After finding her mother and father standing in her corner again, Hermione found herself growing more and more confident. She held her head high, and accepted that while she had made an error in judgment, there was no reason to hide and cower because of it. Even the Slytherins lost interest in taunting her because they no longer received the reaction that they hoped for.
It wasn't until the last week in May, after Hermione had finished her last final exam for the year, and was on her way to her dorm to floo her mother about wedding plans, when she heard, "Hey fatty," from behind and groaned.
Before she could turn to face her tormenter, she felt a strong hand on her back, and her foot slipped off the top step and she tumbled down an entire flight of stairs before she could get herself stopped.
Her stomach began to cramp and she felt her pants become damp as she screamed out, "Help me!" followed by an animalistic, wordless scream of pain as the cramps doubled her over. "Please help me!" She screamed again, panting from the pain.
Soon students and teachers alike, were rushing out of classrooms, and her attacker disappeared into the crowd, unnoticed by all, except for a select few, who followed him.
Much to the students' shock, Severus Snape was the teacher who rushed to her side and conjured a stretcher to levitate Hermione as gently as possible to the hospital wing. "Miss Lovegood, go and fetch Mr. Black from the Herbology greenhouses. I believe they are in Greenhouse 3 today. Hurry!" Snape barked, before moving as quickly as he could through the crowd of parting students.
When they reached the hospital wing, Severus once again barked, "Poppy!"
The matronly medi-witch came bustling out of her office, annoyed at the tone that Professor Snape seemed to always use with her, until she saw her pregnant student on the stretcher.
"Sweet Merlin," she gasped. "Severus, take her straight through the floo to St. Mungo's."
Shortly after Snape had went through the floo and directly into the maternity ward at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies, Harry Black arrived in the Hogwarts hospital wing with Luna right on his heels.
"Where's Hermione?" He shouted into the empty room.
Poppy Pomfrey came out of her office and attempted, to no avail, to calm Harry down. "Professor Snape took Miss Granger through the floo to St. Mungo's. They'll take good care of her there."
"Then let me go through, what's the floo password?" Harry demanded.
"I can't let you go until Professor Dumbledore tells me to," the medi-witch tried to explain.
"Well let him go Poppy, let the boy go." The soft voice of a saddened Headmaster reached them. "Miss Granger needs Mr. Black right now. She has gone into labor and they are attempting to stop it, but she may have to have their children today."
Harry paled. "What's the password?" He asked weakly.
Madame Pomfrey motioned for him to step into the floo, and when he did, she tossed the powder in and spoke the password that would take him directly to the maternity ward, something that she'd learned only a few weeks prior, so that if Hermione did have any problems, they could get to the hospital quickly.
When Harry stumbled out of the floo, he was surrounded by healers and medi-wtches and wizards rushing around. Some were carrying potions, while others were pushing little carts with wrinkly red-faced babies in them. Harry's head began to spin, until he felt an anchoring hand on his shoulder.
"You're betrothed is in room 1547, but she isn't allowed any visitors at the moment, as they are working very hard to keep your children from being born at the moment." The silky voice of Severus Snape informed him.
The usually sullen potions professor guided his student to a chair along the wall and Harry sank into it, still in shock.
"Thank you, Professor," Harry remembered. "Thank you for bringing her."
"I was merely trying to deliver her to Poppy when the woman became agitated and directed me through the floor, and I ended up here. I was only doing what any decent Professor would do for his or her student." Snape explained away.
"Harry Black?" A medi-wizard called out.
Harry shot out of his chair, leaving Snape sitting against the wall alone, and practically ran into the man, rushing to him.
"Calm down Mr. Black. Miss Granger is stable for the time being, and asking for you. She is still having some mild cramping and is far from out of the woods. Stay calm, speak softly to her, and don't upset her, and you can go and be with her." The medi-wizard explained.
Harry nodded, taking deep calming breaths, and the medi-wizard led him to room 1547. Before they entered, the medi-wizard paused again. "Miss Granger suffered a few abrasions and has a few bruises. We closed the abrasions with the episky spell, but bruise salves are not safe to apply to a pregnant woman, because some of the ingredients could damage the fetus, or in your case, fetuses, so she looks a little rough."
Harry nodded, and the medi-wizard opened the door just in time to hear Hermione's strangled scream, and for Harry to see her grab her abdomen in pain, and to be pushed out of the way by a team of maternity healers and medi-witches and wizards.