Hey all! I want to thank you for all of your wonderful reviews on the final chapter of Your Faith in Me and on the first chapter of this story. It means alot that you guys are lovin' it! (ba da ba ba ba I'm lovin' it! hehe sorry, couldn't resist)
Hmmm, some of you seem so sure that Greg is Malfoy...interesting. This next chapter may throw you then :)
Ok, now to my shout outs! Thanks to...
Mrs. Brightside: Thanks for the backup :), Melissa, izzieq, Dylan, lucifer, allyeinstein123, loup Denoir, Sami, Browynnath: Thank you as well for the backup and nice comments!, smileyRhi, yasmine Lupin, and Harry loves Hermione2003
Now to the chapter. I hope you guys like it, I included a Harry Hermione scene that wasn'toriginally planned just for you guys out there, so enjoy! =D
Chapter Two
Secrets and Goodbyes
" Hey, Weasley"
Maggie Forldap, the tall, dark haired female chaser for the canons, smiled big as she made her way towards her locker that afternoon after a tiring practice.
" Er-hello, Maggie. Good practice" he greeted, wiping the sweat off his brow and continuing to shove his smelly uniform into his bag, which was already stuffed to perfection with several bottles of Spiffy Juice. Spiffy Juice was Luna's new energy drink concoction that was made of all natural ingredients...whatever that meant. According to her, it was big with the muggles. He didn't have the heart to tell her he never drank it.
" You too" she grinned. Closing her locker she casually began to tie her long hair back into a loose ponytail. " Although I think we need to do more than that to win the cup this year."
" Nah. This is our year! I can feel it!" he said brightly.
" Always the positive one, aren't you Weasley?" she laughed, giving him one last smile before making her way towards the exit. " See you tomorrow!" she called over her shoulder.
" See ya" he called back. It was a few minutes later that he himself exited the building, his bag slung loosely over his shoulder.
He glanced at his watch as he made his way down the empty street. 7:15. Practice had run longer than he had anticipated with Jason Goldberg, the Canons captain, being on his usual power trip and making the whole team stay late to get each of the new moves perfect. The man was like an Oliver Wood clone! Well, except for the fact that Oliver Wood actually won them some games.
His mind then drifted to Luna. She was probably wondering where he was. This thought should have made him apparate home to ease his wife's mind but it didn't. Instead he felt like walking, merlin knows he needed quiet time to think about everything, or more importantly...something.
He knew right away although he tried his best to push it out of his mind and deny everything, So he wasn't that surprised when Luna broke the big news to him at the beginning of August.
However, there was no denying it now because in eight months time Ronald Weasley was going to be a father and the time had come to break the news to his family.
* * *
" Hey, move your big butt!" Hermione giggled, pushing Harry over with her hip as he flopped down beside her on their couch.
He gave her an over dramatic gasp as he slung his left arm around her neck.
" I find that highly offensive Miss. Granger! I happen to think I have a very good butt....it's nicely proportioned" he grinned, lifting his left hip slightly to show off his behind.
" OK, whatever you say..." she joked.
" What? You don't think so? That's not fair, I like your butt!" he proclaimed in mock horror.
Rolling her eyes at his playful behaviour, she casually rested her head onto his chest and stretched her legs out so her feet rested comfortably on the arm rest of the couch.
The pair then elapsed into silence, something that was a regular thing. It was something special when you could lay beside the one you loved and be totally comfortable with not saying a single word. And that's how she felt with Harry. Just laying there in his arms was enough for her.
It was several seconds later when Hermione decided to break the silence.
" Do you really have to go?" she asked quietly.
" Yes...."
More Silence.
" You'll owl every day?" she questioned, her gaze concentrated on the roaring fire in front of them.
She could feel him nod his head above her.
" Twenty times a day, if I can" he smiled.
" And use the fire sometimes so I can see your face?" she added, now turning her gaze upwards towards him.
Looking down onto her worried face, he softly kissed her forehead.
" I promise."
Silently accepting this, she lowered her head back down to where it was before.
" When do you need to leave?"
" Around four in the morning..." he mumbled.
Looking at the clock she noticed that it was now 9PM. which caused her heart to sink to the pit of her stomach. 4am wasn't that far off...seven hours if you wanted to be technical.
A part of her wanted to scream and yell at him and make him not go but the other half of her knew she couldn't. But every time he left her like this, she couldn't help but worry that the moment he walked out the door may be the last time she ever saw him...
Getting a smug thought in her mind, she then casually lifted herself from the crack of the couch and slowly made her way over until she was literally on top of him.
" Wow, what's this?" he asked, amused by her sudden change in attitude.
Grinning, she began to slowly kiss his lips.
" It's..."
Kiss.
" a..."
Kiss.
" Good-bye..."
Kiss.
" Gift..."
Kiss.
" I like this gift" he smirked, as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
" Oh the gift hasn't even started yet" she teased.
* * *
Throwing the covers off, he placed his feet onto the cushiony carpet and watched as his frantic girlfriend looked for her sweater.
" Gin, come back to bed..." he pleaded.
She didn't turn to him as she finally found her sweater and threw it over her head, causing a few static hairs to stand up.
" I can't," she mumbled, " I need to go to work..."
A sigh of defeat left his lips as he got up and made his way over to her.
" Gin...It's suppose to be your day off, tell them no!" he protested.
" Greg, I'm a healer, people need me! I can't just say no! Look, my shift ends tomorrow morning, I should be back at the Burrow by breakfast.." she said.
As she headed for the bedroom door, she was suddenly stopped by Greg, who had grabbed ahold of her arm.
" Wait Gin."
" What?"
" Why don't you come back here after your shift?" he asked tentively.
She pondered this for a second before scrunching her nose up in protest.
" Why? Won't you be at work?"
He laughed a little and pulled her closer to his chest.
" Well, I thinking of making it a more permanent thing..."
Her heart at that moment seemed to jump to her throat. Was he asking her what she thought he was asking?
" W-What?"
" Ginny, we've been together for almost a year now and I think it's time to take the next step..."
" Greg...this is so sudden, I mean-"
" Gin, I love you and I think this would be good for us" he said, grabbing both of her hands in his. " So what do you say? Would you move in with me?"
Silence. Opening her mouth slightly, she pleaded with herself to say something, anything, to get that anxious look off of his face.
" Move in with you?"
He nodded.
" I-well....Ok, I'll move in with you" she finally said, running her hands through her messy hair.
His smile broadened as he wrapped his arms around her and spun her in a circle.
" Put me down," she giggled, " I need to go to work"
Setting her back down onto her feet he planted a soft kiss on her lips.
" I'll stop by the Burrow after my shift and break the news to my parents..." she said, throwing on her black robe. Doing up the front buttons she reached for her wand and placed it in her pocket.
" Have a good day, Gin" he said.
" Oh, don't I always" she smiled back, giving a small wave before apparating out of the house.
Opening her brown eyes, she looked around to see a familiar dark street around her. Taking a few glances to make sure no one had spotted her, she made her way down the same dark alley she always did and towards his door. Inhaling a deep breath she did her usual three knocks and waited patiently for him to answer. It was several seconds later that the door creaked open.
" Does he know you're here?" he asked in a low whisper.
" No" she replied, crossing her arms around her chest, " I told him I got called into work..."
" Are you sure, Weasley?"
A stern look developed on her face as a few rain drops started to run down her forehead. She did not have the patience to deal with this from him at this time of morning.
" Malfoy, I dragged my ass out of bed to meet you so stop being an idiot and let me in! Im freezing!" she yelled.
A sly smirk crossed his pale face as he finally stood aside and let her pass.
" My, aren't we fiery this morning"
" Oh sod off" she smirked, pushing past him and entering his flat.
* * *
It was ten to four when Harry got up and gathered his wand and robes that he needed. Looking over towards the couch a half smile came to his lips as he saw Hermione snoring loudly with her right arm thrown across her face.
Tip toeing quietly over to her, he placed a hand on her shoulder and softly shook her.
" Hermione?"
Groan.
" Hermiiiioooone....wake up."
" Mmmmmm" he could hear her mumble.
" I'm leaving now, sweetie."
Lifting her arm away from her face her brown eyes suddenly fluttered open and turned towards him.
" You're leaving?" she said, her voice groggy from sleep. When he nodded she lazily stood up and wrapped her arms around him in a romantic hug. " Be careful..." she whispered into his ear.
Pulling away he cupped her face into his hands and smiled.
" Please don't worry Hermy...I promise I'll be back before you know it."
" You better! Now go before you're late!" she ordered.
He nodded softly as he kissed her one last time.
" I'll owl you as soon as I can, OK?"
" Ok...I love you..."
" Right back at ya, Herms" he smiled.
A few seconds later she found herself alone in big empty house as the sound of rain pelted down against the back window.