Chapter Nine: Everything Will Be Alright

Tell me, tell me, again will it ever end,
Nothing seems to come out right,
It doesn't come out right.

– JET, Everything Will Be Alright

Harry sighed again as he read another picture of he and Ginny in The Daily Prophet. He couldn't even remember how it happened. One minute he's dying on the kitchen floor over Hermione, the next minute he's holding hands with Ginny in Hyde Park.

And even though Harry supposedly moved on, his mind often strayed to Hermione and how she was holding up. He sighed once more and crumpled the newspaper, throwing it into the rubbish bin. I wonder if Hermione's seen the articles, he thought sullenly. Don't be daft. Of course, she's seen them, a snarky voice told him.

He threw on his jacket, having the intention of heading for the Ministry. He was having Auror training soon. When he opened the door, he was face to face with a grinning Ginny. "Morning, Harry." She chirped, pushing herself into his flat.

"Er—morning, Gin. Um, what're you doing here exactly?"

"Breakfast, silly. I've decided to come over every morning and bring you breakfast since I know you never eat any at all," she teased, pressing a quick kiss to his lips.

"I've got Auror practice in a few minutes, Gin," Harry replied trying to mask his impatience.

"Well, you can eat for just a while, can't you?" She pouted.

Harry sighed in annoyance. "Ginny, I've really got to go."

"If I were Hermione, you'd stay," she snapped angrily.

"Hermione lived with me. It's different." Harry didn't feel like going through this now. It was almost time for Auror training, and Ginny was being a tad… clingy. And it was thoroughly annoying him.

When she didn't respond, he turned back to the door. And without a word, he left the house.

~*~*~

Luna was anxious, and she had no idea why. There was an uneasy feeling welling up within her and she felt as if she was going to know why pretty soon. She bounced her leg nervously as she glanced around her large living room in the house she shared with her fiancé. She could hear him from the kitchen, swearing and cussing the cooking utensils. She smiled a small smile as she remembered how he wanted to be the one to cook dinner as a thank you for saying yes to his proposal.

"Ron?" She asked, bouncing her leg even more nervously.

"Yeah?" He called back. He poked his head out from the kitchen, worried at her nervous tone of voice. "Everything alright?"

"Mmm-hmm," she replied, smiling at him.

He eyed her suspiciously. "If you're sure. I'm taking a while longer than expected. Why don't you watch some telly?"

Luna nodded and let out a sigh of relief as he went back into the kitchen. With another nervous sigh, she turned on her television, and watched as the news channel blinked to life.

"...it was clarified that the incident was not intentional," reported the lady. "The lady apparently rushed across the street as the light switched from red to green."

"It wasn't intentional, I swear," said another lady quite fearfully. Luna assumed that that must've been the lady who hit the victim of the car accident.

"What about the young lady?" The reporter asked the driver. "Is she going to be alright?"

"I honestly don't know. She was taken to the nearest hospital as fast as possible."

"The witnesses reported she was pregnant, is that true?"

The lady driver looked even more nervous. "Yes, but I didn't notice until I left my car to check on her. The doctors said she was about six to seven months pregnant."

"And you claim you didn't see her as you continued to drive?"

"Yes. She suddenly dashed across the street just as I pressed the accelerator."

"And here is a close-up video on the what happened after the accident here in Sheffield—" Luna's mind tuned out the rest of the report. She was thinking. Counting with her fingers, she realized Hermione was pregnant about the same months from what her mother had told her. And Sheffield. Wasn't that where Hermione was living? Luna shook her head, warding away the ridiculous thought. Hermione wouldn't be so reckless… could she?

Luna looked up to the television again to see it fuzzy. "It appears that there are some technical difficulties with the video," said the reporter. "Wait just moment—ah, there. The video seems to be playing properly—"

"What are you watching?" Ron asked, plopping down onto the seat beside here.

"Um, Ron," Luna began, not taking her eyes away from the television, "what happened to dinner?"

"I'm waiting for it to cool a bit. Are you watching the news?" Ron asked.

"Yes. Sorry, Ron, but could you please be a bit—?"

But it was too late, Ron had grabbed the remote and switched it to a channel featuring some Muggle football. "Ah, something decent at last."

Luna gaped at him. "Ronald, I was watching something."

"Sorry, love, I just need to see West Ham play. You know, Dean's never shut up about them while we were practicing. I've decided to see what makes them so great,"

The blonde sighed. She just hoped her assumptions were wrong.

~*~*~

Harry and Ginny were enjoying a nice night in. Well, Ginny was enjoying it. Harry was hoping she could just eat dinner and then leave. He was sitting in front of the television while Ginny was preparing dinner. He cracked his neck a bit. Training had been hell that day. In fact, the whole day was horrible. Ginny refused to leave his flat the whole day, so when Harry entered his bedroom, he found Ginny clad in small lingerie, striking a pose that he thought was supposed to look attractive. (How was it that whenever he saw Hermione in regular clothes, it managed to arouse him, but when he saw Ginny in little clothing it made him feel rather disturbed?) It took him a while, but he finally managed to explain that he wasn't ready to get so close with anyone just yet. After all, it had not even been a year since he had broken up with Hermione. He was actually starting to wonder if dating Ginny was the right decision.

He shook his head, telling himself it was for the best. He was casually flipping to the channels when he came across the news. Normally, he wouldn't have cared even a jot for the local news, but something seemed to have grabbed his ears and made him listen. But that wasn't what bothered him. What bothered him was the word he caught. It wasn't a thing, per se. It was more of a place. Sheffield. It was then he realized why he caught it. Hermione was living there.

He watched the news in anxiety. The accident, the lady; it all seemed to click into place. But it couldn't be—he laughed at the absurdity of it all. Hermione wasn't even pregnant. He decided to continue watching anyway. Just as they were about to show the video, Ginny grabbed the remote and switched it off. "Time for dinner," she said, pecking his check.

Harry sighed and wiped his cheek. Ginny always wore lipstick and he hated it when it stuck to his check. He was starting to consider if putting up with Ginny would even be worth it.

~*~*~

The first thing Hermione saw when she opened her eyes was a bright fluorescent light shining above her. And the first thing she felt was the sudden emptiness within her. She sat up, and the next thing she noticed was her flat stomach. She looked frantically around, hoping to see an explanation. As if on cue, a doctor entered, looking at her with a gentle smile.

"Ms. Granger, I'm glad you're finally awake," he said with a kind smile at her.

"Where am I? What happened?" Hermione demanded in a slightly bossy tone.

"You're in Northern General Hospital. You had accident a few streets away from here."

"And my—"

The doctor's grave look made her stop in the middle of her question. She suddenly felt her chest tighten and her stomach drop. "You were hit at the side of your stomach, Ms. Granger. You're lucky the baby wasn't seriously harmed. You're even luckier that you weren't harmed seriously."

"But he—he's going to be fine, right?"

The doctor sighed and sat at the side of her bed. "Ms. Granger, you must understand. For the baby to be saved, he had to come out. He would never survive inside your body while your vital organs were still healing. So he was taken out prematurely. We—we're not sure if he'll survive."

Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes and looked ashamedly to her lap.

"If you've got anyone in charge of you—"

"My mum's out of town on a business trip to Leeds," Hermione said.

"What about your husband?"

"Er—I don't have one,"

"I see,"

Hermione finally released a sob. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. In fact, it's the one who left you who should be feeling sorry. I've had dozens of patients like you, but so far, you're the only one who could admit they didn't have a husband," said the doctor. "I'll be back in a few moments after I check on the baby."

Without another word, he briskly left the room. And feeling alone and miserable, Hermione started to sob.

~*~*~

Hermione lay on her side, trying to will herself to go back to sleep. She had woken up at eight in the morning. She was still in the hospital, since her doctor, Dr. Morgan, had wanted her to stay for a few days for observation. She glanced at her wall clock. It was already nine thirty-seven; she doubted she could go back to sleep if she had already been awake for half an hour.

Hermione didn't want to stay awake. When she was awake, she thought about things. She thought about her baby, what she would do if he died. She thought about how Luna would react when she found out, how her mum would respond. And finally, she would often wonder how Harry would take it in. Would he be mad that he hadn't told her about her pregnancy? How would he react if he realized that the baby was his?

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when she heard the door click open. All thoughts and hopes of it being Harry were crushed when she heard, "Granger?"

She twisted around and simply stared at the platinum blonde man closing the door behind him. "D-Draco? What on earth are you doing here?" She asked, sitting up and looking at him properly.

"I came to see you," he said simply. He sat on the empty seat beside her bed and took her hand in his.

"But—but how?" Hermione asked, gaping at him. She hadn't thought that anybody knew about the accident.

"It was in the news," He said.

Hermione was quiet. If Draco had seen the news that must've meant Harry could've seen it as well. If he had, why hadn't he come to see her? Unless… he honestly stopped caring about her and finally moved on. Her stomach lurched violently and her chest tightened. Had he stopped caring about her?

"I take it Harry hasn't visited?" Draco asked softly.

She nodded. "It doesn't matter though, he's probably busy with Gin—" she stopped herself and drew in a gasp. "Draco, I'm—"

"It's alright. Ginny—well, I understand why she got with Potter. Probably to get back at me," He sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Listen, Gra—Hermione, I'm really sorry about what I did. I don't know what came over me. I guess I just wanted you because you were one of the girls that didn't fawn over me. Gin, well, she was like that at first. And she eventually grew used to me. I guess I got a bit bored. I'm really sorry, Hermione. I'm sorry about what I've done to Harry and you,"

Hermione smiled and squeezed his hand comfortingly. "It's quite alright, Draco. I—it was more of my fault for allowing you."

Draco opened his mouth to reply when the door opened and Dr. Morgan stepped in, looking over his clipboard. "Ms. Granger, I'm sorry, but—" He stopped talking as he looked up and saw Draco. He narrowed his eyes dangerously. "And who is this young man?"

The blond stood up and extended his hand. "I'm Draco Malfoy."

"You're not the bloke that got her pregnant and then finally decided to come back, are you?"

"No, absolutely not," Draco replied. "I love Hermione like a sister."

Dr. Morgan eyes him and then went back to Hermione. "There's good news and bad news, Ms. Granger. Which would you like to hear first?"

"Um, the good news, I guess." Hermione replied, afraid of the solemn look on her doctor's face.

"The good news is that you can leave today. We're going to discharge you in a few hours."

"That's great," Hermione said. She'd grown sick of the plain white walls.

"But it's about James."

"W-what about him?"

"As you know, he was born prematurely. His body systems weren't very strong from the beginning. We've been trying to help him, maybe try to strengthen his vital organs. But we're not miracle workers, Hermione. James—he passed away."

Hermione felt numb. Everything around her seemed to stop for a while. And suddenly, her chest tightened, her stomach churned, making her feel rather queasy. She felt as if a knife had been stabbed into her chest and was turning it slowly. She felt Draco take her hand, and squeeze it. And it was when Dr. Morgan left did she break down.

Draco quickly enveloped her into a tight embrace, stroking her hair as she sobbed and sobbed. And it was with uncertainty that Draco whispered softly into her ear, "Everything will be alright."

~*~*~

"Gin—"

"Come on, Harry. I'm ready for taking the next step, and so are you. I know you especially because you've done this before."

Harry pulled Ginny's hands from his shoulders. "Ginny, when I say stop, I mean to seriously stop it," He said, stepping away from her.

Ginny dropped her hands and they hung limply from her arms. "I don't understand."

"It's simple. I already told you. It's over."

"Why? Everything—everything was going so well."

"No, it wasn't. You were blind. Ginny, neither of us can move on. And I think you know why. It was in the most unfortunate way that I realized I can't move on."

Ginny wiped her eyes, only then realizing that her eyes were wet with tears. "So what are you going to do?"

Harry smiled at the mere thought of her, and his eyes twinkled with a sense of happiness Ginny hadn't seen throughout their short relationship. "I'm going to find her."

~*~*~

Harry woke up to the sound of banging on his front door. He pushed his covers off and pulled his glasses over his face. He tugged on a jumper, as it was rather chilly that morning. The person, whoever it was, seemed rather persistent and in a hurry, for he continuously banged on it nonstop after a while.

The bespectacled man grumbled and threw the door open. Before he could react though, Draco stepped in, looking agitated and a bit worried. "Harry, mate, something's come up," said the blond, pacing now.

Harry rubbed one eye. "What happened?" He asked.

Draco stopped pacing and stared long and hard at his friend.

The black haired man was rather taken aback with his look. Draco actually looked rather… scared. "Draco, what's happened?" Harry asked.

"It—it's about Hermione."

~*~*~

Hermione lay down in her bed as tears dripped down her face. Her mother was still away, and Hermione feared sending her a letter about the past few days because she might leave her business trip. She didn't want to bother her mother with something so stupid.

That word echoed throughout her mind. That's right, her mind told her. You're stupid. You took your relationship with Harry for granted. You were careless with your baby.

Hermione started to cry even more. The one thing—the one thing she had of Harry was greedily taken away from her. Now she had nothing. She didn't have her baby. She didn't have any friends. She didn't have Harry. She lost everyone and everything she had because she was a coward. She left everything good in her life in the past. She didn't think once to bring any of them with her.

And now, with her chest tight and her sobs coming out louder and more desperate than before, Hermione felt miserable and hopeless. She never felt any feeling like this before. And her professors at her university had been very nice and welcoming. When they found out about her pregnancy and the accident, they let her graduate early and receive her license. They had even given her a starting job at a pre-school for children so she could experience parenting of some sort and put her college course to use.

Hermione felt alone. She wanted to be left alone yet wanted to have someone with her. Then for one moment, her chest seized her breath so tightly, she couldn't breath, and she felt the familiar pang of longing for a certain black-haired wizard resound throughout her body.

Then she heard a banging on the door. The knocking sounded urgent. Hermione paid no heed to it. She didn't want to see anyone. She couldn't see anyone. Not in the state she was. She cast a silencing charm around her room, trying to block out the annoying incessant banging. She hoped that perhaps the person would give up if she didn't answer.

And then her bedroom door flung open and standing there, looking worried yet relieved, was Harry.

~*~*

A/N: Yes, I know. We're horrible. But we couldn't help this cliffhanger! Next chapter/epilogue should be up maybe the week after next, IF there are enough reviews. If not, well, we'll just see. :)