Prompt from H.M.S. Harmony Valentine's Day Challenge:
'An expecting Harry and Hermione are enjoying a quiet Valentine's dinner at home when Hermione's water breaks.'
Not gonna lie, I was having too much fun with this one so forgot about the 'at home' part of the prompt but, as I said, I was having fun with this so here you go. Sorry, lol.
Also, I have never been in a delivery room or been around someone in labour in real life so if any of my depiction of this is inaccurate, I'm sorry.
"... so Ron just starts yelling at me, right? He's like 'The bastard is throwing sticks and telling me to go fetch just because he found out that my Patronus is a dog!'" Hermione was doubled over the table, as much as the space allowed, laughing, holding her hand in front of her mouth to stop any food from escaping. She swallowed before she finally spoke.
"I take it he's not quite forgiven you for leaving the Auror department then?" she chuckled.
"Hell no! You should've heard him when they reassigned partners. He stormed into the Burrow while Molly and I were starting dinner and just screamed 'MALFOY!' We were so confused. Molly said to me 'I thought they were getting along now?' Of course, I agreed, but then remembered that it was from a distance, right. They assigned Malfoy to me when he joined up, and I'm still convinced they knew exactly how we felt about each other when they did that, so he was always my partner and he and Ron didn't spend that much time together. So, he storms in and announces 'They reassigned Sophie to Walmouth' I feel bad for him. He is too old to handle Sophie's enthusiasm. Anyway, 'Sophie's with Walmouth, and they gave me MALFOY!' He was fuming. He's still fuming. It's ridiculous."
"Are either of them gonna put in for another reassign?"
"Malfoy's definitely not. I bet he's having way too much fun as Ron's partner. Ron, however, isn't allowed to. When we were made senior Aurors, we were told that our juniors are our responsibility and, if we have any problems with them, it's up to us to fix it. Ron's stuck with him." They both giggled at that.
"Oh blimey. That's too funny." Hermione breathed, her hand rubbing her belly. "We are stuffed though."
"Yeah? No room for dessert then?" he asked with a smirk, knowing full well what the answer would be once the waiter passed them.
"I think so. Ooh, wait. Was he just carrying a Black Forest Gateau? Oooooooooooooh." Harry chuckled at her. "Why are you laughing at me?"
"You're just very predictable." he teased, grinning unapologetically at her, making her scowl.
"I'm not predictable. Maybe I'll get...ummm..." She reached for the dessert menu and scanned it quickly. "the carrot cake. We like carrot cake, don't we darling?" she addressed to her belly. "I would like the carrot cake, please." she finished with a satisfied, smug grin.
"I thought you were stuffed?" Hermione's head fell back in defeat.
"Oooooh, I just want that Gateau!" she whined. Harry just laughed at her again, earning another scowl, before he waved the waiter over.
"Hi, would we be able to order some dessert, please?"
"Of course, what would you like?"
"Could we have the Black Forest Gateau please, and two forks?"
"Of course, is that all?"
"Yes, thank you." He smiled as the waiter left and was then met with a frown from his wife.
"Why two forks?"
"Well, I'm gonna have some too."
"Why?"
"Because I like Gateau too."
"So why not get one for yourself?"
"Because, despite your craving for the bloody thing, you're not gonna be able to finish it."
"I will too."
"Will not."
"Care to make it interesting?"
"What are we going to bet? We have a joint bank account!"
"If I win, I get to give the baby their middle name. If you win, you do."
"What happened to first names?"
"We've already agreed on those!"
"We've already agreed on middle names!"
"Middle names are still changeable." Harry didn't know how to respond, so he just laughed and held out his hand for her to shake, which she did.
She did not finish the slice of Gateau.
"So, middle names." Harry began, leaning forward and tapping on his chin in over-exaggerated thought. He could hear his wife huffing opposite him, which only made it all the more satisfying. "How's Amadeus, for a boy, and Consuela, for a girl?"
"You were just thinking of Phoebe from Friends then, weren't you?"
"She's the best one!"
"You said I reminded you of Monica!"
"I wasn't trying to compliment you." he risked, wincing slightly as soon as he said it in anticipation of an explosive reaction. He was met with several beats of silence and then sudden, hysteric laughter.
"You outrageous arse!" she exclaimed through her cackles, nearly blowing out the candle on the table between them. Harry joined in out of relief, as well as pride for his own joke. However, her laughter suddenly stopped and was replaced by a gasp. Harry looked up at her and she was sat there, wide-eyed, with a gaping jaw and her hands gripping either side of the back of her chair.
"Hermione?" he asked as he skidded his chair back a little. "What's wrong?"
"Ummm..." she began shakily. "Either, I laughed so hard I peed myself or... my water just broke." Harry started panicking, which was his only excuse for his response.
"Errr... which one are you thinking is more likely?"
"Well, given the slight pop I just felt, I'm gonna say the latter." she declared irritably. Harry panicked even more and his mind blanked.
"Oh, err, so what do we... do we... do we... do we... do we just leave? We... we... we haven't paid yet. Do we pay first?"
"Excuse me! Could we have the bill please!" Hermione called impatiently. After about 30 seconds, a woman who looked like a manager turned up at the table, just as Hermione began to try and stand up.
"Hi, I just wanted to let you know that we'd prefer you didn't shout across the restaurant because we'd rather you disturb our other cu..."
"Yes, I understand that, truly, but my water's just broken so we need to go!" Hermione interrupted in a rush. The manager's eyes widened comically.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I'll go get the bill now." She nearly sprinted away.
"Umm, Harry, sweetheart, little help?" At his name, Harry shook his head out of his trance and rose up in a hurry to guide Hermione to her feet. The manager came back in a rush with the receipt and the card machine. Harry paid as quickly as he could and then rushed his wife out of the restaurant. Once out in the street, they sped for the closest alleyway, which he had identified when choosing the restaurant, took out the emergency portkey for this very circumstance and activated it.
They arrived in the maternity ward in St Mungo's and were immediately rushed to a room.
"Harry, go and get the bag. Now!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Ok, I'll only be a minute." Against the rules of the hospital, which Harry had no space in his mind to think about in that moment, he apparated where he stood and arrived at the foot of the stairs in Harry and Hermione's house. He sprinted to the baby's room and dove into the medium sized, purple room and snatched their go-bag from beside the cot. He stood in the doorway for a moment, a hand on the doorknob, looking around and slowly grinned. They were coming. Their baby was coming.
Barely a minute later, he was back in St Mungo's and getting a very brief lecture about the rules.
"We understand the situation you are in, but there is no excuse, no matter how famous you may be or how pregnant your wife may be, to apparate in and out of this hospital when not in the specified areas!" the nurse was insisting, but Harry interrupted him.
"I know, and I'm really sorry but I need to get to my wife." He said nothing more and just sped to Hermione's room. She had already been changed into her hospital gown and she was in the middle of a contraction already. He rushed to her side, dropped the bag on the floor and gripped her hand. They squeezed each other through the pain and fear and both let out a great sigh of relief when Hermione's pain ceased. For a while at least.
He didn't leave her side once. He couldn't. It was all going so quickly. The time between contractions was decreasing rapidly and Harry was worried that it was going too fast. Each contraction had him fearing for his wife's safety more and more. Once or twice, he forced himself to not cry from seeing his wife in such anguish. Then he had to remind himself that everything about human biology was at least a little different for Wizards and Witches and they, both having grown up with muggles, were warned that this was one of those differences. It was only about 2 hours after they left the restaurant that they were taken to the delivery room.
He hadn't realised how long the delivery itself would take. He found it harder to resist his tears as she yelled through the pain and his and the nurses' chants of 'push' and 'breath' and 'you're doing amazingly'. Eventually, a little baby was born and Hermione collapsed back in exhaustion. Because of his shock at actually having the baby there, in the room with them, the nurse had to guide his hand to cut the cord away. He quickly got over that shock when the baby was placed in his arms. The little girl. She fit perfectly in the cradle of his arms and he stared down at her, now crying for a whole new reason. He was transfixed, mesmerized by the sight of his daughter. So much so that Hermione had to reach out to get his attention.
"Sorry, love. Look, she's here."
"She?" Hermione asked wondrously.
"She." Harry confirmed before, gently, placing the little life in Hermione's cradled arms.
"Oh." Hermione breathed out, her voice shaking. "She's beautiful. We can't tell right now, but I think she's gonna have your eyes." Harry leaned over to examine his daughter's face. Her eyes had yet to develop much colour in her irises, though they did have a hint of blue. She also had a few strands of hair sticking off the top of her head.
"Maybe, but it looks like she's already got your curly locks." he joked as he ran a strand between his fingers. They both began laughing, but the shake of Hermione's body disturbed the baby's peace and she began crying gently.
"Oh, I'm sorry darling. You're ok. That's just what it's like when mummy's laughing. You remember that from before right? It's just a different place to feel it from now." Hermione whispered, leaning close to the girl's head. The sound of her mother's voice seemed to sooth her. Harry reached over and stroked the baby's head and grinned mischievously.
"Beatrice Consuela Granger-Potter." He received a scowl from Hermione.
"We're not actually giving her that middle name." she declared sternly.
"But you promised." he teased.
"A promise made under the influence of pregnancy cravings should never be trusted." Harry chuckled again at that. "What's the time?" she asked. Harry looked at his watch.
"Errr, twenty to midnight."
"Darn it. I suppose we won't be celebrating Valentine's Day for a few years."
"Oh, come on, it may as well be morning. We can just tell her she was born half an hour later."
"It'll say 14th on the birth certificate." Hermione admonished him fondly.
"Not if we tell them to wait half an hour."
"Stop it, you." she insisted through a small chuckle. "I love you, Harry."
"I love you too, Hermione."
"Happy Valentine's Day."
"Happy Valentine's Day." He leaned in to kiss her softly. He pulled back and looked down at their daughter again, one hand stroking her head and the other stroking his wife's. "Happy Birthday Beatrice."