Two Watermelons and a Lemon
Over the next couple of weeks, Hermione became more introverted, distancing herself from Fred and most of her friends. Fred had tried to make conversation on multiple occasions, but gave up after a few days of Hermione refusing to talk. So, every night they would eat dinner in silence and he would head up to the gym he set up in the loft and she would go to the bedroom to read.
He would come down and take a shower before climbing in bed with Hermione to continue to try to make a baby. She would never say much, but she did curl up to him, laying her head on his shoulder and would tell him that she loved him before drifting off to sleep.
"Hermione..." Fred was fed up. Another evening of silence and sex and he hated it. She was in his arms and yet he missed her. "You need to talk to me. You're doing what you always do when things get hard and you've closed up."
"What do you want me to say, Fred? Every time I look at you, it's a reminder that I'm damaged and that there's a large possibility that I can't give you the children you deserve. I know you want a quiddich team worth of children and I'm struggling just to give you one. My heart aches for you, Fred. It isn't fair that you can't have the family you want."
"Stop worrying about me! You're grieving the loss of something you haven't lost, yet! If we decide we want more kids then we'll adopt. You're so used to being stuck in grief mode that you grieving over things that you don't need to be."
Hermione was angry that he wasn't more angry over this. "How can you lay here and talk like this is no big deal? You want babies! I can't give them to you!"
"You don't know that! Being angry and bitter over something that is out of our control will do nothing, but tear us apart!"
"Yes! It'll tear us apart! This is why I don't want to talk! We can't handle this conversation right now!" Hermione pushed herself out of bed.
"We can work through the hurt, Hermione! You just don't want to hear what I have to say! You refuse to listen to anything logical when you're in pain. Don't you want to get past it?"
She slipped on her night gown that was thrown on the floor earlier. "Fuck you, Fred. Of course I do." She grabbed her two pillows off the bed.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm sleeping in the guest bedroom. I can't deal with you right now."
XxXxXx
Hermione and Angelina had bonded over the wedding and Angelina's pregnancy so that is who she spent most of her time with after the row. George spent a lot of time in the potion room of the Diagon shop, wanting to have as much stock as he could before his twin girls came, leaving Angelina and Hermione upstairs.
One day during Hermione's lunch, Angelina floo called her in tears, begging her to come help. Hermione made sure that the shop was covered before flooing over to the other flat.
Angelina steered her towards the girls' room and she saw mounds of folded baby clothes all over the floor. Some were in bags, some were in boxes, others were just thrown randomly throughout the room.
"Look at this! How am I supposed to have all of this washed and dried and put away? I can't even bend over!" Angelina cried, beside herself with anxiety.
"Sh…sh...sh. it's okay." Hermione put her arms around the taller witch. "You don't worry your pretty little head about any of this. Let's get you in bed for a nap and leave it to me."
Angelina smiled through her tears. "Really? Are you sure?" Hermione nodded in response as she guided her towards the master bedroom. "Thanks, Hermione. You are truly a great friend."
Hermione smiled. "That's what a soon to be sister-in-law is for! Plus, you are carrying my future nieces... hopefully I can teach them to be organized… someone in this family needs to be!" Hermione teased.
Angelina and George really were the most unorganized people she had ever met. She sometimes worried that they would go crazy after the twins were born; her mother always stressed the need for children to be on a schedule and she could just imagine one twin falling asleep as the other woke up, not giving either one of their parents any sleep. She knew it wasn't her place to say, and unless Angelina asked for help, she'd leave them to it. She did hope that she could babysit every once in awhile.
"Hey… that's not a bad idea… can I send George over sometime for a lesson?" Angelina asked.
Hermione snorted. "That is a lost cause, I'm afraid."
Hermione fluffed her pillows and pulled up the covers to Angelina's shoulders. "Do you mind if I change into my shirt?" She asked Angelina.
"Sure. You know you are always welcome to." The shirt she was referring to was actually George's. She had started wearing it when she would come to nap with Angelina or lounge around in it, watching muggle movies. Her excuse at first was that she was wearing her work shirt and didn't want to ruin it, but even during times she was wearing something else, she'd still put it on. Angelina never complained because it seemed like it calmed Hermione; She always seemed so frazzled when she'd come over, but after putting the large shirt on she'd settle down and enjoy herself.
Hermione kissed Angelina's temple and pulled the shirt out of the drawer before heading towards the nursery.
She spent the afternoon sorting and cleaning the baby clothes, taking her time enjoying all the tiny clothes. She hung up the little outfits on hangers, putting the double sets next to one another so they were easy to find. She practically squealed over all the tiny little jumpers and little bottoms with the pictures of animals or frilly little bums.
She did the cloth nappies next, followed by the bibs and put them away in the drawers below the changing table.
She left the onesies until last, loving how tiny they were. She picked up a dark purple one and on the front it read 'Little Miracle'. Hermione felt her chest start to constrict and her bottom lip quiver.
XxXxXx
It had been a long day and George was relieved to finally make it up to the flat. He was surprised by how quiet it was when he shut the door. The television was off, Angelina wasn't around, and the wireless that seemed to be on almost constantly was turned off.
He furrowed his brow and hurried into the hall, wanting to find his fiancé. He heard sobbing coming from the girls room and he looked in, finding Hermione sobbing into her knees while she held a piece of clothing. He noticed she was wearing his shirt again; Angelina had explained that she did it often while she was there and it seemed to make her feel better. She certainly didn't look like she felt good now.
His frown deepened. "Hermione?" He asked, gently.
She gasped and hurried to wipe the tears from her eyes, refusing to look toward the door. "Yes?"
He slowly entered the room and kneeled next to her. "Are you alright? Where's Ang?"
Hermione nodded. "She's sleeping. She was so panicked about not having any of the babies' clothes washed so I sent her to bed and told her I'd take care of it." She looked down at the onesie, sliding her fingers over the words. "I love this onesie…it's so true… little miracle." Hermione mentioned, wiping away a tear before finally folding it and setting it on top of the pile.
George grinned. "You're acting like Ang. Are you sure you're not pregnant, too, Herms?" He teased and then seeing her reaction, he realized he had said something wrong and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly.
"I'm sorry if I said something to upset you, Hermione. Please tell me what's going on! You and Fred are acting so strange!" George urged.
"Fred hasn't told you?" Hermione asked, pulling her head off his shoulder.
He shook his head. "He's actually been avoiding me like the plague. What is it, Hermione?"
She took a deep breath and let it out. "We found out I might be infertile."
He pulled her to him and kissed her forehead. "Oh, Hermione… how do you know?"
Hermione explained what happened that day and told him their decision on trying for a child.
"So, you could be pregnant right now!"
She shook her head. "I started my period this morning."
"Well, it's only just happened. Sometimes it takes a whole year for a healthy couple to conceive. Don't give up so soon. I'm sorry that you were roped into doing this today." George said, looking over the now clean room.
"Don't be sorry. I love your girls and I enjoy helping. I can't wait until they're here." She smiled and flicked her wand, making the rest fold themselves before standing up and putting them in the drawer below the nappies and bibs.
"Hey, George?" Hermione called while she closed the drawer. "Do you think you could talk to Fred? Maybe make sure he's okay? Things have been awkward since I told him and I don't know what he's thinking…how he's taking it. I know having a family of his own has always been important to him." She turned and chewed the inside of her lip, looking hopeful.
"Of course I can." He stood and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight against him. His heart ached for both his brother and his future sister-in-law. He couldn't imagine what they were going through.
"HERMIONE!" Angelina's scream rang out right before entering the room. George released Hermione and turned toward Angelina. "OH THANK GOD! George! You're here! My water broke!"
George gave Angelina a large grin, smacking his hands together and rubbing them against each other. "Great! It's baby time!"
XxXxXx
The family sat in the OB waiting room at St. Mungo's, waiting for an update on Angelina. George had come out twenty minutes ago, stating that she was at a nine and it wouldn't be much longer.
Their seats faced towards the babies behind the glass. Hermione and Fred sat next to one another, his hand resting on her leg while she wrapped her arms around his larger one, her head resting on his shoulder.
They watched the babies kick and throw their arms about, one of them letting out a loud scream, making the light above the baby flicker. Hermione and Fred laughed.
"Wild magic already?" Hermione asked, keeping her eyes on the babies.
Fred chuckled and leaned his head against hers. "Yep. Happens from time to time. Mum said they separated George and me when we were born and we ended up wheeling our incubators across the room to each other. She said when they found us we were both pressed up against the side smiling at each other."
"That is the sweetest thing I have ever heard. You two have such a sweet bond. I'm excited to get to watch the girls grow up and witness theirs." Hermione grinned, squeezing his arm.
"It's definitely different than just having a sibling. There's such a deep bond there… I don't know if I could function if something happened to George. It's like I can't breathe unless he's there." Fred tried to explain.
"I'm jealous… I wish I had a twin."
"Yikes! Two Mione's? I don't think the world could handle that. George and I might have never been able to start the shop if there were two of you!"
Hermione giggled. "I highly doubt that."
Fred smiled and turned his head, giving her a kiss on her forehead. He couldn't help, but notice that she had returned to her normal self; he hoped that it would continue after the girls were born and not get worse after seeing them.
"Are we okay, Fred?" Hermione asked quietly.
He nodded. "We're okay."
"I'm sorry for the other night. I should have never cursed at you. What you said hurt, but only because it was true. I know I need to work on not shutting people out. I love you."
"I love you, too, beautiful."
Hermione smiled up at him and he leaned in to kiss her.
"THEY'RE HERE! AND THEY'RE PERFECT!" George came running out, screaming. The healers shushed him from the healer station.
"Grandparents first! Mum, Dad? Mr. and Mrs. Johnson?" George called, waving them to him impatiently. "Fred! You and Hermione next!"
Hermione squealed quietly to Fred and danced a little in her seat. "I can't wait to get my hands on those babies! I'm going to spoil those girls rotten!"
Fred laughed and shook his head. "Calm down, little Tink. Those girls will probably be spoiled rotten before you can even get your hands on them."
Hermione nodded. "Probably. I wonder what their names are…"
He shrugged. "Angelina complained that she and George have too common of names, so probably something more unique."
"If George got to make the decision they'd probably be called thing one and thing two." Hermione laughed.
Ten minutes later, his dad came out. "Fred, Hermione! You're up! Room four." Mr. Weasley told the couple. They looked up to see both granddads having a seat. "Couldn't tear the wives away from the babies yet." He added with a smile, seeing their confused faces.
Hermione grinned and jumped up, grabbing Fred's hand and pulling him along the hall, making him laugh. He quickly caught up with her, throwing an arm around her neck and pulling her close to kiss the top of her head.
"Ready to meet our new nieces?" Fred asked with a hand on the doorknob.
"Just open the door!" Hermione whined.
He pushed it open and she hurried in and stopped at the sink, washing and drying her hands before continuing into the room.
"My hands are clean! Now give me those babies!" She demanded, holding her hands up to show they were clean.
George laughed and handed her a bundle he was holding. "Don't get your knickers in a twist, Granger!"
She looked down at the little bundle he handed her and tears came to her eyes. "She's beautiful… so perfect." Hermione said, looking up at George before moving over to Angelina and sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Angelina… you're amazing." Hermione said dreamily, sounding a bit like Luna Lovegood.
"She is amazing! Two babies and no pain potions… my witch did it completely natural. Didn't scream once! She did threaten to hex my bullocks off a few times… but I wasn't worried. Her mum had her wand." George said proudly, sticking his chest out.
"He, on the other hand, screamed like a little girl." Angelina giggled.
"You were crushing my hand, woman!" George yelled, indignantly.
"And I had two humans coming out of something of mine the size of a lemon…what's your point?" Angelina shot back, making him grimace at the thought of something the size of a watermelon coming out of a lemon.
He shrugged. "Touché."
Hermione laughed and looked back down at the bundle. Dark hair that curled at the ends stuck out around the babies head, her skin tone reminded Hermione of cinnamon, and her eyes that kept opening randomly were already dark.
She looked up at Fred, who had taken one of the girls from his mother. She watched him as he rocked the baby, whispering things close to the baby's ear.
"Oi! Don't go starting already!" George yelled at Fred.
"Are you insinuating that I'm teaching my niece bad things?" Fred asked.
George nodded. "I'm sure of it!"
"I was just telling her how her daddy and mummy met!" Fred said, grinning mischievously.
"Oh, Merlin." Angelina groaned.
"Can we at least get them home first before you start corrupting them?" George asked, laughing.
Fred shrugged. "I guess so."
Hermione laughed and turned back to Angelina. "How are you feeling?"
Angelina gave her a sleepy smile. "Tired, but happy. Thank you for getting their room ready today. I appreciate that nap so much right now… dunno if I would have made it through without it."
"No trouble, Ang. I enjoyed it… so, what are their names?"
Angelina looked to George, letting him take over.
"Well, Angelina wanted some off the wall Hawaiian names that were very pretty, but they were long and hard to say. I told her that Fred and I love that our names are so easy, so we decided to meet in the middle." George started.
"George had come to me stating he wanted one of the babies named after you." Angelina explained.
"After me?" Hermione squeaked out, surprised. She looked up at George and he smiled.
"You are the brightest witch of the age…you helped take down Voldemort for Christ's sake! You've gone through a lot in your lifetime and you're still struggling, but you're strong Hermione, and I am honored to have one of the girls be your namesake." Tears started cascading down her cheeks and she wiped them away quickly.
George moved towards the bed and sat on the edge in front of Hermione. "Aunt Hermione, meet your namesake, Mia." He said looking down at the bundle in her arms. "Mia is a form of Hermione… did you know? I found out it means mine… go figure."
Hermione laughed. "Mia… that's very pretty. Thank you two… so much… this is the best thing you could have ever done for me. You are officially excused for ever buying me another Christmas or birthday present."
George whooped. "Maybe next time we should try and hit the other family member's names? Save some money?" He asked Angelina.
She snorted. "You realize having a child is more expensive than buying a present?"
George opened his mouth to retort but got cut off. "So, what's this one's name?" Fred asked.
"Well we wanted something to go with Mia so we looked and looked and found Ava…which means life. So when you put them together it says 'my life' and that's what they are. It's just perfect. Both three letters, two syllables…" Angelina explained.
"That is perfect." Hermione agreed, looking down at Mia.
Angelina watched Hermione closely. "Getting baby fever, Granger?"
Hermione heard a hiss come from Fred's mouth, but smiled at Angelina. "A bit… but I'm sure I'll get my fill with these girls. Aunt Hermione is always available for snuggles!" She said, looking back down at the baby and slipped her forefinger into her open palm, smiling as the baby grasped it.
"I'll keep that in mind." Angelina laughed.
XxXxXx
As Fred and Hermione turned down the bed that night, they couldn't keep the grins off their faces. They were both so excited for the new additions to the family.
Fred scooted over to Hermione and leaned in to kiss her. His kiss was long and sweet, taking her breath away before continuing open mouth kisses to her neck and collarbone.
"Fred… Fred, I can't." She struggled to find her words.
"Why?" His words were muffled against her collarbone.
"I started this morning…" She looked up at the ceiling and bit her lip.
He nipped at her collarbone a few more times and straightened up, kissing her temple. "Okay."
"I'm sorry, love."
"Don't be sorry! It's only been a few weeks." He kissed her mouth when he saw her lips turn into a pout.
He nuzzled into her neck and put an arm around her waist. "All these girls all of a sudden. I think Mum is in Heaven… It seems like you are, too. I've never seen you gush over anything like you've gushed over Ang and the girls."
Hermione smiled. "I adore those babies; it's nice being able to have a family. If we have one of our own though, I think I'd like a boy."
He grinned into her neck. "Yea? Even after dealing with all of us insufferable gits?"
She laughed. "Yes. I'm better with males…use to dealing with all you insufferable gits. Plus, I'd love to have the first boy. Maybe he can keep the crazy girls in line."
"Oh Godric… a male Hermione. I can just see him now, telling Mia and Ava that he's going to owl their mum." Fred rolled his eyes.
Hermione smiled proudly. "A boy who likes rules… it's about time."
Fred snorted. "He'll be a Weasley… he'll be fun."
"I can be fun! Following rules can be fun, too!"
"Of course you can love… but really, how often did you stick to the rules in school?" Fred asked, poking her side.
"That's all Harry's fault! And I hope he never has to go through what we have had to go through…"
"Me too, love." He said quietly, kissing the crook of her neck.
She lifted her arm and placed it over his as she closed her eyes. After a few minutes of silence, she lifted his arm and kissed his hand. "Goodnight." She said, as she placed both their arms back over her.
"Goodnight, Tink."
Fred fell asleep that night with images of Hermione with a large, swollen belly, sitting in a rocking chair in a nursery full of snitches, quaffles, and bats, which turned into vivid dreams of curly-headed children riding brooms in their grandmum's orchard.