A night of drunken passion between Harry and Hermione leads to an unexpected surprise.
From the Unofficial Portkey Archive: https://portkey-archive.org/story/7361/
I am back with a new story!! This time I actually have everything planned out and I am always going to try and be a couple chapters ahead so I don't get behind. If things go According to plan, you should get a new chapter once every one or two weeks.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of HP Characters…I just own Belle…and she's a bitch.
Prologue Part One
Twenty-one year old Hermione Granger sat at a table near the back of the muggle pub, enjoying watching the different types of people milling about while she waited for Harry to arrive. She had just gotten a promotion with her job at the Ministry of Magic as one of the researchers for dangerous spells and potions, and Harry had said that he was going to take her out in celebration. Ron was supposed to come as well, but he had to cancel at the last minute to stay home with his wife Luna, who was currently seven months pregnant with their first child. She was going through some mood swings and Ron felt that it wasn't smart to leave his hormonal wife alone.
After Harry had defeated Voldemort when they were eighteen, Ron finally got the courage to ask Luna Lovegood out. Apparently he had liked her for a long time and never had the guts to ask her out on a date. He told Hermione that seeing some of his friends get killed in the final battle really opened his eyes on how life was so short, that it could be taken away at any time, so live life to the fullest, he had said. It was no secret that Luna liked Ron, so of course when he did ask her, she said yes right away. They dated for about a year and a half before Ron asked Luna to marry him, and they were married at the Burrow six months later. Not too long after that that she discovered she was pregnant.
So many people moved on after the final battle. As expected, Harry and Ginny got back together afterwards, and they had a relationship for about a year before they began to realize they were better off as friends. Harry told Hermione that the two of them mainly snogged and shagged when they were together, but other than that they were like best friends. There was no romantic connection between them like when they were at Hogwarts. After parting their ways, Ginny and Neville began to date and have been in a serious relationship ever since. Harry also found someone else, Isabelle Andrews, or as everyone called her, Belle. She was an editor for `Witch Weekly' and looked like she just stepped off a photo shoot herself. She had flawless skin, long straight black hair, was not too skinny and not to plump. Everyone loved her, everyone except Hermione. From day one, Belle and Hermione just didn't click like she did with the rest of Harry's friends when she met them eight months ago. Belle just didn't like her. Hermione could tell that she was a more than a little jealous of her and Harry's relationship and felt threatened.
Hermione was the only one of her group of friends that wasn't involved in a relationship. She didn't really mind, right now she had to concentrate on her new job and that would take up a lot of her time. But there were times when Hermione did wonder if there was a special someone out there for her. Ron had Luna and, as much as Hermione hated to admit it, Harry had Belle. She couldn't help but feel a little left out when they all went out to lunch or something with each other, always feeling like the fifth wheel.
But it wasn't like Hermione was a hermit who lived at the office and at home. She did go out on dates with blokes once in a while, but they were really nothing special. She kept on unintentionally comparing them to Harry. They weren't as kind as Harry; they weren't as sweet as Harry. In the end, none of them compared to Harry. That's when Hermione realized she was in love with Harry all along. Unfortunately, she waited too long and he was now happily involved with little miss Belle.
“Sorry I'm late!” Hermione jumped as the object of her affection rushed towards her. “Belle and I had a little disagreement before I left.”
“It's okay,” she said, forcing a smile, wondering what it could have been about.
“You sure?” he asked, pulling off his jacket and draping it over the back of his chair. “This is supposed to be your night.”
“Don't worry about it,” Hermione said waving it aside. “I already bought the first round; it should be here pretty soon.”
“What? But I said I'm buying tonight.”
“I don't mind, Harry. Besides I would've bought one round anyway, may as well get it out of the way.”
Harry laughed and rolled his eyes. He leaned back in his chair and looked at her, “So. How does it feel to finally get promoted?”
“It feels great,” Hermione laughed. A waitress arrived with their drinks. Hermione smiled at her and took a sip.
Harry thanked to the waitress, who giggled flirtatiously at him, and also took a swing, “We're all really proud of you `Mione.”
Hermione flushed and took another swing of her drink, making Harry laugh. She coughed and set the bottle down, “So how are things with Belle? You said you guys had a disagreement earlier?”
Harry sighed, “Hermione, I don't want to talk about this right now. Tonight is your night.”
“Oh come on, Harry. I noticed that you and Belle have been getting into more of your `disagreements' lately. You sure you don't want to talk about it?”
Harry stared at her for a couple moments, before shaking his head and leaning forward on his elbows. “Fine. We just haven't been getting along as well as we were when we first started dating. She keeps on complaining that I spend too much time with you and Ron.”
Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Belle was also a very jealous person, she didn't like sharing Harry. “And I guess she didn't particularly like you going to the pub with me tonight,” she said, looking down at a stain on the table.
He didn't deny it. “I don't care what she thinks about tonight, you got a great promotion and it's only fair that we go out and celebrate.” Harry paused to take a drink. “To be honest, I'm getting a little sick of her jealously. I mean, if she can't accept that you're an important person in my life then, well, I don't think I want to be with her.”
Hermione, who was in the middle of taking another sip, choked on her beer. She grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth. “You're going to break up with her?” She asked, feeling a twinge of hope and instantly feeling horrible for it.
“I've been thinking about it, yeah,” he admitted, “but to hell with Belle. Tonight it's all about you.” He raised his bottle, “What do you say about getting pissed tonight?”
Hermione grinned and clinked her bottle with his. “I say that's a brilliant idea.”
****
Three hours later, Harry and Hermione managed to stumble through the doorway of Hermione's flat, laughing hysterically at something they had already forgotten. Hermione slammed the door shut and threw her arms around Harry, making him stumble back into the wall. They both erupted into a fit of laughter.
“You wan' somethin' to drink?” Hermione slurred, pulling away from Harry and stumbling down the hall into the kitchen, knocking over the coat rack as she did. He grinned and followed her, using the wall to steady himself.
Hermione grabbed two glasses from the cupboard and walked over to the fridge. On her way, she somehow lost her balance and fell to the floor, dropping the glasses which shattered on impact with the tiles. “Owieee,” She moaned.
“You okay?” Harry knelt down beside her and grabbed her hand, which was starting to bleed slightly from a cut.
“Yeah.”
Harry, who wasn't thinking clearly from the alcohol he had consumed, brought her hand up to his mouth and sucked on the wound. She gasped quietly, the heat from his lips on her hand a little too much for her in her drunken state.
Harry looked up at her, passion burning brightly in his eyes. He brought a shaky hand up behind her head and pulled her towards him, capturing her lips with his. Tongues danced and hands groped at a frenzied pace. Both of them moaned at the feelings they were experiencing. Without breaking contact, Harry picked up Hermione and stumbled towards the bedroom, both of them too drunk to think about the consequences.
****
Harry groaned as he slowly began to regain consciousness, rolling over in the bed and wrapping his arm around Belle. Keeping his eyes tightly shut to keep the light out, he leaned over and kissed Belle on the head. Instead of the normal silky hair Harry was used to, his lips pressed against extremely curly, soft hair. His eyes shot opened in surprise and then instantly closed as the sun light hit him square in the face. He groaned again and rolled on his back, tossing his arm over his eyes.
`What the bloody hell happened last night?' Harry thought, trying to fight off the beginning of a huge headache. All he could remember was going to the pub to meet Hermione and then coming back to her place and… “Bloody hell!” Harry sat up and lifted the covers. He gulped when he saw his and Hermione's naked bodies underneath the white sheet.
Looking around the room, he saw the clothes he was wearing the previous night scattered all over the room. His t-shirt was even hanging on top of the bedside lamp. Harry felt horrible. How could he have done something like this to Belle…and to Hermione? “I'm such a shit,” he hissed, leaning over the bed and grabbing his boxers. He quickly tugged them on then got out of the bed and went around the room collecting the rest of his clothes.
Belle was supposed to stop by his flat that morning, and if he wasn't there when she showed up he was going to be in so much trouble. Harry knew that Belle didn't care much for Hermione, and if she found out that he had slept with her, she'd probably castrate him.
He quickly tugged his jeans up over his hips and put his shirt on. He stood up and apparated out of Hermione's flat, forgetting to leave a note for her apologizing about what happened.
Hermione awoke with a start at the sound of a loud pop, a tell-tale sign of someone apparating. She groaned and rolled over onto her stomach, burying her head into her pillow. Her head was killing her, she didn't think she ever had this big of a headache before. `I'm never drinking again,' she thought. To top it off, Hermione began to feel that inevitable feeling in her stomach before she had to throw up. Clapping a hand to her mouth, Hermione darted out of the bed and towards the bathroom. She dived towards the toilet just in time as the bile rose in her throat.
After emptying the contents of her stomach, Hermione put the seat down and flushed the toilet, resting her forehead against the cool porcelain. That was when she realized she wasn't wearing any clothes.
She gasped and stood up, holding onto the wall to keep her balance. She walked back into her room and grabbed her robe, put it on and sat on the edge of her bed. She could barely remember Harry bringing her into this room last night, but after that she couldn't remember anything. Though, by how she woke up and the way her lower region was a little sore, Hermione had a pretty good idea of what went on.
But where was Harry? He didn't seem like the type of man that would just leave without a note or something. Hermione quickly looked around the room to see if there was a piece of paper she may have missed but found nothing. “Maybe he left one in the kitchen,” she muttered to herself. She stood up and on shaky legs walked to the kitchen, but again found no note.
Feeling a little hurt, Hermione sat down at the kitchen table and put her head in her arms and sighed. In the back of her mind, she realized that Harry had cheated on Belle with her, but she couldn't help but feel a little depressed that Harry had left without a note or anything, even if it was just a simple note saying they'll talk later.
“Hermione?” The front door opened and closed as Luna's voice filtered through the small flat. “Are you home?”
Hermione jumped and, after making sure her robe was closed, called out, “I'm in the kitchen, Luna.” She winced at how croaky her voice sounded.
“Still in your robe?” Luna waddled into the kitchen, giving off that natural glow pregnant women seemed to have. The blond frowned as she got a good look at her friend, “What's wrong?”
Hermione didn't reply right away. She traced little patterns on the table with her finger, avoiding looking at Luna.
“Hermione?” Luna placed a hand on her arm, “Are you okay?”
“Last night,” she began, licking her lips anxiously, “Last night, I think Harry and I…”
“Harry and you what?” Luna frowned slightly, then her expression turned to one of realization. She sat back in her chair, “Ooh.”
“Yeah.” Hermione muttered, feeling. She rubbed the bridge of her nose saying, “We both got drunk and I'm assuming we…well, you know, because when I woke up I had no clothes on.” Hermione felt her face heat up slightly as she said this; she felt a little uncomfortable talking about her sex life.
“And where's Harry?”
“I don't know. He was gone when I woke up.”
“He left?” Luna said, sounding slightly surprised. Hermione nodded and put her head into her hands. Harry regretted sleeping with her, she knew it. Why else would he have left without any notification? Luna, as if knowing what her friend was thinking lightly tapped her on the head, “Don't go thinking it was your fault, I'm sure Harry had a good reason why he left.”
“I'm not thinking that!” she said unconvincingly. Luna's eyebrows shot up and shot gave Hermione a skeptical look. “I'm not!”
“You love him,” she said suddenly.
“No - no I don't.” Hermione stood up and walked to the fridge, opening it up and grabbing a bottle of pumpkin juice. She quickly opened it and took a sip.
“You never were good at lying, Hermione.”
She sighed and put the bottle down on the counter, “So what if I love Harry? There's no chance he'll want to get together with me. He's happily involved with Belle.”
“But he slept with you.”
“He was pissed. Oh Merlin I made Harry cheat on Belle.”
“Were you the one who advanced first?”
Hermione paused and frowned. “Yes. No. I don't know, I can't remember.”
“What if he came onto you first? If he did then technically you didn't make him cheat.”
“It doesn't matter!” Hermione exploded. “The fact of the matter is that Harry cheated on Belle, the woman he's been dating for eight months now, with me!”
Luna sighed and watched Hermione as she began to pace around the kitchen, rubbing her stomach idly. “Talk to Harry then,” Luna said softly, “Ronald and I have decided to have the baby shower on Wednesday. Come a little bit early and you can talk to Harry and sort things out.”
****
Hermione wasn't looking forward to talking with Harry at the baby shower. She didn't know how things were going to turn out, and not knowing terrified her. Wednesday came up all too soon, and she was starting to feel a little panicky as she picked up the red baby blanket she got for Luna and Ron.
“You can do this,” Hermione breathed, and then apparated into the hall of Ron and Luna's house. “Hello?”
“In the kitchen, Hermione!” She heard Ron call out. She inhaled deeply and made her way into the tiny kitchen. Her heart jumped up into her throat when she saw Harry sitting at the kitchen table with Bill and Fleur's youngest son, Sean, in his lap. Luna, who was behind him, gave Hermione an apologetic smile.
Ron came up and took the present from her arms, smiling as he lightly tossed it in the air, “Didn't get the baby a book, Herms?” he joked.
“No, Ronald.” Hermione said, rolling her eyes, “And don't call me Herms. You know I detest that nickname.”
“That's why I call you it,” Ron said, going to the table and placing the present onto table where a couple other brightly wrapped presents were. “Herms.”
“Now, now play nice.” Luna said, giving Sean a blue sippy cup. The little boy gulped down the liquid greedily. She picked up a small present and looked at her husband, “Can you help me bring these to the living room?” Ron grabbed the rest of the presents and walked out of the kitchen, Luna waddling after him, gave a pointed look to Hermione.
There was an awkward silence in the kitchen. Harry didn't look up at Hermione; he kept his eyes trained on Sean who was looking between the two adults. “Down!” he cried. Harry sighed and put the little boy down who ran out of the kitchen screaming “Uncle Ron!”
“So, um…” Hermione began, nervously biting her bottom lip.
“Yeah.” Harry ran a hand through his still messy raven black hair, “I'm sorry for leaving that morning without waking you up. I was supposed to meet with Belle.”
Hermione inwardly winced; his comment had hurt a little. “It- it's okay.” She said. “Did she find out?”
Harry shook his head, “That was the one time she was running late.”
“Oh.” There was another awkward pause.
“Listen, Hermione.” Harry began; he stood up and took a few steps towards Hermione. “I really am sorry about what happened. If I could, I'd change what happened, but I can't…I hope that this doesn't change anything between us.”
`Of course things between us will change! I love you damn it!' Hermione shook her head and forced a smile, “Of course it won't.” She said, gritting her teeth.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief and smiled for the first time that afternoon, “Good. I was a little worried.” He went to go hug her but then stopped mid-hug and stepped back, “Maybe it's a little too early for that.” He said sheepishly.
Hermione smiled weakly as Ron and Luna entered the kitchen. Ron went up to Harry and clapped a hand on his shoulder, “How about a game of wizard chess before everyone gets here?”
“Fine,” Harry said. “Doesn't it get boring beating me over and over again?”
Ron grinned wickedly as the two men walked out of the kitchen. “Nope.”
Luna waited until she saw they were seated in the living room before sitting down at the kitchen table. “Well?” she asked.
“Everything's fine.” Hermione said, not bothering to force a smile. “He wants us to be just like we were before we had sex.”
“Hermione…” Luna said, feeling sorry for her best friend.
“I'm fine,” she insisted, “This is for the better. I have no time to get into a relationship; I just got promoted and I have a lot of work to do.”
“Auntie Luuuna!” Sean came tearing into the kitchen holding a piece of what looked to be a horse's head. He looked between the two women before going to Hermione and holding out his hands, “Look!”
Hermione genuinely smiled at the three year old, “Is that Uncle Ron's or Harry's?” She asked gently.
“Harry!”
Hermione giggled and turned to Luna. “So why are you looking after Sean? Bill and Fleur are coming aren't they?”
“They are, but they put off getting a present to the last minute,” Luna said. Sean sat down on the kitchen floor and began to play with the horse head, making little `neigh' noises. “They didn't want to take him with them to get a present since Sean always wants a toy when they go shopping.”
Harry walked into the kitchen and grinned as he picked up Sean. He squealed and laughed as Harry tossed him over his shoulder, “We need that piece back.” He smiled at Luna and Hermione as he walked back out of the room.
A/N: And there you have it! First part of the prologue is done. The second part should be up sometime next week. Can't wait until OOTP comes out, it comes out on my birthday so I get to go to the first showing! -does a little dance-
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Wow, I can't believe how many people have reviewed for the first chapter. I'm honored! Things have been a little hectic around here, I just started a new job so I'm trying to get used to that, along with playing piano and writing and the new book coming out…let's just say I'm one very busy girl.
Anyways, I'd like to thank my beta's Oliver and Alex who looked over this. I forgot to thank them in the first chapter and I do feel a little bad…oh well. Hope you enjoy!
Two Months Later
Hermione groaned and leaned her head against the toilet, her body shaking violently. She couldn't believe this was happening now; she didn't have time to get sick. In celebration of Luna being so close to giving birth, Ron and Luna had invited Hermione, Harry, and Belle out to a fancy dinner that night and of course Hermione had to go and get herself sick. She flushed the toilet and stood up, grimacing at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair, which she had managed to tie up in a pretty knot, was starting to come loose and the little bit of make-up she had worn had started to run from the sweat and tears the vomiting had created.
Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Hermione looked at the clock in the living room, groaning when she saw what time it was. Harry and Belle were supposed to be here in ten minutes, and by the way she was starting to feel Hermione didn't think she'd be ready any time soon. She went back into the bathroom, grabbed her toothbrush and was about to brush her teeth when the horrible feeling in her stomach returned. Hermione moaned and went back to the toilet, tears prickling her eyes as she emptied the contents of her stomach for the second time that night.
As luck would have it, it was at that time the doorbell rang. Hermione flushed the toilet and pulled herself up, using the counter to balance herself as her legs wobbled dangerously. The doorbell rang again and Hermione could just see Belle beginning to get impatient, tossing her black hair over her shoulder in a sign of annoyance. Then, “Hello? Hermione?”
Hermione froze and then groaned. She had forgotten she gave Harry and Ron spare keys to her flat when she had first moved in. Harry obviously remembered; he had his. “I don't think she's here, Harry,” she heard Belle say.
“No, the lights are still on.” Harry's voice became louder and clearer as he walked down the hall. Hermione began to panic slightly; she didn't want Harry or Belle seeing her in this condition. She could apparate, but in her weak state Hermione could easily splinch herself. Just as she lifted her arm to close the bathroom door, Harry appeared in the doorway, a concerned expression on his face as he looked at her. “Hermione!”
Belle appeared next, looking beautiful as always, her nose scrunched up in disgust as she gave Hermione a once over. “What happened to you?” she asked.
“I'm fine,” Hermione said smiling weakly.
“No you're not,” Harry said. He walked up to her and placed a hand on her forehead, “You don't have a fever.”
“What is that smell?” Belle asked, sniffing. She still wore that disgusted look on her face.
Harry shot her a warning look over his shoulder and grabbed a face cloth. He wet it slightly and wiped Hermione's face gingerly, ignoring Belle's `tsk'. “I really am fine, Harry.” Hermione protested, blushing slightly. “I think I ate something earlier that didn't agree with me.”
“Are you sure?” Harry asked. “I don't think you should go with us tonight.”
“No, it's okay Harry.” Hermione gently pushed his hand away. “I'm fine. Just give me a little while to get ready, ok?”
Belle walked away, bored with the conversation and Harry rolled his eyes. “If you're sure, I guess.” He seemed reluctant but stepped back and left the bathroom. Hermione sighed and leaned against the wall, using the cloth to wipe around her neck and face. She shakily walked over to the mirror and completely pulled the knot out of her hair, using the hair band to tie her hair up into a high ponytail. She quickly brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth out with mouthwash. After making sure she looked somewhat presentable she walked out into the living room.
Belle and Harry were seated on the couch; Belle with her legs crossed idly reading through Hermione's last edition of Witch Weekly, and Harry leaning on his knees. He looked up when he saw her walk in.
“You okay?” he asked. Hermione smiled. “I'm fine. Thanks Harry.” She heard Belle snort.
“Let's go!”
*********************
Ron and Luna were already at the restaurant when they arrived. Harry and Belle sat down beside each other opposite of Ron and Luna, leaving Hermione to sit at the end of the table. When things like that happened it was the only time that Hermione wished she were in a relationship. Ron had Luna and Harry had Belle, and it always made Hermione feel a bit like the fifth wheel whenever they all went out together.
“Here's to the last week of freedom,” Harry said, grinning at Ron as he raised his glass of water. Everyone chuckled and clinked their glasses together, toasting to the soon to be parents.
“So have you picked out any names yet?” Belle asked excitedly.
“If it's a boy we were thinking Cameron Arthur and if it's a girl Samantha Bree.” Luna said, the usual dreamy tone of her voice missing. She sighed and rested a hand on her belly, “I can't believe he or she is going to be here soon.”
Hermione smiled and watched from the sidelines as the two couples began to talk. She was used to having to speak up to be brought into a conversation; it seemed to happen a lot ever since Harry had started going out with Belle. Tonight though, she didn't feel much like talking. Her stomach was beginning to churn again and Hermione thought it was best if she didn't say or eat much tonight. She might get sick and she didn't want to ruin the night because of that.
The waiter came and took everyone's orders. Belle excused herself to go the ladies room. Harry watched her leave, and then leaned over as Ron and Luna began to talk quietly with each other. “How are you feeling?” he asked softly.
“I'm doing fine,” Hermione lied. Her stomach had started to churn more violently in the last five minutes. She was beginning to worry that she really was going to throw up.
“I don't believe you.” Harry gave her a pointed look. “I've always been able to tell when you were lying.”
“Alright fine, I have a bit of a stomach ache,” Hermione whispered. “But don't you say anything to Ron or Luna. I don't want to ruin their night.”
“Fine.” Harry relented. “But if I see you starting to feel worse I'm taking you home no matter what you say.” He straightened back up as Belle came back and sat down, placing a kiss on his cheek. Hermione could've sworn she saw Belle give her a smirk of satisfaction.
Hermione, who was already feeling quite cranky, was about to ask Belle what was that all about when the waiter came up with the food. Her stomach flipped violently as the waiter placed her breaded cutlet down in front of her. The scent of food was making her even more nauseous. `I really am going to throw up.' Hermione realized, her eyes widening.
She opened her mouth to tell them that she would be right back, but she ended up vomiting all over the table. Belle shrieked and skidded back in her chair, making it topple backwards. Harry immediately jumped up and grabbed Hermione's arm gently, “I knew you shouldn't have come tonight,” he said sternly.
“If you were sick then why'd you come?” Luna flicked her wand and the foul smelling bile disappeared.
“Is everything okay, madam?” A waiter walked over and helped Belle up, who looked livid as she glared at Harry.
“My friend is sick,” Harry said. Ron got up and went to Hermione's other side and held her arm. “I really am sorry,” he said to the waiter.
“No worries, sir.” The waiter waved his hand and the plates of food disappeared from the table. “We'll pack these up for you and make another breaded cutlet for the lady.” Hermione wanted to protest but was too weak and gave a little moan.
“Thank you,” Harry said gratefully. He looked over at Ron who nodded. “Excuse us,” he said to Luna and Belle, and together they apparated Hermione back to her flat. They lead her towards her bedroom and helped her onto the bed.
“Hermione, you should have canceled if you were this sick!” Ron said. Two loud cracks were heard from the living room and Luna and Belle walked into the bedroom with a plastic bag filled with their food.
“I'll go get you some water,” Luna said. She waddled out of the room, taking the bag from Belle.
“I'll come with you.” Belle followed the pregnant woman out of the room, glaring at her boyfriend from over her shoulder.
“I'm sorry, Harry,” Hermione whispered, “It's my fault Belle's upset with you.”
“Don't worry about it.” Harry said, waving his hand. “What is important right now is yo - ”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Harry and Ron looked at each other. That was Belle. “Belle, are you all - “
“Luna's water just broke!” Belle screamed, running back into the room. She looked extremely pale as she waved her arms frantically at Ron. “You go in there. Her water…all over…GO!”
Ron ran past Belle and into the kitchen. Harry went to Belle's side, as it seemed she began to hyperventilate. She had always been a little squeamish when it came to stuff like this, and Harry guessed that seeing Luna's water break tipped Belle over the edge. Hermione started to get up but froze when Harry glared at her, “You're staying here.”
“But -”
“You're sick. You need to rest; I'll get you a sleeping draught and come tell you when Luna had the baby.” Harry said. He led Belle into the kitchen and came back a few seconds later with a potion. “Drink this,” he commanded.
Hermione reluctantly drank the potion, making a disgusted face at the taste, “Is this supposed to make me feel better or make me throw up again?”
Harry rolled his eyes and took the bottle back. He briefly kissed her forehead as Hermione's eyes began to droop. “I'll be back to tell you what Luna had, okay?”
“Mhmm…” Hermione said, the potion taking an immediate effect. Harry watched her for a moment before quickly walking out of the room. He grabbed Belle and together they apparated to St. Mungo's.
****
The next day Harry returned to Hermione's flat with a huge smile on his face. He looked exhausted but happy as he saw Hermione lying on the couch watching television. Hermione had woken up feeling like nothing had happened the previous night and was waiting anxiously for the return of Harry. She sat up on the couch and eagerly asked him, “What'd she have? Is the baby okay?”
“Luna had a baby girl,” Harry said grinning. He plopped down beside Hermione, “Has the traditional Weasley hair and she's perfectly fine.”
“Aww,” Hermione cooed. She shook Harry's shoulder. “Does she have a name yet?”
“Samantha Bree, remember Luna said that was going to be the baby's name last night?”
“Oh yeah.” Hermione scrunched up her nose and gave an apologetic smile. “I forgot.”
“How are you feeling?” Harry placed his hand on her forehead, “You don't have a fever…”
“That's because I feel perfectly fine,” Hermione said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Harry was way too overprotective. “It's like I wasn't sick at all!”
“I'd still be careful if I were you,” Harry warned. “And - as much as you'd hate to hear this - I don't really think you should go visit Luna at the hospital today. You could still be sick and get Samantha sick.”
Hermione sighed and looked down at her lap. “Yeah I know,” she said, “I feel so bad for ruining their night.”
“Hermione.” Harry laughed. “I doubt anything could have ruined their night.”
“True.” She smiled and bumped her shoulder with his. She liked being this way with Harry, it seemed like for the first month after they slept with each other Harry was shy around her. She was glad that they could finally go back to the way they were. “So… where is Belle?”
“At home. After Samantha was born she went back to sleep.”
“So she's not mad at you anymore?”
“I don't think so.” Harry frowned, “I am sorry about the way she acted last night.”
Hermione waved it aside. “Don't worry about it.”
Harry nodded and got up. “Well, I think I'm going to head home, shower and sleep,” he said, stretching. “Hospital couches are not comfortable.”
Hermione laughed. “That's the one thing I'm happy about missing. I got to sleep in my comfy bed while you, Belle and the Weasley clan had to rest on those plastic-like couches.”
“Yeah, yeah. Rub it in.” Harry pushed Hermione slightly then apparated out of the flat.
She smiled and decided to get dressed. She wanted to go out and buy something so she could give it to baby Samantha when she saw her tomorrow. Ten minutes later, Hermione was in the store looking at a bunch of baby merchandise. She eventually settled on a cute little stuffed lion she found.
“Ron will like this,” Hermione giggled to herself and went to pay for the stuffed toy. At the register, she found a novel that looked somewhat interesting. Since she had nothing better to do that day, Hermione grabbed that as well and paid for her purchases.
She quickly went into an alleyway and, after making sure no one was around, apparated back to her flat. She placed the lion on the coffee table and plopped down onto the couch, cracking open the book.
****
Hermione tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the lift to get to Luna's floor. After making sure that she felt perfectly fine, Hermione decided it was safe to go and visit Luna and the newest addition to the Weasleys. The door `pinged' open and Hermione walked out muttering a `finally' under her breath.
She knocked softly on the door Luna was supposed to be in and peaked her head in, smiling brightly once she saw Ron carrying a bundle in a pink blanket. Luna looked up from her bed and smiled as well, “Hermione, you're here!”
“Congratulations, you two,” Hermione said, quickly going over to hug Luna. “I'm so sorry I couldn't get here sooner. I thought it would be best if I waited a day just to make sure I wouldn't get sick again.”
“That's understandable,” Luna said, leaning back into the pillows.
“Oh, and I picked this up yesterday.” Hermione placed the lion on the bed. Ron laughed quietly and shifted the baby so he could pick the stuffed animal up. “I thought you'd like it, Ron.”
“This is great, Hermione.” Ron grinned. “Would you - like to meet my daughter?”
Hermione could tell how proud Ron was as he gingerly handed Samantha over to Hermione. Hermione smiled and felt tears come to her eyes as she finally laid eyes on Samantha Bree Weasley. True to Harry's word, she had inherited the Weasley's flaming red hair but her face and features were shaped like Luna's. “She's gorgeous,” Hermione whispered.
Ron puffed out his chest even more as Luna smiled at her. Hermione tilted her head slightly and stared at Luna, there was something in her smile that was different. It was like a secretive kind of smile. “She's been nothing but an angel so far,” Luna said softly.
It was silent for a while until Ron announced he had to pee. He excused himself from the room to go to the bathroom, leaving Hermione and Luna alone. Hermione passed Samantha over to Luna and smiled as Luna began to gently rock the baby. “So how are you feeling?” Luna asked.
“I'm feeling fine.” Hermione said slowly. She laughed. “Otherwise I wouldn't be here today.”
“How long were you sick for?”
“Just that day. It came on so suddenly, I wasn't expecting it.” Hermione gave an embarrassed laugh and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her hair. “I guess working so many late hours finally caught up to me.”
Luna nodded and looked down at the baby. Hermione felt that the blonde wasn't saying everything she wanted to say. “What?”
“What do you mean?” Luna asked, the dreamy tone she had back in school was evident in her voice.
“I can tell you have something else you want to say. What is it?”
Luna sighed and looked Hermione straight in the eye. “It's been about two months since you and Harry had intercourse, right?”
“Yeah…” Hermione said, her cheeks flushing a little.
“And you suddenly got sick?”
“I told you I was working too hard and it caught up to me.”
“This may be out of line but are you late, Hermione?”
Hermione frowned, “Late?” She asked. “Late for wha - Oh. Uhhh.” Hermione quickly counted the days in her head and her stomach plummeted when she realized she was indeed late for her menstrual cycle. She now knew where Luna was heading with all these questions. “Luna, are you suggesting that I'm…”
“You and Harry did use protection, right?” Luna asked in a hushed voice.
“I, I…no.” Hermione's eyes were as wide as saucers as she cupped a hand over her mouth. “Merlin, I could be pregnant!”
“Why don't you go get yourself examined?” Luna suggested. “I'm sure there's a healer on staff that'll do the pregnancy test for you.”
Hermione nodded and placed her head in her hands, mentally kicking herself for being so stupid. It was at that moment that Ron came back from the bathroom. Hermione looked up at him and then to Luna. “I think I'll go do that right now,” she said.
“Do what?” Ron asked.
“It's nothing to worry about.” Hermione forced a smile. “I'll be back soon.”
****
An hour later Hermione walked back to Luna's room feeling numb. She had managed to get a quick examination in and the healer had confirmed what Luna had thought all along. She was pregnant. With Harry's child.
“Ron took Sam for a walk around St. Mungo's,” Luna informed as Hermione walked back into the room. She sat up straight as Hermione collapsed into the chair beside the bed and let out a choked sob. “I take it that you're…”
“Yes,” Hermione sniffed. “I'm pregnant.”
A/N: Prologue is done! -does a dance- I'm not sure when chapter one will be up. Half done it, but not going to post it until chapter two is done. I want to make sure I'm staying ahead of the game.
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A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. I hope that the bombshell that was Deathly Hallows didn't change anyone's opinions on H/Hr. I'll let you guys know that I will still be writing H/Hr til I die…or just run out of ideas. Which ever comes first. Hehe. Anyways, just to let you know, Tonks, Remus, Mad-Eye, Fred, and Hedwig are all alive and well in my fic. They may not make an appearance but they are alive. Teddy, unfortunately doesn't exist yet though.
Oh, and I came up with this idea a while ago and just wanted to see how you guys thought of it. Shortly before I read Deathly Hallows I came up with the idea of re-telling the Harry Potter books in Hermione's POV, and changing some of the bits so it ends in H/Hr and not so many people die. It'll be 7 different stories and it will take a long time, so I want to know before I commit to it if people will want to read it or not.
Chapter One
Luna sat there and watched silently as Hermione dissolved into tears. She didn't quite know what to say to her friend, and felt horrible for it.
“I'm so stupid!” Hermione sobbed, “I should have realized something was wrong when I skipped my time of month, I'm never late!”
“Hermione -”
“I can't believe Harry or I didn't cast the contraceptive charm.” Hermione went on. “I can't believe how irresponsible we were.”
“You couldn't help it, both of you were drunk.” Luna said. She carefully got out of her bed and wrapped her arms around the crying witch. “It's going to be okay.”
“How?” Hermione choked out, shifting slightly so Luna could rest on the arm of the chair. “I'm not ready to be a mother, Luna.”
Luna rubbed Hermione's back gently, “You may feel that way now, but I think that your opinion will change later on.”
Hermione rolled her eyes and reached for a tissue. “This is from your point of view. You have a husband who will help take care of Sam.” She said, dabbing the corners of her eyes. “I have no one.”
“You know that's not true,” Luna said firmly. “Harry will stand by you and help raise this child, Hermione.”
“Sure he'll help.” She said, tossing the tissue into the garbage can. “But I'll still -”
The door opened and Hermione quickly stopped talking as Ron came back into the room carrying a cooing Sam. He stopped short and looked at Hermione, eyes red and puffy, then to Luna. “I just walked in on one of those `girly' moments, didn't I?” He asked. Luna nodded and gave her husband a pointed look. “Right. Well, I'm going to take Sam for another walk…she's too innocent to be hearing these things.”
Hermione couldn't help but giggle a bit as Ron left the room in a hurry. She heard Luna sigh and could imagine her blonde friend shaking her head. “You know, I never thought Ron would be much of a father figure.” Hermione began, looking at the closed door in somewhat of a daze. “But now that I see him with Sam…he really is going to be a great father.”
“That he is.” Luna nodded, smiling slightly.
“Harry would be too…” Hermione's bottom lip began to quiver as tears threatened to fall once again. She was beginning to feel a little embarrassed about crying so much in front of Luna. “He's great with Sean and the other kids.”
“And he'll be great with your child.” Luna said. “You know he'll stick by you once you tell him, right?”
“It isn't that simple, Luna.”
“Why isn't it?”
“He's dating Belle for starters.” Hermione said, rolling her eyes. She grabbed another tissue and blew her nose. “She already hates me. Once she finds out that her boyfriend, the man she's been living with for the past couple of months, got me pregnant she'll flip. She'll go to the papers and ruin his name.”
“Since when did Harry care what the papers said about him?” Luna asked.
“He'll have trouble getting a job.”
“He's training to become an auror and has tons of job propositions already.” Luna rolled her eyes, “Now you're just making up excuses.”
“No I'm not! I'm -”
The door opened again and Ron poked his head into the room, “Is it safe to come back in now?” He asked.
“You just left like five minutes ago.” Hermione said, glaring at the red head.
“Yeah well, Sam's starting to cry…” Ron said, “And Harry's here.”
Luna glanced at Hermione, who put her head in her hands. “Fine.” She mumbled, “We're done. You guys can come in.”
“Are you sure?” Luna whispered. Hermione nodded as Ron entered with Harry, who was carrying the now crying child. He handed her to Luna who rolled her eyes and pulled on the collar of her nightgown. “She's just hungry, Ronald.”
Harry went bright red as Sam began to feed and turned his head, looking away from Luna. Hermione grinned at his discomfort, momentarily forgetting her little problem. She'd tell Harry when she was good and ready.
~~~~
Hours later, after returning home from the hospital, Hermione sat down in the middle of her living room with picture albums spread all around her. She had left the hospital feeling strangely nostalgic (why, she had absolutely no idea) and grabbed all the albums she managed to put together after the defeat of Voldemort. Most of the pictures were from Colin and there was a collection of her own that she took when the boys didn't think she was looking.
Currently, Hermione was flipping through some pictures she managed to scrape together from first year. She smiled at a picture that was taken shortly after New Years, Harry and Ron were sitting on the arms of a big chair in the Gryffindor common room with Hermione sitting in the chair. She couldn't help but giggle at how uncomfortable the two looked, shooting uncomfortable glances at each other every once and a while.
Hermione turned the page and her smile dropped. There was a picture of Harry that Colin must have taken in his second year. Harry was sitting in a chair by a window staring out with a lost expression on his face. Every once in a while he'd sigh and look down at his lap where a book lay open. He looked so lonely.
Looking closely, Hermione quickly figured out that the picture was taken shortly after Sirius had escaped Hogwarts with Buckbeak. She remembered how excited Harry was when he told her that Sirius invited Harry to live with him after they cleared his name. He looked so happy with the knowledge that he was going to have a family and then it was cruelly taken away from him.
Hermione closed the album and brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. She realized she was being selfish, not wanting to tell Harry that she was pregnant. All he wanted in life was to have a family, and Hermione was - for a moment - wanting to take that away from him. She felt horrible.
“I've got to tell him.” Hermione nodded to herself and gathered up all the albums. She put them back in their rightful places then turned and apparated into the hallway of Harry's home. “Hello? Harry?”
Hermione's stomach dropped when Belle walked into the hall. She gave Hermione a once over, her perfectly shaped eyebrow raised. “What do you want?” Since Harry wasn't in their presence, Belle didn't bother to try and cover up the resentment in her voice.
“Is Harry here?” The brunette asked coolly.
“No, he isn't.” Belle crossed her arms and gave Hermione a smirk.
“Well, where is he?” Her patience was beginning to wear thin at Belle's attitude. Oh how she wished she could hex that little bimbo into oblivion. “It's kind of important.”
“Well he isn't here.”
“Yes, we established that already.” Hermione rolled her eyes. She was acting like a child.
“Belle? Is that Hermione I hear?” Harry called out from the kitchen. Hermione jumped then glared at Belle.
“Isn't here, is he?” Hermione snapped. Belle just shrugged. “Yeah, it's me Harry.” She left the woman in the hallway and made her way into the kitchen. Harry was standing at the stove stirring a steaming pot. He grinned at Hermione.
“What are you doing here?” He asked, putting the lid on the pot. Harry leaned against the counter as Belle sauntered into the room.
“Um…” Now that she was face to face with Harry, Hermione was feeling a lot less brave then when she was back at her flat. “I was kind of hoping we could talk…”
“Is everything okay?” Harry asked, concerned.
“Yeah.” Hermione said, trying to sound cheerful. She inwardly winced as her voice cracked. “Everything's fine.”
“We can use my office to talk,” Harry turned off the stove and put a heating charm over the pot. “I'll be back, Belle.”
“Wait just a damn minute.” Belle said as Harry led Hermione out of the kitchen. They stopped and looked back at her.
“What?” Harry said. He looked slightly surprised at his girlfriend's outburst.
“Why do you have to speak to her alone?” She said, glaring at Hermione. “I'm apart of Harry's life now and you should be able say whatever you have to say in front of me too.”
Hermione stared at Belle with her mouth open. She could not believe that she had the nerve to say that. Apparently, Harry couldn't believe it either. He glared at Belle and grabbed Hermione's arm, “I can not believe you just said that.” He said. “If Hermione wants to speak to me alone, she can. She doesn't have to say anything in front of you.”
With that, Harry dragged Hermione out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his office. He closed the door and placed a silencing charm on the room, looking irked. “I am so sorry, Hermione.” He said, running a hand through his hair. “She's been getting on my nerves lately.”
Hermione idly rubbed the sport where Harry had grabbed her and looked around the study. He had pictures of her, Ron, Luna and himself on the wall behind his desk and just one lone picture of Belle on his desk. She resisted the urge to smile.
“So, anyways.” Harry said. He walked over to his desk and leaned against it, “You needed to talk?”
“Yeah.” Hermione cleared her throat. “Well, um…” Hermione bit her lip, trying to think of how to start. She had been stupid and just rushed out to go talk to Harry without coming up with a way to ease into the subject.
“Are you okay? You've been acting differently all day.”
Hermione gulped and decided to just go with whatever came to her. “Well, at the hospital today I found out why I've been sick the past few days.” She began.
“You're still sick?” Harry said, frowning. “I thought you said you were feeling back to normal.”
“I am.”
Harry sighed, “Okay. Well what did the doctor say?”
Hermione bit her lip again and rubbed the back of her neck, looking at anything but Harry. “Remember a couple months ago when we got drunk and ended up…sleeping together?” She asked.
“Yes…” Harry replied slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Hermione, what…?”
“Well…” Hermione cleared her throat and then, summoning all the courage she had in her, looked Harry right in the eyes. “Harry, I'm pregnant.”
Harry's breath hitched and his eyes widened as he stared, opened mouthed, at Hermione. “You're…” He squeaked, “You're pregnant?”
Hermione nodded. “We were both stupid that night.” She murmured.
“That's an understatement.” Harry snorted. He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled loudly. “Pregnant.” He said again. “Oh Merlin.”
“I'm sorry Harry.” Hermione whispered. She lowered her head so he wouldn't see the tears that were starting to form. “I understand if you want nothing to do with this baby…”
Harry's head snapped up and his eyes widened at her comment. “Nothing to - Hermione, do you really think I would do something like that?” He asked, looking insulted.
“Well, no.” Hermione admitted, blushing. “It's just that I know you're with Belle and…”
At the mention of Belle, Harry paled. He took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Belle is going to go spare when she hears this.” He said, massaging his temples now.
“Are you going to tell her right away?” Hermione asked.
“I really have no idea.” He said. “I think I need get used to the fact that I'm going to be a father first.”
Hermione smiled brightly as Harry spoke. Her biggest fear was that Harry was going to turn his back on her, even though she knew that he had wanted a family more then anything else, and he just confirmed that he would stick by her.
Harry walked up to Hermione and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head. “We'll get through this together.” He said. “One step at a time.”
Hermione's smile widened, sure it wasn't a love confession like Hermione had secretly fantasized but it was better then nothing. She reluctantly pulled away from Harry after a couple of minutes. “I should go.” She said, “I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”
“All right.” Harry said, smiling.
~~~~
Hermione had a huge grin on her face as she apparated into the hallway of Ron and Luna's home. They were allowed to bring Sam home shortly after Hermione had left the hospital and she wanted to see how her homecoming was.
“Hello?” She called out.
“Hermione?” Luna called out from the living room.
Hermione walked into the living room and smiled at the blonde, who was sitting on the couch folding some of Sam's baby clothes she had received as gifts. “Hey.”
“Hello.” Luna scooped up the folded clothes and placed them on the coffee table so Hermione could sit down. “What are you doing here?”
“Just came to check up on Sam's homecoming.” Hermione said, sitting down on the couch. “How'd it go?”
“It was fine.” Luna laughed, “She was fast asleep when we brought her home.”
Hermione grinned and leaned back into the couch, staring at the baby clothes on the table. “I told Harry.”
It took Luna a second to realize what her friend was talking about. Her mouth formed an `o' shape, “How did that go?”
“As good as can be expected.” She said softly, “He said he would help of course.”
“You don't sound too happy about it.”
“I guess I was expecting him to confess his love to me or something like that.” She sighed, “Oh well.”
“Hermione, what are you doing here?” Ron asked, walking into the room. He looked concerned when he saw Hermione's downcast expression. “Are you okay?”
“I'm fine.” Hermione said, smiling slightly.
“Are you sure?” Ron sat down beside her. “You've been acting weird all day.”
Hermione hesitated, looking at Luna. She may as well tell him before other people found out, knowing he'd be hurt if they told him before Hermione got the chance too. “Well, today I found out -”
The sound of someone apparating cut Hermione off as Ron, Hermione and Luna jumped. Belle stood in the middle of the living room looking absolutely livid. She pointed a shaky finger at Hermione. She looked slightly crazy.
“You,” Belle said, her voice trembling with rage. “You little slut!”
A/N: And there you go. Hope you enjoyed. Hehe I just got a pet fish and named him Norton, he's awesome.
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Hey guys! Well, it's not an update I'm afraid to say but I just wanted to let you guys know what's going on. Don't worry I haven't given up on Mistake? I've just been extremely busy. For all you anime freaks like me out there I just came back from one of the anime conventions here in Canada called Animethon in Edmonton, Alberta. It was awesome!!!! Vic Mignogna (who is the voice of Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist, Dark from DN Angel, and Brolly from DBZ) was there along with the voice actor of Kiba from Naruto and Trevor who played Mu Laflaga on Gundam Seed. I got all of their autographs, a picture with Vic and I even managed to get Vic to say something to me in Ed's voice. It was great!! For anyone who wants to check it out I put the pictures and some of the videos I took on my myspace, I also posted a `play by play' blog of the three days.
myspace.com/protector_of_the_fluff - This is my myspace page if anyone wants to check it out
http://hs.facebook.com/s.php?q=Kelci+hopcraft&init=q -And this is my facebook. I'm also inviting you guys to add me if you want to!!
Anyways, expect the next chapter in a couple of weeks. I'm still getting over the “Post-Con Depression” as some people put it.
Kelci
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A/N: FINALLY! Mwahahahaha I finally got the chapter done! It's hella short and I don't particularly like it, but it's doooone!! +does the happy dance+ Anyways, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry this took so long. School started back up and my Biology teacher seems to hate our class, gives us a crap load of homework due next day every day. T.T Oh well, two more years until I hit university. I'm going to be an actor! :3
Chapter Two
Hermione's stomach plummeted as she realized why Belle was so angry. Harry must have told her about Hermione's situation and, by the look of it, Belle was not pleased. She glanced at Luna, who was looking worriedly between Hermione and Belle.
“Belle, what are you talking about?” Ron asked, standing up. Hermione couldn't help but feel touched as Ron stepped in front of her, as if it could shield Belle's words.
“You don't know?” Belle asked, laughing. “Huh, I thought the slut over there would have told everyone in London by now.”
“Don't call Hermione a slut.” Ron snarled. Another loud crack sounded and Harry appeared next to Belle, glaring at her. “Harry, what the hell is going on?”
Before Harry could answer, Belle shouted, “She shagged my boyfriend!”
Ron's eyes widened and he looked back at Hermione then to Harry. Hermione looked away and put her arm over her stomach. “You two what?”
“And wait, it gets better.” Belle said, getting angrier. She took a couple of steps towards Hermione. “She got pregnant from their little rendezvous too.”
“WHAT?”
Sam's wails could be heard from her bedroom upstairs from all the shouting. Luna sent Belle and Ron a nasty glare before hurrying out of the room to tend to her daughter.
“You're pregnant?” Ron asked Hermione, eyes wide. She nodded slowly.
“You've been after Harry ever since we started dating.” Belle accused, “Probably even before I came along.”
“I have not.” Hermione said, standing up, she pushed past Ron and took a few angry steps towards Belle. “I have been nothing but supportive with Harry's girlfriends!”
“Oh please.” Belle scoffed, her face scrunching up. “A girl can tell when a woman wants to steal her man. I saw all those jealous glares you kept giving me. It's quite sad really, spending all of your time watching us when you could be using that time to find a boyfriend of your own.”
Hermione's eyes flashed dangerously as she clenched her fists tightly. “Excuse me? You really think I'm jealous of you? You have got to be kidding me!” Hermione saw a flash of hurt go across Harry's face, she ignored it. “Why would I be jealous of someone who tries to control her boyfriend's life?”
Ron coughed and edged towards Harry as the tension in the room thickened. Belle looked even more furious and narrowed her eyes at Hermione. “I. Do. Not. Control. Harry.”
“Really? So controlling who Harry is friends with and where he goes is just normal behavior then?” Hermione crossed her arms and glared back at Belle. “Or maybe you're afraid of him finding someone better and up and leaving you.”
“And who do you think that better girl would be?” Belle asked, “You? Face it, Hermione, no guys find you attractive. It's been what, five years since you graduated from Hogwarts and you've yet to have a relationship. It's been one night stand after one night stand.” Hermione took a step back, stung by what Belle said. Unwanted tears started to form in her eyes. “The poor blokes must have been really drunk…”
SLAP
Belle's head snapped to the side as Hermione's hand connected to her cheek. Stubborn tears shone brightly in her eyes. Belle raised a shaky hand up to her cheek where a large red imprint of a hand was. “You have no right to say those things.” Hermione whispered, her bottom lip started to quiver as she fought to stay strong. "No right at all. You don't know me!"
Ron glanced at Harry before he hurried over to Hermione and put a comforting arm around her. “I think you've over-stayed your welcome.” He said. Then, in a un-Ron-like fashion, he pulled Hermione into a hug, resting his hand on the back of Hermione's head. Glaring at Belle, he said. “Get out. You aren't welcome in this house anymore."
Belle glared at the red head, “Fine. Never did like this dump anyways.” She spun around and shared a look with Harry before apperating out of the flat.
Hermione pulled away from Ron to look at Harry, wiping the stray tears away. He was staring at the spot where Belle was standing. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Ah, hell.” He groaned, “I'm really sorry about this. I'll be back.”
Hermione moaned and sat down on the couch, hiding her face in her hands. “I am so sorry you had to see that.” She apologized, “I just couldn't control my actions.”
“Belle deserved it,” Ron said, sitting down next to her, “She shouldn't have said those things to you.” Hermione dropped her hands from her face and gave a half-hearted shrug. “So…you and Harry now, huh?”
Hermione winced at Ron's words. She knew he was trying to make light of the situation, but considering her feelings towards Harry and her hormonal state, fresh tears began to form. “We aren't together, Ron.” She sniffed. “And probably never will be.”
“But Harry's the father.” Ron said slowly, “You two are bound to get together once the baby's born…Fred and Angelina did.”
“They were going out and broke it off before Angelina found out she was pregnant.” Hermione argued, “Harry is still young and I'm sure he wants to be able go out and have fun. If we get together after the baby is born, Harry won't be able to do normal things like he's always wanted to.”
“Harry is still young? Hermione, we're the same age as Harry.” Ron said incredulously.
Hermione wasn't listening. She ran her hand over her hair and bit her lip, staring intently at the coffee table. “I can't let Harry ruin his life like this. He should marry someone he loves and have kids with her.”
“Harry does love you.” Ron said.
“As a friend, yes.” Hermione said. She got up and began to walk around the room, “He'd feel obligated to spend time with his child, not because he wants to.”
Luna walked back into the living room a moment later, looking at Hermione with raised eyebrows. “He'd feel obligated?” Hermione realized that Luna had overheard her last statement. “Didn't you just say before Belle showed up that Harry told you he would help raise this baby?”
“Yeah.” Hermione said. “But him having a child will ruin any chances of him finding a future wife to have a real family!”
“Why do you keep trying to put yourself down?” Ron asked as Luna shook her head and started to pile up Sam's clothing. “Harry said he'd stick by you, you're going to be a great Mum and it isn't going to `ruin any chances of him finding a wife'.”
Hermione closed her mouth and sat back down on the couch. “I didn't realize I kept putting myself down.” She said quietly. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I guess I'm just scared to admit that this is really happening. And… a part of me wants to just pack up and leave to somewhere like America or Canada to take care of this baby on my own. But, the other part of me is telling me to stay so Harry can have the family he's always wanted.”
“And that's the part you should listen to.” Luna said.
“Yeah.” Ron nodded. “What do your parents have to say about this?”
Hermione's eyes widened as she paled slightly. She hadn't even thought about how she would tell her parents. Her father was going to kill Harry. “I completely forgot about them.” She groaned, resting her forehead on her knees. “Hey…what's that smell?” Hermione scrunched up her nose in disgust as she began to smell something burning.
Ron sniffed the air, “My roast!” He exclaimed, jumping up. He practically ran out of the living room muttering curses under his breath.
“I didn't realize I came over when you guys were preparing supper.” Hermione said, getting up off of the couch. “I should go then and let you guys have supper in peace.”
“You don't have to.” Luna protested.
“It's fine.” Hermione shook her head. “I didn't mean to ruin Sam's homecoming.”
“You didn't.” She said firmly.
“Still, I should get going. Crookshanks still needs to be fed.” She knew it was a lame excuse, but Hermione just wanted to be alone. She gave Luna a quick hug and called good-bye to Ron then apparated out of the room.
~~~~
A/N: There you have it. I promise that the next chapter will be much longer and (hopefully) a lot better!! And for sure it will be up a lot sooner then this chapter. Again, sorry about the wait.
Until next time!!
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A/N: There we go! Another chapter, and a longer one too. You guys can't complain now! *sticks out tongue* I'm not too sure how I feel about this chapter, I like it but I don't… but I guess an artist never really likes her work. Anyways, now that I'm beginning to get the people finding out about the pregnancy out of the way, I'll be able to write some of the things I've been waiting to for a long time. Hormonal!Hermione is just around the corner! *grins*
Oh, and thanks to the wonderful Oliver for beta'ing this for me!
Chapter 3
The following evening, Hermione was sitting on her couch with the books she had purchased earlier that day all around her. After getting off of work, she had stopped off at a bookstore near her flat and purchased nearly all the books on pregnancy the store had. Currently, Hermione had `Pregnant Women for Dummies' open on her lap while idly scratching Crookshanks behind the ears.
After the incident with Belle the other night, Hermione didn't get any word from Harry. Ron had stopped by during her lunch break to tell her that Harry and flooed over about an hour after Hermione had left. Ron said Harry wanted to apologize but things were pretty crazy and he was trying to keep Belle from burning down his house. When Ron had told her that, Hermione found herself slightly angry that Harry didn't floo or owl her for a damage report. She also had begun to replay what happened at work and realized that Harry had done pretty much nothing while Belle insulted her.
Turning the page, she snorted. “He just stood there.” She said to Crookshanks, “Didn't do a bloody thing when she said all those horrid things to me.”
“Tell me, do all pregnant women talk to their cats?”
Hermione shrieked and jumped, the book in her lap falling to the floor. Crookshanks gave an angry hiss at the sudden disturbance and jumped off the couch, walking out of the room with his tail swishing behind him.
Harry picked up the book and read the cover. He raised his eyebrows as he scanned over the numerous books around Hermione, a playful glint in his eyes. “Got enough books there?”
Hermione bristled and snatched the book out of Harry's hand. Her anger at Harry seemed to come back as she clutched the book to her chest, feeling the need to defend herself.
“Never hurts to be prepared.” She replied coolly.
The playful glint disappeared from Harry's eyes and he suddenly looked tired and weary. “You're mad at me.” He said.
“I think I have a right to be mad at you.”
“I'm not saying you don't.” He said quickly.
“Then what exactly are you saying?”
Harry sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “I came here to apologize.” He sat down on the couch beside Hermione, resting his forearms on his knees. “I didn't know that Belle was going to say all those things to you. And, well, I feel pretty bad about not saying anything when she said those things.”
Hermione wanted to stay mad at Harry, but she felt her anger slowly going away when she heard the tone of his voice. She began to stack the books in a pile on her coffee table, watching Harry fidget out of the corner of her eye. “I thought you said,” She began, “that you would wait a while before telling her.”
“I was.” Harry nodded, “But after you left, Belle began to complain about me keeping secrets from her. At first I ignored her but she kept going on and on about it. My temper got the better of me, and I snapped.”
Hermione's eyes widened. Snapped? Did Harry mean he hit her or physically touched her? No, her Harry would never do that. “Harry…”
Harry gave a weak smile, “I shouted that you were pregnant and Belle pieced things together. She flipped out, went on a huge rampage through the house, then apparated out of there.”
“And that's probably around the time when she showed up at Ron and Luna's.” Hermione said. “Wait a minute, how did she know I would be there? I don't remember saying anything about it.”
Harry shrugged, “I dunno. I thought she was going to your flat so I apparated there, but your enchantments were up. The only other place you would be was Ron and Luna's.”
“And Belle was there and everything happened…” Hermione finished. Harry nodded as Crookshanks sauntered back into the room. He jumped up on Harry's lap, purring contentedly as Harry scratched behind his ears.
“When I followed her back to the house, we had a huge row. I'm pretty sure the neighbors could hear her screaming.” Harry said, smiling faintly. “The thing that made her really mad, besides the whole you being pregnant thing, was when you slapped her. I've never seen anyone's face go so purple so fast, not even Uncle Vernon. I'm proud of you.”
Hermione went pink and ducked her head, “I let my emotions control me.” She said, “I didn't mean to slap her.”
“Don't apologize. What she said was out of line.” He said. “And your technique has improved since you hit Malfoy back in third year.”
“Harry!” Hermione exclaimed, slapping his arm.
Harry grinned, “See! There you go again hitting people... I think this pregnancy is bringing out the violent side of you.”
“Oh you big baby.” Hermione said rolling her eyes, but a smile had appeared on her face.
The two sat in silence for a while, listening to Crookshanks purr. Hermione felt better then she did earlier that day, now that she and Harry talked. She still didn't know why he hadn't contacted her earlier, but she wasn't going to push it. “Do you think Belle will go to the media about this?”
Harry frowned, his fingers pausing behind Crookshanks' ear. “I'm not sure.” He said slowly. “The story would have been in this morning's Daily Prophet if Belle went to them.”
Hermione frowned as well, “That's weird. I thought Belle was the type of person who would do that sort of thing.” She said. “It kind of worries me that she's planning something…”
“I wouldn't give her that much credit.” Harry mumbled.
Hermione smirked and picked up the books. She got up and went to her bedroom to put the books away. She was about to walk out of the room when one of the pictures she had on her dresser caught her eye. Pausing, Hermione picked up the picture frame and stared at it, her stomach dropping.
The picture was a muggle one of a seven year old Hermione and her father standing in front of the Eiffel Tower on the Granger's first trip to Paris. Her father had both hands on her shoulders while Hermione was clutching a stuffed giraffe her father had bought just before the picture was taken after Hermione had begged him to buy it.
“Hermione?” Harry appeared in the doorway. “What are you looking at?”
She handed him the picture, sat down and stared at the top of her bookshelf, where the same giraffe from the picture was situated. The colors were faded with age but it was still
as good as new.
“Hey, I've never seen this picture before.” Harry said grinning, “You were a cute kid.”
Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes. She watched as Harry put the picture back down and sat down beside her. He nudged her shoulder with his playfully. “You've gotten quiet all of a sudden. Knut for your thoughts?”
“We're going to have to tell my parents soon.” Hermione sighed. She felt Harry stiffen slightly beside her. “It's funny how usually when women find out their pregnant one of the first things they do is tell their parents. For me it's almost the last thing I want to do.” She sighed again and looked down at her hands, “My father always told me to wait until marriage to have sex. And since I've always been his little girl, I guess I'm just scared that he'll be disappointed.”
Harry put an arm around her, “I think he'll be shocked, to say the least. But I don't think he'll be disappointed once he realizes he's going to be able to spoil his grandchild rotten.”
Hermione smiled and leaned against Harry. “You'll come with me when I tell them, right?” She asked.
“Of course.” Harry sighed, “I have a feeling your dad is going to hate me after this.”
“I'll go call my parents and see when would be the best time to go over.” Patting his knee, Hermione got up and walked into the kitchen. Harry followed her and went into the fridge, grabbing a bottle of butterbeer
“You shouldn't drink any more butterbeer from now on,” Harry advised, popping the cap open. “I remember Luna said something like butterbeer can be harmful to the baby.”
“I'm sure you'll want to do the honors of getting rid of all the butterbeer.” Hermione said, rolling her eyes. Harry smiled cheekily and raised the bottle then took a sip. She shook her head and dialed in her parents' phone number. After a couple of rings, her mother answered.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mum.” Hermione said, beginning to feel a little nervous.
“Hermione, sweetie! How have you been?” Mrs. Granger's tone brightened almost immediately once she heard her daughter's voice.
“I've been okay.” She replied, glancing at Harry. “Busy with work.”
“As usual,” Her mother sighed, “I really wish you wouldn't work so hard, you'll get yourself sick.”
Hermione rolled her eyes but said nothing. She was used to her mother worrying about her work ethics, “I just started a new position, Mum. I have to work hard to get caught up.” Her mother made an impatient sound but said nothing. Hermione could imagine Mrs. Granger pursing her lips. “Listen, Mum. I called to see if Harry and I could come over sometime this week?”
“You and Harry?” Mrs. Granger said. “Any time is fine, why is something wrong?”
“No, nothing's wrong.” She said quickly, “I have something that I need to tell you and Dad.”
“And Harry will be coming along?” Mrs. Granger said slyly. “Would this something you have to tell us involve a Mr. Potter? You have liked him for such a long time now.”
Hermione felt her face flush, “Mum!”
“How about you two come over for dinner on Friday?” Mrs. Granger asked, laughing.
“Friday?” Hermione looked over at Harry, who nodded. “Yeah, that's fine.”
“All right, drop by around six, okay?”
“Okay. See you then, Mum.” Mother and daughter said their goodbyes and Hermione set the phone down on the counter. Harry set the now empty bottle in the sink as Hermione sat down at the table. “We'll be having dinner with my parents at six on Friday.” She said.
“Your dad is going to skin me alive when he finds out I touched his little girl.” Harry groaned.
~~~
That Friday, Harry and Hermione arrived at the Granger's house a little before six and were greeted by the wonderful smell of the chicken that Mr. Granger was cooking. Harry offered to help set the table while Mr. Granger began to make the salad and Mrs. Granger went to the cellar to get a bottle of wine.
“So Harry.” Mr. Granger began, chopping up some carrots, “How have you been?”
“I've been alright.” Harry replied, glancing nervously at Hermione.
“That's good.” He said, “Are you still going out with your girlfriend. What was her name now, Izzy?”
“Isabelle.” Harry said, paling slightly. “And no, we aren't together anymore.”
“I'm sorry, what happened?” Mr. Granger said, glancing at Harry before going back to cutting up vegetables. “Hermione said you were going strong about a month ago.”
Harry shot a horrified look at Hermione, who winced. `I'm sorry.' She mouthed at Harry.
“It just didn't work out.” Harry said, clearing his voice.
Mr. Granger scooped up the carrots and placed them in the salad bowl as Mrs. Granger came back into the room carrying a wine bottle. “I've been waiting to try this kind for a while now.” She said, placing the wine bottle on the table. She went to the cupboard and grabbed four glasses then walked back to the table. “Here you are Harry.” She said, pouring him a glass of wine.
“Thank you.” Harry said. He took the glass and placed it on the table, glancing at Hermione.
“Mum,” Hermione said. “I don't really feel like having any wine tonight.”
“I thought you said you loved this type?” Mrs. Granger asked, pausing in pouring Hermione a glass.
“I do.” Hermione said. She looked at Harry and nodded slightly. This wasn't how she planned on telling her parents but she never expected them to serve wine, her parents rarely ever drank alcohol. Harry, sensing that Hermione was going to tell her parents the news, glanced at the knife Mr. Granger was using then moved over to the opposite side of the kitchen. “It's just… I'm,” She took a deep breath. “I'm not really allowed to have any alcohol.”
Mr. Granger stopped cutting the vegetables and turned around to look at his daughter. Harry gave an audible gulp when he saw that Mr. Granger was still holding the knife. “Hermione,” Mrs. Granger gasped, “Are you…?”
Hermione nodded. Mrs. Granger was silent for a couple seconds then she shrieked and ran over to Hermione and hugged her. “Oh my baby's going to have a baby!” She cried. Hermione hugged her back and looked over at Mr. Granger. He had a look of shock on his face as he stared back at Hermione.
“Dad…” She said, “Are you okay?”
Mrs. Granger let go of her and turned to her husband, “Joseph, say something.” She said, placing her hands on her hips.
“P-pregnant?” He choked out. To Harry's great relief, he set the knife down on the counter. “But you aren't dating anyone. How can you be pregnant?”
Hermione winced and looked down feeling slightly ashamed. She felt Harry come up behind her and place a comforting hand on her arm. “I think you know how babies are made, Joseph.” Mrs. Granger said, crossing her arms. “After all, you are a father.”
“Of course I know how!” Mr. Granger sputtered. “What I meant is how in the… who did… who is the father?”
“I am… sir.” Harry said. Mr. Granger's eyes narrowed as he looked Harry up and down. Harry's grip on Hermione tightened slightly.
“So that's why you broke up with your girlfriend.” He said, bringing himself to full height.
“Joseph.” Mrs. Granger hissed. She turned to Harry and pulled him into a quick hug.
“Congratulations, you two. Don't let your father get you down.” She pulled away from Harry and grabbed the salad bowl and placed it on the table, “We'll talk as we eat.”
Mr. Granger said nothing but began to put the food on the table. Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and squeezed it gently before they went to go sit down. “So then this is what you wanted to tell us then?” Mrs. Granger asked, scooping some mashed potatoes onto her plate.
“Um, yeah.” Hermione said. “Although this wasn't exactly the way I was hoping you'd find out.”
Mr. Granger sat down across from Harry and stared at him. “I hope you're going to stick with my daughter and support her.” He said. He stabbed his fork into a slice of chicken and dumped it onto his plate.
“Of course,” Harry replied. “I'm not just going to leave her to raise a child alone.”
“Well, you're better then some men.” Mr. Granger said gruffly. Hermione smiled at her father. Harry seemed to relax a little and accepted the plate of stuffing from Mrs. Granger. “So the two of you will marry soon then?”
Hermione choked on the piece of bread she had bitten into and turned bright red. “Dad!” She cried.
“What?” He asked. “Were you planning on letting your child be born out of wedlock?”
“Oh Joseph,” Mrs. Granger groaned.
“We aren't going to get married, Dad.” Hermione said. “We already discussed that Harry will be in this child's life, but we aren't going to be together.”
“But -”
“The main thing is that Harry will be there.” Mrs. Granger said, interrupting Mr. Granger with a harsh glare. Hermione smiled gratefully at her mother. “You know Harry, you know what kind of man he is.”
Mr. Granger didn't look pleased but kept his mouth shut. Dinner after that was pretty quiet after that. Mrs. Granger mainly talked about preparing for the baby and baby shower and Harry and Hermione listened quietly.
After they had eaten and cleaned up the kitchen, Mr. Granger retreated to his study. “Don't worry about him.” Mrs. Granger said softly, seeing the worried look in her daughter's eyes. “He just needs time to get used to the fact that you have grown up.”
Harry and Hermione decided to apparate to the Three Broomsticks and then walk back to Hermione's flat from there, which was about five blocks away. Hand in hand, the couple walked in silence along the dark sidewalk, both lost in their own thoughts. “Well,” Hermione said, breaking the silence, “that definitely went better then I thought it would.”
Harry nodded but stayed silent. There was a frown on his face as he stared at the sidewalk in front of him.
“Harry?” Hermione asked. She stopped walking and gently pulled on Harry's hand. He stopped and turned around to face her. “Is everything okay?”
“Your father did bring up some good points.” Harry said. “We aren't living together, we aren't dating, and there's a good chance we'll never get married.” Hermione winced, but Harry didn't catch it. “I think your father was thinking of how our child would feel. She would grow up not knowing what a loving family is.”
“That isn't true.” Hermione protested. “We love each other! Sure, it isn't the romantic type of love, but, we'll work things out.”
Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, you're right.”
Hermione smiled as they continued to walk. “So… `she' huh?”
“Hmm?”
“When you were talking about how our child would feel, you said `she would grow up'.” Hermione giggled. “So you want a little girl then?”
Harry's cheeks tinged pink and didn't say anything.
~~~~
A/N: There you have it, chapter 3. How'd you like it? The next chapter should be up sometime… I have lots of holidays coming up, 4 day weekend here, 3 day weekend next week…
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Hey guys, Happy New Year!!
Now that that is out of the way, I have some explaining to do. Don't I? To say I've been busy since my last update is both a lie and the truth. I have been quite busy but there have been periods of time where I just been on the computer thinking `I should write…' but then been too lazy to open up word. I *have* worked on the next chapter of Mistake a little, but not a lot. But it seems this school year I have been having a lot of personal, relationship problems too. And that takes up a LOT of time. And I hope that Oliver, if you're reading this please email me back soon. Haha we kind of went out of touch after your last email…even though I DID reply.
As to when the next chapter will be up. That's hard to say. As of right now, I'm in the middle of writing finals (ew, math), so I'm stressed enough as it is. But I also nearly lost my grandpa on Friday, which really scared me too and just added to the stress. He has been really sick lately so I've been spending a lot of my time at the nursing home, and now the hospital.
I am taking a writing course next semester (about a week from now), so that should get my creative juices flowing again. I've been very…not creative for lack of better word, and I think this new semester will be a good start. I am NOT going to abandon this story, as some of you have expressed their fears, but please, bear with me. It will take a while.
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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 11th 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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A/N: See? I did update a lot quicker this time. -does the happy dance- I didn't exactly like how this chapter turned out, but it was the best I could do. You should've seen how many copies I had of this bloody chapter. And thanks for the reviews, I love you guys! <3
There is something that I would like to bring up. As you all probably know, I'm not British, nor do I know most of the customs and ways of life. It's my fault for not saying so at the beginning. You all have been really kind about that, but there was one particular reviewer who pissed me off. This person, who decided not to leave a name, had nothing but negative and even rude comments to put and I found offensive. Let me make it clear for anyone else who has the same opinions as this person. DON'T READ MY STORY. It's as simple as that.
Chapter 5
"Did you see what he wrote down?" Ginny asked. She, Luna, and Hermione were all situated around Luna's kitchen table. Ron took Samantha over to Grimmauld Place to visit Uncle Harry while the girls had a girls night. Hermione had just finished telling Ginny and Luna what had gone on between that brunette and Harry earlier on today and was curious as to what they thought about it.
"No, I didn't." Hermione replied, swirling the last of her chocolate milk around in her mug. "I just know she treated it like the bloody holy grail."
"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding." Luna said. Lately she had become more mature and lost the dreamy tone to her voice. Hermione believed it had something to do with becoming a mother, though sometimes she did miss the ditziness.
"Yeah." Ginny agreed. "She was probably just some psycho fan who wanted an autograph."
"I hope you're right." Hermione said, downing the rest of her hot chocolate. Ginny grabbed the mug from her and went to the kettle to get her more. "More hot chocolate?"
"Well since you and Luna can't have any fire whiskey we have to substitute the booze for something." Ginny explained, stirring the chocolate mix. "And hot chocolate was all that Luna had besides butterbeer, and that isn't that healthy for you guys either."
"So instead of getting me drunk you're going to make me have to go pee all night." Hermione said dryly, taking the mug from her friend. "Gee, thanks."
"You're welcome." Ginny replied, smiling cheekily. "So what's in the bag?" She nodded towards the bag that held Hermione's baby books on the counter.
"Those are the books I bought before I saw Harry with...her." Hermione said. Ginny got up and grabbed the bag then sat back down again. Ginny pulled the books out and looked at them.
"A Week By Week Guide to Your Pregnancy." Ginny read the title of the book. She turned the book over and skimmed the back then looked up at Hermione, "Hey what week are you on?"
"Week twenty three."
Ginny opened the book and began to search for the page, muttering 'week twenty three' repeatedly under her breath. "Aha, here we are!" She cleared her throat. "'Baby: Your baby is about 8 inches from crown to rump and weighs almost 1 pound. The body is becoming proportioned more like a newborn, but skin is still wrinkled because your baby still has more weight to gain. Lanugo hair on the body sometimes turns darker.'" She looked up. "What's 'lanugo' hair?"
"It's the hair that covers newborns." Luna said. "Sam had it."
"Didn't know that." Ginny muttered. She looked down and continued to read. "'Mom-to-be: Your round belly is definitely noticeable by now. Weight gain will be about 12 to 15 pounds. Vaginal secretions that are typically clear-to-yellowish with a faint smell increase during pregnancy.' Ewwww, that's gross!" She cried, tossing the book onto the table. "I did not need to know that."
"I'm not too happy about the weight gain part." Hermione grumbled, sipping her hot chocolate. "And the book lies."
"How does it lie?"
"I've already gained eighteen pounds, not twelve to fifteen." Hermione said.
"Don't stress too hard over it," Luna said soothingly. "You always gain more than the books say."
"Really?"
"Really." Luna smiled softly. "So, have you and Harry discussed names?"
"Actually, we haven't." Hermione frowned. "It's weird, we've discussed so many things about the baby in the last couple months, but we haven't discussed any names or anything like that."
"Okay..." Ginny said slowly. "Then what are some names that you like?"
"Honestly, I'm not too sure myself." Hermione admitted. "I know I want Lily or James to be a part of the baby's name no matter what."
"Awe, that's so sweet." Ginny sighed. She reached into the bag and pulled out one of the baby name books. She opened it to a random page and stuck her finger on the paper. "How about... Lynn if it's a girl?"
"Lynn..." Hermione tested the name out herself. "I like it."
Luna got up and grabbed pad of paper and a quill. "Write names down that you like so you will remember them."
"Lynn Lily Potter-Granger." Ginny said, "That sounds so cute! Here Luna, you open the book to a random page and do what I did. We can make a game of it."
"Okay." Luna took the book and closed it. "This is the sort of game I imagined I would play with friends during the summer holidays. It's fun." Ginny and Hermione shifted uncomfortably, Hermione hated it when Luna talked like that. She opened the book and placed her finger on the page. "Orrick."
Ginny burst out laughing, "Orrick James Potter-Granger! I'm so writing that one down."
"Don't you dare." Hermione said, laughing.
For the next hour the girls took turns picking names out of the two books. Most of the names were hilarious names that Hermione would never even consider. By the end of the night, Hermione had written down Lynn, Madeline, Tessa, and Lacy for girls and Jacob, Mason, Dominic, and Anthony for boys. It was near midnight when Ron came back with a sleeping Samantha. "I guess I should get back home." Hermione said, stifling a yawn. "I have work tomorrow."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Ginny asked.
"No, I can manage." Hermione said, gathering up the books and papers. She put them into the bag and pulled on her evening jacket.
"Pretty soon you won't be able to Floo." Ron reminded, following her into the living room.
"I know, I know." Hermione said, grabbing a handful of powder.
"You'll be able to have Harry wait on you hand and foot pretty soon too." He said in a sing song voice.
Hermione shook her head and stepped into the fireplace and called out her address. She stumbled into her living room and nearly tripped over Crookshanks, who was lounging lazily in the middle of the floor. "Crookshanks!" Hermione scolded. The old cat stretched, meowed then curled up on the rug. Hermione sighed and placed the bag on the coffee table. She suddenly felt extremely tired. Hermione turned off the lights in the living room and walked into her room. She quickly changed into her pajamas and snuggled into bed.
****
After work the next day, Hermione couldn't resist going back to Baby Wands and getting some blankets for the crib and bassinet they had bought. She knew that no matter if she had a boy or girl, Harry would want Quidditch to be a part of the child's life so Hermione purchased a couple of blankets with snitch patterns on them. Excited, Hermione hurried over to Grimmauld Place to show Harry what she had bought.
She found Harry on the couch reading. He looked up startled and quickly shut the book. "What are you reading?" Hermione asked, plopping the bag onto the table.
"Nothing much." Harry said. "What's up?"
"I bought some baby blankets at Baby Wands after work and thought that since we're keeping everything here I'd drop them off." She said, sitting down beside Harry.
He reached over and opened the bag, laughing as he held up the blankets. "These are adorable."
"I figured since this is your child, it will probably have some type of Quidditch fascination." Hermione said. Harry grinned then did something unexpected. He wrapped one arm around Hermione, bringing her to him and kissed her forehead. Hermione felt her face heat up. "So, um," Hermione said, clearing her throat. "how was your day?"
"It was alright, I guess." Harry said, folding the blankets back up and putting them into the bag. "I was assigned to help a new girl on her first field mission."
"Did she go all crazy over the Harry Potter?" Hermione asked, grinning.
"No." Harry said, giving a mock glare. "She was nice. Kind of reserved, but she has potential to be a great Auror. How about your day?"
"It was long." She said, leaning back on the couch. A sudden jolt made Hermione gasp and clutch her stomach.
"What? What is it?" Harry asked, sitting up straight and staring worriedly at her stomach.
"I think the baby just kicked." Hermione said, rubbing her tummy. She felt another little kick and grinned, "The baby is definitely kicking now."
Harry looked at Hermione with an awestruck expression on his face. "Can I...?" He asked hesitantly. Hermione took his hand and placed it where the baby had kicked. A moment later, it kicked again and Harry let out a joyous laugh. "Is this the first time?"
"Yes." Hermione said laughing. "I can't believe it."
The baby kicked again, making the grin on Harry's face grow even wider. He looked up at Hermione and stared at her, making her breath hitch. There was something in the way that he was staring at her that made her heart race. He looked back down and slowly rubbed her stomach. "You know, I've been thinking." He began, his voice thick with emotion. "I think you should move in sometime this month. There isn't much preparation to be done and I don't want to miss any moments like this."
"What about my flat? I'm going to have to sell it and move out..." Hermione said, already dreading the work that had to be done.
"Leave it all to me." Harry said.
"Oh, Harry..." Hermione said, touched. Her hormones began to act up again and she felt tears prickle in her eyes.
Harry, who was used to the crying by now, laughed and wiped away the tears with his spare hand, his other still resting on Hermione's stomach. That look that was in his eyes appeared again, turning Hermione into mush, as his hand lingered on her cheek. Hermione felt her breath quicken as she saw his eyes flicker to her lips. He leaned in and just as he brushed his lips against her, the baby kicked. Harry jumped back quickly,. "Doesn't like to share it's mum." Harry said grinning.
"Yeah..." Hermione said, laughing nervously. An awkward silence followed. Not being able to take it anymore, she stood up. "I should head home."
"Hermione." Harry said. "Don't run."
"I'm not running." Hermione protested. "It's getting late and Crookshanks needs to be fed."
"Hermione."
"Why now?" Hermione blurted out.
"What do you mean?" He asked cautiously.
"I saw you yesterday in Diagon Alley with that...brunette." Hermione said, getting angry. "I saw you write something down and give it to her. She was gorgeous!"
"You mean Meghan?" Harry said incuriously.
"How should I know her name?" She asked, "It was when I went to grab the books from Baby Wands."
"She was the trainee I had to help today." Harry said, sounding defensive. "What I wrote down was the name of the Death Eater we had to follow today. She saw me while I was waiting for you and came over to say hi. She told me she wanted to do some research on the guy and couldn't remember the spelling of his last name so I wrote it down for her. Did you really think I would give something to a total stranger?"
Hermione set her lips and stared at the wall. What Harry said made sense, but now her pride was on the line and she didn't want to admit she was wrong. Harry stood up and grabbed her by the arms. "We're about to have a baby together in a matter of months. This is not the time for me to be looking for a relationship." He said. Hermione looked down. He put two fingers under her chin and lifted her head up so she could look him in the eye. "Nor do I want one. Do you really see me as the type of bloke who would go out with girls while the mother of my child is home watching the baby?" Hermione winced and looked away. She knew Harry wasn't that type of guy, and his tone sounded hurt, she felt guilty.
Harry's hands traveled down her arms to her hands and linked their fingers together. "I know this is sudden but," Harry exhaled and looked over the top of Hermione's head. "ever since that night-" He cut himself off, laughing. "This is going to sound so cliché."
"I know what you're trying to say," Hermione said grinning.
"So... does this mean we're going to try things out?" Harry asked almost shyly.
"Yes, I think it does." Hermione smiled. Harry pulled her into his arms and hugged her. He pulled back and lowered his head down to hers, capturing her lips in a soft kiss. Just like before, the baby began to kick.
Harry pulled back with a frustrated groan. "Stop kicking and let me kiss your mum, damn it."
****
A/N: There we are! We only have a few more chapters to go and then an epilogue, woot! This story isn't turning out exactly how I planned, but I'm liking it and hopefully you are too.
I'm starting to work on another story and I'm quite enjoying it. It's a lot darker than any of my other fanfics or stories that I've written, and I think I've found a guilty pleasure. For anyone who is interested to know anything about it, it's called `Angels' and I was inspired by Within Temptation's song `Angels'. If you know the song you'll probably have a bit of a guess as to what it'll be about.
Until next time!
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