July 21st 2000 PT1

Hermione woke up bright and early, feeling her baby move within her as she rose from bed to prepare for another lazy day at home, preparing for the birth of her son. He was due any day now and she was desperate to have him here with her. She had even decided on a name for the little boy, Arthur John, and she couldn't wait to see the Weasley patriarchs face when she revealed it. The whole family was incredibly excited, even Ron who she had managed to regain a close friendship with once the shock of everything had worn off, and Hermione felt a pang of guilt every time she remembered that she was lying to them.

She had sent the letter off to Charlie two days before new years eve and even to now she hadn't received any kind of response. She could only assume that he wanted nothing to do with the baby, and she couldn't deny that she felt extremely hurt by his lack of, well, anything. But she was excited to meet her child, with it without his father by her side. Charlie would be the only one missing out and he would be with his grandparents, even if they didn't know he was theirs by blood. He would be called Granger, but he would be a member of the Weasley family regardless.

Just as Hermione was getting ready for the shower, she felt a pain shoot through the bottom half of her belly and heard water splash against tile. Briefly confused, she looked to the shower, wondering when she had turned it on, before her eyes widened and she looked down at her feet. She sent a patronus to Ginny before giving up on the idea of a shower and waddling back to her bed completely naked, just in time for the first time it felt like a giant was squeezing her stomach. She heard a snort from behind her and turned to find Hermione grinning at her.

"And to think," the redhead chuckled, "9 months ago you didn't even want to pee in front of me and now look at you, flashing the works right at me!"

Hermione snorted as Ginny wiped a fake tear from her cheek, muttering about being 'so proud' and threw a pillow at her before grabbing her dressing gown and wrapping it around herself and sitting gingerly on the edge of her bed.

"Your patronus sounded serious, and you didn't seem to care you were butt naked with the curtains wide open," Ginny said and Hermione groaned as she pointed to the window, where she could see directly into the flat opposite which meant they would have been able to see her, "what's going on?"

"I'm in labour," Hermione said and heard as Ginny slapped a hand over her mouth in shock, "my water just broke."

"Bloody hell," Ginny muttered, "what do you want to do? Mungo's or…"

"I want to have a hot shower," Hermione chuckled, "while I'm in there, can you get your mum here? After 6 birth and 7 kids I'm pretty sure she's more qualified in this scenario than any healer…"

Hermione waddled past Ginny and into the ensuite of her bedroom, flicking the shower onto a high heat and stepping in, letting the water cascade down her back and she leaned both forearms against the tiles. She had bought this flat, thankfully, only a month ago, having been looking for her own home since she discovered she was carrying Arthur. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open plan kitchen, dining and living space. She had pulled some strings to ensure the fireplace was attached to the floo network and she was proud of her home. Just as she was preparing to step out of the shower, she heard the door bang open against the wall and saw the blurred outline of Molly Weasley through the glass.

"Bloody hell," she groaned, rolling her eyes , "I think every Weasley will have seen me naked before the end of today!"

"I should hope not, dear," Molly laughed, walking back towards the door, "I've laid out some comfy clothes for you to travel in. I'll be in the living room when you come out."

"Thank you, Molly!" She called out as she saw the bathroom door closing.

She turned the water off and pulled open the door to the shower, spying a pair of baggy tracksuit bottoms and one of Rons old oversized t-shirts sitting on the lid of the toilet. She smiled, thinking how lucky she was to have had this wonderful family take her in as one of their own and how much she loved every single one of them, even the ones who had let her down. She dried quickly and dressed in the comfy clothes before leaving her room and heading into the living room, where she was instantly at the receiving end of a famous Molly Weasley hug.

"Oh dear! I bet you are so excited!" She cooed, pulling away and smoothing the hair on Hermiones head with a loving smile and Hermione nodded, grinning.

"Really excited," she agreed, moving to sit on the sofa and instantly having a hot cup of tea thrust towards her, "I have literally no idea what I'm doing, though."

"Well," Molly started, sitting on the arm of the armchair which held a grinning Ginny, "there are a couple of things we need to discuss, like who you want in the room with you?"

"That's easy, you two." Hermione said, pointing between them and they both gasped.

"Uh… Hermione are you sure? Beca-"

"Oh hush Ginny," Molly interrupted and Hermione couldn't help but grin, "we'd love to be there to support you. Now, are you absolutely certain that we can't contact the babies father?"

Hermione sighed as she made eye contact with Ginny. The further the pregnancy had progressed, the more Ginny had agreed with Hermione's decision not to tell her family the whole truth. Her parents would have been devastated to know that their son had essentially refused to acknowledge his own child and there was every risk that it would tear the family apart. Plus, Hermione had been right when she said that none of the Weasleys would miss out on a thing. The scene in front of them now proved that.

"No, Molly," Hermione sighed sadly, "he has made it very clear that he wants nothing to do with me or the baby and I fully respect and understand his decision."

"Such a shame…" Molly said, clucking her tongue, "I'm just glad that none of my boys would be so irresponsible."

Molly left to bustle the kitchen and Hermione shared a wide eyed moment of shock with Ginny as she took in what Molly had just said. Oh, yes, she had definitely made the right choice. To hurt Molly with the knowledge that Charlie had refused the baby? It was unthinkable.

About an hour later, the contractions begin whole heartedly and Molly came rushing through from the kitchen at the first shout, finding Hermione bend double on the sofa with her hand clutching Ginny's, who herself was wincing in pain. Molly chuckled, rolling her eyes as she waited for the pain to pass and quickly guided Hermione and her daughter into the floo and off to St. Mungo's.