A/N: I don't even know how long it has been since I updated this story. I have been busy IRL with many things including moving to and from an apartment, finding a job before the pandemic shutdown, working as a teacher for the first time while dealing with this crisis, getting sick with Covid and being quarantined for 2 weeks, and then moving in with family to help out and quitting my job. Now I have another job as a teacher but learning new rules for this center.

I hope you are all doing well and at least some of you are still enjoying my story.

Here is the next chapter.

Chapter 29

As the rest of Christmas day ticked by, Hermione grew more and more nervous. Her parents had yet to answer her letter about them visiting, so she didn't know whether she would be welcome or not. Although in her logical mind, she didn't know why she wouldn't be. Severus kept distracting her from that stressor as he could see it was weighing heavily on her shoulders and she was supposed to be avoiding stress as much as possible. After Christmas dinner that evening, the two were sitting on the sofa reading their books in comfortable silence. Hermione was leaning up against Severus and was very content. Hermione and Severus looked up from their books when they heard the first tap at the window. The owl Hermione had sent to deliver the letter to her parents about their visit the next day was flying right outside the window. Hermione's stomach suddenly flipped with even more nerves as Severus got up and walked over to let it in. The owl swooped over to Hermione and settled on the armrest just long enough for her to retrieve the letter with shaking hands. She knew why she was nervous but at the same time she also knew her parents wouldn't completely turn her away. Not yet at least. She didn't even notice when the owl flew back out the window as she stared down at the letter, knowing nothing bad could be in the letter. A familiar hand suddenly appeared on top of hers. She looked up to see Severus watching her with an unfamiliar expression on his face. He was obviously picking up on her emotions and was trying to calm her. She slowly relaxed and gave him a small smile. Opening the letter, she read it aloud:

Dearest Hermione,

We were so happy to receive your letter! We were beginning to worry about you even after you told us that the evil person was gone. You have never forgotten to write to us this long since you began going to Hogwarts. But not to worry. We would be very happy to see you on boxing day and your guest is very welcome to come as well. The more the merrier and your friends are always welcome.

Don't worry about what you need to tell us. There is nothing that you could tell us that would make us mad or even disappointed in you.

We love you and can't wait to see you!

Jean and Henry Granger

By the end of the letter, Hermione was a lot happier about their visit tomorrow. She had a feeling they would be disappointed, but she couldn't see them being too upset about becoming grandparents even if it was a lot earlier than they had predicted. Hermione looked up at Severus who had sat down beside her again and leaned into his side with a smile. She just wanted to stay like this for the rest of the day, but she didn't know if that was possible.

An hour later, there was a knock at their door. Hermione looked at it in confusion. They weren't expecting anyone to visit today because it was Christmas. Severus walked over to the door to open it to reveal Dumbledore standing on the other side with a smile on his face.

"Happy Christmas, Severus. May I come in?" He asked.

Severus said nothing but stepped back to make space for him to enter the room. When Hermione spotted him, she smiled in greeting.

"Happy Christmas, Headmaster. What brings you here this evening?" She asked as she attempted to rise and greet him properly. Albus waved her back into the chair she had been in before.

"No need to get up for little old me. I just came to see how your Christmas is going and how you are all doing." He said, stopping near her chair and gazing down at her and then glancing at Severus.

"Everything is going great. I just got a letter from my parents saying they will be waiting for me tomorrow, so we will probably leave here around 9 in the morning if that is acceptable with you, Sir?" She said, settling back into her chair. She really hated not being able to get up whenever she wanted without help.

"Of course! I'm always happy to help. Will you be alright making your way to my office?" Albus asked, with a smile. "I could set up the floo network in here to make it easier for you. That way you aren't walking that distance just to do it again when you get back."

Hermione took a moment to think about the situation, but before she could say anything, Severus spoke up.

"Yes, please set it up in here. I don't want to trek all the way back here after dealing with whatever is going to happen at Mr. and Mrs. Granger's home. Just in case they don't take any of this well." He said, not even glancing at Hermione. She nodded in agreement as Dumbledore glanced at her again.

"Alright, I will go ahead and get it set up tonight, so it is ready for you to use. I hope things go well for you tomorrow. If either of you need anything, please just let me know and I will do what I can." Dumbledore said with a smile and he placed his hand on Hermione's shoulder. Severus and Hermione nodded in answer. "I will leave you two so I can get everything arranged for tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your Christmas evening." Dumbledore walked back over to the door and walked out with a nod and smile at the occupants of the room. Severus closed the door and returned to the couch to continue reading his book. Hermione cuddled up beside him again but didn't pick up her book again. She just lay there with her eyes closed to think about what and how she was going to tell her parents about the babies as well as the fact that her ex-potions professor was the father and her soulmate. She slowly drifted off to sleep. She was unaware when Severus picked her up and took her to their room later that evening.

"Time to wake up, Hermione. We need to get ready to go."

Hermione shifted with a groan. She wasn't ready to get up yet, but she knew that she needed to as they were going to see her parents. She slowly and carefully stretched out the kink in her back, rubbing her stomach. It took her a full minute to sit up and place her feet on the floor. Severus walked over and handed her a pink loose-fitting empire shirt and a pair of maternity jeans along with the undergarments that he knew she loved the most. She gave him a small smile in thanks and stood up carefully in order to keep her balance. Quickly reaching the bathroom, she took a short shower and changed into the clothes, which were perfect for hiding her belly until she could explain things to her parents. She proceeded to the living room to see Severus putting two plates onto the table with pancakes and eggs on them.

"Come and eat. We need to leave soon, or we will be late. It is already 8:30, so we need to leave in the next 20 minutes, because we can't floo into your parent's place. There is a floo location not far away, but we will need to walk from there." Severus said as he sat down and began eating. He watched Hermione as she did the same and they ate in silence. He could see that she was beginning to get nervous about the upcoming visit. There wasn't anything that he could do besides be there for her to help her through this. He just hoped this excess amount of emotions wouldn't harm the babies as Hermione was only 14 weeks along. They put their plates in their kitchen and gathered their coats, heading to the fireplace. Severus grabbed some floo powder and they both walked into the archway.

When they arrived at the hidden floo location, Hermione stepped away from the fireplace and leaned against the wall to allow the vertigo and nausea to pass, while Severus stood in front of her to make sure she was okay. Hermione looked up when she felt better and gave him a smile.

"I'm alright now. Let's go." Hermione said, then reached for his hand. They really didn't hold hands, but Severus could see that she needed the comfort. Before they left the inn, Severus cast a warming charm over them. The snow was falling heavily as they walked down the west county of England. They arrived at the front door of the Granger's house just before 9 and they climbed the stairs to reach the door. Hermione took a breath before she reached out to ring the bell. They immediately heard a woman's voice, "Henry, I think that's Hermione." Footsteps were heard and the lock clicked allowing the door to be opened. Jean's face was revealed behind the door with a large smile in welcome.

"Mum! It's so great to see you!" Hermione immediately said with a returned smile.

"Hermione! Come on in and get warmed up, both of you." Jean waved them inside the living room. She reached out after closing and locking the door again to hug her daughter from the side. Hermione saw the moment her mother saw their linked hands as her expression changed to surprise.

"I will explain after we all sit down, I promise." Hermione reassured her as best as she could.

Jean nodded, "Go ahead and have a seat, I will go get Henry." Hermione and Severus made their way to the blue sofa and settled into it, sitting close to each other for comfort, knowing the impending conversation would be a hard one. Henry came into the room carrying a tea service and placed it on the table in front of the sofa. Hermione took the teacup offered to her after her dad treated it with the sugar and milk that she usually did.

"How would you like your tea,…" Henry began asking, trailing off in uncertainty.

"Just plain, thank you." Severus said without introducing himself, knowing that Hermione would want to do that herself. Henry handed him his cup and proceeded to make himself and his wife cups of tea as well. After he was done, he joined his wife in the chair next to hers. They all sipped on their tea for a moment before Hermione decided it was time. She lowered her cup to her lap as she knew if she leaned forward to put it on the table, she would give her news away before she wanted to. Severus seemed to realize this as he took her cup and placed it on the table for her. She smiled in thanks before turning back to her parents.

"Mum, Dad, I need you to promise me that you will let me tell you everything before you say anything. I know what I am going to tell you will surprise you and maybe make you upset with me, but I want you to know what's going on. Do you promise?" Hermione looked from her mom to her dad and waited. Jean and Henry looked at each other, both obviously worried, but they eventually faced Hermione again and nodded their agreement. "Thank you. First of all, this…" She turned to gesture to Severus, "… is Severus Snape. We found out the day after my birthday that we have what is called 'The Enemy Bond' in our world. It means that we are soul mates or two people who are meant to be together. We have been getting to know each other since then." Hermione saw her mother's expression change from surprise to realization and knew she had recognized the name of her former potions master. "Before you become concerned, Yes, Severus was my potions master at the time, but when I ran into him, literally, that day, he reverted back to 18 years old and has been replaced as the potions professor by another. Before that incident, we didn't have anything to do with each other except as student and teacher." Her mother seemed to relax a little at this information and her father nodded in understanding.

Hermione indicated to Severus that she wanted her tea and he handed it back to her. She took a sip of the drink and felt the warmth seep into her stomach. She felt a fluttering in her stomach and assumed it was just her nervousness for the next part of her news. Lowering her cup with one hand, she placed her hand gently on her stomach and took a breath to calm down. She looked up at Severus, who took her cup and set it on the table in from of her again. "The next thing I have to tell you, we were both surprised by." She unclasped her other hand from Severus's and placed it next to her other one on her distended stomach, looking down at it before looking up at her mother. "We found out that we are expecting." Hermione could see that her mother wanted to say something, but she was holding herself back as she had promised. "We found out about the pregnancy when I was about 3 weeks along. It was very unexpected, but I would never get rid of a child for any reason." At this, Jean couldn't hold in her reaction any longer.

"I'm sorry, but I have to say something now. This news is very surprising especially coming from you, Hermione. You have always been responsible and reasonable about everything. I am terribly upset that you were so irresponsible as to not be safe…" Hermione interrupted her mother with a shake of her head.

"Mum, that isn't what happened. This part is a little embarrassing, but I will try to explain it so that you will understand." Hermione looked at Severus for a little reassurance. He reached over to place his hand on top of one of hers. She looked back at her parents and began the explanation about the bond and how the babies were conceived. She kept the fact that there were 4 of them from the story, carefully wording things so that she only said words like 'pregnancy', 'surprise', and 'expecting'. She figured the rest of the news was a lot to take in as it was, so she would keep it secret for the time being. After she was done with the explanation, she fell silent and rubbed her belly, waiting for her parents to process what they had just learned. Her father was looking from Hermione to Severus to their clasped hands that were resting on her stomach. Hermione saw him squint for a moment before he spoke, tilting his head to one side in confusion.

"So how far along are you?" He asked.

"14 weeks. I'm sorry I didn't tell you for so long, but I was so scared to let you know about this. I didn't want you to hate me. Plus I wanted to be out of the danger zone of my pregnancy." Hermione answered averting her eyes from her father, obviously waiting for him to start yelling at her. He surprised her by asking her his next question.

"Can you stand up and show us your bump? From what I can tell, you seem to be carrying bigger than normal. Your mom was tiny until about 6 months along with you." Henry requested, leaning forward. Hermione looked at Severus, silently asking for his help in standing up. Severus stood up and reached down to clasp her hands in his and let her use him to pull herself up onto her feet. When she was steady, he let her go so that she could lift the bottom of her shirt and turned to the side for the parents to see the rather large bump there. Her mother gasped and stood to walk over and place her hand on Hermione's belly.

"You are too big to just be carrying one baby. Are you sure you aren't expecting at least twins?" She asked with a confused look on her face.

Hermione grimaced, not really wanting to tell her parents this information but knowing she should just tell them and get it all over with at the same time. "Actually, this is something I didn't want to tell you yet as all that you have found out already is a lot to take in. Are you sure you want to know everything?" Hermione asked her mother, not sure if this last part would make things more complicated. Jean tilted her head and raised her eyebrows in question, not knowing why her daughter didn't just answer the question. "Okay. I am not having one baby. We found out pretty early that we are having more than one. The surprising part of that is that it isn't twins or even triplets, but quads. We will have 4 babies and I am due June 23rd." Hermione finished and then watched as her mom glanced down at her stomach, up to her face, then over to Severus, who had retaken his seat on the sofa watching their interactions with no expression on his face as was his normal response to emotional scenes. Hermione knew that he was trying not to show her parents anything about him as he was still a very private person. Hermione and Albus were the only people that he let know who he was deep down. Jean could tell that he was watching her closely for her reaction to any of the news she was being given, carefully observing them for any negative responses. She watched as his eyes shifted to her husband, who was still sitting behind her in his chair. She couldn't see his reaction to the news, but she knew he would stay calm until he could process it all in private.

'So, he is an observer type. Watching to make sure neither of us have a bad reaction to this news.' Jean thought and smiled, already knowing she liked the man-turned-teen. She hadn't been too sure about him having been her daughter's potions teacher before the 'incident', but now with what she was observing from him, she was happy to change her first judgment of him.

Hermione had been watching her mother's face to see how she was taking this news, so she didn't see her father stand up to walk over to Severus. She did see him as he passed her, but she knew he was the level-headed kind, so she wasn't really worried about it. She turned a little to watch as he stood in front of Severus, looming over him in an almost threatening way. Severus wasn't one to stay seated in such situations, so he stood and waited for what he thought was the inevitable response. But he was surprised by what Henry said and did next.

"Welcome to the family, son." He said, sticking his hand out for a handshake. It took Severus a moment to process the gesture, glancing at Hermione in question. When she just smiled, he looked back at his new… whatever, and took his hand to shake it a little awkwardly. He wasn't sure what this man was to him, as he wouldn't be calling him his father.

Suddenly, she felt the fluttering from earlier again. This time it was more intense, and it made her flinch and bring one of her hands up to press it to her bump. The movement brought Severus's attention to her again. When he saw the confused expression on her face, he dropped Henry's hand and shifted to stand next to her, grabbing her hand. "Are you alright? What's wrong?" He sounded so worried; Hermione had to smile.

"I'm fine, but I think I just felt the babies move for the first time." Hermione said, squeezing his hand in reassurance and rubbing her belly with her other hand. Severus watched her for a moment longer before nodding and relaxing again. Well, as relaxed as he could be in an unfamiliar location.

The couples settled in to talk about the new situation a little more and before they knew it, the clock was tolling noon. Hermione looked up at the clock in surprise. She hadn't expected to still be at her parents' house at this time, but she was very happy her parents had accepted the new situation so readily. She knew her mother was probably excited about the babies, but she didn't know what her father was thinking. He had been sitting and participating in the conversation, but he hadn't looked in Severus direction since they had all sat down. The clock finished tolling noon and Hermione glanced up at it for a moment.

"We should really get back to the castle. I don't know when Professor Dumbledore set for the floo network to be disconnected and we have a little bit of a walk to get to the floo location." Hermione said, attempting to stand up. Severus stood up and offered her a hand, hoping she didn't get offended. She just looked up at him and nodded in thanks before taking his hand, allowing him to pull her up. Jean and Henry also stood up to walk over and hug their daughter. Henry shook Severus' hand again and Jean waved the two off as they walked out the door to the floo point.

A/N: I will be working on the next chapter tomorrow and I am hoping I can get it done quickly. Would anyone be opposed to a time jump? I am just realizing that this story is getting a little out of hand, so I want to finish it as soon as I can while still telling the whole story.

Question I leave you with:

What will Hermione's father say to her mother after they leave?

What will happen to the couple next?

What will they have (as in baby wise)?

Will anything happen to these two to make them question themselves or each other?

Please leave a review if you have a moment.

Thank you!