SECOND CHANCES 20

Author's Note: I don't own any of the characters.

Shell Cottage-Christmas Holiday Break

She still felt it strange to call the cottage home, however with each passing day that she spent there it was becoming less and less so. Ron had taken to it much easier than she had, as he seemed to flourish with the restraints finally being off. Henry didn't seem to even notice the difference in homes really. Her time at Hogwarts had seen its strings of positives and negatives but now she was very much looking forward to her first Christmas morning with Ron and Henry as a new and true family. The pair had come back to the small cottage by the sea to find the entire building lavishly decorated for the holiday. No one had claimed responsibility for the change but Hermione had guessed that Mrs. Weasley had put Harry and Ginny up to it. Neither of them had admitted their role in the act and both were pretty tightlipped about saying anything.

Ginny though had spent the first few nights of their vacation at the cottage, saying that she needed to talk to Hermione about something and that it would be good to spend some time with Henry and let Ron and Hermione worry more about getting the house ready for the next three new arrivals, due in a matter of days or weeks. Three new cribs had been delivered hours earlier with only a short note saying that they should put them to good use with a postscript saying that the giver owed them for all that they had done in the war. Ron had simply taken the gift on the note alone, but Hermione had not let the cribs inside the house until after aurors had visited and made sure that there were any hidden secrets or surprises hiding within them. Henry's room was directly across the hall from Ron and Hermione's and the triplets room was in the very same room that Hermione had recovered in after her ordeal at Malfoy Manor.

"I still can't really believe it," Ginny admitted with a sheepish grin as she sat down in the first open chair that she came to in the living room and looked around at everything that she could see and how natural and at ease Hermione looked in the environment already.

"Believe what Ginny," Hermione asked softly back as she set a stack of towels down onto the couch beside her and set about folding them, keeping an eye on the redhead in the chair nearby the entire time.

"All of it, that you're married to my mental brother, that you two have a kid, that you're going to have three more, that you have your own bloody house and everything," Ginny gestured around the room and all with a nervous grin before she glanced over at a picture on the nightstand of Ron and Hermione holding a giggling Henry on the beach near their house, with all looking very happy.

"I admit that it is a lot to take in when you put it like that Ginny, however personally I try not to think about it anymore than I absolutely have to, the past is behind us and the future before us…the future is what's important," Hermione shrugged softly with an embarrassed look to her and a slight blush on her cheeks as she stopped folding clothes and leaned back in her seat, taking it all in and being happy with what she saw.

"Right, and what a future you've got to look forward to, you and Ron are going to really have your hands full once you finally give birth," Ginny subtly nodded with a reserved smirk as she scooted up to the front edge of the chair that she was sitting in and leaned forward to make sure that she heard every word of Hermione's answer.

"Which hopefully won't be too much longer, I'm quite ready to be thin again and not have to run off and pee every five minutes," Hermione replied with an uncomfortable smile as she stopped folding laundry to lightly pat her sizeable stomach with both hands before she returned to the towels.

"Sounds crazy," Ginny groaned with a slightly sickly expression and looking a bit green as she slid back in her seat and pointedly looked away from Hermione.

"Just be glad that you're not pregnant yet Ginny, it's wonderful and all but…," Hermione quipped with a weary and worn out smile as she finished folding the towels and then leaned back in her seat, hands on her stomach.

"Not something to jump headlong into, I know…trust me, Mum has made that point VERY clear," Ginny droned on about with her eyes closed and her shoulders slumped as she relayed what she had already been told many times before by more than just her own mother.

"You're her baby Ginny, she's just trying to protect you…trust me, I know the feeling…all too well," Hermione reminded her best friend with a look of confidence even though Ginny could tell that on the inside she was still terrified at the thought of anything happening to Henry let alone the three that hadn't even been born yet.

"Yeah…I know, but I'm not a kid anymore Hermione, and after this year I'll probably be leaving home and be off on my own," Ginny slowly nodded back with a nervous smile before she glanced out the window and was soon lost in staring off into space just as Hermione then cut her off.

"Your own, you mean you and Harry aren't…," Hermione wondered aloud with a curious and concerned tone to her words and look in her eyes as she started to get up off of the couch, though it took some doing given how far along she was, before Ginny stopped her at the last minute.

"Stop it right there Hermione, yes Harry and I are together again, but…," Ginny declared strongly as she hopped up to her feet and looked almost like a sizeable part of her wanted to bolt rather than talk about everything that was going on between herself and Harry.

"But what," Hermione pressed on as she sat back in her seat and returned her hands to her stomach as the effort of even trying to get back up to her feet had taken more out of her than she had initially realized and she decided that she'd need a few minutes to recover her strength before attempting to stand up again.

"But I don't want to push him into something that I'm not sure that either of us is ready for quite yet, were you ready to be a mother…or a wife," Ginny relayed nervously as she sat back down and tried to do anything but look in Hermione's general direction as she busied herself with a bit of hair on her knee.

"No…and yes, honestly Ginny I don't think that any woman can ever truly be ready to be a mother, but when Ron asked me to marry him there wasn't a doubt in my mind that saying yes was the right thing to do," Hermione started off her reply by slowly shaking her head back and forth before her countenance changed entirely and she brightened up considerably as she thought of Ron proposing to her with the ring hidden in the pouch of a stuffed novelty kangaroo that he had bought while she was ordering them lunch. Said stuffed kangaroo now kept her socks company in the top drawer of the chest of drawers in their bedroom.

"Exactly, I don't think that he…I don't know if he knows what he wants to do after he graduates, he's said that he wants to be an auror but…I'm not sure that Ron does anymore," Ginny started and stopped in her answer as she nervously began to fidget with her hands as it was abundantly apparent to Hermione that this was something that was really bothering the redhead, and that she was really glad to finally be able to talk to someone about it.

"What does Ron have to do with it," Hermione asked aloud with a curious frown as she then paused to smooth out a fold in her dress that was on the side of her stomach.

"They were going to be aurors together, clean up the wizarding world and all of that…though after your trip last year I'm not sure that my brother is so big on doing that anymore," Ginny did her best to explain back to Hermione as she set her hands on her knees and squeezed them tightly so that she could get her answer out straight without messing it all up as she curled her toes up in her shoes and forced herself to look straight at Hermione the whole time that she spoke.

"What makes you say that," Hermione wondered aloud with a curious frown as she struggled a bit to adjust her seat on the couch to be a bit more comfortable.

"Well…it's nothing concrete, it's more of a feeling, whenever he talks about your trip to find the horcrux's he gets a sad look in his eyes…as if it's something that he never wants to do again, maybe he thinks that being an auror will be just like that and he's not sure that he wants to go through that again," Ginny shrugged back with a nervous frown as she started to slowly move her hands back and forth from tightly squeezing her knees to doing the same to the armrests of the chair that she was sitting in and back again.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it Ginny, and if Ron doesn't want to be an auror then he doesn't have to be an auror…besides the thought of not knowing if he's alive or dead while on every mission…it's not something that I'm sure that I want to go through either, especially now with Henry and these three," Hermione gulped back, the look of terror in her eyes of something happening to Ron and her being left to raise the children without him clearly evident, as she tried to remain positive but quickly found that she couldn't.

"And I doubt that Ron really wants to put you through that on every mission that he'd go on, then again I would probably be just as worried about Harry," Ginny added quickly with an impatient frown as she settled her hands on her knees and chimed in with her own fears about Harry's possible choice of career.

"I'm beginning to think that any chance of us ever living normal lives ended long ago," Hermione chuckled out with an amused grin as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before the two shared a short fit of laughter.

"Speak for yourself Hermione, my family was never normal," Ginny interjected moments later, her grin dark but merry, as she sat up ramrod straight and pushed her chest out as if she were making some sort of grand declaration.

"I have no doubt about that Ginny, and seeing as how I'm now a part of that family you should have said that our family has never been normal, but I'll let it slide…just this once," Hermione quipped with a sly wink and a thin grin as she beamed a bit of joy across the room towards the slightly younger girl before the latter stepped back in.

"So generous of you Hermione," Ginny replied with a mock curtsey even though she was sitting down as she wore a wide and warm grin from one ear to the other before she straightened up again in her seat.

"You're welcome," Hermione added with a mock and playful salute and abbreviated bow given how big her stomach had become so late in her pregnancy.

"Speaking of family, where is that brother of mine," Ginny asked aloud with a sarcastic edge to her words and one eyebrow cocked up as she sat up straight in her chair and looked all around before turning her gaze back to Hermione on the couch.

"He's probably in the kitchen looking for something to eat," Hermione calmly answered, as if that answer was one that she could give any time of day or any day of the week and it would be correct, before she felt a slight pain in her side.

"Ron…hungry, perish the thought…must be Tuesday," Ginny remarked back just as the pain in Hermione's side went away with a tone of voice that Hermione couldn't help but laugh at, and it felt good to laugh just then.

"I don't know how your mother did it all those years, feeding all of you," Hermione pointed out in a clear tone of awe and respect as she suddenly thought about how she and Ron would manage to feed not only themselves but four children every day. For a moment she felt that she wondered if Hogwarts would start accepting really young children.

"Honestly…me either, I just know that I've never gone hungry," Ginny replied with a warm and thankful smile as she stood up and then walked over and sat down beside Hermione on the couch.

"Maybe she won't know what to do with herself once you move out as then it'll just be she and your father at the Burrow, unless of course she decides that she wants to babysit my kids," Hermione suggested with a hopeful tone to her words and look on her face as she leaned further back into her seat and turned her head to smile over at Ginny, who returned the grin.

"Well she's already doing that with Henry and I don't see why she'd wouldn't want to continue that with your next three, but does your mum want to babysit them, because if she does then…that could get ugly," Ginny reminded Hermione with a deep in thought expression as she leaned back in her seat and stared up at the ceiling for most of it before turning her attention back to her partner on the couch.

"We'll work something out so that they're both happy, besides it would be nice to be able to have a night or two here or there where it'd just be myself and Ron here, a quiet night to relax and really talk," Hermione answered slowly as she sincerely hoped that what she was saying was what would actually happen but knew that in their world nothing came easily and everything would probably cause them more problems down the road.

"Bullocks, you know full well that any night like that you two would just eat early and then be asleep by the time that the sun went down," Ginny scoffed immediately back as she shook her head before a wide and slightly devilish grin spread across her lips as she rubbed her hands together eagerly.

"Heh…you're probably right Ginny, just don't tell Ron that," Hermione laughed back right along with Ginny as the two then shared a short bit of combined laughter before Ron stepped back into the house and shut the front door behind him.

"Don't tell Ron what," Ron asked softly with a confused frown and furrowing of his brows as he'd heard the two through the door as they had been speaking a bit louder than they had thought that they were.

"Nothing," Hermione and Ginny combined to reply back to him with equal cheeky grins from their spot on the coach, leaving Ron to just shake his head and trudge off towards the bathroom.

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Hogwarts-Two Weeks Later

Both of their parents had arrived before midnight. The Weasley's had immediately hurried to Hogwarts and had rushed into the Hospital Ward a mere two hours before their newest grandchildren were born. The Grangers had taken a little bit longer, due to Bill having to be the one to go and get them, partially so that it was someone that they knew and trusted after he had helped them make sure that there were no lingering surprises waiting for them in their old house. Ron had been at Hermione's side the entire time and had taken every glare and angry retort aimed directly at him about this all being his fault and had accepted the blame for it all. Harry and Ginny had been forced to wait out in the hallway just outside the Ward along with Hagrid and Headmistress McGonagall. Most of the time that they spent together was taken up by their combined efforts to stop Hagrid from doing any damage to himself or the castle with worry for Hermione. Madam Pomfrey had declared that only immediate family could be in the room but had drawn the line at just the grandparents and Ron. The birth itself had gone smoother than Henry's, and for that both sets of grandparents were greatly relieved. It was about thirty minutes after the last of the triplets was born before everyone else was allowed in and all involved were very glad that there had been no complications.

"They're beautiful Hermione, three little angels," Harry breathed out softly with tears in his eyes and a slightly dopey grin as he ushered himself and Ginny into the room and stood close but back a bit.

"How do you feel," Ginny wondered with a hesitant and very strong look of fear and hesitation as she leaned away from Harry and gently leaned over and laid a hand on Hermione's knee.

"Like I've been trampled by a whole bloody herd of elephants actually," Hermione replied with a very weary sigh and forced smile as she held the older two triplets in her arms with Ron holding the youngest, their red hair clearly evident.

"Hermione," Henry grouched unhappily as he scolded his daughter for even her light cursing before he was cut off by his wife.

"Easy dear, let's let that one pass," Jean pleaded with her husband as he laid a hand on his arm and smiled a combination smile, telling him that she loved him at the same time that she was telling him to just shut up and go with it.

"Oh look, aren't they…," Hagrid started to announce with an ecstatic look of joy before his own emotions overwhelmed him and he had to pull a dirty handkerchief from his pocket and loudly blow his nose.

"Three girls, that's…well that's…," Mr. Weasley stammered out as he looked very flustered, happy but flustered, before rather than say anything more he resorted to taking his glasses off and setting about cleaning them with a handkerchief from his pocket. Beside him Mrs. Weasley held a confused looking Henry in her arms, with the young child seemingly fully intent on studying everyone and everything in the room and could care less about the fact that he now had three new sisters.

"Have you decided on names for them yet…though I'm sure that it will be quite difficult to tell them apart as they seem to be identical, amazing," McGonagall asked softly with a smile of relief and concern as she silently walked into the room and picked a spot between Hagrid and Harry and Ginny.

"We have, though they're not anything that anybody picked," Ron nodded back, looking very overwhelmed, as he couldn't help but look back and forth between his daughters and everyone else in the room.

"Their names are Alexandra Renee Weasley, Anastasia Minerva Weasley, and Ron is holding Angelina Karin Weasley, or Lexi, Ana, and Angie…for short," Hermione explained slowly as she took great pains and patience to speak clearly while not rushing so that she hopefully would not have to repeat herself several times over.

"Triple A…er, sorry," Henry mumbled out softly in shock at first before he noticed that he was getting some odd looks and glares from the others around the room and he quickly apologized and went silent.

"Uh yes, I'm just glad that they're finally here and I don't feel like a blimp anymore," Hermione quipped softly in an attempt to break the bit of tension that had developed in the room with an awkward smile before Ron cut her off.

"Luv, you were never a blimp…a large hippo…maybe," Ron joked with a sly grin and a wink towards Hermione against both grandmothers glare before they caught on and nervously laughed right along with everyone else.

"My ever so loving husband, how am I so lucky to have him," Hermione replied with a cheeky smile that soon faded as she sent him a light glare, that caused him to blush to the tips of his ears, which were now very red indeed.

"One too many blows to the head perhaps," Harry offered up with an all to helpful grin as he gave Ginny a strong squeeze when she attempted to spin around in his embrace and glared at him.

"Harry," Hermione exclaimed angrily as she started to ball her hands up into fists before she found that she couldn't hold the anger and instead broke out into a wide grin.

"So what now," Mr. Weasley asked with a nervous little frown as he looked around the room before his gaze fell onto Harry and Ginny, both of whom looked more than a bit blown over by the sight of Ron and Hermione holding their children.

"We do this all over again in six months…but just the one...Potter," Ginny answered for everyone with a terrified but elated all the same expression before she couldn't hold back the tears.

THE END

Author's Note: Thanks again to everyone for reading and reviewing this and the other chapters. As always reviews, comments, and questions are always appreciated. The first part is just Hermione and Ginny talking around Christmas time and just sorting some things out between them and their lives. The second part is the birth of the triplets and their names, I couldn't quite get their middle names right as that took me the longest to think of. Now pair that with the fact that one of my own grandmothers was never given a middle name. I thought up the shortening of the names so that in future chapters I wouldn't have to type out their full first names every time they speak and so that then you the readers would know who was talking. The next four or five chapters will all be epilogue chapters and jump forward in time with each epilogue. The bit at the end with Ginny means something BIG for she and Harry, something big that will probably draw the ire of Mrs. Weasley straightaway. Thank You.