(A/N: Ok readers...hang on to your hats...here comes a twist I've been planning for ages and have been soooo excited for you guys to get to! Please leave comments on your thoughts...I'll be waiting! Enjoy...carrytheotter)

Ch 104: Double the Shock

Later that month, Ron was helping set up a Halloween display at Wheezes one Saturday morning when he heard his mobile ring. Seeing it was Matthew Coppedge, he grinned and picked up the call, abandoning George to handle the pumpkin fireworks on his own.

"Coppedge! Good to hear from you. It's been too long. How have you been?"

"Well, Fatima's parents haven't disowned her or come after me yet, so all in all I think I'm doing pretty well," he laughed.

"Their loss, you know. I know Hermione has appreciated all of Fatima's help finding the right people to work at the foundation."

"Good, good. Yeah, Fatima has loved doing that. So often in the magical world being a squib is a disqualifier, so for someone to be seeking them out, well, it feels pretty great for everyone. Well, that and I think those two have become fast friends."

"That they have. And, well you know what I think about all of that squib discrimination shite. But I am glad it's been a positive thing. It has certainly made Hermione's life much easier. Some of the people Fatima connected with her have been life savers already."

"I'm glad."

"So, what's going on?"

"Um, actually…"

"Uh oh. The last time I heard that tone you were telling me about Aldie Carrington. What's up?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. This is not at all related to the Carrington family. Actually, it's a case that Fatima and I have both been on, and we were hoping to talk to you and Hermione about it."

"Uh, ok. Do you two want to meet for dinner next week?"

"Well, we were really hoping to see you today if that is at all possible. Are you two free by any chance? I know its last minute, but I was hoping it being a Saturday you might be able to meet."

"I think so. I'm at the shop now helping George with some Halloween preparation, but nothing I can't wrap up in the next hour. I think Hermione is at home, but I'll catch her on her mobile and we can meet you anywhere. Are you two alright?"

"Yes. Yes, thank you. I promise. We are both fine. How about we plan to come by your house in about an hour and a half? If you aren't able to reach Hermione just let me know and we'll come a bit later."

"Right. Ok. You're sure you're alright? You sound like something is wrong."

"Thanks, Ron. I appreciate your concern. I promise it will all fit together when Fatima and I come by in a bit. I'll see you then."

As that the call cut off, and Ron found himself staring at the phone concerned for his friend. He quickly called Hermione who had decided to run errands with her mum. But, they planned to meet home before their friends arrived.

About an hour later, Ron was stepping through the floo at his home just as Hermione was placing her car keys on the hook by the door. He went to take off his garish robes as she hugged him.

"Hey, any more idea what they want to talk about?"

"No," he said as he bent to kiss her. "You know as much as I do. But, I'm with you. It was all very cryptic, and I am a bit worried about them. I wonder if her family has gotten worse or something. But, he said it was a case they were working on, so I have no idea."

"Well, I'll put on some tea and rummage up some biscuits. That should help just about anything."

He laughed. "Yeah, and I'll rummage up some firewhisky in case it's one of those rare things tea and biscuits can't quite manage."

Before long, the doorbell rang. "Well, whatever it is, we are about to find out," Hermione said, and they went to greet their friends.

Matthew and Fatima were very apologetic for inviting themselves over on such short notice. But, Hermione and Ron would hear nothing of it.

"Come on, we can solve most of the world's problems at the kitchen table. We have tea and firewhisky at the ready as we weren't sure exactly which would be most appropriate," Hermione laughed leading them into the kitchen.

Tea was poured and biscuits passed around, and then Ron finally said, "OK. Spill it. What is going on, and how can we help?"

Fatima looked at Matthew hesitantly, and he gave her a little nod encouraging her as he took her hand.

"Right," she said as she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Well, as you know, in my work I am often called in when families are struggling. We often see abuse or neglect, but our office also handles cases where children are left without parents or legal guardians."

"So sad," Hermione said. "Takes a special soul to be able to do that day after day."

Fatima smiled gratefully at her before she continued. "Actually, yesterday Matthew and I both ended up on the same case."

"What happened?" Hermione asked, getting up to grab a pen and pad of paper so she could take notes.

Fatima looked to Matthew, who took over. "Actually, the woman was a Syrian refugee."

"Anyone I worked with?" asked Hermione.

"No, I don't think so. At least not that I can tell. Her maiden name was Nima Masour. Does that ring a bell?"

"No. No – it doesn't."

"Well, Nima Masour was a Syrian refugee. She ended up here in London and married a man named Alfred Smith she met in her work cleaning offices at night. Alfred was quite a loner – no friends or family to speak of, but he was extremely bright and worked long hours in his work as a computer programmer, which is why he was apparently there every night when Nima came to clean the office. But shortly after they married, Alfred was diagnosed with glioblastoma."

"Oh no," Hermione grimaced. "That's terrible."

"Why? What is that?" asked Ron.

"It's a particularly deadly brain cancer. People don't often live long after that diagnosis. Is he still alive?"

"Unfortunately not," Fatima sighed. "He passed away in February. And in March, Nima discovered she was pregnant."

"Oh that poor woman."

"Pregnant with twins," Fatima added.

"Oh no. On her own? With twins? Do you need help connecting her with some additional resources? I'm sure the foundation could take care of a lot…"

"No, thank you, Hermione. That's very generous, but that's not what we wanted to talk about. Alfred had left her the flat and his insurance policy, so money is not the problem. She gave birth a week ago yesterday to two healthy children – fraternal twins – a boy and a girl."

"Bless her," Ron said. "My mother could tell tales about raising twins. And most are horror stories."

Matthew grimaced, but kept talking. "The story gets worse. Because yesterday when the NHS midwife went by for a follow up visit, she discovered Nima dead in the flat. That's how I was looped in, as they call us with any case where a body is found with no immediately known cause of death."

"Oh my God," gasped Hermione. "Alone in the house with the babies? What happened? Are they alright?"

"We learned today that they think she died of a pulmonary embolism," he said. "And, the medical examiner reported that she had been dead approximately 48 hours. She must have passed away just after the midwife had last checked on them two days prior."

"And the babies?"

"That's where I came in," Fatima said. "When I came to collect the infants to take them to a foster home, one of the detectives on the case pointed out how unusually healthy they looked for having no milk or care for almost 48 hours. And she was right. They were plump and healthy, not dehydrated at all like they should have been."

"Why?"

"Well, I had my suspicions, but they were only confirmed a few hours ago."

"What?" asked Hermione, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"Magic," said Ron in a moment of realization. "The twins are magical. Am I right?"

Matthew and Fatima nodded as Fatima continued. "I confirmed with Headmistress McGonagall today. There are two new entries in the book at Hogwarts."

"Poor dears."

"Yes," said Matthew. "We have these situations every so often. And usually there are family members or godparents who take in the children. Or they get placed in foster homes and placed for adoption throughout England."

"But," Fatima interrupted, "it is quite rare to have known magical orphaned children of muggle parents with no guardians."

"How can we help?" asked Hermione.

"Well, I am not quite sure how to put this." Fatima paused and looked at Matthew, who encouraged her to continue. She swallowed, took a deep breath and said, "The names on the Hogwarts book were listed only as – and I am quoting here - 'The Weasley Twins, born to Nima and Alfred Smith October 4, 2019, children of Hermione and Ronald Weasley.'" She slid a piece of parchment across the table which was clearly a magical copy of the page in the Hogwarts book where the words were written, plain as day.

Ron simply blanched, all color drained from his face as his eyes widened, staring at the page. Hermione had gasped, covered her mouth with her hand and then sat frozen at the table, eyes wide in shock as she stared at the parchment.

Fatima saw the two stunned faces, so she kept talking. "Neither Matthew nor I have ever seen anything like this before, and Headmistress McGonagall said she would be happy to floo here and join us once we talked you through what had happened."

The kitchen fell silent, but neither Ron nor Hermione had moved at all as the gravity of the situation set in. Eventually Ron stood up without a word, walked over to the counter, picked up the firewhisky and four glasses, and brought them back to the table. He poured everyone a drink, quickly downed his and refilled it, finally looking at all of them staring at him and muttered, "This conversation definitely required more than tea and biscuits."

"An understatement if I ever heard one," Matthew said. "I am so sorry we are just dropping this on you like this. But we didn't know how else to deliver this kind of news. How about Fatima and I step into the sitting room and floo-call the Headmistress, and we can give you two some time to talk and process everything. Alright?"

Hermione simply nodded, still apparently unable to form words or even make eye contact. The young couple stood and walked out of the room quietly, at which point Hermione downed her own glass of firewhisky, which Ron copied with his second. She allowed the burn to travel down her throat and only once the warmth started creeping back up her skin did she feel able to talk.

"Did they just say what I think they just said?" she whispered, more out of shock than any need to be private.

Ron took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before answering. "Well, if what you heard was that the bloody Hogwarts book says we are the new parents of twin babies, then yes. Yes they did."

"This is the same bloody Hogwarts book that screwed up and forgot I existed, right? I mean, this book and I do not have the best track record."

"Maybe it's more like a prophecy than a record? I don't know. I am not even sure I know what day it is all of a sudden."

They both simply stared at each other for a moment

They both seemed to be frozen in shock as the situation began to set in. After a few minutes of not uncomfortable, but certainly tense silence, Hermione stood up and began pacing the kitchen while Ron fiddled with his now empty glass of firewhisky trying to get his brain to focus on one thought long enough to see it through before darting to the next. He stared at his glass, rolling it in a circle around its rim as he tried to imagine if he could possibly be okay with doing this. Or with not doing this. Could he be a dad to infant twins? Could he live with himself if they walked away from it? But twins! He could practically picture Fred laughing at him as he rubbed his hands together in maniacal glee as he watched him from above. It was terrifying. But it wasn't as terrifying as walking away from it.

Eventually Ron looked up at Hermione, whose right hand kept running through her mane of curls as if managing her hair would somehow manage the situation. But, as he watched, Ron noticed the slightest change in the expression on his wife's face. It had shifted in ways that no one else would probably ever recognize except for him, which made his heart warm in ways he hadn't expected. He recognized Hermione had shifted from blatant shock to what he assumed had been disbelief or denial to an expression he was extremely familiar with: list making. And in that fraction of a second as the creases near her eyes softened ever so slightly, and her mouth went from chewing the left side of her bottom lip to subtly pinched straight lips with a slight head bob as she mentally ticked through each item, he knew she had made her decision. And suddenly he was thrilled. Scared as shite. But thrilled.

He closed his eyes for a moment calming his breath and then quietly stood and walked over to where his wife was wearing a path in the floor between the sink and the refrigerator. He stood in front of her, which she seemingly hadn't noticed, and gently caught her shoulders in arms. Her head snapped up and he realized she was about to launch into solicitor mode to argue her case of why they should do this, but he cut her short. He caught her eyes in his and smiled.

"They're ours," he said quietly, his face breaking into a small lopsided grin.

Visibly relieved, he felt her body release the tension as she broke into a wide smile. With tears coming to her eyes, she nodded. "They're ours."

They embraced and stood there silently, holding on to each other for dear life while each began to imagine this new, unexpected turn their lives were taking.

Hermione finally pulled away and tried to catch Ron's eyes again. "You're sure? You're absolutely sure? Because if we do this, there is no way to undo it, you know. Once we meet them - once they are in our arms - there is no going back."

"I'm sure. As sure as I have ever been about anything in my whole life. I just feel it – no – I just know it somehow. Don't you?"

"Yeah," she laughed. "I do. It feels the exact same way it did when I held Rose all those years ago." With that the tears were streaming harder down her face, and she looked away to wipe them on her sleeve. But when she looked back at Ron, she realized he was crying as well but trying to hide it.

"Come here, Ron," she said in a knowing tone as she opened her arms to hug him again.

"Don't know why I am crying," he said, embarrassed.

"You're an idiot, Ron," she laughed through tears. "You're crying because you just found out you are a dad to two newborns. Twin newborns."

"So, fear then?" he joked.

"Maybe," she laughed. "You know more about living with twins than I do. But, I think you never let yourself acknowledge how much you wanted to parent a child from birth. To watch your children grow from little bundles to adults."

At this, his light tears fell heavier until he was openly weeping, finally staggering over to a chair at the kitchen table. "I just never let myself even dream of it," he finally admitted.

She came and sat on his lap while he cried onto her shoulder. She nuzzled him, stroked his hair and kissed his temple as he slowly re-gained his demeanor. Finally, she got up and fetched two dish towels, dampened them and handed one to Ron and used the other on her own face. As he wiped his face, he watched his wife's face change once again. She had reverted again to solicitor mode, which somehow made him grin. She would handle this. He just knew she would make this happen. She'd bring their children home.

"Ok," she said. "Now, before we let ourselves fall madly in love with these babies, we have to make sure this is all happening. Really happening. That every possible person who could have any claim to be their guardians has been contacted. I cannot and will not make them our children only to lose them later, do you understand?"

Ron nodded as he rummaged for parchment to take notes, "Absolutely."

"And even if something happens and it turns out they are squibs, they are ours, right?"

"Of course, Hermione. We wouldn't give our other children away if they weren't magical. But, if they are really in the Hogwarts book already, I don't think that will be an issue. At least one of them has clearly already shown accidental magic."

"Right, right," Hermione nodded. "Though, I still have issues with that bloody book."

"No doubt," he chuckled.

"Ok. Then we also need to make sure this is all done appropriately through Fatima's office. What if there are waiting families who want to adopt but we somehow jump the line? I don't want to hear later that there were shortcuts taken which would put our legal status as their parents at risk."

"Good point," nodded Ron, thankful for his swotty wife. "But, I am presuming Fatima and Matthew have dealt with this before. There must be some process they follow if she knew to consult with McGonagall."

"Ok. Right, that makes sense. And then – twins! I mean TWINS! Oh my God, Ron, can we really do this? Are we young enough for this? We'll be almost 60 when they graduate from Hogwarts! And they won't have any other Weasley cousins their age, and what will Rose and Hugo think? I don't want them to think we love them less. And, we'll need cribs and nappies and clothes and bottles and..."

Ron cut her off with a strong embrace. Kissing her head again he only said, "They're ours, Hermione. They're ours. Everything else will work itself out. If anyone understands the magic of unexpected family, it's us right? We just have to trust that it will work out. Look at the unbelievable joy it's brought us so far. It will be amazing. We'll be utterly exhausted and not have nearly enough sex, but it will be incredible."

Chuckling into his chest, she nodded. "You're right. On all accounts. Sorry, I let my brain jump a thousand steps ahead there."

"No problem. That's why we make a good team. What did Hugo say? You wind me up and I calm you down? Or something like that. Anyway, we are a good pair. Now, let's go fetch Matthew and Fatima and see what we do next. Because I, for one, would like to meet our children."

She smiled, pulled back from his chest and kissed him deeply. "I love you, Ron."

"I love you. Now come on."

Soon Matthew, Fatima and McGonagall had joined them at the kitchen table. As Fatima poured tea for everyone, Ron chuckled.

"You know, Professor, I am beginning to think that every time I sit with you at a kitchen table my life takes some drastic turn. Maybe after this one we could ease off a bit and agree only to meet in the sitting room."

Laughing, the elderly witch replied, "I think that is utterly appropriate, Mr. Weasley. Though, in my defense, your life has managed some drastic turns of its own accord without any intervention from me."

"Fair point," he acknowledged.

"Now," Matthew said, "the only people who know about this right now are the five of us. The children are currently with one of the social workers on Fatima's team who is a licensed foster parent and who often takes children in for a few nights while a more permanent situation is found."

Hermione and Ron looked visibly relieved at that.

"How do we assure this is all done correctly in both the muggle and magical systems?" Hermione asked. "We want to do this, but we wouldn't be able to handle losing them later if some shortcut was taken in the adoptions. Does this kind of thing happen often? Is there an established process for this type of thing?"

Fatima nodded, grasping Hermione's hand in assurance. "Absolutely. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen often enough that we have an established process and system."

Professor McGonagall nodded, adding, "Every few years we find that there is a muggle-born child who has magical abilities and finds themselves in need of a family. When those come up, Fatima confirms with me that the name is in the Hogwarts book and then we work together to find a suitable placement. If there has been no accidental magic yet or the book has not recognized them yet, they are placed in a muggle home like any other adoption process. If they show magic later, they receive the Hogwarts letter at a later date like every muggle-born witch or wizard. But, if we know ahead of time, we like to place them with magical families."

"Does the book always assign a family like it did today?"

"Ahh, no, Mr. Weasley. That was the first time I have ever seen that happen. But, obviously I felt it was a clear signal of what we should do with the children."

"You do know I don't have great trust for that book, right?" Hermione added.

"Yes, I do. And I am still sorry about that. But I honestly do not believe it would have listed you two as parents if it were not where they should be. As your husband can tell you, I have never been one to put a lot of trust in divination and prophecies and such. But, that said, I have also found that there are times in life when you simply have to trust the magic in the universe and believe that there are, at times, signs that do show you the best way forward. And, I believe, this is one of those times."

Hermione nodded, but didn't say anything in response.

Ron spoke up, "So, we want to be 100% sure that there are no living relatives or anyone who could lay claim to them before we bring them home. You understand, right?"

"Absolutely," Matthew replied. "I actually have three co-workers working on this as we speak. And, we have actually connected to a number of refugee placement organizations to ensure we have examined all possible connections in refugee camps elsewhere in Europe and the Middle East. And, no, Hermione – to answer the look on your face, no one knows you are at all connected to them."

"What about on the magical side? I mean, can we be absolutely sure the biological father wasn't an English wizard with family?"

"Well, we would usually work with Potter on this. But, I haven't contacted him yet as, well, as I felt it wasn't exactly my place given the circumstances. But, Headmistress McGonagall looked through the late father's muggle family tree and was not able to identify any known witches or wizards."

"Um, could you ask Harry and not tell him our connection quite yet? I just – well, I think Hermione and I would like to be the ones to tell everyone our news no matter the outcome of all of this."

"Absolutely. I can do that. Actually, let me pop into the other room and call him right now."

Fatima continued reviewing the process to formalize the legal aspects of the adoption in both the muggle and magical ministries, with Hermione furiously taking notes. Ron shut his eyes a moment, letting everything settle in. Eyes still closed, he felt a small, wrinkly hand pat his affectionately.

"Can I just say, Ronald," McGonagall said softly, "how thrilled I am for you. I know this will once again turn everything upside down. But, those children could not have found more amazing parents. And I think this world will be a better place with more children having grown up with your influence. I've already seen you become an amazing father. This will just be another opportunity to see that shine, and I, for one, am looking forward to it."

Blushing and caught off guard at the elderly witch's use of his first name, he could only nod and mumble "thank you, Professor" as he felt his eyes become glassy again.

When the three visitors finally left, Ron closed the door behind Matthew and Fatima and felt so exhausted he thought he might just fall on the floor. But, he managed to make it back to the sofa in the sitting room where Hermione had plopped as soon as McGonagall had gone back through the floo. He sat on the sofa and laid down with his head in her lap.

"Wow," she said quietly as she ran her fingers softly through his hair.

"Wow," he agreed.

"So, now what? Do we just wait to hear its official? Or do we assume it's on and go off and get everything? I mean – we are definitely not prepared to have two infants here tonight."

"Well, right. But they are just days old. They don't need cribs and toys and such quite yet, right? As long as we have bottles and somewhere to put them, some nappies and some blankets and clothes or something I am sure we can pull everything else together later."

"True," she nodded.

"Maybe," he yawned, "we should just lay here on the couch and enjoy our last quiet moment together for the next eleven years."

She laughed, nodded and curled up with him on the couch listening to his heart beat as they waited to hear back.

A few hours later, Ron's cell rang, causing both of them to jump. Ron quickly answered, seeing it was Matthew calling.

"Any updates?" Ron asked as he picked up the call. "Wait, hang on, let me switch to speaker phone so Hermione can hear as well," he added as he held the phone between them.

"Yes. We are 100% clear and good to go on the muggle side. I just spoke with Potter and he thinks it is all clear on that end as well but want to wait to hear back from one last person who was investigating all possible relations. Once we get that go ahead, then we are all clear."

"Ok," Hermione said. "So let's say that Harry calls back in a bit and says it is fine. Would we take custody tonight or tomorrow?"

"Tonight I think. The foster home is fine as a temporary fix, but I think we all want to see these two with their forever family as soon as possible."

Hermione felt emotion overtaking her a bit, which Ron could read on her face. So, he stepped in, asking, "Alright, mate, any guesses on time and how it would work? We obviously need to run out and find nappies and bottles and a few essentials to get us started."

Hermione mouthed "thank you" to Ron while she wiped her eyes as Matthew replied, "Well, Fatima said she was hoping to pick up the babies from her co-worker's home around five and then we would drive them to your place, which would take just over an hour with the light weekend traffic. So, I would guess that it would put us at your place between quarter past and half past six this evening. They have a nappy bag with a few things in it that Fatima collected from the flat. But, yeah, bottles, nappies and all that would be good to fetch this afternoon."

"Matthew," Hermione interjected. "Does Fatima still have access to their flat? I just wonder if we could go by at some point and see if there were any personal items that they might want someday."

"That's brilliant, Hermione. And, yes, Fatima said the rent was paid for two more weeks so they can get in and get anything they need. Technically all that was their biological mother's and is now theirs anyway, so you can take anything you need. But, since we have two weeks left, there is no rush on that."

"Ok, good. That's great," Hermione said, checking questions off of her mental list. "What about car seats? Do you need them before you fetch them?"

She suppressed a giggle as Ron gave her an utterly baffled look.

"Fatima's office has some that we'll use to bring them to you, but we have to take them back to the office, so you should pick those up as well if you plan to drive with them."

"Sorry," Ron interrupted, "can't help but ask. I know I don't drive or anything, but don't the cars come with seats already in them?"

Matthew and Hermione both laughed. "They are special muggle seats that keep babies safe in a car in case of an accident as they are too small for regular seat belts," Matthew added.

"Not to mention, they are great for keeping kids in one place if you get the kind that you can easily move in and out of the car, which is exactly what we will be getting this afternoon," added Hermione.

"Ok," Ron nodded. "I gain more muggle knowledge every day I guess."

"So," Matthew said, "I'll give you a call as soon as I hear from Potter. But, it sounds like you two need to go shopping."

"Alright. Thanks, Matthew. We'll talk to you soon."

Hermione looked at Ron who simply grinned and said, "Let's go shopping!"

Ron was baffled by the array of choices at the muggle baby supply shop. There were cribs and chairs and rugs and shelves and all kinds of muggle contraptions he couldn't figure out. He thought maybe he would bring his dad back later for fun. But, Hermione was clearly a woman on a mission as she was proceeding up and down the aisles quite quickly and crossing items off her long list as she tossed things into her shopping trolley. He had laughed as she made three lists – the "must get today" list, the "need to get in the next few days" list and the "maybe we'll splurge eventually" list. Ron had reminded her that they could spend whatever they needed, and she had simply rolled her eyes. But, none the less, he was soon sent back to the front of the store to fetch another trolley to fill up with "urgent" supplies, most of which he had never heard of before.

By the time they had it all back in the house in a giant pile on the living room floor, his mobile rang again. Ron answered on speaker phone.

"Did you hear from Harry?"

"Potter says we are all clear. They're officially yours," Matthew said. Hermione started crying and Ron hugged her tightly.

"Thank you so much, Matthew," she said between sniffles. "Sorry, just been an emotional roller coaster of a day."

"I would say so," he laughed. "Well, if it is ok with you two, Fatima and I will stick with the plan to fetch them at 5, and we should be at your place a little after 615 this evening. Alright?"

"More than alright," Ron grinned. "See you then." He hung up the phone, turned to Hermione and laughed, "Holy shite! We are about to be parents! Well, you know, again!"

She grinned, and hugged him, but found herself squealing as he scooped her up and spun her around.

"Ok, ok, ok," she protested. "Put me down. Couples usually have nine months to pull all of this together, and we have about two hours, so we need to get cracking."

"Right. But we also have magic on our side," he grinned. Soon they had quickly sorted the things that needed to be washed and sent them to be quickly laundered. They washed and sterilized all of the bottles and even made up a few to keep in the fridge in case they were fussy when they arrived. Ron set to work assembling two changing tables – one to keep upstairs, and one to keep on the first floor. They had decided to just do little bassinets in their room for now and figure out the crib and room situation later. When they finished the basics, Hermione let herself linger over the freshly laundered tiny pajamas and blankets as she folded them on the sofa. Ron held up one of the shirts and realized it was smaller than his hand.

"Are they really this small?" he asked softly.

"Well, I have no idea, I suppose. But, newborns are always tiny, and twins tend to be tinier since they had to share space. But, we'll soon find out. They should be here any minute. Why don't you vanish all those boxes and bags of rubbish, and I'll put on some tea."

"Alright," he said. "And thank you for letting me stop and get the new magical camera. I know our phones are great, but I really am thrilled to be able to take magical photos too."

"Hmmm. She hummed softly. Where is Colin when you need him?"

"Smiling down on us," he said simply as he kissed her cheek and went to finish cleaning up.

When he heard the car in the driveway, he looked at Hermione and realized all of the blood had drained from her face. Her nerves made him suddenly anxious as well.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Just really nervous all of a sudden," she said meekly. "We're doing the right thing, right?"

"Hey, hey, come here," he said quickly. "We are going to be great. All of us. I promise. You are the most amazing human I know. Those kids have the best mum in the entire world and they are going to be so in love with you."

She nodded, and he kissed her deeply, and then they heard the doorbell ring. Holding hands, they walked to the door. Ron took a deep breath and reached for the door knob.