Chapter 13 – Truth Comes Out
By: HermionePotter
Hermione pushed past Katrina and headed out the giant oak doors. Normally, she would be embarrassed by her state of dress, but that didn't matter now because she knew that Harry was VERY protective of her and his anger reached all time highs when someone hurt her. One time she had gotten in a fight with her parents over the fact that they didn't want her talking to Harry anymore. His letter was so full anger that she feared him for a moment. She knew that Harry was full of extreme anger because someone dared to touch her. She was the only one who could stop Harry from killing Seamus or at the very least putting the boy in a coma.
She saw a rather large crowd gathered near the edge of the lake and she began to run toward the crowd. Finally she broke through the throng of eager-for-a-fight Hogwarts students. Katrina followed Hermione, but she had resorted to throwing students out of the way. Once both girls had broken through, the crowd expanded to make room for the new comers. Hermione started toward Harry and Seamus. Katrina grasped her forearm tightly and spun her around so fast that Hermione became light-headed.
"No you don't! Not until you admit your secret." Katrina demanded her grip tightening on Hermione's forearm. Hermione gasped in pain at Katrina's grip. She knew that her arm would have finger-shaped bruises. Harry turned around immediately at her gasp.
"I know a secret, Katrina, but it isn't my secret." Hermione said trying to hint to the girl what she was talking about. Katrina's face lost most of its color.
Out of corner Hermione saw Draco move to the very edge of the crowd. The rest of the crowd was begging Hermione to tell the secret she knew. Hermione looked Katrina; she was looking at the girl waiting for her to send her a sign not to reveal it here.
"Yes, Hermione, what is this supposed secret you know?" Katrina having taken false confidence that Hermione didn't know anything. Hermione was taken back. She didn't want to bust Katrina in front of the ENTIRE school. But she didn't have any other choice at this point.
"I know that you, Katrina McGuire, have been sleeping with Draco Malfoy." Hermione stopped there. She knew more, she knew about Katrina's pregnancy. The day Katrina had run out of the Great Hall and left the letter on the table another Gryiffndor grabbed it from the table and gave it to Hermione later to give to Katrina. Hermione had tried to respect Katrina's privacy but something inside her wouldn't let her. Hermione risked at glance at Harry. His face was completely stolid and his eyes empty.
She had to finish. Had to tell the whole truth. It couldn't stay secret for long anyway.
"I also know that you Katrina McGuire are pregnant." Whispers of who was the father filled the air. The thought that Harry might be the father, caused tears to come to her eyes. The thought hadn't ever entered her mind. She pushed the tears back, but the extreme pain still ached in her heart.
Draco stepped into the circle and looked at Katrina with wide, surprised, eyes.
"You're pregnant?" He whispered; his voice seemed caught in his throat. The feeling he was feeling was brand new.
"Yes." Katrina said to Draco simply before turning around to face Hermione again.
"It hurts, doesn't it?"
"Does what hurt?" Hermione asked.
"The feeling of pain that you are feeling in your heart now. The feeling of fear that Harry's the father.' Katrina explained, a smug look on her face. Hermione felt the sudden urge to slap Katrina in the face and wipe that smug grin of her face permanently. Even though she was right.
"I don't know what you are talking about. I think you've lost your mind."
"Don't play dumb, Hermione. You ARE the smartest witch of our class."
Professor Snape pushed into the main circle. With a wave of his wand everyone outside of the circle froze.
"What's going on here?" Snape demanded his voice raising over the dull talkings of the five inside of the circle.
"Harry won't admit that he loves Hermione." Seamus spoke up for the first time since Hermione and Katrina had entered the circle.
"Hermione won't admit she loves Harry, either." Katrina whined. Professor Snape pulled out a bottle and Hermione backed into Harry in fear. The bottle held Veritaserum.
"You-you can't use-use-use that o-o-on us." Hermione said stumbling on her words in fear.
"I can't? Are you sure, Ms. Granger?"
"It's against the rules to use Veritaserum on a students." Harry informed
"Potter, you honestly think I care about breaking the rules?" Snape snapped and took a step forward. Hermione stepped further back so that she was back up against Harry's chest in fear. All of the sudden Snape waved his wand and Hermione and Harry froze like everyone else, leaving only Draco, Katrina, and Seamus unfrozen. Snape pulled the cork out of the vial and poured a little into Hermione's mouth and into Harry's mouth. With of wave of his wand he forced them to sallow it. Another wave of his wand and Harry and Hermione were unfrozen. Snape stepped back and patted Katrina on the shoulder. She smiled at her favorite teacher and stepped up in front of Harry and Hermione.
"Harry, do I have your heart?" She asked. Harry bit his tongue so hard that it bled. The coppery taste filled his mouth. He couldn't stop the simple word from coming. It would provoke another question, that he didn't the answer reveled just yet.
"No." Came his answer through clenched teeth.
"What?" She nearly exploded! This wasn't the plan was supposed to go. Harry was supposed to say yes and break Hermione's heart. Hermione was then supposed to fall in Seamus' open arms. She turned to Professor Snape.
"What happened? I thought you said that you would alter the potion so that it would force him to say what I wanted."
"I did alter the potion."
"You must have made it wrong!" She declared. Professor Snape was red faced. No one had ever accused him of making a potion wrong since…James Potter.
"I have never made a potion wrong, Ms. McGuire. It must have been tempered with."
Seamus stepped toward Hermione, ignoring everything and everyone else. She stepped back further into Harry. She was afraid of him now. Harry instinctively wrapped his arms around his waist in a protective manner.
"Hermione," said Seamus gently. "Are you in love with me?" Hermione shook her head no in response. "Are you in love with Harry?" Seamus asked surprisingly gentle again. Hermione's eyes widened. She couldn't stop the truth from coming out. The Veritaserum wouldn't let her stop it.
"Yes." She said simply. She turned, broke Harry's grip, and ran from the crowd. She ran and kept running. She didn't care where she was going or how far she was running she just had to get away. She had to get away from the truth that she had just revealed in front of almost the entire school.
He knew now, they all knew. Finally, her legs failed her and she fell to the ground emotionally tired and exhausted. She felt rain pour down upon her and she cried. "His face looked so horrified by it!" She thought as her tears fell to the ground and mixed with the rain. Strong arms wrapped her shoulders and held her.
"'Mione, is it true?" She looked up from the ground. Harry was looking down at her, the rain soaked his t-shirt, but he was just sitting there looking at her.
"Of course it is, you idiot. I just didn't want to tell you like that." Hermione said staring at his face for his reaction. But his face was stolid at the news. Tears began to pour again as the rain started to pour harder. He leaned down slowly and kissed her slowly and deeply. Shock filled her first and then she responded to his kiss.
"I love you too, 'Mione." Harry told her after their kiss ended. He gently helped her to her feet, clasped her hand in his and started toward the castle again.
Epilogue
Two Months later, Katrina had a baby girl that she and Draco named Ryanne Angela Malfoy. Five weeks after Ryanne was born, Draco and Katrina were married. They bought their own place near Katrina's hometown. Draco turned into a really nice person and Katrina became bitcher, but it didn't matter when love came into it. They had four children, one girl and three boys all together, Ryanne, Matthew, Aslan, and Altair.
Seamus disappeared after their graduation and no one ever saw him again. Some say that he joined the ranks of the Dark Lord, but most think that he just moved FAR away in order to forget Hogwarts and all the goings on that happened. But, of course no one is really sure…no one except Dumbledore, that is.
Hermione graduated at the top of the their class and Harry was second in their class. They both got jobs working for the Ministry of Magic. Hermione was made the new Minster a year after graduating from Hogwarts. Two years after graduation, Harry proposed to Hermione in the middle of the Great Hall during one of their frequent class reunions. Three years later Hermione and Harry were wed with Professor Dumbledore as the officiator. They had two daughters named Destiny and Hope. Destiny was their first born and Hope their second born.
THE END!