Disclaimer: JKR owns.
Lies for Love
Chapter 8: Bad News
[AN] Those teasers are fantastic, aren't they? Short chapter this time, but please enjoy!
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Harry couldn't think straight. His mind was in a furious jumble and on instinct he apparated to the only person who would listen to him.
"Hermione?!" he called out, slamming the door to her flat shut.
"Harry?" asked Hermione's voice from the kitchen. Harry headed towards the room only to see her leaning against the counter.
He didn't notice her wiping at her eyes, instead stalking forward and pulling her into a fierce hug.
Hermione returned the hug, taken aback by his force and the tone of desperation in his voice, "Harry, what's wrong?"
He shook her head in the crook of her neck, "You won't believe what just happened."
"Tell me," she spoke calmly, pushing him away slightly so she could look him in the eyes.
"I went back to the child services office t-to get some information on Teddy and find out when I could take him home…" he choked out quickly as Hermione wiped at the tears that were pooling in his eyes.
"Harry, breathe."
Harry nodded but continued in the same tone, "And they told me that he wasn't in their system anymore!"
Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head, "Well why wouldn't he be?"
"That's what I asked! And they said that they would check in the out going files-"
"Out going files?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"The paper work that processes adoption," Harry said gravely. Her jaw dropped, just by the desperate look in his green eyes, she could tell the worse had happened.
"Oh no…"
"Yes and then the clerk told me that Teddy was adopted four days ago!"
Hermione clapped a hand to her mouth, "Oh god…"
Harry nodded again while trying to choke back tears, "A-apparently they didn't find a will so they couldn't prove any remaining family."
Hermione dropped her hand, suddenly getting angry, "Well of course not, they're muggles!"
"That's what I tried to tell the woman back at the ministry, but she kept telling me that it wasn't their investigation to make and that it was against our laws to memory charm the people that took Teddy and erase his file in the muggle books…"
"Harry please, try to calm down," Hermione said gently, grabbing his hands and leading him over to a chair.
She knelt before him as he sat deafly in the kitchen chair, "Okay, so what do we do from here?"
"There's nothing we can do! The muggles wouldn't say anything else on his whereabouts. They just said that it was expected that a child of Teddy's age get adopted that fast! I tried to get the witch at the ministry to do something, but my magic got the best of me and I just- I just snapped…" he finished bending over and putting his head in his hands.
Hermione sighed, "Harry…"
"I completely wrecked her office. Afterwards she called security and I was sent to see Kingsley-"
"And did you tell him about Teddy?"
"Yes!" Harry cried, again looking up at her, "And he said he was upset about it too, but there was nothing we could do because he's already gone! He actually had the nerve to tell me that he was sure Teddy was taken to a loving home!"
Hermione shook her head, "This whole situation just seems so surreal…"
"I told Kingsley that the circumstances were complete rubbish and then I had another outburst," he finished dully.
Hermione bit her lip, not at all liking the pain Harry was in. She knew how dear Teddy was to him and it hurt her, more than she had ever imagined, to see Harry like this.
As Harry continued to tremble in his seat, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, allowing him to bury his head in her hair.
They sat there for a few minutes, Hermione whispering words of comfort and occasionally kissing the side of his head while Harry just nodded absently.
"I don't think this day could get any worse," he said in a muffled voice against her shoulder.
Hermione again bit her lip and sat back to look Harry in the eyes, "Actually…"
"Did I speak too soon?" he asked dryly.
Hermione shrugged and looked to the ground, "You know how I said I wanted to tell my parents?"
"Yeah, and I told you we should tell them together," he said condescendingly with a raised eyebrow.
Hermione nodded and continued, "Well I rang them today. I guess I was just curious to how they would react to the situation so I told them that a friend of mine was pregnant, not married, and just starting school. And right away my mum went off into lecture mode about how disgraceful it was and that her parents must have been so ashamed of her…"
"Hermione-" Harry started this time with a comforting tone.
"And then my dad got on the phone… and he said that he was proud that his daughter had a better head on her shoulders…" she trailed off as tears started flooding her eyes. Harry leaned forward and pulled her into a tight hug as she buried her head in his shoulder and started to cry.
"And that's not even the least of it," Hermione sniffed after a few seconds.
"There's more?"
Hermione nodded stiffly, "Ron stopped by and said he wanted to take me to Paris for my birthday."
Harry wanted to scowl, "And what did you say?"
Hermione looked at him, "I told him I had already made plans with my parents, but the look on his face when I rejected him…"
"Don't feel guilty Hermione," he said, trying to keep the glee out of his voice since his own plans for her birthday weren't ruined, "I'm sure he understands."
"You think? Do you think that he would understand that his best mate of seven years impregnated the girl he fancied?" she asked a bit hysterically.
Harry faltered, "Well… probably not…"
"I just… I can't take this anymore! No matter what we do, someone's going to get hurt- and soon. I won't be able to keep the baby a secret for much longer," she finished in a subdued tone.
"And I don't want us to have to do that!" Harry said passionately, "Why should we have to keep our baby a secret from everyone?"
"Are you ready though? Are you ready to break Ron and Ginny's hearts?"
Harry shook his head, "I don't want them to get hurt as much as you do, Hermione," he finished defensively giving her an incredulous look.
"I know Harry… I-I'm sorry, I just- I'm scared. I don't want any more drama," Hermione told him grabbing for his hand.
Harry sighed, "Me too, Hermione, me too."
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Next chapter on Lies for Love:
"Hermione listen to yourself," Harry cut in, "You're worrying yourself sick! This can't be good for you or the baby!"
"Don't you think I know that?" she snapped, shooting a defensive look at Harry, "What exactly are my options if I can't keep this a secret but I don't want to hurt anyone by telling?"
Surprisingly to her, Harry sent her a smile, "Can I take you to your present now?"
…
Thank you all for the reviews! Sorry for the short chapter but I promise next chapter is longer.
I know some of you will be expressing concerns about how unbelievable it was that Teddy was just taken like that and Harry's not going to fight for him…
But think about it- the muggles aren't going to let information go to any old person just because he says he's the godfather. If Harry did magic against the muggles it would be reported to the ministry and he'd be penalized.
Harry can't do a point me spell or trace him because once Teddy was adopted his last name changed.
Also I know some of you will think that it's way too soon and the family should have been through various processes and interviews to see if they were fit- that will be explained when we meet Teddy again.
Christ- this is strenuous. I'm trying to explain things while trying to not give details away. It's hard but if you have any questions then feel free to ask.
Thank you again and Happy Holidays.