A/N: Here we are, this fic is still percolating along, it's just taking a bit with various distractions. Thanks as usual to Lady Starlight for her work on this chapter.
Chapter 31: A Winter's Tale.
**************************Near the Artic Circle*****************************
December 22, 2021
11:50am
A pair of oddly displaced lions padded slowly across an endless expanse of ice and snow, their heads bent low against a wind howling from the nearby Bering Sea. The larger of the two, a jet-black male, shook ice from his mane, a mane that was inordinately disheveled, even for a lion, and looked over at its mate, with worried emerald eyes. She rubbed her head against his for an instant, before she started out, trekking for an odd outcropping of rock that poked above the snow pack, like a finger pointing to the sky. The other lion fell in at her side, periodically glancing over at her as they continued to move along the path towards the rocks.
She stopped, twenty meters from the outcropping. The air in front of her seemed oddly distorted, as if it were being viewed through a freznel lens. She glanced over at her companion, as he stopped at her shoulder and leaned into her, or rather they leaned together instinctively. A large black-furred head tucked hers under his, as they watched the patch of distorted air together.
Somewhere, a clock clicked over an hour, and the air shimmered; then cleared. The lions paused, and then stepped forward, through the formerly distorted region, into a large, ornate entrance hall to an ancient stone keep. As one, the pair SHIFTED, their forms shrinking slightly and changing, until two humans, a man and a woman, both in black parkas stood shivering. The man pulled down a hood, and ran his gloved hands through messy inky locks, driving snow and ice from it, before he reached over and pulled the girl to him, holding her against him tightly as she shivered.
Are you alright, Mione? Harry asked with a hint of desperation in his voice. Chocolate eyes glanced up at him, under iced lashes. She shook her head, slightly, her teeth chattering. Harry waved his hand around the room, lighting several extinguished braziers that sat waiting for another to use them after all these years. The air in the room began to warm, Harry pulled off his gloves with his teeth, tossing them to the flagstone floor of the entrance, before he unzipped her parka to reach in. He rubbed his hands along the sides and front of her chest, trying to bring warmth back into her as fast as she could.
I'm fine, Harry, she muttered after a minute, shrugging off her parka, and checking a small pack, are you?
As long as you are, I am, Harry responded instantly. Hermione glared at him, and he shrugged slightly, I really am alright, Love, he said pulling off his parka as well. He grinned slightly, did you bring your green one?
You will just have to wait and find out, Baby, Hermione whispered, before she pressed her lips to his quickly and stepped back, looking around the dimly lit stone room. It was round, with stairs leading down as if it were the very tip of some castle's tower. Well, shall we?
Harry shrugged, and glanced around, Why not, he muttered and waved his hand, summoning a floating ball of light that hovered several feet in front of him. He followed he floating orb as it slowly descended down the stairs, and leveled out into a buried corridor. Hermione looked at him, and then glanced around the corridor, her eyes widening as she recognized features of a structure thousands of miles away, in the currently besieged Scottish Highlands.
Hermione took his hand, and held it as they slipped down the dark corridor, the bright white light of the orb casting odd shadows along the walls. Dark suits of ancient, thousand-year-old European armor stood guard, along with dark, empty portraits. They slipped down the corridor, and after several minutes of walking, each carefully not stating of where this reminded them of, they came to a empty chasm. She looked across the empty space, sending another glowing orb racing across to stop next to an Eagle inscribed door, set off a landing directly across from them. "We could fly over, I suppose," Hermione said softly.
Just as the words slipped from her lips, beams of light shot across the expanse, cris-crossing with each other to weave a glowing bridge. Alright, Harry muttered and took a single step onto the light. The floor was solid under his feet as he reached back and held Hermione's hand as she stepped onto the bridge. Unspoken words caused them to hurry, if not outright run across the distance, moving to the door and pausing in front of it.
The door had no keyhole, or handle or knocker; in fact the only sign that it was a door at all was the heavy hinges on the left side of the door. A hand-sized rampant eagle carving glowed on one side of the door and without thinking, Hermione reached over and pressed her palm to it. She felt a sharp sting in her hand and pulled it away. Her eyes widened as she turned her hand upward to find five small puncture holes oozing blood.
The wounds matched five needles set in the shape of a star. Hermione hissed slightly as Harry took her hand and flicked his fingers over it, causing the wounds to seal and vanish. They turned back to the door just as the eagle flapped it's wings and let out a soft cry, and the door opened silently, leading them into a cozy, round room, decorated in blue and bronze. A fire burned merrily in a corner hearth, set among walls filled with shelves of books, and currently empty portraits.
A single, apparently occupied chair, as witnessed by the slim, leather clad legs that were resting over a padded armrest, sat before the fire, its back to them. Harry motioned towards the chair, and Hermione nodded, before they slipped around either side of it, to stop, looking down at it a slim, brunette witch, reclined in the chair and paging through, what appeared to be, a very, very old, tattered tome on her lap. She looked up and smiled, dark brown eyes twinkling and saluted them with a steaming cup of tea.
"Yes, my dear," Rowena replied happily to Hermione's unasked question, "even a memory, such as myself gets thirsty." She gestured in the air, and a small gold triangle appeared in the air before them. The faint Runes inscribed along the edges glowed a soft red, as Harry reached up and took it, slipping it into a pouch. "I wish this were easier," she mused. "Had we only known the cost of delay," Rowena's eyes dropped from theirs, and when they looked back up, they held unshed tears, "I would have developed...something else to keep the counter safe, but there is no correcting that now."
She glanced up at Hermione, who had moved to Harry's side, and sometime while Rowena had been talking, slipped her hand into his. "I think that you will enjoy the next more than this...It will be found on the day opposite this, where the road to a city lost to fire in the sky has sunk beneath the waves." She chuckled as she remembered a long ago day, "Though my bathing costume was of necessity a tad more, revealing than even yours, Lady Hermione." Hermione's eyebrow shot to her hair, and Rowena laughed, waving towards a crystal ball set on a stand, "I do look out into the world occasionally...you should leave, this place won't collapse like Godric's little hideaway in Budapest, but I think that you have something to get home to."
Harry nodded and started away, even as Rowena's image flickered and vanished, leaving behind an empty room.
**************************South Florida, the Keys**************************
December, 23, 2019
3:30 pm
An otherwise abandoned, white sand beach held only six souls, Out to sea, towards the east, a small vessel could be seen passing by, standing well clear of the rocky point several hundred yards to the south. Back to the west, set up on a small rise, a large, light blue house, almost exactly the color of the cloudless sky, overlooked the private beach. Or at least it was these days, after the owner, an elderly gentleman with a slight Scottish accent and quite long grey hair, purchased the surrounding two houses at twice their market value and paid to have the houses moved and donated.
A light breeze carried the scent of salt water inland, as two of those souls dropped to a large beach blanket set up on a dune, and watched the other four as they played in and around the ocean. Hermione sighed softly, scooting back to let Harry wrap his arms around her, which he did with alacrity, She turned her head slightly, grinning at him, and mouthing something, before she leaned back to peck his lips, almost absently. Hermione leaned her head to the right, pressing her cheek to Harry's as he rested his head on her shoulder.
His hands rested warmly on her bare belly, several inches above the top of her bikini bottoms. Harry twiddled his thumbs, causing a soft giggle to come from his wife, "You know," Harry said after a moment, as he watched all three girls ganging up on Horatio, splashing him, and flinging wet sand at him, "Horry and I are rather outnumbered these days."
"Love," Hermione smirked, "you were when it was just Em and I." Harry nodded silently against her shoulder, knowingly. She cut her eyes right, meeting his, "Do you still want to work on that imbalance, Harry?" she asked seriously, nibbling on her bottom lip.
Harry was momentarily distracted, as he watched her working at her lip, Merlin, you are so cute when you do that, he thought idly. Hermione grinned, and reached up and back, cupping the back of his head to pull his lips to hers. She moaned softly, as she felt his tongue run over her bottom lips, and opened slightly. She let him pull her backwards onto the towel, and rolled on top of him. Harry hissed as she rubbed against him, cradled between his slightly splayed legs. She froze suddenly and sighed, dropping her forehead to his. We probably should table this for later, since the kids are about fifty-five meters away, Harry muttered regretfully.
Fifty-three, she corrected him, but yeah, we should definitely continue this, after they are out.
"I really want to, Mione," Harry resumed their former conversation, rolling them both on their sides; Hermione spooned back against him, as they watched the kids continue to play. Though, in all honestly, only three of them were kids, and it was highly debatable in those cases. Emilia, Horatio, and their new friend, and possible future sister were definitely not unfamiliar with hardship. Emilia and Horatio had, of course, suffered through their kidnapping when they were only four, poisoning, and the loss of their father to them for almost seven years. Caitlin, and her older sister, Makaila, had watched their parents, Patrick and Vanessa O'Brien, die in front of their eyes, an event that Caitlin had blocked from her mind, to the point that she seemed to disavow their very existence. Both girls had then been forced into Umbridge's foul magic school, with their only future to look forward to, being a life of servitude or worse, to Malfoy's Death Eaters.
Harry watched as the small, even smaller than Emilia, girl pull shoulder-length dark red hair from her eyes and laugh at something the emerald-eyed girl said. He could not see it from here, but he knew that her dark blue eyes would be laughing, and he smiled to himself. "But I don't know if we should, before the issue of Makaila and Caitlin is settled." He kissed the top of your head, "And as much as I miss your charming mood swings during pregnancy, and the odd hours I would spend repairing something in the house when my otherwise perfect wife's magic slips out of control, 'cause she is the most powerful witch alive," Hermione smirked slightly, "We can't afford it right now. Sometimes I wish we had gone ahead and given the twins more siblings, we talked about it, but we thought we'd have time to wait, Merlin knows we have time. And back then, we weren't sure if the...life extension transferred to the twins."
"It only partially did," Hermione whispered, "It will probably extend to their mates if they ever get married in a full bond, and I guess, Mike and Cat, would get the same as the twins if we adopt them."
Hermione looked up as one of the two girls appeared as if summoned. Makaila looked down at them, in a sapphire blue copy of Hermione's bikini, and reached back to wring ocean water from her russet hair. She grabbed a towel from a stack set next to Harry and Hermione, flung it open and sat down, crossing her legs and facing them. "Are you two snogging again? Aren't you a bit too old for that?"
Hermione stuck out her tongue, and Makaila laughed, "Age is only a state of mind, dear," Hermione replied, snuggling back into Harry.
Makaila grinned, showing white teeth that had been straightened by Madame Pomfrey as part of her physical upon her rescue from her former near imprisonment. "Yes, Mum," she laughed, and Hermione stiffened slightly. Makaila shook her head, "I'm sorry," she misconstrued, "I didn't mean anything by it."
Hermione sat up quickly, leaning forward and pulling the brown-eyed girl into her arms. "Oh, Honey," she whispered against her hair, ignoring the fact that the girl was dripping wet. Hermione combed her fingers through the tangles in the girl's hair, "It's alright; you can call me that anytime."
"Really?" Makaila whispered hopefully, her eyes shooting back and forth between Harry and Hermione.
Harry nodded, and Makaila sobbed softly," What is with it with me and sobbing girls?" Harry mused as he took the girl from Hermione and pulled her into his chest. He held her as she cried into his shoulder, her front soaking through his shirt. Harry rocked her back and forth slightly, until she sniffed loudly and pulled back a touch, wiping her eyes. Finally she pulled from his arms and sat up, her legs tucked under her bum, "We haven't said anything to either of you, we've barely broached the subject with the twins. And not really then, other than to feel them out about you two coming with us."
"Em, bloody well about knocked us down, to run to tell Caitlin, Horry was a bit more circumspect, though," Hermione said watching the three kids doing something at the edge of the water. She saw Emilia shoot a wave of water at her brother with a wave of her wand; it broke off a suddenly appeared shield protecting Horry. He drew his wand and froze a patch of water into a handful of snow and started to chase her. The annoyed scream carried all the way up the dune as he caught her, and shoved it down the back of her one-piece.
Makaila nodded thoughtfully, "I wouldn't worry about that, he's just feeling a tad henpecked, he'll get over it...or he'll never see a bathroom again." She frowned slightly, "I'm more worried about Caitlin, really, she's never gotten over...you know," Makaila paused and visibly forced herself under control once more. She held up her hand to Hermione, shaking her head slightly, "I'm alright...now, I'm free, I'm armed," she fingered her wand, which was strapped in an SG-1 thigh rig, even here, since she had finally received a wand of her own, she had not gone more than three inches from it, as if it were a talisman protecting her from the nightmare she had escaped from. "And there are people who care for me. Caitlin never dealt with it, not really. She didn't talk for the first couple of years after they...died. I would worry that she might take it wrong, that you were trying to replace them."
"We would never..." Hermione said quickly, almost panicked.
"I don't and I don't think she would either, really, if she thinks even a bit about it. She loves Em, and tolerates Horry, exactly like a girl her age would do with a brother. But she might not think of it that way."
At that moment, the soft crunch of sand under bare feet announced the approach of one of the other kids, especially as this house and it's environs were protected by wards that few could defeat quietly. "Mum," Horatio groaned, and flopped on the towel next to Makaila, "I'm hungry." He squinted slightly, as he looked at the group, "Is there anything to eat?"
Hermione crooked an eyebrow, "I will have you know, that I made a perfectly presentable lunch, perhaps if you had eaten then?"
"But, MUM!" he whined, and looked at her with large, emerald eyes.
Hermione sighed, and waved towards the house, "There's some pumpkin juice and pizza in the coldbox, you can reheat it..." he jumped up and started to run off towards the house, along an elevated boardwalk that led from the large pool area to the beach. "Don't track water all through the house," she yelled after him and he waved behind him, placatingly.
Makaila stood slowly and started back towards the house as well, "I'll make sure he doesn't wreck the place." Hermione nodded and watched as she headed up after him. She stopped, and looked back at Hermione and Harry, "I'll talk to her," she nodded once and sprinted towards the house as she heard a crash of a dish against the tile floor of the kitchen through the open sliding glass door, her bare feet slapping wetly on the floor.
Before even another thought could be processed, even in Hermione's thoughts, the other two girls appeared, Emilia opened her mouth, "Pizza in the kitchen, girls," Harry said smiling.
"Thanks, Dad," Emilia shouted, taking Caitlin's hand and pulling the girl along with her. Caitlin giggled loudly as the two crossed the wooden bridge. A moment later, a loud splash came from the direction of the pool.
"YOU"RE MINE, EM!"
Harry stood slowly, and pulled Hermione to her feet, "We should probably go keep them from destroying Grandad's house." Hermione nodded and bent down, pulling on a pair of short, khaki shorts on over her bottoms, leaving the top button undone and took his hand again, letting him lead her along the path to the house.
****************************************
December 24, 2019.
2:35 am
A large, blue pool, lit by floating white globes which were filled with twinkling, multi-colored fairy lights, sat surrounded by the a bank of low shrubs. The shrubs were pierced on one side by a wooden bridge leading to the beach over an artificial stream filled with small colorful glowing fish and the large open to the breeze doors of the house on the other, and still in the early morning. A waterfall trickled over a wall of rocks set at one end; the wall wrapped around and shielded a small grotto set behind the waterfall. A white slide emerged from an archway in the rock wall, with another stream of water bubbling into the pool. A soft scrape, of metal on stone, whispered across the still night air, followed by a soft giggle, as a pair of shapes slipped from the shadows into the faint light from the pool.
"Harry," a soft, laughing soprano whispered breathily, "we are going to get caught, what if the kids wake up?" the shorter of the two leaned against the other, and tossed her arms around his neck. She leaned up, capturing his lips before dropping back, still giggling softly.
"So? It'll save us the 'talk' later," Harry murmured, as he pulled them past an empty deck chair and closer to the pool. He took her hand, pulling her to the edge of the pool and stopped, and stepped back, pulling off his shirt, leaving him in only a pair of black trunks with a subdued, grey SG-1 emblem on one leg. He turned and dove into the pool, kicking to the surface to tread water, and looking up at her. "Well are you coming, Mione?"
"I suppose," Hermione rolled her eyes, and unbuttoned short khaki shorts. She peeled them down, shimmying slightly, to reveal a pair of emerald green string bikini bottoms to match the top she had on. She took two steps, arched into the air, and dove into the pool in front of him. She swam, otter-like, from the bottom of the pool to slide up into his arms. "Hey, Love," she whispered, reaching forward to kiss him, as they swam backwards, to stand shoulder high in the grotto shielded by the waterfall.
Harry reached up with both hands, pulling her wet hair out of her eyes and behind her ears, his fingertips trailing lightly over her lobes before lacing his fingers behind her head to pull her face to his. She pulled away breathlessly, to rest her forehead on his shoulder. A soft purring sound issued from her core as she felt his fingers trail slowly up and down her back. They slowly moved back, walking slowly though the chest deep, warm water until Hermione's back lightly touched the wall of the pool. She ground her thigh into him, watching as Harry's eyes went forest, before a shimmering blue glow started to fill them from the iris in. "I think you are trying to drive me crazy," he breathed in her ear.
Hermione giggled softly, "Is it working?" Her own eyes lit softly, and slipped half-closed, as she felt something pressing against her hip, "Never mind. I love you," Hermione whispered forcefully, pushing him back slightly. She reached up and back, pulling two bows free and letting her top fall away, it floated away on the current as she reached down, and pulled her bottoms free. "Your turn," she muttered, swimming forward and ducking under the water to pull his trunks down and off. She tossed them out of the pool landing vaguely where her own shorts were, before she molded herself to him once more. She kissed him, hard, reaching between them to stroke his cock for an instant, Harry moaned softly, as she began to increase her pace. She leaned forward, biting his shoulder lightly as she worked, then with a soft chuckle she stopped and pushed back, performing a graceful somersault in the water, and dove down, skimming the bottom of the deep end before coming up for air meters away. She stopped directly under the waterfall and waited, water streamed down her face and front, she blinked it away, as she waited.
Harry arrived an instant later, appearing from under the water, and launching a giant splash at her with a wave of his hand. Hermione laughed, and pointed at him, redirecting the flow of the fall with a thought to drive him under the water. She squeaked loudly as he reappeared next to her, grabbed her under her bum and picked her up. Her legs came around his waist automatically, as she felt him poised at her entrance; she nodded once, her bottom lip in her teeth and groaned, loudly enough to wake the kids if not for Harry's charm as she slid down on him.
They rocked together slowly, not moving much as the waterfall fell down on their heads. Slowly, they drifted towards the wall, stopping only when Hermione's bum hit it. She bent her head forward, kissing him, as she reached down, pulling his hips to her, urging him on.
Harry grinned roguishly, and began to move faster, lifting her slightly with each movement. Soft mewing sounds escaped from her throat as she crossed her heels behind his back and began to buck against him in time with him. Harrryyy...
Yes, he gasped, kissing her again, before dropping his head to her shoulder, and nuzzling her neck as he sped up, his hands started to wander as they were now free from holding her by the support of the wall. Harry's fingers slipped between them, caressing her where they were joined as she tangled her fingers in his hair. Oh...Merlin...Mi...Mione... Harry groaned as he felt her start to approach the edge in their shared thoughts, then with another breath, she crashed, biting his shoulder to keep from crying out. Hermione stared at him for an instant as she realized he was still going.
Oh...shit, she whispered, Harry smirked and redoubled his pace, as she started to feel herself cresting again.
She took a shuddering breath, her mostly closed eyes communicating all she was able as moaned loudly, a sound cut off as Harry covered her mouth with his. Their nervous systems started to crackle with energy as several of the deck chairs skittered away across the deck. Hermione groaned as she felt his own approaching release in tandem with hers, their thoughts and feelings now indistinguishable from each others. She felt another pool of warmth begin to gather in her core, trebling her earlier release, "Mione..." Harry groaned against her lips and bucked up into her, pumping desperately as he let go. A beat later, Hermione felt her own release snap out along her nerves, tangling and mixing with Harry's, as she shuddered against him for a long moment. She breathed heavily, as she slumped against him, with Harry more or less holding himself up by leaning back against her and the wall of the pool.
I love you, Harry, Hermione whispered, and stirred slightly against him, he kissed her in response; his mind not recovered enough yet to from proper words. After another moment, Harry pulled back, causing Hermione to whimper slightly as he pulled away from her and let her drop her feet to the bottom of the pool. She took his hand and led him to the stairs of the pool. She flicked her fingers, righting a chaise, and pushing Harry down on it. She curled up on it with him, and with an absent wave of her hand, they were more or less instantly dry and a blanket appeared over them.
You too, Harry whispered, kissing the top of her head, before pulling her more tightly to him. He looked out over the water at the huge, full moon hanging over the placid waters and moved his leg slightly as Hermione tangled hers with his under the cover of the blanket. She smiled softly, and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of warmth on her back. Shouldn't we go back in?
I want to stay out here, Hermione whispered in return; it's still twenty-seven or eight out here, plenty warm. Her hand gestured in the air, an extended forefinger sketching out a fiery rune in the air that flashed and vanished. That'll wake us up five minutes before the kids get up.
Harry grinned and tightened his arms, tucking her head under his chin as he closed his eyes, I have such a smart wife...Night then, Mione.
Night, Harry, she replied automatically, then giggled as she felt the soft buzz in her mind that signified that he was already asleep. She shook her head, slightly before she yawned mightily and closed her eyes, letting herself fall asleep peacefully, not worrying for once about what would loom out of the darkness next at them.
4:30 am
Hermione's eyes snapped open as a sudden spike of something passed through her. She moaned as she rolled of the chaise, pushing at Harry with one hand as she called her clothes to her with the other. He glanced at her, squinting, as he pawed under the chair for his glasses, he groaned, as he didn't find them there. They appeared with a pop as he waved over a spot on the ground, Apparating them from where they had ended up next to the pool edge, he put them on and cocked his head slightly in invitation.
"Something's wrong with one of the kids," she explained, she gnawed at her lip as she pulled on her shorts, and tied on her top. She glanced back as Harry absently transfigured the blanket into a long sleeved t-shirt and tossed it to her, she shrugged it on and headed briskly into the house as he finished dressing.
Hermione walked through large sliding glass door to a large living room, which was open to let the breeze through the house, she glanced back, found Harry behind her and went up a set of spiral stairs to the next floor two at a time. She slipped past the first bedroom, currently occupied by Makaila without stopping. Harry glanced to the side as he felt Hermione's magic reaching out to the kids as she passed, checking them. He glanced in the open door to Horatio's room; he was restlessly tossing and turning on his bed, the light sheet that had been covering him, kicked off to the floor where it was fluttering in the breeze from an open window. Harry kept following Hermione, towards the last bedroom on the right, before their larger one at the end of the hall.
She pushed open the door, and paused at what she found. "Mum..." Emilia whispered harshly, "No, Daddy, not again, I'm not worth that again..." Tears crackled in her voice as she flopped back and forth in her sleep, kicking the covers from her as she thrashed about in her sleep. Her hand flashed out, knocking a lamp from the table where it shattered nosily. Magic crackled in the air, shattering several knickknacks on the shelves and tossing Emilia and Caitlin's books to the floor from a half filled bookshelf halfway between the girls' beds. A blue shimmer flashed, surrounding the two girls, as Harry's hand shot out, restraining his own daughters' magic.
On the other bed, Caitlin was tossing, as well, crying furiously, and whimpering over and over, "No...no...no..." The girl curled into a ball, and Hermione waved towards Em, "You have Em," Hermione flashed across the room, sliding onto the bed next to Caitlin and pulling the small girl up into her arms. She cooed softly to her, rocking her as the girls blue eyes cracked open for an instant, shimmering with tears in the moonlight before she closed them and buried her face in Hermione's chest, sobbing inconsolably.
Six feet away, Harry knelt next to Emilia, and reached out to touch her shoulder. Magic crackled for an instant at the place of contact, before she opened glowing blue eyes and stared unseeing at him. She blinked, the light in her eyes not dimming at all, "Daddy?" she whispered, her voice disbelieving. He nodded, and barely caught her as she launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck, hard enough to almost choke him.
At the door, Horatio and Makaila appeared, rubbing sleep out of their eyes. His eyes flashed to his sister, he started to move, but stopped as she grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, whispering something in his ear. He glared at her, but didn't fight her as she pulled him back into the hall.
Harry glanced over at Hermione, almost helplessly, as he sat up against the side of the bed, and pulled Emilia onto his lap. She was still sobbing as he cradled the back of her head, and ran his hand up and down her back absently. He watched as Hermione picked up Caitlin and carried her over to him, settling down next to Harry with Caitlin in her lap, still rocking her. Hermione let herself lean against him, glancing up at Harry, worriedly. Not again, she murmured. She gave Makaila a brief, thankful nod as the older girl placed a blanket over them, half wrapping it around the younger girls.
She mouthed, "I'll be in the kitchen," grabbed Horry and pulled him along, muttering something about chocolate.
Harry looked at her, his eyes heavy with meaning as she read sorrow, fear, and an unneeded apology in them. It was like this when I was gone, wasn't it, Hermione? he asked, already knowing the answer somehow, she nodded, not trusting either of her voices, mental or physical.
Emilia and Caitlin quieted, almost as one, which caused both of the elder Potters to share a quick look. Caitlin burrowed her face deeper into Hermione's shirt, sniffling, but the tears had stopped. Hermione continued to rock her silently, as she looked over to find Em's eyes open, and thankfully once again her natural emerald. "I'm sorry, Mummy," Emilia whispered, her lower lip trembling slightly. "I didn't mean to wake you and Daddy up...or Cat..." Caitlin whimpered slightly, but reached out blindly to grab for Emilia's hand.
Emilia took it, squeezing her roommate's hand, as Harry kissed the top of her inky locks, "It's, alright, Em, it's not your fault, nothing to be sorry for." She frowned slightly, and Harry fought to keep from rolling his eyes, "Poppet, of all the things to inherit, my sense of guilt was probably not the one," he teased, and for an instant, Emilia grinned. She pushed back from him slightly, and pulled at the t-shirt she had worn to sleep in, fanning it against her. "Caitlin, are you, alright?" Harry asked, knowing the real answer to that question from experience. She nodded against Hermione, not speaking, but peaking her head out to look at him.
"I don't think I can go back to sleep tonight," Emilia said after a moment, she glanced over at Hermione, "I'm going to go and read by the pool, after I have a bit of a shower, that is." Hermione nodded knowingly, remembering long hours of doing similar things at Hogwarts, if without the pool, and warm, semi-tropical nights.
A half hour later, Hermione watched through the open sliding door as Emilia settled herself on a chaise, and flicked her wand through the air, creating glowing white ball of light hovering in the air. She opened an old, battered copy of Hogwarts, a History, and began to read, her lips moving silently as her eyes scanned down the page. "That seems familiar, somehow," Harry muttered as he wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist from behind, and rested his chin on her left shoulder.
"Yeah, a smidgen," Hermione admitted, quietly. "Oh, Harry, what did we do that made them have to suffer too?" she asked plaintively, pushing back against him, as he tightened his arms.
"No idea, Love, Harry whispered. "The rest of them headed back to bed, Caitlin's in with Makaila," he glanced back into the living room, at a large pine, lit with a rather insane number of lights that he had conjured when they had arrived at the house, "hell of a Christmas..."
"Not, you too, Harry, I'm not taking that shyte," Hermione sighed.
"No, Hermione, don't worry, I'm not doing the 'it's all Harry's fault thing'," he replied, softly. She squeezed his hand where it rested on her belly.
"Good, I'm glad you're trainable," Hermione smirked slightly, "makes me happy that I chose you, over all those other suitors."
"Thanks," Harry muttered, "I think."
"You're welcome," she murmured, "I don't want to go back, Harry," she added contemplatively, "even with this, there's no Dark Lord, no evil hordes, no nothing here. Nothing to come out of the dark with wands and blades, coming for my babies, coming for us."
Harry didn't answer other than kissing her neck and holding her close, watching as Emilia turned pages at an entirely too slow a rate to be actually reading, especially for having a mother like hers.