A/n: Ok hey again guys! I updated extra early so I hope you enjoy this!
Disclaimer: yada yada yada
Chapter Eighteen"Excuse me?" Ron asked. He felt his body go numb as he stared hard at the stone floor.
"Hermione's pregnant, Mr. Weasley." Madame Pomfrey repeated. "And honestly, I can't believe that you and her could ever do such a thing! You're so young…"
"But I didn't do it, ma'am." Ron replied. "I didn't do anything to her. I never would." He walked over to Hermione's bed, looking at her in disbelief. "She must've done it with someone else."
"But who?" Madame Pomfrey asked. "Miss Granger doesn't strike me as a girl who would do something like that. I would never expect her to do this on her own will. Somebody must've forced her."
Ron nodded. He didn't know what to say. He sat on Hermione's bed and stroked her hair. Who did it to you Hermione? I swear, when I find out who that bastard is, I'm gonna make him pay, he thought. His blood began to boil. How dare someone do this to Hermione? His best friend. The girl he had loved ever since he saw her for the first time. It's not fair! Why her? She's too young! She had so much going for her…
Ron continued to stroke Hermione's hair. He leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead but Hermione's eyes suddenly fluttered open. Ron stopped himself and looked at her surprised, brown eyes.
"Ron? What on earth?" Hermione asked. "Where am I? What's going on here?" She sat up and looked around and realized she was in the clinic.
"Ahem." Ron coughed, signally Madame Pomfrey to leave them alone. The nurse nodded and left. Ron turned his attention to Hermione. "Herm, are you hiding something from me?"
"Whatever do you mean?" Hermione laughed. "Why would I hide something from you?" The look in Ron's eyes made Hermione feel guilty.
"Hermione, I already know."
"Know what?"
"You're pregnant, aren't you?"
Hermione's eyes widened. "What? No! Don't be silly!" She forced herself to laugh. How did he know?
"You fainted somewhere near the stairs. I found you and I brought you here. Madame Pomfrey examined you and told me you were pregnant." Ron said seriously.
"I – there must be s-some m-mistake!" Hermione stuttered. "Do you really think I'm pregnant, Ron? Do you honestly think I'd go out there and get myself pregnant?"
Ron stared at her blankly. "I don't know. But Madame Pomfrey's been a nurse for quite some time now. I don't think she could be wrong about this."
Hermione looked at Ron and tears filled her eyes. So, the secret was out. There was nothing she could do about it. She put her hands on her face and began to cry. "I'm sorry Ron! I'm so sorry!"
Ron patted her back. "There's nothing more that we could do. Except…" He removed Hermione's hands from her face and said, "Who did it to you Hermione? Who's the bastard that did this to you?"
Hermione started to shake. More tears fell from her eyes. "I – I can't tell you."
Ron held her shoulders tightly. "Why? Why are you trying to protect the fucking basket case who did this to you? I swear I'll make him pay for this Herm. I promise you that…"
"No, Ron, please." Hermione pleaded. "Just, leave it alone…"
"LEAVE IT ALONE?" Ron exclaimed. "I can't leave this alone! Nobody who hurts my best friend could get away with this." Ron was turning bright red. "I care for you Hermione. I care about you a lot more than you can imagine. And I want you to be happy all the time. I just can't accept the fact that…"
"Listen! Ron! If I can accept the fact that I'm pregnant, then maybe you can!" Hermione yelled. "Do you think it's easy for me? Do you think I enjoy this? I don't, ok? I don't!"
Ron did nothing but hold Hermione close to him as she continued to sob. "Please Hermione; you have to tell me who did this to you."
Hermione looked at the mix of anger and pity in Ron's eyes. "M – Malfoy."
Ron felt his insides explode. "What?" He yelled. Ron stood up and made his hand form a fist. He was shaking with anger. It wasn't just any man who did this to Hermione. It was a Malfoy. And that just made it worse.
"Ron, please, listen!" Hermione explained. "He's not all to blame. I am too." Ron looked at her with wide, surprised eyes. "I – I've been seeing him for the past few months since school began. I took an interest in him and honestly, I thought he actually changed from a beast to a kind bloke. But I was wrong. I was stupid to trust him."
"YOU TOOK INTEREST IN A MALFOY?"
"Ron you don't understand! Listen to me!" Hermione cried. "I loved him. Or I thought I did. And he said he loved me too. I thought my life was perfect with him. And on the Christmas ball, we….we did it."
"For the love of God Hermione!" Ron said exasperatedly. "For a smart girl you act like such an idiot! How could you trust that git? That bloody git who made fun of you ever since we were first years? The git who Harry and I loathed? The git who made our lives miserable?"
"You don't have to tell me what I did wrong ok?" Hermione sobbed. "I already know that! I screwed up, big time. I can't believe I trusted him. And now, look at where he got me into." Ron tried to calm down but he felt like running away and beating up Malfoy. Hermione cleared her throat and continued, "He said that he doesn't want anything to do with the baby. He told me that if I told anyone I was pregnant, he would kill me."
"He wouldn't dare. I won't let him lay a finger on you, Hermione." Ron said angrily. His shoulders heaved up and down. "But that doesn't change the fact that you're pregnant."
"I
was thinking of abortion…but it seemed cruel to me." Hermione said softly as
she rubbed her hands on her stomach. "I've had it for about a month and a half
now. I guess I fainted because I felt weak." Ron didn't know what to say, but
Hermione did. "Ron, when I told you I had to do homework instead of going to
Hogsmeade…I lied. I stayed so I could be with Malfoy."
Ron stared at her. He wanted
to slap her and call her names and swear at her. But at the same time, he
wanted to kiss her and hold her and tell her that it's ok and he loves her. But
he couldn't. His pride and anger took over him. "I have nothing to say about
this matter anymore. Are you going to tell Harry and Ginny?"
Hermione sighed. "I don't know. I don't know anymore, Ron. I just don't know."
"So what are you going to do with it?" Ron asked in a mild whisper. And for once, Hermione didn't have an answer.
A/n: Ahhh! A little dramatic here but yeah…Next chapter coming next week! Of course, lots of thank yous to:
Aries11 – Thanks for sticking around!
Arynnl – Welcome back! Hope you had fun in Brazil!
Meliflames – well, here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!
Hollie – Ron's a sweetie. He doesn't strike me as someone who would cheat on his girl friend…even if it's Lavender.
HermioneG15 – Hahaha I don't know what's going on with Madame Pomfrey and Filch! Who knows? I don't wanna know! Hehehe. Yay I'm glad you're still coming back to my fic!