6. "Papa Don't Preach" -Madonna

November 29, 1998

Hermione and Ron's relationship was beginning to blossom. Yes, they still fought occasionally, but it was much better than it had been. He had been taking her out on dates, bringing her flowers for no reason, and most satisfying was the fact that he had stopped pressuring her for sex. They had been ice skating all day, and though Hermione's head had been pounding, they had had an amazing time. They had only just gotten back to her place to change before hurrying off to Bill's birthday party at the Weasley residence.

Hermione's headache was sticking with her, despite the pain draught Ron had given her. She leaned against her vanity, trying desperately to get one of her curls to lay down. When it refused, Hermione was tempted to zap it off. She wanted to look especially pretty tonight. She had decided, that after Bill's party, she was going to do it. She was going to give Ron her virginity at last. Six months, after all, was quite a time to wait. He had been very patient (recently) and Hermione thought it was about time. She was 19 after all, well on her way to 20. And besides, she and Ron had been friends for years. At least if they were to break up, she wouldn't have any regrets. Who better to lose it to than her best friend?

"Almost ready, 'Mione?" Ron called out.

She knocked over a bottle of perfume in her haste and she gagged at the cloying scent. She plugged her nose, running to grab a towel to clean it up. "Almost!" She called. She threw the towel in the wash basket, grabbed her mascara and lipstick from the bathroom and reapplied them, before stepping back to take one last look in the mirror. She sighed, wishing the red dress she had tried on first would have worked. She hadn't been able to get it zipped. She had a pudge around the middle, probably from the 7 cupcakes she had downed at the bakery she and Ron had stopped in after skating. He had remarked that it was the first time he had ever seen her eat more than him.

The black dress she donned was fine, though admittedly maybe a bit bleak for a party. Ah, well. It hid the cupcake belly and it made her butt look rather good. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that her arse had gotten fatter, too. She sighed, slipping on her black flats and meeting Ron by the fireplace. "I've put on a bit of weight, I think. Have you noticed?"

Ron's face reddened and he sputtered, "N-no. No, absolutely not. Not at all. You are as gorgeous as ever, Hermione."

Hermione grinned at him before stepping in to the fire place and flooing to the Burrow. She was greeted immediately by Ginny, who dragged her along to help in the kitchen. "Hermione, dear. It's so lovely to see you!" Mrs. Weasley said, pulling her into a bone crushing hug.

"It's good to see you, too, Molly." Hermione gasped out, once she was released and could breathe again. "What can I help with?"

"Oh, let's see. You could finish dicing up the vegetables, if you would, dear?"

"Of course," Hermione said, moving around her to set to work. She caught a glimpse of a ginormous fire outside in the garden. Ginny caught her eyes and winked. "Bonfire. We're going to roast marshmallows like muggles. Dad's idea."

Hermione smiled back as she waved her wand, setting the knife to start chopping. The smell of the many dishes cooking in the kitchen was beginning to get to her. Her stomach rolled and she bit her lip. The vegetables were finished. "Do you- need anything else, Molly? I wanted to go say hello to Bill."

Molly waved her off. "Run along, dear."

Hermione didn't have to be told twice. She scrambled out of the kitchen into the garden, sucking in huge lungfuls of the crisp night air. The cold sweat on her brow freezing in the icy breeze. She hoped she wasn't coming down with something, not tonight of all nights, for all the rotten luck.

She made her way over to the bonfire, which was surrounded by the many Weasley's and Harry. She murmured 'hello's to everyone, stopping to hug Bill and wish him a happy birthday.

Fleur caught her arm, smiling as she flicked a strand of white blonde hair over her shoulder. "You work at ze Ministry, now, no?"

"No." Hermione said, "Er, I mean yes. I do."

Fleur nodded. "I suspected."

"Why? What do you mean?" Hermione asked, befuddled.

Fleur lowered her voice to a whisper. "Vell, you 'ave put on a bit of veight. You conceal eet vell. No one vill notice weeth that dress. I am suprised zat you 'ave such good taste."

Hermione was taken aback, but she tried to hide her suprise and more importantly her embarrassment. "I don't understand. What does that have to do with working at the Ministry?"

"Vell, Arthur works at zee Ministry and 'e 'as a gut. As do Percy and Mineester Kingsley. Ron and 'Arry are looking a bit fuller around the middle as vell. Eet must be something in zee water." She laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder once more.

Hermione gave a tight chuckle, promising herself that she was going to start a gym regime first thing Monday.

Mrs. Weasley called to them that the food was ready and they all made their way slowly inside and settled around the large table. Hermione was immediately hit with another wave of nausea as the smell of the food reached her. She pushed it down, doing her best to breathe through her mouth.

She picked at a roll, not joining in much of the conversation, fearing that she might gag while she was speaking.

Mrs. Weasley brought the cake out and they all sang 'Happy Birthday' to Bill, George was looking especially pleased with himself and they soon found out why when Bill tried to cut into his piece of cake. It exploded, sending bits flying, his face taking the brunt of it. He glowered half heartedly at George as he wiped pink icing from his eyebrows. No one seemed bothered by his pranks any more. They rather looked forward to them actually. George was grinning, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Hermione felt a pang of sadness and tears welled up and spilled over before she could stop them. "Excuse me," she murmured, standing up from the table and heading outside.

She was leaning against the side of the house, trying to get her emotions under control when the door opened and Ron stepped out. "Hermione... You okay?"

She sniffled, nodding as she pawed at her eyes. "Yes, yes. It just hits me sometimes, when George pulls something like that."

Ron's eyes held profound sadness as he reached out and pulled her into his arms. "I know, 'Mione. Merlin, I know. I miss him."

She wiped the tears from her cheeks as he held her. He reached up to cup her cheek, bringing his lips down to meet hers. The scent of his toothpaste filled her nostrils and she gagged, barely having time to shove him aside before she vomited into the Azaleas.

"Bloody hell, are you alright?" Ron asked, holding her hair back. She spat a few times, trying to rid her mouth of the taste.

"I've been feeling pretty lousy all day. I haven't said anything because I didn't want to ruin the fun we've been having." Hermione said, adding silently in her head, and the fun we were going to have tonight.

"Do you want to go home?" Ron asked, his blue eyes filled with concern.

She paused, considering. "No, not yet. I really want some of those marshmallows."

Ron laughed. "Okay. I'll grab the bag."

He disappeared into the house and Hermione made her way over to sit on a large log that had been levitated to sit beside the fire. She stared into the flames, watching them flicker and dance. She was feeling much better now, aside from the headache. Perhaps she was only sick from eating so many cupcakes earlier.

Ron reappeared at her side, clutching a bag of marshmallows, Ginny, Harry and George tagged along behind him. He handed her a stick and a marshmallow, which she speared and lowered into the flames. She brought it out, watching as the outside burned to a crisp before blowing it out and stuffing it into her mouth. "Owmagawd 'dis is 'ood." She mumbled despite her packed mouth.

Ginny laughed at her, repeating her steps. George began flicking marshmallows in with his wand, using a spell to make them pop out when they were perfectly roasted like popping corn. Hermione was laughing at the boys, all running around with their mouths wide, trying to catch the marshmallows as they were sent flying when her headache turned into something more. One minute she was watching Harry swat as his mouth as he caught a still flaming marshmallow by accident, the next minute she was enveloped in blackness, hearing her name being called over and over by several alarmed voices.

Hermione's eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring at a stark white ceiling. She groaned at the ache in her head and the nausea swirling in her stomach. She stirred, attempting to sit up as she heard Ron say, "Oh, thank Godric. Nurse! Nurse!"

Warm hands grasped hers and she turned to look into Ron's sea blue eyes. "Hermione. We've been worried sick." She glanced over his shoulder to see Harry and Ginny watching her with concerned expressions etched across their faces. "Everyone else is here, too, in the waiting area. The doctor will only allow three in the room."

Hermione struggled to sit up and Ron helped her, until she was comfortably propped against the pillows. "What happened?" She asked.

"You were sitting beside me in the garden, beside the fire, and you fainted," Ginny said, worry lines etching her forehead. "We couldn't get you to come round. You're at St. Mungo's now. They wouldn't tell us anything without you conscious."

The door opened then and a short, grey haired witch strode purposefully into the room. "Miss Granger, it's so good to see you awake. I'm Doctor Astrid. How are you feeling?"

Hermione shrugged, sitting up a bit straighter in the bed. "A bit nauseous. My head aches. But other than that I'm fine. Probably just a stomach virus, right?"

Dr. Astrid gave a terse smile. "We have completed a number of tests on you and discovered that the reason for your fainting spell is severe dehydration. That is the likely cause of your headache as well. We're going to start an I.V. The full results of our testing are a bit more complicated than that and you might like some privacy, while you and I discuss them."

Hermione frowned, glancing around at her friends alarmed faces. They perfectly matched how she felt. Oh, no. Was she dying? She didn't want to be alone when she found out that she was dying. "I- I'd like for my friends to stay. If that's alright." Ron squeezed her hand tightly.

Doctor Astrid nodded. "If you prefer. I'll get right to it then. Upon your arrival here, we completed a urinalisis and a blood panel. Miss Granger, you are pregnant."

Ron's hand went slack around hers and Harry and Ginny's jaws dropped open. Hermione's brows puckered together. "Pregnant?"

Doctor Astrid nodded, "About 8 or 9 weeks, as far as I can tell. We'd need to do an ultrasound to get a more exact-"

"Wait!" Hermione exclaimed, becoming more flustered by the second. "Doctor, you've made a mistake. I can't be pregnant... I've never- I mean, you have to have sex to get pregnant and I've never- I'm still a virgin, Doctor..."

The doctor frowned, her brow puckering. "I assure you, I haven't made a mistake. I can do an ultrasound now, just to show you."

"Please," Hermione said. "Something is wrong with my blood. It's impossible." She looked up to meet Ron's eyes and he regarded her coolly, his eyes uncertain.

"I'll be right back with the machine." Doctor Astrid said, pursing her lips firmly together as she left the room.

Hermione looked around at her friends, still shocked. "I'm a virgin." She said, to no one in particular. No one answered, and they all sat in dazed silence until Astrid wheeled in a large monitor. "I'll need you to back up a bit to give her some privacy." She said, eyeing Ron. He did as she asked moving to sit beside Harry and Ginny. The doctor turned the monitor to where they could all see, pushed her hospital gown up and covered her with a thin paper blanket. She took out a heated tube of gel, and squeezed a large glob onto her abdomen, using a thick wand with a flat head to spread it around before turning to face the monitor. She pressed firmly against Hermione's belly, and the monitor showed nothing other than black static. See, Hermione thought, they've mixed up my test results with someone else's.

But then she saw it, and the Doctor froze the frame, a small picture came shooting out of the machine. "There, you see?" And Hermione did see. A tiny bean, resting inside of her belly. "Let's see if we can find a heart beat." The doctor moved the stick around some more, swirling the gel around a bit until finally a small "thrum, thrum, thrum" could be heard coming from the machine. "There we are. You are around 8 weeks, 5 days. Your due date is estimated to be roughly around the beginning of June. We can get a better estimate as your pregnancy progresses."

Tears were falling hot and heavy down Hermione's face and she couldn't hold back the sobs wracking her body. She was suprised there weren't people swarming her room, wondering who had died. "Oh, dear," Doctor Astrid said. "I can see this has come as a bit of a shock. I'll leave you some time to adjust to the idea and I'll be back in to check on you and discuss your options in a bit." She gave Hermione a pitying smile before scurrying from the room with the monitor. Hermione sobbed into her hands, the small picture of the tiny life inside of her resting on her lap.

Ginny made her way over to her, hesitantly sitting down on the edge of the bed and sliding her arms around her. Hermione turned and buried her face in the crook of her friend's neck. "H-how d-did this h-happen?" She sobbed and Ginny began stroking her hair soothingly, giving no answer, because she had none.

Hermione heard the door slam, and looked up to find Ron gone. "H-he hates m-me! H-harry, I swear I-I didn't-" But she couldn't even finish the sentence, the tears engulfed her, and she was sobbing so hard that she was finding it difficult to breathe.

"Harry," Ginny murmured, "Get her a calming draught before she passes out again."

The door creaked open and Hermione couldn't tell how much time had passed before Harry returned, followed by a blonde nurse. "Here you go, honey, drink this and you'll feel better. There we are," she said as Hermione allowed her to pour the liquid into her mouth. "That'll take effect in a moment and you can sleep, sugar."

She left and Hermione was alone with her friends again. Her sobs began to subcede as the calming draught took effect. She felt her eyelids begin to droop and Ginny helped her to lay back against the pillows. Her last thought before she drifted into unconsciousness was of the small bean, and her hand instinctively fluttered over her stomach.