Unofficial Portkey Archive

Author's note: This is what a day off from work gets you…a little fluff for our favorite couple and a certain red-head gets her comeuppance, finally, right? I planned on having this up yesterday, but it was my birthday and I never got around to it, but better late than never, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Please review! I thrive on them! Again, a special thanks to Heaven for all the help!

Chapter 24

Baby, Can I Hold You?

"Sorry
Is all that you can't say
Years gone by and still
Words don't come easily
Like sorry like sorry

I love you
Is all that you can't say
Years gone by and still
Words don't come easily
Like I love you I love you"

(Tracy Chapman, "Baby Can I Hold You?)

"Yeah, right," Ron said, with a laugh. "My sister wouldn't give Draco Malfoy the time of day much less talk to him for more than two minutes."

"It's true, Ron," Luna said firmly.

Ron shook his head vehemently. "Ginny wouldn't talk to that---I mean, she knows how he is. She knows how his whole family looks down on the lot of us because we aren't fit to breathe the same air was they are. She wouldn't…she couldn't….Luna."

Luna didn't say anything, but one look in her eyes told Ron that she was telling the truth.

With a deep breathe, he asked her the question he had to know. "What, what were they talking about?"

Luna exhaled herself as she related the story for him.

"Red," Malfoy said.

"You should watch where you're going," Ginny said, dusting herself off. She started to walk away from him, but he called after her.

"Are you okay, Red?"

"Like you even care," she said, turning around to face him. He stepped closer to her.

"You're wrong," he said, his voice losing its cool, detached tone. "I do care about you, contrary to what you believe."

Ginny laughed.

"If you cared," she began, "you'd have been there for me, offering your support when I told you about the baby, but no, you couldn't do that, could you?"

He didn't respond.

Ginny continued. "You like to think of yourself as this big leader, don't you? But, let me tell you something, Draco, you're nothing but a follower. You followed blindly after your father and now you're toeing the line with your friends. You're so afraid of what people would think if they saw you with a poor Weasley. You wouldn't even know how to follow your heart."

"Ginny," he interjected.

"Don't worry," she said resolutely. "You needn't worry about me. You have no obligation to me, not that I should have ever believed you did."

Malfoy made a move to put his hand on her shoulder, but Ginny stepped back.

"Don't worry," she said coolly. "The baby isn't even yours."

At this, Mafloy's face paled. He grabbed Ginny by the arm forcefully. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me," Ginny said. "I said the baby wasn't even yours. It was someone else's mistake, not yours. Okay? So, there you have it. You're free and clear. You've no obligation to me or my child. Happy now?"

He tightened his grip on her arm. "Who were you with besides me?"

Ginny wrenched herself from his grasp. "It's none of your business."

"The weird thing is that he seemed genuinely concerned about her, Ron," Luna said after she'd told him everything. Luna looked into her boyfriend's eyes and couldn't make out what he was feeling. She figured he was in shock.

"Ron?" Luna asked, hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

After a moment's thought, he gave out a wry laugh. "Am I okay? I don't know. You've just told me that my baby sister was carrying on with the school's biggest arsehole. How do you think I am?"

This time, it was Luna who was silent.

"Are you sure it was Malfoy?" Ron asked, desperately seeking an explanation. "Was it dark in the halls? Maybe you didn't hear correctly. I'm sure that there are loads of guys here with blonde hair. "

Luna put a comforting arm on his shoulder. "It was Malfoy. I'd bet my life on it, Ron."

He nodded.

"I know it doesn't mean that Harry isn't the father of Ginny's baby," Luna said. "But let's assume for a moment that he's not. Let's just say that Ginny was trying to get back at Malfoy in some way for not being there for her when she really needed him."

"Okay, it's one thing to say that she was---Merlin, I can't even bring myself to think it, much less say it---but are you saying that she's in love with him now?" Ron asked incredulously.

Luna shook her head. "I don't know, Ron. I'm just like you, trying to make sense of all of this. I'm just saying that what better way to get back at Malfoy then to do something like this?"

"Ginny's not a vindictive person like that," Ron said, in disbelief.

"Ron," Luna said gently. "You have to admit that she hasn't been herself lately. If she was in a bad situation like this, she might do anything she could to save face with her family, with her friends, with the school. It's like they say how desperate times call for desperate measures."

"I hope you don't think that I'm trying to stir up trouble between you and your sister. The last thing I would want to do is cause trouble for you or your family. I just think that the truth needs to come out. People we both care about have suffered because of this. If it's not true---we owe it to them to find out what the real truth is."

Ron looked up at her. "This is just a lot to take in. Just when I was getting somewhat used to the Ginny-Harry thing, this comes along and hits me right between the eyes."

"I know," Luna said consolingly.

"What do I do?" Ron asked, putting his head in his hands. A moment later, he looked up at her.

What he really wanted to do was to tell Luna that he knew his sister like the back of his hand. He knew that she wasn't capable of this kind of deceit or this kind of betrayal. In all honesty, he knew he couldn't do this. He remembered seeing Ginny acting suspiciously the past couple of months. She'd not been like herself. He remembered catching her in Hermione's bedroom a few weeks ago. She'd claimed to be getting a book, but when he walked into the room, he saw her staring off into space and the way she'd reacted when he caught her…he'd immediately knew something was going on.

"I think," Luna began, "that you should talk to her. See if you can get her to open up to you."

A part of him didn't want to believe that this could be true. The Ginny that he knew, the Ginny that he had grown up with, wasn't capable of such things. Luna wouldn't lie about something like this. If he didn't know anything else, he knew that.

He owed it not only to Ginny, but to Harry and Hermione to try and get to the bottom of this. But, if he confronted Ginny about this, she might go on the defensive. His relationship with his sister could be irrevocably changed. Was this a risk he would be willing to take?

"I'll talk to her tomorrow," Ron said.

Luna gave him an encouraging smile.

"I think that's a good idea," Luna said. "Did you want me to come with you?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, I do, but I think it'd be best if you didn't. She'd feel as if we were ganging up on her."

"You're not upset with me, are you?" Luna asked. "For telling you this?"

Ron shook his head. "If anything, I'm glad that I have you. You're the one constant I have right now. You're keeping me sane."

He gave her a smile and she couldn't help beaming back at him.

"Imagine that," she said, stroking his hand. "Loony Lovegood keeping you sane."

"Yeah," he said, wrapping his arm around her. "Imagine that."

*****

Later that evening, Harry was nervously preparing the suite for Hermione's arrival. He didn't know why he was so nervous. He'd lived with her in this very suite, for Merlin's sake! Yet, here he was, busily cleaning and tidying up before her arrival.

He hadn't told Ginny about working with Hermione on this project. He'd seen Ginny briefly at dinner. She'd said she was working on her own assignments and would be pulling some extra study time in the Gryffindor common room. She promised to take things easy.

The more and more he thought about marrying Ginny, the more surreal it all seemed. He'd tried not to think about it, but every time he saw Hermione, he was reminded of the jarring fact that he was getting married, but it wasn't to the girl he loved.

He'd listened to Ginny drone on about needing to set a wedding date. She was pushing for right after Harry's graduation. He hadn't committed to a set date and had just listened politely as she kept coming up with ideas for the wedding. As he listened to her, he felt as if she was talking about someone else.

It was times like these that he wished he still had his dad and Sirius around. It would sure have been great to have them to ask for advice. He was more or less on his own here and he had no idea what he'd gotten himself into. Sure, he'd done the responsible thing and asked Ginny to marry him, but when the time came down to it, would he really be able to go through with this? He had no answer for that and didn't know if he ever would. Time would tell.

His thoughts were interrupted by Hermione, who was standing just inside the doorway.

"Hi," he said, smiling at her nervously.

"You, um, didn't change the password," she said quietly. "So, I let myself in."

"It's okay," he said. "I mean, this is still your home, too."

They stared at each other for a few awkward moments. Harry couldn't help thinking how absolutely beautiful she looked. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a grey long-sleeved crewneck sweater. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and tiny tendrils framed her face. Her cheeks were a little rosy, no doubt from the cool chill in the corridors.

"We better get started, then, shall we?" Hermione said, coming closer. She dropped a bag full of books in front of the sofa. "I think the best thing would be to decide which potions we want to do. I know Snape said that none of these potions were easy, but from what I've seen there are some that are lot less difficult than the others."

Harry nodded. He could tell from Hermione's clipped, business-like tone that she wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible. It hurt him a little, though, but being as he was the one that had started this whole mess, he didn't feel as if he could say anything.

It was going to be a long night, he thought to himself, as he sat down beside her.

*****

They spent the evening poring over potions books and writing in their notebooks the ingredients that each would require and the timetable that they'd have to follow to brew them correctly. Hermione had made a vow to herself to be very business-like and studious throughout the whole evening. As long as she and Harry stayed on task, there wouldn't be any emotional outbursts or arguments.

So far, they'd accomplished this swimmingly. She'd be lying if she said that she liked the way things were going this evening. Sure, they'd accomplished a lot, but it felt so wrong and so empty. There was none of the familiarity, none of the closeness, no shared jokes or private asides. It was hard not to sit here and think about the conversations that they'd had in front of this very fireplace. The memories that they'd shared, the secrets they'd divulged to each other. Now, here they were acting like strangers almost.

Hermione was writing the ingredients down for the Draught of the Living Death, when Harry got up from the floor and walked over to the cabinets. He pulled out two bottles of butter beer and handed one to Hermione. She looked up in surprise.

"Thanks," she said, taking the bottle. "You're still keeping that secret stash I see."

"Always," he said with a slight smile in her direction. He sat back down beside her and looked at the list of potions again.

"So, we've picked out 15, only 10 more to go," Harry said. "What does this one do?"

He handed her the list and pointed to one of the potions.

"Oh," Hermione said, concentrating. "I remember reading about this one during sixth year. It's one of the most complex healing potions. They're usually used to heal burns, I believe."

"I suppose that could come in handy," Harry said.

"Yeah," Hermione said. "I could have used some when I was seven. Too bad I couldn't whip some up in an Easy Bake Oven."

Harry looked at her, surprised. "You had an Easy-Bake Oven?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "My mum and dad gave it to me for Christmas when I was six."

"Hmmm," Harry said, trying to stifle a laugh.

"Why is that funny?" Hermione asked him. "Loads of people have Easy-Bake Ovens."

"And your house didn't burn down?" Harry asked her cheekily.

"I thought we agreed we weren't going to bring that up ever again," Hermione said.

Harry laughed heartily, but tried to curtail it as Hermione shot him an upset look.

"Hermione," Harry said, trying to regain control. "Even you have to admit it was funny."

"Okay, I could see how it was a bit comical, but the important thing was that I tried," Hermione said. "And we got the fire under control pretty quickly."

"Not before you nearly burned down the Burrow," Harry chimed in.

"I think it had something to do with the fact that I was used to using Muggle stoves," Hermione said reasonably.

"I don't think that was the problem," Harry said. "I think it was the fact that you greased that pan too much."

"I did what the recipe said!" Hermione said, laughing despite herself. "It said to grease the pan. How was I supposed to know that didn't mean the whole thing?"

Harry again started to laugh.

"I was trying to be helpful while everyone was outside," Hermione said. "I was trying to do something nice."

"And burning down the Burrow sure is a nice gesture," Harry said, laughing.

Hermione hit him hard on the shoulder.

"Hey!"

"That's what you get," she said. "I remember distinctly telling you that I was thump you if you ever brought that up again."

"That's probably why Mrs. Weasley gets that look on her face now every time you go in their kitchen," Harry said.

"So, I can't cook," Hermione said. "Big deal. Honestly, the way Ron carried on about it, you'd have thought he won the lottery. He kept going on and on about how there was something that Hermione Granger wasn't good at. You know, I'm sure if I read a book on it, I'd be great at it. I just have never had the time to get around to it."

"I'm sure you would," Harry said, smiling at her. "You should probably just start small. Maybe boiling water first and then work your way up to baking."

Hermione grabbed a pillow from the couch and threw it at him, hitting his square in the face. This knocked him off his balance, and he fell to the floor. Giggling, Hermione hovered over him.

"I'm not letting you up until you promise never to bring that up ever again," Hermione said. "I mean it this time."

"Come on, Hermione," Harry said, breathlessly. "It's too funny not to share with other people."

She looked at him sternly. "Say it."

"Oh, all right," he said. "I promise never to bring up the story of you trying to cook and failing miserably at it and nearly burning down the Burrow in the process. Satisfied now?"

"Yes," Hermione said, sitting back allowing Harry to get back into a sitting position.

She quickly picked up her notebooks and got back to work. Harry smiled at her. She pretended not to notice. This was how things used to be. She nearly lost sight of what had happened and the way things were now. She shouldn't have gotten carried away like that.

***

They'd both been working so hard on the assignment that neither of them noticed how late it was getting. Both of them were having trouble keeping their eyes open. They'd both stifled yawns and felt their eyelids getting heavier as they tried to keep going. It was a losing battle though.

Harry was the first to fall asleep. Hermione looked up from her notebook to ask him a question and saw that he leaned his head back against the couch and was now fast asleep.

"Harry?" she whispered. "Harry?"

He didn't move. He was fast asleep.

Hermione didn't blame him. The fire made the room nice, cozy and warm. It was the perfect environment for a quick, peaceful nap. She knew she should probably go, but she felt too exhausted to move. Maybe she'd just close her eyes for a few minutes and then she'd go.

She closed her books quietly and then pulled a pillow from the couch and within seconds, she too, was fast asleep.

************

Sometime during the evening, they had inched closer together as they slept on the floor. By the dawn of morning, Hermione's head was resting on Harry's chest and he'd wrapped his arms around her.

Harry awoke first. He looked down at Hermione, wrapped up in his arms. Her skin was so soft and warm. This was why he'd slept so peacefully. He hadn't slept this well in weeks.

She was beginning to stir. She lifted her head slowly off his chest and blinked her eyes, trying to focus. She smiled warmly at him.

"Good morning," she said huskily.

"Good morning," he whispered back to her.

Hermione was still sleepy as she was barely aware of her arm creeping up around Harry's neck or the way her forehead rested against his chin or the easy pressure of his leg against hers. She eased back into the softness of his sweater and could hear his slow, deep breathing.

"Hermione," she heard him whisper. She snuggled closer, pressing her face into the crook of his neck. She could feel him stroking her hair, but it was all a little bit hazy. She wanted to stay here, all warm and safe, just like this forever.

"Hermione," Harry whispered again. She turned to face him. Both her hands were against his chest and their mouths were just inches apart.

"Hmmm?" she asked softly.

His green eyes seemed to be taking in her whole face. He pulled her closer to him and Hermione gave herself over to the warmth of being close to him like this. She felt herself leaning up into a soft kiss. She wrapped her arms around him tighter as they fell back onto the floor again, swept away in a sweet, warm kiss.

************

At the same time, Ron was pacing in the Gryffindor Common Room. He'd left a note for Ginny the evening before asking her if she'd meet him first thing this morning. He honestly had no idea what he was going to say or how he was going to say it. The most important thing would be to remain calm. He wasn't to get angry with her or do anything that would make her get on the defensive.

How in the hell am I supposed to remain calm when I ask my sister if she's been shagging Draco Malfoy?

Ron cringed and felt a shiver come over him at the thought.

"Ron?"

He turned to see Ginny standing at the foot of the stairs. She was still dressed in her pajamas and dressing gown.

"Hey, Gin," Ron said.

"Hey," she said, walking over to him. "Is everything okay? Your letter was kind of cryptic."

"I just wanted to have a chat," he said, taking a seat at the couch. He patted the empty space beside him and Ginny took a seat beside him.

"Let me guess, you and Luna are having troubles?" she asked him. "What did you do? Say something you weren't supposed to and upset her? Ron, you really need to think before you say some of the things you say."

Ron shook his head. "No, Gin. Luna and I are okay. Better than okay, actually. We're doing great."

She patted his hand. "That's great, Ron. I'm really happy for you. Luna's great."

"Yes, she is," Ron said, nervously.

"Well, then what is it?" Ginny asked. "You're not still worried about me, are you? I'm fine. I'm doing everything Madame Pomfrey has told me to do. Mum's busy planning the wedding. I think Harry's finally coming around. Everything's going to be great."

He looked at her.

"What?" she asked, a smile fixed on her face.

"Who are you trying to convince?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" she asked, taken aback.

"I said, who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?" he asked her.

Ginny was silent.

"Tell me the truth, Gin," Ron said. "Stop lying and just tell me the truth."

"Tell you the truth about what?" Ginny asked, uncomfortably.

"Luna overheard a conversation between you and Draco Malfoy," Ron said. "I didn't even know that you even knew him well enough to speak with him."

Ginny got up from the sofa. She couldn't bring herself to look at her brother's penetrating gaze.

"What's going on with you and him?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," Ginny said. "Nothing at all."

"Ginny," Ron said.

Ginny didn't turn around to look at him. She stared out the window at the school grounds.

"Is it his baby?" Ron asked, nearly choking on the words.

Again, Ginny was silent.

"It's his baby, you're carrying?" Ron asked again. "Ginny! Anyone with half a brain could have told you that cold fish wasn't going to marry you!"

"You don't understand," Ginny said quietly.

"You're right," he said. "I don't understand how you could have done this. It's like I'm looking at a stranger. My sister isn't capable of doing these things."

"You don't understand," Ginny repeated.

"Make me understand, then!" Ron said, his voice rising. He walked over to Ginny and put his hands on her shoulders making her look at him.

"I don't understand how you could have done this! That's it, isn't it? Draco Malfoy wasn't going to marry you, so you figured you'd steal Harry Potter from Hermione! Ginny! Do you have any idea what you've done? This isn't right."

Tears were flowing down Ginny's face.

"You don't understand," Ginny said again. "I had to."

"You had to?" he asked her incredulously. "You had to?"

"Yes," she said. "I was alone. Draco wasn't going to be there for me and the baby, Ron. I had nowhere else to go. You know mum and dad would have hit the roof when they found out. You know how much they love Harry, I just figured that if they thought he was---"

"That everything would be fine and we'd be one big happy Weasley family?" Ron finished for her. "Ginny, grow up. You're not a child anymore."

"Ron," Ginny said. "Everything's okay now. Harry and I are getting married."

"No, you're not," Ron said firmly. "Either you're going to tell him the truth or I will, but either way he's going to find out."

"It'll ruin everything," Ginny said, her voice pleading. "Please."

"I don't even know who you are, Ginny," Ron said, shaking his head. "But you can salvage this. You can do it. I'll help you anyway I can. Mum and Dad will understand. But, you can't keep lying to everyone. The truth was bound to come out eventually. There's no way you could keep up with this. Can you honestly tell me that you love Harry?"

"I've always loved Harry," Ginny protested. "He's been-"

"He's been good to our family and to you and this is how you repay him?" Ron asked her. He looked at his sister compassionately. "Ginny. You have to realize that he loves Hermione. He always has and he always will. They're both miserable without each other. He's never going to feel about you the way he feels about her. How would you be able to live with yourself if you did this?"

"It just got so out of hand," Ginny said. "I couldn't see any other way out."

"Ginny," Ron said. "Come on. Go and get dressed. We'll go and talk to Harry together. You can tell him the truth."

"I can't," Ginny said between sobs.

"You have to," Ron said sternly. "Come on."

Ron offered her his hand. Ginny looked at him uncertainly.

"Come on, Gin."

She put her shaking hand in his and he gave her a hug.

"It'll be okay," he said soothingly. "I'll help you."

He released her.

"I'll wait down here for you," he said. "Go on and get changed."

She nodded and started for the stairs, but she doubled over in pain.

Ron went to her side immediately.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"Something's wrong," she said hoarsely. "Ron, it hurts."

******************

Author's note: Remember the polyjuice potion our little Miss Weasley used earlier? It's going to come back into play….