Prophesied

Chapter 15

Feelings

Hermione looks so sad these days. She constantly sits at one of the tables and stares at her homework, not even doing it. I've never seen her act this way before. Is it because of Jeff and Lita? She did share a lot with Jeff...I can't believe it. How could anyone give that much to someone like that? It's unnerving.

I sat across from her and she didn't even look up. That's not normal Hermione behavior.

"'Mione?" I asked.

Finally she looked up. "Hi," she said sounding rather depressed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me, Hermione, I can tell something's wrong."

"I don't want to talk about it right now Harry, surly you can understand something like that."

"You should talk about it," I advised. "If not to me than to someone else."

"Where's Malfoy at then?" she asked.

"What?" I answered, confused beyond words. "Why him?"

"He's the only one who'd understand."

"He's at Quidditch practice. They've got a game next week."

She nodded and went back to her homework, this time actually doing something with it.

***

"How can I find the identity of the father without the child being born?" I asked again.

"You can't," the headmaster answered. "Not unless an Elvin magic can tell you. Wizards haven't figured that out yet. Have you spoken to your father about the recent turn in events?"

"He knew before I did," I answered. "He had to of known, as he did say that he hoped I'd be happy with my choices and my child. I know the wind can carry messages fast, but that was months after my message to him."

"You speak on the wind?"

"Only in Elvish. Magical languages earn special privileges."

"Then perhaps he knows."

"I asked him. Haven't heard back yet."

"I'll have to ask you, Arinlita, to keep this secret. Do you understand? No one must know, especially Voldemort."

I nodded. "I understand."

And Harry mustn't know if the child is his.

I stood on the balcony that evening and watched the sun set. This was my favorite place in this foreign land. This was my favorite time of day in this universe. Everything was settling down for a night of slumber, the world was at peace.... I sighed serenely.

The door opened and a familiar pair of arms crossed in front of me, a familiar face rest on my shoulder next to mine. Jeff. My husband. Hopefully, he was my child's father.

I sighed again and leaned into him. I was listening with all my might for any hint of my father's reply. Any hint that he had heard me...that he knew....

"No matter what," I said softly, "she's your child."

"Even if she's Harry's?" Jeff asked.

"Even if she's Harry's."

"Will he know?"

"No," I answered. "With both Draco and Voldemort, having a daughter on top of that would kill him. Everyone wants her to be yours," I revealed. "Everyone but Hermione."

"You know this how?"

"I'm smart, Jeff. I can tell."

"Do you remember the first time I told you I loved you?" he asked. I smiled.

"Sunset, on the beach, in our cave."

"Right after our first time while you were falling asleep in my arms," he finished. "I didn't thing you had heard me."

"Until I said I loved you too."

[Your child's father is Harry Potter, Arinlita.]

I gasped at my father's message. "No," I whispered.

"What?" Jeff asked. He didn't hear my father's message.

I turned and looked at him, the shock and pain running through me to the point where it was unbearable. [She's his child,] I said, tears forming at my eyes. Merlin, how I wished this day had not come.

Jeff closed his eyes and turned away from me. He sighed heavily and sat down, leaning against the rail. [You had to know that would be the answer,] he said softly. [This isn't a surprise, you know]

[It's unwanted,] I reminded him.

"Well, she is mine, in a way...."

***

Thank Merlin, the year's almost over! N.E.W.T.s are the last torture I have to endure this year, unless Voldemort decides to attack. Something tells me that the next time he attacks, it will be the last time. The next time we meet, one of us will die, and it sure as hell will not be me. I've actually got something to live for, especially if Lita's kid is mine. As much as I pray she won't be, I know she is.

But no one can know that. That child is Jeff's kid, no matter what happens. He's the one who wants her; he's the one who cares about Lita enough to have bound himself to her, so it's only fitting that the child growing inside of the elf belongs to him.

I don't mean to sound bitter or anything, but I don't think a child is my best interest. I'll take care of her if Lita asks me to, but if she doesn't, I'll pretend that I don't know. Hell, I'll even pretend that I don't care. She's not mine anymore; she's married to him. Even if it does make my blood boil to see it, I can pretend I'm happy for them. I can pretend that these feelings are dead, that there is nothing left between us except the ties of friendship and past love. I can pretend...can't I?

Thank Merlin I need to study for that damned test...I don't think I'd ever stop thinking about her.

"Harry?" Draco asked, walking into our room. "Still studying?" he asked.

I nodded. "Defense," I said, answering his next question.

"Do you have any idea when you want to get married?" he asked. "Mum's helping me plan this thing, but we need a date."

"You're asking me for a date?" I asked, looking up from my text book.

"Yeah," Draco answered slowly. "You need to be apart of this too, you know. Mum and I can't do it on our own."

I sighed. "Christmas?" I asked. Draco shook his head. "Too many people get married on holidays."

"September first?" I asked, remembering when he asked me for help.

"What about the second?" he asked. "When I asked you out?"

"Why do you think I said Christmas?" I asked. "That was the day we got back together."

"I'm not too fond of Christmases any more," he confessed. "I almost killed myself on Christmas."

I looked away from him, painfully remembering the events of that day. Christmas would never be the same again.

"Maybe that's why we should do it on Christmas," I said softly. "To remind us of what we almost lost..."

"If you want to remember, why not the day Pansy died?" he demanded. "If you really want to remember so badly, there's also the next day--when we told Dumbledore what happened. If you really want to remember so damn badly, there's the day after that when you told me you didn't give a damn whether I was guilty or innocent, that you hoped I died a miserable death, that you told me how worthless I was. Do you want to remember that so badly that we get married on one of those days? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?" Draco bellowed.

I stared in shock. He had tears in his eyes, and his face was slightly pink with anger and frustration.

"You pick the date then," I spat, my voice shaking and my own eyes filling with tears. "You want a date so badly, you pick it. I don't care."

I slammed my quill down on the desk and stormed out of the room. Glancing out at the balcony, I saw Lita and Jeff. Jeff was sitting on the ground, and Lita looked near tears again. Wonder what it is this time...

I grabbed my broom from the closet and boldly walked out onto the balcony and took off, not caring to walk through the corridors of Hogwarts.

***

I stared after Harry in wonder. Why was he flying out of here like a bat out of hell?

"I'm going to go find out what happened," I muttered, going in through the open door. I knocked on the door to the room he and Draco shared. Draco answered after a minute.

"Yeah?" he asked in a rough voice.

"What happened?" I asked. There were too many emotions coming from him I had to turn off the empathetic power. Christ, these people had way too many emotions.

Draco closed his eyes and tears fell. I was further confused.

"You two didn't...you didn't break up, did you?"

His eyes shot open and he stared at me in shock. "He didn't say that did he?" he asked, clearly scared.

"No," I rushed. "No, he just flew off, he looked angry."

"He hates me," Draco whispered turning away from me and walking over to his bed. He flung himself down on it and started sobbing.

I couldn't stop the chuckle. "He doesn't hate you," I replied, walking into the room. "He's just got a short temper. So what happened?"

"I asked him about a date for our wedding," he revealed.

I gasped. "You're what?" I whispered.

Draco sat up, still crying. "You didn't know?" he asked. I shook my head and turned to leave the room. No....

In a daze, I left the common room and the castle, wondering off in the direction I was sure Harry had gone. Why hadn't anyone told me they were engaged?

I found him before I was really ready to.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I whispered, walking up behind him. "About your wedding," I clarified. He didn't turn around, even though I knew he heard me. "Why?" I asked again, still whispering.

He breathed in deeply. "You didn't need to know," he answered softly. "It happened the day you shoved a rock through your arm, for some unknown reason. That would also be the same day that you two married each other, and the day Hermione left him."

"Oh," I whispered sitting down next to him. I looked at my arm; a huge scar was left from that rock, on both sides. Guess that was to be expected, that rock was pretty big. And it was in my bedroom, next to the few remnants of a shattered prophecy....

"Looks like we've both moved on," he said softly.

"No we haven't," I corrected. "We're both stuck in the past, we know it, and they know it."

"She's mine isn't she?" he asked.

"You know the answer to that," I replied.

"Does Jeff know?"

"Yes," I said bowing my head in shame. We looked up at each other at the same time. His eyes met mine and my heart ached for him again. I closed my eyes and sighed. Would the pain never stop?

I left so suddenly I even shocked myself. I wanted to kiss him then, but I couldn't do that to Jeff, that was what ended our relationship the first time around (not my cheating, his). I was a married woman, pregnant with my first child. I couldn't become a cheater now, not with all of this.

***

I closed my eyes as she left, not daring to believe what I had just been thinking. I wanted her again, her body, her mind, her love. I wanted to kiss her again, to take back all that I had said and done to make her leave me in the first place.

And yet I was grateful that she left before I regretted what I would have done. If she'd been here any longer, I know I would have kissed her....

I couldn't wait for the end of the year to come so I could be rid of her.