Disclaimer: If this was mine, I'd be awfully rich, and we would be happy for HHr happening.
A/N: My reply to the "You can't take my child" challenge by Natsky, you can find it here: http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26363&st=0 . I hope you'll like the story, and I feel I need to alert you, Ginny won't be particularly likable here. I don't think that's a problem, but anyhow, I told you beforehand, ok? lol. Now, on with the story…and please, remember that H/G makes me want to puke just like it does for you, ok? But this chap needed to be done.
Credit for the original plot of the story goes to AnasellaEmm, who wrote the story A Wonderful Caricature of Intimacy on fanfiction.net.
Thanks to my great beta Gingercat, she's helping me lots!
Fight for Custody
Chapter Nine: Third and Fourth Month
Harry was satisfied. Till now, the probation had gone quite well, apart for that only incident of the visit happening when he and Hermione were still angry at each other.
They were now in the third month, so more or less halfway through it, and the raven haired wizard was confident they could make it.
For the first time since he had received the letter explaining to him how the Ministry acted on the matters of children's custody, he let himself think he may be able to keep Bea with him, and he had no one else to thank for that than Hermione.
She had easily slipped into the role of the loving wife, of course they had their little spats now and then but it was just normal, and she was an excellent mother, just like he knew she would be. Bea simply adored her, and Harry could easily see why.
As he sat at his desk in the Ministry, he couldn't help a smile spreading on his face, remembering how just few nights ago they had cuddled together on the couch, once Bea was in bed, and watched the television that way. He missed her terribly now that she had had to go to the continent for a few days to attend a conference for teachers in Marseille. Luckily, she would be back the next day for dinner, or so she had told him in her owls.
He knew growing too attached to her was a risk, because in three months she would be gone from their flat, and yet he didn't think he was able to resist.
Taking a long breath, Harry shook his head as he admitted it to himself. He was falling for his best friend.
Around lunch time, he heard someone knocking on his door.
Looking up, he saw a fellow co-worker of his, Mandy Erntap, the one he had been paired with by the head of the Department to go through their archives and reorganize them. In his Hogwarts days, Harry would have despised such a job, but now he was happy for it, even if he found it boring, because he knew desk work kept him safe.
He had even been thinking about abandoning the Auror ranks altogether, but that was the only thing he could do, and even if money wasn't a problem for him and would never be, he still didn't feel like staying all day at home with nothing to do. He knew he would go crazy in two weeks time at the most.
"Hi, Mandy" he greeted her.
"Hi, Harry" she replied. "I got stuck on the files from 1950 to 1975, I'd like your opinion on how to reorganize them" she said, showing him a stack of parchment.
"Sure, take a seat and let's take a look at them" he said. For three hours they hardly worked on that, but finally they managed to have a perfectly archived stack of documents, mostly paperwork after arrests, relations on possible suspects, and such things. At the top of the stack was an index, so that finding the searched file would be easier.
"Wow, that was long" Harry breathed as he sent the files back to the archive with a flick of his wand. His stomach growled then, and he chuckled.
"I guess it is lunch time. What do you say we grab a bite at that place just across the street? I've found they make some godly pizza" he suggested, and Mandy grinned.
"Seems your stomach really needs it, Potter" she teased him, and he nodded. "It does"
So, they walked there, chose a table, and settled with their pizzas, and some Coke. It wasn't a long break, but a nice and deserved one nonetheless.
As they chatted and ate quietly like every pair of co-workers might do when they go to have lunch together, neither of them paid much attention to a flash going off.
Harry rolled his eyes, and warned her. "They might have a photo of the two of us on the front page of the Prophet tomorrow" he said. "Sorry, but it is the price for being in company of the blasted Boy-Who-Won" he added, rolling his eyes, and she nodded her understanding.
Later, they were back to work, going their separate ways as Harry had something to ask the Minister, while Mandy returned to her room, both soon forgetting about that photo of them that had been taken.
--
The next morning, Harry was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for Bea, when the owl bringing them the Daily Prophet arrived. Harry paid the bird, who swiftly flew away, leaving the paper on the table.
Since he had bacon and eggs to check, Harry left it there, without taking a glimpse at it.
He should have though, because he could have avoided Bea seeing its front page when she entered the room few minutes later.
Since she had by now learned to read, she was curious to see if she could understand a newspaper for adults, and grabbed it.
The photo on the front page shocked her. It showed her dad kissing a woman that wasn't her mum.
She froze, looking at the photo going on over and over, with Harry seemingly kissing this woman while they were at some restaurant.
Tears filled her eyes, and she ran away, knocking down the chair in the process. Harry was startled by the sound, and hastily went to check on her, but she wouldn't open her door, telling him he was a liar and didn't love her mummy.
Sighing, Harry took his wand and unlocked it, then stepped inside. Bea saw him, and glaring at her father, she Apparated away, letting the paper fall on the ground, where Harry saw it for the first time, feeling rage build inside him.
Only, her anger didn't make for a clean accidental Apparition like the other time, and she splinched herself, leaving back her right thumb.
He panicked not knowing where she had gone, but few moments later Arthur Weasley Apparated to the living room, a crying and bloody Bea in her arms.
Harry rushed there, and cradled his little girl in his arms, immediately Apparating to St. Mungo's, where he let a healer take care of her. "Thanks, Arthur, I can't tell you how grateful I am" he said as the redhead wizard had come to the hospital too.
"Do not worry, Harry. Only, from now on, don't let her see the paper before you've checked it. Oh, by the way, it's obvious it is a manipulated photo, so don't worry about Hermione believing it. She won't" the older wizard said with a smile, while they waited for little Bea to be healed.
Half an hour later, Harry was back in his flat, explaining to Bea what had really happened in that restaurant. He also explained to her that people at the newspaper tended to want a sensational story so that they would sell more, so they often invented stories on him.
"I'm sorry you will have to deal with this, even when you'll be at Hogwarts, but sadly it is how things are" he said, and wanted to add more, but was interrupted by the soft pop of Hermione Apparating in the living room.
"Harry, what's happened? I received an owl from Arthur that Bea had been hurt…" the brunette said, fear for the little girl's health clear in her voice.
Harry quickly told her the events of the day, but before he could finish the doorbell rang.
Opening the door, Harry stifled a groan. It was the weekly visit from the Ministry, and who else than the old hag who had already given them grief the first time she visited could be assigned to them that particular day?
As they went through the torture of the visit, with the old witch sneering and smirking at every little fault of theirs, and almost gleaming in triumph when she could steer the conversation on the supposed cheating Harry had done and the fact Bea had been hurt while in his care, Harry seriously wanted to murder her.
However, he reckoned it wouldn't help his case much if he was sent to Azkaban, so he barely managed to restrain himself. Hermione kept squeezing his hand for support, and he inwardly smiled. She had always been his rock in difficult times.
When the visit finally finished, Harry hugged her tightly.
"I dunno what I'd do without you, Hermione" he earnestly said, and she held him even tighter, moved by his words.
"You don't have to know, because I won't leave again" she reassured him. "By the way, I suspect the whole photo manipulation and Prophet article is Ginny's doing. She must have known of us being married, and that we were overall doing well as parents, and must have tried this stunt to discredit us, and mostly you, as a unfit parent"
Harry's green eyes flashed in anger at the prospect. It made sense and he wouldn't put it past the redhead witch to do it. Now he just needed to prove it, and maybe he could use it against her…
"I know what you're thinking, Harry, but no. You shan't fall to her level. You ought to fight with your parental skills, showing her and the Ministry you're the better choice for Bea, even if she tries tricks like this one" Hermione suggested, and he knew she was right.
Nodding, he went to check on his daughter, who was now sleeping to fully recover from her ordeal, and he pushed a bang of hair out of her forehead, kissing her there, and sitting on the bed, swearing to himself he would do anything in his power to keep her with him.
--
Waking up spooning with Hermione had become a habit for Harry, and after the period she had been away for that conference he had come to treasure those moments even more. There was no doubt in his mind he was falling in love with her, the problem now was what to do about it.
As she finally woke up, he smiled tenderly at her, and she did the same.
"Good morning" she whispered.
"Good morning" he greeted back.
"I don't really want to get up" she mumbled against his chest.
"Neither do I, Mione" he said, just a bit wistfully.
She sighed, and finally willed herself out of the bed. As she was walking to the bathroom, her night robe reaching just under her bum, Harry blurted out what was on his mind.
"You're beautiful" he said, and she blushed, turning towards him with a smile.
"Don't say things you don't mean, Harry" she chastised him with a smile before entering the bathroom, not giving him time to retort.
"Oh, but I do mean it, Mione" he muttered to himself, closing his eyes for a moment, before finally getting up himself.
--
Since it was a Sunday, the three of them headed to the Burrow, where they would spend the day with the Weasleys.
Bea was always overjoyed when she could play with her cousins, and Molly and Arthur had always made Harry and Hermione both feel like part of the family, so it was a pleasurable occurrence. Plus, it let the two of them see Ron, as their busy schedules rarely let the Golden Trio come together during the week, especially since Luna had gotten pregnant a month ago. Ron was pampering her like a queen, and Harry knew if he would ever get in the same situation with Hermione, he would do just the same.
"Ok, Potter, you're in love with her, this we know. But, already planning babies?" he scolded himself, before going to help Molly to keep himself occupied and away from other thoughts of the sort.
During lunch, Arthur announced that he had overheard some fellow Ministry officers talking about an upcoming Easter Ball, and asked Harry if he would be going.
"We can baby-sit Bea for the night" Molly offered, always eager to spend time with her grandchildren, and Hermione smiled warmly at the older witch.
"We will consider it, for sure" she said, and Harry was almost surprised at her, she usually hated mundane events.
"After all a bit of fun can't do us any harm" the brunette continued, and Harry had to admit she was right. They could use a night out for themselves, most married couples did, now and then.
--
When the night of the Ball came, the two of them left Bea in the care of the Weasleys.
Hermione had explained to Harry that it was a good occasion to show off in public how happy they were, countering with facts the malignity from the Prophet. He was amazed at her wits.
"How very Slytherin of you" he joked, and she beamed.
"So you think it's a good idea?" she asked.
"Yeah, it is" he said, pulling her close. "Plus, it allows me to see you in a very nice dress" he joked, earning himself a punch on the arm.
While getting herself ready in the bathroom, Hermione's heart raced.
"Was he flirting with me?" she asked herself, then snorted. "Probably not, but Merlin if I wish he was!" she thought with a smile, pulling the zipper of her dress up. Only, she couldn't pull it all the way, so, holding her hair up, she went back to their bedroom.
"Harry, can you help me with the zipper?" she asked.
Harry barely heard her, transfixed by how good she looked in that dark blue gown. It took him a good minute, and Hermione calling him twice, for him to snap out of it.
"You're gorgeous" he told her, admiring the silky material wrapped snugly around her curves, exalting them and making her look like a goddess, to him at least.
"You don't look bad yourself" she said, feeling giddy for his compliment, and casting him an appraising look. He was wearing dark green robes that matched his eyes.
Harry stepped behind her to pull the zipper all the way up, and he couldn't resist kissing her neck as he did so. Hermione trembled under his touch, and stammered her thanks once he stepped back.
"My pleasure" he said, with just an hint of huskiness in his voice, and slightly darkened green eyes. Hermione's breath caught in her throat once more.
Finally the two of them Apparated to the designed Ministry ballroom, where many couples had already arrived. Harry spotted many other Ministry employees, and the Minister himself, Shacklebolt, with his wife. As the young couple approached him to say their hellos, Harry spotted a mane of flaming red hair out of the corner of his eye.
"Merlin, let it not be her" he silently prayed. But after a few dances, his suspicions were confirmed. He and Ginny stared at each other, in surprise for a moment, then they glared back and forth.
Hermione interrupted the glaring contest, and defused a possible embarrassing situation, lacing her arms around Harry's neck and pulling him down for a searing kiss, her tongue almost forcefully gaining entrance in his mouth.
Harry was surprised at her boldness, but placing his hands on her waist, he pulled her even closer, battling her tongue with his own, exploring her mouth, while she did the same with his own, gently nibbling on her lower lip, earning a sweet little moan from her as a reward, which made his trousers definitely tighter as he felt his southern regions stir.
When they finally parted, Ginny was gone from their field of vision, but both couldn't care less, as they stared dazedly at the other, while a few bystanders wolf-whistled at them, or clapped their hands.
Hermione realized then that they had been kissing even after the song had ended and thus they were the only ones on the dance floor at the moment. She knew she should be embarrassed, and she was to an extent, but the feelings of that incredible kiss were still making her lips tingle, and she chose to focus on that.
--
Later that same night, Harry was at the bar ordering drinks for himself and Hermione, who had been sitting at a nearby table with Neville, Susan, Dean and Parvati, whom they had met amidst the crowd, when a voice called him.
"Harry!" Ginny said, false sweetness lacing her tone. "How have you been?"
He rolled his eyes, as he grabbed the two glasses, then he finally turned and addressed her.
"Cut your act, Ginny. We both know we despise each other at the moment, so there's no need to act holy" he growled, glaring at his ex wife.
Her stance changed in one second, becoming far more aggressive.
"Enjoy your last two months with the brat, Potter, because I'm going to get custody of her, and your money every month too" she sneered.
Harry was fuming, but managed to maintain his cool, spotting Hermione looking worriedly at him from the table she was at.
"Don't be too sure of yourself, Ginevra. You don't want to really upset me" he icily advised the redhead, before walking past her and toward his wife.
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