Chapter 7 – A Day of Prophecy – Surprise in the Afternoon

Harry awoke with a start. He wasn't sure if it was a sudden noise or something else, but his mind was racing as he took a quick inventory. Hermione was sleeping soundly, her arms still wrapped around him. Everything else seemed quiet and normal. Then he realized that a large bird was hovering outside the window.

Moving slowly, so as not to awaken Hermione, he freed himself from her embrace, got up, and walked to the window and opened it, feeling an in-rush of the still-warm outside air. A beautiful eagle owl hopped in and Harry removed the parchment from his leg, gently stroking his proud head. The bird nipped him lightly on the finger and then flew out again. Harry opened the letter, holding it near the window and using the moonlight to read. It was only one line, but the answer was everything he had hoped for.

"I'll be there. Thanks for inviting me"

There was no signature, but Harry knew who sent it, and that was what mattered. As he returned to bed, Hermione opened her eyes. She yawned, and then smiled. Since she had found Harry, every morning they were together started with a smile as she remembered how wonderful her love for him was. He wrapped his arms around her and gently kissed her.

"Do you think Dumbledore was providing another prophecy?" she asked.

"I dunno. I mean, well, his voice was different, like Trelawney. And he really looked rather odd just before he said it, but…" His voice trailed off as he mentally replayed the scene. Hermione reached for her wand and pointed towards her swollen abdomen.

"Tell me," she whispered, and then held her hands out, palms up. At first, nothing happened, then she could feel tingling in both hands, as if they were asleep. But it was both hands again. Harry looked at her, waiting for he pronouncement.

"I still don't know," she said. "They both feel weird…maybe I'm still not doing it right," she said, sounding frustrated.

"It's okay, Hermione. We both know it doesn't matter. As long as it's healthy, I don't care if it's a girl or a boy." She smiled, thinking exactly the same thing.

"Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough. The healer said a couple more weeks"

Harry turned and looked at the clock. It still said "too early to be up." He turned over and pulled Hermione to him, tasting the sweetness of her lips in a long, wet kiss. She moved her hands lower and began to raise his level of excitement. Well, he thought, it wasn't time to get up, but she was getting him up anyhow. Hmm.

It was, however, another early morning for Ginny. She opened her eyes to find Neville lying beside her, his head propped up on his hand, looking at her with a very satisfied _expression on his face. She giggled and then spoke up.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly, without any trace of concern in her voice.

"I've been studying you…for the last hour… how you move… looking at every inch of you."

"You have?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Because I love you, and you're even more beautiful than I knew. Did you know that you take a short little breath every now and then, like you sorta forgot to breath for a minute?"

Ginny thought this level of study was a little excessive, but she wasn't upset. "Do you really have nothing better to do?"

"There is nothing I like better than looking at you, especially when you don't know. I want to know all about you…so I can make you happy every day."

"Neville, you have already made me happy every day for the rest of my life." With this, Neville blushed and almost turned away when Ginny reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him to her. After a short but intense kiss, she smiled. "Do you know what I want to do?" Neville pleaded ignorance, since he really didn't know.

Ginny slowly moved her hand down to his crotch, rubbing his growing erection and smiling. He was uncertain what was coming next, but he wasn't about to complain. Slowly, Ginny lowered her head until her lips reached the swollen head. She began licking him, and he knew this wasn't going to last very long. She had never done this before, but she had done some reading, and listened to some of the other girls in the house talking about their adventures, so she was not completely without knowledge. Neville began to pump up and down, quickly losing all control. She was prepared for his explosion, and she swallowed everything. She had heard it would unpleasant or acceptable or nice, depending upon who you heard it from. Her own opinion was colored by her love for Neville, and she found the experience very pleasant. He tasted very good to her! Given Neville's reaction, she was certainly would include this in future practice sessions, as they were now calling their private time together.

"Ginny, that was…unbelievable," Neville finally got out after his breathing recovered. Ginny just smiled, and held him close, pushing her nipples into his chest and then rubbing them up and down against the thick mat of hair on his chest.

"I love you," she said, and that seemed to sum up the entire night, for both of them. Finally, she rose and started to get dressed for the day. He looked up at her, still lying in the bed.

"Do you have to go so soon?" he moaned.

"Yes, I have things I need to do. We still have another day of celebration, you know."

"But you could stay for a while, couldn't you?"

"No, but the offer is tempting." She stopped, and looked very serious for a moment, and then sat back down on the edge of the bed. "What happens with us now?" she asked. "I mean, school is out. After tonight. do I go back home with mum and dad, or…"

He knew what she was asking, and he was ready with an answer. "You can move in with me, but what would your parents say?" With his father gone, and his mother still at St Mungo's, there was no one in Neville's family that would care. Ginny thought about his offer.

"I don't know what mum and dad would say. Part of me says they wouldn't like it, and part of me says I don't care. I know what I want! I guess I'll talk to Ron…he doesn't seem to be getting any grief for having Mandy move in with him. But still, mum probably thinks boys are different."

"Do you want me to ask her?"

"No, I'll do it. She seemed so happy yesterday maybe she won't care one way or the other. I think it would probably be okay with dad." Ginny paused and thought a little more. "I think I'll just tell her and let the dust settle later. I mean, she won't stay mad for long, and we can get married as soon as we like."

Neville suddenly looked strange, as a very sinister smile appeared. "How about tomorrow?"

Ginny grinned. "Well, maybe next week," she laughed. "Mum will want to invite a few people." Then she suddenly turned serious. "What about your mother?"

Neville looked at her for a moment. She thought he might break into tears, and she hadn't intended the question to be mean. Then he brightened. "I need to ask my Gran. Mum can leave St Mungo's anytime we want her to, but I don't know if she would understand what is going on." Then he paused. "I'd like her to be there."

Ginny leaned over to him and held him close. "I want her to be there also. It will mean something us, even if she doesn't understand what's happening." They both hugged, expressing their love once again. Then she rose and finished dressing, leaving Neville to his thoughts about their future together.

Everywhere she checked, things were going as planned. Breakfast was again prepared, both inside and outside. The blackboards were again recording the attendance, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the festivities. She met Harry and Hermione walking towards Hogsmeade to retrieve her parents, and then went looking for Ron and Mandy.

Harry and Hermione stopped at the Three Broomsticks and she went up to her parent's room. They were all ready to go, but stopped her before leaving.

"Harry told us what happened the other night," her father said. Hermione's eyes began to glisten slightly, but she continued listening. Her mother looked very tentative, almost afraid.

"When we first got the letter, we didn't know what to do. We had no idea what a witch really was, and we certainly didn't know whether we wanted you to go. How do you check up on something you can't even see…was this real or was the letter some sort of prank? Finally, we decided to use the owl to seek more information, and to our amazement it worked."

"We got a long letter back from Dumbledore, explaining many things and offering to meet with us. When we met him, he explained everything we asked, and told us that he would personally insure everything would be fine. We trusted him, and allowed you to go. We have never been sorry for that decision." Hermione smiled as she looked at the faces of both her parents.

"After your first year, he wrote to us, as you now know. All he told you is true…we couldn't imagine how happy you seemed with what you had learned and the friends you had made. His caution only told us that he was fulfilling his promise, and we felt he was being perhaps too careful. We did think about his concerns, but wanted you to continue. After that, we never really considered changing our mind, although some of your adventures did give us pause." He was really smiling now, and Hermione knew the worst was over.

"Your mother was not pleased when you returned home after shrinking your teeth, but we both got over it. Later she was convinced that you made some other alterations to your appearance, but they didn't seem important, and you were growing up…it was time for us to allow you some freedom to make personal decisions." Hermione knew exactly what they were referring to, and she struggled to keep a neutral _expression on the outside while grinning widely on the inside.

"After yesterday, we know that everything we decided was correct. We would never have changed anything, and we are so happy that you and Harry have found each other. When you told us that we were in danger, it seemed like a bad dream, but now we understand what was happening. Just remember that we love you and have always wanted the best for you…and we think we (with your help) did a pretty good job finding it"

Hermione couldn't help the tears flowing now, and hugged them both. She knew they could never really come into her world, but they had visited, and that was more than any other muggle had done. Together, they went back downstairs to join her husband.

At ten, nearly everyone converged on the Quidditch pitch for the first event of the day. Luna had created a series of contests, based upon age and sex, but unlike anything ever seen before, in or out of the wizarding world. They were based loosely upon what would be field games at a regular school, but there was nothing regular about these games.

The first event was a three-legged race. In a normal, muggle race, two individuals race together, side by side, having their "center legs" bound together. In this version, however, the contestants simply had another leg created by spell, and they had to figure out how to run using it in conjunction with their "normal" two. Everyone laughed as people tried to navigate with an extra appendage doing its own thing.

Next came various obstacle courses, with different obstacles based upon age. For the adults, this included various magical creatures to avoid or control, physical impediments to be conquered, and spells to be overcome. The whole thing reminded Harry of the Tri-wizard Cup maze, albeit without darkness and danger. Some of the best moments came when contestants tried to carry an egg while walking an irregular path filled with obstacles. The challenge was they had to carry it on top of the tip of their wand.

The entire field was filled with witches and wizards of all ages, with every adult saying they had never had so much fun doing childish things. Dumbledore paused the proceedings at one point to introduce Luna as the mastermind of this frivolity, and they responded with a tremendous ovation: recognition that she had never received before.

After lunch, they gathered again for the first-ever "Old Timers Quidditch Tournament." The games were somewhat slow, and the snitch had been charmed make things easier. With every player over 55, the game wasn't fast and furious, but the houses still had something to prove, and, to everyone's surprise, Hufflepuff came out the winner. There was no end to the friendly arguments and discussions. Bets were paid off and past glories re-lived yet again. Harry and Hermione sat with Dumbledore and McGonagall, comparing notes on the action and discussing more serious things.

"Is it working?" Hermione asked. All of them knew what she meant.

Dumbledore was the first to respond. "If this is any indication, the older group understands."

McGonagall also spoke up. "I would never have expected Narcissa Malfoy to be seen together with Arthur Weasley, especially in public. I think maybe some people HAVE changed."

"I guess I have something to build upon," Harry stated. He knew that his first few months as Minister would determine the future for a long time to come. Tonight would tell the whole story, and he was thinking about Dumbledore's prophecy.

He looked over at Hermione. "What is it?" he asked, seeing her very strange expression.

"I think we should go for a walk," she replied quietly.

"Okay. Where would you like to go?"

She was whispering now. "I think you should go find my parents, and then we'll all go to the medical wing." Harry gasped.

"Is it…are you?"

"I think so."

Harry ran to the Great Hall and dragged the Grangers away from Flitwick, who had stolen them away after the end of the first Quidditch match.

Once they were away, he told them. "Hermione says it's time, and she wants us to go to the medical wing. Her mother smiled, and her father put his arm around Harry's shoulder as they walked together. Harry stopped briefly at the nearest fireplace and completely amazed the Grangers by sticking his head into the flames and talking with someone.

"She'll be here in a few minutes," he told Hermione and she nodded. Her parents had no idea what had just happened, but they were finding the school full of amazing things; they still hadn't recovered from the talking portraits on the walls of Dumbledore's office.

Madam Pomfrey was waiting when they arrived, and led Hermione into the isolation ward, noting that there hadn't been a birth at Hogwarts in nearly 600 years. "Of course, if anyone would find a way to break the rules, it would be Potter," she said with a large smile, having heard the line many times before. Hermione grinned, or tried to, as her contractions began to come more frequently.

Her healer arrived, and closed the curtain around the bed. The Grangers stepped back and sat down out in the general ward, knowing that their time would come a little later. McGonagall and Dumbledore both arrived, having deduced what was about to happen.

This, however, was Harry's time, and the healer quickly came out and brought him in, seating him next to Hermione. She was bathed in sweat, but still looked beautiful to him. The healer had cast a spell that diminished the pain, and Hermione was actually quite comfortable.

"Any minute now," the healer said, and Harry looked deep into her eyes. He leaned over and whispered. "I love you so much," and kissed her. She smiled, and then inhaled, ready to push. She tightened her muscles and her grip on Harry's hand, and then exhaled and pushed. The healer reached out, catching a wet, crying infant. Hermione gasped for air as Harry leaned over her face again.

"It's a girl," he said, and she nodded, both crying and smiling, still reaching for air. He was about to kiss her again when the healer startled them.

"And she's not alone."

Harry and Hermione both gasped. Twins in the wizarding world were a great omen of good luck. Could it be?

Hermione gasped again, but involuntarily as her body prepared to push again. Her smile grew bigger and bigger as Harry stared into her eyes, each radiating the love that they felt for each other. He was about to kiss her again. She pushed.

"And our little girl has a brother." The healer said, obviously very pleased with herself. Harry just continued to stare at Hermione, both of them trying to absorb what had just happened in their lives. They began kissing as if no one else was around, and for them, no one was. They were alone, with their tears of happiness, and the crying of two infants: their children.

Shortly, Harry rose, and walked out to the general ward, facing the Grangers with tears running down his face. For a moment, they thought something had gone terribly wrong…then he smiled.

"We have twins, a girl and a boy." That was as far as he got before McGonagall screamed. The Grangers just looked at each other, crying and smiling. Standing behind them, even Dumbledore put on a rare display of emotion.