Updates will now only be once a week on Saturday's! Keep this in mind. sorry, senior year is kicking my butt.
Hermione scrubbed the shampoo deeply her hair under the hot spray. She ran her fingers through the curls and dumped conditioner into her palm. She slathered it through her locks and combed through it with her fingers. She felt her muscles relax after the day of stress and partying. She ran her hands over the knots in her upper shoulder and tilted her head up towards the spray. She could hear Fred moving around in the bedroom. She sighed at the thought of the fight they had earlier and knew they would have to resolve it tonight.
Hermione twisted the knob and opened the shower door. She stepped into the steam and quickly cleared it with a quiet mutter. She wrapped a big purple towel around her frame and grabbed her moisturizer. She rubbed the lilac scented cream into her face and legs. She grabbed her wand and lightly dried her hair before charming it into double french braids. She quickly patted any water dry on her skin and put on her shorts and night shirt.
She grabbed her toothbrush and brushed her teeth. She put it back in the cup when she was done and sat on the toilet to relieve herself before bed. She wiped and flushed before going back to the sink to wash her hands. She turned to the door and opened it cautiously. Fred was seated on her side of the bed and had his hands clasped over his knees and his head facing the ground. Hermione closed the door behind her with enough force to alert Fred. His head snapped up and he looked at her with sincere eyes.
"Hermione," he cleared his throat before continuing. "Mione, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be as pushy as I was."
Hermione leant on the bathroom door and looked at him. "I know. I'm sorry for snapping and walking away instead of talking about it with you."
Fred sighed and patted the spot next to him on the bed. Hermione shuffled over and sat a couple inches to his left. They sat in companionable silence before Fred spoke again.
"We should talk about it more, shouldn't we?"
Hermione slumped and rubbed her temples. "Yes, nothing will be resolved if we don't." The silence hung over them like a heavy blanket. "If I do think I'm pregnant, which I don't, I would tell you. But that doesn't mean I'm obligated to tell you." She said evenly.
Fred turned to look at her fully. "I know. I would have figured it out myself eventually. Charlie knocked some sense into me when Ginny dragged you away for a dance. Said I was being a right prat and controlling." Hermione smiled and looked down. Charlie really was one of a kind. "So we're good now?" He asked tentatively.
Hermione rolled her eyes and dragged him in for a chaste kiss and a hug. She fell back towards the head of the bed with him on top of her. She opened her legs to let him fall between her hips and have him rest his head just below hers.
"Fred, I was never not ok with you. I wasn't even mad, just annoyed I suppose. I've known you for years, it will take a lot for me to truly be angry with you."
Fred moved so he was resting his forearms on either side of her. He looked down at her and Hermione saw something flicker across his face before he gently rested his forehead against hers. His eyes were closed and she closed her own. They simply breathed for a few moments as one. Hermione felt him hook a knee under hers and grip her shoulders. He flipped them so she was on top of him and they were more squarely in the center of the bed. He looked up at her and placed his hands on her lower back.
Hermione leant forwards and kissed him sweetly. She moved her weight to her knees and placed her hand on his chest without breaking the kiss. Fred ran his hand up and down her sides. She shivered when he snaked his hands under her nightshirt and the cool metal of his ring scraped against her sensitive skin. His hands found their way to the front of her chest and lightly played with the hardening buds.
Hermione rolled her hips forward when she felt the spot of his lap she was sitting on become firm. Fred groaned and pulled her shirt up and over her head. She looked down at him and felt her chest flush as his eyes roamed over her body. She felt herself smiling as his eyes glazed over. She ground her hips against his impatiently. His eyes cleared and he smirked before he dragged her down for another kiss. Hermione laughed when his aim was off and their noses bumped. No, she definitely wasn't mad at him, quite the opposite actually.
Hermione placed the last box on the floor in the living room. She looked around at the cluttered space and sighed. There may be no more boxes to move from the flat, but they had to unpack all the boxes they had moved throughout the week. She scanned the newly painted walls and stained hardwood. She was happy with how everything had turned out. The walls were a pastel green and they had painted the wainscoting panels white.
Hermione glanced at the stairs and smiled ruefully at the hassle it had been to move them to the living room from the entrance. They had knocked down the walls separating the living, dining, and kitchen space to make it open and airy. They had kept the large wooden table that had been there when they had seen the house. They switched the old countertops for light grey-blue quartz ones. They had completely replaced the cabinets for light sandy coloured cabinets. They had switched out the old appliances for newer ones.
They had also painted the garden door a vibrant red to match the front entrance. Hermione smiled at the hard work they had put in to make the home theirs. Hermione picked up the box labeled 'curtains' and placed it on the leather sectional. She opened it and pulled out the cream coloured fabric.
Hermione looked around the room and pulled a chair over to the big floor to ceiling bay window. She grabbed the curtain and put it on the metal rod before she stood on the chair. She got one side of the rod into place before a loud crash startled her. Hermione jumped and slipped on the polished wood. A yelp escaped from her as she fell towards the floor. Hermione felt her knee make contact first and the rest of her body followed. Pain flared up and the breath in her lungs shot out of her.
She rolled over and looked up at the ceiling. She heard movement behind her but was focused on the throbbing in her knee. She felt a pair of hands push her into a seated position. Hermione looked up saw Fred with a worried face as he peered down at her.
"What the hell happened? I heard you yell and a crashing noise. I thought you had bloody died."
Hermione coughed and looked at her knee. It was red and starting to swell. Hermione groaned prodded at it. "I was hanging the curtains up and a noise startled me."
Fred's eyebrows raised. "You were actually hanging them? Did you forget you're a witch and could just levitate them into place?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "No, I didn't forget. I just like doing things the muggle way. Which, what were you doing that I heard a crash."
Fred looked sheepish before he answered. "I was levitating some of the dishes to the top of the china cabinet and… missed."
Hermione snorted and her knee twitched from the jostling. She groaned in pain and held her knee stable before she looked at Fred. She sucked in a breath and curled in on her body.
"Can you go get your mum? I don't know very many healing spells. I think I did something when I fell."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be back soon love."
Fred stood up and walked over to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of powder as he stepped in. He threw it down and disappeared in a haze of green. Hermione looked around and used the red coloured armchair to her left in order to heave herself up. She sat heavily against the back of the chair and waited for Fred and Molly to come back. She didn't open her eyes when she heard the floo start up again.
"Yep, that would be a fractured patella."
Hermione opened her eyes at the deep bass voice instead of Molly's lighter tone. She took in Charlie's stance, hands on his hips, feet shoulder width apart, looking down at her with amusement.
"Bugger off." Hermione said and closed her eyes again. She didn't have enough energy for this.
Strong hands shook Hermione's shoulders and her heavy eyes opened. Charlie had lost most of his amusement and he was leant in close to her face. She could count the freckles on his tan skin and saw his light blue eyes peering at her in concern. She could see Fred hovering behind his brother with his hair falling slightly in his eyes. Hermione frowned and struggled to sit up all the way.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Charlie reached a hand behind her head and she winced when he hit a tender spot. His frown deepened and he drew his hand back. It was free of blood, but Charlie still scowled. He grabbed his wand and it lit up at the tip.
"Follow the light for me."
Hermione tracked the bright light in every direction. She felt fine, just a bit tired if anything. Charlie seemed satisfied enough when he had gotten her to track the light. He sat on the coffee table and put his wand on the empty spot next to him.
"Doesn't look like you have a concussion. Just watch her for the rest of the day. See if her balance seems off, any dizziness, any nausea." He directed the last part at Fred and turned his attention to her knee.
He prodded the swollen area with his fingers. He pushed in at the joint and checked the sides and back of her knee as well. He hummed and Hermione could see his as his brow furrowed in concentration.
"Definitely a fractured knee. I'll have to check if the ACL was damaged. Can't really feel that, y'know?"
He picked up his wand and cast a spell that projected an ultrasound over the swollen area. He moved his wand so the picture was more zoomed in. He tsked at what he saw and moved it laterally. He squinted at the image before he moved it medially and studied what he saw. He nodded at the image and the ultrasound disappeared.
"Looks like you've torn your ACL slightly. Shouldn't be too awful to fix all things considered. Shouldn't take me more than ten minutes."
Hermione felt her brows shoot into her hairline. "You?" She quickly amended herself at his face. "Not that I don't trust you, but shouldn't we go to St. Mungo's if it's serious enough to need spells?"
Charlie snorted and crossed his arms loosely over his stomach. "I work with dragons Mione, they trained us to deal with this kind of stuff. Plus, the medical unit in Romania was always understaffed, sometimes I would work a shift with the dragons and then one in the tent." Hermione made a face and gestured for Charlie to start. "You may want to hold his hand, spell hurts like a bitch."
Fred offered his hand and Hermione latched on. She was hoping this would go quickly. She groaned as Charlie started with the spell and could feel sweat beading on her temples immediately. She squeezed Fred's hand roughly and felt him tense beside her. This was going to be brutal.
Hermione sat cross legged on the couch with her tea as Ginny rambled on with her story and flailed wildly as she told it. Hermione blew on the beverage before she took a sip.
"His mum took it pretty well actually. I mean, she seemed disinterested like she normally is, but I swear I saw her lip twitch. I think she's looking forward to trying to name him." Ginny rolled her eyes at that thought. "See how far she gets with that, she'll probably try to name him something ridiculous. All Pureblood families seem fond of naming their kids something extravagant." she wrinkled her nose at that.
Hermione took a sip and set the mug down. "Do you have any names in mind? That aren't too posh?" She said with a slight tilt of her lips.
Ginny shook her head. "No. Blaise and I have been more concerned with check ups and getting the right potions." Ginny frowned and sipped at her own tea. "I'm going to have to buy maternity clothes soon. I swear to Merlin my jeans didn't fit yesterday when I put them on. They fit fine today though." She said and looked down at the fabric.
"You said him. You couldn't know yet, could you?"
"No, no. But really, what are the odds I'll have a boy over a girl?"
Hermione stayed silent and stared out the window as the waves formed white peaks in the sea below her. The waters were a deep blue and looked treacherous. The sun tried to shine through the thick and heavy clouds on the horizon. The sky was a soft orange and pink, making it look like candy floss.
"What about you?" Ginny asked quietly. She had a hand rested on her stomach and the other gripped the mug.
"What about me?"
"Are you excited to have kids?" Ginny clarified with a huff.
Hermione shrugged. "Yes. I thought I would have a bit more time to prepare, but I don't. I mean, is this something you can even prepare for? I guess I'm just nervous about carrying a little human for nine months and not knowing every little detail I can. What if I fail at being a mother before I even have the baby?"
Ginny reached a comforting hand to Hermione's. "Why would you say that? You won't fail your baby before it gets here. If anyone can find a way to get an 'O' in having a baby, it would be you. And you know Fred and mum will do anything to help you."
Hermione nodded and grabbed her tea. She needed to stop living in the 'what ifs' and live in the 'nows'. She knew she would have people by her side to help her prepare. She wasn't the brightest witch of the age for nothing.
She looked up when she heard the floo come to life. Fred stepped out and brushed her dress shirt off before turning towards Hermione and Ginny. The younger witch slowly moved her hand away from her stomach in order to reveal nothing. She was waiting until after the last wedding to tell everyone.
"Gin? I didn't know you were coming over."
"I was at mum's and she had something for me to give Hermione. We've just been talking a bit longer than either of us anticipated."
Fred shrugged and walked over to his wife. He gave her a quick hello kiss and then ruffled Ginny's hair in greeting. Ginny squawked angrily and swatted at his hands. He laughed and backed away. He sank into the seat next to Hermione and threw an arm around her shoulder. She lightly leant her head against his shoulder and laughed as Ginny fake gagged. She was as bad as Ron sometimes.
Ginny sighed and stood up. "I should be going anyways. Blaise will be wondering where I am if I don't get back soon." She gave Hermione a quick hug and thumped Fred on the back of his head lovingly and walked over to the fireplace. She grabbed the powder and stepped in.
Hermione turned her head so she was looking up at Fred. He gave her a slower and sweeter kiss than the one he had given when he walked in. She tipped her head to the side to deepen the kiss more. His hand came up to her jaw and gently caressed her skin.
They broke apart and she fully rested her head on his shoulder. "What'd you two talk about?" He murmured.
"She asked if I was ready to have kids." She said and left out the first part of her and Ginny's conversation.
There was a brief pause before he spoke again. "Are you?"
Hermione looked out the window again. The image of Fred running around in the sun with a small toddler popped into her mind. It flashed to him slowly swaying a newborn in the pale moonlight and talking softly to infant. The image morphed into Hermione and Fred holding two small babies as Molly cooed over them in front of a Christmas tree. The flash turned to Fred asleep on the couch and an arm draped over a little girl with curly red hair.
Hermione smiled against his shoulder. "Yes." She whispered.
She found herself completely honest. Ginny was right, Fred would be with her every step of the way. And so what if a couple steps were missed? She wasn't alone.
End of chapter nine eh? Come back SATURDAY.