Saint Mungo’s was swarming with witches and
wizards. Wasting no time, she walked up to the front desk. “I need the
room number for Ginevra Potter, please.” She tapped her foot nervously
as the witch behind the desk looked through her files.
“Room 432,” the young woman responded.
Hermione
thanked her and strode to the lifts. Again, for the second time that
day, it seemed like they took forever to arrive. Her foot didn’t stop
moving the entire ride up and she nearly ran from it when the doors
opened. She found 432 without any problems and poked her head around
the door.
Ginny was lying on the
bed in the far corner. Her bright red hair made her skin look more pale
than usual. A peaceful expression adorned her face and Hermione knew
she had been given a Dreamless Sleep potion. She sat in the chair
beside her bed, one hand automatically reaching for her sister-in-law’s
and the other rubbing the swollen stomach, hoping to soothe her nephew.
She used Ginny’s arm and her own as a pillow, the stress of the day
catching up with her quickly. Her eyes drooped in exhaustion.
It
seemed like her eyes had only been closed for a moment when a weak
voice woke her. “Hermione?” She lifted her head and stared into Ginny’s
sad, brown eyes. “What happened? Where am I?”
“You’re
at Saint Mungo’s. Your mum said James wasn’t doing well. What happened,
Ginny?” She entwined her fingers with Ginny’s, her other hand still
resting above the baby.
With her
free hand, Ginny took Hermione’s hand and moved it a few inches to the
left, pushing her fingers into the bulge. There was a distinctive kick
every few seconds and Hermione opened her mouth in awe. “He’s going to
be okay,” she whispered, letting go. “We’re going to be okay. I guess I
just needed to go through this to remind me that I’m not my own person
anymore. Harry’s a permanent part of me and he would never forgive me
if I was the cause of him losing a son.” She paused, looking
thoughtful. “I think, while I was asleep, James was communicating with
me. I kept having flashes of a future life. Harry was there.”
Hermione
tried to hide the skeptical look from her eyes. She was just so happy
Ginny and James were all right. She wasn’t about to remind her that no
one had any clue if Harry was still alive.
“Hermione?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you bring that tray over here? I’m hungry.”
Hermione
smiled brightly, tears lighting up her eyes. She stood up, releasing
Ginny’s hand and carried over a tray of various foods. She set it on
the side table and helped her to sit up before placing the tray on her
lap. Hermione’s stomach growled when the scent of the permanently
heated food wafted to her nose. She blushed and Ginny looked at her
sharply.
“You want some?”
“No, you and James need that. When your mum and brother get back, I’ll just go upstairs and get a little something.”
“You
sure? I don’t think I can eat all of this.” Ginny had picked up her
fork and began spearing the green beans before popping them into her
mouth.
She waved her off lazily. “I’m sure. Your mum would kill me if she saw me with your food. I can last a little while.”
“You
don’t have to stay with me, you know. I’ll be fine for a while by
myself. Go get something to eat.” She stabbed some small potato wedges.
Hermione
noticed the color returning to Ginny’s cheeks. She sat there, her legs
elevated on a small rod on the bottom of the bed, slouched back with
her arms across her chest. “I’m fine. I want to spend time with you.”
The dull pink ran from her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Hermione. I haven’t been the best friend lately.”
Again,
Hermione waved her hand in dismissal. “Don’t even. You needed me and I
was there. I couldn’t ask for anything more. You would have done the
same for me.”
They chatted
easily, the camaraderie they had developed over the years, returning in
full force. Though the sparkle missing from Ginny’s eyes still worried
Hermione, she was glad Ginny actually wanted to take care of herself
again. She knew the sparkle would only return if Harry did and she
would have to accept that. When Mrs Weasley had said back at the house
that Ginny had lost the will to live, Hermione nearly panicked. She
couldn’t lose her only sister.
The
door to the room opened slowly, revealing a tired looking Mrs Weasley
followed by Ron. Both sets of blue eyes were dull and reddened from
tears. When Mrs Weasley saw Ginny sitting up in her bed, finishing off
a plate of steak and kidney pie, green beans and potato wedges, she let
out a little cry before rushing over and hugging her daughter. “My
sweet Ginny,” she murmured into her hair while smoothing it with her
hand.
“Mum, I’m fine,” Ginny gasped through her mother’s grip.
“Ginevra
Weasley, you’ve been pulling that bloody ‘I’m fine’ bit since that day.
Don’t you dare ever say it again if you don’t bloody well mean it!” She
had pulled away and her voice was nearly at yelling level. Her hands
were on her hips and Hermione was reminded of Ginny back at Hogwarts.
She
had never heard Mrs Weasley curse before and judging by the dumbfounded
looks on both Ron and Ginny’s faces, they hadn’t either. “I’m sorry,
Mum. It’s going to be okay.”
“How do you know that, Ginevra? How do you know everything is going to be okay?”
Instead
of answering, Ginny held out her hand, palm up, to her mother. When Mrs
Weasley placed her trembling hand in her daughter’s, Ginny did as she
had done with Hermione, this time, placing her mother’s hand on the
right side of her belly, pressing firmly. She was rewarded with a faint
gasp from her mother. “We’re fine,” she reassured her. “He’s been
kicking my kidney off and on for the past hour. He’s paying me back.”
Mrs
Weasley wordlessly wrapped her arms around her daughter again. “I was
so worried. I knew it would kill you to lose him as well, but you
wouldn’t listen to any of us.”
“I’m never going to do that again, I swear. James is half Harry and as long as he’s around, Harry is as well.”
“Good. You’re as bloody awful a liar as Harry is, Ginny,” Ron said exasperatedly.
“Language,
Ron,” both Hermione and Mrs Weasley scolded together. They looked at
one another and smiled in silent understanding. No matter how much
either of them tried, they were never going to get Ron to stop cursing.
Ginny’s giggles erupted in the room and they all followed, the stress rolling off of them in waves of laughter.