It was Sunday the 7th of March and Hermione was sitting in her bed, in her bedroom (thankfully Albus and Minerva had been able to convince Poppy that she would recover better in her own bedroom now that she wasn't unconscious), working almost furiously on her missed schoolwork. She was recovering, slowly, but she was getting better and that was all that mattered really. Sirius was recovering also, her father had transfigured the sofa in the living room into a bed for him so they could be close to each other, and not in the hospital wing.
Her legs were giving her trouble. Poppy was right when she said that she would have trouble walking. Every time she walked she would need help from someone, mostly her dad who had started working from home as it were to help her and Sirius in their recovery. If she attempted to walk for too long she would struggle breathing also, which wasn't… pleasant. It hurt, somewhat, and yet also didn't.
It was weird.
Although she supposed that her life since the age of eleven hadn't exactly been 'normal'.
There was a knock on the door and her mum called, "Hermione, can I come in?"
"Yes," Hermione called back, smiling slightly as Minerva entered the room and closed the door behind her, her hand resting lovingly on the gentle curve of her stomach. When they are in their quarters she tends not to hide the pregnancy.
"How are you feeling?" Minerva said as she sat on the bed.
"Okay, I guess," Hermione shrugged, "How is Sirius?"
"Asleep. You do know that you don't have to catch up on everything right away, right? Your teachers understand,"
"I know," Hermione said roughly, "I just… I need to. I can't fall behind,"
"Hermione, you are an incredibly smart young woman, no matter how much you might fall behind, I have every faith that you will pass your classes with flying colours. You don't need to burn yourself out to catch up when there is no need, I am sure you already know all of this stuff anyway,"
"I do, but I need to be prepared, exams are around the corner. I also don't like just sitting around doing nothing, you know?"
"I do know. But there are other things you can do other than studying. You can play games, read for pleasure, do something else you enjoy. What else do you enjoy doing?"
"I… I don't know, really. Reading and learning has been my… thing, my whole life. I haven't really done much else,"
"Well, how about we try some stuff out. See if you have any hobbies that you didn't know about before. I don't want you to burn yourself out spending all your time studying. You deserve to have some fun, some relaxation as well,"
"I don't know," she said uncertainly.
"Can you at least try, for me and your father? We worry about you. We love you. And you need to relax. You won't be able to heal properly if you don't give yourself some time for resting,"
Hermione could see the concern in her mum's eyes, the worry and love as she looked at her, and her heart hurt. But she knew her mum was right. She hadn't had anyone to really tell her to stop before. Her parents, as much as she loved them and they loved her, spent most of their time at work, and all Hermione knew how to do was read and learn because she had no friends to do anything 'fun' with. She did play games and things with Ron and Harry, but she didn't really let herself enjoy any of them because she was worrying about falling behind.
But maybe now she could let herself be free. Yes, there was a war going on outside of these walls. But she knew that they were close to being able to defeat the enemies. They were all close to being free. So why couldn't she allow herself to be free?
She could try.
Maybe.
She honestly didn't know what she would find out about herself. She hadn't given much thought to anything else she might like to do. But now she had the opportunity to find herself, and she wanted to take it. She didn't want to spend all of her time studying, despite everything, and despite it being everything she has ever known.
"I'll try," she whispered, still a bit unsure in herself.
"I'm glad," Minerva smiled at her, pride in her eyes.
Then Minerva gasped, eyes wide as she looked down at her bump. Hermione jumped forward, concerned.
"Mum, you okay? Do I need to get dad? What's happening?" she said urgently.
Minerva smiled lovingly at her and took her hand, placing it against the bump. Hermione looked at her, confused, until she felt a soft tap against her hand coming from the baby boy in her mother's belly. Hermione's eyes widened in shock and happiness as she turned to look at the bump where her little brother was growing.
"Did he just kick?" Hermione asked in amazement.
"I believe so," Minerva whispered, love filling her features.
The baby kicked again and Hermione beamed at her mother, "This is amazing,"
"Yes, it is," Minerva said, her Scottish accent becoming thicker with the emotions swirling in her eyes.
"Dad," Hermione called, trying to be somewhat quiet to not wake up Sirius, he needed his rest.
Albus rushed to the doorway and peered in worriedly, his eyes growing more concerned as he rushed over at the sight of them both with their hands on Minerva's stomach.
"What's happening? Are you okay? Do I need to get Poppy?" Albus said, clearly on the verge of panicking when he saw the tears leaking from Minerva's eyes.
"No, you idiot," Minerva chuckled as she gently took Albus' hand and placed it on her stomach, next to Hermione's, her hand going on top of both of theirs.
The look on Albus' face a few moments later when the baby lands another kick on their hands is enough to make Hermione laugh until her lungs start to almost hurt.
"He's kicking," Albus whispered in awe as he looked at his wife with nothing but love, and compassion, and amazement in his eyes.
"Yes," she said, smiling broadly at him.
He kissed her gently, but Hermione could tell that they wanted more from each other in that moment.
"You two go celebrate, I will be fine," Hermione said, smiling at them both as they broke apart and looked at her.
"Are you sure?" Minerva asked, concerned.
"Yes, I am tired anyway so I will probably just sleep for a few hours. You go and celebrate your son,"
They shared a look with each other, looked at her, and when she nodded they nodded and stood, hands intertwined as they left the room, "Don't forget the silencing spell," she called after them.
"Ha, ha, ha," Minerva gave a sarcastic laugh before giving her a happy smile and closing the door.
Hermione smiled to herself as she put her books and parchment on the bedside table. Her baby brother was moving. She was happy that things were progressing the way they were. They were close to having all the horcruxes. That summer should be the latest they will have them all, if things go well. She was dating Sirius. James and Lily were dating. Remus and Severus were dating. Everyone was happy, or as happy as they could be.
She knew she had made the right decision to come back to this time and save these people, her family.