Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but, seriously, I don't really need to tell you that!
A/N: Sorry that it took so long (again)! But, hey my next chappie is already ready (can I say 'already ready'?), so… let's hope that my beta-reader will have more time. Anyway since the day that I uploaded the 12th chapter I received 47 reviews and I cried loads of time because they were all so nice. Guys I think I love you all! But I also think that you are too sweet, I don't deserve so much! Well, since last chapter was so short this is very long, the longest I have every written! I really hope that you'll like it!
To Erin: Thank you my wonderful beta-reader! You are so patient with all my errors! Love u!
Flashback
"It was the 14th of October, I can remember it like it was yesterday. The best Quidditch match I've ever seen. Gryffindor versus Slytherin. That bighead Malfoy'd fallen off of his broom just after the greatest seeker of the century had taken the Golden Snitch.
"Anyway, Slytherin didn't have any chance against a Keeper like the one we had in Gryffindor. I can tell you Lilian, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley are very good on their broomsticks, I think even better than Viktor Krum.
"The party in the castle was huge. I think the poor little house-elves must have had worked endlesslyfor hours, because there were sweets, cakes, butterbeers, pumpkin juice, chips, apples, all kind of things that grandparents would just never let you eat," she said, winkingat Lilian.
"Remember I said that there were butterbeers? Now, butterbeers aren't very alcoholic, but after the tenth bottle everybody was a little bit happier than usual.
"So the party went on till 3 in the morning. At the end the only people in the Common Room were Ron, Harry and I.
At that time I was Head Girl, so I couldn't leave the Common Room in that terrible mess. I knew that the house-elves would have tidied up everything, but I couldn't let them to do all the work, they had worked for all the night cooking delicious food.
"So I stayed there and began to tidy up the room. Ron and Harry helped me. You know, Lilian, we were very good friends when we were at Hogwarts – Professor Potter, Professor Weasley and I," she said, indicating Harry and Ron.
"Anyway after only ten minutes Harry went to bed, he was really tired. Well, Ron must have been tired too, but he couldn't leave his-" Hermione paused. Both her and Ron were very interested in their laps. Ron was turning slightly pink around theears.
"His girlfriend alone in the Common Room," she finished, blushing a little. Lilian opened her mouth but the word didn't come out. Hermione went on.
"So he stayed with me till the room was a little bit clean. It was very late. I think it was about 4 a.m.
"We sat near the fire. The Common Room was empty. From the dormitories came no sounds, except for Neville's snores.
"Ron yawned. I, on the contrary, was ready to start the essay Professor Binns gave us about Merlin the Wizard. Dawn was near, and I thought it was simply stupid to goto bed for only afew hours.
"So I started taking out a foot of parchment and my quill.
" 'How can you dothat?' Ronasked me.
" 'What? How can I study at four in the morning?' I said looking him curiously.
" 'No. How can you be so beautiful at four in the morning?'"
Hermione blushed, Ron was pink, Lilian was shocked and Harry had his mouth wide open.
"'Ron, it must be the butterbeer,' I tried to say, but I really hoped that it was not.
"Well, the atmosphere was getting hot. We started kissing.And – well, really, I can't remember a lot about that night, but I can remember very well that the first person I saw the next morning was Ginny.
"She was at the bottom of the stair with an expression between scared, amused and horrified.
"Then I realized that we were lying naked under our clothes. Ron was hugging me in his sleep, so I couldn't move.
"I blushed and told Ginny to leave us in a whisper.
"When her steps died upstairs, I woke Ron.
"When he opened his eyes he smiled and very slowly started to caress my hair.
"He didn't care about being in the middle of our Common Room naked, with the sun that came from every window, in the morning. Luckily it was Sunday and everybody usually went to breakfast quite late.
" 'Ron, stand up!' I said.
" 'Why? I feel comfortable," he said with a mischievous smile.
" 'Because we are in the middle of the Common Room, naked, and everybody will be here in half an hour,' I said, trying to escape from his sweet hug. 'And Ginny told me yesterday that she had a date with Colin this morning and-'
"Well, maybe he wanted to talk to Ginny before her date, or maybe he was afraid that she could come down and see us – anyway he sat up and dressed quickly.
"We went straight to our dormitories, and I took a shower. We saw each other at breakfast.
"When I saw Ron I felt butterflies in my stomach, but now I don't think it was only the butterflies."
Hermione stopped for a while. Ron was very red. Lilian was shocked moreevery minute: her mother was a witch; she was in love with her Transfiguration teacher when she attended Hogwarts; she was her DADA teacher's best friend. And then her mother was talking about her very very private life.
"From that day," she continued, "A nightmare started. Every morning I felt so damn bad, I felt sick before breakfast and it was really bad.
"Then I started to eat, I ate everything at every time, even at night. Lavender and Parvati, my roommates, continued to shake their heads and look at me with a you-will-become-a-whale look.
"After a couple of months I felt that something was changing. I still felt bad, but not so much, and I was getting really fat.
"I decided to go to the hospital wing.
"I can remember that day perfectly well. It was raining. The last subject of that day was Potions. Professor Snape gave detentions to Ron and Harry because they didn't want to cut their toad in two parts right in front of Neville.
"They had to stay in the dungeons for three hours cleaning up all the cauldrons. Malfoy was grinning evilly when he left the class.
"I took that great opportunity and went to the hospital wing completely alone.
"I told Madam Pomfrey exactly what I had and she nodded at every word. Then she visited me. When I had to undress she stared at my stomach, taken aback.
"Without going on with the examinationshe took out a big bottle with a baby on the label and blue and pink writing that said 'Baby-Find'.
" 'What is it?' I asked very impolitely
"Madam Pomfrey smiled at me in a reassuring way.
" 'Don't worry, darling,' she said, pouring it in a glass. 'All you have to do is put one of your fingers in the glass and mix up the liquid three times.'
" 'What? I mean why? What do I need it for?' I asked, but I wasn't clueless.
"Madam Pomfrey smiled, her face a mixture of concern and joy. 'If the liquid stays green you are not pregnant. If it changes to blue you're pregnant and awaiting a boy, and if it turns to pink it will be a girl'.
" 'What?' I almost screamed, getting to my feet. 'I'm not pregnant,' I said resolutely.
"Madam Pomfrey wasn't smiling anymore, now she was only concerned. 'We won't know if you don't try,' she said very sweetly.
" 'I'm not pregnant,' I repeated angrily.
"Now Madam Pomfrey looked at me sternly. 'Miss Granger, you didn't know that Professor Dumbledore knows everything that happens in this school? When he told me that there was a new Gryffindor I didn't understand, because I didn't see anybody new, but now I understand. I should have understood before because he continued to blink in a strange way,' said Madam Pomfrey thoughtfully.
"But I wasn't listening to her anymore. Dumbledore knew everything? Maybe he could see the entire castle from his office; that idea makes me shudder even now. Did he see us? I don't know, but I couldn't look into his eyes again." She blushed, Ron with her. He didn't know that.
"Madam Pomfrey in the meantime was looking me intently, and then she spoke with a very sweet voice. 'You don't have to do it if you don't want,' she said.
"I nodded. She smiled. 'So do I have to wait or can I put it away?'
" 'Put it away' I muttered.
"She nodded and I left the hospital wing with something heavy on the stomach. I felt worse than before.
"I spent a week trying not to eat. Trying not to vomit in the morning. Trying not to notice that I was getting so large. But it didn't help. I couldn't close my eyes and pretend not to see what was so obvious.
"Harry and Ron were acting as always like two immature children.They didn't notice my pale face or my big stomach.
"Exactly a week after that day, a cold December afternoon, I went back to the hospital wing. This time Harry and Ron didn't do anything that deserved a detention, so I put two big bezoars in their cauldrons. At the end Snape was covered with a bright green potion and big bubbles were growing fast on his face. I felt very sorry for them – they had to chop up a big variety of spiders – but I needed another free afternoon on my own.
"I ran to the hospital wing and when Madam Pomfrey saw me she smiled.
" 'Yes, Miss Granger?' she said sweetly.
" 'I'm ready,' I said. My voice was shaking with fear.
"She didn't say anything else, just took out the bottle of 'Baby-Find' and poured it in a glass like she did last time.
"I closed my eyes and prayed 'Please, green, please let it be green' while I mixed it three times.
"Very slowly I opened one eye then another. The liquid was green. Then after a few seconds it turned pink. And my world turned upside down."
Ron was looking at Lilian, his daughter.
"Madam Pomfrey brought her hands to her mouth covering a little smile.
"I was staring at the glass. My mind was empty. My eyes were blank.
"Madam Pomfrey was talking to me very fast, but it was like the volume had been turned down by someone. I only heard the glass break when it reached the floor.
"I ran away from the hospital wing. I couldn't see because my eyes were filled with tears so I knocked several people over in the corridor, but I didn't care. When I reached the Fat Lady I almost screamed the password and ran upstairs to my dormitory, which was luckily empty.
"I stayed there with my head on the pillow till dinnertime. At dinner I decided to go down to eat something. Now that I knew that I had a little life inside of me, I didn't want to let it know that I was a horrible mother.
"When I saw Ron at the Gryffindor table I wanted to talk to him about our baby, about the fact that it was a she and that she was beautiful even if I'd never seen her.
"But I couldn't find the words. I couldn't think ofa good start.
"And then I was afraid.
"Afraid of his reaction.
"Afraid of what he could have done.
"When he saw me staring at him from the end of the Great Hall, he smiled.
"I sat at the Gryffindor table between him and Harry as always. I must have been very upset, because both of them noticed something and asked me if I was OKabout a million times.
"And I lied a million times, assuring them that I had never felt better.
"A week before Christmas I went back to Madam Pomfrey for a check-up.
"When I entered the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey was waiting for me, but she wasn't alone.
"Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and, to my great surprise and sadness, Snape were there too.
"I knew they already knew about my pregnancy, at least Dumbledore knew it from the beginning and he must have told Professor McGonagall who was head of Gryffindor. But I really didn't know why Snape was there too.
"I wondered when they would have talked to me.
"I waited near the door, not knowing what do to.
"But Dumbledore smiled and spoke with his usual calm voice. 'Miss Granger, you better come in, I think that Poppy would like to check your condition,' he said.
"I nodded and Madam Pomfrey made me sit behind a screen. She visited me with some strange object and after ten minutes she touched my stomach and smiled at me. 'It's all right, darling,' she said so sweetly.
"At these words I could feel something very near to joy. For the first time in a couple of months I was smiling, and not one of the smiles I used with Harry or Ron in these times. A true smile.
"She told me to dress again and when I came out of the screen the smile left my face. Professor Dumbledore was still there and so McGonagall and Snape.
"Professor McGonagall was concerned and I could see that she was fighting back the tears.
"Professor Snape's expression was weird: he didn't look like the nasty person that he usually was; I'd never seen him like that before. I can't really say what were his thoughts.
"Professor Dumbledore told me to follow him.
"So the Professors and I walked from the Hospital Wing to Dumbledore's office. Two girls from Ravenclaw and a Slytherin looked at me with strange looks on their faces while I passed with the headmaster and two professors.
"Dumbledore sat at his desk and made me sit in front of him.
"He started to speak inhis low voice. 'Hermione, we know what is wearingyou down in these days.'
"I was surprised. 'Tearing me down?' I asked politely.
"Dumbledore nodded. 'Also if you don't notice it, you're acting different, and also if you don't see it there are some friends that are concerned about you,' he said quietly.
" 'Have you talked to Harry or Ron?' I asked, taken aback.
"Dumbledore was slightly surprised behind his half-moon spectacles.
" 'No, I haven't. But I don't need to talk to them to understand how they feel. I think that you are a little bit occupied with your- you know what I mean,' he said, nodding towards my stomach, 'and so you don't see what is so obvious.'
" 'What's so obvious?' I asked with panic in my voice.
"Dumbledore sighed. 'Hermione, you don't feel well, mentally and physically: you're pregnant. I think that the best thing to do for you is talking to Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter. Tell them the truth. You will feel better.'
"I nodded. I was lying, but I felt uncomfortable and just wanted to leave.
" 'Can I go now?' I asked, very slowly, as I was controlling my voice.
"Dumbledore shook his head. 'Miss Granger, are you going to keep the baby?'
"I nodded again, I'd never meant to abort or make her live in some orphanage. This time I was honest.
" 'And how are you going to take care of her?' he asked me. He didn't want to annoy me, I could see it in his eyes, he was trying to help me.
" 'I don't know,' I whispered. 'I don't know anything but I'll never leave her,' I said firmly.
" 'Can I go now?' I asked again between sobs.
"This time they nodded and I left the office running. All I heard behind me was 'Don't worry, Minerva, I think we'll see her soon.'
"And, as always, he was right.
"I ran to my dormitory and I stayed there till dinner. I cried all the time, stopping if Parvati or Lavender entered the room.
"I went to dinner that evening; I was really hungry.
"Ron and Harry were sitting at the Gryffindor table and they were helping themselves to roast beef and potatoes. We were the only seventh-year Gryffindors who remained at the Castle that Christmas.
"Harry didn't want to go back to Privet Drive as always, and I didn't want to see my parents just then. The Weasleys were in Romania because Bill and Fleur's first child had just been born, so Ginny left the castle with all the other students the last day of lesson. Ron didn't want to leave Harry and me – hope he wasn't jealous – and so he stayed with us.
"I used all my strength to smile and hid my red eyes.
"But, as Dumbledore had said, they already knew that something was wrong with me."
Ron looked at her, but she was looking their daughter. Why she was telling the story of her life like this? Like she was talking to Lilian alone? Like he and Harry weren't there?
"'Hermione, are you ok?' Ron asked me.
" 'Of course I am,' I said very softly, helping myself to roast beef and pumpkin juice.
" 'Hermione,' started Harry. 'The last month you've been acting strange.'
"My fork fell with a loudnoise on the plate and they both looked at me. I really couldn't stand their eyes on me in that moment.
"I smiled and assured them that I had never felt better in my life. At least it seemed to work.
"I felt I had to talk to them. I wanted to talk to them. I needed to talk to them.
"But I didn't really have the strength.
"I thought it would have been wonderful totalk to them, after all. I was sure I would have finished my last year at Hogwarts; I thought I would have married Ron and I wasn't thinking that I wouldhavebeen pregnant and not married.
"That night I was really going to talk to them. But something stopped me.
"That night, every time they were asking me for some advice on our Defence Against TheDark Arts essay, I was going to interrupt them and tell them the heavy thing that I had on my stomach."
Hermione stopped. Her tale was getting more and more confused as she talked about her emotions in that period. She was getting more upset. Harry looked at her with a pitying look on his face.
She drank a little pumpkin juice and closed her eyes.
"But, then, I just faced the reality: nothing would have been the same. I was going to be just a slut in front of everybody.
"I could almost see Malfoy smirk in Potions, as I couldn't reach my caldron because of my huge stomach.
"And what about Ron? Would Mrs. Weasleyhave thought that I was a 'Scarlet Woman'? Yes, of course she would.
"I decided what to do that night, the night after the talk with Dumbledore.
"When everybody had left the Common Room I pretended to be tired too and go to bed, although Ron and Harry would have never left.
"When I finally heard the door of the boys' dormitory close I went down in the Common Room again on tiptoe, I muttered the password to the Fat Lady and walked through the entire castle till I got toDumbledore's office.
"On Christmas Eve I was there again, this time by my own choice.
"When I entered the room Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were still there, or maybe Dumbledore had called them just some time before I came. He knows everything that happens at Hogwarts, so he must have known that I was coming, or at least it wasn't so hard to guess.
" 'Can I leave Hogwarts?' I asked, sobbing.
"McGonagall brought her hands to her mouth; I don't think she was expecting such a question.
" 'B-but, Hermione,' she said very quietly her usual stern look gone from her face. 'Are you sure of this? I mean having a baby is not that bad and we can help you.'
" 'No,' I said firmly. 'I want to leave.'
" 'Have you talked to Mr. Weasley?' This was Snape who talked.
"I shook my head. 'It's too difficult; I can't do that. I'm not strong enough and I know he would be mad at me.'"
Ron was looking at her in disbelief. Mad at her? Him? He could never have been mad at her! Well, at least he couldn't now that he was 28 and didn't see Hermione since they were 17, but how he would react eleven years ago? He couldn't know.
"'You don't know if you don't try,' said Snape.
"I couldn't believe my ears. He was Snape and he was – he was sympathetic – or at least he was trying to be sympathetic, he was a bit out of practice.
"But nothing – even Snape being nice to a Gryffindor – could have made me change my mind.
" 'Having a baby will change my life forever and I don't want Ron to lose his freedom for me.'
" 'I guess what happened to you is not all your fault, Miss Granger,' said Snape raising his eyebrows.
"I looked at him coldly; I didn't want to talk about what happened in front of them.
" 'Do you know where you'll go, Hermione?' asked Dumbledore, speaking for the first time.
"I didn't know, but I said the most logical place that came to mind.
" 'At my parents' house until the baby is born. Then I'll find work far away from here. A Muggle work in the Muggle world with my Muggle life. I won't touch a wand again. I won't cast a spell anymore. I won't do a potion anymore. She will grow up far away from all this.'
"My voice was firm, but my eyes were filled with tears.
" 'So you just want to leave without telling anybody?' said Dumbledore.
" 'Yes.'
" 'And how long do you think your friends are going to think that you are in the library?' Dumbledore asked ironically.
"I wasn't looking at him, I wasn't looking at anyone, I was staring at my hands with a gloomy look.
" 'Please don't tell Harry or Ron where I'm going,' I whispered.
" 'I won't if you ask me,' he said.
" 'Thank you,' I answered.
" 'When do you think you'll leave?'
" 'Now,' I said.
" 'Don't you think it's better if you leave after Christmas? You will give Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter a not-so-bad Christmas day,' said Dumbledore.
"He was right. I really enjoyed Christmas at Hogwarts and so I decided to stay with them. My last Christmas with them, my last day with them.
"I sighed. 'All right, then. I'll leave Boxing Day.'
"McGonagall was going to cry; sometimes she'd let out some sobs. Snape was staring at me; I felt really uncomfortable under his stare.
" 'Very well, Miss Granger, pack all your stuff in two days. Boxing Day night, Hagrid will bring you to catch the train,' said Dumbledore.
"I nodded.
" 'I think you can go now, we'll greet you before your departure,' said Dumbledore. He was sad; McGonagall was sad, Snape wasn't amused.
"I left.
"I was upset. In two days I would have left everything behind. My world, my friends, my love."
For the first time from the beginning of her story, Hermione's eyes met Ron's. They looked each other, but none could speak. Ron couldn't really understand why Hermione left; it wasn't clear from her story.
It seemed that she was ashamed and afraid.
"I wanted to spend the best Christmas of my life," she went on. "But even if the feast was wonderful, the food delicious and Ron and Harry seemed to enjoyed their vacation without homework as always, I couldn't take my mind away from my stuff already packed in my empty room – Lavender and Parvati went home for that Christmas – remember?" she asked to Harrywho had a look that said 'how-could-nobody-understand-what-was-happening?' He nodded.
"I spent my last two days at Hogwarts trying to pass most of the time with Ron and Harry and avoiding all the professors.
"Boxing Day flew by as quickly as Christmas Day. My last evening at Hogwarts was the saddest and most beautiful I've ever spent there. The Common Room was empty. All the Gryffindors went home that year. So we spent the whole night talking and laughing about everything and nothing. Like we had all the time in front of us.
"I can remember like it was yesterday. That evening I was the one who didn't want to go to bed. I hugged Harry for several minutes before let him go to bed and then I kissed Ron and stayed with him near the fire for about an hour.
"At about midnight Ron said that he was tired, he and Harry had a big snowball fight that afternoon, so I pretended to go to bed too.
"I saw him close the door and I didn't take away my eyes from the boys' dormitory for a long time.
"But I had to go.
"I took all my stuff and, on tiptoe, I went out of the Common Room.
"Professor McGonagall, Dumbledore and Snape were waiting for me in the Great Hall.
"They took me into the park. The cold breeze of the night hurt my cheeks.
"Hagrid was waiting for me in front of his hut, his face hidden behind a table-cloth-sized handkerchief. Fang was with him, when he saw me he ran towards me and started to lick my face. I felt I would have missed him too.
"When I freed myself from Fang, to my great surprise, Professor McGonagall hugged me. 'Hermione if you need something please send an owl to me. You are the best pupil the Hogwarts has ever had since I came to teach, I'm sure you'll be a great mother,' she said, sobbing.
"I couldn't speak so I just stood with her arms around my body. Then Dumbledore put an arm on hers and she let me go. Her eyes were red.
"Snape was studying me with his cold eyes.
" 'Miss Granger,' he said. 'Remember that here you'll be always welcome.'
" 'I know, Professor Snape, I'll miss you,' I said."
Harry, Ron and Lilian were horrified. Did she really say 'I'll miss you' to Snape? Nobody could miss Snape.
Hermione noticed their looks and smiled slightly.
"Now itwas Dumbledore's time to speak, his calm and deep voice filled my heart with many feelings. 'Hermione, this is what you choose, but if you ever change your mind don't be afraid to come back.'
"I nodded, but I was sure I would never be back.
" 'Your parents know already everything; I sent them an owl. They will be waiting for you at King Cross Station. Minerva, Severus, I think it's time to come back to the castle,' he said to McGonagall and Snape, and he turned again to me. 'Good luck, Hermione,' he said touching my head.
"I smiled, trying very hard to fight back the tears, and they disappeared in the darkness towards the castle.
"While I was watching the three of them leave, I felt a big hand on my shoulder. Hagrid was sobbing right behind me.
" 'H-Hermione, are yeh sure of this?' he asked me reluctantly.
"I was glad that somebody had already told him what was going on.
" 'I am,' I said resolutely to him.
"He nodded and grabbed my trunk and Crookshanks' cage, hiding his facefrom me.
"For all the way down the train we didn't speak, the only sound, apart of the noise of the carriage, was Hagrid's sobs. He was really tearing me down, more than I was before.
"When we reached the train he helped me with all my stuff. 'Hermione, I'm goin' ter miss yeh, and Ron-'
"But I stopped him before he could say something that could have made me change my mind.
" 'I'll miss you too,' I said, hugging him.
"He hugged me back so strongly that he left me breathless.
"Then, without a word he took the way towards the castle. I guess he didn't use the carriage again because it was creaking when we used it before.
"I followed him with my eyes like I had just done with Ron and the professors. It was like I wanted to imprint everybody in my mind forever.
"On the train I was the only passenger. The journey wasn't so bad. In the middle of the night the old witch with the trolley full of sweets passed and I bought about 2 pounds of sweets.
"When the train reached King Cross I found my parents waiting for me just in front of Platform 9 and ¾.
"I stayed at my parents' house for about six months; they have always been very understanding about my situation. But if there was something that they didn't approve of,it was me running away without telling you, Ron."
Her eyes met Ron's again, this time Ron blushed very deeply.
"I was saying that I stayed at my parents' house for six months because I received a letter from Snape. It said that Harry and Ron were coming to my parents' house to see if they knew something about me.
"I left the house the same day the letter arrived. I went in the hospital. Luckily my term was almost over; in fact Lilian was born the 10th of July. She was beautiful.
"In August I left England for the States. I found a work as secretary in an office. A normal life far away from the Magic World.
"I had an affair with my boss, who was married and had children. But I never meant to marry him; I didn't even love him."
Ron felt dizzy. Did Hermione just say that a life far away from the magic world would have been normal? Did she really say that she had an affair with her boss, and she didn't love him? She was so cold and distant, like something was wrong.
Well, he was going to understand her behaviour very soon.
"Then last July, Hagrid came to our flat in New York City with the Floo Powder and in just one night he made our world turn upside down.
"He told Lilian that she was a witch and that she would have attended Hogwarts and I was scared that all I did, hiding the past in eleven years, would have been ruined in a couple of hours.
"In the meantime I was getting sick, I didn't know what I had but it didn't seem so serious. Or at least a witch must suffer less than Muggles for their illnesses; in fact I don't remember seeing any of us ill when we were at school.
"I did some exams to check what I had.
"A month and half ago arrived a letter from the hospital where I had the exams.
"But I opened it only two days ago.
"In the meantime my boyfriend," Ron frowned at this word, "rented a house in London, right next to Diagon Alley. On Christmas Eve we were all at my parents' house.
"By sheer coincidence, Lilian found the letter in my handbag and, right in front of everybody, I opened it.
"It said that I've got a cancer and that is not curable."
Ron and Harry couldn't believe at their ears. They just sat there in silence, while the noise of the crowd of people at the Leaky Cauldron buzzed in their heads.
Hermione had stopped. She knew they needed some time to understand what was going on.
"That's why I'm here," she said, snapping them backto reality "Ron, I need somebody to look after Lilian, when – well, you understand.
"My, if I can still call him like that, boyfriend left me right when we found out. He said I was selfish," she added, to answer a strange look that Harry threw at her.
"I didn't want to come. Hagrid came for Christmas at my parents' house and convinced me that the right thing to do was talk to you.
"Well, I guess he believed in a happy end with you and me together and our little Lilian in a big house. That's not exactly what I was thinking.
"My place is no more here, so, Ron, are you going to keep Lilian with you?"