Still looking for a beta, guys! Hope this is a good insert. I might not be posting for a bit 'cause i've got exams now but I may do - so keep an eye out. If you know anyone who beta reads, go ahead and contact them for me if you think they'd be up for it.
Em.
"Maisie, do you think you could take Mrs Cauwell over to spell damage?" Hermione asked her assistant, sending the woman hurriedly over to the desk where the Welcome Witch was sitting. Apparently her husband had mixed up the colour change and the growth charm, and now her toenails were stretching out rapidly having ripped through her shoes.
"Er, why can't you?" the young girl said, raising her eyebrow but not taking her eyes off the article on Katy Potion's affair with the the lead singer of Wand Direction.
"Maisie, can you not argue today," she sighed, looking down at her protean'd clipboard that was filled with all sorts of weird maladies, starting with two cases of Scrofungulus on the second floor, "For once, just do what we pay you for."
"You know I talk about you behind your back, right?"
It was ironic that the sign above the desk read "Our Welcome Witch will be happy to assist you,"… but she didn't have time for the antics of the little celebrity-obsessed girl she'd gotten stuck with on the first floor.
Maisie Buttermere was tall and slender, with fair skin and blue zombie-like eyes. She had very plump lips that were usually slathered in the latest Wonder Witch product and Hermione swore she'd never seen her with any emotion on her face; she was only happy when her gossipy friend from the admissions office came down on her lunch break. Her very long, straight blonde hair was always an issue between the two, Hermione wanting her to keep it up so it was out of the way, Maisie never really caring. Hermione knew she had to have some semblance of intelligence - what with managing to place a permanent colour change charm on her uniform to make it bright pink - but really her attitude made it impossible to feel anything but irritated around her.
"Oh my Merlin, Hermione, drop dead! I wish you weren't even born!" she scowled, walking off quickly, leaving the poor woman behind her to hobble after her.
"Miss Granger, they really need you in Magical Bugs and Diseases; someone's got the invisibility flu and they can't find him anywhere!"
"Alright, tell them I'm coming up now," she sighed, flicking her wand to her hair as it wrapped itself into a loose plait at the side of her head before heading up to the two flights of steps to the most dangerous ward in the hospital.
Magical Bugs and Diseases was where anyone with a contagious malady was kept. Because of the risk to the healers working with these patients, they all had to go through the entrance with protection enchantments that would stop anyone who was at risk from entering to keep them out of danger - though she'd never actually found out who that was. She barely ever went there but when she did, things tend to escalate pretty quickly.
Usually she only worked in Spell Damage, but they were completely overwhelmed today and needed all the help they could get. Hermione went to step through the door, only to be pushed back again.
"What in the-" she paused as she was rejected again, the ward glowing red. Deciding the wards must be faulty, she called over one of the regular healers she knew from inside, "Carmen? Is there something wrong?
"What do you mean, Hermione? Something wrong with what?" she asked, stepping through the ward to speak to her.
"I can't seem to get through the door, it keeps on turning red," she said, trying to get through again to explain, "I just- it doesn't make any sense. I've never had any trouble before."
"Er, when was the last time you came to this ward?"
"About three weeks ago, why?"
"Well," the girl looked nervously around the corridor before pulling her into an alcove, "The only people that aren't allowed onto this ward are young children and people, you know…"
"No, I don't know," Hermione huffed, annoyed at the usually straight-talking witch's evasion, "Who else?"
"People, er, carrying young children," she said, motioning with her head obviously, her eyes wide and eyebrows raised.
"You mean-" Hermione gasped, touching her stomach that was covered by her lime-green healers robes.
"I can't be sure," she sighed, shrugging her shoulders and looking apologetic, "I could give you the potion if you'd like?"
"Could you check the charms again?" Hermione pleaded, "I mean, they could be broken, couldn't they?"
"The wards don't change Hermione," Carmen frowned, "They've been permanently fixed to this door for years."
"Then maybe it's time someone checked them," she frowned, pacing the corridor, determined not to make a spectacle. She just needed to do her job!
'There's no way,' she assured herself, 'There's no way in hell- three weeks. I haven't slept with anyone in these last three weeks… definitely!'
"Hermione, are you okay? Do you want me to floo someone for you?"
"I-I-"
"Dear, you're in shock," she sighed, grabbing her by both arms to get her to stop moving, "Please come and sit down, all this stress won't be good for the baby."
"There is no baby!" she cried, ripping her arms from the healer's grasp, "I'm not, I can't be- I haven't even-"
"Honey, just think," she said quietly, "Who was the last person you, er, spent the night with?"
"I-I," her eyes went glassy with tears as the memory of one night and one immature, uncaring prankster whirled through her mind, "No. No!"
She walked toward the wards one final time, composing herself before taking a step to stand right in front of them.
'Come on, Hermione,' she thought, battling all the logic her conscience was throwing at her and wishing the door to just allow her through, 'It's just a silly mistake. You're perfectly able to get through these wards because you are not a child, and you are not p-pregnant.'
But even with all the will in the world, the invisible barrier still turned scarlet for the third time and pushed her back.
"Perhaps it's best I get you home and you have the day off today."
"Oh but what about the help you needed with the invisibility flu?" she said, wiping the salty water from her eyes and looking worriedly to the chaos through the door, "I don't want to leave you struggling."
"You couldn't even if you wanted, dear. Just try and get some rest," Carmen smiled gently, taking a potion from the cupboard and placing it in her hand, "Take this once you're feeling better - you know how it works. I promise I won't tell a soul, no matter what the outcome."
"Hey, do you know where Hermione is?" Ginny asked, walking up to the Welcome Witch desk.
"Sorry, I'm busy," the girl said.
Ginny looked over the desk's counter to see her painting her nails with the twins' new 'Varnish Vibes' that told you what you were feeling by changing colour; Harry said they had something like it in the muggle world called mood rings, but Ginny doubted they worked the same.
"Well you don't look to busy," Ginny growled, crossing her arms, "Can you be nice for once, Buttermere?"
"I'm not interested in caring about people," she said, rolling her eyes and glaring at the man behind Ginny who's arm was bleeding heavily, "This isn't accident and emergency, sir, that's downstairs."
The man rushed off as he grumbled about the awful service.
"Who even employed you?" Ginny asked, looking at the rude witch incredulously, "Look, just tell me where Hermione is please."
"I have no idea, literally. She was in this morning, but she didn't come back after she went to the second floor."
"What did she go there for?"
"The only thing I can do is check her chart to see if she left a note," she offered half-heartedly, looking past her again to an elderly woman with a rash spreading across her arm in spirals, "Was it a potion?"
The woman nodded and Ginny laughed as the usually cruel girl's eyes softened and she passed the woman a map and told her, "You just need to press the P button in the lift over there and then follow along the corridor to the first door on the left. Ask for Jenny, okay?"
"Oh thank you, dear," she smiled, heading off.
"Have you got her chart, then?"
"Nope, hang on," she frowned, filing her nails smugly as Ginny tapped her foot, "I'll have a look now then."
Ginny rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth. She was just supposed to meet Hermione for lunch and now she'd spent almost fifteen minutes talking to the worst Welcome Witch she knew. Her and Maisie had meet before, it had been an equally horrifying experience as now, and she always knew where Hermione was. She was starting to worry about her friend.
"Oh, she got sent home on medical grounds," she shrugged, "Says here she was stressed and nauseous."
"What! Do you know why?"
"She had to deal with some big news apparently," she said, pulling out some lipgloss and popping the top off, decidedly done with the conversation.
"So you know she's definitely gone home then?"
"Do I look like a seer? Just leave ginger, I have patients to deal with," she scowled, tilting her head as she watched the frustrated Ginny storm off, "I hate people."
Ginny apperated to her friend's flat, unsure whether she would answer her floo. It was surprisingly empty but she could see that the bedroom door was slightly ajar, so she went across to it.
'What news could she've gotten?' she wondered, 'She couldn't have been fired, could she?'
"Hermione?" Ginny called, knocking lightly on her friend's bedroom door, "Are you okay?"
"Gin?" she whispered, her voice hoarse and croaky. She was curled up under her covers, eyes red and puffy from crying and she seemed really upset. There was no way this was something trivial, Hermione was definitely in trouble. Ginny hurried over to the bed, sitting next to her.
"What's wrong 'Mione?" she asked gently, brushing the wild curls from her face, "Maisie said you'd gotten some news?"
"I can't-" she said, biting her lip and closing her eyes as renewed tears slid down her face, "I'm so stupid."
"Hermione Jean Granger, you could never be stupid," she insisted, wiping the streaming tears away, "Now come on, tell you're favourite Weasley what's the matter."
Hermione almost started sobbing again at the mention of the Weasleys.
"Oh no, no, don't cry," Ginny panicked, startled by the outburst, "What did I say?"
"Weasley!" she huffed, curling back up into a ball, suddenly moving from tearful to frustrated quick as a flash, thumping her pillow repeatedly, "Stupid, stupid Weasleys! Ginger monsters!"
"What! Hermione, how could you say that?"
"I-I-" she breathed heavily, unfurling mostly and looking up to the concerned face of her best friend next to her, completely wrecked emotionally.
"Come one Hermione, just tell me, please."
"Alright," she sighed, worry not leaving her, "I guess I'd have to tell you anyway…"
There was a small pause as she got herself together, "You remember Ron's wedding?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Well, I left early that day-"
"Yeah Fred took you home, didn't he?"
"Well Fred took me, but we didn't go home," she closed, her hands shaking in fear of telling, "We went to Fred's flat."
"You mean?" Ginny's eyes widened and a hand flew to her mouth.
"We slept together," she admitted, cringing at the horror on her best friend's face as she learned she'd slept with her brother.
"You had sex with Fred at Ron's wedding?" she asked, trying to grasp the concept, "Well, I mean that's not a big deal, is it? And it was ages ago, so he's not telling anyone. Fred wouldn't do that to you."
"I know, but that isn't what I have to tell you," she informed her, sitting up properly and scrubbing her eyes harshly with a closed fist, "Today I was sent to the second floor, but I couldn't enter the ward because apparently I'm…"
"You're what?" Ginny frowned, frustrated by the shake of Hermione's head, "Come on, you can trust me. You know you can."
"I'm, er, eating for two," she whispered, unsure of how to phrase it, "You know, p-p-"
"You're pregnant!" she asked, looking at her friend in a totally new light as she played with the sleeve of her jumper, blinking back the tears threatening to come out.
"I-I-"
"Oh honey," Ginny cried, pulling the terrified girl into a tight hug, "Don't cry! It's not that bad…"
"Yes it," she hiccupped loudly, "is!"
"No it's not," Ginny assured her, "It could be so much worse."
"I don't know what to do!"
"Oh Merlin Hermione," she sighed, pulling her into a hug as Hermione begun to cry again, "What a mess."
"I know," she moaned, "And can't tell Fred, not after I just left him. Bloody hell, it was a one time thing!"
"You were both spectacularly drunk, hun."
"What am I going to do? Who wants a baby at twenty-four with some woman they barely know?"
"You're not just some woman," she shushed, trying to lighten her spirits "You're Hermione Granger, for Merlin sake!"
"But to him I was just shag."
"Hey, that's my brother you're talking about," she tried to joke, "Are you sure it's his?"
"There's been no one else for a while," she shook her head, "I know it's his."
"We'll sort this out, we'll get everything sorted," Ginny soothed, "Have you taken the potion yet?"
"I've got one, but I haven't had the nerve to take it yet."
"Well then, that's the first step, isn't it?" she said, nodding to herself, thinking action would be much better than wallowing in bed all day, "Come on, get up and we'll get you the potion."
"It's almost inevitable that I am," Hermione sighed, following her orders and getting up, still in her jeans and a baggy jumper, "St Mungo's charms are never wrong."
"Still, you need to do this," she said, "Now where did you put it?"
"In the kitchen."
They both went to where she'd left it and Ginny uncorked the glass vial, passing it over to her as she sat at the breakfast bar.
"Bottoms up," she muttered, frowning and necking the bottle whole. It tasted disgusting, like orange and mint mixed together with a weird aftertaste of plastic. Seconds later, Hermione's stomach glowed a brilliant white before turning green.
"Well, you're definitely carrying a Weasley," Ginny nodded to the colour fading from her stomach, giggling a little as she said, "One night and he manages to knock you up. Now you know how mum has had so many kids!"
"Oh stop it," Hermione said, trying to hold in a laugh as she wiped her eyes, "I guess it's a relief to know for certain."
"Look, that's my little niece in there," she said, patting her stomach, "Try not to seem so down about it."
"Is it bad I feel a little bit excited? I shouldn't be excited about having a bastard child, but I'm pregnant Gin," she smiled sadly, rubbing her flat stomach, "That doesn't happen every day, does it?"
"So how are you going to tell the family?"
Hermione sighed and closed her eyes, coming down from the unexpected high, "I don't want to."
"Well I think they're going to realise when in nine months a little ginger kid pops out of you in the middle of Sunday dinner," she raised her eyebrows.
"Oh no! I don't even want to think about that," Hermione groaned, covering her face with her hands and breathing in deeply, "Can't we just say it's yours?"
"Maybe not 'Mione," Ginny laughed, rolling her eyes at the girl's dramatics, "That doesn't exactly work on a biological level."
"Why does everything in my life have to go tits up?"
"Come on, I thought we were being positive now?" she teased, "Now you're going to tell Fred earlier than everyone else, right?"
"Yeah, yeah," Hermione bit her lip, thinking about how to tell him, "Should I owl him? Or should I floo over there?"
"I'd say tell him in person," she nodded, proud at the brave face her friend was putting on.
"Would you come with me?" she asked, pleading with her eyes.
"I can head over there with you if you'd like," she offered, grabbing her hand across the table, "But you'll have to tell him yourself."
"I-I, okay," she sighed, heading over to the fireplace, "Lets get this over with."