Unexpected by MPotter77

Rating: PG13
Genres: Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 4
Published: 05/12/2003
Last Updated: 06/12/2003
Status: Completed

An unexpected event causes Harry and Hermione to reconsider their future.




1. untitled
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Dislaimer: Yadda yadda yadda. It’s not mine, for JKR thought of it first. Oh well. Thanks to my
wonderful beta Jennifer.

******

“It can’t be.”

Hermione checked again to make sure she read it right. Yeah, she did. At the realization, her
heart began to beat double-time and her breathing became shallow. *Relax, Hermione. This isn’t
the end of the world*.

She definitely didn’t expect for her last Christmas holiday as a Hogwarts student to be like
this. When she returned home to spend the holiday with her parents, she felt more than just a
little guilty about leaving Harry alone in Gryffindor Tower. She had tried to convince her parents
to let her bring him along, but they were a little apprehensive about having a powerful wizard like
Harry in their home, let alone a wizard that was dating their daughter.

Hermione understood their position, and after explaining to Harry, so did he. Therefore, it was
no surprise to either of them when she ended up in his bed the night before she boarded the
Hogwarts Express for the holiday. The evening had started out innocent enough, but had slowly
escalated into unchartered territory for both of them. And now that she thought about it, their
inexperience is exactly what landed them in their current position.

The ride back to Hogwarts at the end of holidays gave Hermione a chance to really think about
the dramatic turn her life was taking. *I’m going to have a baby*, she thought. *No, Harry
and I are going to have a baby.* The thought was initially terrifying, but Hermione found peace
knowing that her and Harry loved each other, and that they would work this out together.

Hermione was still in deep thought upon returning to Gryffindor Tower and the Head Girl’s
dormitory. She still wasn’t sure how Harry was going to take the news; the last thing she wanted to
do was scare him. It wasn’t as if they had never discussed their future together before, but now it
seemed that it was beginning sooner than they originally planned.

She was in her room unpacking her clothes when she heard a soft knock on the door. When she
turned around, Harry’s head was peaking through the door.

“Can I come in?”

Hermione couldn’t help but smile when she looked at him. She smiled back and walked over to the
door to meet him. “I missed you,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a
kiss.

“I missed you, too. How was your holiday?”

“It would have been better if you were there, but I understand why Mum and Dad worry. If they
knew half the trouble we get ourselves into here at school, I probably wouldn’t be here right
now.”

“Well, you’ll be happy to know that I made the most of my time alone and finished all my
assignments. That certainly wouldn’t have happened if I were with you.”

Hermione chanced a long glance into Harry’s eyes. She couldn’t take it anymore. She had to tell
him about the baby. She silently grabbed his hand and took them over to the edge of the bed.
“Harry, we have to talk.”

Out of all the things Harry was expecting, that was not one of them. Looking slightly concerned,
he replied, “Okay. Is something bothering you?”

“I just need you to hear me out completely before you say anything. Can you do that?” Harry
nodded. “First of all, I love you, and I always will. Second, the night we spent together before
Christmas is the single greatest moment of my life. But…oh hell, how do I say this? Harry, we
weren’t exactly careful that night, and I’m pregnant.”

Hermione looked for some kind of reaction from Harry. He stared at her for a moment, then stood
up and ran his fingers through his hair as he paced around the room. “Are you sure?” he asked, in a
‘please God, tell me you’re joking’ tone.

“I’m sure, Harry. I took a Muggle pregnancy test at home, and then I did the Pregnancy Spell as
soon as I got to my room. They both came out positive.” Hermione waited for a moment and then
continued, “We’re going to have a baby.”

Harry’s face went white as he stared at Hermione. A look of terror came over his face, and he
turned and ran out of the room without another word.

Hermione watched him leave, and immediately burst into tears. She had expected Harry to be
shocked, but she had never expected him to run away like he did. Harry had never run away from
anything since she’d known him, and the idea that she was the reason he was running now troubled
her deeply. As she lay on her bed, she began to imagine raising this child alone, without Harry. It
was a horrible thought, but from the way Harry acted, he didn’t want anything to do with her or
their child.

**********

The first day of class after Christmas holiday was pure hell for Hermione. After crying herself
to sleep, she woke up with a bad case of morning sickness and spent half of her lunch hour in the
girls’ bathroom. She hadn’t spoken to Harry once, but when she looked at him, he looked as bad as
she felt. In fact, he almost looked concerned.

That night, Hermione sat in the common room working on an Arithmancy assignment. It was almost
midnight, and the rest of the house was already in bed. She was beginning to pack up her belongings
and head for her room when she heard footsteps on the stairs. Looking up, she saw Harry.

“Hermione, what are you still doing up?”

“What do you care?” she replied, sounding bitter.

“I do care. You need your rest, especially after the kind of day you’ve had. Ginny told me that
you spent half of lunch in the bathroom getting sick.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Harry sighed, walked over to the table Hermione was sitting at, and held out his hand. She
looked back and took his hand, and he led them over to their favorite couch in front of the
fire.

“I owe you an apology for the way I acted last night. My only explanation is that having a child
frightens me to no ends. When I left your room last night, I went directly to the bathroom and
threw up. Once I got that out of my system, I started to accept that I’m going to be a father and
made some decisions.”

“Like what?”

“Most importantly, that I’m not going to let you do this alone. I love you and I wouldn’t want
anyone else to be the mother of my children. I also went to Professor McGonagall and withdrew my
application to the Auror Training Program.”

Hermione gasped. “No, Harry, you shouldn’t do that. You’ve wanted to be an Auror since third
year. It would be unfair of me to ask you to give up your dream.”

“But you didn’t ask, I offered. I thought about this a lot, Hermione, and I want our children to
have two parents. Being an Auror puts that in danger. You and this baby are the most important
people in my life, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that you’re stuck with me for a good
long while.”

Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry and kissed him soundly. These were the words she was
hoping to hear last night when she told him she was pregnant. Now that she thought about it, she
could understand why being a father scared him so much. Vernon Dursley was hardly “Father of the
Year,” despite the fact that Harry never even considered him a father.

After a few minutes of kissing and holding each other, Harry pulled away and looked at Hermione.
“I almost forgot. Close your eyes for a moment.” Hermione gave him a questioning look and closed
her eyes. Harry slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box and held it in
his free hand as he slipped off the couch onto one knee.

When Hermione opened her eyes, she didn’t know what to think. Harry was on one knee holding a
diamond ring, and her second-hand knowledge of this situation told her what he was about to
say.

“Hermione, I love you will all my heart and want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life
loving you. You bring out the best in me and make me feel loved. Will you marry me?”

Tears ran down Hermione’s face as she contemplated his question. “Are you asking because you
want to or because you feel you should?”

Harry reached into his pocket again and pulled out a small piece of paper. “Funny you should
ask. If you look at this receipt, it will tell you that I purchased this ring during the holiday.
So to answer your question, I’m doing this because I want you to be my wife. The timing of the
proposal doesn’t seem all that important to me.”

Hermione broke down into a full cry as she pulled Harry back up to the couch. “Yes.” Harry took
the ring from the box and placed it on her left hand. He kissed her once and pulled her with him,
as he lay down on the couch in a silent embrace. As she fell into a peaceful slumber, Hermione
smiled. That night, on a couch in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room, they spent their
first night together as a family.



