Part 1
HERMIONE
There was a nice breeze in the air, spring had come and was settling around us. Under this tree, sitting on a bench, I analyzed the past year and a half of my life. I started in such turmoil, now it was long gone. I’ve known peace, as much as one can with two children. They were with their grandmother, who offered me a few hours of peace. Tomorrow was a big day. My wedding day.
The day that I was looking forward to since I was a child and attended my first one. I never knew who it would be with, but I fantasized about the dress, and the different ways to style my hair. Which was easier to manage with magic than normal muggle cosmetics. I knew it would take place in spring, hopefully with flowers and joy. The only thing missing was my mum and dad. But I couldn’t let myself feel down about that, I had so much more to look forward to and they would have wanted me to enjoy this, to take it in completely.
This April brought a new beginning. Just about a year ago I sat on this bench with Charlie and told him about what I was going through. And he accepted everything that I told him, felt sympathy for me. I looked around at the trees surround me, brimming with life, leaves green, and little flowers that had still not fallen or produced fruit. I closed my eyes and took in a breath. Another breeze came through and shook all the leaves. Though they did not cover the sound of footsteps approaching. I felt a warmth flood my chest and I knew who it was.
“Hello, love.” He whispered in my ear. His arms were already wrapped around my shoulders, his body to the side of me.
“It’s bad luck to see the bride the day before the wedding.” I opened my eyes and turned my head towards him.
His lips met mine and we stayed like that for a few minutes. Engrossed in our kisses, that had no purpose other than to see who would break free first. They were rough and hard and vying to win.
“I know, but then I wouldn’t be able to do that.” His smirk highlighted his face.
“Yes. Only downside is that your mother will have your arse if she knows that you’ve come to see me.” I told him. I leaned more into our embrace, my words not matching my actions.
“Only if you tell her.” He said, “Or if one of my brothers squeal.”
“No, I won’t tell her. Did you see the twins? How are they holding up?” I asked, my curiosity over not having seen them for the last couple of hours.
“I saw them. They are perfectly fine, though mum looks like she might need a glass afterwards. They are crawling all over the place and in different directions. I believe that she has taken on the help of Harry to keep the two of them in check.” He laughed.
“Oh Merlin, he gives them everything that they want. They can’t even produce full words and he already knows what to give them.” I moaned. Harry was probably the only person who could speak baby babble and give them what they need. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind. “It’s probably better this way, it normally means that they’ll be less fussy.”
He nodded in agreement, and we sat there for a few more minutes, listening to the leaves rustle around us. Though I didn’t need to be around Charlie as often as I used to, he was a comfort that could never be replaced. He was truly home. His hand moving up and down my back in a comforting manner. My hand rubbing small circle in the palm of his other hand, the hand that would have a ring on it tomorrow.
Tomorrow would change everything.
Once the sky darkened, we knew it was time to return, we walked to the edge of the orchards together and parted ways with a kiss.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He said.
“Tomorrow.” I repeated. I let go of his hand and walked back into the burrow.
Inside I found harry sitting in one armchair with a baby on each arm, all of them sleeping in perfect unison. I contemplated waking him up, in fear of waking the babies. But he would only be more flustered to wake up and find the children missing.
“Harry.” I called out softly. He showed no sign of moving so I said it again with a little more volume. “Harry.”
He stirred awake, blinking several times before his eyes settled on me. A small smile crosses his face. “Mione, how was your relaxation?”
I grabbed junior from his arms, then settled into the chair next to Harry.
“It was nice, though I had to constantly fight off the feeling to return to my children.” I told him. “I knew they were safe but knowing that and seeing them are two very different feelings.”
“Was it because neither you nor Charlie were here with them?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. “I know he went out to see you. Bill and I had to convince Molly that he went out with the twins somewhere.”
My face grew flushed. “I knew that you knew. It was nice to have a few hours alone with him. But I missed my babies too much. I have no idea how I will deal with it when they go off to Hogwarts.”
“You will feel like a small piece of your heart is gone and anxiety will fill it’s place.” Molly’s voice echoed through the living room. I don’t know when she came down the stairs, but she was now standing behind us in her robes. “And I don’t know why you boys think you can hide things from me. It never works.”
Harry’s expression turned a little sheepish, and he mouthed a small sorry to Molly. My face probably showed my mixed feelings. I was never good at hiding my emotions, when it really counted I could, but other than that I was an open book.
“Don’t feel too bad dear. It is something that all parents go through. I can’t say that it gets easier, watching all of you go off year after year, while the danger got worse was one of the worst things to go through. I am beyond grateful that all of you came home.”
Her expression was dark, but then it changed. I don’t know whether she recalled something, or she just wanted to hide her sorrows from us. “Now look at us, sitting around the living room, enjoying our time together and I have two more adorable grandchildren.”
She looked between my children, probably seeing more of Charlie in them. Most of the time I do, they had his red locks and similar facial features, their eyes could be mistaken as his too but when I see them, I see my mum. Their curls were all mine though, as unruly as I remember mine being, though thinner because of their age.
“Yes, we came back Molly.” I told her. “And now tomorrow we have a wedding, isn’t it exciting?”
“Yes, it is.” She hummed. She had a long stare on her that I knew I would never be able to understand.
“Well, I for one am not looking forward to the day I am filled with this anxiety.” Harry announced, looking between us before settling on Charlotte in his arms. “They are a bundle of joy though.”
I laugh and startle junior in my arms. He didn’t quite wake up but fussed a little. “You have no idea. I should probably put them down in their cot.”
We said good night to Molly and went to Ginny’s old room. I commandeered it for the night, while Harry and Ginny were forced to room with Fred in his and George’s old room. George in turn was with Charlie. I thought it was a little ridiculous, but none of us bothered to argue with Molly.
In the room we placed the twins in their cot, once down they held their hands out to one another. Something that they had done since they got sick, probably out of fear that they would be without one another again. It both warmed my heart and broke it a little at the same time.
“I can’t believe that they refuse to sleep without each other.” Harry commented.
“Yes, it was a nightmare when they were sick. Neither Charlie nor I got any sleep for a week because they weren’t allowed to sleep together.” I said, “Though they are quite adorable.”
He pulled me into a quick hug and then moved towards the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night.”
“Goodnight.” I replied.
I changed out of my clothes, careful to be quiet and not wake up the twins and got into bed.
. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .
The light shown through the window at the most atrocious time. I check my wristwatch and the time is nine. I take a moment to ponder that, since I haven’t slept in since my fifth month of pregnancy. I move out from under the covers and wonder where the morning cries are. Normally the twins are crying by this time of the morning, demanding their breakfast from my breast. I look to their cot, and they are gone, probably kidnapped by Harry. His love for them can only be rivaled by my own.
It has picked up in the recent months, which makes me wonder if I might hear good news from him and Ginny soon. They always wanted to wait a little longer, but that might not be the situation. Possibility that baby fever might have struck them.
I get myself dressed and made my way down the steps of the burrow. I know it’s my wedding day and normally it’s supposed to be all about Charlie and me, but we are parents, and that rule doesn’t apply to us. Once I was down, I noticed that no one was in sight, which was strange, this house was noisy on the quietest of days. It was eerie, how quiet it was.
“Hello.” I called out walking around the bottom floor of the house. No one could be found. Nothing looked out of place. The kitchen almost exactly the way we left it after cleaning up from dinner last night.
I found myself walking outside, surprisingly the area was clear. Nothing set up, which was unnerving, Molly would have normally had this whole area filled, not to mention she had half of the stuff outside yesterday. I walked into the orchards. Still nothing, only the small sound of the breeze. Small fruit hanging from these trees. It felt familiar but so different.
“Hello! Charlie!” I called out for him but nothing. No responses. I started to panic, where had my family gone. Where were my children? I had assumed it was Harry but there was no sign of anyone. My chest chilled, in a way forgotten, the same way when I spent too much time away from Charlie.
He wasn’t near me. Neither were my children.
I ran as fast as I could back to the burrow, fear is the only thing driving me. Anxiety rising in my chest in every breath, they couldn’t be gone, I couldn’t do this again. They are my whole world. I called for Charlie every chance I get, hoping that maybe this was a sick joke that they were playing. I would kill them, but that would be better than if this were true reality.
Reminders of the war flashed through my head, times that emotionally and physically scarred me. I saw Fred laying on the floor, covered in blood, not sure if he was dead or alive. A young girl dead on the floor, killed by a death eater. Bellatrix, cursing me, cutting me. It was going too fast and felt too real.
The thought of my children possibly in their hands made me insane. My feet carried me through the orchards, not caring that I was hitting branches on the way. That I wasn’t wearing shoes. My wand was in my hand, but I could not gather a happy moment to cast a Patronus. I couldn’t think of a single spell to help me.
I finally made it back to the burrow. I ran through each room, through the small spaces, even in the attic, which I know not many people go into. There was no one, I couldn’t feel Charlie near me, I couldn’t sense my children. I started to scream, I don’t know when I started, but I couldn’t stop, the pain was too much. I needed to find them.
I couldn’t move, my legs were not responding to me, all I could do was scream.
. . . . . . . .
CHARLIE
The screaming woke me up.
I knew who it was coming from, Hermione. I ran up the stairs to Ginny’s room as fast as I could, though Harry and the twins were already in the room. Fred and George each holding a child, trying to calm them down. They were probably awoken by Hermione’s scream.
I looked at the bed, Hermione’s hands were over her face, she was screaming into them. Her face distorted by her terrors. Harry had a grip on her arms, trying to hold them down near her side but was unsuccessful. His face was equally as pained.
“What’s going on?” I ask him, moving beside him, but not touching her.
“I don’t know. This used to happen often, after the war, she would start screaming and it was hard to wake her up.” He explained, his breathing was labored by the force that he was putting in. “Normally we would have to hold her down because she would start scratching her arm, but she’s not doing that. So, I’m not sure what’s going on.”
There were more people around us now. The twins had taken the babies out, I’m sure I saw mum going with them down the stairs. Ron had moved to the other side of the bed to try and get a grip on Hermione’s arm. I felt helpless, I could feel her sorrow, it was unlike anything I had known before.
“Bill! Do you have any idea what’s going on with her?” Harry asked, he strained his voice to speak over her screams.
I felt my brother move next to me. “I’m not too sure. It seems like a normal nightmare, but with the force you two have she should have woken up by now. How long did it take you before to wake her up?”
“Something like 5 minutes.” Ron said, “It would never take us this long.”
Bill had a strange look on his face he pulled out his wand and muttered something, but I didn’t catch it. “It might be the effects of the curses that were put on her at Malfoy Manor. Something that takes place over time, but I haven’t heard of anything like this before.”
“I’ve never seen her like this.” I say. I moved to my knees next to the bed. “I don’t think I’ve seen her have a nightmare.”
I reach my hand out to her face and the screaming stops. I heard the collective gasp; I held my breath. Hoping that this means the end to her screams. Her hands drop from her face, and her eyes open. I barely had a chance to take in the fact that she had calmed down before she sat right up in bed. Her expression just as twisted as when she was asleep.
She moved carefully and quickly, pulling her arms out from both Harry and Ron. She seemed to calm down, but that wasn’t entirely it, she was suspicious of us. Scoping us out, I had seen dragons do this when we first brought them into the Sanctuary. None of us knew when but within a split second she had her wand ready in her hand.
Harry and Ron were the first to put their hands up. Bill slowly followed; I kept mine next to me. She hadn’t seen me yet.
“Hermione, love, what’s going on?” I ask her.
Her head turns to me, her eyes are wide, like she saw something she shouldn’t have. Hermione looked like she wanted to move but decided against it. Her brows furrowed, as they do when she was thinking something through. I couldn’t understand the level of distrust that she was having with us. We were the ones that she trusted the most. Or so I thought.
“What...” She began to speak, but then stopped. “No… Where were we when I told you I was pregnant?”
“What?” I asked. She wasn’t making any sense, why would she want to know that?
“Where were we?!” Hermione shouted.
“At the bench in the orchard.” I told her. “When you announced that you were moving to Romania.”
Her shoulders slumped down, nearly collapsing into the bed. Her breathing became shallow. Her hair fell over her face. I moved slowly to sit next to her on the bed and she moved to me. Wrapping her arms around my neck and began to cry. I held her and soon she stopped.
“Hermione,” Harry said, “What is going on?”
I felt her face move but her arms. “It felt so real. I woke up alone, the babies were missing, and I thought you took them Harry. But then I went downstairs, and no one was there-.” She paused. “Where are they?”
She moved her head so fast I thought she would hit me with her head. Looking around the room fully for the first time I notice that Ginny and Dad are standing in the corner. Bill is still behind me.
“They’re with Fred and George. They took them downstairs with mum, while you were er… having the nightmare.” Ron told her. “They woke up with you screaming.”
Hermione moved away from me and walked to the door moving past everyone, her wand still in her hand. I hadn’t heard the children scream since she stopped, and I assumed that they were asleep with the twins.
I followed closely behind her. I knew that being away from each other for a period of time could have some implications, but I never knew this would be one of them. The war had taken a toll on all of us, ways that we will never be the same. But she had things that she would never tell any of us.
She reached the bottom floor of the house and moved until she saw Fred and George in the living room. Fred holding junior and George holding Charlotte. She breathed out, almost like a sigh, and moved to Fred.
“You’re here. Thank God, I thought you were dead. It was so real.” She went to hug Fred and junior. But something told me that it wasn’t necessarily the babies that she was talking about.
“What’re you going on about? How are you feeling after that?” He asked, handing off our son to her.
“It was horrible. I was alone and no one was there. And I was getting flashbacks, they felt so real, and I couldn’t tell if it was reality or not. It was slow motion, walking up to you while you were laying on the floor, except I wasn’t in time to save you.” Her grip was tightened on Junior, but her eyes were trained on Fred. I wasn’t too sure what she was talking about.
I saw confusion on everyone else’s face, including George’s. I moved over to grab Charlotte from him. She lightly stirred but calmed as soon as she was in my arms. Fred looked at her with sympathy.
“’Mione, I’m still here. Kicking and breathing, pulling pranks, and making you frustrated. Everything is fine. I didn’t die. We made it out alive by the end of it.” He told her, I noticed Percy move closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder, she gave him a weak smile. Theirs was always a strange friendship, no one ever questioned it though. I never thought to either, but this conversation was confusing.
“What are you both talking about Freddie?” George asked.