The next ten weeks were both heaven and hell for Harry and Hermione.
After the new Head Girl was announced, gossip spread quickly around the school, and only a few days later, Harry had stood up on a bench in the Great Hall during dinner and announced that yes, Hermione was pregnant with twins and the babies were his, and that anyone with a problem with it should come to him.
Ron spent most of his time smirking every time he saw the couple, his little jab had actually been right. It also seemed that he didn't feel the need to taunt and tease the couple anymore, because the majority of Slytherin house, other than Pansy Parkinson, had taken over for him, ten fold.
Most of the school's reaction had been mostly non-interest.
Hagrid had come up to both Harry and Hermione after the announcement and enveloped them in a much gentler version of one of his body crushing hugs, and with a tear in his eye, said "Congratulations you two. You're finally getting the family you both deserve."
Professor Snape's reaction had been pretty well non-existent. He had simply given Hermione written assignments twice as long as everyone else's when they had a potion to do that would be too dangerous for Hermione to brew, and put up a thick barrier between Hermione and the rest of the students when the potion was safe for her to brew, incase any dunderheads blew up their cauldrons.
Charms, History of Magic, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy were all non-dangerous classes and so none of the teachers even mentioned her pregnancy, though she wasn't sure Binns would have noticed if she'd given birth in the middle of class.
Remus and Sirius had been doing a lot more reading and written working, and were taking the class outside for their practical work. Remus allowed Hermione to sit behind a protective barrier while the rest of the class practiced, and then allowed her to do her practical work with himself or Sirius, very carefully.
The worst part for Hermione hadn't been anyone at the school's reaction, it had been her parents'. Her mother had burst into tears, and her father hadn't done much better. They had both told her they loved her, and would always be there for her and the children, no matter what, but it was just so shocking, and a bit upsetting, that their beautiful baby girl had gotten pregnant with another year to go in school, and with twins.
Her pants had long gotten too tight and she'd enlarged them as much as enlarging spells would allow without damaging the cloth, or risking the spell breaking and squeezing her half to death.
Luckily for her, they had a free weekend coming up and Harry was forcing her to let him take her shopping for some comfortable, soft, maternity clothes after their doctors appointment at St. Mungo's on Friday evening.
The couple had plans to stay with Harry's fathers at Grimmauld Place after their appointment so that they could take as much time Friday night and Saturday making Hermione as comfortable as possible.
Hermione was walking down the hall alone, headed from Arithmancy to meet Harry outside the Great Hall for lunch when she heard. "Well hello waddles," from behind her.
Great, she though, another Slytherin.
"What do you want Millicent?" Hermione asked, exhausted from the walk from the Arithmancy classroom and just wanting to sit down and get a drink.
"Just noticed how fat and slow you've gotten," the snake girl said, pushed roughly by Hermione, shoving her into the wall a bit.
Ginny rounded a corner and came upon Hermione being pushed into the wall and when she saw the offending Slytherin, she shouted "Enlargen Grotesqua!" and Hermione watched as enormous bat shaped bogeys came streaking out of Millicent's nose and began to beat her around her head and shoulders.
Hermione stood straight and pushed herself away from the wall, rubbing her side where she had fallen into the stone, and headed on to dinner with Ginny, "Don't mention this to Harry," she asked.
"I won't, but you will!" Ginny insisted.
"I'll tell him tonight after the appointment with the maternity healer. We're supposed to find out if they're boys, girls, or one of each, today." Hermione said with a smile. "I think it's girls and Harry thinks it's boys, so I guess we'll see if one of us is right, or if we're both wrong."
Hermione's diversion had worked, or so she thought, and Ginny continued to talk about the babies, until they met up with Harry and Dean outside the Great Hall. "Don't forget what I said," Ginny reminded her as she and dean went to sit down and Harry took Hermione's hand and walked her to the table to sit down.
"What did she mean?" Harry asked.
"Oh we were just talking about some girl things in the hall on the way here," Hermione brushed off.
"Ok." Harry said, giving her a curious look. "How are you feeling?"
"My feet and my back are killing me. These babies aren't even that big yet, but I feel like I'm carrying around a couple of two year olds the way they roll and kick and press on my back."
Just then, their talk was interrupted by a shouting Slytherin fourth year, Kate Farwell, who had come running into the Great Hall. "Millicent Bulstrode's just been knocked out by one of her own bogeys! Someone come and help her!"
Harry shot a look at Ginny, and pulled Hermione back down to the table as she started to follow everyone else who was trying to get a glimpse of the Slytherin who was out cold in the corridor.
"Some how I don't think you told me the entire truth about what you and Ginny were talking about in the hall, Hermione." Harry said, slightly annoyed.
Hermione sighed, "Millicent Bulstrode knocked into me and informed me that I'm getting fatter and slower by the day. She knocked me into the wall and that's when Ginny came around the corner and hexed her. That's all."
"That's all? Merlin Hermione, she assaulted you!" Harry said, outraged.
"Harry, please don't make a big deal out of it. Ginny's already going to get in trouble for hexing her. You know I'm not going to get any special treatment just because I'm pregnant, and if I wasn't pregnant this would just be another house rivalry issue." Hermione pleaded.
"Alright. But only because Ginny already got her knocked out. But if she does anything again..." Harry said.
"She won't," Hermione tried to reassure her boyfriend, but knew that she was probably lying.