19 Weeks

Harry felt something heavy, warm, and soft against his chest. He opened his eyes and met the gaze of one grumpy looking cat.

"Are you angry?" He asked Crookshanks.

The flat-faced cat simply stared at him.

He put his glasses on and tried to shift slowly, moving onto his side. Crookshanks slid off and settled between him and Hermione.

He watched Hermione fight to stay asleep, the crease of her eyebrows and the intermittent frowns. He enjoyed the quiet moments like this. When the air around them was still soft and heavy with sleep. How comfortable it was just to share space with Hermione. Even with the cat meandering around them.

Could he still do this when the baby arrived? Would it even make sense for them to continue like this? They weren't together.

He watched as she scrunched her nose. What if they were? Could it work between them?

Hermione finally came too, stretching slowly and petting Crookshanks on the head. "How did you get in here?"

Harry glanced at the closed door. He sat up and placed both feet firmly on the ground. "Your cat is odd."

Hermione chuckled behind him. "He's magical."

Harry laughed under his breath. "Do you think people at work will notice my clothes?"

Hermione sat up with a groan. "I have no idea. Do people usually notice what you wear?"

Harry shrugged and picked up his clothes from the floor and worked out the wrinkles with a few well-placed spells.

Hermione moved about her room, taking clothes from her dresser and closet and setting them on her bed.

Harry quickly got dressed and slipped out of her room. He went down into the kitchen and rummaged around the cupboards, looking for something to eat.

"Ron wants us to meet his girlfriend," Hermione announced as she stepped into the kitchen.

"I thought we knew her already." Harry handed her a cup with orange juice.

She took a couple of sips and continued. "But he wants us to officially meet her as his girlfriend. Besides, I don't really know her personally."

"Oh." He grabbed a bagel and split it apart.

"Ron wants to head out for dinner." She grabbed her own bagel and the strawberry cream cheese. "I think he's nervous."

Harry ripped one half of his bagel in two. "Why would he be nervous?"

Hermione finished topping her bagel with jelly. "He likes her a lot. I think he's a little worried she might not like us or we might not like her."

Harry hummed under his breath. "I wouldn't be too worried. I trust his judgment."

Hermione smiled. "So do I."

# # #

Hermione walked into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures feeling refreshed and well-rested. She greeted Mrs. Fawley with a smile.

Mrs. Fawley returned it with a grin of her own. "Everyone is meeting in the conference room, Ms. Granger."

"Thank you, Mrs. Fawley." Hermione dropped her tote bag off in her office and headed to the conference room. She immediately settled beside Ainsworth and Daphne.

Ainsworth leaned casually against the wall. "They're introducing the new hires and pairing them off with senior members." He sighed. "I hope I don't get paired up."

Daphne rolled her eyes. "I hope so too. You'll ruin their experience."

"Hey," he whined.

Madam Kane and Mr. Sterling soon entered, followed by Mrs. Fawley and five other people Hermione had never seen before.

Madam Kane stood at the far end of the table. "Good morning everyone. I'd like to officially welcome the newest members to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Ziya Smythe, Shana Taylor, and Quinn Ellington, who are joining the Beast Division. Melinda Dawson and Ahmed Warwick are joining the Being Division."

"I hope you'll all do your very best in welcoming them and helping them ease their way into our Department." Madam Kane gave Mr. Sterling a firm nod.

Mr. Sterling held a piece of paper in his hands. "Now, we'll be pairing off our new members with some senior members for this first week." He began calling out names and dismissing others until it was just Hermione and two of the new hires for the Being Division.

Mr. Sterling gathered them together. "Ms. Granger, Dawson, and Warwick will be working with you in the House Elf Relocation Office. They've already been given new guidebooks, but this week I'd like for you to allow them to shadow you in your application and interview process. It's imperative they know the process almost as well as you for when you go on maternity leave."

He looked between Hermione, Dawson, and Warwick. "Any questions?"

# # #

Hermione's feet hurt. She sat back in her desk chair and wrapped her hands around the warm cup of tea Mrs. Fawley had just delivered. She was too tired to head down to the cafeteria for lunch, so she settled on having lunch at her desk.

She dug into her fruit salad and thought about her new coworkers. Melinda Dawson and Ahmed Warwick were bright and funny. So far, she felt comfortable with both and looked forward to getting to know them better. She was so glad Mr. Sterling had been proactive and assigned new people to her section. Well, that's what he's supposed to do, anticipate what his employees and boss need.

She slouched in her chair, looking at her stomach. Was she really going to be five months pregnant? She tapped her fingers over the top of her belly. She needed to get the cot and nursery accessories. She should ask Harry if he wanted to go shopping with her.

A knock interrupted her thoughts.

Mr. Sterling stood in the open doorway. "Ms. Granger, how was this morning?"

She set her food down. "It went really well, Mr. Sterling. Dawson and Warwick have really gotten the hang of it. I'll be taking both out for interviews this week."

Mr. Sterling walked up to her desk. "Excellent. We wouldn't want to worry you needlessly when you're on maternity leave. I'm confident they will perform admirably."

Hermione smiled. "Me too."

His eyes landed on the book she had set aside on her desk - the fantasy book about dragons, warriors, and princesses that she tried to read last night.

"Have you read the Enchanter series? I highly recommend it if you're enjoying this one."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Really? Do you read muggle literature?"

He nodded. "It's what I read mostly. The titles I've found by wizards and witches aren't on par with what I've found in a muggle bookstore and library. I've always wondered why."

Before she could reply, Mr. Sterling moved back to the door. "I'll leave you to enjoy your lunch. Have a good rest of your day, Ms. Granger."

"Thank you," she said quietly. She was alone.

Harry wiped the sweat off his brow. He looked over his shoulder and watched as Lena took on Ron in a duel.

Ron's footwork had improved, as did his reaction time.

The timer went off and both Ron and Lena lowered their wands. Ron secured his wand and shook Lena's hand before hopping off the dueling platform.

Ron grabbed his water bottle and nudged Harry's shoulder as he passed. "Don't get worn out too terribly. We have dinner later."

Harry nodded. Just as Hermione told him a few days before, Ron wanted them to meet his girlfriend and tonight was the night. They had made all the arrangements and lucky for him, he just had to show up.

"Potter, you're up!"

Harry walked onto the dueling platform and settled into a battle stance.

Lena shot the first offensive spell. "So," she said in between shots, "you should come out for drinks again. You didn't stay very long last time."

Harry held up his shield and then fired off stunner after stunner.

"We're heading to the pub tonight again. You should join us," Lena said, her words coming out in between huffs.

"Busy," Harry simply answered.

"Oh?" Her next stunner grazed his torso.

He hissed and hit her legs with a binding spell, making her fall backward onto her back.

She pursed her lips. "Going out with the girlfriend?"

He secured his wand and dropped down from the platform, making his way out of the training room.

"Well, that wasn't necessarily a no," he heard her say.

Harry spent the rest of his afternoon officially closing cases or passing them on to the next team who needed to work on them. He worked tirelessly, attempting to push thoughts of girlfriends out of his head.

Harry promptly left the office at the end of the workday, for once. He returned home to shower and get ready for dinner.

Once freshly showered and dressed in clean, pressed clothes, he went downstairs to say bye to Sirius.

He found him in the kitchen, glaring at his dinner.

He rested his hand on the back of his chair. "Sirius?"

Sirius looked up and grinned. "You look handsome, Harry."

Harry fingered the tips of his hair. "Thanks. Why are you hating your dinner?"

Sirius sighed. "Hermione told me I need to eat more healthy food. This is my veggie meal." He pushed the carrots and cauliflower across his plate.

Harry held back a laugh. "Do you want me to bring you something back from the restaurant?"

Sirius shook his head. "I think I'm going to make brownies later."

Harry laughed aloud this time. "I'll see you later."

"Have fun!" He heard Sirius as he stepped into the fireplace and flooed to Grimmauld Place.

Crookshanks was sitting on the armchair, his tail flicked.

Harry greeted him. "Is Hermione ready?"

Crookshanks didn't respond so he walked in the foyer and yelled up the stairs, "Hermione, I'm here! Do you want me to feed Crookshanks?"

"Yes, please!"

Harry stepped down into the kitchen, grabbed Crookshanks bowl, and a new can of wet food. He opened the can and waited for Crookshanks to appear.

Without missing a beat, Crookshanks shot into the kitchen and padded over to where Harry stood.

"How's Hermione today, Crookshanks? Have you been taking care of her?" He scooped the food into the bowl and set it down on the floor.

He smiled as he watched Crookshanks pounce onto his bowl and begin eating rather messily.

Harry returned to the foyer where he found Hermione standing in front of the coat closet.

"I'm going to take a coat just in case I get cold."

"Good idea." A sheepish smile came to his face once he had a good look at her, noting the way the collar of her dress was wide enough to show off the gold necklace her parents had given her for her birthday one year. "You look really nice."

She swished her dress. "Thanks. I'm ready if you are."

Harry and Hermione were driving to the restaurant. It was in muggle London and driving would be easier than hopping from floo to floo. He elected to drive and they spent the next fifteen minutes talking about work. Hermione had new coworkers and she was training them to take on some of her duties.

She wondered aloud about what Neville was going to do once he was out of the force.

"Who knows," he mumbled, just trying to keep his eyes on the road and off her belly.

When they finally arrived, he helped her out of the car and they walked side by side to the entrance, where Ron and Jenna were already waiting for them.

Hermione exclaimed and hurried forward. She hugged Ron and kissed him on the cheek.

She was practically bouncing on her feet in anticipation. Harry stepped beside her, pressing his hand on her lower back, "relax," he murmured.

"Sorry," she whispered back.

Ron smiled at them both. "Harry, Hermione, this is Jenna."

Jenna held out her hand, a nervous smile on her face. "Jenna Clarke, it's great to finally meet you both."

Hermione shook her hand first. "It's so good to meet you too. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better."

Jenna's shoulders relaxed. "I am too!"

"Shall we head in?" Ron motioned for Jenna and Hermione to walk before them.

Harry walked beside Ron, nudging him in the shoulder.

"What?" Ron's cheeks were red.

Harry grinned. "Nothing. It's just you two look, what's the word - smitten."

"Shut up," Ron grumbled.

Once seated and their orders were taken, Hermione jumped into a rapid succession of questions. Slowly, but surely, Jenna shared a little bit about herself. She was a Hufflepuff and a few years ahead of them at Hogwarts. Being a half-blood she had a firm grasp of the muggle world and magical world, having grown up in both. She shared Ron's passion for Quidditch and enjoyed taking sports photography. She hoped to pursue it professionally.

"Ron told me you're due in November. What are you looking forward to the most?" Jenna set aside her chopsticks.

"I can't wait to see what they'll look like. Are they going to have a lot of hair, green eyes, brown eyes?" Hermione let out a light laugh.

Harry tapped his fingers against his glass. "I just want to hold them."

He felt Hermione place her hand over his. He smiled and squeezed her fingertips. He cleared his throat. "So, being a Quidditch fan, what's your favorite team?"

Jenna delved into her love for the Holyhead Harpies and how sad she was to hear the news of Ginny's departure. She follows the Appleby Arrows and then squealed when she realized Harry played with Oliver Wood while at Hogwarts, admitting to them she had a small crush on the Keeper while a student.

They decided to get dessert at a local ice cream shop. Harry and Hermione followed Ron and Jenna as the couple led the way.

Hermione wrapped her arm around Harry's. "Do you have plans for your birthday?"

He shook his head.

"Sirius will probably want to do something that night, but I want to spend the day with you."

He chuckled. "Yeah? What did you have in mind?"

"I want to take you to the Quidditch Museum in Cardiff."

Distracted by the feel of her beside him, Harry accidentally bumped into the person walking past them. "There's a Quidditch museum?"

She pressed her fingers into his arm. "Honestly, Harry? Yes. It's a museum, but you'll have fun. I promise."

He covered her hand with his. "I don't doubt it. I'll be with you."

The ice cream shop was finally within sight. But, Hermione slowed slightly, making them linger a few more spaces behind Ron and Jenna.

"So, I want to go shopping for a cot soon," she told him, "do you want to go with me?"

His foot skidded on the sidewalk. "What? Of course. When do you want to go?"

"We'll have to check our schedules. I think my hours during the workweek will be shorter now that we have new hires and I'm always free on the weekend."

Harry patted her hand. "We can go this Sunday?"

She leaned slightly on his shoulder. "Brilliant. We can see some sheet sets. I saw one with my mum that I really liked and I want you to see it."

Ron and Jenna finally reached the door of the ice cream shop. Jenna cast a glance over her shoulder. She quickly nudged Ron in the arm, a shy smile on her face. "They're cute together," she murmured.

Ron scoffed. "Yeah, I know."