12 Weeks

Hermione smoothed out her dress. Checked and double-checked her purse, making sure her parent's copies of her sonogram were still there.

Harry gripped the peach cobbler they had brought. "Hermione, you look fine."

She tugged on a loose strand of hair. "I'm ready."

They made their way across the stone path and walked to the front door. She knocked twice and waited, clenching her hands over her stomach.

Harry rubbed her back.

The front door opened and Hermione's mother, Nicole, stood with a delighted smile and arms wide open. "Darling!"

"Hi, mum."

Her mother squeezed her tightly. "Come in you two, we're just about done making supper. Your father is on a vegetarian kick so I hope you don't mind all the vegetables."

She led them inside and told Harry to set the peach cobbler down on the dining table and urged them to sit down.

"You both look so sharp. What's the big news?" She set two glasses of water down before them, her brown eyes bright with curiosity. "Hermione sounded a little nervous on the phone." She rocked slightly on her feet before sitting down across from them. "Howard! Hermione and Harry are here."

Hermione's father, Howard Granger, walked in moments later, pecking Hermione quickly on the cheek. He sat down beside Nicole, casting quick glances between Harry and Hermione. "How are you doing, pumpkin?"

She smiled brightly. "I'm doing well, dad."

He leaned back, resting his arm on the back of Nicole's chair. "Good to see you, Harry. So, what's the occasion?"

Hermione looked at Harry, who gave her a reassuring nod. "Well, we have some news to share with you two."

Nicole squealed. "You're engaged!"

Hermione blanched. "Hm, no."

Nicole's smile fell away. She looked between the two making both Hermione and Harry fidget in their chairs.

Harry gave her a reassuring nod.

Hermione reached into her purse and took out her sonogram. She reached over and placed it before her parents. "I'm having a baby."

Nicole slowly picked up the image. "You're pregnant?" Her voice was low.

"Yes, about three months now."

Nicole covered her mouth and her eyes began to water. "Sweetheart, you're having a baby?"

"Yes, mum."

Then her mother leaped out of her seat, rounded the table and pulled Hermione into her arms all the while yelling in excitement. "My baby is having a baby!"

They jumped around. Harry smiled at her excitement. He turned to face Mr. Granger, assuming he'd have a similar expression, but he balked when he met Mr. Granger's solemn face. "Mr. Granger?"

He stared at the sonogram, one hand over his mouth. "You're the father I assume since you came here with my daughter."

Harry shifted in his seat. "Yes, sir."

Hermione and her mother had quieted down. Nicole returned to her husband's side. "Howard?"

Hermione lingered beside Harry's chair.

"Are you two going to get married?"

"No," Hermione answered.

"Why the hell not?"

"Howard!" Nicole gripped his shoulder.

He huffed, gesturing toward Hermione. "How is he going to support you and your baby?"

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest. "Harry and I have come to an understanding."

"An understanding? What does that mean? Have you gone over who will raise it? Who will pay for the necessities? Discipline? Health issues? Hermione, this is a human being you're bringing into the world. You can't raise a child on an understanding."

Hermione's eyes stung. "I know that."

Nicole caressed the back of Howard's head. "Howard, please. Let's not argue. This is such wonderful news. Let's just celebrate it for what it is."

He nodded. "You're right." He pushed himself away from the table. "I need to go outside for a moment." The three of them watched him stalk out of the room.

Nicole sighed. "Sweetheart, think nothing of it. He just worries. We're happy." She squeezed Hermione's hand, gave Harry a small smile and then stepped back into the kitchen, probably to check on the food.

Hermione let her tears roll down her cheeks. Harry stood, setting his hands over her cheeks to wipe them away.

"He has a point," she mumbled.

"Of course he does," he offered her a small smile. "I see where you get your rationality."

She rolled her eyes.

He took her hands in his. "Hermione, I'm never going to abandon you or our baby. Do you understand? I want to be in your life and theirs for the rest of mine. You get that don't you?"

She blinked away her tears and attempted to smile, even though she was sure it looked like a grimace. "Of course, I do."

He pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her form. He leaned down and whispered into her neck. "Hermione, you're doing an amazing thing, giving me an amazing thing. I'm never going to let that go. Never forget that."

Supper with the Grangers was a quiet affair. The silence was infrequently broken up by chatter between Hermione and her mother. What kind of symptoms has she had? How is work? How are her friends?

After supper, Harry moved to gather the plates, taking the few Hermione had already picked up. "Go talk to your father," he whispered.

Hermione turned and watched her father slip out of the dining room and back outside to the garden. "He doesn't want to talk to me."

"Maybe." Harry tucked some hair behind her ear. "But, you should talk to him anyway."

She took a deep breath and stepped out into the garden. Her father was sitting on the bench underneath the pine tree. He was staring at the rose bushes he'd planted alongside the fence.

She walked across the stone pathway and sat down beside him. What could she possibly say to reassure him?

He reached over and took her hand, startling her.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "I didn't mean to disappoint you, dad."

"Pumpkin," he kissed the back of her hand. "I'm not disappointed."

"Then why were you attacking me?" Hermione turned her head slightly. "I'm twenty-five years old. I think I can manage."

"I have no doubt you can manage." He suddenly looked more tired than she'd ever seen him. Her father, one of the most stubborn and steadfast people she knew. There was gray at his temples and wrinkles around his eyes that she hadn't noted before. "I'm just concerned. I know how hard it is for a single mom to raise a child. I see it every day with my employees, my patients."

"I'm not a single mom, Harry isn't out of the picture."

"Hermione, he's not your boyfriend or your husband." Her father sighed. "I trust Harry. I really do, but I can't help being concerned. I know how hard it is to raise a child. It's been quite a journey raising you and I have an amazing partner in your mother." He gave her a small smile. "Hermione," he squeezed her hand. "I'm not mad."

"Really?" She looked at him skeptically. "You looked kind of mad."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm very happy, Hermione. Lord help us, that child of yours will be spoiled rotten."

She let out a light laugh. "What makes you think that?"

"For one, it's our first grandchild. Two, Harry. I can see how he dotes on you. Can you imagine how he'll be with his firstborn? Goodness, I still don't understand how you two are not together."

She crossed one leg over the other. "Dad, please."

"Pumpkin, really." He shook his head. "It's obvious you two are already intimate and I don't want to know about that aspect of your life," he said with a chuckle, "either way," he pulled her close and kissed her on the side of the head, "as long as you're happy."

"I am happy."

At least she thought she was.

# # #

Harry watched Hermione and her father from the dining room window. He hoped he didn't send her out there to be scolded.

He felt a firm hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about them." Hermione's mother settled beside him. "She's always been a daddy's girl. The news must have been a shock for him. I think he forgets our little girl is a young woman now." She chuckled. "Well, that's something you'll probably experience now that you'll be a father yourself."

Harry gulped.

Nicole chuckled and gave him a side hug. "Parenthood is a whole new world, but you and Hermione are not alone, Harry."

Harry helped Nicole clear off the table and wash the dishes. She was asking him about his peach cobbler recipe when Hermione and her father walked back in.

They chatted together for a few minutes before Hermione deemed it was time to go - she needed to let her parents mull over the news she just dropped on them.

Harry and Hermione returned to her flat. Hermione greeted Crookshanks, giving him a quick pat on the head, and went straight to her bedroom.

Harry walked into her kitchen to make them some tea. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the kettle heating up over the stove. He hadn't really thought about how Hermione's parents were going to react. They weren't the type to scold or disown their daughter for getting pregnant. They were happy and understandably, her father was worried.

He prepped some cups and steeped the tea and wondered, how was Sirius going to react when he told him?

One thing Harry had to do was make sure Sirius understood that he and Hermione weren't a couple. They were just having a baby together…

He set the cups on some saucers and headed to Hermione's bedroom, laughing under his breath at the sight of her sprawled atop her bed. She must have come straight to her room and just fell on top of it. Her shoes were still on.

He set the cups on her night table and sat down on the end of her bed. He grabbed one foot and began undoing the straps of her sandals.

"Are we mad, Harry?" She moved onto her side and placed her foot in his lap.

"Definitely," he answered. He tossed the sandal into her closet and began working on the strap of her other sandal. "I mean, I've never raised a child. Have you?"

She scoffed.

He tossed her other sandal into the closet and then scooted back onto so he could lay down beside her. "I suppose we're all a little mad." He turned, meeting her gaze. Her brown eyes glowed in the late evening light.

She smiled softly. She inched closer to him. "What are we going to name the baby?"

Harry puffed out his cheeks. He placed his hand on her waist, appreciating the familiar curve of her waist. "I don't want them named after me. That'd be too confusing."

She giggled. "Well, are there any names you like?"

"I don't know. What about you?"

She pushed some hair out of her face. "I like Lydia and Elizabeth, but I think those are really popular. We could name them after someone, but who and how do we decide?"

Harry traced his hand over her still flat stomach. "We could name it after Sirius," he smirked.

She stuck her tongue out. "He'd have a field day."

"He'd be happy." His gaze lingered on the slope of her neck. "But, I don't think he likes his name very much."

"Too stuffy?"

He met her eyes again. "Jazmine is nice."

She smiled brightly. "That is a nice name."

He squeezed her waist and sat up, scooting back to lean against the headboard. Hermione sat up too and pointed to one of the teas on the night table. Harry grabbed a cup and saucer and handed it to her.

She took the offered tea and took a long sip. "Harry?" Her voice was low.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want the baby to have your last name?"

Harry stilled. "What?"

Hermione tipped her head to the side. "Do you want the baby to have your last name? Jazmine Potter, Sirius Potter, oh that sounds funny. I don't think Sirius will work."

He gulped and covered his mouth with his hand.

She set her tea aside and rested her hand on his thigh. "Harry, you can think about it. There's no rush."

"But," his voice was muffled, he dropped his hand and took a breath. "You'd be okay with the baby having my last name even though we're not a couple?"

"But we're having a baby together. There will be no hiding the fact that I'm having a child, but since we aren't a couple, their name is just one way to show their connection to you."

He stared at her hand on his thigh. His throat tightened and his heart pounded in his chest. He stretched his fingers in an attempt to release the tension in his hands. He reached out and linked his pinky finger with hers.

"We'll just try out names with Potter for now and we'll see how it goes?"

He bit his lip and openly stared as Hermione leaned forward, pushing her knee in between his legs. She cupped his cheeks and kissed his temple. "Don't cry, Harry."

He hadn't even noticed he was crying. He breathed out a deep sigh and relaxed into Hermione's hold. He let out a watery laugh. "Yeah, Sirius Potter doesn't sound very good."

She chuckled, her breath tickled his cheek. "Sorry, Sirius."