A/N: 'I'm sorry' sounds redundant, but I really am. I hate making you guys wait so much, but these chapters take a lot of time and effort to be decent enough to post. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I hope it pleases…

Chapter 17: Confessions of Love

"Who is Ginny?"

Melanie was taken aback by the sudden flare of pain in her husband's emerald eyes.

Harry scooted away from her and sat back against the headboard. He sighed and ran a hand through his messy black hair.

"Ginny was… She…" he broke off and went very still.

Melanie frowned and raised a hand to touch his cheek.

"Harry, are you crying?"

"No," he said quickly, leaning away and wiping his face on his sleeve.

It was very disconcerting to see the hero of the Wizarding World fighting back tears at the mention of a name. Harry Potter was human after all; not that she ever believed any different.

This Ginny must have meant a lot to Harry, and Melanie would have been jealous except for the fact that he had referred to her in the past tense.

Harry took a deep shuddering breath.

"Ginny was a friend that I failed," he said, finally.

A moment of silence passed.

"Just a friend?" she asked skeptically, but gently.

Harry nodded then shook his head.

"I wanted to be more than friends, but I never got the chance to talk to her about it. She… I tried to save her. I grabbed her hand, but she disappeared. My hand vanished along with her," he whispered, holding up his fake hand and looking at it as if he was seeing it for the first time.

"I never knew, how it happened," Melanie said, taking the hand into her own and bringing it to her lips.

Harry's eyes softened at her action. The warmth of her mouth seemed to drive away the painful memories and the warm bubble of happiness that had taken residence in his stomach since his wedding night returned full force.

"Melanie," he whispered pulling her into his lap for a long kiss.

He pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"I love you, Melanie Potter. Never doubt that," he swore and claimed her mouth for another kiss.

There were tears in Melanie's eyes when they finally came up for air.

"I love you too, Harry. And I'm sorry about Ginny…" He held a finger to her lips to silence her.

"Ginny was my past. You are my future."

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Hermione settled herself next to Severus on a sofa in Albus' office with a sigh. She hadn't even left for a whole day and just look at the mess her friends had made. Ginny Weasley-Malfoy had returned to Hogwarts, and Katie had tried to kill herself and ended up in a coma.

"And the boys don't know that Ginny and Draco are married?" she asked, tiredly.

Severus shook his head.

"Mrs. Malfoy has decided to wait until tomorrow to share her joyful news with her brothers," he elaborated sarcastically.

Hermione sighed again and rolled her head on her shoulders. She felt stiff and longed to retire to her rooms for a nice hot bath.

They were waiting for Albus to join them, hopefully between the three of them they could come up with some type of plan of action. When dealing with emotions you had to be careful.

Hermione jumped slightly when she felt Severus place his hands on the back of her neck, but she soon relaxed into his gentle ministrations. She let out a quiet moan as the muscles in her neck finally began to loosen.

"Better?" He asked with a smirk.

"Mmm."

The door opened and Albus entered the room. Severus quickly removed his hands from her and nodded at the headmaster in greeting.

Albus sighed and strolled to his seat behind the large mahogany desk.

"What tangled webs we weave," he muttered, popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

The three sat in quiet contemplation for a few minutes before Hermione spoke.

"Harry and Melanie won't return until Sunday, right? We've stressed the importance that Ron not floo Harry to tell him about Ginny, do you think he'll go along with it?" She voiced her most pressing questions.

Albus gazed solemnly into the fire as he answered, "The Potters will not be returning until Sunday. I plan to meet them at the apparition point so that Harry is forewarned. Perhaps you could help Melanie get settled into her rooms while I talk to him? As for Ron, he has other things on his mind at the moment, and I believe he understands the importance of holding his tongue in this instance."

"Yes, I can do that. I should probably explain to her about Katie. They seemed to get along rather well before the wedding," Hermione commented.

"Have you spoken with Rachel about Katie's care?" Albus asked, turning to look Severus in the eye.

"Yes. She has been owl-ing Poppy about it. There are a few experimental potions they want to try, and of course I will accommodate them."

Albus nodded and caught Hermione trying to stifle a yawn.

"I think that is enough discussion for the evening. The best thing to do is take it one day at a time. Tomorrow we shall deal with helping the Weasleys accept Ginny's marital state, and get started on bringing Katie back to us. We can worry about the Potters later."

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Hermione gave a groan of pleasure as she sank into the steaming bath water. Her eyes closed and she imagined the stress of the day being drawn out of her body by the soothing water. A soft intake of breath alerted her to her husband's presence.

Cracking an eye open she saw Severus at the doorway to the bathroom staring at her with obvious longing. She shut her eye again and settled back into the tub, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"This bath is big enough for two, you know," she informed him.

This wasn't the first time she had invited him to share a bath with her, but he always refused.

"I'm not a bath man. I prefer showers," was always his response, though she had a feeling that his refusal had more to do with intimacy issues as opposed to bathing preferences.

This was why she let out a startled squeak when she felt him slip in behind her a few minutes later. He held himself very still for a second, and then began to climb back out.

"No, don't go," she said, grabbing his arm.

"No, it is obvious that you were not sincere in your invitation," he snapped, but did not try to pull away from her.

"You surprised me, Severus. I ask you all the time to join me in here and you always refuse. I just wasn't expecting you to agree tonight, but I assure you that it is a pleasant surprise. Please lay back so that I can rest on you," she pleaded, tugging on his arm.

Severus let out a huge, fake sigh of annoyance, but obliged her request.

Once he was settled, Hermione lay back and relaxed against him. His whole body was tense and she could hear his heart pounding frantically. Not for the first time she wondered where this fear of his was coming from.

Keeping her movements slow and deliberate, she took his hands in hers and linked them together on top of her slightly distended abdomen. She tucked her head under his chin and sighed in pleasure.

When Hermione was younger, she would occasionally daydream about being married. Probably not as much as most girls her age, but she did it nonetheless. In her dreams, she rarely imagined actually having sex. It was mostly just scenes like the one she and Severus were sharing at the moment. Simply holding each other in the bath. She had let go of this particular dream as she had so many others when she married the irritable Professor. And now... having that dream realized filled her with a happiness she had thought would always be denied her.

It took a good five minutes before she felt her husband relax.

"This is nice," she murmured quietly, hoping that her words wouldn't spoil the mood.

He made some sort of noise that she took as an agreement as she felt his arms slightly tighten around her.

The only thing that would make this dream complete would be a whispered 'I love you' into her ear. Unfortunately, it didn't come. Not that she really expected that it would.

She frowned as she remembered the conversation between Snape and Malfoy that morning. Severus must have felt her tension.

"What are you thinking about?"

Hermione debated internally over whether or not she should bring it up, but in the end she remembered Severus' promise that he would listen to her if she needed to talk.

"If I wasn't pregnant, and you had a way out of our marriage, would you take it?" she asked, finally.

He went still and quiet for a moment.

"You were not really in the shower this morning then," he said reproachfully.

Hermione felt a small surge of triumph as she remembered her successful deception that morning.

"You didn't answer my question," she reminded him softly.

He sighed.

"What did you want me to say? I don't trust any of the Malfoys. I never have and I never will. My mistrust of Lucius is one of the reasons I'm still alive. Draco seems to be on the right side of things at the moment, but who knows what kind of hidden agenda he might have. I thought it best he believed what everyone else believes. That we are unhappily married."

Hermione sat up and turned around to face him.

"You still didn't answer my question."

He glared at her.

"No."

She blinked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"No, I would not end our marriage now, regardless of your condition."

She gave him a brief smile and shook her head.

He watched warily as she reached out a hand to tuck his hair behind his ear so that his ravaged face was completely exposed to her. Her eyes met and held his, praying that he could see the love she felt for him in them.

"Severus, I need more. I need you to tell me why," she said, simply.

He quickly looked away from her, turning even paler than usual.

"I don't know what you want from me," he whispered.

Hermione realized that he was shaking, slightly.

She cursed herself for pushing him too far too fast. One day, he would be ready to tell her what she needed to hear, but that day was not today.

She pushed herself forward in the water so that she could sit in his lap with her legs wrapped around his waist.

Severus sucked in a breath at her action but kept his eyes turned away from her.

Her hands came up to rest on either side of his face and she gently turned his head to look at her.

"Severus, I wouldn't end it either," she said, honestly.

He gave her a skeptical look and she smiled.

"Okay, enough talking. I would be much obliged if you would just hold me for a little while, okay?"

Severus eagerly pulled her up against him, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

She sighed and rested her head on his chest listening to his heartbeat that had slowed considerably since she had heard it a few minutes ago.

Hermione silently congratulated herself on her courage. From here on out, she could ask him to do things like bathe with her, or just hold her and he would happily oblige as long as she didn't want to talk about his feelings. It was one battle won, and one more step toward having the kind of marriage that she wanted.

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George stared down in anguish at the still form lying in the infirmary bed. He had been such a fool, and Katie had suffered for it.

"George, you need to rest. It has been a long day for all of us," Rachel scolded as she double-checked Katie's vitals.

"Any change?" George asked, ignoring her words.

He looked so tired and rumpled one might think that he had been there beside Katie's bed for a few days rather than hours. His eyes were bloodshot, and dark bags hung beneath them. His clothes were rumpled and his hair was sticking up from all the times his fingers had run through it.

Rachel sighed and shook her head.

"She is in a deep coma. It could last ten minutes or ten years. We won't know until she awakens."

It was old news to him, but George found his gaze travel to the clock on the far wall to begin another ten-minute countdown. He had lost track of how many times he'd done that.

Rachel finished up her exam and made some notations on a clipboard.

"Well, I'm going to bed. If you insist on staying, you could pull another bed next to hers," she suggested.

George nodded absently still looking at Katie.

The healer sighed again and turned to leave feeling helpless.

"Rachel? What can I do to help her? There has to be something," George begged, looking at her now.

Rachel could feel her own heart breaking over his obvious pain. She was about to tell him to pray, when something she had heard in school came back to her.

"I don't know if it's true or not, but I remember an instructor of mine saying that while she was in a coma, she could hear her loved ones talking to her, and that is what brought her back. I suppose it is worth a try," Rachel offered, heartened by the hope that sparkled in George's eyes at her words.

With a small wave, Rachel entered her and Charlie's chambers to get ready for bed. She gasped taking in the scene in front of her.

White candles covered the sitting room casting a soft glow that soothed her tired eyes. Rose petals formed a path that led to a plush rug in front of a roaring fire, and she could hear the gentle swell of music coming from somewhere above. The thing that caught her gaze though was her half-naked husband standing in front of the fire and beckoning her to come to him.

She just stood there for a minute admiring the play of firelight over the contours of his muscled chest. Finally, she walked to him, placing her hand in his outstretched one. He brought her hand to his mouth for a kiss, keeping his eyes locked with hers.

"Rachel?" he asked, raising a hand to caress her cheek.

"Hmm?"

"You know that I… I love you, right?" he asked uncertainly.

She gave him a brilliant smile, and stepped closer to him.

"Yes, but it is nice to hear every once and a while," she whispered and leaned in for a real kiss.

Charlie nearly drove her mad, insisting on taking things painstakingly slow. With all the shocks her husband had received that day, Rachel understood that he needed to be in control of things. He took his time, pealing the clothes off of her, and then kissing and caressing every inch of her naked body. She reached for the button of his pants, but he kept batting her hands away and telling her to be patient. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she finally just gave herself over to him, forcing her arms to stay above her head where he kept putting them. She was greatly rewarded with the best orgasm she'd ever had.

They were both exhausted and covered in sweat, but Charlie still managed to get them to bed, and extinguish all of the candles. They drifted off to sleep in each other's arms, happy with the love they had found together.

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"LET ME GO!" Katie screamed angrily at George.

He didn't move, or even respond in anyway except to grip her hand tighter.

Katie paced miserably around the bed trying not to look at her still body lying on it.

"I can't believe I'm a fricking apparition!" she yelled.

Letting out another groan of frustration, she charged toward the door of the infirmary only to get knocked back in, again. She started laughing then. Not a happy laugh, but an insane one that soon changed to sobs and then back to laughs.

She took a deep breath, willing the hysteria to pass.

"Okay, Katie. Get a grip, and think about this rationally," she told herself.

Katie remembered jumping from the tower and hearing George call her name. A few hours later she awoke to a crowd of people hovering around her. She tried to tell them that she was fine, but they didn't seem to be able to hear her. Then she got up out of bed, only to realize that her body was still lying there. She knew that George was the reason she had to stay where she was, though she wasn't sure how she knew this.

She glanced back at her body again. Clearly she was still alive. Rachel had said she was in a coma. Okay, weird things happened to people in comas, but this was ridiculous.

Seeing George so distraught hurt her in a way she never expected. She had wanted to die; to move away from this place. However, she knew that as long as he stayed there, holding her hand, talking, singing, and crying over her she would never be able to. If he could just let her go, she would be able to move on and maybe find that peace she so desperately craved. Then again, seeing him in such a state made her think that she had underestimated how he felt about her. Clearly his pain was more than just that of guilt.

She sighed, moved back over to him, and made herself comfortable on the floor by his chair. He was talking to her, so she might as well listen. It wasn't as if there was anything else she could do anyway.

George was hard to understand at first. He was rambling on about things she couldn't really comprehend through his tears, but then three little words jumped out at her, grabbing her by the heart and filling her with an unexpected pleasure.

"I love you, Katie. Gods, I love you so much. I loved you from the moment we met. And I was so hurt when you rejected me, and I refused to give you the chance to hurt me ever again. I was such a fool. Pushing you away only to end up hurting us both. Please, come back to me. Don't leave me now. I know that we are meant to be together and I'm so ashamed that it took something like this to make me realize that, but I swear that if you come back I'll never push you away again. Please, Katie…. Please don't die."

Tears were streaming down her face when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Katie gasped and spun around to see the Bloody Baron standing behind her with a sad smile on his face.

"Not as simple as you thought it would be, is it?" he asked, wryly.

Katie gaped at him for a minute in shock.

"You… you touched me! I felt your hand, and it wasn't cold!" She cried, "Oh no! Am I a ghost now?"

The Bloody Baron gave her a piercing look.

"You came very close. If your young man hadn't intervened, you would be joining Nick for his nightly rounds," he answered finally.

She looked at George again feeling suddenly grateful to him. It had not occurred to her that she could spend the rest of eternity as a ghost, and that thought was more miserable than marrying someone who didn't want her. But it looked as though she'd been wrong about that.

"I am such a fool."

The Baron laughed.

"Yes, my dear. However you are wise enough to see that now," he said, encouragingly.

Katie looked back up to him and nodded.

"Right. Okay, I've learnt my lesson. How do I go back?"

All traces of amusement left him.

"I don't know."

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"You're leaving?" Fred demanded miserably.

Ron nodded, firm in his resolve.

"I can't help but feel somewhat responsible for Katie. Maybe if I hadn't interfered, she and George could have worked things out," he confessed.

Fred opened his mouth to argue, but Ron held up a hand to silence him.

"Professor Dumbledore wants me to personally deliver a letter to a witch in South America. School will be out for the summer holidays soon, and I've been itching to get away from all this mess for a while now anyhow. I miss traveling and I've never been to Brazil before. I'll probably be back for the fall term. You can survive a few months without me," Ron said, ruffling Fred's hair.

His brother scowled at him and smoothed his hair back into place.

"But if you leave, I'll be the only bachelor left. You just watch, some witch will have to find someone to save her from an awful match with a Death Eater, and old Dumbledore will turn to me with his twinkling eyes and say, 'Oh Fred, whatever can we do to help this poor soul out?'"

Ron laughed.

"You could come with me," he offered, but Fred immediately shook his head.

"No, I won't leave George," he said quietly, but firmly.

"Oh that's right. I forgot about the shop," Ron said.

Fred blinked at him a few times.

"Right, that too."

End Chapter 11