13. Mother
Having an expecting wife was no fun. Harry found out he was doing errands for her more and more as her belly became larger, and enjoying less and less sex. She was also subjected to mood swings which almost drove him crazy. Only due to Ginny and Lavender he managed to stay sane, or so he felt. Both girls let him spill his frustrations in their ears. Lavender also had some stories about women in her family who behaved oddly during pregnancy. It was quite funny as long as he wasn't involved.
Hermione didn't find anything funny about her pregnancy. She felt each day heavier and clumsier; she was losing her concentration; she felt hot, even in the coldest days; she felt horny as hell and yet unable to get the desired release as her body didn't cooperate with her wills. It was no fun at all.
Luckily, March was nearing. By mid February, Hermione was excused from attending classes due to her swollen belly. Although her classmates visited as much as possible, being practically confined to their dorms didn't improve Hermione's mood either.
The weather seemed to cooperate, though. The first week of March was clear and sunny, allowing her to walk slowly along the lake and enjoy the fresh air, a welcome change after being cocooned in her dorm for too long. She was usually accompanied by Ginny or Luna when Harry couldn't do it.
It was during one of these walks that Hermione felt her first contractions. "Oh!" she gasped, making Ginny worried.
"What is it?"
"I think I'm going to deliver soon. Let's walk to the hospital wing."
By the time they reached their destination, Hermione was sure she was in labor. The pains were coming at intervals of three minutes and were getting closer. Ginny stayed with her while Harry, who had not been excused from classes, was called. He arrived breathing heavily, having sprinted all the way from herbology class. He was so excited that madam Pomfrei was considering putting him in a bed with a calming potion.
Harry came immediately to Hermione's side, held her hand lovingly and caressed her face. "It will be alright," he promised her. Hermione just smiled wearily at him between contractions. Ginny, quite excited herself, was sitting on the other side, wiping Hermione's perspiration and encouraging her.
Soon after Harry arrived, Hermione's water broke. Her contractions came much closer and she was fully in labor.
Harry was at loss, not knowing what to do and how to make it easier for Hermione. Madam Pomfrei had no such doubts. She started waving her wand over Hermione, chanting some spells none recognized.
It took a bit longer before the baby came out, making Harry cry of excitement and happiness. A bit later he gave the baby to Hermione for the first suckling, both parents looking utterly exhausted.
Hermione drifted to sleep soon after it was over and Harry fell asleep on the chair, still holding her hand. He was awakened by the whimpering baby, still feeling overwhelmed, yet too happy to be a father to be able to sleep anymore.
The house elves helped changing the baby's diaper before giving him to his mother. She was still sore and quite tired, but nothing could compare to her happiness as she was holding her son.
Harry was sitting at her side once again, caressing her hands and her face and most of all – his child. Hermione's baby was green-eyed like his father with brown hair and light skin like his mother. Harry knew immediately what he would like to name him.
"I'd like our boy to be named James," he told Hermione.
"I've already called him James in my thoughts," she smiled at him, "and I believe our daughter, when we have her, should be called Lilly, as you probably intend."
Harry kissed her cheek thankfully.
An owl flew in soon after they ate breakfast, landing on Hermione's shoulder. She looked at the letter and squeaked happily. "I have a new brother! He was born a few minutes after sunrise!"
She thought a bit more and smiled mischievously. "James's uncle is a few hours younger than him. We'll never hear the end of it until they grow up."
"I thought they would call your cellular phone," Harry commented.
"They tried, but it was unavailable. You know we have no cellular reception in this area, regardless of magic."
"How did they manage to find an owl, though?"
"Dad just went to Diagon Alley for that."
Hermione and her child were released the next day. Their lodgings adjusted, adding a nursery to their dorm. Popsy proved to be of great help, taking care of everything short of breast-feeding the baby, helping the mother recuperate quickly and be able to rejoin classes two weeks after delivery.
Harry visited the Grangers as soon as his wife returned to the dormitories. They all came to visit a week later for the weekend. Dan was very apprehensive. "How do you get along with your wife and the baby?" he wondered.
"Much better than I did when she was in her last few weeks of pregnancy." Dan chuckled at this. "Now I also get help from the house-elves, so it's quite alright."
Hermione was soon back to her old self, except when breast-feeding. She urged Harry to study with her so she could catch-up all that she had missed while unable to attend classes. The study group reformed as before and Hermione was soon back on top of it all. If anything, being a mother seemed to motivate her to reach even better achievements than before.
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