Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of it's associates. I do not make money off of this therefore it is really pointless to sue me if you're thinking about it. I only write for the entertainment of myself and of others, although mostly for myself...I promise I will return all the characters I use in good condition ((or as good as condition I can keep them in)) and hopefully all in one piece.
Rating: PG-13 ((Might go up, not sure yet))
Summary: As a back up plan, Harry asks Ginny to carry his baby, just in case the war kills him. When the baby comes, and the war is over, Harry denies any question had been asked. Now everyone believes he's a liar, especially when his scar begins to burn again, even though Voldemort has been killed.
A/N: It's going to get a little tougher in this chapter, but I trust you'll hang in there, for all shall reveal it's secrets in due time.
Chapter 3
Broken Anniversaries
The day had ended. Harry was now safely home, yet his conversation with Ron still screened fresh in his mind. Though the storm had moved on, halfway through the afternoon, the atmosphere hadn't approved. A muggy feel left Harry, and the air around him tired with confusion and anger, so all he did after he stepped over the threshold of his front door was plop down on the sofa and read a Quidditch magazine. Soon after, Harry's relaxation time had been interrupted with a cough coming from the kitchen. Harry put his magazine down and stood to go check out what could have made that sound. As he opened the kitchen door, the sight of Cho, wearing a flowing, strapless red dress that hugged her delicate frame made Harry stop.
"Cho!" His eyes quickly traveled her body before stopping on her face. Her beautiful smokey eyes showed a sign of disappointment. Her soft brown lips were pursed in a slight frown.
"You forgot, didn't you?" Cho accused. Harry scoffed before tilting his head.
"Forgot?"
"Our plans for tonight?"
"Plan--" His voice faded out and he closed his eyes tightly. "Cho, I'm really sorry." He opened his eyes and looked at his watch. "It's still early, let me get--"
"--Don't bother." Cho interrupted. "Obviously our anniversary doesn't mean anything--"
"--Don't say that, you know it does--"
"--Apparently not, Harry! We've spent how long trying to get reservations for Amor's?" Cho's voice lifted as Harry's face melted in guilt. "Surely, if you remember that, you'd have remembered it tonight."
Harry sighed and grunted slightly.
"I'm sorry. I really am, it's just that I've had a bad day today and it seemed to clog my memory." He explained. Cho bit her lip, her arms now crossed and a foot tapping slightly, daring Harry to try her patience.
"What was so bad about it to make you forget?"
Harry swallowed and went over to the fridge, taking out two bottles of butterbeer, handing one carefully to Cho before sitting down at the kitchen table. Cho followed suit, holding the cold bottle delicately by her fingertips.
"Ron stopped by," Harry stated, popping the top off of his bottle. Cho nodded him on. "He told me Ginny is pregnant."
"Wow, that's...great! What's so bad about that?"
"He said it was mine." Harry swallowed uncomfortably at Cho who stared, in shock.
"What?"
"I told him it wasn't, there was no way it could have been, but he insisted that it was."
"Are you sure it isn't yours?"
"I'm sure...I'm pretty sure...I'm positive it isn't mine."
"And Ron wouldn't listen to you?"
Harry shook his head. "No."
Cho stayed still and stared at the table for a while before she cleared her throat and looked back up.
"Why would Ron lie?"
Harry shrugged. "He wouldn't."
"Harry?"
"Hmmm?"
"Why should I believe you?"
Harry's face contorted in a feeling of disgust and trust. "Why shouldn't you?"
"Well, if Ron wouldn't lie, and you seem a bit hesitant on saying it's not yours, I don't feel comfortable on believing you."
"Come on, Cho. We've been together how long? One year and you think I could have impregnated Ginny when I've spent half of my time out of training with you?"
"I'm not saying it's not possible."
Harry sighed again as a moment of silence passed by. He could tell this wasn't going to end very nicely.
"How far along is she?" Cho asked, rather cold, breaking the silence.
"Nine months." Harry replied. Cho nodded and thought for a while longer, her pearly white teeth nibbling on her lower lip as she thought.
"That's odd," Cho said. Harry raised an eyebrow. "Nine months ago was Christmas." Cho explained. Harry nodded.
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, you spent Christmas over there."
"Mmm-hmmm."
"So there's no way of denying that you didn't do anything with her."
"I know that we did nothing."
"Could you prove it?"
"Well.....er...no?"
Cho nodded once strongly and stood up, Harry stood after her. "Cho?"
"Good-bye Harry." She nodded and walked out of the kitchen.
"Cho, wait! Where are you going?" Harry chased after her.
"Unless you can come up with someway to prove to me that this baby isn't yours, I don't think we should be together. I can't trust you."
"Really, Cho, come on. You're being immature."
"I'm being immature? It took a lot of guts to get myself from believing it was You Know Who, who killed Cedric and not you just because you were seeking attention, now I'm starting to believe I made the wrong choice in who to believe."
Harry's mouth sadly dropped open. "Cho..." His voice became quiet as he watched Cho begin to twitch as she held back tears. "Cho...I never killed Cedric...I never slept with Ginny."
Cho stayed quiet, her eyes filling with tears as she stared at the door in which Harry blocked her from.
"Cho? I really need your support on this."
"And I need to be able to trust you."
"I'm not." Harry tried his best to sound sincere. Cho stopped biting her lip before her eyes quit watering and opened wide.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so gullible! I see it now!"
"See what?" Harry asked. Cho chuckled as she stared in disbelief at Harry.
"You forgot our anniversary because you were fooling around."
"Cho!"
"You knew this was going to come up sooner or later and waited until the last minute to possibly tell me."
"Cho, what I'm telling you is I didn't have anything to do with this."
"Harry, you have nothing to do with everything."
"What's that supposed to mean."
"You never take blame for anything."
Harry glared. He was beginning to get irritable and a headache was beginning to form at the base of his skull. He stayed quiet and watched as Cho's hand went past his arm to grab for the door handle. In a quick instant, he grabbed her arm and looked at her.
"You seem to be jumping to conclusions quickly. How am I to think that you don't have a part in this, yourself?"
Cho pulled back, but couldn't release her wrist from Harry's grip. She looked at him.
"What? You think I have something to do with this?"
"I am now! Look how you're acting! You won't even think about what I'm going through."
"I will if you can prove to me it's not your baby. Let my wrist go, Harry."
Harry gritted his teeth as he stepped aside and watched her disappear down the street before he closed the door and rested against it. He closed his eyes and slid down into a sitting position. Hopefully, Harry thought, hopefully he'd wake in the morning and this have all been a dream.
A week of long classes and standing outside of The Three Broomsticks hoping to get a chance to talk with Cho, passed only to be answered by ornery kids who could care less about learning how to properly shoot a quaffle through a goal post and Madame Rosemerta who chased Harry away after a few hours from her bar. He had about given up when Harry had decided to talk to a friend who might understand him, or, at least listen. As soon as he got home, he grabbed a can of floo powder and stuck his head in his fire place. He called upon Hermione, who answered shortly. And after checking that Ron wasn't around, he began to speak.
"I have no idea what's going on." He said, desperate to find some answers. Hermione sat in front of her fireplace on the floor, head nodding sympathetically with every word Harry spoke.
"Well, Harry, as an outsiders point of view, Ron and Ginny's story does seem more believable."
"But doesn't my side seem believable too?"
"Truthfully?"
"Yes, truthfully."
"No."
Harry's head hung. Hermione winced at his look.
"Think about it Harry, Ginny told all of us the night you left early to go back to Hogwarts to speak with Dumbledore. We all saw you and her enter the doctors office as well as exit the office and now, you're denying everything as if it never happened.
"But it never did happen, that's my point exactly."
"Well, Harry, I don't know what to say. I wish I could say I believe you, but I can't, mainly because I was here helping Ginny through it all."
Harry pouted. "It's not fair."
"Life isn't fair."
"I know that baby isn't mine."
"And if it is?"
"It can't be."
"Are you worried your reputation will be ruined?"
"What?! No!"
"It's beginning to sound that way."
"And you're beginning to sound like Ron and Cho."
"Well, what am I supposed to do? Ditch Ginny and suddenly drop everything to rush to your rescue?"
"Listen, all I wanted was for someone to listen to my problems for once instead of everyone coming to me with theirs."
"Ah, save it for the paper, Harry. I'm sure they'd love to hear your false stories."
"But they wouldn't like to hear my true ones, I bet."
A familiar silence covered the air. Harry's knees began to hurt from kneeling for so long in his fireplace.
"If I were you, I'd at least help out." Hermione spoke, her voice softened, yet a harsh side remained hidden in it. Harry stayed quiet.
"You're baby or not, Ginny is your friend." She continued. Harry rolled his eyes.
"Then I wouldn't hear the end of it."
"Oh come down off your pedestal, Harry. Join the real world. We've all done our part in helping out, now it's your turn."
Harry pouted again. "I haven't heard anything about this for a month. Knew nothing about it, and now, just because she said that I'm the father, I have to immediately start acting on it?"
"Why don't you just grow up?" Hermione was sounding annoyed again. Harry avoided looking at her.
"You guys had time to get used to the idea. I found out a week ago, I'm still getting used to it."
Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted with a sound of a slamming door, soon after that, Ron's voice filled the room.
"It's time! Hermione! Let's go!" Hermione quickly jumped up.
"Well, Harry, you'd better get used to Ron!"
She took her exit, leaving Harry, his jaw dropped open, speechless, kneeling in his fireplace. He stayed that way until he heard the door slam closed in which he muttered a quiet 'shit' to himself and left the floo to figure out what in the world was happening.
All right, it's that time again for more reviews! Thanks to everyone who has patiently awaited this next chapter!
Aquamarinegirl: How is it off the topic? Please specify how, if you're going to leave a review, so I can change it if it needs changing and FYI, I like cheese.
rednow evitaerc ho, sknaht on tub, xnaht '?pihsnamnep' ot deneppah tahw .citpyrc kaeps su fo ynam ton cissalc PH wen siht fo wiever retteb a htiw pu emoc t'nedluoc. eman nep a rof lleps evitaerc txen ruoy no etsaphtoot eht piks The Insider
Weselan: I'm glad you liked the flashback scene. The Insider actually gave me the idea to put it in!
Cherokeegirl: Thanks for not dissing the cheese. Keep guessing, for my mouth is full of Muenster and I am unable to tell the secret, but keep reading and hopefully thou shall be pleased.
I love the way your mind works. A true HP sleuth! Limits no possibility. Keep the sniffling nose, Holmes. By the way, you must be excited for a new update. Your run on sentence shows! Keep checking back, I thrive for more of your generous and kind reviews. The Insider
Sarahamanda: I am constantly writing within the walls of Perkins just to make my reviewers happy! I'll attempt to put Harry and Ginny together for the baby, but I'm not promising it will work out as you may think.
HarryPotters-angel: Than thou shall read more!
GiGi Fanfic: Your reviews make a difference! Glad you reviewed again! Thanks. I love difference in stories.
((The Insider has decided to add onto PsychoChic991's review for last time. This is what he said.)) "I did read your stories as well. They all have a great array of possible ideas. I want you to draw these out more. There is a potential for a phenomenal author and story."The Insider