Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot.

Okay, here's the next chapter and I hope you all will enjoy it. I, for one can't decide whether i like it or not, yet. All I can say is that it got a little mushy in places. I don't know what came over me. I wasn't planning on it, I swear.

This story is now officially AU as of DH.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and I'd like to advise all of you to do so with this chapter, too.

Thanks to my wonderful beta-reader, x-Xanti-x.

Please, allow me to ramble a little bit about DH. The next paragraphs will most likely contain DH spoilers, so if you haven't read the book yet and don't want to be spoiled, then I advise you to skip right to the chapter title and start reading the chapter. And don't forget to review!

So, as of DH. When I was reading it I actually thought it was quite good, that is, until I went to read some forums about it. That was, when I realised just how many plot holes it has in it, even though I've noticed some of them while reading , too. I won't go into those, but I really missed some things that was said to be important, especially the love thing. I don't see how love is important in the way Voldemort was defeated. Of course I know it was something about the blood portection, but it made little sense to me.

I'll admit I wasn't happy with the pairings, even though I didn't really expect H/Hr to happen after HBP. I was surprised, how R/Hr was written, but I have to admit it wasn't that bad in this book, even though it still annoys me that Ron needed a book to really get to Hermione in the end. This book didn't change my opinion on H/G, though. It simply wasn't established at all and we didn't see Ginny in this book much, either. I just can't accept that pairing. I'm okay with R/Hr now, but I think I'll never be able to read or write R/Hr fics.

All in all, what annoys me the most about DH is that I had the 'Much ado about nothing' feeling after finishing it.

That's all I wanted to say. Now on to the chapter!

Hard to reveal

It's been almost a week since the grand fight between Harry and Hermione, and New Year's Eve was approaching. Neither of the couple wanted to apologise, even though they knew that they were at fault, too.

They spent the past week ignoring each other, and barely talking to the other, only when it was necessary. Even the students and the staff noticed the tension between the two, but no one said a word.

It took the 13-year-old Hermione a few days to come to terms with the revelation that happened almost a week ago, but in the end she accepted it and decided that if it was their destiny, then she won't try to stop it, but won't try to urge it either.

After she couldn't find any books on pregnancy at the school library, which highly disappointed her along with her lack of knowledge, the older Hermione decided to approach Madam Pomfrey in the outmost secrecy. She wanted, no, needed to know the truth, even if it meant telling the old school nurse.

It wasn't a pleasant conversation, that's for sure, but she found out, that the reason behind the lack of books on pregnancy was so the students had to go to the current school nurse about the problem, consequently not being able to hide it if they turned out to be pregnant.

/FLASHBACK/

After Madam Pomfrey finished telling Hermione the story about the "missing" books on pregnancy, she looked up at her suspiciously and asked:

"And just why are you so interested in this, Miss Granger? I hope you're not here on the request of one of your old schoolmates, because if you are, then I have to ask you to reveal the name of the witch who asked you to come here. You must understand that a pregnancy is a very serious matter at the age the witch must be about."

"Yes, I understand, but I must ask you to promise me that what will be said here won't go right to the Headmaster or to anyone, for that matter. What I'm about to reveal you is very important to stay a secret as long as possible. Do you agree?" asked the young witch.

"I do understand your request, but I can't promise you anything like that if the witch we are talking about turns out to be pregnant, then at least the Headmaster and her parents must be notified. And of course her Head of House. And maybe the father of the child…"

"And what if we aren't talking about a student? If the witch we are talking about is of age and doesn't attend this or any other school?" asked Hermione, and she was sure the matron would figure out very soon what, or more exactly who she was talking about.

"Now, that would be a completely different case. But why would any other witch come to me with this…" the nurse trailed off, and Hermione could see the recognition in her eyes. "Miss Granger, were you talking about yourself? Do you suspect that you're pregnant?" when she saw Hermione's nod, she became furious. "Miss Granger! How could you?! I Thought you knew better than doing something like this with a boy at least six years younger than you! You are supposed to be the responsible one here!" she almost shouted.

Hermione stared at her for a few moments trying to figure out just what she was talking about, and when she realised just what the nurse thought, she sent her an utterly horrified look and said:

"My God, Madam Pomfrey! You think that? That I would…with a 17-year-old, no less? God, no! I'll admit, that I was careless when I've forgotten to use protection, but I'd never…"

"Then who's the father, Miss Granger?" asked the school nurse.

Hermione looked at the nurse with suspicious eyes, trying to decide whether to tell her the truth or leave her in the dark.

"What if I told you madam that it's none of your business?" Asked the woman in the end.

"Then I would tell you, young lady, that you came here to seek my help, and if you aren't completely honest with me, then I refuse to help you." Came the reply instantly.

"Do you realise that if I told you this, then I would break one of the primary rules of time travel, the one that says that no matter what, the future must stay hidden."

"No, I don't think you would. You only came here now to find out if you're pregnant, and if you got pregnant before you came here, then you would be bigger and you certainly would know whether you're pregnant or not. Consequently you suspect that you got pregnant in this time, which means, that you wouldn't reveal the future, if you told me who the father of your child is, unless…" the matron suddenly looked alarmed and thoughtful at the same time. "Unless the future Mr. Potter is the father. Am I right, Miss Granger?"

Hermione looked away from the matron's searching eyes and whispered her answer. She said it so silently, that the nurse wasn't sure the girl said anything at all, when all of a sudden she found herself staring into the intent eyes of a 24-year-old Hermione.

"You know you can't tell anyone what you heard, right? Our future would be endangered if this got out, and I'm not willing to take that risk. Remember, I'm not the young girl you know. Far from it, actually. I'll erase your memory, if I need to." Whispered the girl, her eyes never leaving the ones of the school nurse, leaving absolutely no doubt in the mind of Madam Pomfrey that Hermione would do just as she promised in the blink of an eye, if needed to.

"All right. I won't utter a word about this conversation to anyone."

"Swear." Was the answer of the 24-year-old. The old matron hesitated, but gave in the end, and sworn on her magic, that she'd never tell a soul about their conversation and the result of it willingly or without the consent of either Hermione or Harry.

After they settled everything, the school nurse draw out her wand, to perform the necessary spells to determine if the woman before her was pregnant…

/END OF FALSHBACK/

After aimlessly wandering the castle for hours, Hermione decided to go and sit by the lake to clean her mind and decide what to do next. As she headed for her favourite spot, she only met a few people, including a bunch of first years, who stared at hear with fear filled eyes and ran away, frightened when she looked at them.

She sighed, as she sat down under a tree and put her face into her hands, her hair falling over her shoulders, hiding her face from any by passers.

She sat there for an hour, almost unmoving, still thinking about the conversation she had with Madam Pomfrey just a few hours ago. She still couldn't believe it. She was pregnant. She was going to be a mother in a few months time.

She put her hands on her stomach, trying to imagine it growing, trying to imagine a little child, her child, growing in it. A little boy or a girl, with Harry's eyes and her mouth. The ghost of a smile appeared on her mouth, as she imagined the poor child with either her or Harry's hair. Either way, she was sure the poor thing would be cursed with an untameable hair, just like its mother and father.

The father…Harry. She knew it would be hard to tell him and that it would mean more arguments between them. She knew Harry wanted a big family more than anything, but was afraid to have one when Voldemort and his death Eaters were still on the loose. Hermione knew Harry would be upset first, but would come around eventually and she wasn't afraid because of it.

No. She was afraid because she feared that it would be too late. Their last argument really hit her hard. She knew Harry didn't mean it. Not all of it, anyway. But he hurt her really bad and she wasn't sure she could ever forget that. Yes, she could forgive Harry; she already did, but was afraid that this would leave its mark on their marriage, whatever happened later.

She was tired of all the arguments. She never admitted it to Harry, but she was glad they came back to this time, because she thought this was the last time Harry could really be like a child should be. Of course there was the treat of Sirius on his mind at that time, but he was still more carefree, then anytime after their third year. She hoped the older Harry would learn from this experience; maybe lighten up a bit, even only for the time they spent in the past. Hermione could see traces of the old, more carefree Harry in her husband again, but as soon as those moments came, they passed just as fast, leaving an even bitterer Harry behind.

She hoped that maybe, just maybe, the news of her pregnancy and them being in that time would help Harry to regain parts of his old self. She had every intention to help him on the way, no matter what the cost is.

She was about to get up from her spot, as it was freezing, when she noticed a rat hurrying towards the Forbidden Forest, almost wholly hidden by the thick snow.

Hermione quickly got up and followed the rat, alias Peter Pettigrew. She almost caught the rat, when an icy snowball hit the back of her head, temporarily distracting her from the rat. She heard a yelled apology from one of the playing students, but when she turned back to the forest, the rat was nowhere to be seen. The inside of the forest was still covered with fallen leaves, as the thick crown of the trees didn't let any snow in.

With a disappointed sigh, Hermione walked towards the castle, carefully avoiding the snowballs and other flying objects.

New Year's Eve brought even more snow and colder weather than the weeks before and everyone inside the castle was seen with a thick travelling cloak around their necks, some of them even wore a scarf, a hat or gloves or some kind of combination of them.

In the last few days, after their argument, Harry wandered the castle aimlessly, first muttering angrily, then, as his anger toned down, he was seen with strong desperation and sadness in his eyes. He didn't care anymore who saw his emotions. He missed Hermione, his wife and best friends. He knew this time he would be the one to apologise and he was willing to admit, that he was the one at fault in this argument. He knew that what he had done had hurt Hermione more than any other thing he could have said or done.

She never hit him before. That was the sign for him that he went too far this time. And how he wished he hadn't! But he couldn't turn back time. He smiled a humourless smile at this thought. He was 11 years in the past, but he couldn't go back a few days just to redo that short hour.

He knew that he really had to outdo himself in apologising. This couldn't be solved with a simple "I'm sorry" and a few kisses and hugs. This time he really had to do something meaningful and big to gain Hermione's forgiveness.

So, after some careful planning, he started to carry out his plan. He knew Hermione wouldn't spend the day in her common room and only would return there after the feast in the Great Hall, so he had almost ten hours to prepare everything he planned.

Hermione spent the whole day trying to avoid Harry, which wasn't as hard as she thought it would be, as Harry disappeared from sight for the whole day, right after breakfast.

She was avoiding him, because she decided she'd tell him about her pregnancy that day. She didn't want to wait for too long with telling him. The sooner she told him, the earlier his anger would fade.

As she was heading for the Great Hall to have dinner, a school owl flew towards her, and dropped a letter at her head, which landed on the floor in the end. She bent down to pick up the letter. When she opened the envelope, she got a huge shock, when she saw the messy handwriting of her husband.

Hermione,

Please come to your common room as soon as you get this letter.

Yours,

Harry

She contemplated the extremely short letter, and decided to do what it said. She would have had to look for Harry after dinner, anyway.

When the portrait opened up before her, she got the second shock of the night, when she found the room filled with candles, covering every free surface, except for the small, circle shaped table, which was filled with some kind of food Hermione didn't recognise. As she came closer she noticed Harry standing behind the table, apparently waiting for her. As she neared the table, he pulled put the chair for her and helped her onto the chair.

When she sat down, Harry poured her champagne. They ate dinner silently, both waiting for the other to break the silence. When they were finished with dinner and both of them were still silent, Harry got up, grabbed Hermione's hand and led her towards her bedroom door. Opened it before her and let her in first, waiting for her reaction right behind her.

When they entered the room, she gasped, when she saw the rose petals levitating in the air, forming the words I'm sorry.

She turned away room the room with teary eyes, burying her face into Harry's chest, sobbing silently, so she didn't notice the petals falling from the air and landing softly on the bed.

Harry softly placed his hands under Hermione's chin and lifted her face, so he could meet her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, as his voice broke. Those were the first words either of them said to the other in days.

As Hermione looked into his eyes, she instantly knew he really regretted what he said, just as much as she did.

"I'm sorry, too." She whispered back.

Harry, reassured by her answer, leaned forward and captured her lips in a gentle kiss, which soon turned into one filled with passion, pent up emotions, lust, but most of all, love.

They continued to kiss, as they slowly went to the bed, undressed each other and made love, what seemed like for the first time in years.

A few hours later, as they were lying awake in each others arms, Hermione's thoughts turned back to their previous track. She knew she had to tell him, but she was even more afraid now, after they made up and were happy together, but she was sure that if she told him later, it'd be even worse, so she took a deep breath, turned towards Harry, looked into his open eyes and said:

"Harry, I'm pregnant."

So, that was it. I hope I didn't cause much diappointment. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.

Thanks for reading!