A/N: Sorry this update took so long. I had a bit of writers block, and with spring break and my birthday Tuesday, I was busy. Please, forgive me! Thank you for all the loyal readers and those who keep adding me to their favorites lists and alert lists. I would love to have a review from all of you with helpful tips or just a good job. Gets a writers spirit up, I tell ya! Anyway, enjoy.

The Meaning of Love

Hidden Thoughts

Winds of Autumn

Harry bared his teeth at Molly, rage rolling in his stomach, barely contained as he remembered who she was. "What do you mean?" he roared, his eyes flashing dangerously. Ron had found out, had flown off the handle.

Molly crossed her arms, trying not to look as nervous as she felt. She'd never seen Harry in a fit of anger before, but it was down right frightening. "Just what I told you. I accidentally let it slip, and Ron exploded. Hermione needed help, so we called Professor McGonagall. She's with her right now." She glanced at the clock, as Harry and Hermione had been added. "And she's on her way back."

Harry clenched his jaw, hurrying into the living room to pace in front of the fire place, knowing that Hermione would return to the Burrow by floo. While he'd been out... discovering things with Ginny, his best friend had been faced with the brunt of Ron's wrath, alone. Fisting a hand, he ignored Ginny. She didn't say anything, just stood in the doorway and watched patiently, believing that he would talk to her when he calmed down and felt like talking.

He whirled around as he heard someone landing. It was Hermione, looking sick as she left the fireplace. Pressing a hand to her stomach, she pressed the other to her mouth, closing her eyes for a second as she regained her sense of balance. Harry moved forward as she straightened, his hands going to her shoulders. He stared at her for a moment, green eyes locking with chocolate brown ones. Then, he pulled her forward, wrapping his arms around her and holding her.

"I'm sorry about Ron," he said softly, not caring that his girlfriend, the one who had just showed them the wonders of a more physical relationship, was watching. "He can be a git sometimes, you know that."

Hermione slowly returned the hug, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding him just as tightly as he was holding her. "He just doesn't understand," she said softly, her voice muffled from being pressed against his shoulder. She sensed rather than saw Ginny shift, coming closer and slowly settling a hand on her shoulder. Lifting her head, she looked at the girl, pulling away from Harry.

"He'll come around eventually Hermione. Its just hard. He still has feelings for you, has at least deluded himself that he has." The red haired girl smiled slightly, shrugging a shoulder. She resolved to try, no matter how hard it would be, to get Hermione and Ron back together. She had offered her help to Hermione, simply because she was Harry's best friend, and because she had been part of the family for nearly eight years. She offered her help because to not do so would be to loose Harry right now.

She knew it would happen eventually, but if she tried hard enough, perhaps he wouldn't see his feelings for Hermione as she had. He was dense when he wanted to be. Perhaps this would be one of those situations.

"Thank you, Ginny," Hermione said softly, offering a slow smile. "I think I'll go lay down and get some rest." Excusing herself, she headed for the stairs. She had so much to think about, so much to plan. She smiled softly, resting a hand on her stomach. And she would enjoy every minute.

Harry turned to Ginny, studing her with an odd expression on his face. She frowned, tilting her head. "What?" she asked softly, reaching out to push his hair away from his eyes.

"Nothing," he muttered, shaking his head and dropping his gaze. Rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, he shuffled his feet, letting out a sigh. "I need to go apologize to your mum," he said. Kissing her forehead, Harry moved around her, returning to the kitchen.

Molly glanced up, smiling gently. "Yes, Harry?" she asked, seeing the determined look on his face.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, looking around the kitchen, unable to meet her eyes. She was like his mother, and he'd been acting hostile to her a lot in the last few days.

She smiled, waving his apology away. "Its alright, Harry. I understand that you've been worried and stressed. Now, run along. You need to start thinking about what you're going to do with that house of yours," she said with a grin, standing and waving her wand. Knives leapt into action, chopping ingredients for dinner.

Harry smiled, remembering what he loved about this woman. She was a mother of nine children. She knew everything. Turning, he paused, glancing back at her. "Molly? Where's Ron been sneaking off to?" he asked. Her eyes twinkled.

"I do believe he's been spending time with Luna." Harry froze, staring at his adoptive-mother in shock.

"No way!" Harry exclaimed, shocked. Ron had always seemed... Well, it had always appeared that he hadn't particularly liked Luna. But, things did change, which Harry was coming to realize better than most. It made sense, though. He'd been just as depressed and down trodden as he had been, and then one day, he'd been better. Almost like he was the old Ron again.

Molly merely smiled, turning back to the preparations for dinner, leaving Harry to wander around the house. His feet carried him up toward Ginny's room, toward the sleeping witch inside. He opened the door, stepping inside and smiling slightly. Hermione was sitting at the desk, scribbling away madly. At the sound of the door closing, she looked up, startled.

"Oh, Harry. You scared me," she said with a soft smile, setting her quill aside and turning to watch him. Harry crossed his arms, leaning against the door.

"Sorry. I was just thinking, maybe tomorrow we could go by Grimmauld Place and get an idea about what to do with the inside." He tried to sound casual, but Hermione could see the tense nervousness that vibrated beneath the surface.

Smiling softly, Hermione nodded. "That will be good. We can work on cleaning out the rest of the dark magic while we decide on what would fit for interior decoration." Harry breathed a small sigh of relief, glad beyond belief that Hermione had agreed to help him. In truth, he wasn't sure he could go back. He worried about Kreacher, and that dratted portrait.

"We need to get that horrid portrait off the wall. Thats the first order of business." In truth, Harry didn't care if they had to shred the thing, or blast it, as long as it was gone and Sirius' mother could never bother them again. The rest of the portraits were at least tolerable.

Hermione giggled, making Harry grin at the sound. "We'll work on it. I'm not sure how successful we'll be, as Molly and the rest of the Order tried."

"If anyone can do it, you can," Harry said confidently, moving over to kiss her hair. "Get some rest, Mione. I'll come up and wake you for dinner." And with that, the green-eyed hero was gone, leaving Hermione smiling softly at his depart. He was always so thoughtful.

The next morning, just as the splinters of dawn spread across the Burrow, Hermione vaulted from bed and made a dash for the bathroom. It seemed that she wasn't as lucky as she had hoped, and morning sickness had visited her afterall. After emptying her stomach of all it would allow, she groaned and wiped her hair back from her clammy forehead. It was still too early for the boys to be up, but Molly would be, and she was always stimulating conversation.

Her mind was on the upcoming decorating as she got dressed and moved silently down the stairs to sit in the kitchen. As expected, Molly was awake, already humming softly as she began the preparations for breakfast. The Weasley family may have been hard on money, but they never went hungry. Hermione smiled, deciding that this would be the way she ran her household. Full of hardships, but overflowing with love and the strong bond of family.

"Morning dear," Molly greeted happilly as Hermione took a seat.

"Morning," Hermione replied, offering a small smile as her gaze slid past Molly to look at the food she was preparing. Queasiness bubbled through her, making her lift a hand to her lips to resist the urge to start heaving again.

"Oh, dear. I didn't figure you'd get morning sickness. I'll start on a potion right away. It should help." Hermione nodded, shifting her gaze away from the food and looking down at the table.

"That would be wonderful, Molly," she mumured. She had hoped that the morning sickness would pass her by, but it didn't look like it was going to.

Molly merely smiled, drifting to sit in front of Hermione, blocking out the sight of the food, for which the busy-haired woman was grateful. "I remember my many times," she said softly, her eyes going distant as she reminisced. "Strangely, morning sickness with the twins was the calmest." She smiled tenderly, a hand drifting down to rub her soft tummy, as if by doing so she was touching the children that had grown there.

Reaching forward, Hermione squeezed the woman's wrist gently. "You're a wonderful mother, Molly, and a great friend." Molly smiled, touched by Hermione's words.

"Well thank you, dear. I think you'll be a wonderful mother, too," she said, leaning forward to chastely press a kiss to the young woman's forehead. "Run on up and wake the boys. You and Harry will be wanting to get an early start on Diagon Alley." Hermione nodded, glad for an excuse to vacate the kitchen, filled with the scents of breakfast. Usually tantalizing, the scents made her stomach churn now.

Climbing the stairs easilly, Hermione moved silently down the hall to the room Harry shared with Ron. She would just wake Harry, leave Ron to him. She was still terrified of him, knew he was still angry at what she'd hidden from him, yet George had known about. She winced slightly, knowing she had been in the wrong. He and Harry meant the world to her, and she had kept something important from them. Shaking her head decisively, she inched the door open. She would not let guilt eat at her. She would not let Ronald Weasley's insane jealousy ruin her life.

She stopped short, frowning slightly as she saw Harry sitting up in bed, staring at the wall blankly. "Harry?" she asked softly, her voice low though she knew Ron wouldn't wake if a ghoul landed in his bedroom. Stepping forward, as he showed no response at her words, she gently touched his shoulder. She was unprepared for Harry's reaction, his movements a blur until she was on her back, staring wide-eyed up at him.

His features were different, hewn with weariness and pain and a violence that she had never seen there before. His eyes were dark, tortured as he stared down at her. "Hermione," he breathed, not moving. Her slender body was pinned under his, and it felt good. Her lips trembled up into a small smile as she stared up at him, her chocolate eyes almost black in the shadows of the dark room.

Harry lifted his hand, brushing her hair back from her face. His hand lingered, gently cupping her cheek. He watched as her lips parted slightly, her breath coming out in an odd little pant that he found exceedingly attractive. His thumb stopped traching her cheek, sliding down to rest beside her lips.

"Harry," Hermione whispered, her eyes closing as he bent forward, brushing his lips gently against her own.

Floor boards down the hall creaked, and they broke apart, both panting softly. Hermione stared at him, wide-eyed and wary, and Harry couldn't help but feel the bubbling of pure... pure rightness that had flowed through him as Hermione had been beneath him, watching him. And the splurge of more that had gone through him at the mere brush of lips.

"Breakfast," she whispered, then bolted for the door. Harry stared after her, frowning. She was the light that pushed all the shadows away. Without her near, they crashed back in, suffocating him. Rubbing a hand over his face, he stood and got ready for the day.