Chapter 3: New Life

Disclaimer: Anything that you recognise belongs to JK Rowling (some people have it all...) anything you don't recognise belongs to me and if you wanna use it, you'll have to ask me first...

It had been two months since Ron's death and I felt terrible, every morning I was throwing up regular as clockwork. I guessed it had something to do with being under a lot of pressure or being emotionally unbalanced or something like that, until Ginny caught me at it for the third week in a row.

"Hermione are you all right?" Ginnys face was blotchy, I assumed that she'd been crying about Harry again last night.

"I'm fine I'm just a bit - you know…"

"Hermione," Ginny was looking at me strangely, she grabbed my wrist and dragged me up to her dorm.

"Gin, what is…?" but Ginny cut across me.

"You've been puking regularly right?"

"Yes, but that's probably to do with all that's happened."

"Have you felt bloated recently?"

"Yes, but…"

"You haven't been eating much though, I've lost weight, if anything, you've gained some!"

"That's not the way to make me feel better Gin."

"You don't get me Hermione. How can you gain weight when you're hardly eating anything?"

"I dunno, Ginny what is the point of all these questions?"

"Last one, honest, are you overdue?"

I paled as the truth finally sunk in and I slowly nodded.

"So you and Ron…" I swallowed back the bile and nodded slowly. Ginny but her hand on mine. "Hermione." I looked up at her, her pale face looking thin and stretched in a small smile, she stood up and I embraced her, the life inside me already affecting my instincts. "Do you know what you're going to do?" I almost couldn't believe that she was asking me that, there was no question about it. I was going to keep my baby, Ron's baby.

Suddenly I had the will to live, Ron had gone, but had left life for me to love and cherish as I had Ron. I never realised how much the last battle had drained my energy, and physical health, but shortly before I was due, I found myself in St Mungos critically ill, and faced with a tough decision…

It was a few weeks before I was due and I began getting fits of dizziness, it wasn't until I almost fell down the stairs at the Burrow that Ginny went all Mrs Weasley-ish on me and insisted on taking me to St Mungos.

I passed out in the waiting room, and woke up in a bed on the ward. Ginny was sitting at the end of my bed with tears in her eyes, when she saw me awake and she threw her arms around my neck.

"Ginny, I'm fine honest." I tried to calm her down, but she shook her head and fresh tears began to fall.

"I've spoken to the healers." Ginny choked back a sob as a woman in uniform came over with a clipboard.

"Ah you're awake Miss Granger," she spoke in a kind voice, that I couldn't help but trust.

"What's going on? What have you told Ginny?" I wanted to know what was wrong with me and weather my child was going to be ok.

"Your symptoms show that you are suffering from lymphocite pancreas syndrome, it is uncommon, uncurable, and fatal." It felt as though someone had pulled out my heart and flung it in the bin beside my bed. It was going to happen, I was going to see Ron again, but I couldn't couldn't leave this world, I had to stay on this side of the veil for my baby, I wanted to live and see my child grow up. I finally managed to choke up a few words.

"What about my baby?" The healer looked as though she had been expecting that question to come.

"If we leave you to have your child naturally, you will probably either die during the birth, or before -the birth, and most likely your baby too. The alternative is a cesarian, however despite there being a greater chance of life for your child, I can't imagine that you will survive the operation, if you do, you probably will only last minutes afterwards. Your baby will have a much greater chance of survival."

My mind was made in an instant.

"I'll go for the operation." The healer turned and left, I had accepted that I was going to die, but I didn't want to drag my baby beyond the veil with me, my child had done nothing to deserve death. Yet here I was planning on leaving him, or her, or… I didn't want to think about it, it was too painful. I turned to Ginny.

"Gin, can you get me some parchment and ink please?"

When Ginny returned I loaded my quill with ink and stared at the blank page, I knew that I'd never meet my own child, but I wanted to tell my baby that I loved them more then life itself.

Dear Alex,

Ron always loved the name Alex, he always had said that if we ever have kids he would like one of them to be called Alex. He also said that it was a name associated with intelligence, so Ron said that for some reason it reminded him of me…

You've never met me, I'm your mother, I'm going to die soon, so I think that its only fair that I get to tell you your parents story…

Every couple has a story, some are more interesting then others, some aren't. Anyway our story begins when I went to Hogwarts and I had two best friends, Ron and Harry…

I had written loads by the time I had to go into theatre, but I still hadn't finished, I asked Ginny to finish it if I never made it.

I survived the operation, we emerged from theatre three hours later tired but happy. I was a mother, I had a baby girl, smiling weakly at my daughter resting in her incubator, her curly red hair spilling over the mattress I picked up the quill again.

I gave your life priority, I know that you can't read this right now – you're sleeping in the incubator next to me. I know that I will die soon, and I doubt that you will be overjoyed at me abandoning you, but I wanted you to live, not to be dragged beyond the veil with my soul. I hope you come to understand how all of this happened and don't judge us for it, for we will always be your parents and we will always love you.

Eternal Love

Mum
xxx

Alex Weasley looked up at her ageing headteacher, a tear was glinting in her eye, she blinked and it ran down her wrinkles carved by the years into her face, following the line down to the end of her nose.

Alex caught a glimpse of herself in McGonagalls glass cabinet, her firy red hair was curling on her shoulders, and her large brown eyes were filling with tears.

"My M-Mum wrote that?"

"She wrote it when she realised that she was never going to properly and get to know you."

Alex took a shaky breath, her mum wasn't completely gone, she still had her love, and, she had spoken to Alex through the years in that one letter. Fresh tears began to roll down her cheeks. She missed her parents, even her dad, even though he never found out about her existence, she began to silently sob, noticing this, Professor McGonagall drew her in a motherly embrace.

"They loved you Alex, that's all that matters."

A week after reading the letter from her mum, Alex and her friend Hannah had finished NEWTs, they were packed and ready and to go home for the last time.

Leaving the train to meet the Weasleys Alex felt ready, ready to start her Healer training, earn money, live the life her parents were unable to, to get out there and face the world.

Ron and Hermione were still around, waiting for her, she'd come to join them one day, and they wouldn't be far away, just the other side of the veil…

a/n: Sorry about the really sad ending but I can't seem to do anything other then tragedies (as those who have read my other story – No secrets from friends, will know) anyway this is the end, shall I do a sequal about Alex in her later life? Please review and let me know…

The end