Harry showed up at Hermione's flatthe next day, bright and early.

"Look, Hermione, I came to apologize. I had no right to try and tell Lavender about you and Ron. He was pretty upset with me, and told me so when I came to. Was yelling at me the whole time the Healer was 'assessing my situation'. Right embarrassing."

They stood looking at each other, Hermione with her arms crossed.

"I know, Harry, and I forgive you, but it can't happen again. Lavender should be kept out of it until Ron and I figure out what we're going to do, and when we decide, we should be the one to tell her. It's not fair to her to find out from anyone else."

"You're right Hermione, and I won't try to say anything again, but… I promised myself I wouldn't say this, but you need to hear it. When did you become this girl, Hermione? He is getting married. I love Ron like a brother, but he is being an idiot. You both are. You have to figure this out, soon, because I am not going to let you be that person that actually speaks during the "Speak now or forever hold your peace". You have too much respect for yourself to do that."

"I know, Harry, I've heard this all before. Ginny made me set a deadline."

"That's all well and good, but what have you actually done to figure this out? Because from where I'm standing, Ron is having two relationships, and he may love you – yes, he told me – but Lavender is still the one he wakes up next to, and kisses over the dinner table, and buys an engagement ring for. And he is going to marry her, unless you flat out ask him not to. And when he does, where will that leave you?"

Everything Harry was saying rang true. Ron may have matured since his days at Hogwarts, but it still killed him to break up with a girlfriend, never mind a fiancé. She had told herself when they had first started this...relationship... that she had to be happy with what she got. But when had she ever been a girl who settled? Whenever she had wanted something, she worked her arse off until she could have it.

Harry watched silently as the light bulb went off in her head.

"I want Ron."

He smiled. "That you do. And as much as I want to send you, guns blazing, over to him right now, we recieved an owl last night about a mission we leave for in a few hours. Can you hold on to this fire you have for the next three weeks?" He grinned guiltily.

"Three weeks?"

"That's why I'm here so early- I didn't want to let this stew, and I needed to tell you what I thought so you could work it all out while he was gone."

"But I've already worked it out."

"I had forgotten that you're the smartest witch of your age. Silly me."

She sighed. "So what am I going to do for the next three weeks?"

"Go visit Ginny. She has a game that I'm going to be missing, and I could tell she was disappointed when I owled her about this mission. Keep her company for me?"

Hermione nodded. "Sure, Harry. I've been meaning to visit her anyway, but I've just been so busy. This sounds like a good excuse."

Only a few minutes after Harry left, she heard another knock on her door. She opened it to find Ron this time, and stepped back to let him inside.

"Hey, love. I can't stay long, Lavender thinks I'm at the market. We're out of milk. I just came to tell you that I'll be gone for a few weeks. The Aurors are getting sent on a mission."

"Yeah, Harry told me. He just left. He came over to apologize about yesterday."

"I was hoping he was going to. Glad he did." Ron looked at his watch regretfully. "I really have to go."

"Well…I'll see you in three weeks then." She looked up at him sadly, the length of this mission finally fully hitting her.

He gave her a lingering kiss. "I'll miss you."

There were so many things she wanted to say to him, 'Pick me' being at the top of the list. She settled for a simple "Love you."

He gave her a kiss to the forehead, before replying in kind and leaving.

Hermione had taken Harry's advice and had gone to visit Ginny for a weekend. It was fun seeing her and watching her play, and it was even more fun escaping Lavender and her tyrannical wedding-mongering. She was starting to morph into Bridezilla.

It was the second week of December when Ron and Harry finally returned, cheery over a successful mission and happy to be home. Christmas decorations at the Burrow had been held off in their absence, and Mrs. Weasley was throwing a combination Welcome-Back Party and a Help-Decorate-the-House extravaganza. Hermione accepted that she had probably been recruited for labor, but Christmas always put Hermione in a good mood, and she didn't mind.

A few minutes before she was about to Floo to the Burrow, Ron showed up at her flat, a little pale. She greeted him hello with a warm kiss, enjoying the feeling of being in his arms after a cold three weeks, but he pulled away quickly.

"Hermione, I have to talk to you."

"I'm about to leave, can we talk about it there?"

His response was interrupted by Mrs. Weasley's head appearing in the fire. "Hermione, have you seen my son? He was supposed to be here an hour ago, helping us remove boxes from the attic. He's not at his flat."

Hermione smiled at the fire. "Now…which son are we talking about?" She grinned cheekily.

Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes before laughing. "When did you get such a smart mouth? Hanging around with Ron is doing wonders to you, I see."

"Knowing someone for over half my life will do that to me. He's here." She racked her brain for an excuse. "I had helped him buy a Christmas present for Lavender, but took the wrong bag home with me on accident. He was picking it up." When had she gotten so good at lying?

"Alright, dear. Come on through, you're missing gingerbread cookies!" Her face disappeared.

Hermione turned back toward Ron and gestured toward the fire. "She's waiting for us. Can we talk about this after?"

He nodded jerkily without looking in her eyes. His actions were making her nervous, and she wondered if waiting would just make the discussion worse, but Mrs. Weasley was waiting for them to appear. It would look suspicious if they didn't.

She arrived at the Burrow, Ron closely following behind her. Brushing the ash from her clothes, she dove right into setting up Christmas decorations, using the mass chaos the house was in as a distraction from what Ron had been trying to tell her.

It wasn't until dinner that she let herself sit down, and she quickly tried to immerse herself in the conversations and food. About halfway through the meal, Lavender stood.

"I've been trying to hold it in, but I just can't take it anymore. Ron and I would just like to announce that… we're pregnant!"

Hermione felt the blood drain from her face, and the delicious food she had just consumed seemed to want to make a reappearance.

The table had become a flurry of questions, Mrs. Weasley even standing and throwing her arms around her youngest son. "My Ronnie! A daddy!" Hermione was the only one who remained silent. She caught Ron looking sorrowfully at her, and she returned her attention to Lavender, who had been fielding questions.

"How far along are you?"

"About a month!"

A month. So she had gotten pregnant right at the beginning of November. Right after the first time Ron had told Hermione he loved her.

"Have you had any symptoms?"

"I've been a little tired, but I haven't been nauseous or gotten sick yet. Hopefully it'll stay that way!"

"Have you seen the Healer yet?"

They went on and on, and Hermione just tuned them out and leaned back in the chair. What were her chances now? Lavender had hit the jackpot, and she didn't even know it. Ron had always wanted children, and had matured into a man who would never abandon his child's mother at the altar. She stood, murmured something about grabbing another Butterbeer, and walked as calmly as she could out of the room. To her surprise, Harry followed her. He just looked at her and walked out the door into the backyard. Hermione took it as a signal to follow.

"I'm sorry, Hermione."

She was going to start crying. "They had sex. And she's pregnant. They had sex less than a week after he told me he loved me. And now I'm never going to have him."

He hugged her, but she was unable to take any comfort from it. "You should really talk to him. Let's go back inside."

They walked back into the dining room together, and Lavender took notice. "Oh there you two are! This next part is going to affect you two the most, being the Maid of Honor and Best Man and all." She turned to address the entire room. "Ron and I want to move the wedding up. We don't want our child to be born out of wedlock. We've been throwing around dates, and decided that Valentine's Day would just be so romantic. I know it's soon, but Hermione and I have actually gotten a lot of it done already, so it's just a matter of alerting everyone to the change of date."

Of course. Of course they would want to move up the wedding. Hermione held in a spiteful laugh. Lavender didn't want the baby born out of wedlock? Please. Lavender didn't want to look pregnant on her wedding day. Hermione could already hear Lavender saying it: "I do not want to be fat, Hermione. The bride is supposed to be the most beautiful one in the room, and who's going to think I'm beautiful when I look like a whale?"

Hermione held her tongue until everyone stood and started clearing the dishes, when she practically threw Ron to the ground in her attempt to get him out of the room.

"This is what you were trying to tell me before? That Lavender is pregnant?" She practically spat on him in her anger and hurt. "I can do math, Ron. She's a month along."

He looked at his feet. "I know. I am so sorry. Honestly, I don't even remember it happening. She said I came home drunk one night and… things got out of hand."

Hermione didn't have a reply, so she simply turned and walked back into the kitchen, leaving Ron with his head down, standing alone.

She didn't dare hope for the only other option. Ron didn't remember having sex?

Hermione would have to talk to Lavender.

Author's Note: Sorry, sorry about the late update! I just moved back to school and it's been so hectic, packing and unpacking and buying food- I can only live on puppy chow and leftover Red Robin hamburger for so long. Hopefully now that I have some down time the updates will become more regular again- I'm hoping to have the story finished before I start school on the 29th.