Hidden Truths

Chapter 9: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year



Hermione wasn't sure how Christmas had managed to sneak up on her so fast this year. Silently contemplating this, she reached over for the mug of hot chocolate that Molly had brought in to her when she had come home from Diagon Alley after finishing up some last minute Christmas shopping and took a sip as she sat on the couch in the living room of the Burrow, holding her daughter as she played on her lap.



Maybe it was because of the intensity of the battle the Order and she faced with removing the threat of Voldemort from the wizarding world. Then again, it might have been the fact that she was a mother now, a detail that had come to consume her in its entirety and which also made her life move all the more quickly. She smiled as she looked down at the red-haired angel that had come into her life. Indeed, her daughter Brianna was an active 5 and a half months old now and Hermione could conclusively say that she had become the reason why Ron and she didn't go insane from the pressures forced upon them by firstly their jobs, (as Aurors at the Ministry, or in Hermione's case as a member of the research team that worked primarily from home with Ginny) and secondly from the demands the Order was increasingly forcing upon its members. Hermione almost felt resentful at its intrusion into her now almost idyllic life with the man she loved and the daughter they both adored. However, she kept reminding herself that it was all for a good cause. Harry's life and the life of all muggle born wizards and witches ultimately hung in the balance. Ironically, Hermione knew that it wouldn't be the Order that would be the final nail in Voldemorts coffin though. No, it was probably Harry's own wife Willow that would be his saving grace.



Hermione frowned. This was a fact that had become a source of concern for the Order. Indeed, relying too heavily upon one person or idea was never a good idea. To coin a Muggle phrase: it was far better to avoid putting all of your eggs into one basket. She and Ginny had had a chat just that morning about the role that Willow would have to play in helping her husband. From that tumultuous fight that the group had witnessed between the two spouses, it was readily apparent that Harry wanted Willow to have no part of the ultimate solution to the Voldemort issue, though Hermione knew that this desire was not to be as Willow was the only person that they could trust to be capable of stealing and then harnessing the kind of black magic that the dark lord contained within his entire being. As long as nothing happened to prevent the plan from going on as intended, at their next meeting Harry would be able to take on Voldemort, hopefully banishing him to the dark recesses of Hell, and finally being able to move on with his life. That is, if Willow was indeed up to the task.



Lately Harry's wife had been feeling quite ill, as was apparent at Hermione's last visit only yesterday before Hogwarts Yule Ball. While appearing to be happy about something (Hermione was still trying to figure that one out"¦) she had had to leave the room twice to be sick before Harry had come home from the Ministry, taken one look at his still-green-around-the-gills wife and shuffled Hermione out of the apartment so that he could put Willow to bed for an hour or so. She shook her head confusedly in memory of the overprotective behaviour. Something wasn't right and even Hermione's overly quick brain was having difficulty processing an answer at the moment.



Her thoughts were broken however by the sound of someone falling out of the fireplace. Three someone's actually. Indeed, since it was now Christmas Eve, Willow, Harry and James were joining the Weasley's for Christmas and had left Hogwarts later than expected because Willow had had to chaperone the Yule Ball the previous evening in Emily's place. Indeed, while the Yule Ball had been last night, the Potters had gone to bed very early that morning (due to the need for patrolling the hallways for amorous teenagers out of bed) and had decided to show up for dinner that evening. Brianna, who had been playing quietly with the stuffed bunny her Uncle Bill had given her the day she had been born, began to gurgle happily at the sight of her best friend joining them in the living room.



James and Brianna had been inseparable since birth, joining forces with Draco and Ginny's son Algernon. Indeed, Severus Snape had verbally recognized the threat the trio would have to his sanity at Hogwarts when they went in 11 years. At any rate, Brianna was lucky in the fact that James was able to join her at all as his mother straightened up from having fallen out of the fireplace and nearly dropped him in her haste of passing him off to Harry and, turning a deep shade of green, made a dash for the hall bathroom. Harry and Hermione both winced as retching sounds reached them even from the distance the living room and the hallway provided.



"Is she okay?" Hermione asked sympathetically as her best friend sat down on the couch and placed James in his lap, handing him the stuffed frog that she and her daughter had brought out from Brianna's crib along with the bunny when they had come home from shopping.



"Yeah," Harry clipped out in a concerned and distracted manner, smiling slightly at James who took the frog eagerly from his godmother. "She'll be fine."



Hermione was silent at this, unsure of how to broach the subject of Willow's health when Harry so obviously wanted her to leave it alone. In the end she decided to let it go, knowing full well that if the behaviour continued then she and Ron would most likely be able to extricate the information from him. After all, they had been dealing with Harry's moods and his subsequent secret keeping for the last 13 years.



"It's stress," Harry said awkwardly, feeling guilty that he couldn't tell the woman that had been one of his best friends since he was 11 the secret that they he and Willow had only shared with a select few at Hogwarts. "What with Emily being ill it's been difficult for Willow to juggle her classes and James. And I've been busy tracking down Lucius Malfoy."



Hermione nodded. This explanation made sense"¦.sort of. But Willow even at her most stressed had never gotten floo sick before. Nonetheless, Hermione refused to interrogate her friend when he and his family had only just gotten here. She was saved from her own inquisitive nature as Molly came into the room, having heard Willow rush into the bathroom just moments ago.



"Is Willow alright Harry?" Molly asked in a concerned voice.



Harry ran a frustrated hand through his already messy hair. How was he supposed to tell a white lie to the closest thing to a mother he had ever had? "Um-hm," he murmured. "She'll be fine." Sensing that this explanation wouldn't be enough for Molly, he went on, spinning the same half truth that he had fed to Hermione only a minute ago. "With Emily sick, she's been dealing with a lot more classes and the stress is getting to her I guess."



Harry could tell she didn't buy it, but like Hermione, she let it pass. This was a good thing because Willow had just appeared in the doorway, still slightly green, but standing upright at least. Indeed, Harry had found in the week that they had found out she was pregnant that Willow had a tendency to fall over a lot when she was suffering from her "˜morning' sickness (which should, in Harry's opinion, be called evening sickness because Willow was rarely ill in the morning and like clockwork would become sick about 5 o'clock each night). Harry had found that to put her to bed for an hour and enjoy a late supper chased by the pills that Madame Pomfrey had given them in their suite was the best cure for the nausea. Due to the severe need to keep the pregnancy a secret however, Willow would have to pretend to be well and simply suffering from stress until Christmas dinner, when they would announce their news to the whole group after getting them to sign a self hexing non-disclosure form like the one Hermione had devised when Harry had formed the D.A. back in 5th year. Granted, it was only an evening that Willow would have to pretend, but Harry knew how much of a struggle it was for Willow to lie to those she cared about most.



Holding a hand to her stomach and closing her eyes lightly, Willow shuffled across the room to sit down between her husband and Hermione on the couch. With a sigh, she lay her head onto his shoulder gently and shut her eyes once more, all the while willing the inexorable nausea away.



"Willow sweetheart, are you alright?" Molly asked gently as she knelt down in front of the woman she had come to regard as another daughter. "Can I get you anything?"



Willow shook her head briskly, closing her eyes again as the nausea fell over her in a wave before receding into the recesses of her body for the moment. She wanted to answer Molly, really she did, but she knew if she opened her mouth she would probably have to make a break for the bathroom again. Beside her, James reached a hand up to touch his mothers face gently. Apparently he was concerned too.



"Alright then," Molly continued, unsure of how to deal with the problem of Willow's health. This was not just stress. But for now, as she watched Willow drift off to sleep on the couch, she would wait to get an answer. For how long would be entirely up to Harry and Willow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Arthur Weasley walked into his kitchen at midnight on Christmas Eve with Sirius and Remus, who had returned triumphant from their mission for Dumbledore. Indeed, it had been difficult stealing the Amulet of Egatharthus out from under the nose of the Death Eaters who guarded it, but in the end, aided by some of his sons Fred and George's more ingenious incendiary devices, they had emerged triumphant. Arthur knew what a success this was. The amulet would enable the wearer to be impervious to hexes and curses. This of course would be quite important to Harry if he expected to get himself and his wife through the final battle which, at least last time Arthur checked, involved Willow drawing the power from Voldemort using a very controversial spell she had discovered in one of the dark arts books Mr. Giles had sent to her and then destroying the body. The largest concern about this plan stemmed from the fact that Willow would need to be protected somehow. The amulet solved the inevitable problem of allowing Willow to move into position unhindered by stray hexes while she performed the complex spell. The retrieval of said amulet then had become a top priority for the Order and now that it had been recovered, they could all enjoy Christmas a little easier.



Arthur was torn from his inner musings by the growl of his own stomach. Indeed, the three men had missed dinner due to their mission and now the senior Weasley felt the need to rectify that situa not not just for himself, but for the two men that had accompanied him on the mission and who were staying with his family for the holidays. With a sigh of happiness, he turned to the stove and the meal that Molly had placed a heating charm on in anticipation of their arrival. Mmm, he thought, motioning to his compatriots to grab a plate of the roast chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy and the side of steamed beans that his loving wife had left out for them. They had just sat down when Harry entered the room, clad in his pajamas and robe and looking as if the world itself rested upon his shoulders. Sadly in Harry's case, this was kind of true.



"What are you doing up Harry?" Remus asked as he took a sip of his butterbeer.



Harry, who hadn't noticed the three men currently stuffing their faces with Molly's excellent dinner, started visibly. "Oh it's just you," he said wearily, running a hand through his wild hair. "How'd the mission go?"



Remus exchanged mischievous looks with Sirius and Arthur. "Good. Mission accomplished."



"What exactly were you two up to then?" Harry furrowed his brow in confusion. After all, he was still curious to know what the mysterious mission had been in the first place. Apparently he wasn't going to find out anytime soon though as the three men in front of him immediately clammed up.



"That's not something you need to know right now Harry," Arthur began awkwardly, knowing that the boy-who-lived would have issues with this answer. "But I can promise you at the meeting on Boxing Day you will be told all about it along with everyone else."



Harry seemed strangely content with this answer instead of the usual anger that emerged when faced with seeing his curiosity denied. Indeed, he simply nodded his head and moved to boil some water for tea.



Arthur was perplexed. Harry had never let the adults-and now his peers-get away with that kind of answer before. Something must be bothering him. "Harry, are you sure you're quite alright?"



"Hmmm?" Harry murmured distractedly as he wandlessly boiled the water in the kettle over the stove and poured it into the teapot to steep. "What was that Arthur?"



"Nothing," he replied suspiciously, watching as Harry picked up the teapot and moved to sit it on the table. Something was up and he knew what it was. From the reports of Willow's odd health that Hermione and Ginny had verbalized to Molly and himself, added to Harry's distracted behaviour, Arthur knew exactly what was happening. "So when's Willow due?"



Harry dropped the teapot mid transport; splattering hot tea all over his pajama clad legs and the floor. Three cooling charms immediately were unleashed causing the potential burning that Harry would have suffered to be downgraded to a slight sting. He let out a frustrated sigh; he was tired of keeping the secret to himself. With a pointed look to Arthur, he summoned a sheaf of paper from the room where his wife slept peacefully with his son. Arthur had guessed correctly and from the triumphant look on his face, he knew it. That still didn't mean tthe the problem couldn't be contained until he and Willow got around to telling the rest of the family their surprise the next evening. "Here," he said, passing the sheaf off to Arthur and conjuring a quill. "Sign this."



"And just what is this?" the redhead asked in a confused voice while taking in the names of several of the Hogwarts teachers and Sirius and Remus that was already written on the parchment.



"It's a non disclosure form. In order for Harry to either deny or confirm your guess, you need to sign this." Remus said gently, watching as Harry put the teapot back together and cleaned up the mess he had made be app apparently giving up on the idea of tea and sitting down at the table with the three men and the non disclosure form.



"You two have signed this then?" Arthur murmured, pointing to the signatures.



Sirius nodded in confirmation of this fact. "Um-hm. It's important that you do too."



Arthur nodded. If what he suspected of Willow was true, then she and the unborn child would be in grave danger. Indeed, he couldn't believe the excellent timing of Dumbledore's mission. The Amulet of Egatharthus couldn't have been found at a more appropriate time. With no hesitation, he picked up the quill and signed.



"Right then," Harry was suddenly all business, immediately placing a silencing charm on the kitchen before turning back to Arthur. The neutral and grim look that had been on Harry's face since he had come into the kitchen suddenly was replaced by a smug grin. "July."



"July what?" Arthur asked, confused by the one word answer.



"Willow's due in July," Harry smiled, watching as a smile of Arthur's own grew on his face. Harry knew how much he and Molly regarded James as one of their own grandchildren. And the one thing the Weasley head of the family enjoyed the most was more family.



"Is she really then"¦." Arthur mused happily. "Congratulations."



"How's she been feeling?" Remus asked gently, concern for Harry's wife driving him to ask. After all, it was he who had been the one to comfort her at Harry's funeral and he had come to think of her as the child he never had. Never would have for that matter. He frowned slightly. His relationship with Tonks hadn't progressed since that forbidden evening since Harry had returned. He hadn't heard from her since the morning after Sirius and his godson had graced them with their presences from the great beyond they had fallen into. According to the Ministry, she was on a secret undercover mission but Remus wasn't sure he believed this excuse. Indeed, all the other missions she had been on, undercover or otherwise, had never lasted more than a month. Tonks had now been gone for 5 and a half. He was broken from his inner dialogue with himself as Harry responded to his question.



"Sick as a dog," Harry grimaced, remembering that evening. Willow had woken up from her nap on the couch only to be sick twice more and sent up to bed by Molly who Harry strongly suspected knew exactly what was wrong with his wife. "The pills that Madame Pomfrey gave us aren't helping."



Arthur's brow furrowed. "I don't recall Willow being sick this often with James."



"She wasn't." Remus broke in, remembering. Willow had only been really sick the day of Harry's funeral and that, the former werewolf knew, had been from grief and not from the baby. "Just tired and moody," he paused. "Have you thought abouting ing a doctor about this Harry?"



Harry stilled, contemplating whether or not he wanted to reveal this next secret. Only Madame Pomfrey knew so far, and that was because she had discovered it that morning when Harry and Willow had gone to the infirmary because she had been so sick the past evening. "Yeah, we did."



"And?" Sirius, who couldn't stand secrets and was tired of being left out of the conversation, demanded impatiently.



"Sometimes with multiple pregnancies the symptoms of morning sickness are more pronounced," Harry said quietly, remembering how Poppy had given Willow a potion to drink that would identify the reason why she had been so ill and the two small lights that had emerged from his wife's abdomen, indicating the presence of twins. Normally Madame Pomfrey was reluctant to use the potion she had used on Willow that morning as it not onxposxposed multiples and other issues involving pregnancy, but the sex of the child or children involved. Harry and Willow had closed their eyes when she had administered the test then, wanting to be surprised but content to know that the plausible reason behind Willow's inability to keep many things down in the evenings stemmed from the fact that she and Harry were having twins.



"Multiples?" Remus, normally calm and collected, deadpanned.



"Twins," Harry confirmed Remus's question.



"Twins?" Sirius exclaimed, shocked. If Voldemort found out about this they all would be doomed. Indeed, everyone knew that pregnant witches had a decent amount of control over their magic but not when they were carrying more than one child. Something about the increase of hormones created an unstable environment in which the magic could flow through the body. If he recalled correctly, Arthur had once complained that the broom had spontaneously combusted one day when Molly had been using it and had been 7 months along with Fred and George.



"Twins," Harry said once again. It had been a shock for him too but apparently they ran in Willow's family, Willow herself having had a twin that had been stillborn and her mother being one herself.



"Harry," Arthur began quietly, knowing that this subject had to be spoken of. "You do realize that Willow will be quite volatile to be around during this time and like it or not Voldemort may decide to take advantage of this fact."



Harry nodded. He knew the facts. Madame Pomfrey had made sure of that. "We have a plan to hide it from prying eyes."



"And just how do you propose to do that?" Arthur demanded good-naturedly, curious as to what Harry had planned.



"Well, that non-disclosure agreement causes the signer to be unable to tell others or even think about the secret unless Willow or I cast the spell enabling the signer to speak of it for one. For another, Willow will be wearing a glamour to make her appear as she normally does." Harry shook his head wearily. Despite the terrifically bad timing, they HAD managed to come up with a good contingency plan to deal with the situation. Now if they could only decide on a new route in which to destroy Voldemort"¦



"And what of Voldemort?" Arthur demanded once more, this time a little more firmly.

Harry shrugged in defeat, thus answering for Arthur the reason why he had entered the kitchen that evening looking so despondent. "Why do you think I called the meeting so soon? I'm terrified that because of the bad timing this pregnancy had seized upon that the spell Willow found will be replaced by an inadequate one that will end up killing us and not the Death Eaters."



With a sigh, Arthur leaned over and placed a hand onto Harry's shoulder. "It'll be alright Harry. The Order will know what to do." Arthur Weasley prayed that they would.