A/N: Sorry about the delay. I suck.

Chapter 7 – The Courthouse and the Blossom

"What do you mean, you warned me?" Harry asked, confused. All he remembered of Stacy Walker was that she was the new intern at the auror office and that she had tried to flirt with him. He was pretty sure she had never warned him about anything. Stacy pouted a little. "The least you can do is invite a girl inside when it's cold out."

Harry glanced at Hermione, who nodded and curled her fingers around her wand.

Stacy frowned a little more, took out her wand, pushed it into Harry's hands, and said, "If you really don't trust me, you can hold on to this."

She walked nonchalantly into Harry's home, and Hermione shrugged a Harry, who proceeded to lead Stacy to the sitting room, where they all took a seat. After refusing an offered drink, Harry asked again what she had meant by her warning him.

Stacy let out a little, light laugh. "I thought you of all people would have caught me, Harry Potter. A new intern starts at your office, and the next day you're attacked in your own office and held hostage, and you never suspect that it was her? That's some shoddy detective work, Mr. Head-of-Aurors."

Harry's jaw dropped. "You're the one who did that?" he asked, shocked.

"I don't know whether to feel insulted or flattered," she replied, looking slightly offended that Harry thought she couldn't pull that off. "Yes, it was me. I was trying to warn you about your pal Weasley."

Harry, still in disbelief but managing to remember the incident, asked, "How did you know Ron was going to do what he did?"

Stacy grinned. "Because I'm not some inept intern named Stacy Walker, of course. Looks like you failed being an Auror more than once."

Now Harry was really confused, and was about to ask Stacy what she meant by that, when her features suddenly began shifting in what Harry recognized as the effects of polyjuice potion wearing off.

When her features finally settled, Harry's jaw dropped even lower. "Rita Skeeter?" He said in complete disbelief. "You've been reported as being a missing person for over a decade now!"

Rita made a face like she had just tasted something bad. "Don't remind me," she said bitterly. "I was at the top of the journalist ladder before that redheaded wanker drove me into hiding. The only reason I'm here now is because you put him in prison earlier today."

Harry was now so confused that his head was beginning to hurt. "How could somebody like Ron Weasley drive you into hiding?"

"Because he tried to kill me more than once," Rita admitted. "I've had dirt on him for over ten years, and I knew that if I popped up on the radar at all, he'd find me and kill me. I wasn't about to risk my life for the sake of yours and Hermione's."

Harry thought it was odd that Rita had addressed Hermione by her first name, but quickly cast that side to ask the more pressing question. "And you never thought of coming to me, the head of the Auror office, for help?"

"I...considered it," Rita admitted. "But you wouldn't have been able to stop him, and you wouldn't even have believed what I had to tell you."

"And why would I now?" Harry asked.

"Because you've seen Ronald Weasley's true colors, of course," Rita said smugly. "I would be more surprised now if you don't believe what I have to tell you."

"And what exactly do you have to tell me?" Harry asked. There was something about the way Rita was speaking that made Harry think she had something big to tell him. Something life-changing.

"Well," she began. "It all started the week before Hermione was attacked. I was following a lead in the countryside about a stupid haunted pumpkin that my editor thought was front page material for some reason, and somehow ended up running into Hermione, of all people, there. I was unfortunately forced into making an unbreakable vow not to divulge any of this information anyone except for you, Harry, so I could never write a story about it."

She took a moment to roll her eyes before continuing. "Anyway, Hermione being my only link to the magical world, I ended up spending a lot of time at her place over that week. Surprisingly, we found that we got along together pretty well without the Triwizard Cup drama going on, and struck up a tentative friendship. After all, after the Triwizard Tournament fiasco, it was Hermione here who helped me get back on the track of true journalism; something that I had lost sight of over the years."

Harry was genuinely surprised by this admission and saw that Hermione felt the same. Never in a million years could Harry have guessed that the two of them would become friends, or that Rita Skeeter had actually turned to real journalism again.

"Anyway, she told me about everything that had happened to her and I met her daughter, who was the cutest thing I've ever seen on the face of this Earth," Rita continued. "She told me about what had happened in the past and why she was on the run from everyone, yourself included, and I decided that from then on I was going to help Hermione as much as I could."

"Wait, wait," Harry interjected. "She told you everything? Did she tell you who Holly's father was?"

Rita smiled sadly. "That information was divulged under the promise that I would never tell a soul who Holly Granger's father is."

"But why?" Harry asked, confused. "Why did she want to keep that a secret from everyone? It doesn't make sense to me at all!" he exclaimed, standing up out of frustration.

Rita scoffed. "Oh please, Harry. As if you could understand what Hermione was going through at the time. She had her reasons."

Harry, annoyed, sat down but asked, "And what reasons were those?"

Rita raised an eyebrow at him. "That's something she'll have to tell you when she gets her memories back, isn't it?"

Harry, now angry again, said, "And when is that going to happen? This information is important! Just tell us! I swear-"

Harry stopped talking as Hermione rested a hand on his arm and said, "Harry, it's fine. I'm sure there's a reason I didn't want Rita telling anybody. Please, let her finish her story."

Harry, still annoyed but slightly calmed down in the face of Hermione's calm logic, closed his mouth.

"Now, as I was saying, I spent a lot of time with Hermione during the week leading up to her attack," Rita said. "At the time, Holly's magic was so powerful that she was regularly discharging powerful bursts of magic that were quite dangerous, not only to anyone around her but herself as well. And one day, Hermione nervously told me that she was going to make a trip to Diagon Alley for some potion supplies to brew a potion that would suppress her magical power until she could control it a little better."

Harry felt dread and anticipation seep throughout his entire body. He knew what was coming next.

"She warned me that she might be attacked, but she would persevere for her daughter. I accompanied her and Holly to the apothecary. We had just finished buying the apothecary supplies and we thought we were actually going to pull it off, when we were cut off in a side alley and attacked. Holly had just tripped and fallen, so Hermione had her back to the attacker, and I was disarmed immediately."

Harry felt his throat burning as he saw the tears glistening in Rita's eyes. She was really torn up about this.

"My wand went flying and Hermione let out a cry of agony as a spell slammed into her, and the attacker quickly ran out of the alley, probably because Hermione's screams were ear-splittingly loud. I grabbed Hermione and Holly and immediately took them to St. Mungo's, then went back to the alley, grabbed the supplies and left."

"Why did you leave just like that?" Harry asked. "Why didn't you stay with her?"

Rita averted her eyes and said, "I had seen the attacker. I saw him again at St. Mungo's and he looked ready to kill me at that very moment. I had to get out. I had to brew the potion for Holly so her magic wouldn't kill herself."

"And who was the attacker?" Harry asked, on the edge of his seat. He glanced over at Hermione, who was shaking with rage. She looked ready to kill whoever's name Rita was about to state.

"The attacker was, of course...Ronald Weasley."

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Holly?" Harry asked nervously, tightening his grip on her hand a little more.

Holly gave him a small little smile. "Of course, Dad. I just want this to be all over with."

Harry was glad his daughter was so mature and level-headed, then he looked over at Hermione, who was on the other side of Holly, and asked, "You ready, Hermione?"

Hermione took a deep breath and said, "As I'll ever be."

The three of them walked into the courtroom and had to shield their eyes as camera flashes popped in their faces, and they quickly walked to the side of the cage that was centered in the middle of the room, which Ron was housed in with his arms and legs bound to the seat he was in with magical shackles.

The judge banged his gavel to quiet down the commotion in the courtroom caused by the sight of Harry, who looked around and spotted several familiar faces, including those of Rita Skeeter and a sad Weasley family, including Lavender, who was crying. Harry felt bad for the Weasleys; they didn't deserve this. They had tried so hard to provide Ron with a good life and he had just gone and thrown it all away.

"Let's get this started," the judge, who looked like he was well past retirement age, stated. He then proceeded to list off a long line of charges against Ron, including those of attempted murder, kidnapping, and the use of unforgivable curses. The entire time, Harry could feel Ron's hate-filled gaze burning through him.

"How do you plead, Mr. Weasley?" the judge finally asked.

"Not guilty," Ron said halfheartedly. Even he, with the way he had been behaving recently, knew there was no way out of this.

The judge sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose, and said, "Fine. Ms. Skeeter, could you please come up to the stand?"

Rita Skeeter was sworn in and recounted everything she had told Harry and Hermione the week before, and after she was done Harry and Hermione also took the stand, and then finally Holly went up and spoke of how he had kidnapped her.

When the judge asked for the jury's decision, it was a unanimous 'guilty.' Both Mrs. Weasley and Lavender began crying hysterically.

After banging the gavel again, the judge declared in a booming voice, "Then, Mr. Ronald Bilius Weasley, you are hereby ordered to have your wand snapped, and you are to receive the dementor's kiss and spend the rest of your life in Azkaban."

Harry saw Mrs. Weasley fall over and felt his throat begin to burn in sympathy for her, and with anger surging through him, her turned to Ron and asked, "Why would you ever do something like this?"

Ron spit at him, but the magical barriers of the cage ended up blocking the spit mid-flight. "You had everything, Harry. You saved the world, you're rich, you're successful. And then you decide to take the one thing I love."

"What the hell are you talking about, Ron?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"You know what I'm talking about, you selfish prick," Ron said. "You left me nothing and I don't care what happens to me. I lost to you anyway."

Harry wished he could reach through the bars and strangle this deranged, psychopathic former friend of his. Instead he pointed at Lavender, who was weeping uncontrollably, and Ron's mother, who was staring lifelessly at her feet, and said, "Look at all those people who love you, Ron. You had so much to lose. Your wife adores you, and you have a beautiful child. How can you think you have nothing?"

Ron's face turned bright red, and he said, "You wouldn't understand, Harry. You've always had everything, after all." His gaze finally softened a little, and he glanced over at his family and said to Harry, "I never really cared for Lavender. She was just part of my plan. But could you just...just make sure she'll be alright. I shouldn't have dragged anyone else into this. It was between you and me."

Harry felt tears sting his eyes and said, "Sure thing, mate. I'm sad things had to end like this."

Ron sighed and relaxed in the chair, then let his eyes close. "I knew all along it was going to end like this. Even with everything I did perfectly, it was still impossible to beat you. It was impossible from the beginning to make you feel how I felt when you stole Hermione from me."

Harry was just about to ask him what meant about him stealing Hermione, then a gentle hand closed around his and began pulling him out of the courtroom, away from all of the commotion. He managed to look back at Ron one more time as he was let out of his constraints so his family could say their goodbyes, and then the doors were closed behind them.

The tears finally spilled over and Harry collapsed against Hermione, who had been guiding him out, and he clutched her hard as he cried into her shoulder. She rubbed his back soothingly and said, "It's okay, Harry. Ron made his choices. It'll be okay."

But Harry couldn't get the image of Ron showing him his first Chocolate Frog out of his head; that young, innocent best friend of his who went through all of the good times and bad times with him.

Then Harry felt another, smaller body hug him from the side, and he looked down at Holly, who also had tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Dad," she said with tears in her eyes, and then she buried her face in his side to cry too.

Harry kneeled down and hugged her hard as well, and said into her ear, "I'm just glad you're safe, Holly. I'm so happy we get to be a family without having to worry about anything. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Dad," Holly said.

The courtroom doors opened again and Harry, who didn't care if anyone saw him grieving over his lost best friend right now, looked over to see who it was and came face to face with Arthur Weasley.

He rigidly stuck his hand out and Harry took it with just as much hesitation, and Arthur said, "It was sad things had to come to this, Harry. There's nobody to blame but Ron and the stupid decisions he made. Molly told me to tell you that you're always welcome around the Burrow any time and that you better still bring Holly around to be doted on."

Harry nodded and embraced Arthur, who Harry noticed was shaking, and then they said their goodbyes. Harry, Hermione, and Holly apparated back to Grimmauld Place and Harry immediately went to the kitchen to begin preparing dinner to take his mind off of everything.

"Go up to your room for a bit, Holly," Hermione said with a smile to her as she heard Harry fire up the stove. "I'm just going to talk to your Dad for a bit, okay?"

Holly nodded and said, "Do whatever you have to do to calm him down."

Hermione smiled at her reassuringly and watched her disappear upstairs, then headed into the kitchen nervously.

Harry was chopping vegetables furiously, and Hermione saw that his arm was shaking badly. "Harry..." Hermione said worriedly. "You okay?"

"Fine," Harry replied tersely, not stopping his chopping for a single moment.

Hermione, afraid Harry was going to hurt himself with the knife because of how erratically he was cutting, came up behind him and grabbed the hand Harry had around the knife. "I can do this, Harry," she said gently. "You can focus on the pasta, okay?"

As Hermione began chopping the vegetables for the salad with a little more care, she noticed that Harry was now standing in the middle of the kitchen aimlessly. "Harry, wh-"

"Was it my fault, Hermione?" Harry asked. "Was I that bad to Ron? Did I deserve everything that he tried to do to me?"

Hermione carefully set the knife down as she said, "Ron is a grown man, Harry. He made the decisions he made for reasons that only pertain to him. You've done nothing but be the best friend you could be. You hold no guilt in any of this."

She walked up to him and hugged him. "If you had a drop of bad blood in your body, there's no way you would be my best friend. You're a great person, Harry. Believe in that."

Then, before Hermione knew what was happening, Harry's hand was lifting her chin up and his lips were against hers, and Hermione responded in confusion, but didn't stop the kiss until Harry was ready to.

Without letting go of him, Hermione asked in confusion, "What exactly was that, Harry?"

Harry let his eyes close and he sighed. "I'm just confused right now, Hermione." He looked into her eyes and said, "So confused."

"Harry..." she said worriedly.

"There are only two things I'm sure of right now," Harry continued. "I love my daughter very, very much." He licked his lips, took a deep breath, and said, "And I love you, Hermione."

"W-what do you mean, 'love'?" Hermione asked. "Like I'm your best friend love?"

Harry swallowed hard and said, "No, Hermione. I'm in love with you."

Hermione felt a surge of pain in her head, winced, and everything went blurry. She tried to call for Harry as she began to fall, but nothing would move. Then everything went black.

Harry anxiously sat at Hermione's bedside, holding her hand as he pressed it against his forehead. It had been almost 24 hours since she had collapsed in the kitchen, and after a long night, Holly was now asleep right next to her mother, leaving Harry the sole one awake, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Right now Harry was primarily concerned over the fact that Hermione wasn't responding to anything, even ennervate, and the healer that had dropped by last night didn't know why Hermione had slipped into unconsciousness.

What Harry feared the most right now was that Hermione might have gone back into the coma she had spent so long in. Harry didn't know what he would do if that was the case.

"H-Harry?"

Harry's eyes shot open as Hermione's voice shattered the silence that had settled around Harry quite a while ago, and he gave her a relieved smile. "Thank God you're awake, Hermione."

"Harry..." Hermione said in awe, suddenly sitting up, which woke Holly. "Harry, I remember."

"You what?" Harry asked, standing up in shock.

"I remember everything, Harry," she said with a smile on her face. "I remember!"

Harry smiled at her happily and said, "Then tell me everything, Hermione. I've been dying to know."

Holly was now wide awake and attentively listening to the conversation as well, though neither Harry nor Hermione noticed.

Hermione gave him a sly grin, though. "I need you to tell me what you last told me before I fainted. I can sort of remember, but I need a refresher." At Harry's discomfort, Hermione gave him puppy dog eyes and said, "Please?"

Harry sighed and said, "I said, 'I'm in love with you, Hermione.'"

Hermione smiled blissfully and said, "Everything Rita Skeeter said was true, first off. Including the attack by Ron. And I was right in telling you that Ron isn't Holly's father."

"Then who is?" Harry asked. Finally, after all these years, he was going to know. He was going to know which bastard to hunt down for abandoning Holly.

"Well let me start with the night she was conceived," Hermione said calmly, even though Harry was sure she was going through a lot at the moment. "It was the night we went to Seamus's pub for Dean's birthday. I had sex with somebody for the first time, then erased their memory out of guilt because I manipulated them and felt like a terrible person. Then I ended up pregnant with their child. I wanted nothing more in the world to tell them how much I loved them and that I wanted to raise the child who is now Holly with them."

"Then why didn't you?" Harry asked, confused.

"Ron threatened me. I didn't want to cause this person anymore trouble. I had already done enough. So I thought it would be okay if I just disappeared and raised Holly on my own without them ever knowing. That way they wouldn't be burdened with a daughter they didn't want and wouldn't have the threat of Ron hanging over their head. And considering how I cheated on Ron, I felt too guilty to go against his word. So I did what he told me to and disappeared for good, under the promise that if Ron ever saw me again he would do his best to make my life hell."

"And who is Holly's father, Hermione?" Harry asked impatiently. "Who?"

Hermione suddenly stood up, and, with tears in her eyes, hugged Harry hard. "Tell me you love me again, Harry. Please."

Harry felt his heart grow heavy and said, "I love you, Hermione. Nothing you're about to say will change that."

Hermione clutched him harder and said, "I love you too, Harry. I'm completely and absolutely in love with you."

Harry felt warmth spread throughout his body despite the cold dread in his chest, and he said, "Then tell me, please, so I can finally have that weight off my chest."

Hermione, her voice now thick with tears, said, "I have the official copy of Holly's birth records still hidden away in the village Rita found me in. The ones at the hospital are altered to show Holly Granger. Holly's last name, legally, isn't even Granger."

"Hermione, please," Harry said, the anticipation killing him. His heart couldn't take this anymore. "Tell me."

"Holly's name is Holly Lily Potter," Hermione said. "She's your biological daughter, Harry."

Harry met eyes with Holly, whose face lit up with glee, and his knees immediately buckled from relief. If Hermione hadn't been holding onto him, he would have fallen straight to the floor like a rock.

"Harry?" she asked, concerned as she settled him back into his chair. "Harry, I'm sorry."

Harry smiled at her and said, "I think if I was a few years younger and hadn't gone through what I did, I would be incredibly upset with you, Hermione. But you love me, Holly is my daughter, and I've fought far too hard to get upset over this anymore. I love you, and I don't think I've ever been as happy as I am now."

"Does this mean you guys are going to get married?" Holly suddenly asked, making the two of them jump as their daughter intruded into the little world they had gone into by themselves.

Harry and Hermione both blushed. "Well.." Hermione said hesitantly.

"I'm game," Harry said, smiling at Hermione quirkily. "How about it, Hermione?"

Hermione smiled at him beautifully and said, "How could I possibly say no?"

Harry met Holly's eyes as he hugged Hermione, and saw that Holly was easily just as happy as he was.

Despite everything, they had weathered the storm together and had all come out together on the other side safe and sound. And that was all that mattered.

A/N: Sorry about the ending, but I had some real issues coming up with what to write because I didn't plan ahead like the total idiot I am. Hope you all enjoyed this story that took way longer than it should have! I'm sorry for taking so long!