Disclaimer.

This is not a fiction I planned on writing, but this morning I don't seem to be capable of writing anything else.

Chapter One: Why I Don't Drink.

            Harry Potter should have been a sensible young man at this point in his life.  He had defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort, he'd graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and he'd even gone through Auror training and come out in the top few.  But he had never done something as foolish as this.  To be perfectly honest with himself, Harry was banking on the fact that Ginny was the younger sister of his best friend, and that she used to have a bit of a crush on him to get him out of the mess he never should have put himself in.

            He took a deep breath and pressed the buzzer to her small rented house on Station Rd outside of Taplow.  He didn't know why she wanted to live near the railway, but it wasn't his house.  He heard someone moving inside.

            "Just a minute!" Ginny called.

            Harry's stomach clenched.  He was so nervous about this meeting he'd skipped breakfast.  The door open as far as the chain would allow it to and the smell of freshly baked cinnamon buns wafted through.

            "Yes?" a girl of about ten asked him sharply.

            Nonplussed, Harry stood there silently gaping at the girl.

            "Anna!" he heard Ginny exclaim.  The door was shut and reopened, much wider this time.

            "Take these to your mother, Anna.  Since you've decided to be rude to my guest, I'm afraid you'll have to go home.  Run on now, you'll have time to make it for lunch since you're just down the road."

            The little girl took the cinnamon buns with a guilty expression and began trotting down the road.  Ginny watched for a moment before turning to Harry with a glowing smile.

            "She's a good girl, just a little spoiled."

            "Yeah," Harry grunted.  "I need to talk to you."

            Her glow faltered a bit, and then was replaced by amusement.

            "Come in, Harry.  I've actually been expecting you."

            They went inside and Ginny led the way to the kitchen.  Even though her house was meticulously neat, it had the same feel as the Burrow.  Mismatched, overstuffed chairs in the living room, dining room with a huge fireplace, bright fire burning merrily under a cauldron, the kitchen was slightly disheveled from the baking, but not as much as one would expect.

            "You've got a nice house, Gin."

            Ginny's beaming smile returned.  "Isn't it grand though?" she agreed happily.  "I was lucky to find a cheap, furnished house this close to Maidenhead and Windsor."

            "I think you're closer to Slough," Harry commented, sitting at the table.

            "But I like the names of the other two better," Ginny argued.  "Would you like some tea and a bun?"

            Soon they were both seated and Harry knew he'd have to get to the point eventually.

            "Ginny, about what happened…a couple weeks ago…"

            She snorted in a very indelicate way.  "Blimey, Harry!  Is that still bothering you?  I already forgot about that!"

            He blinked in surprised.  "What?"

            Ginny smiled in a friendly, explanatory way.  "Ron and Hermione's wedding?  We were both feeling a bit lonely, and we did something that wouldn't have happened had we been sober.  That's why I don't drink, you know."

            "But," he began, "I should have known better, you are the little sister of my best mate!  Not to mention a friend of mine.  I should have taken advantage of you like that."

            The youngest in the Weasley family laughed aloud.  "Taken advantage of me?  Harry, I kissed you!"

            Harry blushed a deep red.  This wasn't quite going as he had pictured it.  He needed Ginny to say that she forgave him.  And Ginny was laughing at him.

            As her laughter faded, Ginny turned mirth-filled but serious eyes to his.

            "Harry, there's nothing for you to be ashamed of.  We made a mistake in drinking that muck, and we made a mistake in sleeping together.  But you don't need to ask for my forgiveness.  God can forgive us; you just need to forgive yourself.  I'm mournful and shameful for what I did, but I'm certainly not going to judge you!  I'll always be your friend, you don't have to feel embarrassed."

            He stared at her for a moment, wondering at how she got so smart.  Finally, he smiled.  It turned out a lot better than he expected.

            "Would you like to have lunch with me?" he asked.

            "I have an appointment to see a mediwitch at 11:30, but I could meet you at one."

            Harry looked concerned.  "Are you sick?"

            She smiled ruefully.  "I've got a touch of the flu.  Caught it a few days after the wedding and can't seem to shake it.  I just want to make sure it doesn't get anymore serious."

            "Oh," Harry nodded.  "Where at?"

            "In London.  We could eat at the Ivy.  I've been dying to eat there since I began at Hogwarts."

            "We can't eat there, you have to book like a month in advance!" he exclaimed.

            Ginny gave a wry grin.  "Of course you do…well, how about…"

            "Ravello," Harry suggested.  "Do you like Italian?"

            Ginny nodded.  "I'll meet you there at one."

            When one o'clock came around, it was Ginny's turn to be nervous.  She cursed herself repeatedly for brushing Harry off this morning, and now she was going to have to open the subject again.

            Flu.  She kicked herself mentally for the thirtieth time as she entered the restaurant.

            It didn't take long to be seated across from Harry and greet him warmly.  Ginny noted he looked much healthier than he had on her doorstep that morning, but she figured she could get him back to a sickly green in two sentences.

            I am three weeks pregnant.

            It's your baby.

            She groaned.

            "What's wrong, Ginny?" Harry asked.

            "Um, the food just all sounds so good."

            He grinned.  "Would you like some Champagne?"

            The baby.  "No," she said, a little too quickly.  "I think we should stick to non-alcoholic drinks when we're together, don't you?"

            Harry's grin turned sheepish.  "You're probably right.  What would you like?"

            "Water, please," she said, reading food descriptions.

            Harry ordered two waters, and Ginny was content to let him do so.  She didn't want to talk to many strangers right now.  That mediwitch was a stranger, and look how that turned out.

            "Harry, would you order for me?  I'm feeling a bit shy today."

            "Sure, Ginny.  What would you like?"

            "Um, the vegetable soup and the noodles with basil sauce."

            Harry ordered her meal and stuffed mushrooms and a T-bone steak for himself.

            As they waited for their food, Harry looked at Ginny in concern.

            "Are you okay, Ginny?  What did the mediwitch say?"

            Ginny wasn't thinking.  She had stopped thinking.  Instead she was talking.

            "Oh nothing much.  Just that I'm exactly two weeks and six days pregnant with your baby."

            Harry was glad he wasn't holding anything, and Ginny stared at him, her mouth opened slightly in horror of what she had said.  Now she was thinking.  She was thinking that she had just made a huge mistake.