CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Summary: Sent to Volterra in order to negotiate terms of an alliance to end the war, Hermione's life is turned upside down as she is brought into the world of the Volturi, better known as the Vampire Kings. There she is made a part of a new kind of family and a most trusted member of the guard, whether she likes it or not, and surprisingly, she does. Rated M for language, violence and sexual content.
Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling and Stephenie Myers. I am not making a profit from writing and posting this fanfic. As for the descriptions of appearances for the Twilight characters, all my research is based on the books and not the movies, but I may have changed a few things regarding Alec's height and age.
Page count: 13
Monday 24th August 1998
Demetri reached her first and he easily caught her before she hit the ground, kneeling down on the stone floor with Hermione held against his chest and he focused his hearing, listening for any irregularities in her pulse or breathing but hearing none.
"Hermione," he said softly, giving her form a gentle shake with the hopes of rousing her awake, but it didn't help.
He lifted his eyes, seeing Alec's worry mimicking his own as he kneeled on the other side of Hermione, and looking up a little more, he saw that they were surrounded by the Coven, all of them whispering between each other and looking to Hermione in concern and surprise.
He never thought he'd see the day his Coven was so protective of a human. Hermione had wormed her way into their cold, dead hearts and she didn't even know it. Even those that she barely interacted with seemed to care for her.
Looking to the Lords, he saw them each sporting various expressions but Marcus looked the most worried as he shifted Teddy in his arms.
"Hermione," Alec spoke, reaching out to touch her face, hoping his touch, the coldness of his skin would bring her back, but it didn't.
"Explain," Aro ordered, his eyes darting between Hermione, Demetri and Alec, knowing from their shared gaze they were keeping something from them.
"She told us she's been feeling out of sorts the last couple of weeks. She hasn't been to her potions lab as when she tries to brew a potion, she feels nauseous," Alec said.
"She threw up not long before we arrived here and I've noticed her scent's changed," Demetri added.
"I've noticed it, too," Alec nodded, his eyes not leaving Hermione's face. "She still smells the same but she doesn't at the same time. Something's different."
"Return her to your rooms, we shall call for a doctor," Aro instructed.
"Her magic, My Lord. Hermione explained that it can affect medical and technological equipment, and that her blood is different to a regular human's, should a doctor discover this..." Demetri spoke.
"Worry not, Demetri, we will ensure the doctor is taken care of," Aro replied.
Sharing a look with Alec, Demetri stood with Hermione in his arms and the gathered crowd parted to allow him through and he left out the chamber.
"I'm worried about her," Alec admitted, falling into step beside Demetri and with Teddy in his arms.
"You and me both," Demetri sighed.
Once he reached their rooms, he stepped inside and placed Hermione down on the bed, stepping back and watching over her.
~000~000~000~
When Hermione woke it was with a pounding headache and to see both her vampires standing by the side of the bed, watching her silently and they moved closer to her when she caught their gaze.
"What happened?" She asked, her voice sounding groggy and she sat up with the help of Demetri.
"You don't remember?" Alec asked. She shook her head and winced, regretting it immediately. "You fainted. You've been out for almost an hour."
Hermione frowned, her eyes moving down before catching sight of the tube coming from her arm and she followed it with her gaze, seeing the IV solution bag being held up on the stand. She turned her confused eyes back to her vampires.
"A doctor was called when we were unable to rouse you. He examined you and seeing no symptoms of illness, he put your fainting spell down to the stress of the wedding and the hot weather."
"I've never fainted due to stress or heat," she told them before sighing and hooking her legs over the edge of the bed with the intent to get up.
"Where are you going?" Demetri asked, a disapproving look on his face.
"The bathroom," she replied. "Honestly, aside from the headache I now have, I feel fine."
"You said that last time and you fainted," he argued.
"I'm sure you'll catch me before I injure myself, but at this moment in time, I really have to use the bathroom."
Neither of them looked pleased but they knew they couldn't stop her from using the bathroom, so they stepped aside and helped her to her feet, their eyes watching as she wheeled the IV stand over to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
After quickly going about her business and washing her hands in the sink, Hermione crouched down to retrieve a hand towel from the vanity unit, when she noticed the unopened box of sanitary products. Frowning to herself, she realised that she couldn't actually remember when her last period had been.
Closing the doors and making her way out of the bathroom, she did her best to wrack her brain for answers but found it difficult. With the amount of pressure she'd been under during the war, she'd known it was normal for her menstrual cycle to change, once even going a few months without having a period, and twice she had to deal with two in a single month. But now that the war was over and her health was the best it had been since before she'd started Hogwarts, Hermione thought it a bit odd for her to have gone so long without a period. She knew she'd definitely had one since moving to Volterra but she couldn't remember having one since, that would make her last period having occurred around mid-July.
And then she remembered the nausea she'd been feeling and had been for weeks. She remembered the exhaustion and her sudden emotional state. She'd seen what Tonks had gone through with her pregnancy with Teddy and Hermione noted the similarities between herself and Tonks.
She came to a stop by the door, her hand hovering over the door handle as she slowly blinked. No, it wasn't possible! It wasn't! She knew it.
"Hermione, are you alright?" Alec's voice carried through the door, his worry evident in his tone.
Taking a breath, Hermione opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom, her vampires immediately stepping in front of her with worried expressions as their eyes searched her face.
"Hermione, you look pale, you should sit down," Demetri muttered, gently guiding her over to the couch.
"What's wrong?" Alec asked, seeing her dazed expression and noting that she was quiet, too quiet.
He crouched down in front of her, seeing her gaze being locked on a spot on the wall over his shoulder. Her eyes had glazed over and he brought his hands up to her face, making her look at him, but it was as though she were looking through him, as if he weren't even there.
"Hermione?" Alec muttered, his hands sliding down to the back of her neck and his fingers getting tangled in her soft, riotous curls. "Hermione?" He said a little louder, gently tugging at her hair and thankfully it broke her out of her daze. "What's wrong?" He asked once more.
She took a deep breath. "Alright, I want to try something. It's a charm, and if my assumptions are correct and the results are positive, I know exactly why I've been feeling off."
They both frowned at her before Alec rose to his feet and took a step back and Hermione's wand appeared in her hand. Nervously, she pressed the tip of her wand to her stomach and closed her eyes as she muttered the words.
Seeing the glow behind her closed eyelids, she opened her eyes to see the colour being white. Positive.
Her wand fell from her grasp, clattered to the ground and rolled across the stone floor, getting stuck beneath the couch.
"Hermione?" Demetri muttered, his eyes darting between her face and the way her hand suddenly came up to rest against her stomach.
"It's not possible," she whispered.
"What's not?" Alec asked her softly.
She lifted her gaze from the floor and to them, seeing them eyeing her worriedly.
"It was positive."
"What was?"
"The charm, it's one hundred percent accurate. I'm pregnant."
~000~000~000~
If vampires were capable of fainting, Hermione was sure they'd both have done so. As it was, they'd both fallen silent and having forgotten their human mannerisms to help them blend in, neither of them had moved, blinked or breathed in the last few minutes. She was amazed that she hadn't fainted herself.
"Alec, Demetri, I'm pregnant."
That seemed to snap them both out of it and their eyes darted to each other, then Hermione's face, to her stomach and back again, repeating the actions several times. If Hermione wasn't so surprised, she'd had laughed, the entire moment being too comical.
"That's not possible," they both muttered.
"I know it's not, of course I do, but you saw the glow. White's positive and blue's negative. It's one hundred percent accurate. No matter how impossible it may be, I'm pregnant."
Their eyes darted to each other once more and she caught their frowns.
"I haven't cheated on either of you," she said, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.
"That thought never crossed our minds," Demetri answered honestly, because no matter the situation and how impossible it was, they knew she hadn't slept with anyone but them since their first meeting back in April.
Not only did they know that she would never do that to either of them, but they would have been able to smell another male's scent on her. She also hadn't had the opportunity to do so as she was surrounded by vampires and there were very few humans in the castle and none of them were male.
"We know you would never do such a thing," Alec assured her, his eyes locked firmly on her stomach and his expression was hard to read.
"This is why I've been so emotional, it's why I've been getting nauseous and my magic's been unsettled. But I don't understand, not only is this not possible, but we've only been sexually active for three weeks. That's not enough time for symptoms to start making an appearance. What are we going to do? What should we do?"
They shared looks, both appearing to be at a complete loss of ideas.
"We're not sure," Alec admitted. "Obviously this is impossible but we must tell the Lords."
"So they can kill me? Or harm you? Or accuse me of lying?" She said.
"They won't kill you, Hermione. They won't harm us. Lord Aro will wish to see our memories," he said and a grimace pulled at her face. "And whilst it goes against our instincts to keep such private and intimate memories from him, we must show him everything."
"Let's go now, I have a feeling the news isn't going to be taken well, but I'll make a floo call first. There's only one person I trust with this news."
Standing from the couch, Hermione had the fireplace lit with a wave of her hand and after grabbing some floo powder, she threw it into the grate and stuck her head in the flames. The call lasted no more than a minute and she pulled back, leaving the fire going for access, ripping the IV tube from her body and heading straight for the door.
Despite her nerves, disbelief and fear, she walked with a purpose and straight to the chamber, stepping through the doors and into the room. It was empty of everyone but Aro, Caius and Marcus, which she was grateful for and they all stood upon her entrance, seeing her nervous expression and Alec and Demetri stepping in behind her, both looking lost and confused.
"Where is Teddy?" Marcus asked.
"Jane's watching over him, My Lord," Alec muttered, turning to look to Hermione.
"Hermione, how are you feeling?" Aro asked. "I admit, you gave us all quite the scare."
A grimace pulled at her mouth as she attempted to smile. "Better now, thank you. But I must share something troubling with you."
"And that is?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow, seeing that Hermione waved her hand, understanding that she'd likely cast a Privacy Charm, and she had, not wanting anyone to overhear anything that may be said.
"I know why I've been so out of sorts lately; emotional, nauseous, dizzy spells, fainting, cravings..." She said, as she had craved bacon that morning, Demetri was right, she usually hated it. "I'm pregnant."
"Excuse me?" The three Lords said in unison.
"I'm pregnant," she repeated. They all stared at her, speechless. "Believe me, I understand it's not possible, but I am. And no, I have not had relations with anyone but Alec and Demetri since meeting them. The only humans at the castle are females, I only visited family back in England and I was never alone, and I certainly wasn't pregnant before arriving here. I made a vow of fidelity to both Alec and Demetri during the ceremony and it is magically binding. Had I been unfaithful to either of them before the wedding; the binding magic of the vows would not have taken. It would not have allowed us to marry. I don't know how it's possible, but I'm pregnant."
Still speechless, they stared at her and Hermione took the opportunity to approach the dais and ascend the steps, coming to a stop in front of Aro and she held her hand out for him.
"I don't feel comfortable showing you this but I know I must. I will not block you from any part of my mind."
Blinking slowly, Aro clasped her hand in his and kept his eyes locked in her gaze before slowly releasing her hand and the moment he did so, Hermione's entire face flamed bright red. It was one thing for everyone to know what they got up in their time together; it was another to allow others to actually see it.
"Demetri, Alec," Aro said and Hermione stepped down from the dais and her vampires traded places with her, Aro seeing each of their memories and knowing she was telling the truth.
"Aro?" Caius found his voice, his eyes darting between her and her vampires when they took up positions on either side of her. "Is what she speaks true?"
Aro seemed to take a moment to gather himself and he clasped his hands together, a frown pulling at his face.
"Aro? Does she speak the truth?" Marcus asked quietly, his expression seeming calmer than the others.
"Yes," Aro breathed and his co-rulers did a double-take, that again, would've had her laughing if it weren't for the situation they were in. "She speaks the truth. She is pregnant and she has not had relations with anyone but Alec and Demetri since first arriving at Volterra. One of them is the father."
"But that's not possible," Caius spluttered.
"I know," Aro muttered, looking completely perplexed, but there was also something else in his eyes that she couldn't quite decipher and she wasn't sure if that worried her or not.
"We are all confused and in disbelief at this news," Hermione began, "Knowing what we do regarding your species, and also to the fact that it's impossible to be so far along in a pregnancy with symptoms showing, given that it's only been a few weeks at most. And due to this most perplexing situation, I've called in reinforcements."
"Meaning?" Aro arched an eyebrow.
"What have you gotten yourself into now, Miss. Granger?" A familiar voice drawled.
Hermione turned to look over her shoulder, feeling her mouth twitching into a smirk at seeing Severus Snape walking into the room as if he owned the place, his black robes billowing behind him and his black, greasy hair falling down to his chin. He looked completely healthy and there were certainly no visual indications that a few short months ago he'd been dying.
"Professor," she acknowledged.
"I am no longer your professor," he replied.
"It seems disrespectful to refer to you as anything else," she shrugged.
He rolled his eyes. "I repeat, what have you gotten yourself into now, especially as it requires me to leave the private sanctuary of my home and travel across Europe?"
She bit her lip. "It's a difficult situation and I need your help."
"Hermione, who is this man?" Aro asked, eyeing Snape curiously.
"Oh, sorry, this is Professor Severus Snape, one of Europe's best Potions Masters and he previously taught at Hogwarts. He's the most knowledgeable man I know, if anyone can help, it's him," Hermione explained. "Professor, may I introduce to you Aro, Caius and Marcus, the leaders of the Volturi and Guard, and this is Alec and Demetri, my husbands."
Snape glanced at them briefly before wisely tipping his head in respect. Hermione didn't bother acting surprised that he wasn't surprised at her being married. She'd known Snape was still in contact with McGonagall and she'd likely told him the news.
"Miss. Granger, I do not have all day, I know you cannot help yourself with such a large mouth, but get to the point."
She placed her hands on each of their arms when snarls of warnings ripped from the back of her husbands' throats, not approving of the way he spoke to her.
"He's always like this," she told them before turning her attention back to Snape. "Severus Snape, you owe me, Hermione Volturi, a life debt, and I'm calling upon it," she said formally and a ball of golden light suddenly appeared in between them before disappearing.
"Insufferable know-it-all," Snape sighed, not being the least bit surprised she knew how to call upon the binding magic of a life debt.
"You must do everything within your power and means to aid me with..."
"Yes, I know how the binding works," he interrupted with a roll of his eyes.
She sent him an annoyed look. "We've found ourselves in a precarious and rather disbelieving situation. As I said to the Lords, you're the most knowledgeable wizard I know. I believe you're the only one who may be able to help me."
"Go on," he drawled.
Hermione's wand appeared in her hand and she quickly cast the Pregnancy Charm over her abdomen, the result being positive.
He blinked slowly.
"You know what that was?" She asked rhetorically, already knowing he did. He nodded, his eyes drifting from her face, down to her stomach and over to her husbands. "I'm pregnant, and either Alec or Demetri is the father. They're both vampires which makes this situation impossible. We don't know what to do. We don't know how this is possible and we don't know how to proceed. I need your help."
He remained quiet for several moments, his eyes darting between her and her husbands before he let out a noise of frustration.
"Only you, Miss. Granger, only you," he muttered with a shake of his head.
"Only me," she said, giving a sad, sheepish smile.
"I will be back momentarily," he said before he turned and left out the room, heading down the corridor and out of sight.
Hermione turned to face the Lords and despite the situation, they looked amused by Snape's behaviour.
"Is he always like that?" Aro asked.
"Yes, for as long as I've known him, at least. I actually think he's a little less rude since the ending of the war," she shrugged. "I know you don't like humans in the castle but he'll likely have to stay here until we know what we're dealing with."
"Is he useful?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, I meant it when I said he's one of Europe's best Potions Masters, if in the future I'm as half as good as he is, I'll be a happy witch and you'll certainly have a large cliental list when the potions shop is open for business. He's a fairly decent healer, too. It wasn't that long ago I discovered he'd undergone healer training. And you won't be able to read his thoughts. He's a master of Occlumency, Voldemort himself couldn't get past his mental barriers. Snape's the one that taught me how to guard my mind from outside influences," she explained and they seemed surprised by what she'd told them.
"Can he be trusted?" Marcus asked, a protective look entering his eyes as they darted over her.
"I trust him. We thought he'd betrayed us during the war but he hadn't, he'd always been on our side. I pulled him back from the brink of death and for that, he owes me a life debt, a serious bit of old magic. I just invoked the debt he owes me and now he has to repay it by helping us."
Snape drew their attention when he entered into the hall, drawing his wand from his robes and flicking it, conjuring an examination table and stool. Not needing to be given instructions, Hermione hopped up onto the table and laid down, getting herself comfortable. Snape rolled up the sleeves of his robes, revealing the faded dark mark on his left forearm before taking a seat on the stool and Hermione didn't miss the way her vampires both stepped up beside her, their eyes watching Snape carefully.
Digging into his robe pocket, he pulled out what looked to be similar to a doctor's bag and dug inside, pulling out two vials with what looked to be some sort of rubber covering over the top and he held them out to her husbands.
"He needs a sample of your venom," Hermione explained.
They both looked to her and she nodded, letting them know it was alright and they both took the vials and bit down, the venom being collected in the vial. After accepting the vials and putting them off to the side, Snape turned to Hermione.
"Explain."
"I've been very emotional the last couple of weeks, and whenever I tried to brew a potion I got nauseous and had to leave. I had my first craving this morning, I threw up for the first time this morning and a couple of hours ago I fainted and was out for about an hour. They called in a muggle doctor and he gave me an IV. When I realised I've missed my period, I cast the charm."
"But?" He said, sensing there was one.
"But we've only been having sex for about three weeks," she said and he frowned. "I know most women don't experience symptoms until about six to eight weeks later. I can't be more than three weeks along, it's too soon."
"Hmmm," he hummed to himself. "Let's see."
He pressed the tip of his wand to Hermione's clothed stomach and muttered under his breath, a series of glowing and flashing lights and beeps sounding as he did so. Hermione looked up, seeing the three Lords having come down from their thrones and they were now also surrounding her, their eyes darting between her stomach, the lights and watching what Snape was doing. A few moments later, he pulled his wand back and the sounds and lights disappeared before he rubbed a hand over his face.
"Definitely pregnant," he nodded. "From my preliminary tests, I've discovered that you are not three weeks pregnant but rather nine weeks." Disbelieving glances were shared. "If your pregnancy continues in such a way, I expect that your gestation period will be that of seven to eight months, rather than the regular nine to ten months. You seem to be having the expected symptoms and I've found nothing troubling so far. If I had to estimate, I'd say that you're growing a hybrid, which is not uncommon amongst magical creatures, as you're aware."
Hermione nodded, remembering some of Hagrid's crossbred creatures.
"But it is odd given your circumstances. I won't know for certain how your pregnancy will develop so I'll have to monitor you closely and continue to run tests. In the meantime, I have a contact that may be able to give us more information. Once I'm done here, I'll call in his services but it's not going to be cheap."
"Money is no issue," Aro injected and Snape nodded once.
"I'll need to draw some blood, so I can run a series of tests and hopefully, discover what this hybrid may be capable of. If not, we'll have to wait until you've given birth and run the tests then. We need to know what we're dealing with and if it's dangerous."
She didn't like idea of someone treating her baby like an experiment but at the same time she knew that they were in an incredibly difficult situation and they had to be cautious.
Snape lifted both vials of venom and sat them on Hermione's stomach before pressing the tip of his wand against her abdomen and muttering to himself, them all watching the glowing orbs of light that floated above her stomach.
"Do you want to know who the father is?" Snape asked.
"Yes," Demetri spoke before anyone else, his gaze daring Alec to argue with him.
Snape looked to Hermione for confirmation and she slowly nodded, seeing the desperation in Demetri's eyes.
"Please, Professor."
Snape tapped his wand against each vial, one glowing blue and the other glowing green before a green-hued beam shot from Hermione's stomach and connected to the green vial.
"Oh," Snape frowned, his head tipping slightly.
"What? What is it?" Hermione asked quickly.
"Well, it seems you truly are a miracle worker," Snape remarked, his eyes widening slightly. "There's not one child growing inside of you but two."
Hermione almost fainted. Again. The Lords blinked and let out noises of surprise, Alec's eyes widened and Demetri's face fell, immediately knowing that he wasn't the father despite him not having been told that yet.
"Alec has a twin sister, Jane," Hermione explained to Snape quietly, watching the disappointed and pinched look on Demetri's face and her heart broke for him.
She'd known his one regret was never having children, which is why he'd taken so well to Teddy, knowing it would be his only opportunity to experience fatherhood. But discovering that she was pregnant had completely thrown them all off balance and he'd had a little hope that he was the father. Now it was shattered.
Snape nodded. "The DNA in the venom is a match to you," he said, looking to Alec.
Alec looked as though he wanted to faint and Hermione didn't blame him, she felt like doing so herself.
"For the time being, you're healthy and so are the babies. I'd like to run frequent tests and monitor your health and behaviour; it may help us to better understand what we're dealing with."
"You will stay here at the castle, I will have a room close to Hermione's readied for you," Aro spoke, drawing their attention. "We will keep this between us."
"Jane, My Lord," Alec muttered.
Aro tipped his head. "Very well, you may inform Jane, and Felix," he added for Demetri's benefit, knowing they were brothers in everything but blood. "But it otherwise remains a secret for the time being."
"You may use my library for your research, it's mostly Dumbledore's collection so there may be something useful in there," Hermione said to Snape.
"Of course, you have a library," he rolled his eyes.
"I'm a Sorceress, I crave knowledge," she narrowed her eyes.
He smirked at her. "You're still an insufferable know-it-all, I see."
"And you're still a grumpy git!" She fired back, crossing her arms over her chest in huff. "And I have a potions lab and green house, too. You may use them."
"I'll show you to the library," Marcus spoke, tilting his head towards the doors.
Nodding, Snape placed the vials of venom in his bag and slipped it back into his pocket. Hermione stood from the table and it was banished along with the stool before Snape followed Marcus out of the room.
"They're going to get along just fine," Hermione said, knowing it to be true. They were very similar, in both appearance and personality, only Marcus wasn't as mean. "Well, if you don't mind, I think I want to have a lie down."
"This day has been filled with revelations and impossibilities," Aro remarked, his eyes darting down to her stomach before he turned to look to her husbands, Demetri still looking disappointed and Alec surprised. "You are excused from your duties to the Coven for the remainder of the week. Take this time to gather anything you may require and to aid our new guest in his search for answers. We will inform Felix and Jane of the situation and alert the others to there being another human in the castle and we will issue a warning that no harm is to come to him."
Hermione snorted. "Trust me, My Lord, Snape can take care of himself. He was a double agent for the better part of two decades, constantly being stuck between Dumbledore and Voldemort, and in some ways, they were both as bad as each other. Snape's going to be fine here."
~000~000~000~
"I can't believe it's me," Alec muttered, sitting beside Hermione on the bed as she lay on her back, her hands resting lightly on her stomach and his eyes were drawn to it. Demetri was sat on one of the couches, staring into the flicking flames that had yet to be put out.
"Well, it is," she replied. "It probably occurred our first time together, the pregnancy seems to be progressing almost three times faster than usual, which would fit that time scale of three weeks ago."
"And twins," he muttered.
"I can't wait," she said sarcastically. "If the pregnancy continues at this pace, we'll have three children under the age of one. That's going to be fun."
"I can't believe you're pregnant."
"Me either."
"And by me."
"Yes, by you," she nodded, not getting annoyed at his continuous repeated words, knowing he was having just as hard a time digesting the news as she was.
She'd resigned herself to the fact the only child she'd have would be Teddy, so this was a surprise for her, too. Especially given she was still only eighteen-years-old and she'd only been married a grand total of two days.
"I'm going to be a father,"
"You are, it seems your bloodline hasn't died out after all."
His hand lifted from the mattress and it moved to hover over her stomach. His eyes darted to her face questioningly and she rolled her eyes before lifting her t-shirt, taking his hand in hers and pressing it against her flat stomach. He splayed his fingers against her warm skin and she sighed when he started tracing patterns against her.
"I still can't believe it," he muttered.
A knock on the door startled him but he knew it to be Jane. He recognised the scent. Bending down a placed a kiss to Hermione's forehead and he headed to the door, opening it and Jane's eyes immediately darted to Hermione laying on the bed and then to her brother.
"It is true?"
Alec nodded and stepped out into the corridor, closing the door behind him. Hermione turned her attention to Demetri.
"Demetri?" She called softly and he turned his gaze from the fire and to her. She held her hand out towards him expectantly and he stood from the couch and walked over to her, taking her hand in his and sitting on the bed beside her. "I'm sorry."
"What for?" He frowned in confusion. She bit at her lip and her eyes darted away from his. He let out a sigh. "It's not your fault, glykó sýntrofo," he muttered. "We are all surprised at the news of your pregnancy and it's not your fault that Alec i the father."
"But I know how much you wanted children..."
"It is not your fault," he repeated firmly but softly.
She took a breath before bringing the hand clasped in hers down to her stomach and holding it in place. His eyes darted down to follow the movement and then they moved back to her face.
"You may not have sired the babies but you are still going to be their father, just as you are Teddy's. You've a big heart and a lot of love to give, which is one of the reasons why I love you so much. I know that should everything work out and the babies are not a danger to civilisation, they will love you just as much as you will love them. And deep in my heart, in my magic, I believe that these babies are going to be blessings in disguise. I truly believe that we'll discover they're harmless. My magic has never led me astray, Demetri. It's my job to change the world for the better, my magic led me here to you and now I'm pregnant. What if my being pregnant is what changes the world? What if these babies grow to better the world? What if this is my purpose in life?"
"I don't like to make promises I can't keep, especially to you, but Demetri, if these babies are perfectly harmless and I'm able to have more, I promise that if it's possible, I will make sure you sire a child. We may have to wait a couple of years as I don't wish to have four children under the age of two, and I'll have to find a way of making a Contraception Potion for when I'm with Alec, but I'll do it. But none of that matters at the moment, to Teddy you are a father and a wonderful one at that, and I know you'll be the same to these babies, too."
He reached up with his free hand and pushed her curls back from her face.
"I love you," he muttered.
"I love you, too," she replied with a smile and he bent to press a kiss to her mouth. "Now, I'm tired and in need of a cuddle. Don't argue with your pregnant wife."
He chuckled at her, a smile appearing on his face and he moved to lay beside her, pulling her against him, wrapping her up in his arms with a hand pressed to her stomach. Hermione sighed and closed her eyes, a sleepy smile pulling at her face. When the door opened she didn't bother looking to see who it was, knowing it could only be Alec.
"Come cuddle with me," Hermione said sleepily and he chuckled at her.
Hermione opened her eyes when the mattress dipped and she smiled at seeing Teddy dozing in Alec's arms.
"I caught Felix trying to stow him away in his rooms," Alec said. Hermione chuckled and allowed her eyes to shut once more. "I'll put him in his crib."
"No, I want him nearby," she said.
Alec didn't question her, he just laid down beside her and carefully shifted Teddy so he was laid across his chest, and Crookshanks and the three kittens soon made an appearance, too, climbing up on the end of the bed and huddling together.
Hermione had never felt or been surrounded by so much love and it lulled her into a peaceful sleep.