Hurt

A/N: All right, I skipped January because nothing exciting happens aside from a rather nasty case of morning sickness. This is late February here so enjoy!

------------------------------------------------------------------

Ginny grins at Hermione as she bounds into the room with Harry and Ron trailing behind. “Hermione! Guess what!” she chirps happily. Hermione eyes the girl warily then glances at the boys. They shrug so she looks back to Ginny. “I got my first ever A+ in Potions!” she exclaims and waves the parchment in Hermione’s direction.

“What’s going on out here?” Remus asks as he walks out of the bedroom vigorously rubbing his hair with a towel. Ginny’s gasp makes him pause then uncover his head. His eyes widen and he blushes a brilliant shade of red.

“You’re naked!” Ginny screeches. Harry clamps his hand over her eyes and averts his own gaze as Ron helps Hermione out of the chair. Hermione pads over to him and adjusts the towel wrapped around his waist. She moves past him then throws his robe at him. “Merlin, I’m scarred for life!” Ginny whimpers. Harry chuckles as he releases her.

Remus quickly pulls the robe on so Ginny calms down. Hermione comes back out of the bedroom and pauses at the back of the sofa. She frowns and leans against it.

Harry notices the small action and moves toward her. “’Mione? What’s wrong?” he asks. She closes her eyes for a moment and hisses softly in pain. Harry’s slight frown deepens and he looks to Remus. “Remus, something is wrong with ‘Mione,” he says.

Remus looks at the pregnant witch and notices a slight wet spot on the seat of her sleeping pants. He motions Ron and Ginny out of the way and helps her sit down on the sofa. Ginny bites her lip as Hermione lies down on her side. Remus grabs Ron’s shoulder and pulls him closer. “Get Poppy,” he orders.

Ron takes off out of the room as Remus looks at Ginny. “Go in the bedroom closet and gather some clothes for her,” he murmurs. Ginny nods and does as ordered. Hermione lets out a cry of pain so Harry moves to let Remus sit next to her. “I’m right here love. Poppy will be here soon,” he whispers.

“She’s in labor, isn’t she? I thought it was too early for them,” Harry says softly. Remus nods slightly and rests his palm on Hermione’s belly. She whimpers and looks at him when the damp spot on her pants steadily grows.

Ginny sets a small stack of clothing on the table and goes to Harry’s side. “She’ll be all right, won’t she? The babies will be fine too, right?” she asks anxiously. Harry wraps his arm around her shoulders as the door opens.

~~~~~~~~~~

“So I hear we have three babies that won’t wait until May. My name is Martin and it looks like I’ll have the privilege of bringing these little darlings into the world,” a man says as Poppy leads him to the bed in the hospital. Hermione grips Remus’ hand as another contraction hits. “Are you the father?” the man inquires.

Remus hesitates then nods. “Yes I am. Not biologically,” he says then returns his attention to Hermione when she causes his finger joints to pop by squeezing them.

Poppy motions Harry, Ron, and Ginny out of the room then shuts the doors. “We need to get her ready,” she says. Martin nods in response as he gently pulls the blankets and clothing away from Hermione’s midsection. He lays his palm on the smooth skin and closes his eyes.

“Hurts!” Hermione sobs after ten minutes.

Martin heaves a sigh and shakes his head slightly. “When did you say her water broke? Three hours now?” he inquires. He raises an eyebrow and looks at her belly again when she has another contraction. “Well, let’s get started then,” he says and yanks the blankets away from Hermione. He shifts her clothing more then frowns. “Where on earth did you get all these scars?”

“Do your job!” Hermione snarls with a contraction, making the others look at her. She glares at the man as she pants through the pain. “You’re not getting paid to talk,” she hisses. Remus chuckles and pats her hand.

“Calm down love. He’s talking to make sure you’re still aware of things,” he says. Hermione turns her glare on him so he grins at her. The loud snap of bone echoes through the room along with Remus’ cry of pain.

Poppy gasps as Martin blinks. “Now you’re aware too,” Hermione growls then holds her belly and screams during a rather nasty contraction. Poppy heals Remus’ broken finger as Martin summons two midwives.

~~~~~~~~~~

Harry stares down at the little bundle in his arms. Ginny giggles at the look on his face. “You were like that once too,” she says and takes the wailing baby from him. “Shh, you’re fine, Aunt Ginny is here,” she coos. The baby falls silent and listens to her so Harry chuckles.

“Hermione is a lucky girl,” he murmurs as he watches Ron hold the other boy. Remus settles in the chair next to the three and rocks the sleeping girl. “How’s she doing?” Harry asks.

Remus reaches over to Ron and pulls the blanket around the baby more. “She’s still out of it. Poppy, could you ask Albus to come? Hermione wanted him here to see the babies,” he says when the woman enters the room. She nods and leaves once more.

Ron looks up when a woman comes over to them. “Mrs. Lupin would like to see the babies,” she says. Ron raises an eyebrow at Remus so he shakes his head slightly and stands. He leads the three into the room so Hermione smiles at them.

“I’m sorry I broke your finger,” she murmurs as she takes the girl from Remus. The man shrugs and wiggles his fingers at her.

“No worries. They work properly,” he chuckles and sits in the chair at her bedside. She studies the little girl in her arms then unwraps the blanket and inspects her. “Ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes, two ears, and nothing extra… I checked,” Remus says. Hermione smiles at him then at the others.

Harry groans as tears start forming in her eyes. “Oh please don’t cry,” he begs. Hermione giggles and extends her hand to him as Albus walks in the door followed by Poppy. Harry takes her hand so she pulls him to her and kisses his cheek.

“You all mean the world to me. You were the only ones that held me up when I was down,” she murmurs. Albus smiles at her and accepts the baby from Ginny.

“That’s what friends are for,” Ron says. Ginny and Harry nod then look to Remus when he shifts to reach into his pocket. He pulls a small box from the depths and smiles at Hermione.

“And husbands,” he adds to Ron’s statement as he opens the box and holds it out for her. Poppy and Ginny gasp at the sight of ornate band of yellow and white gold. Hermione’s lip trembles as she stares at it.

Martin goes unnoticed in the doorway as the group watches Remus slide the ring onto Hermione’s finger. He slips out and quickly strides to an empty room. An owl hoots at him as he scribbles a quick note then rolls the parchment up. “You know where this goes,” he says firmly. A feeble hoot and a flurry of wings signal the owl gone. “Lucius, you will never believe this,” he murmurs to himself before returning to Hermione’s room.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Short chapter, I know. Don't kill me because of it, plz kthx. I'm incredibly stressed with finals coming up and having not one but TWO presentations within three days of each other... both have to be 20 minutes long. The only time I have found to write is just before I pass out from exhaustion and for about 10 minutes after I wake up from my coma. I did, however, purposely cut this off on the Lucius note. Wanna know what Martin wrote? Well it's a secret! You'll find out next chapter! Adieu! Auf Wiedersehen! Adios! Bye!