Author: Gridley
Story: Birth
Rating: Young Teens
Setting: Pre-HBP
Status: Completed
Reviews: 37
Words: 573
"What's taking so long?" Ron whispered.
Harry shrugged. He didn't even bother watching Ron as his friend paced back and forth across the room anymore. After nearly a decade and a half as Ron's best friend, he didn't really need to look to know what Ron was doing. Hermione had insisted they all be here, but Harry knew that the timing would be impossible to predict exactly.
He took a moment to survey the other occupants of the room.
Ginny was next to him, calmly reading a book. Beside her sat their sons, Sirius James Potter and Remus Peter Potter. The twins were currently glaring at their mother with the full wrath of five year old children being unjustly punished. Harry was glad that he had thought to cast a Silencing Charm in addition to the Sticking Charm Ginny had used to glue them to their chairs, or he was sure their ears would have suffered permanent damage by now. More than one person had commented that, except for having black hair and being shorter, the Potter twins were indistinguishable from the infamous pair of Fred and George Weasley. Today the children had attempted to sneak in to see how Aunt Hermione was doing.
"Did you decide on a name yet?" Harry asked, trying to distract Ron.
"Hermione won't tell me. She says when it's my baby I can name it! Can you imagine?" Ron threw his hands into the air.
Ginny looked up from her book and grinned at her brother. "Well, she has done most of the work, you know."
"Well, it's not like I can do it!" Ron stalked across the room again and punched the wall in frustration. "I've been doing everything I can to help her!"
"And she appreciates that, mate," Harry replied soothingly. "She's told me more than once that she was lucky to have such a supportive husband."
"HA! Sure, she tells you that, but I'm the one who gets teacups thrown at my head!"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Ron, you never tell a woman it looks like she's gaining weight. Especially when she's under the kind of stress Hermione's been dealing with."
"Well? How was I supposed to know what was going on? She didn't tell me!" Ron gestured wildly, nearly knocking a picture off the wall in his agitation. The witch in the portrait squawked indignantly and ducked over to the next picture.
"Well, she did eventually. I think she wanted to be sure before she told anyone." Harry put in.
"Its all Snape's fault!" Ron fumed. "Ever since Hermione found out he wrote Hogwarts: A History under a nome de plume she just hasn't been acting rationally!"
~~
The door creaked open, and every eye in the room swung to it like a magnet to a bar of iron. Hermione, looking exhausted but triumphant, emerged under her own power, a wrapped bundle in her arms. Ron rushed over to support his wife, mumbling something about crazy, headstrong witches who should have the sense to lie down when they need to. Hermione ignored him.
"Is that…?" Harry asked, staring at the bundle.
"Yes." Hermione beamed. She gently opened the bundle with one hand and presented it to the group with pride.
"The first copy. Hogwarts: The Unabridged History, by Hermione Weasley."
The End
Author's Note: The original idea of Snape having written Hogwarts: A History belongs to my sister, used here with her permission.