9 months

So I'm thinking about possible names and genders for the babies. I'm open to suggestions.

By the way does anyone know what became of crookshanks? I was going to stick him in this chapter but I couldn't remember where he was. What the hell happened to him?

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When the got to the hospital wing Poppy was sleeping in her quarters. A shout from Severus pulled her from her sleep.

"What happened?" Poppy asked as she helped her to one of the beds.

"She just started complaining about pain," Severus explained unable to hide the worried tone in his voice.

"I don't want to lose my babies," Hermione whimpered.

"You're not going to lose them," Poppy said going into her storage closet. "I don't have anything made for stopping contractions but I have a potion that relaxes muscles. It is our best shot."

Poppy returned with a vile and helped Hermione drink. Severus watched Hermione for a long moment. After a few scary minutes the pain calmed down and she let out a deep breath.

"Better Hermione?" Poppy asked.

"Much," Hermione said with a yawn.

The fit of contractions had tired her right out.

"Sleep dear," Poppy said pulling the curtains closed around her bed. "You need to rest."

Poppy turned her attention to Severus.

"Could we have a word?" she asked.

Severus nodded and followed Poppy away from Hermione's bed.

"I don't normally ask questions Severus," she explained. "You know this. This is one time where I am going to ask questions. What happened?"

"We had a fight," Severus confessed. "We had worked everything out when the pain started."

"Stress can trigger contractions," Poppy stated. "I trust this will never happen again. You two have waited so long for a baby. I would hate to think you would just throw it out the window."

Severus couldn't help but look away at those words. He knew it was stupid to fight with Hermione when she was pregnant. It was just asking for trouble.

"There won't be anymore fights," Severus promised. "I'm going to make sure of that."

"Good," Poppy said turning away.

---

Severus knew he had to get rid of the album. He knew as long as he had it he would be tempted to look at it.

As soon as he got back to their quarters he retrieved the album from the floor and put it on the coffee table. There was a fruit bowl sitting on the coffee table. He dumped the apples out and placed the album inside.

Severus waved his wand and stream of fire sprang from the end. The corner of the album caught fire. Slowly the rest of it caught fire. The pages began to turn brown and curl.

He couldn't help but be sad as he watched his memories burn. Yet, he knew it was the right thing to do.

He wanted to prove to Hermione that loved her. He wanted to put the past behind him.

The album had turned into a small pile of ashes when Severus heard someone knocking on his door.

"Come in," he said.

The door opened and in walked Minerva. He glanced up at her briefly before returning his eyes to the ashes.

"Poppy told me what happened," she said sitting down across from him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"How does news travel so fast around this castle?" he questioned.

"What was the fight about?" she questioned giving the pile of ashes an odd look.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "It's over now."

"It must have been something serious to nearly make Hermione have a miscarriage," Minerva pointed out.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said in a serious tone.

"Severus," she said. "We've always been friend. You know you come to me with your problems. Is it money?"

"It's the past," he explained. "I've never gotten over Lily. Hermione found out and it hurt her."

"You've always been one to hang onto the past," Minerva said standing up. "It's time to look into the future. You've got a great wife and two kids on the way. It's time to look into the future."

"I know," Severus whispered.

"Well," she said headed for the door. "If you want to talk. You know where I am."

As Minerva walked from the room Severus took in her words. She was right and he knew it. He was always one to dwell on the past. It was very hard to put things behind him.

First things first. He knew Hermione wanted to go see Ginny, Harry, and lil James. They were going to do that. Severus was going to write a letter and tell them they had decided to come. He was going to start putting Hermione first.

He got up from the chair and headed into the bedroom to write the letter.