Mistake?

A/N: Wow, it's been a long time since I last updated eh? And I'm sorry about that. A lot of stuff has happened. About two months after I posted that explanation, my grandfather passed away from a liver failure. It really hit me hard because I was the only one out of my family who wasn't at his side when he passed, and no one called me at work to tell me what had happened. I told them I wanted to be by his side but they completely disregarded my wishes. So it took me about a month to accept his death. Just as I started to write this again, one of my close friends was killed in a motorcycle accident. That hit me even harder than my grandpa's death, because we had gotten into a fight about a week before he was killed, and I didn't get a chance to apologise.

So yeah, I've been a pretty depressed emo girl for the past couple months and I've finally been able to write again! Hooray! And just in time for my birthday on the 11^th as well. =D

Just a side note, this is un-beta'd. I don't know if my beta Oliver is keeping in touch or not so there is bound to be some mistakes. If anyone is willing to become a beta, just say so in a review.

ENJOY!

****

Hermione gave a frustrated sigh as she managed to yank the zipper of her jeans up. The six month baby bump (though it defiantly seemed a lot bigger than just a `bump') made it hard for Hermione to wear any sort of pants that required a button or zipper. She grabbed her purse and headed to the main entrance to get her shoes.

Harry was supposed to meet Hermione at The Leaky Cauldron in about ten minutes. They had made plans the previous week to go out into both muggle and wizarding London to start shopping for the baby. Hermione looked around her small flat as she put on her shoes. Her apartment was way too small for a child to live in, and if Harry did move in it would be even more cramped. Harry offered to keep all the baby's things at Grimmauld place since there was a lot more space. She hadn't brought up the subject yet, but Hermione planned to ask Harry if she could move in before the baby was born. She wasn't quite sure why they haven't discussed it yet.

Rubbing her extended belly, Hermione walked into the living room and up to the fireplace, grabbing a handful of Floo powder. She would only be allowed to travel by Floo for another two weeks - Apparation had become too hazardous for the baby. She would probably have to start driving again after that.

Stepping into the fireplace, Hermione said `Diagon Alley' and tossed the Floo powder down. She braced herself against the rush and quickly muttered a cushioning charm around her stomach and back just in time as she stumbled awkwardly into The Leaky Cauldron.

The few occupants in the pub looked up briefly at Hermione then went back to their business. She was grateful for that. About a week after everyone found out Hermione was pregnant, it somehow leaked to the press that she and Harry were expecting. And of course, everyone's favourite reporter was the main source of the rumors and stories that spread. Most were about her using her pregnancy to get Harry's money and using it as an excuse to hide the fact that she slept around. Hermione grinned as she remembered how furious Harry was. He went down the Daily Prophet and threatened them to stop printing such trash. She wasn't quite sure what Harry said, but the papers stopped with all the rumors the next day.

Eventually all the hype went down. Occasionally there would be a fangirl who believed this was all a set up by Hermione, but no one paid any attention to her.

“Miss Granger! How nice to see you again.” Tom gave a toothy grin as he scurried over to Hermione. He pulled a chair out. “Sit, my dear.”

“Thanks.” Hermione said, sitting down and putting her purse on the table. She checked her watch, Harry should be there any minute.

Five minutes later, Harry entered the pub. He spotted Hermione from across the room and made his way over to her, nodding hello to some of the people on the way. “Hey, sorry I'm late.” He said, sitting down across from her.

“It's alright.” Hermione said, “I just got here myself.”

“You ready to go?”

“There's something I want to talk to you about, actually.” Hermione said, fidgeting slightly. She was beginning to feel nervous. She still loved Harry, and even thought she knew he was sticking by her through the pregnancy, she was still afraid of rejection. Hermione knew that even though they were having a baby together, they were not a couple. Asking him if she could move in would make it a lot harder for him to be able to get a girlfriend.

“What is it? Is something wrong with the baby?” Harry asked, leaning forward.

“No, no. The baby is fine.” Hermione said quickly. Harry visibly relaxed. “I was just thinking that since the baby is due in a few months, it might be time for us to move in together. And we are having everything delivered to Grimmauld Place...” She trailed off, losing the bravado she had earlier.

Harry remained quiet for a moment. Hermione held her breath, watching his reaction. “I think it's a good idea.” He said finally, looking up at her. Hermione let out the breath she was holding. “I was thinking about it earlier too. You could go into premature labour, or something could happen. I'd feel horrible if something happened and I wasn't around.”

“Oh, Harry...” To Hermione's dismay, she felt tears prickle in the corners of her eyes.

“No, no! Don't cry!” Harry said quickly, “I didn't mean to make you cry.”

“It's fine.” She said, wiping her eyes. “I've been getting so emotional lately. Mum says it's only going to get worse.” Hermione took a deep breath. “Okay, I'm good now. Shall we head to muggle London first?”

“Sounds good to me.”

****

Twenty minutes later, Harry and Hermione stood in the middle of a busy baby store, looking at all the selection of cribs and bassinets. Hermione pulled out a list her mother made for her, it contained some of the essentials they would need for the baby. “Knowing you, we will probably need a crib and bassinet.” Hermione said, fingering the light green fabric of one of the bassinets.

“Huh?” Harry looked at her with a confused expression. “Why would we need both? And what do you mean `knowing me'?”

“Mum said that until the baby has a regular sleep schedule it will be up at all hours of the night.” Hermione explained.

“Well I already knew that.”

“Yes, but we would have to wake up and go to the baby's room at least a couple times a night for a month or so. Having a bassinet in the room would be more convenient because then one of us would be able to be with the baby.”

“Okay, that makes sense. But what did you mean by `knowing you'?”

“Well I know how protective you will be over the baby, so knowing that the baby is safe will be important too, right?” Hermione said. “And having the bassinet by your bed will pretty much be the safest thing. You'll wake up if anything happens.”

“Yeah, you're right,” Harry said, nodding.

“Have you thought about what kind of theme we might have?” Hermione asked.

“The theme? Not really...” Harry admitted. “I just thought we have a normal crib and such.”

“May I help you guys with anything?” A middle aged woman asked, coming up to Harry and Hermione.

“What do you have for nursery themes?” Hermione asked.

“We have a variety of different themes. We have a catalogue that shows all the different themes and sets if you'd like to see that.”

“That'd be great, thanks.” Hermione said.

The woman led Harry and Hermione to a seating area then went to the desk and grabbed a booklet from it. “So how far along are you?”

“Twenty-three weeks.” Hermione replied, taking the catalogue. She sat down in one of the cushioned chairs. Harry sat down on the arm of the chair, resting his arm on the back.

“Ohh, it's going to get exciting for you now.” She said. “Do you know the sex of the baby or are you keeping it a surprise?”

“I think we're keeping it a surprise.” Harry said, looking at Hermione who nodded.

“You will want the unisex section then. It's right in the front.” She said. “I'm Miranda by the way.”

“I'm Hermione, and this is Harry.”

“It's nice to meet you two.” Miranda smiled at them. “I'll give you some privacy to look things through. If you have any questions I'll be over near the desk. Don't hesitate to ask.”

“We won't, thanks.” Harry smiled. As Miranda walked away, Hermione felt excitement bubble in her stomach as she opened the catalogue to the unisex section. She began to flip through the pages, looking at all the different themes. Everyone once and a while Harry would point out one he liked, but none of them caught Hermione's eye.

“I don't know.” Hermione said, sighing. “I just can't see our baby in any of these. It doesn't feel right.”

“Do you want to try -” Harry looked around and lowered his voice, “- the wizarding shops? They might have something there.”

“Yeah, okay.”

****

Half an hour later, Harry and Hermione stood in front of the baby shop in Diagon Alley. The door and window frames were colored in light pastel colors with `Baby Wands' written in children's block above the door. The bell jingled softly as the two entered the shop.

The shop wasn't as busy as the muggle one had been, but it was a lot more roomy then it looked from the outside. There were even some nursery rooms set up on display. The witch at the counter looked up from her book at the counter and squeaked as she saw them. “Harry Potter! Wow, welcome sir! Can I help you with anything?”

“We're looking at our options for themed nursery rooms.” Hermione said, hoping this woman wasn't a fangirl.

The woman, who looked to be in her late twenties, early thirties, looked at Hermione for a moment then seemed to snap into professional mode. “Of course, follow me.” She said. Harry and Hermione shared a glance, but followed her. She introduced herself as Angela and asked the same questions Miranda did. Like in the muggle shop, Angela led them to a seated area and handed them a booklet. “As you can see there are some displays set up around the shop, but all the themes we have are in here.” With that, Angela excused herself.

Hermione opened the catalogue and grinned at the first theme on the page. It was clearly a boy's room, and the theme was Quidditch. The picture switched from night to day, showing what the room would look like in the daylight and how the lamps would light up the room during the night.

The Quidditch theme was adorable. The walls were a light blue to match the sky and the trim was rimmed with tiny little bludger bats. The crib frame was white, with a yellow blanket showing all the types of balls played in Quidditch. A mobile with tiny miniature brooms rotated slowly in the picture. The changing table was like the crib, white frame with the same pattern. A white nightstand was placed beside the crib and had a dark blue lamp with snitches on the lampshade sitting on top of it. In the corner sat a blue and white rocking chair with stuffed snitches and quaffles sitting on it.

“Maybe knowing the sex of the baby is a good idea.” Harry muttered. Hermione started to laugh and flipped to the unisex section.

The first display was a Hogwarts theme. It looked a little too gothic for Hermione, having light grey walls and black frame for the crib, changing table, nightstand, and rocking chair. The Hogwarts house colors were placed about in the room, but dark blue, yellow, green and red didn't seem to go well together. Hermione quickly turned the page.

The next theme was Slytherin. “Next.” Harry said immediately.

Turning the page, Hermione grinned at the display before her. It was a Gryffindor theme.

The walls were soft beige, with red trims on the floorboard and the window and door frame. The crib was black, like in the Hogwarts theme, but the orange and red lion that was embroidered on the beige blanket made the room look warm and inviting. Above the crib, a mobile of tiny sorting hats was turning slowly. The changing table's frame was also black, with the Gryffindor symbol as the pattern. Beside the crib was the nightstand, also black, and a beige lamp with an orange lampshade was placed on top. A stained rocking chair was in the corner with a stuffed lion placed upon it.

Hermione loved the look. “What do you think?” She asked.

“I think we found our theme.” Harry said, grinning at Hermione.

“I bet if we knew for sure we were having a boy, you'd want the Quidditch theme.” She teased.

“We can still add Quidditch things.” Harry said, “Snitches go with everything.”

Hermione snorted and got up, smacking Harry on the arm with the catalogue. “So shall we start shopping now?” She asked.

“May as well.” Harry said rubbing his arm. He spotted Angela walking towards them with a magazine in her hand.

“Have you two decided on a theme?” She asked.

“We have. We're going to go with the Gryffindor theme.” Hermione said.

“That's such an adorable set up.” Angela sighed, “When my son was born, we had the nursery set up so it was half Gryffindor and half Quidditch.”

Harry grinned and looked at Hermione smugly. “Don't encourage him.” She said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh. This is for you.” Angela said, handing Harry the magazine. “It has all the items we have in the store, and there's a section in the back that has the spells for the different wall colors.”

“Thank you.” Harry said, flipping through it quickly.

“It's no problem.” Angela said grinning, “Now if you'll follow me, I'll show you to the Hogwarts section.”

****

Harry and Hermione left `Baby Wands' an hour later, carrying a bag filled with their purchases. They ended up buying the whole Gryffindor set and had it shrunk and put into smaller boxes so none of the items would be damaged.

“Oh, I forgot to look at their selection of books.” Hermione said, looking back towards the shop. “They might have something other shops don't have...”

“You go on ahead, I'll be over at those benches over there.” Harry said, jerking his head towards a cluster of benches. He took the parcel from Hermione and grinned, “Don't spend all afternoon in there now.”

“Oh hush.” Hermione said. She turned around and went back into the shop.

Angela looked up in surprise as Hermione entered. “You're back. Did you forget anything?”

“No, I just didn't get a chance to look at your selection of books.” Angela laughed and pointed Hermione in the direction of the books. After about twenty minutes of looking, Hermione picked out two baby name books and a week by week guide to pregnancy. Although she was over half way through, the information on each week was astounding.

Hermione paid for the books then went outside to find Harry. Her stomach dropped when she saw him talking to an extremely beautiful brunette. Annoyance began to seep through as the brunette threw her head back and laughed loudly in that flirtatious way Ginny used to do before she started dating Neville.

To her dismay, she saw Harry write something down on a spare piece of parchment and hand it to the skank. She took it and put it safely in her purse. She said something to Harry, who nodded then walked off. Even more annoyed now, Hermione stalked over to him getting more and more peeved at the grin on his face.

“I'm done.” Hermione said shortly.

Harry looked startled at Hermione's tone but didn't say anything. He cracked a grin and took the bag from her. “You didn't take as long as I thought you would. And only three books? I'm surprised.”

Hermione snatched the bag back from him and held it protectively to her chest. She felt extremely insecure seeing how breathtakingly beautiful that woman was. Even when she wasn't pregnant, Hermione never looked like that.

“Hermione...” Harry said slowly, gently grabbing her arm. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing.” She said shortly. “Let's go put these away. I'm supposed to meet up with Luna later on this afternoon.” Hermione turned on her heel and walked back towards The Leaky Cauldron, not looking back at Harry, who was staring at her with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

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