Belong To Nowhere
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Happy New Year!
Thanks to Sugarquill39 for the beta and all her help.
Chapter 27: Vida
Hermione began to tremble as she looked at Madame Pomfrey. "Y-You know it's not p-possible, Ma'am," she whispered weakly.
The older woman smiled kindly at her. "I think I was wrong, Mis- Hermione." At this, Hermione lowered her head and began to cry silently.
"H-How?" Harry chocked out. W-Was he going to be a father?
"How? HOW?!" Sirius exploded. "I think you know exactly how, young man!" He shook his head in disapproval. "I can't believe it. And I talked to you two, and you had said-"
"Shut up, Sirius!" Harry cried angrily. "You don't understand!"
"Oh yeah I do understand. You two had sex, didn't take precautions, and now she is pregnant. It's really simple to understand!"
"No, Sirius," Hermione spoke quietly, her cheeks wet with tears, "it isn't. I can't have children."
Then the two teens explained to Sirius all about Hermione's problem. How she had been successful to find a way to kill Nagini, but also discovered that in doing so part of Nagini's venom would enter her system, rendering her unable to have child. Forever.
After hearing the entire tale, there was only one thing that a shocked Sirius Black could ask. "Then how?"
"I think it all begins when Miss Granger decided to perform the Re-birth Ritual," Professor Flitwick began to explain. "The most important requirement to perform the ritual was to do it with a free heart, to want its consequences not only for themselves but for another. It must have to be an act of-"
"Love," Hermione whispered almost to herself. "T-That's why it worked. Tonks truly loves Remus and I-" She stopped, unable to continue, her cheeks blushing deep red. Harry squeezed her hand, blushing himself.
The tiny professor smiled at the young witch. "Yes." He nodded. "Your feelings for Mister Potter were true and strong enough to perform the ritual." He gave the couple a slight grin. "Not only your feelings, but his too."
Harry cleared his throat. "But how could you know I had feelings for Hermione then? I didn't know it." Harry could swear that someone had snorted.
"Oh, Mister Potter," the Charms Professor replied patiently, "don't you understand? One of the gifts I received for having Goblin's blood is the ability to sense all kind of bonds and-"
Then it was heard a gasp. It was Hermione; she brought her hand to her mouth, and began to sob.
"W-What what is this?" Harry asked alarmed.
"W-We are s-soul..." She stopped and looked shyly at him, her cheeks flushed and wet with tears.
Finally, Harry understood.
He cupped her face with his hands, and leaned closer to her, giving Hermione a gentle kiss on the lips. "We are soul mates," he whispered, as he turned to look again at the Professor "That's why s-she is pregnant?"
Professor Flitwick smiled. "Partly," he said. "This child is a result of very powerful magic."
"Vida!" Hermione suddenly spoke out. "Vida is a phoenix and one of phoenixes' powers is healing. D-Did she heal me when I performed the ritual?"
"You are only half correct, Miss Granger," the professor said. "Vida, as you called the blue phoenix, healed you when she bonded you two." The professor looked meaningfully at the two teenagers.
Harry was about to ask just when they had bonded, but then he knew- and even if it looked impossible his cheeks grew even redder.
There was a moment of strange silence that was interrupted by Remus' voice.
"I think Harry and Hermione need to talk," he said, and they all nodded. "Harry, Hermione." He turned to the young couple. "We will be outside. I hope Minerva already dealt with Molly."
They all bid their goodbyes, and were about to leave the Infirmary to let the couple talk when Professor Flitwick stopped and turned around to look at Harry and Hermione once again.
"Oh, Miss Granger, your inability to have children wasn't the only result of the snake's venom that was healed by the phoenix."
"I-I don't-"
"The venom had also destroyed part of your self steem; it had made you mentally weak- very susceptible to unfriendly influences."
With that, he gave them a bow and then left.
*~*
They weren't sure how much time they stayed in silence, just gazing at each other.
"Hermione." Harry was the first one to break the silence, holding her trembling hands. He was feeling like trembling himself. "I can't deny this is surprising, and a bit unexpected. I've had a shadow of an idea about adopting a child or-" At this, Hermione let go of his grip and placed a hand on his face.
"Y-you thought about adopting a child?" she bumbled, her voice weak with emotion.
Harry began to stroke her locks. "T-The thought came to my mind," he replied shyly. "Of course I would have to talk with you..."He ran a hand through his messy dark hair. "I-I had this idea that-that when we were out of Hogwarts, and I have finally defeated Riddle..."
"I-I guess things happened a little earlier then, yeah?"
"Oh, Hermione, don't you see?" He smiled at her. "Yes, I'm surprised, but I am so happy, too. Now, I have another reason to survive, to kill this damn Dark Lord and survive doing it!" He leaned down and placed a kiss on her low stomach. "I already love you so much, little one."
Unable to control herself, Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry, and began to sob against his chest.
"Oh, Hermione!" he cried almost in despair. "Did I say I say something wrong? I swear it wasn't my intention!"
Hermione looked up at him, smiling weakly. "No, Harry." She shook her head. "It-it's just ...now...now I'm not a dry carcass any-"
Harry felt himself tense; a wave of anger began to fulfill his body. "W-What did you say, Hermione?" He tried to sound calm, gritting his teeth together.
Noticing how his eyes had darkened, Hermione tried to dismiss the issue. "'doesn't matter, Harry," she assured him, "right now, it doesn't matter anymore."
"Yes, Hermione," Harry spoke fiercely, "It does matter. It was Ginny, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"That whore!" Harry shouted, standing up from the bed; his body was still sore but he didn't seem to mind. "That's too much for that bitch!" He began to pace.
With a certain difficult, Hermione lifted herself form the bed and walked towards Harry.
"Love, it doesn't matter anymore," she repeated. "I am not saying I am not going to have a talk with her. Oh, because I will. I will let her know a piece of my mind. I am not made of ice, Harry." She wrapped her arms around his waist. "I just don't want to be thinking about her anymore. She's not worth it."
Harry enveloped his arms around her, bringing her even closer to him. "That's why you went to the Forest last night." It wasn't a question. "Dean told me he saw the two of you together, arguing."
Hermione gave him a short nod. "Yes," she replied, "I'm not sure how I ended up in Forest. The storm was so strong that I couldn't see anything." She let go a small laugh. "Rather stupid, if you ask me." She heaved a sigh. "But I needed to be alone; I needed some time with myself. I needed a moment to digest."
"What did she say?"
The young witch shook her head sadly, and almost monotonously repeated to Harry all of Ginny's dire words.
After she finished, Hermione looked uncertainly at Harry. His expression was hard to read; his jaw was set, and his green eyes seemed to have darkened even more.
Maybe it would be easier if he had begun to shout, or whatever,- but this silence made her heart beat faster.
"What hurts me the most aren't her words," she spoke after some time, and he stared at her in confused disbelief.
"Hermione," he hissed, "not even Malfoy..."
"Since I was a child, Harry," she said, "I have to deal with those kind of words. Beaver, Know-it-all, bushy haired girl, Mudblood." Hermione smiled sadly. "No matter if it was my Muggle classmates, or some random Slytherin- I've always had to deal with it..."
"But you shouldn't!"
"Oh, you are too kind, Harry.' She shook her head. "I always had an agreement with myself, something that my mum and dad always taught me- never let those mean words reach my heart." She closed her eyes briefly, only to open than again a moment later. "Now everything makes sense...I couldn't understand why I couldn't see the truth behind Ginny...why her words wounded me so much."
"Nagini."
Hermione nodded. "However, what's worse than even her words is the realization that Ginny has no compassion in her heart; how everything- every laugh, every chat, everything had been a lie. You mentioned Malfoy...she's worse than him...much worse."
Without saying a word, Harry leaned his face towards hers and began to place soft kisses around her cheeks and jaw line. Instinctively, Hermione bent her head, giving Harry more access to her neck, and Harry began to suck lightly, causing her to moan in pleasure. He then claimed her lips once again and proclaimed an entrance to her mouth. The kiss was soft and slow, almost like it was a first time, like they were just tasting each other for the first time.
"Hermione," he said huskily, their lips barely touching each other, "I love you."
She smiled. "I love you too, Harry."
"Hermione." His voice was a little louder than a whisper. "I-I want to say that I'm sorry." Hermione looked surprised at him, but let him continue. "I want to say sorry for every time I made you cry, for the horrible things I-"
Hermione shook her head. "Harry, love, I know you didn't mean any of that," she said. "Yeah, it hurts- and maybe it still hurts a little." She looked down when a tear insisted on falling from her eyes. "Especially when my parents died and-" Harry stopped her with a light kiss on her lips.
"I'm sorry," he repeated, "I'm sorry for everything." Harry gave her a lopsided smile. "I know I said this before, but- but I swear- I swear that I'll do anything to make you happy."
Hermione gently placed a hand on his cheek. "I know..."
Harry heaved a sigh and then continued. "I-I can't say that having a child doesn't freak me out a little. Yeah, I'm scared, Hermione. I am scared not only for me, but also for you and this little one." He smiled sadly. "I wish I knew that everything's gonna be all right but- but I don't know." He closed his eyes briefly but opened them again a moment later. "But there's one thing I know- One thing that I want to do right. We'll be finishing Hogwarts in few weeks and then..." He ran a hand through his hair; his cheeks suddenly bright red. "I'm not very good in these things...but, oh boy, Hermione..."
Hermione felt herself trembling. "Y-yes?"
"Er, um...I-I know this isn't very romantic or anything, and, um, I don't have a ring, b-but-" He laughed dryly. "Oh, well." He then sat down on one knee. "Hermione, will you marry me?"
Hermione stared at him in a mild shock. Her mouth was open but no words seemed to come out.
"H-Hermione?" His voice sounded unsure.
Hermione blinked twice and then finally seemed to come to her mind. "H-Harry you aren't doing this only be-" Harry then stood up and put a finger on her lips, shaking his head.
"I won't lie that- this baby, this wonderful miracle we have inside your tummy, accelerated things a little. No, I won't lie. But I do love and...oh we are only doing something I would do when we finish Hogwarts anyway." He looked seriously at her. "I-If I didn't- I didn't love you I would never ask your hand- even if you're pregnant. I would love the child and help with everything you needed, but I couldn't get married because of a child. I love you and I want to marry you, regardless if you're carrying my child or not."
Hermione looked up at him and in a soft whisper she gave her answer. "Yes, Harry." She smiled through her happy tears. "Yes, I'll marry you."
Unable to say anything, Harry leaned closer to her and captured her mouth with his, kissing her with all the love and passion he had.
The kiss wasn't sweet or tender. It was almost desperate, filled with fire and desire. Her fingers seemed to get lost in his raven hair as his hands began to play with the hem of her nightgown, lifting it a little, revealing the smooth skin of her tights.
They weren't sure how much time had passed until...
"What's going on here!" a very familiar voice screamed as the doors busted open . They quickly jumped apart and turned to a bright red face Molly Weasley. By her side was Ginny, who was looking ready to explode, along with others. "Is that why no one would tell me was going on!? To cover s-some sort of behavior!"
McGonagall looked sternly at the young couple but didn't say a word. "Molly..."
"And you, missy!" Molly turned her angry gaze. "I've heard you and Harry had some sort of accident and-and-" She seemed to get redder at each minute. "Ginny was so worried about you! And what you do? You- You just stole her boyfriend!"
Hermione (and Harry for that matter) seemed to not believe what they were hearing. "What?!"
"Oh if you're parents were still alive...what a shame! What a shame!"
Harry shifted on his feet, getting angry. "Now, Mrs. Weasley," he said through his teeth, clearly trying to control himself.
"No, Harry, please," Hermione interrupted him, putting a hand on his shoulder. She knew the time had come. "Mrs. Weasley, do you mind if I talked with Ginevra alone?"
Molly looked surprised at the Muggleborn witch and then turned at her daughter, who seemed to be wiping some tears. "Ginny, dear?"
"T-That's okay, mum," Ginny said in a fake weak voice. "Hermione is my best friend...I-I know she wouldn't- wouldn't...ever..." She buried her head on her hands, her shoulders trembling. "S-Sorry," she apologized a minute later, looking up. "Go, mum. I'll be all right."
"If you say so," Molly responded and then turned to Hermione. "If you do anything..."
"The same goes for your daughter, Mrs. Weasley," Harry spat before placing a light kiss on Hermione's lips. "Be careful, love."
He wanted to be there with her, to go off on Ginny by her side- but one look at those chocolate brown eyes told him that she needed to do that on her own.
A few moments later they all nodded and left the infirmary, leaving Hermione and Ginny alone to talk.
And no one noticed when Harry whispered quietly, as he left the Infirmary, Castle Sonurus.
Now, everyone in the Castle would hear what Ginny Weasley really thought about Hermione Granger.
Next: The Final Chapter.