A/N: It's been a really busy weekend and I only manage to finish of this chapter before I head to bed in about 10 minutes, so the next chapter of "Left Outside" is probably up tomorrow. To be honest, I want it to be up by tomorrow since it's been ages since I posted a chapter there, or at least it feels like it. It's more like a week, but anyways…

Read and hopefully enjoy!

HALF A YEAR FROM NOW

Chapter II

One minute is what it takes to get the answer you feared but deep down
inside you already knew was true.

It was Thursday morning and Hermione had trouble sitting still on her seat at the table in the Great Hall, to say the least. She'd hardly touched her breakfast, just idly poked around in the fried egg she put on her plate earlier. There was more than one reason for her behavior. For one she was eagerly awaiting the owl post as she had been doing all this past week, hoping it would hold a package for her. She knew there were other ways to find out what she wanted to know, but somehow she still relied on the scientific muggle community to supply her with what she needed. As the multicolored owl's swept through the hall she held her breath. She didn't realize this until a big brown postal owl landed next to her plate, almost knocking over her still empty glass. It was holding a small package in its claws. She took it and let her breath out at the same time. Then she gave the owl a piece of her egg before it left together with the other owls. She looked down at the small rectangular parcel, plain and simple with only the name Hermione Granger, Hogwarts, scribbled on top of it. It made her stomach clench and she felt a lump in her throat. She didn't want to think about it and was about to put it in her school bag when she was interrupted.

"What did you get, Hermione?" Harry asked from across the table before taking another spoonful of porridge. "Is it from your mother, since it came with a post owl?"

She drew a breath and then relaxed, happy that he had already mentioned something that would explain the package. "Yeah" she said. "I guess it's a letter from mom, and since it's a package it probably contains some candy or something." She faked a jolly smile. "I hope she sent my favorites"

Ron, who was seated next to Harry, nodded. "So do I, you need some extra calories, you hardly had any breakfast at the past weeks. You're starting to look thin."

She swatted at him but he leaned out of her reach, grinning at her.

"Don't ever tell a girl she needs calories" she laughed, genuine this time. "I gained like 5 pounds since Christmas, you know! I have trouble buttoning my skirts!"

"You're still as pretty as ever" he retorted and winked at her. She smiled a brief smile and finally proceeded to tuck her package in her school bag. Harry gave her a questioning look.

"If I open it now I'll just eat the candy" she explained. "I rather save it for later."

He didn't ask her more about it and she was happy for it, since she was running out of explanations fast. Deciding to ignore the meager remains of her egg she waited until the boys where done and then walked with them out of the Great Hall.

If she'd looked back she's would have known that one pair of grey eyes followed her out of the hall and they held a mixed look of worry and desire.

o

The hours seemed to slither past in a horribly slow way, grinding on her nerves and making her snappy and irritated. Even Harry and Ron started giving her weird glances, but seemed to decide it just was some girly issue or another. If someone else asked she just blamed it on a headache.

Sitting through double hour of Potions wasn't a joyride either, none of the lessons she had together with him had been since the party a little more than two months ago. She would throw him a glance and her whole body would tense up and she just knew that she probably was blushing. That wasn't good at all. It didn't matter that she knew what had happened didn't mean anything to him and it shouldn't really mean anything to her either. It had been a drunken escapade and that was it. But she still felt unnaturally tense around him and that was affecting her accomplishments in class. Today was worse than normal and she made such ridiculous mistakes that Harry started giving her odd glances so in the end she forced herself to ignore everything except the potion they were currently working on. She didn't want to face him again after what happened. She knew she was a coward but somehow she couldn't take that malicious smile he sprouted when or if he'd meet her on his own. She couldn't take it, him silently gloating about what had happened between them, couldn't face him and know he knew that she didn't regret what had happened and had clearly been enjoying it.

"Hermione, are you listening?"

Harry's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she gave him a puzzled look.

"Sorry I wasn't listening, what did you say?"

He gave her a worried look in return.

"I just asked if you where done chopping the roots. Are you feeling okay? You been zooming out a lot recently, is there something wrong? You know you can tell me, right?"

She nodded. Of course she knew she could talk to him. But she doubted she could talk to him about what was worrying her right now and she didn't feel like telling him anything until she knew for sure. No reason to stir up a storm about something that would be better kept a secret if possible.

When she left class together with Harry and Ron she threw him a sideways glance under her hair. Luckily he didn't see it or he would only sprout that proud smirk again. It was better if she just kept on avoiding him, it couldn't be that hard with only about two months left of term, even though they shared a common room together she usually left before he got up and then returned, locking herself in her room before he came back. But she knew she might have to face him anyway, depending on the outcome of her recent pondering.

When the classes of the day was over and she spent a certain amount of time poking around in her food at dinner, she left Harry and Ron and headed for her common room, going straight up to her room, dropping the school bag on her bed and slipped the little package into her pocket. She considered just using the small bathroom connected to her bedroom to take a shower, but decided against it and grabbed her towel, heading out for the prefects bathroom hoping that it would be empty. To her surprise and luck it was. She striped her clothes of while hot water filled the big tiled pool. The water was almost too hot when she slipped down in it but it relaxed her muscles and soon it just felt comfortable. She took a long bath in the big pool, swimming back and forth in it until she was tired. It had calmed her down enough for her to rip the package open and start reading the instructions.

o

He was worried about her. He had looked at her this morning at breakfast as he always did and she repeated the same ritual as she had the past few weeks. She put some food on her plate or poured something to drink in her glass and then just poked at it or looked at it until her friends where done eating. But this morning had been somewhat different. She still didn't really eat anything but after receiving something with owl post she actually broke into a smile and seemed to be joking with her friends. And then they left, as usual. He kept following her with his eyes, but she didn't turn around. She never did.

He couldn't help it but it got harder and harder for him to be around her without smiling to himself. He knew it probably came out as a smirk to anyone around him, but inside he was smiling every time he saw her or met her in class or in the corridors. He knew she was avoiding him and he could understand that. It wasn't unexpected, really, there wasn't really any other way for her to react to it all. She'd been intoxicated and less rational then she usually was and made a decision totally opposite to her normal self. But he didn't think she regretted it, not really. Thinking about it actually made him sprout a genuine smirk, he knew that she had had nothing against it at that point. Well, neither had he so he guessed that made them even. He also knew that she hadn't realized that it was a wish coming true for him, to hold her close to him, in his arms and just be able to touch her and make her enjoy the time she had spent with him. It was almost painful to know that it had been a onetime incidence. Still, something more than her anxiety over what she had done was bothering her and he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

He kept an eye on her in Potions class as well, trying to suppress the smile treating to break out on his face and concentrating on the assignment they had. Professor Slughorn was a fair but strict teacher and there was no real place for mistakes in his advanced potions class and it was a good thing that he had to keep his mind on the potion instead of zooming out while looking at her. Right at this point Potter was talking to her and she wasn't responding to him but simply staring straight out into the air, her hand still holding the knife she'd been using to chop up roots. What was she thinking about?

"What are you thinking about?"

"Hmm… what?"

He almost jumped as Zambini spoke to him and had to catch a bowl he'd accidentally hit with his left elbow, which was holding some slimy pale blue liquid that he for the name of Merlin could not remember what it was or what they were supposed to do with it.

"You zoomed out again, mate. You do it often nowadays, something wrong?"

"Na, nothing, just tired of school and lessons. Good thing it's over soon."

That seemed to satisfy his classmate for the moment since he went back to reading the instructions for the potion written on the blackboard. Groaning and placing the bowl back on the desk he leaned his head in his hands and just waited for the class to come to an end. When it was finally over he gathered his stuff up, felt someone looking at him and looked up, but couldn't see anyone facing him directly. But there was still the feeling of being watched. He shrugged and slung his bag over his shoulder and decided to head to the kitchens to grab a light snack instead of waiting for dinner. He nodded at his classmates when they got outside the classroom door and they started to head for the Great Hall.

"I'll see you guys later in the common room."

They just nodded without even asking why he wouldn't join them for dinner. Since the kitchen entrance was also located in the dungeons he reached it fairly quick and asked the house elves to fix a couple of sandwiches. They did as asked and also gave him a slice of red berry pie, which surprised him since he hadn't asked for it but he took it anyway and made his way up to the Head's dormitory. He reached the corridor at the same moment as she stepped out through the portrait hole and headed off in the opposite direction without even seeing him. She seemed to be in a hurry. For a second he wondered where she was going before he noticed the towel hanging from her arm and concluded that she was probably heading to the Prefects bathroom. Good, that meant he could use the one in the dormitory before he went back down to the Slytherin common room.

o

It was later, much later and she was leaning against the cold tiles of the wall in the bathroom, wrapped up in the towel and tried to take slow deep breaths to keep calm. She tried to tell herself that there was no reason to panic but her whole being shouted back at her that she had a damn good reason to be freaked out of her mind.

She still held the little blue and white stick in a death grip in her right hand, terrified to look at it but still did once again, praying for the hundredth time that it would show something else.

Of course it didn't. The faint blue cross showing in the little plastic window on it almost seemed to shout out what she had feared all along. No matter how many times she looked at it the vertical line would not fade away and turn the result into the negative one she had been praying for but not expecting.

She was, without any doubt, pregnant.

A/N: And there the second chapter is done. I know it's a bit short but by the looks of it the third one is going to be a long one. If you haven't figured by now all chapters start with a kind of disclaimer on what the chapters about and there is a red line through them which will show as the story moves on. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I would like it immensely if you took your time to leave a comment, criticism, ideas or adoration is all welcome.

Remeber reviews = big big smile!

Until next time!

/Miriam