Hello everyone, I'm back once again. Thank you for continuing to read my story and send me your reviews. It is always great to hear what you think. This next chapter is a shorter one, but I'm hoping still as good!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
The Unexpected Baby
Chapter Twenty-Two: Charlie makes a decision
Charlie sat up in bed, reading the morning's copy of The Daily Prophet. The usual hustle and bustle of the busy hospital around him seemed muted today, or maybe he had just gotten more accustomed to it. He had been in the hospital for two days and had been mostly unconscious for one. Now that he was back in good health, he wanted to catch up on everything he had missed, and that started with the newspaper. The main headline read:
Harry Potter welcomes his son into the world
Charlie chuckled and flipped the page. Harry's celebrity status had not dimmed any since his defeat of Voldemort all those years ago, and the media were all over him and Ginny having a baby. The inside page had a photograph of Harry and Ginny holding baby James outside their birthing room. Harry had agreed to only one photograph, and Ginny had been given the choice of when and where they take it. Charlie had yet to meet baby James, but he knew it would happen today.
"Good morning dear," said Molly Weasley as she bustled into his room. Charlie folded the paper and smiled at her.
"Morning mum," he said as brightly as he could. He still felt drained from the heavy sedation, but other than that he was in good spirits.
"I've brought you some fresh pyjamas, a change of underwear and some clothes for when they discharge you," Molly said fussily as she rearranged the bed covers around Charlie, effectively tucking him in.
"Thanks mum. Any word from Hermione this morning?" he asked as he tried very subtly to loosen the bed covers around him. He wasn't allowed to move an awful lot, but what he could at least do was wiggle free.
Molly looked at him over the top of the spectacles she had forgotten to remove. Charlie looked her over once and felt shocked for a moment at just how old his mother has gotten. Her once vibrant hair was greyer now and her skin was showing the wear and tear of age. She still looked her same old radiant self, so this soothed him.
"That poor woman worked a fourteen hour shift yesterday between you and Ginny. Hopefully she is still asleep," Molly replied brusquely as she summoned a fresh glass of water for her second eldest son.
Hermione turned in her sleep and was awoken by a swift kick to her bladder. Her little boy was letting her know that he was awake and that he wanted to play with her insides. She sighed and forced herself out of bed. As she made her way to her bathroom she spotted on her watch that it was early afternoon. When she had gotten home the previous evening she had forgotten all about feeding herself and had fallen straight into bed. She had slept for thirteen hours.
"It's no wonder I'm so hungry," she said aloud as she finished up in the bathroom.
After she had made herself a substantial meal of pancakes with a side of fruit and yoghurt, she dressed herself and grabbed her handbag. She needed to go back to the hospital to see Charlie and make sure he was doing okay. She had left strict instructions for the Healers who would be watching over him, and she wanted to make sure they were doing as they were told. For good measure she grabbed her white overcoat.
The hospital seemed relatively calm when Hermione arrived, except for the waiting journalists. She grumbled as she passed them and they took no notice of her. Harry and permitted one photograph and one photograph only. She wished they would just leave, but she couldn't force them unless they were being disruptive.
When she got to Charlie's room she heard quite a few voices on the other side of the door. It seemed he had a lot of visitors today. She pushed through the door and was greeted by Ron, Lavender, Ginny, Harry, Molly, Fred, George and Charlie who was holding baby James.
"Hermione!" everyone called in unison. She smiled widely and placed her handbag and overcoat by the door.
"Hi everyone," she said happily as she approached the bed. Baby James gurgled from Charlie's arms and Hermione paused for a moment as she looked at him.
Charlie looked so natural holding a baby in his arms. He was smiling down at the infant and cooing to him. Little James was watching Charlie intently, with a hand every so often reaching out. Hermione felt that wonderful warm sensation flow all through her body. Soon Charlie would be holding his own son and looking at him in the exact same way.
"How are my patients?" she asked as she perched on the bed and looked from Charlie to Ginny. Ginny chuckled and took James from her brother and rocked him gently.
"I'm technically not your patient. I just wanted you in the room with me because I know that everyone else in this hospital is a moron compared to you," Ginny said in a sly tone as she let James grab a firm hold of one of her fingers.
Hermione rolled her eyes and looked back to Charlie, her face turning serious. He stared at her vacantly for a moment, unsure of what to say but then cracked a grin.
"You want to know how I am?" he asked slowly. Hermione cocked her brow; not sure what Charlie was playing at.
"Well I came in with a broken back and poisoned by a dragon, something I had wanted for a long time, and some dumb Healer went and healed me all up," he said incredulously, crossing him arms gently across his chest.
"The nerve of some people," muttered Fred shaking his head. George copied his twin and they both shook their heads at Hermione.
"Taking away his dream like that," Ron tutted, trying to get in on the joke. He received a swift slap on the arm from Lavender, which effectively shut him up.
"I must find this Healer and reprimand them. Spending four hours healing you without even moving to go to the bathroom? Terrible. Let me just undo all of their hard work," Hermione said tartly as she got up from the bed and whipped out her wand to point at Charlie's chest.
Charlie held his hands up in defence and started to laugh. Hermione waved her wand once and a fast stream of bubbles erupted from her wand and burst in Charlie's face. The room burst into laughter, all except for Molly.
"Come on mum, that was funny!" Ron said as he pointed at Charlie, who was spluttering through his own chuckles.
Molly placed her hands on her hips and frowned deeply. Ginny nudged her mother lightly with her elbow and gave her a questioning look. Molly moved and went to fuss with Charlie's bed clothes once more.
"I don't think any of this is funny. Charlie's injuries are nothing to joke about, and all of the hard work Hermione put in trying to heal him should not be laughed at either. She exhausted herself making sure my boy could walk again!" the older witch said in a firm, curt tone. Hermione gave Molly a sympathetic smile and reached over the bed to put a hand on hers.
"Thank you Molly and you're right, as always. Charlie's injuries were life threatening for a while, but with some perseverance we got through it and now he is in better health than he ever was. Being able to laugh about it now will help us all get over the fear we felt. It will help us to move on and focus on what really matters," she said gently, stopping Molly in her incessant need to mother her son. Hermione knew it wasn't required. Charlie was fully healed.
"Yeah mum," said George as he went and threw an arm around his mother's shoulders, "We need to focus now on making sure Ginny and Harry don't screw up their son!"
Hermione unlocked the door to her flat and allowed Charlie to enter first. She had discharged him from the hospital as soon as he'd stopped feeling drained from the sedation. She had told the remaining staff who had been caring for him, that she would take over and watch over him at home. No one had argued with her and getting Charlie packed up and ready to leave had taken no time at all.
"Hey Shadow!" Charlie said cheerfully as the little ball of fur came racing towards him. Charlie picked the kitten up and held him in front of his face.
"Someone got bigger while I was away," he muttered to the kitten as it tried to swat at his face with its paws.
Hermione chuckled and rubbed her swollen stomach. She hung up her over coat and threw her handbag on the floor. She looked Charlie up and down once before she spoke.
"Yeah we both have," she said as the wizard turned and looked at her bump. He smiled and placed the kitten on the floor.
He walked up to her slowly, taking her in. She had grown in size since they were last together, and he had expected this. Seeing it on the other hand made him feel slightly left behind, like he'd missed out. Hermione had constantly updated him through her letters as to how she was doing, but she hadn't been able to describe just how much she had physically changed in four weeks.
Hermione wrapped her arms around his abdomen and hugged him gently. She knew he was one hundred percent better, she'd healed him herself, but she still felt like he was fragile and needed to be handled with care after what had happened to him. She breathed him in and sighed happily. He was still as lean and muscular as ever, and she'd missed his touch. His hand found her head and he ran his fingers through her hair. She'd missed the tingling sensation in her scalp.
"I missed you," Charlie mumbled into her hair as they embraced. Hermione nodded her head into his chest, unable to speak.
They stood in silence for a long time, lost in each other's arms. Eventually Charlie pulled away and looked down into her eyes. They were wide and filled with emotion. He could practically count all of her eyelashes. She smiled up at him as he leaned in and kissed her.
She moaned against his lips and she felt his hand grasp the back of her neck. He pulled her in gently, deepening their kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and suddenly felt him reach down and lift her into his arms. She froze instantly and broke apart from their kiss.
"Charlie, what are you doing? You shouldn't be lifting me, you'll hurt yourself," she scolded. Charlie snorted and smirked at her.
"You're the one that healed me. You know how brilliant you are. My spine feels like it's made of steel!" he told her as he carried her towards the bedroom.
Hermione's cheeks flamed as he kicked the door open with his foot. She did a quick mental analysis of how he was moving and he wasn't wrong. He felt stronger, and he was carrying her as if she weighed nothing at all. He wasn't struggling with this task at all. She really was brilliant.
He set her carefully on top of the bed and flicked his wand so the door closed behind him. Hermione felt excited giggles in her chest but held them back, still fearful for him. He took off his t-shirt and she stared at him. The puncture wound from the dragon had been completely healed, so she didn't have to worry about that. He had no other visible wounds on his body, and he looked like he was standing straighter than he ever had. He looked like he was in peak physical condition.
"Are you sure?" she asked him warily. He jumped down beside her and kissed her until her toes curled. That was all the answer she needed.
Later that evening Charlie had announced that he was taking Hermione out for dinner. After they had untangled from each other in the bed, they had gotten dressed and had made their way to Diagon Alley. Here they found a quaint little restaurant near Gringots and had managed to get a table beside the window. Hermione stared avidly out the window, enjoying being able to people watch.
"And for madam, our roast chicken with seasonal vegetables," said the waiter as he placed a plate in front of Hermione. The smell of her meal made her mouth water and brought her focus back to the table.
"Thank you," Charlie told her as she picked up her knife and fork to begin eating. She stopped and gave him a puzzled look.
"For healing me," he said tenderly as he took his own utensils and cut into his steak dinner.
"But…" Hermione started, feeling very confused, "you already thanked me, didn't you?"
"Not verbally," Charlie said wiggling his eyebrows at her. Hermione felt her cheeks flush and her heart beat a little faster. She chuckled and speared a parsnip with her fork.
"Oh right," she said slyly, "well then I'm verbally telling you, you're welcome. I thought my physical actions would have told you that, but it seems I may have to examine your brain. It seems to have contracted a temporary case of "the dumb"."
Charlie laughed at her and took a sip of his wine. The flavour was delicious and suited his meal well. He watched Hermione as she ate her meal, and simply sat and appreciated her. If it hadn't been for her, he could have at best, been paralysed, and at worst, died. While he had been recovering from the sedation he had a lot of time to think about what had happened, and his current situation.
"Hermione can I talk to you about something?" he asked her as she daintily took another bite of chicken. Hermione nodded her head at him as she chewed.
"Working with dragons has been my life's ambition and getting to work with them in Romania has been a dream. However, after what happened, I've had time to think about our situation, and I've come to realise that dreams change," Charlie started to explain. Hermione stopped mid chew and realised what he was trying to say.
"Charlie you can't give up your dream job. Being a Dragon Keeper is everything to you," she implored. Charlie chuckled softly and set down his utensils.
"Yes, it is, just like being St. Mungo's greatest Healing Consultant is yours. We're both in jobs that we love, but one of us is more important than the other," he explained. Hermione was about to say something else but he cut her off.
"Being hit by that dragon opened my eyes to what is important. I'm not the young man I used to be. I might still look it, but I don't feel it. You and I are having a baby, and I want to be there for our son as he grows into an amazing young wizard. My job runs too high a risk of fatal injury. I'm going to leave the reserve."
Hermione gaped at him, her jaw hanging loose. She was silent for so long that Charlie started to fidget in his seat. He leaned forwards and took her limp hand.
"Hermione? Is everything alright? You have spoken for two minutes," he asked cautiously.
"You can't do that!" Hermione exclaimed finally, starling the wizard in front of her. Charlie jumped so much his cutlery dropped to the floor.
"I can, and I will. This is something that I've thought about for a while now. I'd been thinking about it in Romania, and once that dragon beat me up, it was like it confirmed things for me. You and our baby are the most important things to me now. Our family is my new dream. I love you, and I want to be there for you and our son," Charlie said soothingly, taking her other loose hand in his.
Hermione felt tears prickle in her eyes and she looked down at their entwined fingers. Her mind was racing and thoughts popped into her head faster than she could comprehend. She felt emotions like guilt, euphoria, sorrow and fear all at the same time. It was making her rather light headed. She had tried so hard to get a transfer from St. Mungo's to another hospital, but they refused to let her go. With Charlie now leaving his job, she felt like it was her fault. Another part of her rejoiced in the fact that this man had just told her that he loved her, and that she and their family was his new dream. If she was being honest with herself that was what she felt too. He was sacrificing a lot for her, but he seemed more than happy to do so. The look on his face told her he was serious about leaving the reserve and coming home. The grip he had on her hands told her there was no arguing with him.
"I love you too Charlie," she replied softly, tears leaking down her face. Charlie grinned and gently wiped the tears from her face.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please let me know by giving it a quick review. *Apologies once again for any spelling or grammar errors.*