A/N: Ok, this chapter is pretty self-explanatory. I don't have much to share now other than please enjoy!
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After the excitement of the birth of Percy and Penelope's daughter, Abigail Rebecca Weasley, life around here calmed down.
Harry and I have gone back to work. It's so strange to hear people calling me Madam Potter now. I love it, but sometimes I don't reply right away, thinking they're speaking to someone else. But I know I'll get used to it.
Dumbledore has said now that we're married, we're more than welcome to get a suite here at the school. I think we may look into that once our lease is up. It certainly would be much more convenient to live here.
As for now, finals are terrorizing the students. The library is completely full (something that warms my heart) and Harry has spent the entire day with students in meetings, study sessions and extra credit offerings.
Harry has one more meeting before we can go home and eat (we've just missed dinner with all the extra stuff).
While he's in that session, I collapse in my office chair, grateful for the cushy support. Suddenly, my fireplace springs to life.
"Hermione!" Ron shouts.
I jump out of my seat. "Ron! Merlin, you scared me!"
"Hermione! Hospital! Now!"
"Hospital? Why?"
"Babies!"
"Luna is having the babies?"
"YES!"
"Ok, Ron, don't panic!" (Why am I even telling him this?) "Is there anyone else there?"
"Just Mum."
Wonderful. "Ok, go back to Luna. Harry and I will be there very soon, ok?"
"Yeah, Luna. Good."
And with that, he's gone. And so am I. I run out the door and straight to Harry's office.
"Harry!" I scream as I fly through the door.
"Hermione! What's wrong?"
"Luna's in labor!"
"Oh! Ok! We gotta go! Gina, great job. I'll see you at the final," he says as he practically shoves her out the door. "Ok, quick change …" Harry changes our clothes from our school robes to some comfy jeans and t-shirts. "and accio bears!" He calls the two little pink bears we bought for the twins. "And I think we're all set to go, yes?"
"All right. Let's go!"
We floo to the hospital and find that most of the Weasley crew has arrived, except for Percy and Charlie and their families.
"Wow! Everyone sure got here pretty quickly. How are things going?" I ask Ginny.
"No one knows," she replies.
"Why not?" Harry asks.
"There was a complication," Fred says solemnly.
"What?! I just talked to Ron not 10 minutes ago," I practically shout. "He didn't say anything about that."
"It just happened. Mum told us a few seconds before you arrived," Bill says, joining us while holding a napping Julie.
"What's wrong?" Harry asks, but I can tell he doesn't want to know.
"They think the cord got wrapped around one of the girls' neck."
Oh God. I look in the corner and see Luna's father sitting with his head in his hands.
"Are they optimistic?" Harry asks quietly.
"50/50 shot," Bill says, hugging his own daughter close.
We take our seats and Molly comes out. We all hold our breaths.
She just shakes her head. "They asked me to leave. I wanted to wait with all of you." Then she notices Harry and I. "Oh, Harry, Hermione. You're here!" She rushes to us and bear hugs us together.
"Where else would we be?" Harry says with a forced smile. "Our best friend is about to become a father to twins."
I think he's trying to give a little hope to the group.
"Yes. The twins. Those beautiful little girls," Molly says lifelessly.
She sits down between Fred and George and the room goes quiet once more.
"I am going to floo Percy and Charlie," Fleur says, handing Joseph (who is blissfully asleep like his sister) to George.
Joey stirs a bit and looks at him. "Uncle Fed?" They still can't tell them apart.
"Just go back to sleep, munchkin," George says softly, not bothering to correct him.
He does so and George presses a kiss to his forehead.
Fleur returns and says that Charlie and Percy are coming to the hospital. Sarah and Penelope were staying home with the new babies.
They arrive and after the initial welcoming, we return to the painful silence.
It's so awful to have a room full of family and friends and have nothing to say. We're all together in this horrifying boat. No one wants to say it, but what happens if that baby doesn't make it?
As if he knew what I was thinking, Harry grabs my hand. I lay my head on his shoulder as we wait … and wait.
After a terribly long time, Ron comes out.
We all stand.
"It's a girl!" he smiles.
There's a huge cheer.
"Which one is that?" Molly asks.
"The problem child," he replies. "She's going to be fine. The healers are working on the second one now."
"Well, what are you here for?" Harry says. "Get back in there!"
"Oh yeah!" Ron says as he runs back, followed by Molly and Mr. Lovegood.
We all turn to each other and exchange hugs and warm thoughts. Julie walks over to me.
"Aunt Ermy? Why ebbybody so happy?"
"Well, Miss Julie, you and your brother are going to have more baby cousins soon!" I tell her as I kneel down to her.
"More?" she asks, almost bored.
"Yeah, more," I say with a laugh.
"All right, if we have to," she says running off again.
"It won't be long now," Bill says. "Joey didn't take any time to wait after Julie was born."
"Ron's kid especially. There's food on the outside," Ginny quips.
A few minutes later, Ron comes out again.
"Twenty toes, twenty fingers, all present and accounted for!"
"When can we see them?" Ginny asks.
"I don't know. They were just cleaning up the last one when I was leaving."
Luna's going to kill him.
"Ron, get back in there. Send out your mother when we can see them!" I order.
"Right! Good idea!"
I laugh as he runs back in and flop down into the chair behind me. Today has been rough.
I glance at the clock. It's 11:45pm. May 21st, Ron's babies' birthday. What a thought.
Soon enough, Molly returns and asks only Harry and I to come back (much to the chagrin of the other Weasleys).
When we get back there, we find Luna in the bed, holding one baby, while Ron was fumbling a bit with the other little girl in a chair next to his wife.
I gasp when I see them. Our Ron … a father.
"They're precious! Can I hold one?" I ask.
Ron readily hands over the daughter he was holding.
Harry places a pink bear into each of the bassinettes by Luna's bed. "Do they have names yet?" he asks as Luna beckons him over to hold the other baby.
"Yes. Harry, you've got Sophia Celeste, and Hermione, you've got Cordelia Sara." Luna explains.
"Oh, Sophie, you're gonna be a heartbreaker," Harry coos to the baby. "Any significance behind the names?"
"Luna did most of it. I just gave a final stamp of approval. It's all quite complicated if you ask me," Ron says.
"It's not complicated, Ronald. Sophia means wisdom, so that's for Ravenclaw. Cordelia means brave of heart, so that's for Gryffindor. Sadie means princess and Celeste means celestial. These are for our own names."
"I picked Celeste because of Luna's name. You know, sticking with the whole stars/moon thing," Ron explains.
"And I picked Sara, because Ronald's name means royalty and power, and our daughter will have that same strength. And be our little princess as well."
"Well, they're just beautiful. Look at those blue eyes!" I exclaim as Cordelia opens her eyes.
"I hope they stay that color," Luna says.
"They change?!" Ron and Harry say at the same time.
Luna and I laugh. "Yes, a lot of the time, babies are born with blue eyes, but they'll change when they get older," I tell them.
"Well, I hope they stay blue like our eyes," Ron says.
"They probably will," I say, stroking the baby's already strawberry blond hair.
"So, there's another reason why we brought you guys back here," Ron speaks up, breaking me from my baby trance.
"And that would be?" Harry asks.
"We want you two to be the godparents," Luna says.
"Godparents?" Harry whispers.
"Is there an echo in here? Godparents," Ron repeats. "Will you do it?"
"Well, of course we will. We'd love to be the godparents to these little beauties!" Harry says happily.
"Yes, it would certainly be an honor," I say.
"Great! Now that that's settled. Do you like the names? We can still change them."
"Ron! They're your children. That's your decision. I personally like them. They're very … you guys."
What I want to say is that they're very Luna. But whatever makes them happy. Sophie and Cordy it is.
"So, what's really involved with being a godparent?" Harry asks.
"Well, you know all the fun Sirius has with you?" I say. Harry nods. "It's that," I finish.
"Oh! Super! I can do that!" He looks down at little Sophie. "I am going to spoil you and your sister rotten!"
I glance to Cordy. This baby has a sister. Ron has two little girls. Two! There's something I never thought I would say.
"How am I going to tell them apart?" Ron asks.
"I'll dress them in different colors for you," Luna says with a wink to me.
"Oh! That's a great idea!" Ron replies. He goes to Harry and walks him away, so I steal Ron's chair by Luna.
"How are you feeling?" I ask.
"Not too bad. You know, considering …"
"Well, excellent work with that. They really are beautiful babies."
Luna nods. "You're holding the twin that will be more like Ron. I think they may be like the Patil twins. I get the feeling they may get into different houses."
"Ravenclaw and Gryffindor?"
"Yes. Not that Cordy won't be intelligent, but she'll make a better Gryffindor."
"Sure." Just looking at baby Cordelia, I think Luna's right. She'll be a Gryffindor like her Daddy. "Who was the little one that gave you guys the trouble?" I ask.
"You're looking at her," Luna replies.
"Ah, the one like Ron. Why am I not surprised?"
Luna and I share a small laugh, glad that we can laugh now, rather than cry.
"Hey! What did I do now?" Ron asks, as he and Harry return from their little meeting.
"Nothing more than usual," Luna tells him, winking at me.
For a second, everything is quiet as we stare at the new little lives before us.
"Well, we should probably keep the line moving before the Weasley stampede comes through," I finally say.
"Good point," Harry says, carefully giving Sophie back to Ron.
I place Cordy back into her mother's arms, and kiss all 4 of the Weasleys.
We wave goodbye and head out into the waiting area.
"Well? How are they?" Fleur asks immediately.
"Beautiful," Harry replies.
The rest of the Weasleys give us hurried good byes and storm the area of Luna's room. The nurses are going to have kittens!
We Apparate back home and collapse onto the bed. We have school tomorrow, but we just can't get to sleep. It's been too exciting of an evening.
"So, what do you think?" Harry asks.
"Of the girls?" I reply.
"Of it all."
"Well, I think they're beautiful. I think I'm honored to be their godmother. I think Ron and Luna will make amazing parents."
"I agree. You know, when Ron pulled me aside towards the end there, he told me that while he never expected to have children, once he saw his daughters, there was nothing else in the world that he wanted. Can you imagine Ron saying that?" Harry asks with a laugh.
"I hate to say it but no. Big no. I'm so proud of him. He seemed pretty scared of the babies though."
"Oh, he's terrified of them, but he loves them nonetheless."
I smile. "Our little Ron is all grown up."
Harry nods. "And those girls are precious."
"That they are," I agree. "Did they make you think?"
"Oh most definitely."
"Do you want twins?"
"I want whatever we're blessed with. If God gives us quadruplets, I'll be happy. If we have 3 singles, whatever. I just want to have children with you. I can't imagine a better mother."
I blush.
"I mean it, Mione. When I used to think of my future, it always looked pretty bleak. When I was little, all I saw was a drab life away from the Dursleys. And once I got to school, well, it was hard for me to imagine having a future. Then I fell in love with you and everything changed. I still had Voldemort to deal with, but then I figured I had a future worth fighting for. And I was right. Now, when I think of my future, I see a very pregnant you, kissing me with a 2 year old on my hip."
"That's pretty specific," I say, sniffling.
"Mione, don't cry."
"I can't help it. You are the sweetest man ever. I love you so much! I can't wait to be the mother to your children."
He smiles.
"Harry, there was never a time that I didn't at least want you in my future. Even if it was just as a friend, I would be ok with it, as long as you were there. Now, when I think of us together and with babies … I'm so happy!" I sob.
Harry holds me close.
"As long as you're happy, I'll always be happy," he says. "So, how many kids do you want?"
"I don't know. 3, maybe 4. Depends on how things go. I think going to beat the Weasleys may be a bit excessive."
Harry laughs. "Yeah, maybe 7 is a bit too high. I like the 3 or 4 idea. We'll shoot for that."
"Do you want boys or girls?"
"A nice mix of both. I mean, of course I'd like a son to do manly things with. Things my own father missed out on. But I'd love to have a Daddy's girl as well. A little girl to fawn all over."
"That sounds wonderful," I sigh. "Our babies."
"You know, life won't be easy for them. Being the children of Harry and Hermione Potter will be pretty exciting."
"Yeah, the press and all. But we've got almost 25 years to not worry about Rita Skeeter. And Luna has already been given the exclusives to all our stories. So, I think we'll be ok."
"We're going to need a separate house for all the stuff we'll be sent."
"Oh Merlin, I never thought of that!" I say.
"Well, I have an idea for that. Now, I know we don't have the kids yet, but I'd like to start a fund or a charity in their names. Rather than have people send us gifts, I'd like them to make donations to something. Maybe a scholarship fund or something along those lines. To Hogwarts or to Auror training. A project to promote anti-dark art schooling."
"You know, that's a brilliant idea. I think it's perfect."
"Thanks."
He's such a wonderful man. How on earth did I get the chance to spend my life with him?
"You know," he begins with that twinkle in his eyes. "Just because we don't want as many kids as the Weasleys, doesn't mean we can't practice for them."
"Why, Mr. Potter, what on earth are you suggesting?"
"This."
Suddenly he's kissing me … Merlin, this man can kiss.
And he can certainly come up with some good suggestions too!
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A/N: Ok, I know it was another "not entirely Harry and Hermione chapter," but I couldn't very well leave Luna and Ron and the twins hanging could I? If you're wondering about the names, I did a little research, like I would expect Luna to do. And that was how I got to those names. They really do mean what Luna said they do. They seemed just off the wall enough to be Luna-esque