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SIYE Time:13:58 on 29th March 2024
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If I Fell
By notadryeeye

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Category: Post-DH/AB
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Drama, Fluff, General, Humor, Romance
Warnings: Mild Sexual Situations
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 21
Summary: After a strike from a wayward Bludger, Ginny Potter finds herself once again waking up in a hospital bed at St. Mungo's. But this trip to the hospital may just change things for the Holyhead Harpies' star Chaser more than she could have ever thought.
Hitcount: Story Total: 11740
Awards: View Trophy Room


Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work.



Author's Notes:
This is a little one-shot I put together before the holidays that really found itself developing on its own. Don't have any plans on if there will be more...but I hope you enjoy!




ChapterPrinter


Her whole body ached and her head felt like it was filled with lead. She wasn’t sure that if she opened her eyes and let herself wake up completely that she’d be able to lift it. Then again, she wasn’t sure that she was capable of opening her eyes at all even if she wanted to.

While not quite asleep, Ginny found herself just on the edge of consciousness and awareness. While drifting off felt like the much better option, the soft sounds of movement and conversation in the room were pulling her away from that blissful place of rest and more towards the reality of whatever awaited her beyond her closed lids.

Quite honestly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to wake up and find out what awaited her. She vaguely remembered falling, the sound of people shouting and an intense and bone-jarring pain that had accompanied an abrupt stop.

‘Well...better find out what damage I did this time,’ Ginny thought to herself as she attempted to rouse herself.

As soon as she made that first move to wake, her whole body protested and intense, shooting pain radiated from her lower back and into her other extremities. She felt and heard herself hiss in audible pain as her head rolled to the side on the pillows she was propped up on.

“Shhh....just relax, love,” Ginny heard a deep male voice say from beside her. The sound was soothing and comforting, one that Ginny associated with safety and security.

“Harry?” she breathed out, the very act of using the muscles in her chest and diaphragm to speak causing her discomfort.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he reassured her, as she felt his warm, calloused hand take hers and squeeze lightly. “Just lay back and relax, Gin.”

Ginny squeezed his hand back and heeded his advice, letting her head sink into the pillows as she opened her eyes. At first the room was blurry and out of focus, her eyes woefully unprepared for the bright light that seemed to flood the room. But after blinking a few times and willing the world to right itself, the room swam into view--along with the handsome, yet slightly worried looking face of her husband of three years.

“Hey,” Ginny breathed out heavily, managing a small smile as her eyes locked onto the beautiful green ones staring back at her.

“Hey, beautiful,” Harry replied back, using his other hand to brush back the strands of scarlet hair that had fallen across her face. “How are you feeling?”

“Lousy,” Ginny admitted as she let the pain and overall general soreness and discomfort she was feeling sink in.

“Do you remember what happened to you, sweetheart?” Harry asked, searching her face for her response and reaction. It was as if he was looking for any indication that she was there mentally and had retained her recollection and memories.

“Bludger,” Ginny offered, remembering the initial hit that had come from behind just as she’d been swooping in for a score.

Harry nodded.

“Who hit it?” Ginny asked, closing her eyes momentarily as she let out a tired sigh.

“Webster,” Harry replied, referring to the Ballycastle Bats Beater who had been responsible for taking out his wife.

“Bastard,” Ginny breathed out as she closed her eyes against another stab of pain in her lower back.

Myron Webster was the hulking, cocky, mammoth man of a Beater who Ginny usually got the best of in matches. Being the two-time English professional league-leader in goals and reigning league Most Valuable Player from her chaser position with the Harpies, Ginny took her fair share of shots from opposing teams and this wasn’t the first time she’d landed in the hospital as a result of an in-game injury. But after taking the league cup from the Bats last year, Webster and the rest of his teammates had been exceeding brutal in their game tactics and play and some had been on the verge of nasty.

She’d been playing a brilliant match up until she’d been taken out, so the fact that Webster had succeeded in knocking her out only added frustration onto her pain.

She heard Harry let out a small laugh at that exclamation, but his face was still strained looking when Ginny opened her eyes.

“It was a pretty cheap shot,” Harry admitted. “But the referees and medical staff didn’t quite get their cushioning charms up in time when you fell--you hit the ground pretty hard...”

“Really?” Ginny replied with a raised brow, attempting a bit of sarcasm. If the way she felt was an indication as to what type of tumble she’d taken, it was quite obvious it’d been serious. “I couldn’t tell...”

But Harry it seemed hadn’t caught onto her sarcasm. He instead swallowed heavily, fixing her with a slightly pained look.

“You scared the hell out of me,” he admitted, looking every bit of scared now as he’d admitted to.

Both of them had careers where danger and the risk of personal injury was high. Harry was an Auror and was constantly putting himself in danger and getting into very real scrapes and skirmishes with the dark witches and wizards who still existed in the world even in this post-war world. He’d landed here in St. Mungo’s himself on a few occasions--usually after being on the wrong end of spells or hexes that needed a day or so to be sorted out.

During the first year they’d been married, Harry had spent two weeks here recovering from severe burns that he’d gotten when he and his team of Aurors had rushed back into a building that the rogue Death Eaters they had been tracking had set ablaze. They’d saved all of the occupants of the building, but Harry and a female Auror on his team had been hurt the worst.

Although she’d known and been assured repeatedly by the healers that Harry would make a full recovery and most likely not have any scarring from the second and third degree burns he’d suffered, it had still been an extremely scary time. There had first been the shock of witnessing his injuries upon her arrival--seeing the charred and peeling skin that covered his legs and most of the life side of his body--including his face. But the hardest had been the days after in which she’d sat by, holding his hand as the healers and medi-witches worked hard to clean and disinfect the burns and then regrow and repair the damaged skin. It had been a painful and drawn out process for him. Because the injured area had spanned a lot of his body, they’d gradually regenerated and knitted patches of skin together so as not to send his already taxed system into shock at any point.

She’d been there for all of it, trying to soothe and comfort him when the stress of the situation overwhelmed him and encourage him to let out the screams and tears that he had tried to hold back when the duress of the healing process had went beyond the threshold the pain potions he was on.

Likewise, Ginny had been in here a few times for various match and training injuries that had needed a bit more care and monitoring than the Harpies’ staff could handle. She was the star chaser on the top team in a professional Quidditch league that featured some of the best athletes in the world.

She put her body through, not only extreme mid-air maneuvers on some of the fastest brooms in the industry at the most dangerous heights, but also intense and grueling off the pitch physical workouts that allowed her to play at the highest level. She ran, she lifted weights and this past year, as a couple, she and Harry had added a bit of kickboxing and other mixed martial arts workouts to their respective training regimens. As a result, Ginny had achieved a level of strength and endurance in her flight and game that had not been there before.

She needed to be in constant peak physical condition, not only to compete against other Quidditch players, but also to pull of the mid-air acrobatics she was known for in both training and matches. Being undersized and a woman in a league full of men and women more physically imposing than herself, Ginny often had to take risks in the air, testing both her skill and her nerve as she pulled off dives and rolls at break-neck speed in order to get past the defense and into prime scoring position. And sometimes those tricks and dangerous stunts led to crashes and tumbles that resulted in injury.

A life and career as a professional Quidditch player could be glorious and bright, as Ginny herself had experienced thus far. But they time at the top was often also short and could be abruptly ended and interrupted by serious injury. Although nobody had died playing in recent times, Ginny knew enough older and retired players who still complained about constant aches and pains they still were feeling from old injuries and seen great players knocked out of competition at their peak.

The constant risk of injury and the living on the edge of danger was something Ginny was willing to deal with because it meant she got to spend everyday playing the game she truly loved. And Harry had always been her biggest fan when it came to her career--making all the matches he could and always taking the time to workout or train with her when she asked. He supported her as much as she supported his choice to be an Auror. They were different types of danger and risk, but that element was something they’d both come to live with and accept in their relationship and marriage.

But it seemed that acceptance might be coming into question as she took in the look Harry was giving her now. His face was fraught with worry and concern and his overall appearance indicated that he’d been under a lot of stress. His hair was even more messy than usual and she would bet that he’d run his hands through it a few hundred times in worry since she’d been injured.

Either the fall itself or the news about the damage she’d sustained must have been bad if Harry was as worried as he was now.

“How long have I been out?” Ginny asked, taking the dark circles under his eyes as an indication that it may have been a while.

“Just a few hours,” Harry told her.

“How bad is it?” Ginny wondered aloud.

“Not as bad as it could have been,” Harry admitted, sounding slightly relieved. “You broke your clavicle and separated both shoulders.”

“My back is what’s killing me,” Ginny admitted, as she shifted and the muscles of her lower back contracted painfully.

“Nothings was broken or fractured,” Harry told her. “But the muscles are messed up pretty good and there was quite a bit of bruising and swelling. You’ve got a concussion too,” he added quietly.

Ginny nodded, knowing the muddled, heavy feeling in her head had meant she must have smacked it pretty good. She’d had a concussion or two before and knew that she’d be grounded and kept out of Quidditch activities for a week until the restorative potions worked their magic on the injury.

“I’m sorry I scared you,” Ginny said softly.

“I know,” Harry replied as he leaned forward in his chair, kissing her gently on the forehead. Ginny closed her eyes at the touch. “I was just really worried. They didn’t let me down near the pitch to see you at first and I got a bit frantic when they tried escorting me straight to St. Mungo’s.”

Ginny could only imagine how irate Harry must have been not being able to get to her. The other times she’d been injured in-match, he’d been right there once she’d been taken off the pitch, holding her hand and standing by as the medical staff tried to diagnose and patch up her injuries.

There had been one time when they’d been playing an exhibition match in America against the Fitchburg Finches and she had taken a particularly nasty spill in which she’d dislocated her elbow and broken her arm. She’d been taken back into the players tunnel underneath the stadium to have her injuries patched and righted and while she’d been lying back and trying to relax on a stretcher while letting the on-site healers mend her bones, she had heard shouting come from down the cement tunnel.

Instantly she had recognized Harry’s voice echoing off the walls.

“Do you know who the hell I am?” she’d heard him roar as several voices responded with shouts about security and how this area was for ‘players only’.

After a bit more shouting, Harry’d been recognized and let through. Ginny still teased him mercilessly about pulling the “Harry Potter Card.” To this day, Harry hated being recognized in public--he preferred to remain anonymous--going about his personal and professional life without bother. But after taking her good-natured ribbing, he’d explained that he’d do or say anything to get to her and make sure was okay.

“Why didn’t they let you come?” Ginny asked. The match had been at Holyhead and all of the staff knew Harry and she would have expected that they would have let him in with no problem.

“The way your collarbone was broken was affecting your breathing and they were just going to do the transfer to the hospital straight from there to make sure they didn’t waste any time if there was something more serious,” Harry explained. “Nobody told me that at first and I thought the worst, of course. I thought that maybe they didn’t want me to know...didn’t want me to see that you...” he added, trailing away as he swallowed thickly.

“I’m okay,” Ginny assured him, knowing that her husband wasn’t one to easily let his fears show so openly. Using the hand that she still clutched in her own, she drew Harry to her, pulling him down so that his face was just above hers. “I’m going to be alright,” she whispered as lifted her head to bridge the space between them. Her lips brushed gently against his and he responded by deepening the kiss just enough that she was able to feel the love and relief radiating from him.

“So how long are they keeping me here?” Ginny asked after they had broken apart and Harry had settled back into his chair.

“They said I’d be able to bring you home in the morning,” Harry told her, still clutching her hand. “After that it’s a week or so relaxing and lounging about while I take care of you,” he added with a small smile.

“Hmmm...I like the sound of that,” Ginny replied, knowing that--while she’d miss not being in the air for those days--the prospect of getting to spend that time with her husband would trump any of that longing.

“Well...before that happens,” Harry began, “your healer wanted to check you over once you’d woken up. So I should probably go get her...”

Ginny sighed, not wanting this little moment with Harry to end. But he seemed keen to want to make absolutely sure that she was being taken care of. While she and Harry’s relationship and marriage had always been a 50/50 deal, it was always nice when he lavished his love and attention solely on her. At times Harry’s nurturing tendencies could rival her own mother’s. Although, admittedly, she much rather preferred her husband’s methods...

“Alright...let’s get the poking and prodding over with,” Ginny breathed out as she settled back against her pillows, watching as Harry stood up from his bedside chair and left the room to retrieve her healer.

So she waited in silence for a few minutes, taking some more time to access how she was really feeling and take a look around her room. She was in a standard private hospital room--one of the perks of being an international Quidditch star was that she wasn’t stuck out in the general ward. At least here should could rest in peace. There were also a few vases full of flowers on her beside table; making her wonder who had been to visit her and where they were now...

But that thought was interrupted as the door to her room opened again. Harry had returned and trailing close behind him was a tall, dark-haired woman wearing healer’s robes. And to her surprise, her mum and dad had also entered the room.

“Hi Mum....Dad,” Ginny greeted with a smile as her mother came to her bedside and pulled her into a Molly Weasley-esque hug. No matter how much pain she might have been in before--her mother’s embrace could always cure or at least bring relief to whatever ailed her.

“It’s so good to see you awake, dear,” her mother said with a smile. “You had us a bit worried for a while...”

“So I’ve heard,” Ginny said sheepishly, glancing sideways at Harry, who stood on the other side of her bed.

“We were here earlier with some of your brothers and their families...but we figured both you and Harry could do with some quiet,” her mother continued.

“We thought that waking up to a room full of people--especially your rowdy brothers--probably might be a little overwhelming,” her father offered from his place behind his wife.

Ginny appreciated the sentiment. Her family was not only large, but had a tendency to be rather boisterous. As much as she loved her rough and tumble band of older brothers, she was glad to have woken up in a quiet room, with only her husband at her side.

“We wanted to come back to check on you again this afternoon,” Molly admitted. “And we ran into Harry in the hallway and thought that maybe it was okay that we visited for a bit,” he mother added, almost as if seeking approval of their presence.

“It’s more than fine,” Ginny assured her. “And I suppose you’d like to do your tests and scans on me before this afternoon is completely over...” Ginny added, glancing at the healer who had entered the room along with her husband and parents and was waiting patiently.

“I’m in no hurry, Mrs. Potter,” the woman replied with a smile. “I’m Healer Lowe, by the way. I was the attending healer who saw you when you were first brought in,” she added, stepping forward and proffering a hand for Ginny to shake. Ginny accepted the hand, shaking it as firmly as she could manage.

“Now that you’re awake, I’d like to run a couple of more tests and have you answer a couple of questions before we can release you in the morning,” Healer Lowe added as she released Ginny’s hand. “I promise I won’t be long...and I’ll leave you the rest of the evening to rest.”

Ginny nodded her thanks and then relaxed against the pillows in anticipation of Healer Lowe’s tests.

On cue, Healer Lowe began flourishing her wand over Ginny, starting near Ginny’s head. Harry had taken back his seat on the side of her hospital bed at the same time that the scans had begun, grasping hold of Ginny’s hand again in a silent support and comfort.

“Have you had any dizzy spells or nausea since you’ve been awake?” Healer Lowe asked as she moved her wand down Ginny’s body.

Ginny shook her head.

“No, just general heaviness and a headache,” she admitted. “Nothing that I haven’t had before...”

The healer only nodded in reply, taking a few seconds to jot down a few notes on a chart that was floating beside her.

“And no shortness of breath?” the healer asked as her wand settled over Ginny’s midsection and lingered there for a few moments as several diagnostic spells ran mid-air, the lights dancing and flickering above her.

“No. None,” she answered truthfully. “Harry mentioned that my breathing had been a concern initially...but it’s fine now.”

“Good,” Healer Lowe said with a nod as she took a hand and gently pressed on the area around Ginny’s collarbone. The skin and bone were tender to the touch, but there was no real pain that one would associated with broken bones. The clavicle had been healed of course upon her admission to St. Mungo’s.

Ginny again fell silent as the healer continued her ministrations. Ginny glanced sidelong at Harry, who had been watching Healer Lowe intently. But sensing his wife’s gaze, he looked up and gave her a smile, squeezing her hand gently.

“How’s your back pain?” the healer asked as she disengaged her wand, stopping the scanning spells and placing it back inside her robes.

“I’m uncomfortable,” Ginny admitted. “It does hurt quite a bit sometimes when I breathe in too deeply. It mostly comes from my lower back and radiates elsewhere.”

“Those muscles are still repairing themselves,” Healer Lowe explained. “So I’ll see what I can do about raising the dosage of pain potion you’re on and give you a bit of relief.”

“Otherwise...your other injuries seem to be healed up nicely,” the healer continued. “You’ll be sore and experience headaches for the next few days...but it shouldn’t be anything too horrible. Nothing that some rest won’t take care of,” she assured Ginny.

Ginny nodded and let out a long steady breath, relieved that nothing was seriously wrong with her.

“We’ve also been monitoring the status of the baby and everything looks just fine,” Healer Lowe continued. “Even with your injuries, there hasn’t been any sign of fetal distress.”

That last bit didn’t quite register and Ginny wasn’t sure she’d heard the healer correctly.

“The baby,” Ginny repeated automatically as the words bounced around her head oddly and she felt Harry’s grasp on her hand tighten.

“Yes,” Healer Lowe replied matter-of-factly, and as though she hadn’t detected anything wrong with Ginny’s reply. “But I assure you that everything looks absolutely normal and there’s no cause for concern.”

“Wait...what?” Ginny blurted out as she looked from Healer Lowe, to Harry--whose mouth had fallen open in shock and who was staring at Healer Lowe with a look that showed his own confusion. Her eyes then swiveled to her parents. Her father had an almost curious look on his face as he watched Healer Lowe and her mother had brought a hand up to cover her mouth and her shock.

“Neither the hit or the fall caused any harm to the baby--” Healer Lowe repeated, showing the first signs on her face that she was registering something amiss in the situation.

“I heard what you said,” Ginny said, shaking her head as she cut off the healer. “You must have the wrong chart with you...” Ginny added, as she continued to struggle to process exactly what the healer was trying to tell her.

Healer Lowe looked around the room, confused and unsure of what was exactly going on.

She shook her head before speaking again.

“We’ve done several scans and we’ve been monitoring both of you since you arrived,” Healer Lowe continued.

“You are pregnant Mrs. Potter.”

The words seem to ring quite loudly in the quiet room.

The words were also as much a question as they were a statement to what Healer Lowe was trying to get through to her.

“I--” Ginny began, unable to form anything coherent. “I’m--”

She broke off again, turning to search Harry’s face for his reaction.

But it was unreadable, his facial features changing and filtering through several different emotions at what seemed an impossible pace. He looked confused and overwhelmed and slightly worried.

“I take it that this is all news to you...” Healer Lowe offered with a soft, almost reassuring smile.

Ginny nodded.

“Yeah,” Ginny breathed out, shaking her head slightly as if to bring herself back into the moment and out of the cloud of shock. “You’re absolutely sure...you’re positive?” Ginny asked out of instinct.

The healer nodded.

“Would you like me to show you?” Healer Lowe asked, addressing both Ginny and Harry.

Ginny looked at her husband, who seemed to finally have shaken himself back to the present. He was watching her now, his head tilted slightly to the side and the slightest of smiles on his face.

Ginny managed a nod in response to Healer Lowe’s question, not taking her eyes away from Harry’s. His clear, green eyes were boring into hers, conveying not only the love they always did, but also several different emotions that she couldn’t quite pinpoint or define at the moment.

“Alright, just lay back and relax,” Healer Lowe advised as she once more produced her wand from inside her robes and began to move the stick of wood over Ginny’s mid-section.

There was an odd swooping sensation, akin to that which one experienced when falling, that accompanied the healer’s ministrations. Ginny automatically looked away from Harry and downwards towards where her abdomen was now glowing a faint red. Ginny watched as several images flickered overhead, projected in mid-air above her and her bed.

As she watched Healer Lowe change images, searching for the right scan to show them, Ginny felt Harry move beside her. A moment later, his arm wrapped around her and she felt his lips press into the hair on the side of her head. As he pulled away slightly, she could feel his nervous breathing near her ear and she could imagine he was standing now, hovering above her near the head of the bed so as to see the healer’s images from the same view she was.

“There we go,” Healer Lowe said quietly and sounding satisfied as she brought up the correct image.

Ginny felt all the air seemingly rush out of her lungs as she let out a shaky breath.

At first she couldn’t comprehend or fully take in what she was seeing. The black and white image seem to swim before her in the air and it took her eyes a moment to center on the fist-sized dark oval that seemed to shift and move every time she took a breath.

And inside that space was a white object, about 2.5 centimeters long--just bigger than a grape, really. Only, it wasn’t an object at all...there was no denying what they were looking at.

“That...that’s it?” Ginny breathed out, scarcely able to get even those words out.

Healer Lowe nodded.

“You’re about...9 weeks along,” the healer advised with a smile. “The arms and legs aren’t fully developed, obviously...but you can see the start of hands and feet...and there’s the head,” she added, gesturing towards the ultrasound and pointing to the specific areas.

“Wow...”

Ginny heard and felt Harry breathe out the quiet exclamation, the awe and amazement clearly evident in his voice. Ginny turned her head, coming eye to eye with her husband, whose face remained inches from hers. Harry smiled at her, and Ginny could just make out the moisture there that clearly relayed the emotion that this revelation had brought out in him.

Ginny smiled back, rolling slightly towards him and lifting her head up to his. Harry moved also, meeting her lips with his and seeking her kiss. They lingered like that for a few moments, relishing in the news that they’d just been given. However unexpected, however unintentional this may have been--it was truly a real testament and manifestation of the love they felt for one another.

When they talked about children and starting their family, it was always a few years off. She was in the prime of her career, Harry busy with his and they were truly enjoying being a young married couple. She knew Harry wouldn’t have minded kids straight away after they’d first been married, but she also knew that he understood how important Quidditch was to her. They’d agreed that when the time was right, they’d know...

Despite not being prepared nor having the talk she thought would come before they even started to try for a family, there were no feelings of anxiety or perhaps overwhelming worry that she thought might accompany this. As she gazed into Harry’s brilliant green eyes, she was only calm.

“Everything looks perfect for this point in things,” Healer Lowe continued, causing Ginny to break away from Harry’s eyes and look back at the healer. “Growth and development are right on track, and I should be able to find the heartbeat if you’d like to see it...” she added as she moved her wand around Ginny’s midsection again, the picture above them moving as she did so.

“Could we hear it?” Harry asked quietly, yet curiously.

Ginny looked at Healer Lowe for the answer, suddenly excited about the prospect. But it was another who spoke instead.

“Not for another week or so,” her mum said. Ginny had nearly forgotten that her parents were there in the room with them, sharing this amazing moment with them. Likewise, Molly Weasley looked slightly surprised she’d spoken, having been content to let the young couple share this moment between them. Her father had an arm around his wife, and both were smiling--the enormity and emotion of this special situation clearly etched on their faces.

“Right,” Healer Lowe confirmed. “But let’s see if we can’t find this little one’s heartbeat on ultrasound.”

Ginny found herself nodding again and then watched as the healer tried to locate her baby’s--their baby’s-- heartbeat. There were a few moments of silence as the picture shifted and the angle changed, showing them different views. Ginny felt herself holding her breath as she waited...

“Is that it?” Harry asked this time, his hand reaching forward to point at the image. His hand was shaking even as he extended his arm. Ginny reached out and placed her hand over his, attempting to steady it and provide a silent support.

“Yes, it is,” Healer Lowe replied, pointing her wand at the area Harry had indicated. There in the middle of that tiny chest was a flicker of life--pulsating in a rapid rhythm that seemed to captivate them all. It was racing really, that tiny heartbeat pumping away that had previously gone undetected.

“I can make a copy of this scan, so you can take it home with you if you’d like,” Healer Lowe offered after a few moments of quiet observation. Ginny nodded her approval and watched as the image was duplicated and transfered onto paper, much like a moving Wizarding photograph. She handed the copy to Ginny, who took the paper with slightly shaking hands and looked at the image up close for the first time.

“I’ll go ahead and make sure the necessary paperwork has been filed so that you can check-out first thing in the morning and get home to rest a bit more comfortably in your own bed,” Healer Lowe advised, once more bringing Ginny back to the present as she looked up from the scan in her hands to see that the original spell had been cancelled on the larger, mid-air image.

“I’ll also leave a list of some names of OB-Healers you might want to contact in the next few days,” Healer Lowe added. “I’d recommend setting up an appointment in the next week or so to get on track with all the prenatal care you and the baby will need.”

With each mention of baby or any word related to it, Ginny still found herself dealing with a level of disbelief. She continued to nod her head in understanding of what she would need to do and that she was taking Healer Lowe’s recommendations to heart, but there was still a part of her that felt disconnected--unable to at a fundamental level comprehend the idea that this was really happening.

“Do you have any other questions for me before I leave you to rest?” the healer asked.

“How could I not have known I was pregnant?”

The question was the first thing that popped into Ginny’s head and out of her mouth. It was certainly a valid question. It seemed odd and slightly embarrassing to her that she was nearly 9 weeks along and she really hadn’t a clue before this revelation.

“Every woman experiences pregnancy differently,” Healer Lowe replied with a knowing smile. “Some get extreme morning sickness from the get-go and notice the changes in their bodies straight away,” she added. “And I’ve even known of cases where a woman goes the whole 9 months without suspecting.”

Ginny felt her eyes widen at that admission. At least she hadn’t been one of those women who go the whole time unsuspecting before popping the kid out.

“And you may have very well have experienced symptoms without even knowing or recognizing them as such,” Healer Lowe explained.

“I haven’t been sick at all,” Ginny supplied. She’d definitely not spent mornings draped over the toilet in the loo. She’d actually felt great lately and her training had picked up considerably as the team had readied for the coming matches.

“Like I said, some women don’t experience morning sickness or nausea straight away--or some not at all,” Healer Lowe added. “But you may have experienced subtle weight gain in certain areas--”

Ginny made to open her mouth and refute that symptom too, but Harry shifted and cleared his throat quietly. Ginny looked up and found her husband looking slightly flustered and nervous, as if he was trying to decide whether to speak or not.

“What?” Ginny asked him.

“Well--erm--you--er...” Harry stuttered as he turned slightly red.

“I certainly don’t have a belly yet--” Ginny began, getting slightly defensive at the suggestion that she had gotten fat without knowing it and that Harry was pointing it out.

“No, but certain--things--are a bit--bigger,” Harry stammered out finally, turning even more red if possible and trying hard to avoid any eye contact with anyone in the room.

For a moment Ginny was slightly confused as to what Harry was talking about and why he was getting so embarrassed out it.

But it only took that moment for Ginny to decipher exactly what “things” he was referring to.

“Of course you’d notice that,” Ginny said with a smirk as she eyed her husband carefully.

“Well, I...I am your husband,” Harry replied rather weakly. “I notice that...stuff.”

There were several snickers at Harry’s admission and Harry himself looked down and away, obviously embarrassed but a smile threatening his lips in response to his own words.

“Smooth, Potter,” Ginny said with a smile of her own. “Very smooth, Harry...but I hardly think the fact that my boobs are bigger were cause for me to think I was pregnant. I just--I don’t understand how I didn’t know--how I didn’t notice anything different with myself...”

“I wouldn’t think too hard on it, Ginny,” Healer Lowe said with a smile. “You’ve never experienced this before and you two--obviously--weren’t trying to have a child at the moment--”

“Well, they weren’t exactly not trying,” Ginny heard her mum say quietly. Ginny had to hold back her own smirk at the words, knowing that there was a lot of truth in that statement. Although they hadn’t been planning on starting their family at the moment, they’d certainly had given themselves ample opportunity to have this happen...

And the comment from her mother was most likely due to the fact that only a few weeks ago, Molly had popped over to their home one afternoon to have tea with Ginny. That planned meeting had, however, slipped Ginny’s mind. Harry had come home a day early from a week-long mission that day and she had found herself a bit preoccupied welcoming him home. And in the process, she had also forgotten to lock the fireplace to prevent entrance into their kitchen via the Floo network.

Needless to say, it wasn’t the first time her mother had walked in or showed up the most inopportune time. But at least time Molly had gotten an earful instead of an eyeful. Ginny still was under the impression that her mum had some sort of sixth sense when it came to knowing when her children were occupied with their spouses. All of them had, at some point or another, been interrupted in the middle of something...

“Well...whatever the case may be, you’ve done no harm to yourself or the baby by not realizing,” Healer Lowe assured her. “And if you’re a bit worried about what others might think--most couples don’t share the news with family and friends right away anyways--not until they’re fairly certain everything is going well.”

Ginny nodded, feeling slightly relieved at the reassurances she was receiving, but was still overwhelmed by everything that had transpired over the past few minutes. It had been in the past few minutes that their lives--both hers and Harry’s--had changed dramatically. Even though this pregnancy--the fact that she had a baby inside of her--hadn’t completely registered with her, there was still that sense that the path they’d been on had taken a slight turn and life wasn’t going to be quite the same.

Although...it didn’t seem to be a bad thing at all.

“Well, I’ll be in in the morning to release you and see how you’re feeling,” Healer Lowe said as she shrunk and tucked away Ginny’s chart into her robes. “I’ll leave you to get some rest tonight and if you need need anything--just call and the on-call staff will be in to help.”

“Thank you, Healer Lowe,” Ginny replied sincerely. “For everything,” she added as she watched the woman make to leave the room.

“You’re welcome,” the healer replied. “And congratulations, you two,” she added as she fixed both Harry and Ginny with a smile before opening door and exiting the room.

There was a long silence that stretched out between the occupants of Ginny’s room as the news seemed to continue to settle with them all.

Unsurprisingly it was her mother who was first to break the quiet.

“I’m so happy for you two!” Molly Weasley squealed with delight as she stepped forward to hug her daughter. Ginny let her mother embrace her in her characteristic bear-hug, ignoring the aches, pains and protests of her body.

“My baby is having a baby,” she whispered through tears as she pulled away from her daughter and gave her a watery smile.

Ginny looked over to find that her father had moved to give Harry an embrace as well, and he seemed to be whispering something quietly to his son-in-law before the two separated. As her father released Harry from his arms, she saw her husband reach up and brush away the moisture from his eyes.

Ginny watched as her mum and dad switched places and Harry was soon swept up in the mother of all Molly Weasley hugs. Usually he protested a bit, but he let his mother-in-law embrace him fully.

In the meantime, her father had come to stand next to her beside.

“Congratulations, Ginny-girl,” he whispered as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her forehead.

“Thanks, Dad,” Ginny replied back, the own emotion in her voice surprising her. Sensing that growing emotion, Arthur scooped Ginny up in a hug. The embrace was much less than her mother’s, but being in her father’s arms represented a level of safety and security that she equated to when she was a little girl. She relished the closeness of her father’s hold and listened to his heartbeat as she let the enormity and specialness of the moment sink in.

After a few moments the two separated and after another few minutes of congratulations and conversation about the news, Molly and Arthur bid the couple farewell. Ginny and Harry were alone once more, allowed for the first time to take in the news alone.

“A baby,” Harry sighed out as he perched on the edge of her bed, holding her hand and slowly stroking the back of it softly. He said the words almost as though he’d never before conceived of such a thing. Ginny could only share in his disbelief, wondering when the reality of it would hit her.

“It’s unexpected,” Ginny said quietly. “I know we weren’t planning on this...or even talking about it yet...” she added, wondering if there was any level of trepidation or worry in his thought process.

“It’s brilliant,” Harry interjected. “But I know that this messes with the rest of the season...” he added quietly.

“Quidditch can wait,” Ginny replied. Her career had been the one factor at the forefront of the decision on when to have children. She had wanted to play for as long as she could maintain the level she was at and having a baby put that in serious doubt.

But now that the decision had seemingly been made for them and the event was upon her--that same level of anxiousness regarding Quidditch wasn’t there. This felt right...it was time.

“I’m not worried about the season or the playoffs....or even the rest of my career,” she added as her hand settled automatically on her stomach. Even though she’d only learned minutes ago that she was pregnant, everything she felt or knew about herself had changed in that span of time. There was a life beneath her outstretched fingers--one that had gone undetected until now--but was going to change hers for the better from now on.

“Really?” Harry asked, knowing how hard his wife had worked and how much she loved her job.

“Mmmhmmm,” Ginny hummed in reply. “Right now I only care about his baby...growing our little family.”

“You’re gonna be a great mum,” Harry whispered as he moved closer, pulling his wife to him. Harry’s hands settled automatically over Ginny’s, which were still resting on her mid-section. Harry had held her many times before, but the way he was wrapped around her now, his long fingers draped lovingly over hers as they rested upon her belly was something beyond description.

“Its my mothering skills we should be worrying about,” Ginny teased. “You’re going to be an amazing daddy...the way you are with Teddy,” she added with a smile as she lay against him.

Harry was going to be such a great father. She’d witnessed first hand his parenting skills in practice these past few years as he’d helped Andromeda raise Teddy and then handle their nieces and nephews as the Weasley clan had expanded.

She remembered being in such awe when she’d come home that first Christmas after the war from Hogwarts. The way Harry had played with and handled little Teddy Lupin had been a far cry from the first time he’d awkwardly held the little boy after his parents’ funeral. It had seemed like Harry was an expert in holding and cradling Teddy and it had been the first time that the image of Harry holding their little boy or girl had popped into her mind.

In a few months it wouldn’t be just an image or dream...they’d really have their own little baby.

“Nah...I’m just good at the spoiling and playing bits,” Harry admitted with a laugh. “I still let Andromeda deal with the tough stuff. I’m going to be going into this just as blind,” he added as he placed a kiss against the side of her head.

“But we’ll be just fine,” he assured her. “When we’re together...we do great things,” he added, repeating a sentiment he’d told her on more than one occasion in their relationship. She wasn’t sure exactly where he’d gotten in from or if he’d come up with it on his own, but it was always true.

When she was with Harry, everything felt right and fell into place. He always gave her the strength to tackle any type of situation and when he was by her side, there wasn’t much she didn’t think she could face.

This was another one of those adventures.

Although...this had the making to be perhaps the greatest of them all.
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