Chapter 63: Helping a brother in need
It's the day after telling Harry and I'm still beaming at Harry's reaction.
Harry, being the amazing husband, was there this time to hold my hair back while throwing up.
The only thing I'm dreading is telling Gwen about the pregnancy. I know she'll be a little disappointed that I won't be able to continue with the season but on the other hand, I've been playing there for quite a few years and it's not like she won't ever have me back. I know Gwen won't tell other people if I ask her not to but I'm not sure about the others.
"So, are you ready to tell the others?" Harry asks after I finish a small breakfast.
"I guess," I reply, drinking some water and standing up to get my cloak.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Harry asks again, taking my hand.
"Yes, I'm sure but thank you for offering," I smile, letting go of his hand and walking to the fireplace.
One of the things I read yesterday while waiting for Harry was that pregnant women aren't allowed to Apparate or Disapparate as you might miscarry.
I had sent a Patronus to Gwen yesterday telling her that I wanted to talk to her today and that I would be coming by Floo-powder.
"Good luck," Harry says, giving me a last hug before I step into the fireplace and disappear.
"Good morning, Potter," Gwen greets me, helping me out of the fireplace.
"Good morning Gwen," I greet back while brushing the ashes from my clothes and Vanishing them with a simple spell.
"You wanted to talk to me?" Gwen asks, not unfriendly.
"Yes, I do," I say, trying to remember what I had thought of yesterday.
"Well, go on," Gwen smiles.
"As you know, I love playing Quidditch and I love the team but I'm afraid I'm going to have to step out the team for a while. It's not that I don't like the team anymore but I'm pregnant," I say, trying to keep calm.
"Oh. Well, um, congratulations. I'm a little sad you're leaving us-,"
"I'm coming back, don't worry," I say quickly, not wanting her to have the wrong impression.
"I'm glad to hear that. Congrats," Gwen says with a real smile.
"About the team, I know they'll get suspicious if I don't say anything but I'm afraid they'll tell others if I do tell them," I say, fiddling with my hair.
"Ah yes, that's a decision for you to make. If you want, you can tell them in a few minutes and make a Promise* with them," Gwen suggests.
(* a Promise is like an Unbreakable Vow but a little less harsh and you can do it with a bigger group. If you try to break the promise, your mouth gets shut and won't open until the person who you made the Promise to lets you talk again)
"Ok, fine," I say, taking a deep breath.
I feel a little bit underdressed, walking on to the pitch, with my jeans and jumper next to Gwen who is wearing her Quidditch gear.
"Ginny!" Val exclaims, runs to me and gives me a hug.
"You're back!" Aleisha squeals, joining Val, which eventually ends up in a group hug.
"Ladies, please let the poor woman breathe," Gwen says, giving me a sympathetic smile.
"Where have you been?" Val asks, letting me go.
"At home," I reply, feeling my cheeks turn red.
"At home when you should have had your butt parked on a broom here!" Val says, her eyes narrowing.
"Wait for her to say why before you judge," Gwen says patiently.
"Fine, why?" Val huffs, folding her arms over each other.
"Well, I was sick. I won't be able to come to training for a while, as much as I love you guys, because I'm pregnant," I say, finding my feet interesting again.
A few gasp but when I look up, Val has a smile on her face. She comes forward and gives me a hug, not like the one before but a real friendly hug.
"Congrats!" Val beams and some of the others congratulate me.
"But, please, don't tell anyone yet!" I plead.
"I suggest we make a Promise," Gwen says, joining us in the little circle.
"I agree," Val agrees, taking my hand.
*
"So? How was it?" Harry asks when I arrive home, half an hour later.
"It was fine! Good even, to have told them. We made a Promise and we talked a bit afterwards but it feels good now they know. Gwen will have to think of something because once they've had their next match, people will notice that I'm not playing anymore," I say, telling Harry after wiping the ashes off my clothes.
"That's nice! Guess what I did while you were gone," Harry says, taking my hand and sitting down.
"Well?"
"I made an appointment at St. Mungo's for the first check up. They were friendly and the assistant told me that because they have a privacy policy they aren't allowed to tell who their patients are and for what reason," Harry smiles, soothingly rubbing my hand.
"Really?!" I look surprised.
"Yep," Harry says to which I give him a hug.
"What would I do without you!" I say, his arms around me.
"I don't know," Harry laughs.
"I was thinking if we should tell Teddy before the first appointment. I don't want to appear to have a miscarriage and have to explain that to him," I say, resting my head on Harry's shoulder.
"I understand but I think that after the first check up, he deserves to be the first to know," Harry says, his head lightly leaning on mine.
"Yes. Are we picking him up or is Andromeda bringing him?" I ask Harry as we're on the subject already.
"We're picking him up because Andromeda will be receiving visitors today. She wasn't sure around what time so I said we'd pick him up around one," Harry replies, still holding my hand.
"Oh right, which means we have an hour before we have to leave. What do you want to do?" I ask him.
"What do you want to do?" Harry asks, looking at me.
"Can we take a walk?" I suggest, looking hopeful.
"Is that a craving already?" Harry asks teasingly.
I give him a nudge,"No Potter, it's a request! And besides, pregnancy cravings are for food and drinks and not for activities!"
"You sound just like Hermione," Harry says, sticking his tongue out.
"Well, thank you," I say, flipping my hair.
"Well, do you want to go for a walk or not," Harry asks, standing up and offering his hand.
I take it and stand up. Together we walk to the hall and get our cloaks, Gryffindor scarves and hats.
"Harry," I start as Harry closes the door behind him.
"Yeah?"
"I know you already have a motorcycling license but I think that one of us should consider getting a drivers license too," I say, taking Harry's warm hand as a compensation to the cold.
"We could. Why don't we both?" Harry asks as we start walking down the street to Godric's Hollow.
"Do you know a place to take lessons?" I ask him.
"I really don't know. Perhaps in a town nearby," Harry replies, shivering and burying himself in his scarf.
After half an hour of walking, stopping by James and Lily's graves and laying some flowers by the stones, Harry and I decide to return. Even though it was nice to have a walk, the cold is starting to get to us.
"What other things did you read about pregnancy? A while ago, I heard Fleur talking about some kind of diet," Harry asks when we step into the warm manor again.
"Well, I read about a few things like no alcohol and the no meat diet Fleur was on about. I only need to eat a few hundred calories more and so on," I reply a little annoyed that I won't be able to drink Butterbeer or Firewhiskey for nine whole months.
"Well, if it helps you and makes you feel better, I'll join you in the no alcohol and no meat diet," Harry offers.
"Would you really!?"'I ask, looking surprised at my husband.
"Of course," Harry smiles, warming me up by giving me a hug.
"Thank you," I mumble into his lovely smelling jumper.
"It's no problem," Harry whispers back.
After sending Andromeda a Patronus ten minutes ago, we Floo to her.
When we step out of the fireplace, we get greeted by the usual hug from Teddy.
"Harry! Ginny! This is Dre-Draco and he's very kind! He played with me with my toys," Teddy beams, pointing at the young blond man, sitting on his knees on the floor.
"Harry," Malfoy stands up and shakes Harry's hand.
"Draco," Harry nods and shakes Malfoy's hand.
"You know each other?" Teddy asks, looking really surprised.
"Yeah, we were at school together," Mal- Draco says. I'll have to start calling him Draco as Harry does too.
"Ooh! Were you good friends?" Teddy asks, clapping his hands.
"Well," Harry and Draco look at each other and burst out laughing. "no."
"Oh," Teddy looks a little disappointed.
"Good afternoon Harry and Ginny!" Andromeda smiles, steps away from her sister and gives us a hug.
"Good afternoon Andromeda!" I return the smile.
Harry walks to the youngest of the two sisters.
"Mrs Malfoy, I-"
"Please call me Narcissa," Narcissa smiles.
"Narcissa, I hadn't had the chance before but I just wanted to thank you for saving me instead of letting me get killed," Harry thanks, looking grateful.
"It was no problem. Besides, it's what has kept us out of Azkaban, even though we would have deserved it," Narcissa says, pushing a strand of greying blond hair behind her ear.
After a while, it's time for us to leave. Teddy, unwilling to leave Draco, comes with us after a small tantrum. He must really like Draco because he doesn't usually throw tantrums while trying to get him away from people he hardly knows.
"What do you want to do, Ted?" Harry asks after we've arrived home.
"Story!" Teddy smiles and takes his usual place on the sofa when it's story time and we're not bringing him to bed.
"Fine, go and get a book," I smile and Teddy makes his way to the stairs.
"And don't run down the stairs!" I call after him.
Just after Teddy has gone upstairs, a Patronus arrives.
"Harry and Ginny, it's Bill and I was wondering if Victoire could stay with you for the next days. It's not going very well with Fleur and her baby so she's going to hospital. We would be very glad if you could have her. Please send a Patronus back as soon as possible so we know if we need to contact any others if she can't stay with you," the Patronus says.
"Expecto Patronum," Harry says, sending the Patronus away as soon as we've given our answer.
After a few minutes, Teddy being informed about Victoire's visit, the bell rings and we open the door to see a worried looking Bill and a frightened Victoire.
I quickly take Victoire's stuff from my brother and put them on the stairs. Harry takes Victoire from Bill, who gives me a hug as soon as his arms are free.
"Thank you so much! Especially on such a short notice," Bill thanks.
"Really, it's no problem. We were just back from collecting Teddy," I reply.
"Victoire was with Fleur when it happened, there was a lot of blood, they both freaked out but especially for such a little girl, it's a lot," Bill whispers, looking very pale.
Bill gives Victoire a kiss on her nose as she clings on to Harry's neck, obviously seeking comfort and warmth.
"Bye sweetheart. Je t'aime," Bill adds the last bit in French, obviously learnt from Fleur.
"Good luck! Please keep us updated!" I say, giving my brother on last hug before leaves.
"I will, once again, thank you," Bill smiles weakly.
After hearing the usual loud crack, we close the door.
Victoire is still whimpering so Harry holds her tightly, just like he holds me when I awake from a nightmare.
She calms down after ten minutes and then I offer them all something to drink.
"Hot chocolate!" Teddy exclaims, licking his lips.
"What about you Victoire?" I ask my goddaughter.
"Can I try hot chocolate too?" Victoire asks politely.
"Of course," I reply and look at Harry.
"I'll have some hot chocolate too," Harry smiles.
After all deciding on hot chocolate, I go downstairs to the kitchen to get some hot chocolate.
"But Mistress, you should have called and Kreacher would have come immediately," Kreacher bows before hurrying off to get two hot chocolates and two warm chocolates.
"It's fine, a little bit of exercise is good for me, especially now I'm not going to training anymore," I reply, looking at the tray with four mugs and a plate with biscuits.
I thank Kreacher, answer his question about dinner and go upstairs again. I hand Victoire and Teddy their warm mugs and keep the hot ones on the tray.
Apparently, Victoire has never had hot chocolate before but her reaction after having a sip said all. She smiles and licks her lips, just like Teddy did.
After a few stories, Kreacher calls that dinner is ready so we take a seat at the table, where four plates instead of three have been placed, and start eating.
When it's half past seven and we've all finished dinner, we all go upstairs and get the two little ones ready for a story and bed. While I brush Victoire's teeth, Teddy brushes his own and Harry's busy putting another bed in Teddy's room as Victoire wanted to sleep in his room with him.
"Is maman okay?" Victoire asks me, her blue eyes wide.
"She'll be fine! But you don't have to worry about it," I tell her, buttoning up her pyjama shirt.
"Hello!" Teddy says, opening the door of his room and putting on his own blue pyjamas.
"Hello Teddy," I smile, putting Victoire's hair in a braid so it doesn't get all knotted overnight.
As Harry puts a clean sheet on Victoire's bed, Teddy gets in his own bed and pulls the Snitch cover over his head.
"Don't you want to hear a story Ted?" Harry asks to which the covers shoot back.
Teddy looks excited and says, "Of course I do!"
"Which one do you want?" Harry asks again.
"Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump!" Victoire says, getting in her own bed.
"Fine," Harry says, getting the book while I take a seat on the floor and lean against Victoire's bed.
"A long time ago, in a far-off land, there lived a foolish King who decided that he alone should have the power of magic. He therefore commanded the head..." Harry starts to which both of the kids listen carefully.
"...and no witch or wizard was ever persecuted in the kingdom again," Harry finishes, looking at the sleeping girl.
"Teddy, be nice to Victoire, she's had a rough time today and it's better if she doesn't think about it too much," I whisper to the only half-awake boy.
"I will," Teddy whispers, trying hard to keep his eyes open.
"Sleep well," I say, planting a kiss on his forehead and I do the same to Victoire.
"Night night," Harry whispers and leaves the door open a little bit so there's still a little ray of light shining in their room.
We go downstairs and find an owl awaiting us.
Dear Harry and Ginny,
Thank you, once again, for having Victoire on such a short notice.
Fleur's doing ok. She's still extremely tired and still very nauseous but she isn't bleeding as much anymore, though infrequent. As a matter of fact, she's sleeping now.
The Healers have said that it may take a few days before the baby comes. There haven't really been contractions yet but because of the irregular bleedings, they want to keep her here.
Luckily, nothing else is wrong with the baby apart from that it's one month too early.
I hope Victoire hasn't been too much of a problem. I'll keep you updated, as I already promised but I'm going to sleep too as it's been an exhausting day.
Lots of thanks,
Bill.
"Poor Fleur," I say, feeling sorry for both of them.
*
After a few days of having Victoire, doing some fun activities to keep our minds off Fleur in St. Mungo's, we finally receive a letter during breakfast.
"Well, when we're finished having breakfast, it's time to go to St. Mungo's," Harry smiles after reading the letter.
"Yay!" Victoire squeals, quickly finishing her porridge.
After dressing them and getting dressed ourselves, we step into the fireplace in pairs and Floo to St. Mungo's.
"Good morning, how can I help you?" the receptionist asks friendly.
"We're here to see Bill and Fleur Weasley," I tell her while holding Victoire's hand.
"Are you family?"
"Yes. Bill is my brother and Victoire's their daughter," I tell her.
"What about them?" she asks, pointing at Harry and Teddy.
"My husband and son, so we're all family," I say, starting to get impatient.
"Sixth floor, room ninety-six," she replies, looking in a book.
We take the lift to the sixth floor and find the room rather quickly.
Harry knocks and Bill opens the door for us.
"Papa!" Victoire squeals, running into his arms.
"Victoire! Please come on in," Bill says to us.
"Hi Fleur," I greet my sister-in-law, who is laying on the bed with a baby in her arms.
" 'Ello Ginny, 'Arry and Teddy," Fleur smiles tiredly, bags under her eyes.
"Who is this beauty?" I ask her, nodding at the baby.
"Zees ees Dominique and she really ees a fighter," Fleur says proudly.