A/N: Ridiculously short chapter, but it serves as a bit of a transition. I have the day off today (thank God, if I have to smile at a customer one more time, my face is going to fall off) so I think I'll bust out the next one today as well.
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing Harry Potter related, except like, a poster, a few soundtracks, DVDs, and that's it. Yay, run-on sentences!
Chapter 3 Nothing Out of the Ordinary
"Lily Potter?" Hermione breathed, her brain reeling, but Madame Pomfrey had already returned to her office. Hermione stood there several moments, shifting her weight between her feet.
This was certainly a day of revelations. Not only was it made known that Hermione had only ten years to meet someone, fall in love, get married, and make little Hermiones and Whoevers, but that this rare condition of having a clipped window of opportunity was shared by none other than her best friend's mother, a fellow Muggle-born.
Sighing, she wondered if Harry knew he was probably conceived in a hurry, but couldn't wrap her mind around trying to bring that up in a conversation. She stopped abruptly, coming face-to-face with the wood grains of her office door. The sound of approaching footfalls roused her further from her reverie.
"Hermione!" shouted Ginny breathlessly, having run the entire length of the corridor. Hermione rolled her eyes skyward- she didn't feel like discussing anything that had transpired in the last few hours, but couldn't seem to muster the energy to put of a cheerful front.
Hermione held the door open for the younger witch and ushered her in half-heartedly. Ginny flopped on one of Hermione's dark brown leather couches and regarded her carefully.
"You look tired," she stated matter-of-factly. Hermione shrugged and kept her eyes fixed on the leg of her desk. Ginny seemed to sense her disinclination to speak and changed tact.
"How was your meeting with McGonagall then?" she asked as she pretended to pick the lint off her robes. When Hermione didn't answer, Ginny continued, "Because, you know, mine is next week. With McGonagall, that is. Er, have you any pointers for me?"
But Hermione was miles away. Ten years could go by in the blink of an eye, she thought. Hell, ten years practically is the blink of an eye to most wizards. The ironic thing was that now that she knew why her subconscious had suddenly become obsessed with children, it did nothing to alleviate the dull ache in her chest. And suddenly her use of the time-turner in third year and her preoccupation with time in its abstract form seemed laughable. Not that a time-turner could help her right now anyway, because it only alters the course of time and the not the age of the traveler. Then again, she could attain one and go back to warn herself to get a move on early so that maybe she wouldn't be in this sticky situation now. But no, she reminded herself, that would be breaking the cardinal rule of time traveling-you must not be seen. Then again, if she had somehow managed to communicate with her past self, she would remember it already and probably wouldn't even be here to begin with. Ugh, she thought as she buried her face in her hands, even her thoughts were too jumbled to navigate.
Ginny's voice cut gently through her thoughts. "You know, you never go out anymore, Hermione."
"What?! Of course I go out," Hermione responded indignantly.
Ginny snickered dubiously and readjusted her robes so that she could sit cross-legged on the couch. "Sure, Miss Popularity here. I could Floo your flat any night of the week; you're in."
"Ginny, it's school time!" Hermione got up and began pacing around the room. Even if she didn't want to admit it, Ginny had struck a chord within her, and sometimes it was the truth that hurt the most.
"So what?" Ginny answered airily. "School time is on, there's hardly any free time or single wizards, and I still managed to dress nicely and catch one of them. How do you expect to get a boyfriend if you never tear yourself from your work?"
Hermione paused in her pacing and looked Ginny square in the eye, her expression hostile. "You sound like my mother," she accused. "And your boyfriend escapades are quite beside the point. We both know that you and I do things a little differently."
Ginny shrugged, not looking away. "I'm only trying to help. You've seemed so unhappy recently, don't you want to go out and have fun?"
But even through her indignation, she acknowledged to herself that Ginny did have somewhat of a point. How was she supposed to have a baby if she didn't at least start seeing someone? And how was she supposed to do that if she didn't start leaving the flat once in a while, or maybe go out with Ginny and her girlfriends rather than her own two overprotective best friends? Suddenly, something Madame Pomfrey said rang in her ears-"There are other ways around that, Hermione, if that is the direction you want to take."
Hermione gasped with this startling realization. "Ginny!" she shrieked, causing the young woman to jump in her seat. "Ginny, you're right!"
"Of course I-wait, what?" Hermione didn't answer right away, but pulled Ginny up from the couch and pushed her toward the door.
"I'm sorry Ginny, I can't talk right now. No, there's nothing wrong," she said before the other woman could ask, "I just need to think right now, and I need silence to accomplish that."
She shut the door in Ginny's concerned face and leaned back against it, fighting the grin of triumph from creeping up on her face. There was nothing quite like the high she got from the new accumulation of knowledge; and based on her most recent epiphany, Hermione was soaring. Now all she had to do was crack open a few books, check out a few facts and figures, and formulate a cohesive plan-nothing out of the ordinary for her. Yes, she was well on her way to having some little Hermiones of her own.
A/N: Okay, if you have any suggestions to make, make them now, because I'm in the process of writing the next chapter riiiiiiiigt NOW and if I need to make any changes I need to know ASAP. And I'm sorry for being so vague, but that's the way it needs to be. Don't worry, next chapter will clear up most stuff. Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it!