Okay, hope you enjoy this chapter but please please review, I love to hear what people think will happen! It's fun to know if people are going along the same lines as I am! I will update next chapter when I have more reviews!!!

Chapter 7

A whole month had passed by since Harry had left and Ginny was sat in the kitchen being fussed over by Kreacher, she missed her husband terribly and even more so after learning the news she just had from Healer Jean, she had had her suspicions a week earlier but had finally had them confirmed during her shift that day at St Mungos. She was delighted with the news but wished she could share it with her husband. Ginny had kept herself busy for the last month taking on as many shifts as she could to take her mind off being alone, but now she knew she would need to lay off the multiple shifts and return to her usual load, she sighed knowing that she would now have to spend more time alone at home. She had thought that being at Grimmauld Place would be easier than with her parents but part of her was now beginning to realise some of the other reasoning behind Harry wanting her to stay there while he was away, not for the protection they offered but the company. However she reflected upon the fact that she did feel closer to Harry here where she could see his clothes hanging in the wardrobe and his things around the house.

She patted her stomach absentmindedly as she thought about Harry, a tear ran from her eye and she longed to hold him again, she had heard nothing from the Ministry since he had left, not that she had really expected to, and she took that as a sign that the mission was going well. She was waiting for Hermione to floo over as she always did on Tuesday evenings, ever since Harry had gone, she spent the evening with Ginny and Kreacher would cook them a delicious meal before they dismissed him and spent the evening catching up on the week's events. She was excited about this particular visit as she would be able to share her wonderful news with someone and if it couldn't be her husband then the next best thing would be her best friend. There was half an hour to wait before a whirl of green flames would signal the arrival of Hermione, the wards around Grimmauld Place were so high that floo appointments had to be made before you could turn up, Hermione was scheduled to appear at six pm every Tuesday and leave again at ten thirty, this did ensure that she was never late and Ginny could set her watch precisely by the floo each week. As always Hermione came with the timed floo, she was always ready early so she would not miss the crucial floo appointment and leave Ginny to face a lonely night at home, if the floo was missed she could always apparate to the front door and Ginny would let her in but Harry preferred to use this method as infrequently as possible as if people were watching they might see the traveller disappear suddenly as they reached the front step, it was a quiet street unlike the busy streets around the Ministry and St Mungos where people disappearing would be barely noticed.

The elder girl stepped out of the fireplace to see a glowing young witch with a broad smile on her face, a sight she was not used to seeing very often after Harry had gone away, Although Ginny tried to put on a brave face in the absence of her husband it was clear to her best friend that it was taking it's toll on the young woman. Hermione could not imagine what it would be like to have Ron leave her so soon into their marriage and though she often missed the 'golden trio' working on some important and dangerous mission she also knew that when they were off fighting the good fight Ron had been right by her side, Harry had always had to leave Ginny behind and the older girl could barely comprehend how she managed to cope. Hermione was equally worried about Harry at all times and missed him just as much as his wife did, but she was careful to hide her emotions in front of Ginny as she would be dealing with her own pain, the last few weeks had given Hermione an insight into what the younger girl must have gone through when the golden trio went off on their search for the horcruxes before the final battle and she was thankful once more that Ron had not gone into the dangerous life of an auror. The tricks and jokes he sometimes brought home with him could wind her up at times but at least he was bringing them and himself home each day and not disappearing on some dangerous mission for months at a time, she didn't think she would have the same strength as Ginny to cope without her husband for an unlimited amount of time.

"Something's made you happy!" she said brightly as she hugged her best friend. Ginny beamed back at rose from the chair she was seated in to get Hermione a drink, Kreacher immediately jumped up and fussed around her, "Mrs Potter must rest, Kreacher will get what she needs, Kreacher has seen how a woman must rest, he waited on his Mistress when she was to rest, both times, and Kreacher did everything she asked," he winced as if reliving some painful memory, something he did often when talking about his time serving the Black family, "Mrs Potter must sit," he almost ordered and then looked around in a panic for something to punish himself with for speaking out of turn to his mistress.

"Kreacher, NO!" Ginny said sternly sensing what he was about to do, "Thank you for your concern but I will be fine, you do not need to do everything for me ," she smiled at him and he looked at her through his large, bulbous eyes, smiling back, nodding his head and muttering something under his breath as he went back to the stove where he was cooking a hearty casserole for the two witches.

"What's he twittering about?" Hermione asked her friend with a look of confusion on her face, Ginny sighed at her before smiling once more and saying, "Hermione, I'm pregnant!"

The darker haired witch's eyes grew larger as she stared at the red headed one, tears began to fill them and she raced forwards to hug her friend once more, "Oh, Ginny that's…that's wonderful news."

"Thank you," Ginny chuckled coughing slightly as her friend had winded her slightly with the tight hug.

"Oh, sorry," said Hermione realising what she had done, "Oh I'm so happy for you! When? How long till...?"

"Just a month! I've had an inkling for a week but had to have it confirmed by Healer Jean at work, but I have about eight months to go which means I will be due sometime after Christmas, mid to end of January she thinks. The wand test shows that I am exactly twenty eight days which means that it happened a couple of days before Harry left." Ginny thought back on the night they had argued and then had lustful, passion filled sex in the empty bedroom on the upper floor, it had been sex and not love making but it had been borne from an argument fuelled by their incessant love for each other, they had argued passionately because they loved each other so deeply and though it had been raw and painful for both of them Ginny hoped that something wonderful had come out of it. It wasn't the sensual and gentle sex they usually shared but it had been created to vent their feelings, feelings which came from their absolute and eternal love for each other and since her first inclination that she might have been pregnant Ginny had liked to think that the ultimate payment for love had been created from it, the payment of eternal love in the form of a child, a child that they had made, and a child that they would love.

"Does Harry know?" Hermione enquired but Ginny immediately shook her head, "How could he?" she replied.

"He said you could contact the Ministry if it was important, this is important Ginny he should know, he'll be delighted."

"I know," she had imagined telling him over and over again while she had been waiting for her friend and wished she could see the look of delight on his face, she had been tempted to contact the Ministry but then thought better of it. "I would like nothing more than to be able to tell him, Hermione, but he is on a dangerous mission and he would want to come back to me, either that or he would worry about me even more than he probably is, I want him to focus on what he has to do so he can return home soon and then we can concentrate on being a real family."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue but realised she was right, Harry would only worry even more about her and she knew he needed to keep his mind on what he was doing, when they had been searching for the horcruxes he had had Ginny on his mind, but knowing that she was safe had helped him to go on and do what he had to do, he had remained focused and got the job done. If Harry was worrying about her and a baby he might lose focus and she dreaded to think what might happen then.

"Are you sure you should stay here though Gin? Maybe you should go to the Burrow now like Harry wanted, your mum can look after you, you'll need to take it a bit easier now you know."

"Hermione, I'm pregnant, not an invalid! And besides I have Kreacher, you saw him just then, he might drive me crazy in the process but he'll make sure I rest and do whatever I have to do. I've cut down my shifts at the hospital again and I fully intend to take it easy, this is mine and Harry's," she put her hand to her stomach again lovingly and stroked up and down, "And I am not going to let anything happen to him or her." She smiled wistfully once more wishing it was her husband in front of her now but dashed the thought away, she could not have that at the moment and she was determined to get on and look after their child until he returned home.

They spent the next few hours talking about pregnancy and babies while eating the sumptuous meal made by Kreacher, Ginny gave the older girl permission to tell Ron but made her swear she would tell nobody else, and she would make sure Ron told no one else until after Thursday evening when they would all be visiting the Burrow for the weekly feast and she could tell her whole family the news. Hermione was happy to leave her friend in high spirits at the end of the evening and though it was clear that she still missed her husband terribly the younger witch seemed to have a new focus for her life, one that would keep her happier until Harry returned to her and they could begin the perfect, happy life that she was clearly looking forward to. Hermione just hoped that it would be sooner rather than later, she felt bad that she knew Harry was going to be a father when he didn't know himself and she tried to imagine what it would be like to not be able to share such wonderful news with her own husband had it been her that was pregnant. They had decided to wait a while before bringing children into their life, they were both busy at work and were enjoying the life that they shared as a married couple. Children could wait a few years for now, though she did think to herself, as she stepped out of the fireplace in her own home, that it would have been nice for they and Harry to have had children around the same time.

If Ginny thought Kreacher and Hermione had been fussy when they found out about her pregnancy it was nothing compared to her mother, she practically wrapped the girl in cotton wool for the next three weeks until finally Ginny had to say something to her father who managed to persuade the excited Grandmother-to-be (again) to take it easy and let her daughter breathe. The news had gone down well at the Burrow and everyone was delighted for them both, though they all felt as bad as Hermione did about the fact that Harry did not yet know, Molly had tried to persuade Ginny to contact the Ministry and arrange to talk with Harry somehow but Arthur and the other Weasley boys had agreed that she was right in waiting, Harry was on a dangerous mission and did not need it complicating with news that, although both important and wonderful, could wait until he returned home safely. Molly had moaned a little and talked about Harry's rights but Bill had been able to persuade her by playing on her soft spot for Harry which realised that he would be more focused on his mission if he did not know yet, she just hoped along with everyone else that it would not be much longer as she missed the young man in her daughter's life as much as everyone else in the room.

She had flooed to her daughter's home on an almost daily basis to fuss over her and ensure that she was taking it easy, by the fifth day Ginny had regretted setting up the daily floo appointment but knew if she cancelled it her mother would be highly offended. She gave Kreacher careful instructions for looking after Ginny until it had driven her mad and she had eventually invited her Father over to talk about it, Molly had then calmed down a little and curbed her visits to every other day. By the end of the second month Ginny was settled into a gentle routine with Kreacher attending to her when she needed to rest and her friends and family popping in often but not so much that they crowded her, the only thing she yearned for was being able to share the whole experience with Harry, she seemed to miss him more and more as each day went by.

The golden stone still hung around her neck and glowed as brightly as it had the day Harry had given it to her, she thought back almost daily on what Harry had told her about it's creation and still marvelled at the way something so beautiful could be created from love. She mused that now she was able to give Harry something just a wonderful and solid back in the form of the small life growing inside of her. She had had a letter from the Ministry a few weeks earlier to say that the mission was going well and that they had had contact once from the team, this pacified her a little but as it was a top secret mission they were of course unable to share any information with her other then to tell her that he was alive.

It was another Tuesday evening when she was waiting for the green flames to whirl and signal the arrival of her best friend again that she heard a tapping at the kitchen window, a striking looking Ministry owl was flapping outside the window and Kreacher ran to let it in as a mass of bushy brown hair and SPEW wizard robes spun into view in the fireplace. Kreacher gave the eagle owl a treat as he took the important roll of parchment from the creature and scuttled back across the kitchen to lay it in the lap of his mistress.

"What's that?" Hermione asked as she stepped out of the inglenook.

"Message from the Ministry," Ginny said quietly, she was never sure whether these reports would herald good or bad news and she always felt a flutter in her heart if one arrived, something which was a regular occurrence in Harry's line of work. Her friend hurried to her side as Ginny unrolled the parchment and began to read the words written in perfect script on the page, her face became white and the words began to blur as tears pricked her eyes, she had seen only three words on the page, three words that could define the rest of her life. The letter fell from her hands and Hermione became worried as she looked at the tears falling in rivulets down the younger girls cheeks, taking it in her own shaking hands she began to read.

Dear Mrs Ginevra Potter,

We regret to inform you that during the course of action for the Ministry Auror Office of Great Britain, your husband, Mr Harry James Potter is missing, presumed dead. His disappearance occurred on the night of 13th June and a number of bodies, confirmed by the auror office to be Ministry aurors were found two days later. The bodies have been returned to Great Britain where they have been identified. The body of your husband cannot be confirmed as he was posing under a metamorphos at the time of his disappearance, but an unidentifiable body was found at the scene with the same build and stature of the appearance your husband had taken on and it is believed to be that of your husband as the rest of the bodies have been confirmed as those of the team he was working with.

We would once more like to express our deepest regret at this unfortunate news and ask that you attend a meeting at the Ministry at your earliest convenience to discuss further matters.

Yours sincerely

Kingsley Shacklebolt

Minister for Magic

Hermione felt as if she had been hit by a bolt of lightening, she was sure her heart actually stopped as she read the words 'presumed dead' and rivers of tears began to drip down her own face onto the parchment making the words run as they splashed onto the fresh ink. She looked back to her friend who was now sobbing uncontrollably into her hands and couldn't even begin to imagine what she might be about to go through. Kreacher watched on in amazement as Hermione walked over to her friend and took her in her arms rocking her rhythmically, the two women sobbed and rocked for a few minutes before the older witch beckoned for Kreacher and told him to take the letter and go to Ron at her home and give it to him. Kreacher disappeared from the kitchen and appeared moments later gripping Ron who wore a grief stricken look on his white face which crumpled into tears at the sight of his wife and sister weeping into each others arms on the cold stone floor of the kitchen in Grimmauld Place.