Cherries

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Story: Cherries
Author: bubblybabs
Email: bubbalilly@gmail.com
Beta: Periculum
Story Consultant: WesleyY7
Total Word Count: 11,775
Chapter 27 Edit Date: 03/21/2009 (on 3/23/09 more links were added)
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abbi cee – Oh, you shall see, you shall see!
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soniab – Of course I tried to stun you with that birth! Oh, I cried for Dobby! I cried all through the burial and everything! As I said to abbi cee in regards to her questions – Oh, you shall see, you shall see!
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AJ – Thanks for coming back to the story! Yes, when I first started this it was because I was a little miffed with all the HP Porn stories out there that were soooooooo full of misinformation and misconceptions! That is part of the reason for my Author's notes – to show the facts. If I do do something that isn't factual, I try to mention it in the story somehow, making sure to state it's not normal. Let's face it, how many of you were multi-orgasmic virgins while getting raped? I made a big deal about the cherries in the vagina, then made sure to mention about the sugar content causing infections and even had Hermione get one that Sirius had to heal. I had mentioned somewhere that it was normal to have rape fantasies even though precious few of us would want to actually be raped. From what I understand, these fantasies take the burden of a sexual relationship off of women in a society that views a woman who wants sex as a slut. I made mention of that in several chapters. I hope you keep reading and I hope you enjoy the roller coaster ride.
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elphaba – I'm glad you thought it intense! I worked hard on the wording in that chapter, even rewording it when WesleyY7 told me it didn't flow well and was confusing. The Dobby idea is complicated, things will start rolling along in that sense.
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WesleyY7 - *clap*clap*clap* for helping me make the chapter better... You know, as I wrote that part you mention with Molly, where she realizes she is witnessing the birth of her first grandchild, I misted up as well – and I'm the author for crying out loud!
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Wistful-Stargazer – I fixed those boo-boo's! Thanks for pointing them out! You now have a little notation at the top of that chapter stating you found them... In my story, Remus is a sexy beast! And Tonks loses out! But, I like Tonks in canon so this makes me feel kinda guilty...
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mrsfloyd - *Congratulations* on being the 100th reviewer! I'll have to make you a graphic gift in honor of that, see the next chapter for a link. I'm glad you find the story interesting, I hope it remains so. But, if anyone finds it starting to lag or getting boring, say so and virtually kick my butt to get it in gear!
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Chapter 27 – Rejection, Ambivalence, and Acceptance

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Story Date: May 2, 1996

Hermione woke up late that morning, having had difficulty going to sleep the night before after the birth of her babies. She had felt too energetic for hours after the babies were born, finally getting up and pacing around as she held her sleeping daughters.

Still lying in the bed, she thought about how Mrs. Weasley had helped her learn how to breast-feed, each child thankfully taking to the procedure without difficulty. It didn't take long for Hermione to begin dreading the feedings, her uterus contracting a few moments after suckling started, forcing her to struggle to breathe through that while also trying to hold the baby she was nursing without suffocating it as she reflexively clutched it to her breast. Mrs. Weasley assured her that the contractions during nursing were normal and would go away as her uterus slowly reduced in size. She stated that this was nature's way of making sure her body went back to its healthy pre-pregnancy state. Hermione soon learned to make sure she was sitting on a towel to absorb the products of birth while feeding when she noted with embarrassment that blood would gush from her vagina with the contractions.

Hermione had also noticed Sirius' eyes on her breasts as she fed the babies, a furious blush forming as she remembered his words about who would be nursing from her once her milk came in. Right now, she was making an abundant amount of some type of yellow sticky stuff that the books called colostrum – Sirius had said she was making this before she gave birth, but not nearly as much. The babies seemed to like it well enough, she supposed, but she worried about the day she would start making real milk. She didn't mind Sirius at her breast, not really, sort of, but she minded the thought of Kreacher there. And Mistress. She cringed at the thought of other people, adults, tugging at her breasts like her babies did.

She climbed out of the bed slowly, noting the various aches her body was exhibiting, planning to use the loo and then pick up a baby. Sitting on the loo, she felt clots coming out of her privates and listened to them splash in the water as she began to cramp again, more splashing sounding below. Once done and cleaned up a bit, she came out, still naked except for her knickers, looking for the babies. She found Remus standing outside the bathroom door, patiently waiting for her, holding a bathrobe for her to put on. She smiled at him shyly, pleased he seemed to be thinking of her as he grabbed her by the hand and brought her to the rocking chair Mrs. Weasley had converted the night before.

“I take it you'd like to feed one of the girls?”

“Yes, sir.” She looked at him closely, seeing how tired he was as he walked over to a bassinet that had not been present the night before, making her wonder what piece of furniture had been converted into it. Remus carried a bundle over to her, and she saw with a little disappointment that the child had straight black hair. She bit her lip as she prepared herself, trying to look at the child as her baby and not as an intruder upon her body.

“Hermione.”

She looked up as the child latched onto her, the child's suck strong. “Yes, sir?”

She saw that Remus had backed himself up so he was leaning against a post on the bed, his arms crossed in front of him. Behind him, she saw Sirius curled up under the covers, asleep.

“Sweetie, she's your baby, too. She's a part of you. I want you to remember that.”

She blushed, knowing Remus knew what she had been thinking and feeling. “I know,” was all she could whisper. She began to breathe through the hated contraction, for a few moments feeling as if the pain would be too much before it began to ebb away. She was so glad the contractions weren't as bad as labor had been, but they were close enough for her to dread them.

She looked around the room, not seeing anyone else other than the two men.

“Where's Mrs. Weasley?”

Remus sat down on the edge of the bed, using his hands to pull his pant legs up slightly as he did so. He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees, then clasped his hands in front of him. “Her memory was modified and she was taken upstairs not long after you fell asleep.” He watched her carefully as he spoke, worried what her reaction would be.

Hermione hadn't been too surprised at the information, knowing Mrs. Weasley would never be allowed to remember the birth of her first grandchild. She felt a sharp pang of sadness hit her as she shifted herself, the child suddenly seeming too heavy. Remus saw this and spelled a pillow under her arm, helping her support the baby.

“Thank you.”

He watched her for a few minutes, noting how Hermione would glance at the child but not truly look at her. She held the child perfunctorily, but did not caress her as he had observed her doing with Ron's baby last night. He sighed deeply, worried she would reject her own child though not really surprised at the thought. When the child finished feeding, she brought her up to burp, Hermione's head turning the other way as she did so.

“Hermione, don't reject her. She can't help the circumstances of her conception.”

Hermione's lip quivered, a tear forming in the corner of her eye. “I know, I know she can't. I just need time to deal with it, I think. I didn't expect her and I didn't want her. I mean, at first I did, but then... things changed.”

“Did you want Ron's baby?”

“Yes.”

Nodding sadly, Remus took the baby from her and carried her back to the bassinet, changing her nappy and laying her on her back before picking up her twin. 'How extraordinary for Hermione to become the mother of two men's children at the same time.'

Hermione grabbed Ron's baby with a smile, pulling the blanket back and marveling at her child. She looked at the little hands, the nearly opaque skin and her hair a lovely cinnamon-brown color. She ran her hand along the child's hands, along her arms, her jaw, touched the little button nose, and circled around an ear before running her fingers through the fuzzy hair. The baby watched her intently, her mouth rooting as soon as Hermione touched her cheek. Hermione brought the baby up and kissed her cheek as she took in a deep breath, taking in her baby's scent before bringing her down to her other breast and watching carefully as the child latched on. Holding the child's finger as she noisily suckled, Hermione's eyes never leaving her baby as she cooed at her.

Remus watched all of this silently, his heart breaking as Hermione embraced her love for one child and reject the other.

Suddenly, Hermione piped up. “I'm going to name her Persimmonie.”

Remus gave her a look of surprise, an eyebrow twitching upwards.

“Persimmonie? I've never heard that name before.”

“Persimmon is a color, a red-orange-brown color. The color of her hair. Persimmonie. That's her name.”

“Well, yes, yes, I remember that color now that you mention it. But, are you sure?”

“Yes, sir. Persimmonie Rose... Weasley.”

“Quite unusual, yet I do like it. I also note that it seems to rhyme with your name.”

Hermione smiled broadly. “It does, doesn't it? I didn't realize. Persimmonie, daughter of Hermione. Sounds almost like a Greek tragedy.”

Remus nodded slightly, suddenly hoping that Hermione's statement wasn't an omen.

“Do you have any ideas of what to name her twin?”

“No, I'll let Sirius name her.”

“I see.”

Hermione looked up at him sharply, but didn't say anything. Instead, she circled her hand around her baby's head and concentrated on her mouth as she took her life's milk from her mother. Hermione marveled at the thought of being mother to Ron's baby, remembering the awe he had shown when he found out his was going to be a father.

'I'll always love you, Persimmonie.'

Finally sated, the child popped her mouth from Hermione's breast and yawned, trying to bring a hand up to her face while stretching. Hermione brought her up and burped her, then sat back and rocked her baby to sleep. She didn't want to give her up when Remus stood to take her, but she reluctantly did so as she watched him change her nappy and put her down to sleep.

Remus came up to stand in front of her, holding a hand out. “Come along, you need to shower after last night.”

“Um, yes, sir.”

Taking his hand, she allowed him to pull her up and guide her to the bathroom.

“Molly said no baths until after the next full moon. I think we can safely gauge when that will be.” He gave her a small smile as he turned the water on, checking its temperature.

Hermione stood uncertainly, her arms crossed over her chest. Was he going to get in with her? She had never showered with anyone other than Master Kreacher before, unless you counted that ice cold one with Sirius a shower, and wasn't sure she wanted to take one with Remus. But, surely a shower with him wouldn't be so unpleasant, would it?

He smiled at her quietly, removing his clothes as she watched with big, brown, 'deer-caught-in-the-headlight' eyes. Calmly, he walked up to her, grabbed her wrists and firmly lowered her arms, then tugged on her bathrobe until she allowed him to remove it. Silently grabbing her hand, he entered the shower, pulling her in with him.

She soon discovered that a shower with Remus was quite nice indeed.

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Molly slowly awoke, strangely feeling out of sorts. Judging from the angle of the dust-filled sunlight filtering through the windows, it was late afternoon. She hadn't overslept like this in years! She climbed out of bed and made it with a flick of her wand, then quickly dressed. She would shower later, after she had gone downstairs to see how everyone was doing. She guessed it was near time to start making dinner. 'Good thing I saved last night's dinner. At least everyone had something to eat while I slept.'

She descended the stairs and entered the kitchen, nodding when she saw Tonks sitting at the table forlornly, quietly eating some fruit. Molly made note of the other woman's mousy brown hair and wondered, for what felt like the millionth time, why Remus had broken up with her. They had seemed such a perfect match.

“My goodness! Would you look at the time! Why did you let me sleep so long, Tonks, dear?”

“Well, I figured you might need it, Molly. Arthur had said to let you sleep in.”

“Oh, he did, did he? It's one thing to let me sleep over for a few hours, but half the day? Honestly.”

“Do you feel better?”

“I never felt ill. I'm fine, dear.” She looked closer at Tonks, shadows of worry flitting across her face as she contemplated her pale color. “I'm pleased to see you down here and not hiding in your room. Why don't you help me make dinner? We could make lamb for tonight.”

“Sorry, can't tonight. I've got an assignment to cover. I was, uh, just hoping to talk to Remus.”

Molly smiled sadly at Tonks, feeling sorry for the girl. She was so obviously in love with Remus and so heartbroken that it pained her to witness it.

“I don't know where he is, dear. I haven't seen him for a few days.”

“Oh. Well, I guess I should be going then.”

Tonks got up after using the Vanishing Spell on the pith of the fruit she was eating and sullenly left the room, Molly's eyes following her sadly.

Suddenly, Molly grabbed at her chest and sat down quickly, a sudden painful pang of overwhelming sadness rocking her though she didn't know why or where it came from, Ron's face flitting across her mind's eye. Was it a premonition? 'Oh, Merlin! Don't let anything happen to my Ron!'

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Finished with their shower and both dressed, they exited the bathroom together. Remus glanced at Hermione, liking the dark blue nightie and bathrobe she now wore after he had retrieved it for her. He noticed when she was cowering in her armoire during her nightmares that she had no clothing, only nightgowns of various colors, each with a matching bathrobe. He liked the darker colored outfits, finding they contrasted nicely with her pale skin.

Remus saw Sirius first as he sat in a converted rocking chair near the couch, holding a bundle in his arms. He couldn't see the child's hair or skin color, but he was fairly sure it wouldn't have red hair.

“So, finally finished having fun, have we?” His voice was curt.

Hermione tried to let go of Remus' hand, but he held hers tightly.

“For the moment, yes.”

Sirius glared at them, somewhat pleased that at least Hermione had the decency to look embarrassed, her eyes unable to meet his. Remus, however, looked back at him calmly, challenging him.

“I do believe that you and I need to have a talk, Remus.”

“I'm sure we do.”

Remus felt Hermione pull up to him and grab his hand that encased hers with her free hand. He knew she was frightened, but she had to see his wasn't afraid of Sirius.

Sirius looked at Hermione, then gestured towards the kitchen with a nod of his head. “Hermione, go make us something to eat while we talk.”

“Yes, sir.”

Sirius cleared his throat. “Oh, um, yes, Master.”

She turned and walked to the kitchen, pulling things out to make scrambled eggs and bacon. She was tired and didn't feel up to making anything more elaborate.

She cast worried glimpses towards the men as they spoke, glad they didn't fight violently or yell at each other. Sirius continued to hold the baby as he rocked slowly, Remus sat on the couch. At times, she could see the discussion would get heated, but they remained seated and didn't make any threatening moves towards each other.

Hermione felt very lonely all of a sudden. Lonely and tired. Lonely and tired and frightened. She didn't want to cook or do anything other than just sit and reflect upon all that had happened to her - how, so long ago, she had been pleased with Sirius' attentions, how she had looked forward to him coming to her room when she was upstairs and yet dreading it at the same time. Of course, that was before he began to become abusive. She shuddered as she remembered the library, the room she wasn't allowed to speak in, where his dominating behavior overshadowed that one day when he had kissed and fondled her, making her want to follow him. She hid her face when she remembered him making her crawl around on the leash. Or their spanking her for punishment as if she were a two-year-old. She cringed when she remembered the time they tied her to the chair and did awful things to her, causing her to irrationally fear pillowcases, of all things. 'Why? Why didn't I tell anyone what was going on then? Why?' She would forever regret being silent. She just didn't understand why he went from being loving and mysterious and romantic to being abusive and hurtful and fearful. She was sure Master Kreacher had something to do with it. Sirius could be so romantic that he made her heart pound and she'd feel butterflies fluttering around in her tummy in anticipation of what he'd do next, and then that elf would show up and ruin everything – Sirius would begin pulling out his equipment and taking on an air of superiority, talking about how he liked certain things and she had better get used to it.

'Sirius! Why can't you go back to the way you were on The Cherry Bowl Day? That had been so romantic! Even the first night you came to me, though I was frightened at first, and shocked with Master Kreacher present, was lovely. I wish you'd go back to the way you were! Please! PLEASE!'

She wiped a tear from her face. What if he didn't change? What if he continued being abusive? Continued to worsen in his behavior? Was he going to make her do things in front of the children when they got older? Was he serious about having himself a harem? Oh, please, say he wouldn't do the awful things to Persimmonie that he was doing to her!

With that thought raging through her head, she grabbed the carton of eggs from the icebox and sat down shakily. Cracking the eggs into a bowl, she scrambled them with a fork as she poured milk and water in. Sprinkling salt and pepper into the mixture, she beat it as she watched the pepper swirl about the top, stubbornly refusing to mix no matter now hard she stirred. Finally feeling she had beaten the poor eggs long enough, she dumped them into a pan before she remembered she had forgotten to make the bacon. She pulled the pan with the eggs off the stove and put another on, tossing the bacon into it and listened to it sizzle, the smell of the bacon wafting up and around her.

Her eyes wandered up to the door where she knew her wand was hidden. How she wished she had her wand! She might not be able to get out of there, but at least having her wand would make things so much easier. She supposed hand-washing the dishes wasn't a big catastrophe, but she hated doing them just the same. And, now the babies would require clean nappies and outfits – she'd have to wait for Sirius to come down and do that for her. She supposed Kreacher could as well, but she hated the thought of him doing things for the babies.

She flipped the bacon over, then put the other pan back on the stove. Once done, she spooned eggs onto plates, then added the bacon and some toast she had remembered to make at the last minute.

'Why am I so mixed up? How hard is it to make scrambled eggs and bacon?'

She walked to the living room, standing quietly near the men with her hands clasped in front of her. She watched them anxiously, her eyes flitting back and forth between them, knowing they had had a heated though civilized discussion, and wondered what had been said.

Finally, Sirius looked up at her. “Is the food done, Kitten?”

“Yes, sir. Um, Master.”

“Good, let's eat. I'm famished!” Sirius stood up and walked over to the table with his daughter in his arms.

Hermione looked nervously at Remus, not sure what was going on between them but feeling it couldn't be good if Sirius was acting so happy. Remus came up to her and grabbed her arm, a tired smile on his face.

She whispered, “Is, is he mad at me?”

“No, no, he's not angry with you.” His voice was quiet as he spoke, the usual calm 'Remus-voice', and that helped ease her a little. Remus turned her towards him and put a hand on each of her upper arms, rubbing them firmly. “Everything will be okay, Hermione. Do you believe me?”

“Yes, sir. Yes, if you say so.”

“Good. Now, let's go eat. Molly said you needed to eat well and drink plenty of fluids in order to make enough milk for the babies.”

“Oh, she did?” Her voice reflected her lack of enthusiasm at the thought of making milk.

He smiled quietly, knowing what she was stressing over. He couldn't stop Sirius' plans for her breast milk, but he could help her in other ways. One way would be to encourage her whenever he could, another way would be to be as stable with her as he could, being consistent with her, being pleasant, and giving her good memories. Thankfully she was accepting of him sexually, making that issue easier since they were both forced into it.

Frowning slightly, he thought about her nightmares; they seemed more frightening for him than for her since she claimed she couldn't remember them. He was sure they were a reaction to the horrors she was dealing with down here – why Sirius couldn't see that was beyond him. Surely he had the sense to know her real-life stresses were affecting her during her sleep.

Angrily, he remembered the time he had confronted Sirius about what Albus had said, that Bella was using Hermione as well. Even if she had no other stresses in her life, he was sure being with Bella would be enough to give anyone nightmares. Sirius had been so annoyingly nonchalant about Hermione, 'his Kitten' he thought with disgust, being taken out of the room each day by the elf to be abused by Bella that Remus' anger boiled over. They had truly fought then, coming to hard blows as he worked his anger out on Sirius. Kreacher had to interfere when it became apparent he had the upper hand, the damned elf getting to 'punish' him again for his behavior towards Sirius. That time, he was not given the erection-inducing potion and he was dismayed to find he hardened for Kreacher anyway, the damned elf making him enjoy every agonizing suck with his mouth and flick with his fingers until Remus was begging him to let him cum. And, to hear Sirius encouraging Kreacher, taking turns with him as they shared his cock, had been almost too much to bear – he had cried himself to sleep that night once he was returned to his room, writhing in the bed as the memories repeatedly flooded over him.

He knew the use of these 'punishments' were ways to brainwash him so he would stop fighting, but he was determined that he would continue fight. He looked at Hermione as she stood, her head tilted up slightly as she stared at him with those big, sad, Bambi-eyes. He had to keep on fighting, he just had to. He was determined that he would not have the fight beaten out of him as had been done to Hermione.

“Come along.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the table, helping her sit and making sure she ate everything on her plate. He noticed she had put far less on her plate than on theirs, and he shoveled some food from his plate to hers, insisting she eat that as well. He was disturbed by her habit of using her teeth to scrape the food off the fork, as if she didn't want the food to touch her lips; he wondered if that was significant and if it was related to her poor appetite. He ignored Sirius as the man glared dagger-holes into him while he took care of Hermione. He didn't care if Sirius considered her 'his Kitten' and was angry because she was responding favorably to his tender attention, he was determined she would get some true affection from someone, and it looked at if it would have to come from him. Though a struggle, he firmly quashed his guilt over 'Dora as he continued to encourage Hermione to eat.

Soon, the babies began to fuss and Hermione needed to feed them, Sirius insisting she feed his child first and having a fit when she wanted to feed Persimmonie first. He literally snatched the little red-headed thing out of Hermione's arms and dumped the child into the bassinet, pushing Hermione into the rocker, standing over her threateningly. The two men nearly came to blows over that, with Hermione and the babies screaming in the background.

'Gods, this is so fucked up! Doesn't he see how he is acting will make her turn away from his child?'

Remus sighed, wanting to break the tension that had built up as Hermione fed Sirius' daughter while sniffling quietly. He held Persimmonie in his lap, rocking her gently, thankful she wasn't hurt and that she had finally quieted down. He looked at the wee one with the carrot-top, then over at the raven-haired child suckling from Hermione's breast – musing that other than their disparate hair and a slight difference in skin color, he was amazed at how similar the girls looked. 'Maybe their looks come from their mother, their hair and skin coloring from their fathers. Each being beautiful in their own way.'

“Sirius, have you thought about a name for your daughter?”

“Yes, I have.” He smiled fondly as he reached down and stroked his daughter's hair. “You know how my family uses star names from constellations? I decided to use a name of a star contained within the same constellation that my name comes from.”

“Yes, I did know of your family tradition.” Remus watched as Sirius cooed lovingly at his baby and continued to stroke her hair, pleased that he was at least showing love towards his daughter. His reaction when Hermione had shown a preference for Persimmonie frightened him though. Watching, he frowned as Sirius reached over to tweak Hermione's free nipple from time to time, feeling that that was inappropriate while around the babies. “And? Her name is?”

“Huh? Oh, I've decided to name her Adara Cassiopeia Black.”

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Story Date: May 3, 1996 (9:08pm)

“Remus?” Remus turned to see Albus step out of the dark library and walk towards him. “I was beginning to worry about you. No-one has seen you for a few days.”

Albus watched Remus with concern, feeling several overwhelming emotions emanating from the man. 'For an Occlumens, he must be in quite a bit of distress if I am able to feel his emotions so strongly.'

“Perhaps you would like to come into the library? It is quiet in there and I feel you need some peace.”

“Ah, yes, yes, okay, that will be good, yes.”

Remus stepped past Albus and entered the library, noting that the fireplace was the only source of light in the room. He turned, giving a questioning glance at Albus as the older wizard closed the door behind him, wondering what the real reason was that Albus wanted him there.

Albus smiled. “Go on, sit, Remus. We have much to discuss.”

Remus sat on the couch, crossing his leg as he unsuccessfully attempted to relax.

“What is it, Albus?”

A momentary pause as Albus considered the ill-at-ease man before him. “I have my Pensieve with me, it is on the bookshelf.” Albus nodded to his right as he watched Remus' eyes turn to look at the ancient stone object, his head soon following the direction of his eyes.

“I see. You are wishing me to use it now, I take it.”

“Of course.”

Remus took in a deep breath as he stared at the Pensieve. He had heard of them before, and had seen one once, many years ago.

“You are familiar with how to use one?”

“Yes, I've read up on them. I just never thought I'd get an opportunity to use one.”

“Understandable. They are quite rare.”

Remus stood and walked towards the bookshelves, stopping when he was directly in front of the Pensieve, which was tucked safely within the confines of the books around it. Slowly, he lifted his wand, touching it to his temple and thought about the memory he wished to view. Thinking the words of the necessary spell, he pulled his wand away and watched with awe as a glowing, silvery, wispy strand stretched from his temple to his wand, the strand breaking away and bouncing lazily with the air currents as he lowered it to the Pensieve. He stood a moment, watching his memory swirl about in the stone basin like filmy cotton candy. He turned to look at Albus briefly before he bent forward and plunged his face into his memory.

Instantly, he found himself standing in the slave room, his heart pounding as he looked around. He knew it was a memory, but he was unprepared for the realism of it in spite of all he had read about the subject.

“Ready, Remus?”

He spun around at Sirius' voice, almost replying to him before he remembered that the people within this Pensieve memory didn't know he was there.

He watched as Sirius pulled Hermione up from the couch, then motioned for Kreacher to stand behind his memory-self. It was odd being able to watch himself in 4D. He walked around his memory-self as Sirius handed him his wand back. Oh, how he wished he could have Stunned Sirius at that moment! But, watching Kreacher from this angle, as the elf stood behind him with a hand raised, ready for attack, he was grateful he had followed his instincts and remained still.

He knelt down next to Hermione, her belly full of baby, now knowing she was holding twins. He reached out to rub her belly but his hand went through her body as if she were smoke. Then he watched his memory-self do exactly what he had just attempted to do.

“Gods, this is so strange!” He watched the three people before him, eerily noting how none of them responded to his exclamation.

He watched Sirius and his memory-self get on their knees and face each other, each reaching out to clasp the other's hand with a powerful grip, almost as if they were dueling each other with their bare hands, their knuckles turning white with the strength of their vice-like grips. He wanted to shout at himself to stop what he was doing, but he knew there had been no other way at the time. He watched Hermione lower her wand so it touched them both, then heard her whisper the incantation that would start the magic of the Vow.

He looked at Sirius, watching him as he thought of what to say, obviously trying to be careful and cover all bases. He looked at his memory-self and saw that he had a sheen of nervous sweat on his upper lip, and he knew that his heart had been racing at the time – out of fear for both himself and Hermione.

“Remus, do you promise not to talk to anyone, anyone at all, about the fact that I have Hermione?”

“I will.”

He watched as a thin tongue of bright red flame came out of Hermione's wand and snaked around their hands and arms as soon as his memory-self finished speaking.

“Remus, do you promise not to tell anyone, anyone at all, of Hermione's whereabouts?”

“I will.”

Another tongue of bright red flame came out of Hermione's wand and snaked around the hands and arms of the men.

“Remus, do you promise not to disclose anything you find out about Hermione or myself while down in this room to anyone else?”

“I will.”

Another tongue of red flame.

“Remus, do you promise to never cause me harm?”

“I will.”

Yet another fiery tongue.

“Remus, do you promise to never use your wand against me?”

“I will.”

The flame shot out of Hermione's wand and encircled their arms. Now that he was an observer, he was fascinated by the shape of the undulating, flickering, bright yet opaque flames. He watched as they merged together and then separated repeatedly.

“Remus, do you promise to come down here with me, to visit Hermione, amongst other things, on a weekly basis?”

He watched his memory-self give Sirius a sharp look and attempt to pull away. He remembered how the flames seemed to become like barbed-wire, causing painful tingles as his skin touched the flames. He was amazed to see how much strength he exerted in an attempt to break Sirius' grip.

“Sirius, what are you getting at?”

“Just answer the question, Remus.”

“Not until you tell me where this is going.”

“Just answer the question, Remus. It's the last one, I swear.”

He watched his memory-self mull over the question before replying.

“I will.”

He looked up at Sirius and saw the shit-eating grin on his face. 'Bastard! What a fucking bastard you've become!'

“Hermione, finish the bond.”

He watched himself get up and back away from Sirius on shaky legs, worried over how pale his memory-self had become. He had a feeling he had come quite close to fainting.

Remus had seen enough and emerged from his memory feeling quite shaken. When he stood, he found Albus standing next to him, nary a twinkle in the old man's blue eyes.

“Well?”

Remus stepped back as he watched his memory swirl about in the stone bowl, fascinated by the experience, but yet spooked by it as well.

“I, uh, I need to sit down.”

“Of course.” Albus backed up and followed Remus to the couch, sitting next to him and watching him in silence.

A few minutes later, after Remus had thought about and rethought about his memory, he felt able to discuss it.

“I cannot talk about a certain person having Hermione. I cannot tell you about a specific person's whereabouts. I don't know if this means I merely can't talk about it or if it means I can't disclose it in any manner at all. I cannot disclose information about what happens to certain people while in a certain place. I cannot harm a certain person, nor use my wand against them. I must visit this unnamed place at least weekly.”

He looked at Albus, glad to still be alive after all he had said. He had been harboring a fear that the Vow would activate once he gave Albus the small briefing of the contents of the Vow itself. He had thought, if he were to expire from activation of the Vow, that Albus would at least be able to view his memories for himself and possibly help Hermione. He didn't want to die, but he had been willing to do so if meant helping Hermione and her babies.

Albus sat back, a contemplative look on his face.

“Thank-you, Remus, for your bravery.” His face crinkled as he smiled, and Remus knew that Albus had also feared his succumbing to the magic of the Vow. “You state you may not talk about a certain person having Miss Granger, I would think that that would mean you could, perhaps, write it down. I take it you cannot tell me where she is or discuss things that occur where she is.” He sighed. “That is problematic.”

Remus looked at his hands, still feeling the need to be very careful. He conjured up a quill and parchment, then wrote down:

Sirius kidnapped Hermione. I believe he has gone insane. Kreacher is involved. Kreacher is the only one able to enter and leave this place freely, he transports others. Kreacher is behind all of the abuses that are occurring. He has also taken the Weasley children down there to torment. Only the twin's memories were modified. The other two were forced to take the Vow. There are now two babies involved who must be saved. Molly was present for the birth though she no longer remembers it.

He was pretty sure he could discuss what happened with the Weasleys, but he didn't think he could talk about it without breaking down. Writing it down was a good alternative at the moment.

Albus took the parchment from Remus and read it with a frown, then with great concern. He shot a shocked look at Remus. 'The Weasley children? All of them? Abuses? Torment? Babies? Merlin, Miss Granger has had her baby. He reread the parchment. No, babies. She had twins?'. He now had definite proof of Sirius' guilt – but what to do about it? Remus was his only link to the girl but he couldn't let anyone know where she was. He could confront Sirius, but the man would just deny it as he had been doing. He considered the possibility of Stunning the man and using Veritaserum – just as they had done to Barty, Jr. 'Sadly, that may be the only way.' He definitely planned to have a talk with the Weasley children, to carefully gather any information from them that he could.

“Remus, you state you cannot disclose the whereabouts of 'a certain person', perhaps you could bring people to the place in question.”

Remus thought a moment, then shook his head. “I don't know where the place in question is.”

“But, it is in this house.”

“I don't know for sure, but I believe it is.”

“I know. The tracking charm has not been set off during your disappearances.”

“Could you modify the charm to allow yourself to follow us there?”

“Do you know if the Fidelius Charm has been used upon this place where she is kept?”

“I, no, I have no idea.”

“It would be most serious indeed to show up in a room and not be able to see you have actually arrived, or unable to see who is present.”

“Yes, it would. So, that would probably mean I can't bring you there to begin with since I'm not Secret-Keeper.”

“True, true.” Albus thought a moment. “You state the Weasley children were forced to take the Vow, I take it you mean Ron and Ginny?”

Remus nodded.

“Are their restrictions the same as yours?”

“Yes. Exactly.”

Albus nodded thoughtfully, his hand coming up to play with his beard around his pursed mouth.

“Molly has been there?”

Remus cleared his throat. “Yes.”

“Miss Granger has had twins?”

Remus looked down at his hands, not sure he could verify that information since it was about Hermione while she was down in that room.

“I am aware she was pregnant.”

“You were?”

“Yes.” Albus smiled wanly as he nodded slightly. “I have my sources.”

Remus racked his brains, trying to figure out who could have told Albus about Hermione's pregnancy. “Severus. He would be in contact with Bella, wouldn't he? Has he seen Hermione?”

“No, he has not. He has been able to avoid any contact with her.”

“Avoid contact! If he saw her, he may be able to save her!”

“He cannot. It would be too suspicious. We cannot risk Severus' place within Voldemort's inner circle.” He held up a hand when Remus began to interject, his voice lowering as he stared pointedly into Remus' eyes. “He also does not wish to be forced to use the girl in a most inappropriate manner, as would be Bella's desire.”

Remus silenced instantly.

“Well, we are at a standstill at this time.” Albus stood, Remus doing likewise. “I will discuss this further with Severus and see if we can think of anything else.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Remus felt as if a huge weight were off his chest. Maybe, just maybe, things were being set in motion to free Hermione and her babies. Being unable to tell anyone about the girls was killing him: even though it was a sad event in a way, he still felt ecstatic over what had happened and wanted to tell everyone about it. He had never been present at a birth before and was still awed by what he had witnessed.

He still wondered if he'd be able to somehow bring Dobby down to the slave room. But how? If he got Dobby down there, the elf might be able to Disapparate her and the babies to safety. How to get the elf down there when he didn't know where the room was, didn't know if the place had the Fidelius charm on it, and didn't know if getting the elf down there would be considered telling it to 'anyone' – he still wasn't sure if an elf counted.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Story date: May 4, 1996 10:45pm

“Master Kreacher?”

Hermione was on her knees in the bed, her arms folded under her breasts, tears in her eyes.

“Master Kreacher?”

Kreacher irritably turned to look at her, sitting up slowly. “What is it, Mudblood?”

“Please? Could you get Remus for me?” She sniffled a few times as she spoke.

“Why do you want the Wolf?”

“I, it's, uh, please? Would you get him for me?”

“You aren't having a nightmare.”

“No, no, I'm not. Please, would you get Remus? Please?” She began to cry quietly.

Kreacher watched her distress, not sure if he should get his Master or follow her request.

“First, tell me why you want me to bring the Wolf here.”

“Oh! Please!”

Kreacher crossed his arms and stared at her, not saying a word.

“My, my boobie-milk has come in and, and, the babies won't wake up to take any and I hurt! I can't make any come out!”

“Ah, Mudblood. I see.” He eyed her tits, seeing how big they were. “So, your hoping the Wolf will drink some, is that it?”

Hermione blushed at the way Kreacher said it, making her feel a little dirty for wanting just that.

“I think, Mudblood, that Master wants to do that first.”

“Oh, please, no! Please!”

With a smirk, Kreacher disappeared with a Pop! Hermione stared at the place the elf had been a moment before, then scrambled off the bed and ran to the bathroom in tears, her arms under her breasts in an effort to keep them from bouncing.

“Kitten? Where are you?”

She heard Sirius approaching the bathroom door, then heard the click of the lock as he unlocked it with his wand. Slowly, he swung the door open and stepped into the room.

“For Merlin's sake, stop crying! I'm not going to hurt you.” He walked up to her, his eyes lustily surveying her breasts. “My, they do look deliciously full, don't they?” He reached a hand out and put it on her right breast, palpating to feel how tight they were. The tone of his voice dropped an octave. “Yes, you are sooooo fucking full, aren't you?”

They stood still for a moment, Hermione wondering what Sirius was going to do next, Sirius contemplating his next move. 'Do I have my milk here? Mmm, nah, too cold in here. The couch? That's a possibility.' He screwed his face up as he thought about the positions they'd have to take up. Might not be enough room, though.' He took in a deep breath, exhaling impatiently through his nose. 'No, I'll just snack in bed.'

Sirius grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the bathroom, dragging her behind him as he walked to the bed while she vainly tried to pull her hand out of his.

“Please, Sirius, please don't!”

She knew she should be glad he was going to suck some of the milk out, relieving the hot, hard pressure from her breasts, but she felt dirty at the thought of it being him. And she didn't want Master Kreacher to join in with him. Remus wouldn't allow it, of that she was sure.

“Shut up and get on the bed.” When she hesitated, he barked, “Now!”

Quickly she scrambled onto the bed and lay down.

“Well, fuck, take off your nightgown first! And you aren't lying down, I am.”

She got onto her knees and pulled off her nightgown so that she was naked except for her knickers - she continued to bleed and needed them on. Nervously, she stayed on her knees as she waited for more instructions, her arms folded under her heavy breasts.

His eyes never leaving her breasts, Sirius plumped up a few pillows, then laid back against them. He liked the deep red circles at the apex of her breasts, her nipples protruding without any stimulation, looking soft yet pert, and, at this point in time, how large and firm her titties had become in just a few hours – his mouth watered at the thought of all the milk they had to contain.

“Well, come here.” He tapped his stomach.

Gingerly, she climbed onto him, straddling him. Emitting a low growl of appreciation, he slid his hands along her thighs, followed the contours of her hips and sides, then wrapped his hands under her breasts and pushed up on them, feeling their weight as he pulled her forward and began to lick her nipples. Hermione brought her hands up and put them on the headboard to support herself as he latched on. Trying to separate herself from the situation, she concentrated on a crack in the wall while blinking back some tears and nibbling her lip.

Sirius circled her nipple with his tongue a few times before sucking the soft teat into his mouth, pulling its tip in deeply, his tongue pulled forward so it rested on top of his lower teeth, his jaw working up and down to stimulate her breasts to let down. He had been closely monitoring the babies as they fed from her, concentrating on the shapes their mouths took as they latched on and the action of their jaws as they nursed, wanting to maximize his experience when he got his own chance to suckle from those marvelous milk-laden tits. He closed his eyes and groaned as he felt the first warm jet of milk hit his palate, his sucking becoming deeper.

Hermione could tell when her milk finally began to let down, feeling heat come from within her breasts and radiate down to her hot, tingling nipples while the tissue within seemed to relax; at the same time she heard Sirius begin moaning as his sucking increased. She looked down and was surprised to see milk squirting from the nipple he wasn't mouthing, his thumb stroking over it and making the liquid squirt in different directions. In spite of herself, she was fascinated by the milk spraying out in tiny streams from her nipple, the opalescent fluid hitting Sirius in the face and beading on him before running down his neck. Lazily, he let go of the one nipple and began to suck on the other, his tongue coming out to lick her nipple and areola before pulling the nipple deep within his mouth, drawing her fluid out of her.

She closed her eyes and put her head back, her breathing deepening and quickening. Not only was she feeling heat coming from her breasts, but she also felt the familiar tingling heat begin to build up between her legs. She also felt the small wave of a contraction flutter through her uterus, but it was inconsequential when compared to the pleasurable sensations coursing through her body. Unconsciously, she began to rock her hips against Sirius and let out a small moan.

Sirius pulled away from her and looked up to see her head thrown back and her back arched; smirking, he took note of her rocking against him as she attempted to pleasure herself.

“Is my little minx getting horny?” He smiled as he sucked a nipple in, one hand going to knead her ass, the other sliding down, going inside of her knickers so his thumb could circle her hard clit.

Her voice a breathy whisper, she began to beg him. “Oh, please, Master! Oh, yes! Yes, that feels so good! Oh!”

He circled and mashed on her clit until he felt her cum, her moans and squeals making him hard in return.

“Well, my little minx, I think it's time you took care of me.” He reached around her legs and pulled his erection out. She went to climb off of him but he grabbed her hips and held her on top of him.

“No, baby. We're going to fuck.”

“But, but, Mrs. Weasley s...”

“I don't care what Molly said. Lift up.”

Hermione lifted herself up as he pushed her knickers to the side, exposing her. Disgusted, she felt herself drain onto him though he didn't seem to care. He slid his hand from her ass and used it to guide himself to her entrance while he brought a hand to her hip so he could push her back and down, allowing him to slide within her while grunting in pleasure.

“That's it, just sit there a moment while I'm in you.” He had taken note of her emitting a pained hiss as he entered her, and decided she needed a moment to adjust to him being within her. He had used the Healing Paste on her the night the babies were born, which made her tighten nicely, but he must have needed to apply it again since she experienced discomfort from his entrance. He made a mental note to apply the paste again later on.

Looking at her dripping nipples, he licked them a few times before noisily sucking them in, one at a time, with a wet slurp, going back and forth as her milk dripped onto his chest, all the while making loud noises of satisfaction. Slowly, his hips began to rock, his noises changing into small groans of delectation. His hands still on her hips, he began to lift her up and down while he sucked a nipple into his mouth and held onto it for a moment before letting it pop out and putting his head back, concentrating on the feel of her around him.

“Oh, fuck yeah! Fuck! How can you be so fucking tight, even after the Healing Paste? Faster, baby, faster! Yeah!”

He groaned and continued his dirty talk until he came, his eyes on her tits as they bounced in front of him, her milk continuing to drip and splatter all over him.

“Yeah, that was fucking great!” He rubbed his hips against her in little circles and pushed up against her while beginning to suck on her nipples again. “I'll be a fucking bloody mess once we're all done, won't I, witch?”

Hermione closed her eyes as he continued to suck her milk, feeling waves of heat start from deep within her breasts and deliciously radiate out towards her nipples. The heat in her privates continued as well, despite her having orgasmed not long before, and grew until she became frustrated and wanted more. Slowly, the pain from her engorged breasts subsided, their painful tightness going away as he continued to drink to his fill.

“I knew I'd like your tittie-milk! I just knew it!” He tugged on a nipple and let it pop out of his mouth. “Kreacher! Come over here and get yourself a taste!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Story date: May 6, 1996

“Hermione, let's try something new.”

“Okay. Um, what do you want me to do?”

Remus smiled warmly at her. He had been watching her for the past few days as she tried to bond with Adara, and while she was getting better at touching and looking at her baby, she continued to have difficulty. Sirius' insistence that she breast-feed Adara but bottle feed Persimmonie didn't help, creating resentment within her towards his child.

“I think it would be a good idea for you to start massaging Adara. That might help you feel a little better towards her.”

Hermione stared at him silently, then looked at Adara. It was true, she was struggling with her feelings for her dark-haired baby. The child just didn't seem like she was hers, and she kept expecting another woman to pop up, saying it had all been a mistake and that Adara was her child instead. While she doted on Persimmonie without reservation, she just couldn't summon the same loving feelings for Adara. Sometimes though, she felt a twinge of tenderness for the child, and she'd be hopeful, waiting for the loving feelings to flood over her as they did for Persimmonie. Then she'd be disappointed as the twinge faded away, anger settling in to take its place – she wasn't sure if the anger was towards herself or the baby, or maybe a combination of both. She was very well aware that the child couldn't help her feelings, or lack of feelings, for her; it just distressed her to know she had a child she didn't seem to love. Another reason for her avoiding Adara was because she seemed to cry more when she held her, making her want to put her down or hand her over to one of the men right away.

“All right. I guess that's a good idea, I guess.” 'At this point, I'll try anything.'

Relieved she was willing to try, he spelled some fragrant oils towards them, chose one, then applied a warming charm to it.

“You know how you like to be massaged?” Hermione nodded. “We're just going to employ the same techniques on Adara, only gentler.”

“What about Persimmonie?”

“I don't think she needs the massaging.”

“But, Sirius, he, um, he should, you know, with Persimmonie.”

Remus considered this, doubting Sirius would be agreeable to the suggestion. “I'll discuss it with him, okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

He chuckled. “Sweetie, I wish you wouldn't call me 'sir'. It sounds so formal.” He bent forward, touching her nose with his. “Our relationship is far from formal.”

“Yes, sir.” She brought her hands up to her mouth and giggled. “Remus. Yes, Remus.”

“Now, I want you to sit on the floor and spread your legs open.” He noted Hermione's look of alarm. “Sweetie, that's so I can put the baby between your legs, okay? Nothing more, I promise.”

Sitting as he had asked, she colored as she looked down at her hands, embarrassed. “I'm sorry. That was automatic.”

He bent down and gave the top of her head a peck. “I know. Hopefully we can work on that in the future as well.”

He went to the bassinet and picked up Adara, removed her nappy, then laid her on her tummy on her blanket in front of Hermione. Uncovered and without warm human contact, the child began to fret and kick. Hermione looked up at Remus, who was squatting next to her, with worry on her face as she nibbled on her lip.

“Now, just put some of the oil on your hands and begin rubbing her back. Be gentle, hon.”

Hermione concentrated on massaging Adara, marveling at how the baby seemed to melt under her hands, her fist going up to her mouth as she began to suck contentedly.

“Oooo, she likes when I do this!”

Remus smiled as he watched Hermione continue to rub her baby, praying with all his might that this would help her bond with her unwanted child. Indeed, Hermione needed no instruction as she rubbed the baby's legs and arms, then began to talk to the baby without thinking about it, telling her where she was going to rub next and how she was happy the baby seemed to like being massaged by her. He noted how she unconsciously used her special 'baby voice', the one she used for Persimmonie.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he V'd his own legs and sat behind Hermione, leaning forward a little so he could watch what she was doing over her shoulder. He was pleased that she automatically pushed back against him. Their relationship since the birth had blossomed into a true affection for one another and he encouraged her feelings for him. Sirius no longer acted jealous of their relationship, making it clear that if Remus didn't interfere with what he wanted, he wouldn't interfere with what Remus wanted.

He put a hand on her shoulder and rubbed it with his thumb. While he liked her response to him, and was pleased that she felt comfortable enough to relax against him, he had an ulterior motive for sitting behind her like he had - he was hoping that the positive feelings she had for him would help her associate positive feelings towards her baby. He had read about positive reinforcement and hoped his idea would work.

He kissed her ear, then breathed into it, “Maybe you should turn her over now.” He smiled at her reaction to his doing this as she brought her shoulder up and cocked her head a little to the side while also pushing back against him some more, giving a tiny gasp at the same time. He brought his arms around her and gave her a hug before sliding his hands down her arms and settling them on her hips.

Carefully, Hermione turned Adara onto her back. The baby continued to suck on her fist, her body still relaxed while staring intently at her mother. Remus realized Hermione didn't see that her daughter was staring at her as she concentrated on putting more of the warm oil on her hands. She reached down and began massaging her baby's belly while she made small talk with the baby about what she was doing, watching her own hands as she did so.

“Hermione, why don't you look at her face as well? Let her see you looking at her.”

A moment later, she pulled back. “Um, that's hard to do, Remus.” Hermione sounded frustrated. “I feel like she's staring through me with those black eyes of hers.” She hesitated a moment before whispering, “I don't know why, but her eyes remind me of Professor Snape's eyes.”

He looked at Adara's eyes, noting how dark they were, but seeing more than a complete lack of color. “Sweetie, they aren't black. Look closer, I see a little fleck of green in her left eye, do you see it?”

Hermione bent forward and stared intently into her baby's eyes, her hand coming up to stroke the child's hair as she softly cooed at her. Adara sucked harder on her fist as her eyes flitted along her mother's face.

“Yes, a little bit. She has some yellow flecks in them, too.”

“See? They are far from Severus' dark, cold eyes, aren't they?”

She giggled as she began to rub Adara's feet. “Her eyes are kind of pretty, aren't they? She has little flecks of color in them that Persimmonie doesn't have.” She thought about something a second before continuing on. “I thought all babies were born with blue eyes. I guess Adara is a little unusual, isn't she?”

Remus smiled broadly, feeling good that his experiment was a success. He had figured Hermione would need more massage time before she began to accept her child, and she surprised him with the speed at which she was bonding with Adara. 'She just needed a little nudge in the right direction, I have a feeling she wanted Adara, she was just having trouble dealing with her emotions towards Sirius and poor Adara was an unintentional target for her repressed anger.'

“Yes, she is unusual. But then, she did share a womb with her half-sister, making them both most unusual. Never forget, they are both yours, even if they did have different fathers. I believe the three of you are absolutely amazing.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. You have no idea, Hermione, how special you are. Especially after all that you've been through. You amaze me. And now, you have two daughters who are just as special as you are. Trust you to do something so unusual.”

Absently, he began to rub Hermione's neck and back, thinking about everything that had occurred since the birth of the babies. He was now sure Albus was working on a way to get her out of this hellhole. He had spoken with Severus about what he knew, both men careful to phrase their words to keep from triggering the Vow. He had a feeling that Severus had thought up a way to help but wasn't going to get his hopes up just yet.

Hermione was trying to take care of her babies even though she was exhausted and stressed, trying a little harder with Adara. He kept an eye out for any signs of postpartum depression, very fearful that that would rear its ugly head, but so far, she merely seemed tired and not depressed. She was a marvel, he had no idea how she was able to deal with so much because he was sure he wouldn't have remained sane if he were in her shoes.

Sighing sadly, his thoughts turned towards the others who were also struggling to deal with this whole fiasco. He remembered the painful embarrassment of Ginny and Ron when their relationship had been revealed. He supposed that as long as no-one else found out about their unconventional relationship and as long as Ginny didn't get pregnant, that it was all right. His main worry was that they be happy, and if that meant that they be lovers, then so be it. He was sure, however, that they became lovers in the first place because of Kreacher. If that were so, he wondered if it was normal to house elves to interfere with the lives of their masters as if it were a game. 'Another little nugget of information I need to pass on to Albus so he can find out how unusual what Kreacher is doing actually is.'

Since the kids had been back at Hogwarts for nearly two weeks, he hoped they were safe from Sirius' clutches for the time being. A sudden thought struck him and now he worried that Kreacher would be able to take them from the castle and bring them here without anyone knowing. He especially worried about Ginny, knowing how hard Sirius was trying to impregnate her to get back at Ron. He frowned at this new thought and made a mental note to be sure and mention to Albus the possibility of Kreacher kidnapping them. He also forgot to tell Albus that Ginny would probably need an abortifactant.

He was relieved that he had been able to get a promise out of Kreacher to not take Hermione to see Bella until the girl was at least a month postpartum – he had been surprised that the elf had agreed so readily and still wondered if there was an ulterior motive for his acquiescence. That elf worried him even more when he was agreeable.

He looked down as Hermione picked up the sleeping infant and cuddled her, still cooing, her hands continuing to rub the child's back. He helped her stand so she could put the baby down, watching as she fussed over them before being satisfied that they were comfortable and dry.

Wordlessly, he walked up behind her and pulled her up to him, nuzzling her neck, smiling as she responded positively to his touch, deciding he wanted some cuddle time with her before either Sirius or Kreacher showed up and ruined everything.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Authors Notes, you may freely skip:

Twin A (Persimmonie Rose Weasley) name info:

The color Persimmon originally found here as I searched for names:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colors
Then I searched that particular color when I decided it looked like a combination of Ron and Hermione's hair colors:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persimmon_(color)
Well, Persimmon didn't sound good as a name, but I thought Persimmonie did. So, Persimmonie she became. I could not find that name on any of the baby name websites, so I guess I've officially invented a name – I think it's pretty cool, myself. Jeez, I *really* like that name, kinda makes want another kid just so I can name her Persimmonie.

I decided Persimmonie's hair color is #6 on this chart:
http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/produce/producefacts/Fruit/full_persimmon-color-chart.shtml

Her middle name, Rose, is, of course, Hermione and Ron's daughters name in canon, it's a type of red color, and it sounds pretty good when combined with the name Persimmonie – so, I kept the name for the story. Sorry soniab! But, at least it's her middle name and not her first!

*
Twin B (Adara Cassiopeia Black) name info:

I did a search for the Sirius dog star and found this page:
http://www.greatdreams.com/dogstar.htm
On that page I found the name of a star in the constellation that holds Sirius called Adhara. I researched that since it seemed like it could be used for a girl's name and found this page:
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/A/Adhara.html
which states that Adhara is a binary star, or one of two stars... Well, she's a twin, so I thought that fit. But, I also thought Adhara sounded a little harsh, and saw that Adhara can also be called Adara... That sounded just right.

Her middle name, Cassiopeia, was chosen because the constellation with that name contains two stars visible to the naked eye that rank among the most luminous in the galaxy. Again, I went with the double connotation to the name.
http://www.crystalinks.com/cassiopeia.html
*
Colstrum:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colostrum
*
Breastfeeding and postpartum cramping:
http://www.amul.com/amulbaby5.html
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119023264/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
*
Baby's responses to auditory stimulation:
http://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/courses/deaf/aud33.html
*
Infant massage:
http://www.careperinatologia.it/news/lavori/massage/benefits.html
http://www.childbirth.org/articles/baby/infantmassage.html
*
Sexual arousal and breastfeeding (which is what Hermione unexpectedly experienced):
http://www.007b.com/breastfeeding_sexual.php
http://sexuality.about.com/od/anatomyresponse/a/orgasm_breastfe.htm
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=36935
http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/will-breastfeeding-arouse-me-too-much.html
http://www.attachmentparenting.ca/articles/articleb2.htm
*
Read this for alternative thoughts on breastfeeding (as in, it's a sin):
http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news0502/breastfeeding.html
http://ww1.highlandclassifieds.com/js/mi/c47195/b45757/r779541/2134841.html
*
Miscellaneous Sexual arousal links:
http://tantra.co.nz/clitorus/index.htm
http://www.psych.ubc.ca/~bglab/female.html
*
I had forgotten all about Baby Fae but came across info about her while looking for other stuff for this story:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=5471
http://www.llu.edu/news/today/dec299/mc.htm
http://blstb.msn.com/i/9F/7AFEF02B241E3C20C3C4AFA41CD22.jpg

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