Perfect Triangle

Part Four

Babblings: To those of you who said this story is a lot like someone else's, I appreciate you pointing this out to me. I have looked at that story. I think the reason our stories are a lot the same is because they both came from a similar challenge. I have not personally read that story, though, and I don't plan to until after I finish this one. Thankies.

And, yeah, I know this story is a bit rushed, but it was never meant to be longer than a few chapters. In fact, it is already longer than I originally intended it to be.

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"I feel like a whale." Harry had told himself from the beginning that he would never, ever utter that sentence. It always felt so cheesy and stupid whenever other pregnant people said it. But here he was, seven months along, and feeling, well, like a whale. Besides, he told himself, most people weren't as small as he was and they weren't carrying twins who'd inherited their fathers' apparently gigantic genes.

Poppy's face broke out into a smile which infuriated Harry to no end. She'd never been pregnant. She had no idea what Harry was going through. So she needed to stop fucking smiling. "Here you go, dear," the witch said, unfazed by Harry's attempts at glaring, and placed his meal in front of him. Harry had no clue what he would have done without her – not that he was going to admit that now when he was severely pissed off at her.

He shoveled the food into his mouth, awkwardly, because he had to lean over his gigantic stomach and glaring at Moses who was staring at his food, expecting to get some. Then, one of his children kicked his bladder, and he stood up, slowly, waddling to the bathroom.

Poppy giggled, quietly, so as not to upset Harry. He could hardly walk by now, but it was just so cute. But she couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy. Somewhere out there were the other two parents to his children. Maybe they loved him. Maybe this was all just a big misunderstanding and they all loved each other. And if not – well, Poppy hated the idea of Harry having to raise two children on his own; two children which were the remnants of a one-night stand with two men Harry obviously loved with all his heart.

Harry entered the room again and frowned at Poppy's smiling before plopping, heavily, into a chair to finish his meal. "They just won't leave me alone. Can't even eat a meal without having to get up and use the goddamn bathroom. Won't let me sleep either. Sometimes I hate…" He knew it was the hormones talking. They were making his body crazy. He yearned for any kind of sexual stimulation all the time, but he found only his hand and that didn't help him much now that he could barely reach down there. The only other touching he received was when Moses decided to lick him. More than anything, he wanted Draco and Severus, but he knew that was just wishful thinking and so he didn't dwell on that line of thought for too long, 'less he wanted to go back into the depression Poppy was dragging him out of. And he was so tired. He hadn't gotten a decent amount of sleep for the last month or so because of all the wrestling his children enjoyed doing in his stomach. "Hell, Poppy, I just want it to be over with. I don't know if I can do this. And after they're born, I don't know if I will be able to look at them every day without…" He closed his eyes and wiped away a stray tear. He wouldn't cry. He had to be strong.

"I know you'll do just fine," Poppy reassured him, wrapping her arms around the young man in an attempt to make him feel better. "I'll be able to help you some and maybe you could tell someone… maybe Miss Granger or Mr. Weasley… I know they'd love to help."

"No," he replied, sternly. "They'll just think of me as a disgusting, vile creature for sleeping with two men at the same time and getting pregnant because of it."

"Do you really have such a low opinion of your best friends?"

This got Harry's attention. What? Maybe she was right. Maybe he should tell them… He just wanted to make sure that Draco and Severus never found out. They deserved to be happy together without the burden of Harry and two babies. Harry could not hold back his tears any more. He clung to Poppy, his attempts to be strong completely forgotten.

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Hermione did not tell Ron what she was doing. They'd agreed to let it go for a few months without doing anything to find Harry. Now it had been eight months since he'd disappeared and she was growing restless.

Because she'd graduated first in her class at Hogwarts, she'd already received a well-paying job at the Ministry of Magic as a detective. Not many people knew about her job, and, realistically, it wasn't her first choice in careers, but it gave her high security clearance so she'd be able to find Harry. At least, that was the plan.

In the wizarding world, Harry now classified as missing, although it had not been released to the public, because it would cause an uproar. Hermione's job was to find him. Well, really, he wasn't the first on the Ministry's list of people to find, simply because he'd left on his own. He wasn't kidnapped. Nevertheless, Hermione was determined to find him. And she'd do it without Ron's help. As much as she loved him, she knew he'd be upset.

A soft bell rang, signaling her entrance into the wizarding realtor company – the only one in London, thank God. It was still huge, though. She could only hope that this wouldn't take too long. It shouldn't, because they couldn't hide information from her… She waltzed, nonchalantly, up to the receptionist's desk and looked the bespectacled witch in the eyes. "I need to see a list of every piece of property you've sold, rented, or leased within the last nine months."

The receptionist appeared as though she was going to laugh. Here was a young witch, demanding to know things that she obviously wasn't smart enough to handle. Hermione glared and pulled out her identification. "Here, lady. I have clearance to any files you people have, so please hand them to me before I make a scene."

"Fine," the lady huffed. "You'll have to wait a moment. I can't give it to you, personally." She stood up and marched away. A few moments later, she came back with a large, intimidating man, who Hermione guessed was the boss around here.

"So you want a record of the property we've sold in the last nine months, huh?" he asked, while eyeing Hermione.

"Yes," Hermione replied, "and you'd better give it me unless you want me telling the whole wizarding world about it. The Ministry would be on you faster than you can blink."

A heavy silence passed between them and then the man sighed. "Okay, but it will take me a couple hours to track down the records and make copies. Please come back then."

Hermione grinned, slyly, and nodded, shaking the man's hand. She knew she'd be able to find her long-lost best friend.

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Poppy had left to go shopping for the day after making sure that Harry would be okay for awhile. He lay on the couch, attempting to catch up on the sleep his children had been depriving him of, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get comfortable. He was huge now, even larger than he had been a month ago. In fact, he was pretty sure he'd never seen anyone pregnant grow to be as big as he was at the moment.

Moses whimpered and licked Harry's face in a comforting gesture.

"Thanks for trying, Moses," Harry said, petting his companion on the top of his soft head.

Then, he felt someone pressing against his wards around the house. Curiously, he hefted himself up to be able to look out the window. What he saw made his breath catch in his throat: Hermione. Maybe if he ignored her long enough she'd go away. But Hermione wasn't leaving. After about half an hour, Harry finally decided he couldn't take it any longer. She was stubborn and persistent. What would she say when she saw him? Awkwardly, Harry wrapped a blanket around his shoulder and opened the front door, waddling down to the gate.

"Harry?" Hermione's voice was soft, almost inaudible, as she took in the sight of him, nearly nine months pregnant and looking as though he should have popped a long time ago.

"What do you want, Hermione?" Harry snapped.

"May I come in? We need to talk."

Their eyes met and an understanding passed between them. Hermione wouldn't betray him. That he knew. And he couldn't very well just turn her away. She wouldn't leave. "Come in," he sighed. The ward let her pass through. She wrapped her arms around Harry's slight shoulders and helped him back into the house. "How did you find me?" he asked once they were inside and he was once again settled on the couch.

"It's not too hard if you have the right clearance," she grinned. "I'm a detective at the Ministry now."

"Oh," he said, lowering his eyes to the floor. He was waiting for her to ask the inevitable question. She did.

"You're pregnant?" He nodded. "From Draco and Severus?" He nodded again. "Harry, you're being ridiculous about this."

"I don't need your help. If you ever tell them what you've seen, I will never forgive you as long as I live."

"But they lo–"

"I don't want to hear it!" Harry screamed at her. "Okay? I don't want to hear it."

For a few moments, neither of them said anything. Hermione had been so happy to have found her friend. She thought things would be able to return to normal, but now she saw that was not going to happen any time soon. "When will the baby be born?" she asked, quietly.

"Babies," Harry replied. "Twins. Their due date is in two weeks, but, really, it could be any time as twins are generally premature."

"Would you dislike it if I was there?"

Harry shook his head. Then he felt Hermione's arms wrap around him and he slumped into her embrace. "Please be there. I'm scared."

"Oh, Harry, you lived to defeat the Dark Lord, I know you can get through this."

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Hermione felt badly about lying to Ron, but she had to do it. She'd promised Harry that she wouldn't reveal his location to anyone. And she'd also promised she'd be there to help him through the birth of his children. So, she packed up her bags, simply telling Ron that she had been called away with work and that she didn't know when she would be returning. It was also torture not to be able to tell Severus and Draco about this. She'd only seen them a few times since graduation, but she could tell that their relationship was teetering on the brink of falling apart. They needed Harry. But a promise was a promise and Hermione wasn't one to go around betraying friends – even if it was for their own good.

When she arrived at Harry's house, Poppy was milling about in an almost nervous manner and Harry's dog was looking at her expectantly. "Has something happened?" Hermione asked, setting down her things.

The elder witch looked up in surprise. "Oh, no, not yet, but Harry said he could feel that the time is nearing. The twins have been kicking more and more. He's back in his room if you want to see them."

She nodded and walked, quietly, to Harry's bedroom. He was lying on his bed, eyes closed, but Hermione could sense he wasn't sleeping. His breathing was too erratic. "Will you lay with me?" he asked, breathily.

Without making a verbal answer, she kicked off her shoes and climbed into bed with him, pulling him into her arms. After a few moments, she asked, "Do you know what genders they are?"

Harry shook his head. "Poppy said she could tell me, but I didn't want to know. I wanted it to be a surprise. But… hell, I'm scared, Mione. I was thinking that maybe one of the children is Blaise's. They said they both had different fathers…"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. In order to have twins with two different parents, they have to both be conceived within an hour and I'm sure you're not that much of a–" She cut herself off before she finished the sentence, but Harry finished it for her.

"Slut, I know. I know I was a slut, okay?"

"I wasn't going to say that."

"Then what the hell were you going to say?" he demanded. Her silence was all he needed for an answer. "Look, it doesn't matter. I'll love them whoever their fathers are. I just wish–" Before he could finish the thought, a sharp pain came into his belly and he curled up, clinging to Hermione. "It hurts. Hell, it hurts."

Poppy ran into the room at the sound of Harry's whimpering. She placed a calming hand on his forehead. A few seconds later, the pain passed. Poppy and Hermione helped him to his feet. "It's best to pace the room, Harry," Poppy told him. "It'll be a long while before anything really interesting happens."

Twelve hours later, Harry was exhausted and completely out of energy. Through his haze, he could hear Poppy and the other healer, Jonathan, talking in the background. Something about a "cesarean". All he really knew was that he wanted this to be over with. His children were not coming and he felt as though he were going to die at any moment. Hermione stood at his side, squeezing his hand and whispering comforting things to him, none of which were helping.

Then Poppy's face leaned close to him. "Harry, we have to perform a C-section. You know what that is, right?" At his weak nod, she continued. "I'm going to give you this potion, okay? And when you wake up again it will all be over."

Harry breathed out a tired "Yes" before she tilted his head and he swallowed a vile liquid that sent him deep into the realm of unconsciousness.

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"Severus," whispered Draco, looking abruptly up from his book. Rain pattered consistently on the roof of their house, an endless, monotonous droning in the background. But something was different and he didn't have a clue as to what it was. "Can you feel that, Sev?"

The elder wizard also glanced up from the essays he was correcting. The air felt different. For some reason he knew it had something to do with Harry, though he couldn't say what. Something had just been added to the world. "Yeah, I feel it. But we can't do anything about it."

The young blonde nodded. "I just wish we knew where Harry was."

"He will turn up eventually, Dray."

"We can only hope."

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Harry didn't arouse from his anesthesia for two days. He looked like an angel lying there. Hermione worried, but Poppy said Harry would be fine; he was just catching up on his rest. The brunette girl looked caringly into the small crib holding the two tiny babies: one a girl with faint traces of blonde hair and the other a boy with dark hair. They both inherited Harry's vibrant green eyes and looked at the world intently, longingly, whenever they weren't sleeping. In some ways, Hermione was jealous of Harry, because he had the joy of raising these two beautiful babies, but she didn't envy him in the fact that he would be raising them alone, without the help of the other parents.

"Mione?" came Harry's groggy voice from the best.

She looked up in relief, going to Harry's side and touching his arm in a reassuring gesture. "It's nice to have you back."

"The babies… are they okay?" Hermione allowed herself to smile before picking up the girl and putting her, carefully, to avoid any injury to Harry's stitched-up stomach, in his arms.

This one moment made everything Harry had been through to get here worth it, to hold his baby girl in his arms. She looked up at him, her green eyes meeting his matching ones. "Hey, baby girl," he whispered, tears appearing in his eyes. When he glanced up, Hermione set the boy in his other arm. Harry choked up.

"What are you going to name them?" Hermione asked.

Harry glanced back down at them, smiling intently. He hadn't thought of names, but now he knew exactly what to name them. "Alexa Lily Draco Potter and Max James Severus Potter."

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Harry closed his eyes, breathing in deeply the scent of the house which he had spent so many, many months in. He held both his children to his chest, possessively, Moses on a leash attached to his wrist. These last few months had been both the best and the worst of his entire life. It was the best because he had the joy of seeing Draco and Severus in both Alexa and Max, and it had been the worst for precisely the same reason.

He had bought a flat in London, figuring it would be best if he got out of the wizarding world for awhile. If he lived surrounded by muggles, it would be harder for people to recognize him. In another few months he would look for a job, but now he had to stay close to his children.

"Are you ready, Harry?"

Harry's eyes flickered open at the voice of his friend. The house was empty. All his belongings had been sent ahead. It pained him to leave this place behind, but at the same time, he was happy to be able to start over again.

"Yeah, Hermione. I'm ready."

She smiled at him and took Alexa from his arms. "Come on then."

With one last look behind him, Harry shut the door and locked it, leaving with it a trace of all the pain and joy he'd ever felt while being there.

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Babblings: I know this chapter is short, but I figured it was better this way. There is quite a time skit between this part and the next, and final, part. I hope to have it up soon. Please review. I know you want to.