his head.

"What happened?" he asked, as though he were talking to himself.

"You tell me," Hermione said sharply. Harry grabbed his glasses and turned to her in shock.

"Hermione?!"

"Damn it, Harry!" she cried, getting out of the bed. She pushed the dizziness aside and quickly put her clothes back on, but was unable to find her shirt. "This is bad!"

"Why is it bad?"

"WHY?" she asked, a little louder than she anticipated. "I have a boyfriend!"

"You're single. You broke up with Ron, remember?"

She closed her eyes, suddenly remembering why she showed up to Harry's. "This is still bad, Harry.

"It was an accident. Nothing more," he replied quietly. It was killing him to hear how upset she was by what they had done.

"You're not even concerned that you just shagged your best friend?"

"Please stop yelling," he said, grabbing for his head. She closed her eyes in frustration.

"I have to go," she said, picking her wand up off of the floor.

"What?" he asked, getting out of the bed. She kept her eyes on his face, determined not to look anywhere else.

"I have to go," she said again, turning away from him. He grabbed onto her shoulders and flipped her back around, pressing his lips against hers as he did so.

'What am I doing?' he thought as she broke away.

"I have to go," she repeated for the third time, though this time she sounded unsure. She turned away and quickly left the room, and he waited until he heard the front door close before he smashed his fist onto his dresser, furious at himself for letting this happen, and concerned about his friendship with Hermione.