~A/N> Thanks for all the wonderful reviews on the last chapter, and as always thanks to Spaz for all her hard
work!
"What do you mean you're going to be home late?" her Mother practically wailed into the phone, "We
were supposed to finish decorating the kitchen tonight!"
"Mum," Hermione sighed, "The kitchen can wait until tomorrow. Something's come up and I can't get out of it," she explained, hoping her Mum wouldn't question her excuse.
After a dramatic sigh of her own, her Mum said, "Well, I guess it will just have to wait until tomorrow then. Your not going to be out too late, are you? You need to think about your health you know."
"Yes Mum," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes at her Mother's dramatics. After saying good-bye she hung up her cell phone and ran her hand tiredly through her hair. So far the pregnancy had been easy, she'd been spared from morning sickness, but she was constantly tired and her regular clothes were starting to get tight. She finally relented and had tentative plans to go maternity wear shopping.
"Ready to go?" Harry asked, interrupting her thoughts, as he walked up to her. She nodded and followed him out the door.
"Good night Edna," she called out behind her, "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."
"Good night Hermione," Edna responded, "And Harry...you take care of our girl. If I hear otherwise you'll have more than one angry witch to contend with."
"Okay Edna," Harry replied smiling, "Good night."
Once they were outside Hermione turned to Harry and asked, "So where are we going?"
"Well, there's this friend of mine that's just opened up a small café between Quality Quidditch Supplies and the Apothecary, I thought we might go there," Harry replied.
"I wondered what they were going to put in there, they've been working on that shop since I started with Edna," Hermione said.
As they continued to walk and discuss a myriad of topics, Harry placed his hand lightly on the small of her back as they reached the door of the cafe. Hermione was surprised when his touch sent tingles up her spine and when she chanced a look at him she noticed a strange look on his face; 'maybe he felt it too?' she wondered, walking through the door he was holding open for her.
The moment they walked inside a wizard about their age and a little shorter than Harry came hurrying up to them with a huge smile on his face. "Harry!" the wizard said, grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously, "I'm so glad you finally had a chance to stop by."
"Hey Neville," Harry replied happily, "I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come in here, but things have been a little hectic lately." Hermione watched as Neville shook his head in understanding as Harry said, "I'm sorry, where are my manners? Neville, this is Hermione Granger, she works for Edna at Flourish and Blotts. Hermione, this is Neville Longbottom, we attended Hogwarts together."
"It's nice to meet you Neville," Hermione said, finding Neville's friendly smile contagious.
"It's nice to meet you too Hermione," Neville replied. He turned to Harry and said, "I have a nice, quiet table for the two of you, please follow me."
Harry once again placed his hand on Hermione's back and guided her around the tables as they followed Neville. Neville stopped and pulled a chair out for Hermione and asked, "I hope this is okay?"
"It's perfect," Hermione replied, liking his easy smile and sweet demeanor, "Thank you Neville."
As Hermione sat in the seat that Neville pulled out for her, Harry looked at Neville and said jokingly, "You're making me look bad Neville."
"Sorry Harry, force of habit...you know...my Gran," Neville replied. At the mention of his Gran a strange look flickered across his face and Harry started laughing.
"No problem Neville, I understand," he said.
"Can I bring you two anything to drink?" Neville asked, looking from Hermione to Harry.
"We'll both have some tea please," Harry replied.
Hermione watched as Neville nodded and walked away to get their tea. "He seems like a nice sort," she stated, "I don't remember the last time I felt so comfortable with someone I've just met."
"Yeah, he's been like that since the day we met, our first train ride to Hogwarts," Harry replied, "He was always so friendly and as we became friends we realized we had more in common than we thought."
Just then Neville returned to the table with a tray balanced in his arms. "Here's your tea, and I brought you some of our homemade biscuits too."
"Thank you so much," Hermione replied, giving him a dazzling smile. She noticed that his cheeks took on a light pink color as he placed their tea and the biscuits on the table in front of them.
"You're welcome," he replied, "If you need anything else just give a shout." Hermione watched as he made a hasty retreat from their table and she looked at Harry questioningly.
"He may be really friendly, but he's also painfully shy and gets embarrassed easily," Harry replied, answering her silent question.
They each took a sip of their tea and as Hermione reached for a biscuit Harry asked, "So will you tell me more about yourself?"
After she had taken a bite she chewed slowly as she looked at him, as if studying him to see if he was worthy. "What do you want to know?" she asked warily.
"Well, how about where you went to school?" he asked simply.
"I went to Beauxbatons," she replied, "I was top of my class when I finished my schooling two months ago."
"How is it that you lived in France but you have a British accent?" he asked.
"I was born right here in London. We moved to France just before I turned twelve. I was supposed to start at Hogwarts that September but my parents decided to transfer me to Beauxbatons so I could be closer to them. The French was difficult at first, we were taught translator spells first year. Its how I managed to keep my accent. Fortunately I picked up on the French soon enough and that helped with trying to fit in." she explained.
"So, did you like Beauxbatons? Is it a good school? I met your Headmistress...Madame..." Harry asked.
"Maxime." Hermione finished, "Yes, its an excellent school. What about Hogwarts? Is it as grand as the history books indicate?"
"Yeah, its fantastic. More like home than my own home..." Harry responded but then stopped, he wanted to know more about Hermione. "So why'd you move back to Britain?"
Hermione sighed and then decided to answer the question, "My Father...my Father past away suddenly...the night before...he missed the leaving feast." Hermione paused to pull herself together, "Uhmm, my mum decided that it would be best if we moved back to London to be closer to the rest of the family."
"I'm sorry to hear about your Father," he said sympathetically, "I do know how that feels...I lost my parents too...uhm I guess you probably knew that already..."
"Yes, learning about you was required reading during first year," Hermione replied, "I often wondered what it was like to be you and have something that horrid happen at such a young age. It must have been very hard on you growing up."
"You have no idea," he said, getting a distant look in his eyes. She knew that she must have dredged up some bad memories but he recovered quickly and asked, "So, as beautiful and, uh...friendly as you are, I imagine you left a very heartbroken guy behind 'eh?"
"Is that yet another line from the Potter repertoire?" she quipped, laughing. Suddenly becoming serious she replied, "I'd hardly call him heartbroken, more likely relieved that I am gone."
"I find that hard to believe," he said, studying her face.
Uncomfortable with his scrutiny she asked, "What about you? From what I hear you are quite the heartbreaker."
"Don't believe everything you hear," he answered, "Yeah, I dated a few girls during school, one of them was, well, kind of a serious relationship, but that's it for my dating history."
Hermione watched him as he talked, noticing how his green eyes sparkled in the dim light of the cafe and a small wave of fear came over her. She was falling for him and falling hard. He really wasn't so bad after she'd quit being so stroppy with him and she knew she'd like to see him again, but she also knew that before this night was over she was going to have to tell him her secret. She hoped it wouldn't bother him but she knew that was just a fleeting fantasy...most guys ran screaming the minute they found out a girl was pregnant by another bloke. It wouldn't be fair to keep it from him though, it's not like he wouldn't realize it soon anyway, as fat as she was getting. She would just have to be honest and hope for the best.
While these thoughts were running through Hermione's head Harry was also thinking about the girl sitting across from him. He couldn't get over how beautiful she was, how her smile reached her eyes, and now that she'd quit being so cold towards him he found she was smart and had a wonderfully playful personality to go along with it all. It was actually a little unsettling, how easy it was to talk about everything and anything with her, even personal things, but he would worry about that later, right now he was enjoying her company and having a good time.
"So did you start working right out of school or are you taking some time off?" Hermione asked, pulling him from his thoughts.
"I'm taking some time off," he replied, "There have been countless job offers but I'm not sure what I want to do next."
"I'd imagine your focus has been on defeating Voldemort rather than potential career options, it must be nice to have that behind you and start living a normal life for once," she said casually, grabbing another biscuit.
Looking surprised he said, "I can't believe you said his name so easily, most people won't even say it and those that try usually stutter and hesitate."
"A great man once said, 'The only thing you have to fear is fear itself'", she replied easily, "I refused to be afraid of his name because that's what he wanted."
"That's very true," Harry said, impressed at her response. He had yet to meet a witch that didn't treat him like some kind of hero and gush constantly about how famous he was, let alone one that could say Voldemort's name so easily...until her. He knew he had to be cautious around her or else he would end up falling hard.
After chatting for a bit about Hermione's childhood and some of Harry's exploits at Hogwarts (with some input from Neville) Hermione said, "I really should be getting home. It's getting late and I have to help my Mum in the morning and then work in the afternoon."
Harry agreed and they both thanked Neville for the tea and biscuits. "Anytime," he replied, "It was great to meet you Hermione, I hope you'll come visit me again soon."
"I'll come over here for lunch one day soon," she answered happily.
"And don't be a stranger Harry," Neville joked, "Maybe if you came in here more often I'd get more customers."
"Ha, Ha," Harry replied, sounding angry but smiling as he said it, "I'll make sure to come back again soon. Thanks again Neville."
As the two of them walked out the door Hermione looked up and saw a shooting star soar across the sky; stopping suddenly she closed her eyes and made a wish. "What are you doing?" Harry asked, watching her strange behaviour.
"I'm making a wish," she replied, "That's what you're supposed to do when you see a shooting star."
"You really believe in wishes?" he asked, walking along side her.
"Wishes and dreams are all we have to keep our hopes alive for something we so desperately want," she answered, "I take it you don't believe in them?"
"I used to, but not any more," he replied, "There were too many wishes and dreams that didn't come true as I was growing up. I guess I just lost faith in them and grew to depend on myself to make things happen."
She thought of how sad it was for him to have to grow up so quickly she wondered if he'd ever had any childhood at all. The two of them continued to walk quietly down the street and Hermione was surprised when Harry took hold of her hand. She looked over at him smiling and was glad when he smiled back. It was such a beautiful night, the stars were shining brightly and there was just a hint of humidity on the wind; Hermione found herself wishing it wouldn't end.
She came to a stop outside of Flourish and Blotts and said, "Thank you Harry, I've had fun tonight."
"You're going back into the store?" he asked, "I can take you home, it's no problem."
"Thank you for the offer," she replied, "But I had my fireplace at home hooked up to the floo network so that I can floo right to work and then home again. It took my Mum a little while to get used to it but it's just easier for me that way."
After standing quietly on the sidewalk for a few moments, with her hand still in his, Harry said, "If it's okay with you, I'd like to see you again soon."
Hermione smiled weakly at him, knowing the time to tell him had come, and steeling her resolve replied, "I'd like that Harry, very much. But there is something I have to tell you that...well...will probably change your mind."
Harry squeezed her hand in reflex doubting there was anything she could say that would change his mind about seeing her again and said, "Alright..."
She looked carefully into his anxious eyes, "I'm...pregnant."
Except for that...Harry felt like he'd been hit in the gut by a bludger. She's pregnant? But she's so young, she didn't seem like the type-and he liked her so much..."How...I mean who's...I mean-"
As his hand released hers she looked at the ground as her eyes filled with tears. Readying herself to face his rejection, she said, "My boyfriend...well ex-boyfriend. It wasn't planned...the night my father died...I just needed to feel...and he...well we..." She shook her head, "I feel so foolish. I should have known..."
When she was suddenly quiet Harry looked up at her and noticed the tears sliding down her cheeks. Still feeling a bit unsure but unable to ignore the fact that she was obviously very upset, Harry reached out and lightly wiped away one of the tears. At his touch she had closed her eyes and sighed softly, the contact alone making her feel a bit better. While she was caught up with her jumbled thoughts and emotions Harry quietly asked, "He, uh...he didn't force you, did he?"
When she opened her eyes her heart broke a little; there it was, unease and apprehension in his eyes. Trying to focus on the obvious concern in his voice she whispered, "No, nothing like that...I just made a mistake about someone I thought loved me."
"What are you going to do...with the baby I mean?" he asked, his voice now devoid of any emotion.
"I'm..." she replied, "My Mum has been pushing me to get rid of it or put it up for adoption, but I just can't do it...this baby...it's a part of me."
"Yeah...you have to do what you feel is right," he stated, "Well, ah, thanks for telling me, I appreciate your honesty. I'll uh, I'll come see you again soon, okay?"
"S-sure," she answered, knowing that she would never see him again. She could tell that he was really spooked and that he wasn't ready to get involved with a witch with a baby. The tabloids would probably have a field day with that information if it were to get out that he was dating her. Choking back the sob that tried to escape, she gave him a watery smile and said, "Well, thanks again for tonight, I'm glad you talked me into it. I had fun."
"You're welcome," Harry replied, "Umm, well then, good night."
"Good night," Hermione whispered as she watched him turn abruptly and make his way to the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione unwarded the door as quickly as she could through the tears that were blurring her vision and rushed inside, resetting the wards behind her. Finally giving in to the sadness that was engulfing her, Hermione collapsed to the floor in tears, knowing that something that could have been really great had just walked out of her life forever.
~Please review, it only takes a moment and I greatly appreciate it!~