A/N: Hey all! I'm writing this story to represent Slytherin house in the Drabble section of a competition. The prompt was: [First Line] He/She/They always wondered how one simple word could change so much. I'm very pleased to say that it came it at 494 words, and I had a word limit of under 500 words. It's the first story I've written in a while and I hope you all like it!
She always wondered how one simple word could change so much.
Hermione brushed her hair away from her face, using the wand she had gripped in her slightly sweaty hand to cleanse her mouth and the toilet bowl she was bent over. It had just been a silly thought she'd had, to cast that spell. She'd been throwing up for a few days now, and Ron was close to dragging her to St. Mungo's. She'd refused on the principle that it was just the Muggle food they'd had when they visited her parents in Australia on the weekend.
Now, she knew it was so much more than that.
Knocking on the bathroom door made Hermione jerk back to herself, and Ron's worried voice was carried through the thick wooden door. Hermione gathered herself and slowly got up off the cold tiles, going to the sink and washing her face. Her eyes were still glassy and red, her face somewhat blotchy. She called out to Ron, letting him know she was fine so he wouldn't break the door down. Her voice sounded shaky and uneven as it echoed back to her.
She cast the spell once again and nodded her head – the result hadn't changed from the first eleven times that she'd cast it. One word, and her life was completely changed. Ron's would be too.
Hermione made her way to the door, one hand coming to rest on her stomach as she opened it to face her husband. Ron was standing on the other side of the door, his face and hair almost the same colour. His Auror robes were dishevelled, but then he'd only just come back from an all-night mission staking out an illegal potions operation running in Diagon Alley.
"That's it, you've been sick for 5 days now Hermione. We're going to St. Mungo's. I'll floo Harry when we get there." Ron said, his voice edged in panic. He grabbed for her hand and made to pull her towards him, but Hermione had always been stronger than she looked.
Hermione shook her head, a slow smile crossing her face. They'd be fine, she knew they would. She looked up at him through her hair – a gesture she knew he couldn't resist, and began to speak.
"Ron, we don't have to go anywhere. I'm not sick." She said, turning the grip he had on her into a caress of his hand. She hurried on when she saw him open his mouth. "I've been sick, but it's nothing I have to go to hospital for – not yet."
Ron's face clouded with confusion, so with a teasing smile Hermione cast the spell one more time – the one that would change their lives forever. She watched as his eyes widened and then he looked at her, wanting confirmation before anything else. She nodded and he whooped, picking her up and spinning her around in the air. The whole time, the word blazed beside them.
Pregnant.