Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, though I wish I did. They are all property of J.K. Rowling and her business associates.

The Days After

5 - Speed

Hermione woke up early, feeling nauseous, though less than the previous days. She looked at Harry sleeping at her side and felt her heart fill with happiness seeing the man she loved. She then released herself from his embrace, trying not to wake him up, and went to the bathroom. She remembered that the muggle pregnancy test was best done in the morning, so she took out the kit that her mother had bought a few days earlier and used it. Five minutes later she was already sure she was carrying Harry's child. She went back to bed with a marvelous feeling in her heart and snuggled close to Harry.

"I love you, Hermione" he mumbled, his eyes still closed.

"I love you too, Daddy Potter" she whispered back.

It took him some time to digest her words in his sleepy mind, and then he opened his eyes in wonderment. "Do you mean that you are really…?"

"Yes I am! Isn't that wonderful?"

"Everything about you is wonderful" he told her with a loving smile. "When have you found out?"

"Just now. I tried the muggle test and this is the result. I know mom will want me to go see a doctor. She still doesn't fully trust the healers."

"I don't mind. As long as they take good care of you they are fine with me."

Hermione told her mother during breakfast, and her mother insisted on taking her to the doctor, as expected. Harry joined them.

The doctor asked all the regular questions and did all the regular tests. She then asked Hermione to lie down on a bed and checked her with the Ultra Sound imager.

"Are you sure about the dates?" she asked Hermione.

"Yes, absolutely sure. Why? Is there any problem?"

"No. Everything looks fine, except… the baby looks much older than one month."

"Is that a problem?"

"I don't think so, but I would suggest you come twice a month for a checkout, like all other expecting mothers, only more frequently."

It was clear that Harry didn't like this. He was worried that something might still be wrong and insisted that Hermione be checked by an expert healer as well.

They visited St. Mungo's the next day. Harry wasn't sure where to go once they arrived, but a moment after they entered the reception area they heard "Mrs. Potter to room five, please."

They found a kind elderly witch in room five. She mumbled a few words and passed her wand along Hermione's abdomen. A slight bluish haze appeared above Hermione's belly. "You are preparing an heir for the Potter dynasty" told her the witch.

"Is he OK?" asked Harry worriedly.

"He is quite fine for a three-month embryo. Why do you ask?"

"It's only one month since he was conceived."

"Well, let me check" she said, turning to the books on the shelf behind her desk. She took out a large tome and started leafing. It took her a few minutes to find the appropriate paragraph, which she read out loud: "Under some extreme conditions, when both parents are of exceptional magical power, the embryo may grow much faster than normal, reaching its full development in less than the standard nine months. There are records of cases when the baby was ready after only six or seven months, and legends about cases of five months or less."

She looked up from the book. "You have defeated the most powerful dark lord ever known, so you are probably quite powerful yourself" she told Harry. "I don't know exactly what you did during that time, but you wouldn't be spontaneously bound if you were not just as powerful" she told Hermione. "I see no cause for alarm, but you must be checked regularly and you must be ready for a few very intensive months, when you will be only eating and sleeping to let your baby grow."

"Can't I just have a normal pregnancy?" whined Hermione.

"You are both far from normal – young, talented and very powerful mages. You can't expect life to be normal. I don't think you will even like it to be perfectly normal. It might become boring. But your pregnancy will be as normal as can be, only shorter. It might even be much shorter than normal, but I will be able to asses it only next time."

Hermione was worried by the news. "I was hoping to have our wedding before it shows, but if I grow much faster than normal then I will not have enough time to arrange a proper wedding. We shall have to wait until after the baby is born. Some of my more conservative relatives would not like it, and others may make it into a joke."

"I will let nobody make a joke on our account" promised Harry.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry" said her mother that evening, after having heard the story. "I'll just tell everybody that you were married in a private ceremony during your vacation abroad and want this wedding only as a re-confirmation of your married status and as an act of love. Nobody will doubt it, and then – you did spend some time in hiding during last year."

"Will you do it? It would be wonderful! Thank you, mom", said Hermione.

Harry continued renovating Grimmauld place. Two weeks later he could already declare the house fit for living. Hermione liked the changes very much. She moved to live with Harry as soon as the work was finished.

The second visit at the doctor was very similar to the first. When checking with the Ultra Sound, the doctor said the embryo seemed to be five months old – about thrice its real age.

The healer gave a similar diagnostics: "You seem to be going about thrice as fast as normal, which means you should be ready for delivery in less than two months. I would suggest participation in a muggle course that prepares pregnant women for their first child. They seem to be quite good and we lack such courses in the wizarding communities."