Here is the final stretch, the last few chapters of the story. I hope you all enjoy this final set of chapters and to everyone that has been reading from the start, I thank you.
The Grangers took the news of their granddaughters parentage quite well, even congratulating them like any parent would. Helen said that she suspected that they would be together, moreso than just friends. Phil was just glad that his daughter was happy. With the secret out, the rest of the night went fairly quickly, the four toasted for the baby, and even shared a few tales of the previous year. Bella even bragged about how brave their daughter was during the Battle of Hogwarts.
The rest of the holiday seemed to fly by; Helen took the two shopping for proper Christmas Presents, including gifts for them to take home. Phil looked for a job back in the UK, hoping they could move back after New Year. Even Christmas was packed with happiness; Hermione invited her parents to the hotels Christmas Dinner, and after some exchanging of presents, Helen gave the two a new gift – a pink headdress for her granddaughter.
The healing charm that Bella was applying was starting to have less and less effect each time it was used. Even using it multiple times in a short space of time didn't seem to help. Helen put it down to generic pregnancy illness, and assured her that it would subside when the baby was born.
Phil found an old contact in a British Dental Practice a few days later that were hiring. After an impressive phone interview, the manager gave them the jobs, which gave the four another reason to celebrate. The Grangers packed their belongings and delivered them to a Freight company, to be delivered to England, while they would fly back themselves on New Year's Eve alongside Bella and Hermione. Bella even insisted that the pair stay at Black Manor until they got their own place, noting that Helen's help would be invaluable in raising her child.
New Year's Eve finally arrived, and with a fond farewell to Sydney, the four headed to the airport to head home. Hermione was now requiring almost constant charming, and neither she nor her parents could figure out why she was so ill. Nevertheless, she was able to convince the airport security that she was fit to fly, albeit with some subtle magical aid involved. The four made their way to the plane, and pretty soon they were on their way back to Britain. The flight was a nonstop trip across the Pacific and Atlantic, so there was a lot of time for them to relax on the plane.
The plane had been flying for 5 hours and the time was nearing midnight locally in England. Everyone was getting ready to celebrate, with complementary party food being served to all the passengers. Normally this would excite anyone; but today, Hermione just wanted to sleep. She had felt extremely tired all day, although she just put this down to a side effect of the healing charms overuse. As the clock clicked midnight and everyone celebrated, Hermione felt a massive surge of pain in her abdomen. She quickly got up and headed to the bathroom, managing to drag Bella in with her.
As the bathroom door closed Hermione felt another surge of pain, and she slid down the wall in an attempt to steady herself. Bella observed a wetness coming from Hermione's pants, and started to unbutton her blouse.
"I think my water just broke," Hermione gasped in between surges of pain. As Bella removed Hermione's pants so as to get a better look, she saw that Hermione was bleeding. She quickly stymied some of the bleeding before opening the bathroom door.
"Is there a doctor here, I need help!" she yelled out, her plea piercing the merry jubilations of the New Year celebrations. The plane went deathly quiet, as all attention suddenly pointed towards the source of the voice. Members of the crew started to head over to the bathroom with first aid kits, while another got on the planes intercom asking the entire plane if there was a doctor on board.
As someone escorted an elderly man towards the bathroom, claiming that he was a surgeon, Bella was joined by Mr and Mrs Granger, and in an effort to give themselves more room, started to move Hermione out of the bathroom and into a wider space. A businessman, who had heard the commotion over the tannoy offered to assist them by giving them his space in First Class. The group aided Hermione over to the First Class section when the plane was jerked violently, knocking a stewardess sideways into a seat armrest.
'Ladies and Gentlemen this is the Captain speaking. We are about to hit some unavoidable turbulence, so I would like to advise all passengers to take their seats and observe the 'Seatbelt ON' sign. Thank you.'
Bella got up and looked out of the window, and saw that they had flown into a Mid-Atlantic storm. Heavy rain and strong winds buffeted the windows and exterior of the plane. A flash of lightning illuminated the clouds and the thunder boomed around the cabin. Everything was reminding her of that night at Black Manor, and she was frozen in place. As another bout of turbulence rocked the plane, she was grabbed by Philip, and directed back to Hermione. As the surgeon arrived in First Class, the group realised that she was having problems with the birth. The surgeon suggested a Caesarean section as the best possible course of action, but given the lack of surgical tools, it would be an impossible task. As Hermione's pain increased, Bella had a thought.
"Helen, do you still have that pendant I showed you?" she asked. Helen replied affirmatively and handed her the memory pendant the wizard gave her back in Hong Kong. As she put it on, she saw a memory all but forgotten to her: Draco's birth.
"Hermione, I'm really sorry about what I'm about to do…" Bella straightened up and started to seal the First Class area using magic, all the while the Muggles watching in shock. Next she transfigured several pieces of cutlery into surgical equipment from her memory of Draco's birth, before finally focussing on a charm she remembered the medi-witch casting at the time.
"Bella, what are you doing?" Helen asked, as the scalpels and other equipment fully formed on the ground.
"You needed surgical tools, now you have them. I will explain when we land. Right now, we have a job to do." Bella began chanting in a very quiet, almost trance like state. Hermione felt all of the pain she was feeling slip away, as a pale yellow mist emanated towards her and cloaked her abdomen.
Dr Bates, the surgeon was the first to get over the show of magic, and quickly realised what Bella was up to. "She is giving her some kind of magical anaesthetic, so I can perform the surgery." As he picked up the scalpel, another piece of turbulence rocked the plane. "The plane needs to be as steady as possible," he said to the only remaining stewardess, who quickly notified the Captain. In response, there was a quick ascension followed by a rapid levelling.
"Hopefully, we should be clear of the turbulence for a few minutes, although I'm not sure how long we can stay at this altitude," the Captain said to his fellow crewmember.
With the plane levelled, the doctor began surgery, with Bella providing pain relief, and Philip and Helen acting as midwives. Given the lack of time, the surgeon worked as quickly as he was able, with Bella aiding in healing any stray marks that he left. After fifteen minutes the feverishly quiet cabin delivered the baby girl, and with some magical assistance the new-born arrived and took her first breaths.
As Bella drew away the anaesthetic and helped to clean up Hermione's body an explosion rocked the plane. Bates was flung into the wall, shielding the baby from the brunt of the blow, while Bella and Hermione were thrown into the cockpit door. Philip looked out of the window, and saw a great blaze emanating from the right hand side of the plane.
With Hermione dazed from the blast, Bella saw the cockpit door creak open, buckled from the impact. Bella saw the co-pilot injured in his seat, and the Captain frenetically checking gauges and desperately trying to steady the descent of the plane. "What just happened?" Bella gasped, catching her breath.
"One of the engines has just exploded, we lost power to that side and we are rapidly losing fuel," the Captain replied. One of the crew headed in to tend to the injured co-pilot, while Helen headed over to Dr Bates and the baby. With another piece of turbulence rocking the plane, the Captain suddenly lost all power, and the plane began to plummet downwards. With the plane in freefall, Hermione started sobbing.
Bella floated towards her and grabbed her wrist, forcing her to look at her. "I swear to you, Hermione Granger, I am not about to lose you, or our baby. Not even the secrecy of magic is going to stop me from saving this plane." She gathered every fibre of her body and started to cast, the Muggles, the pilots, and even her girlfriend, watching her break every code in the wizarding world.
"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSAAAAAA!"
The final chapters should be uploaded this week, and they should wrap up what has been an excellent experience for everyone.