No Consequences

Hermione stood in the bathroom of the Burrow eyeing herself in the large floor to ceiling mirror. It had been almost a year since she had so much as glanced more than her face's reflection and now it was obvious that her recent suspicions were confirmed.

She had appeared to have lost an incredible amount of weight. Every joint poked out at odd angles and her face was hollow.

As she looked her naked body up and down, however, there was one part of her that seemed to have grown a lot.

Her abdomen protruded out now more than she knew was possible and as she counted on her fingers, she almost collapsed to the floor in stunned realisation.

Hermione was pregnant.

If she thought back through the last 5 months, all the signs were there. She did feel queasy while living in the tent back in February, and her cycle had been messed up for more than a year. She put it down to stress, to anxiety, but now there was a much much bigger concern.

If her calculations were correct, she was 5 months pregnant with Fred's baby and it was showing.

She dressed quickly when she heard a knock on the door, thankful for the chill in the air that meant she could wear a jumper to cover the bulge.

The concept of having a child, of having a baby, being a mother, was yet to hit her, as she contemplated how she would reveal this information to the Weasleys. Of course, she could leave, go to Australia, find her parents, set things right and never come back. That was a distinct possibility, but that would be cruel, heartless. She had to find a way to let them all know that she was carrying Fred's baby, that she loved him, that she had loved him all this time and it was more than just a distraction.

No consequences now seemed like the most ridiculous idea ever. Of course snogging in the kitchen would have led to them falling in love and creating a child together. Of course Fred would have been so distracted by their relationship during the battle that he might have lost his balance, not dodged a curse, forgot to shield. Tears now filled her eyes as she sat on her bed in Ginny's room, thinking about how much Fred's death could be blamed on her.

She felt that if she hadn't pursued something with him, if she hadn't written to him, if she had let him down gently, perhaps he might have been more focused on the battle, on fighting, blocking, shielding. Living!

Sobs now wracked her body, shaking her violently until she curled up on her side and put the pillow over her face. It was all her fault. She had risked everything, Fred had risked everything and lost. He was gone. She loved him and he was gone.

"Hermione?" came the soft voice of Ginny.

She didn't know what the time was, but she was certain that she must have fallen asleep.

"Oh, I must have fallen asleep" she said, wiping her eyes and sitting up quickly.

"The uh… the funeral is starting soon" Ginny said.

Hermione just looked down at her hands and nodded, allowing a tear to fall from her eye.

"It’s ok for you to be sad you know. You're like a sister to me, you're family. Which means that Fred is… I mean… Fred was your family too" Ginny said.

"There's something I need to tell you" Hermione said, getting up off the bed.

"It's ok Hermione, there is a lot that we need to talk about but it’s so soon. Let's let today be about Fred, yeah?" Ginny said, offering a small smile and turning to her closet to take out her black dress.

A short while later, Hermione pulled up the zipper on a dress she had borrowed from Fleur and looked in the mirror. It would be clear to everyone that she was pregnant. She had lost so much weight everywhere else, looked so thin in so many places that even slightly protruding, it was clear that this bulge in her lower abdomen wasn't just a big lunch.

She waited till the majority of the family had left before heading down stairs. She pulled a wrap from Ginny's closet and used it as a shawl in hopes that it would hide her bump from the view of not only the Weasleys, but Harry and just about every witch or wizard of significance. She eyed herself in the mirror before turning and leaving, satisfied that it was hidden enough.

'No one will be looking at me anyway' she thought.

The grass was crunchy from the afternoon sun, and it crunched under her feet as she made her way across the field to the Weasley family plot. She could see a mound of earth that had been uncovered, ready for Fred's body to be lowered into the ground. Fresh tears pooled in her eyes at the sight and she forced herself to look away.

The sight of George standing by, greeting the guests made Hermione stop in her tracks. For the briefest of moments, her mind played a trick on her, telling her to run to him, to go to him, that it may be Fred after all. She recalled the subtle differences in the twins, remembering that Fred's eyes were a brighter shade of blue and that his hair sat a little differently in the front. That Fred had carried himself just a little taller. She chastised herself for momentarily wishing that it could be Fred standing there instead of George as she made her way to where he stood.

"Hermione" he said. She couldn't bear to look at him, to look into the face of someone who looked so much like the person she loved most. She, instead, looked at his outstretched hand, taking it in hers and shaking it briefly. 'Awkward', she thought.

"Not many people can look at me, I get it" he mumbled.

At that, she looked up into his eyes. Sadness was all she saw. There was no Fred, no happy go lucky twin, no reminder of the man she loved. Instead, it was George, blue eyes, not as bright as Fred's, hair that sat all wrong and a slight slouch in his posture.

"George I'm so sorry" she said, pulling him into a hug. "I just… if I had done something different, maybe not let things happen the way they did…" she muttered into his chest.

He wrapped his hands around her and held onto her, allowing her to say all she needed to say in that moment.

"I know… just so you know. I know about you and Fred" he said softly.

She released him and pulled back, eyeing him cautiously.

"It's ok. I'm glad he had someone, you know, in the end" he said.

"You're not… mad? You don't think….?" She asked, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

"No one will think less of you Hermione" he said.

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that" she said quietly, thinking of what their reactions may be to the news that she was certain George did NOT know

"He loved you. Merlin, he never shut up about you" he said with a slight chuckle, the first she had heard come from him since he saw his twin lying dead in the great hall just over a week ago.

She looked down at her hand, at the piece of costume jewellery that clung to her finger as more guests arrived.

"Do you think… Do you think he'd want everyone to know?" she asked, knowing that George was the only other person in the world who knew the real Fred. The Fred behind the mask that he wore.

"He wanted to shout it from the rooftops" he said, ushering Hermione to a seat near the front.

She nodded up at George as she took her seat just behind Ron. Ron turned, his face red, and offered Hermione a small smile. She returned the gesture, knowing that soon, everything would change. Ron loved her. She knew that much. She and Ron, at one stage, may have been destined to be together. For all she knew, perhaps Ron still thought that it was a possibility. But once the truth came out about the pregnancy, she would have no choice but to tell Ron, Harry, Ginny and all the Weasleys about their brief, too brief romance. The idea brought fresh tears to her eyes. How unfair it was that life had taken Fred, when they had plans for a life together. Right at this moment, they might have come clean about their relationship, they may have been sending the warming days under the trees in the orchard or by the river. Fred may have come up behind her and placed his arms around her, resting his hands on her stomach, perhaps, waiting for the day when they baby would kick.

She shook herself out of her thoughts and focused on the service, which was beginning to get underway.

The elderly minister who married Bill and Fleur delivered a heartfelt sermon about loss and tragedy being the catalyst for change and how beautiful things can grow from such heartbreaking loss. Hermione never heard truer words. She placed her hand on her belly and realised there was only one thing she could do. In order for this family to heal, they would have to know the truth.

She sat and listened to the words that Arthur spoke… about a boy who loved life, who was mischievous and always eager to do more, be more, have more. She listened to Bill who spoke of a younger brother following him around on his broom, eager to keep up with him. Molly tried her hardest to speak but was so overcome with emotion that she had to helped back to her seat by her sons.

It was this moment where Hermione stood and made her way to the front. All eyes were on her. There was no plan, no formal mention of her making a speech, but at the words of the ones who loved Fred the most, the ones who saw him in their own ways, she couldn't not speak.

"I'm sorry…" she began, as the Weasleys looked to her. "I know it wasn't planned for me to speak so I will try and make it quick. I have listened to the incredible words from you all and I felt like I had to tell you about the Fred that I knew" she began. The crowd looked to her, some of them had tears flowing down their faces, some were looking confused, some just sad. She saw someone mutter into the ear of someone else.

'Probably wondering what in Merlin's name I think I have to contribute' she thought to herself with a morbid internal chuckle.

"The Fred I knew was a rule breaker. He made my job as a prefect at Hogwarts so much harder and I loathed him for it. I couldn't understand why he didn't just do the right thing. Why he would want to risk his education and leave school early to open a joke shop. But then he did. He did it. And with George, they were so successful, I actually ate my words. I watched Fred change from that rule breaking rebel, to a confident businessman and for that, he gained my respect" she continued, looking out to the waiting audience. 'It's now or never', she thought, as she took a deep breath and continued.

"No one knows that before the war, before Bill's wedding, when the world was in chaos and no one knew whether or not we'd make it through the year, Fred and I would often find ourselves unable to sleep at night. I was so worried about my family, about Harry, about my own destiny, and Fred, well, Fred worried about everyone. We would sit in the kitchen with a cup of hot chocolate each, that he was terrible at making by the way, and we'd talk about our worries, our fears and our hopes. Fred had this idea that sometimes, we could live our lives without thinking about the future. Without worrying about the consequences. I admired that in him. I certainly lacked the ability to live that way… at first…" she went on, looking at the faces of the people who loved him.

"The truth is, Fred brought out a part of me that I didn't know I had. He taught me how to consider the idea of a no consequences life. 'Live for the moment' he once said" she went on with a smile, remembering the night they first kissed. The eyes of the guests were filled with understanding, with remembrance of the person who Fred was. They knew all of this. They understood how deeply Fred cared about the people he knew. There was nothing that she could say about their relationship, about Fred, about anything, that would make people see him any differently to exactly how he was, how he was to her.

"Fred would want you all to know that he loved everyone so so very deeply. He was passionate, caring, kind. He loved you all… He loved me…" she finished quietly, looking down at the lectern in front of her. She couldn't do it. At least not directly. She was certain that based on what she said, people would make their assumptions, but she couldn't say it outright. Not yet.

She took her seat with tears that somehow had managed to stem slightly during her speech, now flowing freely down her cheeks.

The rest of the ceremony was a blur and before she could gather her thoughts, before she could compose herself, it was over. People were standing and making their way to the hold in the earth where the only person she had ever loved, was being lowered into.

She eased her way forward as the casket touched down on the cold earth, desperate to have something change. Desperate for it to be different. Anyone but Fred, she thought, as her hand rested on her stomach.

She looked around at the people surrounding the piece of earth that would forever be Fred's resting place, and saw Molly looking in her direction. The look on her face was set to stunned. She had been crying all week, she had been a mess. She tried, in the days leading up to this day, to busy herself with preparing the house, the food, the people around her, but this day, Molly Weasley had been a mess – until now. Until she was looking at Hermione, at where her hand rested on her abdomen, with a knowing look.

She knew.

Hermione quickly looked away and removed her hand from her stomach, running it through her hair. She refocused on the goings on around her. She watched as, one by one, the Weasleys placed a handful of brown earth into the hole, gradually covering the slim timber box until it was almost as though there was nothing but dirt in the hole. Hermione followed behind Harry, taking her shaking hand and retrieving a handful of dirt from the pile. She let the grains of dirt leave her hand and her mind was blank.

She just stared into the hole, down into the dirt, watching how the granules of dark brown earth fell on top of one another and spread out.

She slowly made her way to the back of the crowd and found George standing alone beside a nearby tree. It was almost as if he were waiting for her.

"Great speech" he said.

"I had no idea what I was saying. I don't even remember…" she said. "I was going to tell everyone, I was going to say something, but it wasn't the right time" she added after a short silence.

"It will be… eventually" he said.

"Well the clocks ticking" she said, eyeing him carefully and placing her hand on her stomach. George looked to her, to where her hand rested and his eyes widened.

"Are you… Is that… I mean…" he stammered, unable to even make a sentence.

She simply nodded as fresh tears fell.

George pulled her into a hug, holding her, rocking her left to right slowly. It was everything she needed, it was the approval she was seeking. The clarity to come clean.

"I need to tell everyone" she said.

"He told me that you came to him at Christmas but nothing in detail. Is this from them?" he asked as he released her from his hold.

"I didn't even realise till the last few days. Things have been so crazy the idea of… well, of this, never even crossed my mind" she said, now finally able to speak about the thing that had been plaguing her mind all day. "I don't know how to do this George… How can I tell everyone that we had a secret relationship? That I abandoned Harry in the woods, ran off and got myself pregnant on Christmas? That in a few months, Fred, the Fred that we all just buried will be a father and never get to meet his child?" she went on, nearing hysterics. "Then I have to have this child, I have to be a mother. How can I do that? How can I do that all on my own?" she asked, leaning back into George's embrace.

At the commotion, Ginny, Harry and Ron all came over to where the two stood.

Ron gingerly rubbed Hermione's back, while Ginny stood by Harry's side. Hermione noticed that today was the first time they had been close like this since returning from the castle. It was nice to see. It was a comfort. Perhaps things could be some kind of normal, for some people, at least.

"Now or never" George said to Hermione, releasing her as she turned to face her friends.

"They're going to hate me" she whispered.

"Hermione has something she needs to tell you all" George said with a sad smile.

She looked to Ron and shook her head.

"You're going to hate me" she said softly. "None of you are going to trust me again. I've been… I've been lying to you all, since before the wedding. Before we left. The whole time we were on the run. Even now" she said.

"Whatever it is Hermione, we can deal with this" Harry said.

"Fred and I… We… we were together" she said.

Ginny gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Ron stopped rubbing her back and narrowed his eyes and Harry just looked at Hermione, wordlessly urging her to continue.

"We began sort of, getting to know each other before the wedding, like I said earlier… We, well, Fred, it was his idea really, he just thought that we ought to live as though we may not… As if we…." She couldn't finish that sentence, because Fred was one hundred per cent right. "He said that we should take a moment to do something that we never dreamt of doing, no consequences, he said… So we danced, we let our hair down, we… we kissed. It was only supposed to be a fling, a one time thing… But Fred told me he loved me. We wrote to each other, we had this parchment where we could communicate to each other while we were on the run. Fred made me fall for him. I didn't want to, I tried not to, I knew how messy it would make things… I… I couldn't help it. He begged me to let him come to me, he wanted to help, but I never told him… Harry, I swear I never told Fred what we were doing. At Christmas, I was so lonely, I was so tired. I went to see him…" at this, she took her wand out of the pocket in her dress and tapped it on her finger, earning a gasp from Ginny and a sigh from Ron.

"He asked me to marry him and I said yes" she showed them all the ring that she hadn't taken off since he put it on her. "I wanted to stay with him, he begged me to. He said he could keep us all safe, but I had to go back. That was the day I came back with the bags of food…" she went on.

"You can thank me for that by the way" George interjected.

"We wrote to each other, time went on and now we're here" she said.

Just as Ginny was about to speak, George interrupted.

"There's more" he said.

Ron raised an eyebrow at Hermione. He had been silent this whole time.

"I think… well, I know… I have to be, there isn't any other reason for it…" she stammered.

"Spit it out Hermione" Ginny said.

"I'm pregnant" she muttered, moving her wrap away from her body to reveal a small protruding bulge.

Ron stepped back from her, way back, as though this news had made her suddenly unbearable to be around.

"Pregnant? If you're saying that you last saw him at Christmas, then…" Ginny began.

"I'm several months along" she finished.

"You knew all this time?" Harry asked.

"No, I didn't. I had no idea I promise. My body has been messed up since, well… For a long time and I just thought it was the stress. I was a little sick but nothing major, you remember Harry, I was sick in February for a few days. Then nothing. I didn't even really have a bump here till this week. That's when I knew. That's when I realised" she said, moving towards Harry, as if begging him to believe her.

"Mum's gonna freak" Ginny said.

"I know, I know, everyone is going to hate me" she said, fresh tears forming. She felt like she was in the centre of a circle of judgement, begging them to give her a second chance at life.

"This is none of my business, I'll be over with the family" Ron said suddenly, before leaving the small circle.

"He hates me" she whispered.

"He loves you. He's probably in shock that all along you've been in love with his brother" George said.

"I just… This is exactly why I didn't want to tell anyone. I was going to say nothing. I could have just disappeared, gone to find my parents, had Fred's baby in secret then everyone could just move on" she said.

"Do you think that, after losing Fred, losing you wouldn't hurt too? That maybe, without Fred, perhaps, a baby, HIS baby would be some kind of… of blessing?" Ginny said, her hands on her hips. She was mad. Mad at the idea that Hermione could just leave.

"This baby… Its… I'm all alone Ginny. I can't be a mother. I was… the cruciatis curse at the Malfoys… What if it affected the baby?" she said out loud, finally verbalising the thing she had been fearing all along. "What if, instead of a happy healthy baby growing inside of me, there is something dark and dangerous?" she asked.

"Hermione…" Harry began. Placing his hands on her shoulders to stifle her growing panic, "this baby is a combination of you and Fred. The brightest witch of her generation and one of the most amazing, creative insane people I've ever known. He or she could only be pure goodness" he continued.

"We'll talk to mum Hermione, we'll get you the best medical care that we can" Ginny said, the others agreeing.

"Ron will never forgive me" she said quietly after a moment.

"He'll be ok. I think he just had this idea that once all this was over and done with, you and him would be free to try out some kind of thing" she said.

They began walking towards where a huge tent was erected, similar to the one they had at Bill's wedding and quickly joined the crowd.

"It would never have worked out between us Gin, we're too different" she said sadly. She had once hoped for a life with Ron, for something more than best friends.

"You're probably right" Ginny said, placing her arm around Hermione's shoulders. "We can't even get you good and drunk to take your mind off it" she said with a sigh as she led them to the drinks table.

"When do I tell everyone?" she asked.

"Well, if Ron behaves just like Ron, he'll have one fire whisky and blab like someone who's been given a whole vial of veritaserum" Ginny said.

"So basically it’s now or never" she asked, receiving a shrug from Ginny.

She looked around the room, looking for Ron, hoping to smooth things over with him before she made a grand announcement. As she strode around the tent, she saw him outside with Harry, sitting with his head in his hands. She wanted to go over, it felt right to be there, the three of them. They had been inseparable for years, but now there was this unspoken thing between them that felt as though it was dooming everything.

She swallowed everything inside of her that was telling to leave them alone and went to be by Ron's side.

"…lost my brother and now it’s like I've lost everything I thought was real Harry" she heard him say. It almost broke her. Of course he was going to be upset. He had ideas that they'd somehow be together after this and she had just gone and crushed all his dreams. Although, she hadn't done a single thing since she and Fred had begun their, whatever it was, to make Ron think she was even remotely interested. In fact, realistically, she had pulled away from Ron since Dumbledore had died.

As she came closer, Ron looked up and was about to get up and leave before Harry pulled him back down.

"Ron…" she began.

"What? What can you possible say to make me feel better, Hermione?" he asked.

"Nothing. There is nothing I can say Ron. You lost your brother and that is horrible. But if you think that you've lost me, well, you never had me. Not in that way. We're great friends Ron, but do you really think we'd ever have worked out? We're so different. I admit, you're comfortable. You'd be a great choice for a partner because we know each other so well, but there's no chemistry between us. You see that, right? I love you Ron, Merlin, I love you both, but what I had with Fred, it was like… It was electric. Even just to be around him… You and I don't have that. I'm sorry, but we don't" she finished as she sat down beside him.

"So that night… before the wedding.. In the pantry…" he began.

"That was a close call" she said.

Ron just shook his head.

"We would be the worst couple" he said with a smile.

Hermione just returned the gesture and nodded her head.

"I can't believe it was Fred though. Of all people. You hated Fred and George" he said.

"They irritated me at Hogwarts. When they started their business and became smart, intelligent and honest, well, they earned my respect" she said. "And then once I got to know Fred, I saw through all the garbage. I saw the real him. I saw Fred with out George, without the shop, without the jokes and the rubbish… Oh my gods I can't believe he's gone" she said, now sobbing at the thought.

Ron moved closer and held onto Hermione, allowing her to cry in his arms. She was shaking and crying and sobbing. She felt the ring on her finger and closed her eyes shut tight, trying to remember how Fred smelt, how he felt when he out his arms around her, how he tasted when he kissed her.

"You were really going to get married?" Ron asked.

Hermione allowed herself to settle down and nodded as she pulled herself out of Ron's arms.

"I was real Ron, it was so real" she said quietly, examining her ring.

The three of them sat there in silence for a while till Molly approached.

"There you are dears, we're going to have a toast in a minute, so grab yourselves a drink… just one mind you, you're of age, but I don't want you embarrassing yourselves in front of all our guests… and gather around" Molly said before turning away.

Hermione stood and, with her two best friends, made her way to the inside of the tent.

"To Fred" called on voice.

"To my brother" said another.

"To my best friend" said Lee Jordan, who was slightly drunk, standing beside George.

"To my big brother" said Ginny, looking to Hermione.

"To my Fiancée and the father of my unborn baby" Hermione said, looking around hesitantly, before drinking her soda water in one go, being sure to use the hand where her shiny white gold ring sat proudly for her drink and resting the other on her stomach.

The tent was silent, all eyes on Hermione as she finished her drink.

Molly had one hand on her chest and one on Arthur, seemingly for support, while George, Ginny, Harry and Ron smiled. Fleur did some small squeak while Bill and Charlie, who were standing close to each other, exchange shocked glances.

"TO FRED!" George called, putting a halt to the silence, resulting in a clap from Lee, which was followed by a round of cheers, applause and sloshing of drinks.

Hermione watched as every Weasley and more made their way to where she was standing.

"When you said Fiancé… You mean…" Charlie began.

"I mean, Fred and I got engaged at Christmas when we saw each other briefly" she showed her ring to those around her, "and one thing led to another and, well…" she patted her stomach.

When she was met with resounding silence, she continued.

"I also didn't know I was pregnant till today" she added.

"Merlin, a baby" Percy said, standing a respectable distance back from her.

"But I… I thought you and Ron…." Arthur began after a moment.

"That would have been the logical thought, yes" Hermione said, looking around at the crowd who were staring at her in disbelief.

Molly had been silent this whole time, standing back behind her husband, hand on her heart and tears making tracks down her face.

Hermione took several tentative steps towards Molly and reached out to take her hand. She placed it carefully on the place where the bump could be felt and closed her eyes.

She thought that this may be the last day she spends with the Weasley's. Surely a secret romance out of wedlock with one of her sons resulting in her pregnancy would land her out on her backside, but before she could open her eyes, Molly had pulled her close and wrapped both arms securely around her slender frame.

The two witches had no reason to speak. There was nothing that anyone could or should say to ease whatever it was that was flowing from the soft cries of a mother who had lose a son, of a woman who would become a mother.

"Come on mum, you're suffocating poor Hermione" George said, interjecting himself into the close show of emotion.

Hermione and Molly separated, and Hermione wiped her eyes and smiled, happily, for the first time since that morning when she realised she was pregnant.

This was her family. They accepted her. They understood. No one would hate her, no one would reject her. She would have help and support to have and raise this baby and a little piece of Fred, a little part of their love, would love on in this child. Their child.

Over the next few weeks, news about Hermione's relationship and pregnancy began to spread like wildfire. In hopes of getting in front of it, Hermione, Ron and Harry had agreed to sit down with Rita Skeeter for an in depth interview to discuss their time in the war months and the battle, with the understanding that Hermione herself would have approval of the article which officially announced her pregnancy. The three page feature was very tastefully done and on the fourth page, a memorial to the fallen, with Fred's reading,

'Fred Wesley was a successful business owner and skilled wizard who died fighting along side his family, surrounded by loved ones. Fred's relationship with, and engagement to Hermione Granger was not common knowledge, however, Miss Granger reports "Fred was the love of my life. Although our time together was brief, what we had was real and it will live on in the life of our unborn baby" she said, placing a hand on her slight bump. Hermione and the Wesley family have asked that they be allowed to grieve in peace at this time and promised a follow up story in time.'

The story had caused quite the controversary, with reporters following both Hermione and all members of the Weasley family whenever they were out and about. It made life so difficult that Hermione knew what she needed to do next.