* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART FOUR

Brave New World

Chapter 58: Babies Makin' Babies

A/N: The chapter title is from the song:

Babies Makin' Babies by Miranda Lambert.

Now that Lilly was home, Friday nights had become movie nights at Longbottom House. They were very rarely all there, although the entire gang were invited every week. Ginny and Blaise didn't come at the moment, but that was because Ginny was literally ready to pop. She was about two weeks away from her due date.

"So, how did your appointment at the hospital go?" Daphne asked her friend conversationally, "It was a couple of days ago, wasn't it?"

Sadie nodded, "It went well. The baby has a strong heartbeat, and all my tests came back fine."

"So why don't you sound thrilled?" Lilly asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione cocked her head at her, "Is it because you didn't find out the gender? Because you can do that later on, but it's classed as private care, so you need to pay for it."

Sadie shook her head, "No, it's not that. It's…it's silly."

"Hey, I'm sure it isn't silly, love," Theo said.

"And we're your friends. We aren't going to laugh even if it is," Daphne promised.

Sadie sighed, "Does it make me a terrible person because I feel bad that I don't know enough? I mean, yes, I know the baby has a strong heartbeat and that I'm okay, but I don't know if it might be a squib or…you know."

Lilly smiled slightly, "Sadie, it doesn't make you a terrible person because everyone feels the same. I see it all the time-"

"You see it all the time?" Draco asked in disbelief.

"You're training to be a trauma healer!" Harry chipped in, "Not a Maternity Healer!"

Neville smirked as he sensed an inevitable sarcastic remark from his girlfriend.

"Yes, you dumbasses, I am training to be a trauma healer, but what if I find a pregnant woman in distress? Trauma healing isn't the hardest field to master because we have to work in the field with what we have. It's the hardest field to master because we have to know enough about everything to provide adequate care to safely get the victim to the hospital. Now, if you don't quit with the jibes, I'll leave you bleeding out when you inevitably fuck up in a duel."

"You wouldn't," Harry said, "Neville loves me. You couldn't put him through that."

"Hmm," Lilly hummed thoughtfully, "You're right; I would have to save you, or Neville would cry about it for months. But Draco, you're fucked."

Hermione positively cackled at that.

"Wow," Draco said with a shake of his head, "The level of love in this room right now is astounding."

Theo jumped on Draco from the row behind, "Don't worry, Draco; I would save you."

Draco chuckled as Theo rugby tackled him, "Thanks, Theo, at least someone loves me."

Harry shook his head in amusement, "See, Sadie? Everyone has those worries."

Sadie nodded, but she didn't look convinced.

"Hey, if it helps, I can explain it a little better," Lilly said. She shoved herself up onto the small stage that the projector projected onto, "The thing is, we can find out a lot at the three-month check. We can check the gender, the magical power, we can check for congenital disabilities, but legally we aren't allowed to."

"Why?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"Unfortunately, it goes back to old fashioned pureblood beliefs," Lilly replied, "The ministry worry about what a pureblood might do if they found out they were having a girl and that there was a 90% chance it would be a squib when they wanted a powerful male heir. You see where I'm coming from?"

Sadie nodded, "I understand."

"I'm sorry, Sadie, I know it sucks, but it's just the way that it seems to be here," Lilly said apologetically.

"It's fine," Sadie assured her, "Anyway, have you guys decided on a movie yet?"

"We're watching 'The King and I' because I feel the need for a heartfelt romance," Lilly decreed, "And I don't care how much you boys complain. I am not being subjected to another action film!"

A collective groan went around the male contingent of the friend group.

Harry shook his head, "I dumped Teddy with his Aunt Cissa for this?"

Draco made a face, "Hearing you say that makes me feel kind of sick."

"The thought of watching a rom-com makes me feel kinda sick," Neville said.

"Yeah, we should probably just go downstairs and 'study' in the bar," Harry agreed as he got to his feet.

"Oh no, you don't," Daphne said. She pulled him back down, "You forced us to watch Terminator last time. You have to watch a rom-com this time."

Another collective groan went around the room.

"I think I'm going to pop over and see Sadie this morning."

Neville put a steaming mug of coffee down in front of her, "I thought you were going to say that."

Lilly looked up, "Did you?"

Neville nodded and smiled, "I know you, Lillian Moon, you don't like knowing that you can help and not helping. It's very Hufflepuff of you, actually."

Lilly raised an eyebrow at him, "And you like a bit of Hufflepuff, clearly."

Neville raised his eyebrows at her, "Where did that come from?"

"Just a comment," Lilly replied calmly, "You do seem rather fond of Hufflepuffs."

"I'm more fond of Ravenclaws," Neville said as he leant across the table to whisper in her ear, "It's true what they say about smart girls. They do the kinkiest-"

"I get the point, Longbottom," Lilly said as she pushed him away.

Neville grinned, a little smugly, at her, "You should go and see Sadie."

"Do you think I should do the tests for her?"

"If she wants them, why not?" Neville said, "The only way you would get in trouble was if you got caught and Sadie isn't going to dob you in, is she? She's one of your best friends."

"True," Lilly agreed, she sipped her coffee, "I'll go over later in the morning. I don't want to disturb her if she's actually getting some rest. You know she needs it right now."

Neville nodded and put his coffee cup down on the table, "So you have around three hours to kill and nothing to do…."

"Sorry to cockblock you, but I do have something to do," Lilly smirked, "I'm going over to Daphne's."

Neville snorted, "I swear, you spend more time there than here since you got home."

"Her sister isn't talking to her, and her mother is a homicidal maniac," Lilly reminded Neville, "She kind of needs a friend more than you need a shag."

Neville dropped the joking act and nodded, "Yeah, you're right, she does. But if you're going over there for girl chat, I'll nip over too. I promised Harry I'd help him get started with the greenhouse on the grounds. I've got absolutely no faith that he'll keep up with it, mind you. I'll be going over twice a week to feed and water everything for him, no doubt."

"Oh, like you'd complain about having a proper big greenhouse to look after," Lilly said, shooting him a knowing look, "As if your pop up greenhouse and your magical herb garden isn't enough?"

"Watch out. If I have it my way, we'll have a magical creature sanctuary in the grounds too!" Neville joked as she disappeared.

When Lilly stepped into the drawing-room of 11 Grimmauld Place later that day, she saw Sadie lounging on the sofa with a book.

"Hey, Lil," Sadie smiled, "What brings you here?"

Lilly smiled back, "I just had a thought this morning. Technically I shouldn't offer to do this, but you're my friend, and as long as you don't tell anyone, I won't get in trouble, so…I could do the checks for you if you want?"

Sadie's eyes widened, "Would you?"

Lilly nodded, "They are easy to do; it's just that…we don't always trust everyone with that kind of information. I trust you, though, and Merlin help me, but I even trust Theo."

Sadie laughed, "Lilly, you are the best!" she said. She hugged her friend, "I love you!"

Lilly smiled, "It's nothing, Sadie, honestly. Do you want Theo to be here when I do it?"

Sadie shook her head, "Just in case it is bad news like the baby is a squib, I would rather tell him myself."

"I understand that," Lilly said honestly, "Well, if you're ready, I just need you to lie down and lift your top, so your stomach is showing."

Sadie lay down straight away and did as Lilly asked. Lilly then readied her wand and cast some sort of diagnostic charm. Sadie's stomach glowed pink, and Lilly looked at it more closely.

"So the first bit of good news is that there are no congenital disabilities. That would show up bright red straight away," Lilly began.

Sadie breathed a sigh of relief.

"And I can detect the gender. Do you want to know?"

Sadie shook her head, "No, I'll keep that as a surprise."

"Okay," Lilly said, "So magical power-wise…woah!"

"What?" Sadie asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

"It's just…." Lilly's frown deepened, "Uh…."

"It's a squib, isn't it?" Sadie asked.

"No, no!" Lilly exclaimed, "No, Sadie, it's the opposite. Look, I need a second opinion," she stopped the charm, and Sadie's stomach returned to normal.

"That test shows crazy magical power, and I don't think you're pregnant with the next Merlin, so I need to call in my supervisor to double-check what it means," Lilly said honestly, "Would you be okay if I called Clara?"

Sadie nodded, "I like Clara, and if I ask her not to tell Sorenson, I'm sure she will listen."

"I'm sure she will," Lilly agreed. She pressed a button on the communication bracelet that she wore on her wrist, and a ringing noise sounded.

After a few seconds, Clara's voice said, "Hey, Lilly, what's up?"

"I just need a second opinion on something Clara," Lilly said honestly, "I did something I shouldn't have done, but it was for a friend and-

"Just stop. I'll be over straight away. Where are you?"

"Number 11 Grimmauld Place."

"Sadie's place?" Clara asked in alarm, "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Lilly promised.

"Alright, I'm in the UK with Sorenson right now, so I'll be over straight away," Clara said, then she ended the call.

Literally, less than a minute later, the fire roared to life and, because the house recognised her magical signature, she was granted access.

"What's up? What did you do?"

"Sadie was worried about squib genes and stuff," Lilly said sheepishly, "So I said that I would do the tests for her, but the magical ability one went crazy, like off the scale."

Clara breathed a sigh of relief, "So nothing is wrong, thank Merlin. I panicked when you called."

Sadie frowned, "Why would it be off the scale? Theo and I aren't massively powerful."

"I'm not sure. I would need to check myself. Are you alright for me to do that, Sadie?" Clara asked.

"Of course," Sadie replied.

Clara cast the same charm that Lilly had done. She looked around, prodded a little bit, then cancelled the charm out. When she looked up at Sadie, she saw worry etched all over her face.

"So I'm sorry, but you're definitely not pregnant with the next Merlin," Clara said. She shot Lilly an amused look, "Did the hospital tell you anything unusual about the pregnancy?"

"No, why what's wrong?" Sadie panicked.

"Nothing darling," Clara assured her. She grabbed the younger girls hand, "The thing is…the reason the magical signature was so powerful…it was because you aren't having one baby, you're having two."

"Twins," Lilly gasped.

"Twins," Sadie said weakly.

"Twins," A voice from the doorway said. A thud followed it.

"So we're having twins…."

"Holy shit," Harry said.

"Woah, you're fucked, mate," Neville added.

Lilly rolled her eyes, "Neville, a little bit of tact might be wise now."

Neville smiled sheepishly at his fiancé as Hermione said, "That's great news, Theo."

"Yeah," Theo said weakly, "Great news."

"Well…it's unexpected," Draco admitted.

Daphne nodded, "Where is Sadie anyway?"

"She's upstairs, sleeping it off."

"Theo," Daphne said irritably, "You better properly help her. This isn't a joke!"

"I know it's not a joke," Theo said honestly, "It's just…twins…you know, two babies…."

"Yes, we know what twins are, Theo," Harry remarked.

"And I don't get what's so bad about it," Lilly added as she stepped into the room.

"I didn't say it was bad, just surprising," Theo said, "Anyway, how is Sadie?"

"Shocked, she had just gotten her head around having one baby," Lilly admitted, "We gave her a mild sedative to help her sleep."

"The fact it's twins explains why she has been so ill and so faint, though," Clara added as she joined Lilly by the door, "So I've upped her iron supplement, which will hopefully make her start to feel better in the next few days."

Theo sighed, "That's good."

"Well," Harry said, "I think we should probably just leave you to contemplate this bombshell. It's a big thing to take in."

Daphne kissed Theo on the cheek, then she and Harry left.

"I need to get back to France," Clara said, "But keep an eye on Sadie for me since you're back full-time."

"I will," Lilly promised.

Hermione sighed and got to her feet, "I'll sit with Sadie. I think she's going to need a friend when she wakes up."

"She will," Lilly agreed.

"Do you want to stay until she wakes up?" Neville asked.

Lilly nodded, "Yeah, I'd feel better in case she panics when she wakes up. That could hurt the baby."

"Feel free to wait it out here," Draco said as he put an arm around Theo, "But I think the two of us need to have a chat in the bar, a whiskey kind of chat."

"Yeah," Theo said numbly, "Yeah…."

"Twins Draco…"

"It's a blessing in a way, Theo," Draco said softly, "A lot of purebloods struggle to have any children, so to have two in one go…."

"I know," Theo said. He sipped his whiskey, "You know…Nev's research is already changing lives. The maternity Healer we saw asked us about lead paint; she said that the research should bring the stillbirth and congenital disabilities rate down by 50%."

"Good," Draco said, "I'm glad because it was a real fear for me when it comes to having kids."

Theo nodded, and they fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"Are you going to be okay?" Draco asked eventually.

"I don't know," Theo replied, "The pregnancy was a shock, and now…now there are two babies, and I just don't know how we're going to cope."

"You won't know until you have to," Draco said, "You'll learn as you go as I imagine all parents of twins must."

"Two babies, Draco…two tiny little babies…." Theo said.

"Then it's a good thing that there's four of us in this house, isn't it?" Draco said simply.

Theo looked up, "It's two houses."

"No, it's not, it's one house," Draco said, "And we all know it. Everyone wanders freely between both houses, your wife hangs out in my library more than I do, and I totally prefer your kitchen."

Theo smiled weakly but said no more.

"We're going to be fine, Theo," Draco promised his best friend, "Let's just work out the logistics, okay? What are we going to need two of?"

"Everything," Theo replied.

"Not everything," Draco said with a shake of his head, "We can send the girls into Diagon Alley to get a double pram. There's this nice shop behind Gringotts which sells some lovely ones. We will need two cots and two mattresses. We could make one big cot and have them share, but I think they would keep each other awake. I'll tell you what we could do? We could make a twin cot, you know, build a big one with a bar in the middle or have two cots connected in an 'L' shape because then they can be close but not so close that they are rolling over each other."

Theo smiled tearfully at his best friend and hugged him tightly, "Thanks, Draco."

Draco wrapped his arms around his shorter friend and rested his chin on his forehead, "It's going to be okay, Theo."

He was pretty sure that Theo was crying, but he didn't call him out on it.

"And you know that I'll be there every step of the way," Draco continued, "And Hermione will be there for Sadie as much as she can be. But it's going to be tough for her, you know? She's going to be the one stuck in the house with the kids while we chase after dark wizards, and Hermione locks them up. It's going to take all of us to help her get her head around that."

Theo nodded, "She's great, and I know that she's going to be a great mother, but trying to make her see that is difficult right now."

"She's scared," Draco admitted, "She's young. She doesn't know how she's going to cope. Pansy felt the same, and I can only imagine how it must feel. I remember how scared I was, and I can see how scared you are. Imagine how it must have felt to Pansy, then double that for Sadie because she's having two babies."

"I know, but we're both young," Theo said, frowning into his drink, "Do you really think we're going to be okay? I doubt my step-mother will give us much support, and when Sadie's mother finds out…she's just going to think that Sadie is throwing her life away."

"We're your family, Theo," Draco promised, "And the family you choose is just as important as the family you come from, if not more important. If you need a babysitter so you two can have a date night, you know Hermione and I will volunteer. You know Neville will happily help you out because he loves kids. You have Daphne, who will be there for you both because we both know that as much as she pretends to hate you, she loves you. She is your family, and that means a lot to her."

"I know," Theo admitted, a smile slipped onto his face, "You sure you're going to help babysit? I don't want to ruin your cool, bad-boy image by exposing you as a baby whisperer to the entire world."

Draco laughed, "I don't care about my image, Theo. I care about being the best godfather I can be because you're bestowing that honour on me, and I want to live up to that."

Theo grinned and hugged his best friend again, "I really love you, man. Thank you."

"Anytime," Draco promised sincerely.

When Sadie woke up, it was to find Hermione smiling down at her.

"Hey."

"Hey," Sadie said groggily, "What happened?"

"Well…you kind of passed out," Hermione admitted.

Sadie frowned, "Oh…twins. I didn't dream that?"

Hermione bit her lip, "I'm afraid not."

Sadie looked up at the top of her four-poster bed, "Twins."

"I know it must come as a shock," Hermione admitted, "You had just started to come to terms with the fact you were having a baby."

Sadie nodded.

"But, there are a lot of bonuses," Hermione said as she took Sadie's hands, "You get two kids, but you only have to go through childbirth once. They will grow up close, and once they are a bit bigger, they will always have their sibling to entertain them."

Sadie smiled slightly as Hermione waffled.

"And then there's your career, of course," Hermione said, "If you only want two, then yes, you have had your children young, but that means you can focus on your career if you want to because I don't care what the pureblood wife manual says, you can be a mother and be successful."

Sadie chuckled and pulled Hermione onto the bed, "I get it, Mione. There are a lot of bright sides."

Hermione propped herself up on her elbow as she lay next to Sadie, "So you're okay?"

"I'm in shock," Sadie admitted, "But yes, I'm okay. Theo and I are both purebloods. For a while, we didn't know if we would be able to have any kids, so the fact that we're getting two in one go…it's a blessing, just a surprise blessing."

Hermione laughed at that.

"Although, I suppose I really ought to start thinking about buying baby things now," Sadie admitted, "Because we're going to need two of everything."

"Twins can share a lot of things," Hermione pointed out, "I know you have the space and money to buy two of everything anyway, but you don't need to. You will need to think about where they will sleep when they are small. I imagine the boys are already planning an elaborate baby four-poster double cot, but they can't go into their own room until they are six months old."

Sadie nodded, "We were going to put the baby in a little wooden crib. Theo was going to make one."

"Well, he can either make two, or he can make a double crib?" Hermione suggested, "It could still rock and everything, but you would just need a divider, so the babies don't punch each other in the face all night."

"They'd be swaddled Hermione," Sadie laughed.

"That means nothing," Hermione chuckled, "You should have seen Teddy when he was a baby. He was a ninja, we'd swaddle him all up, and five minutes later, Harry would be demented because he couldn't work out how he had both of his arms out already."

Sadie chuckled, "So Teddy isn't the perfect baby after all?"

"Not quite, but he's perfect to Harry and Daphne, and that's all that matters," Hermione said wisely.

Sadie rolled onto her side to look Hermione in the eye, "How am I going to manage on my own?"

"You aren't going to be alone," Hermione promised her, "You are going to have Theo here every night and every weekend, and if it's ever too much, you know you can wake Draco and me up, and we'll give you a break. We're a family, Sadie, and family looks out for each other."

Sadie smiled tearfully, "But what if you're all busy at work? I'll just be stuck in this house with two babies, and I don't know how I'll cope."

"We're not going to let you struggle, Sadie," Hermione said softly, "You know you could take those babies into Lilly's hospital wing, and she'd tell her injured Aurors to wait it out so she could calm them down. You know, if you took them to Gringotts, Daphne would tell Bill to go and break curses on his own so she could have baby cuddles. I don't care if I'm leading a Wizengamot trial. If you're struggling, you come and get me, and I'll sentence criminals while juggling babies. Okay? We are not going to let you struggle, I promise."

Sadie shuffled over so she could hug Hermione, "Thanks," she said tearfully.

Hermione smiled, "Anytime," she promised.

"Hey, Draco."

Draco looked up and smiled, "Oh hey, Tam, how did that assignment go down?"

"Great, I nailed it thanks to your help," The man, who was in the year above them, said. He had just plopped himself down across from them at the lunch table.

"Ah, it was nothing," Draco said, "But I'm glad it helped."

Harry looked at Draco pointedly, "Fancy filling us in, mate?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "I just gave Tam some insider knowledge. He was working on an assignment about the dangers of cult groups."

"Oh, your expert subject, you mean?" Neville joked.

"See this? This is why I didn't mention it to you idiots," Draco muttered under his breath.

Tam waved his hand, "This is Auror training. The guys in my year are the same. It wouldn't be the same without a little good-natured ribbing. Oh, I meant to say, by the way, I never knew that your girlfriend was friends with Viktor Krum."

Draco frowned, "She dated him years ago, but she's hardly friends with him."

"Isn't she?" Tam asked, "Sorry, it's just that my girl Jane works in the DMLE. She said that they have lunch out in the courtyard all the time."

"He's in the UK?" Harry asked, "I thought he was still living in Europe."

"He got a job as Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports," Tam replied, something caught his eye, and he looked away, "Sorry, that's the guys from my year waving me over. Thanks again for your help Draco."

He got up and crossed the room with his tray while Theo, Neville and Harry waited for the inevitable explosion.

"She's having lunches with Viktor Krum?" Draco seethed, "Her ex-boyfriend, Viktor Krum? The large, muscular, Quidditch player?"

"Hmm," Neville mused, "I can see why you feel threatened; he's basically everything that you're not. Maybe you aren't her type after all."

"Neville," Harry tried to chastise him while holding back laughter.

Draco glared at them, "Shut up, you two."

"She's probably just having friendly lunches with him," Theo assured Draco.

"Friendly lunches with her ex-boyfriend?"

"He's hardly a real ex though, is he?" Theo asked.

"What constitutes a real ex, exactly?" Neville asked with mock curiosity.

"Someone you've actually had physical contact with," Theo said pointedly, "She went to the Yule Ball with him and hung out in the library with him, that's it."

Harry snorted, "Wow, you really think Hermione was more innocent than she actually was. Krum is definitely a real ex."

Neville's jaw dropped, "Are you saying she slept with him?"

"What? No! We were like 14 in fourth year, Neville, jeez," Harry exclaimed.

"Hermione was 15 actually; you always forget that she's older because her birthday is in September," Draco said irritably, "She didn't sleep with him, but from what I gather, there was physical contact."

"In the restricted section of the library," Harry added.

"Jeez, Harry, how do you know this?" Neville asked.

"Because Hermione and I talked about these things," Harry replied.

Theo shook his head, "No wonder everyone thought you were gay until you started dating Daphne."

"Nobody thought I was gay, Theo."

Neville made a face.

"Seriously, Neville?"

"What? We've been over this, remember? Everyone kind of wondered if you and Cedric were a thing," Neville admitted.

Draco would typically have laughed at Harry's expense, but he didn't even crack a smile. Before the others could try and convince him that Hermione definitely wasn't having an affair with her ex, the bell for the end of lunch rang.

"Draco, you got a second?"

Draco paused at the gates of the centre, "Yeah, what is it?"

"I just had a thought earlier," Harry said. They fell into step together, "I doubt that anything is going on with Hermione and Viktor, but if you are anxious about it, I could loan you my invisibility cloak. You could nip away during lunch tomorrow and see if anything is going on."

Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry, "Why are you offering to help me? You don't normally take my side over Hermione's."

"You're right, I don't," Harry agreed, "But I've been where you are recently. In my case, I worry Daphne will leave me when she realises how much better looking than me she is. In your case, you think Hermione is too good for you, and you're terrified that one day, she will realise that."

Draco's silence was his admission of truth.

"And the other thing is that Hermione is my best friend and you are a very good friend. I don't like the idea of being caught in the middle of a fight between you two, so I thought this way you could see that it was nothing without upsetting Hermione by accusing her," Harry added.

Draco thought for a moment, "Harry, remarkably, that is an excellent idea."

Harry grinned, "I do have them from time to time. I'll bring my cloak in tomorrow. Night Draco."

"Night, Harry."

* ~ TBC ~ *