CHAPTER FOUR: Weeks Eleven-Twenty
Hermione stood in the empty Gryffindor Common room, feeling her stomach. Although there were no obvious physical reminders that she was pregnant, she could feel a ball like bubble forming inside her. She knew her babies were now at eleven weeks and were each one inch long. Harry and Ron walked up behind her, Ron giving her a friendly punch on the arm.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked, flopping down on the big red couch.
"Just thinking really, just imagine, our babies have fingernails and hair now." Hermione smiled sitting down next to him. "That, and I still can't believe I'm having twins!"
Ron groaned. "You're still on about that? It's been a week already."
"Yes, but...twins!"
"I don't think she is ever going to get over it Ron; I wouldn't." Harry said, yawning.
"In a way, you are too Harry. You're going to have two kids; yours and Draco's. You know something? I've had a really good idea. The three of us should make a pack, right now. That no matter what, we'll help each other through this, and out beyond to the other side. We're going to be taking care of five babies, then five toddlers, who'll turn into five children, then five teenagers; do you understand where I'm going with this? This is going to be difficult for all of us. If they're anything like us, we'll have our hands full to say the least." Hermione sighed and leaned back. "Aside from that, do you think we should tell Hagrid soon?"
Harry shook his head violently. "Not yet. As much as I love him, we should wait until the end of the school year before we tell him. At least, if we don't want the whole school to find out." They all laughed, and Harry sighed.
"We need to go to Madam Pomfrey's to take our first dose of the stomach potion. She said we'd need to start it around week eleven." Ron announced getting up. Hermione and Harry groaned and stood up too, they walked together slowly to the Hospital wing.
Madam Pomfrey looked up as she heard them enter the room. "Ah, I take it you're here to start your potions? Mr. Malfoy has already been and gone, I've given him both potions to take, since he wants to make sure absolutely no one knows about this. While I get your potions ready, let's talk about the next three weeks shall we. Your babies will all be around three inches by next week. Now Hermione, since you're having twins, it's going to be hard to keep you as thin as necessary. Your babies are going to be smaller then the boy's because they are sharing the space, but that's nothing to worry about. However at some point you may need to start taking the concealment potion to keep this quiet, because you're going to bulge out even with the stomach potion." Hermione nodded quietly. "Good, now next week you will be officially three months pregnant; good chance to celebrate, but I'd save the big celebration until you're at fourteen weeks."
"What happens at Fourteen weeks?" Harry asked curiously.
"Honestly you two, don't you read at all? That's when we go in to our second trimester!" Hermione said, sounding slightly exasperated before glaring at the two boys.
"Hey, it was your idea to only read the chapter we're up to. I haven't got that far." Ron sourly reminded her. Hermione rolled her eyes and looked back expectantly at the smiling Madam Pomfrey.
"Ah the second trimester. Once you've got there your babies will be three to four inches long, and your stomachs will officially be starting to grow. By week twelve you may start to see brown marks on your face and neck, they can vary in shape and shade. We call it the mask of pregnancy. Now don't worry, we have a lotion that'll turn it to the color of your skin so that know one notices. Also you might see a brown line that goes from your belly button downwards, this isn't unusual either; we can use the same lotion for that. At thirteen weeks you might start seeing stretch marks. I found that it was best if I slept on my side with a pillow between my legs from that week on, it'll make you a lot more comfortable. So... Do you have any questions?" The trio shook their heads. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow for your normal check ups then." With that she handed them their potions and walked out of the little room the group was standing in.
Week fourteen finally came, with much excitement. The night their second trimester finally began all four gathered in the infirmary, in a large conference room in the back, with food and drinks. Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey and McGonagall had decided that they wanted to attend the celebration along with the four teens. They were all sitting around the table talking and laughing, when Madam Pomfrey tapped her glass with her spoon, bringing silence to the room as everyone turned to look at her. She smiled.
"As you know, today this group of brave Wizards and Witch," nodding towards Hermione, "have entered the second trimester of there pregnancy. Even though they are all high-risk pregnancies, their risk of having a miscarriage has now dropped dramatically. This would have never happened if this group hadn't taken such good care of themselves while doing the unthinkable. They have followed all my instructions to the full. So hears to bravery." She lifted her glass up. The others did the same. A chink of wine glasses resonated around.
"To bravery," they repeated, before drinking from their glasses. Hermione, Ron, and Harry smiled at each other. Draco sort of sneered, not really wanting to be here, it was cringe worthy.
~=~=~
Week fifteen came and they all stood in line to have their babies looked at with the gel. What they saw made them all gasp.
"You said our babies were going to grow hair, not become a dog!" Draco yelled at seeing his very furry baby.
"Now Mr. Malfoy, it's called lanugos and it'll disappear before the baby is born, this is all perfectly natural. You looked like this when you were at fifteen weeks! Now look here, your babies are growing muscles now, they can move their face into different positions. Look at Harry's baby, he's squinting." They all looked closely at the baby inside Harry.
"If that's what you call squinting." Ron stated giving up the fight. Madam Pomfrey's smile only widened.
"Okay, this week I'm going to be doing extra tests. It's at this point that I need to make sure none of your babies have anything wrong with them." The group sat up slightly, a scared look crossing their faces. "Don't worry, I've been watching them grow all year, they appear to be perfectly healthy, but we have to make sure. That way if there is anything wrong we can correct it before it causes any serious damage to you or the child. Now, I've already talked to your teachers, I told them you were about to go through a rough point with your illness and that you wouldn't be in class tomorrow. I need you to get what ever you may need from your dorms and come back ready to spend tonight and all tomorrow here. I want to get all these tests done at once." She wiped the gel off Harry, and they all walked out of the hospital grumbling.
Malfoy walked into his dorm, grabbed some clothes for the next day and his school books, so that at least he wouldn't be behind in class. 'Wouldn't do to be beaten by mudbloods and the likes of Crabbe and Goyle.' As he was walking out of the common room he practically walked into Snape.
"Mr. Malfoy." Snape narrowed his eyes. "You don't look sick, may I enquire why you are spending the night in the hospital wing?" He asked, neatly cornering his student.
"Well I don't feel any sicker than I look, but Madam Pomfrey wants to run tests, to see how far the illness has gone, and when it will be over finally." Malfoy shrugged. It seemed to get Snape off his back, because he nodded, and walked away. Draco sighed, walking back to the hospital where he found the other three already waiting.
They walked into a private area in the hospital ward, where there were only four beds, and curtains separating out cubicles. There they each grabbed a bed and closed the curtains to change into their nightclothes. When everyone had changed and they had all put their things on the bedside table, they re-opened the curtains and got into bed. None of them were at all happy about this unexpected event.
Week sixteen finally arrived; the four students had escaped from the hospital ward three days before and were all anxious to find out how the tests had come out. They all walked into the transfiguration class nervous. After transfiguration they were due for their daily check up, and then would receive the test results. They were half way through the class when Harry gave a startled yelp, and looked down at his stomach. Ron, Hermione and Draco looked at him. Ron and Hermione with concern, while Draco looked like he could kill him at any moment. Harry placed his hand over his stomach, and gave a gasp again. McGonagall, rushed over to him and bent down.
"Do you need to go to the hospital ward, Mr. Potter?" Harry looked confused, it didn't feel exactly uncomfortable, just very different, but he was feeling something he'd never felt before, so he nodded. "Fine, Miss. Granger, Mr. Weasley, AND Mr. Malfoy will accompany you, go on." They all grabbed their books and hurried out of the room into the empty hall.
"What's wrong Harry?" Hermione asked, she looked concerned and more than a bit worried.
"Umm, well I don't think it's anything wrong per say, I think the baby is moving! It feels like a snitch is floating around in my stomach." They walked into the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey who heard the last part of the conversation rushed over to him.
"Is there any pain?" She asked helping him up onto a table. Harry shook his head. Madam Pomfrey rubbed the gel all over his stomach and a view of the six-inch baby appeared. The baby moved slightly, causing Harry to gasp again, a smile crossing his face.
Madam Pomfrey looked almost too relieved. "The baby's is moving around." She smiled. "It should feel like butterflies in your stomach?" She asked.
"Yeah...or a snitch." Harry grinned wider, looking at his baby. One by one the group had their turn getting their check up and looking at the babies.
"Rowdy bunch aren't they." Pomfrey remarked, sitting back. The group smiled.
"So do you have our test results?" Hermione asked. All smiles except Pomfrey's faded.
"I do in fact. And I'm proud to say that beyond my belief, you all have perfectly healthy babies." Everyone broke back out into grins.
"What do you mean by beyond your belief?" Draco sneered.
"Well honestly, I had expected major complications with the four of you. With you all only being fifteen, three of you being male, one of you having twins...well the odds were set up against you. Now although you are not out of the woods until you have safely had those children, it looks like it might be smooth sailing from here. Next week your babies will be around seven inches, and weigh five ounces. You will have gained anywhere from five to ten pounds. And even with the potion your stomachs will start to come out a little. With the potions boys, your stomachs should only come out a couple of inches. Normally it would come out much further then that. Hermione, your stomach will come out around four inches, we can see how we will deal with that, as you get bigger. You have to expect to feel a bit of pain as your stomach grows, the skin is having to stretch. Come to me immediately when you do feel the pain, I still want to make sure it's just growing pains. When you all feel the butterfly or snitch sensation, come to me straight away too. Any change, I want to know about right away, understand?" They all nodded simultaneously and smiled as they walked out of the room and down to the great hall where it was time to eat. McGonagall and Dumbledore pulled them to the side before they entered.
"Are you alright Harry, what happened? What did Madam Pomfrey say?" McGonagall asked hurriedly. The group smiled.
"I'm fine, Professor, my baby moved, it caused quite a weird sensation." Harry was now grinning from ear to ear.
"We got our test results back, and all of our babies are in perfect health." Hermione added. The two teachers smiled, and nodded.
"Very good. Now go on, get your lunch. I know you all are extra hungry eating for more then just you." Dumbledore spoke with his trademark twinkle in his eye, as they all walked into the Great Hall.
By the time week seventeen came around, they were starting to get a little more stressed. When they weren't in their robes and not in baggy clothing you could definitely see that there stomachs were protruding out. None of them really liked the baggy clothing, but were forced to wear it anyway. They were all feeling the growing pains now, and it perpetually reminded them that this was all really happening. They were going to be parents. Finally week twenty appeared, it was time to celebrate again. The group needed their small celebrations; they were reaching a major stress marker. They gathered in the same small room they were in for the beginning of the second trimester. The date, March fifteenth, for the first time in a week the group of teens laughed. They were all trying to study for their OWLs and figure out what Voldemort was up to. A massive amount of the death eaters had been appearing all around England. The ministry couldn't keep all the leaks out of the papers. Not for something this big. Plus they were straining to try and hide there now larger than normal stomachs. Nighttime was the hardest, when they walked around in their nightclothes. Clothes you could tell were now a little too small. Small backaches were normal while walking up and down the hundreds of flights of stairs trying to get to classes on time.
"Well, today's celebration is all about these four teens finally hitting the halfway mark in their pregnancies. Their babies senses are developing now, this is very exciting." Madam Pomfrey looked around the group. Everyone else smiled back as they ate some more and talked to each other. Hopefully it wouldn't be all down hill from here. Boy could they be more wrong.
Hermione stood in the empty Gryffindor Common room, feeling her stomach. Although there were no obvious physical reminders that she was pregnant, she could feel a ball like bubble forming inside her. She knew her babies were now at eleven weeks and were each one inch long. Harry and Ron walked up behind her, Ron giving her a friendly punch on the arm.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked, flopping down on the big red couch.
"Just thinking really, just imagine, our babies have fingernails and hair now." Hermione smiled sitting down next to him. "That, and I still can't believe I'm having twins!"
Ron groaned. "You're still on about that? It's been a week already."
"Yes, but...twins!"
"I don't think she is ever going to get over it Ron; I wouldn't." Harry said, yawning.
"In a way, you are too Harry. You're going to have two kids; yours and Draco's. You know something? I've had a really good idea. The three of us should make a pack, right now. That no matter what, we'll help each other through this, and out beyond to the other side. We're going to be taking care of five babies, then five toddlers, who'll turn into five children, then five teenagers; do you understand where I'm going with this? This is going to be difficult for all of us. If they're anything like us, we'll have our hands full to say the least." Hermione sighed and leaned back. "Aside from that, do you think we should tell Hagrid soon?"
Harry shook his head violently. "Not yet. As much as I love him, we should wait until the end of the school year before we tell him. At least, if we don't want the whole school to find out." They all laughed, and Harry sighed.
"We need to go to Madam Pomfrey's to take our first dose of the stomach potion. She said we'd need to start it around week eleven." Ron announced getting up. Hermione and Harry groaned and stood up too, they walked together slowly to the Hospital wing.
Madam Pomfrey looked up as she heard them enter the room. "Ah, I take it you're here to start your potions? Mr. Malfoy has already been and gone, I've given him both potions to take, since he wants to make sure absolutely no one knows about this. While I get your potions ready, let's talk about the next three weeks shall we. Your babies will all be around three inches by next week. Now Hermione, since you're having twins, it's going to be hard to keep you as thin as necessary. Your babies are going to be smaller then the boy's because they are sharing the space, but that's nothing to worry about. However at some point you may need to start taking the concealment potion to keep this quiet, because you're going to bulge out even with the stomach potion." Hermione nodded quietly. "Good, now next week you will be officially three months pregnant; good chance to celebrate, but I'd save the big celebration until you're at fourteen weeks."
"What happens at Fourteen weeks?" Harry asked curiously.
"Honestly you two, don't you read at all? That's when we go in to our second trimester!" Hermione said, sounding slightly exasperated before glaring at the two boys.
"Hey, it was your idea to only read the chapter we're up to. I haven't got that far." Ron sourly reminded her. Hermione rolled her eyes and looked back expectantly at the smiling Madam Pomfrey.
"Ah the second trimester. Once you've got there your babies will be three to four inches long, and your stomachs will officially be starting to grow. By week twelve you may start to see brown marks on your face and neck, they can vary in shape and shade. We call it the mask of pregnancy. Now don't worry, we have a lotion that'll turn it to the color of your skin so that know one notices. Also you might see a brown line that goes from your belly button downwards, this isn't unusual either; we can use the same lotion for that. At thirteen weeks you might start seeing stretch marks. I found that it was best if I slept on my side with a pillow between my legs from that week on, it'll make you a lot more comfortable. So... Do you have any questions?" The trio shook their heads. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow for your normal check ups then." With that she handed them their potions and walked out of the little room the group was standing in.
Week fourteen finally came, with much excitement. The night their second trimester finally began all four gathered in the infirmary, in a large conference room in the back, with food and drinks. Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey and McGonagall had decided that they wanted to attend the celebration along with the four teens. They were all sitting around the table talking and laughing, when Madam Pomfrey tapped her glass with her spoon, bringing silence to the room as everyone turned to look at her. She smiled.
"As you know, today this group of brave Wizards and Witch," nodding towards Hermione, "have entered the second trimester of there pregnancy. Even though they are all high-risk pregnancies, their risk of having a miscarriage has now dropped dramatically. This would have never happened if this group hadn't taken such good care of themselves while doing the unthinkable. They have followed all my instructions to the full. So hears to bravery." She lifted her glass up. The others did the same. A chink of wine glasses resonated around.
"To bravery," they repeated, before drinking from their glasses. Hermione, Ron, and Harry smiled at each other. Draco sort of sneered, not really wanting to be here, it was cringe worthy.
~=~=~
Week fifteen came and they all stood in line to have their babies looked at with the gel. What they saw made them all gasp.
"You said our babies were going to grow hair, not become a dog!" Draco yelled at seeing his very furry baby.
"Now Mr. Malfoy, it's called lanugos and it'll disappear before the baby is born, this is all perfectly natural. You looked like this when you were at fifteen weeks! Now look here, your babies are growing muscles now, they can move their face into different positions. Look at Harry's baby, he's squinting." They all looked closely at the baby inside Harry.
"If that's what you call squinting." Ron stated giving up the fight. Madam Pomfrey's smile only widened.
"Okay, this week I'm going to be doing extra tests. It's at this point that I need to make sure none of your babies have anything wrong with them." The group sat up slightly, a scared look crossing their faces. "Don't worry, I've been watching them grow all year, they appear to be perfectly healthy, but we have to make sure. That way if there is anything wrong we can correct it before it causes any serious damage to you or the child. Now, I've already talked to your teachers, I told them you were about to go through a rough point with your illness and that you wouldn't be in class tomorrow. I need you to get what ever you may need from your dorms and come back ready to spend tonight and all tomorrow here. I want to get all these tests done at once." She wiped the gel off Harry, and they all walked out of the hospital grumbling.
Malfoy walked into his dorm, grabbed some clothes for the next day and his school books, so that at least he wouldn't be behind in class. 'Wouldn't do to be beaten by mudbloods and the likes of Crabbe and Goyle.' As he was walking out of the common room he practically walked into Snape.
"Mr. Malfoy." Snape narrowed his eyes. "You don't look sick, may I enquire why you are spending the night in the hospital wing?" He asked, neatly cornering his student.
"Well I don't feel any sicker than I look, but Madam Pomfrey wants to run tests, to see how far the illness has gone, and when it will be over finally." Malfoy shrugged. It seemed to get Snape off his back, because he nodded, and walked away. Draco sighed, walking back to the hospital where he found the other three already waiting.
They walked into a private area in the hospital ward, where there were only four beds, and curtains separating out cubicles. There they each grabbed a bed and closed the curtains to change into their nightclothes. When everyone had changed and they had all put their things on the bedside table, they re-opened the curtains and got into bed. None of them were at all happy about this unexpected event.
Week sixteen finally arrived; the four students had escaped from the hospital ward three days before and were all anxious to find out how the tests had come out. They all walked into the transfiguration class nervous. After transfiguration they were due for their daily check up, and then would receive the test results. They were half way through the class when Harry gave a startled yelp, and looked down at his stomach. Ron, Hermione and Draco looked at him. Ron and Hermione with concern, while Draco looked like he could kill him at any moment. Harry placed his hand over his stomach, and gave a gasp again. McGonagall, rushed over to him and bent down.
"Do you need to go to the hospital ward, Mr. Potter?" Harry looked confused, it didn't feel exactly uncomfortable, just very different, but he was feeling something he'd never felt before, so he nodded. "Fine, Miss. Granger, Mr. Weasley, AND Mr. Malfoy will accompany you, go on." They all grabbed their books and hurried out of the room into the empty hall.
"What's wrong Harry?" Hermione asked, she looked concerned and more than a bit worried.
"Umm, well I don't think it's anything wrong per say, I think the baby is moving! It feels like a snitch is floating around in my stomach." They walked into the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey who heard the last part of the conversation rushed over to him.
"Is there any pain?" She asked helping him up onto a table. Harry shook his head. Madam Pomfrey rubbed the gel all over his stomach and a view of the six-inch baby appeared. The baby moved slightly, causing Harry to gasp again, a smile crossing his face.
Madam Pomfrey looked almost too relieved. "The baby's is moving around." She smiled. "It should feel like butterflies in your stomach?" She asked.
"Yeah...or a snitch." Harry grinned wider, looking at his baby. One by one the group had their turn getting their check up and looking at the babies.
"Rowdy bunch aren't they." Pomfrey remarked, sitting back. The group smiled.
"So do you have our test results?" Hermione asked. All smiles except Pomfrey's faded.
"I do in fact. And I'm proud to say that beyond my belief, you all have perfectly healthy babies." Everyone broke back out into grins.
"What do you mean by beyond your belief?" Draco sneered.
"Well honestly, I had expected major complications with the four of you. With you all only being fifteen, three of you being male, one of you having twins...well the odds were set up against you. Now although you are not out of the woods until you have safely had those children, it looks like it might be smooth sailing from here. Next week your babies will be around seven inches, and weigh five ounces. You will have gained anywhere from five to ten pounds. And even with the potion your stomachs will start to come out a little. With the potions boys, your stomachs should only come out a couple of inches. Normally it would come out much further then that. Hermione, your stomach will come out around four inches, we can see how we will deal with that, as you get bigger. You have to expect to feel a bit of pain as your stomach grows, the skin is having to stretch. Come to me immediately when you do feel the pain, I still want to make sure it's just growing pains. When you all feel the butterfly or snitch sensation, come to me straight away too. Any change, I want to know about right away, understand?" They all nodded simultaneously and smiled as they walked out of the room and down to the great hall where it was time to eat. McGonagall and Dumbledore pulled them to the side before they entered.
"Are you alright Harry, what happened? What did Madam Pomfrey say?" McGonagall asked hurriedly. The group smiled.
"I'm fine, Professor, my baby moved, it caused quite a weird sensation." Harry was now grinning from ear to ear.
"We got our test results back, and all of our babies are in perfect health." Hermione added. The two teachers smiled, and nodded.
"Very good. Now go on, get your lunch. I know you all are extra hungry eating for more then just you." Dumbledore spoke with his trademark twinkle in his eye, as they all walked into the Great Hall.
By the time week seventeen came around, they were starting to get a little more stressed. When they weren't in their robes and not in baggy clothing you could definitely see that there stomachs were protruding out. None of them really liked the baggy clothing, but were forced to wear it anyway. They were all feeling the growing pains now, and it perpetually reminded them that this was all really happening. They were going to be parents. Finally week twenty appeared, it was time to celebrate again. The group needed their small celebrations; they were reaching a major stress marker. They gathered in the same small room they were in for the beginning of the second trimester. The date, March fifteenth, for the first time in a week the group of teens laughed. They were all trying to study for their OWLs and figure out what Voldemort was up to. A massive amount of the death eaters had been appearing all around England. The ministry couldn't keep all the leaks out of the papers. Not for something this big. Plus they were straining to try and hide there now larger than normal stomachs. Nighttime was the hardest, when they walked around in their nightclothes. Clothes you could tell were now a little too small. Small backaches were normal while walking up and down the hundreds of flights of stairs trying to get to classes on time.
"Well, today's celebration is all about these four teens finally hitting the halfway mark in their pregnancies. Their babies senses are developing now, this is very exciting." Madam Pomfrey looked around the group. Everyone else smiled back as they ate some more and talked to each other. Hopefully it wouldn't be all down hill from here. Boy could they be more wrong.