~A/N> I am so sorry that I missed last weekend, but it couldn't be helped. Here is the next chapter, I think
there will be two or three more chapters left at the most, unless my imagination kicks into major overdrive for some
reason. I only expected this story to be ten chapters at the most, so who knows how many more there'll be for sure
:) Oh, and fair warning, I am no good at writing Fred and George. Thanks to poppywillow who was chatting with me at
three this morning (my time) while I finished the chapter and then proofread it for me! And a big thank-you to everyone
who has reviewed this story so far!!!
An hour or so later, Harry, Hermione and Edna stepped out of the fireplace in the Weasley's kitchen to mouth-watering smells. As everyone greeted them with hugs and many a "Happy Christmas" could be heard, Hermione had the unforgettable experience of meeting Ron's twin brothers, Fred and George.
"I believe I'll keep my eye on them," Hermione said after the two walked into the sitting room.
"Good idea," Harry replied, "They own a joke shop in Hogsmeade and they love to pull pranks."
After being introduced to the rest of the Weasley's she hadn't met yet, Hermione went into the Kitchen to see if she could be of any help. Of course the women quickly scooted her out, scolding that she should not be on her feet so much. When she walked back over to the sofa, she noticed Harry's red-tinged cheeks and asked, "What have you been talking about that's embarrassed Harry? I hope it's a story about one of his adventures at Hogwarts, those are the best."
"We were just discussing . . . " Fred started to reply, only to be interrupted by Harry.
"They were just having a go at me, that's all," he said with a smile that told Hermione he wasn't being honest.
"That's not what we were doing," George said quickly, "We were just giving Harry a hard time about all his conquests . . . "
"He was quite the ladies' man the last couple of years he attended Hogwarts," Fred finished, "We'd heard some things from Ron, but we were trying to get him to tell us the whole story, good bits and all."
"Oh," Hermione said, sorry she had asked. Feeling as uncomfortable as she looked, she just sat back in her chair and listened to the rest of the conversation, missing the apologetic looks Harry kept giving her. For the rest of the evening, Hermione was strangely quiet.
When they got home that night, both laden with leftovers from Mrs. Weasley, Harry waited for Hermione to take off her coat and then walked up to her and put his arms around her. "I'm sorry," he said, "I tried to get Fred and George off the subject, but they just kept bringing it up."
"It's okay," Hermione replied, "well, I mean, I didn't enjoy hearing about it but I know that you had a life before I met you. It's just that . . . "
"What?" Harry asked as he pulled back a little and brought his hand up to caress her cheek lightly.
His touch was heavenly on her face and as she leaned into it she said, "I know that there's something between us, something really special. But there's always this little voice in the back of my mind that tells me that you're going to find someone better suited to you soon."
"That's not going to happen," Harry replied, gazing deeply into her eyes, "I have been happier with you than I ever was with anyone else . . . actually I think I-um . . . I-wow!" Hermione looked at him with a smile as he said, "The baby just kicked me! That's the first time I've gotten to feel him or her kick."
She watched happily as Harry started to rub his hands over her stomach and talk to the baby, but a part of her was dying of curiosity. Was he just about to tell her he loved her? What if he didn't get the nerve up to tell her again? Would she have had the courage to tell him she loved him too?
"Does it hurt when the baby kicks like that?" Harry asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"Not usually, but today I keep getting kicked in the same spot and I must admit I'm a bit sore," she replied, rubbing the sore spot. "It's late and I have to work early tomorrow morning so I think I'll be off to bed."
Looking a bit disappointed, Harry said, "All right then, I should get to bed too, I guess."
As the two of them walked down the hall toward their rooms, Hermione stopped in front of her door and opened it. Turning around, she looked at Harry and said, "I just want you to know Harry, I-um . . . you mean a lot to me." Raising up on her tiptoes she kissed him, loving the way his lips felt and the way his tongue deftly sought entrance, which she gave. The two kissed greedily, wanting to express physically the emotions they were unable to give voice to, and wishing that they could do so much more.
Feeling bold, Harry ran his hand up from her waist and caressed her cloth-covered breast. Hermione moaned into Harry's mouth at the intimate touch, feeling her blood catch fire once again. She pressed herself more into his hand, trying to let him know she liked what he was doing. Harry responded by rubbing his thumb back and forth across the hardened nipple that was straining against the material that covered it. Feeling almost fevered by his touch, Hermione ran her hand through his silky black hair and pulled him as close to her as she could, wishing she could melt into him completely. Every part of her body was tingling, there was a buzzing sound in her ears, and the only thought that was going through her mind at that moment was how much she wanted Harry.
Suddenly Harry pulled away from her and she made a sound of disagreement at the loss of warmth. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw Harry's hooded gaze staring back at her as his breathing was ragged and fast. "I...I don't think this is a good idea right now," he said in a deep, husky voice that made Hermione want to kiss him again.
When the fog in her mind cleared a little, she focused in on his face and asked, "Why not?"
Giving her his sexy-as-hell smile he replied, "Is it even safe for you to have sex right now? I mean, you are seven months pregnant and . . . well, truthfully, I'd be afraid of hurting the baby." At the disappointed look on her face he quickly added, "It's not that I don't want to be with you like that, because I really, really do. I just don't want to do anything to harm you or the baby . . . I would never be able to forgive myself."
Seeing the heated indecision in his eyes, she took his hand in hers and said, "You're right, I'm not sure if it would be safe or not." With a beautiful blush staining her cheeks she broke eye contact with him and said, "I have an appointment with the Healer on Monday . . . I-I'll ask her then if we can, uh . . . be intimate with each other."
Smiling at the coyness he heard in her voice, Harry squeezed her hand and said, "I don't want you to feel like you have to. I want to be with you, but I can wait until after the baby is born."
"I don't know if I can," she mumbled quietly, but not quiet enough that Harry couldn't hear and he chuckled quietly to himself. Surprising both of them, Hermione yawned loudly and covered her mouth with her hand in embarrassment.
Squeezing her hand back, Harry said, "Go get some sleep Luv and I'll see you in the morning."
Smiling at him, she said, "Goodnight Harry."
"Goodnight Hermione," he replied, and after one more heated kiss Hermione walked into her room and shut the door. Staring at the door, Harry placed his hand flat against it and whispered, "I love you."
~*~
Hermione locked the shop up after following the last customer left in the store to the door. It was the twenty-ninth of December and thanks to many after-holiday sales, the shop had been busy the past few days. Edna and Stacie had both left early, leaving her to finish the shift out by herself, and she was exhausted. With visions of a cup of tea and a hot, relaxing bath in mind, Hermione flooed to her flat.
"Surprise!" a chorus of voices shouted as she stumbled out of the fireplace in their flat. Looking around wide-eyed and trying to slow her hammering heart, Hermione spotted Edna and Luna near the front of the group and asked, "What is going on here?"
"It's your baby shower!" Luna replied, walking up to her and giving her a big hug. "Edna, Ginny and I have been planning this for a while now so that we could have it during our Christmas break. I got the idea from an American magazine my Dad had laying around his office. Basically it's a party where we shower you with presents for your baby!"
"Oh my goodness!" Hermione exclaimed as her gaze skimmed over all the familiar faces that were staring at her. Amongst the many friendly faces she noticed Ginny, Neville, Ron, Dean, Harry, Mrs. Weasley, Edna, and even Stacie was there, which explained why she and Edna had left the shop early that night. "I-I can't believe you went through all this trouble for me . . . thank you so much!"
As tears welled in her eyes at their thoughtfulness, Harry walked up to her along with quite a few others, telling her how it hadn't been any trouble at all. When she saw Ron, Dean, and Neville walking toward her she said, "I must say, I'm surprised to see the lot of you here."
"Yeah, well . . . let's just say my fiancé and sister can be very persuasive when they want to be," Ron replied with a smile.
"Not to mention what a wonderful person you are," Neville added and then blushed when Hermione hugged him.
"I hope you didn't have to work too hard tonight," Luna said as she placed her hand lightly on Hermione's stomach and rubbed lightly, a gesture that Hermione had been uncomfortable with at first but now knew was an innocent sign of affection from her dear friend.
"We were pretty busy near closing time, but it made the time go by faster," she replied.
"Time to eat," Molly called out. Once everyone had a plate full of her delicious food, it was basically a sit-where-there's-room seating arrangement. Hermione sat at the kitchen table with Harry, Edna and Luna, while Ron, Neville, Ginny and Dean found seats nearby.
Once everyone was finished eating, Edna gathered everyone in the sitting room so that Hermione could open her presents. Hermione eyed the mound of gifts set before her and felt that it was Christmas all over again. There had to be at least twenty presents, some wrapped in pink and blue pastels, while others had small baby footprints that magically walked all over the paper. "Oh my, I'm not sure where to start!" Hermione exclaimed with a huge smile.
"Open mine first!" Ginny exclaimed happily. Taking the present from her, Hermione unwrapped it and smiled at the soft mint green blanket and matching pajamas that were inside. "Since you're being stubborn about finding out if it's a girl or boy, Mum said that green or yellow would be a good color to get," Ginny said after Hermione thanked her.
"I want it to be a surprise," Hermione said, "I have two names picked out, one if it's a boy and the other if it's a girl, so I'm prepared either way."
"What are they?" Ginny asked.
"She won't tell anyone," Harry answered, "I've been begging her to tell me and she still refuses."
"That's a switch . . . Harry begging a bird for something instead of the other way around," Dean said, only to be slapped upside the head by Luna. "Ouch! What'cha do that for?"
"Because of how daft you can be sometimes," Luna replied shortly.
When Dean opened his mouth with a retort to Luna's insult, Ron interjected, "I'd let it go if I were you mate, you don't have a bloody chance in hell of winning an argument with her, trust me."
After the laughter from Ron's comment died down, Hermione got back to the pile of presents, opening one after another until there was wrapping paper scattered all about the room. A pile of brand-new baby clothes, blankets, toys, and other essentials lay where the stack of gifts stood some twenty minutes before.
"Thank you so much everyone," she said, raising her voice to be heard over the murmur of conversation. As everyone replied to her thanks, Luna walked in from the Kitchen, a giant cake floating ahead of her. Gently moving her wand, the cake landed safely on the table in front of Hermione, and Luna took a seat on the couch next to her. "Chocolate?" Hermione asked, her smile wide.
"Chocolate," Luna replied, "I wouldn't deny a pregnant woman her greatest craving."
As the cake was cut and passed around, Harry sat on the other side of Hermione and leaning close to her ear he said, "I'll give you my present for the baby later on, after everyone's gone home, okay?"
Swallowing the bite of cake she had just taken, Hermione looked at him and saw a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Okay," she replied quietly as the suspense and excitement at whatever his surprise was started to build.
After thanking everyone again and many shared hugs, Hermione said goodbye to the last guest. Turning to Luna she said, "I know it's probably a waste of breath, but is there anything I can do to help clean up?"
Walking past with a floating pile of presents, Luna replied, "No there is not. Just sit down and relax."
Sighing loudly, Hermione settled back into the sofa as best she could and rubbed her hand over a particularly sore spot on her stomach. The baby had been so active that day and the little bugger liked to kick her in the same place over and over again. As if sensing her discomfort, the baby rolled over and she laughed softly as she watched her entire stomach shift and move.
Luna sat beside her as she finished cleaning the flat and asked, "I'll be going back to Hogwarts in three days, so maybe we can get together for lunch before then?"
"That would be great," Hermione replied, "How about the day after tomorrow? You could meet me at the shop and we could go from there?"
"Sounds perfect," Luna agreed and then leaned over to hug her friend. "I hope you enjoyed tonight and that it helped out on some of the things you needed for the baby."
"It was wonderful," Hermione said, "Thank you for planning it, I loved the surprise and now I don't have so much to buy in the next two months."
"It was the least I could do," Luna replied. After helping Hermione up from the sofa, she and Luna hugged each other good-bye and with a soft 'pop', Luna was gone.
Hearing Luna leaving, Harry walked into the sitting room and asked, "Ready for my present now?"
"Yes!" Hermione said excitedly, every trace of tiredness disappearing from her face. Harry laughed at her quick reply and took her hand in his, leading her down the hall.
Stopping just past the door to Hermione's room, Harry waved his wand in front of the wall and a door appeared. "Close your eyes," he said and then waited for her to close both eyes tightly. Opening the door, Harry guided her through it and stopping in the center of the room he said, "Okay, open your eyes."
Hermione opened her eyes and gasped. In front of her was a crib with sheets that had yellow, light blue and mint green patterns. Looking around the room she saw a rocking chair, a changing table, a wooden rocking horse, and three stuffed animals, a teddy bear, owl, and lamb, arranged on a window seat that looked out into the back yard. The walls were a very pale yellow which made the room seem warm and cheery, but not too bright. There were small baby blocks adorning the walls along with pastel paintings, one of a Mother and child playing in the grass and another of a man and woman standing in front of a beautiful house in the country, the woman cradling a small baby in her arms. Staring at it, Hermione said, "This painting is beautiful."
"My parents standing in front of their house in Godric's Hollow," Harry said quietly as he walked up behind her. "It was taken when I was two weeks old and is one of the few pictures I have of the three of us. I took the picture to a local painter and he made it for me."
Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she turned toward him and said, "Thank you so much Harry."
"You're very welcome," he replied, kissing her softly on her forehead. "I hope the colors are okay, it's the best I could do since you don't know the sex of the baby yet."
"It's perfect," she said with a smile, "I couldn't ask for anything more."