I had posted this back in June of '17, but I took it down. It's back, obviously. For your enjoyment. *hearts*
Hermione could have sworn she knew it the second they conceived. It felt different, somehow.
Not...not the conception technique per se...just the way she felt afterward. It was a new feeling. Brand new.
It was a good feeling.
She kept it to herself, of course. Viktor was just as excited as she, but if her hunch was rubbish, she didn't want to get him all excited only to be utterly wrong and disappointed.
So she waited.
She and Viktor kept trying, but in her mind, they'd already succeeded.
And she was proven correct when a sufficient amount of time had passed.
Wizarding pregnancy tests were slightly different than muggle ones. But there was a potion for everything, so of course she checked as soon as it was possible.
And when the thin watery potion turned bright aqua, she knew for certain.
She was practically full to bursting with excitement. Viktor was playing an away match in Cardiff, but she knew he'd want to know as soon as he could.
So with a shaky hand, she scribbled out their good news on a bit of parchment, stating that she had an appointment with the medi-witch the next day, but not to worry, because the pregnancy testing potion was nearly a hundred percent accurate at this phase.
She sent the owl with slight trepidation. Nothing too serious, because she knew he'd be just as overjoyed as she was.
Hermione curled up with Crookshanks in the bed that was honestly too big for just her, and fell asleep. She dreamt of tiny pink babies with clutching hands and loud squawky cries.
The last thing she was expecting upon awakening was to find herself curled around her sleeping husband. Who had apparently rushed home after receiving her owl, given that he still had the message clutched in his hand.
She nuzzled her nose along his jaw, pressing her lips softly to the stubble there. It rasped against her cheek in a very pleasing manner, but she had to get up and go to the medi-witch's office today, so she begrudgingly peeled herself out of bed and meandered into the bathroom.
A hot shower was all that was needed to sufficiently awaken her. But the shock of the temperature difference between the steamy shower and the cool bathroom had her stomach rolling so suddenly that she had to rush towards the toilet, barely making it in time to retch the scant contents of her stomach into the basin.
She'd read all sorts of books on pregnancy. Because she was Hermione Granger, of course she did. And therefore, she knew that morning sickness was a misnomer. That the wretched malady could happen at any time of day.
But of course, as stated before, she was Hermione Granger. And she was going to have her pregnancy by the book, apparently.
Viktor's warm hand smoothed up her spine, pulling back her hair as she heaved.
"Thank you…" she mumbled when she was through, reaching for a wash cloth to wipe her mouth.
He had one ready. Cool and wet and calming on her suddenly hot forehead and face.
"Thank you…" she repeated.
"Is fine, mila . It is...normal...this?" he asked, likely to reassure himself. He was a worrier.
She nodded. "Yes. It's absolutely normal. Too normal, but you know me…" she joked half-heartedly, leaning over the sink to rinse out her mouth.
The nausea passed almost instantly upon her slow walk from the bathroom back to the bedroom to change.
Viktor had her tea all ready when she came downstairs.
"What time do you see the medi-witch?" he asked, flicking his hand towards the french press on the counter to start his coffee. "May I come along?"
"At nine. And of course. I would have invited you, but I thought you'd be playing again today." Hermione took a sip of her tea. "What time did you get in last night?"
He made a noise that sounded like 'bahhhh,' but lower and raspier. "I got in when I got in. It was no problem, 'Mione."
"No problem? Did you run it by your teammates?"
"Of course. I told them my wife needs me, they know I must go."
She tilted her head lovingly and sighed. "Viktor. You can't just up and leave in the middle of a season. There are only twelve weeks left in this one, and that's including the Quidditch World Cup...you should really think about finishing it out."
"I am to miss half of your pregnancy? For Quidditch? Hermione. We talked about this. It is just a job. You are my life. You and the bebe ." He reached for her, his hand smoothing over her still flat stomach.
"Well, the bebe and I think you should finish out the season."
"What if you need me?"
"I think we found that out with your midnight travels last night...you can be here via floo, or we can even set up a portkey if you're very far away…plus, I'll even be working until I'm ready to deliver. So it'd be boring for you, sitting around here with nothing to do."
He opened his mouth, about to speak again and Hermione reached over to press her fingers against his lips, shushing him. "And don't even start with that rubbish about how you don't want me to work while pregnant. If I didn't have my work, I'd sit around reading books and eating sweets all day...it would not be ideal."
He kissed her fingertips and plucked them from his lips. "First of all? I was going to offer to get the nursery ready in my spare time. AND, all you do at work is read books anyway, so I am not objecting to you working. Not that I would. As if I could ever persuade you to quit anyway."
Viktor turned back towards the counter, summoning a coffee cup and pouring his coffee before turning around to face her again, a slight twinkle in his eyes.
"I know…" Hermione said, reaching for him once more. "I know you'd never -" She stopped mid-sentence to lean up to kiss his lips, overcome with love for her husband all of the sudden. "But you're still quitting mid-season? Viktor, I think you should reconsider…"
"Let us see the medi-witch...and we will talk more about it later…" he said with a wink. "It is almost as if you do not want me around, mila. "
"Well, you see...it's cutting into my time with my lover on the side. He can only come over if you're not here…" she teased.
Viktor snorted back a laugh. "As if you would have time for another."
Leave me some sugar if you liked it! *hearts*