Chapter 17
I have to admit, we must have been quite an image. The famous Hermione Granger, who had helped defeat Voldemort, tumbling out of a fireplace as she hyperventilated, next to the gasping Ginny Potter, who was in the process of giving birth to the baby of the boy-who-lived, who was being supported by the pajama clad Draco Malfoy, who had been missing form three years after Lord Voldemort had been defeated. I was surprised that no one had thought to take a picture. We could have made the cover of the Daily Prophet. Draco helped me up and lowered Ginny onto a chair in the crowded waiting room we had fallen into.
“Hermione, go get Potter. I’ll stay here.” I didn’t need to be told twice, and spun back around, feeling light headed. It was a miracle that I had such a levelheaded boyfriend. He went into action mode finding a clerk to help Ginny as I threw a pinch of powder into the flames.
“The burrow!” I yelled, bursting into the Weasely living room. An exhausted Harry looked up from his newspaper as I continued hyperventilating.
“Mione! What happened?” he asked, concerned. He pushed his glasses further up his nose as I gasped, franticly spinning my ring on my finger.
“Harry, it’s Ginny, she’s in labor! Draco’s with her now, they’re at the hospital!” Startled, he leapt to his feet, dropping his newspaper. I grabbed his hand and dragged him back through the fire and into the waiting room. He bolted to Ginny’s side, cupping her face in his hands. She glared at him, huffing as she curled her arms protectively around her stomach.
“Damn it Harry, help me! Get drugs, I need the drugs!” she yelled at I scrambled to stand beside Draco at the welcome desk. He calmly discussing with the attendant, who I recognized as Hannah Abbot. She was staring wide eyed at Draco, clearly wondering where on earth he had come from. He wrapped his arm around my waist absentmindedly, and I was thankful for the support, as I was sure I would have fallen over out of panic.
“Yes, Ginny Potter. She just went into labor.” Hannah nodded and looked down at her clipboard.
“Yes, um… Have Harry get a wheel chair for her and a healer will be right down.” Draco nodded and Hannah noticed with a bemused smile, me. “Hi Hermione, long time no see! Suffering from shock?” I blinked, still wheezing. My fiancé answered for me when he saw I couldn’t answer.
“Just a bit, yeah.” She nodded and pulled a small plastic bottle from a drawer under the counter and handed it to Draco, still wondering why he was clutching me close to him.
“Give her this when she can shallow. It will calm her down.” He took it and guided me back to Ginny, who was going through a contraction and squeezing the blood out of Harry’s palm. Hannah watched in stunned silence as Draco helped me settle back into a chair and gave me the potion. He turned to Harry.
“Get her a wheel chair, the healers will help her into a room.” Harry nodded, wincing as Ginny let go of his wrist and blood rushed back into his hand. “Ginny, should I go get Ron?” he asked her as I fumbled with the cap of my potion. She stammered,
“Yes, and someone get mom.” Harry ran off to find her a chair and I took a sip of the bitter potion. My sense returned and I leapt back into action.
“I’ll get Mrs. Weasely,” I announced and she nodded gratefully. Harry returned with the chair and Draco helped him ease her into it. A healer arrived and began to lead Harry and Ginny away to a room as she gasped in pain.
“I guess I’ll go find Ron,” Draco told me. I looked up at him in shock.
“Are you sure? He might try to kill you again!” He pulled me up out of the chair and squeezed my hand.
“I’ll be fine. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I better get Ginny’s parents.” He nodded and gave me a quick kiss before returning to Hannah’s desk to inquire after Ron.
I paced back and forth in front of the door to Ginny’s room, frowning at the sound of Ginny’s wails coming from under the door. Draco sipped a coffee, sitting next to a nervous Mr. Weasely, who was too afraid to enter the hospital room and instead settled at wringing his hands in the waiting room. Ron, Harry, and Mrs. Weasely were al with Ginny, but since I wasn’t “family” I wasn’t supposed to be with them. Instead I waited outside, knowing how far along my friend was only by her wailing commentary.
“DAMN YOU POTTER, I AM NEVER SLEEPING WITH YOU AGAIN!” she bellowed, and I cracked a small smile, imagining the look or horror on her brother’s face. Draco snickered softly, and I sunk into a plastic seat beside him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
“She’ll be fine, Hermione. Don’t worry, it’s almost over,” he said as I searched my pocket for the bottle Hannah had given me earlier.
“BLOODY HELL POTTER, YOU BETTER BE HAPPY WITH ONE CHILD BECAUSE I’M NEVER DOING THIS AGAIN!” she screamed and I drew the plastic to my lips, gulping the solution.
“We’re adopting,” I told Draco without a hint of humor. He chuckled and kissed my temple.
“But then little Damian won’t have my perfect hair,” he drawled. I glowered at him. “But since you’ll be the one carrying the kid, we’ll do what you want.” I smirked at him, as Ginny once again clued us in on her situation.
“TWINS! I’M HAVING BLOODY TWINS!” Draco gasped, and Mr. Weasely stood up and took over my pacing, glowing with surprise as well as concern.
“Looks like Goldenboy isn’t getting a good nights sleep for a long time.” I chuckled reluctantly and resumed twirling my ring around my finger. Twins, poor Ginny. A baby’s cry sounded through the now empty waiting room, and Mr. Weasely grinned and gained enough courage to enter the hospital room at last. “You need to relax, Mione. She’s almost done.” I didn’t get a chance to respond, as a shell-shocked Harry burst out of the room, beaming with pride. His hair stuck to his sweaty forehead, with his glasses tilted to one side.
“I’m a father!” he announced. “I’m father! I’ve got a son, little James!” I nodded at him encouragingly. He shuddered as Ginny yelled in pain again and turned back to enter her room.
“Bloody wicked,” I breathed, and Draco sipped his coffee again. “I feel so old.”
“TWO BOYS! TWO BOYS!” Ginny wailed. I grinned. Two junior marauders! Poor Ginny was still the baby girl of the Weasely family. Harry once again burst out of the room.
“Little Sirius is here!” He turned again, leaving the door open. I stood up and pulled Draco up with me. We peered into the room to see a glowing Mr. and Mrs. Weasely, an amazed Ron, who still had burn marks around his neck, and an exhausted Mr. and Mrs. Potter, who each cradled a small baby boy, who each had a few wispy strands of black hair like their father. Ginny grinned at me and waved me over so I could see the two children. Draco hung back, but I dragged him along with me.
“Gin, they’re beautiful.” Little James had inherited his mother’s warm hazel eyes, where Sirius had his father’s jade pupils. The two children stared up at us sleepily. Draco softened beside me and watched in awe as little James wrapped his hand around his father’s finger.
“I want one,” my fiancé whispered into my ear, and I smiled back.
“One step at a time, Draco,” I whispered back, pushing his hair back from his warm eyes. He smiled shyly back.
“Draco?” Ginny ventured quietly, still holding baby Sirius in her arms. We looked down at her, and saw her free hand was wrapped in Harry’s. “I just wanted to thank you for your help this morning. If it hadn’t been for you I probably would have given birth in Hermione’s living room.” Draco blushed and Harry nodded in agreement.
“You did good Malfoy,” added a small voice from across the bed. I looked up at the flustered Ron, who was still watching his two new nephews. “Or I guess I should stop calling you Malfoy…” I beamed at the read head, as he looked up nervously at Draco.
“Thanks Ron. That means a lot,” he replied, extending a hand. Grudgingly, Ron shook it. And for once, everything was calm.
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