------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Notes: Wow, do I owe some serious apologies. Let's start with my groveling for not doing a single thing with this story in nearly 2 years. If any of you are still out there, I grovel and beg your forgiveness…

A few other things. I had to post updated documents for chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5. The update to 2 was an age change. Hermione is no longer 23, but 28. I did this in light of a few things, but most notably the idea that I wanted Hermione and Ron's relationship to have been longer than I originally planned. The changes to 3 and 4 had to do with a bit of information (concerning Ginny Weasley's given name) which hadn't yet been revealed when I started writing this, oh so many years ago, and the change to 5 was purely aesthetic (I doubt anyone will even notice it; kudos if you do).

And now for the multitude of thanks I owe: tinydancer69, thank you so much for the encouragement. LirielOrigamasa, I'm sorry you've had to wait so long and thank you for the kind words. LyssaTucci, thank you, I'm glad you're still enjoying it and I appreciate your multiple reviews; they keep me going. Alenor, thank you for the motivation… I'm sorry it took so long to take effect! Thanks for the review, Frizance; I hope you keep reading. YAMC, here's your chapter; I'm sorry I had to have your second review removed, but it contained foul language, and I'm just not into that. Xxcrimson, thanks for pointing that out; honestly I started writing this before anyone knew that, so I'm lucky these chapters are easy to update! Thanks for the review, as well!

I hope that at least a few of you are still out there and will see this update, because I'm writing for you. I even wrote an extra-long chapter for you. On with chapter 6!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermione rubbed the side of her rather large belly, absently, as she waited, restlessly, on the wooden bench at the end of Diagon Alley, near the entrance to a non-descript robe shop. In her other hand, she held a hardcover book that looked to be brand new, and she glanced up intermittently to look down the alleyway before returning her gaze to the page she was reading. To be perfectly honest, she had to keep processing the same sentence over and over, because she really was too excited to pay attention.

Today, she was getting a wand. Her first wand since she'd put her own away after a discussion she and her husband had had regarding some of the ways they could make each other more comfortable in their relationship, several years ago. He'd agreed to let her keep her new position (which had put her above him, in a supervisory capacity, but didn't necessarily require magic) if she'd acknowledge that her magic made him feel inferior to her at times. It had been no secret, either in school of afterwards, that she'd been more proficient in their magical studies, but she was used to living without it and since the wars were over, what harm would it do to agree? It hadn't been until recently that she realized how helpless being without her wand had made her feel. She had to wonder, now, if that had been Ron's ultimate motive. It would've been considerably more difficult to abuse someone who held a wand on him… then she frowned, wondering if she'd have actually held the wand on him, even if she'd had it.

It had been three weeks since she'd seen him. Three weeks since she'd spent three nights in the hospital after Ron's latest tantrum. Three weeks since she'd started seeing Draco Malfoy, three times a week. Originally, they'd agreed that she'd see him twice a week, but after the first couple of days, the nightmares had returned. Hermione was generally a level-headed person and there weren't many who could honestly say they'd ever seen her lose control of herself. As a result of constantly being in control, any time her stress levels built up, she had nightmares. She'd had them during her school years around exam season, during the war, when she and Ron had their fights and again after her parents were killed. When Draco had asked her how she was doing those first few sessions, she'd been honest about the nightmares and he'd explained to her that, in her case, the nightmares were probably a sign of her fear of being helpless. She couldn't deny that. He'd then suggested that they either extend their sessions or meet one more time a week to help her work through this new addition to the situation. She doubted he'd have taken no for an answer and finally decided that, since she had little to do at the Potter residence, anyway, she may as well meet him three times a week, instead of their originally decided upon two.

At their last session, the topic of her nightmares had come up, again. He'd asked her what types of things made her feel strong and in control, and she'd promptly answered that her knowledge of magic and the fact that she could help, even protect, people with it, was probably the most empowering thing she knew of. That had led him to the enigmatic question of where her wand was and why she didn't carry it with her. Since she didn't want to return to her home to get her own wand (and, to be perfectly honest, she wasn't even sure if Ron would give it to her), Draco was vehement that their session, today, begin here, in the Alley.

She was in the middle of the same page, yet again, when she felt, more than heard, Draco lean his arms on the back of the bench beside her, to read over her shoulder.

"Be aware that although it isn't necessarily gone, the return to a considerable base of power can be frightening and somewhat overwhelming depending on the level of your previous knowledge and the amount of time away from said power base… What in Merlin's name are you reading…?" Without further comment, he lifted the book from her hands and turned it over to read the cover. "Returning to Magic After a Significant Absence…? Where do you get this stuff?" he asked, with no small amount of amusement.

"Flourish and Bott's, of course," she said, taking the book back from him and tucking it into the small shoulder bag she was carrying. Carefully, she pushed herself up from the bench and then pointedly glanced at her watch. "You're late, Dr. Malfoy. I needed something to do while I waited." Glancing at his own watch, he looked slightly indignant.

"It's only a few minutes past the hour!" One of her brows arched in response.

"And which hour would that be?" she questioned. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her exactly which hour when it dawned on him.

"We agreed to meet an hour early, today…" he started.

"…because you wanted to catch Mr. Olivander before he left for lunch," she finished.

"Mrs. Weasley, I am terribly sorry. We made the time change and I didn't write it down on my schedule, so I still had you listed for 12 PM…"

"It's no problem. I kept myself occupied," she indicated her bag, "and met several people I hadn't seen in quite some time, although I must admit I'm terribly anxious to get my new wand. I nearly went without you after the first half hour had gone by."

"Well, I'm glad you waited for me and I suppose I'll owe you a meal since you missed yours in order to wait here for me, for an hour." He guided her towards the wand shop, still annoyed with himself for having kept a patient waiting for what he considered a pretty important appointment. "We'll check to see if he's gone, yet, and if we don't catch him, then we'll eat, first."

"I'm certainly not going to turn it down. I seem to be starving all the time, now." Hermione rubbed her belly, again, absently, as they wandered towards their destination.

"Only a week left, isn't that right?" he asked as they walked, clasping his hands behind his back. Hermione figured it was to keep them occupied, since he didn't seem to know what to do with his hands during their discussions unless he was writing things down, and he couldn't have felt comfortable trying to walk and record their session at the same time. Glancing ahead, again, she nodded and sighed.

"And it can't come too soon, as far as I'm concerned. This hasn't been the easiest pregnancy."

"In more than one aspect, I imagine… What are you planning to do after the baby's born?" he inquired, slowly. This was a tough question, and one he hadn't asked until now, for reason's pertaining to her husband. Once the child was born, he'd have legal rights to see it, spend time with it, and thus spend time with her, unless she planned on leaving the baby with him. He needed to make sure he made a note in her file to discuss this with her, before the baby came, to make sure she had no overreaching plans of letting him back into her life once she was bound by the law to see him.

"Assuming that my doctor consents to my leaving Harry and Ginny's home, I planned on contacting my supervisor at the Ministry to see if a job would be available for me and hiring a nanny to care for the baby. There are flats near here that I can rent for a reasonable price and when the baby gets a little older and I'm more financially sound, I can see about purchasing a place for us." At first he smirked at her mention of him and then nodded, agreeably.

"Sounds like you have it fairly well thought out." He was slightly impressed with her forethought. She smiled and shrugged one shoulder, lightly.

"You sound as though I'm known for being impulsive," she returned, wryly, as she stopped in front of the wand shop. He chuckled, resting his hand on the doorknob of the small store.

"We'll discuss your impulsiveness at length over lunch, but, for now, let's get your wand," he quipped as he pushed the door open for her and bowed, slightly, "after you."

The bell over the door of the wand shop tinkled, lightly, as Draco shut the door behind them, and Mr. Olivander greeted them from beyond the shabby high counter. Hermione had a wand in her hand, in no time, although it had taken a few to get it just right. As an adult, she didn't even need to wave the wand for the proprietor of the shop to know it wasn't the correct one for her, although there was one early on in the process that seemed to 'like' her, but to which Mr. Olivander swore she didn't belong to. Finally, he wrapped up the package that contained her brand new wand and handed it to her in return for the wizarding money she'd exchanged just this afternoon.

As she stepped away from the counter, she glanced inside the bag she held and stopped, abruptly, turning back to the owner, curiously.

"Mr. Olivander… there are two boxes in here; I only bought one wand." She picked the smaller box out and lifted the lid to reveal the wand that had seemed to click, slightly, with her, but which the wand maker had claimed wasn't hers. Said wand maker glanced at her over his wire spectacles, now, and grinned.

"That one isn't for you, miss. It's for the little one," he cackled, indicating her rounded belly. "Have a feeling you'll be needing that, soon enough." Surprised, Hermione could barely murmur a thank you in reply before Draco led her back out on to the cobblestone street of Diagon Ally. Nearly a block down, she was still wondering over the experience as Draco chatted on about a nice café that was only a few more blocks away, where they could enjoy a decent meal for the next hour or so, when she stopped, short, pressing a firm hand to the side of her stomach.

"Mrs. Weasley…?" Draco asked, concerned at her sudden halt and the look of slight surprise that had crossed over her features. "Hermione…? Is something wrong…?" Hermione was silent a minute before taking a deep breath and straightening up from the hunch that she'd been in.

"I think I may have to take a rain check on that meal, Dr. Malfoy," she stated, more calmly than she, herself, thought possible.

"A rain check…?" Hermione nodded.

"I've been getting little twinges all morning that I thought were just indigestion, but that was most definitely a contraction… I think I'm in labor."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Notes: All of you know how much I enjoy these little endings. Again, I apologize profusely for taking so long and I promise I'll try not to take so long with the next one… We get to meet the baby, next time… what shall I name him or her? And, for that matter, should it be a him or a her…? Review and receive!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------