Harry's POV

"You have to leave."

"Wha–" Harry sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes. With his left hand, he reached over and grabbed his glasses. Jamming them on his face, Harry realized Hermione was standing over him, holding his jacket. "Good morning to you, too." He replied, raising one eyebrow. "What's up?"

"You have to leave my house. Now." She repeated, more forcefully this time. "My parents are asking questions."

Harry threw the paltry covers off of him. "Let them ask. Maybe you should tell the truth, for once, hm?"

Hermione sent him daggers with her brown eyes. "Very funny, Harry. Now get up and leave. Before I do something really stupid."

Harry shrugged his jacket onto his broad shoulders and sighed. "I think we've been over this, Hermione." He frowned. "I don't abandon family."

"Harry, you've got to understand that this is more complicated than that!"

"How could it be?" Harry shot back. "You tell the truth or you hide from it."

Hermione grabbed his arm. "Be quiet!" She sighed, looking at him, as if looking through him. "Would you have done it, if I had told you, then?"

Harry shook his head, confused. "Done what?"

"Don't be daft, Harry." Hermione responded. "If I had told you…. Would you have dropped everything and come to be Rose's father? Would you have given up Ginny and being an Auror and instead been a dad?"

Harry found himself frowning. He honestly didn't know what he would have done, had he been given the chance. But she didn't give me the chance, he reminded himself. So none of this matters. "I'll make a deal with you, Hermione." He said, through gritted teeth. "You tell me why you did it, really why you did it, and I'll consider leaving."

Hermione gaped at him. "I've told you."

"I've known you long enough to know when you're lying." He snorted. "You can't fool me."

Hermione seemed to be weighing her options. "Fine." She said, her voice wavering. "We have a deal."

Hermione's POV

Her stomach was in her throat as they walked along the deserted park lane. Here it was, the moment had come for her to truly open up to her former best friend, to her one-time lover, to the father of her child.

The ebony haired wizard stood next to her as they strolled in utter silence, but there was an expectation in the way her walked, the way he glanced at her every few seconds.

"I wanted to tell you," Hermione began very quietly, clearing her throat. "I wrote so many letter while I was pregnant that I never sent."

"That's the explanation you already gave me, Hermione." Harry grunted back, his voice low and dangerous. "I want the real one."

"That is the real one!" Hermione protested. "Well, it's part of it."

"So tell me all of it!"

She cleared her throat again and allowed them to take several more paces in complete silence. "That night…." She started again, her voice a gossamer thread. "You said it was a mistake. For you." He did not respond to this, but she did not expect him to. "But for me…" a long, deep breath. Just do it, Hermione. Go. "For me, it was the best night of my life."

Hermione heard his sharp intake of breath. "Wh-what?"

She swallowed, refusing to look at him. "For me… it was the best night of my life because… I was… in love with you."

She felt, rather than really witnessed, his shock. He stopped walking, and she did too.

"How long?" Harry asked her finally.

"Years, Harry. Maybe since we met. I don't know." Each word carried the weight of a thousand emotions, for her. Maybe for him, too. "Please, just let me… try to explain.

"I loved you. All through school, I loved you. And I… I didn't want you to think I was like Ginny, or the other girls who fawned over you, because you were Harry Potter. I loved Harry, my Harry. And I watched you date Cho and Ginny with a fat smile on my face while I cried into my pillow at night. Because…" She bit her lip and smiled ruefully, blinking away tears. "I just wanted… you to be happy, Harry. I would kill for that smile of yours. It sounds so stupid, to say it now, but god, I loved you so much it hurt… and…" Hermione was crying now, staring up at the early morning sky. A bird flew over them, singing merrily. "So that night, when we both got drunk, god, it was perfect because I almost thought it was real. That I would wake up and you would be mine." She laughed hollowly. "How pathetic does that sound? Me, mooning after you? But you were... different, Harry. I felt like we matched, two broken pieces finally coming together. So when I knew I was pregnant… I couldn't get rid of it. I couldn't do it. I tried– I made an appointment, Harry!– but I couldn't go through with it. And I knew you were with Ginny… and I knew you were happy… and I knew I would destroy that. Because even if… even if I got rid of her… it would never be the same between the three of us. And I thought I might… rip you two apart. And I just wanted you to be happy, Harry– in ignorance, I know!" She sunk to her knees, sobbing, begging. "And I'm sorry I was selfish, but I just thought– god, I just thought that if I couldn't have you… I would still have that part of you! And as long as you never found out… I'm so sorry, Harry, please forgive me! Please."

A/N Thanks so much for all the reviews. I pretty much have this story all mapped out and I hope you like it. So what do you guys think? Should Harry forgive Hermione? Also, I would suggest listening to the song "Satisfied" by Lin-Manuel Miranda from Hamilton. I got a lot of inspiration from that song for Hermione's "monologue". Love you guys!