A/N: It's been ten days since the last update. I've been really busy with an interview, so the delay. Sorry for that. I hope the last chapter explained some of Harry's uncharacteristic behavior. I know it was lame but one can't be perfect all the time. Besides if Harry had a valid excuse the problem would not have got solved. As a result of the long delay the last chapter got the maximum number of reviews. Thank you for those. Some of you were really put off by Harry's behavior. I request all of you to stick with the story.
This is the second last chapter though some of you may feel this is the end. As promised this is a 'slightly' more positive chapter. At least to start with! Another apology for failing to answer all the reviews. I'll answer them as soon as I can. Please keep up the tremendous response. About the next chapter - I'll try my best to post it within the next three or four days. If I can't it'll have to wait till the seventh of April. So please be patient. Happy reading!
Chapter Twenty-Two: Love Can't Die
The following week failed to improve Harry and Hermione's situation. Still none of them was able to come up with any solution to their problem. This meant they were barely talking to each other. This had adverse effect on their temperaments. Both of them were frustrated and tended to get angry. Though none of them had blown up yet, things were quite tense. It was Monday. Harry for once had finished training early. Hermione was not home yet. Harry decided to quickly have a meal before she returned. He had just finished cooking and had sat down at the table when he heard the front door click.
"Oh I didn't know you'd be home soon," she said stiffly coming into the kitchen. She really looked knackered. She saw the food on the table.
"Do you think I could have some of that? I'm really tired after a full working day," she asked. Harry looked at her blankly.
"Is that anything to ask? Everything in this house is yours including the food," replied Harry. Hermione set down on the table. Harry saw her face and felt sorry. Despite being pregnant she was attending her classes without any complains.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm managing… what do you care?" said Hermione.
"I care about you Hermione. Whatever is my viewpoint about the baby, it doesn't change what I have for you," replied Harry sounding hurt.
"Sorry! I'm managing as well as can be expected," she said. They continued eating.
"How have your classes been going?" asked Harry trying to keep the conversation going.
"They're fine. Harry, why are we acting as if we've never spoken before?" said Hermione.
"I don't know. The last two weeks are showing its effects. It hasn't been easy. I've missed you," said Harry. They had finished eating and were sitting in the living room.
"I've missed you too," replied Hermione. They moved closer. Before he knew what he was doing, Harry's lips were on Hermione's. She returned the kiss with equal passion. They kept kissing for a couple of minutes before Hermione pulled away abruptly.
"We can't do this. Not until we've taken a firm decision on the baby," said Hermione walking away.
"Hermione wait," shouted Harry going after her.
"I'm really tired Harry. I'd like to go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow," said Hermione and went into her bedroom. Harry didn't bother her. He sat in the living room for the next one hour thinking what could be done. Finally he too was ready for bed. Just as he was about to enter his room he saw the sleeping form of Hermione through her door which was slightly ajar. He couldn't help walking into her room. Her covering was falling off her. Carefully he tucked her in.
"Sleep well my love! I love you," he whispered.
The next morning was not as tense as usual. Harry was having his breakfast when Hermione came up to him.
"Harry, I'd had decided not to ask any favor from you regarding the baby until you are ready to accept it, but there are some papers you need to sign. Dr. Bones has told this to me for a long time and I've tried to put it off every time. Now it's really getting late. So could you visit her on your way back from work and sign the required papers?" asked Hermione.
"Alright," replied Harry uncomfortably.
When he had finished his work, Harry went to St. Mungo's. Dr. Bones was not in her room. Instead he found Susan there.
"Hi Harry! Mum was expecting you sometime," she said warmly.
"Hi Susan! I've come to sign the required papers for my… er… the baby," replied Harry.
"I'm sorry but Mum had an emergency call. Why don't you wait here? I don't think it'll take very long," said Susan. Harry sat down next to her.
"So how have you been? You must be looking forward to fatherhood. I can't believe one of us, two in fact, are going to be parents," said Susan conversationally.
"Er… yeah!" replied Harry shortly. Susan looked at him in surprise.
"I think the pressure of being a father is getting to you. I have an idea. Mum recorded Hermione's ultrasounds in a CD. You can view it here. You'll actually be able to see your progeny," said Susan. Harry wanted to protest but his curiosity got the better of him. The first visual was the one taken on the day Hermione discovered she was pregnant. It was a zoomed in version.
"You can clearly make out the head and the limbs. That is the umbilical chord from which nutrition reaches the baby," explained Susan. Harry stared in amazement. It was actually a person inside Hermione. He could clearly make that out.
"You'll see how the fetus has developed in this one month later on. It's amazing how fast pre birth growth takes place. Now in the next visual you'll see the zoomed out version. That'll show all of them," said Susan. Before Harry had a chance to question Susan, the next visual appeared. Harry gaped at what he saw. No it couldn't be. There had to be some mistake. There were… not one… not two but three fetuses. Was it the same one taken from different angles?
"Are all three of them mine?" he asked stupidly.
"Oh dear! Hermione will kill me. She was probably planning to surprise you with the news of triplets," sighed Susan.
"Triplets?" questioned Harry blankly.
"I guess I can't hide it anymore. Yes you are going to have triplets. I have to apologize to Hermione sometime," said Susan. Harry watched the rest of the visuals dumbfounded. There were three babies inside Hermione. Unlike he had imagined they were very much alive. He slowly started understanding Hermione's reasons for keeping the babies. He was now feeling guilty.
"Susan can I talk to you about something?" he asked.
"Sure Harry! What's bothering you?" replied Susan. Harry told her the entire story about him suggesting the abortion, Hermione refusing, their silence and finally his feelings after seeing the visuals.
"But Harry, this is so unlike you! I thought you were one of the bravest people around," said Susan.
"I know it was my mistake. For once my Gryffindor courage deserted me. I tried to take the easy way out instead of facing what was coming up. Hermione has been right all along. I've been an idiot but I'm not scared anymore. And I have you to thank for this. Had you not shown me the visuals, I would have remained an idiot. I really owe this to you," said Harry. He hugged Susan and pecked her on the cheek. Precisely at that moment the door opened and Hermione stiffened.
"Sorry to interrupt," she said and left the room.
"Oh Harry, that was probably the worst thing that could have happened," said Susan.
"Don't worry. I know Hermione. I'm sure she'll understand when I explain things to her," replied Harry more confidently than he felt. He was about to leave when Dr. Bones came into the room. She got Harry to sign the required papers. As he signed, for the first time he felt proud of being a father. He felt as though he was responsible for someone else.
As he got out of St. Mungo's, he saw a shopping complex some distance away. He walked towards it and made his ways to the jeweler's store. He was going to propose. He thought about what type of ring Hermione would like. He knew that it was the love which mattered, not the ring. Yet he wanted something special. The financial problems prevented him from getting anything too expensive. He looked at a few. Unfortunately the ones he liked were all diamond rings and hence quite expensive. Finally he made his choice. The diamond in the ring was quite small. So the cost was relatively less. He held the ring up. It looked perfect. He bought it without hesitation.
He had expected Hermione to be at home, probably locked up in her room. However when he got home, she wasn't there. He waited for her. An hour passed. He started to get worried. She was never this late. Surely she couldn't have left after seeing him and Susan. She had been so understanding when a similar thing with Luna was publicized by Cho. She would at least have spoken to him. He called up all his friends to see if they knew anything. None of them did. Ron, Luna, Neville, Seamus and Parvati came over to Peaceden. They all set out in different directions to look for Hermione. They searched for forty five minutes without any luck. Finally everybody was back home. Ron was getting frantic. Harry was trying to keep calm. He was trying to think rationally.
"I've got it. I know where she is. She has to be there. I have been a fool not to think about it before. She'll be at the library. She always hides herself there when she's mentally unhappy," said Harry. The others offered to come with him but Harry told them to go back home. They agreed reluctantly.
Harry walked down to the library. He was very confident that Hermione would be in there. He searched the library. Hermione was sitting with her head in her hands. A book was lying open in front of her. Harry felt sorry for her. He gently put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up. Her face was expressionless.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Susan?" she asked softly. Harry sat down opposite her.
"Hermione you saw all those photos of me and Luna at Hogwarts. What you saw today was nowhere near as bad as that. You trusted me without hesitation at that time. Then what happened now? Have I lost your trust?" countered Harry in a low voice. A few people were staring at them. Harry took Hermione's hand and walked out of the library. Hermione didn't protest. They apparated to Peaceden which was empty now.
"Okay as I was saying, where has our mutual trust gone?" asked Harry.
"I don't know. I do trust you but after last night… I pushed you away during an intimate moment. Maybe that frustrated you. When I saw you with Susan today, I thought as if you were trying to substitute me with her. I think I was wrong," replied Hermione.
"Hermione how can you think that? You know very well that no one can replace you. I wouldn't replace you for anything. It was just a friendly peck on the cheek with Susan. And that too for very good reason," said Harry exasperated.
"What reason?" asked Hermione quickly.
"She showed me what an idiot I'd been," replied Harry uncomfortably. He wasn't looking forward to this part. He was dreading accepting his mistake. Hermione looked up at him. Could it be what she was thinking? Harry saw the question in her eyes and nodded. For the first time in a long time Hermione smiled. Harry embraced her.
"I'm so sorry Hermione. You were right all the way. It took me so long to realize what a mistake I was making. Killing the babies is as bad as killing Voldemort. If only I'd realized this sooner, we could have avoided this standoff," said Harry. Hermione was too happy to notice that Harry had said 'babies'.
"I knew you'd come around Harry. That's why I was so stubborn. Since you've changed your mind, all is forgiven. We have a new life to look forward to. I'm glad we're in this together. I couldn't have gone through this alone," replied Hermione.
"Like you, the visuals changed my mind. The head, the limbs and the body all were like us. There is life inside you. It's going to be out soon," exclaimed Harry excitedly.
"Harry, there is one more thing you should know. You were concerned about money. What I'm about to say will be a shock on that front….," she was cut off by Harry.
"That the happiness would be three times," completed Harry. Hermione gaped at him.
"Susan showed me all three of them. I've already thought of how to manage the finances. It's a tough decision but it has to be taken. I'm going to sell Grimmauld Place," said Harry.
"But that's the last bit of Sirius you have left," objected Hermione.
"No, I have plenty of happy memories and photos. Anyway I hate that place. If I'd liked it, we would have moved in there instead of spending so much money on this place. When it comes down to something I hate and the welfare of my children, I choose the latter. That's fair enough," said Harry.
"Oh Harry! Everything is perfect. Finally!" said Hermione happily.
"So let's celebrate by doing a little shopping for the little ones," suggested Harry. Hermione agreed happily. They apparated to London. They started with the cribs. They'd need three of them.
"Initially they'll have to be in our room. When they are slightly grown up we can move the cribs to the nursery. One of the guestrooms has to be turned into a nursery," said Harry.
"That's fine. Shall we get identical cribs for all of them? Or will different colors look nicer?" asked Hermione.
"As long as all of them are equally comfortable it doesn't matter. Let's take identical ones now. With magic, we can change colors anytime," replied Harry. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder.
"I'm so glad we're back to what we were before. Though we had never broken up officially, it felt as if we had," said Hermione.
"You described my thoughts. I guess staying in the same house was the saving grace. If either of us had walked out, things could have been worse," commented Harry.
"I know that. I thought since you were staying, you wanted us to be together. I wanted that too. So I stayed. It turned out to be a wise decision," said Hermione.
"You aren't the brightest witch of our age for nothing!" exclaimed Harry, hugging her. They bought cribs, a few clothes and toys, a large playpen and a maternity gown for Hermione. This was a wizarding market so they shrunk everything to tiny packages.
"There is one thing we need to do. My parents need to be told. I've already put it off for so long. I wanted to do the honors with you by my side. No doubt they won't be happy but they'll stand by us," said Harry. Harry felt slightly scared at the proposition but agreed. They apparated outside the Granger's residence.
"This is a pleasant surprise," said Diana welcoming them at the door. Within ten minutes all of them were seated in the living room with cups of coffee in their hands.
"Mum, dad there is something we need to tell you," started Hermione nervously.
"What is it sweetheart?" asked Robert kindly.
"I'm pregnant," said Hermione quickly.
"What! But you are just twenty. Hadn't we warned you to take precautions?" asked Robert, shocked.
"We took every precaution but it still happened. We didn't ask for it," replied Harry quietly.
"This is a difficult situation to be in. How have you planned the future?" asked Diana, recovering first.
"I will stand by Hermione at every step. We're both in it together and will face it together," answered Harry. Robert seemed impressed by the answer. He was about to ask about marriage but stopped himself.
"Not that I'm very happy about this but I must admit that I can't wait to see my grandchild," he said. Hermione looked relieved. She was about to hug her father when he realized that Robert had said 'grandchild'. Her smile faltered.
"There is something else. We're going to have triplets," she said. Robert and Diana had barely recovered from one shock when another came.
"Triplets! That makes things very tough indeed," said Diana.
"How will you manage? One or both of you will have to stop your education. Now that you've bought that large house, you wouldn't have much savings. Money will be very tight. Perhaps you could borrow some from us," said Robert.
"That's very kind of you Dr. Granger but I have it planned out. I'm going to sell my godfather's old house. Both Hermione and I will speak at our institutes and see what can be done with our education. I'm hoping we'll be able to work out something on that front. However at the moment money will not be a problem," replied Harry. Robert and Diana were again impressed by Harry's maturity.
"If that's what you feel the go ahead. Just remember we are always there. Never fear to ask us for any help," said Diana kindly. This time Hermione was truly relieved. She hugged both her parents. Harry shook hands with them.
"I don't want to cook anything after such a long day. Let's eat out today. We have reason to celebrate," said Harry, once they were back home.
"That's a good idea. Where do you want to eat?" asked Hermione replied. Harry quickly thought out a plan.
"Today you will decide. I've been an ass over this whole issue and I want to make it up. We'll eat where you want," said Harry.
"You already know what I like. Indian of course. But today food is not going to be the main attraction. We are going out together after such a long time. That holds most importance," said Hermione.
"Yes the food is definitely not the main attraction today," said Harry to himself, fingering the ring in his pocket.
"You're saying something Harry?" asked Hermione noticing the movements of his lips.
"No, I didn't say anything," replied Harry innocently. Though he knew Hermione's answer, he couldn't help feeling nervous. Both of them quickly got dressed.
The restaurant was relatively empty. Harry was glad for this. They had their usual Indian dishes. They ate happily. Hermione noticed that Harry was eating less than usual.
"Is your stomach alright? You've barely eaten anything," said Hermione.
"Hermione, just because you are eating for four doesn't mean that I have to do so as well," joked Harry trying to release his tension. Hermione laughed but wasn't convinced. They decided to have ice creams after the meal. Harry was waiting for the perfect moment.
"This has been a great day. So much has happened. You saw the visuals of the babies, changed your mind, I saw you kissing Susan, hid in the library, you looked all around for me, found me in the library, we made up, did shopping for the little ones, told mum and dad who were as supportive as ever and finally this lovely meal," said Hermione. Harry knew his opening had arrived.
"How do you know nothing more will happen? You stopped at the 'lovely meal'," asked Harry cheekily.
"What more can happen? We can have a snogging session but that's nothing new," replied Hermione.
"There is still some time left in the day. Something more than that can surely happen," continued Harry.
"Why are you playing games with me Harry? Please be serious," said Hermione.
"As you wish. Hermione you know I love you very much. I can't imagine life without you. My day is incomplete if you aren't in it. I don't want any days of my life to remain incomplete. I want to spend each and every day of my life with you. Hermione Granger, will you marry me?" Harry asked bending on one knee and taking the ring out of his pocket.
Hermione first gasped and then smiled. She was expecting Harry to propose sometime very soon but not so soon.
"Of course Harry," she almost shouted and jumped into his arms. Harry let out a sigh of contentment as he placed the ring around Hermione's fingers.