A/N: Sorry it took me SO long to post..I couldn't sign in for FOUR WHOLE DAYS! I just wrote more and more, so I think this chapter is pretty long! Well, I can't really tell from here, but I hope you like it! I'll like you if you r+r! Thank you ever so much!
Mrs. Weasley had completely forgotten about nudging Harry and Hermione out of her house in the fall. First off, there were all these witches and wizards to send home. Second of all, Hermione's symptoms were still there. When Harry told his parents about Hermione, they were quiet. It seemed that they were just sad that they missed their son growing up. The last time they had seen him was when he was only one year old. Now here he was, seventeen years later with a pregnant girlfriend. Plus, they were going to be grandparents and they didn't look a day over twenty-three. In the end, when Mrs. Weasley had sent everyone home, the only people left were Ginny, obviously, Harry's parents, and Draco. Draco had not spoken since he came back and his parents were both in Azkaban, so Mrs. Weasley could hardly send him home. When Harry's parents mentioned taking Harry and Hermione home to live with them, it brought Mrs. Weasley back into that frame of mind. "Right," she said. "I've been meaning to talk to you two about that. You see, Hermione's baby appears to be a Metamorphmagus. I'm pretty sure she is; I've checked all the medical books in my house. Pretty soon, we're going to have to get her to St. Mungo's to double check. One of the new Order of the Phoenix members is a Metamorphmagus, and her mother nearly died, if I remember correctly. I haven't told Hermione yet, though." Of all the information Mrs. Weasley had just divulged, this surprised Lily and James the most.
"What do you mean, you haven't told Hermione yet?" asked James seriously. "If her life is in danger, she has the right to know." Mrs. Weasley flushed slightly.
"She's so young, though. I didn't want her to be worried."
"Well, it's about time she was allowed to worry. She needs to know, Molly. No matter what you think, she needs to know." With that, James called Hermione over, who dragged Harry along as well. "Hermione, Harry. Something very important has just come up. Molly has informed us that your baby may be a Metamorphmagus, Hermione." Hermione just stood there looking blankly at them. It was obvious she didn't realize what the problem was.
"So?" Hermione said. James sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"I don't know how to tell you this, but carrying and giving birth to a Metamorphmagus is a huge health risk. One reason they're so rare is that quite often the mother and child die." Hermione moaned at this and her eyes widened with fear.
"The healers at St. Mungo's have figured out how to keep the mother and child safe, but it involves staying there for most of the pregnancy." Lily added. "We want to take you there now." Hermione was now crying. Harry put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her tight.
"Everything will be all right, Hermione. Let's go pack some stuff and get ready to go." Harry led Hermione upstairs and helped her pack.
That afternoon, James, Lily, Harry, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley took the Knight Bus to St. Mungo's. Since it was dangerous for Hermione to Apparate and the Weasleys were low on Floo powder, they opted for the Knight Bus. Mrs. Weasley exchanged a few words with Ernie the bus driver and got them bumped up in the queue. They were dropped off at St. Mungo's only ten minutes after boarding the bus. Mrs. Weasley was the first out, and Harry's dad tipped Ernie generously behind her back. The five of them walked into the seemingly abandoned department store and found themselves inside St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies. The friendly Welcome Witch led them to the maternity ward where Dr. Rupert Watchout greeted them. "So, what seems to be the problem, miss?" He addressed Hermione in a warm friendly tone. Hermione was shivering too much to say anything, so Mrs. Weasley said,
"We think her baby might be a Metamorphmagus." Mrs. Weasley put it bluntly. Dr. Rupert paled and called to a few other healers nearby.
"We've got a Metamorphmagus. You know what to do." The extra wizards began examining Hermione while the doctor asked her a few questions. After a few minutes, he said, "Follow me, miss…"
"Granger."
"Miss Granger. I hope you've brought some personal items. You will be admitted to the intensive care ward immediately. It's a good thing you came when you did. If she hadn't," he said, turning to Mrs. Weasley, "Who knows what might have happened. This is a serious medical emergency. How far along are you?" he said, turning back to Hermione.
"About five months." she said nervously. Harry was patting her arm comfortingly. Doctor Rupert motioned for them all to follow him. He led them to a hallway and then a door.
"This is where you'll be staying, Miss Granger. It's a private room, and you'll need it. You will be on strict bed rest and only allowed visitors one hour a day. A nurse will aid you in whatever you need, and, I repeat, you are not allowed out of your bed!" Dr. Watchout pointed to a large comfortable bed. You see, St. Mungo's, unlike Muggle hospitals, understood the importance of comfort. The bed that Hermione was to live in for four months was large, squashy, and a soothing blue colour. "Since you're going to be here for a while, you can bring some pictures and the like to hang up to make it look homier around here." Dr. Watchout was now writing a short report on Hermione, which he soon handed to a nurse. "This is Emily. She will be your nurse." Emily was a young witch, just out of Beauxbaxtons.
"'Allo. 'Ow are you all?" Emily smiled at the people gathered around Hermione's bed. "I am just out of Beauxbaxtons and I am doing an apprenticeship, as you say, in St. Mungo's" Upon seeing Mrs. Weasley's worried look, she added, "Oh, do not worry! I am very capable, if you must know, I was best in my class. And I will 'ave help." Mrs. Weasley looked relieved. Emily promptly settled Hermione in her new bed, and began unpacking some of her things. She set up some of the pictures Hermione had hastily grabbed on her way out. She also talked quite rapidly to all of them. By the end, everyone was feeling much relieved and Mrs. Weasley felt bad for not bringing Hermione here sooner. She apologized to Hermione when Emily went off to fetch an extra pillow for Hermione.
"I truly am sorry Hermione. I felt almost as if you would feel as if I failed you if you had to come here. If I had known it was going to be this good, I would have brought you here a long time ago. I'm sorry." Mrs. Weasley enfolded Hermione in a bear hug. Just then, Emily returned with her pillow.
"I'm sorry, but you're all going to have to leave. Today has been a busy day for Hermione, and she really needs her rest." She shooed them out of the room. "Go on! You can visit her tomorrow." Four of the five people who entered the room earlier now exited, leaving Hermione quite alone, except for Emily. Harry turned back at the door and came back to kiss Hermione quickly. She could see the pain in his eyes at leaving her here.
"I love you" he whispered to her.
"I love you too Harry," she whispered back. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently before letting him leave. When everyone was gone, Hermione sank into her nice squashy pillows and took a long nap.
She woke up in the morning to a friendly happy song playing somewhere between what felt like dreamland and the real world.
"Take me to the breaking of a beautiful dawn
Take me to the place where we come from
Take me to the end so I can see the start
There's only one way to mend a broken heart"
Emily, it seems, enjoyed Muggle music. "Emily!" she called. "Do you even know what this song says?
"Not really, Hermione. I only like zee tune. It is very beaux, or how you say, beautiful."
"Well, it's exactly what I needed this morning." Hermione sighed and looked out her magical window. It was exactly like the windows at the Ministry of Magic, but these windows were always full of happy weather. Hermione's at the moment was showing a stunning sunrise, full of striking, calming colours. She sighed and pulled her blankets off. It was the middle of the summer, and she was feeling rather warm. Soon, Emily came over with a tray full of breakfast goodness, although Hermione wasn't feeling very hungry. Emily did a quick check-up of Hermione's vitals, and the walked off, looking worried. She returned following behind Dr. Watchout.
"Hermione has a bit of a fever, Doctor." Emily reported. Dr. Watchout 'hmmed' and 'hawed' over Hermione for a few minutes, and then called a few other healers over. "This woman needs an anti-fever charm, and quick! This is one technicality with Metamorphmagus children. Fevers can severely harm them. Not that much of a threat, since you caught it so fast, but good thing you did." That was the most exciting part of Hermione's day. The rest of it she spent knitting hats and booties. She was quite good at it, having knitted plenty of them in her Hogwart's days. Her belly was somewhat misshapen, and every once in a while she would look at it and imagine what her baby would look like. Often enough, it was amusing. She would see a funny lump and imagine it as a nose or something. When she laughed, Emily would come over and ask what was wrong. Hermione soon got annoyed of this, so she stopped laughing. Unfortunately, that made for a very boring day. At around three in the afternoon, Harry and Ron came for a visit. Ron pretty much hit it off with Emily. It seems that the Weasley family had a bit of a weakness for French women. This left Harry free to talk to Hermione. Hermione told him about the song she had heard this morning, and how it had made her sad. She had known that Harry wasn't really gone, but she was still rather sad. They had rather more than an hour due to the fact that Ron had disappeared with Emily, and that was a good thing for both of them. At around 5:30, Dr. Watchout came around with dinner and shooed Harry and Ron out. Hermione laughed, and Emily asked her what was wrong. Hermione just ignored her.
A/N: Actually, I don't think it's all that long, but it covers a lot of ground. A disclaimer: The lyrics to the song Hermione hears are not mine. However, it is an AMAZING song by the Wailin' Jennys, called Beautiful Dawn. Sighhh, what an awesome song. Well, got to go post another chapter to another story! Goombye and thanks for all the fish...i mean...thatnks for reading! GOOMBYE!
