Parallel

CHAPTER 10: SUSPICIONS

It was several hours later and it had become quite dark by the time they decided to quit for the night. Hermione un-Stupefied the librarian and modified her memory, and was thus able to check out the books which held the most promising leads so they could go over them. The problem was, in order to return them on time, they would have to stay in the area--at least temporarily--so they decided to go to Sirius's former home and the HQ of the Order of the Phoenix for a while ... the safest place they knew of to hole up.

However, time and maturity had changed sleeping arrangements considerably; both young couples shared rooms. The older members of the Order raised eyebrows but didn't say anything since these couples had done too much for them in recent years for their judgment, intelligence and expertise with battling the Dark Arts to be too quickly questioned, despite their youth.

They were congratulated upon their respective engagements, although all knew that it was likely to be some time--months, if not years, before Harry and Ginny could take their wedding vows. It was necessary to take care of Voldemort and destroy the remaining Horcruxes first. Ron and Hermione, on the other hand, chattered on happily about their upcoming nuptials. It would be some trick for them to marry too, particularly in the midst of their quest, but all believed it could be managed if handled right. The discovery and destruction of the fourth Horcrux was also celebrated in grand fashion and all stayed up late discussing said adventure.

Well, at least most of them did. It was around ten that night that Ginny begged off and kissed Harry good-night before retiring, feeling more nauseous than she ever had in her life. She lay down on their bed upon undressing, keeping on only her underwear, and placed a cold, wet washcloth on her forehead, since she felt feverish and bloated in addition to her nausea. She had also been unable to eat much that evening, which she was sure was going to prompt even further questions. It was looking more and more like she was definitely pregnant.

Ginny could well imagine how Harry would react, what he would say, if he even suspected (and she couldn't help being convinced that he did), although he still hadn't questioned her as of yet. He would most likely demand that she return home--at the very least--and she had no intention of doing that, but at the same time, didn't want to risk the baby any more than necessary ... provided she was indeed pregnant. She intended to do her best to make sure she was asleep by the time he came to join her so he wouldn't have a chance to question her. Of course, this was only putting off the inevitable, but those were the breaks.

However, as it turned out, Harry wasn't the one who cornered her first. She had gotten up early the following morning, leaving her beloved most reluctantly, but needed to be alone to think what she was going to do, what she was going to say ... and could never have done it had she remained near him. Fortunately her mum was there to fix them breakfast (not that she ate that much); her father couldn't get away from work.

Not long afterward, Molly joined her daughter at the kitchen table, soon followed by Hermione, who said that Ron was still asleep and unlikely to awaken for some time. The only one they really had to worry about possibly walking in on them would be Harry. It was getting so he didn't sleep well alone any more, particularly because his nightmares always returned if Ginny wasn't with him to chase them away. If only because of this, Ginny would have to try to cut the conversation as short as possible should her mother and Hermione decide to back her into the proverbial corner regarding her behaviour--and it was beginning to look that way.

"We have some questions for you, young lady." Molly's voice was loving yet firm and would brook no stonewalling.

"What kind of questions, Mum?" she asked innocently, although she knew all too well.

"I think you know," Molly shot back, taking a drink of tea and a bite of eggs. "You look pale as a ghost, you haven't eaten in at least two days ..."

"I'm just tired, Mum," Ginny insisted. "We've been keeping some late nights recently."

Molly frowned skeptically. "Is there anything wrong between you and Harry?"

"No, of course not. Why would you ask that?"

"You don't generally go off and leave him alone. That's one reason. You also don't generally snap at people, and I'm told you did while you were at the cemetery."

"I was just impatient, Mum, that's all."

"Don't lie to me, young lady." Molly's voice was hard and cold. "Something is wrong, and I want to know what it is."

"Nothing's wrong, Mum. Why can't you believe me?"

"Because despite your claims, something is wrong ... and I'm not the only one who's noticed it." Hermione sat down with her own meal and began eating, listening quietly to the conversation between her two companions as she did so--but ready to jump in at any time should she feel called upon to do so.

Molly tried to meet her daughter's eyes but Ginny avoided her mother's gaze assiduously, making her more and more suspicious. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, if you don't tell me the truth - and right now - I swear by all that's holy, I'll use Legilimency on you!"

Ginny sighed, knowing when she was licked. If there was one thing Molly Weasley didn't do, it was make idle threats. "All right, Mum ... but you and Hermione have got to promise that it won't go any further." She met Hermione's eyes; the other young woman nodded and smiled reassuringly.

"That's more like it." Molly smiled, taking another sip of tea and a bite of toast with butter and jam. "Now let's have it."

"Mum, Hermione, I ... think I may be ... pregnant," Ginny confessed, her voice almost too quiet for the others to hear.

Molly looked as though she had been hit by a Stunning Spell at first, then recovered, visibly pulling herself together. "I see. Does Harry know?"

"No, and I don't want him to know, at least not right away, because he'd make me go home and I have no intention of doing that."

"But sooner or later he's going to guess, you know that," Molly pointed out.

"I know, Mum, but there's nothing I can do about that."

"Haven't you been putting Contraceptive Charms on yourself beforehand?" the older woman wondered.

"Not for the last couple of weeks," Ginny reluctantly revealed.

"Why haven't you?" Molly put in, upset but not surprised.

"I want Harry's baby. I told him that. He said not right now, but considering our situation, I thought it best if I did, in the event something happened to him."

"Pregnancy can be hazardous under the best of conditions, darling. Believe me, I know ...and the conditions you'll be enduring are dangerous enough without adding pregnancy to the mix."

"Mum, I waited four years for Harry to come back into my life. I'm not about to leave him now, pregnancy or no pregnancy!" Ginny's voice had gone up two octaves and if Mrs. Weasley hadn't placed a Silencing Charm on the door immediately, she would have awakened the entire household.

"Keep your voice down," Molly warned. "Even a Silencing Charm has its limits."

"Sorry, Mum," Ginny apologised.

"Then all we can do is give you some Anti-Nausea Potion to take with you; I'll give Hermione a list of the ingredients and how to mix them, so if you run out, she can make more for you, wherever you may be," Molly assured her youngest child and only daughter, who even now was likely to be carrying yet another grandchild for herself and Arthur--provided she and the baby survived and they were able to return safely from their hazardous quest. "Another thing, dearest. You must eat as balanced a diet as possible in order to keep yourself and the baby healthy. I'll give you the diet I always followed while I was pregnant; you may modify it to your own tastes."

"Thanks, Mum. I appreciate it," Ginny smiled and squeezed her mother's hands affectionately.

"Even at that, you must know that Harry's likely to confront you about this at some point, particularly once he finds out--and I'm sure he'll be very upset that you allowed this to happen when you knew that you would be going into danger."

"I know, Mum, I know," Ginny returned impatiently. "I assure you, I'll do everything I can to stay out of harm's way--if only for the baby's sake."

"For your own sake as well," Molly insisted. "We can't replace you, you know. The Anti-Nausea Potion should be ready soon, so you can take some of that--then I suggest you try to eat something."

"I'll try, Mum," Ginny tentatively promised, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes momentarily. The other two women at the table, young and old, gave her looks of concern but knew they were doing all they possibly could for her. After this it was up to Ginny herself ... and Harry, once he got used to the idea. If he got used to the idea.

* * * * *

Within half an hour the Anti-Nausea Potion was ready, and Molly put what looked like a fairly large amount in what seemed to be a fairly small bottle ... but in the wizarding world, looks could be--and were--definitely deceiving. Even at that, how long it would last would depend on how nauseated she got. Ginny could only see one problem; what if she got nauseated around Harry and the bottle was not at hand or she was out of it, Hermione not having been able to brew more? She'd really be in for it then, because he would surely demand--yes, demand--an explanation for her actions, and she would have to give it to him.

She also assumed it was pregnancy-safe, that it wouldn't affect her unborn child (or potential unborn child). Molly also decided to double-check to see that Ginny was actually pregnant by casting a Pregnancy Detection Spell on her. It worked similar to a pregnancy test kit. If the woman wasn't pregnant, there was no change, but if she was, her skin would turn blue. Ginny could just imagine how Harry would react if he came down about now and happened to see her.

Five minutes later, Molly and Hermione looked up to see that Ginny's skin had definitely turned blue. However, five minutes after that, she was back to normal.

"Oh, Merlin," Hermione remarked. "It's true."

"And Harry's not going to be the only one upset. What about Arthur? What about her brothers, especially Ron, once they find out?" Molly pointed out. "Arthur knows Harry's back, of course, but he doesn't know that Harry moved in with Ginny ... and the same goes for her brothers, except for Ron."

"So what are we supposed to do?"

"The only thing we can do, Hermione--help her as much as possible and pray the others don't find out before we have a chance to figure out something to tell them. Meanwhile, we women must keep this among ourselves." Molly met the eyes of both her daughter and Hermione; both younger women nodded in agreement. "At least for the time being."