A/N: I got a review that made me smile. They didn't mean to, but that's the way it is.
Why does Snape have grey hair at the beginning of my story?
Because of his hard life. He has gone through so much bad stuff and stress that it would make sense for him to have a few grey hairs along his temple even in his mid-30's. To make a point on this, people can get grey hair at any age. My grandma has had grey hair since she was 19 and now she has salt and pepper hair.
Also, I will be doing a time jump at the beginning of this chapter. There's nothing much of note to write about in the story.
Chapter 25
The next two months flew by with nothing happening to the couple. Hermione's belly grew large quicker than they thought it would. By the time the nurse figured out that Hermione was carrying four children, the couple was already used to the idea. The nurse's reaction was the same as theirs had been; astonishment and wonder. She had been asked not to share this new information with anyone as no one needed to know at that time. Hermione's symptoms had completely vanished as well except for a few odd food cravings, but nothing so disturbing that it made any of their friends suspicious of her condition. They knew they would have to tell them soon as Hermione's stomach was already getting in the way of her movement and sitting at her desk and the bench seats at meal times was becoming impossible. December 13th dawned as every normal Sunday.
Hermione woke and stretched to get the kinks out of her back that were usually there when she woke up due to the extra weight she now carried. She smiled and placed her hands on her distended belly and caressed it, thinking about the babies inside. Another hand appeared to press against her belly right next to her own. She looked at Severus and smiled when she saw he was smiling as well. The babies hadn't begun moving around yet, but she knew it would be soon as she was almost 3 months along.
"Today might have to be the day we ask our friends here to inform them of this. I know you don't want to, but it is getting so much harder for you to move normally. We don't want them to think you don't trust them. Draco won't think anything of the sort of me, but I know he would like to be kept updated on me. He is a very nosy godson." Severus spoke into the silence the thing that she had been worried about for the last 2 weeks.
"It's too bad we can't just hide my belly for a few more weeks." Hermione sighed with a frown.
"Yes, well, that would be too dangerous for the children, as you well know." Severus repeated what he had been saying every time she had brought this up. He leaned back against the headboard, removing his hand from her belly to rest it on the bed beside him. He watched as Hermione struggled a little to sit up. He knew not to offer to help her, because every other time he had, she had glared at him and said that she could get up all by herself. She had been a little moody lately, but not to the extent that he had heard women getting during pregnancy. Shrugging, he rose from the bed to get dressed for the day, watching as Hermione does the same. Her clothes had been charmed to expand as she did, so getting new clothes wasn't a concern for them. Hermione was happy for her magic if only for that reason.
"We should send one of our patronus to your friends. Since Draco is usually with them, I don't need to send one to him to get him here as well." Severus said logically. Hermione nodded and pulled out her wand.
"I'll send mine since they are mostly my friends. Although, I wish you would get to know them, so they could be your friends as well." Hermione said before turning and casting the charm, whispering into the creature's ear that she wished all her friends to join them for breakfast this morning in her common room. It raced off to deliver her message, disappearing through the wall of their bedroom.
The couple walked out of the bedroom into the living room to arrange for their added company and breakfast to be delivered for everyone. Just after they got done setting things up and the food arrived, a knock was heard at the portrait door. Hermione glanced at Severus as she pulled out her wand to arrange the food on the enlarged coffee table and saw him walking to the door to open it. Harry and Draco were the first to enter the room, holding hands. Hermione shook her head at that. Never would she have thought those two could stay in the same room as the other, let alone be a couple. Weirder things had happened recently, so Hermione shrugged and finished placing the food on the table. She knew better then to hug her friends at the moment, so she just sat down in the love seat.
"Hey, Hermione. What's up?" Harry asked taking a seat on the couch, dragging Draco down to sit next to him. Hermione smiled.
"You will just have to wait until everyone is present and eating to find that out. You know I don't like repeating things." Hermione almost snapped at Harry, which made him flinch away from her. Hermione felt bad about her tone as soon as she saw his reaction. "Harry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I promise that everything will be explained before you leave, but after breakfast." She said trying to sooth her friend. It seemed to work as Harry smiled at her and then turned to talk to Draco softly. Looking around, Hermione noticed that all of the invited couples were already seated around the table. Feeling Severus place his hand on her arm, she looked at him. He smiled at her reassuringly and gestured to the food. Leaning close to her, he said, "Relax. We can eat first and just talk like normal. You don't have to say anything to them immediately." Hermione nodded.
"Dig in, everyone!" She said, reaching forward to pick up a plain pancake. She took a bite as she watched everyone else reach for something to eat as well. Breakfast lasted over an hour with everyone talking about how classes were going and some of the boys wanted to talk about quidditch again. They always wanted to talk about the sport, no matter how often they did so. Finally, the meal ended and Hermione vanished the remaining food and sent the dishes off to the kitchen. Everyone went silent then, expecting someone to explain the reason for the gathering. Hermione took a deep breath to push her nerves away and accessed her Gryffindor courage. Severus took her hand to give her the strength to say what needed to be said.
"I am going to need all of your help." Hermione began. No one said anything, knowing that she would say more then that. "We have been hiding something that can't be hidden any longer." She said, looking at Severus. Looking back at her friends, she admitted, "We are pregnant." Harry, Ron, and Neville froze in surprise. Luna nodded with a smile, having known this the whole time. Ginny jumped up and squealed with excitement. Draco just smirked as if he had known as well, but Severus could see the shock in his eyes. Hermione raised her voice to say, "For your information, it wasn't planned or intentional. The bond made it happen, but we are still happy about the pregnancy." She said, carefully wording the sentence to not reveal the biggest news just yet. She waited a few minutes for everyone to settle into the news. The trio of surprised boys slowly melted, staring at the expectant pair.
Hermione smiled as Severus let go of her hand to place his hand on her belly. This drew everyone's gaze to the large bulge in her loose-fitting shirt.
"Wait, how far along are you? You have to be almost ready to have the baby. If that's the case, then…" Ginny trailed off before she insulted her friend. Hermione looked up and smiled.
"That's what I will need help with. I'm not pregnant with just one baby. There are four babies growing inside me. I'm only 11 weeks along. Madam Pomphrey can't see them very well, but Professor Lupin can smell four different scents coming from me that isn't mine or Severus'." Hermione said having to raise her voice a little after the four babies were revealed due to Luna's gasp and Ginny's squeak of surprise. All the boys were still silent in their shock. Ginny got up to quickly walk over to Hermione and place her hand on the protruding belly. Hermione smiled at her friend and leaned back more to allow her access.
"I haven't felt the babies move just yet, but madam Pomphry says that's not an expectation until about 16 weeks." Hermione informed Ginny, thinking that she was wanting to feel the babies move and kick. Ginny shook her head.
"I know. Mother explained everything to me a few years ago, so that I would be prepared when the time came for me to provide her with grandchildren." Ginny laughed. "She was a little too graphic for my taste, but what can you do about parents?" She asked straightening and removing her hand. She walked back over to sit next to Neville. This was when Harry and Ron thawed from their shock. Ron just slumped into his seat and Luna patted him on the shoulder as if trying to comfort him. Harry leaned forward to get as close as he could to Hermione.
"So, you guys have… I mean, you… Umm…" Harry tried to ask the intrusive question without being intrusive, which wasn't working. Hermione glared at him for the attempt, knowing exactly what he was asking.
"As I said, we didn't plan this, the bond made it happen. I am not going to explain anything else." Hermione snapped.
"But, Hermione, you hated his man before this bond made it impossible for you to anymore. How could that have changed in the 3 months you've been together?" Harry asked again, but Draco stopped him from continuing when he saw Hermione's expression by squeezing his shoulder.
"All you need to know is that I need your help getting around while I'm pregnant and, after they are born, I will need a little help caring for them at first. If you can't deal with the idea of me trying to be happy about something that can't be changed, then just leave. I don't regret my babies coming into being at all and I never will no matter how it happened. Now, are you willing to help or not?" She asked then turned to glance at her other friends. Luna was nodding and smiling. She obviously had already known about Hermione being pregnant and was happy to help the new couple with this surprise. Hermione could see something in the girl's eyes and she wasn't sure, but she thought there was something that Luna hadn't told her. Knowing that she would talk to her later, Hermione shifted her gaze to Ron. He saw her eyes focus on him and he paused a moment before nodding. Hermione knew that Ginny wouldn't have a problem with helping her out in this area, so she skipped over the red head to look at Neville.
"I don't know what I could do to help you. I don't know anything about babies." He admitted, lowering his head and averting his eyes. Hermione smile soothingly.
"Neville, I know that you don't believe you're smart, but look at my two best friends. You're much smart then them most of the time." Hermione ignored the mentioned pairs 'heys' and continued. "Plus, I know that you take notes in every class and that will certainly help me. You don't have to help me with the babies if you don't want to. You can just help with my classes." Hermione said reassuringly. She knew that he could be an amazing student, but the years working with Severus had lowered his confidence. Hermione saw him nod and moved her gaze onto Draco. She knew that he had no experience with children either, but again he could help in other ways. He began to shake his head, but stopped when Severus spoke.
"Draco, I expect you to make sure Hermione is safe while outside of our rooms. I can do most of it, but it doesn't hurt to have someone else help me with this. I would appreciate the assistance." Severus said, knowing his admission that he needed help would show Draco that he was changing. This was the moment he knew that his appearing weak for Draco would guarantee his cooperation in this matter. He saw his godson look surprised for a split second before reapplying his Malfoy mask and nodding. Hermione moved on to her last friend present, not knowing if all this was just too much for him to handle. In the time she had been asking the others for their help, Harry had obviously had enough time to think about things and had gotten over the fact that his best friend was having children with their former potions professor because he looked up when he felt her eyes on him and nodded with a smile.
"Of course, I will help you in any way I can. I don't know any more about babies then Neville or Draco do, but I am willing to learn." Harry said to the surprise and relief of Hermione. She would have jumped up and hugged him, but she knew that getting up would take too long.
"I would give you a hug, but I am not able to get up so easily anymore. Thank you! I really appreciate all of you agreeing to help me with this. It's going to be very hard for the next several months. Since today is Sunday, would you all like to hang out here until after lunch?" Hermione asked then looked at Severus to make sure it was okay with him. He raised an eyebrow and then nodded his agreement. Neville, Luna, Harry and Draco all nodded their agreement.
"I can't. I still have a few assignments to finish for Monday." Ginny said shaking her head. Ron nodded as his sister said this. He obviously hadn't finished his homework yet either. Hermione frowned at the siblings in disapproval.
"Really! You two should know better after all this time. Then go and finish it all. When you're done, maybe you can join us for lunch. What are you missing?" Hermione asked looking at Ginny first, expecting her to answer, but it was Ron who spoke.
"I have 3 assignments left to do; Potions, Transfigurations, and Charms. They will probably take all day to complete." He said with a grimace and an embarrassed look at the others. Hermione shook her head and looked at Ginny again.
"I actually only have my Charms homework to finish, so don't look at me that way." She said, raising her finger to point at Hermione, knowing that she would start her speech about "getting homework done as soon as you get it to avoid failing to finish it at the last minute" which she had gotten many times in the past. Hermione smiled at her slyly.
"If you only have the one assignment to finish, then why did you say "Assignments" earlier?" Hermione asked pointedly.
"I don't know. Just a slip of the tongue, I guess. I am going now to finish that essay and then I will be back to hang out." Ginny finished and stood up to leave. Ron stood with her and headed for the door. Ginny headed over to hug Hermione awkwardly on the couch before also heading out the door with her brother.
"That whole family seems to have a problem finishing their homework when they should. Except maybe Percy." Hermione said shaking her head.
The rest of the morning they had fun just talking about random things with Ginny joining them only an hour after breakfast had ended. Talking about the past and what they each wanted to do for future careers was a large topic that morning as many of their time at Hogwarts would end in only 6 months. Ginny and Luna both expressed their displeasure at the knowledge that they would be on their own for their last year. Neville comforted Ginny by reminding them that he would be keeping in touch by owl every day.
For most of the time, Draco had remained silent obviously not used to sharing things about himself. That is until Severus spoke to him about being a little more sociable right in front of everyone. This caused a little bit of an embarrassed moment for Draco as well as Hermione laughing at the comment. Hermione had immediately informed the man that being antisocial seemed to be a Slytherin trait as he also exhibited it. This caused laughter to spread over the room. Even Severus and Draco finally seemed to relax and show small smiles.
Lunch came and went and still there wasn't a sign of Ron coming to join them, so they decided to go ahead and split ways. Luna promised to check on her boyfriend and let him know what happened while he was working on homework. When the last person had left their quarters, Hermione turned to walk back over to Severus, only to find him right behind her. His nearness made her stop quickly and almost fall over. He was able to steady her easily enough, allowing his hands to linger on her arms even after he knew she was fine.
"So what should we do now?" Hermione asked with a smile.
"We should go to inform Dumbledore next." He replied and then continued when her smile faded. "I know you wanted to keep this a secret from as many people as possible for as long as possible, but I think it might be time to inform at least the people who need to know, such as Albus, Minerva, Fillius, and.. well, Remus already knows, so not him. You get my point though." Severus said softly, knowing that she wasn't ready for more people to know besides their friends.
"I know that they need to know this, but can't we wait just a little longer? I just.. I know that if I don't tell them about the babies, something might happen to me or my babies, but I don't want too many people to know this early on." Hermione answered, walking slowly back to the couch to sit down with one hand on her lower back. Severus watched her for a moment in silence.
"Why don't we go for a walk? I know that it's hard for you to walk around right now, but you will probably be on bed rest by the time you're 6 months along, so now is one of your only chances to enjoy walking outside until the babies are born." Severus suggested to get her mind off her worries, walking over to the stand near the door which held their cloaks. Hermione nodded and tried to get up again, but it took a moment before she accomplished the task. Severus had offered several times to help before, but every time she had said that she could stand on her own and she didn't need anyone's help with such a simple task. Walking over to Severus, she tried to take her cloak from him, but he held it away from her and then opened it to help her into it. Rolling her eyes at him, Hermione turned and allowed him to help her into it.
"Let's go then." Hermione said, turning back around when he had finished. With a smile, she headed for the door. Severus followed her in silence out the portrait hole and down the stairs to the double front doors of Hogwarts.
A/N: A lot of things have happened since I last posted a chapter.
I was diagnosed with TMJ, which is basically when your jaw pops, but mine shoots pain through my whole mouth when it gets overworked.
My apartment building caught fire. Everyone is okay.
My car broke down. It threw a rod in the engine according to my mom and brother. I now need a new car.
Finally, my dad was diagnosed with colon Cancer. He went through surgery to get the mass removed on Monday and we don't know yet, if he will have to go through chemo or not.
Questions I leave you with:
What do the 2 orbs mean?
Are the babies identical?
When is Hermione going to get up the nerve to tell the teachers about the 4 babies?
What is Luna hiding now?
I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Please leave a review!