Honestly, Hermione

Chapter Two. Labor Pains & Broken Fingers

Hermione had just stepped off the train at her stop when an owl passed overhead. She looked up instinctively and caught the parchment scroll that fluttered down toward her. Recognizing the seal and the handwriting as Harry's, she read it eagerly as she walked through the five o'clock rush of commuters. To them, she was just another anonymous face. Sometimes, this bothered her. But today had been a good day. She was just returning from a meeting with her publisher, and they wanted to publish her doctoral thesis! Hermione Granger, PhD was about to become a household name.

...Well, maybe household name was too strong a distinction, she thought with a small smile. Few witches or wizards would find her "Arithmantic Equations in the Ming Dynasty: Victory and Defeat by the Numbers" a truly compelling read. But the next time she went into Flourish & Blotts...

Hermione -

Time's come. Ginny needs you. Me, too.

--Harry

Hermione stopped still on the footpath and looked at the bit of parchment again, feeling momentarily foolish. Then realization struck. Ginny was having her baby! Years ago, when Ginny had confided all her secret (and not-so-secret) hopes and dreams to Hermione, the girls had promised to be at each other's side for all the big events of life: births, deaths, weddings, and feasts. So far, Hermione had been Ginny's maid of honor at her wedding, had been her mentor at Cambridge, and would be her first child's godmother. Ginny had done her part by going to Hermione's various graduation ceremonies. Harry had come in his wife's place to the last one, as Ginny had been bedridden and forbidden to travel in the late stages of her pregnancy.

Her own good news forgotten, Hermione ducked out of sight, then apparated to St. Mungo's hospital, maternity ward. She appeared smack in the middle of a waiting room crowded with red heads. It appeared the entire Weasley clan had shown up for the event. Hermione tried not to laugh. What did they think they could do, all of them? Still, she was glad to see them. She loved the Weasleys like a second family.

She sighed.

"Hermione! Hey!" one of the twins called across the waiting room. She noticed he was sitting with a black-haired little girl and figured it had to be Fred. George's wife was as blonde as could be, and they only had two red-haired sons. Hermione made her way to Fred with a smile.

"Hello, Fred. Where's Gwen?" Neither of the twins had ended up marrying their Hogwarts sweethearts. Gwen was a Muggle, and a ballerina, Fred had met in London. Funny, practical joke playing, never serious Fred Weasley had fallen in love with a graceful, ethereal beauty who seemed to have nothing in common with him. But she'd loved him, too. Somehow, the unlikely pair complemented each other. Hermione knew how that could be...but she was not here to think about Ron.

"She's in New York for a couple of weeks. Anna and I are living like bachelors until she comes back."

Hermione laughed. Gwen was many things, but a homemaker was not one of them. Fred and Gwen lived as bohemian a life as Hermione did herself. And Anna (named for Anna Pavlova, the great Russian ballerina she took after) thrived in such an atmosphere...much to the disapproval of her grandmother.

"Hermione!" she called, rushing over - if a small, round witch could be said to rush anywhere. "What are you doing here talking to Fred? Hello, Anna. Do you have a kiss for your nanna?" Molly Weasley bent down to receive her granddaughter's embrace before straightening and becoming businesslike once more. "They're waiting for you in the delivery room. Remember? Harry wanted the godparents to be there, too."

Hermione had forgotten. With finals and defending her Arithmancy thesis and preparing her resume for the Ministry of Magic and now signing a publishing deal, she'd forgotten many of the smaller details of the outside world: cooking, cleaning, keeping in touch with her dentist parents and her best friends, etc. But now she remembered. Harry, due to his love-starved childhood, wanted his children to be surrounded by family from the first instant. Hermione supposed that was why all the Weasleys were at St Mungo's. Well, so many of them, anyway. She hadn't taken the time to see if all of them were there. She really thought Harry and Ginny were overdoing this family thing a bit, having her in the delivery room - after all, she was only supposed to be the child's godmother.

Of course, she reminded herself, Harry was the arch-nemesis of the most dangerous and evil being the world had ever known. He probably wanted his child's godparents there just in case. After all, it was quite possible that... No! She would not think like that, today of all days. Hermione picked her way through the crowd once more and walked to the delivery room. After having an anti-bacterial spell cast over her, she was permitted to enter the inner sanctum.

"Harry Potter! How - could - you - do - this - to - me?!!" came a cry of frustration and pain from the birthing chair. Ginny Potter was very clearly experiencing more than a little labor pain. Harry stood beside her, holding her hand and grimacing. Hermione's normally observant eyes saw why. Ginny was squeezing her husband's hand so hard she was probably breaking his fingers.

"You’re doing brilliantly, Gin. You're beautiful. I love you." He kept up the soothing encouragement, ignoring the pain in his hand. Hermione smiled at her oldest friend. He really was a good man, Harry. He'd give his life for Ginny. For anyone he considered family. And Harry considered a lot of people "family."

"Hermione, tell this git husband of mine to shut up!" Ginny shouted, seeing her friend at last. "Beautiful - hah! I'll give him beautiful if I ever have to go through this again!" She bore down, according to the doctor's instructions, and swore like a sailor.

With that welcome, Hermione stepped to the other side of the bed and took Ginny's other hand. She bit her lip to keep from laughing at the fiery young woman. Then Ginny managed to stop any laughter from welling up in Hermione as she crushed Hermione's fingers in her Herculean grip. Hermione gasped at the sudden pain, but withstood it stoically as she considered what Ginny was going through. "They say it gets easier every time," she told her friend, by way of encouragement.

Ginny grunted. "Oh, honestly, Hermione! I'd like to hear you say that when you're trying to squeeze a watermelon out of your body," she cursed sarcastically, causing Hermione to seek out Harry's eyes with her own. They shared a look of amused commiseration but wisely said no more. Ginny pushed one more time, and screamed bloody murder. Then she collapsed, exhausted, as they heard the first faint squall of life from the tiny baby.

Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes at the sight of Harry and Ginny's new son. Then she felt her throbbing hand being released, and she stepped back. For a minute, she felt the pangs of envy as she watched the new family share their first moments together. They were all crying, Ginny, Harry, and the baby. Hermione took a further step back, watching the three through tear-blurred eyes, and bumped into someone behind her. Assuming it was one of the attending nurses, Hermione apologized and stepped away. "Oh, excuse me," she apologized, turning. "I didn't see - Ron?"