I own nothing Harry Potter related, just the plot. Enjoy!
"Mia..?" the voice of her husband, laden with sleep calls from the open veranda doors to their bedroom. Hermione does not turn, instead, her fingers wrap tighter around the banister that closes off the balcony.
A small pain shudders through her stomach as she tightens her grip. Traitor, her mind bellows to her abdomen as her husband calls again. The bundle responds again to the voice. She shakes her head and her body shakes in silent laughter as a smile breaks across her face.
"You're going to be a difficult little bugger, aren't you love?" Mia's voice breaks the silence of the early morning just as the sun breaks over the horizon. A pair of arms wrap around her belly and over the bump that protrudes slightly from under her tank top.
His hands rest on the baby and his sleep-filled laugh rings through the early day break. "He knows his papa." She feels her husband's lips on her shoulder as he leans down to rest against his wife. She smiles slightly.
"What makes you think the baby's a boy?" She turns her head and looks into her husband's face. "Having one of your gut feelings again?"
He shakes his head and places a kiss at the corner of her lips, silence envelopes the family. She closes her eyes as the baby kicks again. "You're exhausted, my Queen. Has Siri Junior been kicking all night again?"
Mia just nods and looks down to Siri Senior's arms around her plump tummy. "Siri, something isn't right." Siri turns his love around to face him.
"What's the matter my Queen, my Love?"
A pained expression crosses Mia's face as she closes her eyes as something wet drips between the lovers. Siri looks down to the ground and notices that Mia's shorts are wet. "It's time to go."
Siri looks back up into his wife's face and smiles. "Okay, let's go." Being the ever so suave Sirius Orion Black on the outside, he calmly pulls his wife along to their room and grabs her hospital bag as Mia grabs the baby bag. On the inside though, daddy-to-be was a nervous wreck.
Sirius takes hold of his wife and takes out his wand. Turning on the spot he apparates them to St. Mungo's. The parents-to-be walk up to the lift and push the button for the Maternity Ward. A contraction, Sirius observes, takes hold of his wife because she gasps and her hold on his hand tightens tremendously. The bell of the lift dings and the two step out onto the floor. They walk up to the desk and Mia smiles to the receptionist.
"Name please?" The elder receptionist does not look up to the couple.
"Hermione Black," Sirius says. "Delivery." He smiles to the elder woman as she looks up.
"Doctor, are you going to deliver your own child?" the receptionist asks with a twinkle in her eyes and mirth in her voice.
"No Gwen," Sirius replies. He turns to Hermione and places a kiss on her forehead. "Are you ready love?"
Hermione nods. "Yes. Are we going to have the room that we requested?" She asks Gwen, a nervous smile occupies her mouth.
Gwen nods and looks down to her book just to make sure. "Yes, I will take you there personally." Gwen begins to get up.
"No need, Gwen, I will take them there personally," a voice rings from behind the couple. "I would like some time to speak to my patient…" The couple turns. There stands Remus Lupin with his green healer robe on.
A contraction stuns Hermione and she leans against the counter the baby bag still on her shoulder. Sirius steps to his wife and places his thumb and forefinger against the pressure points at the base of her spine just at her hips. "Remus, hate to cut this short but we need to go now."
Remus smirks and just shakes his head. "Hermione, how far apart are your contractions?" He asks while watching his best friend.
"Ten minutes." Her voice is strained. She turns to Sirius. "Love, I just want to lay down…" She whispers.
Sirius nods and the three turn to the hallway that will lead them to Hermione's private room. Once in her room, Hermione places the bag onto the bed. To alleviate some pressure in her back and hips, she bends over the bed and takes a deep breath.
Sirius rubs her back in a soothing manner. Remus shuts the door and watches the couple carefully. The two had long since been together before thoughts of children had come to their attention. The two had a rough relationship with lack of approval from dear friends, but they were adamant and persistent. Love will make one blind to all.
"Natural birth still Hermione?" Remus asks as her chart appears in his hands. He takes out a pen from his robe pocket.
When no answer comes from the couple, he looks up and suddenly feels like he is intruding on a private moment. Sirius had moved to stand directly behind Hermione and was bent over her form talking her pain away. Their whispered conversation is like a normal-spoken one to his ears:
"You're doing well love. No nerves…. You look beautiful." Hermione snorts.
"Siri it hurts." The whimper of pain has Sirius torn apart on the inside, Remus knows this. Sirius had panicked about taking Hermione's virginity away when they had gotten married. So afraid that he was to cause his soul mate pain that he had to take two calming serums before the binding ceremony.
Remus looks to his watch and times the next contraction. Ten minutes was awful close for a first-time mother. He needed to be on top of his game for his best friend's sake. He continues to listen to Sirius and Hermione's conversation.
"It's okay, my Queen," Siri replies. "You're doing splendidly. Just breathe with me" Sirius takes a deep breath and Remus is glad that he is able to keep Hermione calm.
Hermione nods and shifts her body under Sirius' own. "I need to change…" Her voice is tired already. Everyone realizes that her clothes are still soaked from her water breaking. Sirius straightens and allows Hermione to right herself. Hermione turns to face Remus with a raised eyebrow. "I brought my own dressing gown. Should I wait until after the birth?"
Remus smirks slightly and nods. "If you only brought one gown yes. I can get you a birthing gown. Would you prefer that?" He turns to a cabinet and pulls out a pale blue robe.
Sirius smiles at his wife's worry. "S'pose you want your privacy as well, huh love?"
Hermione rolls her eyes at her husband as a blush creeps up into her cheeks. "Please, if you don't mind Remus?" Upon handing the robe to her, Remus heads to the door.
"I'll be back in ten minutes to see how you're doing. Just so you know, because you reserved the room, we were able to setup a system that would recognize your stats and keep me posted." Remus says and leaves.
Hermione lays out the robe on the bed. Sirius pulls the baby bag off the bed and sets it on top of the cabinet. He watches his wife struggle to get out of her night clothes. Coming up behind her, he carefully takes her tank top by the hem and stretches it wide enough to pull over their itty bitty baby.
Hermione turns to face Sirius. Sirius pulls her against him: her bare breasts and baby bump keep them a fair distance apart. He places a kiss to the top of her head and works his hands down to the edge of her shorts and eases them down her thighs. He kisses his way down her face and neck. He kisses the valley between her breasts and kneels in front of her. He places a kiss just under her belly button and smiles. "You can't come soon enough my Little One."
He pulls her shorts down the rest of the way so they pool at Hermione's feet. He looks up to Hermione's face and places another kiss on her tummy and removes her knickers as well. Sirius stands and pulls the robe from the bed and slips it over Hermione's head.
Hermione slips her arms around Sirius' waist and sighs. "You are too good to me, Lover," She mutters. Another wave of pain makes her grimace hard against Sirius. He sighs and guides her to the bed.
"Come now, my Queen, don't speak such nonsense. You are the one giving me a little angel. You are too good for me. Now, up you go, into bed, rest." Sirius' doctor instinct kicks in immediately.
"Siri," Hermione warns. "You promised."
Sirius smirks and pulls up a chair next to the bed as Hermione lays down into the plush pillows. "I know, which is why when you deliver, I will be behind you and not head first into your-"
He cuts off as the door opens. "Sirius, do not agitate your wife. Now, I have done my part and told everyone that was supposed to be informed. But, what I need to know are a few things about your choices of this birth." Remus says.
Hermione takes Sirius' hand and hold it as she shifts to her back. "Go on."
Remus summons her chart and looks through it. "Do you still plan on a natural birth?"
Hermione nods as she places Sirius' hand on her stomach. Automatically, he begins rubbing small circles through the material of her gown. "Do you have any questions you need to ask before the birth begins?"
Hermione shakes her head. "Siri basically told me everything I should expect."
Remus nods and sets her chart on the bed at her feet. "Alright, I need to check your vitals and contraction times. Have you had another?"
"Two minutes ago," Siri replies.
"Sounds like you're progressing easily. I am going to check just to be sure. Prop your legs up while I check your vitals." Hermione does so as Remus checks her pulse and blood pressure. He quickly checks to see how far Hermione's cervix has dilated. "Just about 5 centimeters dilated." He picks the chart back up and heads to the door. "I will be back to check on you in about fifteen minutes." He closes the door shut behind him.
Hermione smiles slightly. "I can't wait to hold the little one.." Sirius agrees and lays his head down on the bed next to her body. "I'm sorry I woke you up."
Sirius chuckles. "How long were you out on the veranda?" He asks.
Hermione sighs. "About five minutes. I couldn't get comfortable. The baby kept kicking. Incidentally, your hand was on my stomach when I woke up." She mock glares down to him. He can feel it because she hears him laugh again.
"He knows his papa."
Hermione closes her eyes. The pain in her belly tightens again and she tries relaxing her breathing hoping it would go away. "Lay with me Siri?"
He sits up and looks into her face. "Sure." He climbs up next to her and allows her to snuggle her back into his chest. "Sleep my love. You'll need it." He places a kiss to her head.
Hermione nods slightly and sighs. And just as he feels her breaths even out, her hand searches for his and she is wide awake. "Relax love." He takes hold of her hand and gives a small squeeze as she begins to gasp through her pain. "Breathe in…" Sirius exaggerates his breathing. "And out." He lets it all out. Hermione concentrates on his voice.
"Doing good Love," He adds. He looks to the clock. "Keep breathing Love." Her hand tightens around his as the pain crescendos and begins ebbing away. "Still eight minutes love."
Hermione nods slightly. A knock on the door pulls the two out of their loving reverie. Sirius turns his head to speak. "Come in!"
A dash of red and black rush in and Harry and Ginny Potter are in front of them. "Hey there." Ginny greets from her wheel chair. Harry nods to the couple from behind is wife.
Hermione looks up to Ginny and smiles slightly. "Hey," she says. "Thanks for coming. How's Jimmy?"
Harry smirks. "Can't miss the birth of my godfather's first child, now can I?" He grimaces as Ginny elbows him. Hermione giggles.
"He's fine. Sleeping for now," Ginny interjects. "He'll need me soon…"
"I have a question for you two anyways," Hermione says. Taking Sirius' hand, she laces their fingers together. They had not discussed it, but she knew Siri wanted Harry to be the godfather of their child. She wanted Ginny to have the honor of being godmother. "Would you two mind being godparents?"
Sirius starts. He looks to his wife and notices her eyes on him. She gives him a knowing, but tired smile. He looks to Harry and Ginny. The two are slightly shocked. "What-? Are you sure?" Ginny splutters. Harry is silent.
Harry looks to his godfather and smiles. "Of course. We'd be honored." Harry wraps his arms around Ginny's shoulders. "Little Jimmy will have a playmate now."
Hermione smiles proudly. Ginny leans up to say something but Hermione beats her to it: "I think they'll be more than playmates Gin." She says in a whisper.
Ginny bursts with laughter.
Hermione is taken by another contraction as Remus walks in. Sirius tends to whispering in his wife's ear. "We'll just be going," Harry says more to Ginny and Remus than anyone else. "Good luck you two." Harry nods to Remus as the couple walks out.
"Seven minutes apart, Moony," Sirius says.
He nods. "Alright, we're getting close. Hermione, can you turn onto your back?" Hermione nods while sitting up and looks at Sirius. He sits up and shoves all of the pillows off the bed. He sits behind her and pulls her close so that when he leans back, they both are propped up against the headboard of the bed.
"Good. Now, let me have a look," Remus pulls a stool up to the foot of the bed and checks Hermione again. "Five centimeters still. This is good. You're on right on schedule. You rest. I will be back in an hour but if there's something wrong, Sirius can get me. Any questions?"
Hermione shakes her head and leans her head back on Sirius' chest. "No." Remus leaves again.
Sirius rubs Hermione's tummy and kisses her shoulder. "Are you ready?" Sirius asks her, slightly nervous himself.
Hermione closes her eyes and sighs. "I'm afraid I won't be good enough to mother our child Siri."
Sirius kisses her shoulder again and then her neck. "Hermione, you will be more than good enough. You'll put every other mother to shame."
Hermione nods but stays silent and waits for another contraction knowing her fears are a product of the hormonal overload. With a tired sigh, she leans her head back against Sirius' chest and closes her eyes.
"What did you say to Ginny?" Sirius asks.
"You'll see Siri, you'll just have to see," Hermione replies.
Sirius smirks. "Little minx."
Hermione laughs. "That is how we got into this position, isn't it? 'Cause I'm a 'little minx'?"
Sirius laughs as well and nearly jumps when Hermione pushes back against him so suddenly with a contraction. He allows Hermione to squeeze and clench as she needs. "You're doing great. I keep saying it, but it is true my Queen."
Hermione nods. When Remus walks back in, she looks to her doctor and former teacher. She smiles slightly as she lays on her back. Remus checks her cervix again. "Okay Hermione, I am going to go get a nurse, and when I come back you'll be set to push. You get as comfortable as you can. I'll be back in a minute."
Hermione nods and looks back over her should to her husband. Sirius wraps his arms around his wife and places a kiss on her shoulder. "Time to bring our child into this world."
Hermione sits back into her husband's arms. She feels the sweat bead on her forehead already and sighs. "I'm a right mess Siri."
Sirius laughs. "You're a glistening sheen of beauty my Love," he replies.
When Remus comes in with a nurse, it seems that everything sets itself in motion. Another contraction takes over Hermione. She grips onto Sirius' hands just as Remus takes his place between Hermione's legs and the nurse picks up a wet towel that seemed to appear out of thin air.
"Hermione, on your next contraction, I'm going to count to three and you're going to push hard, okay?" Remus asks.
Hermione takes a deep breath and nods. The nurse dabs her forehead with the towel. Sirius leans into her back and whispers, "Here we go…" A beep now resounds in the room, indicating that Hermione had to push, something Sirius had told her about with reserved rooms.
On three, Hermione pushes. A scream follows as an excruciating pain engulfs her body. She clenches her teeth and squeezes Sirius' hands hard. The pain eases slightly and she relaxes for a tense moment to catch her breath.
Remus looks up to Hermione. "Good. One, two, three…" Beep.
Hermione pushes hard again digging back into Sirius. "Keep pushing my Queen. A few more seconds..!" And Hermione relaxes again as the pain eases. She feels the baby push against the walls of her body. She closes her eyes and imagines where the baby was exactly. She feels another contraction and the pressure of Sirius' hands rather than hears the beep or Remus. She pushes hard again as the baby's head emerge.
"One more Love!" Sirius encourages her.
Hermione takes a deep breath and with a hard push and grunt in effort, pushes harder than she thought she could. She hears the scream of her child and she lets out an emotional gust of a laugh. She leans back into Sirius and watches as Remus places the baby into the nurse's awaiting and blanket clad arms. She takes the baby to the changing station strategically placed in the room.
"Alright, Hermione, you have one more push in you?" Remus asks.
She nods and takes one last deep breath and pushes. She feels the excess from the baby leave her body. Sirius smiles into his Love's hair.
"Papa, would you like to cut the cord?" The nurse asks from her station.
Sirius looks to Hermione as she looks back to him. She nods her head encouraging him. Hermione sits up as Sirius is careful not to jostle her as he gets up. He goes to the nurse and takes the clamp from her and cuts the cord. "I'll take over…" The nurse nods and tends to Hermione.
Remus walks over to his best friend and watches as he cleans his newborn. Wiping the excess off manually, Remus knew his friend was taking the time to idolize his cub rather than making sure the patient was perfectly well off.
"Five pounds and two ounces," Sirius says. "Nineteen inches long. Female." Sirius pulls a newborn diaper out and places it on his cub's bottom. He grabs a onesie jumper out of the bag Hermione brought with them.
"I'm happy for you Sirius. You deserve this," Remus says. "You've deserved this happiness for a longtime coming."
Sirius smiles down to his baby girl as she squirms around and finally emits a cry of hunger. "Bring her to me, Lover."
Hermione's voice conveys the exhaustion that had finally taken over her body from carrying her bundle of joy. Sirius nods and gently picks up their little girl. He cradles her head as he turns to Hermione and walks over to the now clean and pristine bed. Hermione, who is now in her clean nightgown, smiles to her husband as he places their cub in her arms.
Hermione uncovers her left breast unaware that everyone had already left. She places her child to her breast as the nurse instructed and gasps as their cub actually takes to her. She smiles and looks up to Sirius. He sits next to Hermione on the bed an arm around her shoulders.
"Five pounds, two ounces; nineteen inches long. What are we naming our little cub?" Sirius whispers, not wishing to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of mother and child bonding time.
Hermione sighs. "Jasmine Sophia Rose Black, as we planned unless you had another idea?"
Sirius thinks for a moment. "I think Isla Rose would fit nicely. I had a great-great aunt or so that married a muggle. Obviously disowned from the family. She gave me the will to fight through the racism and I think she's looking on from somewhere saying 'Well done,'."
Hermione smiles and turns their baby girl to burp her. She pats firmly on her back. Listening carefully for a gas bubble to pass, she hears several. She giggles. "I think it'll fit nicely as well. Isla Rose Black welcome to the family."
Hermione settles the baby into the crook of her arms again and watches as Isla opens her eyes. Opaque blue eyes spot their mother's face and immediately a feeling of overwhelming joy takes over Hermione's tear ducts. She sniffles and Sirius laughs in good nature. "My girls. My loves. My family. I love you so much Hermione. Thank you so much for my baby girl."
He places a kiss on his Queen's forehead and wipes her tears away and fixes her nightgown. He looks down to their blue-eyed child with a raw happiness that shines in his own blue eyes. Hermione looks up to him and a tired smile crosses her lips. "I love you, Siri. I thank you for giving me happiness."
The family of three settles into a happy silence. Happiness shines through the room and under the gap in the door as Remus walks away from his post as eavesdropper. He walks to the waiting room down the hall and smiles.
"Isla Rose Black. Born at 12:04 PM on Friday, May twenty-first of 2010."
The entire wave of red and touches of black and brown and even a pink shout and cheer for the newest addition to the Black-Lupin-Weasley pack.
I'd like to hear what you thought! Constructive criticism, or just simply why you liked it is fine! I couldn't get this idea out of my head and just wrote it. It's a one shot but I might consider a quick one-shot series of family progression =).
Thanks for your time!
Kaleigh