Chapter 2

Chapter 2

By the end of January, Hermione was coming to dread classes. Even though many students had not come back to school this year, it was still quite crowded in the hallways between classes, and she was always afraid that someone was going to bump into her. She tried to keep her bookbag in front of her stomach as she walked, using it as a shield, hoping that no one would notice anything odd. But with her rapidly expanding girth, that was growing more and more difficult. Unfortunately, she still had ten weeks to go. Obviously, she had not inherited the 'barely there' pregnancy trait from her mother's side of the family. Her aunt Grace had never been this large any of the times she had been pregnant, and that was at full term.

She was not having a good time of it. It was now becoming awkward for her to stand up, and she had been forced to abandon sitting in her favorite armchair by the fire after Ron had looked at her oddly the last time she had tried to get up from it. Not to mention the baby was prone to kicking ferociously while she was in class, something she was finding harder to hide, especially when she had to rush out of class to use the bathroom when he would press on her bladder.

Given all the trouble the baby was causing, she was starting to think of it as a he. After all, Harry came from a long line of troublemakers. If she were carrying a girl, surely the child would have taken more after her mother.

A part of her was reconsidering Harry's idea that she should go into hiding. She knew that the risk of discovery was high, but she was insistent on getting her education. She had even pointed out to him that her due date fell during the Easter holidays. Of course, that was still nearly two and a half months away, and she wasn't sure she could keep up the charade for that long. Especially since the Veiling Charm was taking a lot out of her. She was finding it more and more difficult to hold.

The only thing keeping her at Hogwarts was Harry.

Rather than not loving each other romantically as they had long thought, they had found that both had been in denial. In the past, Hermione had always been the calm voice of reason balancing Harry's passions. Now, those roles were reversed. Late at night, they would sneak away to the Room of Requirement under his Invisibility Cloak. Some nights they would make love to each other. Others, he would just hold her, and they would talk. He planned to rebuild his parent's house once the war was over, once the final two Horcruxes were found and Voldemort defeated. The three of them would live there in peace.

Hermione could think no happier thought.

Entering the Potions classroom, she noticed the only seat left was next to Ron. She had taken to sitting next to Harry in most of their classes, but today she was running late owing to her need to use the lavatory. She had purposely been keeping her relationship with Ron as distant as she could, and she was not looking forward to sitting next to him for an entire class now.

Their assignment was already on the board, so she unpacked her bag, gathered the necessary ingredients from the cabinet, and sat down to work on her potion.

About halfway through class, Ron rose and stood next to her. "Excuse me, I need to get to the ingredients cabinet."

She sighed and scooted forward as far as she could, which was only a few inches. "Honestly, Ron, can't you do anything right the first time?"

"No, because I'm one big screw up," he snapped. "Come on, move up and let me by."

"I am up," she replied irritably. Her belly was pressed up against the table.

He shoved past her, pushing her hard against the wooden edge.

"Ow! Ron, be careful." She shoved her stool back away from the table, wanting to rub her stomach, but she knew that would have to wait.

"What? What could I possibly have done now? I didn't push you that hard."

"I... hit my knee on the table." She reached down and rubbed her knee. "Just, go around the other way when you come back, would you. please?"

"Fine. I will," he replied angrily.

Once everyone had stopped staring at her, she rubbed the sore spot on her stomach. Thankfully, she was fine, except for some minor discomfort. Noticing Harry watching her, she gave him a reassuring smile before returning to her work.

After class, Ron rushed out of the room. Harry and Hermione walked out together, and he pulled her into an alcove. "Hermione, you can't keep this up. It's too dangerous."

"I'll be more careful. We would have been fine if I'd only gotten to class on time. It won't happen again."

He put his forehead against hers. "Drop the spell." When she did, he put his hand on her swollen stomach. "Look at yourself. The baby is really growing now. If you are having problems hiding your condition now, how are you going to manage for another two and a half months?"

She knew that he had a point, but she was determined to make this work. She couldn't bear the thought of being away from him for so long. Besides, she had no idea where she would go. "But if I leave now, people will wonder why. And that might lead them to start looking for me. There isn't any safer place than here for me to be."

He sighed. "I know. I just worry about you. You look so tired; that spell has got to be taking a lot out of you. Skive out of Charms. I'll fill you in later on what we went over. We can meet in the Room of Requirement so that you don't have to keep holding the charm." His hand was now softly caressing her, and he showered her with kisses.

Half-heartedly, she tried to push him away. "I can't think when you do that."

"I know. I don't want you to think. Get some rest, and we'll meet after dinner." He intended to try once more to talk her into going into hiding. It was simply becoming too dangerous for her to remain here much longer.

**************

Hermione was glad it was almost over. Just two more weeks. Of course, that also meant that Harry was being more insistent that she needed to find someplace safe to have the baby. Fortunately, he had not been able to suggest someplace more secure than Hogwarts and he did not push it too seriously.

The baby was especially active in Transfiguration, and Hermione found that she was having a hard time concentrating on Professor McGonagall's lecture. She longed to press her hand against her belly and urge the child to be silent, but she couldn't risk Ron catching her. After having ignored her for several weeks, he was showing quite a bit of interest in her again; continually asking her if she was all right and trying to get too close to her.

She thought it was a measure of how thick Ron was that he hadn't figured out her secret yet, for he was convinced that she did indeed have a secret of some sort. He just didn't know what it was. It really was for the best that things hadn't worked out between the two of them. Over the last several months, she and Harry had learned how well-suited they really were for each other.

As she stood up, she lost her balance and nearly fell. Thankfully, Harry caught her. Unconsciously, she put her hand on her stomach.

"Are you all right?" he asked quietly, looking around to see if anyone had seen her near accident. His hands remained firmly on her arms

"Yes, thank you." The baby had definitely shifted and Hermione now felt a great deal of pressure low in her hips. Obviously, the baby had dropped. When she started walking, she found that she had to widen her stance and almost waddle.

They were nearly out of the classroom when McGonagall said, "Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, come here a moment."

They looked at each other nervously for a second before turning around. Harry moved aside, letting Hermione go first.

She felt a new pain developing in her back and barely resisted the urge to rub it. "Yes, Professor?" she asked as though being called to the teacher's desk after class was normal.

McGonagall conjured a low chair. "Have a seat, Miss Granger," she offered.

Hermione looked skeptically at the chair. "No thank you, Professor. If Harry's standing, I prefer to stand, too." She knew there was no way she would be able sit down in that chair without giving herself away.

"I see," McGonagall replied and conjured a chair for Harry. "Now, sit, the both of you."

Hermione looked nervously at Harry, at the chair and then at McGonagall. The look on her professor's face convinced her that she had better comply. Carefully, she lowered herself into the chair, knowing how awkward her movements must appear. McGonagall watched Hermione intently, saying nothing. Hermione shifted in the chair, trying to find a less uncomfortable position that would relieve some of the pressure on her bladder, which suddenly felt very full.

"I assume there is something the two of you wish to tell me?" she finally said.

"No, Professor," they both replied quickly.

"I suppose that is true. You would not wish to tell me." Her gaze flitted between the two of them.

Hermione continued to shift; the pressure on her bladder was becoming unbearable.

"Miss Granger, would you sit still?" McGonagall ordered.

"Yes, Professor," she replied. She tried to settle into one position, but just couldn't help herself.

Harry asked, "Professor, since there's nothing we have to tell you, may we be excused?"

"No, you may not," she said sternly.

Finally, Hermione couldn't stand it any longer. She knew that if she did not leave the classroom that instant, she would never make it to the girls' lavatory in time. "I'm sorry," she said as she struggled to stand up as quickly as she could and then made her way out of the room.

"Potter! Stay where you are."

When Hermione returned to the classroom, she found that neither Harry nor Professor McGonagall had moved.

Once she was seated, McGonagall asked, "I trust that you will be able to sit still now, Miss Granger?"

"Yes, Professor," she replied softly.

"Now, I would prefer to hear it come from one of you, but as my time is limited, I do not have all day to wait for one of you to speak. It will be better if you tell me, but if you continue to refuse to cooperate, I will tell you my theory."

"About what, Professor?" asked Harry innocently.

"As Headmistress, there is little that occurs here that I do not know about. Do either of you have anything you wish to tell me?" she asked in a voice that made clear this was their last opportunity to volunteer the information.

Hermione and Harry glanced at each other, and Hermione could tell that Harry was also willing to take the chance that McGonagall did not know the full extent of their secret.

"Very well then. Miss Granger, I know that you are pregnant."

A/N: As always, thanks to nota, my loyal beta reader, and JenKM1216 for providing the catalyst for this story. I hope that you are enjoying this little look at how Harry and Hermione might end up together in the face of adversity.