In The Balance

"I've made my decision," she spoke softly, looking meaningfully into Harry's eyes.

"Wow. That was fast," Harry chuckled softly, causing Hermione to roll her eyes and playfully slap him.

"Will you shut up, please? I'm trying to sound all serious here, and you're ruining the moment," she chastised through a barely suppressed smile. Count on Harry to make light of something as serious as their current predicament.

"Ok. Sorry." He had the decency to look ashamed, but Hermione still noticed that his eyes were twinkling softly. If she didn't know any better, she would swear that he was actually enjoying their time together, despite the circumstances. His expression turned serious all of a sudden and his eyes, the emerald green orbs that she had come to adore, penetrated her own as if looking for some kind of sign or truth that had been otherwise inexpressible. Hermione, confused, allowed him to do this in silence. Neither teen blinked, nor looked away during these moments, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally, he nodded in satisfaction, and Hermione could only wonder what had been running through his mind. "I've made my decision as well." He spoke at last.

Hermione took a deep breath at these words and the powerful emotions swimming behind Harry's eyes. She knew, in that instant, exactly what his decision was, and that it mirrored her own.

"When?" she whispered in one breath, reaching out a shaky hand and taking hold of the one that Harry held the Fertility potion in, her fingers entwining with his around the smooth, crystal vial.

"No day like today," he whispered back, his hand tightening around hers.

"But Ginny... Ron..." she started to protest, but he shook his head and looked down at the bed.

"They will be angry and confused, but in the end, I believe that they will understand," Harry spoke in a very Dumbledore-like way, causing Hermione to smile ruefully. "If it had been either one of them in a similar situation, I'm sure neither would have hesitated to do everything in their power to make sure that Voldemort didn't succeed."

"And neither will we... right?" Hermione asked, withdrawing her hand and the vial in one smooth motion. Uncorking it, she caught Harry's gaze once more, and not looking away, swallowed the contents with a determined look on her face.

Harry withdrew his wand from an inner pocket of his robes and pointed it at the door to Hermione's bedroom. Ginny, if tried, would be unable to get in, even with the most advanced unlocking charm she knew. Anyone, for that matter, would find it incredibly difficult to get through the heavy wards he cast. Snape, on the other hand, was another matter entirely, considering the incantation Harry used had been found months ago, smudged at the bottom of the Half-Blood Prince's potions book, on the same page as the Impetus Amore Potion. Not that he would try to come in, probably guessing, along with all the other Order members, what Harry and Hermione would be doing for the next hour or so.

"At least Snape's book was good for something, after all," Harry smirked, earning a half-hearted reproachful glare from Hermione.

"You sure do know how to kill the mood, don't you?" she muttered as she cast her own series of silencing charms. The last thing she wanted was for the entire household to hear her losing her virginity to her best friend. She blushed fiercely at this thought. In all of her wildest dreams (and fantasies), Hermione had never imagined that her first time would be with Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. In fact, up until recently, the object of her less than demure fantasies was none other than her other best friend, Ron Weasley.

"Sorry. I'm a little nervous," he admitted sheepishly as he shrugged out of his robes and threw them across the room to land in a messy heap upon Ginny's bed. Hermione watched this with trepidation, before divesting herself of her own robes where they joined Harry's on the other bed. "I've, uh," he cleared his throat in embarrassment, looking away as his cheeks turned a flaming crimson color, "I've never done this before."

Hermione's head shot up in surprise. The way Ginny and Harry had been all over each other at the end of their 6^th year, she had figured that they'd probably found a way to do... it. So, needless to say, this bit of information came as a bit of a shock.

"It's... it's okay," she replied after clearing her throat and smiling shyly at Harry. "Neither have I."

"Oh good," Harry let out a deep breath that he didn't realize he'd been holding. Hermione laughed softly. "Now I won't seem like a complete idiot."

"Harry! You're not an idiot!" Hermione said, leaning forward and playfully pushing Harry on the shoulder. The bed bending beneath her weight caused her to fall against the young man across from her. Looking up at him sheepishly, Hermione started to pull away, but was stopped by a pair of gentle hands on her arms. Looking up into his eyes, she blinked slowly, and before she knew it, she was tilting her head slightly and leaning forward more.

Harry's breath hitched in his throat as he held Hermione in his arms, his head slowly descending as he licked his lips. With a breadth of air between their lips, both teens closed their eyes, before bridging the gap and brushing their lips softly against each other's in a chaste, tentative kiss. This one kiss soon turned into more, each growing more heated and needy as the pair slowly lay down on the bed, still clinging tightly to each other.

Harry pulled away suddenly, staring intently in Hermione's eyes once again. She looked at him, bewildered.

"Hermione... Are you sure?" he asked once more, giving her another chance to withdraw her decision. Hermione smiled gently, raising a hand to brush a fringe of hair off his forehead and softly trace his lightning bolt scar.

"Harry," she said sweetly, placing a tender kiss atop his scar, "just shut up already."

***

"Where do we go from here?" Remus asked, his gaze moving back and forth between Minerva and Snape. There was a tense moment of silence as the rest of the Order mirrored Remus' action, and Snape couldn't help but shift uncomfortably in his seat. He had never liked being stared at.

"Well," Minerva began at last, straightening in her seat, "assuming Mr. Potter and Miss Granger decide to... er... fulfill their end of the prophecy, we'll more than likely have to place Miss Granger under the Fidelus Charm, so that the Dark Lord will not be able t o get his hands, or anything else, for that matter, on her." It seemed like the right way to go, and many agreed with this sentiment. However, there was one who did not.

"I have to disagree with you, Minerva," Snape spoke up, his gaze unfocused as he contemplated a different path. All heads swiveled toward him and stared with disbelief. "As I said before, the Dark Lord believes that the Order is in the dark so far as his knowledge of the new prophecy is concerned, giving us the upper hand. I say we use that to our advantage."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked with a hint of disdain dripping from his voice.

"The only way we can," Snape replied with an equal amount of derision, glaring at the bald, black man across from him. "We allow Voldemort to capture Miss Granger."

"What? No!" Several voices joined in the protests, to which Snape sat back and let them fly over his head without a care. McGonagall sighed heavily as she attempted to bring order to the meeting.

"How can you people still believe that he is a good guy when he so flippantly suggests handing a child over to the Dark Lord!" Tonks screeched, highly unsettled by the suggestion. After all, she'd grown close to both Ginny and Hermione a couple of summers ago, and looked upon the elder Gryffindor as if she were a younger sister.

"Tonks," Remus murmured soothingly as he took his younger lover's hand into his own, "the suggestion does have some merit." Ever the voice of reason, Remus' soft-spoken words were enough to silence the room once more. "You-Know-Who would not dare harm Hermione in any way if he believes she is with his heir."

"Remus is correct," Snape added with a slight nod at the werewolf. "The Dark Lord wouldn't risk compromising what may be his only way to win the war."

"Saying we agree to this, the question then becomes, will Miss Granger and Mr. Potter?" Minerva intervened once again before protests could begin anew. Several people pondered this question in silence, while others talked amongst themselves. Some cast their glances to the ceiling, where overhead, all was quiet.

"How can we guarantee her safety once the child is born?" Shacklebolt asked the question that seemed to be on everyone's mind. Snape let out a heavy breath.

"When she has birthed the child, it will be then that I reveal my true inclination. I will do all in my power to protect her and the baby, and get them to safety," he spoke wearily, running a hand over his face, which suddenly looked more than his forty-three years.

"Do you swear by this, Severus?" Minerva asked with in a straightforward manner that belayed how serious she was.

"I do, Minerva," he murmured, his memory floating to a similar night only a year ago. "If she agrees to this plan, I will become her Secret Guardian."

***

"How do you feel?" Harry whispered from beside Hermione as he pulled the bed sheets up to his chin.

"A little sore, but otherwise, I feel the same as before," she replied matter-of-factly, as if she were examining the end results of some potion or experiment.

"So you don't...you don't feel pregnant?" He asked the question as if it were the most common thing in the world for a woman to feel pregnant only seconds after having sex.

"Harry! It's not that simple!" Hermione exclaimed, swatting him playfully on the arm.

"Well! I didn't know!" he grinned sheepishly, ducking beneath the sheets as an embarrassed blush threatened to creep up his cheeks.

"Well, now you do!" she shot back with a teasing grin as he reemerged from beneath the covers.

"So, when will we find out?" This question was more serious, causing the atmosphere to move from awkwardly playful to subdued. Hermione stared forward at the cream wall across from her.

"I'm not sure. For muggles, it typically takes a few weeks after conception," she explained, shrugging slightly. "I don't know if it's different for witches. If there's a spell or potion that can tell, I haven't heard of it."

Harry furrowed his brows. If Hermione hadn't heard of it, then it probably didn't exist. She was like a walking encyclopedia, almost always knowing the answer to one of his questions. It scared him a little, not knowing if she already carried his child, or would become subject to Voldemort's machinations. Granted, Snape had said that the potion would almost positively ensure conception on the first try, but there was always that off chance that it wouldn't. And then he would have failed Hermione, and the rest of the world would be at the mercy of not only one powerful and evil being, but two.

"Sickle for your thoughts?" Harry only shrugged, opting to remain silent for the time being. His thoughts were so plenty and so confusing that he didn't know if he'd be able to convey them in a manner that Hermione, or anyone else for that matter, would understand. Hermione frowned. "Harry... What do we do now?" It was barely audible in the silence of the room, full of fear and trepidation.

"I don't know, Hermione," he replied just as softly, his anxious gaze landing on her own. "I don't know."

There was a loud bang as the wards finally crumbled. Though they had been strong, Harry wasn't nearly powerful enough to maintain them for more than an hour at a time, and under the constant barrage of Ron's spells and Ginny's fists, they'd finally given away. With a start, the two teens stared with horror at the bedroom door as it slammed open and admitted two very shocked and angry Weasleys.

"What the hell is going on here?"