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Not mine, how many times do I have to tell you?
Ch. 13- The Aftermath
The day after birth . . .
The births of the Granger twins (Severus's impending nuptials with Hermione still wasn't mentioned) was announced the next morning at breakfast. Everyone cheered, but the noise was loudest at the Gryffindor table.
Some of the students noticed that their Potions Professor seemed to be struggling not to smile, which was odd, since they had never really seen him smile. This scared some people, but mostly it intrigued them. They knew that he had been a Death Eater, as many had been pretty certain of, but had also found out that he had been spying on the "Bad Guys" for the "Good Guys."
He had become fair at taking away points and giving detentions since he had been found out. He was no longer needlessly cruel though he was probably still the most feared and hated Professor in the school.
The fifth and seventh year students soon had their heads stuck in books and sets of notes, since they had either OWLs or NEWTs again today. Because of this, only a few of the students noticed a dark-haired woman slip into the Hall. More of them noticed when she dumped the current DADA teacher out of his chair so she could sit next to Severus.
"Melantha, what's wrong?"
"Don't worry, brother, the babies and their mother are fine. I just wanted to come in here. I'm tired of being cooped up in your rooms. It's been years since I've been up here, and Dumbledore said that I could." She kept her voice low but started to eat some food off his plate with his fork.
"Hey, that's mine." Severus grabbed his fork from her hand.
The puny little DADA teacher that Dumbledore had found somewhere was now protesting his ousting. Melantha turned and said, loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Back off, I'm trying to talk to my brother here. This chair will be mine next year, anyway."
Severus raised one eyebrow at her as the Hall broke out in whispers. "Well, I submitted an application for the job and the Headmaster said I have it for next year," she explained to him, making another grab for his fork.
"Congratulations, Mel."
"Well, it won't just be me, really. I'm only qualified for the curses and hexes and other spells, and of course the potions aspect. Remus is going to handle the dark creatures and history and all of that."
Severus leaned back and studied her all-too-innocent face. "Remus, huh?" When her cheeks pinked slightly, he chuckled. "You could do much worse. Just be careful is all I ask."
"Of course." She made another lunge for his fork. Severus grabbed hr wrist and pulled her from his colleague's chair and into his lap.
"Get your own food, sister dear. Now, I have someone to visit before classes start, so if you'll excuse me." He stood and plopped her into the chair. With a wave of is wand, the plate was clean and the silverware disappeared.
"No fair," she pouted as he left.
He turned back for a moment. "You, my dear, are the one that told me that life is not fair."
He left her there to the Hall full of whispers. She shrugged philosophically and conjured up a fork. It didn't look perfect, but who cared. She dug into a fresh serving of eggs and sausage, feeling a need to stock up on energy, since she was to guard Percy for part of the day.
Guarding Percy. She scowled at the very thought of the red haired menace still in a secret room next to Dumbledore's office. She never would have thought that someone like him could become what he was now. She had worked with him briefly a few times in the past, and while she had thought him arrogant and too bound by the rules, she had never considered him cruel.
He was now, though, that was for sure. He had seriously injured an Auror the other evening trying to get away from Podmore, and another early this morning who had been guarding him. He had very nearly escaped, a fact that she had refrained from mentioning to Severus or Hermione, a wise move on her part.
She thought that a prison was too good for him. But then castration and torture before a painful death would be too good for him, as well. It was just as well that it was not her decision that would settle his fate.
Hermione was surprised to see the door open around lunch time and see two of Ron's other brothers, Charlie and Bill, peek in at her. "Can we come in?" Bill asked.
"Sure. Come, pull up a chair," Hermione invited. She was holding Kalila and Keefe's bassinet was pulled up to the edge of the bed.
The two redheads obeyed. "So these are the cuties Mum has been going on about," Charlie said, peering at Keefe.
"Yep." Since Bill and Charlie seemed nervous, Hermione decided to press them for the real reason for the visit. "What is wrong?"
"Nothing," Bill hastened to reassure her, but then he got a good look at Kalila. "Something. She does look like Ginny did when she was newborn."
Charlie took up the thread. "We came to apologize to you, about Percy and what he did."
Hermione reached over and gripped each of their arms in turn. "Neither of you are to blame, so don't apologize. In fact, this is probably one of the best things to happen tome despite some of the problems it caused. It has given me my three miracles."
"What would those be?" Bill asked.
"Well, Kalila and Keefe, obviously. My two wonderful little babies." She took a moment to croon down at them. "And . . ." A movement at the door caught her eye. "Severus."
The two young men turned to look at the door. "Am I interrupting? I can come back later," Severus said upon seeing her guests.
"No, come in and join us," Hermione waved him over.
"You were saying?" Charlie urged her to continue.
"I already said it. Keefe, Kalila, and Severus." They looked at her blankly. "Oh, for heaven's sake, don't tell me that your parents or Ron or Ginny didn't tell you?!"
"Tell us what?" Bill looked like he was struggling to deny the obvious answer.
Hermione handed Kalila to Severus before answering. "That Severus and I are getting married after I'm graduated."
Charlie looked mad; his hand fisted on his lap. "Can't hit me, Weasley, I'm holding a bay," Severus told him, only half joking.
"I love him, boys, so calm down. Ask Harry or Ron, or hell, even Draco, and they'll all tell you the same thing. Now come meet your niece and nephew."
Charlie continued to glare at Severus every few minutes, but said nothing at all to him. He couldn't ruin Hermione's apparent good mood, not now, after all she'd been through.
About 2 weeks after birth . . .
Hermione was once again residing in Severus's rooms. Remus had been given a room down the hall, as had Tonks, so Severus had quickly turned one guest room into a beautiful nursery.
Melantha had chosen to stay and help with her "niece and nephew," which both Severus and Hermione were grateful for now. Hermione's parents had visited for several hours the second day after the babies were born, and had been delighted with the capture of her attacker and their daughter's plans of marriage. The testers for the NEWTs had come a week ago and let Hermione makeup the tests she had missed.
And today. Today was Graduation Day. It wasn't yet three in the afternoon, but the ceremony was due to start in about two hours. Hermione was getting dressed in the gown she had worn to the Valentine's Ball, with a few minor alterations for her new figure.
It took her awhile to get her hair just the way she wanted it, all piled in cascading curls on top of her head, but she decided that it had been worth the trouble when she saw Severus expression when he caught sight of her. His jaw practically hit the ground and he felt his heart do a somersault in his chest. "You are so beautiful," he told her, brushing his lips carefully across her lipsticked ones.
Hermione was still Head Girl; somehow through her pregnancy she had managed to keep up with the duties of the post. She was also the highest scoring student of her year, so she had to give a speech on both counts. She wasn't looking forward to that aspect of it.
On the other hand, there would only be the family and invited friends of the seventh year students, not the entire school. Her parents would be there, and the Weasleys, and the biggest surprise of all, the Dursleys. Harry was going around in a state of shock, looking like he was a member of the walking dead.
Everyone was also on alert for any sign of Voldemort. It was unlikely that he would attack with so many powerful wizards and witches around, but it was possible.
Hermione left the dungeon rooms with Severus; Molly and Arthur already had her babies, since they had agreed to watch them for the day.
Hermione's parents were in the room just off the Great Hall, as was Draco and his parents. The atmosphere thickened exponentially when Severus's and Lucius's eyes met. Draco avoided her gaze and had on the cold blank mask she had not seen for a long time.
"Granger," he sneered.
"Malfoy," she returned smoothly. It was about an hour before the ceremony was to start, so for the next thirty minutes they discussed the schedule for the evening. The other students of their year that had been prefects arrived then, and Hermione knew the rest of their year were waiting outside another door, ready to file through and take their seats.
There was only a few minutes to go. Severus came and stood in front of her. In his hands was a red sash, which had pinned upon it her Head Girl's badge, her Potions Apprentice badge, a badge for being Valedictorian, and the Hogwarts' crest. He lifted it over her head and settled it about her neck. "Go knock them dead, luv," he whispered in her ear.
Tears pooled in her eyes but she choked them back. The parents and teachers then went to take their seats, leaving Hermione and Draco to lead their line of classmates into the Hall. The Head Boy and Girl exchanged glances. Moving closer, Draco said softly, "Good luck, Auntie."
"Same to you, ferret." Turning, she took a deep breath and stepped out the door to face the sea of . . . well, faces.
The next while was a blur. Hermione knew that she did a good job of giving her speech, and she listened to the others give theirs. They received their diplomas. Finally, the ceremony was over and Hermione came out of her stupor. Dumbledore waved his wand a couple of times and the room's furniture rearranged itself into something similar to what it had been for the Valentine's Ball.
Hermione joined her parents briefly but went on towards one corner, where she saw the Weasleys and the Malfoys and three people that could only be the Dursleys. Sensing trouble, she quickened her pace. Obviously she wasn't the only one, since the Headmaster, Severus, and Minerva were heading that way too.
"Is there a problem here?" Hermione asked innocently.
"I do not believe so," Lucius Malfoy drawled. "I was just commenting on the ugliness of the Weasleys' new whelp. I didn't know they were expecting more."
Hermione's face instantly became a blank mask that concealed her rage. "Mr. Malfoy, those are my children. Kindly refrain from insulting them, at least in my presence."
Lucius's lip curled. "More Mudblood filth from a Mudblood whore."
"No whore. A victim of a Death Eater attack. An associate of yours, perhaps?" Melantha interjected, coming up behind Hermione.
Lucius merely sneered. Draco snuck an apologetic look at her from behind his father. Lucius motioned for his family to precede him in leaving. He paused beside Hermione and leaned to whisper in her ear. "Filth like yours should be destroyed."
Hermione saw red. She had enough on her mind, what with caring for her children and trying to work through her issues and nightmares about Percy's rape. She wasn't going to take this from him, of all people. She drew back her arm and punched with all her might. She hit him right on the nose, which she felt break. "Never even think of touching a hair on either of my babies' heads. I will kill you if you do," she swore.
"You bitch! You broke my nose!" he shouted.
"Watch your words, Lucius," Severus warned, laying a hand on Hermione's shoulder.
Lucius swore again as he stalked out of the room followed by Narcissa and Draco. Hermione cradled her right hand, which hurt badly, and let out a shaky breath. She rushed over to Molly, who was holding Kalila. "Is she okay?"
"Yes, dear, fine," Molly reassured.
"And Keefe?" Hermione looked around wildly, nearly panicked.
"Him too," George said, stepping out of the crowd carefully holding her baby.
"Thank God," Hermione's knees gave out in relief, but Dumbledore helped to keep her standing. He brought her off to one side, out of the immediate sight of the interested crowd.
It didn't take her long to calm down. Before she went back, though, she had one question for him. "I'm not a student anymore, am I? Not bound to the school rules?"
"No, you are not," Dumbledore told her.
She walked out and went straight up to Severus, wound her arms about his neck and kissed him on the mouth. Severus pulled back after a second. "What are you doing?" he hissed.
The small crowd that was still paying attention waited for him to explode. "What does it look like? I'm kissing you," she told him, then pulled him close again. She needed the reassurance and comfort of him.
This time he kissed her back and the group gasped. Harry cleared his throat, and when that didn't work, moved close to them and said, "Save it for the honeymoon, you two."
Hermione drew back with a blush. Arthur approached and pulled Severus aside. Hermione smiled at Harry winningly. "Harry, I don't believe I've met your . . . uh, family yet."
Harry got a pained look on his face. "Fine. Come on," he told her and took her hand, leading her over. "Hermione, this is my Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon and over in the corner is my cousin Dudley. Everyone, this is my friend Hermione Granger."
The two adults merely gave her extremely nervous nods. Dudley murmured a hello. He was still very large and beefy, but was mostly muscle. He seemed to be controlling his fear of magic though he did have his back firmly against the wall.
Hermione sidled over so that she was closer to him. "Hello, Dudley. Harry's told me a lot about you," she said sweetly. Too sweetly, in Harry's opinion. "I'm getting hungry, how about you?"
"Yes," Dudley grunted. Despite knowing that she was a witch, he was intrigued by this beautiful vision in red that was before him.
Fred appeared out of nowhere with a tray of cream puffs. "Did I hear you say you're hungry, oh ex-Head Girl?" he asked.
"Yes, you did, Fred. Thanks." She took a puff. Harry opened his mouth to refuse (he had learned long ago to never accept food from the twins) but Hermione shifted and her foot came down on his unobtrusively. Glancing at her quickly, he saw her give him a tiny wink, so he took one also.
"Thanks, Fred."
Dudley accepted warily, since this was one of the two boys that had enlarged his tongue several years ago. He decided to eat it when he saw the others eating theirs.
Five seconds later he was a pig, and Harry was choking on his perfectly normal puff. Hermione and Fred were cracking up. "Consider it payback for treating Harry so badly," Hermione told the gigantic pink animal.
Ron came up and started pounding Harry on the back. "A good choice, 'Mione. The long lasting variety, I presume?" he asked with the air of an expert verifying his findings.
"Of course," George confirmed, joining them with Keefe. He seemed to be really attached to her son. "Made especially for Hermione on her request for this very occasion."
"Oh my little baby," Hermione crooned as she gently took him back. Keefe burbled at her.
Seeing the baby in her arms, several girls came up to coo and ah over him. Among them was Lavender, who decided to join Hermione when she went to the bathroom to feed Keefe. Touching up her makeup, she asked the question that had plaguing her part of the evening. "Why did you kiss Snape?"
"Because I wanted to," Hermione stated flatly.
"Why Snape?"
"Because we're engaged. We'll be married in a few weeks."
"What?!" Lavender shrieked.
"You heard me." At Lavender's disbelieving look, Hermione sighed. "He's a good man, even if he doesn't show it to many people. I love him."
"Does he love you?"
"Yes, he loves me, and he loves my babies. Believe it or not, he does have a heart," Hermione added defensively. Ginny entered then with Kalila, who was crying. "She's hungry too, huh?"
Hermione finished with Keefe and Lavender helped them to juggle around so that she could feed Kalila. "What were you two talking about?" Ginny inquired to fill in the silence.
"Severus and myself," Hermione replied. "She doesn't believe he can actually care."
"Oh, he can, Lavender, trust me. You should see him with the babies or with Hermione when strangers aren't around. He even helped me when Blaise pushed me down half a staircase. Blaise got the tongue-lashing of a lifetime and a detention with Filtch." Ginny got the dreamy look on her face like Ron used to when thinking about Draco getting turned into the Amazing Bouncing Ferret.
Hermione said as much and the three women burst out laughing. "I remember that," Lavender giggled. "Merlin, that was probably the funniest thing that ever happened in school," she said as they walked back to their friends.
"What was?" Ron asked her.
"Draco being a ferret." The big group of friends once again broke out in merriment. This led to much reminiscing, of both the good and bad. Consequently, it was late when Severus approached them.
Hermione handed Kalila to him and took Keefe back from George, who had commandeered him again. Both babies were sound asleep. "I'll see you all tomorrow," she told them. "Good night."
They returned the wish distractedly, intent on watching Severus as he gently held the small baby and comforted her as she stirred. She and Severus stopped and said good evening to the Weasleys and Dumbledore and finally her parents.
Her parents, who she was pretty sure had been avoiding her most of the evening now asked to see the babies' room, despite the hour. Severus agreed, not seeing anything to be gained by refusing. He led the way to the dungeons and opened the statue.
"Come on in," he invited.
Everyone entered and jumped when someone at up on the couch. "Draco! Why on earth are you here?! You scared us!" Hermione told him.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, Severus, umm, Hermione's parents," Draco apologized.
"Are you okay?" she asked him, concerned. He was several shades paler than normal. "Look, give me ten minutes and I'll be out. We'll talk."
She settled her babies in their cribs and sent Severus to escort her parents back up to the Hall. They had been told about her and Severus's plans when Dumbledore had brought them to visit after the babies were born, but they were still resistant to the idea.
Hermione sat down next to Draco. "What's wrong, Draco?" He looked away from her, not answering. She tilted his chin so he was eye to eye with her. She squinted at him; something seemed off. She suddenly realized what it was; there was a badly applied done glamour on the right side of his face.
She reached up and skimmed her hand in front of his face, just over the spot with the glamour. It vanished; that was about the limit of her wandless magic abilities. In its place was a bruise obviously made by the back of a hand. "Why did he hit you?" she questioned softly.
"Because I didn't back him up and because he could," came the bitter answer. "I didn't know where else to come. Kori is still with her family for the night."
"We don't mind," she told him, vouching for Severus, who wasn't back yet. "I'm your friend, he's your friend." At the look of insecurity in his eyes, she pulled him into a hug. "We'll always be here for you."
He held on to her for a long moment. Releasing her, he said, "That's good to know." Severus finally returned. Upon seeing Draco's face, he swore up a blue-streak. "It's okay, Severus. I'll go to Madam Pomphrey tomorrow."
"No, you won't have to," Severus told him. He knelt down next to him, and with a wave of the wand and a few muttered incantations, the bruise was gone.
"Thank you," Draco said, rubbing the spot where it had been.
"If you need to talk, Draco, I'm here," Severus reminded him.
"I know," Draco sighed. He respected and cared for Severus, but some things he didn't always feel comfortable talking to him about.
Hermione seemed to sense this instinctively. "Go on to bed, luv, I'll be in in awhile," Hermione said gently. Severus nodded and kissed her cheek, then went into their room, pushing away the little bit of jealous that arose.
Hermione stayed where she was and let Draco talk to her for over an hour more. When he finally seemed to have everything out, she kissed him softly and told him he could stay on the couch for the night, rising to leave and join Severus in bed. "Wait!" he grabbed her hand. "Thank you, Hermione, for giving me a chance. Apart from Kori, you are my best friend."
"I'm glad. You're one of mine as well, since I'm blessed to have more than one. Oh, and don't worry about Melantha coming in tonight, I believe she's found somewhere else to be." With these words and a suggestive wink, she left him alone in front of the fire.