Harry froze when he saw Ginny. His eyes widened in panic and he looked around for a quick escape. He was just about to dash down the nearest hall when she called out, "Oi! Potter!"
Harry winced and turned back around to face his ex. "Hey, Gin."
"Don't 'Gin' me, we need to talk." She was holding Artie on her hip, his strawberry blonde hair perfectly combed down.
Harry clapped his hands together awkwardly. His entire body was tense. "Okay, what's up?"
Ginny eyed him. She let out a short sigh. "We used to be friends."
He made a face. "We never stopped being friends."
She rolled her eyes. "Look, I just want my apology."
Harry's eyes widened. "Your what? And what, exactly, should I be apologizing for?"
Ginny hiked Artie up higher on her hip, her face full of annoyance. "I don't know. Maybe falling for my best friend and leaving me high and dry without a word?"
Harry's brows drew together and his look of annoyance matched Ginny's. "Alright, first, we broke up in sixth year. Over a year ago, Ginny. So, there was no way I could have left you high and dry because I wasn't withyou."
"Don't split hairs. You know I waited for you."
"I'm sorry." And he was. "Genuinely, I am. But I never meant to lead you on and secondly," he continued before she could interrupt again, "best friend? You haven't talked to Hermione in a month." Ginny pursed her lips and looked away. "You think she's not upset about it?"
Hermione had been extremely torn about the entire thing. Harry had done his best to keep her attention focused on school instead. Ginny hadn't even had a discussion with her friend, simply stopped talking to her. The younger witch avoided Hermione at all costs.
"She seems perfectly content from where I've been standing." Ginny's tone was bitter, one Harry remembered well to be the same tone she often adopted when discussing how close Harry and Hermione were. It had been an often brought up problem in their short-lived romance. Honestly, it had been a problem in every short-lived relationship of Harry's life.
"Then maybe you ought to get a bit closer. Talk to your friend, Ginny. She needs a friend right now. Raising a child isn't easy, as you well know."
Ginny looked down. She knew Harry was right. She'd been acting childish but it wasn't often that the youngest Weasley didn't get her way. She looked up at Harry with big brown eyes. "I want to talk to you as well."
Harry sucked in a breath between his teeth. He waited for the massive thump in his chest that often followed that doe-eyed look Ginny sent him but… but he just felt nothing. The tension slowly left Harry's shoulders. "Well, then maybe you ought to get used to the idea that we're not together." He licked his lips nervously. "And that we won't get back together."
Ginny's lip wobbled.
"I'm sorry, Ginny." Harry slowly backed away. "I have to go." He turned and headed down the hall.
/\
"Why won't he sleep?" Hermione cried loudly at three in the morning the following Wednesday. She held Jamie close and bounced him as he continued to scream.
Harry was frantically flipping through a parenting book. "I don't know! I'm looking!"
"Well, look faster!"
"Yelling isn't helping!"
"Then stop yelling!"
Harry glared at her before he went back to the parenting book. He found a section that listed things to check when one's baby wouldn't stop crying. "Nappy?"
"Changed."
"Fed?"
"Obviously."
"Feet. Feet?" Hermione turned her head to him. They exchanged a confused look. Harry pulled the book closer and read the section. His eyes widened and he hopped off the bed. He raced towards Hermione and took Jamie from her arms. Harry set the baby on the bed and quickly unbuttoned his onesie. He pulled Jamie's feet from the legs and there, wrapped around his tiny big toe was a hair. Harry unwrapped it from around the digit and gently rubbed feeling back into the toe.
Hermione, leaning closely over Harry's shoulder watched avidly. "A hair?"
"It was cutting off his circulation," Harry explained.
"Is he okay?" Jamie was still crying.
Harry finished taking off the rest of Jamie's jumper and picked the baby back up. He held him close and slowly danced as he tried to soothe his son. "I think he will be. He's already gotten a bit quieter."
"Christ." Hermione ran her hands through her hair. It was a mess. She didn't think it'd ever felt so massive and out of place. She fell forward onto the bed and groaned. "Isn't this supposed to get easier?"
Harry laughed under his breath. "It's a baby, love. There's no easier, just more challenges."
Hermione froze. She glanced over her shoulder at him. "What did you just call me?"
Harry looked sidelong at her and kept bouncing Jamie. "I think he's ready if you want to try feeding him again."
Hermione's eyes narrowed but she nodded anyways. She reached for the bottom of her shirt and carelessly stripped it off. Harry's eyes widened as Hermione reached out, half-naked, for the baby. He handed the baby over and practically jumped away. "Oh, grow up, Potter." She shushed Jamie and settled him into her arms before practically shoving her nipple into his mouth. The room instantly quieted. She sighed in relief.
"I'm sorry just… really, 'Mione?"
"I am exhausted. We have to go down for breakfast in less than two hours. Can I please just nurse my baby comfortably for once?" Her glare was fierce.
Harry raised his hands in surrender and looked away. He began aggressively cleaning up the mess of their room. It had been a very, very long night. The worst one they'd had in nearly two weeks. Although Jamie tended to be a horror at night, that evening had been a new type of nightmare. Harry cleaned the numerous baby books off the bed and dumped them onto the shelf.
"Can you at least put them away properly?" Hermione sniped. Harry turned and raised his eyebrows, eyes wide and mouth pressed into a tight line. He let out a harsh breath and turned back to the bookshelf. He loudly slammed the books back into place. Hermione rolled her eyes at his immaturity.
"I'm going for a walk." He threw on his runners and robes and left in a huff.
Hermione honestly couldn't figure out the last time she'd slept. Yesterday at some point surely… possibly. Harry and she had been snapping at each other for hours now. Hermione knew from experience that tempers ran highest between them when they were tired. They'd been kind towards each other thus far, but Jamie was clearly trying to push his parents to the limit.
Hermione finished feeding her meddlesome child. His eyes closed and he fell asleep as he fed as he often did. Hermione dressed him in a new outfit for the day before she placed him in the stroller in preparation for heading down for breakfast. After making sure Jamie was okay, she disappeared into the bathroom for a well-needed shower.
Harry didn't show up for breakfast.
Hermione wasn't concerned. Harry's walks could last ages if he wanted them to. She knew he would just grab something from the kitchens when he got hungry. They didn't have class together that day so she figured she'd see him at lunch when they would trade off Jamie as they usually did.
When lunch rolled around and Harry was still missing, Hermione grew concerned. "Luna," she called to the younger witch, "you don't have class right now, right?"
Luna paused outside the portrait to her and Ron's rooms. She had the double stroller with her, Molly and Pandora giggling within. "Yes, I'm off the rest of the day."
"Could you do me a massive favour?"
"You want me to watch Jamie?"
"Could you?"
"Of course, Hermione." Hermione helped Luna through the portrait and got the twins in their playpen. "You're really worried about him," Luna commented offhand.
Hermione paused in her act of folding a baby blanket. She glanced over at Luna. "I haven't seen him all day." Luna nodded and pushed Jamie's stroller to the centre of the room where she'd be able to watch him from the couch. "We're fighting."
"Are you?" She sounded genuinely curious. Luna honestly couldn't imagine what Harry and Hermione would fight about beyond a potions text written by their late potions professor.
Hermione blinked in tired confusion. "Yeah… about just… everything. He said I wasn't trapping him but I feel like I've been too controlling lately." Luna disagreed but didn't say anything. "I know this is a magical baby but it's a lot of time and commitment and…" She gasped and hiccuped. Hermione raised her hand to her mouth to stop the tears. Luna touched her arm gently. The brunette witch shook her head. "I don't know why I'm crying."
Luna pulled her into her arms and hugged her softly. "It's probably too many Rogswirks." Hermione took that to mean that it was probably from a lack of sleep mixed with the hormones brought on by breastfeeding and nodded into Luna's shoulder. "You need to talk to Harry." Luna pulled back and smiled gently. "Even if you two aren't properly fighting, he needs to know you were worried." Hermione nodded again, still crying. Luna stepped back.
"Thanks, Luna, I'll be back as soon as I've talked to Harry."
Luna smiled. "I have plenty of bottles of milk in your bag here. Take your time." Hermione hugged her friend tightly. Luna patted her back.
She searched for Harry for nearly an hour. Hermione eventually found him in the alcove of an abandoned hallway, passed out. She dropped to her knees and frantically shook him awake, crying once more.
Harry jolted awake and blinked rapidly. He took in Hermione's tear-stained face in a second and was instantly alert. "Hermione!" He grabbed her arms. "What's wrong? Where's Jamie?"
"You disappeared!" she accused with a sob. Harry shook his head, heart racing with panic. "I didn't know where you were and I thought you left." She sobbed into her hands.
"Hermione," he pulled her into his arms. Hermione shook as she cried. "Hermione, I'd never leave you." He left out the part where they were still in school and he couldn't leave her. That would imply she was being ridiculous and Harry knew that would only end in more tears. "I just - blimey, I think I fell asleep? What time is it?" Hermione continued to cry into his chest. Harry closed his eyes and hugged her tight. "It's okay," he soothed, "it's okay. I wasn't even that mad. You know how I am when I'm tired."
Hermione nodded into his shirt. Harry stroked her hair. "'m sorry," she mumbled.
"Don't be. You've got nothing to be sorry about. I'm the one who's sorry. I left you with Jamie all day and… where is Jamie?"
"'una…"
Harry nodded. "Right, good. We should go pick him up. Do you need another minute?" Hermione paused. She shook her head. "Okay, come on, love." He helped her up and smiled sadly when he saw her tear-stained face. Hermione hated crying but it'd been happening more and more often since she'd started breastfeeding. He wiped her tears away and smoothed down her hair. "Good?" Hermione sniffed and nodded.
"I…" She swallowed. Hermione shook her head. "Today's been a very bad day," she whispered.
Harry rubbed his face. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I think today has shown that we need a night off." Hermione looked up. Harry raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Yeah, I thought you'd be interested."
/\
"…Hey." Hermione turned and froze when she saw Ginny. The two witches stood hesitantly a short distance from one another. They were in the library. Harry had Jamie on a playdate with Neville and his own newborn. It was a boys-only club, they'd said before disappearing together to only Merlin knows where. Hermione wasn't concerned. Okay, she was mildly concerned.
"Hi…" Hermione looked around. "Where's Arthur?"
"Oh," Ginny gestured over her shoulder, "Malfoy has the bugger actually."
Hermione nodded. "You finally got him involved?"
"Yeah, a few weeks ago."
"That's great."
"Yeah."
They were silent for a long moment.
Ginny sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I was being a bitch." Hermione nodded once in agreement. "I don't even know why I took it out on you, it's not your fault."
"It's not Harry's either," she immediately defended.
"I know that," she sighed. "I was just… You know I'm in love with him." She sighed. "Or I was… I guess." Hermione grimaced. She looked away from her best friend. Ginny saw Hermione's response to her words and a pain shot through her heart. "You like him don't you?"
Hermione's eyes widened. Her head whipped around to Ginny. "What? No?" Ginny raised her eyebrows. "I don't know?" she continued in a higher, uncertain pitch.
Ginny snorted out a laugh despite herself. She looked away and crossed her arms. A deep breath later and Ginny had pulled herself together. She shook her hair out and pulled back her shoulders. "What happened?"
Hermione eyed her friend hesitantly. The younger witch seemed to be okay with the conversation but Hermione was unsure. "He asked to spend Valentine's Day with me," Hermione slowly revealed.
Ginny's brows rose. She leaned closer. "Really?" Hermione nodded frantically. "Harry's not like that."
"I know!" Hermione loudly whispered back.
Ginny looked down for a second as she thought that over. "Like a date?" Her tone was more curious than it was sad.
Hermione shrugged. "I don't know? He said it would be a nice night off. Ron and Luna aren't celebrating the day so he asked them to take Jamie."
"But on Valentine's Day?" Hermione gesticulated wildly, agreeing with Ginny's confusion. "That's a bit misleading. It's not a date?"
Hermione sat down in the middle of the library. Her back rested against the tall bookshelf behind her. "I have no idea," she moaned miserably. Ginny sat down beside her. "He didn't say, so it must not be, right?" She turned her head to look at the redhead.
Ginny swallowed down the pain and tried to be supportive. "Well, Harry tends to be pretty upfront. But he's also quite rubbish at the whole girl thing."
Hermione snorted in amusement. "An understatement." She smiled softly at her friend. "Thank you, I know you don't want to talk about this."
Ginny lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. "No, but…" She turned her head to Hermione. "You matter more than a boy. I was being stupid…" She shook her head. "Why do boys make us stupid?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes as she contemplated the books on the shelves across from them. "I want to say it's because if they didn't, we'd realize we're better off without them and then the female gender would progress beyond the constraints of the patriarchy."
Ginny nodded once. "Probably."
/\
"Oh, Merlin, no." Ginny shook her head and made a face. "Why do you even own that?"
Hermione pouted and looked down at her frilly dress. "Your mother gave it to me."
Ginny snorted. "And that's why it's horrendous. You're not wearing that tonight."
Hermione sighed in annoyance. "Does it even matter?"
"Harry said he has something special planned!"
She rolled her eyes. "It's Harry, that could mean anything."
Ginny nodded. "For anyone else. Harry's always been more attentive with you." She got up from the bed and moved to the closet with all her dresses hung up. She pulled out a long purple dress and held it up against Hermione. "I think it's more serious than you think."
Hermione eyed her friend warily. "Do you actually?" They'd only been talking again for a few days. Hermione was still nervous about where Ginny's feelings for Harry really laid. Ginny hadn't claimed to be over him, but Hermione thought the younger witch was probably trying.
Ginny looked up. She nodded. "Yeah," she responded softly, "I do."
"Are you done yet?" a voice drawled from the door.
Both witches turned to glare at Malfoy. "Don't get your knickers in a twist," Ginny snapped. "We're still picking out dresses."
Malfoy eyed Hermione's horrible frilled and pleated dress that would have looked dated in the seventies. "Bloody hell, no wonder if those are your options." He shouldered past Hermione and reached into the closet. From its depths, he pulled a black dress. He threw it at the curly-haired witch. "There, transfigure it to fit because Merlin knows your tits are nicer than Weaslette's."
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Has a relationship suddenly evolved into sexual harassment rather than generic bullying?"
He sneered at her. "And then make sure to fix your face and your rats nest you call hair."
She nodded. "Much better." Draco rolled his eyes and closed the door behind him. Hermione sent Ginny a smirk. "Don't think I don't see that smile."
"Smile? There is no smile," she redhead immediately denied as her cheeks turned pink.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Ginerva." She pulled off her dress and slipped into the black one that Draco had chosen. It was long, silky, and sleek. Ginny transfigured it in places to properly hug her figure instead of suffocating her and it ended up fitting like a glove.
"Bloody hell, you look hot."
"Is it too much?" The dress had a dip in the front and thin straps. The material was soft and Hermione couldn't stop touching it. She felt sexy in it, a new and not unwelcome experience.
Ginny shrugged. "Who knows. I don't think Harry will complain. I mean, Draco might be an arse but he is right, you have nice tits. Better now too, since you started breastfeeding." Hermione glared. "If it's not a date, he might not even notice." Ginny made a face after she said this. She thought it'd be rather hard not to notice Hermione's cleavage.
"If it's not a date, I might be extremely overdressed."
"Overdressed? Oh no." Ginny set down a pair of red heels. "Now you will be. Go on, put them on. I'll get started on your hair, you cover makeup."
Hair piled on top of her head in pretty curls, Hermione finished putting on her red lipstick. "Where did you even get this dress?" she asked Ginny once she was done.
Ginny, sitting on the bed and playing with her nails looked up and met Hermione's eyes in the mirror. She shrugged. "Hogsmeade. It was on sale."
Hermione turned and stood up. She smoothed down the wrinkles in her silky skirt. "Okay, what do you think."
Ginny narrowed her eyes. "You need a necklace."
"Do you have one?"
"No."
Hermione rolled her eyes.
Draco popped his head in. "Get out," he ordered.
Hermione glared at him. "You two deserve each other." She headed past Draco for the door and out into the hallway.
"Oi!" They both shouted after her.
"Thanks, Gin! I'll return the dress later!" The portrait swung shut behind her. Hermione headed down the hall towards her room with Harry. She paused in front of their portrait and let out a deep breath.
The portrait swung open. Harry was just inside, crouched down in front of a big black box. Hermione's brows drew together in confusion. "Is that a tele?" Harry turned and his eyes bulged. He opened his mouth but no words came out. "Harry?" She smiled hesitantly.
"Hermione," he breathed. He slowly rose to his full height, not taking his eyes off of her for a second. "You look…" He shook his head. "Blimey."
Hermione's smile grew massive at his speechless reaction. She looked down at her dress before smiling back up at him from beneath her lashes. "Do you like it?"
Harry's eyes looked near to falling out. "Never take it off." She laughed. "Not that I'm not appreciative but… what… why?"
Hermione shrugged. "It's Valentine's Day."
Harry's eyes widened. "Oh…"
"It's fine," she rushed to assure him. She walked towards Harry and touched his arm to calm his obvious stress. "You just… you didn't say what was going on tonight and it's not like I minded getting dressed up at all…"
He shook his head. "Christ, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Like I said, I don't mind. I didn't think it'd be anything beyond a night in and I'm not disappointed."
"Wait." Harry went over to his school trunk and popped open the lid. He dug through the mess inside, a mess Hermione cringed at. From its depths, he pulled out a thin box. He stood back up and nervously handed Hermione the sleek, felted jewelry box. "I got it from Gringotts over Christmas." Harry nervously ran a hand through his hair. "It was my mum's."
Hermione's head snapped up to look at him. Her eyes were wide. "I can't take this."
He gave her a look. "Would you at least look at the bracelet before you reject it?"
She pursed her lips. "Harry," she admonished. "I'm not taking your mother's jewelry from you because you feel bad."
"That's not why I'm giving it to you." She wasn't convinced. "I was planning on it anyway."
"I don't believe you."
He sighed heavily. "Look, just," he stepped closer and opened the long, black box. Inside was a beautiful bracelet. It was a thin gold chain with four small circular jewels spread throughout. Each one was of a different shade and colour. He pointed to the emerald green one. "It's the same colour as my eyes. And this one," he pointed to the light green one, "is apparently the same colour as my mum's eyes." He grinned crookedly at her. "Apparently they aren't the exact same."
Hermione smiled softly and nodded to the next one. "And this one?"
"My dad's," Harry explained of the hazel coloured gem with touches of brown and even a dash of blue on one side. "There was a letter with it that explained." He frowned at the deep brown of the fourth gem. It was tinged with a caramel colour and flecks of gold. "I'm not sure about this one, though. It wasn't in the letter and actually, it wasn't there when I first got it. But the bracelet is charmed to extend as the family does, so I'm thinking it's the colour Jamie's eyes will turn." Hermione tried to conceal her disappointment. She still wanted Jamie to have Harry's eyes.
"Why was it in Gringotts?" she asked instead.
"Mum put it there…she wanted me to have it. She didn't say anything about the war, but it must have been the reason why." They both looked down at the bracelet.
"She must have been scared."
"Probably." They'd certainly been scared in the Final Year. It'd been the most terrible year of their very young lives. Neither could imagine how much more stressful it would have been if they'd had Jamie between them during that time.
She shook her head. "I can't take this."
Harry sighed but he had a small smile on his face. He'd known she'd say no, which was why he'd put it off for so long. He closed the distance between them and cupped her face in his hands. "It's a woman's bracelet, 'Mione. I'm not exactly going to wear it myself. There's no one else I would want to wear it but you. I've just been waiting for the right moment." She looked up at him, her eyes big and brown. "It's for family and you're my family." He picked up the bracelet and clipped it around her wrist.
"Harry…"
He kissed her cheek. "And now you look perfect. Happy Valentine's Day, 'Mione." Hermione threw her arms around his neck. She pulled him in for a tight hug which Harry sank into. His hands slid across the silkiness of her dress and he breathed in her scent of tulips. He pressed another kiss to her shoulder and smiled when she shivered.
Hermione pulled back and gave him a watery smile. "I love it, thank you."
"Anytime, Granger." Harry made a face and scratched his head as he searched for something else to say before Hermione got any more emotional. "Did you want to sneak out to Hogsmeade instead?"
She blinked in surprise and shook her head. "What?"
"Well, you just… Christ, 'Mione." He swallowed, his eyes going wide for a moment. "You look incredible. You deserve more than movies and popcorn, that dressdeserves more than movies and popcorn."
Hermione's smile was warm. "I don't care what the dress deserves, I think movies and popcorn sound wonderful."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." She knelt down and looked over the DVD and VHS player that was plugged into the tele. All of it was set up on a television set. "How did you get it to work?" No response. Hermione looked up at him. "Harry?"
He swallowed, looking like he was in pain. "'Mione, I'm gonna need you to stand back up." Hermione's face went bright red. She slowly stood back up, completely aware that Harry's eyes were completely riveted on her chest again. He was watching the flush from her cheeks spread down her neck and towards the absolutely stunning picture that was her cleavage. Apparently, he wasn't completely horrified at the thought of her chest, Hermione realized.
"Well? How'd you do it?"
He shook his head. "I don't know." He was still very focused on her chest. Hermione snorted out a laugh and rolled her eyes. She pinched his arm. "Ouch!" His eyes flickered up to her own and he smiled crookedly. "I asked Professor Flitwick to set it up."
Hermione bit her lip excitedly. "That's wonderful!" She kicked off her heels and crawled onto the bed. Harry nearly groaned and looked away from her arse. "What movies have you got for me, Potter?" She leaned back against the pillows at the head of the bed and fixed her skirt while her legs crossed at the ankles before her.
Harry pulled out two movies. He turned to her and hid the cases behind his back. "Okay, on the one hand," he announced theatrically, "we have a dramatic, action-packed, and educational," he raised his eyebrows at Hermione and she smiled as she rolled her eyes, "feature film. A classic, or so I've been told: Jurassic Park." Harry pulled the movie from behind his back. He grinned and nodded.
Hermione laughed under her breath and nodded. "Right, okay, what else?"
Harry narrowed his eyes. "On the other hand, we've got something a bit less action-packed. But I hear there's actually more death and is also pretty educational. Also, there's a nude scene I won't say no to." She laughed outright at that and waved her hand for him to continue. Harry pulled the other film from behind his back. "Titanic."
Hermione scrunched up her nose. She looked back and forth between the two. "Well… I've seen Jurassic Park."
"Have you?" He looked down at the movie case in his hand. "It sounds good."
She nodded. "It is. I've never seen Titanicthough. New?" Harry shrugged. Hermione held out her hand and Harry tossed her the case. She flipped it over and looked for the date on it. "It came out last year." Her eyes widened. "It's three hours long?"
Harry's eyes also widened. "Blimey, are they all that long?" He flipped Jurassic Parkover but had no clue where to look for that information.
"No, definitely not. Merlin's beard, no. I cannot stay up for three more hours. I'll probably fall asleep through whatever we watch anyways." Harry laughed and agreed. She tossed back the movie case. "Let's do Jurassic Park, I know you'll love it."
"Okay." He popped in the movie before heading over to the kitchenette and magically popped the popcorn. "It's about dinosaurs coming back, right?"
Hermione laughed from the bed. "Oh no, I'm not giving anything away. You're going to be hooked from start to finish."
"But you're going to fall asleep?"
"Can you blame me? I'm already exhausted."
Harry nodded in agreement. He poured the popcorn into a big bowl and grabbed a butterbeer from the cooling cabinet and water. Hermione took the popcorn and her water and told him to press play first. The lights turned off and Hermione snuggled into Harry's side.
Music blared from the speakers dramatically as the film began.
The light from the tele glinted off of Hermione's bracelet. The young witch could barely take her eyes off of it the whole night.