AN: I STILL DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER. I ONLY OWN BO IN THIS STORY, WHO IS NAMED AFTER MY GRANDDAD'S DOG.
*MY SISTER ATE A TON OF CHICKEN PARMESAN WHEN SHE WAS PREGNANT, SO HERMIONE DOES TOO.
*ENJOY!
While Harry and Ron were in the past, so to speak, Hermione arrived to visit with her mum.
"How are you feeling, love?" Helena asked. "Did you take your potion this morning?" she asked with a curious look.
"Yes, mum, I did, and I'm feeling fine. Just a little bored. I mean, it's not even noon, and I'm bored out of my mind. Severus had to go see a man about buying a building for sale to open a new apothecary in Dublin and won't be home until tomorrow, I got Michelle working the bookstore, I'm not supposed to be at the restaurant until seven, everyone is at work, I'm too tired to go shopping, and Bo is out exploring, doing whatever dog's do." she ranted, waving a hand toward the wooded area where her and Severus' dog currently was.
'Ah, the mood swings are in high gear this morning, I see.' Helena thought. "Well, love, I'm sure you'll find something. Tell you what, how about you have Mitzy make you something to eat and go down to the basement. Harry and Ron are viewing some memories and they might be opening up to things, now." she said.
Hermione sighed. "That could work, I guess. I am hungry. Like always. I'm not used to eating this much, but it seems that's all I do nowadays." she said. "And, I'll go talk to the boys. Be the mature adult I am. But, if they mouth off, I will not be held responsible for or feel guilty for any hexes I throw their way." she said, standing up.
"I know, dear. Now, go get something to eat. I want that grandbaby of mine coming out all cute and fat." Helena said, laughing as she rubbed Hermione's stomach.
'Maybe her hormones will settle while she waits for them to finish.' Helena thought, chuckling.
Harry and Ron were surprised to see the vision of Ginny in front of them this time. She had her arms crossed over her chest. "First things first-I didn't want to do this, but Hermione said it would be good for you guys to see important memories. Gods, I hate it when she's right. Secondly, there are no memories from November, if you were wondering, but you didn't miss anything that month. Anyway, this is December 20-21, 1998. Everyone agrees that this is too important for you not to see." she said, fading to black.
Harry and Ron were aboard the Hogwarts Express, in a compartment with Ginny, Hermione, Neville and Luna. Hermione was reading, Neville and Luna were quietly talking, and Ginny was staring out the window.
"Hermione, where did you say your mum was going for the holiday, again?" Neville asked.
"Oh, well, she's going to visit an old friend from college who recently lost her husband and son. Not exactly my kind of holiday, and mum agreed." she said. "But, I get to go see everybody at the Burrow, so it's okay."
"Not everyone." Ginny murmured. She turned to look at Hermione. "Fred's still in hospital, and Ron and Harry are Merlin knows where." she said. "It's just not gonna be a normal Christmas, you know."
"Gin, it's gonna be alright." Hermione said. "Who knows, maybe Fred will come around before then, eh? A Christmas miracle?"
"Yeah, sure." she said, turning to look out the window again.
The memory changed, and now the boys were seeing Ginny and Hermione sitting with Andromeda and Teddy.
"I hope you girls had a nice trip home yesterday." Andromeda said, passing Teddy to Hermione. "Hermione, dear, would you change his nappy for me?" she asked.
Harry stared at Teddy. He had his hair a vibrant blue today. He was still so small, and that feeling of guilt came back with a roar at not having kept in contact with him all these years.
"Sure thing, Andy. Come on, big guy. Let's get you smelling a little nicer, huh?" she said, carrying Teddy to his nursery.
Once Hermione and Teddy were gone, Ginny started talking. "We did have a nice trip, thanks. Well, until I remembered that not everyone will be at the Burrow for Christmas this year, that is."
"I know you miss Harry and Ronald, but they'll be back soon, I hope." Andromeda said in a soothing, motherly tone.
"Oh, it's not just Harry and Ron. I mean, they're a part of it, I suppose. There's also Fred. He's still in a coma at St. Mungo's, and George is going away with Angelina's family. And Luna was planning on coming over with the others for our big Christmas dinner on the twenty sixth, but it turns out her father wanted to go visit some family of theirs, so she can't come. It's just not the same." Ginny said. "Sorry, Andromeda. I didn't mean to unload all of that on you." she said with a sigh.
"It's alright, dear. I know how you're feeling. This will be my first Christmas without Dora and Remus." she said. "I was going to…" she started, but was interrupted by an owl patronus entering the room.
"Ginny, Hermione, I need you to get to St. Mungo's NOW! DON'T ASK, JUST DO!" the voice of Molly yelled.
"Oh, my. I wonder…HERMIONE! WE NEED TO GO NOW!" Ginny yelled.
Hermione walked quickly back into the room with Teddy in her arms. "Ginny, I almost had him asleep. What's with…"
"No time, Mione! Let's go!" Ginny yelled. "We have to get to St. Mungo's, and we have to go now!"
Hermione handed Teddy to Andromeda, and she and Ginny flooed to St. Mungo's. As soon as they exited the fireplace, Bill was running toward them.
"Come on! Mum's waiting on you two!" he yelled. Ginny and Hermione ran to catch up to him, and the three of them ran up to where Fred's room was.
As they ran around the corner, they saw George and Angelina running from the opposite direction, with Katie behind them, obviously having just arrived themselves.
"What's going on, Bill?" George asked.
"Just come on! You'll find out when we get there." he said, slightly out of breath.
The five of them ran until they came into view of the other Weasley's, crowded in the hallway outside of Fred's room. Ginny and George's faces turned white, fearing the worst when they saw the Healer talking to their parents, who had tears on their faces.
"…after we were done with the tests." the Healer finished, smiling.
"What's going on?" Ginny asked, confused at why the Healer would be smiling.
Molly turned and pulled both Ginny and George into a tight hug. "Oh, it's the most wonderful, magical thing! He's awake, everyone! Fred's awake!" she cried.
The rest of the Weasley's, Hermione, Angelina, and a few others started crying with relief, hugging each other. Ginny and George broke away from Molly, and went to hug the others.
"Hermione said this could happen, you know." Ginny said. At the looks of confusion, she said, "On the train, on the way home, she said that Fred might wake up just in time for Christmas." Looking at Hermione, she asked, "Still think Divination is utter crap?" with a smirk.
Hermione nodded. "Yep, I do." she said, making the others laugh. "Have you gotten to see Fred, yet?" she asked Molly.
"No, dear. Not yet. The Healer said we could go in after they were done with some tests, though." Molly said, smiling. Just as she said that, the Healer and a couple of nurses came out of Fred's room.
"He'll be just fine. There's no apparent lasting damage from the wall or the coma. Fred will be able to go home in about a week, given that everything keeps progressing well. He will have to keep coming here, though, for physical therapy. Now, he's still a little tired, but I promised him he could see you all. Twenty minutes is the limit, though. I don't want him too riled up right now." he said.
As soon as the Healer walked off, the Weasley's rushed into Fred's room. There he was, just like before, only this time his bright blue eyes were open and looking at everyone.
Ron started crying softly. Before the reunion the other day, he remembered Fred lying in his hospital bed, unmoving and his eyes closed. He had been so bruised that Ron swore he was dead. Now, seeing him awake, Ron felt the guilt creeping in. He should've been here for this.
"What's everyone staring at?" Fred asked slowly and with a tired voice, making everyone smile. "Were you all always so...ginger?" he joked. Molly burst into tears, and hugged him, while the others laughed.
"Fred! My baby boy! I've missed you!" she said, trying not to hug him too tight. Arthur had to pull her off him to allow other people a chance to see and hug him.
For the next fifteen minutes, the large group stood around talking to Fred, glad to see him awake after so long. The Healer came in and gave Fred the chance to say goodnight to everyone, then gave him a sleeping draught as everyone left.
Vision Ginny appeared again as the memory faded to black. "That was the best Christmas present I've ever gotten. I hope you feel a little better now, Ron. I know you saw the wall fall on him, and as you can see, he recovered just fine. I don't know if they have done anything, but Fred and George spent a while coming up with some pretty impressive pranks to pull on you when you came back." she said smirking, and disappeared.
Harry and Ron pulled up from the pensieve. They went to sit down on a sofa in the corner, only to see Hermione sitting there eating a huge helping of chicken parmesan.
"Hi, guys. Hope you don't mind me waiting for you. I got nothing else to do." she said, taking a bite.
"No, it's fine, Mione. Are you feeling alright, though?" Ron asked. "Isn't that an awful lot of chicken parm for you?"
"I feel just fine, thank you. And before you say it, I know what you're thinking, Ron, and forget it. This is mine. If you want, I can ask Mitzy to bring you something, though." she said. "I'm sure she won't mind." she smiled.
"Oh, uh…yeah. That sounds good, Hermione." Harry said.
"Alright. Mitzy?" she said, making the elf appear.
"Mistress Herminny called for Mitzy?" she asked.
"Yes, Mitzy, I did. Could you bring down two plates of lasagna and a big bowl of that chocolate chip ice cream, please?" Hermione asked nicely. The elf looked at the plate of chicken parmesan that was rapidly disappearing and nodded, disapparating to the kitchen.
"Why don't you boys have a seat?" Hermione asked. Neither Ron nor Harry had moved from their spots near the table. They seemed a little hesitant to sit down. "Come on. I don't bite, you know." Hermione said, smiling before eating some more chicken parm.
They both sat down on the other side of the sectional sofa, warily looking at Hermione. The last time they were in this close proximity to her, she wasn't all that pleasant. "So, Mione." Ron said.
"So, what, Ron? I know you two want to ask me something, so just ask already." she said, shortly. Her hormones were kicking in again.
"Are you still mad at me for dumping you?" Ron asked as Mitzy popped in with their food. "Thanks, Mitzy." he said.
"No, not really. I mean, the way you did it, yeah, but other than that, I can honestly say no. If you hadn't dumped me, I wouldn't have Severus." she said, picking up the bowl of ice cream and digging in.
"Where did you get the idea for the introductions in the memories?" Harry asked, making Hermione laugh.
"Sev. Yeah, he said that whenever, and I quote, 'Those two dimwits who don't know their heads from their asses returns, they'll be able to catch up on what they missed.' I think there might be a couple of his memories in there, as well, actually." she said, pointing toward the box filled with the memory vials.
"Huh. Interesting." Ron said.
"So, any questions about things so far?" Hermione asked. "I'm willing to at least try and answer them. I still got" she looked at the clock, "…six and a half hours until I have to be at the restaurant, so fire away." she said, taking a big bite of ice cream.
Ron and Harry looked at each other, then looked at Hermione. They had noticed that she was eating more than she used to, and were curious.
"I have one, Mione. Where did your appetite come from? I mean, you never used to eat this much, but since we've been back, I've seen you eat like a Weasley. What's going on?" Ron asked.
"Yeah. Yesterday at the barbeque, you had three burgers and hot dogs each, a huge plateful of that pasta stuff, another plate of coleslaw and while we were talking, two ice cream cones."
Hermione smiled around a spoonful of ice cream. "It's really not me. It's my condition that's making me hungry."
"What's wrong?" they asked in unison. Hermione gave another big smile, confusing the boys.
"I'm pregnant."
REVIEW PLEASE. XOXO
*BEING MARRIED TO A MUGGLE, I THINK LUCIUS WOULD KNOW WHAT HAMBURGERS AND HOT DOGS ARE.
*HERMIONE FINALLY DROPPED THE BOMB. WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS. YAY!
*I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR THE REVIEWS, FOLLOWS AND FAVORITES. THEY MEAN A LOT TO ME.