SECOND CHANCES 11

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

Shell Cottage

No matter how many meals at the small cottage that she sat down for she always felt like an outsider, like a guest. Though it was the first time in months that she'd spent more than a week in the same place, and had a decent bed to boot, she still felt anxious and unsure of everything. The scar on her neck was healing about as good as she had expected it to and every day Ron would help her keep her mind off of it in whatever way that he could. For hours at a time Harry would act as if they didn't exist only to then suddenly want to spend an equal number of hours discussing every possible course of action going forward. Ron had become more than irritated at the sudden changes, in her mind because he was starting to get used to some regularity in his day again and wasn't all that eager for that to be disrupted.

To get a little time to themselves she had come up with a plan for them to go on long walks together. She would usually leave first with a book under her arm and say that she was going to find a spot to read. Ron would follow a few minutes later with one lame excuse after another and the two would find a quiet and secluded spot and just sit and talk, sometimes for hours. On one of their last free days Ron had found her sitting cross-legged by Dobby's grave nose deep in a book.

"Finding anything helpful or…are you just reading for something to do so that Harry doesn't bother you," Ron asked with a fair amount of cheek in his voice as he walked up and squatted down beside her.

"Oh come now Ron, he's not that bad," Hermione remarked with an amused laugh and rolling of her eyes as she reached a hand up and laid it on his knee, her grin only growing when he laid his hand over top of hers and gave it a squeeze.

"Well I'll put it to you this way, I now yearn for the days of Professor Binns…learning about one goblin rebellion or another," Ron explained with a shaky laugh before he sat fully down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders before she scooted in closer and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Ronald…why do I even bother…it was the giant rebellion and…," Hermione chuckled through with a quirky smirk as she reached a free hand over and began to lightly tickle his side.

"I know, just teasing," Ron replied softly with a restrained grin before he gave her another one armed hug and then kissed her on the top of her head.

"I bet you do, but is he really getting that bad," Hermione laughed off at first before her expression grew more serious as she cast a long glance back towards the cottage to see if anyone was looking in their general direction.

"I dunno, maybe he's just trying to do anything but think about Dobby or the fact that we're pretty much stuck here, with the tent gone and all," Ron sadly commented with a far off look in his eyes before he turned and gave the still freshly dug grave a more than somber look.

"I know, as crazy as it sounds I do miss the tent, sometimes…," Hermione added with a rather wistful expression as she allowed the breeze to blow over a few of the pages of her book without making any effort to stop it before she tried to smile a bit but that didn't work out so well.

"It would have been nice had it just been the two of us…and we weren't on the run from the darkest wizard the world had ever seen…then…maybe…yeah, it could have been nice, I think," Ron offered up softly as he remembered the few good moments that they'd had in the tent together before reality cruelly set in and he was forced to admit the truth against his will.

"It would have been lovely Ron, just think we could have taken Henry on a camping holiday when he got older…but now…a part of me never wants to see another tent as long as I live, and yet…," Hermione agreed with a sad edge to her words and the feeling of her eyes starting to get a little wet as she closed her book without bothering to put a bookmark in it and snuggled up even closer to Ron, thriving off of his body heat.

"In a strange way it feels like home, yeah…me too," Ron acknowledged with a nervous chuckle as he used the thumb that was attached to the arm that was around Hermione's shoulders to begin to rub small circles on her back in the hopes of comforting her a little.

"If we stay here much longer I fear that I might not want to leave…it's so nice here," Hermione reluctantly said after a few silent moments as she pulled away enough to look up at Ron as he looked back at her before they leaned in for a kiss that lingered for several moments.

"Yeah…I can see why Bill like is, Fleur doesn't seem to love it very much but…she's working on it," Ron added a few seconds later with an anxious clearing of his throat, as he thought that he saw someone in the cottage's window, before he leaned in for another kiss but got interrupted.

"Working on what," Dean interjected with an amused smirk as he suddenly stood behind them, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his foot lightly tapping on the sand.

"Dean…what…what are you doing here," Hermione exclaimed after a quick yelp of shock and alarm as she and Ron sprang apart and tried not to look like they'd just gotten caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Both also silently wondered how they had missed their classmate sneaking up on them from behind.

"I was just going for a walk before dinner and got a show," Dean answered calmly with a knowing grin and his hands in his pockets as he stayed where he was and glanced back and forth between Ron and Hermione, who both looked more than a bit shocked and embarrassed.

"Dean, if you know what's good for you," Ron started to declare with both of his hands being clenched tightly into fists as he scrambled up to his feet before he was cut off.

"I'll keep my big fat gob shut, fine…on one condition," Dean quickly exclaimed while looking more than a bit nervous as he threw up his hands and took a shaky step back, obviously wanting to keep a little bit of distance between himself and Ron.

"What…condition," Hermione wondered aloud with her brows furrowing as she set her book aside and stood up beside Ron, trying to keep herself in between Dean and the cottage.

"That you tell me how long you two have been together, tell me that and why keep it a secret and I promise that I won't tell anyone, at least until all of this is over…now do we have a deal," Dean replied with an all too eager grin as he took another step or two back as Ron still looked more than a bit threatening even though they were about the same height.

"Bloody…fine…deal," Hermione started to curse out loud under her breath before she realized that they had been caught and were in a no win situation without having to resort to more serious lengths and so she agreed to the deal.

"Fifth year at Christmas, and remember…you promised," Ron explained under his breath with an intense glare aimed at his fellow Gryffindor, making sure that both knew the penalty that Ron would exact on Dean if the latter ever breathed a word of the secret to anyone.

"We've kept it a secret for several reasons, the timing has just never been right, and now, the less that the other side knows about us the better," Hermione added softly as she made a hasty attempt to compose herself and straighten the bottom edge of her Weasley jumper before she bent down to pick up her book.

"Do you ever plan on telling everyone," Dean asked as he took a couple of nervous steps forward, feeling that Ron and Hermione were now less likely to do anything to him, as he took some small amount of pleasure at how anxious he was making the pair of them.

"Sure…right after this is all over, provided that we're still alive to tell people," Hermione shrugged slightly before a light pink was seen on her cheeks and she fervently hoped that her words were true and that they would both still be around at the end to tell everyone.

"Don't worry, you will be…both of you," Dean announced with a confidant nodding of his head as he leaned forward a bit and gave Ron a supportive pat on the shoulder.

"Really, how do you know," Ron demanded angrily as his hands balled up into fists and he looked ready for a fight though Hermione stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"I don't…not really, but the alternative is to scary to think about," Dean admitted with a sheepish expression and slight blush of his own before he leaned back a little ways and tried to make Ron feel like he was telling them the truth.

"It is, but remember…when you go to Ron's aunts house you can't tell anyone that we're here, at least until after we've gone," Hermione stated sharply with a fierce look of determination in his eyes as she stepped forward in front of Ron and looked Dean squarely in the eye, making sure that he knew that she was not messing around.

"Heh…yeah, otherwise my mum would be here before you could blink and never let us go," Ron laughed off with a tone that Hermione could tell meant that he missed her terribly, truth be told she did as well, but Dean just took it as joking sarcasm and went with it.

"She's worried about you, but you won't have to worry about me it'll be Luna that you should be worried about, she'll let something slip," Dean offered quickly with a sheepish grin before he rolled his eyes through a long sigh as his shoulders slumped and he let out a soft groan at the end.

"I'll have a talk with her," Hermione assured Ron with a smile and a quick kiss on the cheek that was hidden from the cottage by Dean as he had started back towards the house before Ron interrupted them both.

"Good, and do it fast because here comes Harry, and he looks like he has a plan," Ron nodded suddenly with an overly broad smile and a quick glance between Hermione and Dean before he saw Harry coming towards them with a very grim expression and his hands in his pockets.

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Hogwarts-Minutes After The Final Battle

It was over. She couldn't believe it, she couldn't actually believe it. No matter how hard she tried the feelings that she had always expected and hoped to have after Voldemort had been defeated simply wouldn't come. They had lost far too much for any of those feelings to greet her. Her breathing was still ragged as she expected something to happen at any moment, a Death Eater to jump out of every shard of darkness and kill her or Ron. The fact that they were still alive somehow felt foreign to her, as if she truly hadn't expected to live and had planned long and hard about how it would all go, but now that they were going to live it was all uncomfortable uncharted territory. Sitting with the Weasley's felt very strange to her, not because she felt like an outsider but because she wasn't sure just how much affection was correct to show, especially towards Ron who still looked shell-shocked that he was down one brother.

She felt terrible that all that she wanted right then was for Ron to hold her tightly in his arms and kiss her and never let go, but she knew that it wasn't the time or the place for that kind of revelation. She took her opportunity when she saw Ginny sulk off towards the lake and Harry make a lame excuse a few moments later and take off out of what was left of the Great Hall, she guessed to talk to the redhead. The redhead that captivated her thoughts then was enduring a barrage of comments from his mother about how thin he had become and how thin he had allowed her to get before she felt a large yawn coming on.

Seizing upon a momentary break in Mrs. Weasley's verbal onslaught she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room after her. They didn't stop until they got to the Head Boy and Head Girl suite that McGonagall had told them that they could use to clean up and get some sleep as she had felt that Gryffindor tower would be too crowded and they deserved some peace and quiet. Hermione had been about to ask her more but decided that the wink that her favorite teacher had given her during that discussion was enough that the older woman had specifically done it just for them.

"Hermione…luv, is…is this…is this…real," Ron wondered aloud as they awkwardly walked into the suite and Hermione pulled out her beaded bag and began to pull out their pajama's.

"I…I think so Ron, but I'm not sure, none of this feels real, but it has to be right, we're here, we're alive, we're going to see Henry again…Ron, we're going to see our son, we're going to be a family," Hermione replied with a nervous laugh as she stepped gingerly through the room until she got to the first chair that she came to and sat down.

"We already are a family Hermione, if only you and me…I don't care what anybody else says…I'd marry you right now if I could," Ron stated confidently as he walked over to her and knelt down in front of her with his hands on her knee.

"Ron…don't joke about that, not now," Hermione yawned back softly with an oddly nervous and flustered expression with pink cheeks as she shifted a bit in her seat and tried to laugh it off.

"Who's joking Hermione, I meant every word," Ron stated plainly and with a very serious tone to his words and look in his eyes as he stared straight at her and she couldn't help but blush deeply and smile while trying not to tear up.

"Really…you mean that you'd," Hermione replied with a shiver that ran through her body in the span of a second before she felt the sudden urge to kiss him as she felt that she looked terrible just then.

"Yeah, I mean I didn't just defeat Voldemort or anything and I'm not the big hero but…I mean I don't have a ring or anything but I can always get that…mmpf," Ron shrugged slowly as he looked more than a bit nervous and unsure of himself as she could tell that he was obviously letting his insecurities creep into his thoughts more than she liked as he stood up and started to turn away before she decided that she'd had enough and shot up to her feet.

"The ring doesn't matter Ron…really, I don't need some gaudy ring that costs a year's salary or anything like that, no Ron…when the time comes as long as it's a ring and it's from you that'll be enough for me," Hermione explained with a tired but forceful tone to her words as she took his hands in hers and made him look down at her so that she wouldn't have to repeat herself, letting her truth feelings shine through.

"Good, because I'm not sure if there's a lot of galleons in saving the bloody wizarding world…well maybe for Harry and you…but for me…," Ron eagerly nodded back through a small sigh of relief and a laugh as he pulled her into his arms and leaned down for a lingering and longing kiss on the lips.

"My love for you has nothing to do with your bank account Ron, and I think that you already know that…but I understand…I do, you should take a bath first because you stink…just leave enough hot water for me please, I'll need it," Hermione whispered softly to him through the kiss as she gave as good as she got in that department before she pulled back enough to wrinkle her nose at him and grin, a slightly mischievous twinkle in her eye, before she gave him one last kiss and pushed him towards the bathroom.

"We could always take it together, nothing we need to hide anyway," Ron offered up, looking more than a bit hopeful, as he gestured to the doorway and grinned, causing Hermione to do nothing more than laugh.

"Normally I would…but if we did that then we'd stay in there together forever," Hermione reluctantly replied with a clear tone of interest that Ron easily picked up on before her more logical side of her brain took over and answered for her.

"And please tell me what is wrong with that idea," Ron countered with a look in his eyes that he knew she liked and she had to bite her lip and curl her toes up in her shoes to keep from rushing off to join him before she composed herself enough to answer him.

"Because I need some sleep Ron, and I know that you do as well, tonight we sleep…," Hermione pointed out with a rather large yawn that she decided not to try and cover up as Ron stopped just inside the doorway to the bathroom.

"And tomorrow night," Ron questioned aloud with one eyebrow raised and a crooked smile as he cocked his head to one side with a sly and knowing look in his eyes.

"We'll sleep tonight so that we won't need to tomorrow night…now get in there," Hermione winked back softly with a dirty grin as she sat back down on the chair and started to take her shoes off.

"Yes luv," Ron nodded with a salute and an excited grin before he shut the door behind him and headed off to the tub to take his bath.

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Hogwarts-Head Boy And Head Girl Suite-Thirty Minutes Later

She had thought that he'd gotten lost in the bath but finally it was her turn. Standing around naked in the suite for the entire time hadn't been her original plan but then again she'd expected things to go quicker. Though she had taken the opportunity to stare at every square inch of herself in the mirror, taking in each and every bruise, cut, and spot of dirt across her body. A small voice in the back of her mind wondered what Ron ever saw in her, as naked and skinny as she was just then however that voice was quickly squashed seconds later when he had strolled out of the bathroom. His hair was wet and sticking up in all directions and the towel that he held in his hands was far too small to wrap all of the way around his waist but she guessed that he'd done that intentionally.

With a quick kiss on the cheek she slipped around him before he could wrap his arms around her and she ducked into the bathroom and shut the door. The hot bath was something that felt foreign to her suddenly, as if she had landed on a different world. The bath itself felt like heaven but the entire time she felt like something was wrong. She was just about to step fully out of the tub when she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror and the scene of Mrs. Weasley crying over Fred's body flashed into her mind. In the span of a single human heartbeat her chest tightened up and she felt nauseous. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut in between the teardrops she gave a few dry heaves as her legs then went numb at the idea in her mind of herself crying over Henry's body. It was all that she could do to scream for Ron before her legs finally gave out, and Hermione fully expected for her head meeting the tile floor to be the next thing that happened, but she got lucky.

"Hermione," Ron shouted as loudly as he could in great alarm as he blasted the door open with his shoulder and rushed to Hermione's side just in time to keep her from crashing to the floor.

"Ron…I'm sorry I just," Hermione blubbered out through the twin rivers of tears that were cascading down her cheeks as she struggled to try and compose herself but was failing miserably as Ron sat down on the cold tile floor with combined the pair of them only wear a small towel.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Ron declared strongly as he held her close and tried his very best to no let her tears affect him but he could already feel his own trying to force their way out and he felt that he'd already lost on that front and that it was only a matter of time before he joined her in that.

"I just suddenly thought about your mother and Fred and then I couldn't help but think about Henry and how I'd feel if…if…," Hermione answered about as fast as her mouth and mind could move in unison as her darkest fear burst forth from her like a tidal wave and she just couldn't help but let it all out and hold nothing back.

"Henry's fine Hermione, he's with your parents remember, there's no safer place on this Earth," Ron replied honestly with what he hoped was a soothing tone of voice and content that would help ease Hermione's panic.

"I know but," Hermione weakly tried to object as she tried to look him in the eye but found that she didn't have the nerve just then and so she buried her face into his chest and let a few more tears fall.

"We'll get the ministry to help us find them and then we'll go and fix everything," Ron proclaimed confidently and with more than a fair amount of determination as he gave her another squeeze and just hoped that what he'd just told her would come true.

"I need him in my arms Ron," Hermione gasped out softly with a terrible amount of fear and pain in her words before she couldn't hold it back any longer and everything just burst forth and her tears fell and powerful sobs wracked her body. She didn't know whether she was crying for her own pain, Ron's, Harry's, Fred's, Mrs. Weasley's or anyone and everyone but she knew that she needed her son, now.

"I know Hermione…I know," Ron mumbled into her busy locks before his own tears joined hers and soon the two were echoing each other's sobs just like they had that day after Hermione had wiped her parents memories. When Ron had enough composure and strength he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom and slipped under the covers with them both, his towel left on the bathroom tile, before he was glad when sleep claimed them both.

END OF CHAPTER 11

Author's Note: Thanks again to everyone for reading and reviewing this and the other chapters. As always reviews, questions, and comments are greatly appreciated. I had Dean find out about Ron and Hermione to a point just for fun, as you'd expect that as soon as Dean and Luna showed up with Ollivander at Aunt Muriel's house that Mrs. Weasley would grill them for information if she thought that they'd seen the trio. And they only told Dean about their relationship but kept everything else a secret. They had time for all of that as the trio spent like a month at Shell Cottage. As for the three reasons why Henry was a boy rather than a girl are finally here. One was the fact that it'd be easier to hide Hermione's parents given that nobody on Voldemort's side would be looking for an older couple with a baby son since they didn't know that Hermione had any kids. Two was so that I could have Hermione say her last line in this chapter about needing him in her arms as that's a quote from the second mummy movie with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, except in the movie the line has Rick at the end instead of Ron. That line is one of the big reasons that I wrote this whole story and had Hermione be pregnant, I just loved that line for some reason. The third reason was so that when Fred died that Hermione would have a different view of it given that since she has a son of her own that she'd have a different view of how Mrs. Weasley was hurting. The next chapter will be the next day at Hogwarts for starters and go from there. Thank You.