Chapter 16: What It Would Be Like
Luna's labor lasted nearly eighteen hours. Ron asked Harry and Hermione to stay through the whole thing; he wanted his friends there for this moment in his life. So they asked Ginny and Daniel to watch James and Lily and were up in the room with Luna and Ron. The first boy was born at one in the afternoon. They were all exhausted, especially poor Luna, but the room brightened up instantly when the baby came into the world. Ron started to cry as he held his son in his arms. It was a beautiful moment; one Hermione could tell Harry wanted to have had for himself. Watching him Hermione deeply regretted taking the moment away.
By two o'clock the following afternoon Harry Weasley and his two brothers Jason and Oliver had been born and Luna was lying flat in the bed completely drained of energy. Harry, Hermione, and Ron weren't much better off. Ron was trying to manage his three sons while not disturbing his wife, who was finally getting some much deserved, and needed, rest.
Harry and Hermione had offered to stay and help, but Ron knew they had no more energy than he did and told them they could leave. They gave the babies a once over-- they all looked exactly like Ron-- and promised him they would be back to help him once they had had some sleep. Once they got home it took them no time at all to fall asleep; the moment Hermione got into her room she fell into her bed fully dressed.
Hermione woke up to sunlight pouring into her room. It was the early morning of the day and she had to pee furiously. But that's what happened when you were six months pregnant with twins. She waddled across the room as quickly as she could and into the bathroom. When she had finished she decided she would be able to go back to sleep so she might as well take a shower and get ready for the day. Hermione picked out the maternity clothes that made her look the least like a frumpy old maid and took a quick shower.
The next step after getting herself ready was getting the children ready. Her oldest Lily and James were at school so she didn't need to worry about them, but her three-year-old son still needed a good bit of help in the morning. The hardest part about taking care of little Evan was that her husband wasn't there to help her. He was off on his job. Working as an Auror kept Harry away from his family for weeks at a time, but they were both hoping that this mission would be his last until the new twins were born. His boss had promised he would try to make that hope a reality.
Hermione walked out of her room and down the hall to Evans room. He was already awake, which didn't surprise her at all, sitting on the floor with his model broomstick. Hermione smiled at him from his doorway; he, like all her children, looked exactly like her husband. He had the dark hair and the green eyes he even wore glasses like his father.
"Come on little man it's time for breakfast." Hermione said and Evan jumped up immediately.
She lifted him carefully onto what little of her hip wasn't obscured by her baby belly and carried him downstairs. Every time Hermione walked into her kitchen she was glad they had moved out of number twelve Grimmauld Place; it was a nice house, which they still owned, but it was far to dark and secretive. This house suited them much better.
She poured Evan some juice and started making him his usual breakfast of cinnamon oatmeal. Hermione was so busy she didn't hear her husband appear in the next room. Evan saw him, but Harry put a finger to his lips to stop his son saying anything. He walked up behind Hermione, wrapped his arms around her (as around her as he could get them), and kissed her neck softly.
"Harry!" Hermione said completely taken by surprise.
"Don't get too worked up, we don't want you going into early labor." Harry said as she turned around in his arms. Hermione ignored his comment and kissed him passionately, she hadn't seen him in three weeks.
"Oh love I missed you." Hermione breathed between kisses.
"I missed you too." Harry said when she finally released his lips. "Oh and I missed you." Harry said turning to Evan, scooping him out of his chair and zooming him around the room. Evan laughed madly.
"I missed you Daddy." Evan managed to say between laughs.
"Hey, put him down its time for breakfast." Hermione said scooping oatmeal into three bowls and putting it on the table. She poured some juice for herself and Harry and the three of them settled down to eat. Harry looked extremely tired, but happy to be home.
When breakfast was over Evan hurried off to dress himself, giving his parents some time to spend alone. As he left the room Hermione put her feet up into Harry's lap and he started to rub them without really thinking.
"Oh I think I missed this more than I missed you." Hermione said moaning softly.
"That's nice." Harry said sounding hurt, but he didn't stop rubbing, in a few months this woman would have carried the five of his children inside her; the least he could do was rub her feet.
"So?"
"So, I followed him all the way to Rome this time."
"And you caught him?"
"Naturally; you know it really is a pity that Malfoy went insane."
"Since when do you pity Draco Malfoy?"
"Well you know he was brilliant, he could have helped us a lot."
"Except for that whole, being crazy thing."
"Yes well there is that. I just feel sorry for him you know. He has a son who will never know him because the rogue Death Eaters tortured him into insanity and every six months he brakes out of St. Mungo's and goes on a rampage."
"At least he isn't dangerous when he rampages."
"Well not to other people, only himself."
"What was he doing this time?"
"Painting, as always, and pulling his hair out."
"He was pulling his hair out?"
"In handfuls and running through the streets of Rome as naked as the day he was born."
"Oh lord - however did you get him to come home this time?"
"I told him he was a brilliant painter and that I wanted him to come to my studio in London
"So you only half lied."
"Yeah, speaking of which I found a painting for your office."
"Another Malfoy original?"
"Of course, what other artist do I have unlimited access to?"
"So how did he react when you took him back to St. Mungo's?"
"About as well as he always does. Of course it was then that he remembered who I was and he promised me he would remember me, wouldn't be tricked by me again oh no, but you know he says that every time." Evan reappearing in his underwear wearing a pair of rain boots and one of Harry's ties cut their conversation short. They both burst into fits of laughter.
"No Evan, you can't go around dressed like this." Hermione said taking his feet out of Harry's lap.
"Let me help him love, you rest your feet."
"You better come back to do more rubbing." Hermione called after them. Harry threw one of his hands over his shoulder and shook it strangely; she took that to mean "yeah, yeah, in a minute" and smiled happily. She had such a perfect life. A husband she loved and who would rub her feet, and three beautiful children with two more on the way.
Hermione woke with a start. She was in her bedroom in number twelve, still in the clothes she was wearing the day before. It had just been a dream. She rubbed her hands over her stomach. It was completely flat; it had just been a dream. What a strange thing to dream. Hermione sat up and realized she was starving and that is was two in the morning, she had been asleep for nearly twelve hours. She changed out of the clothes she was wearing and into her pajamas; it was the middle of the night after all. Then she headed downstairs, the same familiar stairs of number twelve, another assurance that it really was a dream. An unnervingly realistic dream.
"Hi," Harry said from the table when Hermione came into the kitchen. He was scruffy about the edges and half asleep, but Hermione found herself thinking he looked quite sexy. Trying to shake those thoughts out of her head Hermione poured them both some coffee and sat down across the table from him.
"Hi Harry." Hermione said looking him over and finding it hard not to lean over and kiss him like she had in her dream.
"Thanks for the coffee. That was a long night." Harry said taking the mug from her.
"Especially for poor Luna, but the pain didn't seem to faze her."
"I don't think anything fazes her. You know I saw her at the end of fifth year, when I didn't go to the end of year feast, she was putting up signs looking for her things which apparently people took and hid from her."
"Really?"
"Yeah and she didn't even seem to care."
"Wow."
"Yeah. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure Harry."
"Was it like that with James and Lily? I mean the labor part of it."
"Well not exactly. I was in labor for nearly thirty hours with those two."
"You went through that for a day and a half."
"Yeah, but I was on enough pain killers to bring sown a race horse so I didn't really feel a thing."
"I'm surprised; I would never think you would go for the drugs."
"Well after about hour twelve I realized that I wouldn't be missing anything if I took them."
"Why did it take so long?"
"It just progressed really slowly and then it was eight hours between when I had James and when I had Lily."
"I knew there was time between them, but eight hours? Wow, have I thanked you for going through that?"
"No, but that's alright."
"I wonder how Ron is doing."
"I'm sure he's doing alright. I mean he's exhausted, but it's a good kind of exhausted."
"I wish I had been there to experience that." Harry said softly.
"I wish you had been too." Hermione said just as softly. Then they paused. Harry seemed on the verge of saying something while Hermione was thinking of the dream she had just had and how wonderful it had been. "Harry I have to ask you something."
"Anything Hermione."
"Have you ever wondered what it would have been like if we had gotten together after that night?" Harry looked at her as if she had said exactly what he was thinking.
"Everyday."
"Do you mean that?"
"Yes, everyday since you left I've thought about us. Why do you think I called you all the time? I realized you meant something to me when you were walking out of my life, but I didn't want to stop you. I couldn't. That's why I was desperate to get you to come to my last game, I was going to tell you how I felt then, but things came up."
"Secrets came up."
"Children came up. So did you ever think about us?"
"I wouldn't let myself then. I couldn't. If I had I would have caved and told you about the twins."
"And now?"
"Now I can't stop thinking about it. Whenever I let my guard down I think of how you look at me or just how you look or how you are with the twins. Then when I was sleeping just now I even dreamed about it."
"You dreamed about us?"
"We were married. We had a three-year-old son and I was pregnant with twins. I was a stay at home mum and you were an Auror. We had this perfect life." Harry reached across the table and closed one of his hands over hers.
"So, let me tell you what I was going to tell you after the Quidditch match."
"Alright."
"I can't believe I've lived ten years of my life without seeing you; it's been hell. I've gone from bad relationship to bad relationship trying to find what's missing. I realize now that you are what's missing. I want you back in my life Hermione."
"Children or not that would have made me stay." Hermione said pulling her hands out of his and walking around the table. He smiled at her and she smiled back.
"So maybe we could go out sometime?" Harry asked almost losing his voice as Hermione sat down next to him.
"I'd like that." She said before kissing him softly on the lips. It was only a little kiss, but they both felt something, something wonderful.
AN: That is more like it - it's about time
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