Tempest's Fury

Tempest's Fury

Chapter three: Confessions

Later that night, Ginny sat before the parlor fire, sipping tea and trying to settle her stomach when Draco, who also couldn't sleep, came downstairs. Seeing her there, Draco came into the room.

"Ginny? Are you alright?" he asked, concerned of late about her welfare.

Ginny just shook her head, tears falling. As she sniffed, Draco came and sat down next to her.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked quietly, reaching out to take her shaking hand in his. "Ginny, you're trembling. Please, I want to help you."

As tears coursed down her cheeks, Ginny looked into his pale eyes and said flatly, "I'm pregnant!"

This is what Harry heard as he walked through the door. He stopped dead in his tracks wondering why she was telling Draco first and more importantly, why was she upset about it?

Draco's face fell. Taking her face gently in his hands, he asked quietly but loud enough for Harry to hear, "Who is the father? Harry or me?"

Ginny threw her arms around Draco's shoulders and cried, "I don't know!"

Pure rage filled Harry's soul as he made his presence known to them. "Get your fucking hands off my wife!!" Harry growled as he reached them, pulling Draco away from a hysterical Ginny, punching him dead in the face.

As Draco stumbled and fell backwards, Harry rounded on Ginny "Is that how you really got the bruises Ginny? From HIM!" Harry yelled as he went after Draco again.

"Harry, NO!! You don't understand. Please stop and listen to me," she cried as she physically tried to pull Harry off Draco.

"Get off of me!" he growled, removing her tiny hand from his shoulder, slinging it off as he hit Draco again.

Harry had flung her hand a little harder than he meant to. Ginny lost her balance from the force of his removing her hand, causing her to land hard on the floor.

As the house exploded with sounds of yelling, Charlie and Anna come running down the stairs, followed by a very confused Hermione.

"How could you do that to her, you bastard? You are just like your father!" Harry yelled as he hit Draco again, the latter showing no resistance at all, just letting Harry beat him.

As Hermione ran in the room, she advanced on Harry, trying to pull him off Draco, who was now covered in blood.

"Harry, stop! What are you doing?" screeched Hermione as she grabbed Harry's arm to keep him from hitting Draco again.

"Your husband is fucking my wife and now she's pregnant," spat Harry as he pulled his arm away from Hermione's grasp.

Hermione stood there, stunned. "Nooo," she moaned as tears sprang to her eyes. "Please, you are lying," she cried as her breathing became erratic.

"Ask him," said Harry flatly, turning to look at Ginny who was sitting on the floor being comforted by her brother Charlie.

Hermione looked at Draco but didn't have to ask, the tears running down his face said it all.

"Oh God," Hermione sobbed as she put her hand to her mouth and ran from the room. Draco tried to get up to follow, but fell back as his head started to spin. Anna rushed to his side.

Ginny stood, with the aid of her brother, and reached out to Harry.

"Don't touch me," he said through gritted teeth, as the anger and hurt coursed through his body.

"Please Harry, you don't understand…" she wept, feeling sick at the sight of the hate on Harry's face.
"Oh, I understand. My wife has been fucking a man that I foolishly called a friend. How could you do this? Ginny, I loved you with all that I am and now you betray me," he said, tears streaming down his face as he violently wiped them away with his bleeding knuckles.

"Harry, please, you have to listen to me," Ginny sobbed, trying to touch him again.

"No, not now, I can't," he growled as he walked away.

"Harry!" Ginny screamed, clutching her stomach as she fainted into her brother's arms.

"Take her up to the infirmary. I will help Draco," ordered Anna as she helped Draco to his feet.

"I need to get to Hermione," he insisted, tears running freely down his face.

"I don't think that is wise at the moment," counseled Anna, "I think she may need a few minutes to herself. Let's get you cleaned up, make sure you are all right and then you can see her. Okay?"

"Yeah… I guess," he muttered, realizing Harry must have hit him harder than he thought, as his head began to spin again.

When they reached the infirmary, Charlie lay Ginny down on one of the beds.

"Ginny," he called, touching her face tenderly, gently wiping her tears.

"Charlie, it isn't what you think. Please. You have to believe me," she said quietly as she grabbed his hand.

"Sis, I know there is a logical explanation for all of this. You don't need to explain to me," he stated, noticing the pain that was crossing her face as he spoke.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" Charlie asked as she clutched his hand tightly.

Fresh tears welled as she whispered, "It's the baby, something is wrong."

"Anna," called Charlie, trying to keep the panic from his voice, "Ginny needs you."

As Anna came over to Ginny and drew the curtains around the bed, Charlie went to talk to Draco.

"What's happening?" asked Draco, craning his neck to see around the curtain.

"I don't know. She seems to be in pain. She thinks something is wrong with the baby," Charlie answered as he raked his fingers roughly through his red hair.

Draco just sat there, staring into space, not believing that any of this was happening.

"Draco," Charlie's voice brought him back to reality, "how did this happen?"

Draco snorted with disgust, "In a word? Lucius!"

While Draco explained what had happened to Charlie, Anna was reassuring Ginny that the baby would be all right. The extreme stress that Ginny had been under caused the pain and slight bleeding. She needed to calm down and rest or the baby would be in more grave danger.

~~*~~

Hermione ran, blinded by tears to her chambers. When she entered the room, a sickness filled her heart. Thoughts of Draco and Ginny making love was more than she could take. Hermione, in a fit of rage and disgust, started ripping down the bed curtains, throwing them over the balcony, followed by the bed linens and the pillows. After the bed was completely stripped, Hermione pulled out her wand, shrunk the mattress to the size of a book, and tossed it over the railing as well onto the heap of bedding on the grass. This done, Hermione stood on the balcony, conjured a bluebell flame and tossed it onto the offensive bedding, watching it burn as tears streamed down her face.

Harry came in the room after hearing the sobs.

"Hermione?" he asked quietly.

As she turned to him, a sob escaped her lips as she ran into his outstretched arms, taking whatever strength he could give her as he stroked her hair tenderly, whispering words of comfort to her.

This is what Draco saw as he entered his room. With his heart continuing to break, Draco left them standing there as he headed sadly down the stairs, out into the night. Narcissa watched from her window, wanting to help her son, feeling his pain, but knowing that he needed time to be alone. Sirius would be back in the morning. Maybe he could help defuse some of the anger that was running rampant through the house. It was going to be a long night.

When morning dawned, Sirius returned to find the house in total upheaval. Entering his chambers, Narcissa was sitting talking quietly to her eldest son.

"They know, don't they?" he asked, sitting down next to his wife.

"Yes. Harry overheard Ginny telling Draco she was pregnant and her uncertainty of the parentage," explained Narcissa as Draco sat, looking as if his heart was completely gone, tears no longer able to fall. He felt dead.

"Shit! Did anyone try and explain what happened?" he asked angrily, as he placed the heavy book that he had been holding down on the table.

"It was kind of difficult to talk while your godson was beating the shit out of me," Draco replied flatly, his face still showing signs of the altercation.

Sighing heavily, Sirius opened the book to the page that held the curse that was used. "I'm sorry about what Harry did and I can't change it, however we do now know what the curse was," Sirius added triumphantly.

~~*~~

Harry and Hermione had talked late into the night, pausing to cry and to finally conjure up a new mattress and bedclothes for her bed. As her eyes started to droop, Harry tucked Hermione into bed and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you in the morning. If you need me, you know where I am," he said tenderly.

"Thanks Harry, I love you," she replied as her tears started once again.

"Love you too. See you in the morning," he whispered as he silently shut the door. As he left, Harry heard her quietly sobbing into her pillow, "Oh, Draco. Why?"

After a miserable night, Harry still had not been in to see Ginny. He was still far too upset to even consider trying to talk to her. He didn't think that Charlie would let him anywhere near her anyway, so he went to see how Hermione was feeling.

"Hermione, it's Harry. May I come in?" he asked, leaning his head on the door as he waited for her answer.

"Come in," she replied in that croaky voice you get from crying a lot.

As he walked in, he saw her, sitting indian-style on her bed, pictures of her wedding spread out over her bedspread.

"He did love me, didn't he?" she asked, looking at the smile on Draco's face in the wizard picture as he looked at her, love quite evident in his eyes.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Draco loved you," comforted Harry, not knowing what to say.

"Then why did he do this? Am I less desirable? Has he grown bored with me?" she asked, tears falling again.

Harry moved the pictures and scooted closer to her. Taking her face in his hands he whispered softly, "You are very desirable, and there is no way a man could find you boring." As Harry looked deep into her sad brown eyes, he wanted nothing more than to erase all the pain he found there. Without even realizing what was happening, Harry's lips tenderly brushed Hermione's in a kiss that was not of the brotherly kind. Hermione and Harry sprang apart as if they had been burned. "Oh God," she exclaimed, as she put her fingers to her mouth, "Harry, what have we done?"

Harry got up and was pacing the room when the door banged open, revealing a determined Draco, followed by Sirius.

"Are you ready to hear what happened now?" Draco asked bitterly, as he plopped the book in the middle of the bed. Draco opened it to the section that bore the curse, pointing at the page. "Here, read this!" he demanded firmly.

Hermione looked at Draco, seeing the urgency in his bruised face and turned to read the passage he had pointed out.

As she read, Hermione gasped, looking up at Draco, with tears running down her face. "Who would do this?" she asked as the obvious answer dawned on her.

"Dear old Dad," Draco said sarcastically.

"Oh my God! Draco, can you ever forgive me?" she asked, waiting nervously for his answer.

"Only if you can forgive me," he pleaded, wanting this to be over.

"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Harry, as he looked up from the book, feeling sick at the way he had treated Ginny and Draco.

"It was kind of hard with your fist in my face," Draco said tersely.

"Yeah, that would make it a bit difficult. Sorry," Harry begged sincerely.

"It's okay. I probably would have done the same thing," Draco smiled, trying to lighten the conversation. "We wanted to get the proof before we told you what happened. The thought of a child never even crossed our minds." Draco explained further, as Hermione stepped into his arms, holding him close. He melted to the feel of her arms as they held him, feeling her love flow back into his heart.

"Oh Gods, Ginny! She must think I absolutely hate her," panicked Harry as he ran from the room, hurrying to the infirmary and hoping that it wasn't too late.

~~*~~

"Harry," said Anna strongly, "I am going to let you go and see Ginny but I don't want you to upset her. She is very delicate right now. She needs your support not your accusations. Understood?"

"Yes," he whispered flatly, "I promise I won't upset her."

When Harry entered the room, he saw Ginny curled up on the bed with her back turned to him. As he approached the bed, he called to her softly. "Ginny?"

"What do you want, Harry?" she asked tonelessly.

"I wanted to see you… to see if you were all right," he replied as he came and sat down on the chair next to the bed.

"Why would you care?" she asked sarcastically as tears welled in her eyes once again.

"Ginny, please…." he returned desperately.

"Please what, Harry?" she shot back angrily, tears now falling. "I am blamed for something I had no control over and now I am pregnant with a child that may not belong to the man I love and he thinks I have cheated on him. How am I supposed to feel? You think you have been betrayed and I feel I have," she continued in more of a whisper, her hand moving protectively to her tummy.

Harry sat there in silence for a few moments.

Ginny said quietly, "Harry, I will not get rid of this baby. I could never do that. I hope you understand, and if you can't deal with that then I'm sorry…..I just can't."

Harry reached over, placing his hand on top of the hand she had resting protectively on her tummy. "Ginny, I know in my heart that you would never betray me and I would never ask you to get rid of the baby. I know what happened. Sirius and Draco found the spell and showed it to Hermione and me. I am so sorry. I should have known that the only way you would do something like this would have to involve dark magic. I don't blame you or Draco and if you still want me, I will be here for you and the baby. It may be a little uncomfortable, but I will try my best. Ginny I love you and I can't lose you…." he said as his eyes misted and a tear fell onto their hands.

Harry leaned over and kissed Ginny's forehead tenderly, whispering. "I love you."

Ginny lay there in awe of the amazing man she had fallen in love with so many years ago and still loved so desperately it sometimes hurt.

"I love you too. We will get through this, won't we?" she asked, looking deep into those green eyes.

"Yes," he said, coming closer to her. When his lips tenderly brushed hers, she knew that everything would be fine.

Ginny was allowed to go back to her rooms but with strict orders from Anna to stay off her feet for a few days. The small amount of bleeding that had occurred had stopped and Anna wanted to make sure it stayed that way.

The next morning, after breakfast, Ginny was sitting in a chair by the window when a soft knock sounded on the door.

"Come in." she urged as she smoothed her hair, trying to look a little more presentable.

"Hello," said Hermione as she made her way into the room. "Want some company?"

"Sure. Hermione, I just want you to know that I would never…"

"Ginny," Hermione interrupted, "I want to hear no apologies from anyone. This was strictly Lucius' evil. What concerns me now is the precious life you carry."

"But what if the baby is Draco's? How are you going to feel then?" Ginny replied, placing her hand protectively on her tummy as tears glistened in her eyes.

Hermione sat on the footstool in front of Ginny. Picking her words carefully, Hermione explained. "The same way Draco felt when he found out about Kyleigh. To me, you were in a sense raped, not by Draco, but by Lucius. He put you in a situation not of your choosing, causing you to do things you would not have done. Had you your own faculties, you would have said no. I don't blame you or Draco for any of this and it is most definitely not the child's fault."

Tears coursed down Ginny's face as she wondered what she had done to deserve wonderful friends like Hermone and Draco.

"I just wish I knew who the father was. I think it would make it a lot easier to deal with," Ginny confessed, feeling better that is was all out in the open.

"Well, that is another thing I wanted to talk to you about. You see when I was pregnant with Martin, Narcissa did a little test to see if I was pregnant. So, I started looking to see if there was a paternity charm we could use to find out who the father is," Hermione explained excitedly.

"And did you find one?" Ginny asked, already knowing that Hermione wouldn't have even mentioned it unless she already had the answer.

"Yes, and we can do the test whenever you want," she said, seeing Ginny smile for the first time in days.

"How about tonight after dinner? I want Harry and Draco to be here," Ginny admitted, hoping that Hermione would agree.

"I think that would be perfect. Right now though, you look a little tired. Do you want me to help you with anything?" Hermione offered.

"No, I'm fine. I think I will take a little nap and maybe I will be able to sleep this time. I haven't been sleeping very well," Ginny said as she stifled a yawn.

"Well, that is understandable. I will see you tonight. Sleep well," Hermione said as she headed for the door. "And remember, everything will be just fine."

"For the first time in a long time, I believe you."

Later that night after dinner, Draco and Hermione came to Harry and Ginny's chambers. As Hermione placed the book on the bedside table, she told Ginny to lie down and not to worry, it was an easy charm.

"So, what is going to happen?" asked a very nervous Draco.

Smiling, Hermione explained. "This charm shows us the aura of the baby, which will share the aura of the father. Okay, Ginny. Ready?"

Taking a deep breath, Ginny replied apprehensively, "Yes."

As Hermione started to move her wand in a figure eight pattern over Ginny's tummy, little specks of light started to follow her movements. Garnet and silver points of light intertwining with each other and dancing in unison as Hermione quietly said the incantation. When Hermione stopped moving her wand, she gasped.

"What does that mean?" asked Draco, staring at the image resting above Ginny's tummy.

Hermione burst out laughing as they all looked at her as if she had gone nutters.

"What the hell are you laughing at? Who is the father?" asked Harry as he took Ginny's hand gently.

Trying to control herself, Hermione burst out laughing again, with tears of glee running down her face. "You both are!"

A/N: Thanks again to Amy(w&m_law), who without her this story would be dead. And to Margherita (Strega Brava) who did the beta for me. You guys are again, THE BEST!!!!! Please, go and read their stories if you haven't…they are GREAT!!!!

Now to thank all of you wonderful people that reviewed the last chapter…

w&m_law : Thanks so much for all of your help!!! I feel privileged that you like my D/H story. I know you believe with all your heart that Draco belongs to Ginny!!

Strega Brava : Thanks for your encouragement and beta… Between you and Amy, how can I go wrong?

Juliana Black : I am so tickled that my story rox!!! ::giggles::

Imhotep Ardeth Bey : I am so happy that you like Draco's Secret! THANKS!!

Princess Potter : OMG!! You ain't seen nothing yet J

DarkKnight : Thanks and I think you compliment very well. I agree, under the tutelage of Amy and Strega, I think I have come a long way in my writing. I hope that it continues to improve.

*Altra* : Yes, I do believe you could say that Harry went a little Rambo J Sorry about another cliffie… Ok no I'm not ::evil grin::

FireSprite :I hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter. I hope for it to only get better

Apocalypse : I hope you aren't disappointed on the babies paternity J

Spazzer Monkey : If you know anyone willing to draw some pics…Please let me know J

maidmarian62 : I think I like the cliffhanger business… it's fun

Rose Noix : You think you hate Lucius now? Just wait!!! ::very evil grin::

~*Jazz Goddess81489*~ : I hope to get even more interesting…

LilyAyl : I hope you weren't disappointed.

CLIVE!!!! Yes Lucius is a …bastard!!

pyrobunnie : Thanks..

~*Lillian Malfoy*~ : Well, did I do good? Hehe

ELISABETH: I think Harry will be just fine… or will he? ß (isn't that what J K Rowling always says?) hehe

Hermione M. Granger : Boy, all these D/G shippers!!! I love it.

p3fairy : oooooooooooooooooo how did ya like that? Hehehe

THANKS everyone so much!!!! Love you guys!!!