A/N: First off – I don't own anything in the Harry Potter series and if you think I do then you are mental
A/N: First off – I don't own anything in the Harry Potter series and if you think I do then you are mental.
Secondly, I wrote this story because I needed a Harry Potter fix. Since the two stories that I am reading are coming to an end and I couldn't find another story that I liked, I decided I would write my own.
So this story takes place after the battle at Hogwarts but BEFORE the epilogue. In fact, just pretend the epilogue didn't take place. The only background that you need to know is that the trio is living at the Burrow with the rest of the Weasley's. Harry had insisted that he help make improvements to the house since they had been so wonderful to him for all those years and they agreed. So it is pretty much the same Burrow – just bigger to accommodate more people. Harry and Ginny are going out, as are Hermione and Ron. Neither is engaged or married – mainly because they are choosing to enjoy their lives at their current young age but they do plan on getting married once they are a bit older… Alright so let's get this story started.
Hermione sat on her bed with her knees held closely to her chest. Her heart was pounding in her throat as she closed her eyes. How could this happen?
She slowly opened her eyes and reached towards the small white stick on her bedside table. She stared at it with the hope that the image before her eyes would change. But there was no mistaking it: There were two distinct pink parallel lines.
She closed her eyes and shook the small white stick again with as much force as she could muster. She opened her eyes again with the hope that it wasn't true, but the pink lines remained. She knew the truth and that no matter how much she wanted it to disappear, that it remained the same: Hermione Granger was pregnant and she was only eighteen.
After a few moments of self-pity, Hermione stood up and placed the small white stick in the trash with the others. There was no denying it. There was no running from it. This was something she would have to face. She was having a baby. The only problem was, Ron was not the father.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. She closed her eyes and tried to place a convincing smile on her face before she replied, "Come in."
Harry opened the door and walked inside. This was the last person that she wanted to see. The guilt swept over her but she tried to mask it.
"Are you alright? You look like you just saw a ghost," said Harry half-joking.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a bit of a stomachache," Hermione lied. She hated lying to him but she wasn't exactly ready to face him truthfully.
"Well, Mrs. Weasley is taking Ron and Ginny to George's flat. She's trying to convince George of reopening the shop," said Harry with a hint of sadness in his voice. It had not been easy for anyone after the battle. It'd been months since then and life was starting to get back to normal, but it was certainly more difficult for some than it was for others.
"Oh…" said Hermione. She was getting nervous because of Harry's presence.
"Since it's only you and me today I was hoping that we could hang out. Maybe I can beat you in Wizard's Chess again…" said Harry playfully.
Hermione faked a smile. She couldn't imagine spending the day with Harry; She knew she would let her secret slip.
Her pregnancy was the one thing that would easily ruin too many lives. There was so much at stake and she was so angry with herself for destroying it effortlessly. How could she look him in the eyes and not tell him? How could she withhold such important, life-changing information?
"Yeah," said replied, breaking herself from her thoughts. She forced a smile on her face and hoped that it was convincing.
"Great," said Harry. "Do you have anything in mind for lunch? Something easy that I could cook?"
"What ever is convenient," said replied. She was anxious and she knew she wasn't hiding it well.
"You sure there isn't anything you want to talk about?" asked Harry, looking concerned.
"Yeah…just…just that stomachache," she replied. Her voice was shaky and she knew she wouldn't be able to hold the charade much longer.
"Alright…" said Harry. He was unconvinced but decided that it would be best to press her about it later. He smiled at her before turning to walk out the door.
As soon as the door slammed Hermione collapsed onto her bed. How was she possibly going to tell him? Or Ron? Or Ginny? Or anyone? How could she betray Ron like this? How could she betray his family after how wonderful they have been to her?
Hermione closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She had no idea where to begin. She was officially pregnant, and nothing was going to change it; She had to figure out a way to raise this child.
The thoughts of Ron's response plagued her mind. How could she betray him like this? How could she do this to the person who loved her, who she loved, the person who she was planning on marrying and living the rest of her life with? How could she do this to the person who had stuck by her and saved her?
Her thoughts returned to Harry. She knew she had to go downstairs soon. She knew she couldn't run from the truth.
Hermione waited until everyone but Harry had left the house. She stood up from her bed ringing the end of her shirt in her fingers. Her heart was pounding against her chest and it seemed as if her lungs were forgetting to bring air in. She looked at the floor and tried to gather all the courage that she had. She closed her eyes and took two deep breaths before walking towards the door.
She paused before her fingers wrapped around the doorknob. She stared at it and for a split second she considered apparating to the farthest place from the Burrow that she could think of. She shook the thought from her head because she knew that no matter how much her mind tried to find a loophole, there was none.
She turned the knob and walked outside of her room. She stared down the hallway for a second. She never realized how long it was – or at least how long it felt. She took a small step towards the stairs. Her mouth felt dry and her tongue felt like a piece of felt. She took another deep breath of courage in before making her walk of shame to the downstairs of the house.
With great effort, Hermione made it to the bottom landing. She saw Harry in the kitchen, opening a bottle of butterbeer.
"Finally you come downstairs. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to come down," said Harry. He smiled at her.
"Sorry…" said Hermione with a feeble voice. She tried to hide her nerves but there was no use.
"You all right, 'Mione?" said Harry with concern on his face.
"Harry…we…we…need to discuss something…" said Hermione. She was stuttering from her loss of words. She felt as if her knees were going to give way at any moment.
"What's wrong?" said Harry as he came closer to her. His face was full of genuine concern for his best friend.
Hermione tried to bring air into her lungs but she was failing miserably. Her brain searched for words to say. She was at a standstill against herself.
Harry took her arm gently and pulled a chair out for her. She slowly sat down at stared at the table. She had no idea where to start or how to explain.
"You're worrying me. Just spit it out," said Harry. The unusualness of her fear to confide in him made him restless.
"Remember the night we swore not to speak of?" asked Hermione. She continued staring at the table instead of his eyes. She couldn't bring herself to see his face when she told him the news.
Harry immediately looked at his hands. "Yes," he said, shame in his voice.
"Harry…I'm…I'm…I'm…" her words turned into tears. She tried to resist the urge to sob uncontrollably. She tried to hold it in but her emotions were too overwhelming and she began sobbing.
Harry stared at her. He had always been uncomfortable around crying people, especially girls, but the tension was overwhelming this time. He knew that he didn't want to hear the next words that would leave her lips.
Hermione desperately tried to control her sobs. She knew that if she didn't speak soon that she might never be able to bring herself to say it. She tried to calm herself down but her efforts were useless.
She drew a deep breath in before finally spitting the words out. "I'm pregnant," said Hermione. She instantly put her head in her hands and sobbed even louder.
Harry stared at Hermione stunned. He tried to open his mouth and form words but he failed. His mind raced with disbelief.
"But…but…what?" stammered Harry. "How? This can't be happening…Merlin, how is this happening?" he said. He ran his fingers through his hair as he stood up. He began pacing the room, all the while with Hermione still crying.
He stopped pacing at stared directly at Hermione. "Are you sure it is even mine?"
There was a short pause as Hermione looked up at Harry. Her gaze pierced Harry as she stood up. Her cheeks were still wet but tears had instantly ceased to run down her face.
"Of course it's YOURS!" said Hermione with such force that her words could've knocked Harry over. "What the hell do you take me for? Some common pros-"
"You know that is not what I meant!" spat back Harry.
"No, I don't know what you meant. Do you honestly think I like this situation? Let me make this perfectly clear so it can get through your thick skull: This isn't MY problem. This is OUR problem and if you so dare think otherwise…" said Hermione. She was breathing quick breaths through her nostrils as she stared at Harry. Anger was running through her veins.
"What kind of guy do you take me for? Do you not even know me better than that?" asked Harry. "Honestly – do you take me as some asshole who doesn't even give a crap about my responsibilities?" Harry was livid by this point. His heart was racing and he had beads of sweat running down his face.
Hermione stared into his eyes for a quick moment before running back up the stairs to her room. She tried to hold back the sobs to hide her weakness but she couldn't. She reached her door, quickly entered, and loudly slammed the door.
Harry stood at the bottom landing. He watched the stairs with hope of Hermione coming back down. He prayed that this was all a nightmare; that he would wake up next to Ginny and realize that it had all been in his head. As the minutes went by he knew this was not the case.
Harry began the long trek up the stairs and down the hallway to Hermione's room. He knocked softly on the door but didn't wait until he heard her reply. He opened the door.
Hermione was lying on her bed crying into her pillow. She didn't look up at him or say a word. He walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bed. He lifted her arms up and she collapsed into his chest. He gently stroked her hair and patiently waited until she stopped crying.
"I'm sorry," said Hermione quietly. Her voice was smaller than Harry had ever heard it.
"Don't be," said Harry's voice reassuringly. "We got ourselves into this and we can handle this," said Harry gently. He wrapped his arms around her in a tighter embrace.
"How am I going to raise a baby? I'm eighteen! I'm not married! This isn't even Ron's…" said Hermione in a stifled voice. She could feel the tears stinging her eyes.
"We will raise this baby. We'll do our best. Don't you dare feel ashamed of yourself," said Harry.
"How are we going to tell them, Harry? How could we possibly explain this?" said Hermione as she pulled away from him. "How are we possibly going to face anyone?"
Harry was silent for a moment. He couldn't imagine telling Ginny. He couldn't imagine trying to explain that on one drunken night he had accidentally slept with Hermione and that as a result she was pregnant. He knew that she would never forgive him and she had good reason not to.
He knew that Ron would instantly want to kick his ass and that by the time the Weasley family was done with him that he would be cursed into a billion pieces. After everything he had put the family through over the years, there was little that could top Hermione's pregnancy.
"We'll figure it out," said Harry reassuringly. He hoped that he had come off as confident, because he sure didn't feel that way.
A/N: Alright - so there you go. I think that my writing gets better as the story progresses. So let me know what you think in the form of reviews. I need to know the good, bad, and the ugly.