Hermione remained a good maid of honor and, with Luna's help, planned Ginny's Hen Party. Luna was a wonderful girl, but to be honest, her helping didn't really help much. At every turn, Luna was trying to convince Hermione to add everything to the itinerary from necklace making out of butterbeer caps that Harry had thrown away, stating that it was good luck for the couple if Ginny gave it back to him on their wedding day, to going on scavenger hunts in the Forbidden Forest to find a new species to name after the couple. Hermione shot down these ideas, only to mentally tuck them away later for when Ron finally had the bullocks enough to ask the sweet witch with the silvery eyes to marry him.

Trying to make up for being mentally absent over the last couple of months, Hermione took the bull by the horns and took Ginny and the girls straight to a male strip show, paying extra money just to get a VIP room by themselves after the show so that the bride-to-be got her own lap dance. She knew that Harry would probably be extremely annoyed with her over this, but she could only handle one friend at a time right now. She secretly hoped that Ron had booked their own stripper so that he couldn't be angry with them. Whether or not Ginny would be okay with that, she wasn't sure. What she didn't expect was that Ginny would be pulling out her own money for Hermione to get a lap dance of her own.

"Hermione! It's your turn!" Ginny was waving her muggle money around and she wolf whistled at the chiseled black man sporting a muggle firefighter uniform.

Hermione's eyes went wide, her cheeks burning at the thought of a man rubbing all over her.

"GINNY!"

Giving her a mischievous grin, Ginny downed another shot and offered one to Hermione. "Sure you don't want one?"

Hermione pushed it away. "I'm sure. One of us have to stay clearheaded and it's my responsibility as your maid of honor."

Shrugging, Ginny downed the other shot.

Hermione tried to make a run for it, but the half-naked beautiful man covered in oil and glitter caught her and shoved her back in her seat before grinding into her lap. Grabbing her hand, he placed it on the suspenders that were holding his pants up, urging her to pull them down.

"Oh, Merlin." Her head fell back against the padded backrest and the man decided to help her pull them off of him. In an instant they were down and he was dancing in front of her in tight, red boxer-briefs. As he came closer, she noticed the large bulge in front of them and her eyebrows shot up. Surely, there was a strategically placed sock in there somewhere...

He turned and started grinding and moving his hips on top of her and she tried to hide her face in her hands.

"Smack that ass, Hermione! Get it, girl! Make him work for it!"

Her eyes shot to Ginny, who was dancing and shoving money into another stripper's skimpy underwear.

"Ginny! Stop!" She looked up at the stripper, who she didn't even know the name of. "I am so sorry."

He chuckled and shook his head. "It's my job. Smack whatever you want." He gave her a wink and it actually made her laugh.

"Usually I at least get a bloke's name before I start slapping him."

Turning in her lap, he offered her his hand. "Okay, then. Darius."

She gave him a grin. "Sexy name, Darius. I'm Hermione."

"Shakespearean, huh? Now that's sexy, Hermione."

His comment surprised her. She didn't run into many people that could pinpoint the origin of her name so easily. "Uh, thank you."

He gives her another wink. "Now we know each other. Can you please slap my ass and shove money in my underwear now? I've got rent to pay!"

Her head falls back in a laugh and she reaches into her bra cup, pulling out a wad of cash. Without bothering to look at how much she had, she reached for the waistband of his tiny pants and shoved the wad into them by his hip bone.

"Now that's more like it!"

XxXxXx

The girls head back to Grimmauld place, still giggling from their good time at the strip club.

"About damn time you girls come home!" Harry is sitting in the sitting room with Ron, the twins, Lee, and Neville. "Why are you all sparkly?" His eyes rake down his fiancé.

Ginny immediately pointed to Hermione. "Hermione! It's her fault! She did it!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "We went to a strip club, Harry. And yes, I paid for Ginny to have a lap dance." Hermione was feeling so light from their good time that she didn't care if Harry was angry.

"What?" Harry didn't look happy, but the other men laughed.

Depositing herself in Neville's lap, Hannah greeted her own boyfriend.

"I see you aren't glittery." Neville's eyes raked down his girlfriend's front.

Hannah shook her head. "Ginny and Hermione got the dances. We just watched and threw money."

Fred choked on his beer. "Hermione got a lap dance?" Looking her over, he did notice that the front of her burgundy dress was, indeed, covered in glitter along with her face.

Hermione gave him a scowl. "Yes! I can let loose sometimes!"

Fred gave her a wink, knowing full well how much fun she could have and she was glad that her cheeks were already rosy from all the giggling.

"I think letting loose is a bit of an understatement, Hermione!" Angelina turned toward her boyfriend, George. "Her stripper was practically salivating over her! He shoved his number into her bra before we left."

"It probably helped that she shoved a wad of cash down his pants..." Ginny added, shrugging.

Hermione couldn't help, but laugh. "He knew my name was from Shakespeare! He deserved every knut." She dropped down on the couch across from the twins.

"Damn, Hermione. Here I planned to pour some fire whiskey down your throat and let Fred have his way with you again to get you to relax after the wedding, but turns out-"

"GEORGE!" Hermione was stunned and disgusted by George's mouth.

"What? I thought-Well, doesn't... shit. I thought everyone knew." George's face went white, realizing.

"You had no right! That was private." She hissed between her teeth.

"Hermione?" Realization hit Harry hard. Meeting his eyes, she shook her head, telling him to leave it. She still hadn't told Fred and she didn't want Harry to start in, too.

"Private, huh?" Fred growled out. "Embarrassed, are you?"

"What?" She shook her head. "Fred, of course-"

"-Well you weren't embarrassed when you came around my dick a dozen times."

His words knocked the wind out of her. Tears immediately sprung to her eyes at the acid in his voice.

"Fred." She breathed out his name, disbelieving that someone she considered a friend would say something like that. "I thought that our moment was special and intimate for us, but obviously I had been mistaken. Your words show that you see me as nothing as another conquest. Just another notch on your bedpost. Another boost to your ego." Fred flinched as if hit across the face. Not caring if she hurt his feelings, she stood, needing to go home.

"God, damn it, Mi!" Fred called after her, but she just flipped him her finger, not bothering a look back.

She quickly floo'd back to her flat, using Harry's kitchen fireplace. She barely made it to her toilet before she began to get sick. Her head hurt, her chest hurt, and her stomach was churning painfully. Fred had hurt her so deeply. She had thought they were two friends sharing something intimate that they both could cherish. She should have known better. He probably had another woman under him the next weekend, not bothering a second thought of their time together. When her stomach finally emptied and she stopped heaving, she sat, crouched on her knees over the toilet, sobbing into her arms. She hated how much this was affecting her, but at least she could blame it on her hormones.

There was a knock on the doorframe behind her and she took a deep, shuddering breath in.

"Harry, please don't start. Not tonight. I can't tell him. Not after tonight. He's made it clear I was just another woman to get a leg up on. I thought we were friends and now knowing that he doesn't even respect me enough for that, I can't bear to face him. No one has to know the baby is his."

"Baby?"

Her whole body shivered at his voice. It was like ice water being poured over her. "How did you get in?" Her eyes remained on the back of the toilet, unable to turn to face him.

"I tandem floo'd with Harry."

Feeling betrayed by her best friend, Hermione found herself sobbing into her arms again. This was too much for her. Harry was supposed to be her comfort and safety and he brought an enemy right to her.

Crouching down beside her, Fred rubbed her back in circles. "What baby, Hermione?" His heart and mind were already in overdrive from the misunderstanding back at Harry's, but mixed with this news, he found himself trembling beside her. "Are you pregnant?"

Trying desperately to calm herself, she took deep, cleansing breaths while Fred continued to rub her back. She hated that she found comfort in his hand on her back, but she did. Fred was one of her loved ones and she couldn't stop caring about him so easily. She'd known him half her life and the thought of not having him around was painful. Finally, her body relaxed against the toilet seat and she nodded.

"You're pregnant with my baby?" No matter how many times Fred said it, he couldn't wrap his head around it.

Pushing herself up off the floor, she shut the toilet seat and flushed before sitting on it, her hands gripping her thighs. "Yes, Fred."

"But, we did the spell..." Kneeling in front of her, he rested his long arms on her thighs, holding her hands in his.

"The first time. There's still the second, third-"

"Okay, I get it." They were silent for a minute while he tried to think back. They had spent almost the whole weekend in bed, tangled up in each other. Neither one of them wanted it to end, because they knew they wouldn't get another together. He was so enamored with her that he couldn't think of anything past being with her. "How long have you known?"

She let go of her bottom lip, which she was chewing. "I found out two weeks after."

"You found out that long ago and never told me?" Anger finally caught up to him, the thought of her carrying his child without him knowing sending him over the edge.

"I tried. At first I couldn't wrap my head around it myself... and then when I did, I tried to tell you... but then Katie came in and I felt so guilty. I didn't want to ruin what you two had."

Fred shook his head. "Katie and I have been together for a few weeks, Hermione. A child is much more important than a girlfriend."

"But Katie has been wanting to be with you for so long and I was so happy that she finally got her chance-"

He snorted out a laugh. "You're carrying my child and you're rooting for another woman to have me?"

Hermione shrugged.

"Do you ever think of your own happiness, Mi?"

She frowned. "I'm happy having the baby. That doesn't mean I should fracture every relationship I have along the way. I want you to know that I didn't keep it from you to be vindictive or mean. I didn't want to upset or scare you. Know that I don't expect anything from you if you aren't ready for this. No one has to know who the baby belongs to. I don't even have to stay. I've talked to Kingsley about transferring-"

"Stop. Just don't." Fred's sharp voice had Hermione's head snapping up to look at him. "This is a lot to take in, Hermione. Just give me some time. You had your time to wrap your head around it. I'm asking for the same. Don't do anything rash. Promise me that."

Her tongue ran over her bottom lip as she mulled it over and nodded. "I promise. I'll give you the time you need."

He gave her a small smile, relieved. "Know that you aren't just another notch on my bedpost, Hermione. That weekend meant everything to me. Having that time with you meant more to me than all the others before."

"Fred."

"I was hurt because I thought you were embarrassed that everyone knew we had been together. I shouldn't have said what I said."

Hermione shook her head. "I would never be embarrassed of that. And no, you shouldn't have said what you said... but, I guess it's true."

Surprised by her comment, Fred's head fell back in a laugh. "It is definitely true and fuck, it was magnificent."

Blushing, her chin hit her chest and she shook her head.

Her movement made the glitter on her face catch the light and Fred sat up straighter.

"Oh, that reminds me..." Reaching into her the bodice of her dress, his fingers dipped into her bra.

"FRED!" She tried smacking his hands away, but he managed to find what he was looking for.

Pulling out the small scrap of paper with the strippers information on it, he wadded it up and shoved it in his jeans pocket. "You won't be needing this."

She gave him a small scowl, although the entertainment in her eyes gave her away. "So, now you think you can tell me who I can and cannot go out with?"

"Whoever you go out with, our baby goes out with."

She rolled her eyes. "Fred, go home."

Chuckling, he stood and pulled her up with him so she could brush her teeth. He watched as she wet her toothbrush and applied her toothpaste.

"I'll go home if you promise to open the wards for me."

Thinking about it, she shrugged. "You know you got your privilege revoked when you kept trying to prank me while I wasn't home. But considering our situation, I'll allow you in. But only you. No George."

He pressed a kiss to her temple as she began to brush her teeth. "I knew you had a soft spot for me."

"Yes, unfortunately. I blame it on your child I'm carrying."

He chuckled. "Big softy." He wrapped his arms around her in a hug, giving her one last kiss on her forehead.