Positive

Saturdays were usually good for Ginny. But this particular Saturday turned out to be disastrous.

She was sitting under a tree near the lake with Harry, her brother Ron, and Hermione. It was a warm day in late March, which meant the end of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's schooling was coming to an end. Hermione was Head Girl, Ron was Head Boy, and Ginny was a prefect. Harry was Quidditch captain, and this year Gryffindor's hopes for the Quidditch Cup were high. Ginny herself was a Chaser.

"Nice day," said Ron. He was staring at the lake, where a gaggle of seventh grade girls were giggling.

"Yeah," Hermione said. "I hope you two finished your homework," she added in a bossy voice.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, we did it last night." Ron began to say something, but Harry elbowed him hard in the ribs. Ginny knew that the two boys hadn't finished their homework at all.

Ginny stared nervously at Harry, and he glanced back briefly. They had been doing it...having sex...every Hogsmeade visit that year, which was every other month. Ginny couldn't bear to think what would happen if their relationship was revealed, and all the sweaty days were disclosed with a few drops of Vertasium...she shivered. No one could know about their having sex. No one.

Hermione looked her way, concerned. "What's wrong, Ginny?"

"Oh, nothing," Ginny replied. "I...I just have to use the restroom."

"Oh, okay," said Ron sarcastically. "Announce it to everyone at Hogwarts. 'Make way for Ginny, she has to pee!' C'mon, Gin, why d'you have to -"

"Leave her along," Harry said quietly.

Ron looked at Harry curiously, but said nothing more. Ginny stood up and made her way back to Hogwarts.

Three flights of stairs, a tapestry, and a wall that appeared to be solid later, Ginny found herself inside the prefect girl's restroom. She went into the nearest stall and locked the door. She pulled down her skirt and sat down. And there it wasn't - her period. It had just begun on Thursday. Ginny stared at where it should have been, then brushed it off. No, I can't be...she thought. She finished, washed her hands, and hurried back to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

She sat down next to Hermione and asked, "When's our next Hogsmeade visit?"

"Today, I think," Harry said. Sure enough, students were hurrying along the path to Hogsmeade. Once glance at him and Ginny shook her head ever so slightly. They couldn't today...

"Let's go," suggested Ron. He stood up and hurried along the path.

Harry stood up and followed him. "You girls coming?" he called over his shoulder.

"Er...yes," Ginny called back. "But I have to, er...get my bag."

Saying good-bye to Hermione, Ginny ran to the castle and hurtled up the stairs to the seventh floor where the Gryffindor common room was. An extremely fat lady in a pink dress covered the hole.

"Password?" she said mildly as Ginny skidded to a halt.

"Boomslang skin," Ginny panted, and hurried into the common room and up to her dormitory.

She grabbed a box from her bag and sprinted down the stairs and back to the prefect bathroom. Her heart was pounding not only from running, but from anxiety...what would happen if...?

She hastily got in front of a sink and opened the box. "First Response" was the brand. Hands shaking, she took out a tester and unwrapped it. Please don't let it be true, she thought.

A few minutes later, Ginny stood at the sink, holding the tester. Nothing had appeared on the little screen yet. She waited with bated breath as a small symbol appeared. A positive sign. Ginny bit back a cry and swore under her breath. She hurried into a stall and sat down on the toilet. Oh my God, she thought. The sign was positive. She was pregnant. Breathing heavily, Ginny looked down at her stomach. She was carrying a child in there - Harry's child. Together they had made a baby...they hadn't had sex for children; their love was just so strong...

She couldn't believe it. Ginny, Ginny Weasly, pregnant by Harry Potter. What will Mum say? Ginny thought wildly. How could she disguise this? She would no longer fit into uniforms after four months....She looked back at her stomach. A baby was inside. She could abort it....No, she thought firmly. What if Mum had done that to me?

What could she do? Would her family accept this? She thought back to the first time she and Harry had been at Hogsmeade together...she had never expected this....Ginny couldn't tell Harry. That was the opposite of what she could do. But this was his child too...

She sat on the toilet for a while, her head spinning. Then a wave of nausea made its way into her throat, and she gagged. She gagged again, vomit coming this time. She couldn't turn around and throw up in the toilet...she was so tired. She got sick once more, then sat back on the toilet. Hot tears worked their way down her face. She was so ashamed of what she had done...

"Ginny?"

It was Hermione. "What?" Ginny croaked. She unlatched the door and it swung open.

Hermione's face appeared, and then the rest of her body. "Ginny, what happened to you?" she asked, amazed. "Oh, let me clean this up." With a wave of her wand, the vomit and smell vanished. "What's up?" Hermione said.

Ginny shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I...we..." she sobbed, staring at the floor. C'mon Ginny, get a grip on yourself. You're sixteen years old, she thought. "I'm pregnant," she said quietly to Hermione.

Hermione gaped at her. "What?" she said.

Ginny wiped her eyes on her robes. "H - Harry and I have b - b - been having s - sex -" she could barely say the word, "- ever since that first Hogsmeade visit. W - we found an abandoned building near the Shrieking Shack. A - and we did it there." She looked up at Hermione. She was standing, speechless, her mouth slightly open, at the stall door. I shouldn't be saying this, Ginny thought. She'll tell Ron and Harry...But she continued. "We had s - sex every Hogsmeade visit. We thought we were ready for it....We didn't expect...it's just that we loved each other so much....Oh Hermione, we're going to be expelled for sure!"

Hermione frowned. "I'm not saying that you're right, but you will be severely punished....I've never done that, so I don't know..." She trailed off and avoided Ginny's eyes.

"What will Mum and Dad say?" Ginny wailed. "I'll be in such horrible trouble..." She looked at her tester, which she was still clutching. "Look, Hermione, this proves it!" She beckoned her closed, and Hermione bent over the Muggle tester.

"I see that..." said Hermione, backing away. "Well, Ginny..."

Ginny wiped her eyes. "Hermione...I don't know what to do!"

Hermione was silent for a moment, then she said firmly, "Well, you can start out telling Harry the truth."

Ginny was silent. She stared out the window, thinking. He would know eventually....How could he not know when he sees my belly four months from now? But she didn't...she didn't want to....How could she take care of a baby while she was still in school? She was going to be a very young mother...but with Harry's help, Hermione's support, and Ron's...well, Ron's keeping his mouth shut...she could do it. Hermione could help with classes....And then she realized: She would give birth next year, at school, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione would be gone. What could she do?

"Oh, Hermione," Ginny said, a few more tears spilling out of her eyes and splashing on the floor. "How will I take care of the baby? How will I do homework and take classes and all that?"

Hermione grabbed Ginny's hands and pulled her up. "We'll work that out when the time comes. The journey of a thousand miles begin with one step," she said wisely. Ginny leaned against Hermione, her mind whirling.

"I dunno..." Ginny said uneasily, another tear splashing on the floor. "Can't...can't we wait?"

Hermione shook her head. "When he figures it out, with your stomach getting larger and the morning sickness, he'll be furious that you didn't tell him. C'mon...let's go tell him."

Ginny stared out the window. Sunlight was shining through, and the laughter of students drifted through the window. She nodded briefly to Hermione, shaking slightly. "Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "Okay, we'll tell Harry."

Hermione let go of Ginny and hurried out of the bathroom. Ginny went back to her stall, where the Muggle tester was still laying on the ground. Positive. She threw it away into a trash bin and hurried after Hermione. Positive, she thought. It was positive. She smiled inside - why, she was not sure - but she was sure that her love for Harry would never end.