Not Much Longer Indeed -
"Let me help you up," Healer Nynaeve said, taking hold of Ginny's hand and helping her to an upright position.
"Well?" asked Ginny, smoothing her blouse over her round belly as the twins squirmed and jerked within her.
Nynaeve Mandragoran looked up from her chart and gave Ginny an appraising eye before speaking.
"Everything looks to be in order; their heads are in a down position. It's been a long time--if ever--that I've seen such an active pair as the ones you're carrying." said Nynaeve, setting the chart onto the counter of the small examining room.
The Healer opened a drawer and pulled out what appeared to be a flat stone no larger than a snitch. It had a milky translucence but when the light hit it at an angle it cast a lavender hue. On the flat surface of either side of the stone were ancient markings that Ginny couldn't understand.
"This. . ." said Nynaeve, holding the stone up in her upturned palm, "you will need to keep with you at all times from here on out." She handed the stone over to Ginny.
Turning it around in her fingers to examine Ginny noticed the stone was smooth as glass and quiet cool to the touch.
"When you go into labor I want you to use the stone to contact me. Just hold onto it and concentrate on my name, or one of my staff, and we'll instantly be alerted. We will also be able to find you regardless to where you are," said Nynaeve, pushing her long braid back over her shoulder.
"So it's a tracking device?" asked Ginny, looking at the stone again.
"Yes, that is one of its functions, it will also page me and my staff when the time comes," said Nynaeve. "Just please remember to keep it with you. If you forget it you know we can also reached by owl and floo."
Ginny put the stone into her pocket and carefully slid off of the examine table to her feet. She winced at the dull ache in her legs and back that had been going on for several days.
"I want you to take it easy, Ginny," said Nyaneave, watching Ginny closely. "Stay off of your feet as much as possible and allow others to help you with your day to day routine." The healer reached for the door.
-o-
Ginny gave out an irritated sigh as she made her way out of the room Nyaneave and walked down the hall. Reaching up, Ginny began to finger her pendant. The healer gave her a reassuring smile as she pulled her yellow shawl back up onto her shoulder from where it slipped.
"It won't be much longer, Ginny, just try to rest as much as you can until that time. You are going to need you're strength," said Nynaeve, patting Ginny's arm before turning to head into another examining room.
Ginny Apparated onto the front porch of Ron and Hermione's home. A bronze plaque hung to the side of the door above the doorbell.
This is new, Ginny thought to herself.
"The Talisman." Ginny read the plaque out loud. "That had to be Ron's idea," Ginny muttered with a grin, reaching for the door handle. She lightly knocked before letting herself into the house. "Hermione?" she called. Hearing a noise coming from the living room Ginny walked with a slight waddle along the short distance of the foyer to the archway separating the two rooms.
On one of the sofas, little Egwene stood holding her favorite dark-orange colored dragon. The toddler was babbling away to the stuffed toy, " Un. . . Twooo, Fee. . ." she said as she walked the length of the couch.
"Hello sweetie, where's mummy?" Ginny asked, stepping into the room.
Hearing Ginny's voice Egwene's head shot up, her eyes grew large and bright seeing her aunt. She scrambled off of the couch with the stuffed dragon still clutched in her arms as Ginny walked over to the couch and sat down.
"Mum, mum!" Egwene cried throwing her arms up towards Ginny.
"Aunty Gin, sweetheart," Ginny corrected as she tried to pick the toddler up to sit on her lap, grunting with the effort it took.
Paying no mind, Egwene squirmed on Ginny's knee before twisting her body to face her aunt better, thrusting the stuffed dragon at Ginny's face. Ginny pulled her head back slightly and blinked.
"Yes I see Mr. Grint," said Ginny, gently pulling the stuffed animal away from her face, "And how is Mr. Grint today?"
Egwene smiled with delight as she pulled the dragon to her chest, puckering her lips to give it a large kiss on the cheek.
"Hi, Ginny," Hermione said, stepping into the living room.
Ginny turned her head and smiled, "Hi, 'Mione, we were just discussing Mr. Grint. Weren't we Egwene?" Ginny reached up to stroke the downy curls of Egwene's bushy hair.
Hermione sat down on the opposite sofa and yawned.
"Where's Gawyn?" asked Ginny.
"Napping. He still has his days and nights mixed up," said Hermione, propping her elbow onto the arm of the couch and resting her head against her hand. "Going to Sunday dinner at the Burrow?" she asked through a yawn.
"Wouldn't miss it," said Ginny, smiling down at Egwene and patting her back gently.
Egwene climbed off of Ginny's lap to sit on the next cushion where a children's book laid open. The toddler settled into the corner of the couch and propped Mr. Grint against her before pulling the book onto her lap. Egwene began to pretend to read and point out the pictures to the stuffed dragon.
Ginny smiled fondly at her and then winced again as she shifted in her seat.
Hermione instantly sat up, now fully alert, watching her in concern.
"Are you ok Ginny?" ask Hermione.
"Yes," Ginny sighed, "Just a bit uncomfortable lately."
Hermione's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I don't think it will be much longer," she said, tilting her head to the side, examining Ginny closely.
"Yeah, that's what Healer Nynaeve told me," said Ginny.
Off in the distance a cry could be heard coming from the upstairs. Egwene's head jerked up from the book she was holding, her eyes went wide as her eyebrows shot up and her mouth formed an 'O' of surprise.
"Beebee," said Egwene, excitedly.
The toddler scrambled out of her seat and dropped her stuffed dragon on the floor as she went running out of the room to the stairs.
"His majesty is calling," said Hermione, standing up.
"I can't believe he's almost a month and a half," said Ginny, picking Egwene's discarded book and setting it on her lap.
Hermione smiled, "Neither can I."
"Mum-mee, Beebee!" Egwene called, followed by the sound of her clambering up the stairs.
"I better get up there before she tries to climb into the crib and pick him up again," said Hermione as she hurried out of the room.
Ginny felt one of the twins push hard inside her and she grunted from the discomfort.
"I'll tell you what girls," Ginny muttered to her protruding stomach, "you want to stretch, then come on out and you'll have all the leg room you could possibly need."
She was answered with another sharp bump.
"Oh, great," Ginny grunted, "now I have to pee."
Ginny stepped into the master bedroom after returning home from her visit with Hermione. She completely enjoyed fawning over Gawyn and reading to Egwene. Spending time with Hermione was one of Ginny's favorite past times and she was happy that Ron and Hermione had found their way to each other in school.
Clark lay curled up on Ginny's pillow, he raised his head slightly to acknowledge her but otherwise didn't budge.
"Hello, my precious," Ginny said to the large ball of black fluff on her bed before walking into the nursery.
A rocking chair sat near a window, beams of tree filtered sunlight cast down through the glass. Curled on the cushion of the rocking chair, soaking up a particular warm beam of sunlight, slept Lex.
Hearing Ginny step into the room, he stretched his fluffy white legs out in front of him while stretching his jaw wide to expose a tiny pink tongue.
"Well hello sweetness," Ginny said, as she walked over and picked the tiny white bundle of fur up and sat down in the rocker.
Lex nuzzled Ginny's chin before licking her cheek with his scratchy tongue. Ginny grinned and gently rubbed the back of the kitten's ear. The night he came into their home the kitten had chose the nursery as his domain and the rocking chair as his bed of choice.
Lex mewed, placing a pink padded paw against Ginny's lips looking up at her with large grey eyes. She kissed the kitten's paw. Ginny felt the twins move inside of her and she grunted with discomfort.
To her surprise, Lex turned from the affection he was casting on Ginny and settled himself onto her stomach. He curled up into a ball and began to purr contently. Instantly, the twins settled down.
Ginny stared in amazement at the tiny creature resting upon her large abdomen. The only other times the twins grew that calm was when Harry would rest his hand on her and spoke to them.
"You are a small wonder, aren't you Lex?" Ginny said softly as she stroked the kitten's back.
Lex licked her stomach before resting his head onto his paws and closed his eyes.
Sunday afternoon found Ginny enjoying the pleasant summer weather outside of the Burrow. They were fortunate enough that a gentle but constant breeze blew, keeping the summer heat at bay.
Percy was walking around the yard with a now more confident Maric who was content to chase after a butterfly. Hermione sat on a swinging lounger beside Penelope, who held baby Gawyn in her arms, gently tickling his cheek with her fingertips. Fred and George sat at the table with their new wives and Arthur talking about ideas for the joke shop. Ron and Harry were out on the lawn taking turns chasing a squealing Egwene as she ran to and fro, attempting to escape her father and uncle.
Ginny stood near the kitchen door watching her family. She sorely looked forward to the day when Charlie, Bill, and their families could join the weekly gathering.
Molly walked out of the kitchen door with a tray containing a pitcher of lemonade and glasses. She gave Ginny a passing smile and made her way over to the table.
Ginny gasped in pain, placing her hand on the top of her stomach and pushing as one of the twins shoved a foot into her ribcage.
Instantly, all talk and playing ceased as all heads turned towards her.
"Ginny, are you alright?" Molly asked.
Harry came striding over quickly, ignoring Ginny's dismissive wave of the hand. Fred and George were both half raised out of their seats watching her carefully. Ron had knelt down beside Egwene but was keeping a close eye on his sister.
"I'm fine Mum, the girls are just complaining about their cramped accommodations," said Ginny with an airy half laugh.
Molly looked closely at her daughter before relaxing.
"All the same, perhaps you should sit down runt," said George.
Ginny raised a single eyebrow cocking her head to the side, "Oh really, Healer George? When were you such the expert on pregnant women?"
Before George could reply Harry cut in.
"He's right, perhaps you should sit down."
Ginny gave him a withering look but otherwise did not argue, seeing she was apparently about to be out voted eleven to one.
"Fine," she grumbled as she took a seat on a large wicker patio chair.
After Harry went back to join Ron and Egwene in the grass, she attempted to relax but felt as if she was failing miserably at it.
Percy walked up to the long table and poured himself a drink as Ron scooped Maric up and swung him around.
"Honestly Ron, I don't find that at all safe," Percy scolded over his glass.
"Nonsense, Perce. Gotta toughen the lad up to prepare him for his days at Hogwarts," said Fred.
"He does have the Weasley name to uphold," said George.
Percy smiled at hearing Maric's delighted laughter float across the lawn.
"He's fine Percy," said Penelope, never taking her eyes off of Gawyn.
Any apparent doubt seemed to have left Percy as soon as his wife spoke. He gave one last look over to his son as Ron held the child and ruffled his hair before Percy turned and sat down on the bench across from his mother.
Ginny's mind wandered while watching the tree leaves flutter and wave on their branches as the breeze pulled on them. Having the feeling she was being watched, she eventually turned her attention back to find Fred and George sitting side by side staring at her before they would quietly whisper to one another. Ginny silently stared back at them, waiting.
"It doesn't look as if you have much longer," said Fred.
"Really Fred, what gave you that idea?" she said sarcastically.
"Not much longer indeed," said George.
"We must prepare then," Fred said, cryptically.
"Prepare for what?" said Ginny, narrowing her eyes at the twins.
A slow smile grew on their identical faces.
"Mum," said Ginny, not taking her eyes off of her brothers, "They are smiling like that again."
Molly turned from her conversation with Percy to look at her two mischievous sons.
"The last time they gave that smile, we had to rebuild dad's shed," said Ginny.
"Boys," Molly warned.
"No worries, Mum," said Fred as he continued to smile, staring at Ginny's stomach.
"No worries at all," said George, also staring at Ginny's stomach with a matching smile.
All the years of dealing with the twins and the trouble they caused taught Ginny much. She knew the warning signs when she saw them and at the moment her instincts were sending off all sorts of loud bells and whistles along with many flashing lights.
A part of her was screaming that she should change her name to Lois and relocate to the Muggle world where she might be safe from them.
The twins quickly bent their heads together and talked excitedly.
Angelina and Katie could only sit back and shake their heads. They learned long ago it was useless to try and stop the men once they had that glint in their eyes. Ginny glared at her brothers, "Corrupt my children and die," she said darkly. The twins looked up at her with a cheeky smile in answer before going back to their conversation.
- o -
That night Harry and Ginny arrived to the quiet of their home. Harry followed Ginny as she slowly made her way through the house and into their bedroom. Ginny walked on through the bedroom as Harry stopped to remove his watch. She entered the dark room and walked up to one of the two cribs where Harry found her a few moments later.
The moonlight cast a silvery glow, making it easy to see in the room even though it still remained dark. Harry walked up behind his wife and placed his large warm hands on either of her upper arms. He leaned forward, kissing the back of her head, deeply inhaling her wonderful scent. Ginny bent her head back to rest against Harry's shoulder as he slipped his arms beneath hers, resting his hands on her stomach. The twins shifted and rolled slightly under his touch before settling down.
"Have I told you how amazed I am with you?" Harry asked, lightly kissing her temple.
"How so?" Ginny asked, staring down at the empty crib wistfully.
"You have given me so much, and now you're about to fulfill my dreams," Harry said, resting his cheek against hers as he gently stroked her stomach with his thumb. "Do you realize how beautiful you are?"
Ginny snorted in disbelief.
"No, really, Gin," said Harry, turning her around to face him.
"You are beyond beautiful," he whispered, running his eyes down her to rest on her stomach.
Instead of arguing what she thought of her appearance she chose to enjoy the moment, knowing he was heartfelt with his words.
Outside a cloud floated by revealing a half moon that cast the nursery in even more silvery light. Ginny turned and looked over at the rocking chair, what she saw made her smile. She tapped Harry on the shoulder for him to look.
There on the rocking chair Clark was curled up, against his stomach was Lex, both sound asleep. The contrast of black and white stuck out in the dim lighting of the night. Ginny watched Harry smile down at their pets before turning his attention back to her.
Harry took hold of Ginny's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as he led out of the room.
Ginny took one glance back at the empty cribs and softly smiled. It wouldn't be much longer now until they were filled.
"Ginny dear, would you like some tea?" Molly called from the kitchen.
Ginny sat in the den of her home, reading from a novel titled, The Great Hunt.
"No, mum, thank you," said Ginny, desperately trying to keep the irritation out of her voice.
She loved her mother dearly, but after three days of being baby-sat she was starting to lose patience.
Harry had insisted along with Molly, and everyone else in the family for that matter, that Ginny shouldn't be home alone.
Fred and George went so far as to refuse to allow her to come into the shop, calling on her twice a day through the floo or by owl to see if she needed anything.
Ginny was bored, uncomfortable, and grouchy.
Lex came racing into the den followed closely by Clark; the two romped on the rug for a few moments before taking off again.
Ginny shifted on the couch, unable to find a comfortable spot.
The July heat had grown almost unbearable; thankfully, Harry had cast a cooling charm on the house to make it tolerable.
Ginny tossed the book down irritably on the cushion beside her.
Molly rounded the den doorway humming happily and waved her wand; a dusting rag flew out from the end of it. Ginny struggle to get to her feet.
"What are you doing? Is there anything I can get you?" asked Molly. The dusting rag zoomed around the room.
Ginny caught Molly's stern undertone.
"I'm fine mum, I was going to go use the loo and perhaps get some strawberries," said Ginny, accepting the hand that suddenly came in front of her. "Thanks Mum."
Molly's expression relaxed, looking at her daughter. "I remember what it's like, Ginny and I know right now isn't too pleasant. But please, allow us to help you out as much a possible."
Ginny gave a weary smile, "Thank You mum, you've been wonderful."
Molly patted her daughter's arm.
"You remind me so much of myself when I was carrying Fred and George," Molly said smiling down at Ginny's stomach. She laughed at the horrified look on Ginny's face.
"Don't worry dear, I'm sure the Gods broke the mold once those two came into the world," said Molly with a chuckle. "In fact I'm sure it's safe to say they smacked the mold maker while they were at it."
"Mum," said Ginny once she stopped laughing. "Would. . . would you be here when they are born?"
Molly beamed happily.
"Of course I will be here when they are born. There is no place else I would think to be," she said pulling Ginny into a gentle hug.
"No mum, I mean, will you be with me while I am delivering."
Molly paused for a moment, pulling back to look at her daughter.
"Are you sure dear? This is a special moment for you and Harry."
Ginny nodded her head, "I need you there mum."
Molly's lip quivered in her smile. Her eyes glittered with sudden tears.
"Oh, Ginny, of course I'll be there. I'm honored you would ask me," said Molly, giving her daughter another squeeze. "Now, why do you go freshen yourself up while I see to those strawberries." She gave Ginny's arm a final pat.
Molly walked out of the room towards the kitchen as Ginny headed to the hall bath.
"I swear, if you two do come out like my brothers, I'll hunt down that mold maker myself and hex him into oblivion," Ginny grumbled.
She received complete stillness as answer from the twins. Ginny couldn't help but be reminded of the eerie calm before the raging storm.