Chapter Text
Hermione could not fathom all of the emotions that were flying through her. Ron had left. Left her. Left everything they had. Of course she knew it was all due to that ridiculous locket they had yet to destroy, but for whatever reason, she could not summon this logic at the moment. It had only been a couple of weeks since he’d splinched himself, but he obviously hadn’t been thinking about that when he disapparated.
Harry had wisely chosen to give her some time to process this stunning turn of events. She knew how the locket made you feel, yet her emotions would not let her rationalize the situation. Ron had been wearing it for far too long but they had been so distracted. They didn’t realize how much it was affecting him.
She tried to sort through what she was feeling. Anger? Check. Betrayal? Check. Despair? Abandonment? Fear? Check, check, and check. He would come back soon. He had too because he really did not have any other sane options. Yes, that was all. He needed to clear his head, then he would realize the locket had tampered with his emotions and he knew how much they needed to stay together right now. Another thing on her radar? Sleep. Hermione decided there was nothing more she could do right now, so she would at least try to get some sleep. Not that she had high expectations without Ron there with her.
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Harry could tell by the look on her face that Hermione was not handling Ron’s exit well at all. Ron was his best friend, so Harry knew how his temper was when he wasn’t wearing the damn locket. It wasn’t odd that Ron’s temper would flair, even though this was a little much. What was odd, was Hermione’s reaction. Sure, she was a passionate person, but emotional? Harry was pretty sure she didn’t even realize that she was sobbing. He wanted to go to her, but this was such an odd reaction and he had no idea as to how he should handle it.
He knew Ron and Hermione were in love even if they hadn’t said so themselves. It was how they looked at each other, and if they thought he hadn’t heard them sneaking around all summer, they were very, very wrong. Mrs. Weasley would throw a fit if she knew what her youngest son had been up to under her roof. While at first, he had been slightly disturbed by the realization, he actually didn’t mind that they had each other. As it was, he and Ginny had been tiptoeing around each other for months now. He had been keeping her at an arm’s length (barely). Although his friends did not see it fit to control themselves, he had no wish to be on Arthur and Molly’s bad side. He suspected even Ron would have his head despite giving them his blessing. Anyhow, he wished for Ron to return soon because he had no clue how he would comfort Hermione if he didn’t.
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3 months. Ron had been gone for 3 months without contacting either of them. They couldn’t contact his family without putting them all in danger, so instead they hunted for the horcruxes and learned to live without him. They were no closer to finding the bloody things and Hermione feared they had bigger problems to deal with.
She had had a sneaking suspicion for a while now, but she was too afraid to admit what she could no longer deny. Luckily, it was winter, so Harry hadn’t noticed that she never removed her coat. Of course she hadn’t noticed when she missed one cycle; she was on Voldemort’s radar due to her muggle-born status and her association with Harry and they were under a lot of stress. She started to notice after the second one, but that was around when Ron left them, and she was again too distracted to worry about it. Of course when October came and went with yet another missed cycle, she began to panic… on the inside, of course.
Oh how she missed having Ginny to talk to—not that she was 100% certain Ginny would like to know about her and Ron’s love life. Harry was her only confidant at the moment and there was absolutely no way she could ever—ever—have this conversation with him. Obviously she couldn’t sneak off to a store to buy a test when they were in the middle of God only knows where. So she went on with the plan of finding the horcruxes with the excuse that she’d tell Harry. Of course that was nearly 2 months ago now. That’s how she came to be where she is now: laying on her cot, attempting to close her jeans. And of course Harry would choose that exact moment to come into the tent.
“HAVEN’T YOU EVER LEARNED TO KNOCK?!?!” She hastily jumped up and wrapped her coat around her swollen middle.
“….Hermione. It’s a tent. I highly doubt knocking would help.” Harry looked rather confused.
“That is not the point and you know it! I don’t care that this tent is our only home right now, I still deserve my privacy.”
“Alright, I’m sorry… What were you doing, if I may ask?” Harry had a perplexed look on his face, not that she could blame him. It’s not like they had enough of a food supply to gain that much weight. She realized with a jolt of fear, that if her calculations were correct, she was nearly 23 weeks along now. It was time to tell him.
“I..I…I need to talk to you, Harry..” Now her heart was beating so hard, she was sure he could hear it.
“What is it Hermione. What’s wrong?” He sounded genuinely concerned, which helped her stumble over the next few words.
“I don’t think it was any secret to you, or anyone for that matter, that Ron and I have grown rather close-“
“Hermione, I really don’t need to hear thi-“Harry looked uncomfortable.
“Please let me get this out!” When he closed his mouth, she took a deep breath and continued, “I love him, Harry. I mean of course I love you, too, but I think we all know this is different. This summer, we got especially close,” Harry winced, “and I think we may have a situation that even I didn’t plan for.” She opened her coat and let it fall to the bed. Her Henley shirt that normally hung a little loose now clung to her chest and belly.
Harry’s eyes nearly jumped from his head, “Wh-what… Hermione?” She saw the realization in his eyes. “How long have you known? Were you ever going to tell me?” he asked quietly.
“Well, I.., I began to suspect it was possible in October, and I—“
“October?!” Now he really looked upset. Harry began pacing at Hermione’s confession, not noticing that her eyes filled with tears. Only when she began to sniffle did he look up. He felt like a right git at making his best friend cry. He immediately took her in his arms in the way siblings would comfort one another. It was only when Harry began to gently sway back and forth that she realized the radio was on. She rested her head on his shoulder. “Hermione, don’t cry. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shout. It’s just… October? It’s Christmas, now. You couldn’t have hidden this forever, you know.”
She was silent through the rest of the song and only spoke halfway through the next, “Don’t you think I know that? I wanted to tell you, Harry, I swear. How was I supposed to bring this up? I didn’t even think you knew completely about Ron and me, yet.”
She didn’t know whether to be relieved or not when she felt a laugh shake through him. “I do not know why you two think you are so sneaky. It was obvious to most people over the summer that you were constantly about to jump each other!”
Hermione felt a deep blush color her face and neck. “HARRY!” She let out a shy laugh. Then, after a moment, “Were we really that obvious?”
“Obviously not to Arthur and Molly, but the rest of us were just happy you both knew how to work a Muffliato.” Another laugh from both of them. They settled into a comfortable
silence as they danced to a holiday song on the radio.
Hermione let him lead them around for a few more moments before she finally picked her head up. “What am I supposed to do?” The tears were threatening to spill again.
Honestly, Harry didn’t know in the slightest, but he said, “We’ll do what we always do: we’ll manage.”
She allowed him a soft smile, “Harry…this is a baby. Another human being. Not to mention it’s ass of a father is nowhere to be found.” She grumbled the last part.
“I know. We will find him, don’t worry. Also, since you suspected for so long, do you have any idea how far you are?”
Hermione attempted to look anywhere but at her friend until he cleared his throat. “Well, if my calculations of when we may have slipped up,” another wince from Harry, “I’m likely around 5 months.” She said the last part as quietly as possible. OK. Harry’s eyes definitely popped that time. “We’ll manage, remember?” She added with a guilty smile.
Not long after her revelation, the conversation started to die off as Hermione started to show her exhaustion.
“Go sleep, I’ll take this watch.”
“No, Harry,” *yawn*, “It’s my turn.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’ll not have you getting sick because of me! Please, Hermione, rest.” She smiled and hugged him gratefully before climbing into her bed.