Another short one… grr, I'm sorry again. It just made sense to stop here. Updates will certainly take longer now. All the things you've had up to now were prewritten and betaed by moi… now I'm getting to a point where I have to make critical decisions. There won't be LONG spaces between updated, but not every day (usually). Thank you for understanding! Keep reviewing please! And I'd love suggestions on how you want this to end… happy, sad, SEQUEL? You tell meJ.

The weeks passed in a blur for Ginny. Between classes, studying for NEWTs and her several prenatal appointments, she had barely any time for herself. It was getting harder and harder for her to walk, her back ached from strain and she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in days. On top of that, Madame Pomfrey kept telling her that her babies had a very high chance of being born early; they were just praying for her to make it to at least 30 weeks. On top of that, she looked as if she were already 9 months pregnant… a few insensitive first years kept asking her when she would 'pop the kid out'.

Draco had noticed a significant change in his wife during the course of her pregnancy. At first she had been able to discuss it with him… about how she felt and how she hoped things would turn out. Now it was a struggle even to get her to complain about ANYTHING. Madame Pomfrey had told him to just be supportive, she would come around.

After potions class that afternoon, Ginny found herself face to face with Snape. Cleaning her work area was extremely difficult when you couldn't even lean over the table. She was startled by his voice.

"Mrs. Malfoy, do not overexert yourself! I will have my detention students clean this up later tonight. Go back to your common room and relax." He said silkily.

"No that's alright Professor Snape…I like being useful." Ginny answered, reaching up to place the slug bile back on the shelf when a cramp ripped through her. Gasping, the jar fell from her hand and shattered. Doubling over, she gripped the edge of the counter.

Snape rushed to her side. "Mrs. Malfoy, are you alright!" His concern was genuine…this was his fault after all. Immediately he summoned Madame Pomfrey to his rooms.

The overbearing nurse was down in the dungeons in a flash. She forced her to sit at Snape's desk. "Oh, Ginny I told you not to overdo it!" She twittered as she cast some diagnostic charms.

The cramp was already subsiding and Ginny felt silly being fussed over. "I'm fine, really Madame Pomfrey… it was just a cramp. The book I have told me that cramps are normal."

Her dark blue eyes narrowed. "Your pregnancy is very precarious, young lady! Not only are you very young but you're pregnant with twins. It's my right to demand that you take it easy; I'll put you on bed rest, Ginny, if you won't listen I'll be forced!"

Ginny frowned. "Fine, I'll take it easy. May I return to my common room now?"

Snape gave a nod to Madame Pomfrey and then turned to Ginny. "I'm not quite finished Madame. As you may well know, we're closer than ever to destroying the Dark Lord."

Now this was intriguing; Snape was actually going to tell her what is going on? "I'm glad to hear that." She stood up. "What can I do to help?"

"You can get away… that's why I wanted to speak with you. Lucius has informed me today that the Dark Lord is planning to steal you away from Malfoy Manor after graduation; plans for a safe house are already underway." His eyes darted about. "The walls have ears Mrs. Malfoy, you must be careful."

Ginny nodded in agreement; the walls did have ears and she couldn't be sure who to trust anymore. Now that Lucius Malfoy seemed an upstanding citizen and her brother had thrown her to the ground (act or not, it still hurt), she didn't know which was up. "A safe house… where?"

"Well Gregory Goyle has expressed an interest in keeping you safe. Since his mother's death in his 3rd year, he's lived alone in that manor with his uncle. Mundungus Fletcher may be a criminal but he loves his nephew and he is a member of the order." He explained in a hushed whisper.

"What about Mr. Goyle… doesn't he care?" Ginny pressed urgently. It was suddenly occurring to her how very smart their choices were; if Goyle were not the godfather to her children, who knew what would become of them?

Snape hesitated. "There is no Mr. Goyle, Ginny. Gilda Matheson was raped by her cousin a few months after she graduated Hogwarts. The ministry protected her by faking a marriage to a wizard who had long died… it legitimized Gregory and gave her a new life. She inherited everything from Gering Goyle's estate. When she died, her money and his were passed to him."

Her mouth opened in a little 'O' of shock. "Bloody hell, that's horrible." Poor Goyle! Living with all of that… she had a new respect for the godfather of her children. "I'll have to personally thank him for opening up his house to us."

"No, you must not tell anyone at all! I already told you, the walls have ears." He pressed earnestly. "You must pretend you know nothing… be excited for early graduation, go shopping as if nothing is wrong but most of all, listen to Madame Pomfrey; you don't want to hurt yourself."

Ginny sighed heavily. "I will professor… in fact, I am going to try and take a nap before dinner and my study lessons with Draco. He's like a slave driver."

Snape smirked. "As well he should be! NEWTs are a week and a half away."

Nervous butterflies pooled in the pit of her stomach. "I know." She had her voice sound nonchalant but in truth, she was petrified. She would have to leave school by the time her babies were born… whether or not she was graduated. "Good afternoon Professor."

"Good afternoon Mrs. Malfoy." He answered, inclining his head toward her. "Don't worry about NEWTs, you will do fine."

Even though he said it, she didn't quite believe it. Then again, Snape rarely gave ANYONE a compliment. It had taken her 6 years of school, a house change and a marriage to get him to stop sneering at her. Maybe that was compliment enough. With careful steps, she made it back to her room and collapsed onto the bed. She was exhausted.

Draco had been flying around the Quidditch pitch when a student had informed him of his wife's cramping after potions. He had never run so fast in his entire life. Throwing the door open, he rushed to her side. "Ginny!" He cried frenetically. "Are you okay?"

"Draco!" She didn't know what was wrong with him, but he looked as if he had just been hit over the head with something heavy. "I'm fine… are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay Ginny!" He snarled. "I had to hear it from Colin Creevey that you had an episode in Snape's class!"

"Could you be more overprotective?" She shot back, angrily. "I had a cramp; that was it! Snape called Madame Pomfrey and they said I was fine, but both wanted me to come back here and rest."

He felt a wave of relief wash over him. "I'm glad you're okay… I was just worried." He knew somewhere deep down, that he was being way too overprotective but why wouldn't he be? The woman was taking great personal risks to ensure that he kept living… she had married him for that reason alone (not that they knew it at the time). He had to return the favor.

"I'm fine, Draco. Believe me, you'll be the first person to know if something goes wrong." Ginny said gently. "Now, I have a parchment length on Aciculae flower and its uses in Flora Potion. I have to finish it before we study for NEWTs."

Draco shook his head. "No, you're going to lie down and rest. Madame Pomfrey will have my head if you don't. Professor Snape will understand."

"I don't want special treatment!" She burst out angrily. "I'm pregnant, not dying! I'm not going to shatter into a million pieces if I work on my essay."

"But you could hurt our children, Ginny!" He roared. "You could go into preterm labor, you could have more cramps and it scares me! Don't you understand that you could be dying and there is nothing I can do to stop it?" Draco turned away from her, jamming his fingers through his platinum blonde hair.

Ginny was silent; he was afraid for her. "I'm going to be fine." She said soothingly as she stepped toward him. With affection, she rubbed his back gently. "I know you feel powerless here but we just have to have faith."

Draco laughed bitterly. "Faith? Faith in WHAT Ginny? The gods? The order?"

"Faith in ourselves, Draco. We have to put trust and love in our relationship and our children. Love will carry us through." She took hold of his arm and pulled him to sit on the edge of the bed. "I love you, isn't that enough?"

"I love you too, Ginny." He answered and pulled her closer to him. "I hope it's enough."

"We're enough… we'll make it." Ginny responded, snuggling closer. Today was just another day in the scheme of life, but in hers it was a milestone. She knew, deep down, that this wasn't some fling that would end in a nasty separation, cheating and kids torn between the mother and father for alternating weeks. This was forever.