Written for the charity exchange prompted by urbanmama1 (Organization: St. Jude´s).
Thanks so much for your contribution and the opportunity ;)
Title: She is here
Disclaimer: All the characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I´m just playing and enjoying with them.
A/N: Thanks a lot to the wonderful queenb23 for her beta work and all the helpful suggestions :)
She is here
A month.
The healer had advised them to wait for a whole month to start trying for a baby after stopping the potion. It was just a precaution in case her uterus needed a little time to liberate every glimpse of magic before housing a pregnancy. It was just a precaution, but in Hermione´s terms it translated into a need. An irrefutable and imperative need, which lack of compliment would show how irresponsible a woman, how irresponsible she, could be for losing her head in a moment of passion.
And she couldn´t allow anything to fail with something Ron wanted so much.
Hermione had been preparing herself for months, buying every available book, taking all the prescribed vitamins, and trying in vain to calm down Ron, whose eagerness and enthusiasm was the most endearing thing that she had ever seen.
But the month in question turned out to be an awful period full of perilous and depressing missions, and each night ended with her husband clinging to her, wanting to forget the daily horrors by basking in her warmth in the unique way they always had loved and comforted each other, using as only protections the Muggle techniques Hermione didn´t trust at all.
By the end of the precious month, Hermione found herself late, absolutely irritated and sore, and she somehow suspected that the symptoms had already started. She was terrified of having being reckless enough to ruin his husband´s precious dream by getting pregnant in a moment her body wasn´t prepared.
By the end of the month, she realized that the main reason she felt so at ease and loved magic so much was because it was flawless, if cast correctly.
And she found herself absolutely incapable of casting the spell and discovering if their life had already changed.
Ron just knew something was different with her.
He knew his wife´s body better than he knew his. Very possibly due to the fact that he hadn´t followed every curve of himself in the same exhaustive way he had followed Hermione´s since… forever.
Her breasts seemed heavier and achy (or at least, in the brief moments she allowed him to touch her before snapping his hands off with a huff), the nipples were a darker color, she looked dizzy and unfocused for moments, and her humor- Merlin, her humor!- was bad. Definitely bad.
They were supposed to have finished the safe month, in which Hermione made him use those awful rubbery things till she could get the "all clear" from her healer. He truly had tried his best, but Hermione´s look and behavior was starting to make him suspect that his Weasley boys had found a way to life.
And being Ron, his impatience was getting the best of him.
"Hi, love."
"Oh… hi, you."
She pressed quickly her lips over his and went back to peeling potatoes… by hand, purposely avoiding any kind of visual contact.
That was weird, too. The usual Hermione, his usual Hermione, would have flung herself into his arms, pressing herself all over him, before finally snogging his breath out against the wall. The open affection had become a trade mark between them since they had got together, especially in private.
"How was your day?"
"Busy but fine... well, excepting this fight I had with Ginny…"
"You fought with Ginny? Why?"
"Some….girl stuff." Hermione's thoughts returned to Ginny's earlier visit, her sister-in-law's concern because, between Harry's work schedule and being parents to baby James, she was fearful that they'd forgot the Contraception Charm, and their argument after Hermione's less-than-sympathetic response.
"But you and Ginny don´t even bicker! The only time I remember you two arguing was about that damm book Harry used in sixth year…"
"People and situations change, Ron."
"Aha… and the fight was about…?"
Hermione hesitated telling him. But she knew her husband, and he wasn´t going to leave her alone till she told him the truth. And the last thing she needed in that moment was an insistent murmur in her ear.
"She believes she is pregnant again."
"Pregnant?"
Her tone was of full of exasperation.
"Yes, Ron. Pregnant. You know what it means."
"Yes, I know what it means," he tried to mock her just to improve the mood, but it didn´t seem to work. " I´m just… surprised. James is so little…"
"They forgot to cast the charm."
Her disapproval was exuding in each word.
"Well, that could be… understandable if you think…"
"Understandable? Really?"
"Why are you mad at me? What have I done now?"
"You consider it understandable, something that I find quite careless! There are some kinds of mistakes you are not supposed to let happen!"
"Come on! They didn´t kill anyone. They are just human, Hermione! Living under stress. Without enough sleep. Don´t you know the sort of responsibility that goes with Harry´s job? The sort of responsibility that goes with my job?"
"Why are you turning this around to us?"
"Because something is happening to you." He tried to collect himself and avoid a new row. "We are trying for a baby and you are acting strange."
"We are not trying yet."
"I know that we didn't mean to start yet and that we tried to follow the healer´s advice but…"- He closed the gap between them and cradled her neck with both hands. "Please, love, don´t be daft."
"I don´t know what you are talking about."
"I´m saying that you… you, Hermione, might be the one who is pregnant."
"No… No… we took precautions."
"Muggle methods are not a hundred percent sure…"
"I don´t want to talk about this right now. I need to rest. Tomorrow I´m going to Azkaban to interview…"
"What?"
"Azkaban. Tomorrow I have an…"
"Don´t you even think about it."
"Excuse me? It is my job. I don´t need your permission!"
"You can´t go to Azkaban without finding out first if you are pregnant, Hermione. You know they cast spells on all the visitors to prevent tricks or enchantments." His voiced turned from apprehension to determination in one second. Suddenly he wasn´t her concerned husband anymore. He was an Auror. "I´m not letting you."
"Don´t use that tone on me, Ron."
"I can´t believe you! You. The most prepared witch I´ve ever known for everything doesn´t want to cast a simple spell on her and prevent any harm to her possible unborn child. Our possible unborn child!"
"I´m not going to let them cast anything on me! Do you really think I´m that negligent? In any case, I can fool the charms…"
"That´s risky. Why are you doing this? Why don´t you want to know?" His annoyance was beyond himself by that point. "Is this because you gave a whole sermon to my sister about responsibility and we missed it, too? Are you really that damn proud?"
"If you think that, you really don´t know me."
She looked hurt and vulnerable, and all his being craved to soothe her, but he needed to stay focused upon his primary purpose.
"All I know is that I'm just taking care of you. And we're going to find out. Now."
Saying that, Ron took his wand and pointed it to her abdomen.
"What are you doing? Put down your wand! You don´t even know the spell!"
"I´m an Auror, Hermione. I can assure you I´ve been taught that spell."
"Are you going to use your wand against me?"
"Against you? Are you mental? I´m trying to protect what is mine!"
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!"
Her angry shout mixed with the plain variation of the Homenun Revelio casted by Ron´s deep voice.
And time stopped.
Five second later, Hermione and Ron stared at each other over the purple sparks floating between them, sparks they both knew well how to read. And he had the overwhelming urge to crash her to his chest and kiss her with all his might, but the delighted smile at the corner of his mouth vanished when the weight of Hermione´s words hit him with force.
You have no right.
He retreated a few steps and glared at her one more time.
"You really shouldn´t Apparate to Azkaban."
"Ron…"
"I´ll take a walk."
"Don´t leave."
"I´m not leaving! I told you once I would never, ever leave your side again. And I´ll be true to my word… I just need some fresh air right now."
"Ron…"
But he was gone.
Ron re-entered the house with his head cool and his spirit soaring.
And he was received by the unmistakable sound of his wife vomiting in the loo.
He ran upstairs in a heartbeat and found Hermione hugging the toilet with an arm, trying in vain to keep her hair out of the way with the other.
His heart sunk at the vision and he knelt behind her. If there was something Ron couldn´t tolerate, it was Hermione suffering any kind of physical pain. It always had been that way but, after the nightmare at Malfoy Manor, the idea just made him sick. Literally.
Without talking, he took her hair for her and laid a fresh towel over her neck. When she stopped gagging, he helped her to sit down on the edge of the tub and started to undress her.
But when Hermione saw her reflection in the mirror, she gasped.
"What? Do you want to throw up again?"
"Look at my face!"
Her cheeks were covered with miniscule crimson points and she was flushing red.
"My God! What if I caught the Dragon Pox or some other eruptive disease?"
"Don´t be dramatic, Hermione. That´s not Dragon Pox!"
"You are a healer now?"
The sarcasm showed that she was still cross with him.
"No, I just grew up in a house full of children."
His harsh answer showed that he was still cross with her.
"Whatever. This can be serious!"
Ron took a deep breath and tried to talk as softly as her wife´s obstinacy allowed him to.
"It is just a rash, like the kind I used to have at Howgarts when I vomited before a match. It is provoked by the force you do with your stomach. Don´t worry, please. This will pass soon."
"I have an appointment with the healer tomorrow. I want to hear what she has to say."
"Okay. You know I´ll go with you."
She softened considerably by his statement and reached out to touch his shoulder while he turned on the tap but withdrew her hand, suddenly feeling shy. "Will you?"
"Of course. Did you really think I wouldn´t?
"No, I didn´t."
"Fine."
"Fine."
They locked eyes for a few moments and then he resumed his job of taking her clothes off and helping her into the bathtub.
"Let me help you with your hair, please"
"Thank you."
They were acting civilized, but they were not them.
They were supposed to be laughing and shagging and lingering kisses and love all over each other because their world was taking a wonderful twist.
Sadly, they were just acting civilized.
After running Hermione a warm bath, washing her untidy hair, and Scourgifying the bathroom, Ron finally carried her to bed.
She rested facing him, totally lost in the slumber provoked by her indisposition.
It was three o'clock in the morning, and he had spent almost two hours just looking at his wife.
Eyeing her carefully, he softly ridded up the white camisole he was wearing for the night and contemplated the charming amount of skin above her knickers.
Their baby.
Wasn´t it supposed to be her who should be all emotional and crying? Why the hell was he tearing up like a baby? Because they were having a baby. That was the reason.
His hand ached to touch her navel to a point he just couldn´t resist. The tip of his long fingers caressed the still flat amount of flesh, and Hermione stirred in her sleep and shifted, moaning something that sounded pretty much like his name.
He removed his hand quickly, afraid of waking her up, and placed his head again on his pillow, staring at the ceiling and groaning in frustration.
How could she be so stubborn? Why couldn´t she understand that some things just… happened? Didn´t she know that they could be celebrating in a wonderful manner right now? Why had she talked to him like a…
No. As upset as he could be, he was not using that word on his woman.
Even though he felt really hurt, deep down, he firmly believed that Hermione was just panicked because she was afraid of failing. As brilliant as his girl might act under pressure, there were moments when she simply lost it.
Everything out of her agenda drove her nuts.
He turned, grinning at her, and lingered his palm over her belly again.
"And you, tiny thing, have come to turn Mummy´s world up down, like I did." Barely brushing his lips over her stomach, he lowered his voice even more, "And this will be our little secret."
"Mrs. Weasley. Come in, please."
Hermione was shaken from her nap at St. Mungo´s waiting room by the healer´s solemn voice.
"Oh, yes. Sorry." She stood up and awkwardly tried to accommodate her robes, feeling embarrassed. "I´m feeling really tired lately."
"Don´t worry, please. Are you alone or is your husband with you?" the healer asked, looking the corridor from side to side.
"My husband is…"
"Right here," came Ron´s rushed mumble from the elevator door. "Where else would I be?"
"Perfect. Let´s enter and take a seat, please."
The three of them faced each other in silence; the healer obviously waiting for them to share their happy news. Or whatever their news was.
"So…"
"I´m pregnant," Hermione blurted out, "and we are out of schedule. Because you told us we should wait for at least one month. And I´m not sure how this happened." Ignoring Ron´s amused look, she continued, "Well, of course I know how it happened, but I mean that it shouldn´t have happened because I´ve all my cycles written down, and I´m sure I wasn´t ovulating the night it must have happened. Or the afternoon. Well, it was the night and the afternoon. Twice. I mean… twice in the afternoon and twice at night."
She stopped to breathe only to discover Ron´s horrified expression.
"Don´t you want to clarify to the lady which twice happened over your desk at the Ministry?"
"Ron!"
He rose up his hands in defense.
"You´re the one sharing everything…"
The healer coughed deliberately with all the intention of reminding them she was still there.
"Were you using another contraception method, dear?"
"Yes, of course. Condoms."
"Muggle methods aren´t one hundred percent certain."
Ron smiled smugly, shaking his head as he heard the woman repeat his exact words.
Hermione just rolled her eyes at him in exasperation.
"I understand. What I want to know is…" she paused and looked scared and weak for the first time since they had entered the place. "I need to know if this change of action could affect my pregnancy in some way… if I could lose it because my uterus is not ready after so many years of magical contraception."
Ron gaped at her, stunned, and he suddenly confirmed his previous suspicion. She was panicked and anxious. And he didn´t understand why she hadn´t talked to him about her fears.
"You cast the Charm."
"Yes."
"And it was positive?"
"Yes." Now was Ron´s turn to respond.
"Purple positive?"
"Yes," they said together.
"So the embryo is well fixed. If your body wasn´t prepared, you just wouldn't be expecting. It is obvious there wasn't any hint of magic there, and the pregnancy had a perfect start."
Hermione suddenly felt her eyes fill with happy tears and she caressed her soon-to-be baby bump with unsteady hands, at which Ron promptly offered his handkerchief and tried to entwine their fingers. But, in matters of seconds, her tears turned into cries and then into almost hysterical sobs.
But she didn´t turn to him. She looked like she was lost in some kind of trance.
And she was cutting him out again.
The crying stopped after the catharsis as suddenly as it had started, and the typical and practical Hermione reappeared.
"So… now we have confirmed it, which are your recommendations for the nausea? It is not only in the morning, even though in the morning it is worse…"
"Crackers, Mrs. Weasley."
"Crackers?"
"Yes. Unsweetened dry biscuits are a good help for morning sickness."
Crackers like the ones she had found over a little plate at her side when she had awakened that morning. The crackers Ron had left for her with a note saying, "Please, eat these before leaving the bed if you feel dizzy. See you at the healer."
The message hadn't ended with "Love you" like he would have done in every other moment, but the gesture was full of love. As was the way he had traced her neck while gently helping her to wash her hair the night before.
God, she was acting like a mad woman with the person who loved her most. The person who, seated by her side, was paying devoted attention to all necessary instructions to make her feel better. The person who knew her like nobody else did. And who she had been treating like a perfect outsider just because he wanted to take care of her. To take care of them.
Her guilty reverie finished with the end of the appointment, and she incredulously observed how the healer dismissed her politely but asked for Ron to stay.
"Excuse me, Mr. Weasley. May I have a word with you?"
Ron looked surprised but nodded in agreement.
"Yes, sure."
Hermione left the room without much conviction and he turned worriedly to the healer.
"Is something wrong with my wife?"
"No, nothing is wrong. Aside the common symptoms she is experiencing, everything looks perfectly fine… but I couldn´t avoid noticing that you both don´t look fine."
"Oh! Are we that obvious?"
"I´ve seen you at other appointments, and you always looked affectionate with each other. It´s hard not to notice that now you are acting like… strangers. Your wife needs your attention more than ever."
"I pay attention to her," Ron muttered darkly. "In fact, one of my problems is that I pay too much attention to her."
"Hormones do weird work in expecting mothers, you should know."
"Oh, I do know."
"Then you should do a good job of… humoring her, if you understand what I mean."
"Humoring her? Should I tell her jokes? Because I swear, Hermione is not in the mood for laughs right now-" adding, "and neither am I."
The healer gave him a sharp glance.
"Humoring her, making her feel loved and wanted, Mr. Weasley. If I mention the word 'sex,' would you understand what am I saying?"
"Well… I don´t think that sex is an option for us in the present situation, but I can assure you that I´m doing all in my might to make my wife feel loved and wanted. Even though she makes of it almost an impossible task for me."
"I don´t know what your problems are, but don´t let this go too far. You´re waiting for a baby and you are a young couple clearly in love, so you should put an end to this dispute for the greatest good. And by greatest good, I mean your child. Am I perfectly clear, Mr. Weasley?"
Ron suddenly felt like a kid being reprimanded by Madame Pomfrey after a Quidditch injury. And the more childish part of him wondered why Hermione didn´t receive any reprimand at all, being she was the one who had initiated all the mess between them.
But the severe tone the Healer was using didn´t leave room for any arguments.
"Yes, Madame."
The kitchen smelled delicious, like apple pie and baked scones. And Ron´s mouth watered as soon as he stepped out from the fireplace.
But when he laid eyes on Hermione, the rush of emotion he felt left aside any other feeling.
Hermione looked gorgeous. He could see her profile, working near the oven, her curls brighter and smoother than ever, the curve of her chest way more… womanly. She was concentrated in the cooking while biting her lower lip… her full and ever tempting lower lip.
She was the sexiest woman alive in his eyes. The meaning of his life. The girl who had proved to him that the sense of owing someone wasn't related with property, but with consuming and disinterested love when it was reciprocated.
And she was carrying his child.
This fucking and ridiculous quarrel needed to be over. Immediately.
"I didn´t want to be a prat. I just wanted to take care of you." He said it without preamble or warning when her eyes met his across the room.
And she ran to him, stumbling them against the cupboard with the force of her hug.
"I´m sorry, I´m so sorry… I didn´t mean a word of what I said."- She was weeping freely, burying her face on his chest. "I was awful to you... and I regret everything because… you´re my heart, and I couldn´t be happier. I´m so sorry…"
Ron enfolded her with emotional relief, peppering kisses all over her face and her hair, brushing away all the tears, and repeating over and over again how much he adored her and how happy he felt, too.
"You didn´t deserve my... bitchiness."
"Don´t say that, love. There are lots of things I don´t know, Hermione. I know my own limits. But I do know you. And you were hurting because you were scared, and I just wanted you to trust me."
"I trust you. Never doubt that, please. It´s just… sometimes I don´t trust myself, I don´t trust my body."
"Why do you feel that?"
"Lestrange." The answer was short, heartbreaking, and revealing.
"Fuck, Hermione…"
"What if she would have damaged me in some permanent way? What if I couldn´t take a pregnancy?" She was sobbing again. "That´s why I needed to follow all the instructions so strictly. I can´t take mistakes, Ron. Not with something you desire so much. I can´t fail you…"
"Look at me, Hermione. What the hell are you saying? How could you fail me?" He motioned her chin up. "And if anything ever wouldn't be fine, because that is how life works and we do know it, we would find the way to be okay. This is us. Do you hear me?"
And his Hermione was there again. Pressing herself all over him and snogging his breath out against the wall. And the world was in the direction it was meant to be once more.
After several minutes of pure pleasure (and some feeling up of her full breasts, something Ron definitely couldn´t avoid), they stopped for air.
"I went to apologize with Ginny, you know."
"That was very thoughtful of you. Did she already confirm…?"
"Not yet. She needs to wait a couple of days, but she is almost sure the result will be positive."
Ron smirked and murmured something over her mane of hair.
"What was that?"
"Merlin helps us, Hermione! You and Ginny pregnant at the same time." He laughed when she swatted at his arm playfully. "Mum will be thrilled, but both of you crying, complaining, and being all moody in unison is going to be the death of Harry and me."
He prevented her indignant answer with a smacking kiss while sneaking his arms more forcefully around her waist and pressing her with his full height over the table.
"You are so sensitive, Weasley," she teased.
"Oh, yes. Absolutely I am," adding, "From the inside," and he guided one of her hands and pressed it meaningfully over his heart, "to the… um… not so inside." He finished sliding that same hand down his body and over the bulge in his jeans.
"And what I´m supposed to do with your… sensitivity?"
"Whatever you want." And he wasn't teasing anymore. "You know you´ve always done whatever you want with me. And you always will." He pressed a soft kiss over her collarbone.
She closed her eyes, transported by the feeling of his lips over any part of her.
"I love you so much." She couldn´t avoid saying it again because the deep truth of it bubbled inside her forcing the words out.
"I love you so much."
"And from now on, I will need to be so spoiled…."
"Don´t I spoil you on a daily basis?"
"Yes, you do." She caressed his stubbly cheek lovingly. "But now I´ll demand massages…"
"My pleasure."
"Chocolate…"
"We´ll devour it together."
"And lots and lots and lots of passionate lovemaking…when I don´t feel sick, obviously."
"You don´t even need to ask for that, wanton witch."
"Language, please. I´m an expecting mother now."
"Which reminds me, I need to follow the healer´s advice. How are you feeling right this instant?"
"Pretty fine for the moment. I threw up two hours ago…"
"So I have two hours more or less until your next… episode."
"This is a disgusting subject, you know," she said, wrinkling her nose.
"No, it isn´t. This allows me enough time to humor you."
"Humor me?"
"Yeah, make you feel loved and wanted, or in my own terms, shag you wildly against any available surface."
"And what are you waiting for to start?"
"I don´t know…. are you sure you can take it, expecting mom?"
"I´ll show you what I can take, expecting dad."
And their bodies tangled together in perfection, the bedroom too distant to reach.
"I´m so sorry we found out that way…"
"I´m sorry too, love." He tightened his arms around her. "But the important thing is that we are having a baby, and you are both healthy… I still can´t believe it, Hermione. I can´t wait to know if it is a girl or a boy…"
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes… I mean, only if you want to…"
"Of course I do!"
"Then we should look for the spell."
"I already learnt it. It´s an easy one."
Ron shook his head in amusement.
"Why am I not surprised? What spell isn´t easy for you, woman?"
She blushed like a teenager again when her husband complimented her in some honest but awkward way.
"It´s really easy. Listen to me: The wand must be pointed to my stomach, exactly in the middle between my navel and belly button, and the words are Genus Revelio."
"Okay… Where is your wand then? Come on, do it!"
"No."
He arched his eyebrows in disappointment.
"No? You don´t want to know?"
"Yes, I want to… but I´m not casting the spell myself."
"W…"
But before Ron could complete his question, Hermione´s expression softened in a way that was all he needed to understand what she was trying to do.
Besides all the apologies and words of love exchanged, she was trying to give him something he had been denied the first time. She was trying to show him in all possible ways that he definitely had every right.
He had all the rights over her, over their unborn child, and over the life they shared together. Because she had been his since she could remember, and a ridiculous misunderstanding wouldn´t ruin what they had been building for a lifetime.
Hermione smiled a radiant and glassy smile and, offering her wand to him, she whispered only one word. One word that meant the world to Ronald Weasley and made up for all the years he spent dreaming that something that would be only his.
"Yours."
˜˜˜˜˜˜FIN˜˜˜˜˜˜