Yay! Chapter 9's finally here! Sorry for the delay...
Okay, I will tell you that this is so long in coming for two reasons actually. One, I've been uberbusy now that fencing is starting up (the usual excuse) and two, I now have a boyfriend, so my Friday nights are tied up. All I've really got is Monday and Sunday. So that's that.
Someone had the awesomeness to point out that McGonagall's name had been spelled wrong. All I can say is THANK YOU!
Disclaimer: I did not, do not, and will never own Harry Potter.
--
Hermione stood up and stretched. Her back was rather stiff, she thought, and it cracked painfully as she stretched. She had been putting the finishing touches on her essay for Professor McGonagall due the very next day. She stood up and walked, somewhat unsteadily, to the kitchen to get a bowl of the Muggle concoction called ice cream. She had become very fond of it as of late and had begged Harry to take her to a Muggle supermarket to buy some. As she spooned some into one of their bowls, she felt Harry come up behind her and kiss her on the cheek. She smiled. He laced his arms around her waist and rubbed her slightly swollen belly. The past few weeks of Hermione's pregnancy had gone well, except for the occasional bout of morning sickness. Madam Pomfrey had given her a potion for that, which had helped a bit, but she still felt nauseous in the mornings.
"More ice cream?" Harry asked her, an amused tone in his voice. She looked around at him, a small grin evident on her face.
"Yes, if you must know." The bossy tone in her voice had returned. "Would you like some?"
"Yes, please," Harry said softly.
--
Hermione had gone to Ginny the next day. Ginny, who still hadn't cooled off after she and Hermione had spoken, demanded the "real" explanation from Hermione, who had told her that she believed Harry's story.
"What?" Ginny said, a disbelieving tone in her voice. "I can't believe you! He's blaming Ron for all of this, and you believe him?" Ginny stood up, her hands on her hips, her ears turning red.
"What choice do I have, Ginny?" Hermione had said, her voice raised slightly.
"You could find out for yourself instead of believing every word that comes out of Golden Boy's mouth!" Ginny clapped her hands over her mouth the second that the words had left it.
"Is that what you really think? That I'm that mindless?" Hermione's voice was dangerously quiet now, and Ginny knew it.
"Hermione, I—"
"No, Ginny." Hermione said, her voice quivering a bit. She turned her back and stepped away from Ginny.
"Hermione, please."
"No, Ginny. Don't. Just don't," Hermione said, tossing the words over her shoulder as she left the Gryffindor common room.
--
Ron walked towards the Slytherin common room, his footsteps echoing around the empty halls. He whispered the password that Pansy had given him, then entered and found Pansy in her usual armchair by the fire. She smiled when she saw him, then lazily motioned him to the armchair opposite her.
"So what's next?" Ron asked her anxiously. She contemplated him for a moment.
"Well, obviously the kiss didn't work. But their trust is weakened. Now's our opportunity. Listen. If he thinks he can break our betrothal by marrying that Mudblood, he'll have to pay." Ron shifted nervously in his chair.
"And if this doesn't work?" Pansy smirked. "What if we get caught?"
"It will. Nobody will be any the wiser."
"What makes you so sure?" Ron asked, almost nervously.
"Trust me, it will work."
--
Hermione stood up from where she was reading her book, then walked to the bathroom. She opened her mirror to take out her hairbrush, then ran the brush under some cold water. As she closed the mirror, she glanced up and screamed. Reflected in the mirror, standing just behind her, was Pansy Parkinson. Hermione whirled to face her.
"How did you get in here without the password?" she demanded.
"What makes you so sure I don't know it?"
"How—"
"I have my sources." Pansy took out her wand, and, before Hermione could reach hers, said, "Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione's arms snapped to her sides as she fell backwards. Pansy stood over her, sneering at her, then reached down and plucked one of Hermione's hairs from her head. With one last sneer, Pansy left the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Hermione watched her go. She tried to scream, but couldn't open her mouth to do it. She didn't know if she could do the counter curse without her wand, but it was worth a try. Inside her head, she screamed the counter curse over and over, willing it to work, but every time she tried, nothing happened. She gave up after a while, then just laid there, trying to figure out what her next move was. She only hoped that the baby was okay.
--
Pansy hurried back to the Slytherin common room, and down the hallway that led to her dormitory. Grasping the vial that held Hermione's hair, she walked up to the cauldron that she had set up in the corner of her room since the beginning of the term. She dropped the hair in and checked her watch. 5:45. She didn't have much time. Harry usually got back from dinner at about 6:00, Ron had told her. She took a ladle and put some of the potion into a goblet, then pinched her nose and drank it. The transformation was nearly immediate. Pansy (now, for all appearances, Hermione) walked out of her bedroom and hastened to Harry's and Hermione's dormitories.
--
Harry climbed through the portrait hole after dinner to find Hermione curled up on the couch, reading a book. He dropped his bag on the floor and walked over to the armchair opposite her and sat down.
"There you are! I was worried when you didn't come to dinner." Hermione looked up absently from her book, then looked at her watch.
"It's 6:00 already? I can't believe I missed dinner! I'm sorry, I lost track of time."
"That's alright," Harry said. He thought Hermione was overreacting, but he wasn't about to tell her. She was a bit touchy these days, with the hormones and all.
"Listen, we've got to talk," Hermione said.
"Alright," Harry said, uneasily. "About what?"
"About-about us." Harry's stomach flipped over.
"What about us?" Hermione swallowed and looked at him.
"This isn't easy, Harry. It really isn't." Harry nodded. "But-"
"But what?"
"I-I want a divorce." Harry could feel the color rising in his cheeks.
"What!" Hermione put her head down.
"You heard me. I can't do this anymore. People fight with me because of us, they just don't understand. I'm only seventeen, Harry. I don't know why I agreed to marry you in the first place."
"And the baby? Did you think of the baby at all, or was this a selfish decision?" Hermione started to cry.
"Of course I thought of the baby."
"You know," Harry said, "I'm not exactly sure you did. It needs its father. You need the help with the baby. You can't do this alone."
"What made you think I was going to keep the baby after the divorce?" Harry stood up and slapped Hermione across the face.
"You wench!" Harry shouted.
--
Hermione laid on the bathroom floor, listening to the calamity in the adjacent common room. Suddenly, she heard a slap and Harry's shout of "You wench!," before she heard angry footsteps and the sound of the portrait slamming. She felt involuntary tears streaming down her face, with no way to wipe them away. She wondered what Pansy had said to cause Harry to react like that. Whatever it was, it wasn't good.
--
Ginny sat lazily in an armchair in the Gryffindor common room, her Potions book propped on her knees. She scribbled on the piece of parchment in front of her, then ran her finger down the page, looking for something else to add to her essay on love potions for Professor Slughorn. Suddenly, a loud noise from the portrait hole startled her into upsetting her ink well and spilling the ink all over herself. Cursing, she took out her wand, performed the cleaning spell, then got up and turned to see what had caused the commotion. Harry came storming through the common room.
"Where's Ron?" he demanded of Ginny.
"In his dormitory, I expect." Harry stormed up the boys' dormitories stairs. Ginny waited a couple of moments, then ran up to her dormitory, grabbed her Extendable Ears, and followed Harry's path. She pushed the Ear under the door, then put the other end in her own ear.
"She WHAT?" Ron was saying.
"She told me she wants a divorce!" Harry shouted, and, it sounded to Ginny, kicking Dean's, Ron's, Seamus's, and Neville's trunks as he paced around the room. Ginny nearly dropped the Ear. Something in her leapt for joy at that news, but it didn't sound right to her. Hermione had obviously loved him when she had married him. Besides that, they had a child on the way. It just didn't sound like Hermione. Always the responsible one, she would never do something as rash as this. She pulled the Ear out from under the door, stuffed it in her pocket, and set off for Hermione's dormitory.
--
Moments later, Ginny was knocking at the portrait that led to Hermione's dormitory. There was a scuffle from inside and the portrait opened. Hermione stood looking at her, with a mildly surprised expression on her face. Ginny stepped into the common room and closed and locked the portrait behind her. Hermione sat down on the couch, looking at Ginny, then motioned her to sit opposite her.
"What's going on with you, Hermione?" Ginny asked, pleasantly. Hermione shrugged.
"Nothing, really. Ouch!" she hissed, rubbing her belly.
"What's the matter?" Ginny asked, starting to get out of her seat.
"Nothing, the baby just kicked."
"So, boy or girl?" Ginny asked, eagerly.
"What?"
"Well, didn't you go to see Madam Pomfrey for your three month checkup?" Hermione had a confused expression on her face now.
"I don't-I don't remember." Something in Ginny's head clicked.
"Do you want some tea?" Ginny asked, and Hermione nodded, then started to get up.
"No, that's alright. I can conjure some. Just you relax." Ginny pulled out her wand, and pointed it at the table, conjured some tea, and then quickly pointed it at Hermione. "Stupefy!" she said. Hermione fell back on the couch, her hair askew over the cushions. Ginny sat back and waited.
--
Hermione heard Ginny's voice in the common room. There was a gentle hum of chatter, then suddenly, she heard Ginny shout, "Stupefy!" Hermione's mind raced. She silently prayed that Ginny had put the pieces together and that she would come to find her. She listened hard, but there was no activity from the other room.
--
Ginny waited for a good half hour, watching Hermione laying there. What if she had made a mistake? What if this really was Hermione? Suddenly, Hermione's features began to morph. Ginny sat on the edge of her seat, watching the transformation. Almost instantly, it was not Hermione that was laying in front of her, Stunned, but Pansy Parkinson instead. Ginny stood up and ran out the portrait hole, and locked it behind her, just to be safe. She ran, her footsteps echoing around the hallways, until she reached the Headmaster's office. She paced in front of it. What had Harry said the password was?
"Sugar quill." Yes, that was it; the gargoyle leapt aside, and the wall slid open. She walked forward, onto the revolving staircase, and knocked on the door at the top.
"Enter," Professor McGonagall's voice came. She opened the door and walked into the office.
--
A few minutes later, Ginny was hurrying along the hallway adjacent to Hermione's dormitory, with Professor McGonagall in tow. She unlocked the portrait and showed McGonagall Pansy's still form, reclined on the couch.
"Ms. Weasley, kindly find Ms. Granger. I believe she deserves an explanation." Ginny walked around the common room, then looked in Hermione's and Harry's bedrooms. Finding Hermione to be absent from all three, she knocked on the bathroom door, then, hearing no response, tried the door. It was locked. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the doorknob.
"Alohamora!" The door clicked and swung open. She gasped as she looked on the floor and found Hermione laying there. "Professor! In here!" She heard McGonagall's hurried footsteps, then a gasp behind her. McGonagall swiftly performed the counter curse, and Hermione began to stir. Ginny knelt beside her and gathered her close. Hermione began sobbing into Ginny's robes. Ginny helped her to stand, then helped her walk into the common room.