Disclaimer: Not my sandbox, I'm just playing in it. Everything else, except for my imagination, belongs to the Author.

She glanced at the guilty look her supposed best friends exchanged, and looked resigned to her fate. If she was completely honest with herself, she always knew that this was coming, she just didn't want to believe it. She wanted to pretend that they cared about her at least a little. She was no fool, however, she knew that they mattered more to her than her friendship meant to them, and now she was going to have to face reality, but she had a choice.

She could let them walk all over her, like she knew they would if she let them, or she could keep her dignity in tact.

Hermione watched as Harry and Ron walked towards her, their posture stiff, but determined.

"Hello boys," she softly said with a small sad smile.

"Hermione, we need to talk," said Harry ruefully.

"Really, Harry, you sound like you two are here to break up with me," she tittered, somewhat unlike herself, but she decided to make light of the situation, rather than act like some poor victim.

Ron's freckled face drained of all colour. "H-hermione, that's not.., that's not what we came here to discuss," he stammered, while Harry gaped at the curly-haired witch like a fish out of water.

Hermione cocked her head to the side, her finger lightly tapping her chin. "Isn't it though?" she challenged. "You came here with the intention to tell me that even though you appreciate me for the things I've done for you, treasure the memories we shared, you just don't think that we fit into each other's lives," she continued. "Or more accurately, you believe that I don't fit into your lives anymore."

Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley looked irritatingly uncomfortable as Hermione Granger called them on the reason they wanted to talk to her. Neither of the wizards thought that the bookish girl would see this coming, but she was more observant than they gave her credit for. They were prepared to fight her to see reason, prepared for making her cry, prepared to be on the receiving end of her wand, and her blazing anger. Honestly, they were prepared for a lot of things, but not this.

Harry eventually shook his head. "It's unlike you to be so… apathetic about things."

"Oh?" hummed Hermione. "I suppose you didn't expect me to be perceptive enough to suss out what's happening," she chuckled softly. "Honestly, you might not regard me the same way you always regarded each other, but I do know you boys, and I noticed that you were growing more distant each day," she shrugged.

Ron looked at her and frowned. "We've been dreading this conversation for months, thinking about the best way to tell you, and you're just standing here completely unconcerned, laughing at us," he glared at her. "Doesn't this bother you at all?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at his words. "How dare you!" she hissed. "Of course it bothers me that my two best friends decided to throw me and my friendship away like yesterday's trash, but it's not like I can do something about it. I'll never force my company on people who don't want it, Ron, I have more class than that. Give me some credit," she said with a slight tremor in her voice.

Hermione was a lot more hurt than she let on, but currently, anger was the dominant emotion she was dealing with. She couldn't believe that Ronald had the nerve to accuse her of being unfeeling when he didn't want her friendship in the first place. It was another level of callous to expect her to be vulnerable and emotional of her dismissal. It felt like the redhead wanted her to feel the ache of their pending separation, to visibly grieve for their loss.

She would mourn their friendship privately, she wouldn't make a scene, she wouldn't give Ronald Weasley the satisfaction of knowing just how much she was suffering.

Harry flinched at her words, and Ron's ears reddened, although whether that was from embarrassment or a sign of his growing temper was yet to be determined.

"It's not like that, Hermione, " sighed Harry. "We're not throwing away anything. You have to realize that our lives are in different stages, and we're going in different directions. Keeping in contact is unfortunately not ideal, or easy anymore."

Hermione stared at the boys long and hard. "I have one question, just one. Answer me this and I'll be out of your hair sooner than you can blink," she murmured. "Why?" she softly asked. "Why are you choosing to leave me behind? What's the real reason? Don't give me this dragon shit about going in different directions. People who lead different lifestyles can still be friends. I don't buy it. I deserve the truth! If you ever cared about me at all, you'll level with me."

Harry and Ron exchanged another guilty look at her request, their stomach churning with unease. Ron studied his best mate and came to realize that this situation looked to be a lot harder on Harry than him, but then again, Harry was always closer with Hermione than he was, so he decided to speak for both of them.

He took a deep breath and looked at Hermione, bright blue eyes meeting molten honey, and he spoke. "We didn't want to unnecessarily hurt you, but I suppose you just asked for it," he sighed. "There's no easy way to say this, but you just don't fit with us anymore, and never really did, but being at boarding school and fighting for our lives together forged a bond between us, however, that bond had served its purpose. We went through a lot together, and we appreciate everything you've done and sacrificed for us, for the betterment of our society, but is camaraderie really enough to remain friends? We don't really have anything in common at all. Ginny and Lavender do not like you. They think you are hogging our attention, and if you're sensible, which we know you are, you know that a wizard always does his best to keep his witch happy. Frankly, now that we are engaged to be married, our duty and loyalty is with our wives-to-be, not you."

Hermione knew all this, but even so, she was shocked at the intensity of her heartache. Hearing the words spoken out loud was different. It was one thing to suspect, but another to be certain, to know.

Hermione swallowed her emotions and nodded. "I thought as much, but wanted to hear it from you," she said with a sad smile. "Thank you for your honesty," she continued, tucking her hands under her robes. "I suppose that's it then," she chimed, looking slightly away and into the distance, spotting red and golden heads next to Fortescue's. "You've got company, and I have to go."

"Hermione," said Harry wistfully, desperately wishing for her to understand. He felt horrible and regretful about Ron's words, even though they were true. He wanted to make it better, take their words back, make her smile, but he knew that he couldn't. His life was with the Weasleys now, and Hermione had no business being around them.

"No, Harry, there's nothing more to say," said Hermione, as she glanced at the witches who almost caught up with their wizards. "I hope you are making the right choice," she added, and walked away.

Harry and Ron watched Hermione walk away from them, but neither of them felt the relief they expected to feel…

A/N: Just a small moment I can see happening in "The Golden Trio"'s life. I don't know if there's more to this story or not, so for now it's just a small one-shot. We shall see if my Muse decides otherwise.

Thank you for reading.