She watched as he bit back his reply and turned away from her, quickly heading up the stairs towards his bedroom. Hermione took off after him.
"Don't shut me out, Harry, please," she pleaded as he quickly closed the door and locked it. Hermione quickly took out her wand and unlocked it, letting the door swing open. She gasped as Harry backed her out and pressed her against the hallway wall. She was suddenly aware of how close he was to her.
"You have no idea--" he began in a low, shaky voice, "--to force yourself to stay away from the one thing you've ever wanted for fourteen years. Torturing yourself everyday knowing it'll never be yours, no matter how much you want it to be. Then, for some stupid reason, you go home, and hurt yourself every day seeing the one person you've ever truly loved with another. Then some miracle occurs, and it's practically handed to you on a silver platter. And you suddenly don't know what to do with yourself; your world has suddenly been turned upside down because everything you've dreamed of suddenly seems possible. Do you have any idea what that's like, Hermione?"
"Yes, I do," she said harshly, as she laced her fingers with his, both of them holding on for dear life. "It's always been you, Harry. Always," she whispered in his ear.
x-x-x-x-x
His lips were on hers in a heartbeat. She instantly let go of his hands and ran her fingers through the mess of curls on top of his head, down his neck and his back. She gripped the hem of his jumper and pulled it up. He temporarily broke their kiss to throw his shirt in the centre of the hallway. Harry picked her up and brought her into his bedroom, and slammed the door shut with his foot, and toppled down on top of the bed.
Harry fumbled blindly with the buttons on her blouse for several moments before he was staring at her bare chest. He slowly rained kisses down her neck, in the hollow of her throat and across her chest before he took her erect nipple into his mouth. In response, she threaded her fingers into his hair and moaned. He gently pulled with his teeth and then licked it before turning his attention to the other one as he dipped the tips of his fingers into the waistband of her jeans and pulled them down along with her knickers down to her ankles. Her nimble fingers flew to the button of his jeans and pulled down his zipper. Harry climbed off her to remove the remainder of his clothing before rejoining her on the bed.
She fit perfectly in his arms, like a missing piece to a puzzle. He loved the way her thigh felt against his rough palm, the way she made him feel was like nothing he had ever felt before. He was determined to make it work.
Harry finally pulled away from her and carefully settled himself between her legs and positioned himself at her entrance. He stared at her flushed face, desire darkened eyes, and her bruised lips from their intense kisses as he slowly thrust himself inside of her.
"Oh gods…" she whispered into his neck as he slowly began to move.
"Are you alright?"
He was rewarded with a moan.
Hermione exploded around Harry, and instantly began seeing stars as her whole body shook. He followed soon after, then collapsed on top of her, gasping for breath. Finally, Harry found his strength slowly slid out of her, and rolled to the side.
She hated to admit it, but Ron had never made her feel that good after sex. Sex had seemed like a chore to them. With Harry, it was different. It somehow felt right. They both remained silent as Hermione curled into his tight embrace and buried her head in his chest and closed her eyes as he subconsciously played with her hair.
"Harry?" she whispered.
"Yes?" he replied softly.
"You still haven't told me what's been upsetting you," she said, moving out of his embrace to lie on her side facing him.
"It's complicated," he began awkwardly.
"Try me."
Harry remained silent as he absent-mindedly began picking at the navy blue duvet. "I've told you before," He said simply.
"A baby," she said quietly. "Oh Harry- I'm so sorry… It must be horrible-"
"No, it's not horrible having Henry and Sarah here," he whispered. "It's great. But it's just one of those things, you know? I can't help but wishing I had a kid of my own…"
"I can give you a baby, Harry," she whispered in his ear as she wove her arms around his neck. "As many as you want."
"Hermione…" he groaned as she pressed her body against his, she felt his immediate reaction against her stomach.
"I want to be with you," she continued as his hands came to a rest on her waist.
"I want to be with you too," he answered as she kissed him lazily.
"We can have children together."
"Don't you think we're rushing-" he tried to sound sensible, but lost the ability to form coherent thoughts after she slid on top of him, and gently began rocking her hips.
x-x-x-x-x
The next morning, Harry awoke warm and feeling strangely content. Looking down, he saw Hermione still asleep in his embrace. He instantly felt a twinge of panic. Did she really want to be with him? Was he just a different bed for her to sleep on while she was on the rebound? Harry mentally kicked himself. This was Hermione. She wouldn't use him like that. She wasn't that kind of person, and that's why he fell in love with her.
Love. Did she love him the way he loved her? The things she was saying to him last night about them starting a family together… To hell with them rushing into things. They loved each other and wanted to be together. They had wanted the impossible for so long, to hell with taking things slow.
She began to stir as he slowly eased himself from under her.
"Harry?" she whispered.
"I'm going to the loo. I'll be right back," he told her as he slid into his boxer shorts and walked across the room.
"Alright," she whispered as she sat up in the bed, pulling the sheet up to cover her chest as it all came flooding back to her.
She had made love to Harry. Twice. It seemed so surreal. She was with Harry. She never thought this day would come. She remembered saying something about them having a family together. She may already have two children with Ron, but she had always wished she had started a family with Harry. She loved Sarah and Henry to death and wouldn't go back and change a thing for the world, but she and Harry needed this. Harry never had a family that cared for him, and he deserved it. Every time Harry touched her, he made her burn with desire. Deep down inside, she knew Harry was the one she was supposed to be with. She had always known it.
Her face lit up as Harry re-entered the bedroom, looking extremely tired and with his hair dishevelled.
"I'm sending an owl in sick. I'm overtired," he announced.
"Are you?" she asked, arching an eyebrow as he climbed back into the bed.
"I am. I'm afraid that if I show up at work, I'll fall asleep as soon as my arse hits the chair."
"You're full of it," she laughed as she laid her head on his chest.
"I'm serious."
"Go get in the shower. You have a department to run."
"But-"
"Harry-" He cut her off by placing his lips against hers and laying her down on the bed. She pushed him off. "I'm serious."
"So was I."
"Go!" she said, pointing towards the bathroom.
"Fine…" he groaned, sliding off the bed and walking into the bathroom.
Harry gently closed the door and pressed his forehead against the cool wood panel, exhaling. He would have loved to stay in bed with her all day, but as much as he hated to admit it, she was right. He did have a department to run, and couldn't afford to miss a day this early into his career.
x-x-x-x-x
The Auror department was full of life when he arrived. An aggravated Minister for Magic, Lyon Bates, immediately met him as soon as he stepped off the lift.
"You're late, Potter," he growled.
"I'm sorry sir, I was tied up at home-"
"You're unmarried with no children, what could possibly tie you up?"
"My girlfriend who has children?" he replied simply as they headed down the long corridor towards the offices. "What brings you down here, Minister?"
"Two of your Aurors showed up at a muggle apartment complex in Wiltshire last night, without a search warrant, to an unsuspecting American muggle's residence, with the crazy thought that he was the rogue wizard Ken Henshaw under the disguise of polyjuice."
Harry exhaled as he threw open the door to his office to see Aurors Tate and Woodrow sitting uneasily in the leather seats in front of his desk.
"I don't know where to begin," he began heatedly as he sat down across from them, green eyes blazing. "Who or what planted that fucking insane idea in your heads?"
"No one, sir- we had a lead," Tate whispered as she picked unnecessarily at the lint on the end of her sleeve.
"You know full well that if you have lead, you're supposed to come straight to me? Or if I'm unavailable, the assistant head of department!" he continued as Bates stood at the back of the room, arms crossed.
"We weren't thinking-- We were too excited," Woodrow admitted guiltily.
Harry closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. "You're both dropped from this case, and suspended from field work for six months."
Tate opened her mouth to speak, but Harry cut her off.
"Get out of my office before I suspend you."
"Yes sir," they said in unison before scrambling past the Minister for Magic and out of the office.
"You handled that well, Potter," said Bates finally.
"Thank you Minister," replied Harry as he stood up and went straight to the filing cabinet to retrieve Woodrow and Tate's files.
"I don't much approve of your language, but everyone has their own ways of dealing with things."
"I'm sorry, sir."
"I'll leave you to your work," he said finally, before stepping out of the office.
Harry exhaled and lowered himself down into his seat and closed his eyes. He had been joking with Hermione earlier about falling asleep at work, and now he was beginning to think it was a definite possibility. Yawning loudly, Harry picked up his quill and began to write.
x-x-x-x-x
Two months had past since Harry and Hermione had started their relationship. They were quiet about it, having only told Ron. They hadn't said anything to Henry and Sarah yet, as Ron hadn't told them about his relationship with Lavender. Harry had taken to sleeping in Hermione's room and getting up at five a.m. so Henry or Sarah wouldn't catch them. They knew it was getting ridiculous and had to tell them, along with the entire Weasley family, sooner rather than later.
Harry reluctantly closed the door to Hermione's bedroom and stifled a yawn as he headed down the stairs towards the kitchen to get a glass of water. To his surprise, he found Henry sitting alone at the kitchen table clutching a glass of milk.
"I was thirsty," he said flatly.
"So was I," replied Harry as he poured himself a cool glass of water from the jug in the fridge then slid into the chair transversely from the redheaded boy. "Is every thing alright?"
"Why did mum and dad get a divorce?" he demanded.
Harry looked slightly taken aback. "Henry, it's not my place to explain it to you, nor is it the time."
"Oh."
"If you ask your mum, she'll tell you, I'm sure."
"Okay," Henry shrugged, and slid out of his seat, and placed his glass in the sink. "Thanks." He muttered and left the kitchen without another word.
Sighing, Harry followed suit and disappeared up the stairs towards his bedroom.
Hours later, Harry awoke to the steady beeping of his alarm clock. Groaning audibly, he rolled over on his side and turned off the alarm and was instantly plunged into a welcomed silence. Harry forced himself out of bed and across the room; he swung open his door to reveal Hermione standing on the other side. She jumped back in surprise.
"Morning," she said awkwardly, standing on the tips of her toes to receive a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Everything alright, love?" he asked seriously, stepping aside as she strode past him and into his room and he closed the door.
"I-I've been keeping something from you," she whispered as she sat down on the edge of his unmade bed and began toying with the hem of her silk nightgown.
"Oh?" said Harry, arching an eyebrow as he sat down beside her.
"I've been sick in the morning for the past few weeks, that's why I've been coming down for breakfast late…" she began quietly, finally lifting her head to meet his intense green stare.
"Are you…?" he began softly, his hand reaching up to cup her face.
"Pregnant," she finished for him.
"For sure?"
"I performed the charm this morning."
Harry turned away from her and exhaled. He got to his feet and crossed the room and threw open the curtains to stare out over the city.
"Harry, please say something," Hermione pleaded as she joined his side.
"It's all happening so fast," he whispered as he turned to face her.
"I know," she replied, searching his face for any emotion.
"How far along are you?"
"Two months."
"So that means-"
"The night we first made love."
"This is amazing," he whispered as he pulled her into his arms.
"I was so scared," she whispered into his chest.
"Of what?" he replied as they parted.
Hermione couldn't help but smile at the foolish grin that had graced his features. "I don't know. We aren't married, haven't been together for too long-- I just thought you might take it the wrong way--"
"Hermione, don't ever think that," said Harry seriously. "I've- we've wanted this for so long; it's finally happening."
"I know. We really don't have an excuse anymore; we have to tell Henry, Sarah, and the rest of the Weasleys. It would be suspicious if I gave birth and they were expecting red hair and it came out black."
"Yeah…"
"We're going to have a baby," he whispered as he pulled her close to him and began to bring her lips to meet his.
"NO!" shouted a voice from the doorway.
Harry and Hermione sprang apart to see Henry staring at them, his face as red as his ears.
"THAT'S WHY YOU AND DAD DIVORCED!" he shouted, "BECAUSE OF HIM!"
"Henry-" Hermione began, but he cut her off.
"THAT'S WHY YOU WOULDN'T TELL ME! BECAUSE IT'S YOUR FAULT!" he shouted at Harry before running out of their sight. Seconds later, they heard his bedroom door slam.
"What's he talking about?" inquired Hermione as Harry moved to his dresser to put on a t-shirt.
"This morning, after I left, I went down to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and he was sitting at the table. He looked troubled, so I asked him what was wrong and he asked why you and Ron had separated. I didn't feel it was my place to tell him, and that's what I told him. He just shrugged and walked out."
"I'll go get dressed and try to talk to him," Hermione whispered before placing a kiss on his cheek and walked out of the room. Harry exhaled as he slid into a pair of jeans and walked down towards the kitchen. He rounded a corner and nearly bumped into Sarah.
"There's a man at the door who wants to see you. But I didn't let him in," she announced.
"Okay," Harry said, picking Sarah up and wandered through the sitting room.
"Can I go see Mummy?"
"Not right now, she's having a talk with Henry," explained Harry as he unlocked the door and swung it open to reveal his landlord.
"Mr. Potter?" he asked.
"Yes?"
"I received a call from a few tenants about shouting. Is everything alright?"
"Sarah, go brush your teeth." Harry whispered as he set her down.
"But-"
"Sarah. Teeth."
"Okay," she said happily and bound out of the entry.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Jennings. My girlfriend's son took some news of ours the wrong way," he gestured helplessly.
Peter Jennings cocked an eyebrow. "I don't appreciate being lied to, Mr. Potter. The tenants of this building prefer to live comfortably, in silence."
"My girlfriend and I just found out we're having a baby," admitted Harry. "We haven't exactly told her children that we're together. Her son walked in on us and he overreacted. She's talking to him now."
"Congratulations, Mr. Potter, I understand. But in the future, please remember that there are other people who live here."
"I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
"Can I stop brushing my teeth now?" Sarah yelled.
"Yes Sarah," called Harry as he closed the door and walked into the kitchen. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Pancakes," she announced as she slid on top of one of the bar stools.
"Pancakes it is."
"What was Henry shouting about earlier?" she asked innocently.
"Wait until your mum gets here."
"Okay," she said simply as Hermione walked back into the kitchen.
"Harry?" she said softly.
"Are you alright?" He asked immediately.
"Mummy, why are you crying?" asked Sarah.
"It's nothing, baby," she whispered as she allowed Harry to embrace her. "What happened?"
"I tried explaining it to him. I mentioned the baby and it just made it worse," she explained. "He hates us."
"I'm flooing Ron."
"Baby?" asked Sarah excitedly.
"Yes, honey," said Hermione, smiling faintly. "Harry and I are going to have a baby. You're going to have a new brother or sister in seven months."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Harry smiled faintly as he kissed the side of Hermione's head and headed into the living room. He grabbed a handful of floo powder from the glass pot on the hearth and threw it into the grate. He stepped in, shouted his destination, and was whisked away in a flash of emerald. He stumbled into the sunlit living room of Ron and Lavender's flat. Shortly after their divorce, Ron and Hermione agreed to sell the house.
"Morning Harry," said Lavender as she appeared from the kitchen clutching a mug of tea.
"Ron up yet?" he questioned.
"No," she answered. "Would you like me to wake him?"
"Please. Tell him it's important."
"Help yourself to some tea. It may take a while."
Harry laughed. "Thank you," he said as he sat down on the couch.
He finally had a moment to allow the morning's events to sink in. He was going to be a father- He and Hermione were going to be parents. He was so nervous, scared, and excited all at the same time. He didn't know how to react at first. His first initial reaction was to lift Hermione into the air, snog her senseless and shout it from the rooftops, but since their relationship was still a secret, that was impossible. He tried to let the information sink in, but it somehow just wouldn't.
Leaning forward, Harry allowed his fingers to slide through his hair as he exhaled. Henry hated him. He hoped to Merlin that Ron, the man with perhaps the emotional range of a tablespoon, might be able to fix the mess that the Potter-Weasley-Granger parties were currently involved in.
"What the hell are you doing here so early?" asked Ron tiredly as he entered the sitting room.
"Sit, mate." Harry muttered.
"Okay," said Ron slowly. Lavender hovered near the doorway.
"Hermione found out this morning that she's pregnant," he began.
"Congratulations, mate," said Ron, clapping him on the back. Harry heard Lavender squeal with delight behind him.
"Thanks," he said gratefully, "but that's not the reason I'm here. Henry walked in on Hermione and I, uh,celebrating? And he shouted at us, well, me mostly. Hermione's tried talking to him, but he had her in tears. You need to go explain the whole situation to your son."
"Oh my," said Ron, glancing at Lavender.
"Yeah."
"I have a feeling Sunday dinner will be a `joyous' occasion."
"Yeah, me too."
"Shall we apparate?"
"Let's."
"I'll be back soon, Lav."
"Alright," she called.
Harry and Ron stood up and prepared themselves to dissaparate. Seconds later, they were standing in the middle of Harry's kitchen.
"Daddy!" shouted Sarah, jumping into his arms.
"Hey sweetie," he whispered as he kissed the side of her head. "Where's your mum?"
"In the loo."
"And your brother?"
" Locked himself in his room."
"I see. I have to go talk to him, love. I promise I'll visit you soon."
"Okay. I'm going to go play in my room," she said happily.
Ron let her down and she tore off up the stairs. Sighing, he followed her up the stairs and stopped in front of Henry's locked door. Sure enough, it was locked. He whipped out his wand and muttered a quick Alohomora and the door swung open to reveal his son curled up on his bed, facing the wall.
"Go away," he growled.
"That's no way to speak to your father."
"Dad?" he said, rolling over as Ron closed the door.
"What's going on over here?" he asked seriously as he sat down in the desk chair.
"Harry," he muttered darkly.
"What did Harry do?"
"He's the reason we all don't live together anymore, isn't he?"
"As much as you want to believe it, Henry, no. I am," Ron admitted.
"What?" replied Henry, obviously surprised.
"When I was in my fifth year at Hogwarts, I dated this lovely girl named Lavender Brown. We only went out for a short period, and then we broke up, and I started seeing your mother. Your mum and I got married, had you and your sister. We thought we were in love. I've always loved your mum. Do you understand that?"
Henry simply nodded, and gestured for his father to continue on.
"Your mum always loved me too, but we both loved each other in different ways, not the ways we deserved to be loved. After we graduated from Hogwarts, Harry had left for Australia, and he never came back. Your mum was heartbroken. I was mad at him for doing that to your mum. Then, about a year ago, I met up with Lavender again. Lavender and I fell in love. We started seeing each other."
"But you were still married to mum then, that's wrong."
"I know. But people do crazy things when they're in love. I didn't tell your mum. I had to soon, because Lavender and I wanted to be a real couple. Then Harry came back … we must have taken that as a sign. Lavender was at our house one night after Sunday dinner, and your mum found us, like you found her and Harry. It was a big reality check for us. Your mum and I decided to separate, for the best. Soon after we separated, she and Harry got together.
"Harry has always held a special place in your mum's heart. A place I could never fill, no matter how hard I tried. Your mum has always loved Harry. And he has always loved her, which was why he left for Australia. He realised he and Hermione could never be together."
"Then why did he come back?"
"Because, he was offered a job here in England, and he took it. Anyway, Harry has always loved your mum in ways I never could. I can see it in the way he looks at her. They're meant to be together, much like Lavender and I. They're madly in love and now they're going to have a baby. Something Harry's wanted for a very, very long time. Something your mum's wanted to give him, long before she and I were married. It's practically a miracle for them."
"Oh."
"I think you need to go out there and apologise to Harry. He's been nothing but kind to you, hasn't he?"
"Yeah."
"After you apologise to Harry, you go upstairs and apologise to your mum. Do you remember the one thing I've always taught you?"
"Never make Mum cry for bad reasons."
"Exactly. I'll let her decide what your punishment will be. I have to get to work, buddy. But I'll see you on Sunday."
"Fine."
Ron stood up, and followed Henry out into the kitchen where Harry was sitting at the kitchen table, pouring over a stack of papers, quill in hand with a serious expression.
"Harry?" said Henry timidly.
Harry dropped his quill and looked up. "Yes Henry?" he asked.
"I'm sorry about earlier," he said guiltily, hanging his head.
"It's alright. I understand, you were upset," Harry said simply.
"Oh."
"Go apologise to your mum, get your sister, and your things, I'm taking you to Grandma's," said Ron seriously.
Harry had lowered his head back down to his papers.
"What're you going over?"
"Applications to the Auror program," he explained. "Some of these are absolutely preposterous. `I want to be an Auror because it seems like a cool job' isn't a valid reason; some of these essays deserve their own wall of shame."
"All from Hufflepuff?"
Harry snorted. "Ravenclaw. Slytherin. I'm frankly a little thwarted that hardly any Gryffindors applied."
"Ah, well, you can't have them all, mate."
"No, you can't."
"Meet you for lunch?" he asked as he picked up Sarah.
"Sounds like a plan. I'll meet you at the Leaky Cauldron at noon."
"Alright," agreed Ron as Henry tightly grasped his arm and he disapparated.
Harry dropped his quill and exhaled. He immediately got to his feet and headed up the stairs towards Hermione's room, but found it empty. He then heard the water running from the bathroom off his bedroom. He pushed open the door to see the bathroom door ajar. Smiling, he closed the bedroom door and locked it and crossed the room.
"Hey," he whispered as he leaned on the doorframe, as Hermione was about to lift her nightgown.
"Hey yourself," she replied.
"Enough room in there for two?" he asked.
"For the time being," she smiled as she pulled him into the bathroom.
"We can always make it bigger," he joked as she dropped the powder blue dress to the floor and stepped towards him.
"You're wearing far too much, Mr. Potter."
"I am?"
"Yes, yes you are," she whispered, gently tugging his t-shirt over his head.
Harry took a moment to allow his eyes to roam over her naked body. His eyes stopped on her stomach.
"What?" she asked uneasily.
"You're beautiful," he said simply, stepping forward and pulled her into his arms to kiss her.
"Jeans," she groaned against his lips. He instantly fumbled with the button and zipper, and slid them down his legs along with his boxer shorts. He slid into the oversized Jacuzzi bath and Hermione slid in after him, her back against his chest.
"This is nice," he commented.
"Don't you have to work?" she asked.
"No, not today. I took the day off so I could go over some of the applications."
"Ah."
"What about you?"
"Remember? The shop's only open from twelve to five on Fridays."
"How convenient."
"Highly," she replied, shifting in his embrace slightly so she could give him a long, lazy kiss.
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