~A/N> Hello everyone! Only one more day to go until HBP!! I decided to post this weeks chapter today since I
know everyone will be busy reading book six on Saturday :) Thanks for all the wonderful reviews on chapter 10 and I
hope you enjoy this one as well. Thanks to Poppywillow for all her help, encouragement, and support!!!!
Harry and Hermione proceeded to floo over to Diagon Alley where they made their way to Neville's Cafe. After
getting take away, they walked to Harry's flat which was just two blocks away from the shops.
When they walked in Harry was surprised to see Ron and Luna snogging on the couch in the Sitting Room. Harry cleared his throat noisily to get their attention as Hermione stifled her laughter; Ron and Luna quickly seperated, both of their faces turning pink with embarrassment. "Uh, hey Harry, hi Hermione...what are you guys doing here? I thought you were going out tonight?" Ron asked.
"There was some...trouble...at Hermione's house so we decided to get take away and eat it here," Harry replied, "Sorry about the interruption."
Seeing the smiles on their faces, Ron looked at both of them and said, "Ha, ha, you caught us snogging, now would you please let it go? Luna leaves on Sunday and we won't get to see each other tomorrow because she's spending the day with her Dad, so we decided to have a quiet night in."
"Okay, don't get your knickers in a twist!" teased Harry, "We'll just go into the kitchen to eat our dinner so you two can be alone."
Luna, who had been silent up to now, looked at Hermione with concern and asked, "What kind of trouble did you have at your house? I hope it wasn't anything serious."
"It was my Mum," Hermione replied, "She went mental when I told her I was going on a date tonight and forbid me to go. She didn't like it when I stood up to her and she proceeded to toss me out."
"What?" Luna asked, unable to grasp how a Mum could just toss her daughter out, "How could she do that when...well, you know."
Realizing that Luna had caught herself before revealing her pregnancy to Ron, Hermione said, "It's fine, I was planning on getting my own place anyway. I'll just have to do it sooner than I had expected."
Ron's face suddenly brightened as he looked at Harry and said, "Why doesn't she just move in here with us?"
"What?!" came three voices, surprised by Ron's suggestion.
"Well, I'll be leaving for training on Monday," Ron explained defensively, "She could have my room and I can transfigure the sofa into a bed until then; I won't be back until the end of the season and even then I'll have to start looking for a place for Luna and I." When Harry, Hermione and Luna continued to stare at him, he said, "This way Harry won't be alone all the time and Hermione shouldn't be living by herself, that's not safe."
Hermione had been struck silent by Ron's suggestion and since she didn't really know what Harry thought about the idea she decided to stay quiet. To tell the truth, she wasn't really sure how she felt about the suggestion yet either.
"That's a great idea Ronald," Luna said, smiling at her fiance.
"Ah...right then, Hermione and I will just be in the kitchen eating," Harry said, not quite recovered from Ron's sudden suggestion. He made his way into the kitchen, his mind going a mile a minute.
Hermione stayed in the sitting room with Ron and Luna. She walked up to Luna and hugged her as she said, "I'm going to miss having you around."
"I'm going to miss you too," Luna replied, "But I'll be back for two weeks at Christmas, that's not too far away, and we can write back and forth until then."
"Right," Hermione said, "Well, I better go eat while the food's still warm." She made her way to the kitchen where she found Harry sitting at the table, but he wasn't moving. Instead, he sat there with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Everything all right Harry?" she asked quietly.
"What do you think of Ron's idea?" he asked suddenly, ignoring her question.
"Um, I don't really know," she replied honestly, "What do you think about it?"
"I think he might be on to something," Harry answered, "I own this flat, so there wouldn't be any rent. And with you being...pregnant...and all, it probably would be better if you have someone around in case something happens."
"I couldn't just live here without paying any rent or chipping in for food," she replied, "I wouldn't feel right about it."
"We could work something out," Harry said, "I just don't like the idea of you being alone...and it would be nice to be able to spend more time with you."
Hermione sat there quietly contemplating the idea for a while; would it really be a good idea to move in with Harry? They were just starting to date...how would that affect their relationship? And would he expect 'more' from her? She was just getting used to the idea of dating him, she wasn't ready for anything serious...but she did have the baby to think about. They would be safer here and she would be able to save more money by living in the flat with Harry. Looking at him with uncertainty and weariness in her eyes, Hermione smiled shyly at him and decided she liked the idea of spending more time with him too. Ignoring sensible Hermione's protests, she steeled her resolve and said, "All right, I'll move in here instead, but we will be discussing what my rent will be. I want to pay my own way and help out with the cooking and cleaning too."
Suddenly a loud "Yes!" resounded from the sitting room and they both knew that Ron and Luna had been listening in. A tick later Ron called out, "Sorry," and they laughed as they heard Luna admonishing him for his outburst.
~*~
The next day Hermione, Harry, and Ron flooed to Hermione's house to get her things. Thankfully her Mum wasn't home when they got there, and they quickly packed her things by using magic. An hour and a half later they were back at Harry and Ron's flat, in what used to be Ron's room, unpacking and arranging her furniture the way she wanted it. All of Ron's things had been packed and put into storage earlier that morning; he would be leaving for training Monday morning, a full two weeks earlier than originally planned.
"Where do you want this?" Ron asked as he levitated a rocking recliner.
"Over there," Hermione answered, pointing to a corner. Ron set it down where she had pointed and looked around the room.
"It looks completely different in here already," he said.
"All that's left is...this," Hermione replied, and as she waved her wand the color of the room went from a dark blue to a light peach color. Turning to Ron and Harry she said, "Thanks for all the help guys. How about I pay you back by making dinner tonight?"
"Depends, can you cook?" Ron teased.
Hitting his friend in the arm, Harry turned to her and said, "That sounds great Hermione."
An hour later the three of them were sitting around the kitchen table enjoying chicken alfredo and garlic bread. Hermione marveled at how comfortable she was with Ron and Harry; she wondered if it would be the same once Ron was gone and it was just her and Harry. Coming out of her thoughts, Hermione laughed as she saw Ron shoveling another forkful of food into his mouth as Harry watched and just shook his head.
That night as they were turning in, Harry stopped by Hermione's door and knocked lightly. After hearing Hermione's quiet, "Come in," Harry walked into her room and stopped immediately. Hermione was sitting in the recliner, rocking slowly back and forth, with her hand on her stomach. She had a long, light green nightgown on and for the first time he could see the slight roundness of her belly.
As Harry sat there staring, Hermione couldn't help but notice a look of longing pass over his handsome features and she quietly asked, "What is it Harry?"
Quickly shaking off the longing he had been feeling, the same feeling he had in the taxi a while back, he focused on her and replied, "I just wanted to see if there was anything else you needed before I turned in for the night?"
"No, but thank you for asking," she answered. There was something about the way he was looking at her that was doing funny things to her insides. Shifting her gaze away from his she said, "Good night Harry."
"Good night," he answered. He walked to the door and with one last look back at her, he closed it and leaned his back against the door. He closed his eyes and tried to figure out what the hell was going on. He wanted nothing more than to walk back into her room and take her in his arms; there wasn't anything sexual about the way he was feeling, he just longed to hold her. There was something about Hermione that made him feel complete for the first time in his life.
Sighing in resignation, he continued down the hallway to his room, completely unaware of the fact that the girl behind the door was feeling the exact same way he was.
~*~
The next day was Sunday and found Harry, Hermione, Ron and Luna on their way down Platform 9 3/4. Luna was on her way to Hogwarts for her final year of schooling; Ron looked so miserable that Luna kept reassuring him that she would write to him every day.
After Luna boarded the train the three of them joined Mr. and Mrs. Weasley who were there to see Ginny off as well. They stood and watched as the train slowly pulled away from the platform; once it was out of sight Molly Weasley turned to them and asked, "Why don't the three of you come to the Burrow for some lunch?"
Harry turned to Hermione with a questioning look on his face and she turned to Molly and replied, "That sounds wonderful Mrs. Weasley."
"Please dear, call me Molly," she replied happily as they made their way out of King's Cross Station.
They spent the remainder of the afternoon eating, laughing, and discussing all things Muggle. Hermione learned that Arthur Weasley had a thirst for knowledge of all the things Muggles used on a daily basis and he asked all sorts of questions. She happily answered his questions, even when Ron said she was just encouraging him to ask more, and she enjoyed the feeling of family again; it made her realize just how much she missed her Dad and the heart-to-heart talks they used to have.
When they returned to the flat that night, completely stuffed with Molly's home cooking, Hermione settled onto the sofa as Harry lit a fire and sat down next to her. Ron came in a short while later to sit with them, only to get up fifteen minutes later when he recieved an owl from Luna. As he walked into the kitchen with his full attention on the letter, Hermione sighed and said, "They're lucky to have each other."
Harry sat quietly next to her, studying her face as she stared after Ron's retreating form, and asked, "Do you wish you were still with Michel?"
Hermione turned to look at him and saw that once again his eyes betrayed his calm demeanor. She smiled sadly and replied, "No, I realize now that he was just a foolish school-girl crush. I liked the attention he paid me and how the other girls were jealous that he was with me instead of them...I liked him, but it's not like I was madly in love with him."
Letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, Harry stared at her and thought about how foolish Michel was to let her get away. Shaking himself from his thoughts he asked, "Would you like something to drink?"
"Sure, how about some pumpkin juice," she replied. She watched as Harry got up from the sofa, made his way into the kitchen and returned a short time later with her drink. The two of them sat there until late into the night, talking about everything from school to what they wanted to do with their lives as Ron stayed in the kitchen writing back to Luna. Harry longed to ask questions about the baby, but he didn't want to risk having Ron overhear him. When the two of them finally went to bed it was well past midnight. As Hermione opened the door to her room, Harry said, "Good night Hermione," and kissed her on the cheek.
Hermione smiled at him and said, "Good night Harry." She watched as he made his way to his room and once he was out of sight she closed the door and placed her hand on the spot where his lips had just been. Smiling happily, she changed into her night clothes and went to sleep quickly, knowing she would be dreaming about him that night.
~*~
After Ron left to train with the Chudley Cannons, Harry got into the habit of meeting Hermione for lunch every day she had to work. He would go into Flourish and Blotts and wait for her relief to come in, then they would make their way to Neville's to eat. It was something they both enjoyed and the fact that Harry Potter was seen going into his Cafe almost every day was bringing Neville a lot of new business, for which he was very grateful.
The days and months passed quickly and before they knew it it was almost Thanksgiving. Hermione's small bulge had been growing rapidly and she now looked as if she had swallowed a football. Unable to hide it any longer, Hermione gave in and bought maternity clothes; unfortunately, the first day she wore them Rita Skeeter had been in the Cafe to get the latest scoop on Harry Potter and ended up getting far more than she expected.
The next day the headlines on the front page of the Daily Prophet read, 'Harry Potter: Father-To-Be?' with a huge picture of her and Harry walking out of the Cafe hand-in-hand. Hermione stood behind the register in the shop reading the horrid article with Edna reading over her shoulder. Her eyes grew wide as she skimmed over the private things they had printed about her and the hateful quotes some of her former classmates had given. The words started to swim out of focus as tears filled her eyes at the things she read. She heard the bell over the door sound and not a tick later Harry was standing next to her, looking at her with apologetic eyes.
"I am so sorry Hermione," he said, sounding miserable. "They had no right to publish this and I'm going to go to their office right now and demand an apology."
"It's okay Harry," she replied, her voice full of hurt and anger that wasn't directed at him, "I knew the chance I was taking by being seen with you; I just didn't think they would write such...hurtful things." Looking up at him, she gave a small smile and added, "Please don't go down there, you'll just be giving them more to write about."
"But..." Harry started to say, until he saw Edna shaking her head back and forth behind Hermione as she mouthed, 'Just leave it alone.'
Bowing his head in defeat, he walked up to Hermione and took the paper gently out of her hands. Taking her hands in his, he looked at her sadly and said, "I really am sorry that they did this to you; I never wanted you to get hurt like this, I guess I figured they were going to finally stop writing about my private life since there hasn't been anything written about me in a while. I was so stupid to believe they would leave me to live my life in peace, and now they've dragged you into it."
"It's okay Harry," Hermione said, and then walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. Harry closed his eyes, marveling at how wonderful it felt to hold her like this. The two of them were holding each other, trying to comfort one another, when the bell sounded once more over the door. Deciding that Edna could take care of it Hermione stayed where she was, wrapped protectively in Harry's arms, when a voice said, "Well, well, well...it seems you've been keeping something from me Hermione."
Hermione's body stiffened at the sound of the voice and Harry reluctantly pulled away from her to look at the speaker. He watched as Hermione slowly turned towards the bloke; her eyes grew wide and her breathing quickened as she looked at him horrified and whispered, "Michel?"
(Dodges various items thrown by readers) I'm sorry for the cliffy, but I need something to make sure you come back to read the next chapter right? I hope everyone enjoys reading "Half-Blood Prince"!!