I'll Fight For You - Fred/Hermione

Chapter Nineteen

Hermione watched with huge almost apprehensive eyes as Fred’s knuckles turned white. He was pursing his lips so hard that they also looked white. His hands shook and he knew Hermione could feel it as he was holding her hand. He looked down at their eyes, not meeting her brown carefully assessing eyes.

‘What... wait... um... you’re pregnant?’ asked Fred, unable to believe her  even though he heard her quite clearly. He dropped her hand so that it fell back onto her thigh and Hermione wished he would hold her hand again. She needed his support more than ever. She watched as he stood up, using the bed they were sitting on for support and he started to pace in front of her, rubbing at his eyes, ‘okay, you got me. Great joke, I wont ever say that you can’t joke.’

Hermione felt her heart plummet down to the floor and down all the apartments until it hit the ground with a thundering sound but she supposed that wasn’t her heart and the sound was just the party she wished they were enjoying outside of the room. She yearned for him to take this seriously and actually discuss this... problem with her rather than think that she’s joking but then again she assumed it was better than if he got angry...

‘I’m not joking, Fred,’ Hermione whispered, looking away from his eyes.  She jumped as Fred swore loudly and rubbed his face aggressively with his hands as a business man might do if he was stressed. Hermione stood up quickly and knew that she shouldn’t have told him. She had been so naive to think that he wouldn’t react this way and now he was really angry and it was all her fault. Why didn’t she think about this when she was practically throwing herself at Fred... she didn’t know.

‘Are you sure it’s mine? I mean, you and Ron haven’t...?’ Fred asked, turning around, and Hermione was pleased, as pleased as she could be through all of her worrying, to notice that at least he was trying to keep his voice under control. Maybe he would calm down and think reasonably

Hermione didn’t know how to feel as she saw the hope in his eyes. Hope that this wasn’t his problem. That this wasn’t his child. He had said over and over that he loved her and would do anything for her. He always got jealous when Ron was with her and now he was wishing that Ron and her had made a baby?! Hermione willed herself to stay calm as he had a right to react this way since it was big news and she blushed red as she said, ‘no, Fred. You’re... my first and only-’

Fred swore again, interrupting Hermione, and punched the wall with his fist. Hermione jumped and felt tears form in her eyes. Fred leaned against the wall with his face buried in his arm and he was trying to breathe deeply as his shoulders shook. She blinked rapidly, not wanting to cry at this time. Hermione cautiously walked forward and put a hand on his arm. He shook his arm so that Hermione’s hand fell off of his arm.

‘How did this happen? I mean... did you not do the charm afterwards?’ Fred muttered, his hands were sheet white as he pressed them against the wall perhaps to stop them shaking, ‘what the bloody hell were we thinking?!’

‘I forgot, I guess,’ Hermione whispered and then she sighed thinking she had better tell him the whole truth, ‘I’ve known I was pregnant for three weeks. I was visiting a maternity healer when I saw you at St. Mungo’s.’

‘Why the hell didn’t you tell me?!’ yelled Fred, turning to face her completely now. He seemed oblivious to Hermione’s whimpering face, ‘don’t you think I had a right to know?!’