THIRTY

Sunday, 29 November 2020; twenty-five weeks

Between the emotional rollercoaster that was Thanksgiving and the physical strain that had led to a hospital visit, both James and Hermione had slept all through the following day. They had woken up just before the sun set that night and stayed up long enough to eat a light meal. But soon after that, they were crawling back into bed and falling asleep in each other's arms once more.

Taking it easy over the course of the weekend was extremely easy. James had woken up early on Saturday morning and by the time she was belting a robe around her waist, he was bringing breakfast up to her so they could eat in bed. Afterwards, they had lazed about; talking, reading, or playing games. For dinner, they ventured downstairs where they decided to order in instead of cook and settled in on the couch to watch movies until they couldn't keep their eyes open any longer.

It wasn't until Sunday morning that Hermione decided to check her phone.

She hadn't touched it since she'd been at Harry's and Ginny's for the holiday. It had lost its charge in her purse, but she had plugged it in right after waking up on Sunday and by the time it was done, she was ready to see what, if anything, she had missed.

There were more missed calls and unread messages than she thought. She started with the calls. A few of them were from Ginny, but most were from her parents. From the time stamps, once they had started calling her, Ginny had stopped. There were voicemails, but she deleted them instead of listening.

It had taken her another hour to decide if she was ready to look at the messages.

Just as with the calls, the majority of her messages were from her mother. They were all along the same topic of conversation; asking if she was okay, to call them back, what hospital they were at. They also let her know that they were driving back that night. The last one was that they would be waiting outside of James' and they would be calling him too try and get answers.

There were a few from Ginny as well. The first couple were her telling Hermione that she hoped she was okay. That she was sorry she had to leave so abruptly. One was of her telling Hermione she had notified her parents that she was going to the hospital. That she hoped Hermione didn't mind but she already knew Ginny's intentions were from a good place. The last one was from Friday night, saying that she hoped all was well and that Hermione was welcome to reach out to her still. That Sirius had told her she'd gone home that morning.

It reminded Hermione that they had to get her car still so she could make it to work the next day.

After staring at the phone, she opened a message to Harry. The last one they had exchanged was a random one talking about the show they had been watching. She sat back against the headboard, her legs curled under her as best she could get them and started typing. It took far longer than it should have, most of which was spent mashing down on the backspace button and having to start over. But when she had something she wasn't sure could get much better, she pressed send before she could second guess herself.

I'm so sorry you had to find out like this, Harry. I'm sorry that it took so long for me to tell you at all. I'm sorry it took something like this to tell you. I hate that we left it like we did and I don't know if you'll ever forgive me, but I would love the chance to talk to you. I'm also sorry that I ruined your announcement. I'm so happy for you and Ginny. Whenever you're ready to talk, I'm here.

She stared at the screen for a moment, rereading the words until they started to blur together on the screen. Just as she went to put her phone down, she saw the tag change from delivered to read. She waited with bated breath for the little bubble with the dots to appear, signaling he was writing her back, but after several long minutes, it became clear he had no intention of responding.

Though she refused to cry any more tears, her heart still sank into her stomach.

Her plan to put the phone down and go about her day changed after that. It was as if her fingers refused to unfurl from around the device; her eyes glued to the screen where it displayed her and Harry's chat thread. Even when James called for a Lyft that afternoon so he could drive her car back home, she sat on the couch and watched her screen. And later that night, she felt James pry it from her hand when she was too tired to prevent it from happening.

Thursday, 3 December 2020; twenty-five weeks

When Hermione returned to work on Monday, she kept to herself. Her coworkers had learned very quickly that she wouldn't be answering questions about her own holiday weekend, but they were more than welcome to talk about theirs. In fact, she encouraged it. She needed the distraction that their stories would provide. Especially when she had woken up that morning to discover that there was still no reply from Harry. She kept telling herself it was nothing; that he might just not be ready, but it hurt regardless.

And she continued to check it throughout the week, but as each passing glance revealed nothing had changed, she found the longer she was able to go without looking.

Thursday afternoon, just as she was wrapping up her morning duties, she was interrupted by the sight of Ginny striding into her office. She sat there, too stunned to do anything but gape; her fingers poised over the keyboard.

Ginny gave her a light smile and a casual nod of her head. "You free for lunch?"

"Y-yeah," she stammered, clearing her throat. She shook her head and turned back to the computer, saving her document mid-sentence before clocking out a few minutes early. "Is everything okay?"

"We're all fine, Hermione," she assured her. "Things are just a little…"

"Yeah," she whispered, gathering her things. Neither of them spoke until they were outside again. The café across the street was their usual go-to spot when Ginny swung by for lunch. If she had somewhere else in mind, she never said. Before they approached the crosswalk, Hermione grabbed hold of Ginny and pulled her into a tight a hug as she could manage. "I'm so sorry."

"You didn't-"

"I ruined your announcement," she said, pulling back to smile and gesture towards Ginny's stomach. "It should have been a day you look back on and smile about." She sighed heavily and blinked back tears. "Now you'll just…"

"Don't start crying," Ginny begged, her own blue eyes turning glassy with unshed tears. "I've never been this fucking weepy in my entire life."

"It gets worse," Hermione said through a sob as her resolve faded, though a laugh slipped past her lips.

Ginny barked out a laugh as well as she wiped a tear away. "I blame you for this."

"How?" Hermione asked as they approached the crosswalk.

"Harry couldn't stop talking about your tits and wondering if mine would balloon up like yours. He doubled his efforts trying to find out and well," she pointed down at herself, "it paid off."

Hermione dissolved into laughter as Ginny linked their arms so they could cross the street. They continued to laugh as they entered the café and took a seat at one of the tables near the window. Ginny continued to tell her how she had been feeling since discovering the news and asking Hermione all sorts of questions as they glanced over the menu. After they placed their order, Hermione felt the shift between them and braced herself.

"James?"

Hermione snorted as she sipped at her water. She had been expecting it; it was Ginny's style. Direct. To the point. But if there was one person she told things to like she did with Harry; sometimes more so, it was Ginny. Not that she was sure how this would work since the gritty details Ginny thrived on would not include her father-in-law. So Hermione did her best and dove right in.

She told Ginny about the night her divorce had been finalized. How she had just gone to the bar, intent on drinking until she couldn't. That even though she had known her marriage to Ron had been over long before they even broached the subject of splitting up, she was hurting. How she had intended on being alone that night and how James had shown up out of the blue. How an accidental slip up on the way to the bathroom led to…everything.

She skipped the details even before Ginny wrinkled her nose, causing Hermione to nearly choke on her water as she laughed. She then told her how she had found out about a week prior to Harry's birthday and that she hadn't seen James since then. How she was planning on telling him, but could barely wrap her head around it all herself. By the time they were done with their meal, she had told Ginny all there was to know, including how her trip to the hospital had been more precautionary than anything else.

"So…" Ginny started as she snatched the tab from the table before Hermione could. She even slipped her card into the slot and handed it back to the waiter before Hermione even had the chance to protest. "Are you and James…"

She nodded, her fingers plucking nervously at the skirt of her dress. "I know it's weird, unconventional, unexpected; whatever you want to call it, but it's…" she shrugged as she tried to settle on the right word. "It just feels right."

Ginny's look was scrutinizing and Hermione shifted in her seat. But after a moment, she shook her head and leaned back in her seat. "Did you really think you could keep it a secret forever?" she asked, her voice quieter than Hermione had ever heard it before.

Hermione chewed on her tongue for a second and then shook her head. "No," she said, the word tumbling past her lips in a puff of air. "We both knew what would happen when everyone found out, but we wanted to pretend for as long as we could."

She could tell there was so much that Ginny wanted to say, but that she was holding her tongue. It made her wonder if Harry knew she was here, having lunch with her. Hermione didn't ask. Just as she didn't ask whether or not Harry had said anything about the message he had read, but never replied to. Instead, they both held their silence and made their way back to Hermione's office after the waiter brought back her card.

"How'd your parents take it?" Ginny asked.

Hermione snorted at that as she draped her coat over her chair. "Whatever you're imagining is probably pretty close to the truth. I thought they were mad when I nearly went through with an abortion," she said, giving off a low whistle. Her attempt at humor elicited a small smile from Ginny, but nothing more. "We'll see if they change their tune when the baby's born. Maybe they just need to see a healthy, happy grandchild to soften them up."

She came over to stand in front of Ginny, knowing it was about time for them to part ways. "I hope they do," Ginny said, drawing her in for a hug. "I'm sure time is all everyone needs."

"Even Harry?" Hermione asked before she could stop herself.

Ginny stilled for a moment and nodded as she pulled back. "I'm here for you, Hermione, I am. And I know Harry will come around, he just needs time. You've always been his family and that's true now more than ever." She reached over and grasped Hermione's hand firmly in hers. "He misses you just as much as you miss him. Just…"

"Give him time," Hermione finished, giving a nod.

Ginny cracked a smile and then placed a hand on Hermione's stomach. "So…this makes me his, what? Sister-in-law?"

The pair stared at each other for a moment before Hermione nodded. They both shuddered as they laughed. Hermione reached up to place her own hands on her stomach and shook her head. "Not as strange when you think about how he'll be your kid's uncle."

Ginny's nose wrinkled as she laughed again and stepped back. "On that note, don't be a stranger, okay?"

"Same goes for you."

Ginny left with another nod of her head and once she was gone from sight, Hermione returned to her chair and smiled to herself. For the first time in a week, the breath she took actually felt deep enough.