Unexpected
by MPotter77

Rating: PG13
Ship: Harry & Hermione
Canon: Books 1 - 4
Genre: Romance
Status: Complete
Length: 1,573 words in 1 chapter
Published: 5 Dec 2003
Last updated: 6 Dec 2003

An unexpected event causes Harry and Hermione to reconsider their future.

From the Unofficial Portkey Archive: https://portkey-archive.org/story/1356/

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1. untitled

Dislaimer: Yadda yadda yadda. It’s not mine, for JKR thought of it first. Oh well. Thanks to my wonderful beta Jennifer.

******

“It can’t be.”

Hermione checked again to make sure she read it right. Yeah, she did. At the realization, her heart began to beat
double-time and her breathing became shallow. Relax, Hermione. This isn’t the end of the world.

She definitely didn’t expect for her last Christmas holiday as a Hogwarts student to be like this. When she returned
home to spend the holiday with her parents, she felt more than just a little guilty about leaving Harry alone in
Gryffindor Tower. She had tried to convince her parents to let her bring him along, but they were a little apprehensive
about having a powerful wizard like Harry in their home, let alone a wizard that was dating their daughter.

Hermione understood their position, and after explaining to Harry, so did he. Therefore, it was no surprise to either of
them when she ended up in his bed the night before she boarded the Hogwarts Express for the holiday. The evening had
started out innocent enough, but had slowly escalated into unchartered territory for both of them. And now that she
thought about it, their inexperience is exactly what landed them in their current position.

The ride back to Hogwarts at the end of holidays gave Hermione a chance to really think about the dramatic turn her life
was taking. I’m going to have a baby, she thought. No, Harry and I are going to have a baby. The thought was initially
terrifying, but Hermione found peace knowing that her and Harry loved each other, and that they would work this out
together.

Hermione was still in deep thought upon returning to Gryffindor Tower and the Head Girl’s dormitory. She still wasn’t
sure how Harry was going to take the news; the last thing she wanted to do was scare him. It wasn’t as if they had never
discussed their future together before, but now it seemed that it was beginning sooner than they originally planned.

She was in her room unpacking her clothes when she heard a soft knock on the door. When she turned around, Harry’s head
was peaking through the door.

“Can I come in?”

Hermione couldn’t help but smile when she looked at him. She smiled back and walked over to the door to meet him. “I
missed you,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss.

“I missed you, too. How was your holiday?”

“It would have been better if you were there, but I understand why Mum and Dad worry. If they knew half the trouble we
get ourselves into here at school, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

“Well, you’ll be happy to know that I made the most of my time alone and finished all my assignments. That certainly
wouldn’t have happened if I were with you.”

Hermione chanced a long glance into Harry’s eyes. She couldn’t take it anymore. She had to tell him about the baby. She
silently grabbed his hand and took them over to the edge of the bed. “Harry, we have to talk.”

Out of all the things Harry was expecting, that was not one of them. Looking slightly concerned, he replied, “Okay. Is
something bothering you?”

“I just need you to hear me out completely before you say anything. Can you do that?” Harry nodded. “First of all, I
love you, and I always will. Second, the night we spent together before Christmas is the single greatest moment of my
life. But…oh hell, how do I say this? Harry, we weren’t exactly careful that night, and I’m pregnant.”

Hermione looked for some kind of reaction from Harry. He stared at her for a moment, then stood up and ran his fingers
through his hair as he paced around the room. “Are you sure?” he asked, in a ‘please God, tell me you’re joking’ tone.

“I’m sure, Harry. I took a Muggle pregnancy test at home, and then I did the Pregnancy Spell as soon as I got to my
room. They both came out positive.” Hermione waited for a moment and then continued, “We’re going to have a baby.”

Harry’s face went white as he stared at Hermione. A look of terror came over his face, and he turned and ran out of the
room without another word.

Hermione watched him leave, and immediately burst into tears. She had expected Harry to be shocked, but she had never
expected him to run away like he did. Harry had never run away from anything since she’d known him, and the idea that
she was the reason he was running now troubled her deeply. As she lay on her bed, she began to imagine raising this
child alone, without Harry. It was a horrible thought, but from the way Harry acted, he didn’t want anything to do with
her or their child.

**********

The first day of class after Christmas holiday was pure hell for Hermione. After crying herself to sleep, she woke up
with a bad case of morning sickness and spent half of her lunch hour in the girls’ bathroom. She hadn’t spoken to Harry
once, but when she looked at him, he looked as bad as she felt. In fact, he almost looked concerned.

That night, Hermione sat in the common room working on an Arithmancy assignment. It was almost midnight, and the rest of
the house was already in bed. She was beginning to pack up her belongings and head for her room when she heard footsteps
on the stairs. Looking up, she saw Harry.

“Hermione, what are you still doing up?”

“What do you care?” she replied, sounding bitter.

“I do care. You need your rest, especially after the kind of day you’ve had. Ginny told me that you spent half of lunch
in the bathroom getting sick.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Harry sighed, walked over to the table Hermione was sitting at, and held out his hand. She looked back and took his
hand, and he led them over to their favorite couch in front of the fire.

“I owe you an apology for the way I acted last night. My only explanation is that having a child frightens me to no
ends. When I left your room last night, I went directly to the bathroom and threw up. Once I got that out of my system,
I started to accept that I’m going to be a father and made some decisions.”

“Like what?”

“Most importantly, that I’m not going to let you do this alone. I love you and I wouldn’t want anyone else to be the
mother of my children. I also went to Professor McGonagall and withdrew my application to the Auror Training Program.”

Hermione gasped. “No, Harry, you shouldn’t do that. You’ve wanted to be an Auror since third year. It would be unfair of
me to ask you to give up your dream.”

“But you didn’t ask, I offered. I thought about this a lot, Hermione, and I want our children to have two parents. Being
an Auror puts that in danger. You and this baby are the most important people in my life, and I’ll do whatever it takes
to make sure that you’re stuck with me for a good long while.”

Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry and kissed him soundly. These were the words she was hoping to hear last night
when she told him she was pregnant. Now that she thought about it, she could understand why being a father scared him so
much. Vernon Dursley was hardly “Father of the Year,” despite the fact that Harry never even considered him a father.

After a few minutes of kissing and holding each other, Harry pulled away and looked at Hermione. “I almost forgot. Close
your eyes for a moment.” Hermione gave him a questioning look and closed her eyes. Harry slipped his hand into his
pocket and pulled out a small velvet box and held it in his free hand as he slipped off the couch onto one knee.

When Hermione opened her eyes, she didn’t know what to think. Harry was on one knee holding a diamond ring, and her
second-hand knowledge of this situation told her what he was about to say.

“Hermione, I love you will all my heart and want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life loving you. You bring
out the best in me and make me feel loved. Will you marry me?”

Tears ran down Hermione’s face as she contemplated his question. “Are you asking because you want to or because you feel
you should?”

Harry reached into his pocket again and pulled out a small piece of paper. “Funny you should ask. If you look at this
receipt, it will tell you that I purchased this ring during the holiday. So to answer your question, I’m doing this
because I want you to be my wife. The timing of the proposal doesn’t seem all that important to me.”

Hermione broke down into a full cry as she pulled Harry back up to the couch. “Yes.” Harry took the ring from the box
and placed it on her left hand. He kissed her once and pulled her with him, as he lay down on the couch in a silent
embrace. As she fell into a peaceful slumber, Hermione smiled. That night, on a couch in front of the fire in the
Gryffindor common room, they spent their first night together as a family.
