September & October
Ginny wrapped her arms around the toilet as Hermione held her hair back.
"Merlin, Hermione…I have been doing this for weeks…when will it stop?" Ginny moaned, resting her head on the back of her hand and calming her stomach out of sheer willpower.
"Maybe another month? Maybe less? At least it's not all day sickness." Hermione let her hair fall back down around her face as Ginny stood up and made her way to the sink.
"Samantha sucks, not having morning sickness at all. I hate her," Ginny mumbled, getting her toothbrush ready for the second time that morning.
"Everyone is different…a lot of people say you get sicker with a girl."
"It is a girl. I know it is," Ginny mumbled as she brushed her teeth.
"How do you know for sure?" Hermione washed her hands and dried them on her towel.
"I had dreams," Ginny spit out her toothpaste, rinsed and proceeded to tell Hermione about the dreams she had when she was at Draco's flat months ago…about the little girl whose face she couldn't see that would come to her in her dreams.
"Well, we can tell for sure when you are about eighteen weeks…which is another six weeks…do you want to know?"
Ginny shrugged. "I just want to know when this will stop and when I can see Draco again."
"They said that they have captured six more…that leaves only nine more Death Eaters and now that they are paired in three's they should move along faster," Hermione followed her out of the upstairs bathroom and down the stairs where Samantha was just getting ready for work and Harry had just floo'd to Hogwarts. During the day it was usually Ginny, Hermione and Brian.
Ginny had told her parents a week after she found out. To her surprise, she didn't get a lecture…she got tears and hugs from both parents…and lots of homemade bread which was the only thing that smelled good to her at the time. She made them promise not to tell anyone except Charlie and Katharine, who was already talking about saving all of her girls infant clothes since they didn't want anymore children (having to run after two seventeen month olds).
Ginny's birthday came and went in August (as she entered her tenth week of pregnancy) with a note from Draco who
said his mother would be delivering her birthday present as he had purchased it before he left, thinking something like
this could happen where he wouldn't be home in time to give it to her personally. (He also said they found a
temporary Potion's Professor from Durmstrang to fill in for him.) So, when Narcissa received permission from Harry
to apparate from Africa into Grimmauld, she came upon Ginny throwing up in the bathroom and immediately knew what was
going on.
Ginny didn't even care at this point and Narcissa didn't say anything about it. She had just held Ginny's hair and helped her back to the sofa…as Hermione had taken Brian to St. Mungo's for his three month check up and Samantha was working.
They had talked for a bit about not telling Draco and she promised Narcissa that if Draco and everyone were not back by the first of December, she would tell him as she would be entering her last trimester. It was then that Narcissa had pulled out a flat package for Ginny saying it was from Draco, then added her own small package to the presents that were on the coffee table. Ginny had smiled and thanked her, still wrapped up under the blanket on the sofa and told her to-be-mother-in-law that she would open them a bit later. Narcissa had bid Ginny good bye and received a "yes" when asked if she could come back and visit the next month to make sure everything was going well on Ginny's end.
So, now, September first, Ginny laid on the sofa yet again, something she felt like she did every morning, listening to a tape on the player she brought from her house. Apparently, before Draco left he enlisted Hermione's help in recording songs he had played on the piano for her…Pachelbel's Canon in D and Moonlight Sonata were included on there.
Hermione had Samantha help her record the songs using one of Samantha's tape recorders and now Ginny relaxed, listening to the music, now knowing the order and notes by heart. His mother had given her a beautiful clip for her hair that had real diamond chips in it and Ginny couldn't wait until she felt well enough to leave Grimmauld to use it.
Now she lay there, eyes closed as "Fur Elise" washed over her and she felt herself drifting off, distantly hearing Hermione say she was taking Brian out to the store to grab a few items. Ginny had waved her hand in acknowledgement and quickly fell asleep as the last few notes washed over her, relaxing her body and her sore stomach.
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"I'm going to have to buy some more maternity clothes. I can't seem to buy the right size…or I have two inside here." Samantha said one evening at dinner, spoon feeding Brian some porridge. He was sitting in his reclining infant seat, loving this new found food. Harry took a few pictures of his messy son, then took over for Samantha.
"Thank God you don't," Harry said quickly.
"You should get Lavender to help you out. Sounds like she is doing great designing clothes," Ginny said as she finished her salad and went to work on the homemade bread her mother had brought over the night before.
It was now October and Ginny was feeling like herself again, almost five months along, except for the fact that she couldn't zip up any of her pants and none of her bras fit. She and Samantha had actually gone out shopping and bought a few new items in London as not to attract attention in the wizarding world…since Ron and Draco still didn't know about them.
The letters from their loved ones were few and far between. The last one had Draco, Ron and Tonks holed up in France somewhere tracking a lone death eater…they had caught all but two and Draco was pretty sure one of the last two had been the one that killed his father. He expected to be home by the end of November if everything went nicely and Ginny was counting the days. The 30th was circled in red on the calendar in the kitchen.
Brian made a sputtering noise with his lips and sprayed Harry with porridge. Ginny giggled, then laughed seeing the specks all over Harry's glasses.
"You just wait," Harry grumbled as Hermione cleaned off Brian's face and Harry washed himself up.
"Oh…that was great," Ginny leaned over and kissed Brian's brown hair causing him to kick violently, bouncing his chair which was perched on the kitchen table.
"Alright little man, time for your bath," Harry unbuckled Brian and carted him upstairs, getting him ready for bed.
Hermione had returned to work part time, while her parents watched Brian at their house three days a week. Ginny was accepted into the Healer Training program and went in every day for training just had Hermione had done the previous year. Ginny loved what she was doing, but the thought that she was pregnant and was showing a bit when not in her robes was beginning to nag her. She was going to try and see how long she could go without telling anyone at St. Mungo's, but knew at the same time it wasn't fair for them to find out months before she would have to leave.
Samantha didn't have this problem since she worked in the Muggle world. People would come up and compliment how cute she was in her stretch pants and large flowing top. 'One more month,' Ginny would tell herself hoping she could hang in there. Every day she was larger and larger and soon people outside her family would notice. She had voiced her concern to Hermione who said she needed to think about what could be done…and it was this cold-end-of-October-evening that found Hermione and Ginny sitting in front of the fire.
"Ginny…I have some news from Kingsley."
"What?" Ginny nibbled on some pretzels, constantly hungry now.
"Well, it looks as if those two death eaters have made their way back to England and he and the rest of the Order think it would be safer for you to stay in the house."
"What?" Ginny looked up startled. "Why? You aren't going to keep me locked up here like Sirius years ago!"
"Apparently, while they all track these two Death Eaters, they in turn are trying to get to Draco because they know he will be pissed when he finds the one that killed his father. Draco refuses to leave."
"So, he's just going to stay out there and get himself killed?" Ginny shrieked standing up and pacing back and forth.
"He has everyone around him but he isn't leaving to go into hiding. You know him…he wouldn't do that. But, they think that as a safety precaution you should stay where it's safe as his mother is doing in Africa. The Death Eaters know that you two are engaged and know that you are probably his only weak spot." Hermione watched her friend pace back and forth. "And, if they find out you're pregnant with his child, that will make them all the more happy to come and get you as a way of trapping Draco…do you understand?"
Ginny collapsed into the recliner and set her head in her hands. Her stomach squirmed and she thought she might be sick.
"I understand. Doesn't mean I have to like it," Ginny sighed, rubbing her temples.
"St. Mungo's will totally understand and you can do some of the reading for your training here…it also helps you keep this secret longer," Hermione added taking a sip of her butterbeer.
"Why me?" Ginny moaned in a rare moment of self pity. "I just want to work, to be with Draco, to share this baby with him…but everything is so fucked up!" Ginny threw a pillow across the room. "He should be here, why can't other people take care of them? I just…miss him! I want to be held, to curl up next to him and sleep and talk about this baby…talk about names, wedding plans…everything!" Ginny stood up, picked up the pillow and hauled it back to the recliner.
"Ginny-," Hermione began softly standing up with her.
"I need to think for a bit…please," Ginny said as she stormed out of the room and up to her bedroom…trying not to slam the door like she really wanted to because Brian was asleep.
Ginny laid on her bed, more emotional than usual…tears streaming from her eyes.
She didn't want to stay in here for another month; she figured she could bounce back and forth between The Burrow but what fun was that? Three days a week she would be here by herself, not doing much of anything. She already felt lonely before Hermione talked to her and now she felt even more isolated. She laid curled up on her bed, mentally cursing the Death Eaters. She didn't answer when she heard a soft knock at her door and didn't look up to see who came in. Ginny didn't even bother wiping the tears off her face as she felt the bed sink next to her.
"Hey." It was Harry who was one of the last people she expected to see.
"Harry. You don't have to be here," Ginny sniffed.
"I know. Hermione told me to let you work it out…but she doesn't understand what it's like to be lonely when there are other people around," Harry laid a hand on her leg.
"Yeah," Ginny mumbled. "I'm just feeling sorry for myself that's all." She took a deep breath and let it out. She pulled herself up to a sitting position and Harry moved next to her so they were sitting shoulder to shoulder. He handed her a tissue and she mumbled a thanks, feeling his arm go around her shoulders.
"How are you feeling?" Harry asked, watching her clasp her hands over her pregnant stomach and feeling her shrug under his arm.
"Physically fine…emotionally unstable," she gave a small laugh then hiccupped. "I just miss him, being held by him. I even miss Ron and the twins…everyone. And if I am holed up here, I might go crazy," Ginny admitted, laying her head back against the headboard, then letting is slide to Harry's shoulder. She relished the physical contact and for the first time in a long time felt a sense of calmness settle inside her. She had been so busy being sick, and he was so busy teaching the last month she had almost forgotten he was here watching her, Samantha, Brian and Hermione; keeping his eyes and ears open and using any contacts he had to know the whereabouts of their friends in the Order. He had extremely difficult to penetrate wards around his house and everyone, including her parents had to ask permission to floo or apparate in.
"I don't mean to unload on you," Ginny felt his hand tighten against her arm but he didn't say anything and for that she was glad.
"Samantha seems to be doing so much better than I am with the guys being gone," Ginny stared at Harry's knee.
"She works in the shop full time so she's busy, and on top of that write occasional fashion articles… and she is a bit more like Hermione; able to compartmentalize her feelings. Plus, her pregnancy has been easy whereas yours hasn't and walking around all day at St. Mungo's would make anyone cranky," Harry said smiling a bit.
"True," Ginny sighed. "I am just tired of being tired and tired of waiting."
"Me too. I have actually never gone more than a few weeks without seeing Ron, so it's strange that it's been almost four months," Harry admitted and it was then that Ginny realized she wasn't the only one missing loved ones. Her brain knew that from the moment they left back in June, but her heart was all over the fact that Draco was gone and now she was pregnant.
"I know he misses you too. He's probably ready to hex Draco into next year by now," Ginny giggled thinking of them arguing the finer points of Quidditch or the best way to capture a Death Eater. She heard Harry's laugh under her ear as he agreed with her.
"I'll stay here until you fall asleep. You'll feel better in the morning," Harry said wisely and turned to look at her as she pulled away and looked up at him. He was being so sweet and selfless, she thought Hermione was so lucky to have him. He must have read that thought in her eyes because he smiled down at her.
"One more month…then it should all be over," he said quietly. Ginny smiled, leaned up and touched her lips to his.
"Thanks for being such a good friend," she whispered as she pulled away. He lowered his forehead to hers and looked at her.
"I think somehow all of us are more then friends. We are just one strangely put together family and loved ones," Harry kept his gaze level with hers, their faces inches away. Ginny realized that was true and, not feeling shy or embarrassed at all she snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his chest. Her swollen stomach touching his hip and his hand rubbing her back were the last things she felt as she fell into a dreamless sleep.