Harry and Hermione's Sin

Hermione had been devastated at the loss of her husband. Ron had been missing for a good two years now, and the prospect of him ever coming back was hardly likely. Search parties had been formed. Of course with the Weasleys, it had been easy to come up with different little groups because all the children were either married or had someone to date, and their wives (or in Ginny's case...husband) knew people who were more than happy to help look for a Quidditch star player gone missing.

Hermione couldn't bear the lonely nights in her house, so she soon moved out. She stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for a few months, but that too was just depressing. Everyday she would see his old room, and sadness would sweep over her. The only person she really talked to was Harry. He was the only one who could get her to open up. He helped her to find an apartment to move into, and he would cook her dinner most nights. She was grateful for his help.

One night as she and Harry were talking, they let their emotions get the better of themselves. They didn't mean to, but they couldn't deny what was there. They started off with just kissing, but it escalated to something more. Although Hermione thought she should stop...knew she should stop, she couldn't. Ron had been gone for two years, and Harry was here. He hadn't gotten lost, and he loved her, just the way she loved him, and this way, they weren't hurting Ron. This way was better.

After the two had made love (as they truly had because their love for each other had been strong, but also hidden for so long) they spent the night in each other's arms and slept contentedly. It had been such a long time since Hermione had actually slept through a whole night without being disturbed by horrible dreams of Ron either disappearing from the Quidditch Pitch, or from dreams of him in some horrible place.

The next morning, Hermione awoke with a smile on her face, but it soon disappeared when she noticed than Harry wasn't beside her. She started to panic as she wondered whether or not the night before had either been a dream (but she was almost 100% sure that it wasn't because she was still left with such an unbelievably good feeling) or Harry had left because he thought that he had in some way betrayed the memory of his best friend by sleeping with his wife. Hermione's thoughts were running wild when all of a sudden the door to her room opened up. In walked Harry with a tray of pancakes, a bowl of fruit, butter, syrup, milk, orange juice and a rose in a vase.

"So what did I do to deserve such great service?" Harry simply grinned.

"Well...I could name a few things you did last night that would get me to do practically anything from you, but I just thought it would be nice to make you breakfast." Hermione laughed.

"Anytime you wanna go over those things that I did last night...just let me know." She then winked at him, and he laughed and gave her a kiss.

Soon after they ate, Hermione took a shower and then got dressed. She and Harry spent a magnificent day together. He took her to Flourish and Blotts and helped her to pick out a few good books, which he paid for. Then after they got ice cream, they walked around the streets of London and had a lot of fun. They ended their night at Hermione's apartment. They sat down on the couch and watched some of her favorite movies. Breakfast as Tiffany's, Sabrina, and Casablanca were just a few of her favorites. They fell asleep on the couch, and for the second night in a row, Hermione slept soundly. -~-

Harry and Hermione had been spending a lot more time together over the next few weeks. Everyone could tell that it had a marvelous affect on her. She looked well rested and there was a twinkle in her eyes. She was just truly happy. She and Harry weren't officially going out, but everyone knew that it was only a matter of time.

One day Hermione noticed that she was late in getting her period, and she started to get worried. Before she made any assumptions, she made an appointment to see a doctor. She didn't want to trust an over-the-counter pregnancy test. After much waiting and rising anticipation, the doctor came in with the results.

"Congratulations Ms. Granger, you're pregnant." She felt her heart drop. What would Harry say? What would he do? She knew he loved her, but would he stay with her was the question. A baby was a big step in someone's life. She smiled at the doctor, thanked her, and then left. -~-

Harry couldn't imagine what Hermione had to tell him that was so urgent. She had called him and asked him to come over. She sounded as though she was on the brink of crying. He quickly apparated to her apartment where he saw her sitting down on her sofa in deep thought. There were also tears in her eyes.

"Hey 'Mione...what's wrong?" he asked gently. "Why are you crying? Were...were you thinking about Ron again?" he asked in a somewhat lower tone of voice. She shook her head and wiped away the tears that were now falling down her cheeks. "Then tell me, what's the matter?" She took a deep breath and then stood up and started to pace.

"Harry...today I found out that...well, that I'm pregnant." Harry's jaw dropped.

"B-but how did that happen? I mean, I always used the contraceptive spell before we did anything."

"I know, I know. That's what I thought too. Only, then I remembered something. Our first night together...we didn't exactly take the necessary precautions." Sudden realization dawned upon him.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I guess I was too excited...in more ways than one." He blushed shyly. "I can't believe we weren't more careful! All this could've been avoided! I was so stupid in not just taking those extra five seconds!" Hermione thought he was angry, and she started to cry.

"I'm sorry Harry! I know this messes up your life! You...you don't have to be involved if you don't want to. I'll understand." Harry looked at her with an astonished look in his eyes. He put his arms around her.

"Shhhh," he whispered soothingly. "It's okay, stop crying. I'm staying Hermione. I'm going to be in our baby's life. I would never think of leaving you two alone. Together we have more than enough money to raise a child. And any help we need, I'm sure we could ask Mrs. Weasley." Hermione gasped. She hadn't thought about telling the Weasleys. They were of course very supportive of Harry and Hermione's blooming relationship, as they understood that she needed to move on, but how would they react if she had a child with Harry, when she couldn't have one with Ron. Then, another thought came across her mind. What if the baby didn't make it past the first trimester? The other two hadn't.

"Harry," she said meekly. "What if the baby doesn't survive? I mean...what if I have another miscarriage just like with the other two children? I'm not sure I can handle that! Loosing another child...that's too emotionally painful!" He kissed her on the forehead.

"Let's not get too worked up, okay? You don't know for sure whether or not you'll have a miscarriage. Don't think about, too much stress isn't good for you or the baby. It causes premature birth, and it could be dangerous for the mother and child." She looked up and him and raised her eyebrow.

"Where did you hear that?"

"Well, I saw it on an episode of Charmed once." Hermione rolled her eyes. Harry loved that show, even though she didn't know why because she saw it as being magically incorrect. He had once pointed out that that wasn't what made the show so great. She came to the conclusion that it must've been because of three hot girls running around in tight, revealing clothes.

"Alright, I won't stress about that. We'll take this step by step." With that, he gave her a kiss.-~-

The couple stuck to their word and took the pregnancy step by step. Hermione went through morning sickness and mood swings. Something that had never happened to her other pregnancies. She was slightly upset about that. She missed feeling well. But she was relieved when she made it through the first trimester without loosing the child. Harry went with her to doctor's appointments, and they told the Weasleys the news once Hermione was confident that the baby would survive. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had been happy for them, even though what Hermione had thought was true. They did wish that her child had been Ron's, for her wanted children terribly. But they never let the two know how they felt and did nothing but offer support and any advice they could give.

One day, Mr. Weasley pulled Harry aside and asked whether or not he would be asking Hermione for her hand in marriage.

"Yes, I am. I'm actually one step ahead of you there." With that, he pulled out a tiny box and showed him the ring he had chosen out.

"Oh Harry, that must've been expensive! Hermione's a lucky lady to have you. Especially...well, especially after The Incident." Mr. Weasley never liked to say what had happened, and Harry always respected his wishes and never brought it up.

"Thank you. I'm going to take good care of her and our baby." He wasn't sure, but he thought that he had seen Mr. Weasley cringe slightly. But he shrugged it off. He knew it must've been hard that this was more proof that Ron was gone, and that he and Hermione could never have a child.-~-

Harry had proposed, and Hermione accepted. They thought it would be better to plan for the wedding after their daughter was born. That way they could spend all their energy on preparing for her arrival. Yes, they were having a girl, and they couldn't be happier. She was healthy and kicking...literally. And she was strong.

"She'll make an excellent Quidditch player," Harry commented when he first felt her kick.

"Oh no! No Quidditch! I had a hard enough time trying hard not to worry myself over you. All those 'accidents', bludgers flying around threatening to hit people. I won't have any child of mine playing Quidditch!"

"But Hermione!"

"Don't 'but Hermione' me! There is nothing to discuss in the matter. I want my children safe." Harry knew it was pointless to argue with her right now. But he knew he would have a good few years to talk her into it. So, he apologized to her and offered to take her out.-~-

The last couple months had been bad for Hermione. Back aches, pressure on her bladder, heat waves, and she could never seem to get comfortable. But what helped the most was Harry. All throughout her pregnancy he never once made her feel undesirable. He still looked at her with lust in his eyes, and would look at her with mischief dancing in his eyes. She would giggle and would let him whisper sweet nothings in her ear, and then they would make love. After finding out that nothing bad would happen if they did, they continued on with their sex lives.

The big night finally came, and they hurried off to the hospital. After 22 hours of being in labor, swearing at anyone and everyone, cursing Harry for causing her pain, sending him away one minute, and demanding him back into the room the next, she gave birth to their beautiful baby girl. The doctors cleaned her up and handed the precious baby to her parents. They looked down at her with loving eyes, and Harry even had tears coming down his cheeks. She was the most beautiful baby that he had ever seen. And she had the most stunning, emerald, green eyes that matched those of her father and grandmother.

"What's her name?" the nurse asked.

"Sami," Hermione replied. "I've always liked that name." Harry smiled.

"Welcome to the world, Sami." He kissed her on the forehead and gave her back to her mother.-~-

Sami, as it turned out, was a wonderful child with a good attitude. She rarely cried, and laughed often. She was a joy to have around, and got lots of compliments on her beautiful eyes. Harry and Hermione couldn't be prouder.

After a month or so, they decided to take her out to Diagon Alley. Hermione carefully held her as they walked around. She would switch off with Harry seeing as how Sami was a healthy child and drank a lot and was gaining weight well.

Harry and Hermione had been laughing and joking around when she suddenly stopped. In the crowd she saw a man in a black cloak with his hood up. But she could see piercing blue eyes and flaming red hair sticking out of the hood. Harry soon saw what she saw, and he too stopped talking.

"Ron?" was all she could say.-~-

Ron had been back from an island that he had been stranded on for a year and a half. He didn't have his wand since it disappeared during his disappearance, and he couldn't apparate without it. Fortunately, when he was beginning to loose hope, a ship happened to come close to shore, and Ron had bargained a ride. He had been brought to America, and since he still had no way of getting home, he had to work hard enough to buy a plane ticket. He learned a lot about muggles while in America. Flying on a plane had been a scary experience, but he knew he had to do it to get back to England and back to Hermione.

Now here he was standing, in the middle of Diagon Alley, on his way back from getting a new wand, when he ran into Harry and Hermione of all people. At first he had been happy when all he saw was their faces. But now he saw in Hermione's arms a baby. And now that he looked more closely, he also saw a diamond ring adorning her left ring finger, and his wedding band he had given her was gone. He wasn't sure how much would've changed while he was gone, but certainly he hadn't expected to see a baby in Hermione's arms. Sure, he thought that maybe...maybe she would've met some other guy, for he had been gone for three years, but not all of this. It was too much to take in all in just 10 seconds! She had never been able to have children with him, and now here she was with a baby in her arms! He desperately wanted to know who the father was (it couldn't be Harry for surely he wouldn't betray his best friend!) and when he found out who it was, he would have his revenge!

"Ron?" Hermione had said with puzzlement in her voice. This brought him back to reality, and before she could say anything else, he apparated away.