What Lies Ahead
(Part Two)
“If you could just lay down, Ms. Granger,” said Mr. Martin’s assistant. “The doctor will be here in a couple of minutes.”
“Thank you,” said Michael.
They were at Mr. Martin’s office, and to say that Hermione was nervous was an understatement. Her palms were sweating, she couldn’t stop fidgeting, and she found it very hard to breathe.
“Calm down,” said Michael, holding her hand. “Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”
“What if it’s not fine?” asked Hermione. “What if something went wrong because I didn’t come sooner? What if there’s anything wrong? It will all be my fault.”
“Stop talking like that,” said Michael. “And if something is wrong, which I’m sure will not be the case, it will be my fault, too.”
“Good afternoon,” said Mr. Martin, coming into the room. “Hello, Hermione.”
“Hi, Ryan,” she replied, shaking his hand. “I don’t think you’ve met my husband...”
“I think we met briefly a few years ago, when I first saw Beth,” said Ryan. “It’s a pleasure, Mr. Sandford.”
“Please, call me Michael.”
“Will do,” said Ryan. “Are you ready to take a look at your baby?”
Hermione swallowed nervously.
“Yes, we are,” said Michael. Hermione couldn’t help but notice that Michael’s voice seemed to be shaking.
“Brilliant,” said Ryan. “I’ll just lift your blouse a bit... and squeeze some gel on your stomach... and we’re all set to go.”
Hermione peered nervously at the computer in front of Ryan.
“Is this your first ultrasound?” he asked.
Hermione nodded.
“Oh well, it’s nothing really,” said Ryan, smiling. “Just relax. It’s a simple procedure and we should be done quickly.”
Ryan placed a probe on Hermione’s stomach, pressed one of the computer’s buttons, and a fuzzy black and white image appeared on the screen.
“Alright,” said Ryan, peering intently at the screen as he guided the probe over Hermione’s stomach. “Let’s see... Here we are.”
Hermione squinted her eyes, trying to see the baby, but to no avail.
“Here’s the baby’s head,” said Ryan, outlining the fuzzy image in the computer screen with his finger. “And here we have an arm...”
As her doctor explained the images they were looking at, Hermione was staring at the screen transfixed. This was the most wonderful thing she had ever seen. It felt like a true wake-up call. There was a little person growing inside of her... It was Hermione who would be responsible to nurture it. Moreover, it was Hermione who would be responsible for raising this child. No more neglecting the baby. No more ignoring what would happen in a matter of months. She felt ecstatic, yet she felt ashamed of her behaviour over the last couple of weeks. How had she ignored this child for so long? This piece of her... A tear escaped the corner of her eye and before she could wipe it off, Michael squeezed her hand and pressed his lips gently to her cheek.
“I love you,” he whispered to her ear.
“Oh, wait...” came Ryan’s voice, interrupting the moment. “Do you want to know the sex of the baby?”
Hermione bit her lower lip and glanced at Michael.
“Whatever you say,” he said, smiling tenderly at her.
“I want to wait,” she said, before she could give the matter more thought. “I want it to be a surprise.”
“Fair enough,” said Ryan, smiling. “I’ll be looking forward to seeing what the tabloids have to say about this.”
Michael and Hermione came out of Ryan’s office with a grin on their faces. The baby was in perfect condition, and Hermione was healthy as well. The doctor reprimanded her, however, when he noticed how much time Hermione had been putting off the appointment. He also showed concern when he took her blood pressure, which was higher than normal. Still, Michael could not help himself before giving Hermione a tight squeeze and a kiss as soon as they went out into the street. He practically lifted her off her feet, making Hermione giggle.
“What do you say if I call Rebecca and ask her to cancel all my stuff?”
“I think it is a wonderful idea,” said Hermione, pleased that her work-centred husband was actually suggesting putting of work to finally focus on her.
“Harry, I’m going to get the paper,” said Ginny, nudging her husband to wake him up before she left.
“Mhm,” moaned Harry into his pillow.
“Harry, wake up! I can’t leave the babies unattended!” exclaimed Ginny, frustrated.
“Where are you going?” asked Harry sleepily. “What time is it?”
“I already told you, the paper didn’t arrive so I’m going to Diagon Alley to get it,” said Ginny.
“Fine,” said Harry, sitting up. “I’m up.”
“Finally,” said Ginny, closing her eyes and Apparating into The Leaky Cauldron, which was empty with the exception of a couple of guests that were eating breakfast and Tom.
“Good morning,” said Tom, who was cleaning the bar.
“Hello,” replied Ginny politely, before walking out the door. She touched the right bricks with her wand and the wall standing between her and the alley disappeared. She hurried over to the newsstand and was greeted by the man behind the small counter.
“Good morning,” she said. “May I have a Prophet?”
“Sure thing,” said the man.
Ginny handed the money over and grabbed the paper.
Please, let there be nothing today, she thought. Let them forget she exists...
She was eager to see if the Prophet had continued with their “Sandford-Watch.” They had been dying for a new story for weeks, but given Hermione’s sudden disappearance from the public eye, the “journalists” at the Daily Prophet had found themselves recycling old Hermione-and-Michael stories.
As long as they don’t get anything new, Ginny thought, everything will be fine.
However, this morning Ginny’s heart dropped as she saw the huge headline.
SHE’S PREGNANT!
An addition to the Sandford family is on the way; Hermione is back... with a bump!
With a sinking feeling, Ginny folded the paper under her arm and Apparated back home.
She made her way back to her room, finding Harry sitting on the bed with the three babies lying down in front of him as he cooed to them and rubbed their tummies, making them smile and giggle. As he noticed his wife entering the room, he raised his head, a silly smile on his face. However, the smile disappeared when he saw her face.
“What happened?” he asked.
She simply handed him the Prophet.
“What the...” he said, staring in shock at the two pictures beneath the headline. One was of Hermione and Michael hugging on some sidewalk in London; her feet were barely touching the floor. The other was a close up of Hermione’s growing stomach. This made obvious that”
“The Kneazle’s out of the bag, Harry.”
Michael’s Blackberry rang early that morning.
“Oh God,” said Hermione, shifting her position on the bed. “Who calls at this hour?”
“No one,” said Michael, sitting up. “That is what worries me.”
He got up from the bed and grabbed the Blackberry, which was on a small table next to the window.
“Hello?” he answered. “Beth, it’s almost bloody 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Don’t you sleep? No, I haven’t seen it... Why? Fuck... Is it a lot?”
“What?” mouthed Hermione, who was now sitting, staring sleepily at her husband with her head leaning against the headboard.
Michael raised his hand to signal Hermione to be quiet, as he went out of the room. Moments later, he was back with the Prophet in hand.
“No, Beth,” said Michael. “I have to tell her... No, it won’t! Merlin... Look, I’ll take a look at it and I’ll call you back.”
Hermione felt her heart sink.
“It was going to happen sooner or later, I guess,” she said.
“Yeah, well, I’d rather it were later,” said Michael, handing the newspaper to Hermione.
“This is... It’s more than what I expected,” she said.
Where did all my privacy go? she thought. Is this what Harry felt? Like he was living in a fishbowl?
“I’m sorry about all of this,” said Michael, sitting down.
“It’s not like you could’ve done anything,” said Hermione. “As long as you keep the house Unplottable...”
“We’ll be fine,” finished Michael.
“Hiding was working well for me,” said Hermione.
“You can’t live your life hiding,” said Michael wisely.
“At least I can try,” Hermione retorted.
The weekend flew by, and before Hermione knew it, it was Monday.
“Hermione! The mail’s here!” yelled Anne from the kitchen.
“I’ll be right there!” Hermione responded from the study, as she sealed the last of her boxes; the last open bit of her past.
She looked around the room, all clean and tidy after Anne helped her clear the mess. This was the moment where she was officially closing a door in her life and going on to the next phase: motherhood.
As she closed the door of the study, she felt melancholic. Her life had been going so well. Everything she had in those boxes was full of happy memories. She had everything she wanted. She felt loved. She felt happy. She was essentially problem-free. Then she left Ron standing alone in the cold that night in Charing Cross Road. Then he went away. Then her parents died. And then she didn’t know what to do anymore.
“Merlin... I feel tired,” said Hermione, as she entered the kitchen. “Though I think I’ll go to visit Ginny today.”
“She’ll be very happy to see you.”
“I hope so,” said Hermione. “Anything for me?”
“Just one letter,” said Anne dismissively.
Yes! Hermione thought immediately, as she saw whom the letter was from. She ripped the envelope open and took out the elegant piece of parchment addressed to her. She quickly scanned the letter and smiled broadly.
“Anne,” she said, “I need to talk to you.”
“What about?” asked Anne.
“I don’t know if you are aware of the fact that I have a very good friend who’s a senior book editor in Little Red Books. You know... That publisher in Diagon Alley?”
Anne nodded.
“Well... I wrote her a letter and I told her about you.”
“What?” Anne turned red in embarrassment.
“I told her a very close friend of mine was a terrific writer,” continued Hermione, “and I told her she should take a look at your story.”
“But it’s not even finished!” exclaimed Anne.
“I know,” said Hermione. “And I don’t think it matters. I told her you weren’t finished, and yet she wrote back with something very interesting in mind for you.”
Anne stared at Hermione, her heart pounding against her chest.
“She has an entry level job at the company available. She’s offering it to you,” said Hermione, who was beaming at this point.
“But... What about the book?” asked Anne. “I was hoping to finish it.”
“The job will allow you enough time to finish the book,” said Hermione. “Once you finish it, my friend will personally read it and she will help you edit it.”
“That’s... I mean... How did you... I honestly””
“You’re welcome,” laughed Hermione.
“I can’t believe you did this for me,” said Anne, tears welling up in her eyes. “Why?”
“Because I like you, Anne,” said Hermione simply. “And to see you cleaning my house seems unfair and... stupid. You have potential.”
“But who’s going to take care of the house now?” asked Anne.
“I will!” exclaimed Hermione. “I can handle it.”
“Hermione... I don’t know how to thank you for this.”
“Write a brilliant book,” replied Hermione. “I’ll be the first to buy it.”
Anne smiled.
“My friend’s name is Lavender Brown. She wants to meet you next week.”
“How did you get her to do this?” asked Anne.
“Let’s say I did a little something for her and... she owes me a favour,” said Hermione, smirking.
Ginny had just put down the triplets for their nap when someone knocked on the door.
I want a bed, she thought.
When she opened the door, she could not have been more surprised.
Hermione was standing in front of her.
“Oh my God!” she shrieked, as she wrapped her arms around her friend.
Hermione laughed as she returned the hug.
“I’ve missed you so much!” exclaimed Ginny.
“I’ve missed you too!” replied Hermione.
“Come in!”
“How’s everyone?” asked Hermione, walking behind Ginny into the sitting room.
“Everyone’s great,” said Ginny, sitting down. “I was sick a while ago, but I’ve been better. Harry lost a few days of work to take care of me.”
“I figured Molly would be here helping you,” said Hermione.
“Oh, well, I’ve been taking care of the triplets alone,” said Ginny, colouring slightly.
“Everything okay with your mother, Ginny?” asked Hermione suspiciously.
“Hermione, you know how she is,” said Ginny. “I manage fine on my own.”
“No, you don’t!” exclaimed Hermione. “I don’t need Harry to tell me you got sick because of fatigue. You look exhausted.”
“You two are just the same,” said Ginny. “Want some tea? I can prepare some if you like.”
“No, let’s just talk,” said Hermione.
“Good,” said Ginny, laughing. “You have no idea of how much we’ve missed you. You were gone for weeks! And then Saturday...”
Ginny stopped talking.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“No,” Hermione corrected her. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I left you all in the dark and disappeared. You had to find out what I was up to by reading the paper.”
Ginny remained silent.
“How’s Ron?” asked Hermione.
Ginny looked at her as if she had gone mad.
“He’s fine...” she said tentatively. “Why do you ask?”
“Just wondering,” replied Hermione.
“You know...” said Ginny, biting her lower lip, “Claudia was here the other day.”
“Oh... So they visit frequently?”
“Not they,” said Ginny, blushing. “Claudia came alone. She heard I was sick so she brought soup. Hermione... You have no idea of how nice that girl is.”
Hermione looked at Ginny wistfully.
“I’m glad he found someone, Ginny,” she said. “Now we can both move on. They look nice as a couple.”
“So you did see them,” said Ginny in realization.
“What?”
“That day in Diagon Alley,” Ginny said, peering at Hermione as though through a new light. “You were running away.”
“That’s not what I... No, I meant... The other day when they visited... But how... Who told you that?” asked Hermione, suddenly jittery.
“Claudia told me she saw you but you were hurrying in the other direction, and before she and Ron could say hello, you were gone.”
Hermione blushed crimson.
Before any of them could start saying anything, one of the babies started crying upstairs.
“Oh, God, no!” exclaimed Ginny, almost bursting into tears. “I just put them to sleep!”
“Okay, just calm down,” said Hermione, surprised to see Ginny acting like this. “I’ll go up and take care of them.”
“You have to go up immediately, before the other two start screaming their lungs out as well!” said Ginny, clutching her head.
“I’ll go!” said Hermione.
Hermione went up the stairs quickly. She went into the triplets’ room and picked up Ron, whose face was turning red, wet with tears. She calmed him down and put him back to sleep. After making sure the other two babies were alright, she went back downstairs, to find Ginny sleeping on the sofa.
She smiled inwardly, and headed to the kitchen, which was a disaster zone. It seemed that no one had done the dishes in several days. She went back to the sitting room and took her wand out of her purse. With a flick, the dishes were stacked next to the sink, clearing the counters and the table. With another flick, all the milk cartons, old newspapers, and take-out containers vanished, and sponges started cleaning the filthy countertops. Hermione opened the refrigerator, and she was shocked to find it empty, except for several bottles of milk.
“This isn’t right,” she said. She picked up her Blackberry and dialled the number for Harrods. She placed an order for food items and she was told to expect it in a week.
“Oh,” she said. “I’m in a bit of a pickle. I have to cook dinner for tonight.”
“Ma’am,” said the man on the phone, “I can’t do anything for you. May I have a name?”
“Yes, you may. This is Hermione Granger. I mean, Sandford. Oh, whatever.”
“Oh... Could I place you on hold for a minute, Miss Granger?”
“Sure,” said Hermione, smiling to herself.
About a minute after that, the man on the phone was assuring Hermione that she should be receiving her groceries in less than an hour.
Before long, she was cooking dinner, and Ginny was still sleeping. The front door opened, so Hermione walked out into the sitting room.
As Harry walked into the house, he was surprised to find his wife strewn across the couch. He lifted his gaze and found Hermione beaming at him.
“What are you doing here?” he said, grinning and practically running to hug her. “We’ve missed you!”
“I’ve missed you, too!” Hermione replied.
A bell went off in the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” asked Harry.
“Nothing much,” said Hermione, going into the kitchen. “Just dinner.”
“Dinner? You’re cooking?”
“Hey! Don’t look at me like that!”
“You didn’t have to,” said Harry following Hermione into the kitchen. “Did you clean?”
“Yes, I did,” replied Hermione. “So... What would you have eaten, then?”
“I would order something...”
“Well, that was a good nap,” said Ginny, joining Harry and Hermione.
“I bet it was,” said Harry, giving her a peck on the cheek.
“I’ve just been so tired,” said Ginny.
“I’ve been so bored,” said Hermione, laughing.
Then a sudden idea popped into Hermione’s head.
“Ginny, what if I’d help you? What if I came over a few times a week and help you take care of the babies?”
The redhead stared dumbfounded at her friend.
“I couldn’t ask you to do that for me,” she replied slowly.
“But I want to do it,” said Hermione. “Think how fun it would be!”
“Fun?” said Ginny.
“Ginny,” said Harry slowly, “I think you should take Hermione up on her offer.”
Ginny looked at her husband and considered this for a moment, and then her face broke into a grin.
“I think this is going to be brilliant.”
A/N: Well, guys, this is the second part of chapter ten. I hope you liked it, and I definitely hope you review. :) Chapter eleven is ready to be posted, and so is chapter twelve, so they will hopefully be up soon.