When her focus returned to fellow Gryffindors, Hermione immediately noticed the look of shock on all of their faces. Even Harry was looking at her with an expression that said he clearly doubted her sanity. She retraced her memories, coming up with the reason for all the dumbfounded looks.

"Oh. I mean our future child, of course." Hermione chose her words carefully, taking pride in knowing she wasn't fully lying to her loyal house.

"That's so sweet," Padma gushed, smiling at Hermione and simultaneously breaking the awkward silence that was plaguing the table. Lavender nodded, but her gaze was trained on the letter in her hands. Hermione let out the breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding. Situation avoided.

It was the day of their mandatory first date; it was a prerequisite of the marriage law. Each couple was required to go out on three public outings before they wed. The Ministry argued that it produced better happiness ratings, but Hermione thought it was a farce. This particular date happened to coincide with a trip to Hogsmeade

She and Charlie hadn't spoken since she spilled the secret about Bean's name. She was waiting with the other students who were old enough to go to Hogsmeade, checking off their names as she saw them enter the lobby. She'd assumed she was meeting Charlie here; they hadn't discussed it before the blow up.

"Hermione, calm down. He'll show up." Ginny quietly assured her, noticing Hermione's restless movements. Hermione and Ginny were standing near the staircase. Harry and Ron were with Seamus and Dean, laughing about something that was probably Quidditch related.

"He's mad at me, Gin."

"Why?" Ginny asked, looking at Hermione as if she were crazy.

"The name thing."

Ginny rolled her eyes at Hermione. "That's a stupid reason to be mad, 'Mione. There was probably something else going on."

"Hermione." Charlie's voice stopped her from responding to Ginny. Hermione noticeably relaxed when she saw him walking towards her. He exuded confidence and he didn't look like he was angry. The look he gave her sparked a fire in her lower back.

She gasped when she saw the sizeable bruise on his cheek, an ugly purple-black color.

"What—" She was about to ask what happened when he interrupted her, the look in his eyes daring her to challenge him.

"Can we talk about it later?" He asked, his gaze traveling around the crowd. She nodded, coming up with multiple scenarios in her head. All of them starred the twins and/or Ron. Charlie was always coming back to her with new bruises. She looked at the rest of him, though, and was surprised to see that he seemed dressed up for their date. He was wearing a nice pair of jeans, without holes, and a button down blue shirt. He had obviously attempted to brush his red, wavy hair.

"Hermione," Blaise was suddenly next to her, touching her elbow to get her attention. Without a word, she walked away from Charlie and followed Blaise.

Hermione and Charlie were silently sitting at a table in Three Broomsticks. It seemed like everyone in the pub had picked up on the tension between Charlie and Hermione. Students were not-so casually glancing their way, occasionally giving Hermione a sympathetic glance when they thought she wasn't looking. She might be marrying a famous and attractive bachelor but she was still being forced to marry.

"I'm not mad at you about the name thing," Charlie suddenly said, his blue eyes trained on her. His declaration surprised her. She had thought she was going to have to bring up the tension and start the conversation about what happened.

"Charlie, I wasn't looking for it. It just happened." Hermione was a little surprised by the wide grin on Charlie's face. She wasn't about to take the blame for it, but she didn't want to put it on Harry, either. That wasn't fair to her best friend.

"I haven't picked a baby name yet."

Hermione stared at him in confusion. She tried to gather words into a coherent sentence but she couldn't come up with the right combination of words. Rarely was Hermione Granger completely speechless. Charlie, on the other hand, was obviously trying not to laugh at her reaction.

"But the name is definitely in the running, baby." Charlie answered, reaching across the table to grasp her hand. She smiled at him and almost instantly the uncomfortable tension washed away.

XXX

Hermione and Charlie were with other Hogwarts students in Honeydukes. Charlie was picking out some sweets to satisfy his ever-present sweet tooth. He acted like a first-year as he excitedly picked out which candy he was going to take back to the castle.

"Hermione, baby, do you want anything?" Charlie asked, a happy glint in his eyes.

She shook her head and patiently waited off to the side as he took a place in the long line full of Hogwarts students. She smiled when she saw him casually joke with Neville, who had a few boxes of Chocolate Frogs and Every-Flavored Beans in his hands.

"Hello, Hermione." Luna Lovegood stood next to her, licking a gigantic rainbow lollipop.

"Hi, Luna. Are you having a good time?"

"Oh, yes! Neville and I are about to go visit the Whomping Willow. From a distance, of course. It's such a fascinating tree. Are you and Professor Weasley enjoying yourselves?" If somebody else had asked the question, Hermione would have thought they were looking for gossip. But she knew Luna was genuinely curious and probably oblivious to the cloud gossip surrounding them.

"Yes, Luna. Thank you for asking. But Charlie loves sweets a little too much. Did you see the huge pile of candy he's got?"

"Dad says that's a good characteristic in a man. It means he'll be sweet to his wife and family. There was an article on it in the Quibbler not too long ago."

At that moment, Charlie paused in conversation with Neville to check on her. Their gazes collided and lit the spark in her tattoo. He must have felt it too because the blue in his eyes darkened as he looked at her.

"I think your dad's right, Luna."

She could tell Charlie was trying hard to be patient. Her preferred quill had been discontinued and she needed to pick out a similar brand. Hermione was very particular about her school supplies.

"Charlie, I was the definition of patience in Honeydukes."

"I'll just go look at the specialty quills while you're being picky." Charlie said, humor in his tone. He leaned in and kissed her quickly before leaving her to her quills. She looked around and was pleased to note that nobody seemed to be staring at them.

When Hermione was ready to pay, she looked around for him and saw him leaning against the counter and having a conversation with the female employee. The admittedly attractive female employee was flirting with Charlie, but he didn't notice. He was staring at Hermione with a small smile on his face.

She paid for her purchases and they walked towards The Three Broomsticks for a final Butterbeer before they returned to Hogwarts.

They were cuddling happily on his bed when she finally brought up the purple mark marring his handsome face.

"Are we ever going to talk about that bruise on your face?"

Charlie sighed in response to her question but didn't fight her on it. It was as if he knew her asking was inevitable.

"Last night Fred, George, and I went out for a few drinks. We came back to Hogwarts and broke into the Quidditch storage room and released the bludgers, quaffles, and snitch. I was the seeker and the twins were beaters."

Hermione gasped in surprise when she realized where this was going.

"Charlie Black Weasley, are you telling me that you and the twins played Quidditch while drunk off your arses?" Charlie laughed at her horrified tone.

"Fred and George were too far gone to do any sort of permanent damage."

"They couldn't do any damage? You have a black eye! You could have fallen off your broom, lost control of it, or-"

Her list of possible disasters was cut of when he passionately kissed her. She was suddenly on her back and he was straddling her. Under her shirt, his calloused hands slowly worked their way up her body. Her eyes closed in pleasure as he pressed hot kisses on her cheek.

"Hooch caught us. I had to sweet talk her into keeping it a secret." Charlie said, a wide grin on his face. It was almost as if he was proud of his charm.

He kissed her again, pressing his hips into hers. She smiled as she kissed him back. But even Charlie's perfect kisses couldn't stop the thought process happening in her head.

"But Charlie," Hermione asked, "What happened with you and the twins?"

"Hermione, baby, is that what you were thinking about while I was kissing you? My little brothers?" For some unknown reason, Hermione blushed at his question. Maybe it had something to do with Ron, but she wasn't sure. She didn't want to start into that Devil's Snare.

"I love that I can make you blush," Charlie whispered, kissing his way up her jawline. He reached her ear and gently pulled it between his teeth, the sensation sending fire to the tattoo on her lower back.

"Charlie, please…" Hermione pulled away from him. She wanted to know what happened with Fred and George and she wanted to know now. She'd been put off long enough.

"Fine. But once I tell you, you aren't allowed to ask any questions." Charlie said, his voice was stern and commanding. The look he gave her told her he was serious. Hermione merely nodded in agreement.

"I told them how I felt about you; I'm devoted to you and this baby. For some reason they believed me and apologized. Then we got hammered and played Quidditch."

Hermione stared at him, utterly confused. She would never understand the Weasley men and how they functioned. She suspected that there was more to the story than he was letting on, but she decided she was lucky to have gotten what little information he gave her.

The next morning, Hermione skipped breakfast and DADA. She knew she would get some kind of lecture from Charlie about it, but she didn't care. She really needed to do some research.

Hermione had woken up last night in a cold sweat, terrified that the tattoos and the binding magic would have some kind of affect on their baby. Then that train of thought gave way to a need to research about magical childbirths.

Hermione heard students whispering about Harry as she walked to the Great Hall for lunch. She was worrying about her best friend when she accidentally walked right into another person.

"Hermione, have you heard?" Hermione looked up in surprise when she recognized Charlie's voice. There was definite worry in his deep voice. He guided her to the side of the hallway so they could talk before they entered the Great Hall. He had apparently been waiting for her.

"No, what's wrong?"

Charlie nearly growled as he handed her the Prophet. She immediately focused on the gigantic picture and bold font on the cover page.

HARRY POTTER IS GONNA BE A DADDY!

By Rita Skeeter

Our favorite Wizard will be a daddy! A reliable source tells us that his girlfriend Ginerva Weasley, sister of Charlie and Ron, is (already) a few months pregnant! A source from St. Mungo's confirms that the pair had an appointment with the Maternity Department just yesterday. Turn to page 17 for more juicy details!

Hermione looked up at Charlie, completely surprised. He stood across from her with his arms crossed and he was clearly furious.

"How are they?" Hermione wondered if they had braved the Great Hall for lunch. This is what happened when she skipped breakfast AND DADA.

"A little surprised. Harry's furious, but Ginny knew the paper would pick up on it eventually. She's starting to show…" Charlie said, dropping his voice to a whisper. Hermione noticed the way his gaze fell to her own stomach.

"I need to go find them. Where are they?" Hermione asked, folding up the paper. She put it in her bag to read later.

"They have a meeting with McGonagall. You can talk to them after classes."

"But—" She began to protest but Charlie interrupted her.

"You need to eat and Ron's in the Great Hall alone. It'll be suspicious if he's the only one that shows up for lunch. We need to act like we aren't mad or surprised. We need to support them, and right now that's acting like they aren't on the cover of the Prophet."

Hermione thought about it briefly before she realized that Charlie was right. The gossip and drama will blow over—especially when Hermione and Charlie's own news hit the gossip grapevine.

Hermione, Harry, and Ginny were gathered in her Head Girl room. They were seated on the small loveseat and she was on the bed facing them. Ron was patrolling and Charlie had a staff meeting and a student had detention. They had been dissecting the Prophet's article and trying to stifle Harry's anger for the last few hours.

"I just didn't know they would be so… vicious," Ginny whispered, her voice breaking. Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "I mean, I probably should have known because she's been so evil to you."

The article had suggested that Ginny had been sexually promiscuous and had lured innocent virgin Harry into her bed to trap him into a marriage. Just thinking about it made Hermione feel ill.

"They've never been that cruel to me, Ginny. We'll come up with a way to make them pay… don't worry."

Charlie had said that they needed to be a united, calm front at Hogwarts. But that didn't stop her from covertly communicating with the Ministry or other individuals and organizations outside of the building.

Ginny laughed at Hermione's threats. She knew Hermione enjoyed terrorizing the evil woman. Harry, however, was lost in thought and looked particularly troubled.

"I think for now I just need to lie down and rest. It's been an exciting day," Ginny said, patting Harry's knee and smiling at Hermione.

"Can we have a girls night soon, 'Mione?" Ginny asked as she stood; Harry immediately followed.

"Absolutely, Gin. Pick a night and let me know." She responded, getting up to hug Ginny and Harry.

After the pair left, Hermione couldn't focus on studying or researching. She could only think about that vile Rita Skeeter. The witch had gone too far this time. Honestly, the woman had been pushing the limits for years.

Hermione smiled as she found a piece of parchment and charmed it into a Howler. She thought for a moment before she reached back into the drawer to pull out another piece of parchment.

She was halfway done with her first scathing Howler when there was a knock on the door. She smiled at the man standing on her doorstep and stepped aside to let him enter.

"I was wondering if you had some time to talk…" Harry said, vulnerability in both his voice and his eyes. He nervously ran a hand through his already messy black hair.

Harry went to her bed, sitting cross-legged on it. She sat on the bed and mirrored his pose.

"I'm lost, Hermione. I don't know what to do. The plan was to get married after Ginny's graduation… but I don't know if that's fair to her."

"Harry…"

"I don't want our baby to be born out of wedlock. I don't want people to think Ginny trapped me in a loveless marriage. I don't want our son to grow up thinking he was born because of some scandal or obligation."

"Harry, are you saying you want to marry Ginny soon?"

He looked at her as if she had missed the point.

"I'm just checking! I didn't want to jump to conclusions."

"Yes, I want to marry Ginny in a few weeks, if not days. And I want to threaten Skeeter within an inch of her life." Hermione could tell from the tone of his voice that he was dead serious.

"All right. We need to make a plan." Hermione said, levitating the necessary materials over to them.

"I need to find a engagement ring."

an: Sorry for the exceptionally long wait!