It was a quiet morning at the Burrow, and all of it's inhabitants were peacefully sleeping. This included Harry Potter-Weasley, one of the Saviors of the Wizarding World. Recently, he and his husband, Ron, took down the most evil Wizard in centuries and freed everyone from living in a world of fear. They were heroes.
Harry was awoken by a loud spluttering noise. "Ron!" he groaned. "Could you not do that in the bed?!"
"That wasn't me!" he yelled back groggily and a bit embarrassed. The two boys looked up and saw the house elf, known as Dobby, standing in the corner with a tissue and blowing his nose.
"Dobby! What're you doing here?" Harry asked.
"Dobby has wonderful news for Master Potter-Wheezy! Well, it wonderful news to Dobby, but Dobby not sure if..."
"What's the news, Dobby." Harry stopped his friend before he got too worked up.
"Well, because Dobby is a free House elf, it was suggested that I come and work for you and your husband!"
Harry looked at Ron, who was giving him the same confused look that Harry was sure he was giving. They'd just gotten married a couple of weeks ago and returned from their honeymoon in Japan just two days ago. They hadn't put any thought towards a house, much less a house elf.
"Well, Dobby," Ron started. "When we do finally get a house, you're more than welcome to come with us. It's just, we haven't gotten our own place yet."
"Oh, Dobby knows sir. Dobby was just so happy with the news that he wanted to share it."
Dobby was as devoted to Harry, and by extension Ron, as ever. He considered it a personal treat to be their House Elf.
"We're excited for you, Dobby!" Harry smiled. "Now, not to be rude or anything, but could you maybe come back later this afternoon? I haven't been sleeping much lately and it's starting to effect me."
Harry was now in his fifth month of pregnancy and was having difficulty finding a comfortable position to lie in. Also, Tiberius has begun kicking, which was amazing at first, but now was working his nerves something fierce.
"Oh of course, Master Potter-Wheezy!" and with a 'pop' he was gone.
Harry and Ron laid back down and were about to drift back off to sleep, when another loud spluttering noise rang out.
"Sorry," Ron said. "Couldn't hold it."
After a few more hours of sleep, Harry and Ron got up and got dressed for what was now lunch. They sat at the table where it was just Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. The rest of the Weasley boys were at work or living on their own.
"Well, nice to see you two among the living," Molly jokingly chastised. "How are you feeling, Harry dear?"
"I'm alright. The walk up and down the stairs isn't getting any easier, that's for sure." he laughed. "We actually had a visitor this morning."
"Yeah, Dobby popped in and said that he'd be our House Elf when we finally got our own place." Ron added, fixing a plate for himself and Harry.
"So when are you two moving out?" Ginny bluntly asked. She didn't mean any harm by it, of course.
"I'm not sure. I mean...Grimmauld Place is always an option." Harry said, referring to the house left to him by his godfather, Sirius Black.
"Are you sure? That place will need a lot of work. Besides, do you think you'll be all right living there, given the circumstances?"
Harry knew what Ron was talking about. Almost two years ago, Sirius was killed by Death Eaters in a battle against Voldemort. He was the closest thing that Harry had to a father figure at the time and was someone who was very close to his actual parents.
"I think we could completely remodel the place, make it our own. I miss him terribly, but me not accepting the house he left for me, won't bring him back. Besides it might do some good to see more of the place he grew up in and learn more about him."
Harry had lost so many people in his short life. His parents, Sirius, and recently his pseudo-grandparents, Albus Dumbledore and Arashi Ryuuzaki. It never got any easier, but Harry was much better with coping with loss than he had been before.
"If you're sure," Ron hesitantly said. He was concerned about his husband, because he had a habit of bottle up emotions and releasing them in the oddest ways. The last argument the couple had, Harry hadn't said a word for about two days afterwards. Then Ron began to find his underwear frozen solid for a week after that.
"Well, you don't want to move now, do you?" Molly asked. "You can't think about moving house in your condition. Besides, you both are more than welcome to stay here as long as you please." She wasn't ready to have her youngest sons leave the nest just yet. Harry had just begun to have happy memories of family and she wanted to make sure she could help those continue, and spoil him for a bit longer.
"We should probably start moving before I'm too far gone, actually. Besides, I won't have to lift anything really. I'll just levitate the heavy stuff."
"You sound like you're ready to move today," Ron said, mouth full of food. He was pushing Harry's plate towards him, making sure the boy ate something.
"Not today, but soon. Best to get it out of the way, yeah? Besides, we're due for a scan today."
"Oh right, you hurry and finish and I'll go and get dressed." Ron said, putting his plate in the sink.
Harry began to eat his sandwiches and began to think about the upcoming work ahead of him.
"Well, Harry. Let me know when you decide to move, and I'll see about helping." Arthur said.
"Well, I don't have much, and I'm pretty sure Grimmauld Place is still furnished, so there shouldn't be much, but I appreciate it, Papa."
Arthur just nodded in understanding and finished his coffee. He then picked up his briefcase and headed to the front door to Apparate to work.
"Well, I'm off to work. See you all later!" he said kissing his wife's cheek on the way out.
"Bye!" everyone called as he made his way.
Harry then turned to Ginny. "What have you got planned for today?" he asked.
"Not much." Summer holidays had officially started about a month ago, in order to rebuild the castle, so she was really free as a bird. "Why?"
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come with Ron and I to the scan. Wanna see your nephew for the first time?"
"Yeah, alright!" she cheered. "I'll go get changed." She dashed upstairs to get ready.
Harry finished his lunch and placed his plate in the sink and cast a washing spell on the lot. "How about you, Mum?" He asked his ginger mother-in-law.
"Not today, dear. The gnomes are piling up in the gardens. I need to get out there and sort it out, but tell me all about it when you get home alright?" she said, kissing his forehead.
"You've got it." He said before slowly making his way upstairs.
Ron, Harry and Ginny arrived at St. Mungo's and were directed to the prenatal unit. They sat and waited for the Healer to call them in.
"Mr. Potter-Weasley!" a blonde healer called as she approached them. They were easy to spot after all. The two young men who were either hesitantly signing autographs or being surrounded by enamored fans, thanking them for their service.
Ron stood and with a bit of hindrance, Harry finally stood. They followed the Healer to her office.
"Good afternoon! I'm Healer Winthrop and I'll be performing your scan today." she perkily introduced herself.
"Hi, I'm Harry, this is Ron, and our sister, Ginny."
"Pleasure to meet you all. Well shall we get started?"
Healer Winthrop then brandished her wand and directed Harry to the table to lie upon. "Now I'm going to perform a routine Sonar Viewing spell, so we can get a good look at the baby. According to my charts you already know it's gender?"
"That's right." Harry said.
"Well let's just make sure everything is all right and that your baby is healthy. Occulus Rizmando Drivor, Fropius Holwinn Jangro," she recited while making a circle on Harry's stomach. Suddenly, an image began to appear just above it. It was fuzzy at first but Harry could clearly see...what looked to be sort of like a baby.
"Oh my..." the healer remarked. "This is a bit strange. Is it all right if I call in a colleague?" she asked.
"I suppose, is everything all right?" Harry worriedly asked.
"I believe so, but I'd just like to make sure, what we're seeing is...well what we're seeing."
She summoned a colleague of hers into the room, a healer by the name of Richards. They both looked at the image above Harry's stomach with fascination and a bit of confusion.
"Mr. Potter-Weasley," Healer Richards began. "Let me first stat off by assuring you that your son is in perfect health from what we can tell. The reason we're so intrigued is that...well he doesn't appear to be fully human."
"WHAT?!" Harry and Ron shouted.
"If you'll look at the image here," he pointed. "He's got a human's general shape. He's got hands with five fingers each and toes of the same number. He's just got...extra appendages."
Harry began to panic..."Are you saying my son's a freak?!" he yelled.
"No! No! Nothing like that. He's got a rare condition that influences his appearance. Are either of you Animagi?"
"We both are, sort of." Harry explained.
"We're Elemental Mages, I can turn into a phoenix and Harry turns into a tiger."
"That explains everything!" Healer Richards smiled. "You see your son has what's called 'Capricorn's Folly', It's a condition that occurs in less than 1% of the magical human population. Your son has taken traits from both of your Animagi forms and his appearance reflects both. As you can see here..." he said, pointing to a specific spot on the screen. "He's got a pair of what look to be cat ears and...those are the beginnings of his wings. He's also forming a very long tail and seems to be covered in fur that differs from the hair on his head."
"So...our son's a...what would you call that?"
"Well, I can't say I've seen this combination before, but no matter what he's still your baby, so it's up to you."
Harry and Ron shared a worried glance. Nothing could ever just be normal for them, could it.
"You're sure he won't suffer ay illnesses because of this?"
"No, he seems to be quite healthy, indeed. I'm actually going to call in another colleague of ours who can give you more information. He was born with Capricorn's Folly as well."
After he was summoned, the Healer, known as Healer Graves, was introduced to the Potter-Weasleys.
He was taller than the boys with long black hair, he looked to be a normal human.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Healer Richards told me of your...predicament. I can assure you as someone with the 'Folly', it's nothing to worry about."
"But you look like a normal bloke..." Ron said disbelievingly.
"That's just the glamor I keep up for work, this is what I really look like." he said then he closed his eyes and focused. He was face suddenly sprouted a beak like a raven's and was covered in sleek black feathers. His hair and posture remained the same. "You see, my father was a raven Animagi."
"Whoa." Harry, Ginny and Ron said at the same time
"Growing up was a bit tough. I was picked on a lot as a kid, then I learned how to put up glamors and I was fine. After a while I grew to like my real body, so when I'm not at work, this is how I look."
"Do you face any problems now?" Harry asked, worried about his son's future.
"I do, but I don't let it bother me. My family is very supportive and love me with everything they have. Besides, I don't think your child will face as much adversity as I did."
"What makes you say that?" asked Ron.
"Look who his parents are. They'll either be too awestruck of you two to say anything or be too afraid of what you'd do to them." he chuckled and put his glamor back up.
Harry and Ron shared a look. They knew he was right, but they were still worried. "Well, thank you for your reassurances. It looks like we've got a lot to prepare for." Harry said.
"I'll leave you my card, in case you have any further questions or concerns," Healer Graves said.
"We appreciate that, mate." Ron said. With that they shook everyone's hands and prepared to head back to the Burrow.
The whole way back no one said a word. Until Ginny finally spoke up. "Come on guys, you heard what he said. It's not that bad! It's not bad at all really!"
"It's just..." Harry began to try to articulate his thoughts. "I was hoping that he wouldn't have to go through any of the teasing and bullying I went through as a child."
"Well, kids are mean sometimes. Even if he weren't different, he'd still encounter the odd bully. You honestly don't realize what he'll have to go through living in you guys' shadow." she said. "He'll always be compared to you and be held to some high standard, because he's the son of the Saviors of the Wizarding World."
They both had an idea of what it was like to live with pressures like that. Pressure to be something great, to be above the rest, or to just break out of a relative's shadow. This honestly doesn't change any of that.
"You're right, Gin," Ron said. "Well, he's got two fathers and an aunt who'll love him regardless, right guys?"
"Absolutely," Harry said putting a hand to his stomach.
"I'm already planning on spoiling him rotten as we speak." Ginny smirked.
"I think he'll be getting a lot of that," Harry laughed. "We'll have to make sure he stays somewhat humble, I don't want another Malfoy running around..." Harry said sadly, remembering his fallen 'enemy'.
"Don't worry, we'll teach him right from wrong, and how to treat people like people, and to be happy with himself, and so much more." Ron assured his husband. "We're gonna do great! Can't wait to meet you in person, Ty." He said rubbing his husband's stomach.
"One thing's for sure, he won't ever be lonely." Harry joked.