"I have to do what?"
"Excuse me," I squeaked. "I have to do what?"
Just hours ago I was flying high above the ground in the final Holyhead Harpies game of the traditional season. This was the game that would determine who would make the international England team, but seeing as I banked out in the middle of the game, throwing up all of my stomach contents as soon as I landed, the chances of me actually making the team were quiet slim.
After having me thoroughly checked out by the on-field healer, the family and I were all back at the Burrow. Once we had all been situated, cramming everyone into the living room, another bout of nausea consumed me, sending me running up the stairs and into the bathroom. Hermione, being the sweet girl she was, raced after me, entering just in time to pull my hair out of my face as my body racked with sick spasms.
Now, after telling everyone that I needed a minute to myself, Hermione and I were seated, across from each other, on the small bathroom floor. On the floor in between us was a small, white stick, which I was staring at as if it was some foreign object. Well, I guess to me, it was.
"You have to pee on it," Hermione told me for the third time, sighing.
"I have to…" I said, trailing off.
"Pee on it," Hermione rolled her eyes. "It really isn't that difficult to figure out, Ginny. Muggles use this all the time, plus it would be much easier than going to a healer."
"But," I started to retort, then something hit me. "Wait… why do you have this in your purse?"
Glancing up, I noticed a blush that could've competed with any of the other Weasley's, build on Hermione's cheeks. After a composing breath, she closed her eyes and whispered, "You know your brother and I have been trying to have a baby for a while…"
This was true; after two years of marriage, mum had starting sending small, knitted booties as Christmas and birthday presents to my brother and his wife as presents. With Teddy and Victoire growing up, marveling their younger aunts and uncles, rather than their grandparents, and with Dominique never wanting to be held, loving the freedom of walking, mum was looking for more ways to have little ones for her to hold and cuddle.
But Harry and I haven't even been married for a year; we couldn't really be expecting a baby, could we?
"I'll be outside," Hermione squeezed my hand before standing up and stepping outside the bathroom.
"She's fine," I could hear her say on the other side of the door. "We'll be down in a minute."
Shakily, I gathered my bearings and stood up. Before moving towards the toilet, I noticed my reflection in the mirror. Dark, red hair fell out of the loose plait that streamed down my back, causing small wisps of hair to frame my pale, sweaty face. Warm, brown eyes stared back at me and in that moment I had never thought I looked more like my parents. Smiling a little, I moved over to the toilet and did what Hermione had instructed.
"Okay," Hermione said after I pulled her into the small room. "Now we wait."
"I thought you said this was faster," I barely whispered.
"It is," Hermione snapped and I knew I was annoying her with my idiotic fears, "but you do have to have patience."
Sticking my tongue out at her, I leaned back against the wall. I didn't even realize I was trembling until Hermione reached over and grabbed my hand. What if I wasn't ready for this?
"No matter what happens," she told me, "everything will be fine."
"How do you know? We haven't even talked about having children!" It was true, Harry and I both wanted a family, but not for a few years. We were both very wrapped up in each of our careers. "What if he doesn't want a baby? What if I'm not ready for a baby? Hermione, I can't do this!"
As my voice continued to grow more and more hysterical, Hermione pulled me into her arms, allowing me to rest my head under her chin. She rubbed my back soothingly as tears formed in my eyes.
"You are going to make a great mother," she told me. "You're great with kids, I mean, Teddy and your nieces adore you. And you should see the way Harry looks at you when you hold Dominique; he wants a family, I know he does."
"Thanks, Hermione," I sniffled, pulling away. "Merlin, I don't know what that was about. I feel like a jumble of hormones."
Smirking, Hermione pointed toward the white stick on the brown counter, "I think it's been enough time."
Stepping forward, I reached out and scooped up the little stick, taking a moment to breathe deeply before finding the results. Opening my eyes I saw a clear, pink 'plus' seeming to shine at me from within the white container. Gasping, my hand shot up and rested on my stomach, where I knew my little baby, my and Harry's child, was resting quietly, and a love I never knew I could feel seemed to emit from my body, brightening the entire room around me.
"Oh, congratulations," Hermione shrieked, rushing forward to throw her arms around me.
Then we were hugging, squealing, jumping, and crying. My earlier worries and fears suddenly seemed to come from a past life as the love I felt for this child, my child, filled me up from my very core.
"Let's go down and tell everyone," Hermione pulled on my hand, opening the door with a wide grin. "They'll be so happy! Just imagine your mother!"
My feet felt like heavy weights beneath me and Hermione barely seemed to notice how my arm went slack in hers as she dragged me with her down the stairs. I'm going to be a mother, I panicked in my mind, what if I'm not ready? What if Harry isn't ready to start a family? Oh, Merlin, what am I going to do?
"There she is," Bill's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, amidst the screams of my two nieces.
"We were wondering if you had fallen in, Red," George laughed from his spot on the floor.
I barely heard the rest of my family chuckle, and my mother scold George, for three small bodies slammed against my legs, each trying to get me to pick them up. Glancing down, I saw Dominique squished beneath her sister, holding her arms up in the signature 'pick me up now' stance. Victoire, looking so much like her mother, smiled cheekily at me, hugging herself to my leg. Teddy, today sporting bright red hair, freckles, and brown eyes, tugged on my hand, trying to get me to bend down so he could whisper in my ear. Looking at Teddy, I imagined another little red head, this one with green eyes, clinging to my legs, amongst the other children at my feet and tears sprang to my eyes.
"Uh," I said, ever so eloquently, "forgot something…upstairs."
Then, without glancing at any of the other people in the room, I turned on the spot and raced up the stairs, heading straight to my old room. Expectantly, the door behind me slowly opened as I began pacing in small circles, shaking with the tears rolling off me. Strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a wide, muscular chest, where I continued to shake and cry, not even caring at the moment that Harry was watching me cry.
"Gin," he whispered, "what is it? What's wrong?"
I shook my head against his chest, trying to convey that nothing was wrong, rather, everything was spectacular, but I just couldn't bring myself to tell him. Fear still gripped at my sides; fear that he wouldn't be as happy as I was in that moment.
"If this is about the game, Gin, don't worry about it," Harry whispered against my ear, kissing me softly. "If they're too thick to not put you on the team, then they don't deserve to have you as a chaser."
"What are you going on about, Harry," I asked, pulling away to look at him. "I could care less about the game right now."
"Gin, the Harpies lost," he began, his eyebrows pulling together in the middle. "You aren't going to be…wait, what are you upset about then?"
"I'm not upset," I laughed nervously, pulling us over to the bed. "I'm happy."
"And that's why you're crying…" Harry looked at me questioningly, shaking his head at my attempt to have him sit next to me on the bed.
"Well I'm a little emotional at the moment," I murmured, not answering the questions in his eyes.
"Gin," Harry kneeled down in front of me, placing his hands on my knees so he could look up into my face. "Tell me what's going on."
Before I could stop myself, I blurted, "I'm pregnant."
I watched silently as Harry's eyes widened and his hands gripped, tightly, to my knees, almost as if he was using them to keep himself from falling forward. His eyes moved from mine to look pointedly at my stomach, which was a mere couple of inches from his face, and then back up to me again.
"You're…" he began.
"Pregnant," I finished.
His mouth fell open, and I decided, under different circumstances, it would have been comical. Right now, it was leaving me feeling nervous and slightly queasy.
"We're…" he stumbled, "we're…"
"Going to have a baby," I couldn't help but smile a little at my own words, one of my hands coming to rest against my, currently, flat stomach.
While Harry continued to stare, open mouthed, switching between looking up at my eyes or at my stomach, my nerves seemed to grow tenfold. I couldn't tell if he was mad, upset, nervous, or, hopefully, happy. Grimacing, I gathered the little courage I had to speak, but it all disappeared as Harry, reaching forward to push his hands up under my shirt to touch my stomach, broke into the most glorious smile I had ever seen.
"Ginny," he whispered in a choked voice. "We're going to have a baby."
A smile stretched across my face as my hands moved from my stomach to run through his hair, my head moving up and down in a goofy nod.
"You're going to have my baby," he whispered lovingly, pulling his hands away from my stomach to cup my cheeks.
He leaned forward and kissed me soundly, putting all of his love and elation into one, heart-stopping kiss. Pulling away, Harry wrapped his arms around my waist, placing his forehead against mine, and gently kissed my nose.
"So," I whispered, "you're happy?"
"Happy?" Harry asked, incredulous. "Ginny, you just made me the happiest bloke in the world!"
He suddenly pulled me up and swung me around the room, dancing around to the silent music in his head. Pulling me in for another kiss, Harry and I spun around, completely engrossed in our own celebration, but all too soon we were brought back to reality, this time, with a small knock at the door.
"Grand mum says lunch is ready," Teddy's small voice travelled through the door. "And Uncle Ron said that you better get down there now or you will have five Weasley brothers to deal with."
"That's not what I said," Ron yelled from below. "Teddy you made me sound too nice!"
Harry and I pulled away, laughing together at my brother's expense as Teddy's footsteps were heard running back down to the kitchen. Suddenly an idea popped into my head and I turned to smirk at my husband.
"You might want to take back what you said earlier," I said, trailing my hand up his chest. "About being the happiest bloke in the world."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because you have five Weasley men to go inform that you got their little sister pregnant," I smirked, kissing him on the cheek and pulling away, leaving him staring at the spot I just left.
Behind me, on the other side of the closing door, I distinctly heard Harry choke, "I have to do what?"
