We Will Learn

Disclaimer: No, of course I'm not JKR, would I really write fanfiction for my own series???

Harry looked up from his desk at the ministry. Ginny was on a month-long tour with the Holyhead Harpies, and the emptiness on her side of the bed scared him. He knew that she would be home in a few weeks, but he wasn't sure that their relationship could take much more of these absences.

He thought fondly of the night he had proposed to her, and of their wedding. It had been a quiet evening at Grimmaul Place when he had gotten down on one knee. He remembered the exchanging of vows and the acceptance of rings. He ran his fingers over the band; Ginny's would grow warm at his touch, thanks to Hermione's simple charm, and know that he was thinking of her. After a minute, his burned hot as well; Ginny was ok and was letting him know she loved him.

He turned back to his papers and, with one last thought, knew that their reunion would be a joyful one.

Meanwhile, Ginny was changing into her Harpies robes before their match against the Chudley Cannons, fastening her robes in the locker-room. No doubt her team would win; the Cannons had finished last in each season since before she was born. She would be almost glad when Quidditch season was over for the summer, just so she could get back to Harry.

Her wedding band grew warm, and she smiled as she realized that Harry was thinking of her. Waiting for the ring's temperature to drop, she brushed her fingers against her own so Harry would know she had recieved his gesture. She loved him, she really did.

She put a hand to her stomach and groaned. Pangs of nausea had began to hit her frequently now, and she had to sit down and focus on not having her lunch splattered on the floor. At the vivid mental image, she was forced to race over to a rubbish bin and be sick.

A few retches and heaves later, she moved away from the can of sick and pressed her head to the cool metal of the locker, still on her knees from her attack. A few of her teammates chose to walk in at that moment.

Their eyes darted from her weakened state to the rubbish bin, and they hastened to help Ginny to her feet. A little wobbly, she collapsed onto the bench and put her face in her hands.

"I don't know what's happening, guys," she said, her voice muffled between her fingers. "It's been going on for a few weeks now, I'm not sure if I can still play like this..."

"Honey, you won't be playing anytime soon," her teammate Viola said thoughtfully. "Wait another nine months and then see how you feel."

At her words, Ginny looked up. "You don't mean..." she spluttered.

"Maybe you should see a Healer," Viola advised.


Harry went home to the same empty house he had become accustomed to. The cat meowed hopefully for some food, and Harry ignored its pleas and sat down into a chair in the living room. He and Ginny had bought the house nearly a year ago, and he never really got tired of the pleasant mood it put him in.

He saw something silvery fly through the window, and gazed at the beautiful doe that was Ginny's Patronus; he had only just gotten used to the change a few months ago.

It spoke, in Ginny's voice, "Coming home early, nothing to worry about. Be here in five minutes." It then vanished in a puff of smoke.

He touched his ring hurriedly: Ginny's idea of worrying was much different than his. If something had happened to herself, like breaking her leg, she would dismiss it amost entirely, while he would lose sleep over something as simple as a picnic. Years of Voldemort-induced paranoia had finally taken its toll on him.

He had just enough time to light a fire in the fireplace when he heard the lock click from outside. He looked at the door expectantly, and raced over to greet his wife as she stepped through the door.

He hugged her and she gave him a lingering kiss. He held her in his arms for a moment longer, than walked over to sit in a chair, motioning for her to follow.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her after she assumed her normal position in her own chair: shoes off and her knees up to her chest.

"No, Harry," she said quietly. "Something's right."

He looked at her, puzzled. She had a sudden desire to laugh at his expression but held it in. A long moment passed.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered.

"Oh, Merlin," he breathed. "You're pregnant."

She nodded, and a grin spread across his face.

"We're going to have a baby," he whispered in the same tone.

"Mmm-hmm," she answered, amused by the way her husband was acting. Harry wasn't the type of person who would scream at news, but he was the jump-up-and-snog-you kind of guy.

She walked over to him and sat on his lap, taking his hands and entwining them with her own. She rolled up her shirt, exposing her stomach, and placed Harry's hand on it. He spread his fingers and the surprising warmth was strangely reassuring.

They sat like that for almost twenty minutes, with the occasional soft moan from Ginny, who's nausea had not completely gone away, with thoughts on whether Harry was going to do anything at all in reaction to her news.

"I'm the father, I hope?" he said quietly, and Ginny couldn't supress a laugh.

He ran his hand over her bare skin, feeling its softness. "How are we going to get through? I never thought about it before, or know it was going to be this soon, I mean, we knew that we wanted kids, but-"

She placed a small finger over his lips, silencing him. "We will learn," she said. "You will be a great father, Harry James Potter. I wouldn't have married you if I didn't already know that."

"Yeah, and you're doing all the work anyway," he said, and she laughed again.

After a minute, he held out his wand and whispred, "Expecto Patronum." The familiar stag erupted from his wand and looked at him. In a few seconds it vanished.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"Just seeing if this memory would generate a Patronus," he said softly, although silently pleased at the results.

Ginny muttered the same incantation, and her doe glowed brighter than ever as it pranced around the room.

He kissed her softly as the doe vanished as swiflty as his own had, but the kiss lasted longer than he had expected. He broke away. "I'm glad you're home," he whispered into her ear.


A/N: Just a short little chapter on how Harry takes the news that he's going to have children. I also wondered why so many people said Ginny's Patronus was a phoenix or a stallion or whatever, because after a point in time I think that she would love him to the extent that most her happy memories were of him. Anyhow…

I don't really get why people have placed story alerts when it even says ON THE SUMMARY that this is a oneshot. All of my stories currently are either ONESHOTS or COMPLETED. Updated 9-29-07

Harry might be acting a little strangely, but I'd think that in truth, he only knew how to react to bad news, and not good. He's probably wondering if it's a dream or not, since his whole life he's had to deal with death and neglect and "Voldemort-induced paranoia." But he's just a book character, so it's on the verge of not mattering.