Disclaimer:- I neither earn nor own anything from this story except my plot. Harry Potter and his world are the intellectual property of JK Rowling and her associates.

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A/N:- Thank you to LadyWinterlight, for her beta work on this chapter, and to everyone for their reviews and alerts, I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

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Chapter Seventeen – A New Era Dawns

When Hermione woke the next morning, there was a note hovering where Severus' head should have been. "I left you to sleep, will be back by breakfast time, S," she read sleepily. She smiled, and just as she was starting to wonder where he'd gone she heard the click of the door.

Rolling over and looking towards the door, she saw Severus coming through. He was dressed in britches, long riding boots and had an open-necked white shirt, and he looked deliciously wind-blown. "Good morning, love," he murmured, seeing her laying there watching him, his note still grasped in her fingers, and crossing the room he kissed her gently. "I couldn't sleep, so I took Sultan out for a ride," he told her, brushing her hair back from her face. "It seems like eons since I've done that."

Hermione snickered, her voice still heavy with sleep. "Well, you haven't done that to my knowledge since I've been here…" She was still laying down, and she pulled him closer for another kiss. "I want you," she murmured into their kiss, changing the subject as she locked her fingers together behind his neck.

"I've owled Poppy," he stated in answer. "We will go to Hogwarts after breakfast, and she will assure me that all is well," he told Hermione stubbornly.

She exhaled a sigh, but then nodded. "You will find that it is, love, but if you must make certain then…" She left the remainder of the sentence unspoken, but gave him a cheeky smile. "There are other things that we can do before Alice wakes, you know."

He smelt like horse; Hermione remembered that smell from the few rides she'd had as a child, and it wasn't an unpleasant smell, even if it made something in her belly twitch uneasily. She ignored the sudden sick feeling without realising what it was; she wanted him, and she wanted him now. Her eyes panned down his front and landed on the bulge in his well-tailored britches as he leaned over her to kiss her again, but as soon as she started to lever herself more upright a wave of nausea overcame her.

"Oh, god!" she groaned, and slapping her hand over her mouth she flung her legs over the side of the bed and raced for the bathroom.

The sound of Hermione heaving cured Severus' amorous problem better than a bucket of cold water could have, and he was soon beside her holding back her hair for her.

Once she'd finished he handed her a wet a flannel to wipe her mouth and he helped her up. "Morning sickness?" he asked.

She nodded. "I think so. I'm sorry, Severus."

"Don't be," he replied, assisting her back to bed. "I'm told that sweet tea and dry toast will assist, therefore I will fetch you some. Stay here," he said, helping her back to bed.

"Crackers helped when I was pregnant with Alice, but dry toast would also work I guess," and she gave him a wane, distinctly disappointed smile. Why did this have to start this morning? she wondered as she watched Severus leaving to get her the required tea, but then she sighed and smiled as she rubbed her stomach. "It means you're healthy, doesn't it?" she said to her tummy, and settled back down to rest.

Of course, while Severus was downstairs in the kitchen, Alice woke up, and Hermione did not hesitate to get out of bed to go to get her. However, it was with an iron will that she kept swallowing down what wished to come up as she organised her daughter and gratefully brought her back to their bed with her, hoping that Severus would fix Alice's milk for her while getting the tea and toast.

She shouldn't have worried, Severus returned levitating a tray in front of him that contained, the tea pot, cups already full, two pieces of dry toast and Alice's bottle of milk. He settled Alice—who had been chatting animatedly about her new pet dragon—while Hermione lay on her side watching her and nodding. Then he handed Hermione her tea and placed the toast on her bedside table.

"I'm going to have a shower," he said, leaning down and kissing her head.

She smiled up at him. "Thank you, Severus."

"Think nothing of it, love. You just try and keep that toast down, ay," and he caressed her pale looking cheek and walked into the bathroom.

xox

At ten o'clock precisely, Severus apparated his family into Poppy's office.

The matron rose from her desk and came around to hug Hermione. "I hear that you pair have some happy news," she enthused. "I'm so pleased for you. Here, lay down on the couch and I'll take a look," she continued, seeing how pale Hermione was after their apparition.

"Is Mummy sick?" Alice asked her father as she watched her mother laying down as instructed.

"No, Poppet," a new voice from the doorway said. "Mummy is just having a check-up."

Hermione and Severus glanced at one another wondering how Minerva knew they were coming, but then Severus saw a slight flush on Poppy's cheeks at the same time as Alice heard her grandmother.

"Nanny Nerva!" the little girl cried, suddenly struggling to get out of Severus' arm.

He placed her on the floor and she ran to Minerva.

"Why is Mummy having a… check-up?" Alice demanded, uncertain of the word check-up.

Minerva cast a glance at Severus and Hermione without answering her granddaughter, and said instead, "I thought it might be nice for the pair of you to share this moment alone. Come up to my office when you're finished, Alice and I can occupy ourselves until then."

"Thank you, Minerva," Severus said from beside Hermione, and as Minerva led Alice from the office, she was heard giving Alice a non-committal answer.

"Mummy's just not feeling that well today, Poppet, but she'll be fine in a while," the headmistress stated.

"Yes, Daddy made her stays in bed this morning while he made my breakfast," Alice was heard telling Minerva in the distance. However, the rest of what they said was lost to the lengthening distance and the fact that both Hermione and Severus had turned to Poppy.

The matron huffed softly. "I may have mentioned it at breakfast," she murmured.

"Getting one up on Minerva, are we?" Severus stated, his eyebrow raised.

Poppy gave him an 'oh, ha-ha' look, and immediately cast a type of sonorous spell on Hermione. This surprised all three of them when two distinct heart beats could be clearly heard.

"Is t-that…" Hermione gasped, and the entire issue of her spilling the beans before they'd told Minerva was forgotten.

Poppy smiled. "Yes, it appears you're carrying twins, my dear."

"Oh my," Hermione gasped, and she grasped Severus' hand. She looked up at the stunned wizard and snickered. "Maybe we were a little too enthusiastic with our fertility charms."

"Perhaps," Severus mused, a bemused sort of smile on his face as he listened to the evidence that said fertility charms had been successful. He looked at Poppy. "And everything is all right… we could have… do things normally?" he asked, a slight blush colouring his cheeks.

"Oh Severus," Poppy said smiling. "Unless Hermione has any problems then yes, you may continue your marriage as normal. Be guided by her though, she will know what her body is capable of." The matron thought for a moment, and then added, "Of course, near the end she may not be very comfortable, so…" but she did not elaborate.

Hermione squeezed his hand to gain his attention. "And you were worried," she chided gently, but then she grinned. "Well, I think it's more imperative than ever that we have our honeymoon as soon as we can, as we're not likely to get one for a few years once our babies come." Sitting herself back up, Hermione turned to Poppy. "When would you like to see me again?"

"Considering that it's twins, I think you might be best to book yourself into St. Mungos this time, dear," and she wrote on a piece of parchment. "Here is a referral to Healer Barbra Jamison, she is head of obstetrics, and a personal friend of mine. I'll owl her to expect you, and you can make an appointment with her for about nine weeks' time," and she gestured towards Hermione's stomach. "Or whenever you're ready. However, if you have any trouble I will see you—either of you—any time you wish," she assured them.

"Thank you, Poppy," Hermione said, taking the piece of parchment, and squeezing Poppy's hand.

"Yes, many thanks," Severus added. To tell the truth he was still a little blown away by what he'd just been told as well as what he'd heard, and he offered Hermione his arm. "Good day to you, Poppy," he stated formally, starting to lead Hermione from the office.

"Yes, we'll have to catch up soon," Hermione added, turning to look over her shoulder as they left. "Bye."

"Bye," Poppy replied, watching them leaving with a smile on her face. She could plainly see that they were both very shocked. She loved shocking people in good ways; it never got old telling them news like this, and she sighed as she went to sit behind her desk to start her letter to Barbra on their behalf. She was so content in her own life at the moment, and whilst she realised that it was very much too late for any little happy surprises of her own, she hoped that Argus and her could live out their retirement together somewhere. Of course, he hadn't exactly asked her to do that yet, but she hoped that he soon would.

xox

Hermione and Severus walked in silence for a couple of hallways after leaving the infirmary, but then suddenly Hermione pulled him to a stop. "Twins," she gasped, her hand on her stomach. "Two sons."

"Yes," he replied, the smile he'd managed to hide since coming out into the school making another appearance, but just as it did the between period bell sounded, and suddenly they were in a sea of students hurrying between classes. He pulled Hermione behind him and he used his body as a shield for her, while scowling at everyone who came too close.

There were many hasty apologies from students. Everyone knew who exactly who the fearsome Professor Snape was, even if he wasn't teaching anymore, but Hermione simply snickered.

"Severus," she stated softly. "It's okay, I'm fine," and she walked off through the students, greeting many of them as she walked. However, to her surprise many students—especially the older girls—greeted her as Madam Snape, with longing looks at Severus.

The mass exodus from classrooms ceased just as quickly as it had begun, and peace reigned once more in the hallways as doors closed and new lessons began. Severus caught up with Hermione, and he said, "What the deuce was that all about?"

"Do you mean all the greetings, or the doe-eyed expressions you were getting?" she asked, snickering softly.

"The latter," Severus stated gruffly, uncertain that he liked being looked at in that way by obviously amorous teenagers.

Hermione's voice dropped to a whisper, and she leaned in close. "The older girls know very well what happens in a marriage, and if you take a physiological perspective it means that they know that we're 'getting some'," she told him using air-quotes, "and that impresses them." Hermione watched Severus pale significantly, and she grinned. "In short, my darling, it makes you more interesting to them."

"What?" he gasped. "Do you mean that in five years' time when I take over again, girls like those," and he gestured wildly towards the seventh years who had entered the classroom near where they'd stopped. "That they're going to be thinking of what I look like… and what we do in the privacy of our…" His mouth flapped uselessly as he searched for the words to overcome his astonishment.

Hermione helped him. "What you look like naked, and how you rock my world?" she replied, raising an eyebrow. She laughed at him standing there dumbfounded. "Severus, they're teenagers, don't you remember being inquisitive at that age?"

He snorted. "I most certainly did not think of my teachers in that way. Perhaps the playwitch models, but…"

She laughed once again. "Well, there is no imagination needed for those pictures."

Severus suddenly seemed to remember that they were in a public hallway, and he offered his arm to Hermione once more. "I refuse to discuss it any further," he stated.

She simply squeezed his arm and smiled at him. "Yes, Severus," and they continued their journey to Minerva's office.

xox

"Twins!" Minerva cried gleefully. "Ah, bonnie lass," she exclaimed, pulling Hermione into a tight hug. When she released her, Minerva had tears welling in her eyes. She wiped at them, and then said, "I am so proud of what you've achieved, Hermione," and she turned to Severus and gripped his sleeve, "And you, my boy. I am so honoured to know you. You are both amazing people, and I have to say that I never thought I'd have one grandchild, let alone three," and she was so overcome that she had to sit down as she simply smiled at them and dabbed at her eyes.

Severus watched her for a moment uncertain what to say, but then inhaled to speak only to hesitate once more and lean into speak softly to Hermione. "Has everyone lost their senses today?"

Hermione's smiling chocolate coloured eyes came up to his as she happily balanced Alice on her hip. "No, love," she replied. "The world is a great place today," and placing Alice on the floor she turned to Minerva, who was still sitting there with an unusual smile on her face, and she quietly sat beside her. "I am also honoured to know you, Minerva. I've never called you mother, but you have cared for me since I was eleven, and probably before that because I remember a tabby cat visiting us often when I was a small girl."

"Aye," Minerva replied, nodding. "I couldn't stay away. I came every chance I had, to start with."

"But then you stopped," Hermione told her.

"It became too painful… While peace reigned in the nineteen eighties, I married, you know. Elphinstone and I tried to have… but then he was killed by a stupid accident before we could and I realised that I'd given up my only opportunity at motherhood because of the war. It hurt… it hurt a lot, and the urge to snatch you away from your lovely parents was too great… So I waited for you to arrive at Hogwarts and I prayed that I could one day be something to you."

Alice suddenly scrambled onto Minerva's lap. "Nanny Nerva, don't cry, don't be sad," she commanded.

Minerva pulled the little girl to her and hugged her. "I'm not sad, Poppet," she said tearily. "I'm happy, so very happy."

This didn't make sense to Alice, but she was happy to be hugged, and she wound her little arms around Minerva's neck and gave her a big smooch on the cheek. "I loves you, Nanny Nerva," she declared, and hugged her grandmother tightly.

Minerva grinned from ear to ear and replied, "I love you too, Poppet." Then she looked at Hermione and Severus. "I'm sorry to be so emotional, but all three of you are so very important to me."

This had Hermione sidling over the lounge and joining their hug. "You are important to us too," she declared.

Severus watched, still convinced that everyone was somehow strange today, but a fond smile was curving his mouth at the antics of the women in his life, and he thought back to the day Minerva had brought Hermione to his house just after Christmas. He flopped down into the chair opposite them as he absolutely marvelled at how much his life had changed since then. It had just been a little over six months, and he had the remainder of what had been missing in his life that day.

He watched them for a time, and finally he sighed and called an elf for the tea service in the hope that it might settle the witches down a little. It seemed to work, and after having tea, they left Minerva to go back to her work, and he ushered Hermione through the Floo as he followed her with Alice in his arms.

xox

The week—the last before the summer holidays—started to fly by. Soon it was Wednesday and Luna would arriving for morning tea at ten o'clock, and as they finished up with breakfast, Hermione was still uncertain of how much of the 'real' story to tell her friend.

"You should allow Luna's curiosity to be your guide. She may be satisfied with just an outline of the story," Severus said.

"Oh, so not simply volunteer all the information in one go?" Hermione asked, watching him nod as she sipped her third cup of tea. She thought about this for a moment and then nodded. "That's reasonable, yes, I could see how that would work. Sometimes I get hung up on not just blurting the entire story out, no matter how uncomfortable it makes me. Thank you, love," she said, smiling at him.

He was about to go with Argus and make their weekly check on the unicorns, and he was already standing by the kitchen door while they were talking. "You are most welcome, I will see you about lunch time," however, anything else he may have been going to say was drowned out by Alice.

"Daddy, me comes too. Me sees Noddy," she demanded.

"Don't you wish to play with Loran and Lysander?" Hermione asked, hoping to divert Alice's attention.

The little girl's head spun back to her mother, and Hermione smiled. "You remember those bigger boys from your party, don't you?"

"Oh yes, Mummy," Alice stated reverently. "They helped me play catches with their Mummy and you. Then the big man helped when Daddy tolded you to rest." Alice blinked her big brown eyes at Hermione. "Mummy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?" Hermione answered, watching Severus slipping out of the door out of the corner of her eye.

"Is you all right, Mummy? You rest lots now," Alice stated, her little face serious.

"I'm perfect, Sweetheart, it's just that I'm growing new brothers for you and it is very hard work. It makes me tired."

"Oh, Mummy!" Alice gasped. "When can I meets them? Can we call them the big boys' names? Does Daddy know? Does Nanny Nerva know?" Then she thought about things for a moment, and said something very astute. "Is that why Nanny Nerva cried, because she can't grow babies?" All her questions came out in a flurry of words, but then she stopped and looked at Hermione again. "Where are you growing my brothers, Mummy?"

Hermione pulled Alice out of her chair and hugged her before she started answering her questions. "You will meet your new brother before your next birthday, and I think it would be nice if they had their own names, not someone else's names."

Alice giggled. "We could calls them Noddy and Big Ears like in the book," she enthused. Hermione was currently reading through Enid Blyton books as a means to try and get Alice to take her afternoon nap. She was quickly growing out of needing it, but she was still getting a bit too tired before it was bedtime, so Hermione lay her on their bed and they read together in the hope that if she needed some sleep she would nod off.

Hermione smiled. "We'll see," she said. "Now, are you going to play while I do some work for Nanny Nerva's library and we wait for Luna and the boys to come?"

"Yes, Mummy," Alice replied, clapping her hands.

They started up the stairs, and as they walked Alice remembered her other question. "Mummy, where is my new brothers growing?"

Hermione patted her tummy. "They're in here," she replied.

Alice stopped dead and stared. "How did they gets in there?"

"Daddy put them in there so they'd grow big and strong before they're ready to be born," she answered.

Alice looked horrified. "How are they going to get out?" she wanted to know.

"Don't worry, little love, Mummy and Daddy know how to get them out safely, and the nice lady at the hospital will help us."

"Oh, otay, Mummy," Alice said, and they started back up the stairs toward Hermione's work room, but Hermione noticed that Alice kept glancing at her tummy as they walked and she smiled.

xox

Hermione had Shotsie set up morning tea in the same garden they'd held Alice's party in. The garden was enclosed, so the children could romp around and she and Luna could sit on the porch and talk, and with the addition of Molly the terrier that's exactly what was happening.

The two witches sat watching their off-spring frolicking with the little terrier, but finally Luna said, "Does it not bother you that Ron Weasley's patronus was a terrier?"

Hermione glanced at the playful little dog and then smiled. "Initially it did, yes, but Severus ran exhaustive tests to make certain that Molly was simply a dog and nothing else." Then she laughed. "Apart from the fact that the dog is female too."

Luna cackled. "Yes, silly me," she laughed. Then she sighed, pinning her friend with her pale blue eyes. "My you look content, 'Mione," she told her.

The name took her by surprise, and made her heart ache a little. "Look, Luna, I'd prefer if that nick-name was buried along with the past. No offence, but it doesn't exactly bring back happy memories."

Luna tilted her head slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't think… What happened, Hermione?"

Hermione inhaled nervously, still uncertain about what to say. "It happened when I came back from Italy, wow, almost five years ago now." She paused and shrugged, but then inhaled once more to speak. "In a way it all seems so totally surreal now. It's hard to believe that Harry and Ginny could have been so warped by a piece of someone's soul, especially someone as evil as Bellatrix."

She finished speaking and was quiet for a moment, watching Alice chasing the boys and Molly. "Any way, I want to hear all about you. You and Kings seemed to hit it off at Alice's birthday party."

A smile spread across Luna's face, and she seemed to bloom. "He's lovely," she said. "I've seen him twice since the party, and it's been amazing."

Hermione smiled. "I'm so glad you've found someone new, you and Rolf always seemed to be the obvious pair."

"I still miss Rolf terribly, but I'm really intrigued by Kingsley, and I'm finding myself being positive about things for the first time in ages," and she blushed.

And just like that Hermione realised that she hadn't had to tell Luna anything about how Alice had come to be, or what had really happened to her, her lovely friend had become engrossed in her own happy circumstance and they were talking about that.

Perhaps now she could really bury it in the past. Harry was gone, Ginny had been declared insane, and she wasn't ever going to be released from Azkaban. The Wizengamot had brought down the harshest sentence available to them. Some of the older members had even petitioned for the dementor's kiss to be reinstated, and that was without them knowing about Ginny's curse on her. It was kind of ironic that it had been Ginny's treatment of Abigail that had hit such a chord with the Wizengamot, and yet Abigail had actually been almost as bad as her without the infectious piece of soul that had caused all the trouble.

"So, you and Severus are heading off on a honeymoon I hear," Luna said, drawing Hermione back from her thoughts.

"Umm, yes," the Gryffindor witch replied. "We're waiting for the summer holidays so that Minerva can stay with Alice while we're away."

"That sounds lovely. Do you know where you're going yet?"

"The continent. We've arranged Paris and Venice, but we're still working on Prague and Warsaw, as well as a couple of other destinations," Hermione answered.

"Sounds exciting," Luna told her with genuine interest in her voice. "Are you going to be doing anything specific at each destination?"

Hermione smiled. "Apart from having some blessed together time, we've got several prominent libraries lined up to visit."

Laughing gaily, Luna replied, "Of course you have."

"Well, we want to make the best of this opportunity," and Hermione patted her stomach softly. "Because it will be a few years before we'll likely get another opportunity."

"You're pregnant," Luna cried happily.

Hermione's smile said it all, but she nodded and said, "Twins."

"Oh, that's wonderful," and the little blonde witch rocketed out of her chair and hugged Hermione. "Really wonderful," she added as she sat back down, her eyes moving to her own boys playing I spy with Alice. "Did you know that Kings is going to become a father soon too?" Luna asked, her eyes turning wistful.

"Yes," Hermione replied, hoping that Luna was about to tell her that she was going to help him.

Luna turned back to Hermione and whispered, "You know, I really like Kingsley, and I know it might be too soon to become so serious, but I've told him that I will help him with his baby if he wants me to."

"Oh, Luna," Hermione gasped. "That's great. He's really going to need someone to help. I mean he's the Minister for Magic; short of engaging a nanny, how is he going to cope with a baby on his own?"

"He hasn't told me yes yet," Luna admitted softly, a blush creeping up her pale cheeks once more.

"But he will," Hermione replied optimistically. She had a really good feeling about Kingsley and Luna, and she was happy to have her little friend back with her, she'd missed having a witch her own age to talk to. "I've missed you, you know," she admitted.

Luna smiled. "Yes, I have to say the same, and I'm glad to be back. Now all I have to do is work out how to cure the nargles Daddy has, and everything will be fine."

"Oh, Luna," Hermione laughed, and she couldn't help but feel happy to have this friendly little witch back in her life.