Disclaimer: I'm sure if this isn't the first fic that you have read then you know that drill. All I own here is the plot.. And maybe a character or two, but nothing from Harry Potter. I'm telling you this only because lawsuits are not my friend. So enjoy!
IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS FANFIC IS RATED "M" CHILDREN SHOULD NOT BE READING THIS. YOU ARE WARNED.
CHAPTER 3: ANOTHER NEW LIFE BEGINS
Harry was sitting on the grass at the top of a hill on the Weasley property. His mind was spinning so fast that had someone asked him to share his thoughts he wouldn't have been able to even make a single coherent sentence. Had he heard her right? Maybe she was just testing him, or maybe she was mistaken. Things like that happened, right? A woman could think she was pregnant and it could actually be just an error in judgment or a miscalculated date.
"Are you sure?" was all that he could think to say.
Ginny took a deep breath, grasped his hand and responded seriously, "Yes, I am sure. I... I missed my period so I had Hermione help me with a spell that tells a witch if she is pregnant and well... I am."
"Hermione knows?"
"Yes, but she is the only one. I just couldn't do the spell on my own and I didn't want to worry you unnecessarily, so I had her help me. She won't tell anyone."
"Your parents are going to flip"
"Yes, quite probably."
"Your father and brothers are going to kill me."
"That is a possibility."
"Your mother is going to kill you."
"yet another possibility"
"Are you sure."
"Yes"
"Your parents are going to flip."
"And this is where the conversation begins going in circles. I think it may be better if we reside ourselves to the fact that it is extremely possible that both of us may have just signed our own death certificates and start thinking about what we are going to do."
She was right, of course. Harry's mind was going in circles and it had quickly sent the conversation in that same direction. There were important things to discuss. How were they going to break the news to her family? Were they really ready to be parents? What should they do from here? Ginny interrupted his panic.
"There is one thing."
"Yeah, Gin"
"My mother will probably push that we get married because of this, but I don't want that yet. I don't want to be married on the account of a child. We can make this work, but I don't want to jump into a marriage just because we are going to have a baby. That is very important to me, so we are not going to get married until some time far down the road when we both feel like it's right and we are sure that children or no children we are committed to spending the rest of our lives together."
"I agree." He stopped for a moment and thought. "I supposed we will live at Sirius's old house, at least if you want to live with me. I do think that that is a good idea, at least at first and if it doesn't work out then I guess we'll find something else... I'll pay for you to rent a flat or something if you want."
"No, that's fine. I want us to try and raise this child and Teddy in as normal a family as possible."
"That's right, and I suppose I won't be going to the auror's academy."
"Nonsense! This is not going to ruin your plans."
That statement brought something else to Harry's mind.
"What about you?" He asked "What about your schooling?"
"Hermione says that Hogwarts has a homeschooling type of program available for students with extenuating circumstances like illness or well... pregnancy. You think that this is the first time that something like this has happened? Apparently it's all spelled out in Hogwarts: A History"
"Well, I guess that will do. How are we going to break this to your parents. They are going to kill us."
"I don't think that we should tell them quite yet. Let's get everything settled at your house first."
Not at all in a hurry to inform his best friend that he had impregnated his sister, Harry agreed.
That night it was nearly impossible to get to sleep, and when Harry finally drifted off he was plagued with dreams that mostly involved him being tied to a chair or a tree with Ron and Mr. Weasley pelting hexes and curses at him. He would almost welcome the return of his voldemort dreams over these new terrors.
When dawn finally cracked, Harry went downstairs to the living room. He was not surprised at all to find Ginny on the couch reading a book.
"Couldn't sleep either huh?" she said to him.
"hardly" he said as he sat next to her.
They sat there hardly saying a word until the rest of the family began to stir. Hermione was the first to wake.
"I leave today." she said as she took her seat in the chair next to the couch, "McGonagall sent me notice yesterday that she had retrieved my parents from their safe house and that they're back to their normal selves, so I'll be going home today. It's been so long since I've seen them, I'm really looking forward to it. I miss them so much."
It was obvious that she was quite excited. Harry and Ginny just smiled as she rambled on for a while. It didn't take her too long to come back down to earth. She seemed to be able to tell that something wasn't quite right in the room.
"So I guess she told you." she said.
"Yes, but just one question Hermione. Are you absolutely sure?" Harry asked.
"Well, to be honest, there is a little room for error, but I am fairly sure yes." she responded.
Harry chose not to respond to that at all. He didn't want it to seem like he was looking for ways out of this to Ginny, although he definitely wished that he had done things a little differently now. He should have been more careful, more responsible.
It was good that he didn't respond because the next minute several other family members made their way downstairs stretching and yawning. Mrs. Weasley came first and gave a tired wave as she went towards the kitchen.
"you three sure are up early," she said then went straight to the kitchen to start breakfast for the crew.
After a minute Hermione went upstairs to make sure that she was all packed, and Harry made a suggestion.
"After breakfast, how about we go over to the manner and gage how much work needs to be done."
"That sounds like a great idea," Ginny responded.
They ate breakfast quickly and with minimal conversation then left just as quickly.
When they arrived Kreacher came running immediately.
"Master! Master! It has been so long! What can Kreacher do for master? Would master like some food" Allow Kreacher to take master and his mistress's coats."
"um...Kreacher," Harry said, "I appreciate the enthusiasm, but it's June so we don't have any coats. Why don't you just take a quick rest while we have a look around the house."
"Yes, master, thank you, master. Kreacher has been cleaning day and night and fixing things too. I hope master finds everything in order."
"Thank you kreacher."
Harry and Ginny headed into the family room to begin their assessment.
"He sure seems eager," Ginny told Harry.
"He has been lately. Personally, I welcome the change."
They went from room to room inspecting windows, doors, and furniture until they were satisfied that they had compiled a complete list of tasks that needed completing. Harry gave a small portion of that list to Kreacher and accepted his very persistent offer of food and drink.
Kreacher entered the dining area with a plate of sandwiches and carrots sticks balanced on his head so he could hold two large goblets of drink. He placed each on the table in a surprisingly graceful fashion, and left the room with a deep bow.
"Well I must admit, this is quite nice." Ginny said immediately.
"The house?" Harry asked.
"No, silly, the lunch. I mean just the two of us. It's not common that we get to eat a meal where we aren't fighting an entire army for seconds."
"That is true."
"Well I need to use the restroom. I'll be right back Mr. Potter" she said tauntingly as she got up and placed her napkin on the table.
Harry sat waiting for her, lost in his own thoughts. This truly was unbelievable, but he was getting used to the idea of being a family. Never having really had that himself, he was craving it now and he was sure that he could give that to Teddy and this new child. Ginny entered the room and reseated herself at the table across from Harry.
"Well," she said, "shall we eat?"
To Harry, she seemed awfully serious. Something was wrong.
"Gin, what's going on? You seem a little off. Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong. Why?"
"Because you sat down at the table like we're at some kind of fancy French restaurant, and your tone is suspiciously somber for the Ginny I know. Either something is wrong or you are not the Ginny I know which calls for a particularly powerful hex."
At this point he pretended to go for his wand and was careful that his face remained very serious. It only to a second for her to crack.
"Okay! Okay! Something is wrong. Well maybe no wrong exactly, it depends on your opinion." She stopped.
Harry was confused and his face showed it.
"Go on," he said.
"Okay. Well... you see..."
"Yeah, Gin"
"I'm not pregnant."
"Your not? But the test and you said..."
"I know what I said, but apparently something was wrong because I just got my period. It's late but it's there."
"Are you sure?"
"Well, I am fairly sure that I can tell when I've started my period. It's sort of hard to miss, you see." It was obvious that she was getting upset.
"I believe you. It's just that you said that test was pretty much full proof."
"Yes, I know. Maybe we did something wrong, misread something, I don't know. The point is, I'm not pregnant and you don't have to do all this."
The next thing Harry knew, she was crying and he had no idea why. He jumped out of his chair and was across the table faster than he knew was possible.
"Ginny! What on earth is wrong. Why are you crying?"
"I don't really know. I guess I had kind of gotten used to the idea of having a baby with you, and I was kind of looking forward to having a family with you."
"We will one day, when we are both ready. I admit I had started to get used to the idea, but neither of us is really ready for this and you know that. As far as doing all this, I need to fix this place up anyway. I do have to live here you know. Did you think I was going to live at your house forever?"
"I guess I see your point. I just... I... I don't know what I was thinking. Forget about it. I'll be okay, I promise."
"I know you will, because that's who you are. You're strong and you can get through anything. I understand why you're upset, but it's okay. One day when the time is right you'll get everything that you want in a family. As for right now, we are going to be much more careful from now on, understand?"
"Yeah, I do. I'll be okay. Look at the bright side. We don't have to tell my brother that I'm pregnant with his best friend's baby."
"That, my love, is one of many good sides to this. Now let's head home."
a/n: okay, so it's a little short, but at least you didn't have to wait nearly as long for this one as the last one and this just seems like a nice easy stopping point. I'm not so cruel as to give you two terrible cliffies in a row. Just remember to review!!!
To my faithful reviewers:
ginevrapulliza: you were my first reviewer! Thanks! I hope that chap 2 was as good as chap 1 as you requested.
GinnyLovesHarry1995:Thanks for the reviews! And yes they were very irresponsible, but I think they have learned their lesson.
Fictitious facades: so enthusiastic, I hope it continues to be fantastic.
Sourapple52196: Thanks for noticing that it's well thought out. I have actually been planning this for a while. I mean something has to happen for those 19 years, right? Let's just thank jkr for leaving such a wonderful blank canvas for us to fill in with wonderful fanfiction!
Codyesh: I'm glad you like the chapter, let's hope the rest are as good.
hawkeye1958: cheers right back at you! I hope the rest of the story is good too, not just the beginning. We'll see.
LunaLovegood101: sorry for the cliffy, but I was nice this time. :)
goodygurl: I'm so glad you liked the beginning, I almost deleted that bit because it seemed out of character for both of them, but that was kind of the point so I left it. Thanks!
