I'm No Angel ~Pansy x Ginny~

Chapter Thirteen

March 3, 2000
Pansy and Ginny's house

The morning had arrived, and Pansy, Ginny, Larissa, and Andy were all busy preparing for their search for Persephone. Once everyone was ready, they disapparated to Hogwarts to speak with Professor McGonagall.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
McGonagall's Office

In her office, Professor McGonagall was working on a project of hers when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," she said. The door swung open, and the others walked in. "Ah, to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you again?" She asked. "It's about Persephone. She sent us a Patronus message saying that she was somewhere in the Scottish Highlands, and she could see the outline of the school from where she was," Ginny explained. "Oh, that must have been related to what I saw yesterday from the west. There was a brilliant flash of silver light that appeared for a moment, then disappeared," McGonagall recalled. "Yeah. We're trying to find her, and we need some supplies, and maybe another person or two," Ginny said. "Well, I don't have very many teachers that I can find someone to fill their posts while they're away. Hagrid is one that I can send to assist you. Perhaps I can get in touch with the Ministry and see if they have an Auror available as well," McGonagall said. "Yeah, we'd appreciate that very much," Andy said. "Very well then. I shall send someone to notify Hagrid, and then I'll head to the Ministry," McGonagall said, "Why don't you all help yourselves to a biscuit while you wait?" She added as she left the room.

After nearly an hour of waiting, everyone was ready to go. In addition to Hagrid, Professor McGonagall had also been able to get Ginny's brother Ron to join them. They began their journey through the highlands, with Hagrid leading them along the best paths. Ron began to complain about having to stop every few hours because Pansy needed to sit down for a bit, but Hagrid said that they didn't have much choice, because he wasn't leaving anyone behind for any reason. Pansy was grateful for Hagrid saying that, and she had fun talking to Ginny while they walked.

After nearly a month of searching, they still hadn't found any sign of Persephone. Pansy had started becoming very nauseous when she would smell cooked meat about two weeks into the search, so she started eating some berries that were abundant in the highlands instead. "I wish I could eat that with you guys. It looks delicious," Pansy remarked one day. "Do you want to try a bit, baby?" Ginny asked. "It couldn't hurt, I suppose," Pansy replied, and Ginny gave her a bit of her beef. "It's actually not making me as nauseous anymore. It still does a little, but nowhere near as much as it was before," Pansy said, taking a bite of the beef. "Oh, that tastes so good!" She cried out happily. Ginny smiled and kissed her softly.

They continued looking into the summer, and they had a feeling that they were getting close around the end of July. They had checked the view from where they were, and they could now only see the outline of Hogwarts. It started to rain heavily on the 29th, but the group kept going, not letting something like a little rain stop them. "The sky doesn't look so good to the north, and it's coming our way," Andy said, having to pause several times to take his soaking wet hair out of his mouth. "There's got to be a cave around here somewhere," Pansy said, looking around. "Wait. Did you guys hear that?" Larissa asked. "Hear what?" Andy asked, and then everyone heard it: a very familiar voice calling out to them. "Andy?! Ginny?! Pansy?!" The voice called out again, and Hagrid lead them in the direction of the voice, and sure enough, they came across a cave, just as a bolt of lightning struck the ground a few hundred feet away. "Everyone, into the cave!" Hagrid shouted over the sound of the storm, and everyone hastened into the cave without question. Hagrid was able to start a fire for both warmth and light, just as they all heard careful footsteps approaching. "Andy?" A voice asked from the dark. "Persephone?" Andy asked back, and Persephone walked into the light. "You're really here, right? You're not just a hallucination?" Andy asked. "Yeah, I'm really here. I'm so happy to see you guys again!" Persephone replied, just as Pansy let out a groan. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" Ginny asked. "I think so. Just another contraction," Pansy replied, taking a deep breath. "When was the last one?" Ginny asked. "I dunno... maybe fifteen minutes ago?" Pansy replied uncertainly.

"Something tells me that we're not going anywhere for a little while," Andy said. "Damn it! I'm not going to have this baby in a cave in the middle of nowhere!" Pansy shouted angrily. "Sheesh. It was just a statement," Andy said quietly. "Sweetheart, look at me," Ginny said, and Pansy looked at her. "I don't think that we have much of a choice, sweetheart. It would be a bad idea to try to apparate home when you're this close to having the baby, and we can't exactly go outside at the moment unless we want to get struck by lightning," Ginny said. "Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense," Pansy said. Ginny smiled and kissed Pansy softly, then gently kissed her stomach as well. "I'm going to miss that," Pansy said softly, then she winced. "Another one?" Ginny asked. "Mm-hmm," Pansy replied, trying to breathe through the contraction. "This is goin' along awfully fast, yeh know," Hagrid said, "It's only bin seven minutes since the last one." Pansy looked at Ginny nervously. "I'm scared, Princess. I don't know what it's gonna be like to have a baby," Pansy said with tears in her eyes. "Oh, sweetheart, it's going to be okay, I promise," Ginny said, brushing Pansy's hair with her hand. Pansy smiled slightly at the contact, laying her head on Ginny's shoulder.

Shortly thereafter, Pansy sat bolt upright, nearly hitting her head against Ginny's. "What is it, sweetheart? What's wrong?" Ginny asked nervously. "I... I think that it's time..."Pansy replied simply, and Ginny didn't need anything else to know what Pansy meant. "Okay, um... Persephone, can you move over to sit next to Andy? Same with you, Ron," Ginny said, and Persephone and Ron moved over. "Okay, my darling, lay down, use my jacket as a pillow," Ginny said, putting her jacket on the floor of the cave in a small bundle. Pansy did as Ginny told her to, and she looked at Ginny. "You know, all of the pain that I'm predicting that I'm going to experience, it'll all be worth it in the end, because once it's all over, our baby girl will be in our arms," she said with a smile. "I agree. It's going to be a bit difficult for me to watch you be in pain, but I'll be right here for you," Ginny replied. "Um... do you mind if I help deliver the baby?" Persephone asked. "Sure. That way, I can stay by Pansy's side the whole time," Ginny said. Persephone moved again, just as Pansy winced again. "It's okay, sweetheart, just breathe through it," Ginny said, and Pansy did as she was told.

Nearly fifteen hours later, Pansy held Zinnia in her arms, smiling affectionately and cooing at her. Ginny was sitting beside her, smiling just as affectionately as Pansy, entertaining herself by playing with Zinnia's toes. Persephone had fallen asleep almost as soon as Zinnia was born, and Pansy looked to be very close to falling asleep herself. She fell asleep a few minutes later, still holding Zinnia in her arms, and Ginny fell asleep soon after that, her head laying on Pansy's shoulder.

The next morning, they apparated back to the front gates of Hogwarts, where Hagrid returned to his hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and Ron departed for the Ministry. Andy, Persephone, Ginny, and Pansy, who was holding Zinnia, made their way to Professor McGonagall's office.

"Well, it's good to see that you all made it back safe and sound," McGonagall said. "Thanks, Professor," Ginny said. They went back home using the Floo Network and the fireplace in McGonagall's office.

Word Count: 1405 words.

Two chapters in one day? Yep, that's right. I'm also going to be starting to work on the sequel to this book, which will follow Zinnia during her time at Hogwarts. Look for that one coming soon! I'll have the cast of characters in the description of that story as well, to try to keep things more organized. Bye for now!