Hermione sat on the edge of the toilet seat; her nerves jumbled together. She glanced down at her watch, checking the time as she had done mere seconds ago. "Thirty more seconds." She mumbled to herself, exhaling deeply as her knee continued to bob up and down. As the thirty seconds passed, she picked the muggle pregnancy test off the counter, her heart pacing. Her eyes scanned the pregnancy test, her heart dropping as she stared at the one solid pink line.
"Dammit." She spoke softly, tossing the test into the trash bin. 'It's only been a month', She told herself. 'These things take time. Not everyone gets pregnant on the first try.'
"Hermione, you home?" she heard her husband's voice call out to her, the front door shutting securely behind him.
"In the loo!" She called out to him. "Be out in a moment!" She turned on the faucet, gently splashing cold water on her face before exiting the loo to greet her husband. A small smile erupted from her lips, her eyes widening at the toddler wiggling in Harry's arms.
"Aunty Hermy!" Teddy squealed, his hands clapping together at the sight of his godmother.
"Teddy!"
"Now, where was all this excitement when I picked you up from your grans?" Harry asked the two-year-old, a small chuckle escaping from his lips as he set Teddy on the ground, watching as Hermione knelt to his level, her arms open wide as the lad ran into them. Hermione scooped the little boy in her arms as she stood up, showering him with kisses as she walked towards her husband. "Hello love." She greeted Harry, placing a tender kiss on his lips.
"Hey, love. How was your day?"
"It was alright. Mended a few broken bones, gave a couple PepperUp potions. Nothing too bad today and you?" Hermione asked him, placing their godson on the floor.
"It was good, handled a break-in case today. Nothing I couldn't handle." He told her, wrapping his arms around her waist, placing his forehead against hers.
"I bought a muggle pregnancy test today." She admitted.
"And?" He asked her, his eyes full of hope. Hermione shook her head, her eyes fluttering shut, not wanting to see the look of disappointment in his eyes.
"'Mione, look at me." He told her, placing a finger under her chin. She opened her eyes slowly, her chocolate eyes meeting emerald.
"It's alright love, honest. This just means we get to spend more time practicing." Harry told her softly, playfully wiggling his eyebrows at her.
"Prat." She responded, smacking him playfully on his arm.
"Molly invited us over for dinner this evening if you're up for going."
"Of course." She told him, a warm smile resting on her lips. "I'll go get Teddy and myself ready while you head upstairs for a shower."
"Trying to tell me I stink, Potter?"
"What kind of wife would I be if I wasn't honest with you?"
"Not the one I'd married." He told her, placing a kiss on her forehead as he bounded the stairs, entering their bedroom.
Hermione walked into the living room where Teddy was sitting on the couch, a book in his hand as he squealed happily at the picture of a duck. Her heart warmed at the sight of the little tot, watching as his sandy blonde hair changed to bright blue. She could only imagine the day when he would begin to change more than just his hair color. She laughed aloud, imagining what it would be like to walk into Teddy changing his face into a duck's.
"Come on squirt. Let's get you changed." She told him, placing the book aside as she gathered him into her arms. Teddy clung to her, wrapping his arms around her neck as he snuggled her.
She sighed happily, hugging the little boy tightly as she ascended the stairs and entered his room.
About two hours later, the two Potter's and Teddy were seated around the kitchen table, while everyone cooed over Roxanne, George and Angelina's baby they had the week before.
"Isn't she precious Arthur? She looks so much like her mother." Molly exclaimed, gently rocking the little pink bundle in her arms. "Pretty soon you'll have three more cousins joining you! Oh, what fun that will be for Little Victorie!"
"Can't believe you knocked Luna up with twins' mate, twin boys to boot!" Harry chortled, elbowing his best friend.
"Piss off." Ron chortled, rolling his eyes. "Not my fault I have excellent swimmers."
"Draco, Ginny, any luck with the sex of the baby?" Arthur asked his youngest child and her husband who was now in her fourth month of pregnancy.
"Not yet, seeing as how Ginny is refusing to do the gender charm on the baby." Draco replied.
"You don't want to know the sex?" Molly asked in surprise.
"No." Ginny shook her head. "I want to be surprised when the baby comes." She told her mother as she placed a gentle hand atop her rounded stomach.
"But, how will I know what to knit him or her?"
"I suppose you can just do neutral colors for the time being." Ginny suggested, refusing to fall into her mother's guilt trip. "This is my child, mother. I know you were expecting me to throw a gender reveal party in a couple months, but I really want to be surprised the day he or she is born."
Molly sighed in defeat, knowing damn well her daughter was being stubborn and wouldn't budge. "Fine, fine." She told her as she handed Roxy over to Angelina who was going to take her into the next room to breastfeed. "Can you at least indulge on what the names of your child would be?"
Ginny looked to her husband, nodding his head in approval. "Well we've come up with a name we've both agreed on."
"Caelum for a boy."
"And Cassiopeia for a girl, Cassi for short."
"Aren't those names of constellations?" Hermione inquired as she placed Teddy on her lap, trying to get him to eat the last of his dinner before indulging him with dessert.
"They are." Draco nodded.
"We decided to continue with constellations, seeing as I find them rather unique."
"Leave it to Ginny to become the most dramatic when it comes to having a baby." George chimed in, causing laughter to erupt from the table.
"Well, I for one find those names fascinating, Ginny." Luna said softly, a small smile protruding from her lips. "I'm glad you've at least discussed names with your husband. Ronald still proceeds to call the twins 'Sprog One and Sprog Two'."
"Really? Sprog One and Two? Those are your children Ronald, not the names of amphibians. "Hermione chastised, her eyes narrowing at her best friend who held his hands up in front of him.
"What's wrong with Sprog as a nickname? I thought it was rather unique." Ron retorted, a playful smirk sitting on his lips. Hermione rolled her eyes irritably. "Harry, can you take Teddy for a moment? And make sure he eats the rest of his dinner or no treacle tart for dessert."
"Of course, 'Mione." Harry told her as he leaned over to place a kiss on her cheek as she handed him their Godson. She smiled softly at him before stepping away from the table, walking out into the cool air. She walked past the edge of the garden, staring up into the night sky as she watched the stars twinkle above her. She shut her eyes, trying her hardest to not let the barricade of tears cascade down her face, but despite her best effort, the tears escaped.
She could hear the softness of footsteps coming from behind her, as she wiped the tears from her face. She felt her husband's wrap around her abdomen as he rested his head on her shoulder.
"It was all the talk of baby names wasn't it?" he asked her, his voice a mere whisper. She nodded her head as the tears continued to fall, causing ripples in the water as they landed into the pond.
"What if it doesn't happen for us Harry? What if there's the slightest chance that I won't be able to get pregnant? I'll be cast out of the place that has turned me into the person I've become today."
Harry's head lifted from his wife's shoulder, turning her body around to face him as he placed a finger under her chin.
"Hermione, look at me." He told her, his emerald eyes burning deeply into hers. "That won't happen. No one will lay a fucking finger on you; do you understand me? They'll have to get through me, and I doubt anyone in their right mind would want to have a go at me. You will not be cast aside from this world as if you're a piece of trash. You're my wife and I'll be damned if they try to say otherwise." Harry pulled her into his arms, embracing her as she continued to sob into his chest, her body shaking at the thought of leaving him behind.
"I love you, Harry."
"I love you too, Hermione. We're in this together, always and forever." She lifted her head from his chest, placing a chaste kiss upon his lips.
"Come on, we better get back to Teddy." She told him, lacing her fingers through his as they made their way back to The Burrow, all thoughts of babies set aside for now as the pair walked in to meet their godson who was now covered in treacle tart.