How Do You Choose Between What is Right and What is Easy?

Chapter 29

Hermione sat in her chair, shocked. She couldn't believe what she had just heard come out of Madam Pomfrey's mouth. "Pregnant," she said in disbelief, her mouth hanging slightly open. "Are you sure?"

"Well, like I said, I will have to run a test to be positive. The test is called the Contraceptive Potion, and it will take about twenty-four hours to complete and get results. I am going to send a note to Professor Snape now, so he can get started on the potion right away. It only takes about an hour to mix up the initial potion, so I would prefer it if you would stay here until it is ready."

"It's not like I have anywhere else to go," Hermione said sarcastically under her breath.

Madam Pomfrey looked at her for a moment, but did not reply to her comment. Instead, she said, "Excuse me a moment while I write the note." She leaned over in her chair and, by the sound of it, she seemed to be rustling around in a drawer. When she sat back up, she was holding a piece of parchment in her hand. She picked up the quill on her desk, dipped in the ink well, and began to write. She wrote for only a couple of minutes. Hermione, being able to read upside down - a skill she had always thought better to keep to herself - she could see what Madam Pomfrey was writing.

Professor Snape -

I require another dose of the Contraceptive Potion.

Believe it or not, we have another student that I believe may be pregnant.

I will not tell you the name, lest this note fail to reach your office unapprehended.

Please be hasty in the mixing as we require it as soon as possible.

No one has been notified of this newest predicament as of yet,
so discretion would be greatly appreciated by myself and the student.

Thank you so much for your hastiness.

~*~ Madam P. Pomfrey ~*~

After she finished, she scattered a small amount of fine, crystal-colored sand over the top of it for a quick dry. After, she tapped it once with her wand, which caused it to roll up into a scroll and seal immediately. Getting up from her chair, she carried the scroll over to the fireplace in her office, which was right behind her chair, grabbed a small handful of Floo Powder, and threw it into the fire. Very clearly, she said, "Professor Severus Snape's office. After the fire had turned an amazing shade of emerald green, she threw the scroll into the fire, where it vanished almost instantly. She then sat back down at her desk. Both her and Hermione waited in silence, though Hermione did not quite know what they were waiting for.

They did not have to wait long, however. The fire in the grate, which had turned to ashes after the letter had vanished, ignited into emerald flames once again. A pale hand extended through the fire and into Madam Pomfrey's office, holding a scroll of its own. Madam Pomfrey had looked behind her into the fire when it had changed, and took the scroll now with a simple "thank-you." She tapped it with her wand, causing it to unseal, and spread it out on the desk to read.

M. P.

We seem to be having a rather interesting year. I
cannot believe that Albus refuses to keep a better eye
on the students here in this school. I have always
said that he gives them way too much freedom. But
enough about that. The Contraceptive Potion will be made as soon
as possible, and I will personally deliver it myself, to
assure it does not get damaged, lost, or stolen. You
know how the students are - they would steal it and
probably try to make it into something that would enable
them to think. Consider it made within the hour. Sincerely,

P.S.S.

Hermione was confused by Snape's words, or rather just by the tone of them. It seemed that Madam Pomfrey was the one person that Snape was one hundred percent civil too. Well... maybe at least eighty-five. You wouldn't want to over exaggerate it. Madam Pomfrey, however, seeming to be satisfied, rolled up the scroll, and slipped it into a desk drawer.

"The blood sample I need to procure from you has to be as fresh as possible to get the best results, so we will have to wait on that until Professor Snape brings the potion."

"You'll go out in the hospital wing to get that won't you? I don't relish coming face-to-face with him, and having him realize that I'm the one that's pregnant."

"What ever do you mean by that, dear?" Madam Pomfrey asked quizzically.

"He hates me. It's pretty much as simple as that."

"Nonsense. Professor Snape is a teacher. He doesn't get paid so he can sit around and hate the students. Everything will be fine."

~*~

It took Professor Snape precisely fifty-eight minutes to make the potion, put it in a flask, stopper it, and take it down to Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing. He had taken a few side streets to ensure it was finished in as timely a matter as possible. He told himself it was just for Madam Pomfrey's sake - as she was the only one in the school pretty much (besides Albus, of course) who didn't sneer at him. Even the Slytherins managed to get plenty of it in behind his back. His real reasoning was that he was very curious to find out exactly who the other student was.

~*~

Everything was silent in the hospital wing, including Madam Pomfrey's office. Her and Hermione sat silently and almost motionless, anxiously waiting for Snape to turn up (though Madam Pomfrey of course did not show her anxiety; that was reserved to Hermione, who seemed to be experiencing it tenfold).

They both started at the quiet knock on the door. Madam Pomfrey looked at her watch, obviously surprised. She hadn't expected Snape for at least a half-hour longer. She got up from her chair and bustled quickly to the door, opening it silently to reveal the hook-nosed, greasy-haired Potions master, who was standing stock-still on the other side of the door. Madam Pomfrey caught his glance at Hermione, but as he could only see the back of her head and nothing else, he did not recognize her (not giving her even a sliver of the time of day if he could help it). Hermione didn't help him out any by turning around; she sat still as a statue, her face pointed at the floor, some of her hair even hanging in front of her face.

Snape handed Madam Pomfrey the potion, not saying a word and obviously realizing his defeat at not being able to discover who it was. It irked him. He was insanely curious, but would not stoop so low as to reveal his interest (though Madam Pomfrey could tell anyway). She took the potion silently, nodded her head at Snape - obviously dismissing him - and shut the door in his face. She then turned around and walked back over to the desk, this time however standing by Hermione instead of sitting back down in her chair.

"I need to take a blood sample from you now, Miss Granger. Is that okay?"

Hermione nodded, holding out her right arm to Madam Pomfrey and looking away so she wouldn't have to witness it. She hated blood. And pain. She had a decent pain tolerance, but no one sane liked pain. Madam Pomfrey took out her wand and a small vial. Before Hermione knew what had happened, Madam Pomfrey was walking around to the other side of the desk and retook her seat.

"You're all patched up, dear. That mark won't even leave a scar. I only needed a couple of drops." Hermione resisted the urge to look. Even though there wouldn't be a mark, she knew what had happened and she didn't want to think about it. Madam Pomfrey took a stone basin from a shelf beside the desk, opened the flask containing the potion, and poured it inside. The potion swirled around inside, a pale gray and slightly green color. After setting the flask aside, she reached for the vial, gently dropping the blood inside. White steam poured thinly off the surface of the potion for a few moments, and then everything became calm again. "Come back tomorrow around the same time and I'll have the results for you."

"Okay," Hermione said meekly. "Thank you." She got slowly up out of her chair, and made her way to the door, her face still pointed at the floor.

After taking a deep breath and composing herself, Hermione opened the door, stepped out into the aisle, and closed the door behind her. She walked silently up the hospital wing, her footsteps not even making much noise because she was still in slippers. The curtain surrounding Ginny's bed was still closed, and Hermione could see that no one had bothered to fix the broken rung at the top. She had an impulse to fix it herself, but she shut it down, not wanting to alert the trio that she was back in the aisle again. When she reached the door to the hospital wing she opened it silently. She was about to leave and maybe go to the library, but there was someone blocking her path.

Professor Snape stood right outside the door to the hospital wing, his arms crossed over his chest. He had developed a nastily smug grin on his face, and he even chuckled once or twice. After shaking his head - an amused look still on his face, he turned around and headed down the hallway. Shaking with anger and surprise, Hermione stood there for a moment, not being able to even move. Finally, after about five minutes, she managed to get control of her body back from her emotions, and quickly took off down the hallway the opposite way that Snape had gone. She reached the Entrance Hall in about six minutes, and went to the great double doors. She needed some air.

~*~

The next day dawned cold, but sunny. Hermione woke from a restless sleep, a night spent tossing and turning on her bed. She was now so twisted up in her sheets, it took her almost a full ten minutes to untangle herself. After finally making it out of bed, she took a shower and got dressed. After that, she got into her trunk and pulled out some food she had nicked from the kitchens the night before. Munching on a couple of Pumpkin Pasties, she made her way out of the dormitory, down through the common room (ignoring the few people that were already stationed around the room working on old homework), and out through the portrait hole. She made her way quickly to the hospital wing, ignoring anyone she passed along the way. They gave her the same "courteousy."

When she reached the hospital wing, she opened the door, and was in the middle of making a bee-line for the office when she heard Madam Pomfrey's voice to her left, coming from behind one of the curtains surrounding the beds. "Miss Granger, you can wait in my office for me. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Okay," Hermione said. "Thanks. I'll just... wait in there for you."

Madam Pomfrey smiled. "Alright, dear."

Hermione went the rest of the way to the office door, letting herself inside. She made to sit down, when something on the top of the Madam Pomfrey's desk caught her eye. It was the basin with the Contraceptive Potion inside of it. It had now separated into two sections, each a different hue of pink.

Hermione paused, trying to remember what she had read about this particular type of potion. But she needn't have worried about not remembering exactly what the book had said. The answer was right beside the basin, written on a piece of parchment in bright blue ink:

Hermione Granger. Positive. Two fathers.