SECOND CHANCES 12

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

Hogwarts-Head Boy And Head Girl Suite

Waking up to screams wasn't strange. She'd done it several times at Shell Cottage, though for all of those times it was always her own screams that she'd woken up to. But on the morning after the final battle at Hogwarts it wasn't her screams that wrenched her from her peaceful slumber but Ron's. His cries had not been for her time being tortured at Malfoy Manor but instead for the horrific aftermath of his older brother's death. She had struggled valiantly against his flailing limbs and cries to get him under control, with the whole time her own tears streaming down her cheeks. It had gotten so bad that she had almost been unable to see through the tears. Finally she had managed to wake him up and realize that it had all been a dream, though that had entailed telling him that his brother was still dead and that was never going to change. They had shared several minutes of tears and sobs before managing to compose themselves.

Upon the realization that they were alone in bed together and completely naked their thoughts had soon turned to other matters. Harry's whereabouts and his health had quickly taken a backseat to their intertwined bodies and limbs for as long as their strength would hold out. They hadn't known how long they lasted before sleep had overtaken them again. It wasn't until it was almost noon that they had regained consciousness and calmed themselves enough to actually get dressed in whatever clean clothes that they had left.

"So what do we do now," Ron wondered aloud with a curious frown as he bent over on his spot on the bed to tie his shoes, as Hermione did her best to not stare at the fact that he was still shirtless.

"We go to the kitchens and get something to eat then see if everyone is still in the Great Hall, after that…who knows," Hermione replied with a totally lost expression and shrug of her shoulders as she slipped her cleanest pair of jeans on and sat down next to Ron to button and zip them up.

"What do we tell people about…us," Ron continued, sounding a bit uneasy, as he sat back up and turned to her, grinning a bit as he caught sight of her gaze raking over his bare chest.

"What do you mean, they're not going to ask," Hermione scoffed back as she threw her head and swished her hair as best that she could in mock outrage at Ron's inference before she couldn't help but laugh a little at the absurdity of it all.

"Well I hate to break it to you Hermione but remember that Harry did see us kiss when I told you about the house elves, he's probably told a few people…or at least Ginny has," Ron chimed in with a slightly mocking tone to his words and overly dopey grin as he lightly bumped her with his shoulder and tried to keep himself from wanting to kiss her.

"We'll just tell them that we've got some things to work through and that we're not sure, that we're taking it day by day and seeing where that takes us," Hermione offered as she unintentionally scooted herself a bit closer to Ron until she draped her left leg over his and wrapped her right arm around his back and couldn't help laying her left hand flat on his bare chest.

"But that means that I can't kiss you whenever I want," Ron snickered under his breath with a sly grin as he laid his left hand in the crick of her knee so that his thumb could rub her kneecap and his fingers would be able to tickle her a bit if need be.

"Well now…I didn't say that…I certainly wouldn't have a problem with a kiss here and there," Hermione shakily answered with a short breath as she could feel herself getting more than a bit flustered and her heart rate speed up as Ron brought his right hand up to her cheek and then pulled her into a kiss that left little doubt what he'd rather be doing right then, even if his stomach would growl up a storm.

"I think that can be arranged," Ron added softly through a wide grin as the hand that was on her cheek slid down to her behind and she allowed him to pull her up and onto his lap until she was straddling his legs with the two being face to face and her biting her bottom lip to try and refrain from just letting her desires overtake her again, especially now that there was no reason not to.

"It'd better," Hermione whispered back through her lips moments before she crushed them against Ron's as she wrapped her arms around him as one descended to his up back while the other soon got lost in his hair at the back of his head as she pulled the two together while Ron's arms wrapped around her body and supported her. They stayed that way for several moments before her allowed her bodyweight to make him fall back on the bed with her on top. It was almost an hour later before either could fully compose themselves and get their minds back to the tasks of the day ahead of them, what of it was still left to them.

"Do you think that Harry and Ginny are back together," Ron asked softly, his voice full of actual concern, as he glanced down at her head rest on his chest, their clothes strewn about the room as they had been flung or wrenched off in a frenzy just earlier.

"I hope so but I'm not sure, she seemed pretty upset with him," Hermione answered with a long off look in her eyes as she remembered the look of annoyance that Ginny had carried on her face the night before after she had talked to Harry.

"I'm honestly not sure whether I should be happy about that or not," Ron groaned out loudly as he stared up at the ceiling for a few moments before the thought of whether anyone had used the suite in months suddenly plunked into his mind.

"Me either, all I know is that it's something that they should work out for themselves without us interfering," Hermione somberly agreed as she snuggled up closer to him and soothed her fears with the warmth coming off of his body and into hers.

"Not sure how much time they're going to have, or how much privacy…Harry's the big hero again remember, he got rid of Voldemort," Ron pointed out while sounding less than pleased and almost envious of his best friend before Hermione pushed herself up enough so that she could look Ron fully in the face which only managed to end up with her laying directly on top of him.

"That's true…but you want to know a little secret, Harry can be everybody else's secret…my hero is right here beside me," Hermione admitted with a worried frown before she laid her chin down on her hands on Ron's chest and stared at him intently, finally managing to give Ron a playful smirk.

"Really…did Neville sneak in when I wasn't looking," Ron relayed as he closed his eyes and sighed deeply, sounding very angry the whole time though she could tell that her was only joking and tried to hold back any anger for as long as she could.

"Ron…mmpf," Hermione groaned back as she started to think of what to yell back at him as he pulled her into another kiss before his hands slid down her back until they got to her backside and both got a firm grip, causing more time to melt into the ether.

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Hogwarts-Great Hall-Late Afternoon

She had expected to find things in the hall still a total mess. She had expected to find friends and families of those lost still huddled together in small groups looking totally lost and alone. She had expected to find the castle difficult to traverse. She was shocked to discover that as she and Ron made their way to the Great Hall that afternoon for dinner that work had already begun on repairing the school. Everywhere they looked they saw teams of aurors and other ministry officials hard at work repairing various parts of the castle. They passed some students that they knew as they went but thankfully none well enough to force them to stop and talk. Ron's loudly growling stomach pushed them onward, though to be honest Hermione's stomach was making quite the racket as well. When they got to the Great Hall they were relieved to see that it wasn't packed and Harry stood at the far end talking to Seamus and Neville while Ginny was at the opposite end of the room looking rather glum. Hermione nodded to Ron that he should go and talk to Harry while she talked to Ginny, saying that his stomach could afford to wait a few more minutes, though as the scent of rolls wafted into her nose she gave serious thought to just eating everything in sight.

"What's wrong Ginny, did you and Harry have a fight," Hermione asked softly, her voice full of concern, as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned up against the wall next to the redhead.

"Something like that, we tried to talk but our tempers got the better of us and we just messed it all up, now I think that we both want to make up but…," Ginny answered somberly as she slid down the wall until she could wrap her arms around her legs and rest her chin near her knees.

"You're both to scared and nervous to admit that you were wrong, but at least you still love each other right," Hermione added with a sympathetic edge to her words as she leaned over and laid a hand consolingly on the redhead's shoulder and did her best to smile warmly.

"Heh…yeah, I mean…I know I do but…I don't know if he," Ginny nervously explained with a weak shrug of her shoulders as at first she tried to sound confidant but that tone soon disappeared and was quickly replaced by a very fearful look as she turned her head away from looking at Hermione.

"He does Ginny, never doubt that…because I don't, the two of you just need time to figure things out that's all," Hermione declared strongly as Ginny managed to look back at her before she pulled her hand off of the younger girls shoulder long enough to offer it up as a means to pulling her back up to her feet.

"I hope that you're right Hermione, I just can't understand why he…why you," Ginny said softly with a forced look of hope on her face as she put her hand out and let Hermione pull her back up to her feet.

"We left because we had to, Dumbledore gave Harry a task to do and he had to do it to save everyone, Ron and I went with him because we swore that we would, you couldn't have gone with us," Hermione quickly did her best to explain their reasons for leaving so suddenly and without telling anyone as she moved a hand up to Ginny's shoulder and was glad when she didn't jerk away at her touch.

"Why not," Ginny angrily demanded as she balled her hands up into fists and looked fully ready for a fight as Hermione threw up her hands in defeat and smiled nervously.

"You weren't of age yet, you still had the trace on you, the Death Eaters would have been able to find us anywhere, but now we're not going anywhere without you," Hermione reminded her with a sympathetic look in her eyes before she leaned in and gave Ginny a quick hug, one that the redhead slowly returned.

"Bloody right you're not, especially if you three don't want me to hex you into oblivion," Ginny snapped more out of determination than anger as she pulled back from the hug and lightly glared first at Hermione and then at Harry and Ron across the room.

"Trust me, we don't," Hermione readily told her before she guided the pair to one of the nearby house tables that had been put back upright and they sat down next to each other and let out a tired sigh.

"But what about you and Ron, Harry told me about the kiss…so are the two of you finally together or not," Ginny wondered aloud with an overly eager and glib smirk as she gave Hermione a light jab in the side with her elbow and pushed her gaze towards her older brother who was now laughing at something with Harry.

"I don't know, we really haven't had a chance to talk about it yet, after we left Harry Ron fell asleep about as soon as his head hit the pillow and I wasn't far behind him, and you know your brother Ginny…talking about relationships really isn't his strong suit," Hermione blushed back as she curled her toes up and dug her fingernails into the seat and it was all that she could do to keep form biting her bottom lip as she lied through her teeth to Ginny and hoped that she wouldn't notice.

"Well after all of this he'd better make time," Ginny grumbled out as she scuffed her feet on the ground in the hopes of keeping herself busy and not thinking about Harry before Hermione cut back in.

"We have all the time in the world to sort it all out Ginny, besides once we get back to the Burrow we can relax and not be the center of attention," Hermione smiled sweetly as she reached and arm around Ginny's shoulders and gave her a quick one armed hug of support and understanding.

"Sorry Hermione, but you two and Harry defeated the most evil wizard of all time, you'll be the center of attention for the rest of your lives," Ginny pointed out with a sarcastically amused smirk as she stood back up and looked all around the Great Hall, silently making Hermione notice just how many people were repeatedly glancing over at them.

"Don't remind me, I'm more than ready to just fade into the background," Hermione bemoaned loudly as she rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat before staring sadly up at the ceiling.

"Fat chance of that Hermione, besides Professor McGonagall wanted to see us remember," Ron interjected, with Harry at his side, as he walked up to Hermione and lightly tapped on her foot with his while looking more than a bit nervous at the two not being alone.

"Really, what for," Hermione questioned aloud as she looked more than a bit perplexed and surprised as she sat back up and stared at Ron, trying to figure out what he was getting at.

"To talk about your uh…ideas for making sure that parents don't get separated from their children any longer than they have to, remember," Ron replied with a visibly uneasy grin as he shoved his hands into his pockets and tried to glare a hole through Hermione's head with one eyebrow cocked in the hope that she'd get his hint and come along with him.

"Huh…what are you talking about Ron," Ginny grumped back suddenly as she stepped up in front of Ron and gave her older brother a good staring at in the hope that he would cave in and tell her everything, but he held fast.

"Nothing Ginny, just another of Ron's crazy ideas, though Ron I do remember Professor McGonagall wanting to talk to us now that you mention it, come on let's go," Hermione exclaimed as she shot up out of her seat with a very anxious look to her, grabbed Ron's hand, and started to pull him away.

"See you two later then," Harry remarked with an odd expression on his face and a quick glance to Ginny who wore a similar look as the two watched Ron and Hermione hurry off out of the Great Hall.

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Hogwarts-Professor McGonagall's Office

For once in her life she had no game plan to enact, no big idea to work through. Only one thing was on her mind and that was finding her parents and getting her son back. Even though Professor McGonagall knew all about their relationship and their son Hermione could tell that Ron was just as nervous and scared about it all as she was, maybe even more so. She could see his gaze dart around at anything and everything in the room every few seconds and she could hear that his breaths were becoming sharp and short. She couldn't figure out why McGonagall hadn't started the meeting yet since they were all there and so she kept her focus on Ron.

"Easy Ron…try to calm down," Hermione whispered as loudly as she dared across the small gap between their chairs to Ron as she reached over and laid a hand on top of his and gave it a squeeze, hoping that their physical contact would help him calm down.

"Calm…I am calm, see…totally calm," Ron nervously answered with a forced smile that Hermione knew was fake in a heartbeat as he slightly turned his head towards her and tried not to look any more scared about the meeting than she was.

"How fortunate for us all Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall intoned with a less than pleased at the break in the silence of the room expression as she regarded him a bit coldly before turning that same look towards Hermione and the brunette squirmed openly in her seat under the intense glare for a few moments before finding her voice.

"Er…Professor McGonagall, are we waiting on someone or something before we begin," Hermione meekly asked as she bravely pushed herself up in her chair and looked straight across the desk at her favorite teacher and hoped that everything was alright and that there wasn't a large group of people coming.

"Exactly…ah, here he is now, welcome Kingsley," Professor McGonagall calmly answered at first without even looking up from the papers in front of her on the desk before the door opened and Kingsley appeared and she warmly greeted him.

"Thank you Minerva I'm sorry that I'm late but…oh, I see that you are already in a meeting, I'm sorry to interrupt you, I'll wait outside until you three are finished," Kingsley started to quickly apologize as he entered the room with a slightly bowed head before he noticed that Ron and Hermione were already seated in the room and made to beat a hasty retreat.

"No need for any of that please stay, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger here are the reason that I asked you to come, perhaps I should show you this first to answer your first question," Professor McGonagall stopped him with a razor thin smile as she raised a hand and beckoned him forward with a disapproving glance at first Ron and then Hermione. Before anyone else could say anything she handed him a picture that was sitting on her desk.

"Cute baby, who is it," Kingsley asked softly with a relieved smile as he started at the moving picture of the small baby fussing.

"His name is Henry Arthur Weasley, and it is of the utmost importance that we find him, the sooner the better," Professor McGonagall explained slowly and deliberately as she set her quill down and then clasped her hands together in front of her on her desk and stared straight at Kingsley, silently awaiting his response.

"Weasley…I didn't know that Molly was pregnant," Kingsley softly pondered aloud as his voice hung on the name for a few moments before his brows furrowed in thought and slight confusion as he glanced briefly at Ron before turning his full attention to Professor McGonagall, hoping for an answer.

"Mrs. Weasley is not Henry's mother," Hermione admitted while looking oddly guilty as her shoulders slumped in her seat noticeably and she tried her best to smile happily but she looked more like she wasn't quite feeling well just then.

"No…but surely not Ginevra, or was Fleur concealing more than…," Kingsley replied out loud with an odd and puzzled expression as he thought about which other female member of the Weasley family could be the child's mother but wasn't coming up with any easy answers before he was interrupted.

"Henry Weasley's mother is in this very room," Professor McGonagall snapped with a slightly irritated tone to her words, even though to Ron she sounded as she always did, as she leaned back in her chair and then stared out of the window to try and calm herself a bit.

"But you're to…experienced…and Miss Granger is to," Kingsley awkwardly stammered through as he struggled to compose an answer without sticking his foot in his mouth any more than he already had.

"Nice one mate," Ron muttered jokingly under his breath with a wide grin that disappeared the second that Professor McGonagall cast him a withering glare across the desk.

"I'm his mother, he's my son," Hermione explained softly with a very deliberate tone to her words before she took a deep breath and then turned and looked up at Kingsley, who smiled nervously back.

"Our son Kingsley, Hermione is his mother and I am his father…surprise," Ron added quickly as he saw the scared look on Hermione's face and felt that he had to jump in and help her out in some small way since he felt that he was as much responsible for it all as she was.

"Heh, to say the least…but Minerva, but the two of you are not…how…why…," Kingsley fearfully chuckled back to Ron before the logistics of it all worked their way through his mind and he posed the first question that came to his mind.

"Miss Granger having a child was certainly unexpected and surprising to say the least, however it was something that had to be kept under the tightest security to protect not only the child but his grandparents as well," Professor McGonagall answered for Hermione and Ron will a less than pleased scowl at them at first before her tone softened and she smiled a bit at Kingsley, hoping to defuse the obviously tense situation.

"But the last time that we spoke neither Arthur nor Molly mentioned any grandson, and that is not something that either would have simply forgotten by chance," Kingsley recalled strongly as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and appeared unhappy at being kept out of the loop on the matter at hand.

"My parents don't know that Henry exists, it was the only way to keep him safe, the fewer people that knew about him the better," Ron admitted with a fearful shrug of his shoulders as he momentarily imagined the look on his mother's face when she found out that she had a grandson that she knew nothing about.

"But what about your parents Miss Granger, surely they…," Kingsley wondered, even though he guessed the answer, as he walked from standing in between Ron and Hermione and now came to a stop on Hermione's left side.

"Oh they knew about all him I promise you, pretty hard to miss their daughter showing up at the end of term nine months pregnant and mere days away from giving birth, however they…they…," Hermione nervously laughed back with tears starting to fill her eyes before she gave Ron a very strong smile of love and relief as he shifted in his seat so that he could lay one hand on her shoulder and used the other to take her hand in his and give it a supportive squeeze while mouthing the words I love you.

"Hermione had to wipe her parents memories of her and have them take Henry with them when she sent them into hiding, so they don't remember anything about her," Ron continued with a look that mirrored the one that Hermione was currently wearing as all of the talk about Henry and her parents was really starting to get to her and negatively affect her mood.

"How horrible," Kingsley gasped out loud with a look of total shock before he sank into a chair on the far side of the room and dropped his head into his hands for a few moments. He looked back up as Hermione forced herself to sit up straight in her chair and speak.

"I'm sorry, I know it was wrong, I know I was terrible and that…," Hermione started to moan with tears silently sliding down her cheeks before Ron could stand it no longer and got up out of his chair just enough to pull her onto his lap so that he could wrap his arms around her and have her lay her head on his shoulder.

"You are not terrible don't ever think that, you did what you had to do and your parents and our son are safe because of it," Ron said softly to her with as loving and sympathetic of a tone as he could as she balled his shirt up in her fists as she clung to him and tried to regain control of her emotions.

"Y…yeah, thanks Ron," Hermione sniffled softly back under her breath as she curled up into his embrace and after a few moments seemed better and calmer.

"And so you now understand the full magnitude of our dilemma Kingsley, Mr. and Mrs. Granger have taken young Henry to Australia due to a suggestion that Miss Granger gave them during her spell that altered their memories, to that end we humbly request that…," Professor McGonagall stated as if she were dictating notes to them in class and fully expected them to listen and not ask questions as she clasped her hands together on her desk and stared straight at Kingsley the entire time before Ron uncharacteristically cut her off.

"No…sorry but we demand that the Ministry help us, help us find our son…and her parents…er…please," Ron interjected in a rushed manner as he looked slowly back and forth between Professor McGonagall and Kingsley, trying not to glare the entire time but also wanting to make sure that they both knew that he had never been so serious in his life.

"Bloody hell," Kingsley groaned with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair and covered his eyes, with no idea in his mind how the Ministry was going to actually find Hermione's parents in a country as large as Australia quite yet.

END OF CHAPTER 12

Author's Note: Thanks again to everyone for reading and reviewing this and the other chapters. As always questions, comments, and reviews are always appreciated. At the start I had Ron and Hermione in a honeymoon period of romance after Ron's waking up with nightmares and Hermione calming him down. I just thought that when it's just Ron and Hermione alone together that she'd be a bit more open sexually speaking than she otherwise ever would be. Ron even puts off eating to be with Hermione, no big shock there, and I'd guess that people would be reluctant to make either do anything when they didn't want to especially while Harry was still around. Of course it'll end up Harry and Ginny but I just feel that there would be a little bit of nerves and anger and such between them that would just take time for them to work through. At the end I had Ron and Hermione try to get Kingsley and the Ministries help in finding her parents and Henry, and I didn't write Hermione as weak there however finally telling someone about their son and all was traumatic for her and now that she actually has to face the real task of finding them and what to do then that she just got emotional and she shows it in a different way, with Ron often getting a bit rude and angry. My least favorite fanfic story right now on a different topic was one where the writer had Harry and Hermione have sex in the tent while Ron was gone and then Hermione made Harry promise to never tell Ron, ever. So many problems with that outside of how Hermione would never do that, then the secret would eat at her and Harry until they told and then that would destroy everything for them all, just a story that I don't really like. Going forward the next chapter will move a bit forward in time with some fun surprises and a trip. Thank You.