CHOCOLATE & PUMPKIN ICE CREAM
Chapter Thirteen
Ginny was pacing the room, quite unable to keep still even for the briefest moment. Hermione rolled her eyes, at the same time having an intense feeling of deja vu.
"How much long is it?" she asked Hermione. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Hermione informed Ginny that the ceremony would start in half an hour.
"Oh." For once, Ginny stopped pacing. "Hermione," she asked curiously, "do you remember when you came round to the Burrow just after you found out you were expecting."
Hermione thought back. "Just after Penelope had Anastacia?" she asked. Ginny nodded in confirmation.
"That's right. Do you remember how I was teasing you about being pregnant when you got married? And I said something along the lines of 'at least I won't be pregnant when I walk down the isle'?"
Hermione's brown eyes widened. "Ginny..." she breathed, realising what the youngest Weasley was implying.
The redhead grinned nervously, a red flush spreading across her cheeks. "I found out yesterday," she told Hermione. She looked a bit worried. "Peter doesn't know," she warned Hermione. "Please don't tell anyone. I want it to be a surprise."
"Oh, it will be," Hermione told her.
There was a loud knock at the door. Without waiting for an invitation, it burst open and Harry came in, a huge grin adorning his face. He looked slightly dazed and full of energy.
"Harry, what is it?" asked Hermione standing up to pour her friend a glass of water. He accepted it gratefully. Without taking a sip he said, "She said yes!" Hermione gasped and hugged Harry tightly, if not awkwardly, owing to her rather large stomach.
"When?" she demanded.
"This morning!"
Harry had first proposed to Laura back in December on her birthday. She had refused, saying she had wanted to wait a while. Harry, being as persistent as ever had kept asking her. At one point Hermione was sure Laura was on the verge of cursing Harry if he asked her again. But now it seemed that she had finally said yes: Harry Potter was getting married.
"Congratulations, Harry," Ginny told him, kissing him on the cheek. "Goodness knows it's about time she came to her senses!"
"Hey, I heard that!" Laura grinned from the doorway. Hermione spotted a diamond sparkling on her finger, and she appeared to have the same dazed expression as Harry. Ginny rushed over and hugged her, and started gabbling about wedding plans, seemingly forgetting that she was getting married in about twenty-five minutes.
Harry turned to Hermione. "This is all rather odd, isn't it? Ron's married and is now a very proud father, you're engaged and about to give birth and I'm engaged..."
"I suppose this means we're all grown up now, doesn't it?" mused Hermione. Harry nodded.
"We're officially adults, I think. Scary, eh?"
"Not really. It's a lot like still being in school, except... it all seems worth it, doesn't it? All the teenage angst, the bad relationships, the drunken mistakes..."
"I think our case the drunken mistakes are the best ones," a voice said from the doorway. George was there, dressed in his formal robes and a slight smirk playing upon his lips. Hermione snickered at this, knowing exactly what he was referring to: if the two of them hadn't got extremely drunk on vodka shots at Ron's wedding they wouldn't have ended up together.
He crossed over to Harry and Hermione, slipping an arm around Hermione's waist. "Is it all right if I steal my fiancée, Harry? Mum wants to see her."
"Go ahead," Harry told them. "I'd better save Laura from Ginny. Honestly, she's like a miniature version of your mother!" Hermione giggled at this and George nodded his agreement before leading Hermione out of the room.
"So what does Molly want to see me about?" asked Hermione, fiddling with her engagement ring.
"She doesn't. I just wanted to do this." George kissed her deeply, and Hermione blinked in surprise.
"What was that for? Not that I don't mind," she added hastily.
He shrugged lightly. "Nothing. It's just that I don't think I'll be able to go to another wedding without thinking about that first night in France. It was... magical." Hermione nodded.
"I don't think I could have described it any better myself," Hermione told him, kissing him gently. She pulled back. "We should probably go to the chapel," she said, a trace of sadness in her voice. Clearly she was enjoying herself too much to leave.
"Yeah," agreed George, wrinkling his nose. He kissed Hermione once more and they Disapparated with a 'pop'.
Fred and Katherine were waiting for them outside of the chapel, and Fred rolled his eyes seeing the couple in an embrace when they Apparated. "Do you two ever come up for air?" he asked in despair.
"Not if we can help it," George told him with a grin, and Hermione smacked his arm playfully.
"George!" she scolded. George just grinned.
When Ginny was led down the isle by Arthur Weasley, Hermione saw Molly Weasley sniffing before bursting into a flood of tears. She smiled at this. Ginny was her youngest child, and the only girl; this must have felt like the end of an era for her. But, Hermione reminded herself, there was still one Weasley who wasn't married. Not for long though, she though looking at the ring on her finger.
She felt George reach for her hand as the vows were taken, and he squeezed it reassuringly, giving her a smile that made her knees feel weak. At that moment, Hermione couldn't think of anything better than getting married.
At least, she couldn't until one of the babies kicked.
Hearing the bell above the door chime, Fred looked up from the display he had been doing. "Hermione," he sighed. "You should be at home."
Upon hearing Hermione's name, George emerged from the workshop. "Hermione!" he said rather shrilly, "Go home."
"No," she frowned, sinking into a chair behind the counter. She dusted off the till with her sleeve. "There's nothing to do at home."
"What about sleeping?" George suggested. "You look exhausted."
"That's because I am," Hermione admitted. "All that kicking kept me awake last night."
"The babies giving you hassle?" asked Fred sympathetically.
Hermione gave a slight snort at this. "The babies? No, I was on about George!" she said pointing at George who flushed a brilliant red.
"You kept stealing the covers," he said in his defense.
"That's only because they can barely fit over my stomach!" Hermione snapped. She winced slightly, rubbing her abdomen. George was at her side in a flash.
"Hermione, are you all right?" he asked concernedly, rubbing her back. She shrugged off his hand.
"I'm fine," she assured him. "It's just Braxton hicks contractions. I've been getting them since last night."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, George." Her patience was starting to wear thin now. "Can I have a drink of water?" she asked. George nodded and raced out to the back.
"You sure you're all right?" Fred asked. "Kath had those when she was expecting Alex, but they never lasted more than a few hours."
"Well, I'm not Katherine," said Hermione through gritted teeth.
"Morning, all," said Bill Weasley, brightly, pushing open the door to 3W, his wife Shannon not far behind him.
"Hi, Bill," said Hermione, glad of a distraction. "Where are Ben and Serena?" she asked.
"With Grandma Weasley, who else?" said Shannon with a smile. "She offered to look after them, and who am I to pass up a chance to get away from children for a while?"
Shannon worked at the St. Hedwig's Maternity Hospital. It was another Wizarding hospital, though was situated in Ireland and, obviously, was a maternity hospital. She worked as a midwife, and so out of all the Weasley wife's she probably knew the most about childbirth.
George appeared through the door, carefully carrying a glass of water. He handed it to Hermione, who sipped gently at it. "Thanks," she told him.
"How are you, Hermione?" asked Bill.
"Would I be a really bad person if I said I didn't want to be pregnant any more?" Hermione asked.
Shannon chuckled at this. "Not at all. I felt the same way when I had Benjamin. You haven't got long now, though."
Hermione nodded and smiled, glad of this, and then finished her water in a couple of gulps. She set the glass down, and said, "I think I might go and get some ice cream."
She stood up, then sat down quickly, hands clasped to her stomach and nearly doubled over. "Or maybe not," she decided, moaning slightly. George was quickly trying to comfort her, one of his hands hold her smaller one.
Fred looked rather pale. "I don't think those are Braxton hicks," he told Hermione.
"You could be right," Hermione told him, doubling over again as another wave of pain came. Fred saw George nearly bite through his bottom lip as Hermione's grip on his hand increased.
"Definitely not," said Shannon, shedding her robes. "Come on, Hermione; we need to get you to the hospital."
Hermione shook her head. "It hurts too much."
"You're telling me," George mumbled, and Hermione shot him a deadly glare. Hermione grimaced, and got to her feet. Almost immediately she sank to the floor, resting her back against the wall.
"Hermione," asked Shannon quickly, "how long have you been getting these contractions?"
"Since last night," George told her, and Hermione confirmed this with a nod.
Shannon sighed. "I'd better have a look at you then," she said. "I think we could be a bit too late to get to the hospital."
A few minutes later, Shannon confirmed this.
"You mean the babies are going to be born here?" asked Bill. "In the joke shop?"
Shannon stood and nodded. She strode over to the door, switching the sign from 'open' to 'closed'.
"Can't we Apparate or Floo or something?" asked George in a panic. Hermione gripped his hand tighter as another contraction came. "Or perhaps get some pain killers."
"She's too far along," Shannon told him. "It's much too dangerous. And I can't administer anything other than mild pain relief without a doctor."
"I meant for me!" George told her. His hand was starting to turn purple.
Hermione gave a yell of pain, not really paying any attention to what else was going on. "I think I can see a head!" Bill exclaimed. Fred looked and promptly fainted. Bill raised an eyebrow at this, but left his younger brother where he was. There were more important things to deal with than fainting Weasleys.
"I don't care if you can see a bloody head or not! Just get these babies out of me!" Hermione ordered.
"Congratulations, Hermione. You are now the mother of two very healthy babies."
As Shannon passed her son to her, Hermione held her breath slightly. It was completely unbelievable. George smiled warmly at her, squeezing her hand gently. "Well done," he whispered, gazing in awe at her. He looked at his daughter who was asleep in his arms.
"I can't believe it," he said.
"You're not the only one," Hermione said quietly. Running a finger along her son's cheek, she said, "I can't believe it's all over."
"It was all worth it." George couldn't stop staring at his daughter. His daughter. His daughter.
Fred had regained consciousness shortly before Hermione had delivered the second baby and quickly excused himself to the workshop where he came back with a bottle of bubble and some wine glasses. "So have you thought of any names yet?" asked Fred.
George and Hermione looked at each other. Hermione gave a slight nod. George was just about to say something when there were two small 'pop's' and Harry and Ron appeared, their arms full of an abundance of flowers, balloons and, of course, two giant teddy bears.
"I Flooed them," explained Fred. "I thought you'd want them to come." Hermione nodded gratefully, smiling at Fred. Ron was looking in wonder at his niece, whose blue eyes were wide open and staring at him.
"So what are they called, then?" asked Shannon.
"Well," started George, "we've been discussing names for a long time and we finally made a decision last night."
"And?" asked Ron, tearing his gaze away from his niece.
Hermione answered him, tiredness filling her voice. "You're newest nephew is Matthew Robert Jacob Weasley."
"And," continued George, "the newest female Weasley is Allison Elizabeth Piper Weasley."
"They sound perfect," said Harry.
"They should; It took us long enough to choose them," Hermione told him.
"This calls for a celebration," announced Fred. He held up the bottle of champagne. "Champagne anyone?"
THE END
A/N: Well, it's finally the end. My final author note and final review section. I sincerely hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did writing it. I also hope that the wait for the babies was worth it. Please review this chapter - I greatly appreciate your feedback: if it wasn't for people liking this so much, then I wouldn't have continued writing it, or I wouldn't have written so much. At present I have no plans for a sequel, so don't ask for one. If I feel like writing one and the right plot comes to me, then I will, but until then, there won't be. I have rough plans for another Ge/Hr fic, though. The working title is something like 'Kiss Chase', though I hate that and so probably won't use it. It'll give you something to think about until I start writing it. In the mean time I am also going to start uploading this fic to the Astromony Tower. At the moment I am also writing 'The Spaces Between Shadows & Night' with another writer which is a Harry/Draco story and I am planning on continuing with one of my older fics which I have neglected. And there's the Buffy/HP crossover... Add in RL and you see why I don't update as often as I should. A huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed this fic - I had no idea this fic would become so popular or that I'd make so many people like Ge/Hr - thank you for all your support: you've been wonderful. One last time:
Review, Flame, Whatever.
Here's a thanks section for Chapter Twelve:
Black Rein - She had them!
Dark Moon - I updated as soon as I could.
punkpixie87 - Sorry I scared you. George was all right in the end, though, thankfully. I would never have seriously injured him, anyway.
jd - I hope my reviews will go past 400. That would be so great. Maybe 'Chudley' can be a nickname for Ron's son.
Maggie May - Thanks for bringing up those points. When Hermione and George said the babies might not be Weasley's they were basically telling Molly to leave them alone and they were going to do things their way. Having the babies called Granger would probably be the thing that would upset Molly the most because she's so proud of her family.
VegaTenshi - Sorry it took me so long to update.
Meggin - Thanx. I'm glad you like George so much.
Gliniel of Tirragen - Sorry it took so long for me to update!
heath - I know, it is a bit sad when stories end. I've been writing this fic for so long, it's difficult to actually come to a definite end.
ali weasley - I don't really think Molly Weasley minded going to the hospital twince - especially not thwn it meant she wold have another grandchild.
Yunami The Dragon - I liked Harry in that chapter. I have the vision of his with this huge teddy bear that he's struggling to hold, a huge grin on his face and balloons and flowers surrounding him. I'm glad you like my Weasley family.
Chavi - Sorry there wasn't too much about Ginny's wedding.
elijahsbaby1981 - I don't really think anyone expected the name I came up with!
deemarie - I'm very pleased you like this story so much. I think it's one of my best to date.
JoeBob1379 - Sadly, there won't be a sequel. I don't have any plot for one. Not yet anyway.
Ashiri - Hermione reminds me of Molly a lot too.
Gem Stone - Hope you liked it. At some point I suppose I could do a future ficlet, but not right now.
Snufalufagus - I know, I should have posted sooner after that cliffhanger. I'm sorry this chapter took so long as well. Sometimes it takes a long time for inspriation to strike.
Whystical - No, I'm not writing a sequel. Sorry.
jillybean - This is the last chapter!
Gwen Potter - I hope you liked the names of the twins. By the way, I'm really enjoying your Percy/Hermione fic. I can't wait to see what their baby is!
acccupuncture - I hope you didn't worry too much. At least George was safe in the end, though he was a prat for not wearing a seatbelt.
Sneezy Mouse - I know, it's a pity the story can't go on forever, but it would get boring after a few more chapters when I ran out of senarios and things to happen.
mystical - I know; I wrote s many births I had to take a break, hence the big gap since updating last.
ronsspawn - No, no Chudley. lol, I can just imagine Ron calling Richard that to annoy Amanda.
SparkySparkles - No, I'm one for happy endings!
Alizee - Exactly. I'm not completely evil. Hope you liked the chapter.
Shannon - Hope you liked this chapter!
lady fuchsia - I hope you liked this chapter and you're not too upset about it ending.
JennyBean - Um... y'know, I'm not really sure where the name came from. It's just one of those strange things I can't explain but I just write anyway.
Jamie - While there won't be a sequel, I might write some one-shot ficlets at some point about what happens next. At some point in the distance future, though, I hasten to add.
Taryn - Hope you liked it!
Saffron - I woulod never have used 'Chudley' as a name for the baby. Ron was just teasing Amanda.
Tigerz_Angel - Hope you liked it!
Adhara - Yeah, Age of Apocalypse is on the backburner. When I started writing The Matchmakers again, it kind of got forgotten about. I lost my passion for that series, actually. I feel it's a bit... juvenile, almost. It's just my old style of writing, I suppose.
flutegirl - Thanx! Glad you liked it. Cool name, btw.
Maddy - Argh! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter written. Hope you liked it.
Mushroom - Yes, George is alive! And Ron's a dad. Wow.
Christine El-Tawil - I'm glad you like my story so much. I don't mind about reviews, though they are appreciated. Having people enjoy my writing is enough for me.