CHAPTER FORTY FOUR

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October 28th 2006

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When Hermione found herself suddenly awake, their room was dark and she frowned as she looked tiredly around the room, trying to figure out what had caused her to stir. The only noises she could hear were the ticking of the clock, Charlie's quiet breathing next to her and the light, childlike snore that originated in Arty's room opposite theirs. Putting it down to a bad dream that she just couldn't remember, Hermione sighed as she settled back down and closed her eyes. She was just beginning to drift off a few minutes later, however, when a sudden and familiar pain in her lower abdomen had her instinctively curling in on herself. It took a few moments for the pain to subside enough that she could turn to Charlie, slapping him roughly on the arm to wake him.

"What? What is it?" Charlie said grumpily, pushing himself up on an elbow, "why are you hitting me?"

"I think the baby is coming," she hissed, just as another wave of pain hit and she clutched the bedsheets, "fuck, Charlie. This can't be happening, it's too soon!"

"Oh bloody hell!" Charlie exclaimed, jumping straight up from the bed and pacing in small circles, his hands clamped behind his head, "shit, what do I do?"

"Seriously?!" Hermione yelled, having told him what the plan was a hundred times, "we've been over this Charlie!"

"I know, I know!" Charlie groaned, frowning before clicking his fingers and running from the room, coming back a few moments later as Hermione whimpered in pain, "mums on her way. Bloody hell, Hermione, we've still got a month to go!!"

"I know that you prat!" Hermione wailed, reaching blindly for his hand and gasping as she suddenly felt a pop and the bed became wet, "that's my waters."

"We need to get you to St Mungo's," Charlie muttered, pulling the sheets back, "can you walk?"

"We can't go yet, your mum isn't here!" Hermione told him, slapping his hand away as he tried to help her sit up, "what do you want to do? Take him with us?!"

"If we have to!" Charlie snapped, pushing her hands back and leaning down to pull her up but Hermione groaned in pain as she felt a huge amount of pressure building up.

"Charlie, stop," she said, grabbing him by the arm, "you need to… Bloody hell… You need to check if you can see the baby."

"What?!" Charlie yelled, jumping back with wide eyes, "Hermione, come on, if we go to St Mungo's now-"

"I don't think we have bloody time to get to St Mungo's!" Hermione yelled, clenching her teeth and breathing heavily as she pulled him towards her by the neck of his t-shirt, "you put him there, now I think you might have to get him out!"

"Oh bloody hell," Charlie groaned, gulping as he nodded and Hermione, remembering how it had felt with Arty when she had needed to push, had a good idea of what he would find as he peered between her legs and gasped, "fuck, Hermione I can see his bloody head!"

"Great," Hermione sighed, panting through the pain, "Charlie, I need to push... The baby is going to come out and … you have to support the head."

"I can't-"

"You don't have a fucking choice!" Hermione hissed, clenching her eyes shut.

"Alright, ok," Charlie groaned and sat down on the bed between her legs, wincing as he looked down at the business end of childbirth, "Merlin, I thought childhood was supposed to be beautiful."

"CHARLIE!" Hermione shrieked, glaring down at him and nodding, just as the urge to push overcame her and she bared down, screaming through clenched teeth as she felt as though she was being torn in two.

"Oh gods," Charlie groaned once she paused for breath and she looked worriedly down at him, "he's not moving. Hermione… What do I-"

"Clear his airways!" Came a shout from Molly as she hurried through the bedroom door and Charlie almost wept as she came rushing forward, "use your finger, here…"

"It didn't take long, after Molly had arrived with her knowledge and experience of childbirth, until Hermione had just about managed to push out the small boy. The room was silent as Molly quickly set to work, clearing his airways with the help of magic and, when that didn't work, a tired and panicking Hermione watched as Molly turned her child upside down, held him by the ankles and smacked him on the back. Only then, to Hermione's utter relief, did a shrill cry echo around the room and Hermione sobbed as her body sagged into the mattress.

"I don't think either of you were quite ready for that, dear." Molly sighed, severing the cord and wrapping the little boy in a spare blanket, before handing him to Hermione who wept as she held him.

"Oh gods," Charlie choked, moving from where he had been wearing a hole in the carpet and collapsing next to the bed, falling heavily on his knees and brushing Hermiones hair from her sweaty face, his own tears falling as he too looked down at their crying son, "I thought… For a minute there."

"He's ok," Molly reassured, patting Charlie on the shoulder before she sat down between Hermione's legs, "small and about as shocked as we all are, probably, but he's ok. Now Hermione, we need to get the afterbirth out. Can you manage?"

"I think so." Hermione whispered, nodding as she helped their baby latch on to her breast, knowing that it would help with this process.

"One good push should do it," Molly told her and Hermione nodded, looking up to Charlie and reaching for his hand, "on the count of three. One, two, three-"

Cradling the baby's head with one hand and squeezing with all her might with the other, Hermione heard Charlie whimper as she bared down. After only a couple of seconds, she felt the afterbirth leave her and relaxed against the bed. Molly, using her wand, cleared up all of the mess and moved to sit on the edge of the bed before turning away from them both and Hermione frowned as she nodded. To both Hermione and Charlie's surprise, Arty stepped shakily and hesitantly through the open door and Hermione gasped as she noticed tears streaming down his face.

"Are you ok, mummy?" He asked and Hermione, helped to sit up by Charlie, sobbed as he frowned at her, "why were you screaming?"

"Oh, my little love," Hermione wept, wishing she could scoop him up and hold him tight, "come and meet your little brother."

"Oh," Arty gasped, walking over and worriedly looking at his mum as he climbed onto the bed, curling up next to her and peering down at the tiny baby, "is he ok?"

"Yes, buddy," Charlie whispered, smiling over at him as he brushed the fine red hair on the new baby's head, "we were a little worried, but he is just fine, just a bit small."

"Is that why grandma smacked his bum?" Arty asked innocently and Molly, who had been emotionally watching them, cackled, surprising them all into looking at her as she nodded.

"If I remember correctly, the doctor had to smack your daddy on the bum before he cried, too," she chuckled, "the baby is absolutely fine. It's too early to call a healer now, but as soon as we can get one to come and check him over, we will."

"Why did he come so early?" Hermione asked, frowning at Molly who just shrugged.

"Sometimes it just happens," the redheaded woman told her, patting her on the knee, "it's more common than you would think, but all that matters is that he is breathing and eating."

"Oh, he's eating alright," Hermione snorted, smiling down at the baby and stroking his hair as she turned to Charlie, "I'm sorry for swearing at you."

"I think I can let you off," he shrugged, leaning forward and kissing her gently on the lips, before pulling away and turning to Arty, "would you like to tell grandma your brothers name, buddy?"

"Remus." Arty grinned and Molly choked, wiping a tear as it fell from her eye.