When Easter arrived, Hermione was thrilled to be returning home. She'd always enjoyed going home for the holidays, but it was even more special now she had a baby sister waiting for her. Even though she'd been happy when her parents had informed her that they were pregnant, she was still overwhelmed by how much she adored her baby sister. Although since she was approaching the end of her school days, Hermione knew she would soon be moving out of home, so she was wanting to make the most of the time she did have with her little sister.
Hermione was disappointed when Beth wasn't at the station to meet them, but her disappointment soon faded when she spotted her father. Most people were giving Voldemort a wide berth, and she could see the questioning glances he was receiving. Her father tended to keep a low profile and even though the wizarding world all knew he was back and was essentially running the government, it was still surprising for them to see him in public. Judging by the looks he was receiving, Hermione wondered if her father should appear in public more often. It might help people accept him properly if they saw him regularly and saw with their own eyes that he wasn't a monster.
"Hey Grandpa," Harry called, leading the way to Voldemort.
"Harry," Voldemort replied with a fond smile.
"Hello, Daddy," Hermione said, giving her father a hug.
"Hello, princess," Voldemort said, returning the hug. "Draco, you're coming with us," He said, addressing his daughter's fiancé. "Your parents are both still up at school, so there's no-one to take you home."
"I can go on my own," Draco pointed out. "I am an adult, and I've passed my apparition test."
"Well your parents are coming for dinner and they'll expect you to be there," Voldemort said. "I suggest you just come along like a good boy."
"Of course, My Lord," Draco answered with a respectful dip of his head.
"Suck-up," Hermione hissed to her fiancé, sticking her tongue out at him.
Voldemort chuckled at the pair as he checked everyone had everything. Once he was sure everyone had their bags, Voldemort led the way home. Hermione dropped her bags in the hallway the second they arrived home, and rushed off to find her mother and sister.
"Don't worry about the mess, we'll tidy up after you," Voldemort called after his daughter.
"Thanks," Hermione called back, missing the sarcastic tone in her father's voice.
"Kids," Voldemort muttered, picking Hermione's discarded bag up off the floor and sending it to her room.
Harry and Draco carefully placed their bags in the hallway for when they were ready to go home, before following Voldemort towards the front room. When they entered the front room, they found Hermione was already making a fuss of Charlotte. Charlotte was shooting up, and both Harry and Draco were shocked by how much she'd grown since they'd seen her last.
"Wow, she's getting big," Harry said, smiling at his littlest aunt.
"She is," Beth agreed with a smile as Voldemort joined her on the sofa. "I'd forgotten how quickly they grow when they're young. One minute you're giving birth to them, and the next they're getting ready to fly the nest."
"I don't think Lottie will be moving out any time soon," Hermione remarked with a laugh as she swung her little sister around, causing her to giggle.
"I was talking about you," Beth clarified. "Having Lottie reminds me how quickly you've grown. It doesn't seem like five minutes since you were the baby."
"I thought the sleepless nights would have reminded you that it was a fair few years since you had a baby in the house," Hermione replied. "I read somewhere that people who have children so many years apart sometimes struggle getting used to having a baby in the house again. I mean just when you were looking forward to it just being the two of you, now you've got a baby and its years before you'll be alone again."
"What a lovely portrait of parenthood you're painting, Hermione," Voldemort said with a chuckle. "You make Lottie sound like a burden."
"How could she ever be a burden, she's gorgeous," Hermione cooed, smiling warmly at her sister. "I was just pointing out that it must be weird having a baby in the house after all these years."
"It is, but it also feels so right," Beth replied, holding out her arms for her youngest daughter. "We might be older, but we wouldn't change Lottie for the world. You'll see when you have your own. It doesn't matter when it happens, each child is a blessing."
"That they are," Voldemort agreed. "And I've been lucky enough to have three. Not to mention my grandson and impending grandchild."
"Where is Rosmerta?" Harry asked. "I thought she would have been here."
"She'll be here for dinner," Beth replied. "I spoke to her earlier and she was fairly tired, so she's probably resting."
"Is she okay?" Harry asked in concern, wondering if he should go home before dinner to check on his stepmother.
"She's fine," Beth reassured her grandson. "It's only natural that she's tired. She's heavily pregnant, and carrying a child around for nine months isn't the easiest job in the world."
"But there's nothing to worry about?" Harry checked.
"Not a thing," Beth answered. "You'll see for yourself in a few hours when she arrives for dinner. And speaking of dinner, I need to go and make sure the elves have everything in order."
Beth handed Charlotte over to her husband as she got up to check on dinner. Hermione instantly sat down next to her father to chat to her little sister, while Draco wandered over to the window and stood staring out of the window. Harry watched Draco for a couple of minutes, before getting up and joining his best friend.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked in a low voice.
"I'm fine," Draco replied with a tight smile.
"Liar," Harry stated. "Tell me what's wrong or I'll speak up and grab Hermione's attention."
"Don't," Draco hissed, glancing over his shoulder to make sure his fiancée was still focused on her sister.
"So what is it?" Harry pressed. "One minute you were fine, and now you're sulking."
"I'm not sulking, merely thinking," Draco muttered. "It was when Beth mentioned Hermione having children of her own. It got me thinking about something."
"Don't tell me you think she's pregnant," Harry said with a wince. "Grandpa will kill you."
"She's not pregnant," Draco replied. "I've never realised it before, but children are going to be an issue for us."
"Why?" Harry frowned.
"In case it slipped your mind, I'm a werewolf now," Draco said with a sigh. "That means any child of mine might also carry the wolf gene. Hermione and I can't just have children like anyone else. We need to think through the potential consequences."
"I guess things are going to be trickier for the two of you," Harry conceded. "But you have to talk about it, Draco. You can't just bury your head in the sand."
"Even if it means losing her?" Draco whispered. They'd only just gotten over one problem, so the last thing he wanted to do was raise another issue that could potentially break them.
"I think she's proved more than once that you're not going to lose her," Harry said. "Hermione loves you Draco, and nothing will change that. You need to talk about this together. I guarantee if you talk about it, you can find a solution."
"Do you really think so?" Draco asked hopefully.
Harry nodded firmly in response. "I do. I think you and Hermione are made for each other, and I think that together you can overcome any problem. Besides, this isn't even a problem you need to deal with right now. If I were you, I'd focus on Hermione's plan for revenge and getting through to the end of the year. Once we leave school, then you can think about the future and discuss this with Hermione."
Draco nodded in response, although he made a mental note to at least broach the subject of children with Hermione before they left school. Harry was right in the respect that the subject didn't need dealing with until they left school and were ready to embark on their future together, but Draco knew the issue needed raising as soon as possible. If it was going to cause problems between them then it was better if they faced it head on, rather than put it off and refuse to deal with a problem that could prove insurmountable in their relationship.
"What are you two whispering about?" Hermione called over to the pair.
"We're comparing notes on our quidditch tactics," Harry replied, turning around and grinning at his aunt. "Or rather, I'm informing Draco how we're going to crush them again this year."
"Don't be so sure, Harry," Draco retorted, pushing aside his newfound anxieties. "Last year I got distracted, but not this year. We've been practising, and we're ready to take you Gryffindors down."
"Is it true?" Harry asked Hermione.
"They have been having extra practices," Hermione confirmed with a nod. "I've been rather neglected just recently," She added with a pout.
"I have not neglected you," Draco protested as he made his way over to his fiancée and sat down next to her.
Harry smiled as he watched Draco and Hermione bickering between themselves. Hopefully the issue of children wouldn't come between them and they could solve any potential problems that might arise due to Draco's new wolf genes. Although, Harry would bet anything on the couple staying together and ending up perfectly happy. He would even bet on them finding some way to have children, especially if it was something Hermione really wanted. His aunt tended to get what she wanted, and Harry couldn't see this being any different.
While Hermione and Draco bickered on, Harry sat down and chatted to his grandfather. While he was filling Voldemort in on how hard he was finding it waiting for Ginny to be dealt with, everyone else began to arrive. Rosmerta was the first to arrive, and like Beth had said, she was absolutely fine, just extremely pregnant and very tired. Lucius and Narcissa arrived shortly after Rosmerta and they were virtually followed through the floo network by Severus.
With everyone arrived, Charlotte was the centre of attention, and everyone wanted to interact with the little girl. By the time dinner was ready, Charlotte was ready for sleep and Beth easily settled her down in her nursery with one of the elves keeping an eye on her. She then returned to the others where they had a nice dinner and discussed recent events. Hermione filled everyone in on her plans for revenge on Ginny, Lucius and Narcissa talked about Hogwarts and their teaching experiences, while Beth chatted about Charlotte and Rosmerta talked about her pregnancy.
Harry was pleased to see that Draco seemed to be his normal self and he wasn't letting what they'd been discussing earlier get the better of him. However, he did notice that his father was very quiet. Even when Rosmerta was talking about the baby and how excited they were, Severus remained pretty quiet. Harry didn't think that his father was having second thoughts about having another child, but there was something on his mind.
Not wanting to mention Severus's quietness over dinner, Harry waited until they went home. When they arrived home, Rosmerta headed off to have a bath before bed, and Harry followed his father into his study.
"Is there something wrong?" Severus asked when he realised Harry was following him.
"Funny, I was about to ask you that," Harry said, settling himself down in front of his father's desk. "You were very quiet at dinner."
"You noticed?" Severus frowned, sitting down in his chair.
"I did," Harry confirmed. "So what's wrong? You're not worried about the baby, are you?"
"I am actually," Severus confirmed. "It's just hitting me that we're going to be welcoming a baby into the world in a few weeks."
"But what's the problem?" Harry asked, not understanding his father's worries. "It's not like you haven't done this before."
"Actually, I haven't," Severus replied. "I was away throughout all of your mother's pregnancy, and I knew nothing about it. By the time I found out about you, you'd already been born."
"So you're not worried about being a father, you're worried about the birth," Harry summarised.
"What if I let Rosmerta down?" Severus whispered. "As the pregnancy has gone on, I've been getting more and more nervous. I just don't want to mess up. I want to be there for Rosmerta and the baby."
"You won't mess up," Harry assured his father. "You're the best father this baby could ask for."
"I hope so," Severus sighed. "I'm not really worried about what'll happen when the baby is here, as I've got experience of that. I'm more worried about the birth itself. In a way it's like becoming a father for the first time all over again."
"Maybe you should speak to grandpa," Harry suggested. "He must have gone through the same thing with Hermione. The pregnancy and birth was new to him when Hermione was born. He missed that all with you."
"He missed everything with me," Severus responded with a wry smile. "Don't get me wrong, I know he loves me and I know he's proud of me, but he didn't play any part in raising me. In many ways, Hermione was his first child."
"But even so, he should be able to understand your worries," Harry said. "If anything, I'm sure his worries were worse when he had Hermione. At least you know that you know how to be a father. Grandpa didn't have that to fall back on when he had Hermione. He had no experience with children, but you do. You know that you're going to be a good father, just like you've been to me."
"When did you get so wise?" Severus chuckled, deciding that his son was right and that he would speak to his father.
"I've always been wise, people just don't always listen to me," Harry answered.
He was just hoping that both his best friend and his father listened to him and followed the advice he'd dished out to them. He hadn't expected to spend his first night back home advising Draco and Severus on their problems, but he felt he'd done a good job. He'd offered the best advice he could think of. He'd been a good friend and a good son, and he just had to hope that Draco and his father managed to work through their difficulties and get past the issues that were plaguing them.