Repercussions

AN: If anyone is still out there, I thank you dearly for sticking with this story!! So much has happened to me that I won’t even bother boring you all with any long explanations, just know that I am grateful you stuck with me, and I honestly can say that I missed you guys! I couldn’t even remember what was going on in my own story when I decided to update, so I had to reread the whole thing… which took actually quite a long time, I did not realize how long this story had gotten, or how much my writing has changed since the beginning. AND on top of all that, did you know I started this over a year ago? Crazyness… anywhoo, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I’m trying to pick up the pace a little so I can start getting to the good stuff and then you guys won’t have to wait so long for this to be finished : ) I’m thinking an estimated 30 chapters total should finish this off, so only 6 more to go if my estimations are correct!!

Ok and so you don’t have to reread anything because that is a PAIN- here is a quick summary of what’s happened so far. Hermione was abducted by Voldemort because Voldemort wanted an heir. Draco and her hooked up so she would have Draco’s baby instead, but her memory was erased. Hermione found out she’s pregnant and went to the nurse to find out she is having twins. Pansy saw Draco and Hermione hooking up and threatened to tell his father if he didn’t do a binding spell with her, so now Draco is stuck in a sham relationship with Pansy and can’t say anything nice to Hermione unless Pansy hooks up with someone else. It is now winter break, Harry and Ron just left to get a horcrux and Snape was just killed by Voldemort (if you feel like rereading anything reread the last chapter it has the most info.) I think that should be enough to give you some idea of what’s going on. On to the story!

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Woke up today… to everything grey
And all that I saw just kept goin’ on and on
Sweep all the pieces under the bed
Close all the curtains and cover my head
And what you wish for won't come true
You aren't surprised love, are you?
-Guster

“We should tell McGonagall.”

“We can’t!” came a harshly whispered reply. “No one- not even the Headmistress- can know.”

“But Hermione, it’s been over a week!” Ginny argued back, frantically trying to keep her friend’s attention, while the Head Girl continued to leaf through the bookshelves in the vast but deserted library. The little Weasley’s temper soared. “I think you’re letting your raging hormones affect your common sense! They could be anywhere right now… They could have gotten caught! They could be stuck in the tomb waiting for us to go rescue them! They could be-“

“Don’t say it, Gin. Harry will get them back. He’s never failed before, and no one ever really said it would only take a day. I mean... they aren’t exactly tackling a tapestry full of doxies,” Hermione finished nonchalantly, expertly hiding her own worry that her friends had still not returned from their mission. She had promised Harry that no matter what, she was never to divulge their true whereabouts to anyone. However, every day that passed without any sign of them, made it harder and harder to keep quiet.

“But Hermione-“

“No more buts! This is why Harry didn’t want to tell you in the first place!”

The second the words were out she regretted saying them. Ginny’s face fell and her eyes instantly welled up. Hermione wrapped a comforting arm around her friend while she fought back her own tears that were threatening to scrape the surface.

“Shh… Gin I’m sorry… Harry was so happy to tell you everything… really… He hated keeping secrets from you,” she whispered softly. “I’m worried too… We just have to have faith… And don’t forget, Snape was with them…”

“That’s it!” Ginny exclaimed, jumping away from Hermione’s embrace, her watery eyes now glistening with hope.

“What’s it?” Hermione asked, completely dumbfounded for once.

“Snape! We could just go ask McGonagall if she’s seen Snape! If he’s returned and Harry and Ron haven’t, then we can be worried!”

Hermione squealed with relief, and practically accosted Ginny with hugs, before grabbing her by the hand and tugging her along to the Headmistress’ office.

When they walked back to the Gryffindor common room after their short meeting with McGonagall, they had a little less weight on their shoulders. McGonagall hadn’t heard anything from Snape, which seemed like a good sign. A graveyard and a Horcrux were no match for a professor, the Boy Who Lived, and well… Ron.

The days leading up to Christmas dragged on in the practically empty castle, with no sign of her best friends or her ex-professor. Hermione’s belly continued to grow under her robes, which she had started expanding with an elasticity charm she read about in one of the books from the Room of Requirement. She slept in the common room with Ginny. It was easier than risking the chance of running into Malfoy.

Pansy hadn’t stayed over break, and Draco hadn’t gone home, presumably because of his Head Boy duties. Hermione would glance at him during mealtimes, eating alone at the Slytherin table. Sometimes she would catch him eyeing her with something like longing in his steely grey eyes, but the second he realized she had noticed, his eyes would go blank and he would turn away from her. It was hard to be angry with him when he looked so sad and lost. She had tried twice to confront him, but both times he had plastered a sneer on his face and stormed away haughtily in the opposite direction.

She thanked Merlin that she had Ginny by her side. She told Ginny about the twins, and how she didn’t know how on Earth they were conceived, while Ginny just held her and told her that things would be all right. When she confessed that she was petrified at how disappointed everyone would be in her when they found out, Ginny just shrugged and said ‘that’s their problem.’ Hermione had never been so thankful to have someone be there for her. Even if the girl didn’t believe Hermione 100% that she didn’t know who the father was, she didn’t let on. If only Ron and Harry could be so understanding, maybe she really could get through this… If only Ron and Harry would get back…

On Christmas Eve, Hermione and Ginny sat on the threadbare carpet of the Gryffindor common room, wrapping presents in silence. Their wand hands shook convulsively as they tried to conjure red ribbon into the perfect bow. Ginny gave up and threw her wand across the floor. Hermione followed suit a few minutes later. They said very forced ‘goodnights’ to each other when the fire went out around 1am, then Ginny trudged up to her dorm while Hermione spread a blanket on the couch. Neither one got any sleep that night.

The next morning Hermione awoke to a rather large pile of gifts weighing down her legs. She hurriedly wiggled out from under them and searched the cards. Mrs. Weasley… Ginny… Parvarti… Lavender… Krum…

Nothing from Ron or Harry. As the pile got smaller and smaller, she started to panic. Her friends had never forgotten her on Christmas before… unless something had happened to them.

Mrs. Weasley again… Hagrid and Grawp… Mum and Dad…

At the very bottom of the pile was one last gift, with no name and no card. Curiously, she picked up the small, yet ornately wrapped package and carefully slipped off the paper. She gasped when she saw what was inside. It was a delicate, white gold charm bracelet, interlaced with red rubies and canary diamonds. It must have cost a fortune! And the charms were so… strange? There was a pillow…

The pillow/tickle fight…

A pirate hat and a map…

Halloween…Pshh… what a prat…

A book…

How many times did I throw one at his head?

One light blue rattle crossed with a light pink one…

The babies…

And last there was a heart... a simple, silver heart with a green emerald in the center. Hermione clutched the bracelet to her chest as a tear slid down her cheek. She knew who it was from, though she almost couldn’t believe it. Yes, it was obviously expensive, but it wasn’t just the amount of money he spent on her that shocked her, it was the thought behind it. You couldn’t just go into a store and buy a bracelet with those exact charms on it, each one had to have been hand picked. It was the nicest gift anyone had ever given her. And she didn’t even think to get him anything…

“Oh wow Hermione, who gave you that?! It’s beautiful!” Ginny said, taking a seat on a squashy armchair. Hermione had been so enthralled by the bracelet, that she hadn’t even heard her come downstairs.

“My parents,” Hermione answered instinctively. “Did you get anything from-“

“No,” Ginny cut her off. “Did you?”

Hermione shook her head no. She looked over at her abandoned pile of presents. It didn’t feel right opening the rest of them without her best friends there. It seemed that Ginny felt the same way.

“We could go down and get some breakfast,” the red-haired girl suggested.

“Yeah…” Hermione agreed, though she had absolutely no appetite. She slowly inched herself off the sofa and they mechanically made their way to the portrait hole. With one hand on the knob, Ginny stopped and turned to face Hermione.

“Maybe we should just tell-“

“Gin I know how you feel, we just can’t!”

“Well we can’t just sit around doing nothing! We should at least go look for them ourselves!”

“Trust me, I’ve thought about doing just that… Let’s just give them two more days, and if they still aren’t back, then we’ll-“

A sudden crash littered the air, as loud as if a bomb had gone off. Shards of colored glass flew at the girls at lightning speed. Without a second thought, Hermione grabbed Ginny and threw them both to the floor, covering their heads with their arms. A heavy thud announced the arrival of something large and heavy hitting the floor. The Head Girl quickly snatched up her wand, pointing it through the dust and debris, toward the figure on the floor. It groaned and slumped to the side, and then…

“Nice landing you tosspot, some quidditch player you are!”

“RON!” Hermione and Ginny both screeched simultaneously, sprinting towards the mangled blob at full speed.

“Oh my God! Are you ok?”

“Where have you been?”

“What took so long?”

“Why the dramatic entrance?”

After a flurry of hugs, kisses, and questioning, they let Harry and Ron get to their feet. Ginny inspected every little cut and bruise on the two men, then tapped them with her wand and watched as they instantly healed, while Hermione was busy repairing the shattered window pane.

“Honestly Harry, you could have hurt yourself! You can’t just go flying through windows!”

“Obviously, ‘Mione! It’s not like we had much of a choice!”

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked, using a little less of the crazy voice than she had before. Harry pointed to a stick on the floor. She supposed it resembled a broom, though it was nothing you’d ever find in Quality Quidditch Supplies.

“Where did you get that thing?” Ginny asked him.

“It appeared in the tomb this morning, with a note that said ‘A thief ye may be, but alone on Christmas, ye may not.’ Imagine if we decided to go after Christmas like we originally planned! We’d have been stuck down there a whole year! Unless of course, the grave celebrates birthdays…” Harry trailed off, shuddering to himself.

“But how did the three of you fit on such a thing?” Hermione questioned.

“Three of us?”

“Yes, of course. You, Snape, and Ron.”

“Snape never showed,” Ron interjected. “The fucking coward… We probably wouldn’t have been stuck down there for so long if he had. At least we still got the Horcrux.”

“McGonagall said no one’s heard from him,” Hermione added softly.

“We probably won’t for awhile. He’ll be too afraid Harry will kill him. Mind you, he should be. I thought we were goners until that broom showed up this morning. We practically starved to death! Speaking of starving… let’s eat!”

He spun around towards the exit with Harry on his heels, but Hermione squeaked “Wait!” and they halted.

“I think it might be a good idea if you showered first,” she said, blushing embarrassedly. Both Ron and Harry lifted their arms and sniffed.

“I think you may be on to something there, ‘Mione,” Harry chuckled, shrugging apologetically.

Later in the day, when they had showered, eaten, and then eaten again, the four of them headed down to the Great Hall for dinner. Hermione’s insides were squirming. She hadn’t seen Draco at breakfast or lunch, and she had made up her mind that she was going to approach him and thank him for the lovely bracelet. She figured it was the least she could do, seeing as she didn’t even get him anything.

Draco was already there when they arrived. He was eating alone once again at the Slytherin table, while the professors and a few scattered students sat together at the staff table. Hermione swallowed hard and continued on to join her friends and teachers. Draco hadn’t even spared her a glance when they had entered, and she tried to pay him the same courtesy.

Halfway through the meal she couldn’t stand it anymore. She dropped her fork, said ‘excuse me,’ and stalked over to where Draco sat alone with only a giant Christmas turkey and all the dressings for company. He didn’t look up at her.

“Thank you for the bracelet, I know it was you that gave it to me,” she said softly. He simply shrugged his shoulders and brought his fork to his mouth.

“You don’t have to eat alone, you can come join everyone else, you know,” she continued on, trying to keep her anger that he was ignoring her in check. He just kept eating like she wasn’t there.

“Grr! You could at least acknowledge me! I’m standing right next to you!” Still she got no response from him. “Fine!” she shrieked, stamping her foot and heading back to her seat at the high table.

“What was that about?” Harry asked her.

“Nothing… I just felt bad with him eating alone is all…”

“Oh…yeah… Cracker?”

Grinning in spite of herself, she took the end of the cracker and pulled, revealing a spinning bowtie and a pair of woolly socks with puffballs on them. Harry laughed out loud at the disgusted look on her face, ducking when she chucked the socks at him.

She was so relieved to have him back, safe and sound, and with one horcrux down. She couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas present. If something had happened to either of her best friends, she didn’t know what she would have done. Especially with the huge secret she had been keeping from them. How would they react to the news that she was pregnant? Would they still speak to her? Would they believe her when she told them how she didn’t know how she had gotten pregnant in the first place?

She would have to tell them eventually, no matter what. She would have to tell everyone eventually. In a few months time it was going to be more than obvious, and she supposed they would take the news better coming from her mouth than from the entire school.

She glanced over at the Slytherin table, but Malfoy was gone. He had told Ginny and that had turned out ok. Maybe telling Harry and Ron wouldn’t be quite so bad. She figured it would be like pulling off a band-aid. Sure it hurts at first, but the anticipation of that pain was worse than the actual pull.

In a split decision she decided that sooner was better than later. She remembered Fleur over the summer, standing up and making the announcement to the dinner table. A second later Hermione was on her feet, tapping her glass to call for attention.

Oh bloody hell, what am I doing?

“Can I have your attention please? Thanks… umm…” She nervously glanced around at all the curious faces staring up at her. One standing out in particular was Ginny’s stark white skin and bulging eyes. She quickly looked away before she lost her nerve.

“I umm… I just wanted to say…”

I can’t do this!

“Happy Christmas!”

There was a moment of confusion before everyone raised their glasses.

“Happy Christmas.”

***

Back in the common room it was finally time to open gifts. Hermione received a hand woven pink sweater from Mrs. Weasley, books from Ron and Harry, a translation book of over 100 languages from Hagrid and Grawp, makeup from her old housemates, and a diary from Ginny.

Even with all the lovely presents however, she was most excited to see Harry open her gift.

“Oh wow, Hermione…err… What is it?”

Huffing in exasperation, she grabbed her wand and tapped the little stone covered in funny runes. It instantly expanded to reveal-

“A Pensieve! Oh Hermione this is amazing!”

Hermione blushed scarlet and a huge smile emerged across her face. “It’s a Pocket Pensieve, you can shrink it and take it with you. I figured you of all people would need one.”

“Yeah… wow… Thanks so much ‘Mione.”

“You’re welcome, Harry,” Hermione replied, embracing her friend.

“Yesh, fanks Hershione,” Ron chided in, his mouth full of chocolate. Hermione had given him a giant box of sweets. If he was lucky they might last the night at the rate he was devouring them.

The next few hours were spent laughing, playing wizard chess, and just enjoying being together again. Ginny and Hermione made the men recount every detail of their trip to the grave for the millionth time that day, and Ron even shared some of his candy. Only when they could barely move for exhaustion did Ginny suggest that they go to bed.

“I’ll be up in a minute, Gin,” Harry said sleepily. Ginny kissed him on the cheek before starting up the stairs to the dormitories.

“Hey ‘Mione?”

“Yeah Harry?”

“What were you really going to say at dinner tonight?”

Ginny’s echoing footsteps on the staircase ceased immediately, and Hermione’s chin hit the floor.

“C’mon, you know you can tell me and Ron anything,” Harry said, encouraging her to spill the beans. Ginny returned to Harry’s side and put a hand on his shoulder, catching Hermione’s eye as she did so. Slowly, the Head Girl nodded. It was time to tell.

“Harry, Ron… I think you two should listen to what Hermione has to say, but only if you can do so with an open mind,” Ginny spoke seriously but gently. Again, Hermione felt a wave of gratitude rush through her.

“What is it?” Ron asked. “Are you alright?”

“Yes… well… kind of. I’m pregnant.”

“YOU’RE WHAT?!” Ron shrieked. Ginny slapped him on the arm and shushed him.

“Oww that hurt!” Ron yelled, slightly quieter though. “How in the blazing bloody hells did this happen!?”

“I don’t know! I honestly don’t know! First I was feeling sick. Then I got the idea to go to the Room of Requirement for some medicine and there was a pregnancy test inside and I took it and it came up positive! I swear I’d never even had sex! It just… happened!”

“Are you sure?” Ron asked.

“Yes, I went to the infirmary and Madam Pomfrey confirmed it. Confirmed that I’m doubly pregnant, actually. I’m having twins.”

“WHAT!?”

“She’s having twins! I believe the dictionary definition of that would be two babies. Stop being thick!” Ginevra scolded. Ron crossed his arms, looking sourly at his sister.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure you’re sure?”

“Yes!”

“Oh…”

Silence filled the room. All Hermione could hear was her heart pounding against her chest.

“Maybe I’m the father!” Ron suddenly piped up.

“Ron I don’t think that’s possible,” Hermione replied kindly.

“Just hear me out, ok? I… you know… quite a lot, right? And maybe sometimes when I’m done I’m all light-headed and stuff. So like… maybe I forgot to wash my hands after. And then I talk to you and touch your hand… and then you… you know… And voila! Babies!”

“Ron, I think you’re over tired. It’s made you delirious. Come on, I’ll walk you to your dorm,” Ginny said consolingly with an undertone of amusement. She grabbed her brother’s arm and led him from the common room. This left Harry and Hermione alone together. He hadn’t said anything since Hermione’s revelation, he just sat there looking withdrawn from everyone. She cautiously approached him and took a seat beside him.

“Harry, you were very quiet through that whole thing. I know how disappointed you must be in me, and if you don’t want to speak to me again I’ll understand… Only, you’re my best friend and I don’t think I can do this without you by my side,” Hermione said softly. Harry quickly shook his head.

“No… it ‘s not that. I could never abandon you when you need me the most, you should know that. It’s just… well… I’ve been dreaming about you being pregnant… on and off since before school started and well… in my dreams… I was… happy about it,” Harry shrugged, explaining things to himself almost just as much as he was to Hermione.

“Oh…” Hermione trailed off. That was not exactly what she was expecting Harry to say. “That’s… odd…”

“Yeah… it is.”

The two sat in silence for a while, just thinking about what Harry had said. Neither could draw any conclusions from it though, except that maybe Harry had some Seer blood in his family.

“We should get some sleep…”

“Yeah…” was all Hermione could say. Harry helped her up and tucked her into bed on the couch, then placed a light kiss to her forehead.

“Night ‘Mione. Try not to worry… Things will be ok. You’ll see,” he whispered.

“Thanks Harry. Goodnight.” She softly fingered the charm bracelet on her wrist, and shortly fell into an uneasy slumber.



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To everyone, thank you for reading and I love you if you have still stuck with this story, now review and let me know what you think and I’ll love you even more! I am going to try to get the next chapter to you guys soon, no promises though, but I do promise to try : )
-Lizzy