Here we go, guys. Chapter 25. I don't know if my muse is going to let this be the last chapter, but I'm hopeful that tomorrow will be the epilogue! This may very well be the last full-length chapter, so hold on. I've got a helluva ride planned for everyone!
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James grabbed Lily. "What do you mean something's wrong with Harry?"
Lily was struggling to stay calm. "He did something to save Hermione. James, I can feel it. Something's wrong."
Knowing his wife's intuition when it came to their children, James walked to the nurses' desk. "Can you please go back to Hermione Granger's room and get Harry?"
The nurse got up just as Ginny ran from Hermione's room, pushing a gurney with Harry lying on it. She was chanting spells rapidly, and wheeled him into another room. Lily had followed James, and grabbed her husband's arm again. "What's wrong with him?" she demanded, her voice rising shrilly.
"I don't know." The nurse said, holding out a hand. "Wait here."
She followed Ginny into the new room. All around Harry, there were MediWizards and Healers trying to figure out what was wrong. Ginny was reigning over it all, telling people what to do and how to do it, shouting out commands and moving around the room. She spotted the nurse. "Marcie, I need a Muggle pulse monitor, IV and blood pressure cuff. NOW!"
Marcie ran to do Ginny's bidding, and Ginny leaned over Harry's face, slapping him lightly. Harry's eyes cracked open, and after several long seconds, he managed to focus on her face. Ginny felt immediate relief and sighed deeply.
"You moron. Do you know how easily you could die from what you did?"
Harry didn't answer. He didn't care if he died. As long as Hermione and the baby lived. That was all that mattered. And he was pretty sure they would. With that thought the only one in his mind, Harry let the blackness engulf him once again and fell into oblivion.
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When Ginny walked into the waiting room, her entire family was there. She'd gone off duty, but still had on her scrubs. Her hair was scraped back from her face, and she was exhausted. She'd worked for two hours stabilizing Harry and Hermione. Hermione had improved drastically, Harry's magic giving her the strength her body needed to begin to balance herself. Harry wasn't in such good shape. He was in a coma while his body repaired itself.
Everyone looked up when Ginny walked in. Lily and James were the first people she turned to. "They're both alive. Hermione is drastically better, and the baby is perfect. I'm sure she's going to make it, but we want to keep her here for a few days while her body completely stabilizes."
Lily was almost afraid to ask. "And Harry?"
"Like I said, he's alive, but that's about it. We've utilized our Muggle techniques, and basically, I have him on an IV and a ventilator to help him breathe. His systems are functioning below normal, but they're keeping everything running. He gave her a complete transferal to save her. Most of his magical life force is gone." Before anyone could speak, Ginny held up a hand. "However, I think he's going to make it. As Hermione gains strength and gets her own magic back, what she has of his will return to him. It's impossible to explain, but it's Hermione's calculations, and she's never wrong. That doesn't mean he'll wake up as soon as he has all his power back though. His body will need to heal and recover."
"But he will live?" James asked, one arm steadying his wife, the other holding Ginny's elbow. Ginny nodded.
"I think so. It's serious. Don't think this isn't serious, because it is. If Hermione's wrong, he'll die. Or at least be in that coma and on the ventilator all of his life." She narrowed her eyes. "And no one even so much as think about doing to him what he did to Hermione. I mean it. I have wards on his room, and I will know. It wouldn't help him anyway. To do a power transferal, the person getting the magic has to be a witch or wizard in possession of his or her own magic. Harry has nothing but his life force right now, and even that is diminished. The reason," she said, anticipating the next question, "that Hermione was able to receive Harry's power is that she was still in possession of her own, it was simply being used for the baby and not for her."
Lily was crying again. "How long will it be before we know for sure?"
Ginny lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "A few days."
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Harry woke two weeks later. Hermione had completely stabilized inside three days, her body working in overtime to accomplish the task. Harry's power had been returned to him after those three days, but as Ginny had predicted, he didn't awake for a few more days. Eleven to be exact. He'd missed two Quidditch matches. That was what aggravated him. Wood had been forced to use the second string Seeker, and refused to let Harry return to practice for another week, just to let him get his strength up.
It was the night after his first game of the championships when the biggest storm in a decade hit England. He arrived home and found that Hermione had beaten him and fixed dinner. Ron was hovering, trying to get a bite every time she turned around, Draco and Ginny were goggling over their daughter, who had just begun to walk, at eight months, and Luna was sitting at the kitchen, furiously writing her next article on life as a pregnant witch. She was eight months pregnant with her triplets.
Ron, James, and Harry were all on baby alert night and day. Lily was a month overdue, but her doctor wasn't worried. Everything was healthy and the babies were still within her birthing range at about six and a half pounds each. Large for twins, and she was huge because of it, but the weight was ideal for birth. Hermione was approaching her due date within two days. It was March 22nd, and she was due on the twenty-fourth. Luna had made it nearly to the almost unheard of thirty-five week mark with her triplets. All three women could go into labor any second.
"Hey, honey." Hermione said, walking over to kiss her husband. Harry took off his coat and hung it on the post.
"Hey. How's the baby?"
"Kicking me to death. Other than that, all's quiet today. Your mother says that today is not the day, and that if it isn't tomorrow, she's going to a Muggle hospital and making them induce labor. Ginny says we could both deliver anytime, but that it isn't going to be today."
Luna looked up. "She says I won't go into labor for at least a couple more days."
Harry nodded, used to the speech. He'd been getting the same news every night for almost a week. "Good, I guess. Pick out a name yet?"
They'd agreed when she got pregnant that she would decide on the name for a boy and he would pick for a girl. They were having a boy, so she got to pick. Harry was secretly dreading the name she would choose. With a name like Hermione, anything was okay.
Hermione nodded. "I did, actually, while I was at work today." She stirred the pan of macaroni and cheese she'd made to go with the pork chops and mashed potatoes. "There are two middle names, though."
The very first warning bell went off in Harry's head. "Couldn't decide between the two?"
Hermione shook her head. "They both have equal importance, and the middle name I had picked out just fit so well between the two of them that the only sensical choice was to use them all."
Harry was getting scared. "Well? What is it?"
Hermione took a deep breath and smiled widely. "Sebastian Albus Finn Potter. See, Sebastian means well respected, and is for Saint Sebastian who is the patron saint of soldiers. Albus is obviously after Dumbledore. Finn, well, I'm particularly fond of that one. Finn is after a great Irish warrior Finn Mac Cumhail. He was sort of like Robin Hood."
Harry tried not to wince. They'd agreed that Hermione got to pick the name of the baby. "What will we call him?"
"Finn. Short and easy. Sebastian is just a little bit big of a name for a baby I think. He may go by that when he's older, but I think we'll call him Finn."
That was something at least. "Okay then." It wasn't as bad as it could have been. He liked the name Finn. He had just been imagining that his son would be teased if he had the name Sebastian. He'd be teased for Finn too, but he'd been teased for being named Harry, and it hadn't ever stopped him from doing anything.
Hermione studied him as she carried the platter of pork chops to the table. "Don't you like it?"
"Yeah. Of course I like it." Harry took the plate from her. "It's a good choice."
Hermione beamed. "I am so glad. I was really worried about it. I was talking to Draco after I got home and he liked it just fine, but we weren't sure whether you would or not."
Harry smiled. "I'm sure it'll be perfect when he gets here."
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As was her luck, Lily was visiting with Hermione when the younger woman went into labor. Right on time. Hermione was always right on time about things. Nothing was ever late, and things weren't normally early. She liked on time. And she went into labor at three o'clock in the afternoon, on March the 24th.
Harry was in the middle of a Quidditch match, with the Chudley Canons, and James was running the store they owned, so Lily was stuck with Hermione, who's water had broken, and Luna, who had been complaining of back pain and cramps all day. She was relatively positive that Ron's wife was on the verge of labor as well. And there she was, nearly five weeks overdue and hadn't felt a twinge.
"Come on girls, it's time to go to St. Mungo's."
Hermione shook her head. "I'm okay for a while. I just need to walk for a bit."
Lily took Hermione's hand. "No. You need to go to St. Mungo's. Draco!"
Draco came to the top of the stairs. "Yeah?" he had been in the middle of changing Carys' diaper after her afternoon bath and was holding his squirming, giggling daughter in one arm and the diaper in the other hand.
"Get Carys ready to go to Molly, would you? Luna and Hermione are in labor."
Draco paled. "Both of them? Together?"
Lily nodded. "Yup. Both of them. I need you to Apparate us to St. Mungo's. If we were to try it, there's no telling where we'd end up."
"Molly went to the game. Everyone's at the game but us."
"Then Carys will just have to come. Please get her dressed."
Hermione sat down, her first major contraction ripping through her. "Good God! Why did no one tell me it hurt this bad?" she panted, trying to catch her breath. "Forget St. Mungo's. I am taking my parents up on the offer of a Muggle hospital and getting an epidural."
Draco dashed back into the nursery, diapered his daughter, hurriedly stuffed her into the first outfit he came to in the closet, and grabbed the diaper bag. He slung it over his shoulder, snatched Carys off the changing table and ran out the door. Lily had managed to get Hermione back on her feet, and Luna was touching her stomach and making a face. She made a considering noise.
"So that's what a contraction feels like. This is going to make an awesome article. Draco, don't forget to grab the suitcases and that Muggle video camera I made Ron buy. I definitely want pictures and video to publish in the Quibbler. This is going to be my special of the year."
Not at all sure how Luna intended to transfer video to the Quibbler, and even less sure that Ron would let her put photos of the birth of their triplets in the Quibbler, Draco rushed back upstairs. By the time he returned again, Luna's face was screwed up in pain.
"This is not as enjoyable as I had assumed it would be. I think we should go now."
Draco nodded. "Grab on ladies. This is going to be a bumpy trip."
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Ginny was dashing back and forth between the rooms of Hermione and Luna. Luna was definitely further along in her labor, though Hermione was in greater pain. That was fairly typical for singular births versus multiple births. Draco was sitting with Hermione and Lily was sitting with Luna. Every ten minutes, they switched. Ginny had owled James, who she knew would get Harry and Ron to the hospital as soon as the game was over, but so far there was no response.
Ginny looked at Luna's chart, checked her dilation. "Okay, Luna, you're at about four centimeters. That means it'll probably be another ten hours or so before we deliver. Maybe less, not more."
Luna nodded. "Good. That's about what I had calculated."
Ginny narrowed her eyes at Lily. "Are you okay?"
Lily nodded. "I'm fine. Just a little achy from sitting here for so long."
Ginny lifted her eyebrows. "You've been there for five minutes. Come into the next room and let me check you."
Draco was on his way between rooms when Ginny led Lily into another examination room. A minute later he heard his wife begin to laugh. He knocked and poked his head in the door. "What's going on?"
Ginny wiped tears away. "She's in labor. She's been in labor all day. She's further than any of them. She'll deliver inside two hours. She's at eight centimeters."
Draco paled. "I have to take care of three women in labor, and about to give birth? None of whom are my wife?"
Ginny nodded. "Until their husbands get here at least." She pulled Draco aside. "Stay with Hermione. She's having problems. I have a Muggle doctor standing by for a Caesarian if it doesn't go right. The baby is breech, and if it doesn't turn, we'll have to operate. Nothing fatal." She assured him. "Completely routine, and I've discussed this with Harry and Hermione both. But she's in a lot of pain, and the contractions are just getting worse. Also, the baby is large, about eight and a half pounds. Her cervix is nearly too narrow, and that's what's causing all the pain. She can deliver naturally, but I'm not holding my breath on that."
Draco sighed. "Great. Just great. Hold down the fort for five minutes. I'm going to go get Harry and Ron and James from the Quidditch field."
Without waiting for a response, Draco Apparated.
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Nope, this isn't the last chapter. Maybe the next one. I really think the next one. Stay tuned. It'll be up tomorrow.
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