Chapter 11
As Hermione walked with Harry to the hospital wing, the roots of her hair prickled and her fingers ached. This always happened when she was nervous, she didn't know why.
It was so early that not a soul was to be met in the hallways Hermione and Harry walked through, save for Ms. Norris. The grizzled cat stalked across their path as Hermione squinted through the dim corridors. She carried a candle that was their only source of light. Long shadows crept along the stone walls, adding to the tension they already felt.
Upon entering the dark hospital wing, Hermione was met with utter silence. She and Harry stood for a few seconds in the middle of the long room lined with crisp, clean beds, before Madame Pomfrey bustled in through the doors of her office, her wand already out. She sat Hermione on a bed and gave her a cup of water, then stood back and watched her curiously. It was a moment before she spoke.
"I've called in a special doctor for you, who can give you a check-up and see where things are. She should have been here a few minutes ago-"
A crack sounded in the room and a small woman, apparently the doctor, appeared near the door. Hermione skeptically examined her as she walked briskly over to the bed the students sat on, lighting candles across the room with her wand as she walked. As she set her large bag on the table beside Hermione and unclasped it, the girl couldn't help thinking she didn't look like any doctor she'd ever seen. Light blonde hair, not much unlike Luna's in color, but much neater – straight, and pulled back in a high ponytail. Her eyes were a washed-out blue – almost silver, but not quite. She wore a grayish teal sweater and plain, old jeans. Hermione suddenly noticed her dark lips were moving, and tried to focus on what she was saying.
"…is not going to take very long. Let's see… my professional name is Doctor Martin, but I prefer to be called Lydia. Now, what were the results of your test?"
"Test?"
"Madame Pomfrey told me you've already taken the pregnancy test."
"Oh – yes. It was mostly gold and peach."
She turned to look at Hermione. "Really? Are you sure?"
She nodded nervously. Was there something wrong with peach?
Lydia unfolded a white doctor's jacket and pulled it on. She continued asking questions as she buttoned up the front – Hermione's and Harry's ages, time of conception, how she was feeling… Hermione wondered if Lydia should be writing this down, but decided not to ask. At least she looks more like a regular doctor with that coat on, she thought.
Snapping on a latex glove, Lydia said, "I'm just going to do another test. Just to make sure. It's not that I don't trust you – I'm required to do this before I get completely involved. Would you please lay down?" Hermione obliged, as Harry moved to the bed next to her. She took a wand out of her bag, asked Hermione to pull back her shirt, and then held it over her bare belly.
As soon as she muttered the words to the pregnancy detection spell, Hermione began to light up. She definitely heard an astonished gasp from Harry as she began to project gold light all over the room. Lydia cracked a smile as the glow heightened. Then, she too looked surprised as the color shifted to rosy peach. Hermione just lay back and watched the color play over the ceiling of the hospital wing, the wooden beams and the glass panes of the skylights.
When the lightshow was over, Harry had the silliest look on his face.
"Hermione… that was amazing…" his eyes were gleaming. She giggled and reached out to touch his hand.
"Oh, it's nothing."
"Ah, I'd say it's something all right," Lydia interjected. She was shuffling around in her doctor's bag again. Then she turned and gave Hermione a smile. "It's strange. You really are peach."
"What exactly does the color mean? It's not… bad, is it?"
"Of course not. It's just rare. The color itself basically means nothing. Other than that you're definitely pregnant." Hermione blushed. "The particular color you get tends to run in the family. But, peach… peach doesn't. It's been a long time since I've seen that color. It's quite pretty."
"Thank you." Hermione blushed even more, wondering what the world had come to now that she was getting compliments on how beautifully light shone out of her stomach.
"Well, if you don't mind, we'll just do a regular check-up to make sure you're healthy. Then I'll be done."
"Sure."
A short time later, when Lydia had taken her temperature and blood pressure, and looked down Hermione's throat and whatnot, she began to pack up her things. The young girl was becoming fond of the doctor, with her calm, friendly demeanor and smart, precise way of doing things.
"You know, it's nice to see that you two are together," she said suddenly.
Harry looked at Hermione, then said, "What do you mean?"
Lydia packed her white coat away and closed her bag, then sat on the cot next to Hermione's.
"In a lot of cases of teen pregnancy, the girl doesn't have a father to help her out. She finds out, then he runs off scared. It's just nice to see that's not the case. You're still together to support each other." Hermione smiled.
"I would never leave Hermione." Harry looked at Lydia like she'd challenged his attachment to me and as though he was actually quite offended she could think that. "She means everything to me – I wouldn't do that!"
"I know, that's what's so great!" Lydia smiled widely. "You know what? You two are really cute." Hermione blushed and Harry coughed awkwardly. Lydia only giggled. "Adorable. Just… sigh. To be young again, and free…"
As the flustered couple walked back through the corridors just gaining the dim light of sunrise, Harry spoke.
"I'm going to send a letter to Sirius."
"But-"
"He'll understand. Apart from you, he's one of the only people I trust to understand."
Hermione gave a shuddering sigh. "Tell me everything's going to be fine."
"I love you, Hermione."
…
"Good enough."
