AN- This chapter came quicker than I expected (Like Ron LMAO).
Please enjoy.
~~OvO~~
The day before the Christmas holidays, Hermione was leaving the library when she was approached my Madame Pomfrey.
"Miss Granger… that is to say… Mrs Weasley" she called.
Hermione stopped, having managed to avoid the healer all semester.
"Madame Pomfrey, how nice to have run into you" Hermione said, making to walk off.
"Yes of course, it has been quite some time" the healer said.
"I hope you're well madame" Hermione said.
"Yes, quite" she answered.
"Well, it was nice seeing you again, but I must go" she said.
"No, Mrs Weasley, I have been trying to catch you. The ministry is eager for your test results" Madame Pomfrey said.
"Test results?"
"Yes, I am yet to conduct a thorough reproductive test on you" she said.
"Well, that's no necessary, I am not interested" she said.
"I'm afraid its part of the contract. You must" she said sadly.
"When?" Hermione asked.
"Immediately. They need the results before the Christmas holidays. You have left Hogwarts for residential purposes so its been quite difficult to catch you" she said.
"Ok, you can perform basic tests, but nothing too invasive" she said.
"Basic it is" Pomfrey said, leading Hermione towards the hospital wing.
When they arrived n the hosptial wing, Hermione noticed that there was a new room added to the hospital which was labelled 'private'. As Hermione eyed the door suspiciously, her unasked questions were answered.
"I thought it would be more appropriate if these types of things could be spoken about and performed in private" Pomfrey said.
"I appreciate that" Hermione said.
"Now lay down and lift your shit above your belly button. I will check for anything that might hider a… a uh… Pregnancy and check that you're cycling correctly" the healer said.
"My cycle is regular. Every 28 days" Hermione said
"Good. That's good to know. And, you and Mr Weasley, have you been engaging in sexual activity?" she asked, blushing.
"We have" Hermione answered, feeling awkward to be discussing this with the healer who had once assisted her when she accidentally turned herself into a cat at the age of 13.
"Right you are. And how long have you been engaging in such activity?" she asked.
"Since September. I was with my ex fiancé in September and my husband also in September" she said.
As the witch waved her wand over Hermione's stomach, she frowned and um'd and ah'd. Hermione had no idea what the colours hovering above her meant, as she had never studied healing and never had the desire to study obstetrics healing.
"You say you've been regular in your cycle?"
"Yes, every 28 days, for 3 days. As it has always been" she said.
"Heavy?" she asked.
"Not particularly" Hermione said.
"And you first had intercourse without contraceptives in September?" she asked.
"Yes"
"I'm sorry to pry, love, but do you know precisely when in September?" she asked.
"It was around my birthday, so the 20th or so" she said. "Why the questions?" she asked.
"You can sit up now, the testing is done" she said.
"Am I fertile enough for the ministries standards?" she asked.
"My dear, you are pregnant already" she said.
"That's impossible. I have had my period every month, like clockwork. I can't be" she said.
"I performed the spell several times Mrs Weasley" she said.
"How is that possible?" she asked.
"Sometimes you can have a regular period throughout the pregnancy. Its rare, but it happens" Pomfrey said.
"So… How… I mean, how far along am I?" she asked.
"That is where it gets tricky" the healer said.
"Tricky? Are your spells indicative of progression, or aren't they?" she asked.
"They are"
"So, tell me"
"You conceived somewhere between the 26th of September and the 1st of October" Madame Pomfrey said.
"So… I don't understand. There is no exact day?" she asked remembering that the ball was on the 26th of September.
"Well, fertilisation can occur anywhere from a few hours to a few days after intercourse. So it is not certain when the intercourse occurred, but the date of your pregnancy is approximately the 1st of October" she said.
"I uh… I need to speak to…" she said, unable to finish the sentence.
"There's more that I haven't told you" she said.
"What more could there be? What? Twins?" she asked.
"Well…." He began.
"No. I am not carrying twins" she said.
"You are. You're having non identical twins" madame Pomfrey said.
"Great. That's just great" she said, anger flooding her system.
"Here is some information about pregnancy and some vitamins you must take for the duration of the pregnancy" Madame Pomfrey said.
"Thank you" Hermione said, taking the pamphlets and pills before picking up her bag and leaving the hospital wing in a hurry.
She stormed off the connected floo that had been set up for the senior students and flood home to the flat above the store.
She had no time to process this news. She thought she was being careful not to have sex during her ovulation time. Apparently, that didn't matter, because she had fallen pregnant before that was even a consideration.
She dumped her bag and used her wand to change her clothes. She was in complete shock as she made her way down the stairs which led to the back of the shop. She contemplated running out the back door, but she knew she must tell George.
The shop was empty except for Angelina, who was stacking shelves.
She approached George who smiled brightly when she noticed her, however, when he saw her face, his smile fell.
"What's wrong" he asked.
"Can we have a word?" she said to him, taking him by the hand and leading him out the back of the store.
"I uh, I finished my potions essay pretty quickly and I found that book you told me about" she said, stumbling over he words.
"Uh, ok, that's great. Now whats wrong?" he asked.
"Madame Pomfrey came to me and said that the ministry were demanding test results to determine fertility. I didn't want to, but I went with her" she said.
"Did she hurt you?" he asked.
"No, nothing like that. She was scanning me, asking me all kinds o questions. I told her how my cycle is regular and she asked f we'd had sex and I said we had. She waved her wand over me and all these sodding lights shone. I thought it was just the diagnostics, you know. I thought she was just figuring out how likely it would be for us to conceive…" she went on.
"Were the results bad? I dint understand" he said.
"George… I'm pregnant" she said, tears filling her eyes.
"You're? We're going to have a baby?" he asked.
"Two… Two babies" she said, still upset.
"Twins?" he asked, his face dropping for a moment. Hermione sensed his fear in realising that they may have just created the next Fred and George.
"Non identical twins" she said.
"This is… I mean… Its sooner than we wanted, but not totally unexpected, right?" he asked.
"No, not unexpected" she said.
"Well, when are we due?" How far…" he began, but Hermione cut him off.
"George!" she said, suddenly, stepping back from him and closing her eyes.
"What? What is it?" he asked.
"I conceived on the 1st of October" she said.
"That's the… the day you returned to Hogwarts" he said.
"Madame Pomfrey said conception can happen between a few hours and a few days after intercourse" she said, tears now spilling out of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.
"So… that's ok, we had sex Hermione. We had loads of sex the night of the ball. And in the morning… and…." He stopped.
"And…" she said.
"And you and Ron…" he said.
"Me and Ron…" she repeated.
George sat on a nearby box, placing his head in his hands.
"Is there a way to find out?" he asked.
"I… I didn't ask. I couldn't think" she said, standing in front of him.
"Well, I would like to believe that… Me and you, we were matched Hermione. We were matched for a reason. If you were destined to have a child with Ron, you would have been matched with him. I have no reason to doubt that these babies…" he looked up into her eyes and placed his hands on her belly… "…are mine. Are ours. Our creations. Our attempt a ridding ourselves of being awkward created these two lives" he said with a smile.
His smile brought about a happiness of her own and she smiled back, kneeling down in front of him and kissing him.
"So, these are our babies. We're going to be parents. To two children" she said.
"The next Fred and George" he said.
"Oh Merlin" she said.
"Mum's going to be thrilled" George said.
"Well, we're past the first trimester. So I think that once we get over the shock of this, we can tell your family if you like" she said.
"At Christmas?" he asked.
"I think that would be nice" she said.
"So the babies, they're healthy? They're ok?" he asked.
"I uh, didn't get much of an opportunity to ask. I was so shocked that I just ran out of there" she said.
George stood up and took her by the hand.
"Let's go back. Do it properly" he said.
"I think id like that" she said, following George upstairs and into the floo.
The couple arrived at the hospital wing of Hogwarts hand in hand, ready to completely accept the news of their pregnancy.
"I'm so sorry I ran off like I did Madame. It was such a shock to me. But George and I have some questions" she said.
"Certainly dear. Come on through" she said, leading them into the private room where Hermione had taken off from less than half an hour earlier.
They all took a seat and the healer took out a circular piece of parchment that was attached t another circular piece of parchment. She twisted it around and sat it down n the table.
"I have been drinking and doing things I probably shouldn't have. Is that going to hurt the babes?" she asked.
"Its safest not to drink at all while your pregnant, but the placenta does quite the job of keeping toxins away from the babies. There is a slight chance that the alcohol interacted with them, however, the long term implications are relatively minor" she said.
"Relatively?" Gorge asked.
"Yes. There is no guarantee that there will be no effects on the babies. However, given that it was only a few times, it is unlikely that they were adversely affected" she said.
"And we can still have sex?" George asked.
"Absolutely. There's no harm that can come to the babies through intercourse" Madame Pomfrey said.
"So, they're healthy?" he asked.
"Very much so" Madame Pomfrey said. "In fact, if you'd like to lay down, I will perform a scan and you can see them" she said.
Hermione looked at George, excitement etched on his face. She stood from the seat and laid herself down on the bed where she had been analysed before.
Madame Pomfrey waved her wand over Hermione's belly and after a few moments, the pixelated image of two little bodies floated above her. They were so tiny, but so perfect. Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she watched them wriggle about. It was the most bizarre feeling in the world to Hermione and when George took her hand and kissed it, she realised that he was experiencing this all with her as well.
"Its quite early to tell, but do you want to know the genders of your babies? I am pretty certain I can see" the healer said.
Hermione looked at George who nodded and then said "yes" to Pomfrey who turned her wand slightly.
"Well, as you can see there, this one is a little boy… and if we look at the other one… a little girl" she said.
"So not another Fred and George after all" Hermione said to her husband.
~~OvO~~
Hermione and George turned up to the Burrow on Christmas eve with presents in hand to place under the tree. Molly had arranged a feast for the whole family and surprised everyone by having renovated the entire house in their absence.
"Well, I was here completely on my own. Your father at work, all my children off at school or at work. What was I to do? This house was created by magic and it was altered by magic" she said.
"This is great mum. I can't believe the size of it" George said, looking around the place, not letting go of Hermione hand.
The dining room had been extended to accommodation an enormous table and the living room was much bigger also. The stairs were less rickety, and more bathrooms were added.
"Hermione dear, I made up the cot in Ginny's room" Molly called as George led her towards his room.
"Mother, we are married. Ginny is also married. Its safe t say that we can share a room with our spouses now" George called down.
"Oh my, I wasn't prepared for this" Molly said, stirring a pot which had become overexcited.
"What's the worst that can happen? I get her regnant?" George called.
Hermione slapped his arm as they arrived on the second floor. He pushed open his bedroom door, revealing the room he had shared with Fred his whole life.
He waved his wand and tidied the mess that he had apparently left behind last time he was home. Hermione looked at the empty bed where a giant F emblazoned upon the wall sparkled down at them.
"I never thought to… You know, take it out" he said, sitting on his bed.
"Its ok, you don't have to" she said.
"No, I think its time. We'll be staying here at Christmases and holidays and things. It need to go" he said, standing before the unused bed.
She shrunk the bed, along with Fred's drawers and the boxes of Fred's things which had been packed up over the months. Hermione picked up a small tub and transfigured it into a ornamental box and handed it to George. George put Fred's things inside and shut the lid, placing it on his chest of drawers.
"There. Gone, but not" he said, standing in the middle of the room which now had a lot of space.
"He's never gone. Not really. Fred will always live on through you and through me and through these little ones" she said, patting her belly.
"I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm beyond glad you're here" he said, taking her in his arms.
She reached up on tip toes and kissed him on his lips. It was supposed to be a comforting loving kiss, however, George, having a girl in his room for the first time, took advantage of the situation, and promptly screwed Hermione against the chest of drawers, ensuring he placed silencing wards to prevent his mother hearing her cry out in pleasure.
~~OvO~~
As the rest of the Weasley clan arrived, Hermione offered to help Molly in the kitchen.
"It is really lovely of you to have organised all of this Molly" Hermione said.
"Nonsense. Its more important now than ever to have the family together my dear" she said.
"That's very true" Hermione said, stirring the gravy.
"My dear, you're the best thing to have happened to George. I haven't seen him so happy since… well... in a long time. We always thought you were for Ron, but this just goes to show. Maybe the ministry had it right all along?" Molly suggested.
"Thank you, Molly. George and I are in an amazing place right now. I want you to know that I love him with all of my heart. Not just as a friend or as someone I grew up knowing. But as a husband and a partner. George is an incredible man and he makes me so incredibly happy" Hermione said.
Molly wiped a tear with her apron and pulled Hermione into a hug.
"Now, off with you my dear, I can take this from here" she said, shooing Hermione from the kitchen.
Hermione made her way through to the living room, where the majority of the Weasleys were gathered.
"No quidditch?" Hermione asked, having assumed they would be playing.
"No, too cold" Ginny said.
"She's a whimp. Doesn't want to get beaten" said Charlie who had come home from Romania.
Hermione knew exactly why Ginny didn't want to play and it had nothing to do with the cold. Hermione had seen Ginny play in rain, hail, snow, sleet and shine. It was obvious that Ginny was going to use this occasion to reveal the news about her pregnancy. Too bad that was Hermione and George's plan also.
Ron and Lavender arrived shortly before dinner was served and placed their gifts under the tree. Ron took his place on the lounge and Lavender sat on his knee. They appeared to be quite close and very touchy feely which she knew wasn't Ron's style at all.
The conversation went on, all the while, Ron and Lavender not looking towards Hermione at all. She hadn't spoken to them since the party and she thought best to avoid them at all costs.
When Molly called for dinner, the group took their places at the table, having spread out up and down to make way for the newer members of the family.
Hermione watched as Lavender went to sit directly next to George, however, she interjected from her place on the other side of George, placing an object down where the plate would sit.
"I hope everyone doesn't mind, but I thought… seeing as though this is the first Christmas without Fred, we could have his picture here" she announced, standing up the object, which turned out to be a framed picture of Fred, looking up at everyone and waving.
Molly stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the picture with an unreadable expression.
"Hermione dear, that… that… oh Godric" she said, a tears flowed freely down her face. She quickly put down the tray of potatoes she had been carrying and hurried off back to the kitchen.
"Did I do something wrong?" she asked George.
"No, my love, you did something very right" he said, kissing her on the temple. "Thank you" he said.
Hermione stood and made her way to the kitchen to check on Molly.
"The gravy dear…" Molly said.
"Molly…" she began.
"The corn need to come out too" Molly said.
"Molly…." Hermione said, a little more forceful.
Molly turned around, eyes red and puffy for crying. She looked to the younger Mrs Weasley and smiled through her tears.
"We have spent so long trying to brush off the fact that he's gone. No one talks about him. No one knows what to do or what to say" Molly said.
"That's ok. That's normal" Hermione said.
"Then you, my dear girl. With something as simple as a framed photo. You've made my whole year Hermione. You really have" Molly said, pulling Hermione into a hug.
"Fred isn't gone Molly. He's here. He's in everyone" Hermione said. "Thank you dear" Molly said, waving her wand at the remaining food platters, sending them to the table.
"I thought you always did that by hand?" Hermione said.
"There are some hungry people out there my dear" Molly said.
Once everyone was seated, Arthur stood to speak.
"Well, quite a year we've all had. I want to thank all my children for coming. Bill and Fleur. Charlie, Percy and Penelope, George and Hermione, Ron and Lavender, Ginny and Harry. You are all my children. Please, lets enjoy a free, happy and safe Christmas" he said.
Harry raised his glass in a toast, "To a free, happy and safe Christmas"
"To Harry, who rid our world of Voldemort" Charlie said.
"To Ron and Hermione for helping" Ginny said.
"To Ron who saved my life this year. In more ways than one" Lavender said.
"To Fred, who gave his life so that we could all sit here and be happy and safe" Hermione said.
The choruses of cheers continued until Ginny nudged Harry and stood to her feet.
"While we're all here, before everyone eats, there's something Harry and I would like to say" she began.
"Oh my" Molly said, having guessed.
"We're going to have a baby" Harry said, looking nervously around at his five brothers-in-law.
"Oh my, Ginny, congratulations. Congratulations Harry. My oh my" Molly said.
At this, Hermione looked to George and the pair of them stood.
"Well, I suppose we had better make an announcement too…" George said. "We're having twins" he said, and the gasps around the room continued.
"Well, I don't want to be left out" Lavender said, standing to her feet, pulling Ron with her. "Its only early, but we're going to be parents as well" she said, clapping her hands and jumping up and down.
"And we all know Fleur and I are regnant too, so…. Happy Christmas mum, babies all round" Bill said.
"Charlie, Percy, your turn" George said, as everyone sat down.
"Not likely. I was excluded from the marriage law" he said.
"Yeah for good reason" Lavender said.
"And what reason is that?" Ron asked.
"Well, Charlie's gay, right?" she asked, receiving shocked remarks all around the table.
"Well, I wasn't going to ruin everyone's announcements by making one of my own… but… yeah, I am" he said.
The whole room was silent. No one knew what to say. It wasn't rejection or fear that was keeping the Weasleys quiet, but the shock of Charlie's announcement.
"That's great Charlie. Good on you mate. Now can we eat please? I'm starving" Can't the eventual declaration of Ron. A sign that all was good around the table.
As they all ate and made small talk, Hermione realised that Ron's breaking the silence was the most thoughtful thing he could have done. Not only did he not shame Charlie when it was clear that Charlie was quite concerned about his announcement, he normalised it. He aided in the group in moving beyond the shock and helped them come to an understanding. She placed her hand on her stomach, which was still quite flat and wondered if she was carrying Ron's or Georges children. The thought gutted her. She couldn't fathom the idea of the babies not being her husbands. However, she still loved Ron with some deep part of her heart and to have his babies wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. It could be worse. It could be much worse.
As George chatted with Charlie about his partner in Romania, Hermione looked across the table to Ron. He was attentive and loving to Lavender, careful around her and quite protective. She smiled to herself, wondering if they had been matched, would he have been like this with her? Would she be sitting in Lavender's place, smiling and gushing over having Ron's baby?
Ron looked over to Hermione and smiled. She wished and hoped that the awkward tension between them had completely gone, but she saw it in Ron's eyes. He missed her just as much as she missed him. She raised her glass of soda in his direction, a silent cheers to their separate impending children. He raised his back and smiled through his sip. Hermione looked away as her eyes filled with tears, catching the line of sight of Ginny.
Ginny's frown was all Hermione needed for confirmation that she had been seen having a moment.
She loved George. She was in love with George. Their life was perfect. Their life was great. So why, whenever Hermione looked at Ron, did she feel that ache inside of her soul? That flutter of her heart that reminded her that she once loved him that way.
She hoped that it wouldn't be like this forever. It had only been three months.
"So, Hermione, when are you due?" Penelope asked.
"Oh, uh, the first of July, but madame Pomfrey said that twins rarely come when they're due" she said.
"You're right love…" Molly began as Hermione noticed Lavender counting on her fingers. "Fred and George were a few weeks early. Its best to be prepared" Molly finished.
Ginny also looked to Hermione, confusion on her face.
"Hermione, could you help me with something?" Ginny asked.
"Sure" she said, getting up and heading to the living room.
"You lied" Ginny said
"I didn't"
"I asked you if you were pregnant. You lied"
"I dint know then"
"You're almost three months Hermione. How could you not know?"
"I have no idea Ginny, that's what I asked Madame Pomfrey. She said its rare but it happens"
"Are the babies George's?" Ginny asked. Hermione felt an accusatory tone and anger radiating off the person who was supposed to be her best friend.
"I… Of course. Of course, they're Georges. That's… What a…" Hermione stuttered.
"Late September. That's when you would have conceived. I can count and so can everyone else and as soon as they do, they'll all start asking questions as well" Ginny said, turning her back on Hermione and leaving the room.
Hermione sat on the lounge chair, staring at the wall in shock. Ginny had just been so cold towards her. How was that possible?
She returned to the table, not making eye contact with anyone.
"Are you ok?" George whispered to her.
"No" she answered truthfully, as she dug into her dessert.
"Molly, you've done an amazing job, as always" Hermione said though her threatening tears. "I'd love the recipe" she said.
"Certainly dear, I'll make you a book" Molly said.
"I'd appreciate that, thank you" Hermione said.
"I have a book, you know" George said to her quietly.
"I know that, I just want to be in you mother's good graces" she said.
"For what? Why? You already are" George said.
"We'll talk about it later" she said, eating her food quietly while the table bustled with conversation.
Late that night, after presents were exchanged and stories were told, each of the children returned to their rooms.
Molly had been wise to renovate the house as each child, apart from Charlie, had brought their partner and demanded their privacy. Where Charlie once shared with Bill, He now had his own room on the third floor.
"My mother loves you Hermione. You'll never be out of her good graces" George said she they got ready for bed.
"No George, she still sees me as 4th year Hermione who apparently toyed with Harry's feelings. Then dated your brother and then married you and got knocked up. I didn't hesitate to kiss Ron and Malfoy that night at the party and I don't even know for sure if these babies are yours. I'm pretty sure that would put me definitely out of her good graces" Hermione said.
"Is that what you're worried about? A fourth year misunderstanding, being matched with someone beyond your control and a game of spin the bottle, which I was there for. These babies are ours, regardless of who put them there. We can have them tested once they're born and that information will be for us to decide to share" George said.
Hermione laid down beside him in the bed and snuggled up next to him.
"I love you so much, you know that, right?" she said.
"Of course I do" he said.
"Sometimes, I look to Ron and wonder if he would have been kind to me. The way you are. I wonder sometimes if we would have made it. Without the marriage law. If me and Ron would have ended up together for the long run" she said.
"That's only natural Hermione. Its been three months. Give it time" he said.
"You're way too good to me" she said.
"I can't help it" he said, kissing her temple.
"Ginny went off at me. Told me that I've been lying about being pregnant for months and that people are going to start talking" she said.
"Let them. Let them talk. Let everyone talk all about us and our babies. I'll happily be the centre of attention" he said, rubbing her back gently as she closed her eyes.
"One day, George, you will see my flaws" she said.
"And I will care just as much then as I do now" he said, kissing the top of her head.
Hermione drifted off to sleep and dreamt the same dream she had dreamt all week. Of little red-haired children, running around, calling her mummy. She laughs and plays with them, running around a field of flowers. Only tonight, the dream is different. They stop playing when Ron and George come past and they look confused. One of the twins runs to Ron and calls him daddy while the other runs to George and calls him daddy.
She sits up with a fright and climbs out of bed carefully, hoping not to wake George. She makes her way down the stairs and into the kitchen where she puts on a pot of hot chocolate. Its almost morning so she's certain that a large pot won't go to waste. As she ladles some into a cup for herself, she hears a creaky floorboard behind her. She turned to see Ron standing awkwardly behind her, rubbing the back of his neck.
He feels awkward
"Can't sleep?" she asked.
"No. This house…" he said.
"Yep" she said, handing him the cup she poured and pouring another for herself.
"Mums happy to have the house full again" he said, sitting at the table across from her.
"I bet" Hermione said, sipping her drink.
"So twins?" he asked.
"Yep, apparently" she said.
"The next Fred and George" he said with a smile.
"Or Ron and George" she said.
Ron looked at her for a moment before his eyes widened.
"You're three months gone" he said.
"I am" she answered, not looking away from her drink.
"So…" he said.
"So do that maths" she said.
"Math was never my string suit" he said.
"I conceived in the last week of September, Ron" she said.
"But…" he said.
"You're getting there"
"They could be mine?" he asked.
"There you go" she said.
"What… I mean… does George know?" he asked.
"George knows and he is willing to do whatever is right by me and the babies" she said.
"But if they're mine, I need to know" Ron said.
"Look, you don't want to hear this, but George and I… We were together a fair bit that week. Me and you, I mean, that was one time and I wouldn't even really count it" she said, draining her cup and placing it in the sink.
"Hermione, wait. Don't you think this is fate?" he asked.
"Fate? If fate is real, then these babies are Georges" she said, turning and walking up the stairs.