The reason this chapter was posted so quickly is because my entire family, aside from myself, came down with the flu, and I stayed holed up in my room so I could avoid catching it. (So far my avoidance is successful, woo!) But anyway, since I've been literally holed up in my room for nearly a week I've had plenty of time to write.
On a side note, I had my birthday party today, my family decorated it in Slytherin colors, and I got a Slytherin cake. :') Oh how I love them. (I have a picture of my cake on my facebook, add me!) I got my senior ring (It has a photography camera on the side, just what I wanted!) and some awesome clothes from a Halloween magazine, I got this jacket that looks like a wizard cloak! It makes me happy.
16 days until Christmas and I turn 18. :D
And just as one of my reviewer's requested this chapter is longer than the last one. :)
Enjoy the chapter!
Later that night Hermione was relaxing in a chair next to Draco's bed in the hospital wing, her Defense Against the Dark Arts book propped up in her lap.
"Something weird happened today, I don't remember anything, all I know is one second I'm sitting with Teddy and Neville at a table towards the front of the library, and then suddenly I'm standing in the restricted section with some book about roots in my bag. It was rather odd, worried Teddy quite a bit, and to be honest it worried me too. What do you think?" She asks, not even looking up at Draco, she'd grown used to having no response.
Once again, her question was met with complete silence aside from his quiet breathing, and despite not expecting a response, her heart sank slightly.
To get her mind off of Draco she pulled the mysterious book out of her back and set it on her lap, contemplating whether or not she should read it.
As if the book was answering for her, it opened itself, turning to a page towards the middle.
"Deținător de minți." She read the title out loud, her eyes scanning over the page.
The Deținător de minți, though it is exceedingly rare, it is most commonly found in Romania and Scotland, in places where sunlight is extremely scarce, the roots of the Deținător de minți are a deep purple with veins crisscrossing along the length of them, from the roots grows a flower that let's off a very calming aroma, in close vicinity of this flower one is advised to keep their nose and mouth covered or risk passing out.
If you take the flower stem, and crush it into a bowl filled with troll spit it instantly becomes a powerful healing salve, if spread over a wound it will heal it instantaneously, if ingested it will heal any poison that is in the bloodstream. It is extremely powerful, but there are only 7 of these plants known to exist in the entire world, all of them spread across Romania and Scotland, protected by the strongest spells, and creatures. There are rumors that if you go deep enough into the Forbidden Forrest surrounding Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry you can find a whole field of them, protected by the most fiercest of creatures, but this has never been proved because it is much too dangerous, and those who have went searching for it, have never returned.
Growing beneath the flower, are the previously mentioned roots, these roots are nothing like the flower, and they are very dangerous, a simple brush against flesh and they cause instant death. True to their name Deținător de minți meaning Keeper of Minds, if sliced open, the liquid that runs from the root, if ingested, will cause the victim to lose complete control of their mind, the only people that can survive this are infants, because they haven't understood how to use their minds yet it will not affect them, if an adult ingests the liquid they will fight for control of their minds, causing it to implode on itself, an extremely painful death. Once the infants mind has been controlled, the one who made them drink will be able to control them, they will mentally grow very quickly, gaining the ability to speak and walk faster than any other child, but they will grow in their new masters image, any abilities that the master has, they will have, but with the mindset of a small child, making them extremely dangerous, and must be killed on sight, for the only known cure is the flower growing from the roots, but by pulling up the roots the flower is destroyed, and the plant in itself is too rare for another flower to be discovered in time before the child's mind is completely lost. To get the mind control to work, the infant must also ingest his or her parents blood, this will complete the process, thus making the child completely brain dead until the host takes over.
Hermione slammed the book shut as soon as she finished reading, disgust filling her at the thought of someone harming an innocent child like that, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
"I'd never let anything happen to your child." She remembered Klaus saying those words in the most threatening way, she remembered how he always made sure her child couldn't be harmed, he was protective of the baby, at first she assumed that he had enough of a heart to not want to hurt a child, but now as the realization crashed over her she knew he had no heart, his entire plan was to harm the child. Harm her child.
Her breathing sped up as her heart slammed against her rib cage, fear coursing through her veins.
She stuffed the book into her bag quickly, standing up and heading towards the door.
"Miss Granger, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a dementor." Madam Pomfrey spoke up right as Hermione's hand reached the door.
"I know what Klaus's plan is, and I'm going to tell-." In the middle of her sentence she was hit with an excruciating pain between her legs.
A scream ripped from her throat and she felt her knees buckle as she crashed to the floor, her arms wrapped around her stomach protectively.
"Miss Granger!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, running to her and picking back up. "Something's wrong." Hermione bit out between clenched teeth, tears streaming down her face from the pain.
"Do you think it's the baby?" Madam Pomfrey asks as she helps Hermione onto a bed carefully.
"I don't know." Hermione cried, fear filling her at the thought of something being wrong with her baby.
"Okay honey, I'm going to preform as spell to see what's wrong, but I need you to be still for me okay?" Her voice was calm as she spoke, but she was obviously worried.
"Rivelare." She muttered under her breath, waving her wand over Hermione's stomach.
"Oh my." Hermione's heart jumped into her throat as the words slipped from Madam Pomfrey's mouth.
"What? What is it?" She asked, staring up at the mediwitch fearfully, the pain beginning to fade slowly.
"You're having contractions." She said, causing Hermione's eyes to widen. "W-what?! No! I can't be, it's too early." She exclaimed, reaching up and grabbing Madam Pomfrey's arm tightly.
"I can help ma'am." A small voice sounded from the doorway, and both witches turned quickly in shock.
"Cilia!" Hermione exclaimed, staring at the small house elf. "Hello Miss Granger, Cilia is very pleased to see you." She said, bowing down until her large ears touched the floor.
"What do you mean you can help?" Madam Pomfrey asks, and the elf looks at Hermione for permission to touch her stomach.
At Hermione's nod, she hops up on the bed and places her hands over her stomach a glow emitting from her small palms.
"When Klaus was still Cilia's master, he made Cilia learn how to stop contractions so Miss Granger could carry the little baby to full term." She said nervously, as if she was scared she'd get into trouble for admitting that.
"Thank you very much Cilia." Hermione said, relieved as all of the discomfort faded into nothing.
"Because of you, Cilia is a free elf now. Cilia will do anything to repay Miss Granger." She squeaks, hopping back off of the bed as Hermione sits up.
"You don't have to repay me Cilia." Hermione said, smiling at Cilia softly. "No, Cilia must help Miss Granger. Miss Granger is so nice to Cilia. Master was so mean. And you saved Cilia. Cilia must repay that debt. Cilia will." She said determinedly, making sure Hermione knew that she wouldn't back down.
"Well thank you very much Cilia. I am very grateful." She smiled, causing the house elf to blush.
"You're welcome Miss Granger." She said, before popping out of the room.
"Miss Granger, I know you're going to absolutely hate me for saying this..." Madam Pomfrey trailed off, knowing how much Hermione would despise her next words.
"No, don't say it." Hermione said, her eyes wide.
"You need to be on bed rest until the baby is born." She says, taking a step back as Hermione sucks in a deep breath.
"B-but, my classes! Homework! How will I complete my essays?" She exclaimed, her heart dropping at the thought of missing out on learning more.
"Mister Nott, Mister Zabini, Miss Parkinson, and Mister Potter can bring you your lessons, we can have a house elf bring you the books you'll require, or you can just have one of your friends get them. It will be dangerous if you go into labor again this early." She states, her voice going firm so Hermione could know there was no use arguing, her mind had been made up.
Hermione threw her head back against her pillow with a loud groan, just as the hospital doors burst open.
"Hermione are you okay?! A fifth year said they could hear you screaming in here?" Teddy shouts as he runs into the room, Blaise and Pansy on his tail.
"Oh good you're here, Miss Granger here has just went into premature labor." She says, pausing as the shocked expressions cross their faces.
"Don't worry, it was stopped, but she needs to remain on bed rest until the baby is born, and I need her friends to bring her her assignments, and make sure she stays in bed." She says, looking at all of them sternly.
"Yes ma'am." They all say, going over to Hermione's bedside.
"Honestly, I'm fine now. You don't have to do all of that." Hermione says, hoping she'll be able to convince them to let her up.
"Yeah, you're fine Now, what about later? I'm not letting anything happen to you or Teddy junior!" Teddy says, crossing his arms haughtily.
"You mean Blaise junior." Blaise says, giving Teddy a cocky smirk as Pansy laughs.
"I think it's obvious that it will be a girl, and will be named Pansy junior." She says, sticking up her nose as she sits on the edge of Hermione's bed.
As they all continue arguing over who the baby will be named after Hermione let's her gaze shift to Draco.
"You've got to wake up soon Dray, you have to be here to see your child when it's born." She thinks to herself as she stares at his unmoving body sadly.
"Please wake up soon."
Well, there it is. I'm not sure how long it will take me for the next chapter because of all the Christmas stuff I'll be doing, and my boyfriend is coming down from Kansas soon so I'll be with him a lot.
It wasn't much longer, but I really felt I needed to end it there. I promise I will get the update to you guys as quickly as I can!
Merry almost Christmas! I love you guys!