"No, Hattie!" said Draco, chasing the almost three-year-old around the Weasleys' flat. Hattie had taken Draco's wand out of his robe and was now running around with it, laughing as Draco attempted to get it out of her tiny grasp. It had been a while since Draco had been around a child that small and her energy worn him down.
"Please, Hattie!" plead Draco. "Can Mr. Malfoy have his wand back?"
"No!" laughed Hattie, running around the couch. Luckily for Draco, Ron opened the door to the flat. When he saw Hattie around, Ron immediately went in and scooped her up.
"Weasley, she's got my wand!" protested Draco.
"Seriously, Malfoy?" said Ron, raising his eyebrows. "You're the adult - just take it from her."
"She's got more energy than a pixie!" said Draco. "I couldn't keep up! I don't know how you and Granger do this!"
"Lots of tea," said Ron. "Right, Hattie, give Daddy the wand please."
"No!" said Hattie, who held the wand close to her.
"Hattie," said Ron firmly. "Give me the wand now or I'll put you in the naughty spot."
"NO!" yelled Hattie on the verge of a tantrum.
"Fine, then I guess we'll have to call Mummy," shrugged Ron which resulted in Hattie giving her father the wand.
"That's what I thought," said Ron, putting her down on the ground. "Now, why don't you go get your train for Mr. Malfoy?" As Hattie darted to her room, Draco plopped himself on the couch.
"I'm absolutely knackered," sighed Draco, leaning back into cushions. "Any word from the Ministry?"
"Nothing," said Ron, checking his mobile to see if Harry sent him a message. "Last thing I heard was from Seamus. He said the Ministry's dead quiet right now."
"Weasley," said Draco. "You still don't think it's the Ministry they're after, do you?"
Ron sighed as he collapsed into the armchair. "No, I don't think it's the Ministry. But everyone else thinks so, so..."
"So what?" countered Draco. "You can still have an opinion even if it's not the same as the others."
"Whatever, Malfoy," mumbled Ron, not really in a mood to argue with Draco.
Hattie appeared as she crawled on the floor to play with her train set. It was a gift from Neville for Hugo's first birthday. The train had the Hogwarts Express's head end and caboose, while the passenger cars spelt out "Hogwarts" and painted the same red colour as the cars. Recently Hattie discovered it in Hugo's room and now, with Hugo's blessing, she was constantly playing with it.
"Look!" said Hattie.
"Oh wow! Is that your train?" asked Draco. "Oh dear! I think some of the letters are in the wrong place - may I fix it, please?"
"Okay," said Hattie, as Draco got down on the ground to spell out Hogwarts. Meanwhile, Ron stared at the letters as though they were a puzzle. Although it was not a complex puzzle, Ron realized the significance behind the word.
"Bloody hell," gasped Ron nearly collapsing. "Draco, how many letters are in Hogwarts?"
"Um, eight, why?" replied Draco. Upon saying the number aloud, Draco's face went from confusion to horror at what Ron was getting at in his question.
"What do we do?" asked Draco, fearing for Scorpius' safety.
"Use the floo to get in touch with Harry," said Ron reaching for his mobile. "I have get her out of there."
Hermione had gone to Hogwarts to visit Hannah for lunch that day. However, Hannah was busy treating a student so Hermione decided to walk around for a bit while she waited for Hannah to finish up. As she walked, Hermione felt cramps in her lower back and stomach. Hermione knew what this meant but was too stubborn to admit it. If this was a false start, Hermione would take Ron away from the battle front. Hermione also did not want Ron to worry about her.
"Mum!" called out Rose, waving to Hermione.
"Hello, sweetheart!" smiled Hermione. "Where are the boys?"
"Back at the Great Hall," said Rose.
"Are are you going to the Hospital Wing?" asked Hermione.
"Yeah," said Rose. "I need to get a draught from Madam Abbott for my cramps." At hearing the word "cramp", Hermione felt another painful contortion of her stomach and back kick.
"Mum?" said Rose, slightly frightened and unsettled seeing her normally strong mother hurting. "What's wrong?"
"Oh nothing, love," said Hermione, wincing as the pain subsided.
"You're not in labor, are you?" asked Rose. "Because it looks like you're having a contraction..." Just then, Hermione felt another sharp pain that made her hunch over and put her hands on her knee to stabilize herself. Luckily, Rose was there and immediately went to her mother's side.
"Mum, you have to go to the hospital," said Rose, as she helped her mother stand straight. Just then, Hermione's mobile buzzed but because Hermione was still feeling the pain she gave it to Rose.
"'Mione?" said Ron, panic in his voice that bordered on hysterical.
"No, it's Rose," said Rose trying to hide her panic.
"Rose, you need to get your mum out of there," said Ron.
"I know, Dad," said Rose, not understanding the severity of Ron's order. Suddenly Rose felt some water on her school shoe despite the sunny day.
"Rose?" said Ron panicking even more.
"Dad, Mum's in labor," said Rose. The next Rose heard was Ron incoherently yelling so loudly that she moved the mobile away from her ear.
Just then, an explosion came from the hospital wing.
"Protego!" said Rose casting a shield over her mother. Once the initial shock wore off, Rose noticed McGonagall out on the quad to investigate the explosion.
Before McGonagall could ask any questions, another more powerful explosion came from the hospital wing. McGonagall immediately shielded Rose and Hermione. As Rose felt her mother's arms wrap around in a protective embrace, she dropped the mobile and grasp her mother's arms tightly.
All Ron heard was a loud boom and some screaming. When a minute passed without hearing Rose or Hermione's voice, Ron felt his heart stop. Without hesitation, Ron scooped up Hattie and stepped into the fireplace.
"What's going on?" inquired Draco.
"Call Harry," said Ron tossing Draco the mobile. "Tell him to get to Hogwarts - I'm taking her to the Burrow."
Before Draco could response, Ron disappeared with Hattie through the floor. Without hesitation, Draco called Harry.
"Potter?" said Draco. "We have a problem."