*Ginny and the feverish baby*
It was the third outfit she tried on that morning. She had to look good. She had to look professional. She had to look the part. She was being interviewed by Gwenog Jones herself AND a professional interviewer from the Harpies. She couldn't fail. She walked out of her and Harry's room on the second floor in Grimmauld Place and downed the stairs to the first. She was about to down the stairs to the ground floor when she heard noises coming from the first floor. She knew for sure that Hermione was up so she knew her friend had to be somewhere. She was surprised to see Belle's room closed. By that time of the day, the little 18-month-old baby was already up having breakfast with her mother in the kitchen, so it was strange to find her in her bedroom already. Ginny opened the door slightly to find a very worried Hermione pacing around the room, holding a very upset and crying Belle.
"What's wrong?" she asked from the door. Hermione turned her head to look at her.
"Oh, Ginny... you look great." she said with a shy smile.
Ginny smiled a little. "You sure? It's the third one I've tried." she asked. Hermione nodded.
"Positive." she said as she rubbed Belle's back. The little girl just rested her head on her mother's shoulder and kept crying.
"What's wrong with Belle?" Ginny asked worried, walking to them.
"Her first-year molars are really bothering her, plus she threw up twice in the last hour and she's running a fever." Hermione said at the verge of tears.
"Have you given her a potion?" Ginny asked. Hermione shook her head.
"We ran out of both of them. And I can't make more. It'll take me days, and I don't have days for her to calm down. I just... I really wish he were here." she said crying. Ginny rubbed her friend's back.
"He'll be back soon, you know. Both of them. It's only been 5 days." she said. Ron and Harry were out on their first Auror mission. They had been gone for nearly a week and they still had one more week to go. Hermione was more than worried about them, especially about Ron, and it was obvious that Belle felt her father's absence around the house.
"I know... I know. But I can't help it, Gin. When something like this happens, I just need him." Hermione said, sniffing, then she sighed. The crying seemed to fade a bit and she looked at her daughter. "Seems the cooling charm is working a little." she said as she took the cloth that Belle had on her head. She laid the baby back in her crib and, with a little wand movement, charmed the toys so they would float around it like a mobile.
"Would you watch her for a little while? I know you have your interview in a couple of hours, but I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important." Hermione told Ginny. The redheaded girl looked at her with big eyes.
"What... where are you going?" she asked, hesitant.
"Diagon Alley. I'll be out for 40 minutes, an hour at least. I'm going to get those potions for her. I already owled the Ministry and told them I'd be staying home today, so you won't have to watch her for long. Just until I buy her things." Hermione said. Ginny nodded.
"sure. No problem." she said, smiling a bit.
Hermione gave her more instructions and left a little while later. Ginny just stared at the little girl in the crib. She seemed to be ok, so Ginny went downstairs to get everything ready for her interview. The doorbell rang and Ginny opened it. There they were: Gwenig Jones and Sally Stretfield, the interviewer. Ginny invited them in and offered them some tea. As she was going to sit down on the couch, they heard a faint cry coming from upstairs. "I'll be back in a minute." she told them, then she went upstairs to the first floor and walked in her niece's room. Belle was sat in the crib, crying. All her toys were on the floor. "Ok, big girl! What's the matter, sweetie?" Ginny asked as she picked up the baby in her arms. She noticed the little girl was warm again.
"Poor little darling! You're burning up! How about we go downstairs for a nice cool drink?" she said. Belle just grabbed onto her aunt's shirt and cried, like asking her to make her pain go. Ginny just kissed her head and took her downstairs. When they got to the kitchen, she tried to give Belle some water without much success. The little girl kept pushing the baby bottle away from her. "Ok, where is that round thing that Hermione has for your teeth?" she asked herself. She remembered seeing Hermione putting the lilac teething ring on the fridge every morning so it was cold enough to sooth Belle's gum pains. She accioed the round thing and gave it to the baby who instantly grabbed it and put it in her mouth. Ginny sighed, relieved, and went back to the living room. She put the baby in her playpen and sat down.
"Is she yours?" the interviewer asked looking at the redheaded baby.
"Oh, no! She's my niece, actually. I'm watching her until her mom comes from the appoticary's." Ginny said. In the moment Belle heard the word 'mom', she instantly perked up and looked at her aunt.
"Mommy?" she called.
Ginny got up quickly and went to her.
"Mommy's coming really soon, darling! She went to get your potions." she said. But in spite of Ginny's reassuring tone, Belle just kept calling for her mother. When she realised that her mom wasn't actually around, she burst into tears.
"It's alright, big girl! Look! Look at your hippogrif!" she said flicking her wand and making the stuffed animal in the playpen float in the air. Belle didn't seem to care much about her flying toy. Her crying got more intense, causing several vases and windows to break as well as the interviewer's glasses. Ginny grabbed the cloth from the playpen and put it on the baby's forehead, trying to down her fever, but it didn't work. Belle got more upset and all the books started to fly out of the shelves as well as the cushions from the armchairs. It was in that moment when Hermione walked in and saw her living room in a complete chaos. She took out her wand and shouted "Reparo!" to all the vases, windows and even the interviewer's glasses. Then she shouted "Petrificus totalus" to the books and cushions that were flying around, and with a flick of her wand she put everything back in its place.
"Merlin! What happened in here?" she asked Ginny after a while. The readheaded girl picked up the crying baby and went to her. Hermione took her immediately. "She's warm again." she said, looking for the potion in her bag.
"She got quite upset when she noticed you weren't here. And to top that, they came earlier for my interview." Ginny said.
"I'm so sorry I took so long, Gin. There were so many people in the store and they couldn't find the right potion and..." Hermione started as she opened the tap of a little blue bottle. She put some liquid in it and gave it to Belle, who was still crying. Seconds later, there was a blue glow that emerged from the little girl's cheeks and she just started to sob. "Well, it went down a bit." Hermione said. Ginny nodded. "I'm so sorry about the mess, Gin. We'll go upstairs so you can continue with the interview." she said later.
"It's alright, Hermione." Ginny said. Hermione took the baby upstairs and Ginny went back to her interview. An hour or so later, the door of the pink and white room was open and Ginny walked to the rocking chair in which Hermione was sat with Belle, a big book on her lap.
"How is she feeling?" she asked. Hermione looked up at her.
"Better. I gave her the pain potion when we got here and she settled. Her fever went down, and I managed to give her some water to drink and she seemed to accept it alright." the bushy-haired girl said as she kissed her daughter's head. "How was your interview? I hope we didn't screw it up that much." she said.
Ginny smiled and showed her a big brown envelope. Hermione looked at her, confused.
"They're the training schedules, strategies and all the papers I need. Training starts next month!" she said excited. Hermione smiled.
"Ginny, that's wonderful!" she exclaimed.
"They were impressed at my quick responses to the baby's cry, and my Quidditch skills, of course." Ginny said
"you heard that? Auntie Ginny's playing for the Harpies!" Hermione told Belle. The little girl gave her aunt a big smile. Ginny was happy that she got a spot in the Harpies, but nothing made her happier than her niece's healthy smile.