The marriage law

Carrying on the name of Weasley

By the time June rolled around, and England's weather had attempted summer, the birth announcement section of 'The Prophet' had grown at an exponential rate. The sudden increase in birth rate did not include those who were pregnant and yet to give birth. Along with Fred and Hermione announcing their imminent offspring, Ginny had confirmed her pregnancy, as had Angelina and Luna.

Gossip that had originated in the very depths of the Wizarding community also indicated that Lavender Finnegan and Hannah Longbottom were also due to receive a special arrival when the cold weather came.

Hermione, on the other hand, could not help but focus on her impending first doctor appointment. The morning dawned bright and was surprisingly clear, given the torrential rain that had blanketed the country for the entire previous week. Both Hermione and Fred had taken the morning off from their respective jobs, in order to mentally prepare themselves, more than anything else.

"Fred! For goodness sake, can you please calm down?"

The pair walked briskly down the draughty corridor with Hermione slightly behind owing to Fred's ability to take much longer strides. Her own trepidation was making her more easily annoyed at the smallest, most irrelevant details, for example, the fact that Fred kept drumming his left hand on the side of his thigh as he walked.

"We've got plenty of time. I don't know what you are so worried about."

Hermione finally caught up to her husband, however, despite her protests, she could not help but feel still a little jittery at the fact that they were going to be seeing their baby for the first time today.

The pair made it to the third floor of the hospital – a place they had been visiting with increasing frequency in recent times. Not knowing where to go, they approached the witch that was sitting behind the reception desk.

"If you could just fill in these forms while you are waiting," said the curly-haired witch. "Healer Appleby will be with you shortly."

Fred and Hermione thanked the receptionist and went to take their seats, wading their way through the enormous amount of paperwork.

"Does it matter whether or not I drunk Nettle tea on the day of conception?" Hermione whispered to Fred. "I don't even remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday!"

"Just put no," replied Fred shaking his head as his eyes ran down the list of obscure questions. "I don't think you've ever had Nettle tea anyway..."

"Not the point," mumbled Hermione as she continued to scribble her way down the parchment with the self-inking quill that had been provided for their use.

"Mr and Mrs Weasley?" called out the receptionist after what seemed to be a ridiculously long time. "Healer Appleby is ready to see you now."

Hermione and Fred quickly packed up their belongings, and handed over the completed questionnaires to the receptionist before following her instructions to walk down the corridor and knock on the third door on the right.

"Come in," a deep voice sounded from within.

Taking the lead, Hermione opened the door and let Fred and herself into the room, and into the presence of the healer who apparently specialised in obstetrics. When entering the room, Hermione was surprised to see a tiny man that was shorter than even Hermione's own five feet five inches, despite the wizard's deep voice which had implied otherwise.

"You must be Mr and Mrs Weasley," he greeted them with an excited tone, holding out his hand for Fred and Hermione to shake. "Well, I can see that you have filled out all the required paperwork, so I don't see a reason why we can't get started!"