Hospitals are white. White and cold. Today it didn't matter to Ginny, outside it was white and cold too. Andromeda Tonks had slipped. She was stable, the healers had told her but nonetheless Ginny was worried. What would happen to little Teddy if Andromeda died? Of course she and Harry would take care him but soon they would have a child on their own. Her hand slid down to her swollen stomach. She was due in 3 weeks, on January 20th. All this stress wasn't good for her, she knew it. Harry was out on a mission. Again. Ron and Hermione were celebrating their honeymoon somewhere on the Philippines. Molly had to watch little Victoire and Dominique because Bill was on a Gringotts meeting and Fleur had insisted on coming with him. Ginny didn't understand how a girl like Fleur could be jealous- who would have an affair if they were married to a quarter-Veela?
Teddy was sitting next to her on the white sofa in the white waiting room. He sobbed quietly. 'Hey, Teddy, it's alright. Don't cry, Granny is going to be fine.' Ginny whispered softly stroking his back. Teddy looked at her with his blue eyes. Whenever he was sad his eyes were blue, Ginny knew. She quickly thought of a way to cheer him up. 'Do you know the story of Snow White?' she asked. Teddy shook his head. 'Get comfortable and I'll tell you.' Both of them tried to get as comfortable as possible (not a very easy task if you are pregnant) and Ginny started to tell the story:
'So, once upon a time as a queen was sewing at her window and pricked her finger on her needle. Three drops of blood fell on the snow that had fallen on her ebony window frame. As she looked at the blood on the snow, she said to herself, "Oh, how I wish that I had a daughter that had skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony". Soon after that, the queen gave birth to a baby girl who had skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony. She called her Snow White. Shortly afterwards the queen died.' At that point Ginny stopped, thinking about how Tonks had died shortly after Teddy's birth.
'Please continue!' Teddy said, not crying anymore.
'Soon afterwards the king married again. His new wife was beautiful but also very vain. She owned a magical mirror. When she would ask: 'Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?' it would answer: 'You, my queen, are fairest of all.' But as Snow White grows up she becomes more and more beautiful. One day the queen asks the mirror again 'Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?' it relies: 'Queen, you are full fair, 'tis true, but Snow White is fairer than you.' 'Grandma Molly has a magic mirror too but all it says to me is that my hair is the wrong colour.' Teddy suddenly blurted out. 'Don't worry, I think your hair is just right.' Ginny said smiling, ruffling his turquoise hair.
Then she continued: 'The queen became very jealous, and asked a huntsman to take Snow White into the woods and kill her. She also demanded to see Snow Whites heart as proof that she was really dead. The huntsman took Snow White into the forest, but after raising his knife to stab her, he found himself unable to kill her as she was simply too beautiful. He told her to run away and hide from the Queen. He then brought the queen the heart of a pig which was then prepared by a cook and eaten by the queen.'
'Oh no!' Teddy exclaimed. 'What will happen to Snow White?'
'Listen and find out.' was Ginny's mysterious answer.
'In the forest, Snow White discovered a tiny cottage. The door was open and Snow White took a peek inside. Inside everything was very small. On the small tablle there were seven small plates with small forks and small food. Because she was very hungry Snow White ate a bit from every plate. Then she went upstairs. There she found seven small beds. She tried to sleep in each of them and finally fell asleep in the last one.
When the they came home the dwarves to whom the cottage belonged, took pity on her and said: 'If you will keep house for us, and cook, make beds, wash, sew, and knit, and keep everything clean and orderly, then you can stay with us, and you shall have everything that you want.' They also warned her to take care and let no one in when they were away delving in the mountains.
Meanwhile, the Queen asked her mirror once again "Who's the fairest of them all?", and was horrified to learn that Snow White is not only alive and well, living with the seven dwarves, but is still the fairest of them all.'
'What is she going to do now?' Teddy asked but Ginny simply continued to tell the story.
'Three times the Queen disguised herself and visited the dwarves' cottage while they are away during the day, trying to kill Snow White. First, disguised as a peddler, the Queen offered colorful stay-laces and laced Snow White up so tight that she fainted, causing the Queen to leave her dead on the floor.'
At this point Teddy gasped but Ginny ignored him and resumed:
'However, the dwarves revived her by loosening the laces when they found her.
Next, the Queen dressed as a different old woman and brushed Snow White's hair with a poisoned comb. Snow White again collapsed, but was saved by the dwarves. Finally, the Queen made a poisioned apple, and in the disguise of a farmer's wife, offered it to Snow White. First Snow White was hesitant about eating it but the Queen convinced her by eating half of the apple, the part without poison, herself. Snow White the ate the other half and immediately fell into a deep stupor'
'Was she dead?' Teddy asked anxious. Not wanting to upset him Ginny asnwered 'No.' Then she resumed to tell the story.
'When the dwarves found Snow White, lying on the floor as if she were dead, they couldn't revive her, and so they placed her in a glass coffin assuming that she was dead.'
'So they buried her alive?' Teddy asked in horror. 'No, they didn't, they only put her in the coffin but didn't bury her. They put her on display, like in a museum.' Ginny said.
'Time passed, and a prince traveling through the land saw Snow White lying in her glass coffin. He was enchanted by her beauty and instantly fell in love with her. He begged the dwarves to let him have the coffin. The seven dwarves finally gave in and the prince's servants carried the coffin away. While doing so, they stumbled on some roots and the movement caused the piece of poisoned apple to dislodge from Snow White's throat, awakening her. The prince then declared his love for her and soon they started planning their wedding.'
'Did Ron do save Hermione from an evil Queen too before he married her?' Teddy asked. Thinking of the encounter with Bellatrix in Malfoy Manor Ginny answered with 'Yes.'
'The vain Queen, still believed that Snow White was dead, once again asked her mirror 'Who is the fairest of them all?' and yet again the mirror disappointed her by responding that "You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But the young queen is a thousand times fairer than you'
She didn't know that the new queen was her step-daughter and only when she arrived at the wedding she realized the truth. As punishment for her wicked ways, a pair of heated iron shoes were brought forth with tongs and placed before the Queen. She was then forced to step into the iron shoes and dance until she droped dead. '
'The end.' Ginny said, smiling when she saw Teddy curled up next to her half sleeping. She stood up and walked to the window. It was snowing outside. Ginny pressed her face against the cold glass. Only then she noticed the hooded figure outside. She would have ignored it if it hadn't been for the fact that the hooded figure was unmistakeably her husband.
'Harry!' Ginny exlaimed and ran, or to say the truth, waddled into his arms as soon as he came through the door. If had it been a muggle movie it would have been in slow motion with a piano playing in the background. But since it wasn't they simply embraced each other.
'Is Andromeda alright?' was Harry's first question.
'The doctors say that she is stable.' Ginny responed.
'And Teddy?'
'Sleeping. I told him the story of Snow White. But I am sure that he wouldn't mind us waking him up so that you can greet him.' Ginny smiled. Then she took out her lipstick and applied it to Harry's lips. 'Now you've got skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony. Come on, Snow White.' she giggled.
'Wake up, Teddy.' Harry whispered into his godson's ear. 'Snow White is here to visit you.' Teddy opened his eyes and grinned. Then he closed them again and a few seconds later a boy with ebony-black hair, pale skin and red lips was sitting on the sofa, laughing with Harry and Ginny.
Authors Note: 1) I got the Snow White story from Wikipedia (don't tell my teachers!) and rewrote it to fit with the version I remember.
2) Ginny knows the story because she took Muggle Studies at Hogwarts, ok?