title: no take backs
rating: pg13
keywords: h/hr
category: romance, angst
summary: don't wanna type it out
a/n: i could bitch about how i had to re-write this entire chapter THREE times, but i won't. i'll just say that i hate it when my comp erases everything that i right. and i was at the last sentence too!!!!! but this is the newly finished product, and i'll go to say that it's my favorite.
disclaimer: if jk rowling knew what everyone was doing to her characters, she'd feed us to the wolves....
IF YOU ARE SIGNED UP FOR SCHNOOGLE AND LIKE DEALS, LET ME KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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The summer holiday months finished without any incident between Harry and Hermione, and before either of them were ready, it was time for their new school term to begin. They boarded the train and went to Hogwarts, and their first half of the term was done.
It was now Christmas Holiday and they were the only two left in the tower. Harry was grateful for this because both he and Hermione had needed the break from hiding the pregnancy from everyone. And now that things were in their almost ideal condition, they were happy.
Hermione stood at the window, looking out at the grounds of Hogwarts. It was Christmas Eve and the first snow of the season was beginning to fall heavily outside. It was past dark, but the snow that she could see was beautiful.
Harry was sitting in a chair by the fire reading a book that he had picked up earlier that day at the library. He had neverr been much one for reading, but this book had intrigued him. With he and Hermione being the only two in the tower, a little extra entertainment might have been just what he needed.
Hermione sighed heavily and Harry looked over at her form by the window. He smiled at the thought of knowing what she meant to him. She was his life and his heart. And they had combinedly poured both of these elements into making a perfect blend of their souls that would be making its appearance within the week.
Harry put a mark in his book and stood up, stretching as he did so. He took a few strides over to the window and quickly grabbed Hermione, kissing her lips insistently. She kissed back with the same intensity and not a drop of protest. Harry hugged her close and broke their kiss much to her dismay. But she hugged him back reguardless, and they stood that way for a long time.
"Harry, I'm scared," Hermione muttered into his shirt. She nestled her face even more into his chest. He rubbed her back and murmered soft words of enouragement in her ears. She seemed happy with this and let herself fall into Harry's depths for a while.
Harry rubbed a hadn on her back and she woke from her tracne. She looked up into his green eyes and felt like succumbing to anything that he had planned. He pointed over to the couch and she began to walk, pulling him with her.
They sat down together and Harry wrapped his arms around her as far as they would go. He had to settle with his hands on top of her stomach with the baby protesting like crazy. They both laughed at this before Hermione silenced Harry with small kisses about his lips. He responded in kind with a few kisses of his own before moving down to her neck where he planted soft kisses along there.
This was Harry and Hermione's favorite way to spend personal time together. But personal time was scarce to come by. Especaily since they were always surrounded by classmates. They hadn't even had but two chances since the term had started to 'get together'.
Hermione jumped slightly, startling Harry a little. He pulled back from his taks and looked at her, making sure taht everything was alright. He noticed taht she had a little look of pain or distress on her face, but it passed soon enough and she waved it off. He nodded and began kissing her again.
Hermione ran a hand through Harry's unruly black hair as they lay there on the couch with his head laid lazily on her shoulder minutes later. He sighed and she kissed the top of his head.
For the third time that night (Harry hadn't known about the first), Hermione felt a short wave of pain errupt in her abdomen. She grimaced a little harder this time for it was a more direct hurt. But seeing as how the baby was due soon, she decided that this was normal and didn't pay much more attention to it.
A clock chimed on the other side of the room and Hermione looked up to see that it was time for dinner. She roused Harry from the sleep that he ahd fallen into, and he yawned heavily. the yawn being contagious, Hermione yawned herself and they laughed.
Harry stood up first and helped Hermione off of the couch carefully. It was becoming more and more of a chore for her to stand up. But as long as Harry knew taht he was making her life easier, he was there for her.
Leaving the portrait hole was more of a chore than Harry or Hermione would have like to admit to. It was at least a foot and a half drop from the entrance, and being that there were no stairs, they found it harder than the normal witch or wizard would have. After a minute, they were both out and the fat lady in the portrait bid them a fond farewell as they went off to dinner.
Their meal was a spectacular one. All of the meals had been wonderful since the beginning of the holiday, but this was moreso than normal since it was Christmas Eve dinner.
Hermione and Harry were the only Gryffindors that had stayed behind for the holiday. There were four Ravenclaws, two Hufflepuffs, and three Slytherins (including a very disgruntled looking Malfoy). All of them seemed to be enjoying themselves except for Malfoy. And a Slytherin that was having a good time was hard to come by.
Dinner was a very eventful occasion in which some of the teachers who stayed told stories from their days at Hogwarts. Even Snape pitched in on the fun and told some embarassing stories about himself. Everyone was in a good mood.
Except Hermione who was secretly holding back the pain that kept advancing on her lightly every once in a while.
Malfoy sat on the other side of the table not speaking. He was watching. Everyone. Especially Hermione. He saw the hitch in her features everytime a wave of pain came. And being the curious type that he was, he made a mental note to explore this in the future.
A good two hours had passed before Dumbledore decided that since Christmas would be approaching soon, they should all get off to bed. Hermione was one of the first to agree with this, not to Malfoy's surprise. Harry looked over and gave her a questioning glance and she tried to smile wihtout too much discomfort, but Harry saw the strain in her eyes and he was quickly ready to leave the table.
Harry stoo and helped Hermione to her feet. She clutched onto Harry's arm tightly, trying to gain stability on her feet since she was all of a sudden light headed. Harry said goodnight for the both of them and they rushed off to the tower as quickly as possible.
As soon as they got inside, Hermione let out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding. Harry reached out a hand to her and touched her arm. she turned around and spoke through a shaky voice, "I'm quite tired. I think I'm ready for bed now."
Harry nodded and helped her walk upstairs to the the girl's dorm where they had both been sharing a bed for the past few nights. Harry escaped from his clothing and quickly threw on a pair of cloth pajama pants. He walke dvoer and helped Hermione with getting ready for bed. After all was said and done, they laid in bed together with their faces inches apart just taking in each other's faces. Harry reached over and gave Hermione a quick kiss goodnight before closing his eyes.
But Hermione was not that easy to sleep.
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"Hermione?" Harry sat up in bed and rubbed at his eyes. He looked over at the empty spot in the bed next to him and wondered aloud where she could be. He was about to get up and look for her when he saw a figure near the doorway move slowly. He recognized it as her.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked as he got up to go to her.
Hermione strained as she tried her best to throw out the words to Harry through her clenched teeth. "My....my water just...broke."
The color drained from Harry's face and he felt his legs go numb. All of a sudden the room was spinning and Hermione watched as Harry's limp figure fell to the floor with a dull thud. She waited for the pain to pass and then she moved over to him, waking him from his light phase.
"Harry, wake up," she slaped his face and he came to. He sat up quickly and looked at her. She spoke softly, "You need to go get someone. This baby is going to come, and it's going to come tonight."
Harry barely heard the words through the ringing in his head, but he nodded anyway and stood up slowly. He helped Hermione to her feet and led her to the bed to lie down. He made sure taht she was comfortable before running out of the dorm room and out of the tower as quickly as he could.
Upon reaching the main stairwell just outside the tower, he stopped and thought about his best choice of action. He knew that Filch's office was a ways away from the entrance to the tower, and going there could take too long. But if he went and found that Filch wasn't there, it could take even longer to find him. But then Harry decided that he could go to the staff quarters and get one of the teachers that way. It would be easier. But none of the ideas were quite fast enough for him. Not if he were human anyway.
Harry concentrated and within less tahna second he stood a wolf in front of the sleeping fat lady in the portrait. But he didn't stay there long before taking off at a dead run toward the staff wing on the other side of the school.
About halfway there he caught sight of something that he never thought he would have been happier to se in his life. Draco Malfoy. He was awake and wandering around outside of his dorm after hours. What Harry would have given to see Malfoy caught, but Malfoy was more beneficial at this point.
"What the bloody hell?!" Malfoy yelled as he began to run from Harry. Harry gained quickly on Malfoy and backed him against a wall. Harry snapped at him once and then changed back into his human form, his eyes blazing fire at the scared wizard.
"You are going to go to the staff wing and get the first responsible teacher that you can find. After you find them, you're going to tell them that there's an emergency in Gryffindor Tower, and they need to get there as quick as their -fucking- legs will carry them." Harry slammed his hand against the all for emphasis, making Malfoy jump at the sound. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" Harry yelled loud enough for the entire school to hear.
"Yes," Malfoy said in a weak, scared voice.
"Good. Go," Harry said as he changed back into his wolf form and took off back toward Gryffindor Tower. He woke the fat lady quickly and gave her the pssword, running inside to hear the scream of a woman in pain coming from the girl's dorm. He ran up to find that Hermione was having a very strong contraction.
He ran to her bedside and grabbed onto one of her hands. She took it and squeezed hard enough to break some of his bones. But Harry said nothing since he knew that his pain was nothing compared to hers.
The contraction subsided moments later and she lookd up through slit-eyes at Harry. Beads of sweat trickled down from her forehead, dripping off anywehre they could. Harry went and found a cloth, dabbing it on her forehead lightly.
"I went adn found someone to go get a teacher. They should be here soon," Harry said as he sat down.
"Good." It was the only thing Hermione could manage to say through her exhaustion.
Minutes passed slowly and Harry and Hermione both wondered here their help was. Harry had already resorted to pacing back and forth. After his fifteenth repitition, the door burst open and teh most unlikely person came walking in.
Snape.
If the situation weren't so serious then Harry would have stopped to take the time to laugh. But when he came back from the shock of everything, he saw that Hermione had become nothing more than a mass of giggles on the bed. Harry smiled at her and walked back over to take his place on the other side of the bed.
Harry began to laugh as well until Malfoy came walking in shortly thereafter. Then Harry's face fell at the sight of the supposed intruder. Harry got up and walked over to Malfoy, not thanking him for sending what Harry would call help, but instead punching him as hard as he could in the jaw. Malfoy stumbled and grabbed his face where Harry had hit. Blood came off on his fingers.
"Why did you do that?" Malfoy said in shock.
"Did I need a reason??" Harry said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. He waited for a response as Malfoy stood there staring at him through blazing eyes.
"You bloody well did!"
"If you want a reason, then I hit you because this," Harry stopped to point at Snape who was watching their fight with a bemused smile. "Is -NOT- help. I asked for someone -RESPONSIBLE-!" Malfoy visibly trembled in front of Harry's anger. But that was not enough to stop him from throwing the second punch in the fight. One which landing right in Harry's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.
Harry doubled over clutching his stomach. He gasped for a air and as soon as he got one, he was back at Malfoy's throat. Harry rammed him back against the wall as he had done in the corridor, with his hand wrapped around Malfoy's throat. Malfoy brought his knee up and lodged in in Harry's crotch. Harry let go of Malfoy and flinched in pain. Malfoy looked very satisfied and began to walk over to Snape. Harry found his composure and stood upright, turning around to jump on Malfoy's back. Malfoy hit the floor hard with Harry on his back. He rolled over, trying his best to throw Harry off. It worked and Harry went crashing onto the ground next to him. Malfoy rolled over and tried to stand, but Harry pummeled him back to the ground and leaned over him, throwing effective punches in Malfoy's face and chest.
Snape was about to take the time to intervene when a scream errupted in the room and everyone tore their eyes to he bed. Another wave of pain had crashed over Hermione. She layed on the bed gripping the sheets and biting her lip.
Harry got off of a bleeding Malfoy and ran to Hermione's bedside. He grabbed her hand and let her grip it as hard as she needed to. When he told her this, she squeezed his hand so tightly that Harry thought the bones in his hand would cave under the pressure. This pain for both of them carried for several long seconds before subsiding and Hermione lay spent on the bed.
Snape walked slowly over to the bed and looked down. A slight smile tugged at his lip and he almsot looked friendly for a moment. Malfoy stood from the floor and went to stand in the corner, half in shock.
"I didn't know she was pregant," Snape said. "Why wasn't I told?"
"Why should you have been told?" Hermione asked quietly.
"Because even though you two may not think it, but you aren't the first to have a baby in this school."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Well aside from Madam Pomfrey, who is on holiday, I'm the one who usually takes care of this kind of thing."
"Oh," that was was all Harry could get out of his throat. He sat down next to Hermione on the bed and ran the cloth over her damp forehead again. Snape took off his robes and hung them over the back of a chair. He rolled his long shirt sleeves up and began looking around.
"Malfoy," Snape said. Malfoy grunted from the corner to ascert his presence. This was good enough for Snape. "Go and fetch me a basin with hot water and some towels. We'll also need a small blanket. One that's soft." Malfoy nodded and left the room.
"It's quite dark in here. Let's get some light, shall we?" Snape said after taking out his wand. He held it and said 'lumos', thus bathing the room in light. He tucked his wand away and sat down in a chair, waiting.
"What now?" Harry asked. Hermione had drifted into a light sleep.
"We wait."
"Why are we waiting?" Harry asked.
"Because there's not much else we can do."
Harry didn't look happy, but he was settled with that as an answer. He laid down next to Hermione on the bed and tried to get a few minute's rest himself. It worked for a while before they were plunged into round three of Hermion'e contractions.
Snape stood up and walked to the end of the bed. He told Hermione to bend her legs for examination. Snape looked around for a few minutes, a concerned look on his face. scratched his head, racking his brain for something.
"What? What is it?" Harry asked as the contraction shook Hermione's body.
"I don't believe I've ever seen a baby come this fast," Snape said as he walked back over to his chair, sitting down and watching Hermione as she settled back down. Harry sat on the edge of the bed facing Snape.
"Is that a bad thing?" Harry asked concernedly.
"I don't know if it is or not. It's not that uncommon for second and third children to be born this quickly, but I just don't know about firsts."
Harry sighed and laid down next to Hermione. All was quiet until Malfoy came running back into the room not too long later. He set the basin of water on a nightstand that Harry had taken the time to clear in his absence. Malfoy had a few towels under his arms and he set them on the next bed over. Malfoy took a seat next to the towles and waited with the rest of them for the action to continue.
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It wasn't until a few hours later taht Harry found himself standing next to Hermione with his face inches away from her's. She had ahold of his hair since he was shirtless and she was screaming into his face.
"YOU DID THIS TO ME!" A few pauses came in which Snape was yelling at her to push. "DIE!" she screamed as she pushed with all of her might. Nothing seemed to happen and Snape looked disappointed. Hermione let go of Harry's hair and things momentarily calmed down and a quiet was in the room for mere seconds before things were happening once again.
Malfoy sat in the middle of the next bed over playing with his hands. He wasn't of any use and he wasn't really quite sure of what he was doing there. But something wouldn't make him leave, and so he watched the show with eager eyes.
"Bay, if you just push a little harder, we'll have a baby in our arms and this will be done with," Harry said as warmly as he could into her ear. Hermione turned her head with wide eyes.
"Push a little harder, you say?" she said through clenched teeth as she tried pushing again. Harry nodded and she reached up to grab his hair again, but he pulled back before she could. "I want you to try.....pushing.....something the size of a small watermelon out of places IT SHOULDN'T BE!" The force of everything was hitching her speech and it was all she could do to scream at Harry.
Harry turned his head to see that Malfoy had collapsed on his bed in a fit of giggles. He clutched his midsection and gasped for air to fill his lungs. Harry felt like pouncing on his again, but Snape let out a happy cry.
"I see its head!" he yelled loudly.
Harry smiled and ran around to Snape to see what he was looking at. The two men danced around happily as Hermione looked at them incredulously. Anger filled her eyes and the mirror on the other side of the room cracked loudly. Snape turned around and looked at it. He turned to see that Hermione was gripping the sheets not in pain but in anger.
"I'm laying here in pain, and all you two can do to amuse yourselves is DANCE AROUND?" Harry tried to explain to ehr what they were so happy for, but she wouldn't listen to him. All she wanted to do was stand up and reach over to punch Harry. Malfoy also found this funny.
Hermioen screamed loudly for no apparent reason to Harry until he saw Snape's face and he knew that they would be holding a baby soon. Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and kissed her knuckles. She didn't look like she was in the mood for romance.
"All you have to do is push, Love. It's not much more than that. We'll be holding the baby soon if you just try."
"I can't push anymore," Hermione said as she closed her eyes. Harry could make out the shape of a tear falling from the corner of her eye. He wiped it away with his thumb and kissed her cheek.
"You have to push." Harry said. Hermione mutterd 'I can't' again. "You can do anything. You put up with me on a daily basis. That's got to be hard enough."
Hermioen laughed softly and opened her eyes just enough to look at him. She smiled softly and time seemed to stop for just a minute. Harry reached over and kissed her soundly on the mouth, holding her face in his hands. She kissed him back and pulled away quickly as things came back into focus.
Harry watched as her face contorted into not pain, but sheer effort. She didn't scream and she didn't speak. She just pushed and Harry held onto her hand. He watched her face intently until he saw it relax.
And he heard a cry.
Harry looked down at Snape's face to see that it was genuinely smiling. That made Harry smile. And Hermione looked up at Harry through tired eyes to look at his face. She reached up and touched his face, bringing it down to hers, kissing him while Snape cleaned the baby up.
Harry and Hermione were still kissing when Snape walked over to them, holding a baby in a midnight blue towel with pictures of the moon and stars on it. The moon and stars twinkled like those in Hermione's eyes as Snape lowered the baby to her waiting arms.
"Congratulations on your daughter," Snape said as he walked over to Malfoy who was sitting on the bed crying even more than the baby. Snape slapped him on the back and ushered him out of the room to let Harry and Hermione have some time alone.
Harry peered over to look at his daughter. He smiled when she looked at him and stopped crying. He touched her forehead softly and leaned down to kiss where his fingers touched. Hermione smiled and kissed Harry's cheek as he kissed the baby.
Harry pulled back, kissing Hermione as he did so, and rubbed his daughter's back as Hermione examined her. She touched the child's fingers and ran a hand over her dark, silky hair. Hermione smiled at the realization that this baby already had her father's black hair. Now theree was just one thing left to look for...
Hermione smiled even more brightly when the baby locked eyes with her. The eyes. She had bright, alert green eyes just like her father. That must have been the Potter family mark. But Hermione wasn't complaining.
"I love you," Harry said as he kissed her temple once more. "I love you both so much. Thank you, Hermione, for everything."
"I love you too, Harry."
There was a happy silence between them as they sat there, a complete family when Harry looked outisde at the snow that had stopped falling. He could see the moon shining down on the snowy lawn, casting shadows everywhere. It was beautiful. Then Harry saw a star twinkling brightly and Harry smiled. He had almost forgotten....
"Merry Christmas, Hermione." He said as he sat back down on the bed. Hermione smiled and looked back down at the baby. She had closed her eyes and was sleeping soundly.
"Harry," Hermione began softly. A fierce intensity grew in her voice even though the tome may have been light. "There -are- no take backs on this."
"I know. I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. I'm in this for the long run."
Hermione smiled comfortably and yawned. It was late and she was tired from just having given birth. She was entitled to a good sleep.
Harry took the child from her arms and held her close, carrying her to the window to let Hermione sleep. Harry held the baby up close to his face and kissed her forehead again. Even though she may not have been awake, he spoke to her anyway.
"You're my miracle, you know that? Anytime you ever doubt what you mean to me, just look up and if the sky is there, so is my love for you."
The baby opened her eyes and green met green. Soul met soul. And a bond that would last a lifetime began by the window that very night.
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a/n: i want to thank all of you who reviewed and kept me going through this time. with special thanks to the following people:
linz tns, clothzcrazy1103, lannevirgo, rangerprincess56, dta1225, gabaleka, prgirl483, hockeyhunk6931. thanks guys!
i enjoyed this last chapter the best, i think. even though it sucked rewriting everything. but it turned out for the best the third time around. i know that all of the scenes of the kid being born is b/s, but since i've never had a kid, i don't know much about it. forgive me, please. REVIEW THIS!!
rating: pg13
keywords: h/hr
category: romance, angst
summary: don't wanna type it out
a/n: i could bitch about how i had to re-write this entire chapter THREE times, but i won't. i'll just say that i hate it when my comp erases everything that i right. and i was at the last sentence too!!!!! but this is the newly finished product, and i'll go to say that it's my favorite.
disclaimer: if jk rowling knew what everyone was doing to her characters, she'd feed us to the wolves....
IF YOU ARE SIGNED UP FOR SCHNOOGLE AND LIKE DEALS, LET ME KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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The summer holiday months finished without any incident between Harry and Hermione, and before either of them were ready, it was time for their new school term to begin. They boarded the train and went to Hogwarts, and their first half of the term was done.
It was now Christmas Holiday and they were the only two left in the tower. Harry was grateful for this because both he and Hermione had needed the break from hiding the pregnancy from everyone. And now that things were in their almost ideal condition, they were happy.
Hermione stood at the window, looking out at the grounds of Hogwarts. It was Christmas Eve and the first snow of the season was beginning to fall heavily outside. It was past dark, but the snow that she could see was beautiful.
Harry was sitting in a chair by the fire reading a book that he had picked up earlier that day at the library. He had neverr been much one for reading, but this book had intrigued him. With he and Hermione being the only two in the tower, a little extra entertainment might have been just what he needed.
Hermione sighed heavily and Harry looked over at her form by the window. He smiled at the thought of knowing what she meant to him. She was his life and his heart. And they had combinedly poured both of these elements into making a perfect blend of their souls that would be making its appearance within the week.
Harry put a mark in his book and stood up, stretching as he did so. He took a few strides over to the window and quickly grabbed Hermione, kissing her lips insistently. She kissed back with the same intensity and not a drop of protest. Harry hugged her close and broke their kiss much to her dismay. But she hugged him back reguardless, and they stood that way for a long time.
"Harry, I'm scared," Hermione muttered into his shirt. She nestled her face even more into his chest. He rubbed her back and murmered soft words of enouragement in her ears. She seemed happy with this and let herself fall into Harry's depths for a while.
Harry rubbed a hadn on her back and she woke from her tracne. She looked up into his green eyes and felt like succumbing to anything that he had planned. He pointed over to the couch and she began to walk, pulling him with her.
They sat down together and Harry wrapped his arms around her as far as they would go. He had to settle with his hands on top of her stomach with the baby protesting like crazy. They both laughed at this before Hermione silenced Harry with small kisses about his lips. He responded in kind with a few kisses of his own before moving down to her neck where he planted soft kisses along there.
This was Harry and Hermione's favorite way to spend personal time together. But personal time was scarce to come by. Especaily since they were always surrounded by classmates. They hadn't even had but two chances since the term had started to 'get together'.
Hermione jumped slightly, startling Harry a little. He pulled back from his taks and looked at her, making sure taht everything was alright. He noticed taht she had a little look of pain or distress on her face, but it passed soon enough and she waved it off. He nodded and began kissing her again.
Hermione ran a hand through Harry's unruly black hair as they lay there on the couch with his head laid lazily on her shoulder minutes later. He sighed and she kissed the top of his head.
For the third time that night (Harry hadn't known about the first), Hermione felt a short wave of pain errupt in her abdomen. She grimaced a little harder this time for it was a more direct hurt. But seeing as how the baby was due soon, she decided that this was normal and didn't pay much more attention to it.
A clock chimed on the other side of the room and Hermione looked up to see that it was time for dinner. She roused Harry from the sleep that he ahd fallen into, and he yawned heavily. the yawn being contagious, Hermione yawned herself and they laughed.
Harry stood up first and helped Hermione off of the couch carefully. It was becoming more and more of a chore for her to stand up. But as long as Harry knew taht he was making her life easier, he was there for her.
Leaving the portrait hole was more of a chore than Harry or Hermione would have like to admit to. It was at least a foot and a half drop from the entrance, and being that there were no stairs, they found it harder than the normal witch or wizard would have. After a minute, they were both out and the fat lady in the portrait bid them a fond farewell as they went off to dinner.
Their meal was a spectacular one. All of the meals had been wonderful since the beginning of the holiday, but this was moreso than normal since it was Christmas Eve dinner.
Hermione and Harry were the only Gryffindors that had stayed behind for the holiday. There were four Ravenclaws, two Hufflepuffs, and three Slytherins (including a very disgruntled looking Malfoy). All of them seemed to be enjoying themselves except for Malfoy. And a Slytherin that was having a good time was hard to come by.
Dinner was a very eventful occasion in which some of the teachers who stayed told stories from their days at Hogwarts. Even Snape pitched in on the fun and told some embarassing stories about himself. Everyone was in a good mood.
Except Hermione who was secretly holding back the pain that kept advancing on her lightly every once in a while.
Malfoy sat on the other side of the table not speaking. He was watching. Everyone. Especially Hermione. He saw the hitch in her features everytime a wave of pain came. And being the curious type that he was, he made a mental note to explore this in the future.
A good two hours had passed before Dumbledore decided that since Christmas would be approaching soon, they should all get off to bed. Hermione was one of the first to agree with this, not to Malfoy's surprise. Harry looked over and gave her a questioning glance and she tried to smile wihtout too much discomfort, but Harry saw the strain in her eyes and he was quickly ready to leave the table.
Harry stoo and helped Hermione to her feet. She clutched onto Harry's arm tightly, trying to gain stability on her feet since she was all of a sudden light headed. Harry said goodnight for the both of them and they rushed off to the tower as quickly as possible.
As soon as they got inside, Hermione let out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding. Harry reached out a hand to her and touched her arm. she turned around and spoke through a shaky voice, "I'm quite tired. I think I'm ready for bed now."
Harry nodded and helped her walk upstairs to the the girl's dorm where they had both been sharing a bed for the past few nights. Harry escaped from his clothing and quickly threw on a pair of cloth pajama pants. He walke dvoer and helped Hermione with getting ready for bed. After all was said and done, they laid in bed together with their faces inches apart just taking in each other's faces. Harry reached over and gave Hermione a quick kiss goodnight before closing his eyes.
But Hermione was not that easy to sleep.
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"Hermione?" Harry sat up in bed and rubbed at his eyes. He looked over at the empty spot in the bed next to him and wondered aloud where she could be. He was about to get up and look for her when he saw a figure near the doorway move slowly. He recognized it as her.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked as he got up to go to her.
Hermione strained as she tried her best to throw out the words to Harry through her clenched teeth. "My....my water just...broke."
The color drained from Harry's face and he felt his legs go numb. All of a sudden the room was spinning and Hermione watched as Harry's limp figure fell to the floor with a dull thud. She waited for the pain to pass and then she moved over to him, waking him from his light phase.
"Harry, wake up," she slaped his face and he came to. He sat up quickly and looked at her. She spoke softly, "You need to go get someone. This baby is going to come, and it's going to come tonight."
Harry barely heard the words through the ringing in his head, but he nodded anyway and stood up slowly. He helped Hermione to her feet and led her to the bed to lie down. He made sure taht she was comfortable before running out of the dorm room and out of the tower as quickly as he could.
Upon reaching the main stairwell just outside the tower, he stopped and thought about his best choice of action. He knew that Filch's office was a ways away from the entrance to the tower, and going there could take too long. But if he went and found that Filch wasn't there, it could take even longer to find him. But then Harry decided that he could go to the staff quarters and get one of the teachers that way. It would be easier. But none of the ideas were quite fast enough for him. Not if he were human anyway.
Harry concentrated and within less tahna second he stood a wolf in front of the sleeping fat lady in the portrait. But he didn't stay there long before taking off at a dead run toward the staff wing on the other side of the school.
About halfway there he caught sight of something that he never thought he would have been happier to se in his life. Draco Malfoy. He was awake and wandering around outside of his dorm after hours. What Harry would have given to see Malfoy caught, but Malfoy was more beneficial at this point.
"What the bloody hell?!" Malfoy yelled as he began to run from Harry. Harry gained quickly on Malfoy and backed him against a wall. Harry snapped at him once and then changed back into his human form, his eyes blazing fire at the scared wizard.
"You are going to go to the staff wing and get the first responsible teacher that you can find. After you find them, you're going to tell them that there's an emergency in Gryffindor Tower, and they need to get there as quick as their -fucking- legs will carry them." Harry slammed his hand against the all for emphasis, making Malfoy jump at the sound. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" Harry yelled loud enough for the entire school to hear.
"Yes," Malfoy said in a weak, scared voice.
"Good. Go," Harry said as he changed back into his wolf form and took off back toward Gryffindor Tower. He woke the fat lady quickly and gave her the pssword, running inside to hear the scream of a woman in pain coming from the girl's dorm. He ran up to find that Hermione was having a very strong contraction.
He ran to her bedside and grabbed onto one of her hands. She took it and squeezed hard enough to break some of his bones. But Harry said nothing since he knew that his pain was nothing compared to hers.
The contraction subsided moments later and she lookd up through slit-eyes at Harry. Beads of sweat trickled down from her forehead, dripping off anywehre they could. Harry went and found a cloth, dabbing it on her forehead lightly.
"I went adn found someone to go get a teacher. They should be here soon," Harry said as he sat down.
"Good." It was the only thing Hermione could manage to say through her exhaustion.
Minutes passed slowly and Harry and Hermione both wondered here their help was. Harry had already resorted to pacing back and forth. After his fifteenth repitition, the door burst open and teh most unlikely person came walking in.
Snape.
If the situation weren't so serious then Harry would have stopped to take the time to laugh. But when he came back from the shock of everything, he saw that Hermione had become nothing more than a mass of giggles on the bed. Harry smiled at her and walked back over to take his place on the other side of the bed.
Harry began to laugh as well until Malfoy came walking in shortly thereafter. Then Harry's face fell at the sight of the supposed intruder. Harry got up and walked over to Malfoy, not thanking him for sending what Harry would call help, but instead punching him as hard as he could in the jaw. Malfoy stumbled and grabbed his face where Harry had hit. Blood came off on his fingers.
"Why did you do that?" Malfoy said in shock.
"Did I need a reason??" Harry said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. He waited for a response as Malfoy stood there staring at him through blazing eyes.
"You bloody well did!"
"If you want a reason, then I hit you because this," Harry stopped to point at Snape who was watching their fight with a bemused smile. "Is -NOT- help. I asked for someone -RESPONSIBLE-!" Malfoy visibly trembled in front of Harry's anger. But that was not enough to stop him from throwing the second punch in the fight. One which landing right in Harry's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.
Harry doubled over clutching his stomach. He gasped for a air and as soon as he got one, he was back at Malfoy's throat. Harry rammed him back against the wall as he had done in the corridor, with his hand wrapped around Malfoy's throat. Malfoy brought his knee up and lodged in in Harry's crotch. Harry let go of Malfoy and flinched in pain. Malfoy looked very satisfied and began to walk over to Snape. Harry found his composure and stood upright, turning around to jump on Malfoy's back. Malfoy hit the floor hard with Harry on his back. He rolled over, trying his best to throw Harry off. It worked and Harry went crashing onto the ground next to him. Malfoy rolled over and tried to stand, but Harry pummeled him back to the ground and leaned over him, throwing effective punches in Malfoy's face and chest.
Snape was about to take the time to intervene when a scream errupted in the room and everyone tore their eyes to he bed. Another wave of pain had crashed over Hermione. She layed on the bed gripping the sheets and biting her lip.
Harry got off of a bleeding Malfoy and ran to Hermione's bedside. He grabbed her hand and let her grip it as hard as she needed to. When he told her this, she squeezed his hand so tightly that Harry thought the bones in his hand would cave under the pressure. This pain for both of them carried for several long seconds before subsiding and Hermione lay spent on the bed.
Snape walked slowly over to the bed and looked down. A slight smile tugged at his lip and he almsot looked friendly for a moment. Malfoy stood from the floor and went to stand in the corner, half in shock.
"I didn't know she was pregant," Snape said. "Why wasn't I told?"
"Why should you have been told?" Hermione asked quietly.
"Because even though you two may not think it, but you aren't the first to have a baby in this school."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Well aside from Madam Pomfrey, who is on holiday, I'm the one who usually takes care of this kind of thing."
"Oh," that was was all Harry could get out of his throat. He sat down next to Hermione on the bed and ran the cloth over her damp forehead again. Snape took off his robes and hung them over the back of a chair. He rolled his long shirt sleeves up and began looking around.
"Malfoy," Snape said. Malfoy grunted from the corner to ascert his presence. This was good enough for Snape. "Go and fetch me a basin with hot water and some towels. We'll also need a small blanket. One that's soft." Malfoy nodded and left the room.
"It's quite dark in here. Let's get some light, shall we?" Snape said after taking out his wand. He held it and said 'lumos', thus bathing the room in light. He tucked his wand away and sat down in a chair, waiting.
"What now?" Harry asked. Hermione had drifted into a light sleep.
"We wait."
"Why are we waiting?" Harry asked.
"Because there's not much else we can do."
Harry didn't look happy, but he was settled with that as an answer. He laid down next to Hermione on the bed and tried to get a few minute's rest himself. It worked for a while before they were plunged into round three of Hermion'e contractions.
Snape stood up and walked to the end of the bed. He told Hermione to bend her legs for examination. Snape looked around for a few minutes, a concerned look on his face. scratched his head, racking his brain for something.
"What? What is it?" Harry asked as the contraction shook Hermione's body.
"I don't believe I've ever seen a baby come this fast," Snape said as he walked back over to his chair, sitting down and watching Hermione as she settled back down. Harry sat on the edge of the bed facing Snape.
"Is that a bad thing?" Harry asked concernedly.
"I don't know if it is or not. It's not that uncommon for second and third children to be born this quickly, but I just don't know about firsts."
Harry sighed and laid down next to Hermione. All was quiet until Malfoy came running back into the room not too long later. He set the basin of water on a nightstand that Harry had taken the time to clear in his absence. Malfoy had a few towels under his arms and he set them on the next bed over. Malfoy took a seat next to the towles and waited with the rest of them for the action to continue.
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It wasn't until a few hours later taht Harry found himself standing next to Hermione with his face inches away from her's. She had ahold of his hair since he was shirtless and she was screaming into his face.
"YOU DID THIS TO ME!" A few pauses came in which Snape was yelling at her to push. "DIE!" she screamed as she pushed with all of her might. Nothing seemed to happen and Snape looked disappointed. Hermione let go of Harry's hair and things momentarily calmed down and a quiet was in the room for mere seconds before things were happening once again.
Malfoy sat in the middle of the next bed over playing with his hands. He wasn't of any use and he wasn't really quite sure of what he was doing there. But something wouldn't make him leave, and so he watched the show with eager eyes.
"Bay, if you just push a little harder, we'll have a baby in our arms and this will be done with," Harry said as warmly as he could into her ear. Hermione turned her head with wide eyes.
"Push a little harder, you say?" she said through clenched teeth as she tried pushing again. Harry nodded and she reached up to grab his hair again, but he pulled back before she could. "I want you to try.....pushing.....something the size of a small watermelon out of places IT SHOULDN'T BE!" The force of everything was hitching her speech and it was all she could do to scream at Harry.
Harry turned his head to see that Malfoy had collapsed on his bed in a fit of giggles. He clutched his midsection and gasped for air to fill his lungs. Harry felt like pouncing on his again, but Snape let out a happy cry.
"I see its head!" he yelled loudly.
Harry smiled and ran around to Snape to see what he was looking at. The two men danced around happily as Hermione looked at them incredulously. Anger filled her eyes and the mirror on the other side of the room cracked loudly. Snape turned around and looked at it. He turned to see that Hermione was gripping the sheets not in pain but in anger.
"I'm laying here in pain, and all you two can do to amuse yourselves is DANCE AROUND?" Harry tried to explain to ehr what they were so happy for, but she wouldn't listen to him. All she wanted to do was stand up and reach over to punch Harry. Malfoy also found this funny.
Hermioen screamed loudly for no apparent reason to Harry until he saw Snape's face and he knew that they would be holding a baby soon. Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and kissed her knuckles. She didn't look like she was in the mood for romance.
"All you have to do is push, Love. It's not much more than that. We'll be holding the baby soon if you just try."
"I can't push anymore," Hermione said as she closed her eyes. Harry could make out the shape of a tear falling from the corner of her eye. He wiped it away with his thumb and kissed her cheek.
"You have to push." Harry said. Hermione mutterd 'I can't' again. "You can do anything. You put up with me on a daily basis. That's got to be hard enough."
Hermioen laughed softly and opened her eyes just enough to look at him. She smiled softly and time seemed to stop for just a minute. Harry reached over and kissed her soundly on the mouth, holding her face in his hands. She kissed him back and pulled away quickly as things came back into focus.
Harry watched as her face contorted into not pain, but sheer effort. She didn't scream and she didn't speak. She just pushed and Harry held onto her hand. He watched her face intently until he saw it relax.
And he heard a cry.
Harry looked down at Snape's face to see that it was genuinely smiling. That made Harry smile. And Hermione looked up at Harry through tired eyes to look at his face. She reached up and touched his face, bringing it down to hers, kissing him while Snape cleaned the baby up.
Harry and Hermione were still kissing when Snape walked over to them, holding a baby in a midnight blue towel with pictures of the moon and stars on it. The moon and stars twinkled like those in Hermione's eyes as Snape lowered the baby to her waiting arms.
"Congratulations on your daughter," Snape said as he walked over to Malfoy who was sitting on the bed crying even more than the baby. Snape slapped him on the back and ushered him out of the room to let Harry and Hermione have some time alone.
Harry peered over to look at his daughter. He smiled when she looked at him and stopped crying. He touched her forehead softly and leaned down to kiss where his fingers touched. Hermione smiled and kissed Harry's cheek as he kissed the baby.
Harry pulled back, kissing Hermione as he did so, and rubbed his daughter's back as Hermione examined her. She touched the child's fingers and ran a hand over her dark, silky hair. Hermione smiled at the realization that this baby already had her father's black hair. Now theree was just one thing left to look for...
Hermione smiled even more brightly when the baby locked eyes with her. The eyes. She had bright, alert green eyes just like her father. That must have been the Potter family mark. But Hermione wasn't complaining.
"I love you," Harry said as he kissed her temple once more. "I love you both so much. Thank you, Hermione, for everything."
"I love you too, Harry."
There was a happy silence between them as they sat there, a complete family when Harry looked outisde at the snow that had stopped falling. He could see the moon shining down on the snowy lawn, casting shadows everywhere. It was beautiful. Then Harry saw a star twinkling brightly and Harry smiled. He had almost forgotten....
"Merry Christmas, Hermione." He said as he sat back down on the bed. Hermione smiled and looked back down at the baby. She had closed her eyes and was sleeping soundly.
"Harry," Hermione began softly. A fierce intensity grew in her voice even though the tome may have been light. "There -are- no take backs on this."
"I know. I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. I'm in this for the long run."
Hermione smiled comfortably and yawned. It was late and she was tired from just having given birth. She was entitled to a good sleep.
Harry took the child from her arms and held her close, carrying her to the window to let Hermione sleep. Harry held the baby up close to his face and kissed her forehead again. Even though she may not have been awake, he spoke to her anyway.
"You're my miracle, you know that? Anytime you ever doubt what you mean to me, just look up and if the sky is there, so is my love for you."
The baby opened her eyes and green met green. Soul met soul. And a bond that would last a lifetime began by the window that very night.
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a/n: i want to thank all of you who reviewed and kept me going through this time. with special thanks to the following people:
linz tns, clothzcrazy1103, lannevirgo, rangerprincess56, dta1225, gabaleka, prgirl483, hockeyhunk6931. thanks guys!
i enjoyed this last chapter the best, i think. even though it sucked rewriting everything. but it turned out for the best the third time around. i know that all of the scenes of the kid being born is b/s, but since i've never had a kid, i don't know much about it. forgive me, please. REVIEW THIS!!