Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within
this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her
stuff from her.
Chapter 12: Dealing
"What the hell does it mean, Hermione?" Ginny pressed. Her voice sounded annoyed, poorly hiding the fear that was caught in her throat. "You're jumping out of your skin, and then you left." She paused. "Is it something serious?"
Hermione took the test from Ginny and looked at it. Her breath hitched and she pursed her lips. "Um, Ginny, I kind of lied to you about the test," she started. "I mean, it is a muggle test that you use to see if you have something, but it doesn't test to see if you're sick. It tells you if you're pregnant."
Ginny's mouth fell open as her knees gave out and she sunk to Hermione's bed. "Why didn't you tell me?" she managed to get out.
"Because I didn't want to alarm you if I was wrong. I thought it could be nerves, but I just couldn't shake this nagging feeling from my mind." Hermione wrung her hands.
Both girls sat in silence, neither one looking at the other.
"Well," Ginny finally whispered. "Were you wrong?" She looked up at Hermione, her eyes hollow and expressionless as she waited to hear any words that would ease her mind.
Hermione looked at her, her own eyes filled with tears. Sniffling slightly she bit her lip. "No, I wasn't."
A nervous grin played at Ginny's mouth. "Very funny, Mione," she giggled lightly. "Is this one of those Muggle tricks with the cameras and television and everything?" She glanced around the room, looking for someone to pop out and tell her it was all a joke.
"I'm so sorry," Hermione started. She smoothed her hair back in frustration and sniffled.
Ginny got up off the bed and started tearing the room apart, looking for a camera or anything that could be recording the conversation for the amusement of the general public. "Hermione, I really don't think that this is funny anymore," Ginny snapped, throwing the sheets off of Hermione's bed. "Why would you do something like this when you know I'm really hurting right now? This is so insensitive of you!" Ginny's words were frantic and punctuated with hiccoughs. She began to run her hands through her hair and down her splotch face, her lips quivering and her entire body shaking.
Hermione jumped off of her dresser and caught Ginny's hands. "Gin!" she cried. "Ginny, this is for real, I'm not lying! I would never hurt you purposely!" She held tight to Ginny as she thrashed from her grip. "Ginny, you're pregnant."
At this Ginny stopped and looked up into Hermione's face. Her eyes were bloodshot and filled with unshed tears and her face almost matched the color of her tangled red hair. Her body still shook as Hermione held onto her arms. "No," she whispered hoarsely. She gave one last feeble attempt at escape before she broke into tears and fell onto Hermione's chest, falling into abandon.
"I can't be, I can't be," she cried hysterically into Hermione. "Not now, not him!"
Hermione ran her hands gently over Ginny's hair and back, trying to soothe her. "Come on Gin, let's sit on the bed," she whispered into her ear, trying to coax her into moving to a more comfortable place for both of them.
Still holding onto the sobbing girl, Hermione righted her sheets and sat Ginny and herself down. She cradled Ginny in her arms and she became a child again, needing only a mother to comfort her, but in Mrs. Weasley's absence, Hermione was the next best thing.
Hermione "there there" and "shhhh baby"-ed Ginny into a calmer state within a few hours and laid her down on the bed, with tear-stained cheeks and her body still quivering slightly. Hermione lay down next to her and looked into her eyes, still stroking her hair soothingly.
"Hermione," Ginny choked out. "What just happened to me? When did my life turn itself upside down?" Her body was racked with sobs once again.
She tried to think of an answer that wouldn't upset her. "When did your life turn itself upside down?" Hermione mused, gnawing on her lip in thought. "Ginny, this is a really shitty time in your life, I get that. You're pregnant with Severus' baby." Ginny winced slightly. "And you were just suspended from school for a year. But believe me, there've been people who have gone through worse, and you have friends and family who would give their left arm to see you happy and to make sure you're being taken care of. You might be having a tough time now, and it probably won't get much better for a while, but you will come out ok."
A faint smile flickered briefly across Ginny's face. "Thanks for that encouragement," she said sarcastically. "There's hope now." She began to wipe the fresh tears from her face and Hermione handed her a tissue. "My parents are coming up to get me in three days, what the hell am I supposed to tell them? Or Ron and Harry?" she panicked, her lip beginning to quiver violently again.
"Or Snape," Hermione thought aloud.
Ginny froze completely. "I'm not telling him," she said to Hermione. Her eyes were like stone and her complexion was as white as Hermione's pillows. "He's leaving the school, and so am I. When I come back he'll be who knows where and I won't have to deal with it."
"Ginny!" Hermione cried, sitting up. "He's the father; doesn't he have some right to know? I'm sure he'd want to be a part of the baby's life, considering he gave up his career to try and save yours."
"And he had broken up with me only ten minutes before that!" Ginny shouted, sitting up as well. "He doesn't have the maturity level to be a father, and no one would want him around the Burrow. There would only be problems if he knew. He doesn't need that hanging over his head for the rest of his life, and I certainly don't want him to have any negative influence over this child."
Her face showed anger and resolve, something that Hermione knew better than to argue with, especially in her fragile condition. "Whatever you think is best, Gin," she said accommodatingly. "And you might want to tell your parents and Ron and Harry all at the same time, you know, keep the explanation down to a minimum amount of retellings." Hermione lay back down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling.
"Yeah, you're right," Ginny said. She looked down at Hermione. "Are you crying?" she asked, surprised. "I'm going to be ok, Mione, you don't have to cry," she smiled. "That should be my job."
Hermione wiped a quick tear from her eye. "No, no, I'm fine, Gin," she lied.
Ginny gasped. "This has to do with Draco, doesn't it? That's why you were all freaked out when you came back in!" Ginny lay back down and began to reciprocate the affection Hermione had shown her in her time of need. Her eyes widened as the wheels in her own head were turning. "Those tests!" she whispered excitedly. "You're not pregnant too, are you?"
"NO!" Hermione practically yelled.
Ginny jumped back. "Ok then," she said. She resumed stroking her hair. "What is it?"
She sighed and tried to control the emotion in her voice. "Draco's mother set up a plot for Draco to get me to fall in love with him. He was supposed to kill me and leave everyone vulnerable for an attack on Hogwarts and the Ministry."
"Are you kidding?" Ginny gasped.
Hermione sniffled. "I wish." She reached for a tissue and blew her nose. "He told me that this morning he stood up to his mother and told her that he really was in love with me and really wanted to marry me and that the plan was off as far as he was concerned." She paused and began to sob heavily. "I just don't know if I can trust him now."
Ginny wrapped her arms around Hermione and held her close. "God, today really isn't either of our days," she laughed ironically. "At least your man stood up and did the right thing. I know this is a lot of crap to deal with, and there's a broken trust, but he must mean it, Mione. I mean, you should see the way he looks at you when you don't know it. There isn't a fleck of hatred in those eyes. You are the only person that he ever sees; you are his goddess."
Hermione grunted and pouted slightly. "I wish I could know for sure."
"Talk to him," Ginny said. "Talk to Ron and Harry too, see if they know anything about it. And besides, do you think he'd tell you the plan and then still go through with it? You got a good one; he really is doing the right thing."
"Maybe yours would do the right thing too if you gave him the chance," Hermione said, changing the subject. "He still could do right by you and this baby. You loved him, still love him, whether you admit it or not. There has to be something in there that you saw."
Ginny scowled and looked intently at Hermione. "I'm not telling him. You will not tell him. I will swear my entire family to secrecy about the father of this child. He will not find out."
"This is totally not going to work," Hermione said, sitting up again. "If Snape leaves and you leave, of course everyone will know that scandal. This is Hogwarts after all. Then once you have the baby, everyone would have to be pretty damn dense not to put two and two together."
"But like I said," Ginny said, rolling over and looking at the bathroom, where she had so innocently thought she was taking some test to see if she had the flu not too long before. "He'll be God knows where and he'll never know that the baby exists. End of story."
"Fine," Hermione said. She got up off of the bed and began to change for a shower. "I won't tell anyone, I promise."
Ginny got up and righted herself enough to walk to her own shower. "I'm going to go and clean up, Mione," she called into the bathroom where the water started running. "Come and get me if you need anything."
"Thanks," Hermione yelled from the shower. "Same goes here, except after my shower I'm going to talk to Draco and see what we can make of whatever relationship we're supposed to have."
Ginny smiled to herself. "Good luck," she whispered hopefully.
Chapter 12: Dealing
"What the hell does it mean, Hermione?" Ginny pressed. Her voice sounded annoyed, poorly hiding the fear that was caught in her throat. "You're jumping out of your skin, and then you left." She paused. "Is it something serious?"
Hermione took the test from Ginny and looked at it. Her breath hitched and she pursed her lips. "Um, Ginny, I kind of lied to you about the test," she started. "I mean, it is a muggle test that you use to see if you have something, but it doesn't test to see if you're sick. It tells you if you're pregnant."
Ginny's mouth fell open as her knees gave out and she sunk to Hermione's bed. "Why didn't you tell me?" she managed to get out.
"Because I didn't want to alarm you if I was wrong. I thought it could be nerves, but I just couldn't shake this nagging feeling from my mind." Hermione wrung her hands.
Both girls sat in silence, neither one looking at the other.
"Well," Ginny finally whispered. "Were you wrong?" She looked up at Hermione, her eyes hollow and expressionless as she waited to hear any words that would ease her mind.
Hermione looked at her, her own eyes filled with tears. Sniffling slightly she bit her lip. "No, I wasn't."
A nervous grin played at Ginny's mouth. "Very funny, Mione," she giggled lightly. "Is this one of those Muggle tricks with the cameras and television and everything?" She glanced around the room, looking for someone to pop out and tell her it was all a joke.
"I'm so sorry," Hermione started. She smoothed her hair back in frustration and sniffled.
Ginny got up off the bed and started tearing the room apart, looking for a camera or anything that could be recording the conversation for the amusement of the general public. "Hermione, I really don't think that this is funny anymore," Ginny snapped, throwing the sheets off of Hermione's bed. "Why would you do something like this when you know I'm really hurting right now? This is so insensitive of you!" Ginny's words were frantic and punctuated with hiccoughs. She began to run her hands through her hair and down her splotch face, her lips quivering and her entire body shaking.
Hermione jumped off of her dresser and caught Ginny's hands. "Gin!" she cried. "Ginny, this is for real, I'm not lying! I would never hurt you purposely!" She held tight to Ginny as she thrashed from her grip. "Ginny, you're pregnant."
At this Ginny stopped and looked up into Hermione's face. Her eyes were bloodshot and filled with unshed tears and her face almost matched the color of her tangled red hair. Her body still shook as Hermione held onto her arms. "No," she whispered hoarsely. She gave one last feeble attempt at escape before she broke into tears and fell onto Hermione's chest, falling into abandon.
"I can't be, I can't be," she cried hysterically into Hermione. "Not now, not him!"
Hermione ran her hands gently over Ginny's hair and back, trying to soothe her. "Come on Gin, let's sit on the bed," she whispered into her ear, trying to coax her into moving to a more comfortable place for both of them.
Still holding onto the sobbing girl, Hermione righted her sheets and sat Ginny and herself down. She cradled Ginny in her arms and she became a child again, needing only a mother to comfort her, but in Mrs. Weasley's absence, Hermione was the next best thing.
Hermione "there there" and "shhhh baby"-ed Ginny into a calmer state within a few hours and laid her down on the bed, with tear-stained cheeks and her body still quivering slightly. Hermione lay down next to her and looked into her eyes, still stroking her hair soothingly.
"Hermione," Ginny choked out. "What just happened to me? When did my life turn itself upside down?" Her body was racked with sobs once again.
She tried to think of an answer that wouldn't upset her. "When did your life turn itself upside down?" Hermione mused, gnawing on her lip in thought. "Ginny, this is a really shitty time in your life, I get that. You're pregnant with Severus' baby." Ginny winced slightly. "And you were just suspended from school for a year. But believe me, there've been people who have gone through worse, and you have friends and family who would give their left arm to see you happy and to make sure you're being taken care of. You might be having a tough time now, and it probably won't get much better for a while, but you will come out ok."
A faint smile flickered briefly across Ginny's face. "Thanks for that encouragement," she said sarcastically. "There's hope now." She began to wipe the fresh tears from her face and Hermione handed her a tissue. "My parents are coming up to get me in three days, what the hell am I supposed to tell them? Or Ron and Harry?" she panicked, her lip beginning to quiver violently again.
"Or Snape," Hermione thought aloud.
Ginny froze completely. "I'm not telling him," she said to Hermione. Her eyes were like stone and her complexion was as white as Hermione's pillows. "He's leaving the school, and so am I. When I come back he'll be who knows where and I won't have to deal with it."
"Ginny!" Hermione cried, sitting up. "He's the father; doesn't he have some right to know? I'm sure he'd want to be a part of the baby's life, considering he gave up his career to try and save yours."
"And he had broken up with me only ten minutes before that!" Ginny shouted, sitting up as well. "He doesn't have the maturity level to be a father, and no one would want him around the Burrow. There would only be problems if he knew. He doesn't need that hanging over his head for the rest of his life, and I certainly don't want him to have any negative influence over this child."
Her face showed anger and resolve, something that Hermione knew better than to argue with, especially in her fragile condition. "Whatever you think is best, Gin," she said accommodatingly. "And you might want to tell your parents and Ron and Harry all at the same time, you know, keep the explanation down to a minimum amount of retellings." Hermione lay back down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling.
"Yeah, you're right," Ginny said. She looked down at Hermione. "Are you crying?" she asked, surprised. "I'm going to be ok, Mione, you don't have to cry," she smiled. "That should be my job."
Hermione wiped a quick tear from her eye. "No, no, I'm fine, Gin," she lied.
Ginny gasped. "This has to do with Draco, doesn't it? That's why you were all freaked out when you came back in!" Ginny lay back down and began to reciprocate the affection Hermione had shown her in her time of need. Her eyes widened as the wheels in her own head were turning. "Those tests!" she whispered excitedly. "You're not pregnant too, are you?"
"NO!" Hermione practically yelled.
Ginny jumped back. "Ok then," she said. She resumed stroking her hair. "What is it?"
She sighed and tried to control the emotion in her voice. "Draco's mother set up a plot for Draco to get me to fall in love with him. He was supposed to kill me and leave everyone vulnerable for an attack on Hogwarts and the Ministry."
"Are you kidding?" Ginny gasped.
Hermione sniffled. "I wish." She reached for a tissue and blew her nose. "He told me that this morning he stood up to his mother and told her that he really was in love with me and really wanted to marry me and that the plan was off as far as he was concerned." She paused and began to sob heavily. "I just don't know if I can trust him now."
Ginny wrapped her arms around Hermione and held her close. "God, today really isn't either of our days," she laughed ironically. "At least your man stood up and did the right thing. I know this is a lot of crap to deal with, and there's a broken trust, but he must mean it, Mione. I mean, you should see the way he looks at you when you don't know it. There isn't a fleck of hatred in those eyes. You are the only person that he ever sees; you are his goddess."
Hermione grunted and pouted slightly. "I wish I could know for sure."
"Talk to him," Ginny said. "Talk to Ron and Harry too, see if they know anything about it. And besides, do you think he'd tell you the plan and then still go through with it? You got a good one; he really is doing the right thing."
"Maybe yours would do the right thing too if you gave him the chance," Hermione said, changing the subject. "He still could do right by you and this baby. You loved him, still love him, whether you admit it or not. There has to be something in there that you saw."
Ginny scowled and looked intently at Hermione. "I'm not telling him. You will not tell him. I will swear my entire family to secrecy about the father of this child. He will not find out."
"This is totally not going to work," Hermione said, sitting up again. "If Snape leaves and you leave, of course everyone will know that scandal. This is Hogwarts after all. Then once you have the baby, everyone would have to be pretty damn dense not to put two and two together."
"But like I said," Ginny said, rolling over and looking at the bathroom, where she had so innocently thought she was taking some test to see if she had the flu not too long before. "He'll be God knows where and he'll never know that the baby exists. End of story."
"Fine," Hermione said. She got up off of the bed and began to change for a shower. "I won't tell anyone, I promise."
Ginny got up and righted herself enough to walk to her own shower. "I'm going to go and clean up, Mione," she called into the bathroom where the water started running. "Come and get me if you need anything."
"Thanks," Hermione yelled from the shower. "Same goes here, except after my shower I'm going to talk to Draco and see what we can make of whatever relationship we're supposed to have."
Ginny smiled to herself. "Good luck," she whispered hopefully.