Chapter Twelve: The Long Wait

As soon as I turned off my computer, my stomach began to churn. I ran to the bathroom and was sick.

Hermione looked scared. "Are you all right, Jo? And you didn't even come near a broomstick."

I swallowed. "I'm fine."

Mrs. Weasley gave me a knowing look. "How many months?"

"Four," I said, a bit surprised.

"I had the same thing with Percy. Flying makes it worse....someone mentioned broomsticks and I felt ill."

"Could someone PLEASE tell me what's going on here?" asked Ginny, annoyed.

"I'm pregnant," I said. Ginny squealed.

"Oh, I love babies! That's one disadvantage of being the youngest, you never get to have a baby brother or sister. Do you want it to be a boy or a girl? What color hair do you think it'll have? I'll babysit any time you want....."

"Ginny, Ginny, calm down and let Joanne rest," Mrs. Weasley said. With a grateful look, I lay back down on the sleeping bag.

"Oh, you can't sleep on the floor anymore!" Ginny exclaimed. "I'd feel just awful. Here, take the bed, can I get you any more pillows?"

I was about to answer when Mr. Weasley burst through the door. His hair was uncombed and his eyes were wide and wild. "Molly! We've got to go, I've just spoken with Professor McGonagall, she wouldn't say exactly what was happening but it's got to do with You-Know-Who and it's very urgent! Sirius and Remus aren't to come, and we're to meet at Hogsmeade!" The second his mouth closed, he Disapparated.

"Stay here and don't leave, no matter what," said Mrs. Weasley. She Disapparated too.

Hermione was out the door like a shot. Ginny and I ran behind her. She raced down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Ron and Harry were sitting at the table. "Ron! Harry! They've gone, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, something about Voldemort, they had word from McGonagall. Sirius and Remus are supposed to stay here and no one's to leave. And I looked last night and there isn't any more milk and Joanne's pregnant and we don't know what the bloody hell is happening and we can't find out and this house isn't nearly big enough for this many people, no offense, and I'm so worried and scared!" With that, she burst into tears.

Harry looked very solemn, but worried. "I'll go wake up Percy, Fred, and George," he said. Hermione was still sobbing. Looking a bit awkward, Ron moved his chair closer and put his arm around her. "Stop it now, Hermione, nothing's going to happen."

"We don't know that!" she wailed. "We don't know anything! And if there's one thing that drives me mad, it's not knowing anything!"

Harry reappeared in the doorway with Percy, George, and Fred behind him. They looked at Hermione and Ron, and then at me. Muggle or not, I thought, I'm the only awake adult in this house (if you didn't count Percy, which I didn't). I've got to take charge.

"Hermione, calm down. Take some deep breaths. That's it. Now. Someone ought to get Sirius and Remus up."

Harry looked over at the clock. My eyes followed his. The hands labeled "Sirius" and "Remus" were pointed to, "Doing Things That Are None Of Your Business".

"Not me," said Percy. "I don't even want to think about the two of them and my bed."

Hermione suddenly stopped sobbing. She moved away from Ron's embrace, stood up, faced Percy, and slapped him hard. He yelped.

"What the hell did you do that for?"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK!?!" she screamed. "YOUR PARENTS ARE OUT THERE FIGHTING VOLDEMORT AND ALL YOU CAN THINK OF IS HOW YOU DON'T WANT REMUS AND SIRIUS SHAGGING IN YOUR BED! WE HAVEN'T GOT TIME FOR YOUR STUPID HANG-UPS! NOW GO AND GET THEM UP! NOW!"

Percy left as fast as he could. Seconds later, he returned with Remus and Sirius.

"All right," said Sirius firmly. I sat down, relieved that someone else was taking charge. "No one leaves. The best we can do now is stay as calm as possible and try not to worry. And, Harry, if you're thinking of leaving with the Invisibility Cloak, don't."

"I wasn't thinking of it!" Harry protested.

Sirius gave him the SBTMTTOIKYL. "All right," Harry admitted, "it did cross my mind."

By lunch time, there was still no word. Hermione had bitten down all her nails, and Harry's hair was sticking up even more than usual because he'd been compulsively running his fingers through it. Remus kept pacing the downstairs corridor and Sirius hadn't moved since after breakfast, when he'd collapsed on the sofa and buried his head in the pillow. Ron and Percy were playing game after game of wizard chess, and Fred and George had disappeared upstairs. The only one doing anything sensible was Ginny. She'd taken on the role of caretaker in her parents' absence, and she'd been busy making me tea, brewing a Foul-Tasting Potion for Hermione to paint on her nails, and trying to convince Remus to sit down.

Just as I was about to ask what we should be doing about lunch, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walked through the door. Ginny squealed, almost spilling the tea she had been bringing me. "Mum! Dad! You're all right!" She thrust the tea at me and ran to throw her arms around her mother.

"It's all right, everyone, don't worry," said Mr. Weasley. Sirius looked up and breathed a sigh of relief. "Ron," said Mr. Weasley, "if you'll go and get everyone in here, I'll tell you all the whole story,"