Bun in the Oven

Chapter Six

It had been three days since the third test had proven Ginny to be pregnant, and today she had an appointment at St. Mungo's to check on the progress of the pregnancy.

Harry had to work today, much to his dismay, but Ginny assured him it was just a checkup appointment, and that he wouldn't miss much.

She walked down the street and stopped in front of an old department store that said "closed for renovations." Glancing around, she stepped up to look at a rather ugly mannequin whose fake eyelashes were falling off.

"I have an appointment with Mindy Chambers," Ginny said quietly, and the mannequin's head nodded ever so slightly, and Ginny stepped through the glass.

She was no longer outside an abandoned department store, but was now in the waiting room of St. Mungo's. She walked up to the counter and told the witch her name before going to take her seat.

"Ginevra Weasley," a Healer called, and Ginny looked up from the book she had been reading.

"Hi, I'm Mindy," the lady said. "Right this way."

Ginny followed her back into a small room with a bed and some other equipment.

"I understand you had another Healer when you were here last time, while you were pregnant with your son?" Mindy asked, fixing her young eyes on Ginny.

"Yes, I had Rachel Wendelin."

"Ah yes, Rachel. You must already know she retired last year."

Ginny thought to herself, well yes, that's why I'm with you. But she decided not to say it out loud.

"So, you discovered you were pregnant? How long ago was this?" Mindy looked up from the clipboard she was reading off of and stared expectantly at Ginny.

"Oh, er, three days ago."

"Very nice. Just a moment, I'm going to check how far along you are, and then we will discuss a few other things and schedule your next appointment," Mindy pulled out her wand and waved it up and down in a scan of Ginny's thin, but muscular, body.

"Looks like you're about a month and half along. The baby should be due around late- July, early August! Congratulations! Would you like to hear the heartbeat?"

"You can do that this early?" Ginny asked, astonished.

"Well, you cannot hear it very well, but it is possible," Mindy smiled and waved her wand again. A steady pounding sound filled the room and Ginny beamed.

That's coming from inside of me. That belongs to another human being, inside of me! She thought to herself. Even though she had already experience a pregnancy before, it still seemed unreal that there was another human being growing inside of her.

"Congratulations again Mrs. Potter. I want to see you again in about three weeks. How does... January 2nd sound?" Mindy glanced up from behind her wide framed glasses, her quill hovering above the parchment she was scribbling on.

"That would be perfect, thank you," Ginny smiled graciously, accepting the piece of paper and hopping up from the bed.

"Anytime. Feel free to pop in with any questions or concerns," Mindy rose from her chair and gave Ginny a light tap on the arm. "Take care."

"You too."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Harry!" Ginny called, slipping inside the front door of the house. She slid her heels off her sore feet and padded into the kitchen to grab a snack.

"I'm in here!" Harry called out to Ginny, and after grabbing a bagel from the bag on the counter, she rounded the corner into the laundry room.

There sat Harry with a gurgling James in the sling across his chest. He was enchanting laundry to sort itself into piles and then go into the washing machine.

"Thanks hon, I was going to do that when I got home though, you didn't have too," she pecked his cheek and lifted James out of the sling.

"Nah, I figured you'd had a long day and there was already enough on your plate to worry about and to do that you didn't need to add laundry on top of it," he smiled and pressed a button on the washing machine, and it whirled to life.

"Aw, thank you," she gave Harry an adoring smile and then planted a kiss on the top of James' fuzzy head.

Harry slid the sling off of his chest and set it down on a shelf. "He's getting to big for this thing," he complained, rubbing his shoulders where the fabric had cut into his skin.

"Yes he is, won't be long before we can use that one again though," Ginny bit her lip in anticipation. She had been nervous at first, but now that she came home to this, she was beginning to think that maybe a second kid wouldn't be so bad.

"That's true. Oh! You had an appointment this morning didn't you?" Harry exclaimed, turning the light off in the laundry room and following Ginny into the living room. She took a bite out of the bagel and nodded.

Harry laughed and she gave him a quizzical look. He took his thumb and brushed a few crumbs from the corner of her mouth. Ginny giggled too, feeling just like James.

"So how'd it go?" Asked Harry, lifting James out of Ginny's arms so she could plop down on the sofa. She turned so her feet lay at the other end of the couch.

Harry set James in his playpen and sat down across from Ginny, grabbing her foot and rubbing gently. Ginny sighed with pleasure and closed her eyes.

"It was really good. I got to hear the heartbeat, and it sounds strong. The baby is healthy, I'm healthy, and I feel great. Minus the sore feet. Apparently its already about time to retire the heels for a few months."

"Wow Gin, that's amazing. I'm sorry I couldn't be there but I had a meeting with Kingsley that I couldn't miss."

"You're fine, Merlin knows there will be plenty others to attend," Ginny gave a stiff laugh and groaned as Harry hit a tender spot in her foot.

"How about we go out to dinner tonight, to celebrate?" Harry asked. "Hermione and Ron invited us to dinner and I said I would have to talk to you."

"Does 'go out to dinner' mean eat at Ron and Hermione's or at a restaurant?" Ginny sat up and opened her eyes.

"I think it means that Ron is cooking," Harry chuckled at the delighted face Ginny made.

"Sweet! I'm starving," she said. "And, that means that we don't have to try to tame Beast over there quite as much."

Harry laughed. James hadn't quite grasped the concept that when people go out to eat, it's usually to relax and have a night away from home. He liked to scream and squeal during the entire meal, which usually upset the people surrounding them.

"Well, I'll give them a call and let Ron know that they're expecting three more guests," Harry stood up.

"Make that four. I'm eating for two now, remember?" Ginny grinned and Harry shook his head with a sigh, but a smile was still plastered on his face, Ginny wondered it was permanent.

"Granger- Weasley residence," called Harry, throwing a handful of Floo Powder into the flames, which turned green.

"Yeah, we're coming over. And Ginny wants me to tell you she's extra hungry today," Harry chuckled at something Ron said, and then poked his head back out of the flame.

"He wants to know if you want beef or chicken?"

Ginny's stomach rumbled. "Both," she answered then shook her head.

"Chicken is fine, thanks," she grinned.

"Chicken," Harry told the flames, and then said, "okay, see you in a bit."

"Dinner's at six, but he said we'd be welcome any time after 5:15."

"Great, that give you 45 minutes," Ginny grinned.

"To do what?" Harry asked mischievously.

"For you to rub my feet."