***I just wanted to say thank you for all the great reviews! I'm glad so many of you have stuck with my story and are enjoying it!***
Another hour went by after Lupin had left, and Harry and Hermione decided it was time for them to go visit Ron. They told her parents they would be back in a while and headed to the lifts. Harry held Hermione's hand as they approached his room. The hallway was empty, so they looked through the window in the door and saw that only Mrs. Weasley was in the room with him. They quietly walked in and walked up next to her.
"Mrs. Weasley" Harry said quietly, getting her attention "I had talked to Mr. Weasley about visiting with Ron for a while. Would it be all right with you if we sat with him for a while?"
Mrs. Weasley looked at them for a moment, and then said "If you upset him in any way, so help me, you will answer to me."
They were surprised at the anger in her voice, then realized they really weren't her two most favorite people right now. "Mrs. Weasley, I swear to you that we will not upset him." Hermione said quietly "We are both concerned about him and we both miss our friend."
Mrs. Weasley nodded and headed out the door. Harry got another chair that was across the room and brought it over next to the one Ron's Mum had sat on. Hermione held Ron's hand in hers, and then held Harry's hand in her other hand. They sat there quietly for a while watching him while he slept. He started to stir and opened his eyes. He looked towards them, closed his eyes, and then looked at them again.
"What are you doing here?" he asked in a gravelly voice.
"We wanted to see how you were doing Ron; we were told you were badly injured in the attack" said Hermione while still holding his hand.
Ron looked down at their conjoined hands and then up to their faces. "Why would you care if I was hurt or not? Harry broke my nose this morning; now I'm supposed to believe he's worried about me?"
Hermione looked over at Harry and she could see his jaw muscles from clenching his teeth together. She knew he was trying very hard to keep his temper under control. "Ron, a lot has been said this summer between the three of us that has been very hurtful. Harry and I aren't the only ones to blame for everything that's been said and done. There are a lot of things that you don't know; we've been going through a lot."
"And I haven't?" Ron asked quietly as his face started turning pink.
"You know what Hermione, we should just go. I promised Mr. Weasley that we wouldn't upset him, and he's obviously getting angry with us. We need to go and let him rest." Harry said looking directly at Hermione, then looking directly at Ron. "You have been my best mate since I was eleven years old. Some of the things I've said to you have been harsh, but some of it was also truthful. I miss my mate, and there have been times lately when I wish I had you around to talk to. Hermione and I came here to make amends, but if you can't find it in your heart to forgive us the way we have forgiven you then we'll leave you alone and not bother you again. I hope you get well soon Ron."
Harry got up from his chair and started walking towards the door. He stopped as he opened it and looked back at Hermione. She got up also and looked at Ron. "I hope you recover quickly Ron" she said and then bent down to kiss his cheek. She turned away and walked to the door where Harry was without looking back. They both let the door close behind them before looking at one another. Harry wrapped Hermione in his arms when he saw she was crying. Once she had calmed down, they both silently made their way back up to Hermione's parents' room.
Once they got up to the room, Harry put his hand on Hermione's arm to stop her from going in. "Can we sit out here for a little while and talk?"
"Sure" she said as she made her way to one of the benches against the wall.
Harry sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her while she laid her head on his shoulder. "Are you doing ok?" he asked, concerned.
"I'm exhausted. I know it's only been one day, but it feels like a week has gone by." she replied.
"I wanted to let you know that I told Remus everything that is going on with us. I really needed to talk to someone about it, and he's been a great listener lately. I hope you don't mind." Harry said while rubbing her arm lightly.
"I don't mind Harry. I would love to talk to my Mum about everything, but obviously she's in no condition for any kind of shock right now. I'm definitely not talking to my Dad until I've told her first. He's very protective of me and I'm afraid of what his reaction will be."
"Have you thought anymore about what you want to do?" At seeing her shake her head no, he continued "I have and I think I have an idea that would work for the both of us."
Harry got off the bench and knelt down on the floor in front of Hermione. "I know this is all going so fast, but I love you with all my heart. I want us to be a family; me, you and the baby. I want to give you both a loving home, as best as I can anyway. I just hope you remember that I'm only sixteen, and I've never known love. I want to love you and I want to love this baby the best I can." As he said this he put his hands on her still flat stomach. "Hermione, will you marry me?"
Hermione looked down at him, and thought that her heart would burst. She felt sure that any other sixteen year old boy would have ran screaming at the news he was going to be a teenage father. But here was Harry offering her his heart; not only to her but to the baby too. She smiled a watery smile and put her hands on either side of his face. "Of course I will marry you Harry. I know we are young, but I want us to be a family too. I love you so much, and would love to be your wife."
Harry sat down next to her again and hugged her. They held each other for a long time, and then separated to share a kiss. "We'll have to wait until you turn sixteen" explained Harry "Remus said then you will be of legal age in the wizarding world. I was hoping we could move into Grimmauld Place next summer. Sirius left it to me in his will, along with half of his fortune so we will be financially ok for quite a while. And if they agree to it, I thought we could ask your parents to move in also. It would be nice to have someone around that has done this before." said Harry smiling.
"You really have thought this through, but what about school?" she asked with a worried look on her face.
"I don't know yet. Remus said he will come by tomorrow morning at eleven and take me to talk to Dumbledore about everything. Do you want to go with us?" he asked.
"I'm not sure if I should go or not. What about my parents, when are we going to tell them?" Hermione asked.
"Why don't we see how your Mum is doing in the morning? If she's doing better, if you want, we could tell them before I go to see Dumbledore. Then you can decide if you want to go with me?" Harry replied, trying to find a way to work things out.
"Alright. Why don't we go in and get some sleep? They were supposed to bring in three cots for us to sleep on; hopefully there already in there. Maybe things will be clearer in the morning if we can get some sleep." Hermione said while getting up and walking towards the door to her Mums room.
"Sleep sounds good." replied Harry, yawning. The cots were already set up in the room when they walked in. They quietly walked over to the two empty ones, and Harry gave Hermione a quick kiss goodnight. 'I hope everything looks much clearer in the morning' he thought, finally drifting off to sleep.
Harry and Hermione awoke the next morning to see a major thunderstorm was underway. They both hoped that it wasn't
an omen for how their day was going to go. Shortly after they got up, Hermione's Mum woke up also. She looked over
at Hermione and smiled, motioning her over towards her bed. Hermione walked over and sat on the edge of the bed next to
her mother. Harry excused himself while he went to the bathroom to freshen up.
"So how are you feeling Mum?" Hermione asked as her Mum grabbed her hand and held it in hers.
"I'm doing better. Whatever they gave me last night must have worked because I'm hardly sore now. How about you? How is your arm?" her Mum asked.
"It's fine; I'm fine. Um, Mum" Hermione started, looking over at her Dad to make sure he was asleep "there's something I really need to tell you, but I don't want to upset you."
Her Mum looked at her with a concerned look on her face, then squeezed her hand in encouragement "you know you can tell me anything angel."
"I know Mum, I just don't want to disappoint you" Hermione said quietly so as not to disturb her Dad. She leaned down closer to her Mum's ear and whispered "Mum, I'm pregnant."
Her Mum sat frozen for a few moments, and then looked into her eyes. "Oh honey, please tell me you're joking." When she saw Hermione's eyes start to tear up, she hugged her and also started crying.
"What am I going to do Mum?" Hermione asked, quietly crying. "Harry and I have talked about it a little, but we're both so young and we don't know what to do!"
"It's Harry's then?" she asked, and when she saw Hermione nod, said "what does he think of all this?"
A small smile appeared on Hermione's face as she thought about what he had said the night before. "He said he's going to stand by me no matter what, and make sure the baby and I are well taken care of."
"What about Voldemort?" her Mother asked with a worried expression on her face. She watched as Hermione's face fell.
"I-We-I hadn't even thought about him. If he finds out about me, I'll be his main target. I don't think Harry's really thought about it yet either." Hermione said realizing there was a lot more for them to be worried about.
Just then, Harry walked into the room and saw the serious expressions on their faces. "Should I go wait out in the hallway?" he asked, moving back towards the door.
"No, Harry, I was just telling Mum our news." Hermione answered, waving him over to the bed.
"What news?" Hermione's Dad asked, awake all of a sudden.
Hermione and Harry's eyes grew large with fear. Hermione hadn't meant to tell her Dad yet, but how was she going to get out of telling him? She looked at Harry, and saw a resigned look on his face. He went to speak, but she shook her head no, telling him not to say anything.
"Hermione, I think he needs to know now instead of finding out in a few months." Harry said, while watching her Dad as he spoke. Hermione got up and walked over to where he was standing, grabbing and holding on to his hand tightly for encouragement. "Mr. Granger..."
"Daddy, I'm pregnant" Hermione blurted out to everyone's surprise. Her Dad just stared at her for a moment, and then turned on Harry. Harry watched in fear as his face turned different colors of purple. He wasn't even sure Hermione's Dad was breathing anymore.
"Did you do this?!" he shouted at Harry, advancing on him. "Did you get my little girl pregnant?"
"Y-Yes S-Sir" Harry stuttered, backing away from the VERY angry man in front of him.
"What do you have to say for yourself?!!" asked her Dad, seething.
"I'm sorry?" Harry said meekly, feeling very afraid of the man in front of him right now.
"It was consensual Daddy" Hermione said, trying to calm him down a little. "It wasn't planned; it's been a very emotional summer, and we got a little carried away one day."
"A little... Hermione, that's not like you. I've never known you to be irresponsible." her Dad said, obviously disappointed. He looked at Harry and said angrily "and what do you plan on doing about this?"
"I-I plan on marrying your daughter sir, and giving her and our baby a home." At the disbelieving look on Mr. Granger's face, he quickly explained "I love Hermione sir and plan to take good care of her. I have inherited my Godfather's house, and I have more then enough money to take care of the both of them."
Mr. Granger looked at his wife, who was now sitting up in her bed. She looked at him and gave him a small smile. "He's trying to be responsible Robert. Give them a chance to work things out. We can have a long discussion with them later on when we're not in a hospital room." She turned towards the two teenagers and asked "What are you going to do about school?"
"Remus Lupin is coming by this morning to take me to Dumbledore's office. I'm going to tell him everything that's going on and see what he has to say. Hopefully he will be able to help us with arrangements during the school year." Harry looked directly into the eyes of Hermione's father and said "Sir, if you'll give us your blessing, I'd like to marry your daughter the day after her birthday."
Robert Granger stood staring at the two kids in front of him, holding hands and looking very scared and unsure. This was definitely a shock, but he loved his daughter with all of his being. She was his only child, and he only wanted her to be happy and get the most out of life. If this boy made her happy, and he could prove he could take care of her then he would do his best to support their decision.
"I'll give you my blessing Harry, but under one condition: you have to prove to me that you can take care of her. I'd like to see the house where you'll live and I'd like to come with you when you talk to Dumbledore."
Harry looked at Hermione, surprised. She ran over to her Dad and threw her arms around him. "Thank-you for being so understanding Daddy." she said and kissed him on the cheek.
"Yeah, well, if he hurts you even a little bit I'll break him in two" he growled, then smiled as he saw the look on Harry's face.
About three hours later there was a knock on the door, and Remus stuck his head in the room. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Hermione; Harry are you ready to go?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm ready. Oh Remus, Mr. Granger will be going with us this morning." Harry said, trying not to laugh at the look on Lupin's face.
"You told him?" Remus asked, surprised.
"We told both her Mum and Dad this morning. We figure we can use all the help we can get" answered Harry, looking at Hermione.
"Ok, then we need to make our way down to the lobby so we can floo over to his office. Ready?" Lupin asked.
Harry shook his head yes and walked to where Hermione was standing. "Are you sure you don't want to go?" he asked.
"I'm going to stay here and spend some time with Mum. We have a lot to discuss" she said, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Good luck" she said smiling and motioning toward her Dad.
"Thanks, I think I'll need it" he said and gave her a hug, whispering "your Dad is a very scary man when he's mad". After everyone had said their good-byes, they headed down to the lobby and the fireplaces.
Remus had gone first and helped to stabilize Harry and Mr. Granger as they came out of the fireplace in Dumbledore's office. Albus Dumbledore was not one to be surprised, but when he saw the trio that came out of this fireplace he was caught off guard. 'What is it that these three would need to speak to me about?' he thought.
When Harry saw the Headmasters bewildered look, he knew that Madame Pomfrey hadn't said anything to him. He walked over to his desk and said "Hello Sir, has everything calmed down since yesterday?"
"A little bit Harry. We are still in the process of healing the students that were hurt and taking care of the families that lost loved ones. I heard that you needed to discuss something with me?" he asked while motioning for the three to sit in the chairs in front of his desk.
Harry nodded as he sat down and said "yes, Sir. There is something important that I need to tell you." He paused for a moment, and Remus put his hand on Harry's shoulder for support. "Um, well Sir, you see..." he stopped, looked at Remus and said "I've had to say this once already and it still isn't any easier." He looked over at Mr. Granger, who wasn't looking all that happy and looked back at Dumbledore. "Well, you see Sir, Hermione and I are going to be parents."
Dumbledore sat there looking at Harry in astonishment. He really had no idea what to say at that moment. "What? How...No, I know how, never mind. What I mean is...I don't know what I mean Harry. You've completely flabbergasted me with this news."
Harry couldn't help it; he sat there chuckling at the headmaster's reaction. He knew it wasn't funny, but he'd never seen the great and powerful Albus Dumbledore at a loss for words before. When he looked at Remus and saw the scolding look on his face, he quit laughing. "Sir, trust me when I say that I know how you feel. We only learned of this development yesterday after the attack."
Dumbledore looked at Harry and said "I take it Madame Pomfrey discovered Miss Granger's condition when she examined her?" At Harry's nod, he asked "when is the baby due?"
"We don't have a date as of yet, we only know it will be sometime in June" Harry replied. "That's why we're all here today Sir; I came to see if you could help us out while we're in school. We plan on getting married the day after Hermione's sixteenth birthday which is the nineteenth of this month. I was wondering if there are any married quarters here at Hogwarts?"
"Actually Harry, there isn't, but I'll see what I can do. Obviously you two made a mistake, but I'm glad to see that you are being responsible and taking care of Miss Granger. If you would like I think we can arrange for the two of you to be married here at Hogwarts." Dumbledore offered.
"That would be great, but I'll need to ask Hermione first. I know its short notice, but I'd like to try to give her the wedding of her dreams. Hopefully, it will be the only one for both of us." Harry said.
"It had better be" mumbled Mr. Granger. Harry looked at him in fear while Remus and Dumbledore snickered.
"Sounds like we have a plan; I take it Remus told you that school has been postponed for two weeks?" At Harry's nod, Dumbledore said "That means the wedding will be the Saturday after classes resume. Do you think the two of you will be able to handle classes and preparations?"
"Yes Sir, I'm hoping that Remus will help me out?" he said questioningly looking at Remus.
"I would love to help you Harry. Luckily, the full moon is the week after, so I will do anything I can to help." Remus replied.
"Professor Dumbledore" Mr. Granger said, getting their attention "would it be possible for my wife and I to somehow stay in the castle and help out also?"
"Absolutely" Dumbledore replied. "As long as I invite you into the castle, it will let you in. We have guest quarters that you can stay in and as soon as your wife is discharged from St. Mungo's you can move in if you like."
Dumbledore turned to Harry and said "as for when the baby comes, we will deal with that later. We will get this wedding planned first. Harry, would you mind if I performed the ceremony?"
"No, Sir, I would be honored. I'm hoping we can keep it quiet until the day of the ceremony. We can ask the people we want standing up with us that morning so that information won't be leaked to Voldemort. I was thinking we could set up for it before lunch and any of the students that wanted to attend could? Lunch could be our reception?" Harry asked, looking at Dumbledore to see if he approved.
"That sounds fine Harry. I can see you're taking this very seriously, and I'm proud of you. Thank-you for trusting me with this information." Dumbledore said, then asked "any idea who will be standing up with you?"
"Since Ron and I aren't really friends right now, I was going to ask Remus if he would" Harry asked while watching Remus for his reaction.
Remus was stunned and honored. "I will gladly stand up with you Harry. Something occurred to Remus at that moment, but he didn't know if he should mention it. "Um, Harry did you want to use your parents wedding rings? If you do, they are probably in your vault. Sirius had them in his vault and seeing as he transferred almost everything into yours..."
Harry sat in thoughtful silence for a few moments, and then said "No, I don't think it would be right for us to use them. I'd like to buy Hermione a ring of her very own; I'd like to save my parents set for our child when he or she gets married. Do you think that you and I could go to Hogsmeade one day soon and get the rings?"
"Sure Harry. We'll put it on our list of things to do. Are you going to let her come and pick her own ring?" Remus asked.
"No, I know her pretty well, and I kind of have an idea of what I'd like to get already." Harry said with a big smile on his face.
"Well, we've gotten quite a bit settled today. Congratulations Harry on both the engagement and the baby." Dumbledore said while walking around his desk and shaking Harry's hand.
"We need to get back and explain everything to Hermione and her Mum" said Harry while heading back to the fireplace. "Thanks again Sir for being so understanding and helping us."
"My pleasure" said Dumbledore while saying good-bye to Remus and shaking Mr. Granger's hand. Harry grabbed the floo powder and let Mr. Granger go first. Remus went next and he was last. As he came out of the fireplace he saw Remus and Mr. Granger frozen in place. Looking from them to across the room, he saw five Death Eaters standing there, wands drawn and waiting for him.