My Friendship will Last Forever
Harry was definitely nervous as he approached Hermione's apartment door. It had been at least six months since he had seen her personally due to some fighting between himself and the Weasley family. Severus had warned him not to go after what had happened the last time at the burrow, but Harry did not think Hermione would act the same way the Weasleys' had because she was much more level-headed than they were. He rang the doorbell, hoping she was in and would answer the door. Maybe she'd give a different response than Ron, Ginny, and the rest had.
Hermione answered the door quite fast and with an apron on as well as cooking ladle in her other free hand.
To his surprise, she offered him a kind smile, "Hello Harry, please come in and have some lunch with me since you are here."
Harry seemed relieved by her congeniality and seemingly lasting friendship to him.
"Hermione, I know it has been awhile since I last saw you. There has been a reason for this and I came to chat about some things that I think you need to know...since Ron probably never told you about them."
"Alright Harry, let's go back into the kitchen while I finish the stew." She said with curiosity
Harry followed her and carefully sat himself at the table. At the last minute he remembered to sit himself a little ways back, so as not to squish himself even with the glamour charms he was wearing right now. He tried to sit far enough back so it was not suspicious of him and still be politely proper in distance as a guest there. Harry cautiously gazed at her, "You remember in seventh year when I confided in you and Ron that I was gay? Then Ron quit speaking to me for some time, and also you because you were okay with it?"
She nodded her head in silent agreement to that.
She remembered what a jerk Ron had been to them, and then of all incredulous scenarios; he had made up with her but not Harry yet.
"Well, the Weasley family; they didn't take the idea of me being married to another man too well." Harry sighed in despair
Harry lowered his gaze to the floor.
"What happened, Harry?" Hermione frowned and asked firmly now
"Apparently, they all thought I would hook-up with Ginny and eventually marry her after the war. Not that I could bare doing it or even would because of my preferences."
Hermione shook her head at the Weasley family's dream, but then wondered about the first part of the statement Harry just made.
"Ron thought my being gay was just a phase I was going through to get the media off of my back and those stupid letters from suitors coming to me. When I told him it was the truth and it was never a phase at all; he and I both blew up into a huge row and finally Ron told me to get out of the house and that he didn't want to see me again ever. Everybody agreed with him; from having heard our shouting match upstairs down below in the living area."
Hermione turned off the heat of her pot, ladled some of the stew into a bowl, and gave Harry a comforting hug.
"My friendship will last forever, you know?" She smiled to her friend
Hermione looked at the engagement ring Ron had given her with distaste now, and she took it off while then lying it on the counter. She decided she would owl Ron and tell him it was over later and to stop making wedding plans. She would not marry a man who had been one of her best friends for seven years, and then suddenly out of the blue beyond, he could not be friends with her other best male friend just because of who he was. It was unthinkable.
She smiled at Harry, and it warmed his heart to know Hermione would always be his friend.
"That's good Hermione...since I'm not done chatting yet either." Harry told her gently
"Go ahead, Harry." She smiled while they began to eat lunch
Over a bowl of stew and a glass of hot tea, Harry continued with his tale.
"You remember Ron telling you that I kept disappearing from the dorm at night during sixth and seventh year, and then I was coming back to the dorm early in the morning? I think he said I left around 8 pm and came back around 1 o'clock am. You guys couldn't figure out where I was going and the locator charms you used had not even helped you figure it out?"
"Yes, I believe that it had started in November of our sixth year." She said with a raised eyebrow
Harry nodded, "Yes, it did start in November, and then Ginny asked me out not long after and I told her no. Of course you and Ron knew the true reason why, but never said anything to her about it." He said
"Yes, I remember that." She nodded.
"Well, as Ron had presumed though I haven't a clue how he came to the conclusion at all, I was with my hidden lover." Harry smirked at her a little
Hermione made an 'oh?' noise that was piqued with curiosity.
"I came partially to tell you that since my lessons during the summer before our seventh year and my seventeenth birthday, that Severus and I have been lovers. We came to an understanding in my sixth year when the lessons I was getting from him on Albus's orders first started, but the relationship grew from there onward." Harry stated bluntly.
Hermione wanted to gape.
"I also told Ginny no because one, I was gay. I didn't want a female that way ever. And two, Severus and I have been bonded in a marital ritual since the beginning of November a day prior to her asking me out. The ritual was done in secret because Severus's life was endangered by Riddle then and I had some power I showed Albus before then that could save him. However, we would have had to be married for it to work properly, and since we were together by then on consenting terms; we talked about it as an option and finally I agreed to consent in the marriage in order to save his life. Not only because he was my partner and I loved him, but also due to the fact we found out soon after we were soul-mates and would probably have ended up together anyways." Harry told her
Harry released the glamour on his wedding band. It was a simple platinum band carved with a lion and a serpent on either side. There was a slightly large diamond in the middle surrounded by two smaller emeralds.
Hermione sighed, "This isn't the big news, is it Harry?"
He smiled mysteriously at her. "No, it isn't."
"What is it, then?" Hermione sighed again
Harry smiled at her for trying to understand and cautiously lowered another glamour that allowed her to see his very pregnant belly.
"You're pregnant?" she stated astounded, "And by the looks of it, several months. How many?" She demanded of him
"Seven," He said carefully to note her anger at him.
"Seven months?" she screeched, "Harry James Potter, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"After the Weasleys' obvious reaction and Ron telling me to stay away from you, I guess I was kind-of afraid to."
She was angry no doubt. However, now it was at Ron for what he'd done to alienate her friend from her and so she nodded in understanding.
"The Wizarding World will know that I'm not available to them anymore after tonight, so technically my name is Potter-Snape." Harry said easily now
She nodded, "When did you get pregnant?"
"Two weeks after Voldemort had fallen and school let out. I stayed behind at the castle because I was leaving with Severus for the home we bought for ourselves." He told her
She nodded again, "So it would be a second or third week of April baby."
"Yes." Harry nodded
He gazed at her, "I also came to see if you would be our child's godmother? Though Severus had his reservations about this considering your engagement to Ron."
Hermione had tears in her eyes, "Of course I will, Harry. As for my engagement, it is no longer there if Ron is willing to prove he will try to alienate me from those he doesn't approve of. He already has done this, so there will be no marriage between us now."
Harry nodded and gazed at her sadly, "Thank you for lunch and I hope you find someone to make you happy Hermione, but I must go before Severus finds out I left the house. He had warned me to stay away at least until the child was born. He hardly trusts anyone after the Weasleys' and most of the Orders' reactions to us being together. I nearly lost the baby during the fight that broke out that time, and he was furious with them all. Knowing him, he'll search the Weasleys' first and that is a bad thing to happen. He is still angry at them and he hardly will trust anyone there with my well-being unless he can help it." Harry warned her
Harry replaced his glamours as Hermione nodded sadly for her friends suffering after all he had done for their world already. She led him back to the door and helped him out to say goodbye for the time being.
"Remember Harry, my door is always open to you and my friendship with you will last forever." Hermione told him softly
He nodded and smiled at her as he apparated away.