MetaFic

Ginny Weasley concluded that Hermione Granger was too clever of a witch by half. Hermione had noticed almost immediately that something was different with Ginny and Harry and something was very different about Ginny herself.

Fortunately for Ginny, the older girl couldn't prove anything, so she eventually let the matter drop. Ron was, as usual, mostly oblivious to anything she and Harry did as long as it didn't happen within his line of sight. The twins were busy preparing to pull one final grand gag before leaving Hogwarts forever, so they had barely spoken to Ginny in weeks.

As for her and Harry's relationship, it had become closer and tighter. While at the moment he was distracted with taking the O.W.L.s and trying to come to a conclusion as to where he would be staying that summer, he still somehow managed to be the ever-attentive boyfriend. He constantly surprised her with little gifts and small romantic moments. The beautiful silver choker set with the small, nearly perfect emerald for her birthday had taken her breath away. They had made love only once more, on the night of her fifteenth birthday. Harry was still very nervous about it all and afraid of being caught, especially by one of her brothers.

For her part, she still hadn't told anyone that she was carrying Harry's child. She knew she needed to, and soon, but she still had not decided whom she would tell first.

She supposed she should tell Harry first, with him being the father. She would have already, but she was still slightly afraid of how he would react. Would he think she had tried to trap him into marriage? That wasn't what she had set out to do, but would he believe that? Or worse, would he believe she had gotten pregnant to save The Great Harry Potter as opposed to the man she loved? Would he think her love for him was all a ruse simply to protect the Boy-Who-Lived? She didn't want to hurt Harry, but she was suddenly afraid of the possibility. What if he rejected her and his child? What if he thought she'd ruined his life by forcing him to be a father so young?

She had thought about telling Dumbledore, since he was the one ultimately responsible for Harry's protection until Harry finished Hogwarts. He was the one who would have to work the charm to protect Harry. But again she was afraid of how the old Headmaster would react. Would he be disappointed in her? Would she even be able to return to school next year? Would he be angry with her for interfering with Harry's life in such a dramatic way?

And so the weeks passed with Ginny frozen by her indecision until there was only three weeks left in the term.

Then the unexpected happened.

Ginny was sitting next to Harry at one of the study tables in the Gryffindor common room. Across from them sat Ron and Hermione. Harry and Ron were playing chess, which Harry was losing at badly. Ginny tried to distract Ron and give Harry advice on protecting his pieces. Hermione, not surprisingly, had a book in front of her.

"One Thousand and Three Obscure and Difficult Protection Charms? Looking for something in particular?" Ginny asked.

Hermione gave Ginny a funny look. "We're still working on a way to hide Harry over the summer. All Dumbledore has told Harry is that he has an idea or two." Then Hermione lowered her voice so only Ginny could hear, looked pointedly into her friend's eyes, and whispered, "You don't have any bright ideas, do you?"

Ginny shook her head no, but inside she had gone ice cold. Hermione knows! she thought. She's seen me being sick in the bathrooms, and she's commented more than once about how tired I am lately. She knows!

Hermione gave her another hard look before saying "Humph!" and returning to her book. Ginny turned to find Harry staring at her rather intently. Ron was busy putting away the chess pieces. Harry raised an eyebrow at her in question, and she thought she might as well get the inevitable over with. She wouldn't be able to hide it much longer anyway. She opened her mouth to tell them all the truth.

"Harry, look at this." Hermione couldn't conceal her excitement. "I've found the charm Dumbledore used to hide you with the Dursleys."

Ginny exhaled. She wanted to look at that spell herself. The four of then sat down near the fireplace in a circle to more easily pass the book back and forth. Hermione began to explain how the charm worked.

"It says here that if a wizarding child is orphaned, they may be protected from those who wish them harm by placing them in the home of a living relative and casting the charm. The charm not only protects the orphan, but also everyone within the household, making the home unplottable and masking all magical energy within the area of the charm. Once the charm is cast, it can only be broken by the death of the orphan's relative, by the relative clearly disowning the orphan and forcing them from the home, or by the orphan obtaining status as a legal adult wizard."

Hermione looked up and began discussing with Harry and Ron the complexities of the spell, how difficult it must be to cast, and that this must be why Dumbledore sent Harry back to the Dursleys every year.

Ginny only heard part of this. Her eyes had been drawn to the notation at the bottom of the page discussing how one obtained status as an adult witch or wizard. She read the passage to herself.

Then she read it again.

And again.

She tried not to panic.

Any under-age witch or wizard who becomes a parent will be immediately given status as a legal witch or wizard, with all the rights and obligations thereof, as if they had attained the age of majority (see above). At this time they may seek full employment in the wizarding community to support their child or children.

Ginny vaguely heard someone call her name. She looked up to find Ron and Harry looking at her strangely.

"Are you all right there, Ginny? You look a little pale." Her brother's voice was filled with concern.

"I'm fine," she finally managed to breathe out.

"Oh," Hermione said quietly from Ginny's right. Ginny looked at the older girl, who had just finished reading the same paragraph as Ginny. Hermione looked at Ginny with wide, frightened eyes.

"What?" Ron demanded, looking from his girlfriend to his sister and back again.

Hermione jumped up from the floor, pulling Ginny up with her. She snapped the book shut and tucked it securely under her arm. "I just remembered something important I need to discuss with Ginny."

"What can you talk to Ginny about that you can't say to us?" Ron's voice sounded suspicious.

Hermione glared at him. "It's a girl thing, Ron."

Ron paled. There were certain "girl things" he just didn't want to know about.

"Oh, okay," he said, more than happy to drop the suddenly uncomfortable topic.

Harry laughed at his friend's discomfort and waved the girls away. "Go have your girl talk, then," he said.

Hermione grabbed Ginny by the hand, and they fled upstairs. Hermione had the benefit of having the prefect's room, which gave them some privacy. She shut the door and cast a locking charm. Then she cast a silencing charm around the room. She slowly turned to Ginny, who had burst into tears and was lying on Hermione's bed.

"Oh, Ginny, you didn't, did you?" Hermione placed a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder and sat down on the bed.

Ginny sat up, tears streaming down her face. She looked Hermione squarely in the eye and nodded her head. "I thought the baby would help protect him. What am I going to do? I've made everything worse!" She laid her head in Hermione's lap and let the tears flow freely.

Hermione gently stroked her friend's hair, allowing Ginny time to calm down so they could both discuss what to do next. Ginny eventually cried herself out and quieted.

"I'm going to have to tell Dumbledore, aren't I?" It was less of a question for Hermione and more of a statement to herself.

"I'm afraid so, Gin," Hermione said quietly.

Ginny sat up and wiped her face on the sleeves of her robes. "Will you come with me? Please? I don't think I can do this alone."

Hermione smiled at Ginny and hugged her. "Of course I'll come with you! You don't have to do any of this alone. You do understand that, right?"

Ginny smiled back at her friend. "Thank you."