Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Nine: The Importance of Being Idle

Neville prodded the bubotuber gently with his left hand as he held the pus collection bottle in his right. Bubotuber pus was something the hospital kept in constant supply, although obtaining it was a task that usually fell to the least-seniored person in the Herbal Lab – namely Neville. He didn't mind, really. Further advancement within his department would come with time and dedication.

"Didn't you have somewhere to be, Longbottom?" his supervisor, Mr. Marks, asked.

Neville glanced down at his wrist and saw that his Forget-Me-Knot had turned blue. What did blue mean again? Meeting…no…appointment! Neville suddenly remembered that Ginny had a Healer-Midwife appointment today, an appointment she wanted him to attend.

"Thanks for reminding me. I was about finished with the bubotubers, anyway," Neville said. Whipping off his apron and gloves, he hurried towards the maternity clinic on the other side of the hospital.

"You made it!" Ginny said as he entered the office, red-faced and out of breath.

"Yeah…just remembered a bit late."

A young witch with a clipboard appeared in the room. "Ginny Longbottom?"

Neville started just a bit at hearing Ginny called by his last name, but he shook it off and followed her down the hall.

The woman with the clipboard took Ginny's weight and temperature before leaving them alone in the room. Ginny suddenly looked embarrassed as she held up a short yellow gown.

"I have to change," she said.

"Oh! Right." Neville turned towards the wall, humming nervously as he stared at the posters on the wall. It took him a second to determine that the moving figures depicted the various stages of fetal development.

"Can you tie this for me? I got the bottom one, but I can't quite reach this one," Ginny said. Neville turned to see her struggling with the strings of the gown. Gulping, Neville quickly tied the gown together at the nape of her neck before retreating back towards a chair he assumed was for him.

Neville suddenly found the room to be almost unbearably warm as he stared at Ginny, who was reclining on the examination table with her legs bent at the knees. She looked extremely uncomfortable, but she didn't say a word as they waited for the Healer-Midwife to appear. Neville hoped the woman would hurry up – he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to be alone with Ginny without wanting to kiss her.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long. An older woman with short blondish-grey hair entered the room, a smile on her face. "You must be Neville," she said. "I'm Lucy Greenfield. I've been looking forward to meeting you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Neville said, shaking the woman's hand and hoping he looked like he belonged.

Madam Greenfield then asked Ginny a series of questions before examining her middle. "Everything seems to be perfect…let's just listen to the heartbeat, shall we?" She rubbed some sort of lotion on Ginny's bare belly and touched her wand to it carefully. Suddenly, a soft whooshing noise filled the air, though Neville thought he could distinguish a heartbeat.

"Wow…" he whispered, almost in disbelief.

Madam Greenfield glanced at him. "I'm going to show you an image of the baby now. Since you only have two months to go, we should be able to get a fairly clear picture. Would you like to come stand at the head of the bed, Dad?"

Ginny gave Neville a pointed look. "Dad…right, that's me," Neville said, clumsily getting out of the chair. Madam Greenfield just smiled, as though she was used to dealing with nervous new parents.

A bubble appeared above the bed, and inside the bubble there was a three-dimensional, slightly fuzzy image. Madam Greenfield, whose wand was still touching Ginny's belly button, pointed at the image with her free hand.

"This is the baby's head, and you can see one of his hands, and his feet. Everything looks good, Ginny," Madam Greenfield said.

Neville watched in awe as Ginny grabbed his sleeve. Looking down at her, he could see tears in her eyes. On impulse, he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

The image suddenly disappeared and Madam Greenfield settled herself on a stool. "All right, then. Just a few more questions and you'll be on your way." She pulled out a clipboard and a small stack of pamphlets. "Here is some information about birthing options, breastfeeding, how to make your magical home safe for baby, things like that. Are you still planning to have the baby at home?"

"Yes, my mother had all of us at the Burrow and I trust her," Ginny said.

"Okay…we'll talk about that more at your appointment next month. If I know your mother, I'm sure she has all the necessary items ready, anyway," Madam Greenfield said. "Out of curiosity, do you have a name picked out yet?"

Neville and Ginny exchanged a glance. "No. To be honest, we haven't thought about it much yet," Ginny said.

Madam Greenfield looked surprised at this. "Well, you still have time to figure it out. I usually tell couples to have a few ideas going in, otherwise you might end up with spur-of-the-moment names you may not be happy with later."

She asked a couple of questions about Ginny's diet before looking back up at both of them. "All right, I'll see you back here in a month. You're doing everything right, Ginny."

"Thank you, Madam Greenfield," Ginny said with a smile.

After Ginny changed, they left the office. Neither of them spoke…Ginny still had a dreamy look on her face and Neville was content to let her be with her thoughts for awhile. They walked down the hall towards the main part of the hospital, and Ginny started looking through her pile of pamphlets.

"You know," Neville said quietly as they reached the end of the queue for the hospital's main Floo connection, "my mum's dad was named James."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ginny asked distractedly. She was still leafing through the pamphlets Madam Greenfield had given her.

"I mean…we could name the baby James…and no one would guess that he was named for his real father and grandfather…since my granddad had the same name," Neville explained.

Ginny just stared at him.

"It's just an idea…I mean, I was just thinking about it since Madam Greenfield asked, but yeah."

"That's a really nice idea…I hadn't even thought…" Ginny paused, swallowed, then continued. "I mean, I guess it didn't occur to me that there might be a way to name him after…"

Ginny stopped walking and speaking at the same time, her hand at her mouth. Neville stopped walking, too, and reached out to her slowly. She grabbed his hand and looked at him seriously, her eyes red.

"You really think it's a good idea? Won't people ask questions?"

Neville shrugged. "We'll just tell them it's a family name. I mean…it is, right?"

Ginny flung her arms around his neck, scattering pamphlets everywhere. "James would be perfect," she whispered.

"How was your appointment, Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley asked that night at dinner as she passed the bowl of bread to Ron.

"It was good. Madam Greenfield says everything looks perfect."

"Well, that's good news!" Mrs. Weasley peered at Ginny's plate. "Shouldn't you have more vegetables, dear?"

"I've been following the diet Madam Greenfield set for me, it's fine," Ginny said. "We talked about that today, actually, and she said the baby and I are both in excellent health."

"It's just so important to get your vitamins," Mrs. Weasley said. She picked up the spoon for the dish of carrots. "One more spoonful, maybe?"

"Mum, I'm fine. I have plenty of carrots."

"When I was pregnant I took a tonic every day to supplement my diet," Mrs. Weasley stated, still holding the spoon.

"I'm on a vitamin potion, I don't need anything else," Ginny said, stabbing her roast beef rather forcefully.

"I could whip up that tonic really quickly, dear, it wouldn't be any trouble at all," her mother added.

Neville thought Ginny's face was going to explode. "I…don't…need…any…tonic."

"Well really, Ginny, I have much more experience than you in this area, and I would think you would appreciate – "

"I can't take this anymore!" Ginny shouted, getting up from her chair as quickly as possible. This was somewhat of a challenge, as her belly got in the way, but she finally managed it and stood with her arms crossed. "Stop telling me what to do!"

Mr. Weasley looked shocked at his daughter's outburst. "Now, Ginny, your mother is just trying to help."

"I don't need to be treated like a child," Ginny said. "I'm going upstairs." With that, she stomped away. She paused only to pick up her Transfiguration book, which was sitting next to the kitchen sink.

"Ginny, you should let Neville get that for you, it's too heavy," Mrs. Weasley called.

"Mum, it's a Transfiguration book, not a hippogriff. I can carry my own book up the stairs." Harrumphing, Ginny turned so quickly she looked as though she might fall over. For several seconds her loud, stomping footsteps could be heard on the rickety stairs.

Neville and Ron shared a quick glance before turning back to their respective dinner plates. Laughing would just make the situation worse, but Neville was straining on the inside to avoid it.

Mr. Weasley, however, was unsuccessful, as a small chuckle escaped from his throat. His wife glared at him, and his chuckle immediately turned into a hacking cough.

"Honestly," Mrs. Weasley said. "I'm just concerned about her. She's been so stressed with her schoolwork, among other things, and I'm only trying to help. It is so terrible of me to worry about the health of my daughter and grandson?"

"Of course not, dear. We all understand…but you know Ginny. She's just being stubborn about it," Mr. Weasley said gently.

"She told me you've been a great help to her since the beginning," Neville inserted.

Mrs. Weasley brightened a little at that. Seemingly satisfied that Ginny still relied on her advice, she returned to her dinner. Ron brought up Quidditch, and the rest of the meal continued with a debate over the Cannons' chances at the league title.

After dinner, Neville helped Ron with the dishes. Once everything was washed and dried, he went upstairs to find Ginny. She was seated at her desk, furiously scribbling away on a roll of parchment, her Transfiguration book propped up against a flower vase.

"Hi," he said cautiously. "Is this a bad time?"

Ginny waved her wand and the door shut behind him. "Sit down," she said. Neville quickly obeyed, not wanting to test her patience any more today.

Neville didn't say anything as Ginny rolled up her parchment and slammed her textbook shut. She rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I just can't stand it anymore," she said with a quiet intensity. "Mum is driving me absolutely mad. I know she's gone through this six times and raised seven kids, but I'm not completely incompetent, either. We have got to get out of this house once the baby's born."

"I agree," Neville replied.

Ginny didn't hear him. "I mean, I can see it already," she said, affecting her mother's voice. "'Ginny, dear, you're holding him wrong. Ginny, you shouldn't feed him that way. Ginny, you should let me tell you how to do everything because I don't think you have any motherly instinct at all."

"I'm sure she wouldn't be that bad…but I agree, we need to move out," Neville repeated.

Ginny stared at him. "How are we going to afford that?"

Neville just smiled. He didn't want to ruin the surprise he was planning for Christmas. "I'm working on it…but I can promise we'll be able to move out by February."

After hugging Neville tightly, Ginny's face grew more serious. "That sort of leads to something else I was wondering about. I mean…speaking of overbearing maternal figures…have you told your gran the truth yet?"

Neville shifted uncomfortably. "Not yet. There hasn't been a good time."

"She's going to figure it out."

"I know," Neville said. "It's just…she's been so worried about the family reputation…if she finds out I damaged it not because I had to but because I wanted to I don't know what she'll say."

"She'll be proud of you, Neville," Ginny said sincerely.

"I doubt it," Neville said, hanging his head. "But I'll tell her. Soon. I promise."

There was a slight tapping on the window, and Neville saw a beautiful snowy owl hovering outside. Ginny opened the window and let the bird inside, untying the package attached to her leg.

"Isn't that Hedwig?" Neville asked. He felt suddenly stupid for never wondering before what had happened to her.

Ginny nodded. "Hagrid's looking after her. He's been sending me news from Hogwarts…and rock cakes." She held up one of the rock cakes with a small smile and shook her head. "Not much of a cook, Hagrid, but he does try so hard."

"What sort of news from Hogwarts?"

Ginny unrolled the scroll. "Well, I get a biweekly update and lesson outline from Professor McGonagall, and sometimes other professors send things as well. Hagrid, however, has been kind enough to include information about how Quidditch is going, what the Halloween feast was like, what items from the twins' shop have been banned by Filch, things like that. It's just nice to feel…connected."

"I can understand that. That's really nice of him," Neville said. He had realized early on that Ginny was bothered by missing her last year at Hogwarts, even though she never said it aloud. This had probably also added to Mrs. Weasley's distress about the situation, as she now had four children who hadn't finished their Hogwarts education properly, no matter that Ron had taken the N.E.W.T.s and that Ginny would as well.

Ginny got Hedwig a bowl of water and an Owl Treat before sending her off. Neville picked up one of Ginny's pregnancy books as she returned to her studying. However, they hadn't been reading for very long before a voice called up from downstairs.

"Ginny! Are you in bed yet?"

Grabbing her wand, Ginny stomped over to the door, but Neville dove in front of her before she could open it.

"Somehow I don't think hexing your mother will make her less likely to tell you what to do," Neville said, holding Ginny's arms.

"You're probably right," Ginny said, lowering her wand. "She's just lucky she's my mother. Anyone else in this family who acted like that would have had their face covered in giant bat bogeys by now."

Neville laughed shortly and silently resolved, if at all possible, never to get on Ginny's bad side.

A/N: For those of you who may be wondering, I'm hoping to have this story finished by the time Deathly Hallows comes out. However, I will continue it either way. Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!