Summary: Hermione's taken up some gardening to help with her racing thoughts. Sirius has decided he needs to learn how to cook.
Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (challenges & assignments) (extra prompts listed at bottom)
Assignment 7: DIY & Home Repairs - Task 4: Write about making something/someone look nice.
New Hobbies
'This is neither fun, nor exciting,' Ron grumbled. He stabbed the soil with his trowel.
Hermione sighed, reaching over to snatch it off him. 'I never asked you to help.'
Ron took that as his cue to leave quickly. She let another sigh, this time of relief, when he disappeared into the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. She hated when Ron was bored. He had a terrible habit of latching on to someone and 'helping' them do whatever they were doing. Today she wanted to be left alone.
She paused for a moment, currently kneeling on the ground in the tiny area that was classed as a garden, and reminded herself of what needed to be done. It was a small rectangle of a space, barely big enough to allow all the occupants (five of them) of the house to stand out there at the same time, with two patches of grass on either side of the small path leading to the gate. Each square of overgrown grass had a border of overgrown weeds and for the last two weeks, this had been Hermione's sanctuary to calm her thoughts.
When Hermione and Sirius found out their one night stand had resulted in a pregnancy, both of them agreed to keep it between themselves, due to her only being eight weeks along, with the exception of her boss, Kingsley Shacklebolt. It seemed her morning sickness was not to be trifled with, feeling thoroughly nauseous, morning and night, and had other ideas. After being a away from her desk for the better part of a day, he ushered her into his office.
It had felt good, having someone else know, but it also made her even more scared at how people would take the news when she saw Kingsley's shocked face that Sirius was the father, and they had no intentions of entering into a relationship, let alone plans to get married. Like the good and understanding person he was, Kingsley agreed to say he'd assigned Hermione some field work so she could work from home until the morning sickness had eased, or she'd started telling people, whichever came first. They'd sat with their diaries for an hour and went through all her important appointments for the next few months, and she left with a reassuring hug from him, telling her she was going to make an amazing mother.
And so, on her first day working from home, after finishing her work in the kitchen, Hermione had stepped out into the back garden for some fresh air. She stared at the mess of the space, all overgrown, unloved, with boring brick walls closing in on it. Hermione suddenly wanted it to be nice, a place to welcome people, so went with her urge to tidy it up.
At first she used magic, waving her wand around like a baton, but within a few minutes, she wasn't getting the satisfaction she was hoping for. Instead, swallowing down another wave of nausea, Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her over-sized jumper, and got to work. Something she'd been doing every day since, in all her spare moments of not working or throwing up.
Which is where she was, on a Saturday, with Sirius attempting to cook something – his new hobby. Hermione used her hands – no gloves – to move the soil around, enjoying the feel of it on her skin. She pulled out stubborn dandelions from the soil with relish, and turned the soil over as she went. The sun beat down on her back with a cool spring wind keeping her temperature down. She moved around the grass, always careful to not squash any daisies, and continued to make the soil ready for the flowers she would plant.
'Hermione – HERMIONE!' Sirius called from the depths of the kitchen. 'Come try this, will you?'
Taking a moment to let another roll of nausea pass, Hermione got up, rubbing her dirty hands on the bottom of the large t-shirt she was wearing. She'd barely gotten accustomed to the change in lighting, trying to gauge where she was in the room, with all kinds of smells assaulting her sense, when Sirius appeared before her. He put the spoon to her mouth and she nearly punched him in the face as she struggled to keep the hot food in her mouth.
'Sorry, love!' He grabbed a nearby empty bowl, which she used to spit the chunk of beef into. Using her forearm to wipe her chin, she glared at him. 'I didn't think it was still hot,' he said with a sheepish grin. 'How did it taste, though?'
'Like something I might actually keep down – what is it?'
Sirius shrugged with a small smile, putting the bowl into the sink. 'Just a stew. If you can eat it, though, then it can't be too bad.'
She felt the tension in her shoulders give way a little, a tension that had settled there since they'd both decided to go ahead with the baby. 'Is that why you've been doing this? All the cooking?'
Concern flashed across his eyes. 'You've lost weight. I was worried, and with you refusing to eat anything Harry cooks…'
'The Healer said it was normal with how bad the morning sickness is,' she said quietly. She was itching to touch him, tactile reassurances were something Sirius thrived on, but her hands were filthy. 'We'll be fine by the second trimester.'
Then, a common occurrence in recent days, Hermione burst into tears at how much Sirius actually cared. There were days, before this predicament, where she despaired at his immaturity, his cockiness that bordered on arrogance, and his need to cause trouble wherever he went. He was her friend and, in the last year or so, as close to her as Harry and Ron were, but she still wanted to throttle him at least twice a day. Especially when Harry showed him a Muggle toy, like a yo-yo the previous week, and he nearly caused untold damage in his child-like excitement. And now…
Now she saw nothing but care, concern, and a need to protect her shining through. She knew he was going to make an amazing father, even if he kept insisting that the child would only do well because Hermione was the mother.
'What did I do now?' Sirius asked, bewildered. Ignoring her waving her dirty hands to stop him coming towards her, he pulled her into a tight hug, lifting her arms and forcing her to wrap them around his neck. His own arms went around her waist and held her tightly, his chin resting on her shoulder.
'Bloody hormones,' she muttered with a sniff.
Before another word could be said, a voice called out from the hallway – Remus – making them jump apart like teenagers caught in a compromising position. Hermione immediately went back outside, leaving Sirius to greet their visitor, not wanting to explain her tears.
'To what do we owe the honour?' she heard Sirius say as she sank back down in front of a border at the far end.
Hermione took a moment, enjoying the breeze and heat of the sun drying her face. She watched as a butterfly bobbed around, looking for a flower to land on. Moving quickly, she leant over to the basket of tools nearby to grab her wand, and conjured some lilacs to appear from the seeds she'd already sown. She smiled as it landed on them, almost grateful for the time to rest on the lilac-coloured petals. It slowly flapped its wings every few seconds, the elegance of it enchanting to watch.
Her moment of peace disappeared as she clamped her soil-covered hands to her mouth, closing her eyes tightly, and breathed evenly through her nose. Her stomach was empty, she'd barely had a taste of Sirius' stew, but her body was responding like it needed to be rid of something.
'It looks good out here,' Remus' voice said from the back door.
Hermione, feeling safe enough that she wouldn't actually vomit, dropped her hands, hoping there was no dirt on her face. She shifted on her knees to look at Remus, putting a hand over her eyes so she could see him properly. 'It was time someone showed it a bit of love,' she said tightly, struggling not to swallow with each word.
Remus gave her a small smile, but she didn't miss the frown on his features. She turned back to her task at hand, throwing her wand back into the basket. The butterfly had long gone; with a wave of her hand, the lilacs returned to their seeds, the soil empty of flowers once more. Remus appeared, kneeling by the basket to look at the seeds she'd chosen.
'You know, the different colours of lilacs have different meanings,' he said idly, still holding the packet of seeds he'd picked up. 'White means purity and innocence, blue means happiness and tranquility, and lilac – the ones you had there –symbolise a first love.'
'The Celts believed them to be magical. It seemed fitting.' Hermione ignored his steady gaze. She'd always gone to Remus for his counsel after leaving school. Her confident in everything she could never talk to her friends about. But not about this. 'How are Tonks and Teddy?'
'They're really well, thank you.' He put the packet of seeds back, picking up the next ones; gerberas. 'Daisies symbolise new beginnings, especially when one is having a baby.'
She thought she'd kept moving, her hands pulling at those last few dandelions, ready to plant the remaining seeds Remus was so interested in. Remus never missed anything. She'd paused for the briefest of moments, she must have.
'Hermione?'
She could hear the question in her name. 'Don't. You'll be so angry with me.' She didn't stop moving, each pull of a dandelion getting more violent.
'Believe me, you'd prefer my bark over my bite,' Remus teased.
Hermione ignored the comment. It was when she pulled the last weed out that Remus put a hand on her forearm, the contact comforting. She sank back on her heels and looked at him. Gone was the sickly, gaunt man she knew as her teacher. Marriage, fatherhood, and safety due to the laws in place to give him protection as a werewolf were doing him well. He had some weight on him, his scars no longer vivid across his face, and happiness radiated off him. Even his brown hair appeared to be more brown and less grey.
'I should've known,' she said before letting go of a long sigh. 'Sirius?'
Remus laughed, a quiet laugh, giving her forearm a gently squeeze. 'Sirius is about to become a father, you really thought he wouldn't tell me?'
'We were going to wait,' she said, rubbing her hands on her jeans roughly. Smears of dirt covered the dark blue material. 'Are you disappointed in me?'
'No,' he said quickly, confusion in his eyes. 'Why would I be disappointed?'
'I feel like I'm letting people down.' She grabbed a packet of seeds, needing to keep busy again. 'Everyone's always said that I'll do great things … And now …' Nausea and tears stopped her talking. She ignored both as she shook the packet over the soil.
'Hermione, your life is yours. You must do what you think is right for you, not anyone else.' He put a comforting arm around her shoulders, forcing her to be still. She kept her eyes on the packet in her hand, tearing the edges. 'And if there's anyone who will change the world and raise a child at the same time, it's you.'
Hermione couldn't stop the wobbly smile that appeared, leaning into his body slightly. 'Thank you, Remus.'
'Hopefully he'll finally grow up now,' he whispered. That got a laugh out of her. 'How are you feeling, by the way?' He let go of her, swapping the packet of seeds in her hand for her to continue the sowing of them.
'Like I could murder Sirius for doing this to me. I haven't eaten a proper meal in weeks,' she said. She could see Remus nodding in her peripheral vision as she finished sprinkling the seeds. She handed him the packet so that she could fold the soil over a little. 'Did Tonks suffer much with morning sickness?'
'Not enough for us to not have another…'
Hermione turned on her knees quickly to face him, a wry smile on his lips. 'That's why he told you!'
Remus laughed, loudly this time, the sound of it held the weight of his joy, bouncing around the walls surrounding them. 'I think he lost his ability to keep it a secret at the thought of our children growing up together.'
'That's perfect.' Hermione laughed in disbelief with a shake of her head. 'Another generation of Marauders – Professor McGonagall is going to kill us all.'
Remus' face dropped for a moment. 'I didn't think of that.'
Hermione patted his shoulder. 'Luckily, she likes me more, so she might not kill me. You two are on your own.'
'You might not be far wrong,' Remus admitted. He stood up, holding a hand out to her, the basket of gardening tools and Hermione's wand already in his other hand. 'Come on, Sirius told me to get you out of the sun before you keel over.'
Wearily, Hermione took his hand, letting him pull her up, and as if her body was proving a point, she felt her head spin, falling into Remus as he put an arm around her. Colourful spots danced in front of her eyes. 'Don't bloody tell him,' she growled at him, her vision clearing. 'He'd have me living in bed at the moment.'
'He might have—'
'Remus, I will hex you into next year if you finish that sentence,' she said sharply, finding the energy to move away from him and stomp into the house.
Remus stared at Hermione's retreating back before Sirius appeared at the door with a questioning look. 'What did you say?' he called.
'You best not put a foot out of line for the next few months, you might not survive the pregnancy if you do,' Remus warned with a smirk.
Spring Funfair
- Cocktail Bar - Manhattan - (action) eating something too hot
- Dog Show - Dachshund - Obstacle Course - (item) Diary
- Leap Frog - (action) Falling into someone's arms
- Cherry Blossom - 10. (word) Elegance
- Urban Safari - 24. (emotion) Mystified
- Levi-Kart - Amortentia Goblet - 3. A character with the same hair colour
- Rainbow - Grey 7. Tending a garden
- Tree Planting - Dogwood 5. 'This is neither fun, nor exciting.'
- Teddy Bears Picnic - Strawberries - (character) Remus Lupin
- Petting Zoo - Ponies - 'Believe me, you'd prefer my bark over my bite.'
- Bunny Races - 2,366 words
Spring Seasonal
- Days of the Year & Religious Events - 30th May - Write about someone tending a garden
- Crayon Day - 4. Dandelion
- Children's Book Day - 20. (dialogue) 'That's perfect.'
- National Teacher's Day - 11. Remus Lupin
- Spring Colours - 7. Lilac
- Spring Flowers - 10. 'To what do we owe the honour?'
- Crystals & Gemstones - 6. (weather) Sunshine
Spring Quarterly
- 6. Tahiti - (object) Flowers
April Writing Club
- Written in the Stars - 17. (flower) Daisy
- Showtime - 6. (item) yo-yo
- Lizzy's Loft - 12. (animal) Butterfly
- Elizabeth's Empire - 26. (dialogue) 'I should've known.'
- Scamander's Case - 13. (word) Protection
- The Forecast Says... 18th Cooking
- EnTitled - 21. (word) protect
Yearly
- Fantastic Beasts - 199. Werewolf - Remus Lupin
- 365 - 282. (genre) Friendship
Word Count: 2,366