"Behind Closed Doors" By Kross

A/n: I don't own Harry Potter…I simply enjoy using the characters conjured up J.K. Rowling for my own sweet pleasure.

NOTE: There was some confusion in the last chapter for readers who had not gotten around to reading the fifth and sixth books. Kreacher is a house elf who Harry inherited from the Black family. Because Kreacher belongs to Harry, he has to obey his every command (like Dobby had to obey all of the Malfoys' demands). Additionally, Kreacher hates muggle-born or blood-traitor witches and wizards.

Pairing: Hermione/Ron and Hermione/Mystery man

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Yeah, I'm really dumb. I got so caught up in this story I forgot how tiny a 10-week pregnant belly is. Barely showing, no? Really Hermione just feels like she's "all belly", although she is literally like "no belly at all". Forgive my retard-o-ness.

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In the next moment, their lips were pressed together in a relentless kiss. As they parted, the luscious, sweet skin of his lips stuck a little to hers. The tiny bristles of his beard has brushed her chin, but were too fine to grate like the facial hair Ron had. She hesitated before opening her eyes; she wondered if this moment might fall apart and she'd be left with only another dream to unravel.

"Is that a yes?" She pondered aloud.

But, as she opened her eyes, she could his answer was not as she might have hoped. The gentle look in his eyes had dripped away with his tears. Her optimism was childish, she thought, how could she ever expect a good outcome?

"I…" His voice broke into short sounds as they entered her ears, each word needing separate processing from the next. "I couldn't possibly, Hermione."

She could feel the mixture of searing pain and rejection blend with the sting of her welling tears. Her lips parted from the lack of belief. Fairy-tale ending out the window, she thought. She'd tricked one boy into marrying her, and ruined a very special relationship with Remus. How could her body betray her like this?

"Please don't look away," he said as she did just that. "You know I can't Hermione…I'm old enough to be your father."

"That doesn't bother me." She snapped her face back towards him, a face dressed in wrath. "What bothers me is that you'd just walk out on me like this! ON US!" her fingers trailed her slowing growing belly.

"What would people think, Hermione!" He yelled back at her.

"No worse than if you just fucked me and left me here to raise our children alone! They might think you'd taken responsibility for your actions, you know, done the right thing…..for once." She glared at him, eyes burning into his chest.

He sat back on her bed, pulling her covers up to conceal her bared body. His touch was as gentle and caring as he could manage, he was determined to be aloof. He wanted her to be the one to make the decision.

"If I stayed, it would be the second thing I'd done right…" He smiled to himself.

"Fine." Her tone was harsh. "Then I'll raise them with Ron, someone who's standing up for actions he didn't even commit."

"I think he's very brave," He said while she nodded. "However, I'm having trouble allowing it."

"It's not your choice anymore." Her lips were pursed. "It is my choice."

"Then what do you choose?" The pain was back in his eyes, fear of being kept out of the babies' lives. "I have to respect whatever it is…"

"I can't rope Ron into this; I can't ruin his life to salvage mine, Remus." She looked down at her belly and felt the warmth from deep inside herself. "But, I can't ruin theirs' either…"

She looked up at him, hopeful like a child pleading to be picked up and held. Her eyes were pleading with him to stay, to be a man. To be a father. If she believed he could, why couldn't he believe?

"Having a werewolf for a father won't ruin their lives, Hermione?" He swallowed hard.

"We can….deal…" She murmured.

"Deal with me going missing for a week at a time? Or deal with me nearly mauling our kids?" His eyes were fierce.

"Remus, you know we can deal!" She yelped. "There are ways to diminish the effects, you know them…"

He looked away from her. He was trying to fabricate reasons to leave, reasons to escape this potentially disastrous situation.

"You just don't want them, do you?" She hissed.

She'd caught his attention in the worst way; his eyes bore holes in her skin.

"You want me to end this pregnancy don't you? Take the easy way out…hmm?" Her teeth were gritted, lips drawn to a tight frown.

"Please Hermione, don't think that." It hurt him that she would even consider him to be so cruel. "I don't care if I live or die, but you three are all that matters now."

"Then make this better!" She pleaded. "You know how!"

He did know, he knew how hard it would be to solve their problem. She wasn't thinking of all the consequences, he knew as well. He'd have to inform the entire wizarding world that he'd impregnated a minor, and a few select muggles. He could only image that visit with her parents, who were both younger than he was. "Gee, sorry I knocked your little girl up…" he could hear himself say, to his own horror. She wasn't imagining her own disgrace, a disgrace that would be far less painful with people thinking she's been impregnated by a fellow teenager. But, that meant running Ron's life in their wake.

"Yes, Hermione…" He spoke slowly, head swimming. "I know."

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Sorry for the long wait, but it's senior year….applying for college and the like takes a lot outta me. I'll keep updating, but not very often….perhaps once again before Christmas break is up.

Meg