Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is in this story, except the plot, and any characters that you do not recognize. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Yankee Accents
Chapter Twenty-one: Halloween
Written by: Auburn Lily
How can I expect anyone to understand
I've been silently entreating all on my own demands
Lara Fabian
October 22nd found Hermione still situated in the maternity ward of the Hospital Wing. She had her own room equipped with a window decked out in yellow and white checkered curtains. Bright morning sunlight poured through onto the scrubbed tile floor, as the room was located on the east side of the Hospital Wing. The room was stuffed to the brim with flowers and singing cards from well-wishers all around the school.
In incubators on either side of the bed lay her two-day old babies, fast asleep in their warm cocoons. Hermione sighed contentedly, and placed her folded hands on her slowly deflating stomach. On her bed in front of her sat a pile of parchment rolls, on which she could recognize her students handwriting.
Ginny had delivered a few different assignments to Hermione the day before, and a pile of graded essays lay stacked up on the table next to her bed, red ink scratches and corrections all over each students essay. Hermione was a very tough grader, never letting even the simplest of mistakes go unmarked.
Hermione refilled her quill with red ink, glanced at the clock on the table, which read nine a.m., and picked up another essay to read.
She marked the first mistake, and then the door clicked open, admitting Poppy, the nurse, into the room. Hermione smiled widely, and put aside her work for the moment, and Poppy returned the smile, the deep wrinkles around her mouth and eyes etching themselves further into her skin.
"Good morning, dear," Poppy said. "How're the babies and mother this morning?"
"Wonderful Poppy," Hermione answered in a sing-song voice. "May I ask how you are?"
"I'm perfectly fine dear, no need to worry about me," Poppy replied, waving her hands in front of her in an unconcerned manner. "I've come to tell you that you and your babies will be fit to leave the hospital wing tomorrow. The doctor in from St. Mungo's reported that your babies are healthy, and in no need for special care."
"That's wonderful," Hermione said. "Harry will be happy. He's been fretting over me like a chicken these last few days."
Poppy looked at Hermione sternly, and Hermione gulped. Poppy knew that the babies couldn't possibly be Harry's. How on this earth could they be? She had already discussed this with Hermione, who still refused to mend the situation.
"Right," Hermione said, quickly steering the conversation away from that particularly tender subject. "Well, could you please send Jessa and Ginny up here later this afternoon? I'll need help with transportation of all my things back to my room."
"Very well," Poppy sniffed, her friendly demeanor having vanished as quickly as a candles flame being snuffed out. I'll be back in a few moments, the babies need to be woken and fed."
"Yes, ma'am," Hermione replied, feeling as if she were eleven again, being scolded for a misdemeanor.
Poppy exited the room without another word, her harsh heels echoing off the walls of the ward as she strode back to her office.
Hermione stole glances at Thomas and Cadalyn, their small chests rising and falling so lightly one might have thought they were not breathing at all, and waves of guilt trickled down her body
Later that day, after Hermione had bathed and the babies had both been fed twice, Jessa and Ginny arrived, giddy and excited to be visiting Hermione and the babies once more.
"Hermione," Ginny said, peering over the side of the incubator at Cadalyn, whose eyes were wide open and peering around at her surroundings with innate curiousity. "I've been wondering this ever since I've seen her eyes. Why are they silver, when neither you nor Harry have silver eyes?"
Jessa glanced at Hermione, and they locked gazes for a few short moments, with Jessa giving Hermione the tiniest of nods.
"Umm, well Ginny," Hermione started. "It's sort of complicated. You have to promise me you won't tell anyone I told you, or you can't become angry with me."
And Hermione told her the entire story, starting with the reunion back at Christmas, and ending with Poppy's suspicions and accusations.
"Hermione Granger!" Ginny hissed in an angry whisper. "How dare you keep this from me," and she stomped off out of the ward, disturbing the few students who occupied the main wing.
Hermione grimaced. "I guess she didn't take it as well as I had hoped?" she asked, turning to Jessa, who was reclining in one of the visitor chairs.
Jessa shook her head, and yawned widely. "I would have been just as angry with you if I was in her position. She was one of your better friends during your school years. She's probably confused and shocked and asking herself exactly why you didn't tell her this before."
"You don't think she'll tell Draco, do you?" Hermione asked anxiously. She couldn't imagine a more dreadful situation in which Draco found out about her lie.
"She's been your friend for the last fifteen years. You're the one who knows her the best. I just met her a few months ago."
Hermione thought about this for a few moments, and then decided that no matter how upset Ginny may be, she wouldn't reveal her friends secret, regardless of what happened.
"Thanks, Jessa," Hermione said, sighing heavily. "I have to get used to that reaction anyway. There will come a time when I have to stop lying."
"I agree," Jessa replied. "Frankly," she added, leaning forward, her hands folded over her knees, and her thick dark braid fell over her shoulder. "Frankly, I don't know why you found it necessary to lie in the first place. It seems sort of pointless now, don't you think?"
Hermione bit the corner of her bottom lip and lowered her eyes in shame. She didn't understand it, but people all over the place today were making her feel like a child. "I know, you don't have to remind me of the mistakes I've made."
"I'm just trying to prepare you for the next few days. People are going to be just as observational as Ginny, if not more so. I'm surprised no one else has said anything. Has Ron and his family been here yet?"
"No, they're coming after I get out of the hospital wing. You've seen their children before," she said, smiling briefly. "They have no idea how to behave."
Jessa smiled, and silently agreed. "Well, I should be going. It's almost dinner, and I have some papers to grade. I'll try to talk to Ginny. I'm sure she'll come around eventually. It's just a matter of time. We'll be by sometime tomorrow morning to help you take your things back to Harry's rooms."
"Thanks, Jessa," Hermione replied disconsolately. After Jessa left, Hermione stared at nothing for a long time period, her fingers fidgeting nervously.
That next day, late in the morning, Jessa and Ginny appeared in the Hospital Wing to find Hermione waiting in a wheelchair, with all her belongings piled on top of the striped bed. Cadalyn and Thomas had been moved to basinets fully equipped with wheels.
"Good morning, Hermione," Jessa called excitedly. "Are you all ready to get going?"
"Good morning, you two," Hermione replied, smiling at the both of them. "Yes, Madam Pomfrey was just here a few moments before you arrived, giving me one last check up. You know how thorough she is with everything."
"And you're fit to leave?" Jessa inquired. "The babies too?"
"Yep, everything is wonderful and we can all head back to Harry's rooms."
Ginny began to transfigure the things on Hermione's hospital bed to minute sizes so they could fit into an old, rumpled shopping bag which had "Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes" blazoned across it in gold and scarlet lettering. Jessa stood over Cadalyn's basinet, cooing at her in a soft voice.
One of the windows in Hermione's room was open, and a crisp, late October breeze permeated through.
"Hermione, the Halloween ball is coming up," Jessa said, as she moved to console Thomas, who was vying for attention.
Ginny rolled her eyes at Jessa, but continued to transfigure the last few things on the mattress.
"Oh, yes your right. How're the plans going for that?"
"Quite nicely." Jessa replied. "The Heads of Houses are working quite cooperatively together, and the few plans that I've seen have been wonderful. I sometimes wish I was still a student so I might attend."
Ginny scuffed loudly, and began walking towards the basinet that held Cadalyn. "Come on," she said stiffly. "I'm done, so we should get going."
Jessa pushed Thomas' basinet, following Ginny out of the room, and Hermione brought up the rear.
"Jessa, are you going to the ball?" Hermione asked, as they made their way through the hallways.
"Yes, most of the teachers are required to attend," she replied. "But I'm sure you won't be going, what with your babies."
Hermione looked down at her feet as the wheelchair wheeled along very much on its own. "I wish I might go, if only for a little while."
"I'm sure Harry wouldn't mind if he watched over the babies for an hour or so," Jessa replied. "Anything for you, he would say."
Hermione laughed out loud, and caught a glance from Ginny, which was not filled with malice, but more like pity.
Hermione kept quiet for the rest of the trip back to Harry's rooms, the only sound filling the silent air around them being the shrill squeaking of the wheels on the basinets and wheelchairs.
"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed, as soon as the door to Harry's rooms was opened. He quickly moved out of the way as Ginny and Jessa rolled the babies through the archway, and then darted out the door to grasp hold of the handles of Hermione's wheelchair. He pushed her through the door, and pulled the door shut with his foot.
"Hermione, I'm going to take these things up to your room," Ginny offered, pushing Cadalyn's basinet behind a sofa.
"That's fine," Hermione replied. "I'll be up in two short seconds."
Ginny nodded briefly, and disappeared up the stairwell.
"Thanks so much, Jessa, for your help and everything," Hermione said, turning her eyes to Jessa, who had moved Thomas' basinet next to his sisters. She was currently taking residence on the sofa, popping huge bubbles of gum every few moments.
"Of course, of course," Jessa replied, waving her hand graciously. "Anything for these babies, you know."
Hermione smiled genuinely, and looked up behind her at Harry, who was looking at the babies in the basinets with an odd look on his face.
"They're beautiful, Hermione," Harry said, his voice strained. "Even though I've seen them before, they really are beautiful."
Hermione bit her lip, and nodded her consent, before standing up slowly. Harry grasped her elbows, but she shook herself away from his grasp. "Harry," she argued. "I have to learn to support myself you know?"
"I know," Harry replied. "Be careful on the stairs," he called after her retreating back as she too disappeared up them.
The door to Harry's room was open, and as Hermione neared the entrance, she could hear Ginny humming softly as she worked to reverse the shrinking job she had done on all of Hermione's things. Hermione leaned against the archway, catching her breath for a short time period, and then approached Ginny to help her "finite incantetum" all of the objects.
They worked in silence, and after all of the things were back to their normal shape and size, set to putting them in their places around the room. When that was done, Hermione opened a window, and then sat down on the bed, patting the space behind her for Ginny to take.
They sat in a comfortable sort of silence for a short time period, neither of them addressing the subject at hand, until they both spoke at the same time.
"Ginny, I'm really sorry for not telling you before," Hermione said all in one breath, while Ginny said, "I really shouldn't have gotten so upset, but you know."
They both stared at the other for a short time period, and then began to laugh at the other, and not insignificant chuckles, but rolling laughs that only best friends can laugh when they're laughing at one another, or themselves. After a few moments, Hermione spoke up once more.
"Listen, Gin, I'm really sorry about keeping it from you and everything," she started, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "But you have to understand something," she continued, holding her hand up to silence Ginny, who had opened her mouth at that same time. "I don't know how you feel about Harry right now, as we've never had enough time to really talk since I've come back. All I can remember is the way you used to feel about him, and that was what I had worked off when making this decision. I know that you never wanted any sort of harm to come to him, no matter who gave it to him, and I feared that if I told you the truth, you would go straight to Draco and tell him everything, in malicious intent at me for hurting Harry. Harry knew the entire time that the babies were not his at all. He helped me because of the friend he is to me. I am aware of the fact that it hurt him. I believe it hurt him more than you or me, or anyone else for that matter, will ever know. And maybe I was being selfish. But I can't go back and change that now. There are so many mistakes that I have made in my entire life that I wish I could have gone back on now. This is just another one of them."
Ginny listened to Hermione the entire time, nodding her head in the places she felt it was necessary, and then thought for a short time for replying.
"Hermione, please don't apologize to me for the mistakes that you have made in the past, or even the mistakes you are making in the present. We all have to make decisions based on the situation at hand. You made one, and I do not blame you for it in the slightest. You know me too well. If you had told me the truth, and I had realized how much you were hurting Harry, I think, if it came down to it, I would have told Draco your secret. You made the right choice in not telling me about it, if you didn't want Draco to know about the babies. I give you credit for that. But I can't forgive you for hiding all of this from Draco, who, out of all of the people who should know, deserves to know the most. Regardless of the fact that I am your best friend, and I always will be, Cadalyn and Thomas are his children, and that should have been your first priority. No matter what he's done in the past, you can't punish him for that now. He's been punished for that all the time you have been gone. He's paid for the mistakes he's made a thousand times over, I think. You've no idea how much he has changed."
Hermione kept silent, although she did know very well how much Draco had changed. How could she not have noticed? She had so many secrets to keep, she couldn't seem to keep track of them.
"You don't understand at all, do you Ginny?" Hermione asked, not maliciously, or accusingly. She said it quite without feeling, like the stoic she was when people were around. "I couldn't possibly tell him now, not now."
"Hermione, are you dense?" Ginny demanded. "The babies don't look anything like Harry. People aren't stupid. They will notice, and then what are you going to do? People aren't as forgiving as you would like to believe, no matter what sort of fantasy world you live in."
Hermione hung her head, and pulled her hair with her clenched hands. Ginny continued.
"There's going to come a time when you have to tell him, no matter if you want to or not. "What're you going to do then?" And with that last remark, she got off the bed, and strode out of the room, shutting the door gently behind her.
The next week or so passed by uneventfully, although the babies received a few suspicious glances. Harry never asked Hermione when she was going to tell Draco. Frankly, Hermione assumed he was never going to ask her about it because he didn't want her to tell him about it.
Halloween morning dawned laced in clouds, the only sign of sun being a pale strip of blood red in the east, which, after an hour or so, was eaten up by clouds and thunder. Hermione woke early, as she always did, to feed the babies, and then showered quickly, got dressed, and headed down to breakfast, the enchanted basinets wheeling along beside her. The babies were quiet at the moment, although Thomas, true to his father, tended to get nasty and disagreeable. Cadalyn had a more calm disposition, and only cried when she needed to be changed or feed.
Upon entry to the Great Hall, Hermione saw that the typical decorations for Halloween had been put in place. Instead of a thousand candles hovering atop everyone's heads, there were a thousand pumpkins, and bats fluttered around the ceiling. Hermione took her usual seat at the Top Table, in between Jessa and Harry (who hadn't come to breakfast yet), and after saying good morning, began to fill her plate.
"You know, Hermione," Jessa said in between bites of her kippers. "I have somewhere important to be tonight, so right after my last class lets out, I'll be gone. It came up quite suddenly, late last evening, in fact, so I won't be able to watch Cadalyn and Thomas tonight for that short time period."
"Oh," Hermione replied, disappointment flooding her insides. She had really wanted to attend a little bit of the ball that night. She and Jessa had set it up a few days earlier, and Hermione had been looking forward to the Ball ever since. "Who should I ask, do you think?" she added, looking around the top table.
"I'm sure Harry wouldn't mind doing it," Jessa replied.
Hermione nodded slightly, and decided that was her only choice. Ginny was not going to be at the school that night, as duty called with her family and her mother, and there was no one else she would trust with the babies. Harry was not very maternal, however. "I guess that's my only option."
Later that day, during one of the periods in which Harry had no class, she went to his classroom, the omnipresent basinets wheeling along beside her. He was working at his desk, apparently grading papers, and did not notice when she came in the classroom. However, as she got closer, he heard the squeaking of the wheels and glanced up, smiling when he saw who it was.
"Hello, Hermione," Harry said, setting down his marking pen, and cracking his knuckles. Afternoon sunlight flooded through the huge windows that were behind his desk, and tipped his hair in silver. Hermione smiled back, and took a seat at one of the empty chairs closest to his desk.
"Good afternoon," she replied, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she said it. "Grading papers, I see?"
"Yeah, trying to get a bunch done before this weekend. Are you coming with me to visit Ron and Sinead?"
"Oh, yes," Hermione replied. She had almost forgot about that. "Yes, of course."
"Are you sure the trip won't be too much for the babies?"
Hermione glanced down at their sleeping forms, although Thomas seemed to be getting a tad bit restless. She smiled softly at them both, and then nodded her reassurance to Harry. "Yes, I'm sure they'll be fine."
"Good, good," Harry replied, shifting some papers on his desk. "Was there anything in particular you needed to talk about?"
"As a matter of fact, yes," Hermione replied, turning her eyes back to meet his. He blinked twice, and then glanced back down at his desk. "Jessa had something urgent come up this evening, and can't watch the twins. I was wondering if you could do me a kindness and just watch them for about an hour. I just want to go down and sit and watch everyone for a little while. I won't be long, so you needn't worry about that. I've already discussed with Dumbledore to make sure that it's ok that you leave the ball for a short time period, and he had no problems with it."
"Oh, I would love to Hermione," Harry answered gleefully. "I can't believe you would trust me with them."
"Yes, well," she said, glancing at her fingernails. "I'll leave a bottle for each of them, and their undergarments and all of those accessories as well."
"What time do you want me to watch them?"
"Oh, probably just from around seven to eight. Not that long. I know you don't want to miss the Ball."
Harry glanced at her, and didn't say anything, although she could read it in his eyes.
I would do anything for you.
She swallowed heavily, and said thank you hurriedly before leaving the classroom, and striding steadily back to her room, her babies wheeling along beside.
Hermione graded papers for the rest of the day, sitting up in Harry's room with the windows cracked to the late October day. Cadalyn was quite mellow, sleeping on her stomach wrapped up in the pink fuzzy sleeper Jessa had gotten her. Thomas, on the other hand, demanded to be held the entire time. Hermione was extremely irritated with him by the time seven rolled around, when Harry appeared in the doorway to his dorms.
"Hermione, you look stunning," Harry said, as he strolled across the room to take a red-faced Thomas out of Hermione's arms.
That she looked stunning was quite an overstatement. She had dressed her self in a plain black dress. The only adornment was a short train extending behind her. Half her hair was pulled up behind her head, and the other half spilled down past her shoulders. The only jewelry she wore were two tiny diamonds sparkling like stars in her ears.
"Thanks," she muttered half-appreciatively as she handed Thomas over to Harry. "All of their bottles and everything are in the fridge over there," she said, pointing over into a corner. "You know where everything is. I'll be back in an hour," she added, slipping a pair of flats onto her chubby feet. "Thanks so much."
The walk down to the Great Hall was short and sweet, due to the few short cuts she knew. As she neared the Hall, haunting music filtered out into the corridor to meet her, and as she turned the last corner, she saw that the wide, double doors to the Great Hall had been thrown open to accept any last minute stragglers to the Ball.
Weaving in and out of the crowd of dancing students Hermione could see transparent, spectral beings, who always like to haunt, especially on Halloween. As Hermione got closer and closer to the Hall, she could smell apple cider and pumpkin pie wafting in from the dessert table, and she could hear laughter and rowdy yelling as the band christened Thrice Rose picked up the beat of the next song.
Hermione slowly strode around the dance floor a few times, observing the students dancing raucously and raunchily. She was standing near the stage where the band was playing their music when she felt someone tap her shoulder gently. She turned around, half expecting to see round silver eyes blinking at her, but instead they were twinkling blue, hidden behind half-moon spectacles.
"May I have this dance, Ms. Granger?" Albus asked her gently.
"Of course, sir," she replied, placing her smooth hand in his old, withered one. He lead her to the edge of the dance floor.
"How're the children?" he asked, as she laid a hand on top of his shoulder.
"Fine," she replied, as he placed his other free hand on her waist. They were a comfortable distance apart, and danced slowly to the music. "Harry agreed to watch them for a short while so I could come down here."
"How generous of him," Albus answered kindly.
"Yes, I agree."
At that moment, someone else tapped on her shoulder, followed by a demanding voice asking if he could please cut in. Albus stepped back quickly, answering with a benevolent yes, and then seemingly evaporating back into the crowd. Hermione turned around to meet stormy grey eyes rimmed in thick lashes.
Hermione placed her hand in his, and he lead her farther away from the crowd, close to a window, where they could see periodic flashes of lightening. He wrapped both arms around her waist, and pulled her close to his chest, as she encircled his neck with her arms. She could hear his heartbeat steadily and strong against her ear, and she sagged against his body with a heavy content sigh.
They danced slowly through the next three songs, not minding the fact that the tempo for each one changed, getting faster and faster each time. At the end of the last song, Draco took her hand in his, and pulled her out of the Hall and down into the dungeons.
She didn't think twice about Harry being in her rooms, patiently waiting for her to come back. She just thought about Draco's fingers on her back, and his mouth on her neck.
Hermione woke up two hours later, and glanced at the clock that sat on Draco's bedside table. It read, in neon-green colors, that the hour was closing in on eleven. She sat up suddenly in bed, Draco's arms falling away from where they held her waist, and she quickly removed the covers from around her body.
"Whassa matter?" she heard him mumble groggily.
"I have to go, it's really late," she mumbled as she reached for her dress. "I'm sorry." And with that, she was out in the chilly dungeons. Even though she was underground, she could somehow still hear the thunder. An uneasy feeling was trickling slowly down her spine and into the pit of her stomach. She hadn't even bothered to put her shoes on, and by the time she was outside Harry's rooms, her feet were numb with cold.
She let herself in quietly, in case the babies were sleeping, and was hit with a curtain of cold air. She looked at the windows, and with a start saw that they were wide open, icy rain pouring in onto the stone floor, and the drenched white curtains billowing in the gusty wind like spectral haunts.
She heard a loud snort from behind her, and saw Harry sleeping soundly and quite loudly on the sofa, an empty bottle of bourbon lying on the floor next to him. She hurriedly looked to the basinets that were on either side of the sofa.
They were empty.
A/n: Please review!