CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Summary: Hermione's secret is discovered by The Order of the Phoenix. Before Harry is rescued, she needs to be first. But from who? With the help of Sirius she learns to put the past behind her, and with the help of two Weasleys, they show her a happy future. But Hermione isn't who she thinks she is, what she discovers will change her life for good. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: All original characters and canon events belong to J.K. Rowling. Non-canon events are my own ideas. I am not making any profit from posting this fanfic.
Page count: 9
The Burrow - Wednesday 30th July 1998
Hermione was forced to lift her hands to cover her ears at the barrage of questions and shouts that filled The Burrow. The only person that didn't seem surprised by her announcement was Harry and that was because he already knew, what did surprise him was how far along she appeared to be. The twins both winced at the noise and Sirius' face hardened with a glare set in place. He was just about to yell over the thunderous crowd when something stopped him.
Hermione's hands came down from her ears and they rested protectively over her baby bump. The baby was unsettled by the sudden noise and squirming about inside of her. Hermione could feel her magic reacting to the baby's response and before she could even attempt to rein it in, a thunderous crash echoed from outside, followed by a blinding flash of lightning that collided with the ground and smoke could be seen from the blaze that was left in its wake. The Burrow shook madly and its contents rattled and jostled. Everyone was stunned into silence as they all looked at Hermione with their faces showing shock.
"That's our wife," George said proudly, wrapping his arm around her waist.
"She sure knows how to silence a room," Fred grinned, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and they both gave her a squeeze of encouragement.
Hermione took a deep breath and when she released it, the fire that could be seen from the window suddenly vanished, leaving only smoke behind.
"I understand this is a shock to you all and that you all have questions, but I must insist that you control yourselves; the baby doesn't like sudden loud noises or to feel threatened. When that occurs my magic is difficult to control and I have outbursts."
"How?" Ron said dumbly.
"Well, Ronnikins," George said, "When a Mummy and a Daddy love each other very much, they..."
"George!" his Mother scolded as Ron's face flamed bright red, and his brothers all sniggered.
"He does have a point," Tonks piped up.
"Well if you actually gave her chance to explain, then you would know," Fred pointed out and they all appeared sheepish.
"On the night of our wedding, Snape gave me a Contraception Potion..."
"So how are you pregnant? Judging by your stomach you were pregnant before you even married," Mrs. Weasley spoke with an accusatory tone.
"Mum!" the twins snapped in anger, causing mouths to drop open in shock. The twins had their disagreements with their Mother, but they were always respectful and had never once snapped at her in the tone they just had.
"Let her explain, would you?" George spoke. Mrs. Weasley's face turned red and she nodded quickly and started fiddling with her hands.
"We never had sex before our wedding, no matter how long we were together prior or what you thought of our relationship. Snape gave me a Contraception Potion to obviously prevent pregnancy, during the times of war we're currently in it's not the best time to bring a child into the world. Not to mention, being pregnant would make me dangerous and unable to help you in battle." She paused to let that sink in before she continued. "I took the potion as instructed and never once missed a dosage. Two months after returning to Hogwarts and my symptoms were well and truly showing; continuous sickness, insomnia, headaches, back and feet ache and uncontrollable magical outbursts. I just put it down to stress and the strain on my bond with the twins now that we are bonded for life. The day of the battle, Harry forced me to go see Madam Pomphrey and he came with me. She ran several tests, the final one being a pregnancy test, I had five positive results."
"How is that possible?" Charlie asked confused, his eyes wide and staring at her baby bump, which now was covered by both of Hermione's hands and one each of the twins'.
"Not long later I discovered that Snape and Dumbledore conspired against us. It wasn't a Contraception Potion they gave me, it was a Fertility Potion." The room was deadly silent. "They thought it was their right to choose what happens in our marriage and they thought it was their decision to make. It was very dangerous what they did."
"Why?" Kingsley muttered, looking ill at the revelation that the current seventeen -technically eighteen- year old was pregnant and in times of war and through apparently no fault of her own.
"There has never once been a recorded incident of a Blue Mage being pregnant, neither has it been mentioned in the journal of the previous Blue Mage. We have come up with numerous possible reasons why this is so, and most of them aren't good," she said quietly.
"With Hermione being pregnant, they have made it so that she, The Blue Mage, our biggest and most powerful ally is out of commission; we are on our own and without her power." Sirius' words sunk into the minds of everyone and a look of fear flickered over their faces.
"Despite the circumstances we are in, Fred, George and I, we love our baby more than anything and we will not let any harm come to her or him. The pregnancy seems to be affecting me more than it would your average witch. And although both myself and the baby are perfectly healthy, there is a cause for worry."
"And that is?" Harry finally spoke, looking at her stomach in surprise.
"I am technically a little over fourteen weeks pregnant, but as you can see, I appear to be more. The reason for this being, once I entered my second trimester, three months, the baby's development increased at a rate never before seen in both wizarding and muggle pregnancies. The baby was conceived fourteen weeks ago, but I am currently five months along, the baby's development is increased by six weeks. We've determined that my gestation period will be shorter than normal, and therefore the baby is due December 1st."
Everyone quietly took in the news.
"How do you know both you and the baby are healthy?" Remus asked, his eyes darting between Hermione's stomach and her face.
"Agent Comet and Jugulae..."
"Snape vouched for them, they can't be trusted!" Harry exploded.
Hermione sent him a glare which silenced him. "True, he did originally vouch for them, but now I'm vouching for them also."
"As am I," Sirius spoke, shocking the others.
"Us too," the twins shrugged.
"But..."
"No, Mum," Fred shook his head. "We know their true identities, they can be trusted; they have just as much reason to want Hermione and our baby to be safe as we do."
"We can't tell you why and we won't tell you their identities just yet," George took over, "They need to be protected and they're the only source of information we have regarding His plans. But they can be trusted. You'll find out who they are when the time is right." He then looked to Hermione.
"As I was saying," Hermione continued, "Agent Comet is a trained healer. He's trained under some of the best healers of this century and in different departments, including midwifery. He is my healer. He's keeping track of my pregnancy and checking to make sure that the baby is healthy. I'm currently undergoing several checks a day just to be sure, but he hasn't been wrong yet. So, to conclude, I'm pregnant, Fred and George are going to be Fathers, Molly, Arthur and Sirius are going to be Grandparents and the rest of you are going to be Aunts and Uncles. That includes you," she looked to the shocked faces of Remus, Tonks and Kingsley and the room fell into silence.
Suddenly a cry of joy ripped from Mrs. Weasley and she stood up and rushed over to them, Fred and George were pulled away from Hermione and Hermione was encased in a hug as tears left Mrs. Weasley's eyes and fell down her cheeks.
Her words were difficult to understand through her cries but Hermione managed to decipher the words, "pregnant," "Grandbaby," and "knitting."
"You beautiful, wonderful, amazing..."
"Err, we helped too, Mum, where's our hug?" George said, causing those that had snapped out of their daze to chuckle.
Hermione was released and she took a deep lungful of oxygen as the twins were crushed in a hug by their mother.
"And you, my boys, going to be fathers, oh dear, I just can't believe it. My twins married and now with a baby on the way and another son due to be married in two days time," she said through her tears of happiness.
"Yeah, way to go, Little Brothers," Charlie said, standing up and clapping the twins on their shoulders. "Way to make the rest of us look bad," he joked.
"Well, we are the better looking, smartest and most successful brothers," George boasted, gaining snorts from Charlie and Bill.
"I'm going to be an Uncle," Charlie grinned and he turned to Hermione.
He lightly patted her stomach and then hugged her and she giggled as he spun her around. When she was put down she was quickly approached by Mr. Weasley, followed by Bill and Fleur.
"I'm sorry to have upstaged your wedding," Hermione said softly, "We knew that we wouldn't be able to hide my pregnancy for long. It would've been suspicious with the fact that I'm wearing long cloaks in the summer, that I eat more than the twins combined and that I'm practically glued to the bathroom with the baby wrecking havoc on my bladder."
Bill snorted at her. "Don't be daft, Hermione, your announcement has only made this week better, I'm going to be a husband and an Uncle," he grinned at her and then hugged her. Fleur all but echoed Bill's words and she was overjoyed at the news of Hermione's pregnancy.
With a quick hug from Harry, congratulations from Kingsley and an excited squeal from Tonks, Remus was the last to approach her.
"I don't like it," Remus spoke. Hermione gave him an understanding look. "I don't like what they've done to you and I certainly can't believe they interfered in your life the way they did. But, putting that aside, I'm glad that you're happy, that's all I want for you."
"Thank you, Remus," she said as she hugged him.
"We're going to need this," he whispered. She pulled back confused. "We're going to need something to keep us grounded, to remind us why we're fighting and to give us hope. Protecting your baby and watching you throughout your pregnancy will give us all that. That little bit of hope that even the best of things can happen in the worst of times. I really am happy that you're happy, the twins too, even Sirius has a spring in his step."
"He's been very attentive since finding out about the pregnancy, these last few weeks have been trying my patience with how clingy he's been."
Remus let out a bark of laughter, his wolf side coming through and several people looked in their direction amused at the sound.
"I suspect he's overjoyed at the news of a soon to be Black."
"Yes, there's not many of us and with the baby, it's increasing our numbers and it'll help us to restore the family name."
"You've got your work cut out for you," he agreed, "But you're both doing a good job so fa..." he was cut off when Hermione suddenly spun around with a murderous look on her face.
Everyone felt the atmosphere change from light and happy to tense and dangerous.
"Is it just me or did it suddenly get cold in here?" Charlie asked aloud, only to see everyone staring at Hermione as her hair gave off a fiery glow. Everyone stared in surprise but the twins and Sirius looked about ready to burst into laughter.
"RONALD!" Hermione's voice thundered.
He whipped around, his mouth stuffed with short bread, his cheeks puffing out as if he was a squirrel hoarding them. Crumbs surrounded his mouth, covered his shirt which led down to his hands which were full of short bread.
"What the hell do you think you're doing eating my short bread!"
"We love it when she gets like this," both Fred and George said with grins on their faces, their arms crossed over their chests and leaning back against the wall, getting comfortable to watch the show.
"WELL?"
~000~000~000~
Friday 1st August 1998
Midday Friday at The Burrow came with Mrs. Weasley in a frenzy; barking orders to everyone to make sure that everything was set, checked and double checked, to ensure that the wedding went perfectly. Although Ginny hated Fleur, she was forced to spend the day with her and Gabrielle, helping the bride get ready, as well as themselves as they were bridesmaids.
Bill was off somewhere -she didn't know where- with his best man, Charlie, his father, Ron and her husbands. Remus and Sirius had been tasked with setting up the chairs and tables ready for the reception, whilst Harry had been tasked with cleaning out the shed and repainting it.
An hour after midday Ron and the twins returned and before her husbands had a chance to greet her, they were sent off with tasks of their own from their Mother. It seemed that the only person who had escaped Mrs. Weasley's wrath was Hermione; instead she had Mrs. Weasley checking up on her every ten minutes, making sure that she had everything she needed. Mrs. Weasley wouldn't allow her to do anything in her 'delicate state' which had Hermione scowling and the twins quickly removing their Mother from their wife's presence.
Hermione currently sat in the hot summer weather, lounging on a summer lounge chair that had been conjured by her Father to make her more comfortable. With a parasol to protect her delicate skin from sun burn, a book in hand, a glass of lemonade and a little help from the wind responding to her wishes and giving her a breeze, her eyes flicked over the grounds of The Burrow as she watched everyone getting on with their tasks.
The grass was far too long, coming up way past knee height and something had to be done about it. Given how bored she was at watching everyone else being able to contribute to the wedding in some way and she wasn't, and the fact that she hadn't been able to exercise her elemental magic since she had arrived at The Burrow, she made up her mind. She put her things down on the small table beside the chair and barely managed to stand up.
She walked away from the chair before she struggled to lower herself to the ground, sitting on her knees and leaning back against her heels. With learned ease she put her hands flat against the ground and closed her eyes, feeling her magic swirling around her, inside of her, feeling the sun on her skin, the breeze tousling her hair, hearing the water of the small lake nearby and smelling the earth, she allowed her magic to flow out of her, to have freedom.
The ground rumbled slightly, but Hermione sat with a serene smile on her face feeling the grass tickle her hands as it shortened. A new scent hit her, the scent of flowers and when she could no longer feel the warmth of the sun on her she opened her eyes.
Both Fred and George were standing in front of her and smiling down at her.
"If Mum saw you now she'd kill you," Fred chuckled.
"No, she wouldn't; I'm pregnant," Hermione said lightly. Her husbands laughed at her and she looked around with a smile on her face.
The grass was now cut short as it should be, with daisies, buttercups, lavender and daffodils littering the grounds and standing proudly.
"You've been busy," George commented, as he helped her get back onto her feet.
"Well I was bored, everyone's treating me like I'm useless," she scowled.
"They're just worried; they don't want to put any extra stress on you or the baby."
"What's putting stress on us is everyone treating us like we're idiots." She crossed her arms grumpily. "If I can't help any of you in manual labour, your Mother won't give me any tasks to do, I can't be a bridesmaid and I can't be in the same room as Ginny..." both the twins snorted at her. "What?" she demanded.
"Nothing, Love," George grinned.
"It's not my fault my magic flares up when she's around," she pouted.
"Flares up?" Fred said disbelievingly, "I've lost count of the amount of times you've almost set her on fire."
"You should be talking to your child, it's not my fault the baby doesn't like Ginny."
"Hmmm," they both hummed.
"It's the baby that doesn't like her," George smirked and she scowled at him.
"My point being, I need to do something, I need to be productive, I can't just sit on my behind doing nothing. The least I could do was grow a few flowers and cut the grass, besides, I haven't had chance to exercise my elemental magic since arriving here and we all know what happens when I don't do that."
They both winced and then nodded in agreement.
"What on earth was that?" Mrs. Weasley's voice carried over to them as she walked out of The Burrow, before suddenly stopping in surprise at the new flower covered grounds.
Mrs. Weasley stuttered a few times, looking around in a daze before her eyes suddenly cut to Hermione and a scowl appeared on her face, her hands sat on her hips, her wooden spoon in hand and her apron tied around her waist. She made her way over to the little family and Hermione vaguely heard sniggers. Looking behind her she saw the other occupants of The Burrow looking both amused.
"You have some explaining to do, young lady," Mrs. Weasley said in a tone of disapproval. "In your state, you shouldn't..."
"I'm sorry, my state?" Hermione interrupted with a scowl of her own and her hands on her hips, mirroring her mother-in-law's stance, though Hermione stood several inches taller than her.
Both Fred and George looked at each other before taking a step back and out of the way.
"My state?" Hermione repeated. "I'm pregnant, not handicapped. I do not have an illnesses, I do not have a disability. There is nothing wrong with me. I can't just sit around and watch everyone else doing something, I'm bored. And in order for me to remain in control of my magic, I have to exercise my elemental magic for three hours a day, the last time I didn't I accidentally created an earthquake."
"But..."
"Mum, just leave it, yeah?" George sighed.
"We know you're happy about having a Grandchild, but you can't overwhelm, Hermione. You can't tell her what to do. She's a married, grown woman and it's our baby, the only people that should be making decisions regarding Hermione and our baby is us." Fred spoke. "We trust Hermione and we know her, and we also know what happens when she isn't able to exercise her elemental magic, and you preventing her from doing that is not in the best interest of anyone within two hundred miles of us."
Her eyes almost bugged out of her head at the news.
"Molly," Hermione sighed, "I understand that you're worried and excited, but you have to let me make my own decisions. You can't take over my life and you can't overrule my opinions; it's our baby, not yours. I'm the one carrying the advanced developing baby, I'm the one that talks to my healer three times a day. I'm the one that has to waddle to the bathroom every twenty minutes. I may be a first time Mother and yes, I'm scared, I'm terrified, I'm worried, but I know what I'm doing regarding the health of the baby. And I can bloody well eat pears and peaches too. If I want chocolate covered pears, then I will eat chocolate covered pears. I don't care for superstitions and unless my healer specifically tells me not to eat certain foods, then I will continue to eat them."
Mrs. Weasley didn't speak, she merely nodded her head and turned around and went back into The Burrow. As Hermione let out a sigh of relief the twins enveloped her in a hug.
"Thank you for defending me," she said.
"Don't be daft, you're our wife, of course we'll defend you." Fred said.
"We would've done it sooner if we hadn't have been with Bill all morning," George promised her. "How's the baby?"
"Fine, definitely going to be a Quidditch player, no matter the gender."
"What makes you say that?" Fred chuckled.
"Here, I'll show you." Hermione took her husbands' hands and rested them against her stomach, instantly they could feel a 'thump' against their hands and they stared at Hermione wide eyed as she grinned at them. "The baby's been kicking all morning; I was waiting until you got back to surprise you."
"Consider us surprised," George spoke awed. "It kind of makes everything real, doesn't it?"
"How so?" Hermione said with a titled head.
"We know you're pregnant, we've seen the results and we've been present at every one of your health checks. We've seen the baby wreaking havoc on your magic, on your senses, eating habits, sex drive and sleeping patterns. We can even see your bump, showing us how the baby is growing."
"But we've never been able to interact with the baby like you have, we can't feel it moving or feel it reacting to certain situations and stimulus. That was until now, for the first time we can feel our baby kicking, it just makes everything real." Fred took over for his twin.
"We're going to be Fathers," George whispered.
"No," Hermione shook her head lightly. "You're going to be amazing Fathers, the best any child could wish for." She corrected them. Large smiles appeared on their faces and she was hugged by them tightly.
When they pulled away it was to see everyone staring at them with knowing looks and happy smiles on their faces.
"Let's get ready for this wedding; I'm not having anything ruining it. A bride deserves a perfect wedding. I had mine and Fleur will have hers too."
"I pity the poor sod that even tries to mess with the wedding," George grinned and Fred snorted, nodding in agreement, knowing perfectly well how frightening his wife truly was when she was mad.
"Right then, I think I'll create an arch of flowers at the altar," Hermione said thoughtfully, tapping her chin. "But first... Kreacher!" Hermione called.
The old house-elf immediately appeared in front of her with a plate stacked high with short bread and a bowl of cheesy mash sat on a tray.
"I love you," Hermione sighed.
"Is she talking to Kreacher or the food?" Harry asked as he approached them, earning laughs from the twins.