SECOND CHANCES 5

Author's Note: I don't own any of the characters.

Hogwarts-The Great Hall-Breakfast

They had crossed a line, definitely crossed a line. They had crossed a line from which there was no possible way to return from. They had in fact crossed it many times over the last few weeks as they had celebrated their own private little anniversary a little early in the room of requirement. The anniversary of the night that they had become friends. Though there was no troll to fight this time they'd chosen other ways to celebrate, all without Harry knowing anything about it. Harry wasn't the only one that knew nothing about the seismic change in their relationship, they had managed to keep everything a secret from everyone…or so they thought. Hermione had been the first to notice the odd look that Dumbledore had given her the night of the Halloween banquet but it hadn't been until Ron noticed it that she knew that their Headmaster knew everything, though she never figured out how exactly.

He never said anything to anyone about it but thinking about the change in their relationship had kept Ron and Hermione from being able to focus on much else for the time being. The most dangerous time for either was to be caught alone in the common room at night. That and their prefect rounds had become a battle of wills to actually finish said patrols and not cross that line together as many times as they could before doing their best to not fall asleep in bed together in the room of requirement but to actually make it back to their dorm rooms. Both had been woken up after falling asleep either on one of the couches or slumped over in one of the common room chairs. Neither had come up with very good excuses for those occasions but their lies had been believed and their secret kept. The first real test of keeping their new secret didn't come until a few weeks later at breakfast in the great hall.

"Are you okay Hermione," Ginny asked with a concerned look to her as she stopped with a spoonful of potatoes halfway to her mouth and peered across the Gryffindor table at her bushy haired best friend.

"Me…of course, why," Hermione absentmindedly replied as she kept her gaze firmly fixed on the small book laid flat on the table in front of her, trying to do a little bit more studying before her next class.

"I don't know…lately you just look…different," Ginny shrugged with a screwed up face as she began to closely inspect every part of her best friend that she could see above the table in a vain search for the answer to her question.

"Different…good different or…bad different," Hermione wondered aloud with what she hoped was a look that Ginny would perceive as meaning that the brunette put no real amount of worry or concern to the question even though inwardly she was very worried about the idea that Ginny may have truly noticed something.

"Definitely good different…but there's just something different about you and I can't quite put my finger on it," Ginny answered quickly with a very warm smile and a nod before she grabbed a boiled egg before Ron could and bit the top half of it off before he stepped in.

"She's probably having one of those…good hair days, or whatever," Ron grumbled with a slightly irritated scowl cast across the table at his baby sister before he stuffed an entire boiled egg into his mouth and began to chew.

"You're right Ron she is…odd that you should notice though…but that's not it, it's something else…come to think of it you're looking pretty pleased with yourself lately as well, I wonder why," Ginny shot back with an odd look as she cocked her head to one side and squinted at first Ron and then Hermione, hoping that one of them would break and tell her something new.

"As do I Ginny, ya know I can't remember the last time that these two had a row…almost unnatural if you ask me," Harry agreed with a shaky breath as he sat down at the table next to Ginny and began to pull plates of food towards him, looking like hadn't slept very well the night before.

"Thanks Harry…you're a real friend," Hermione greeted him warmly with her best smile though with her gaze she cast him a withering glare of annoyance that she kept to a medium level so that he wouldn't feel like she suddenly hated him, all the while trying not to react to the presence of Ron's hand on the inside of her thigh about half way up under the table and hidden from everyone.

"Glad to be of help Hermione," Harry eagerly returned her smile's sentiment, seemingly not noticing her polite glare at all, as he began to fill his plate with an oddly smiling Ginny looking on.

"Bloody git," Ron grumbled out mostly under his breath, though with Ron even that tone easily carried across the table, as both Harry and Ginny immediately tried to look highly offended, though Ron and Hermione knew better.

"That sounds more like the brother that I know and sometimes love," Ginny happily chirped out as she sounded happy enough for most of her answer though at the end she cast Ron a quick knowing dirty look, but the youngest Weasley couldn't help but smile through it all.

"Lovely…thanks Gin," Ron called out softly with a less than pleased look as he pulled his hand away from Hermione's thigh to get some more food, all the while he missed the look of disappointment that flashed across her face at the act.

"Anytime dear brother…anytime," Ginny smirked back a little to nicely before anything that she would have said next got immediately cut off when Harry had to reach across Ginny to get a plate of sausages and the redhead could only blush and look away.

"Congratulations Hermione," Luna called out from behind Ron and Hermione with a look of as much joy as they'd ever seen on her face before she nodded her head and then skipped off back to the Ravenclaw table, before anyone could think of something to say let alone respond, leaving those at the Gryffindor table to look at each other in total confusion.

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Hogwarts-Room Of Requirement-Later That Night

"Hermione," Ron called out softly while still half asleep from the bed as he regained consciousness and realized that he was alone in bed, something that he never liked to be.

"Over here," Hermione called back over her shoulder all with her eyes never leaving the line of the book that she was reading intently, a sheet from the bed wrapped initially firmly around her body was now laying loose and bunched up around her, leaving her front covered enough but her back was bare in the firelight, much to Ron's approval.

"Reading…again," Ron groaned softly, though Hermione could tell that he wasn't actually angry and just teasing her a bit from his particular tone of voice, as he flopped back onto the bed and glanced over at her through his fingers.

"And just what is wrong with reading this time Ronald," Hermione snapped with a slight amount of irritation in her words as he always commented when she would read after crossing the line again, though some of the reason was to put some distance between them lest any dirty thoughts cloud her mind and the rest of the night be lost as well.

"Nothing…it's just that when you sit like that in the firelight it could cause a bloke to get ideas," Ron replied, sounding as if he hadn't heard the irritation in her response at all, as he sat up in bed and then swung his legs over the side.

"Oh really, what kind of…ideas," Hermione drawled out softly as she marked her place in the book and glanced back at Ron over her shoulder, giving him her best look of hunger that had nothing to do with food in a silent attempt that she hoped Ron would pick up on.

"Like you don't know luv," Ron guffawed with a grin as he slid off of the bed and soon joined Hermione on the couch before though she tried to look upset at this she leaned back into his embrace as his arms slid around her waist and pulled the two even closer.

"Maybe I do…and maybe I…Ron don't," Hermione tried to shoot back at him with what she tried to sound like a touch of sarcasm and maybe anger but all that ended up coming out was what sounded more like a teasing tone as Ron leaned his head down and lightly kissed her on her bare shoulder. It wasn't the kiss alone but Hermione could guess where he was headed and wasn't sure that she was ready to continue, at least not just yet.

"What, you don't like it when I do that," Ron commented softly with a small tone of concern in his words and look of a little bit of worry on his face before he gently pulled her hair back off of her neck and then kissed her shoulder again followed by a kiss to her neck, causing an intense shiver to pass through Hermione's body, a shiver that he fully felt.

"I have a hard time concentrating when you do that and you know it," Hermione grumbled out while feeling very conflicted as a part of her wanted Ron to stop kissing her but yet another equal part of her wanted nothing more than for him to continue as she tried to keep her logical mind in control.

"Maybe I do…and maybe I don't," Ron whispered softly into her ear before he leaned in and placed another kiss on her neck and a kiss on her shoulder. He could only smile when she half turned in his arms to look back and up at him.

"Git…it's not that…I think Luna knows…about us," Hermione nervously admitted with a look of fear in her eyes as she looked deeply into Ron's, who tried his best to appear confidant but couldn't help in any way but to share her concern.

"How, we haven't exactly been doing anything that she could have seen, we've only kissed in a few places and I don't see how Luna could have seen us, she's never been in the common room, or in here with us, and the quidditch changing room is…well we made sure that it was just the two of us," Ron shrugged with a nervous smile as he pulled Hermione closer and was very glad that she just went with it and laid her head on his shoulder, reveling in their contact and the warmth from his body despite them being close to a roaring fireplace.

"I know but, otherwise why did she wish us congratulations then, unless she's seen one of her made up sprites or fairies and she could have taken that as a sign about us," Hermione responded as she thought out loud for both of their benefit as she tried to think things through and figure out if they had slipped up anywhere and gotten caught by the blonde Ravenclaw, but she was having a hard time seeing anything.

"If that's the case then we have nothing to worry about, Luna's always saying that she sees this or that and nobody really takes her seriously…it won't matter if she tells anyone they'll just think that she's her usual balmy self," Ron commented confidently as he began to rub small circles on the back of Hermione's arm with his thumb and she hoped that he was right but still had her doubts.

"But does it matter if they believe her or not, I mean even if they think that she was crazy the idea of something going on between us could get stuck in their minds and people would start watching us more closely, I know that we kept us a secret so that we wouldn't hurt him after Sirius died but…that was months ago, perhaps we should tell people…not everyone but just those closest to us," Hermione hoped aloud though she was almost trying to convince herself of her words as she spoke as she tilted her head back so that she could keep looking Ron right in the eye and gauge his reaction through it all.

"Ginny and Mum will be…well happy for us but angry that we didn't tell them sooner, Harry…not sure what he'll think but I hope that he'll be happy for us…then again he could be pretty angry that we kept us a secret for so long…you know how he hates being kept in the dark about things, then again I do like you and I being the only two who know about us," Ron answered softly with a nervous and slightly scared laugh before his face grew far more serious and a bit worried as images of how Harry might react to the news that they were together flashed into his mind, everything from being overjoyed to furious that he had been lied to for so long and Ron could only hope that his best friends reaction would be the former instead of the latter.

"So do I Ron, but now the hard part is figuring out when to tell them, I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings about who we tell first and all," Hermione solemnly nodded, her eyes full of worry and a bit wet, as Ron could tell that she was now deep I thought and running and rerunning scenarios in her mind of who would be the best to tell first and how to tell them.

"We could always tell everyone at Christmas, just walk into the kitchen holding hands or have everyone accidentally catch us snogging somewhere, that way nobody feels left out…maybe if we're lucky we could use it as our gift to everyone," Ron suggested calmly as he tried to keep his mind on his view of what they should do and not on the glorious fact that he was holding Hermione Granger in his arms, and that she was completely naked.

"I don't think that will work Ron, at least the gift part, but Christmas does sound nice, that way we don't hurt anyone's feelings any more than we have to…right, we'll do that…," Hermione laughed off softly with a bit of a twinkle in her eye as she lovingly gazed up at Ron for a bit before she let out a relieved breath with a quick nod as she agreed that the Christmas holiday would be the best time to let everyone know the truth about them and their relationship.

"Except I'd rather die than tell mum about…this, that we're," Ron mumbled through a furious blush with his ears suddenly glowing red before he tried to cover up his embarrassment and fear by pulling Hermione into a kiss that only the late hour and the topic at hand kept it from becoming so much more. They both remained silent for several moments, staring intently into each other's eyes after breaking the kiss.

"You won't get an argument from me Ron, no one can know about this, but as much as I hate to say it we really should get back to the dorms…otherwise Filch will catch us or we'll be sleepwalking through classes again," Hermione declared very strongly as Ron was more than certain that she'd never tell their secret to anyone and expected him to do with the same without any reservation.

"Okay…but first," Ron whispered softly into Hermione's ear before he let his hands roam over her body again, feeling more than happy as he felt her do the same with her hands, and pulled her into a kiss that he knew would leave Hermione wanting more as he used his superior physical size and strength to roll them both on the couch so that he was on top of her again without allowing all of his body weight to come to bear on her.

"Ron…we can't…okay…one more time," Hermione could only get out in small and short gasps before her last playful giggle was drowned out by another kiss from Ron which left the two really hoping that they didn't fall asleep again afterwards like last time.

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Christmas Time-Number Twelve Grimmauld Place-London

She didn't know what to do and knew that there was no book in any library that could help her. She had gotten herself into this mess and as much as she knew that Ron would want to help and be willing to it all came down to this being her problem to deal with, or so her more logical side kept telling her. She knew that she had wanted it as much as Ron did and that it was a situation that they'd have to face from now on. She knew that his family would be supremely supportive of their new situation and could only hope that hers would follow suit. Her parents had met Ron several times over the years but each and every one of those times had been short meetings and had not progressed much past simple greetings and questions that her parents would have asked any of her classmates.

But now to meet Ron as her boyfriend and secret lover that was all new ground and uncharted territory. She had wracked her brain to try and remember how she had described Ron and the other members of the Weasley family in the past in the hope that she hadn't given her parents anything to object to, apart from the events surrounding the Yule Ball. On that occasion she remembered being angry at Ron and definitely shedding a few tears, now leaving her to hope that her mother had not remembered any of that, or at least as little as possible. Now sitting in the bedroom that she shared with Ginny she was trying to summon up the courage to join Ron and go through with their plan to reveal the truth to his family and the members of the Order that had come for supper.

"Hermione, are you in here," Ron asked softly with a light knocking on the door before he pushed the door open and stepped inside, smiling when his gaze fell upon her.

"Huh…oh yeah, just trying to find the courage to tell everyone," Hermione admitted with a nervous little laugh and a scared look in her eyes that Ron found worrying as he sat down on the bed next to her.

"You've always had the courage luv, besides it's not you that needs to worry," Ron smile back to her with as he put an arm around her and then leaned into place a quick kiss on her cheek, glad that his efforts seemed to brighten her spirits as least for a little bit.

"Why," Hermione wondered aloud as she turned to face him and then realized how close they were and had to fight against herself to keep from kissing him.

"Well Mum and Ginny will be bad but Fred and George will just be murder, not to mention if," Ron started to answer, looking a little sick to his stomach at the thought of the lines that his twin brothers would send his way after learning of his relationship with Hermione, before she surprised them both with a kiss that seemed to Ron to say that she'd lost her battle with her own fears and urges even if only for a moment.

"Ron…I can't, if we were just relaying a message about someone else then everything would be fine, but this is us…I don't want this to change anything between us…and once your mum learns that we're together then she'll be just that much more careful to keep us from being alone together," Hermione hurriedly commented through numerous short breaths as some of her fears were brought to light and Ron had to admit to himself at least that he shared said fears.

"It won't change anything between us Hermione, as for mum…well she's going to have to accept that we're not eleven years old anymore and don't need her watching over us every bloody second of the day…besides which I almost forgot, Professor McGonagall couldn't stay for supper but said that she had this for you from Madam Pomfrey," Ron countered in a rush to reassure her before he very nearly smacked himself in the head for almost forgetting the main reason that his father had sent him upstairs to find Hermione in the first place. Leaning away from her a bit Ron pulled a folded up note from his pocket and handed it to her.

"I wonder why she would be sending me a note during break, she fixed my cold up right quick last week," Hermione smiled her thanks to Ron at first before the rest of her answer was more the brunette thinking out loud than anything else. Ron silently watched her open the note and carefully read it, which he found a bit odd as the note seemed longer than he had expected. He grew very concerned when she had gotten to the end of the message and he felt her instantly stiffen up and let out a small gasp and reach a hand up to cover her mouth.

"What's it say Hermione…luv," Ron whispered softly as he scooted a bit closer to her and tried to lean in a bit and see if he could see what had made Hermione go suddenly very rigid next to him. He grew even more fearful when he could see a sea of unshed tears fill her eyes before she finally turned to him and spoke, her whole body shaking just as the first tears slipped silently down her cheeks.

"I'm pregnant!"

END OF SECOND CHANCES 5

Author's Note: Thanks again to everyone for reading and reviewing this and the other chapters. As always questions, reviews, and comments are appreciated. As to the story two little words can have a lot of meaning. I'm not dooming Hermione to being kept out of anything as there's still time for everything to be close to what happened in the seventh book and no talk of miscarriage here at all. While a pregnancy at that age isn't ideal it does happen, but not to me personally. I'm guessing here that maybe in the magical world they can tell about a pregnancy a bit faster as for Hermione it'd only been about a little over two months since sleeping with Ron, with me using crossing a line and such to mean sex. This chapter is about as sexual as I'm going to get with this story so there's that. Much more fun to come on how Ron and Hermione deal with the pregnancy and who knows about it. I used the room of requirement for where Ron and Hermione would have sex as they could truly be alone there without worrying about anyone interrupting them. Thank You.