Harry Potter and the Galator
Chapter 25
All Grown Up
The next day was gloriously clear and with only a slight breeze in the air. Spring was still in the air and the blossoms from the trees and flowers in the fields and gardens were still constantly in bloom. The grass was green and the air was sweet. Except for the exam and the upcoming confrontation, the day was perfect.
As soon as Harry saw Hermione and Lavender as he and Ron reached the bottom of the steps into the common room, he knew they'd had a talk. Hermione smiled up at him and walked over to bring him in an embrace and a quick good morning kiss. Ron walked over to pull Lavender into his arms and felt something was not right with his world.
"Okay, what's wrong, love?" Ron asked hesitantly.
Lavender smiled up at him and gave him a quick kiss. "We'll talk in the afternoon after our exams. Let's go have breakfast." That was the magic word as far as Ron was concerned. He called Harry and Hermione over and they made their way to breakfast.
Lavender was a bundle of nerves throughout the day, but she managed to get her concentration in check when in came for the exams. They had transfiguration today and they all knew they had to do well since Professor McGonagall taught the class and was their Head of House. She kept glancing over at Ron during the test. It made her heart flutter each time she saw him even though sometimes he didn't have a clue. He was busy now trying to retrieve the answers to the exam in his mind. He placed the feathered quill next to his temple, scrunched his nose and as if the answer came to him his eyes widened and he started scribbling down his answer furiously. Lavender sighed and glanced over to where Harry and Hermione sat. Hermione was busy writing her answers down, but Harry smiled at her and put his thumbs up to assure her somehow that everything would be all right. She managed a smile and for some reason or another, she felt better after getting the thumbs up from Harry. She looked at her test and decided to concentrate on it more.
After the test they put their things away and prepared their materials to study for the upcoming Potions test the next day. They all walked to lunch with no discussions about the revelation that Lavender was about to make to Ron. Harry felt her nervousness and decided to tune her feelings out. He didn't want to have to feel anything more than the anxiety of the exams and the confrontation that was to come with the impostor.
"Why don't the two of you go on to our meeting room," Lavender told them. "We'll join you after we've had a talk in our meeting room." Harry and Hermione nodded and walked away from them.
"Okay, love. Now you're starting to scare me. What is the matter?"
"When we get to our room Ron." He shrugged and followed her out of the Great Hall.
When they arrived at their room, Lavender became more nervous that usual. Maybe it would be better if Harry and Hermione were around she thought. Oh stop it, she chided, this is Ron after all. He loves you no matter what you told him. Her reassurances were helping a little, she only wished she could believe her inner voice.
"Okay Lav, out with it."
"First of all, I just want you to know that I love you." Ron was getting a sinking feeling deep down in his gut. Oh this is it, he thought, she's going to break up with me. His eyebrows crunched together as if in deep thought. "Ron, look at me." She placed her hand on his cheek and brought his face in front of hers. "I love you."
"I love you too, Lav. What is it you're not telling me?"
"Oh, Ron. I've just been dreading something bad was going to happen to us after we made love the first time."
"You regret it?" he asked her incredulously.
"No. Never. I loved every moment we spend together. I just wish we could spend the whole night together somehow, but you know it would get suspicious." He nodded in agreement.
"But?"
"There is no buts. I am just so afraid right now. I'm late."
"What do you mean late? For class?" Sometimes he could be so thickheaded. It was making Lavender more nervous than she already was.
"Ron, no. Not that. We don't have class until tomorrow morning with Snape remember?"
Then as if a light bulb turned on in his head, "you mean?" Lavender nodded assuming he finally understood what she was trying to tell him. After a few moments of deep thought. Ron continued, "We're going to have a baby, aren't we?" Lavender nodded in response. " My mum is going to have my head and serve it in a silver platter."
"I am not sure yet. I'm just late right now and I wanted to tell you." He looked at her with loving eyes and pulled her close to him. He was scared inside, but he knew that he had to be grown up about their situation. He'd outgrown the temper tantrums. After his outburst with finding out about Ginny and Malfoy, he'd learned that yelling wasn't going to solve anything. He also knew that Lavender would not take any of his yelling and he could see how scared she was.
"It'll be okay. We'll figure something out somehow. Isn't there something we can do to make sure."
"I don't really want to go to Madam Pomfrey. I am just so scared Ron." She was a little surprised that Ron was so calm.
"Um… what about Hermione. She's smart. She might know some kind of spell to find out."
"She said their was, but only qualified Mediwizards are able to perform the spell with accuracy. But,"
"But, what?"
"She said Harry might be able to help us."
"Harry knows." He was feeling both angry and ashamed. "How did he find out before me?" His voice was rising a little.
"Ron, calm down. He figured it out just last night. You know, he felt Hermione's feelings and she couldn't lie to him. You wouldn't want them to keep secrets from one another, would you."
"Then why didn't he tell me last night?"
"Well, I asked Hermione if he might have and she assured me that he wouldn't. He felt the news should come from me and no one else. Besides, you were already asleep and she did say that if you noticed something and asked Harry if he knew, he would have told you the truth. But, you didn't and you're lucky they know because I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out what I was going to do. I wasn't going to tell you until after I was sure, but Harry insisted that he'll only perform whatever he was going to do if both of us agreed." Ron smiled. Harry was a great friend. He also knew that he would not have been able to lie to Ron with a straight face, well maybe except that time with Hermione, but even then he couldn't keep his feelings form Hermione hidden for long.
"Okay, then let's go to Harry. Is that why you told them to wait for us at the meeting room?"
"Yes. I wanted to tell you before we went there to either study or to have Harry conduct his little test."
"Well, then let's not keep them waiting then, huh?" He turned to her and kissed her. "I love you, no matter what." Lavender felt a huge weight off her shoulder. Ron was finally grown up.
They found Hermione sitting on Harry's lap snogging intensely. "Ahem," they both made the noise at the same time. Hermione pulled away just slightly but left her arms around Harry's neck.
"Oh, hi you two," Hermione casually answered them Ron and Lavender were amused. Never would they have thought the prim and proper Hermione Granger act so affectionately in front of people. She'd changed a lot since summer and changed a lot more when she and Harry started dating. It was amazing seeing them that way, it made them look like normal teenagers with no worries in the world.
"Hermione, Harry is it safe to be here?" Ron joked. He knew that Harry must feel uncomfortable right now with the strain in his pants, because he knew he would be.
"Yes," she answered and started to get up only to be pulled down by Harry. Ron laughed out loud. He knew Harry need a few minutes to calm himself down.
"What's so funny Ron?" asked Hermione puzzled until Harry whispered the answer in her ears, then she started to blush furiously. She smiled at Ron and Lavender.
"Come Lav, we'll give them a few minutes to straightened themselves out." They started to walk out when Harry told them that it was okay to stay. Ron was surprised at how quickly Harry composed himself. He looked at him only to get Harry's 'I'll tell you later look.'
"Okay, so Ron and I have talked it over." Harry and Hermione looked at each other obviously surprised at how calm Ron was and how fast it took him to accept their situation.
"Oh, get off it mate. I'm not that bad with my temper." Harry and Hermione looked at each other again and smiled. Their friend was finally growing up. Lavender let out a nervous giggle. She knew they weren't expecting them so soon.
"Okay, so here's what I can do. I can try to sense if I can feel any other energy or feelings coming from Lavender that doesn't belong to Lavender."
"You can do that?" asked Ron with obvious surprise in his voice.
"I told you before, I am an empath, remember?"
"Yeah, but how will you tell the difference?"
"Because everyone gives off difference energies, and I can tune everyone out except for Lavender and the baby if there is a baby. It's the same way I tune everyone out when I am walking down the hall or in here with all of you." Ron was amazed. He didn't know exactly how those particular powers were affecting Harry, but he knew that Harry was one of a kind and if he couldn't do it, no one could.
The other three nodded in agreement. "Ready?" he asked Lavender. Lavender nodded. "Okay, why don't you lay down and try to relax." Harry waved his hand and conjured a mat for Lavender. Ron, Hermione, and Lavender stood with their mouths agape.
"Harry?" Hermione stammered. "Do you realize what you just did?"
"Yes, Hermione. I conjured up a mat for Lavender to lay down on." Conjuring was becoming easier for all of them, but none of them could conjure up big items like a mat and without a wand no less. The other three were still practicing with a mug of hot chocolate. Ron was able to conjure the mug without the chocolate, Lavender the mug with some tasteless liquid, and Hermione was still perfecting the taste of the hot chocolate.
"Mate, do you know you didn't do it with a wand?" Harry was caught. He was trying to keep that aspect a secret for as long as he could. He didn't want his friends seeing him differently. For some reason he knew that they knew he could do magic without the help of a wand, then they would start asking a lot of questions or look at him weird like the way they were staring at him at the moment.
"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't want you all to find out this way."
"How long have you been able to do this?" asked Hermione a little hurt that he hadn't confided in him. He felt all their emotions and felt ashamed that he didn't trust them enough to tell them about his other abilities.
"Only a few weeks," he told them the truth. "I just didn't know how to share it with you. And I didn't know how you would take it." He felt Ron's small jealousy, Lavender's awe and Hermione's pride in him laced with disappointment that he didn't trust her as well. "Look, I figured that if you didn't know it the less danger for you. If you don't have knowledge about anything I can do, then you wouldn't be tortured or kidnapped into telling Voldemort or his followers something you didn't know about."
"Harry, has it ever occurred to you that whether we know what your abilities are or not, we would be in the same amount of danger just because we're associated with you?" asked the ever practical Hermione. Ron and Lavender nodded their heads in agreement.
"I'm sorry. I guess I didn't think of it that way." He felt Hermione's hurt feelings receding a little and Ron's jealousy dissipating. He'd been learning to deal with Harry's fame and fortune little by little. He didn't think he could handle what Harry's been through since first year. He was in awe that Harry was able to and that he was still dealing with it in addition to all the other normal things they had to deal with as a teenager.
"It's okay mate. Just next time, don't just do something without telling us first. I almost peed in my pants when you did that," joked Ron to lighten the mood a little.
Harry turned to look at Hermione. He was worried she might not forgive him as easily, but she went up to him and kissed him and whispered, "no more surprises okay?"
"Okay," he answered. He decided to have a little talk with her about all the other things he'd been learning about that he hadn't told them yet. He knew somehow that telling Hermione would be the same as telling himself. She was too much a part of him to be closed off. "So, ready Lav?"
A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I appreciate your comments. Hope you enjoy this chapter.