Erased But Not Forgotten

Chapter 11

Raindrops and an Unwelcome Surprise

Harry and Rose apparated onto the porch, smiling, arms wrapped around each other. They both jumped as they heard the crack of lightning and the roll of thunder. The sky overhead was covered with dark gray clouds, pouring out water. Rose suddenly found the rain very alluring. She stepped toward the porch steps, drawn to the pitter-patter of the drops.

Smiling, she turned back to grasp Harry's hands, pulling him into the downpour. He smiled in return, watching her turn her face upwards, eyes closed.

"Dance with me," she whispered, eyes still closed. In Harry's eyes, she looked like a water nymph, raindrops on her pale skin like little diamonds running all over her face and neck, pausing on her arms, her hair slowly getting darker and losing its curl.

"In the rain?" he inquired softly.

"In the rain," she replied, opening her eyes as Harry pulled her gently into his arms, one hand sliding around her waist while the other grasped hers gently, her free hand resting on his shoulder, their bodies merely inches from one another.

They swayed from side to side, slowly revolving in the rain to the rhythm of the raindrops on the concrete. The thunder acted as accents and the lighting went unnoticed to the young couple.

"I love days like this," Rose whispered.

"Rainy days?" Harry questioned as they quickly got drenched.

"Yeah," she said softly, laying her head against his shoulder, feeling his warmth through the soaked t-shirt.

"You know what I love?" Harry asked her as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

"What?"

"You." Rose looked up into his emerald eyes, his raven hair dripping wet, and smiled. He leaned in and softly kissed her and the world seemed to dissolve, leaving only them, dancing in the rain.

A sudden popping noise caused them to break apart.

"Are you two insane?" Hermione asked from the porch, out of rain.

Rose's eyes never left Harry's as she responded, "Quite possibly." Harry grinned down at her.

"Let's go inside," Harry suggested.

"Okay," she agreed, letting Harry lead her back under the cover of the porch. "I'm gonna go inside and hope that Mom doesn't kill me," Rose said, heading inside.

"I'll be inside in a minute," Harry called after her. He watched her walk off through the glass door before turning to Hermione.

"So what was that about?" Hermione inquired, giving Harry a quizzical grin.

Harry grinned. "Nothing, we were just dancing in the rain," he answered vaguely.

"Looked pretty serious. What happened to giving Jul a fair chance?" Hermione pointed out, the ghost of a smirk still on her face.

"What can I say," Harry replied with a shrug and a wistful sigh, "I love her." His eyes glittered with a new flash of lightning. They both walked inside as the thunder rolled.

Around midday, the doorbell rang and they heard a knock on the door. Rose got up and answered the door to a very pregnant redhead.

"Is Harry here?" the redhead asked sharply, giving Rose a venomous glare.

Taken aback, Rose replied curtly, "Who's asking?"

"What are you stupid now, too?" she inquired rudely. "Tell him that Ginny Weasley needs to talk to him now."

"Fine, you can wait out here," Rose said, returning the glare before slamming the door in her face.

Walking back into the living room, she called, "Harry, some Weasley girl, Ginny I think, wants to see you. And I figure I should warn you that she either hates me or that pregnancy seriously screwed up her hormones." Harry immediately stood up, but just about fell back into his seat when Rose mentioned Ginny was pregnant.

"Who would knock up your sister?" Liz asked Ron incredulously. Ron's face went white as his ears, in contrast, turned as red as his hair. Everyone looked at Harry.

"What? Me?" he inquired from their inquisitive looks. "No! I mean, just…no! We never…I mean, she wanted to, but I never…just no!" He looked at Rose, eyes pleading with her to believe him. Her only response was the hard look, almost a glare, which was honed in directly on him.

"Why don't…we ask her," Rose suggested slowly, her cold eyes never leaving Harry's face. She walked over to the door again and let the furious redhead in. As soon as the girl walked through the door, she stalked right over to Harry and slapped him across the face.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" Harry inquired, his cheek smarting.

"For leaving me and expecting me to have and raise our child by myself!" she screamed, clearly outraged.

"Our child?" Harry repeated in disbelief, "For it to be our child, it would require you to have slept with me, not Blaise Zambini!"

"Do not yell at her because of your mistake!" Rose interjected, murder in her eyes, as she stepped in between Harry and Ginny.

"I never slept with her! How is this my mistake?" Harry yelled at her. Just then the doorbell rang again.

Rose walked over, past Harry, to open the door to a slightly damp Jul. The grin on his face dissipated when he saw the scowl on Rose's face.

"I can come back later," he said unsurely. He knew enough to be afraid of Rose when she was angry.

"Maybe you should," Harry replied, coming up behind Rose. She shot a glare at him.

"Its fine, Jul. Come on in," she said, her eyes softening.

"He's not part of any of this! He shouldn't even be here!" Harry said angrily.

Rose whipped around to glare at Harry. "If you have a problem with Jul, then maybe you should leave. Take all your drama with you!" she growled, gesturing towards Ginny.

"Maybe I should go," Jul said, stepping back slightly.

"Jul, please, I want you to stay," Rose replied sincerely. "Please don't go." Looking into her big green eyes, Jul couldn't help but comply as his heart melted. He gave her one of those adorable grins, bringing forth a smile.

"Of course," he answered, making her smile radiantly.

"My God!" Harry muttered, rolling his eyes.

"What now?" Rose snapped back. "You know what, if we're fighting and we've only known each other for three days, I don't even think it's worth the effort to try and make it work, Potter. You know what, if you can't deal with the fact that I like Jul too, then maybe you should just go and stay with James till the wedding…and away from me," she suggested venomously, glaring at him.

Harry looked as if he'd just gotten punched in the stomach and felt that way too, opening his mouth to say something, anything…but nothing came out. Seeing the love of his life glare at him and his rival looking at him with that triumphant glitter in his eye, Harry's heart hardened and all his emotions left him, leaving him with only bitterness and regret as he, once again, lost at love. He shortly retorted "Fine," and disapparated. With another crack, Ginny too disapparated. Hermione, Liz, Ron and James all just stood there, staring in disbelief that Harry and Rose had once again fallen apart and there was nothing they could do.

Rose, who had done nothing but stand there, composed as Harry walked out of her life, suddenly let out a sob and rushed into Jul's arms. Slightly surprised, Jul just held her close, stroking her hair.

After a moment, she pulled out of his arms, regaining her composure as she wiped away a stray tear.
"Sorry, don't know what came over me," she apologized, but Jul just smiled. "Lets go out tonight, just you and me," she suggested, looking up into his eyes, smiling back at him.

"Yeah, I'd like that," he replied as he gently leaned in to kiss her. As soon as his lips met hers, everything else melted away.

11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

i took me forever to finish this chpt! now i'll try to update soon but it's gonna skip like a month. poor harry, no break for him. and he thinks all hope is lost. you know better don't you? review!