Desperate Times... [PLOT]

[Albus Dumbledore]

Eyes scanned the hallways as Albus Dumbledore, ex-Headmaster of Hogwarts strode the familiar stone paths. The corridors echoed his footsteps, the students enjoying the weekend's good weather outside on the grounds, meaning that none were there to see the ex-Gryffindor in his pitiful state.

Albus cast charms as he walked, wordles, wandless magic encompassing him to fix his appearance. He was most dishevelled, after his times hiding as a Muggle would, avoiding alerting the notice of any wizards who might be on the side of unification in this terrible time. He reached the gargoyle, now standing to the side of the entrance to Hermione's office, and smiled, entering it quickly.

"Hermione?" he called, opening the door to her apartment. He knew she was under bedrest to ease the childbirth, and since that was the case, he also understood he was granted access to her flat. He entered, and strode toward the bedroom, knocking on the door gently. "Hermione, it's Albus, I'm afraid I'm a little late, my apologies."[/font]

[Professor Hermione Potter]

I looked up from my conversation with Harry when I saw his old mentor enter my bedroom. He'd sent me word a few days ago that he'd wanted to meet as soon as he could about the current crisis in the wizarding world and as one of the defacto leaders, I was important to consult, or so he said. Unfortunately, still on bedrest so I was dressed in a long night gown since Harry wouldn't let me change into more.

Picking up my glasses off the side table, I smiled and beckoned the Minister of Magic to come in. "Albus, don't worry about it. Please, come in, take a seat. How bad is it really Albus? I'm afraid the most I've heard is through the Daily Prophet since the lovable pain, my husband has been largely keeping me in the dark since I went on bedrest. Unfortunately, I don't think now is the time to be soft if things are truly that bad."

Despite my strong words, I really was quite nervous to actually be facing the situation. For the last several weeks, I'd embraced being kept in the dark because it was a break from my duties, but now I couldn't hide from it and it looked like it would be up to us to save the wizarding world from a much more devious threat. So, I grabbed Harry's hand from where he was sitting on a chair near the bed that had been his perch for most of my time on bedrest.

[Harry Potter]

Recent events reached apocalyptic levels, or so it seemed in the magical world. The Ministry was gone, and they were on the brink of exposure. Still, Harry Potter was expected to maintain his composure and be a necessary source of strength. Despite the anxiety that seemed to slowly build in the pit of his stomach, he had to remain strong. Normally, when everything seemed to go wrong, he had Hermione at his side, prepared to fight. Though he was at her side at this very moment, her condition would never permit her to fight. The birth of their child was nigh, but Harry could not allow himself to dwell on such excitement when there were graver things to anticipate.

The sound of an opening door caused the green-eyed fellow to tear his vision from that of his wife. He couldn't remember the last time he'd looked up from her countenance. His gaze settled on the elder man, who entered their private quarters. It was time for business to begin. Harry raked a nervous hand through his untamed hair, which was more disheaveled than usual. The inevitable kept him awake at nights, his mind in a constant buzz. When Hermione took his hand, he was reminded that he must focus. He found her gaze for a moment before turning to face the Minister of Magic. "Albus, please, have a seat." His tone was soft as he spoke. He gestured to another chair, positioned on the opposite side of the bed on which Hermione lay. "It's time you know." He said finally, shooting a look to Hermione.

[Albus Dumbledore]

"Thank you very much Harry, and you Hermione too. I hope you are not finding this pregnancy too hard?"

Not waiting for a response, Albus sat at the chair offered to him, smiling slightly at Hermione and Harry, despite the situation. "We need to sort this out," he said frankly. He didn't have time for pleasantries. Nobody did.

"I'm going to make this short. We are all in trouble, all of us. For one reason or another, as wizards and as people, we are in trouble. Muggles who do not understand something react strangely. Now that the Ministry is open for these people to see... well you know what I mean."

What hurt Albus the most, of course, was that his supply of sherbert lemons would be limited. But of course, he kept this thought to himself. "I don't need to tell you this. However I, for once, cannot come to an opinion of what is best to do. I need help, and you two can give it to me. So how do we solve this problem? If Hogwarts is discovered, it could mark the end of an era, so we must act fast."[/font]

[Professor Hermione Potter]

It's even more serious than I dared think possible. What can we do? Is there a way to restore the wards and do a mass memory wipe?Can't know unless I ask. Using my free hand, I rubbed it over my swollen abdomen unconciously and gripped Harry's hand even tighter.

"Is there any way that we could restore the wards and do a mass memory wipe on the muggles? Something similiar as to what happened the first time.." I paused a moment as a sharp pain went through my stomach. I'd been having light pains all morning, but nothing this severe. The mediwizard told me about false labor so I wasn't too worried about it. Hoping to cover my lapse, I exhaled a breath and continued again.

"Is it possible Albus? I'm sure that even if Hogwarts was revealed, we still have time to fix it and repair the hole between our worlds. Though, I must inquire as to how this happened in the first place?"

[Harry Potter]

Harry listened intently as Hermione offered up an idea as to some sort of solution for this mess. She was good for that, offering suggestions, and he had to admire her composure despite her current condition. Harry knew all too well that his wife would do all that she could, but this pregnancy only hindered any valiant effort. He noticed the tightening of her grasp, and he thought to question it. Perhaps it was a sign of the fear she wished to hide. He was afraid as well. Her pause only made him wonder for her well-being further. Was it wise of him to suggest that Hermione be told of these things? He shook the doubt from his mind, for it was far too late to take it all back. At the question of how everything began, Harry felt it necessary to chime in. "We've heard word on a band of extremists, whose claim is for unity between the two worlds. I've assigned my best Aurors to investigate this, and I have been looking into the reports myself. However, we are unsure of whom is involved at this time."

[Albus Dumbledore]

"It is as the Wizarding population thinks then," said Albus, his tone grave and his eyes showing sadness. "To think that our own people would betray us in this way, is something hard to believe. It means we will be doing more than oblivating the person... it could get rather messy.." he looked at Hermione, his eyes meeting hers in the air. "The memory wipe can be done, if we combine the powers of the two of you, myself, and the best oblivators at the Ministry, but only just."

He paused. "Last time it wasn't as bad as this. THis is scarier than Voldemort, for the British Government will take the whole world's wizards on this time. And no matter how much magic we have, we are only a fraction of the human population of the world." Albus turned his gaze to Harry. "It seems we need to reinforce this place. Hermione, I suggest I take on some of the wards, that can be passed over to me, from Hogwarts. We have some of the best wizards in the country here, we cannot afford to harm them."

He sighed. "I received word this morning, from a source that knows where I was hiding, that Diagon Alley was invaded by the Muggles. By the time it was done, the shopkeepers had hid their shops, and the place looked like an empty alleyway, abandoned for years, but it still begs the question of how much longer we will last..."[/font]

[Professor Hermione Potter]

I opened my mouth to say something in response, when another large pain hit me. This more severe than the last and I had to bite my lip to contain the cry of pain. My eyes closed unconciously for a minute as I fought off the pain. They're definitely going to notice that one.

"Don't worry about me. It's just a contraction. My mediwizard told me that I'd probably have some in false labor, which usually occurs around this time. Let's continue." The hand that was resting on my stomach came up to pinch the bridge of my nose behind my glasses. Isn't it funny how the three most powerful people in the wizarding world all wear glasses. Hmm, okay, focus.

"There's got to be something that we can do! What if we started small? Like we developed new wards around magical areas that identified magical blood to keep muggles from entering? Then we could start working on pockets of areas at a time. The exposure is pretty much contained to England thus far isn't..." OWWW! Okay, the mediwizard didn't tell me that false labor would be this painful. Should the contractions be coming every 15 minutes though? As I was contemplating, the thought of whether or not I could really be in labor over false labor, I felt a trickle of liquid flow down my legs.

"Okay, now you can worry. My water just broke." Little did I know, though that the last remaining wards around Hogwarts had just fallen as well, revealing Hogwarts to all.

[Harry Potter]

Another pause from Hermione's end made Harry look upon her with eyes full of conncern. He knew from her expression that something was wrong; there was more to this than just fear. Fear wouldn't bring about such anguish to her face. He wanted to question it, but she was quick to quiet him with words of her own. She told him not to worry, but she was good for that too. She often begged him not to worry in order to keep him focused, but he couldn't help but to worry about her. It was all second nature for him now. False labour? Was that possible? How could one fall into false labour? Harry, who lacking the proper training of a mediwizard did not know of such things, so he could not question a mediwizard's expertise.

Harry tried to keep his mind on the conversation at hand, and Hermione did well to help him do so. She continued as though she hadn't stopped speaking, but again she was cut off by her pain. How would one if the pain was due to false labour or actual labour? The thought weighed heavy on Harry's mind, for this was not a convenient time for Hermione to deliver a child. Besides, they were not expected to become parents for another three weeks. Still, things in life weren't always the most convenient, as indicated by the announcement that Hermione's water had just broken. Harry quickly shot to his feet. "What!?" It was the first deplay of emotion in his voice since the events began. "Hermione, are you sure? You're not joking? We cannot do this right now. I thought we still had another three weeks!"

[Albus Dumbledore]

Albus stood in shock, his eyes showing pain at the thought of waht was happening now. A moment of panic overtook him, and he opened his mouth. "It's too early, this isn't happening, I can't acc..." before trailing off, looking to the skies as if pleading for help. He flinched, and turned to the couple. "I have worse news. Hermione, your labour means that the wards around the castle have dropped. I'm afraid we are sitting ducks."

He sighed, the panic leaving him as he quickly calculated what to do with the situation. "It's too dangerous to move you now Hermione, we don't know how far we could get. I'm going to go and get Anya, she can deliver the baby." he paused. "Horace seems to be the ranking professor after her, I will get him to round up the students in the Great Hall. The school's magic is strong enough there still to protect them, and the professor's combined might should be enough to hold back the Muggles, should they arrive." He paused, his monologue ending as he glanced at the couple. "I wish you a speedy recovery, for more than just your own sake"

His cloak whipped in the air as he strode out of the office, walking briskly but not running, hoping that Anya was still where she was supposed to be.[/font]

[Albus Dumbledore]

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Albus strode into the office, opening the door to Hermione's private quarters, Anya at his heels. He hoped that Hermione was progressing well and almost fully dilated, because the baby needed to be born as soon as possible. He knew that there was a lot at stake here, and having guessed most of today's events already, understood what had to happen now for all to be well. If only things would move faster, it killed him that they weren't.

"Hermione!" he called, entering her room and looking at her bedside. His eyes met HArry's and he understood the torture the man must be going through. First time father? So young? And all this happening at the same time. It was quite scary.

He paused. Albus had one final thing to do, and he did it, turning to the entrance of the flat and pulling out his wand, waving it in strange motions and sealing up the office door. Nobody could enter now, it was one of the most ancient of magicks at Hogwarts, and as Albus was an ex-Headmaster, he could still activate some things at least. But the wards preventing the Muggles? That was Hermione's domain, and her's alone.[/font]

[Deleted]

There was no time to lose after Albus found Anya with Horace in the Alumni Hall. After the informing of Hermione's condition, she followed quickly beside Albus to the Headmistress's office. It wasn't long when she finally entered the private quarters of the Potters. She felt more nervous than ever as she followed into Harry and Hermione's bedroom. The sight she came to overwhelmed her. Seeing Harry in what looked to be a state of shock and Hermione on the bed in soaken sheets of amniotic fluid.

"Alright... alright. We just need to calm down." She says as she moves to the side of the bed. "Hermione, do you know how far a part the contractions are?" She asks quite shakily as she gathers pillows from aside to put behind Hermione's back for support. "And... I'm going to need a large bowl of warm water, blankets, and... oh my." Many thoughts were running through her mind. Things she needed, obviously all in her classroom, but she had to improvise.

[Professor Hermione Potter]

I looked up once Albus returned with Anya. While he'd been gone, I'd tried to calm down Harry. While I, too, was worried about what this could mean, there was nothing I could do. The wards were tied to me and I had known about a remote possibility of the wards failing should I face so much trauma like this. However, I'd never anticipated that the muggles would have been onto the wizarding world when it happened.

"I'm fine Anya. They've progressed to about every 10 minutes or so. I daresay, I've still got a few hours left. Right now, I'm more concerned with these wet sheets, so I'm going to need some help getting up so that they can be changed. Albus, perhaps once that's done you can take Harry to the living room and keep him calm. I'm afraid he'll prove a hindrince to Anya in his current state." I looked over where Harry looked like he'd slipped into catatonia.

"I know it'll probably get bad outside if the worst happens, but there's nothing we can do at the moment. We can focus on repairing the damage later. For.." I paused as another contraction ripped through me. Oww! That's painful. I don't see why women would want to go through with this." As I was saying, for now, we'll have to trust in Horace and do what we can do for now. I'm sorry for being such a burden this time."

[Deleted]

Anya noted the minutes between contractions. "Alright, enough time to prep. But yes, we need to get you on cleaner sheets." She scurries around, looking in any closet space for fresh new sheets. Perhaps she would find what she needs in their bathroom. Her mind was on a one-way track. It was to make the Headmistress as comfortable and ready for the birth of her child. In her arms she had newer sheets, and she placed them at the end of the bed.

She took another round to retrieve herself a large bowl from their kitchen and warm water within it. As she enters back into the room, she sets it on one of the tables nearby. Noticing that the Headmistress paused in the middle of her sentence, she stood there to report the time. "Okay. Um yes. Albus, Harry.. could you help Hermione up. I'll need to hurry and change the sheets, make the place more drier for her. And Hermione, perhaps you'd like to change into a new gown?"

Most of her concern now was on Hermione. Horace was still there, lingering in the back, but she had to hope and pray he'd do fine with the students and staff in the great hall. She felt scared though, for him, for all of them. "Oh no, not a burden at all Hermione." She smiles faintly.

[Harry Potter]

Harry had busied himself so much with being frantic, he nearly forgot that the clock still ticked steadily. He had done so much in his lifetime, protecting the world time and time again from the likes of dark wizards. Nothing amounted to the pressure that seemed to be building all around him. For the first time since his childhood, he felt useless, powerless. It must've been a sight for anyone else to see this man crumble. He wanted so badly to just leave and return once all had been handled, but this wasn't the time. He needed to be strong, if not for himself or anyone else, for his unborn child. Harry snapped out of his state of shock and returned to the stressful moment that had arrived. He managed to hear Hermione request that he be escorted out. "No, I want to be here. I want to help." As he said this, he positioned himself to lift Hermione from the soiled bed. Normally, this would take little effort, but he'd never carried her whilst pregnant. Magic was furthest from his mind, and his thoughts weren't very clear. He just knew that he was to help her to her feet.

[Professor Hermione Potter]

He's so sweet."Nice of you to join us." I grimaced as another contraction ripped through me. When will this be over? I felt as Harry picked me up to give Anya time to change the sheets. "Yes, I think I will. Harry, can you take me to the bathroom so that I can change into one of your large t-shirts?"

I would have changed into a night gown, but I knew that having my bottoms obstructing Anya would not be good so it was best to go with something a lot looser, especially since I was so swollen. I hope everything is okay.

[Harry Potter]

Harry didn't utter another word, focusing on the matter at hand. He felt that if he were to speak, the panic would be heard in his voice and he would grow more anxious. He needed to remain calm and focused. If that meant that he would be silent for the remainder of the evening, then so be it. He wanted to be here for the birth of his child, and he wanted to help in any way he could. He escorted Hermione to the bathroom, taking careful steps along the way. He was very cautious with her, fearful that any sudden movement would disrupt the birth of their baby.

Once they'd reached the bathroom, Harry left her briefly so that he may retrieve one of his many overgrown t-shirts. He'd grown quite fond of overgrown shirts for the sake of comfort, and he wore them whenever the occasion called for it, which was rare. He returned with the shirt in hand, giving it to her so that she may change into it.

[Deleted]

Anya smiled to Harry's objections of leaving the room. "Alright then. You can stay Harry. You'll come of use to me later." She says as she watched him pick Hermione up with so much strength. It was quite a surprising sight to watch, but she hurried on over to finally take off the soiled sheets and dispose of them in a hamper nearby. Anya had several towels already laying nearby, along with new sheets and pillows that she stacked right up beside the bed.

She needed the bed entirely dry, but there wasn't much to do about it by hand. Taking her wand from her cloak she pointed the tip at the soiled spot on the bed. Anya mutters a drying spell quickly, waiting for the spot to disappear in seconds, and then pocketing her wand she feels around to make sure the bed was completely dry for her. Completing that part, she takes the new sheets and makes Hermione's bed. And with the pillows, she stacks three against the back-board, and two on each side, which would later be used for Hermione's legs.

Once that was done, she went to her bowl of water, which began to cool, and with her wand out again she charmed it this time to keep the water at luke warm. "Well I think everything is set." She says more to herself than the anyone else in the room. Pocketing her wand again, she rubs her hands nervously as she peers over toward the window. Her thoughts lingering on the outside walls of the school and within.

[Professor Hermione Potter]

Without considering modesty since I'd been married to the man for nearly 8 years, I slipped the gown off my body and let it fall to the ground with a squishy plop from the portion that was soaked from when my water broke. I paused, holding onto the counter as another contraction ripped through my body, causing my knees to go weak. If these contractions keep getting more painful, it won't be long until I'm screaming. Even my pain tolerance can't handle this.

When the contraction subsided, I slipped the shirt on and asked for Harry's assistance back to the bed. I didn't need to fall in case a contraction hit unexpectedly though I knew I should be alright another few minutes. "Don't worry so much Harry. Everything will be fine."

[Harry Potter]

Don't worry, Harry was terrible at not worrying. However, he was quite good at not displaying his worry, at least in front of others. Hermione knew far too well when he was worried about something, and this was no exception. Although, he was doing a terrible job at concealing his anxiety on the situation, he still maintained some level of composure. This time, when he lifted Hermione up, it did not pose as much strain as the first time, for he was lifting from his legs instead of his back. Harry carried his wife to the clean bed and helped her get comfortable. "You're right. Everything will be fine." He knew that everything normally did turn out okay for them, but his tone did not sound as though he was very convinced.