Disclaimer: I own no rights to Harry Potter. They all belong to J.K.R This story is a companion piece to 'The End of Denial' which is an Mpreg story. Even though this piece is no longer Mpreg, the fact that the first story was can not be ignored, so I highly recommend reading that one first. You've been warned :D This will be a multi-chapter piece. Enjoy!
Neville Longbottom looked down at the tiny baby in his arms. The baby that he had just given birth to not even fifteen minutes ago. He couldn't take his eyes away from her little face. She looked like his mother. When Hermione had asked about the baby's name, Alice had been his immediate response. He had never expected to feel this way. He hadn't wanted this baby. Not in the least. When he realized what the spell had done, he had quickly shut off all thoughts of the future, just taking each day as it came. He could remember having a few vague thoughts of adoption, but he would quickly push them away and try to think of something else.
He shifted the baby a bit in his arms and untucked the blanket from around her. He ran a finger down the length of her little arm to her hand and let her fingers wrap loosely around the end of one of his. He raised her tiny fingers to his lips and kissed them. He didn't know what was going to happen. What he did know however, was that he wasn't giving up this baby. She belonged with him. He was sure of that now.
He was suddenly reminded of Hermione's presence when she reached over and smoothed her hand over the baby's curls. She smiled and leaned over to place a kiss on Neville's fore head.
"Thank you for letting me be here Neville." She said. Neville gave her a small smile as he continued to study his daughter's hands.
"I'm glad you were here. I was stupid to think I could go through that alone." They both looked up as Madame Pomfrey came back into the room.
"I'm afraid I need to steal this little mite away for a bit." She said as she smiled down at the baby. "I need to give her a thorough checkup and record all of her statistics." Neville nodded and wrapped the baby back up in her blanket. He kissed her soft little cheek and handed her over. "I'll bring her back in a bit." Neville sighed as he watched her carry the baby out of the room. Hermione kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the bed next to Neville, reclining back against the head board. Neville followed suite.
"So." She began. "Do you have any idea what you're going to do now?" Neville shook his head.
"Haven't got a clue." He said softly. "I guess the first thing I should do is get in touch with Gran." He hesitated. "She's going to pull a nutter." Hermione could hear the trepidation in his voice and reached out to pull him closer. She looped her arm around his back as he rested his head against her shoulder and gave a tired sigh. She started to card her fingers gently through his hair in a soothing gesture.
"It'll be alright Neville. She can't blame you for this. It's not like you intentionally went out and got pregnant. And, just so you know, no matter what happens you can count on me and I'm sure the boys and Ginny will feel exactly the same when they find out. Okay?" Neville nodded.
"Thanks Hermione." She continued to run her hand through his hair and he was on the verge of falling asleep when she spoke again.
"Where'd you get her name from?" She asked. Neville contemplated on how much to tell her. She already knew more about him than most. She may as well know about his parents as well.
"It's my mother's name. Ally looks just like her." He said with a smile. "My father's name is Frank, so, Francine for her middle name." He hesitated a bit before continuing. "I know most people think my parents must be dead since I live with Gran, but they aren't." The hand at his hair hesitated only slightly before continuing its soothing motions.
"Why aren't they with you?" She asked.
"They're in St. Mungos." Neville replied. "They were caught and tortured by Death Eaters when I was just a baby. They used the Cruciatus curse on them until their minds just snapped. Gran takes me to visit them a couple of times a year, holidays mostly, but I don't think they really know who I am. They don't even know who they are." He sighed. "They don't hold much hope of them ever getting better."
"I'm sorry Neville." Hermione said as she gave him a slight one armed hug. "I bet they would real proud of you though. Proud of Ally too. You'll have to take her along the next time you visit." She suggested and Neville nodded.
They were both resting when Madame Pomfrey returned with a lustily crying Ally in her arms. Both teenagers sat up at the sound.
"Is she alright?" Neville asked in a worried tone. Hermione scurried off of the bed as the matron approached with the baby.
"She's fine." Madame Pomfrey replied. "But I do believe she might be hungry." She said as she gave a pointed look to Hermione. The girl nodded slightly.
"Well, I'm go on up to bed." Hermione said as she turned to Neville. She leaned up and gave him a quick hug. "I'll come and visit tomorrow. Good night Neville." She stopped and placed a kiss on the fussy baby's head as Neville returned her goodbye. Madame Pomfrey swayed back and forth a bit, trying to soothe the baby in her arms.
"Well.." She said. "Let's get her started and while she's eating we can discuss some things."
"Alright." Neville agreed as he sat up straighter and stuffed a pillow behind his back for support. "Just hand me a bottle and tell me what I need to do." Madame Pomfrey smiled a bit.
"No Bottle." She replied. "An aspect of the spell you were hit with is that the baby's first few feeds need to come from you in order for the spell to be completed." Neville just looked at her in shock as the baby's plaintive wails became more demanding.
"You're serious, aren't you?" He finally said. She nodded and her smile took on a more sympathetic look. Neville sighed in defeat. "What do I do?" He asked. She had him unbutton his gown then laid the baby in his arms with her head supported by the crook of his elbow and her bottom cradled in his palm. She then showed him how to tuck her little arm down beneath his own so that she actually faced his chest. Neville wondered how this was going to work. He barely had any chest. Ally, apparently, had no qualms with this fact. As soon as she felt the nipple brush against her little lips she latched on and began to nurse in earnest. Neville flinched. It wasn't exactly painful, but it wasn't comfortable either.
Madame Pomfrey smiled as she heard the baby gulp. She leaned up to check that the baby was latched on properly and gave a nod of satisfaction.
"How long do I need to do this for?" Neville asked as he watched the baby nurse while holding her little hand in his free one.
"Until the colostrum runs out." Madame Pomfrey said. She continued at Neville's confused look. "When a baby is first born the mother doesn't produce milk right away. You'll produce a substance called colostrum for a couple of days. Normally the mother's milk would then come in. You'll just run out. At that point we'll have to switch her over to a bottle." Neville smoothed his hand over the baby's head.
"Why do I have to nurse her at all if she's going to have to be on a bottle in the end anyway?" He asked. Madame Pomfrey pulled a chair up next to his bed and sat.
"When the 'Tempus Gravis' spell was developed its main end result was a healthy baby. It's a well known fact that breast milk is best for babies, especially the colostrum of the first few days. It's loaded with the mother's antibodies that help the baby fight off any possible infections until its own immune system gets up and going. In male pregnancies a potion is needed if the birthing parent decides that they want to continue nursing. But, the spell will not run its complete course until those first few days of colostrum are used up. After that your body will return to its pre-pregnancy state. This also gives your body a chance to adjust a little better to the hormonal changes over a couple of days rather than all at once." Neville nodded in understanding and looked back down at the baby, noticing that she had stopped nursing but hadn't let go of him.
"I think she's finished." He said to Madame Pomfrey. The matron leaned over and peered at the baby.
"Burp her and then see if she'll eat from the other side at all." She instructed. She had to show Neville how to run his finger along his skin and into the corner of Ally's little mouth to break her suction before he could do anything else. The baby pouted and furrowed her brow as she was lifted to Neville's shoulder to be burped. He patted her little back, barely touching it. Madame Pomfrey smiled.
"She's not going to break Mr. Longbottom." She said as she took his hand and showed him that it was okay to put a little more force behind the pats. The baby released a soft little burp of air and promptly went to sleep. Neville moved her carefully back down into the cradle of his arms. He studied her little face for a minute then looked back up at the matron.
"I need to contact my grandmother." He said. "I have no idea how she's going to react to this, but I need to tell her." Madame Pomfrey nodded.
"In the morning will be soon enough. I think you've had more than enough to be dealing with today." She eased the baby from his arms and moved her to the little cradle that had been placed at Neville's bedside. He buttoned his gown back up and gingerly scooted down in the bed so that he could lie down. Madame Pomfrey helped him get situated before speaking again. "She'll probably be up again in a few hours to eat, so, rest while you can. I'll have Professor Dumbledore contact your grandmother and bring her in for a meeting some time tomorrow." Neville nodded. "Good night then Mr. Longbottom. If you should need anything, just pull the cord there by your head." Neville glanced up at the wall by his head and quickly spotted the cord, nodding again. He spoke as she was about to leave the room.
"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey. Thank you for all of your help." She smiled to him before closing the door.
"You're quite welcome Mr. Longbottom." She left as he turned onto his side so that he could see the baby's cradle. He was asleep in minutes.
