Title: Nine Long Months
Author: a muggle named Caity
Words: 2,172
Disclaimer: You know the drill, so I shouldn't have to repeat it for you.
Author's Note: Hey everyone! Ok, I'm going to promise you all right here and now that I'm never going to promise you an update time again, for I'll probably never keep it. I finally have this chapter out after how long, three weeks? My homework is finally starting to die down a bit and our tennis try-outs will be over shortly, so I hope to have chapter six out for you guys sooner then it took me with this chapter. Enjoy!
I dedicate this chapter to one of my old elementary school friends, who committed suicide a few nights ago.
***
Chapter Five: At St. Mungo's
"It's Hermione."
As soon as the words left Ginny's mouth, Harry was gone in a flash. His job; his duties; his expectations could all wait until later. Right now, the important thing was to get to Hermione.
As soon as his feet hit the familiar rock hard cobblestone path of Diagon Alley, he took off at a run towards the maternity shops. Upon arriving, Harry followed his gut instinct and sprinted into the first one within his eye sight. When he jumped over the threshold, he immediately spotted a very familiar head of red hair.
"Ginny!" Upon hearing her name, she whipped around and ran over to him.
"Ginny," Harry began frantically, "where's Hermione?!"
Ginny tightly grabbed a hold of his forearm and yanked him in the direction of his wife. "Get out of the way you vultures!" she screamed angrily at the crowd ahead of them, pushing them roughly out of the way. When they emerged through the crowd, Harry spotted Hermione; he quickly threw off Ginny's grip and ran to his very pregnant wife.
"Hermione…."
Hermione looked up at her husband and relief swept across her flushed face. "Harry…." she winced. "What's happening…?"
"I don't know," Harry truthfully replied.
"I think she's going into premature labor," Ginny opinionated from behind him.
"Are you sure?" Harry asked the redhead seriously.
"Pretty positive, you'd better get her to St. Mungo's and fast," she told bespectacled man.
Harry gingerly picked up his hurting wife. "Ok, how do we get there?"
Ginny thought about that for a moment. "Well, I guess the Floo Network is the best option. I mean, Apparating is definitely out of the question and there is no way we are calling the Knight Bus."
"Guys, this really hurts here…." Hermione screamed again as another painful contraction swept through her large abdomen.
"So, the Floo Network is best?" Harry questioned his redheaded friend desperately.
Ginny vigorously shook her head. "Yes, now I'll show you where it is." She took off at a run towards the back of the shop, pushing anonymous people out of her way; Harry right on her heels.
When she reached the fireplace, she stopped and turned around to face her raven-haired friend. "Ok Harry, you remember how to land now right?"
Harry nodded.
When he and Hermione where safely standing in the fireplace, Ginny tossed in the floo powder as Harry shouted, "St. Mungo's; Sixth Floor!"
As Harry jumped out of the fireplace, he didn't even take notice to the fact that he had finally landed perfectly, but quickly conjured a stretcher, placed Hermione onto it, and ran to the front desk.
"Next!" the Welcome Witch called out boredly.
"Please help my wife! I think she's going into premature labor!" Harry told her frantically.
"Mr. Potter?" someone called out from behind him.
Harry whipped around and was quite relieved to find that their St. Mungo's Healer, Healer Zeller, was there.
"Healer Zeller, you've got to help Hermione!" Harry frantically ordered the Healer.
Healer Zeller began to get worried. "What's the problem?" He heard Hermione wince and cry out and instantly rushed over to her.
"What's the problem dear?" he asked the pained female.
Hermione's breaths were now becoming ragged and fast. "I think I'm going into premature labor. I've had back pains frequently throughout the day and my -abdomen has been cramping up and-" she stopped mid-sentence.
"What?" both men asked the woman concernedly when she tightly grabbed a hold of her overlarge stomach.
"And I think my water just broke."
The Healer's eyes widened. He immediately took a hold of the stretcher and raced down the long, white corridor. Harry followed, completely in the dark about it all.
Healer Zeller stopped at a white door, pushed it open, and rushed Hermione inside.
"What's going on?" Harry asked as soon as the Healer slowed down.
"She's right; she is going into premature labor. All the things she said she felt today were warning signs, but her water braking is a major danger sign and we need to get her to the OR immediately." The Healer replied.
"What about Healer Madley?" Harry asked. "Should we contact him?"
"Yes, yes, I'll be right back." Healer Zeller rushed back out of the room to contact the other Healer.
Harry rushed over to Hermione's bedside and gently took her hand. "It'll be ok 'Mione, we'll make it through whatever they'll have to do."
Hermione cried out. "Oh Harry, it hurts so much."
Harry gently placed a kiss on her forehead and held her hand tightly as another rough contraction swept through her.
***
A tall man wearing a blue hospital suit was entering the waiting room of the Sixth Floor at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, seated around him were four anxious people: two redheads and two blonds.
As he closed the door quietly behind him, the male redhead immediately stood up. "How's Hermione?! Is she ok?!"
Healer Madley gingerly removed his hospital mask and showed the eager, frightened occupants of the room a genuine smile. "Yes Mr. Weasley, she is ok."
"She didn't give birth prematurely did she?" Ginny asked from her seat next to her husband.
Healer Madley shook his head. "No. We were able to stop it before she gave birth." Draco, Ginny, Ron, and Luna all let out a sigh of relief. "It's a good thing too," the Healer continued, "If she had given birth, then they all would have died."
They all looked wide-eyed at the Healer standing before them. "You can't be serious?" Draco let out.
Sadly, the Healer nodded. "Mrs. Potter is only at seventeen weeks. She would still need to carry them for at least another twenty weeks for a healthy pregnancy and delivery. They have no vital or any sign of organs developing yet - that doesn't begin until after twenty weeks, but the babies would all still die unless she got to, at the least, thirty weeks."
"So," Luna began, "How long do you think she'll be able to carry them out?"
The Healer thought about that for a moment. "Well, considering the fact that she is carrying five fetuses and the other fact that her body has already reached it's limit and has already tried to deliver… I don't think she'd make it past twenty-eight weeks. For her to even make it to thirty weeks would be a miracle."
"So, she has to make it to thirty weeks and then she and the babies will be ok?" Ron asked hopefully.
Healer Madley nodded. "Yes, but the babies, or at least a fair few of them will have problems or dysfunctions so to speak."
"Oh." Was Ron's reply.
The five some sat in silence for a few minutes, each pondering what was happening and what was to come.
"Healer Madley," Ginny suddenly spoke up. "How did you guys manage to stop the premature labor anyway?"
The Healer crossed his arms and gently rested his back against the wall. "We administered a potion specifically for this purpose, and this purpose only. It knocks out the woman it's given to and magically relaxes her abdominal muscles. Then, an incantation is said and it stops the premature labor by putting up a wall so to speak between the birth canal and the fetuses. It will be magically held there until it can not withstand the weight any longer."
"So, this wall, it will be able to get her to thirty weeks?" Luna asked.
"Hopefully," Healer Madley replied honestly, "it will."
"But," Draco started out, "how will babies continue to grow and whatnot if her water has broken?"
"This wall is very much like the water-filled sack the fetuses were just in. They are still connected to their mother, so they will still get their food and energy and whatnot. But, this will support them and help them continue to grow, and as I said, it will brake exactly like the sack when delivery is evident."
***
A bushy-haired woman began to stir under the covers of the hospital bed she was lying on. Hermione felt something warm on her protruding stomach and looked up to see her husband; fast asleep sitting in the hard, straight-backed wooden chair next to her, his hands draped gently over her large midsection.
"Harry," Hermione said, softly rubbing her hand atop of his.
Harry woke with a start at the mention of his name. His eyes clouded over with relief when he saw his wife wide awake smiling over at him. "Hey…" he said as he took her hands and sat on the edge of her bed.
"Hey," Hermione mirrored her husband.
"How do you feel?" Harry concernedly asked her.
"A little numb and somewhat sore around my lower stomach, but I guess I'm ok nonetheless."
"Hermione, you scared me to death back there. I thought you and the babies were going to die."
Hermione gently grabbed a hold of the front of his shirt and slowly pulled him down to claim his lips in a soft, yet passionate kiss. "As I said, I'm ok and I know the babies are as well."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"
"A mother knows," she simply stated.
There was a brief knock on the door. "Aw, I see you and Mr. Potter are finally up." Healer Zeller said brightly as he closed the door behind him.
"Are you feeling alright this afternoon Mrs. Potter?" he asked as he sat down opposite Harry on the other side of the narrow hospital bed.
"I'm fine I guess," Hermione replied with a yawn.
"Wait," Hermione added, "did you just say afternoon?"
The Healer chuckled. "Yes Mrs. Potter, afternoon. The potion Healer Madley gave you to stop the premature labor let you sleep for twenty-four hours, just to make sure that you get enough rest."
Hermione looked puzzled. "Well, then why was Harry still sleeping?"
Harry smiled sheepishly at her. "Well, I kind of didn't get any sleep last night because I was worried about you and I didn't really fall asleep until like practically noon."
"Oh Harry…."
"Well," Healer Zeller began, "I know you'd like to get out of here, so Mrs. Potter we'll just have to run a few quick tests and you are free to go. But, on Healer Madley's orders you are to be on bed rest for the remainder of your pregnancy, understood?"
Hermione nodded. "I knew I'd have to sometime or another."
"Good. Now, let's get those tests done so you can be on your way."
***
The man called Wormtail dashed quickly down the darkened hallway towards his master's quarters. He had some more news about the Potters that might greatly interest his master. When he reached the door, he immediately threw it open and ran inside, stopping when he reached the front of his master's desk.
"Milord! I have wonderful news!"
"What 'wonderful news' could be so fantastic as for you to come barging into my private quarters for?" drawled Severus Snape in his usual menacing voice.
"It's about the Potters milord," Wormtail replied nervously.
Snape seemed to perk up a bit at this. "And…?"
"The mud blood went into premature labor, milord."
"What?!" Snape yelled. Wormtail took quite a few nervous steps backward. "That won't help with the plan at all! I need the mud blood to still be pregnant!"
"Milord, the premature labor was stopped." Snape calmed down a bit at this. "The mud blood is still pregnant. But, that's not even the good news…."
Snape glared down at his minion. "And what is that?"
"The mud blood is on bed rest," Womtail replied simply.
Snape smirked. "That will certainly help with the plan-"
"That's not all," Wormtail interrupted him. "Potter is still on the hunt for Lucius."
"That will help quite a bit as well, seeing as good 'ol Lucius is dead and gone."
There were a few moments of silence as Snape looked on in thought. "Come Wormtail, we have much to plan."
A/N: I hope that was well worth the wait! Trust me people; the story will definitely get more exciting as we get nearer the climax. Be on the lookout for chapter six soon. And don't forget to review! You know, in the box right under this author's note. \/