Two months. I am nearly two months into my pregnancy. I feel Harry's hand tighten around mine at the news. The doctor looks at our hands and smiles.

"First time?"

"Uh? Oh yeah, but we're not together," I say quickly. "He's here for moral support."

"Ah, sorry; my mistake." She returns to looking at the screen. "Well, everything is looking good so far. Your baby is the right position and the blood flow appears normal." she pauses for a moment and then smiles. "Hear that?"

There is a drumming sound coming from the machine, steady if not a little faint.

"Is that…?"

"Yes," she says. "That's your baby's heartbeat."

My free hand goes to my mouth, a few tears glistening at the corners of my eyes. My baby has a heartbeat.

Harry smiles at me and squeezes my hand again.

The doctor moves away from me to set aside her tools and I can no longer hear the beating of my child's heart; I already miss it. She hands me a tissue and I wipe off my stomach before sitting up completely and pulling my shirt down.

"When should I come back for another appointment?"

"Well, you're still very early into your pregnancy, but everything looks like it is going well. I'd like to see you once a month until you hit about 28 weeks. Then we can move the visits up to every two weeks and then every week once you hit the 36 week mark. You can schedule your next appointment at the front desk before you leave."

"Thank you."

Harry and I gather our things after the doctor exits. We move out of the small room and slowly make our way back to the front desk. He sits in one of the waiting chairs as I speak with the receptionist to schedule my next checkup. She hands me a slip of paper with the date on it, as well as a list of what to expect in the upcoming weeks. I feel Harry's arm slip through mine as I stare at the information packet. He leads me to the door and we exit out into the parking lot.

"So, how are you feeling?" he asks as we start walking away.

"I… Better, actually. I like having a plan with this. Or at least, something resembling a plan."

Harry nods and looks both ways before we cross the street, slowly making our way back to the Ministry.

"What are you going to tell Ron?"

I sigh and don't meet his eyes. "I don't know. I don't want to tell him yet, though. I still need time with this. It's a big adjustment, you know. And… well I just don't want to see him right now. I mean, it's only been three weeks since he broke it off and frankly I'm not ready to be in the same room as him and tell him that I'm pregnant with his child."

"I understand. Just let Ginny or I know when you want us to tell him and we'll do it."

"Thank you, Harry. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you two."

He simply smirks in response as we head underground to the Ministry's entrance. We flash our IDs and head inside before heading off in opposite directions.

"Hey mum, it's me," I say when the landline at my childhood home goes to voicemail. "Everything's fine, I just need to talk to you and dad whenever you get a chance. I'm going to be at the office for the rest of the day, so I'll just try you when I get home, okay? Love you."

I hang up the phone and step outside the phone box, giving the man waiting on me an apologetic smile. My arms wrap around my body as I head back into the café, searching the crowd for Ginny. She's sitting in the back next to a blonde; they smile when I approach the table and sit down.

"Hello Hermione," Luna Lovegood says dreamily. "How have you been?"

I shrug and pull my arms out of my cloak before hanging it over my chair. "All right, I suppose. How's everything with you?"

"Quite wonderful, actually. Rolf just proposed last month. I'm ever so excited. His grandfather was Newt Scamander, you know."

I raise my eyebrows at this and look at Ginny. "No, I didn't. That's exciting. When's the wedding?"

To my surprise, Luna simply shrugs. "We haven't picked a date yet. Or a year. Rolf and I want to find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack before the wedding; it will bring our marriage good luck you know."

I smile politely and nod. I like Luna, but I've never been able to really get past her strange fascination with creatures that no sane witch or wizard had ever laid eyes on. I join her and Ginny for lunch every so often, but I don't particularly make a habit of it.

"So, Hermione," Ginny says, thankfully turning the conversation away from Luna's fictitious animals. "Give us the latest news from the Office of the Senior Secretary to the Chief Warlock. Any particularly big or exciting cases?"

"You know I'm not allowed to discuss my cases until they are finalized and publicized. Besides, I don't know why you all seem so interested in my job; it is hardly as glamorous as everyone makes it out to be."

"According to Witch Weekly it must be fairly glamorous, considering you work in close quarters with Draco Malfoy," Luna interjects. "You are the envy of witches everywhere."

"Me? Because I 'work in close quarters with Malfoy'? As if!" I chuckle. "Malfoy and I see each other maybe once or twice a week, and only sometimes in the actual courtroom. Which is good news for me; Merlin knows I can only take so much of him."

"I thought you said he's gotten better from how he was in school," Ginny says. "If he's not, I could always go hex him for you; I'd like the target practice."

"He is loads better from when we went to Hogwarts," I admit. "But he is still arrogant and sarcastic. And a bit of a snob."

"Don't forget the most eligible bachelor in Great Britain."

I choke on my tea and look at Luna. "Sorry? Did you just say Malfoy is the most eligible bachelor in Britain? Where on earth did you read that?"

"It was the same article in Witch Weekly," she says simply. "Daddy didn't quite agree with a few of the other names on the list though, so the Quibbler is going to release its own list next month."

Ginny and I share a look.

"Well come on, then," Gin says when Luna doesn't elaborate. "Who's gonna be on the Quibbler's list?"

Luna taps her chin and hums softly. "Don't know, really. I just know that Daddy didn't like the number four slot in Witch Weekly and that started his idea to redo it." She gives me a sympathetic smile. "Neither Daddy nor I thought Ron should have been anywhere on that list."

"Ron was number four?!"

A few other patrons in the café turn and give me strange looks at my outburst, but I can't be bothered.

"Mhm. Once the news broke of Sarah's engagement with her longtime girlfriend, all the magazines realized Ron was one hundred percent single. As Keeper for a professional Qudditch team and best friend to Harry Potter, he, unfortunately, was going to make the list. Don't worry though, Hermione; you are number two on the Most Eligible Bachelorette List."

I bite back my initial reaction to spit out my tea. "Who the hell comes up with these lists?"

Luna shrugs. "No idea. Daddy said you should have been number one, but I told him that I didn't think you were necessarily ready or looking for a new relationship right now. He is still considering making a new list for the bachelorettes too."

Ginny smirks into her drink at my expression. "Who beat Hermione out for the number one spot?"

"Uh, Parvati Patil I think. She and her American boyfriend broke up two months ago and I guess the American wizards have been going crazy for her."

I sigh when I kick off my heels and shut the door to my flat. Today took more out of me than I thought. Dropping my keys in the bowl, I head further into the flat, shedding various articles of clothing on my way to the bathroom.

The heat of the shower is therapeutic and a relief to my back muscles. I roll my shoulders a few times under the jet of water in an attempt to work out the knots that I know are forming. As I stand underneath the water, my hands move to my stomach. It still looks the same to me- and it would continue to do so for a few more months. I try to picture myself with a child. With Ron's child.

I frown at the thought of Ron as a father. He travels too much for Qudditch during its season and his team is always on the lookout for new tournaments to play during the off-season to improve their record. Would he even be around enough for a child? Even just for the weekends? Would he want to be?

We never discussed the topic of children; I guess we both knew we were too young for them. Merlin, I still think I'm too young to be a mother; my career is just starting and I want to be Chief Witch of the Wizengamot before I'm 35…

But then the image of a child crying "Mummy!" flashes before my eyes. A little girl with my eyes and wild hair laughing as I chase her around the living room. A little boy curled in my arms as I read him a bedtime story, his little fingers following along with the words until he can say them himself. Tears spring to my eyes and I smile, grateful for once they aren't tears of sadness or frustration. It is then that the realization dawns on me.

I want to be a mother. I want this child.

My hands interlock over my stomach as if my fingers are a gate, protecting my unborn baby from the rest of the world. Those who will claim I can't be a good mother; that I care more about my career over my family; that a child shouldn't be raised in a single mother household. I'll show them.

I step out of the shower, my revolve firm. As I am pulling on a pair of my favorite pajamas, my landline begins to ring. I hurry to pull my shirt over my head and race to the living room where the receiver is.

"Hello?" I say slightly out of breath.

"Hermione? It's your mum and dad; you're on speaker. I know you said you'd call when you got back from the office, but it's already half-past seven-"

"Slow down, Jean; if her a chance to speak," my dad laughs. "How was work, honey? Did you get home late?"

"Oh, you know; same old, same old," I say, lowering myself to the couch. "Nothing too extraordinary. And yeah; I accepted more hours so I don't typically get home until 6:30 or 7, but some days I stay even later."

"You should be careful about that," mum interjects. "You'll work yourself to the bone if you don't get time off."

"Yeah, about that. I, uh, I have something to tell you two…"