They walked hand in hand down the corridor. Rose had been reluctant to allow this gesture, but she didn't want a scene in the hallway. But when they ducked into a classroom she let go of him immediately.

"Rose? Is everything okay? I've hardly seen you, not since, well... hey, are you still upset about that?" asked Scorpius.

"No," said Rose quickly "but I have to tell you some things, and you're not going to be happy. I'm not happy either. There was ...an accident."

"An accident." repeated Scorpius. "Like a mistake, or something that really wasn't supposed to happen?"

"Never ever supposed to happen." replied Rose. "Scorpius... I'm pregnant." He started to speak, but she cut him off. "You're not the father."

Scorpius sat stunned. "What the hell Rose?" he said finally "You cheated on me?"

"No, no!" replied Rose. "I thought it was you, but it wasn't. I wanted it to be you."

"You meant to get pregnant?!" shouted Scorpius, misunderstanding.

"No! I thought it was you but it wasn't, and he thought it was her bed but it was mine and I thought you had protection and he thought she had protection, and it was an accident. Scorpius, I love you!" cried Rose.

"I can't believe this. I thought you were different." He stood up and stalked off.

"You can't leave!" screamed Rose, though she knew he wouldn't hear. "I don't want to be alone." she mumbled.

Rose may not have liked it, but alone she was. Her dorm mates Tayden, Jenna, and Marissa had never liked her, and Amber was busy with her new prefect duties. Rose couldn't hang out with Lily and Roxanne either, because once Roxie found out that Rose and Scorpius had broken up, she was sure to want to kill him again, and Rose would have to tell Roxanne that Scorpius wasn't the father.

So Rose threw herself into her studies. She put her work on Gamp's Third Law aside for the moment, and read ahead in her other subjects, to lessen her course load when life got a little more difficult. Rose also went over all the material she had been given regarding pregnancy, but was too afraid to take out any further materials from the library. She worked every spare moment, and studied all of the theory for Potions, in case she was somehow allowed to take it next year.

Working outside was pleasant. In the library Rose earned strange looks from the other students when she had to dash out and vomit. The solitude outside was much more peaceful, and there were no rules forbidding eating. She paused her studies only to take short walks through the grounds and drink water.

However, it was lonely, and Rose often found herself wishing James was there, especially during her visits to the hospital wing. Lily couldn't always be there if they fell during class. She tried to push these thoughts aside, blaming them on pregnancy hormones. She also missed her parents. It had been close to two months since she had last spoken to them, and it hadn't exactly been a happy reunion. She hadn't heard from them since.

Luckily for Rose, she was about to get a friend. Two of them, in fact.

Back at St. Mungo's, Healer Padma put Rose through the motions again. "Okay Rose, nothing new to report so far, but today we are going to be able to see a picture of your babies." She waved her wand, and a glowing blue image appeared in the air. It appeared to show inside of Rose, with two small figures moving about inside it.

Rose stared in disbelief. "That's them? They're so small."

Healer Padma smiled. "They'll grow a lot before the big day."

Rose squinted. "Is that what their faces are supposed to look like?"

"Well, no." admitted Padma. "They each appear to have a cleft lip. That's a fairly common birth defect. One or both of them might have a cleft palate as well. It's not a big problem, when they're born we'll fix it right up. A cleft palate is a bit more complicated, but like I said, just some routine spellwork."

"Okay." said Rose anxiously "Anything else?"

"Nope. But you can hear their heartbeats now." Rose nodded, so Padma handed Rose her wand, and then put her own hand back on it, so they were both holding it. She pointed it as Rose's stomach.

Rose's eyes widened as she heard the little fluttering beats. They came rapidly, enough for two hearts, and Rose could hear her own thumping along with them. She closed her eyes to listen to the music her children were making for her. "Hello babies." she mumbled.

After several moments Rose opened her eyes "Wow. There are babies inside of me. I'm going to be a mother!" she said incredulously.

Padma laughed. "Yes you are." she replied as she ended the charm. "Speaking of which, you'll likely be showing by your next visit. There are spells for that, but it's hard work to keep them up all day. For now, your robes should provide enough coverage, but you might want to purchase some maternity clothes soon, and a larger set of robes."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you." said Rose as she climbed down and went to the fireplace.

"So, tell me everything." said Lily later. "Stupid Divination."

"Mum warned you not to take it." laughed Rose.

"Uh, have you seen Firenze? Why wouldn't I take it?" replied Lily.

Rose just shook her head. "Never mind. Oh Lily it was great! I heard their heartbeats." Rose gushed.

"Aw!" squealed Lily. "Can you believe this? When can we start buying baby clothes?"

"I don't want to risk anything." replied Rose seriously. "There's still a chance of miscarriage. So no baby clothes. But we can buy clothes for me. Apparently my lateral growth spurt should be starting in the next month."

"Well you just missed a Hogsmeade trip. The next one is Valentine's Day." said Lily.

"I guess that will have to do." sighed Rose. She wasn't looking forward to all those happy couples. It had been three weeks since the breakup with Scorpius, but her heart still panged when she saw him. She rested a hand on her stomach, and the thought of how unconditionally her children would love her gave Rose strength.