Chapter Twenty Five: And baby makes...

Harry glanced over at Ginny. These political parties were boring to begin with, but at eight plus months pregnant, Ginny tired easily.

He stood for a moment, just watching her. The deep green of her dress robes set off her beautiful hair, which tonight was piled in an intricate upsweep that Hermione had charmed into being when Ginny had declared before leaving the Manor that she didn't much care what it looked like.

Seeing her laugh at what the man next to her said, Harry knew it was time for them to leave. He knew that laugh. It was the one that said she was almost out of patience, but was trying to be polite anyhow.

Moving quietly through the crowd to her side, he slipped a hand against the small of her back, and felt her press back against him gratefully.

"I'm terribly sorry, but my wife needs her rest," he smiled at the man next to her, their host. "This has been lovely, but we really do need to go."

"Of course, Minister! Of course!"

Harry, holding Ginny's hand, led her through the packed room to the hallway. "Ready?"

"I was ready two hours ago," she said tiredly, leaning against his chest and closing her eyes. "Take me home, Harry, and put me to bed, please."

Harry chuckled, "Now there is an invitation that any bloke in his right mind would love to hear."

An instant later, they were standing in their bedroom. Harry quickly helped her off with her robes and underthings, and slipped a long white nightgown over her head. He smiled as it tugged over her distended belly. Ginny was carrying either a very large baby, which was entirely possible given his own six foot two frame, or a baby rhino.

"What are you grinning at?" she spat at him.

"My beautiful wife," he shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah. You mean your fat, ugly, exhausted wife who's sick of playing 'bus'."

Harry's eyebrows rose at this, but he wisely said nothing. He strongly suspected that anything he said to that comment would be taken wrong.

"What?" she snapped as he helped her into bed, then tucked the quilts around her.

"I was just thinking..."

"Really?" she said sarcastically. This, too, he ignored.

"...that for a fat, ugly, exhausted woman, you're awfully beautiful."

Ginny, narrowed her eyes dangerously at him.

"Go to sleep, love," he smiled. "You need the rest. I'm sorry I kept you out so long."

At that, her eyes began to tear up. "Oh, Harry! I'm horrible! I'm so sorry, I don't mean to be cranky..." she threw her arms around him.

"I know, Gin. I can't imagine what you're going through, but I love you for it." He held her close for a moment, then helped her lie back and reorganized the covers.

"Sleep, love."

"Thank you, Harry..."

Harry retreated to his study where he found Ron staring into the fire.

"Hey."

"Oh, hi..." Ron sounded strange. For Ron.

"What's wrong?" Harry sat down in the large leather chair he favored.

"Just... thinking."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, you know... life, the universe... everything."

Harry's eyebrows rose, amused.

"Sounds deep."

"Harry, what's it like to be married?"

It took him a minute to shift gears... "Um... good?"

Ron glanced at him, his ears going pink when he realized that Harry was looking at him curiously.

"I..."

"Ron? What's this about?"

"I want to..." Ron sighed. "I've been thinking about..."

"Hermione?"

Ron sighed again, "Yeah."

A grin slid into place on Harry's face. "Congratulations, mate. Can I be best man?"

Ron turned panicked eyes to him. "She hasn't... I haven't..."

"Yet."

"I haven't even asked her, Harry."

"Yet."

"She might say no."

Harry snorted, "Not likely."

"She might!" Ron sounded rather desperate.

Harry laughed. "Ron, she's nuts about you. She's not going to say 'no'."

"She could."

"Ron," Harry looked him straight in the eye. "She lets you scratch in public."

"So?"

"You'll understand someday, I'm sure."

"So, because she lets me scratch, she'll say yes?"

"Pretty much," Harry agreed.

"I'll never understand women, Harry."

"Join the club, my friend. Join the club."


"Harry?"

"Tomorrow, okay? I'll do it..."

"Harry, wake up."

"Gin?" Harry came aware of his wife shaking his shoulder.

"Harry, wake up. Please."

"Ginny? What is it? What's wrong?" he reached onto his bedside table for his wand. Ginny had made him stop keeping it under his pillow when he'd had a nightmare and turned his pillow into a mongoose. A very crispy, charred mongoose.

"Harry... I think... ugh..."

"Gin?" he was suddenly wide awake as he felt her tense.

"Harry... the baby..."

"Dear Merlin!" he jumped out of bed, pulling on the pajama bottoms he never wore to bed, but kept next to the bed in case he needed to get up in the night.

"... is coming!" she cried as the contraction ended.

"Right now?" he asked, panicked.

"No, maybe next Thursday! Yes, right now!"

Her sharp tone made him take a breath, and suddenly, he was calm.

"Okay, Gin, let me get your mother..." He strode to the door, opened it, and bellowed, "Molly!"

"Oh, very good, Potter," Ginny said. "Wake up the entire bloody household, why don't you?"

"They'll all be up as soon as your mother figures out what is going on."

"Harry? What is it?" Molly rushed in, tying her robe as she came, Arthur behind her with his wand out.

"The baby is coming, Mum," Ginny said, trying to sit up so Harry could arrange the pillows behind her.

"Molly, can you go call the midwife?" Harry asked. "Arthur, we're going to need Hermione in here, I think."

"Of course, Harry," Arthur smiled, quickly leaving the room after his wife.

"He's in for a surprise," Ginny commented caustically.

"What?' Harry said, as he heard a knock down the hall.

"Hermione, love... Oh! Terribly sorry... I... Ron, Hermione, Ginny is... Ginny..."

"It's okay, Mr Weasley. We'll be right there," they heard Hermione's sleepy voice.

Harry and Ginny exchanged glances, grinning. If Ron thought his mother's determination was strong before, it was nothing on what it was going to be now.

"Harry!" Ginny began to pant. "Harry..."

"Another one, love?" he looked at his watch.

"Am I boring you?" she snapped.

"I'm noting the time so we can tell how far apart they are," he explained.

"Oh..." she grunted with the pain. "Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be. You're wonderful, and you have nothing to be sorry about."

With that, he lifted her a bit and, supporting her weight, he pushed the pillows out of the way and slid in behind her, one leg on either side, cradling her against his bare chest.

"Oh, Harry..." she groaned as the pain ebbed.

"They seem... close?" he said hesitantly.

"I was... I think I might have been in labor earlier," she said.

"Earlier? When?" he asked. She hadn't appeared any different before bed, except the exhaustion.

"Er... today?"

"Today? You mean, at the party?"

"I mean... all day."

"All day?"

"Well, since about... noon."

"Noon?" Harry cried. "Why didn't you say so?"

"Well, you had to attend that party, and I knew it would be hours..."

"Ginny Potter, if you ever do anything so silly again, I swear to Merlin..."

"Oh, Harry..." she writhed, holding his hands and pressing back against him as another pain hit.

He twisted his arm and, ignoring the pain, looked at his watch.

Two minutes.

Now, Harry Potter didn't know much about the birthing process, but he was reasonably certain that two minutes between pains wasn't good if the midwife hadn't arrived yet.

"Hermione!" he yelled, just as the door opened and both Hermione and Janie entered.

"Two minutes, Mione!" Harry said. "Where in the hell is the midwife?"

"Molly is just trying to find her, Harry."

"Find her? We're having a baby here!"

"Harry, relax," Hermione said, pulling the quilts off the bed and heaving them into a pile in the corner, leaving Ginny covered with just a sheet.

Pulling this out from where it was tucked at the foot of the bed, Janie and Hermione folded it neatly up until Ginny's feet were peeking from beneath it.

"Gin?" Hermione leaned over her, brushing her red hair from her damp forehead. "Your mom is getting the midwife, but she's not here yet. Do you mind if I have a look?"

"Please, Mione..." Ginny panted, tensing as she fought another pain. "I don't think the midwife is going to make it!"

Hermione lifted the sheet away from Ginny's knees. Harry watched as surprise flitted across her face and then as she glanced up at Janie, who immediately headed for the en suite bath.

"Okay, Ginny," Hermione helped Ginny to bend her legs at the knees. "It looks like you're right, you're already crowning."

Ginny didn't respond as she tensed again against Harry.

Janie came hurriedly in carrying a stack of towels and another of damp cloths. Nobody noticed Ron slip into the room and up to the side of the bed as Hermione and Janie worked, and Harry supported his wife against his broad chest.

"Okay, Gin," Hermione smiled reassuringly. "I think this is it. When you feel the next one take hold, I want you to bear down, okay?"

Ginny nodded and Harry brushed the damp hair out of her face. Out of nowhere, a damp cloth was handed to him. Harry glanced to the side to see Ron sitting there, on the edge of a chair, holding out the cloth.

"Thanks."

Ron nodded. His face was paper-white, but he wasn't panicking.

Harry wiped Ginny's face gently with the cool cloth, and Ginny sighed.

"Here it comes, Harry," she said softly. "Hold my hands..."

"Harry took her hands in his own, and felt all blood leave them as she began to squeeze.

"Okay, Gin... go... go... push... push... push... push..." Hermione chanted.

With a strange sound and a wail, Harry and Ginny's baby was born.

"Merlin," said Janie. "Look at that hair!"

"Bloody heartburn," Ginny gasped.

"It's a boy, Harry," Hermione smiled gently up at him as she wiped the baby with a warm towel.

"Mione... I'm... I feel like..." Ginny panted.

"It's the afterbirth, Gin..." Hermione wrapped the baby in a fresh towel and lifted him.

"No..." Ginny said. "Hermione!"

Glancing down, Hermione gave one shocked squeak before handing the baby she was holding quickly to a surprised Ron and reaching down again.

Another wail, a shriek, and then...

"And a girl," Hermione looked up, her eyes full of tears. "Oh, my..."

"Twins!" Janie cried. "Oh, Ginny!"

"Gin?" Harry held her, speaking softly into her ear. "Any more surprises, love?"

"No, Harry. I think I'm done," she smiled weakly, exhausted.

Harry looked up to see Molly and Arthur in the doorway. Bill and Charlie and Amelia behind them. There was a lot of love in this room to welcome his children.

"Harry?"

Harry turned to see Ron, a wriggling bundle in his arms. "I think this is yours..."

Harry gently shifted to the side, so Ginny was pressed back against his heart, as Ron laid the bundle against his right arm. Hermione, finished with their daughter, leaned down and laid the other wrapped bundle in Ginny's arms.

Harry looked down into the face of his son, and felt the tears in his eyes. Looking down over Ginny, he looked at his daughter. His fourth daughter.

Where her brother had a shock of thick black hair, hers was bright Weasley red and standing on end.

"Oh, Harry... look at her!" Ginny breathed.

At that moment, she opened her eyes and blinked up at her parents. She had deep green eyes.

"Oh, my... " Ginny said.

"She looks just like..." Harry swallowed.

"She looks just like your mother, Harry." Ginny said softly. "Green eyes and all."


James Albus Potter and Lily Mione Potter were born twelve minutes and seventeen minutes after three on the morning of April ninth, two weeks early, but perfect and healthy. They were born nearly half an hour before the hurried arrival of the rather panicked midwife. Harry and Ginny let her do her examinations of mother and babies, but given the fact that she hadn't made it for the birth, nor had she ever given them a clue that they might have twins, Harry turned to Hermione to tell him how his wife was doing, and decided that he would have a doctor from St Mungo's visit the following day.

Molly fussed over her new grandchildren while Arthur made a hurried phone call to Hogwarts to tell the girls of their new siblings' arrival. The others retreated to the kitchen for an early breakfast.

While Charlie and Amelia worked at the stove preparing eggs and sausage, and Bill made toast, Ron served coffee to Hermione and Janie at the table.

"Wow," Janie laughed. "Here I thought that Amelia and I were the experienced ones, and the only unmarried woman in the family took over as though she was the resident obstetrician!"

Hermione smiled, sipping her coffee.

"Hermione... where did you... ?" Amelia turned to look at her curiously. "How did you know what to do?"

Hermione looked up, grinning. "Don't blame me, it's all Maura Kennedy's doing. I was stuck in a little town near Riyadh once... there was me, my cameraman, and a foreign aid worker stuck in this really small hospital for three weeks. We couldn't get out because of the bombing..."

"So?" Amelia asked.

"Well, they only had one doctor and one nurse. It was a really small hospital. More of a clinic, really. They were very busy trying to keep injured civilians alive. The theory was that childbirth was a natural process, so a woman should be able to go through it unattended. If she couldn't, well..."

"Ugh..." Amelia grimaced. "Let me guess, male doctor and male nurse?"

Hermione shrugged. "Well, it turned out that half the town's women were pregnant, and half of those were due to give birth within those three weeks. At least, that's what it seemed like."

"So you..." Ron paled.

"Someone had to help them, Ron," she said quietly. "The cameraman turned out to be a pretty good surgical nurse, actually."

"You didn't..."

"Someone had to. There were books... I didn't go in blind. But when the doctor refused to do a caesarian section on a woman who needed it... well, she would have died. I had to do something."

"Dear Merlin, Mione!"

The others all stood, staring at her.

"In a place like that, a time like that..." Hermione said quietly, a shadow in her eyes. "The rules are very different."

Sitting next to her, Ron leaned over, pulling her into his arms.

"Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you for being you, Hermione."

She looked up at him, smiling, and suddenly, he knew.

"Mione, I love you," he said. The others all turned surprised looked on him. Ron didn't even notice. Nor did he notice Molly and Arthur enter the room.

"I want you to be with me forever. I never want you to have to face things like... that... alone again. Mione, will you marry me?"

Hermione's eyes widened, then filled with tears.

"Oh, Ron... of course I will!"


Major fluff chapter, but I had to include it. Next one is the last.... I hope you enjoy it!

Saerry Snape: No more cliffies! I promise! In this fic, at least. Now the next one... no promises!

Azntgr01: Size isn't everything grin!

James Milamber: Too late, we (HPMM fans) have it all planned. First, we flood you with offerings of chocolate and coffee, then, when Mind Mage is done, we stage an intervention. Snape as a bat? Hmmmm....possible. It was just the Slytherin thing, though....

Faraway: Thanks!

Merlindamage: Is it ever REALLY over? Well, one more chapter to go. Perhaps your questions will be answered there, or maybe you'll have to wait for the sequel (which I've already begun to write...). This really is addictive.

Shotgunn: Nooo! Not a pessimist! Harry CAN'T die! I'd personally hunt JKR down if she did that! Who's with me? James? You got your cricket bat??

CQ