Weddings, Quidditch and Babies
Some of our couples are getting married, some aren't. We have Quidditch and babies also. Time jumps will occur and this should be the last chapter but we'll see.
October 17th
Their wedding had gone off without a hitch. She and Victoria were so nervous that they went down the aisle arm in arm with each other as well as their dads. She later found out that Mikey had a panic attack and Marcus, Alex and Harry had their hands full, keeping him from running out. It made her feel much better about her own momentary urge to run away. That night, they laughed as they wondered why they'd been so scared in the first place. As promised, Mikey had made reservations at the best hotel in London and they had stayed a full two weeks. Alex had whisked Victoria off to Italy, where she'd always wanted to go.
October 31st
They came back in time to attend the wedding of Harry and Ginny. To everyone's surprise, Harry and Ginny had planned a Halloween party in the Room of Requirement and invited a Ministry official who married them right then and there. Ginny had come up with that idea, knowing that so many weddings would put a heavy burden on her parents. Harry spirited Ginny off to Spain for a quiet honeymoon out of the public eye.
Next would be Marcus and Angelina. He intended to take her to France for their honeymoon. They were all looking forward to Christmas break. That's when they would get married.
December 23rd
They were both getting the last minute jitters. They were all at Flint Manor. It had been decided that they would marry two days before Christmas. Marcus and the boys were gathered around a table, talking Quidditch. Marcus suddenly leaned down and cupped his face in his hands.
"What the bloody hell am I doing? I'm not ready to be a husband, a father! What the hell?! She needs someone more reliable than me, damn, I'm going to fuck this whole thing up! She needs someone she really loves, not someone she was forced to marry!" he muttered frantically. The others glanced at each other.
"Marcus, listen, I said the same thing, remember? I was freaking out, thinking I wasn't going to be there for Hermione. Who was it that talked me down off the ledge, hmmm? Pretty sure that was you, mate! You got me calmed down and ready to go. Now it's your turn. Angelina is counting on you, you can do this, man." Mikey told him. Marcus took a couple of deep breaths and nodded. "You're right, I can do this. I'm ready to take care of her. That's my girl, I can't let her down. I love her too much." Mikey clapped him on the shoulder. "There's the Marcus I know. You can do this, man! You'll be great tomorrow."
Meanwhile, upstairs in her bedroom, Angelina was having a panic attack of her own. "Gods, what am I doing, Hermione?! He's a bloody Slytherin! How can I ever trust anything he says or does?! Bloody hell, what have I let myself in for?!" Hermione forced her to sit down and breathe. "Angelina, you love him! You've loved him for years, if what Katie said was right! Now you get to make him all yours! If he gets too rowdy, just use the iron skillet and pop him upside the head! Or at least threaten him enough to make him think you will." Hermione laughed. Angelina pictured his face, thinking he was about to be beaten with an iron skillet, and burst out laughing with her. The other girls hung back, letting Hermione's cool head take care of the situation.
Angelina felt much better, she'd needed to laugh. Now that she was calmer, she could concentrate on preparing to be a bride the next day. "Hermione, I know this is an unusual request, but would you walk with me and dad tomorrow? Instead of in front of us? I'd feel so much better, I know I'd be calmer. Would you?"
"Of course, Angelina, I'd be glad to. It helped me and Vicky when we were walking down the aisle, too." Hermione told her. Vicky was nodding in agreement. Angelina smiled in relief. Even though she was calmer, she still had jitters about tomorrow. The girls settled down for the night. Tomorrow was a big day.
The next day, the girls were running in and out, all over the place. Hermione stayed right with Angelina as she got ready. Her hair and makeup was complete and it was time for the dress. Aside from her own, it was quite possibly the most beautiful dress Hermione had ever seen. Finally Angelina was ready and her father was just outside, worrying himself sick over having a Slytherin son-in-law. Though he'd met Marcus and the boy SEEMED decent, it didn't mean he wasn't just putting up a front for everyone. After all, his daughter was walking down the aisle pregnant. Though they hadn't told their parents about the baby yet, he had recognized that special glow about her and he knew her mother and the boy's mother had, too. He'd already threatened the boy with death if anything ever happened to his baby girl and he meant it.
Hermione opened the door and led Angelina out. He knew tears had just popped into his eyes because Angelina looked as though she was also on the verge of tears. He offered his arm and led them down the stairs. He expected the other girl to go on but, instead, she linked arms with Angelina. Suddenly he realized she was there to help him keep Angelina calm. They walked out and followed the path to the gazebo. Everyone turned as they started down the aisle.
Marcus heard the gasps and turned around. He was suddenly glad Mikey was right beside him. He felt his legs giving out underneath him. Mikey grabbed his arm and propped him up until his legs held him up again. "Bloody hell! Mikey, she's, gods, she's beautiful! Damn it all, man! How the bloody hell did I get so lucky?"
Mikey smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "I ask myself the same thing every day. How the devil did I get so lucky and land Hermione?" they watched their beautiful witches walk down the aisle to them.
"Angelina, look at Marcus! He almost dropped, Mikey had to catch him, did you see?" Hermione giggled quietly to her. Angelina cupped her mouth, chuckling. "I saw it all. Look at him, Hermione! Gods, he's so gorgeous! How did I get this lucky?" Hermione smiled. 'Luck had nothing to do with it. This was destiny, she truly believed that.'
Mr. Johnson was also watching Marcus. The boy looked totally love-struck. He breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly felt much better, handing her over to this young man. His wife, also watching Marcus AND Angelina, closed her eyes and let out a few tears. 'Her baby was going into a true love match.' She'd been so worried about it, ever since that senseless law had passed. Mrs. Flint was pleased to see that the children obviously had strong feelings for one another. She wouldn't call it love just yet but it was getting there.
After the wedding, they went into the ballroom for the reception. Everyone laughed at the toasts, stuffed themselves and danced the night away. After they cut the cake, danced the first dance and made their rounds among the guests, Marcus and Angelina slipped out and apparated away to France.
It was a couple days after the Flint wedding. Hermione was in her eighth month and it was getting harder and harder to get around. "Merry Christmas, darling. How's our little pup this morning? Did he let you get any rest at all last night?" Mikey rubbed his hand gently over her belly. Hermione laughed sleepily. "Not much. I'm pretty sure he was playing Quidditch all night, chasing the Quaffle, just like his dad." Mikey lowered his face against her stomach. "Hey, boy, easy in there. Mum needs her strength, baby boy." They laughed together. They laid there, relaxing.
"Do you think we'll be good parents?" Hermione asked. Everyone told her they were going to be natural parents but she was still scared. Fenrir had told them he had a special class planned for the first of the year, just for the expectant parents in the group. She knew that meant ONLY her and Mikey, Alex and Victoria and Seamus and Lavender. "What do you think the class is going to be about?"
Mikey shook his head. Fenrir hadn't let any details slip. He HAD asked Mikey what phase the moon had been in when he first slept with Hermione. As it happened, he had also asked Alex the same question. "I don't know. He asked me about moon phases but who knows why he wants to know. We'll be good parents. We have your parents as role models, my parents, we even have Fen and Mary as role models. We'll be okay, don't you worry about it."
"Hey, got some owls today. An invitation to the Malfoy/Patil/Weasley wedding. Luna and Greg eloped. Pansy and Neville are waiting until after graduation. Neville has been offered an internship with Professor Sprout. He's going to train with her. Pansy is going to have an internship with Professor Flitwick in Charms class. Now that the law has been overturned, Millicent, Katie and Alicia have all broken their weddings off."
"Oh, that's too bad, but still there have been some good matches out of this whole thing. Some good, some surprising but all in all, mostly successful. So I guess that law wasn't as bad as it could have been." Hermione mused. She jumped and yelped. Mikey jerked around. "Is it time?!" he was already jumping up. "No, no." Hermione laughed. "He just flipped over. But he's kicking like crazy. I don't know if we're going to make it to nine months. He seems eager to get out of there!" Mikey relaxed and laid back down. He put his hand back on her belly. He could see his son kicking and moved his hand over to rub the spot. The movement stopped momentarily, as though the baby was surprised. Then he pushed against Mikey's hand. Hermione watched the look of wonder and awe that crossed Mikey's features at the feeling of his son, pushing his hand around on her belly.
December 30th
They were all gathered at Malfoy Manor. It was the last wedding of the year. Pansy and Neville had a post-graduation summer wedding planned before coming back and joining the staff on internships. Frankly, Hermione was surprised that both Ron and Draco were still getting married but they had started out civil and had gotten, not best friends friendly, but they had actually begun to willingly hang out in the same group without starting any ruckus, as would have happened in the past. It said A LOT about the patience of both Parvati and Padma that the boys had even been willing to call a truce and attempt to get along. Hermione was happy. Both her boys were happy and settled down. She had a wonderful husband who, in the words of his friends, worshipped the ground she walked on, she would soon have his baby and she couldn't be more content.
January 2nd
As they came back from the holidays, Hermione and Mikey were getting more jittery by the day. She had experienced a few small contractions the past couple of days. When asked, Mike and Pandora had said it was Braxton-Hicks contractions. They told her to keep track of how often she was experiencing them. Hermione was almost sure that she wasn't going to be waiting too much longer. This baby wanted OUT!
The next day, she and Mikey, Alex and Victoria and Seamus and Lavender all walked to Fen's classroom. The younger students had been excused from this particular class. Fenrir watched his pups and their mates walk in. His eyes lingered worriedly on Hermione. She was so small and slightly built and her baby belly made it almost impossible to move easily. He sighed, he was almost sure she would need a caesarean done to get the baby out. Even though they had said she was only carrying one, he secretly thought there was possibly another one in there. But they were nervous enough about one child, much less more.
"Today, I want to talk about your children. You all know there are two types of Weres. Natural born and wizard born. Natural born is the child born with at least one werewolf parent. Can anyone give me an example?" Fen smiled as Hermione shot her hand into to the air.
"Teddy Lupin, born to a witch and a werewolf." Hermione answered easily.
"That's right. Then we have the wizard born, that would be all of the weres currently in this room. This means all of the unborn children here are going to be considered natural borns. Natural borns don't have to be bitten before they start transforming. They won't actually start transforming until, at least, their third birthday. Some might not even have to worry about the change, because they will never transform. It all depends on moon phases. If they were born a work or more after the full moon or more than two weeks earlier, they have a good chance of not having to transform."
"But, those born in the week of the full moon will more than likely be subject to the change. So depending on which phase of the moon your child was conceived and which phase he's born into, you can get a pretty good idea of whether your child will transform or not. Seamus and Lavender already know their child will start transforming. He or she was conceived full moon week last month. How soon the baby starts transforming will depend on its birth phase. As I said, some can start as soon as their third birthday, others can make it into their late teens or early twenties before they ever transform. Your assignment today is to figure out the moon phase your child was conceived in and a rough estimate of where in the moon phase you think he or she will be born."
He sat back and listened as his children began estimating dates. Seamus and Lavender thought their child would probably be born in another full moon week but hedged their bets by also choosing a week shed of full moon. Victoria told Alex she thought she'd conceived the week after full moon last month and it was a good possibility that their child would be born a week or more after full moon. Hermione already knew when she'd conceived, three weeks ahead of full moon, because it was the only week she and Mikey had before Voldemort ripped their lives apart.
January 5th
It was a cold, snowy, windy day for Quidditch practice but Marcus insisted that, if they were going beat Gryffindor to the Quidditch cup this year, they had to prepare for ALL types of weather, even snow. Bundled up in their warmest, thickest cloaks, reinforced by warming charms, three Gryffindor girls sat in the stands, watching their Slytherin husbands (who were NOT happy campers) try their best to cope with flapping robes, turbulence and runaway Quaffles and Bludgers.
The boys had insisted that it was entirely too cold and snowy for them to be there, especially in their delicate conditions. They quickly realized their mistake when the girls all placed their hands on their hips and gave the boys the evil eye. The girls finally got their way after agreeing to go inside if they got too uncomfortable or cold. Hermione, now in her ninth month and ready to go any day, was the one they were most concerned about. In spite of the fact that she couldn't care less about Quidditch, she was still determined to support Mikey. Therefore, she came to his practices and the games. He was quickly discovering what everyone else had known for years. The girl was almost as stubborn as he was, if not more.
He was going for a goal when they saw the Ravenclaw team down on the ground. Evidently they had booked the field after them. Marcus flew down to see if they wanted to have a real quick scrimmage first. Always willing to rise to the challenge (and kick Slytherin's arse), they agreed on a set time and score. Then both teams went into the air.
As he and Aidan were circling around, they kept an eye on the other Beaters. Mikey was ready to chase the Quaffle but it hadn't been released yet. The Bludgers, on the other hand, were already flying through the air. One whizzed by his head, narrowly missing his temple. At last the Quaffle was released and he went into action. Zipping past the Ravenclaw Chaser, he barely caught the ball in time as he shot away from other player. Aidan was right on his tail, batting Bludgers left and right to keep them away from Mikey. He came up fast, almost too fast. He shot the ball through the hoop and almost fell off his broom.
He heard screaming from several different directions. He threw his head back and cackled out loud, grinning wickedly. He was almost sure he'd heard both Uncle Sev and his parents, which meant they would more like as not, try to put him in detention for that little stunt! The Ravenclaws, seeing as he had no fear of falling, decided it would be best to try and keep the ball away from him as much as possible.
As he began to deliberately stalk the Ravenclaw chaser to, once again, claim the ball, he saw a Bludger from the corner of his eye. It shot past him and, to his utter horror, flew straight towards Hermione. He grabbed Aidan's bat and shot across the field. He flew directly in front of her, so close he was actually able to brace himself on her seat, whacked the Bludger back to the field and yelled across at the Ravenclaw Beater. "OI! Watch where you're hitting that thing! You almost killed my girl! That thing comes this way again and it'll be crammed up your arse, with my boot right behind it, you daft numpty!" the Ravenclaw Beater visibly gulped as he avoided the eyes of his own teammates. The captain decided a one on one talk after practice might help straighten him up!
Mikey turned to look at Hermione. "You ok, sweetie?"
Hermione hid her face as she delighted in his protectiveness. "I'm fine. Thank you." It reminded her of his memory of his third year and Harry's first year. He had switched positions with Aidan and circled underneath Harry until he was sure Harry wasn't going to be bucked off his broom. Mikey pushed off and flew back out of the stands. The scrimmage ended fairly soon after that.
Slytherin came off the pitch, leaving it to Ravenclaw. Marcus and Alex came up to walk their girls out of the stands. Mikey had managed, god knows how, to get Hermione to ride his broom down to the ground. He had to go very slowly and gently but she did allow him to bring her down. Angelina would never have believed it if she hadn't seen it. As they touched down, he helped her gain her feet before releasing her. He turned towards the dressing rooms but before he could take a step, "MICHAEL SCABIOR THE THIRD, YOU STOP, RIGHT THERE, BOY!"
He cringed, knowing exactly what he was going to get. Sure enough, it was Snape who snapped out the dreaded word. "DETENTION, YOUNG MAN! NO FLYING THAT BROOMSTICK FOR A MONTH! YOU WILL ONLY GET IT FOR SCRIMMAGES , PRACTICES AND GAMES!"
"I have a huge stack of dirty cauldrons which need washing! I think the first three nights of next week ought to take care of them!" he grinned evilly at Mikey, knowing how much the boy hated scrubbing the cauldrons, especially since he couldn't use magic to help him clean them. Mikey rolled his eyes but accepted his punishment, knowing it could have been much worse.
Back in the Gryffindor common room, they were regaling the other students who had trouble believing that. Especially the students who had taken flying lessons with Hermione and knew it was one of the few classes she had failed. Hermione rolled her eyes and told them that, yes, she had indeed allowed Mikey to fly her from the stands down to the ground. She reassured them that she wasn't about to start flying on a regular basis, it was just that one time. If he hadn't been so worried about her possibly tripping or falling, he would never have been able to talk her onto the broom.
She had gone to this first practice of the year, knowing she was going to miss the first game of the year. It was going to be Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw and she would be in the infirmary. Mikey's parents were going to be her doctors and they were going to induce her. The baby, from the looks of the ultrasound, was starting to get big enough that she might have trouble delivering him naturally. They were thinking she possibly might have to have a Caesarean if the baby got much bigger.
The next morning, Mikey woke up early. He ran his fingers through his hair and slid out of bed without waking Hermione up. In the bathroom, he splashed water on his face and tipped his head back. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he was scared to death about Hermione. 'Dear Merlin, please, please watch over my little beauty, don't let anything happen to her, please!' he silently prayed. He wasn't sure how he was expected to keep his mind on Quidditch with her in the infirmary, trying to have his child.
He went back to the bedroom and found her just waking up. She blinked sleepily and reached up, pulling him back down. He went easily and wrapped his arms around her. "Today's the big day, sweetie. We get to meet our little boy." She was shaking slightly. She was nervous about being in labor without him but she knew he would get there as soon as the game was over. If she knew him right, he'd be racking up the points as quickly as he could, in an effort to get the game over with. She also knew one word from her and he'd gladly ditch the game.
"Are you sure you don't need me there for a while? They have reserve players, you know." She smiled and stroked his face. "Mikey, sweetie, I want you to go play Quidditch. I know you've missed it and I won't be dilated enough to try and deliver for a while, even with being induced." He helped her up and they got dressed. They would eat breakfast and then he was going to walk her to the infirmary. He was already in uniform and had his broom. He was going to stay with her as long as possible or until she and his parents kicked him out.
In the Great Hall, the Slytherin team was in full planning mode when they got there. Marcus and Draco looked up. "Mikey, are you going to be playing? We can use a reserve if you want to stay with her."
"He's playing. I'm planning on him telling me every goal he made later on today." Hermione said firmly. Mikey shrugged, looking sheepish. "She wants me to play, so I'm playing." Marcus and Draco were smiling at them. They were just tucking into breakfast when Professors Scabior showed up. "Mikey, Hermione, how are you doing? Ready for your big day?" Mike sat down beside his son as Pandora sat beside her daughter-in-law.
"I'm nervous about delivering but I think Mikey is even more nervous than me." Hermione confided. Pandora hugged her. "Don't worry about anything. We'll be right there with you."
As they got up to make their way to the infirmary, she noticed that Marcus and Angelina, Alex and Victoria and Seamus and Lavender were all following as well. Once in the infirmary, they allowed Madame Pomfrey to get Hermione changed and into a bed. The doors opened and Fenrir walked in, leading Mary.
Hermione quickly figured out the reason why the other girls were there. Since she had ordered Mikey to play Quidditch, the girls were there to support her until the game was over and he could join her. Tears welled up at the wonderful friends she had. It was an extra special gift because she knew they were all as Quidditch crazy as Mikey.
The boys left for the game and Mike began monitoring her stats. Pandora asked if she wanted to do the inducement right away or wait a while. She decided since she hadn't actually had any more contractions yet, she'd wait awhile. It would also give the game time to be over with and Mikey more time to get here. Angelina, Lavender and Victoria bustled around, making themselves comfortable. Mary came over and sat on the other side of Hermione, also keeping track of her stats. Hermione remembered that Lavender told her Mary was a midwife. Fenrir seated himself beside Mike, talking quietly.
She had brought her textbooks and homework to work on until her labor started. She and the other girls were talking about a potion they were looking forward to making when she felt a stabbing pain in her back. At her gasp, both doctors and the midwife gathered around her. The girls moved back beside Fenrir, out of the way.
She was waiting for the next pain and thought it had just been a fluke. As she was about to go back to studying, the next pain hit. They began talking her through the pain. As it started, she would count down to the time it ended. At first the pains were ten minutes or longer apart, letting them know she wouldn't be fully dilated for a while.
She was still relatively calm for a while after her pains finally started. Her water hadn't broken yet. She had let Pandora and Mary know she didn't want the inducement spell done until that time or at all unless it became clear that she needed it. She was seriously hoping, though, that she would not need it, after all, since her labor had kicked in on its own.
The girls came back over and started gossiping and cracking jokes, doing their best to keep her spirits up. She was so busy talking to them, she didn't notice Mike, Fen, Pandora and Mary move out of sight behind the curtain.
"She's very small, her hips are almost too narrow, if she manages to deliver this baby naturally it'll surprise me. That's not what I'm worried about, though." Mike looked at them seriously. "I think she might have two in there. Fen thinks so as well. Some of her scans lately, I've thought I detected a second heartbeat but it comes and goes. One time it's there, the next it's gone."
Pandora closed her eyes. She knew what that meant. If Mike thought he could hear a second heartbeat coming and going, then Hermione was possibly carrying twins. It was also a possibility that one was alive and the other would be stillborn. She was heartsick at the thought of her son and daughter-in-law facing a possible stillbirth, even with the probability of a living child to go with it. She knew, if Hermione lost a baby, she'd be devastated, even if she also managed to deliver a living child. All they could do, at this point, was hope and pray that she delivered either one fairly large child or two living twins.
They went back around the curtain. Mike didn't want to tell her unless he had to. If she suddenly began experiencing any kind of distress, though, he'd have to tell her. He would then have perform a caesarean on her to remove the baby quickly. He was praying it wouldn't come to that point.
Fen sat on the bed next to Hermione, telling her some of Mikey's antics during the full moon. He managed to keep her distracted enough that she didn't realize it was almost lunchtime. Angelina had opened the large picture window in the infirmary. It faced the Quidditch pitch and, with the help of Harry's omnioculars, she was keeping them updated on the game. According to her, it was a fairly fast paced game. It seemed, to Angelina, that Mikey was scoring points left and right. Of course, she couldn't be sure that it was Mikey but the player she was watching score the most had a red streak of hair, hanging down from his temple. She knew that was one of his most distinct features and he didn't tuck the strand away, even during practices. Hermione smiled through her pain. She'd known exactly what he would do and, sure enough, Mikey was scoring as many points, as fast as he could, pushing for a quick game.
Harry, Ron and Ginny had come to visit for a while. They knew she and Mikey were both petrified about the baby. There wasn't much they could do for Mikey, seeing as he was in the middle of a game but they could come and join in on helping keep Hermione cheered up. Fenrir, knowing how much Hermione's friends meant to her, asked Harry how they first became friends. They proceeded to tell him the story of their first year. They hadn't been friends at first. That came later. It surprised him to know she had actually gotten on their nerves tremendously before the troll in the bathroom. After that was when they actually began considering her a friend. It didn't surprise him to know she'd taken the blame then to protect them from getting in trouble. That seemed to be how she was, in regards to friends.
About two hours after lunchtime, her pains were intensified to the point that Pandora asked if she was ready for the pain reduction spell to be performed. As it happened, she hadn't needed to be induced. Her water had broken right after lunch and she was already half dilated, according to Mike. It looked like it was going to be a fairly fast delivery. She was happy that she hadn't gotten the inducement. It would have caused Mikey to miss the birth. He was still playing but Angelina reported that the score was three hundred to two fifty, in favor of Slytherin. Draco was actively hunting the Snitch. Mikey was still scoring goal after goal. After a particularly intense pain, Hermione found herself wishing she'd never sent him to the Quidditch pitch. "They won! Hermione, they won! Draco caught the Snitch! They're done! He'll be here soon!" Angelina squealed happily. Hermione laughed weakly as she put a triumphant fist into the air.
As soon as Draco caught the blasted Snitch and their victory was announced, Mikey darted off to the infirmary. He had to get to Hermione. He wasn't even worried about still being in his uniform. He performed a quick Scorgify on himself and his clothes. As he soared through the air on his way to the castle, he realized the big window was open. He turned his broom and aimed for the window. Angelina jumped back as he swooped into the room. He tumbled off his broom at the foot of her bed.
He scrambled up and went to the head of the bed. Leaning over, he looked into her eyes. "Hello, beautiful." He kissed her on the forehead and grasped her hands. Hermione was instantly relieved to see him. Now she could concentrate on bringing their baby into the world. Mikey helped her remember her breathing exercises, counting the pains down with her. He climbed in back of her so she could relax against him between pains. He brushed her hair back and willingly offered his hands for her to squeeze as she bore down. When the time came for her to push, he crooked up his legs to give her something to brace against.
"One more push, Hermione! Come on, just one more good push! Get the head out and the body will quickly follow! You're doing so good, sweetie, you're wonderful!" Mike could see a head crowning. He hoped and prayed that it was the living child coming out first. He still thought she possibly had two in there and that one of them was, more than likely, already dead.
Hermione braced against Mikey's knees and screamed as she pushed down. "There's the head, sweetie, come on, push him on out! You're almost there, darling, come on!" Mike encouraged. He was already holding a towel to catch the baby in, Pandora was standing beside him, ready to clean the baby and hand him to Hermione. The slippery little body slid into the towel, he cleaned the baby's mouth and patted the tiny back. Hermione sobbed as an angry little cry rang out, announcing the arrival of her little boy. Before she could ask about him, though, she was once again pushing and screaming. Mike barely had time to grab another towel before another slippery little body slid out. He cleaned the mouth and held his breath. The baby was silent for all of a minute, then she began crying in unison with her brother.
Fenrir was hugging Victoria and Lavender in relief. Both babies were alive and healthy! Mike was almost crying with happiness. Never had he been so pleased to announce the birth of a healthy pair of twins! Hermione was so thrilled she barely even noticed passing the afterbirth. She couldn't wait to hold her babies. Mikey was just thrilled that she made it through the birth. Mary bustled around, getting Hermione into a fresh gown and getting fresh sheets on the bed while Mike and Pandora checked the babies out, took down their stats and bundled them into a pair of soft receiving blankets. They brought them over. Mikey was still behind Hermione, propping her up. They laid the babies into her arms and Mikey wrapped his arms around all three of them. His own little family!
As the happy couple relaxed with the babies, their friends came in to admire them. All of them were surprised that the one baby they'd all anticipated greeting had actually turned into two babies, a boy and a girl. Harry and Ron looked at them closely. Both babies had a full head of curly brown hair. The little boy was already sporting his dad's infamous red streak of hair. They had blue eyes, which Hermione hoped would stay blue like Mikey's. Both babies demonstrated very loudly, as they were pulled away from mum for a brief moment, that they had very healthy lungs inherited from daddy. Hermione giggled as she told Mikey that. She'd always been a quiet baby, rarely crying, according to her parents.
"What are their names?" Harry asked. Hermione looked at Mikey who shrugged. Only then did it occur to them, they'd never thought to discuss baby names! Hermione looked at her son. "Sebastian. Sebastian Scabior." She glanced at Mikey who was smiling approvingly. Mikey looked at his daughter and thought a moment. "Mary Jane. Mary Jane Scabior." He checked the name with Hermione who nodded. After everyone cooed over the babies, they were all chased out except Mikey. The new parents fell asleep, holding their little ones in their arms.
May 5th
The day had finally arrived. Both Slytherin and Gryffindor had been anticipating this day all year. The day they faced off on the pitch. Today would decide the fate of the much sought after Quidditch cup. Who would come out on top?
Hermione was nervous. In all the other games, she'd either cheer for Mikey or cheer for Harry. Today, though, she was torn between cheering her brother or her husband. Talking to Victoria helped her figure it out. "Listen, 'Mione, Harry and Ron want and intend to be Aurors, but Mikey is already an Auror. He didn't intend to be one. He and Alex, up until their sisters died, wanted to play Quidditch. Alex didn't write me very often during their year of training but every time he did, he wouldn't talk about that. He'd talk about a Quidditch game they had gone to or were allowed to participate in. Quidditch means more to them than being Aurors. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if they ask to be put on a reserve list of backups, just so they can go join a professional Quidditch team. They've always talked about playing for the Irish and that's who they cheered for at the World Quidditch Tournament."
Hermione felt better about cheering her husband on after that. They were all in the stands. The sun was shining brightly. At each end of the pitch, a door opened. Slytherin emerged from one end and Gryffindor strode from the other end. The two teams faced off in the center of the field. As they shot into the air, Draco could be heard good naturedly taunting Harry and Ron. Mikey rose and looked at he stands. Hermione waved. She had a double sling on and the babies were watching everything around them with wide eyes. Mikey flew close enough to where they recognized their daddy and started hopping and squirming with little baby giggles. He laughed and flew back to the center of the pitch.
The Quaffle had just been released and he was quick to grab it and make off with it. As always, Aidan was right behind him, protecting him from runaway Bludgers. He smirked as he flew straight toward the center hoop. Ron's eyes widened. It was the first time he had officially played against Mikey. He flew around and prepared to guard the center. Quick as a flash, Mikey rolled in midair and scored through the left hoop instead. Ron groaned. It was going to be tricky guarding against him, he had too many tricks up his sleeve.
Ginny managed to grab the Quaffle and darted off to the other end of the field. Unfortunately, Alex was waiting and blocked her goal. Harry could already see that if they intended to get any kind of score for Gryffindor, they would have to both block Scabior from getting the ball and keep McKeon from blocking their goals. He envied the team those two managed to join and pitied all the teams who played against them. They were quite a formidable duo.
Blaise took the Quaffle next and raced through the air. As Marcus blocked the Bludgers away from him, he shot the Quaffle at the center hoop. The Gryffindor stands booed as Ron just missed blocking it, allowing another score for Slytherin. Harry shook his head. Ron was letting the pressure get to him. He should have pretended to pour some liquid luck into his drink again.
As the game went on, Gryffindor tried their best to block both Scabior and McKeon but it was no use. The score quickly racked up. They managed to get a couple of goals in, whether it was because they caught McKeon off guard or he was just letting them get a score, Harry wasn't sure. But it quickly became apparent, if they were going to win, he needed to catch the Snitch as soon as he could.
The game was quickly intensified as the Snitch made its first appearance, bringing Harry and Draco into the mix. It became almost impossible to keep track of all the players as the Snitch led them on a merry chase right through the center of the field.
The players were shooting up, down and across the field so quickly, it was impossible to keep up with who was who, much less if they were scoring. Suddenly the field cleared. Harry and Draco were almost neck and neck at the Snitch. Scabior had the Quaffle and was going in for another score. Gryffindor had somehow fought their way to one hundred points. It was two hundred to one hundred, Slytherin's favor. If Harry caught the Snitch, Gryffindor would win by a narrow margin but Draco was right there at the Snitch as well. Everyone knew he'd been trying for years to best Harry on the Qudditch pitch. Was this finally going to be his year to beat Potter? As Scabior triumphantly scored yet again, the chase for the Snitch seemed to go in slow motion. There was a huge cheer as Draco's hand closed around the Snitch a split second before Harry! Slytherin won! More than that, they hadn't used a single illegal move or cheated once! They had actually played a clean game against Gryffindor!
The Slytherin's met in the center of the file cheering and hugging, slapping high fives. They pulled into a single file line and passed the Gryffindor's, also in a single file row. They exchanged congratulatory handshakes. It was the perfect end to the Slytherin's school year, both former and current. Everything after this would merely be anticlimactic in their eyes.
So now we're at the end of the story. I hope you've enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Be sure to watch 'Companion Pieces' as I will still be randomly writing little pieces about the other couples and posting them in that story. Next up, I hope to get back to updating my next story 'Chasing the Girl.' At this time, I would like to thank everyone who followed and favorited this story:
Bhalesfb, shortsingm0m, Alana Fox, mistycouch20141, Sweetpea2100, Msmalloryreads, bunnyobelenus, Harmony Rose Zabini-Malfoy, lexislater, Mummyof3muggles, GetTheeToBed, roon0, wintersong1954, nikkistew2, Deliahmarie, NymphadoraGranger95, FrostGrace, LauraB90, Youko's Little Girl, callerjn, Lyndsey88, decadenceofmysoul, CJRed, Khyharah, extra3x3, lucyria, marianna79, rainy5982, trochellwms, grolet, Li'l Obsessions, MarleneMcKinnonBlack, booknut95, PaleandBroodingsGirl, izyanizaki, marez00, 01saint, redbutterfly123.
Thank you all for hanging in there. I know toward the end my updates became few and far between but I finally managed to get the story back on track. As stated above and in other chapters, the other couples will be showing up in 'TWNSA: Companion Pieces.' If you have a couple you wanted to hear more about, drop me a line or a review. Most of those will be appearing as one shots. If it's a couple I'm very attached to, they will possibly get more than a one shot. Till the next story, my peeps! Love ya!
