Thanks, Mate

chapter four; I'm Pregnant


Sigh. "Mione; please, Hermione! I'm begging you!" Ron said desperately, trying to get her to eat. "Just a bite! That's all I'm asking!" Hermione simply shook her head, continuing to stare into space.

Now even Harry joined in the conversation. "Hermione, you can't survive a week on a meal's worth of food. You need to eat. Especially since you're sick."

"I am not sick! How many times are you going to make me repeat myself?" Hermione said in an agitated tone.

Harry shrugged. "As many times as you decide to deny it, I suppose."

Hermione growled out of frustration, pushing Ron's fork away for the millionth time. "Ron, I've told you. I'm not hungry." Ron groaned in defeat and lowered his fork back to his plate.

Looking around at Ron and Harry before interjecting, Ginny began to speak, choosing her words carefully. "Hermione. . . Your body – and the things inside your body – they can't survive without food." The breath caught in Hermione's throat at Ginny's words, and thankfully, the boys hadn't noticed any hidden meaning behind it.

She slowly looked up to meet Ginny's eyes, and finally just covered her face with her hands. "Just leave me alone. . . please. . . I'm not hungry."

Ron shook his head sadly and just stared at his food, thinking of something to say without upsetting her. "I tried to ease up about it, but, Hermione, you did promise. . ."

Hermione blinked. "Promise what?"

"I really think that. . . I should. . . Well, you know. . . Take you to see Madam Pomfrey." All of a sudden, Hermione jumped from her seat.

"What?" she shrieked anxiously. Ron frowned and looked around at all the eyes that were now on them, standing and biting his lip.

Taking her hand, he said softly, "Come along. I want to talk to you about something." Hermione sighed deeply and nodded, following him out of the great hall.

"What was that in there?" he asked sternly, being so out-of-character that it startled Hermione.

"What do you mean?"

Ron sighed, his face looking almost angry. "What the hell is wrong with you? You won't eat a bloody thing, you won't go to your classes, you won't admit you're sick, which, let's face, Hermione, since you know it better than I do. . . and you're being so damn stubborn about it! Just let me bring you to the hospital wing and get it over with! Or is that too much to ask, being that it's for your own benefit?"

That's as far as he could go before he got a glimpse at her, hiding her tears behind the hands that draped her face. "Ron. . . I don't want to fight with you right now."

Ron nodded slowly and finally brought her into his arms, showing his regret by running his hands up and down her back and arms in comfort. "Sorry." She nodded quickly. "It's just that. . . I don't know what I'm supposed to do to help you anymore, Hermione. So can you just tell me what to do that'll make this easier for you?"

Hermione stopped, thinking carefully. There was nothing she could say. There really wasn't anything. "Ron. . . I love you so much, but. . . there's something you could do, but I can't tell you."

"And why not?" he asked calmly.

"Because. . . it's too much to ask of you. It's just too much." she sobbed, holding on to him as if she would die if she let go.

Ron just held on tighter and let her cry; however, he wasn't strong enough to do so without shedding tears as well. "Don't worry." he whispered. "It'll be alright."


"You know, Hermione. . ." Ginny started, plopping down on Hannah Abbot's bed and opening up her copy of Witchcraft Teen Magazine thrown carelessly to the side. "You really can't hide this much longer. The hormones are already getting to you, and there's no telling when you'll start to show." Hermione sighed in an I don't want to talk about it manner before going to hide under her covers. Whether she hadn't noticed Hermione's unwillingness to speak or she just didn't care, Ginny continued. "Even if it's only Ron who knows. . . that's enough for now. But, then again, once Dumbledore or Malfoy or someone notice, Ron's done for, so you really can't tell anyone anyways. And is it just me, or is Wales's quidditch captain looking extra sexy lately?" she sighed dreamily and let the top half of her body fall off the side of the bed as she continued to stare at the magazine page.

Hermione opened her eyes thoughtfully before asking, "What did you say?"

"I said isn't Tom Johnston really really. . ."

"No. Before that." Hermione said impatiently. "About Ron."

Ginny blinked. "Well, Azkaban, of course."

Hermione instantly sprung up in bed. "What do you mean, Azkaban?"

Ginny fell off the bed headfirst and landed on her head, but turned right side up as if she didn't have a growing bump on her head from hitting the floor. "You mean you don't know about that?" Hermione shook her head furiously, prompting Ginny to go on. "Hermione. . . having a baby outside of marriage. . . it's against the law."

Hermione's eyes grew wide as she gasped and just sat there, repeating, "Ag-against the l-l-law!" Ginny nodded slowly, unsure of whether or not she was the right person to be telling Hermione this. She slowly began to shake, covering her eyes as she began to sob. "Oh my God." She breathed shakily. Ginny sighed and climbed up onto Hermione's bed to put her arm around her. "Hey. . .it'll be okay. Shhh. . ." she cooed. "I promise it will."

Hermione shook her head. "No . . . it won't be alright until I tell Ron. . . I know it won't. . . But. . . Oh, Ginny. . . how do I tell him something like this?"

Ginny shrugged slightly. "I suppose. . . you just take a deep breath and do it. I really don't know what I'm supposed to say that'll help you anymore." she admitted quietly.

Hermione paused and swallowed hard. "That's what Ron said."

Ginny shook her head furiously. "No, it's not the same thing! Listen to me, Hermione, Ron doesn't know what to do right now because he's scared. He's only scared because he doesn't know what's going on with you. Once you tell him, it'll all be alright. I promise."

Hermione sniffed. "You really think so?"

Ginny nodded. "I do."

Just then, a small knock came on the door. "Hermione? You there?"

Hermione gulped, swallowing her tears and her sad tone. "Ron? Is that you?"

Ginny sighed and stood as her brother opened the door and entered, and as she walked passed him out of his view, she shot Hermione a look that had now or never written all over it.

Seeming not to notice Hermione's hard swallow, Ron smiled warmly and sat next to her, cuddling her to him with his arm. "Hey. . . Thought I'd check up on you. . . How're you feeling?"

Hermione sighed and relaxed in his embrace. "Better, now." She bit her lip tightly throughout the whole silence that followed, and finally whispered, "Ron, we need to talk."

Ron looked at her curiously. "About what?"

Hermione averted her gaze away from him as she began to speak; she couldn't see his reaction. She'd die. "Well. . . remember what happened last summer? . . . I mean, I know you warned me, and I didn't listen like I should have. . . we both didn't listen, actually. . . but we talked about it, Ron, and we seemed so sure. . .and now it's all blowing up in my face. . ."

Ron raised an eyebrow. ". . . That's all fine, Mione, but. . . wait, what are we talking about?" Hermione smiled at his usual obliviousness, but it quickly disappeared in her distant expression. Noticing her seriousness, Ron sighed. "Sorry. Take your time."

A long, awkward silence came and went as Hermione thought of what to say. At least she had her wand when she had told Ginny; now, not only was her wand normal again, but now she had to tell Ron, and she had no words to express it. "Is it about your being sick?" he asked, trying to help her along. She nodded uncertainly. "So, you know what's wrong with you?" she nodded again. "Well then," he prodded gently.

Hermione sighed and swallowed, closing her eyes. "Alright. What I mean to say is. . . I'm. . . I . . . wait." she said, stopping abruptly. "You have to promise you'll. . .ugh. . ."Ron wrapped her in his arms tenderly and looked at her with warm eyes, hoping that it would bring her strength enough to talk. She wanted desperately to look away from his face, but she couldn't. She just couldn't do it. So, instead, she let a single tear fall down her cheek as she whispered painfully, "I'm pregnant."

Ron blinked, and when his eyes opened again, they were wide, full of unreadable thoughts, full of questions. His face seemed so peculiar, actually, that it would have been rather amusing had it not been such a serious situation. Without even a word, he held her tightly, his eyes closed so no tears could escape. "Um. . . wow." he paused. "Are you alright?"Hermione breathed quickly, her tears starting to flow. He loved her. He really did. And he wasn't going anywhere.

"I love you." She whispered, grabbing onto him.

"I love you too." he whispered, his tears clearly taking over his voice. "Wow, I. .. wow." Ron smiled weakly and wiped Hermione's tears, causing her to smile and laugh with him. "Look at us. We're such saps." he said as he rubbed his eyes, chuckling the whole time. "A baby, huh?" Hermione nodded. "Well. . .a few years early can't hurt, I guess." he joked.

Hermione paused and frowned. "Except. . . Azkaban."

Ron stopped as if only just realizing and looked down at his hands before nodding. "Uh. . . Once they find out, yeah. But it'll only be a few months; just until the baby's born. 5 months, at most." He smiled weakly at her. "Don't worry about it." Hermione nodded, smiling again. "Okay." Ron laughed, taking her in for one more hug.


"No, that doesn't make sense then! You can't just take my bishop like that!" Harry argued, confused.

Ginny shook her head sarcastically. "Sorry. Bishop's mine." she said, prodding her queen forward on the chess board. Harry sighed in defeat and fell backwards on his pillow. Ginny laughed, rearranging her legs so she was more comfortable on the bed. "Your move, love." she mocked.

Harry looked back at the chess board hopelessly, looking for any possible moves at all that wouldn't cost him another piece. "Where's Ron when you need him! He'd have this whole board cleared up for me by now if he were here."

Ginny shrugged. "He's up talking with Hermione."

He sighed seriously, looking at Ginny. "You have no idea what's wrong with her?"

"I don't think anyone does." she replied. It was technically true; she didn't consider it a lie.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and a completely distraught Ron entered, dropping down on his bed before crying more. Ginny and Harry both jumped into attention. "Ron, what is it?" Harry asked.

Ron shook his head quickly. "I'm such an idiot! She's not sick; she's pregnant! How could I have missed that?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Who's pregnant?"

Ginny sighed and looked down at her lap. "Hermione is."

Ron looked up at her. "You mean you knew about this?" Ginny nodded. Ron instantly stood, coming to yell in her face as siblings commonly do. "Why didn't you tell me? My God, Ginny. . ."

Ginny stood, staring him down. "Because it's not my place, okay? As a matter of fact, it's none of my business! Absolutely none at all!"

Since he couldn't argue something he agreed with, Ron just fell back down on his bed, leaving Harry to look between the two in complete disbelief and confusion. "Wait. . . what's going on?"

"Hermione's pregnant." Ginny said bluntly.

Harry nodded slowly, trying to comprehend it. "And it's Ron's-"

"Gee, Sherlock, nice guess!" Ron snapped angrily.

"Leave him alone, Ron! He doesn't know anything about it!" Ginny shot back. Ron shook his head, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. Ginny let her anger ebb away as she watched her brother wringing his hands in anxiety.

"What'm I supposed to about this?" he whispered. "She's gonna get really sick . . . I just know it . . ." He shook his head. "Shite." he whispered in torment as he began to cry again.

Ginny fought with her sense of sibling rivalry for a few seconds before sitting next to her big brother and hugging him in comfort, letting him hold on to her and cry on her shoulder. Harry took this as a prod and sat down on his best friend's other side, patting his back comfortingly. "Take it easy, mate." he tried softly. "We're right here."


Hey everyone! Thank you sooo much for all of your reviews, I really appreciate them! I'm writing a chapter for something else now that I finished this chapter, and once that chapter is finished, I'll start on another one. I'm aiming for 65 reviews totaled after this chapter's uploaded! Help me get there and I'll bring more your way! ;) Love, Suki

formatting updated July 26, 2006