Oh, how I wish I owned Harry Potter. Alas, it belongs to J.K. Rowling and she makes all the money in this outfit.

I stared down at the white stick in my hands disbelievingly. This couldn't be happening. Could. Not.

Ugh.

I gave it a hard shake as if that would make a difference, but when I looked at it again the two lines were there, staring up at me blankly. Like they were saying, "Why are you looking at us? It's your pee."

Ginny knocked on the door and called through to me. "Hermione? What are you doing in there? Eating it? Shoving it up your bum? I don't know why you didn't just go to the healer like I suggested anyway-"

"Ginny!" I shrieked. "Not now!"

She opened the door and stared at me while I stared at the stick, willing the lines to disappear. She looked exasperated. Well, that was easy for her. She was married, had a job, and had a baby of her own already, with another one on the way. She was old hat at all this. Me? I was bricking it.

Or I would be soon.

"Hermione," she said a little more gently, "it's not going to go away because you want it to. Unless," she added thoughtfully, "you do want it to?" She seemed a bit uncertain on that point and I looked up at her, finally dumping the stick in the trash next to hers. If Harry saw them, he'd just think she'd used two to be sure. Of course, he might wonder why she was using muggle pregnancy tests, but her dad knew all sorts of strange things now, so it wasn't a total stretch.

"No, I'll keep it," I said. She looked relieved.

"Are you sure? You don't have to make up your mind right away, you know. You can think about it-"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I'm all for women's rights. But for myself, that isn't the answer. And I don't think I could give it up for adoption either, so unless the little bugger decides to abort itself, we're stuck with one another," I finished and glared down at my stomach half-heartedly. Ginny gave me a strange look and led the way back out to the living room.

"Hermione," she said, "I love you, and you're one of my very best friends, but you are weird sometimes."

"What's weird?"

"You're being so…casual."

"Well it was a casual thing, wasn't it? Oh, hell," I said, waving a hand and flopping onto her sofa. "That's not what I mean. I expect I'm in shock right now. I just mean that I'm not going to go into hysterics. There's no point. It's done and I know what I want to do. May as well be practical about things. Guess I should go to the healer now, hmm?"

"Probably."

She regarded me quietly while I twirled my hair about my finger.

"Are you sure you don't know-"

"Well I never expected to have two one night stands within four days of each other, did I?" I retorted before she could say anything else. I relented after a moment and smiled wryly. "It brought back a lot of memories, seeing Ron at the wedding," I admitted. "And we both had one glass too many of that champagne. And then George locked us in that pantry-"

"Hermione," she said seriously, "that closet was not locked when I opened it."

I sat up quickly and gaped at her, mortification flooding my face. "You- what?"

"When I found you, the door was not locked," she said a little more clearly. Then she looked at me sharply. "Wait- you thought it was really locked? You weren't just using that for an excuse?"

I shook my head. "No," I said slowly. "Ron came in after me for another bottle of wine. He handed it to George, turned back to me and I noticed the door close. When he tried it, he told me it was locked. And neither of us had our wands with us-"

Ginny snorted and I glared at her. "What?"

"Ron- my oaf of a brother who's been mad about you since your sixth year, who has not given up on you even after your so-called mutual break-up; ended up in a closet with you and told you the door was locked before he put the moves on you and you believed him?" She shook her head. "I think having your nose stuck in musty manuscripts all day has addled your brains, Hermione. That, or you're so deprived of male attention that even Ron looked good-" she stopped when I felt my face flinch.

"Hermione, you're not still- you're still in love with him!" she cried and I shook my head.

"No! Yes- maybe I am. I don't know anymore. I've liked Ron for such a long time, Ginny, but it seemed like things were moving so fast and I just wanted something casual for a bit. And he was just as busy with helping George, then joining the team, that it seemed best to keep it casual for a while." I searched her face. "Do you think I was a complete idiot?"

"No, Hermione, but you're pregnant now. The time to be casual with my brother is over. Unless you think it's-"

"No, not his," I said quickly and shifted nervously. "At least, I hope not. Can you imagine? I still can't believe I slept with him. Ugh, of all the stupid, stupid-" I covered my face with my hands and felt Ginny move to sit near me. She patted my back the way Harry might've and I stifled a hysterical giggle. This really couldn't be happening. Absolutely could. Not.

"But you won't know for sure until…"

"It's born, yeah," I said in a small voice. "Oh, hell."

"Feeling the shock now?" she asked and when I nodded she said, "Why don't I make you some tea and you can call and make an appointment wherever you think best."

"The thing about him," I continued as I followed her to the kitchen, still unable to say his name aloud, "is that he was definitely, very drunk and I was feeling like a vindictive bitch after Ron didn't call. You know? I mean, I'm within my rights, after only having casual dates and sharing a few kisses with him, to expect at least a call or owl or something, right? I mean, Ginny," I said, lowering my voice, "he shagged me in your mother's pantry! And I thought he thought it was nice-"

"Too much!" she exclaimed, holding up a hand to quiet me. "Way, way too much information. If I never hear those words together from you again it'll-"

"Oh, please, like you didn't go on about Harry," I said and snagged a biscuit from her tin.

"Hungry already?" she asked and I glowered at her over the cookie. "Well, I don't go on about him anymore, do I?" she said. "Besides, it's different when you've got one of your own."

"Two, now," I pointed out and she glowered at me that time. I smirked. "Clearly, you don't need to talk about how great it is, with results like that."

"Hermione Granger!" she shrieked at me, smacking my arm while laughing. "I can't believe you! But," she added slyly, pouring out the tea, "as long as shagging is on the table, why haven't you told me all about the fer-"

"Please," I cut her off. "Don't remind me."

"Well, all you've said is how much you regret it- that's fine," she added hastily, "a girl is allowed to one or two bad choices."

"I haven't said anything because he wasn't that good," I said quickly in a small voice. I was incredibly embarrassed to be admitting it, but the one time I'd decided to be a vindictive bitch and earn my pound of flesh, it looked like it had just gone and bitten me in the ass. Oh, my schemes with school yard bullies and that damned You-Know-Friggin-Who always turned out alright, but when it came to men, my wiles never seemed to serve me well. Except when Ron found me in a dim pantry and I was wearing Chanel No. 5 and a garter belt. That seemed to help matters a great deal.

Ginny stared at me and nearly dropped the tea while she howled with laughter. "Draco Malfoy? Slytherin Sex God? Not that good? Oh, oh!" she managed to set the tea pot down and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"To be fair, he was right pissed," I said grudgingly. "But Ron, even on four glasses of champagne and against uncomfortable shelving, was better." I rolled my eyes as I polished off the cookie and brushed my hands together. "Much, much better," I added around a mouthful of chocolate.

Ginny finally controlled herself and finished with the tea. She shoved a mug towards me, a grin still playing about her lips.

"Merlin," she said, "I just can't believe it. So you really do regret it then."

I glared at her. "I wouldn't keep telling you I did if I didn't, would I?"

"I don't know," she replied. "You keep saying you aren't in love with my brother anymore when you clearly are."

"Touché," I murmured and sipped at the hot liquid. "Well, moving on. You promise not to tell anyone for now, right?"

"Yes, yes," she said. "Now, who do you want to make the appointment with?" And just like that she was all business once more. I loved Ginny. I knew I'd made the right choice, coming to her. Who knew? Maybe this pregnancy would even be sort of fun, since we'd be doing it together…I wrinkled my nose and continued to sip my tea.

Then again, maybe not. I still didn't know who the father was and I wouldn't know for several months. I was entering the domain of single motherhood for a brief time- maybe for a long time, if neither of the blokes wanted to be involved- and I had a long road ahead of me. At least I had the benefit of friends who cared about me, parents that were still alive and money in my pocket from a good job. I would manage better than many other single mothers out there and I was very fortunate.

So, no. Maybe it would be alright in the end. Fun? That was a whole different story.