Rose woke up around nine. She still felt incredibly exhausted, but she got up, wrapped a blanket around herself, and stumbled downstairs.
"Hey Rose." called Hermione softly. "Come in the kitchen and I'll get you some dinner."
Rose entered the kitchen. "I'm not hungry."
Hermione began heating up leftovers with her wand. "Your baby is, sweetheart." she said softly.
Rose started crying again. "My baby is dead!" she exclaimed.
Hermione put down the food and went over to her. "I know Rose. But your other baby, he needs his Mummy to be strong for him right now. You're allowed to grieve, but you need to eat. Go sit in the living room and I'll bring your dinner and tell you a story."
Rose did as she was told. "You're going to tell me a story?"
"Yes." And Hermione did tell a story, about two people who wanted a child very, very, much, but when they finally almost got one, it died. But they didn't give up, and when they tried again, their child survived. "And she grew up to be the most wonderful girl in the world, and her parents love her very much."
"Really?" asked Rose.
"Really. Be brave, Rose. Your baby needs you." Rose nodded. "Your dad wants to see you."
"Is he mad?"
"No." lied Hermione "He's not mad."
"So." said Hermione after they had all greeted each other and acknowledged their past mistakes. "Tell us everything."
Rose took a deep breath and began. "I stayed with Sophie during Christmas break. Then I went back to school and broke..." Rose paused. She had been going to say she had broken up with Scorpius, but her parents didn't know about him, and now they never would. "...the news to Professor Vector." finished Rose. There, that worked. "Oh, and I went to St. Mungo's. The next thing that happened was meeting James on Valentine's Day, and we worked some things out. And then well, everyone found out in the paper."
"Apparently that was partially my fault." commented Ron.
"It's fine, Dad." replied Rose. "Then Lily and I stayed with James during Easter, and we planned."
"Tell us about the babies, and then you can tell us about these plans." suggested Hermione.
"They're fraternal twins. A boy and a girl. The girl has anencephaly, which is an incompletely formed brain ...they told us she... she would die... but they didn't know when. It could have been years." said Rose sadly. Hermione squeezed her daughter's shoulder. "The boy has... I forget what it's called. An incompletely formed spinal column. They'll be able to tell when he's born what kind he has and what treatment he needs. Then he has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and... Aortic Atresia I think? That's an underdeveloped left heart and no aortic valve. I haven't looked into it too much yet so I'm not really sure... they said he'll need multiple surgeries, but he's supposed to be fine. He also has a cleft lip, but they said they can fix that."
"Merlin's pants!" said Hermione. "All that on a tiny baby?"
Ron shushed her. "He'll be fine. Wizard surgery isn't like Muggle surgery. You know how well Harry's recovering from his heart attack. It's only with magical injuries and diseases that there's trouble."
"Yes, but then why are there all these problems, if wizards don't get sick like Muggles?" asked Hermione.
"I think it's because they're all physical things." said Rose.
"Yeah." agreed Ron. "Harry still had a heart attack. We can still break bones."
"Of course." realised Hermione. "I wasn't thinking... silly."
Ron kissed her. "You're not silly. Now Rose, tell us about your plans please."
"We're going to live together." began Rose.
"What?!" exclaimed Ron.
"Just like if we were dormmates Dad. It saves money. And we need both of us to take care of the... the baby." Each of these little moments where Rose made a slip of the tongue and didn't know what to say felt like someone stabbing her heart.
Hermione could see the practicality to Rose's announcement. "Okay, can you afford that sweetheart? Where will you live?"
"We're buying a house. In Hampshire. We just need eight hundred more galleons or so." explained Rose.
Ron appeared to be having a fit. "Your father would like to know if you've considered that decision enough, as a house is a major responsibility." translated Hermione.
"Well, we can afford it, and we've found the perfect one, and it will be really nice to have some stability." said Rose. "It's small, but it's really nice, and it has everything we should need for a long time.
"What if you don't like living together?" asked Ron.
"We're just going to put up with each other Dad." Rose retorted "I know you're concerned about us making such a big commitment to each other, but we've already both committed to our children. So we're in this together now no matter what, as partners."
"I'm glad to hear that." said Hermione.
"James is going to keep working. He's done a lot of research, and he says it will be enough. I'm going to stay home with our baby." continued Rose.
"Are you okay with that?" asked Hermione.
"I'll be fine." said Rose. "That's all. Can I go to bed?"
"Sure."
Hermione knocked on the door once Rose was under the covers. She came in and sat on the edge of the mattress.
"Hey." she said softly. Rose looked at her. "You're being very brave sweetheart, and I'm proud of you."
Rose simply nodded.
"I was wondering if you'd like a baby shower." asked Hermione.
"A baby shower?" asked Rose. "I don't really feel like a party Mum."
"No." agreed Hermione. "It would just be a... a gathering, I suppose. I just think you could use some womanly advice before you try to make a life on your own."
"Can't you give me that?" replied Rose.
"Of course. Ask me anything. But it's different for everyone. Sometimes you need more than one perspective. Sometimes different people have had different experiences. You're living your own life Rose, and sometimes I feel like I know nothing about it. Wouldn't you like to know more about babies and raising a family and how to have a good relationship with your partner?" asked Hermione.
"If you want to." agreed Rose finally.
"Thank you. Besides, that's where you get all the stuff you need for the baby." said Hermione.
"Okay."