Well, hello there! Here's another chapter! It didn't take me too long, did it? It's eight pages…hope you like it…there's only two more chapters to go. I'm pretty sure of that!

Disclaimer: To word it carefully and be absolutely precise…no, I don't own anything!

You're going places, Hermione

Chapter Twenty: The despair

"Well, Crookshanks," sighed Hermione as she placed the final chocolate in her mouth, "That's the last one. Four hundred and twenty three chocolates and I don't feel even the slightest bit happy."

Crookshanks lifted his head from the pillow at the top of the bed to survey his mistress shortly. Hermione was lying flat on her back, her legs outstretched on her bed, surrounded by many discarded chocolate boxes and wrappers.

"You'd think after that many chocolates, I'd feel better," Hermione muttered, patting her round stomach, "but now I feel worse. I'm bloated and going to die alone."

"My, you are a drama queen."

Hermione looked up to find Ginny silhouetted in her doorway. She had her arms crossed across her chest and a bemused expression on her face.

"Not funny Gin…" Hermione whispered, her voice trembling.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-" Ginny began apologetically.

"No, no." Hermione let out a shuddery breath. "It's fine. I'm just still a little upset."

Her friend made her way across the room and sat on the end of the bed, glancing at the surrounding rubbish with raised eyebrows.

"So that's where all the chocolate went! I tried to buy some this morning but the shop owner told me they were all sold out. Apparently there's none left in the city at all."

Hermione let out a watery smile, "Yeah. It's supposed to be an anti-depressant."

"Did it work?"

"Not really," Hermione sighed. "You can probably tell though."

Ginny paused. "You know, Hermione, it's been nearly a week. Do you think maybe-"

"I'll get over it! I just need time," Hermione snapped, frowning.

"I wasn't doing to say that." Ginny shook her head. "And I'd appreciate if you stopped getting mad at me! I'm not the one that broke your heart. I'm here to help you!"

Hermione lowered her eyes.

"Now," the redhead continued, "I was going to say, do you think maybe Ron might have changed his mind?"

"Why are you asking me?" Hermione struggled to sit up. "Haven't you seen him since the dinner?"

"Well." Ginny shrugged. "No. He's kind of keeping to himself right now."

Hermione sighed. If he was avoiding everyone, it was her fault. If she hadn't opened her big mouth and told him how she felt, he would still be going about with his life, totally oblivious as usual.

"I suppose he has Caddie, though," Hermione said bitterly.

Ginny cocked her head to the side and smiled strangely. There was something about the smile that made Hermione curious, and she bent her head forward inquiringly.

"What, Gin?"

"Oh, nothing. You'll find out."

"Ginny," Hermione said seriously, "If you know something, tell me! I'm at my wit's end as it is."

However, Ginny shook her head and propped herself onto her stomach, pushing the older girl's feet out of the way so as to make herself more comfortable and innocently twirled the diamond engagement ring around her finger. Hermione's eyes narrowed but she decided not to probe. Ginny was very stubborn.

"So then," Hermione said finally, trying to sound casual, "What brings you here?"

"Well I wanted to check in and see how you were doing…and, well…" Ginny looked strained. "Maybe ask you a favour."

"Of course, Gin! Anything."

"Well okay, but it's a big one." Ginny sat back up and grinned nervously. "Do you remember our last day at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, fairly well." Hermione wondered where this was going.

"And do you remember Malfoy harassing you and such?" Ginny waited for her friend to nod before venturing on. "Well…that spell I cast…the one to make someone pregnant…Polaté Zygot…okay, so it worked right, and-"

"He really got pregnant?" Hermione laughed, both surprised and amused. "Fantastic!"

"Not really." Ginny winced. "Because he traced the spell back to me and now I have to report to the Ministry of Magic for a hearing. In front of the Improper Use of Magic Office head."

"Oh…no, Ginny, that's really-"

"Bad? Yeah I know, but that's only the half of it. I mean, for the past five years Malfoy's been putting together all of the information against me, because he's been busy the first four looking after his daughter, so I never knew about any of it until recently, when I received two letters. One was from the Ministry of Magic about the hearing, and the other one was from Malfoy about…this other stuff…"

Ginny seemed to be having some sort of internal struggle and Hermione knew there was more to the story. She herself hadn't even considered the severity of the pregnancy spell being cast, and half of her had thought at the time that it was unlikely that the spell had worked. Conception spells and the like required the caster to be a very powerful witch or wizard and Ginny just didn't seem to have the skill. But the spell had worked, and now Hermione had to dissolve the fact that her best friend might be facing a sentence in Azkaban. Then Ginny dropped the bombshell.

"There's more." She heaved a great sigh. "And you can't tell anyone, because I haven't even told Dean. Oh, if he knew…I don't know what he'd do! He'd call off the wedding or-"

"Now, now!" Hermione stretched out a comforting hand. "That wouldn't happen. Dean loves you, I'm sure. It can't be that bad."

Ginny looked up at her and there was a worry in her eyes that Hermione hadn't seen since the days of Voldemort or Percy's death.

"It is." Ginny rubbed her face. "You know about science more than I do, because it's mostly a Muggle thing."

"Yeah…come on Gin, tell me!"

"Well, you can't just create a baby. It doesn't happen, even magic isn't that powerful. It takes two people to carry it out." Ginny stopped, her eyes scanning Hermione's face, waiting for a reaction.

"I'm not sure I… are you saying…Merlin! Ginny! You have a-"

"I know, I know!" Ginny looked like she wanted to cry. "A daughter! Dean is going to kill me! He's going to call of the wedding and then kill me!"

Hermione's jaw dropped and she shook her head, speechless. The thought of Ginny having a baby was a surprise; the thought of Ginny and Draco Malfoy having a baby was completely shocking.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione finally spoke.

"Malfoy's going to call off the hearing and claim that the spell was an accident, if I give him full custody over Diana, but I'm not sure I want to do that." Ginny bit her bottom lip.

"Diana?"

"That's what Malfoy named her." Ginny looked extremely put off. "Diana Narcissa Dion Marianna Malfoy. I mean…come on. Doesn't that sound like someone's pompous Grandmother?"

"A little," Hermione admitted.

"Anyway, I need you to come with me and help sort it out…because I don't want to go alone…and I'll probably say something that will get me in trouble…"

"Of course I'll come! But I think you should work out what you want to do first," Hermione suggested, feeling sorry for her friend. Ginny didn't need this. She was already busy planning her wedding in three months time. Added stress was no help at all.

Ginny slowly got to her feet. "Thanks Hermione, I needed to get it off my chest."

Hermione simply smiled in reply.

"Malfoy wants to meet me at The Leaky Cauldron in two days at exactly noon. Can you make that?"

"If I couldn't," Hermione told her, "I'd clear my day. I'll be there."

"Thanks," Ginny said again. "Well, I had better go. I told Dean I was going out to buy some milk. I just hope he didn't notice we already have five cartons at home. Bye."

"See you." Hermione frowned as Ginny hurried out of her room. There wasn't time for her to feel sorry for herself about Ron, even though every thought of him sent an ache through her heart. She climbed off her bed and steadied herself. Crookshanks yawned and followed sleepily.

"No more moping," Hermione told the cat. "I have to get my act together for Ginny. I can't believe it. Can you? A daughter and she never knew! Kind of…like me, hey?"

Crookshanks just blinked and looked at the doorway, where Hermione's parents now stood.

"Sweetie." Mrs. Granger smiled. "I just saw Ginny out. Is she all right? You two didn't have a fight, did you?"

"No, Mum," Hermione sighed.

Her parents looked at each other, exchanging knowing looks.

"How about we go shopping?" her mother suggested. "It's very calming. Maybe it will help you get over your fight."

"Mum, we didn't have a-"

"Or," her mother continued, "we could go to the movies, see a nice comedy. Cheer you up a bit."

"We didn't have a fight!" Hermione was getting annoyed.

"Perhaps even go to the salon, get out nails and hair done," Mrs. Granger considered. "Sometimes a makeover helps cleanse the inside, as well as the outside. You'll feel in the mood to make up with Ginny in no time."

Hermione shook her head. She was twenty-eight years old and still her parents didn't listen to her. She fixed them with a warning look.

"I think I'd rather stay home, thanks."

"Excellent!" Mr Granger clapped his hands together, "I just brought some new pots from Pottery Barn and I need help painting them. I was thinking…rainbow! Might brighten up the garden a bit!"

"I'll get my coat," Hermione informed her mother, who smiled and nodded.

Mr Granger looked put out. "Oh. Well, you don't know what you're missing out on."

Hermione did know what she would be missing out on, which is why she was suddenly eager to leave. Perhaps a few hours of make up, movies and shopping might really take her mind off things, which would be a welcomed relief.

"He's in there!" Ginny jumped up and down. "He's in there! I can see him! Look, you see?"

"Yes. Calm down," Hermione warned. "You need to be in control."

"Control! Usually I am! I always am! But…I'm so, so nervous," Ginny said quickly, forgetting to breathe.

"Come on," Hermione said gently, taking her hand and leading her inside The Leaky Cauldron. She could see Malfoy in a corner, sipping a glass of Firewhisky and staring at the table lost in thought. He didn't notice them until they were practically in front of him.

"Ah," he sneered. "You're late."

"Yeah well, I'm here now," Ginny briskly pulled herself out a seat. "So, let's get this over with."

Malfoy's eyes travelled over to Hermione. "I thought I said you weren't allowed to bring anyone else."

"So?" Ginny snapped.

"So, you brought the Mudblood," he told her.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Hermione said angrily, and also seated herself. "After all these years you haven't changed a bit!"

"And like that's a bad thing," he smirked. "Now, Weasley, I want you to sign here, giving me full custody, then I'll retract the complaint and we can both get on with our separate lives."

Malfoy pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and slid them across the table so that they were in front of Ginny. She gazed down at the contract for a moment before looking up.

"And what if I want partial custody?" she demanded defiantly.

A flicker of anger crossed Malfoy's features and he smiled stonily.

"Then I take you before the Ministry and you get sent on a nice little vacation to Azkaban. Is that what you want?"

Ginny looked at Hermione helplessly who grabbed her hand again and gave is a reassuring squeeze. She knew her friend wanted to be a part of her daughter's life but the thought of Azkaban and the Dementors that once again guarded it was terrifying.

"So really I don't have a choice," Ginny stated, glaring at Malfoy with unfathomable hate.

"No, not really."

Ginny gritted her teeth and picked up the quill, pausing briefly before she put it to the parchment. Hermione, suddenly realising something, yanked her hand away.

"Huh?" Ginny frowned.

"What the hell are you doing?" Malfoy growled.

"How does Ginny know that you won't report her once she's signed the agreement giving you full custody?" Hermione directed at Malfoy.

He narrowed his eyes at her, and it confirmed her fear. It had been his plan. Ginny gazed up at Hermione horrorstruck.

"He'd have still had me put on trial," Ginny murmured out of the corner of her mouth. "So he'd have custody and me in prison!"

"Must you spoil everything, Mudblood?" Malfoy snarled.

"You…you…" Ginny spluttered, jumping up. "I'm leaving! We can work this out at the Ministry! You foul prat!"

She went to walk away, and Hermione slowly got out of her seat to follow, but Malfoy grabbed Ginny's arm, pulling her back.

"No! No, we'll work this out now! I'll get a document written up so that I can't tell anyone, just sit back down!" he instructed icily.

Ginny whipped her arm away from him, looking disgusted. "Don't touch me!"

"Fine! Just sit down!" Malfoy said in a slightly worried tone. Ginny glanced at him maliciously before doing so and Hermione lowered herself back into her seat. It seemed like there was something more to what was happening with Malfoy than he was letting on.

"Listen," Malfoy said urgently. "I don't need you in my daughter's life, Wealsey. She doesn't need to know that her mother's alive. I told her you died when she was younger and she's grown up believing that. So there's no need for you to make an appearance, it will just confuse her."

"Make her realise you lied, you mean," Ginny spat.

Malfoy narrowed his eyes. "I'll be back. Wait here."

And with a crack he Apparated before them. Ginny turned to Hermione worriedly.

"I could have landed myself in Azkaban," she said and sighed, before smiling. "See? This is why I needed you along. I would have lost on both parts."

"Well, you're okay now. How about some Butterbeer?" Hermione asked. It could be a while before Malfoy came back.

"Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks."

Hermione got to her feet and made her way over to the counter. Tom, the innkeeper, greeted her with a grin.

"You back then?" he said.

"Just for a little bit. Could I have two Butterbeers please?"

"Be with you in a sec."

After Tom had ambled off, Hermione lent forward and rested her elbows on the counter, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully. She could remember staying at The Leaky Cauldron once, in her third year. It brought back fond memories, just as all of Diagon Alley did. She'd brought Crookshanks here, and so many of her beloved books. There were also memories of Ron and Harry. They'd often met each other while shopping for school supplies. It was usually an arduous task, but as children they had made it fun. Life was so much more complicated these days.

"Here you go," Tom slammed two glasses of Butterbeer in front of Hermione, sloshing some of it on the counter. "Make sure you pay before you leave."

"I will, don't worry," Hermione assured him, picking up the glasses and turning around. There were several people at the counter, talking animatedly to themselves and others. But at the end, furthest away from her, Hermione could see someone slouched over in a depressed manner. She couldn't make out who they were, but they looked somehow familiar.

"Hermione!" Ginny's voice rang out, drawing her away from the lonely figure.

"Coming."

She hurried back to Ginny and placed her drink in front of her, noticing that Malfoy had already returned. Beside him was a child-sized angry looking goblin, dressed in an impeccable black suit. The goblin was so small that it had to stand on its seat so that it could be seen above the table.

"Hello," Hermione greeted it in confusion. "What is this-"

"Contract," Malfoy said sharply.

The goblin reached inside its suit and pulled out a long scroll of parchment before slamming in onto the table just as Tom had done with their drinks.

"This," Malfoy informed them, "is a contract biding me not to say anything about the spell, or encourage anyone else to say anything about the spell. I thought you might want that to be mentioned."

Ginny pulled the parchment towards her, glanced at it and then pushed it towards Hermione. She got the gist, and read it briefly. It was just as Malfoy had said. Hermione tapped it with her wand. The parchment shimmered, it was legible.

"It's safe, Gin," she told her friend.

Ginny nodded and drew the parchment back to her. She rolled it up and put it inside her robes before sighing and looking up at Malfoy sadly.

"Where do I sign?"

The custody contract from earlier was put before Ginny again and this time she signed her name without interruption.

"If you had any feeling at all, you wouldn't make her do this," Hermione said coldly as Malfoy retrieved the document and stood up.

"Oh, I have feeling," he replied with a sneer. "Just not where Muggle-lovers and Mudbloods are concerned!"

He smirked and Apparated from sight.

"I tell you, it's a good thing the war is over and our side won," Hermione said furiously. "Because his kind will die out soon enough and there won't be Mudbloods and Purebloods and that nonsense. They'll just be people!"

"Yeah." Ginny sighed. "Suppose so. C'mon, let's go. I told Dean I'd gone out to buy some milk; he'll be expecting me back."

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked after her as they headed for the exit. As she passed Tom she threw a few coins on the counter. He nodded his head at her.

"Of course not!" Ginny snapped, "You saw what I just did! I don't know how anyone can be that selfish, no offence. She's my child and now…Caddie! What are you doing here?"

"What?" Hermione spun around in surprise to find that Caddie Cameron was the familiar person she had seen at the bar earlier. She didn't look as Hermione remembered her. Her neat hair appeared to have been discarded as it hung limp around her pale face. There were bags under her eyes and no smile on her face.

"I'm drinking, Gin," Caddie replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Buying milk," Ginny replied promptly.

"Oh." Caddie nodded. "Hello Hermione. Nice to see you again."

"Hello…" Hermione wasn't too sure what to say. "Does, er, does Ron know you're here?"

"Ron!" Caddie snorted. "No, he does not! And it's none of his business anyway! We aren't going out any more!"

"You aren't…" Hermione glanced at Ginny, who shrugged and smiled slightly. "Why? What happened?"

"Broke up with me, didn't he?" Caddie sighed. "He said…well, he said some stuff. I can't really remember what it was at this moment in time. I'm feeling a bit funny and all."

"I think you might have had too much to drink," Ginny said tentatively.

"I'm drowning my sorrows, I've got a bit of a broken heart," Caddie informed them. "But I'm getting better! This is my second day out of the house and I don't cry any more. Soon I think I'll be ready to date again, in a few years or so."

"When did Ron break up with you?" Hermione ventured.

"About…would have been…" Caddie scrunched her face up in thought.

"Eight days, sweetie," Ginny offered. Hermione's head snapped around. Ginny knew? Ginny had known and not said anything?

"That's right, eight days," Caddie nodded.

"Well…we better get going. I have to get home," Ginny said after a moment.

"Okay. Nice to see you," Caddie gave them a small smile before calling up the bar to Tom, "Can I get another jug of Firewhisky, please?"

Hermione pushed Ginny out of The Leaky Cauldron and faced her furiously.

"You knew! You knew!" She repeated over and over. It was all she could manage to say.

"Yes." Ginny looked up into her friend's face. "And I wanted you to find out, I really did, but I couldn't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because, Ron made me promise not to."

"What! Why?"

"I don't know." Ginny threw her hands up in the air. "But don't get mad at me for keeping a promise to my brother!"

Hermione breathed irritably through her nose and closed her eyes, thinking. This changed everything, and she couldn't help hoping it was a change for the better.

"Why'd he break up with her?" she wondered. If it was because of her, then that might mean Ron returned her feelings.

"Now that…" Ginny paused. "That he didn't tell me. Sorry."

Hermione sighed. She'd never know then. It was back to dying alone.

"So," Ginny said slowly, linking her arm through Hermione's. "Fancy coming back to my place for a cup of tea? We could talk."

"Thanks, but I think I'd better head home. Mull things over and what not."

"Don't strain yourself," Ginny told her. "Things have a way of working themselves out, you'll see."

"I hope so."

!!!

A/N: There! Caddie is out of the picture! Took a while, I know. But it's done now. This story is nearly over, which means I won't be dragging the R/Hr thing out any longer! You can be glad of that!

Okay, onto the comments!

heart and soul: Don't hate me! I updated!

Lupin'sLuver: Lol, I know you're not crazy! I'm sorry it was sad, but I'm glad you liked it!

Ronaholic: I always thought Ron was gorgeous! He's my favourite character! Yours too, I'm guessing…

Jenn: Thanks for the nice review! Keep reading!

drmsweetcandy: Hermione will cheer up soon! You'll see! There's only two chapters left, sorry!

Pepstepper16: Bet you're glad Caddie's gone! I considered having her fall off a cliff actually, but it just didn't make sense for some reason! Hehe…

Arwentheelf: Sorry, I try not to take long! Glad you liked it!

Destiny13: Thanks for the great review! But there aren't many chapters left, at all really!

Cassandra Paige: I can't stand it when Ron and Hermione get together straight away! It's just so…lacking tension? Oh, yes, that's a smart thing to say! Anyway, glad you like the story!

Yami boy: You won't have to wait long to see what happens! Keep reading! You're still my longest reviewer…

Rogue13: I'm glad you're not lost. I hope I'll manage a good ending, I've got the last two chapters all worked out in my head!

Sorry if I missed anyone! But my nets about to disconnect so I need to get this chapter up!

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