The Good Kind
Summary: Hermione's pregnant with Ron out of the country when Harry pays her a visit. What started as a cozy talk to catch up takes an unexpected turn…
Disclaimer: Oh how I wish I owned Harry Potter but I don't.
Chapter 1
-
Hermione didn't really like silence in her house. It made her uneasy because she always expected something to happen, like it used to. That's why she preferred to have the radio on. The war had had effect on almost everybody but after 6 years, they had quietly accepted it. That's why now, she had the TV playing as she made some tea for herself. Ron had been reluctant to get a TV at first, he'd never seen or used one but when Hermione had made him watch Friends he'd given in. She smirked at the memory because Ron now watched more TV than her. She missed him, her heart ached when she thought about him. She wasn't used to being alone anymore and it weighed on her a bit. She was woken from her thoughts by loud knocking on the door and she jumped. Quickly grabbing her wand she moved behind the couch.
"Hermione, open up. It's me, Harry."
She sighed in relief but then rolled her eyes. She figured that he'd be the one to scare her. He smiled when she opened the door. His hair was still black and messy as ever, he still had his glasses and the scar but it hadn't hurt in 6 years. He was taller and had more muscles than he used to but the same boyish grin hadn't changed. She also saw the familiar green of his eyes looking into hers. He had his favorite jeans and red and black checkered shirt on. She knew that meant that he'd been with Teddy.
"Hey Hermione!"
"Hi." She beamed at him and he hugged her, although that was a lot more difficult than before.
"Still pregnant, huh?" He joked.
"Clearly." She replied with a smirk, rubbing her 7-month-pregnant belly. "Come in."
"Thanks. Well, you still look beautiful."
She tilted her head a bit and flashed an endearing smile his way. "Thanks Harry, that's so sweet of you."
He knew she was a bit emotional around this time but nevertheless he meant it. She obviously had that pregnant-women-glow and she'd gained a few pounds because of the baby but she pretty much stayed the same. Her apartment was still filled with books. She was also skinnier than most pregnant women, like she'd always been and Harry looked in the same chocolate brown of her eyes. One thing that had changed was her hair, it wasn't bushy anymore but flowed in smooth, loose curls down her shoulders. She was also wearing a pale blue maternity dress and blue ballet slippers.
"So why aren't you in Romania with the rest of the Weasleys?" Hermione asked, as she poured him some tea too and handed him the cup.
"Well, I'm guiding Auror interns this week and I can't get out of it. Plus Remus and Tonks asked me to babysit Teddy all week while they're off on their actual honeymoon. Talk about long overdue."
"And where's Teddy now then?"
"Oh, his grandma Andromeda wanted him for the weekend." He explained. "So I told Ginny they just had to make it a family trip. What's your excuse?" He asked with a teasing smile.
"Well apparently, you can't fly or Apparate in your third trimester."
"What, was there something you didn't know?" He replied with a mock-indignity and Hermione slapped him on the arm.
"Yes, okay, I admit it, I'm not a know-it-all. Anyway, Ron didn't want to leave me here alone of course but I promised him I wouldn't have the baby until after he got back and that I'd be fine on my own. And then there's Fred and George, who actually forced him to go."
Harry grinned in response and they moved to sit on the couch. "So how are you? Everything okay with you and the baby?"
"Harry, I love you for always being so worried but we're fine." She assured him.
"Just doing what you've always done for me." He shrugged his shoulders and looked at the TV. "What are you watching?
"Oh, just some Friends. Hasn't Ron told you about it? He really likes -" She suddenly groaned in pain and grabbed her belly. Harry turned to her with fear immediately taking over.
"What is it? What do you feel?"
But Hermione's expression of pain turned into a smile. "Nothing, I'm just messing with you."
Harry felt like he could yell at her as he looked at her gleeful face. "Hermione, that's not funny at all! You scared me to death!"
"Oh I'm sorry, Harry but you're just like Ron." Hermione chuckled and Harry raised his eyebrows at her.
"You do this to Ron, your husband and the father of your baby?"
"Of course, he's just as easy as you." Now she really laughed when she saw the astonished look on his face.
"You suck, you know that?" He said but he smiled too now.
"I'm sorry." She wanted to get up to refill their cups but Harry told her he would do it.
"You have to rest, Hermione."
"Please, I can still walk you know." She countered as he put their cups back on the coffee table. "I'm pregnant, not elderly."
He grinned at her, sitting back down but didn't answer. He knew Hermione well enough to know that it actually bothered her when people thought her unable to do a simple thing, even while she was pregnant.
"Ouch, oh God." She uttered, her hand shooting at her belly again and her face turning in pain.
"Okay, nice try but I'm not falling for that again." Harry smirked and her face relaxed a bit but she didn't smile.
"I'm not kidding this time."
He instantly got worried again and scooted closer. "What's wrong?"
"Don't worry, nothing's really wrong but the baby's just kicking really hard."
Harry let out a shaky laugh in relief. "Really?"
She nodded, returning his smile.
"Can I -?" But she'd already taken his hand and placed it on the right spot. She smiled when she saw Harry's beaming smile and the lights in his green eyes.
"Wow, that's.." She looked at him like she could cry, she found it so sweet how his face lit up when he felt the kicks.
"That's just amazing, Hermione." He said, looking back down at their hands. She squeezed his hand and released it. But she frowned when she saw a weird look in his eyes. "Harry, you okay?
"Yeah, sure."
She raised her eyebrows and gave him an urgent look.
"No, not really." He sighed.
"Does it have something to do with Ginny?" Hermione asked carefully, turning to face him a bit more.
He looked at her in surprise. "How did you know? Is it that obvious?"
"For me it is." She said and for once he regretted that Hermione knew them so well. She was always the first one to notice when something was up. "I see the way you two act with each other when you're around me. It's like you feel uncomfortable or something. Whatever it is, I hope it's not my fault."
"No of course not! This has nothing to do with you." He said quickly, noticing the concern on her face. "It's just. Well, you know I've wanted a real family since I was young. Don't get me wrong, you and Ron have been that for me since I met you but I always knew that I wanted what my parents had. And even before you got pregnant I've sort of - been thinking about kids."
She was a bit surprised finding that out and squeezed his hand again. "What's the problem then?"
"When I talked about this with Ginny she freaked out and yelled that she didn't want to and that it was way too soon, she wants to think of her career first."
"I'm sorry, Harry." She said, seeing how miserable he'd gotten and he nodded thankfully.
"Anyway we got into this huge fight and she didn't speak to me for 2 days. But then when we found out you were pregnant, she started to feel a bit guilty or something I think when she saw how excited I was for you. That's why it was so weird when we were with you."
"Yeah, I can understand that. But what did you say to her that she ignored you for 2 days?" She asked, knowing Ginny wasn't one to give someone the silent treatment that easily.
"Well, I said that I thought it was something she'd want too after all those years of being in love with me and that she was being selfish. I really -"
"Wait a minute." She said slowly, interrupting him. "You honestly told her that?"
"Yeah—"
"God Harry, you can be such a jerk sometimes!"
"What? Why?" He asked, starting to get frustrated about getting blamed.
"Are you kidding me?" She replied, surprised and annoyed at his ignorance. "First, you reminded her of the humiliation she used to feel because you didn't like her back and then you accused her of being selfish! You were really acting insensitive when you said that, Harry."
"What?"
"Do you even know what having a baby would mean?" She got up to face him better. "Ginny would be pregnant!"
"Yeah I know, Hermione." He answered with an angry 'duh'-look.
"No you don't, how could you possibly know? You're a guy!" She said loud. "It means putting your career on hold for months! And not yours but Ginny's. And it means putting your body through an awful lot. I mean, morning sickness, gaining weight, labor… So if she says she's not ready for that I think that's fair."
"So you're siding with her? What about me, don't I get a say in this?" He was on the verge of yelling and stood up too.
"Yes, you do, Harry and I'm not taking her side but I do think you should be a bit more considerate to her. Trust me when I say that it's not a walk in the park at all. I've been there – I am there!"
"You know what, I don't think you really have the right to complain, Hermione. You're the one who got knocked up!" It came out before he knew it. He realised what he'd said when he saw the hurt look on Hermione's face as she looked at him. He didn't say anything however and there were a couple seconds when they just looked at each other. Even with all the hormones, she was determined not to cry in front of him and she spoke in a calm but trembling voice.
"Just because this baby wasn't planned doesn't mean it's not wanted. We hoped for a family too, it just happened sooner rather than later." She looked at him like he'd slapped her in the face and by now he just felt miserable.
"That was a pretty low thing to say, Harry, I thought I knew you better than that." Her visible disappointment was even worse to see than if she would've yelled at him.
Guilt immediately washed over him."I - I'm sorry, it didn't -"
"I'd like you to leave, Harry. I'll talk to you tomorrow." She said quietly, looking down.
He stepped closer to her and reached to put his hand on her shoulder. "Hermione, I don't want to leave you here like this, it's–"
"Just get out! Please." She said loud, backing off.
Harry knew he must've hurt her pretty bad since she'd never kicked him out before. He also saw tears shining in her eyes.
"Okay, I'll go." He sighed and headed to the door, squeezing Hermione's shoulder before he passed her.
She sank down on her couch and started to cry when he opened the door. He looked behind him before he closed it and felt horrible when he saw her hand covering her eyes and her body racking with sobs. Reluctantly he closed the door and leaned against it, sighing. He knew better than to make her upset like this in her condition. He didn't even mean what he had told her, he'd just acted his frustrations out on her with the first insult he could think of. He made a choice, turned back around and knocked on the door.
"Hermione, I'm not leaving, okay? I'm sorry. And if you won't let me in, I'll stay here outside until I'm sure you're okay." There was no response so he just turned the knob and opened the door again. He froze when he saw Hermione breathing heavily on the couch, her face scrunched up in pain. He rushed over to her and crouched down, stroking the hair out of her eyes.
"What's wrong?" He was extremely worried and close to panicking, he didn't have any experience with this. She looked at him, relaxing a bit and forcing a smile.
"Can you take me to the hospital? I think my water just broke."
"What?" He felt like a meteor had hit him as he looked at her amazed face.
"I'm having my baby." She said, letting out a nervous chuckle and he just stared at her, stunned.
AN/ That's it for the first chapter. Hope you liked it. :)
- Jana