A/N: This is it, the epilogue. Our story ends, but I hope that your imagination is able to create new adventures for our characters. Also, I tried to name all of the children using common wizarding family names. If you'll notice in the books, they tend toward tradition and precedent when naming their children. That and JKR used the Victorian custom of naming girls after flowers quite a bit, for muggles and for wizards i.e. Petunia, Lily, Lavender, Pansy, Rose, Fleur, Daisy, Olive, etc. Oh, and just so you know—Jacques is the French form of James, so Jacqueline is the female French version of James. Lis is the French form of Lily, so Lisette means Lily.
(Roughly ten years after the last chapter)
"Remind me, again, why we thought we needed to branch out across the pond?" Fred asked in irritation, rubbing his temples and glaring down the long boardroom table. George groaned and shrugged.
"Beats the hell out me, I don't like leaving our spitfire for this long, either," George muttered. They'd been in the States for two months, and the owls from the Grange were getting distinctly chilly. At that moment, a silvery otter patronus swam cheerfully into the board room and paused in front of Fred and George.
"Home," Hermione's voice echoed in the board room. "Now. Family emergency."
Fred and George stood up immediately. The wizards and witches sitting around the table looked surprised.
"Look, you can't leave now," the CEO blustered importantly. Fred and George snorted.
"Right, unfortunately for you, she commands a great deal more power and influence than you do," they said, and apparated out of the meeting.
The Grange looked okay from the outside. Fred and George looked at one another uneasily, and approached the wards. They slid through them easily, the wards welcoming them with a feeling similar to a light caress of power. Their lab appeared to be standing. The twins frowned and hurried toward the house.
"Dad! Dad!" The doors to the Grange flew open and several blurs of red flew out of the Grange and flung themselves head long at their absentee fathers. Oriana and Arctura reached them first, and they each grabbed a dad, pulled him down and clung to his neck.
Fred and George hugged each girl tightly, and then glanced down at the younger children clinging to their legs. Oriana and Arctura, the ten year-old twins, had been named after Sirius and his brother Regulus' middle names—Orion and Arcturus. Sirius had been visibly moved when the girls were officially named, and he had been asked to be godfather to both girls. Clinging to Fred's waist was their eight year-old son Ignatius, and clinging to George's waist was their six year-old son, Septimus. Standing in front of them, looking forlorn, and slightly scared, was their five year-old daughter, Cedrella. George squatted down and held out an arm.
"What's wrong, Ellie?" He asked with concern. She watched him her blue eyes inherited from the Weasley side, and nibble her lower lip just like her mother did. Her hands were clasped behind her back and she continued to hang back slightly.
"Oh, Fred, George!" Hermione hurtled out of the house and added herself to the group hug. They each pressed a kiss to her brow and then pulled back slightly.
"What's going on, spitfire?" Fred asked, worry evident in his face. Hermione's face tightened slightly and she turned toward their youngest child.
"Ellie, love, come here," she said softly, holding out her hand. Cedrella moved forward and placed her left hand in her mother's. Fred and George's eyes widened and they stared at their youngest child's left wrist, which was encircled with a very familiar tattoo.
"Who?" George demanded. Hermione snorted.
"I suppose that's better than 'is that what I think it is'," she muttered to herself. "To answer your question, it's Sirius and Melisande's son, Regulus Alphard, and Remus and Tonks' younger son, Harry James. I completely blame Sirius, and I'd have his bollocks mounted above the fireplace except Melisande begged me not to."
"But, but, how?" Fred asked blankly. Hermione's lips thinned slightly.
"We went for a family dinner at Grimmauld Place," she said shortly. "When I went to collect Ellie, I found her in Reggie's room with Reggie and HJ, and she had this."
"Well, sweet Circe's knickers," George muttered in shock, staring at his youngest child who looked like she was going to start crying any minute. Fred gathered her up in his arms and stroked her hair.
"It's alright Ellie, love, Mummy's not mad at you," Fred murmured into her dark red hair. Hermione started.
"Of course I'm not! Oh, Ellie, Mummy is most definitely not mad at you, sweetheart," Hermione said softly and kissed her daughter's cheek.
"You're not mad at Reggie or HJ are you?" Ellie whispered, her blue eyes wide. Hermione shook her head.
"No, sweetheart, not really. Mummy's just worried about what this means for you," Hermione said quietly, with a glance at Fred and George.
"Well, I don't know, we turned out all right," Fred said with a frown for his wife. She humphed.
"I've got four words for the both of you: consummation of the bond," Hermione said flatly, her eyes narrowed on them. Both men stiffened.
"Well, they're all the same age, so that part won't be as hard," George muttered. Fred snorted.
"Still, maybe we ought to move to France and enroll her in Beauxbatons," Fred said mildly, eyeing his precious daughter protectively.
"Oh, Daddy, you know there are boys at Beauxbatons, too," Oriana said with a snort.
"Course there are," Arctura added with a firm nod. "Dominique's got French cousins that come visit. We go play with them all the time in the summer."
"Hmmm," George said, the wheels in his head spinning madly. He glanced at Hermione who was talking quietly to Ellie. "There's really no hope for it."
"I personally think it was some stupid plan of Sirius' to make us official family," Hermione said darkly.
"We are official family," Fred said blankly. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"I know that, but he's just too sneaky for his own good. I still think he's behind it." Hermione pouted.
"He would never do something like this, though, that puts Ellie at risk. He loves all of our kids, he wouldn't hurt any of them," George pointed out. Hermione sighed.
"I hate it when you're all logical," she said heavily.
"At least we know what's happened, and we can keep them safe," Fred said firmly. Then his eyes narrowed. "And if Reggie or HJ even think about consummating anything, they'd better learn to juggle fast."
"They're only five years old, we have a few years yet," Hermione said dryly. Fred and George snorted.
"A few? More like twenty-five," they muttered.
F/H/G/F/H/G
"Hermione? It's time!" Harry's frantic floo call kicked the Grange into high gear. Oriana and Arctura each grabbed a younger brother firmly by the hand, and Hermione grabbed Ellie. Fred and George each took a twin and a son, and all of them apparated to St. Mungo's. Harry was holding Albus in his arms and the serious toddler watched them approach solemnly. James was jiggling impatiently by his father, until he saw his Uncle Fred and Uncle George—then he whooped and ran on chubby toddler legs toward them.
"Are you okay, Harry? Is Ginny?" Hermione asked, setting down Ellie, and taking Albus from her brother. He shrugged helplessly.
"She's fine, I just worry," he muttered. "Now that you're here, I'm going in. You stay with Aunt Hermione, and be good." This last was directed at James. He kissed Albus absently on the forehead and hurried in to his wife.
"Where's everyone else, James my boy?" Fred asked his nephew. James shrugged. At three, his vocabulary was fairly limited.
The rest of the family turned up minutes later. Arthur and Molly arrived slightly breathlessly, and were immediately mobbed by their grandchildren. Sirius showed up with his wife Melisande, a distant cousin of Fleur's, and their son, Regulus, and their infant daughter, Jacqueline Lisette. Hermione spared a fond smile for her godfather, but then turned her focus to Fleur, Bill, and their three children: Victoire, Dominique and Louis. Remus and Tonks hurried in with their two sons, Teddy and HJ (or as the twins Oriana and Arctura referred to him 'HayJay'). Hermione noticed immediately when Regulus and HJ gravitated towards her daughter. Her hazel eyes narrowed on their heads bent toward one another and she shot a death glare at her godfather.
"Why does Aunt Hermione look like she wants to hex Uncle Sirius?" Louis asked his father in a loud whisper. Bill turned in surprise to see Hermione doing exactly that, in fact sparks were showering off of her—a clear sign that her temper had been aggravated.
"Is that what I think it is?" Molly asked in a horrified voice, looking at her granddaughter standing with Regulus and HJ. Hermione sighed heavily, and made plans to write a new book for purebloods.
"Yes," Hermione said flatly.
"How?" Molly asked, turning to Hermione, who was still glaring at Sirius.
"I'd like to know that myself," she said darkly. He looked offended.
"Now, look here, kitten, I had absolutely nothing to do with this," Sirius said firmly, frowning at his goddaughter.
"What's done is done," George said firmly, a hand on his wife's lower back, and a significant look in his eyes. Hermione glanced down at Ellie who was clutching Reggie and HJ's hands, looking upset. She sighed again.
"Yes, well. Thank Merlin they have us to protect them," Hermione said finally. Then something occurred to her and she smiled wickedly. "And on a positive note, Reggie will most likely be just as drop-dead gorgeous as dear old Daddy, and he won't be able to be a playboy. Not even a teensy bit."
"I'm sure he'll survive," Sirius said dryly, rolling his eyes. "I don't think I was ever as lascivious as you have made me out to be over the years."
"You were a terror among the girls' dormitories," Remus said dryly. Sirius sniffed.
"My son, he will be a gentleman," Melisande said firmly with a gimlet stare at the five year-old.
"He'd better be a gentleman," Hermione said with a snort. "Ellie's got five Uncles, two brothers, and a horde of cousins to defend her honor, and they all have to stand in line behind two Daddies who can throw bolts of power and one Mum who can chuck fireballs at him."
"That's quite true," Fred and George said coolly. Bill grinned wolfishly at his brothers.
"Hey, are we on time?" Ron was panting, pulling a very pregnant Lavender behind him. Their daughter Violet was trailing behind them, and she hurried over to her cousins. Neville and Luna had hurried after Lavender and stopped, slightly breathless next to Ron and Lavender.
"Yeah," Bill said with a nod. Just then, Harry came out of Ginny's room carrying a small, pink bundle, a tired smile on his face. He grinned at everyone, and tilted his elbow up slightly so that everyone could see her. Then he knelt down so that James could come closer. The toddler stared at the small pink bundle and then looked up at his dad.
"This is your little sister," Harry said softly to James. "James, meet Lily Luna Potter."
Luna gasped softly and her cheeks turned pink. Neville grinned at his wife and slid an arm around her waist. Hermione smiled warmly at Luna. She knew that Harry and Ginny were going to ask her to be Lily's godmother, and she knew that their friend was going to be overwhelmed.
"She's very small," James said with a slight frown, looking at the pink bundle. Harry nodded.
"She is very small," he agreed quietly. "As her big brother, it's your job to protect her, and to keep her safe."
"Albus, too?" James asked curiously, glancing toward Hermione where Albus was held securely, watching everything with his solemn green eyes.
"Yes, Albus, too, but right now you're the only one who's big enough to help her," Harry continued in that quiet voice. James nodded seriously.
"I promise, Dad," James' voice was grave as he looked at the small pink bundle. "I'll keep her safe."
"Now, let Grandma hold that baby," Molly said firmly, coming forward her arms outstretched. Harry chuckled and slid the newest grandchild into Molly's waiting arms.
Percy showed up a little late with his wife and daughters. He apologized profusely, but everyone waved him off. Their extended family was so large that they overflowed the waiting room's capacity. Hermione made the decision to take her family home because it made eight less people crowding the waiting room. She snuck in and kissed Ginny on the forehead and hugged and kissed Harry good-bye.
F/H/G/F/H/G
"Er, Mum, can I talk to you about something?" Oriana Weasley stood uncertainly in the doorway of her mother's office.
Hermione glanced up from the paperwork she was going over for Sirius and took in her daughter's concerned face. Oriana and Arctura were twenty years old now, and they planned on working with their Dads in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Fred and George were thinking of letting the girls go to the States and stretch their legs for a bit. While Hermione wasn't thrilled with the idea of her daughters living so far away, she knew it was important for them to figure out who they wanted to be.
"Of course, sweetheart. It's not a boyfriend problem, is it?" she asked carefully.
"No, Mum. I'm having too much fun at the moment to settle down with a boyfriend," Oriana stated baldly. Hermione flushed.
"I see. Well then, what's bothering you?" Hermione asked.
"So, this bond thing for Ellie, how does that work?" Oriana asked cautiously.
"Why? What's happened?" Hermione jumped out of her chair, and a small shower of sparks went off. Oriana smiled wryly.
"Nothing has happened. Or well, something did, but I don't know what it means," Oriana said uncertainly. Hermione sighed heavily.
"Just spit it out, please," Hermione said flatly. Oriana blushed and blurted it out.
"I saw Reggie and HayJay kissing."
"Oh," Hermione said blankly and sat down heavily, now that she knew nothing was overtly threatening her youngest child. Then what her oldest child had said filtered through and started slightly. "What…like…kissing?"
"Er, yeah," Oriana blushed a little darker. "Sort of full on snogging."
"Oh," Hermione said again, flushing herself. Oriana shuffled her feet.
"Dad and Dad don't do that," she muttered, carefully not looking at her mother. Hermione snorted.
"Of course they don't! They're twins. They're just as likely as you and Turi are to start snogging passionately in the halls," Hermione snapped in irritation. Oriana gagged slightly at the idea of kissing her sister. "However, Reggie and HayJay aren't brothers. Er, wow. I wonder how that will affect Ellie. You were worried about that, too, then?"
"Well, yeah, Mum. I can sort of see how it works for you. I don't know if Turi and I could manage to share a man, but if the Dads can figure out how to make it work, more power to them," Oriana said with a shrug. Hermione blushed. It had been difficult, when the children started school, for them to understand that not everyone had wildly varied extended family that they were blessed with. "But Ellie's…different. Oh, don't look like that, Mum! I mean that she's sort of fragile…delicate. I don't want her feelings hurt."
"Thanks, I think," Hermione said slowly. Then she groaned. "I do not want to have this conversation, but Merlin's beard we certainly can't let your Dads do it."
"I'd pay to see that," Oriana chuckled darkly. Hermione frowned.
"Fine, I'll have to let Sirius know I'm leaving early. I'm glad it's summer, otherwise I'd have to explain why I'm trotting on down to Hogwarts," Hermione muttered to herself and she straightened up her paperwork. "You, young lady, get back to work."
"I love you, too, Mum," Oriana said saucily. She bent and kissed her mother on the cheek and then bounded out of her office.
"Sirius? I'm going to have to go home early," Hermione said as she sailed into the library. "I'm worried about Ellie, and I need to check on her."
"She's okay, though, right?" Reggie glanced up from his game of chess with his father, concern on his face. Hermione's eyes narrowed and she scrutinized the fifteen year-old in front of her. She turned to Sirius who was watching her warily.
"I need to borrow the book, I have to check on something," Hermione said coolly. Sirius frowned.
"You didn't answer Reggie. Is Ellie okay?" Sirius asked with a worried glance at his son. Hermione's lips tightened.
"I'm not sure," she said nibbling her lip. "I'll have to check the book to see. I don't know if…well, let me look it up and then I'll let you know."
"Let me know what?" Sirius asked in exasperation. Hermione shrugged.
"What I find out," she said flatly. Sirius growled at her, and went to fetch the book. They had taken to keeping it locked up, to prevent anymore junior triads from floating about.
"But Ellie will be okay?" Reggie pushed again, nervously. Hermione frowned at her daughter's bondmate.
"I will make sure that my daughter is fine," Hermione said almost coldly. Reggie recoiled as though she'd struck him. She had never spoken to him that way, ever. His dad was frowning darkly at Hermione, and Reggie could see that his dad was getting angry.
"What the hell is going on?" He demanded. Hermione glared at Sirius, and then turned that cold gaze back on Reggie.
"I don't know yet," she muttered. "I just don't know."
"Is she mad at me?" Reggie whispered once Hermione had left Grimmauld Place. His dad was still frowning. He shook his head slightly.
"No, she seemed scared for Ellie…like something was really wrong," Sirius said at last, concern for his god-daughter and Ellie warring with his anger at her treatment of his son.
"But she'll be okay, right Dad. I mean…Hermione can do things no one else can 'cuz she's the focus, right?" Reggie begged his father for some sort of assurance. Sirius shrugged and smiled at his son.
"If anyone can do something, it's Hermione," Sirius said at last.
Hermione spent several days rereading information she hadn't looked through in almost twenty-five years. She found Bathilda Bagshot's book on the history of bondings, and reread all the pertinent parts about triads. She barely slept, and she refused to go to work. Fred and George weren't sure what was going on, but they were starting to worry. Reggie kept looking at Hermione's empty study, and was starting to become frantic with fear that something bad was going to happen to Ellie. Once they had a chance to talk, HayJay was just as worried about Ellie, and pestered Reggie with daily owls insisting on updates. On the fourth day, a screech of triumph echoed through the Grange and Hermione raced through the house until she found Ellie who was in her room with her cousins Violet and Peony.
"I am so sorry girls, but Ellie, honey, I need to speak with you," Hermione said firmly to the girls.
"Of course, Aunt 'Mione," Violet said with a grin. Hermione smiled tightly. She supposed it was better than Teddy and HayJay who insisted on calling her Aunt Spitfire.
"What's the matter, Mum?" Ellie asked gravely, her blue eyes wide. Hermione sighed.
Oriana was right: Cedrella was the most delicate of her children. It wasn't a physical delicacy—it was more emotional. She was quiet, shy, introverted. It was almost laughable that Regulus Black and Harry Lupin were her soul mates. They were both extroverts—handsome, popular, on the quidditch team—and they both had healthy egos and charming personalities. Then again, she supposed that they might be good for her, might help her draw out of her shell. Hermione led her daughter to the master suite and invited her into the small parlor area.
"Ellie, love, I need to talk to you about your bond," Hermione said calmly sitting down carefully on a wingback chair.
"No, Mum, we haven't consummated it," Ellie said flatly, rolling her eyes slightly. Hermione snorted.
"That wasn't what I was going to ask you. Have either of the boys ever expressed…er…romantic interest in you?" Hermione asked in slightly strained voice and then blushed. Ellie blinked at her mother.
"What exactly do you want to know, Mum?" Ellie asked softly.
"Have they ever kissed you? Or expressed an interest in kissing you? Or said 'I love you to death, Ells, but I could never kiss you'?" Hermione ploughed on determinedly. Ellie blushed.
"Mum," she said faintly. Hermione sat up straight and pierced her daughter with a gimlet stare.
"What about jealousy? Have they ever gotten jealous about you?" Hermione asked firmly. Ellie snorted at that.
"Yes. They're ridiculous. If you listened to HayJay, half of Hogwarts is panting after me," Ellie said dryly, rolling her eyes. "Reggie almost punched Maximillian Nott because, and I'm quoting here 'he was undressing you with his eyes'."
"Ah," Hermione said with satisfaction. "So they have kissed you, but you'd rather die than talk about that with your mother."
"Mum," Ellie pleaded, her cheeks bright pink. Hermione nodded, then bit her lip.
"Okay, I'm sorry about this, I truly am, and believe me sweetie, I do not want to know, but I have to ask—do they kiss in front of you?" Hermione asked cautiously, unsure of the answer. Ellie blushed bright red.
"Mum, I don't see how that's any of your business," Ellie said stiffly. Hermione relaxed completely.
"Oh thank Merlin," she said with a heavy sigh. Ellie sat up and glared at her mother.
"Did you think they were sneaking around behind my back or something? Mum, they would never!" Ellie was indignant on her bondmates' behalf. Hermione shrugged.
"I had to make sure," Hermione said quietly. "If the bond were faulty…you could have suffered a great deal."
"What would you have done?" Ellie asked her mother curiously. Hermione's eyes went cold and flat.
"I would have destroyed the bond to protect you," Hermione said slowly, watching her daughter. Ellie stared at her mother for a long moment and then nodded.
"I'm not going to tell Reggie or HayJay that…but I understand Mum," Ellie said quietly. Hermione shrugged, her eyes still cold and flat. Ellie had only seen what she privately referred to as Mum's War Face a few times, but it usually had to do with their family. Mum was a lot like Grandma Weasley when it came to her family: tenacious and over-protective. Then something occurred to her. "Mother…you didn't…er…accuse them of anything, did you?"
"No," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "I wasn't sure what was going on. I didn't think it was possible for the bond to form if you weren't all, um, compatible, but I wasn't sure. I mean, my bond is different. I was worried that maybe yours was...off somehow, but in a way that would rebound on you."
"I see," Ellie said thoughtfully. "Mum, I think I need to go see them. I think they're…anxious?"
"If you feel it then, yes, they are," Hermione said calmly. Ellie looked surprised.
"You can feel it when the Dads get upset?" Ellie asked curiously. Hermione smiled wickedly. "Oh, yes, and I can make sure they know when I'm upset as well. You can send them reassurance and calm. They won't know it's from you, yet, but you can try anyway. I'll take you with me tomorrow. You'll have to owl HayJay and see if he can get permission to see you and Reggie at Grimmauld Place."
"Remus and Tonks would let him come if it was you owling them," Ellie said slowly, turning slightly pink. Hermione narrowed her gaze at her daughter.
"I see," she said carefully. "I think perhaps we need to have a chat, triad to triad."
"Oi! Mum! Are you in here? Oh, hey!" Nat Weasley poked his head into his mother's parlor and grinned at her. "Hey, Ellie-love! Listen, Mum, er…Dad sort of had an accident in the lab and he wanted to know if you could come help."
"Which Dad, and what did they do?" Hermione said with a sigh, rubbing her forehead. Nat shrugged and grinned at his mother.
"Well, I'm not sure exactly what happened, Tim was helping, but it was our Sainted Dad who ended up in a bit of a pickle," Nat said cheerfully. Hermione rolled her eyes. George then.
"Ignatius Charles Weasley, what did your fathers do?" Hermione demanded, her hands on her hips. Nat held up his hands.
"Mum, I swear, I'm completely innocent of this whole debacle. I was working on my internship application for the Dragon…Reserve," he trailed off faintly as he realized what he'd just told his mother. Hermione's face paled dramatically.
"Do your fathers know that you're applying?" She asked calmly, smoothing her skirts, and glancing at her son out of the corner of her eye.
"Well, yeah, but," Nat started, but his mother stood up and went toe-to-toe with him, craning her neck to glare up at him.
"I knew it! Oh, when I get ahold of them," she muttered darkly. "Right. First things first. Let's go see what they've done to themselves, fix it, and then kill them both."
Hermione swept out of her parlor and marched toward her husbands' lab, followed by Ellie and Nat. The lab was a separate outbuilding, away from the Grange, and Hermione used the walking time to imagine all the different ways in which she might throttle her bondmates. She entered the lab cautiously, twenty plus years of marriage had taught her that much anyway. She frowned slightly at the scene in front of her and then turned to her son, Septimus.
"Tim, what exactly happened in here?" Hermione asked slowly.
"We were working on Colloquial Crunch, it, er…well, you can sort of see," Tim said gesturing to his father. Hermione blinked at her husband and then turned back to her sixteen year-old son.
"Where is Fred?" She asked with a sigh. Tim pointed to a dog that was snoring under the bench.
"Let sleeping dogs lie? And you, you're in a bit of a pickle, I take it?" Hermione asked dryly. George was currently a giant pickle. He tried to glare at her, but his face felt oddly stiff.
"Not quite how I'd planned," George bit out. Hermione sighed. She turned to Tim.
"Where are your Dads' notes? Give them over. Right. No one eat anything in here," Hermione said firmly. She sat down and read through their research notes, paying careful attention to everything they'd written down. Then she sat straight up and stared at George.
"You used powdered Ioca root?" She asked him flatly. He tried to nod, but couldn't, so he settled for bouncing up and down.
"Oh, George, no wonder. I told you not to use that, it's still being approved by the Apothecary's Guild. I can fix this, but it'll take a little while. Let me go see if I have any Xenial leaf," Hermione said with a resigned sigh. She turned to Nat and Ellie. "All of you stay here with your Dads. I'll be right back. Don't eat anything, don't touch anything."
F/H/G/F/H/G
"Spitfire!"
"HERMIONE!"
Hermione ran flat out from the upstairs of the Grange to the outside pavilion where they were celebrating Cedrella's graduation from Hogwarts. The seventeen year-old looked radiantly beautiful with her long dark-red hair and her wide dark-blue eyes. Her parents had given her an exquisite necklace as her coming of age gift, and it complimented the robes she was currently wearing. She was also levitating slightly off the ground. Fred and George were glaring murderously at Reggie and HayJay, and it was only by the tiniest shred of control that they hadn't throttled them both. The rest of the family looked surprised at Fred and George's behavior, but when they saw Hermione's jaw drop open and a suddenly narrowed gaze turned on her daughter's two bondmates—they started to catch on.
"Oi!" Nat yelled, and glared menacingly at the two boys, who'd pressed close to one another for comfort. Sirius moved toward his god-daughter cautiously, and put a soothing hand on her arm.
"Does this mean what I think it does?" He asked her quietly. She glared at him, then she turned her gaze on her daughter and her face softened. Hermione kissed Sirius on the cheek, and removed his hand from her arm. She levitated easily, she'd had a lot of years to perfect it after all, and moved closer to her daughter, who looked upset.
"Are you angry with me?" Ellie's voice was soft, and Hermione barely heard her.
"No, love. It had to happen sooner or later. I just…it's still a bit of a shock. Especially for your poor Dads. They like to keep thinking that you're just their little witch, and you're not really," Hermione said softly. Ellie snorted.
"I'm still their daughter," she muttered. Hermione smiled.
"Yes, you are. And now Reggie and HayJay are their sons-in-law," she said with a slight smile. Ellie glanced at her mother.
"You don't want a big scary wedding?" She asked curiously. Hermione shrugged.
"I am sure that Melisande will insist on one, and because Regulus is the Black heir, you'll sort of have to, but no. I know how binding your oath is. I know that Reggie and HayJay would never hurt you, and not just because I can flame them." Hermione stated matter-of-factly.
"They love me," Ellie murmured, blushing slightly. Hermione nodded.
"And you love them, and they love each other," Hermione said with a shrug. "It will be fine, eventually. At least you don't have a war going on at the same time, or people trying to kill you."
"Did you and the Dads have a hard time with all this stuff?" Ellie asked curiously. Their parents had never really gone into detail about the war. They'd heard things from other family members, but usually it was overheard and sort of vague. Hermione smiled slightly.
"I think any relationship has a period of adjustment," she said carefully, "and ours was perhaps tested in unusual ways. Voldemort wanted us dead because we were a triad, so we spent a lot of time just focusing on staying alive."
"Oh," Ellie's eyes were huge in her face. Hermione lifted her hand idly and there was a spinning ball of fire, rotating lazily in her palm.
"We focused on learning what we need to live, but you three aren't limited by that. You will be able to pursue other interests," Hermione said gently. She waved her hand slightly and the fireball vanished. "That being said, we should probably go down, and save your bondmates."
"Okay," Ellie said uncertainly, looking down at the ground. Hermione held out her hand with a smile, and her daughter clasped it. They floated down gently, until George grabbed Hermione and pulled her to him. HayJay had moved forward and grabbed Ellie in a similar manner, pulling her to stand between him and Reggie.
"Hermione," Fred began angrily, but Hermione just looked at him.
"What's done is done. You said it at the beginning," Hermione said firmly.
"But spitfire," George began and Hermione craned her neck to look up at him.
"It will be fine," Hermione said firmly.
George frowned and glanced at his brother who was watching their daughter with an inscrutable expression. George sighed and turned toward his baby, the youngest of all of their children. Ellie had a lot of the Weasley genes in her appearance, but a lot of her mannerisms were her mother's. She had clasped hands with her bondmates, probably to reassure them, he thought idly. It was the sort of thing that Hermione would do. HayJay and Reggie looked like they wanted to hug her, but were afraid to in front of Fred and George. He sighed. Fred glanced at him and rolled his eyes.
"If you ever hurt her," George said darkly. Reggie and HayJay looked mortally offended.
"Daddy," Ellie said warningly. Fred frowned.
"No, he's right, Ellie-love. The bond doesn't stop them from being stupid, or cruel," Fred said flatly, a dark look on his face.
"If they do something stupid, I'm sure Ellie will straighten it out," Sirius said with a sardonic look at Fred and George. "Hermione always has."
"Hmph," George grunted. Hermione elbowed him.
"Behave," she hissed at him. George sighed in irritation, and kissed his wife's forehead.
"Fine," he muttered, looking over at his brother. Fred grinned cheekily at his wife.
"Fred," she said warningly. "I don't like that look. Fred! I'm serious."
"You worry too much, love," Fred said mildly, kissing his wife briefly on the lips. "George and I have, er, something to get from the kitchen. Come along then, Georgie."
"What do you need from the kitchen?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"Oh, more food. And our present for Ellie. We left it in the kitchen," George said with a wave of his hand. Hermione watched the both of them with narrowed eyes.
"That had better be all you're doing," Hermione called after them. "I mean it! Fred! George!"
"Mum, they're not going to try and hurt Reggie or HayJay, are they?" Arctura asked worriedly, looking after her fathers. Hermione glared at their retreating figures.
"No, they love the boys," she said slowly, looking thoughtfully at Sirius. He grinned at her cheekily.
"Probably just an impotency charm," Sirius said with a shrug. Hermione snorted.
"Or a shrinking charm," Harry offered, coming to stand next to his sister and hug her. Reggie and HayJay flinched. Sirius frowned at Harry.
"Bite your tongue," Sirius said to his godson. Harry shrugged.
"They're overprotective dads. What would you do to someone who had designs on Jacqueline?" Harry asked pointedly. Sirius' face darkened and he glanced toward his pretty twelve year-old daughter.
"Right," he muttered to himself.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked his sister, his green eyes filled with love and concern. Hermione looked at the large gathering—filled with her family and friends and smiled at her brother. There were always little things that would happen, bumps in the road of life Molly called them, but they all had each other, and she knew that in the end, everything would work out for the best.
"I am," she said softly. "I really, truly am."
A/N: Brief biology note—identical twins have identical DNA. Any progeny from the same woman would all share the same number of alleles as a full sibling, so all of Hermione's children are full siblings to one another, regardless of who is the father. There is no real way to determine paternity, and I don't think they really give a damn.