A/N: I am so so sorry for how long it's been! Being GUFN coupled with writer's block, it was difficult to get this chapter finished. I am sincerely sorry and please feel free to flame me in your reviews; I deserve it. I hope this chapter makes up for the wait in some small way.
"YOU'RE WHAT?!"
"Ginny, hush, you'll wake the entire Tower!" Hermione sighed and sat down in one of the armchairs in front of the fire, head in her hands. Ginny knelt in front of her.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. But when you said you had life-changing news, I thought it would be less...well, life-changing." She frowned. "I thought you said you were using protection."
"We were." Hermione said, exaspirated. "I don't know what happened." Ginny snorted.
"It broke, is what happened. I told you to get birth control form the apothecary." She glanced at Hermione's face and was startled to find Hermione glaring her. "What?"
"Don't even think about saying 'I told you so', I'm under too much stress and I can't - " Ginny interrupted her.
"Hermione! I wouldn't, you know that!" She stood and squished herself into the chair with Hermione, wrapping her arms around her friend. "Look, I'm going to do anything I can to help. Whatever you think I could do. Just tell me, okay? I'll do research, I'll get you Honeyduke's, I'll even find a way to get Mum talking about how she raised us without letting anything on about you. Worst comes to worst, I'll tell her I think I might be pregnant." Hermione looked at Ginny in shock.
"Ginny, you can't do that! Your mum would have a heart attack! If she starts asking questions, you tell her it's me that wants to know." The thought of Mrs. Weasley knowing about her and Draco being together in any way was enough to make Hermione nervous, but for her to know about this new and irriversible bond between them? It was downright frightning. But she couldn't let Ginny subject herself to her mother's wrath like that. Not for the sake of protecting her. To her surprise, however, Ginny was grinning.
"I know what you're thinking you, know. That Mum would go into a conniption fit and kill me. But what I know is that she would be ecstatic. She loves Harry, always has, and she told us just last week she couldn't wait to see what her grandchildren would look like. Made Harry go beet red, 'cos we'd just finished - "
"I get the picture; spare me the details. Still, I don't want you taking that chance. She'll need to know about me and Draco sooner or later...we'll just toss the news about the baby in while we're at it." Hermione took a deep breath. "I was actually thinking about writing to her, to ask if I could come to the Burrow for a weekend soon. I'm going to tell her everything." Ginny's eyes widened, then gentled. She rested a hand on Hermione's shoulder.
"You know she wants you to be able to tell her anything. She doesn't want to replace your mum, but she does want you to have someone you can go to." Tears began spilling down Hermione's cheeks. She nodded, unable to speak for a moment. Then she wiped her face dry and stood.
"Thank you Ginny. So much. You've always been like a sister to me, and I know you really are, in every way that counts." The two girls smiled at each other. "Do me a favor though..." She trailed off.
"Don't tell Harry?" Ginny guessed.
"Don't tell Harry. Not yet. I know he's okay with Draco now, but I don't want to start anything."
"Of course. Do you want to stay here tonight or are you going back to the Room of Requirement?" Hermione hesitated, but when she spoke her voice was firm.
"I'm going back to the Room. Draco's probably waiting for me." Her eyes softened, and she smiled. "I was so afraid, Ginny. So afraid of what would happen with us. But I shouldn't have been. Draco's a good man. He won't leave me. He's gotten quite protective of me. He didn't even want to let me come here alone tonight. How did I get so lucky? What did I do to deserve him?" Ginny stood, and hugged Hermione tight.
"You know, I'll bet he thinks the same about you every day." She whispered in Hermione's ear. "You deserve the best, and I think you got it. Both of you."
They let go of each other and Hermione smiled, turning to leave. She disappeared through the portrait hole and made her way carefully back to the Room of Requirement, where she knew Draco would be waiting, as always, to make sure she was back and safe with him again.
