By My Side

A/N: I do not own anything related to the world of Harry Potter.

This fic was also written for the Sacred Stones Competition on the Diagon Alley II forum. My prompt for this round is 'life' (SoulStone) and I was required to write a one-shot regarding either child birth (labour) or finding out that I am pregnant. As such, I have written this in the view that I am Alicia Spinnet, and have done so using first-person. I have changed my story after originally writing it in third person, so I apologise if the use of 'I' and 'my' etc seem too repetitive.

I hope I did this justice, and that the ending isn't too weak. No opinions expressed in this are necessarily how I feel, or at least it is not something that I am trying to impose on anyone else. My opinions are my own, and this is just a story. I know it's a little odd that she is with George but I sort of wasn't thinking when writing that part haha and in my head better things (not that one can get better than George) come along and she still remains friends with Angie… I may write another fic surrounding it J

A huge thank you to TwilightMoonbeams for beta-ing this! FF ate up some of my words and quite a few sentences needing fixing- as always, she manages to save my stories J Seriously, go check out her work!

Word count: 1573

"Please remember these essays are due in two days' time- if they are not on my desk by the 28th, you can be sure that you are not ready for your NEWTs next year" Professor McGonagall looked pointedly at our class, allowing her disapproving gaze to linger on each of our faces.

Lee let out a cry of anguish, reminding the class that the added workload would cut into the precious time he had planned to spend working on pranks with the Weasley twins. The rest of the students let out groans of protest as they gathered their thick books, scraping their chairs against the ground in an effort to clear the room.

Unlike the other students rushing to exit the classroom, I was frozen in place, mentally reciting McGonagall's instruction- the same words playing over and over again until I muttered out loud, 'The 28th? But that shouldn't be for another fortnight, not if-'

"Yeah, I know right? That's only two days away and Flitwick wants us to practice a few Charms! Are you coming Leesh?" Dirk inquired as he tried to slide past me and follow the rest of the sixth years to dinner.

His interruption brought me back to reality and I shook my head, trying to focus on the matter at hand. No, McGonagall had the date wrong- that was all. She had to be mistaken, otherwise it would mean that- no, she was definitely wrong.

Waving Dirk away, I gathered my books and approached the professor, determined to put my mind at ease.

"Excuse me, Professor? I think you may have mistaken the dates. You see, Friday is only the 16th or so, I'm sure. I just wanted to-"

Through her square spectacles, Professor McGonagall scanned me from head to toe, shaking her head. "No, Miss Spinnet, Friday the 28th October is the correct date," she pointed to a neatly-drawn calendar in her book so that I could see, "and I expect you to have your essay then. Really, I would've thought you were more than prepared."

"Yes Professor, I will- I am. Uh, excuse me."

Disregarding the confused look she gave me, I ran from the room and all the way to the dormitory. Dumping my heavy bag unceremoniously onto my bed, I quickly ruffled through my underwear draw and pulled out my own calendar.

On the crumpled white parchment, in a neat little box highlighted with purple ink, I had written a small little 'p'. A dozen others preceded it but they had been retraced with red ink. Now, however, the lone mark above the 14th signified my worst nightmare. It wasn't a mistake; I was late.

With wobbly knees, I sunk to the floor. How could I have been so stupid? With such a heavy workload, I had completely lost track of time and my missed cycle went unnoticed. The signs had been there, of course- just last week I had been sick, but when others experienced the same symptoms I ignored any indication of disorder. Like me, they had tried a few of the twins' test products to avoid Umbridge's class.

Tears sprang from my eyes and I trembled, still lying on the floor. This could not be happening- I had a whole future planned out. As soon as the next school year ended, I had my heart set on the healer training program the Ministry was currently offering to graduates. Now, my goal of being a healer was hardly more than a dream.

I let out a heavy sigh thinking about it… him…. her. Ever since I was little my mother had always strived to in still in me the value of life, and I still agree wholeheartedly with her stance against abortion. I couldn't go through with it- I got emotional at the mere thought of treading on an ant for Merlin's sake, so how could I kill my own child?

An hour later, I was still rocking back and forth when there was a knock at the door. In a shaky voice, I called for the person to enter, drying my tears with the sleeve of my robe.

"You just missed the best dinner! You should've seen Umbridge's face- Merlin, it was hilarious the way Fred- Alicia, are you ok?" Angelina stopped mid-sentence and flew down upon me, concern etched in her kind face.

Biting back a sob, I wrapped my arms around her. Angelina rubbed soothing circles into my back as I began to cry again, uttering soft words as she did so.

"There, there, all better? Now tell me, what's wrong?"

"I- um- I-" an uncomfortable lump formed in my throat preventing me from forming proper words.

"You can tell me, you know that right?"

"Yes- I-" this time, my words were interrupted by an unexpected hiccough.

Angelina went to her own drawer and pulled out a small vial of amber liquid. Coming towards me, she thrust it into my hand and told me to drink- I hesitated, not sure what concoction she had given me, but her stern expression urged me to drink it. Obediently, I swallowed a quick mouthful letting the sweet mixture slide down my throat. It had the taste and consistency of honey but with a hint of lemon. It didn't take long for the effect to work, slowing my rapidly beating heart and warming me up from inside.

"There, better now? That was just a simple potion Oliver used to give me before Quidditch to calm nerves- although now that I think about it, we should probably use it on Ron," Angelina smiled at me and I felt my own lips curve up in response. "Alright, when you're ready, tell me what's wrong."

I couldn't delay it any further. Taking a deep breath, I launched into the story that quite possibly, I was pregnant. Her eyes grew bigger as I wove the tragic tale of how it all began, trying to be as concise as possible without going into any unnecessary and, quite frankly embarrassing, details.

It was an anxious few minutes as I sat there, chewing on my lip and waiting for her to scream at me for being such an idiot. If our roles were reversed, I would certainly be doing the same thing to her. However, the dark-skinned girl simply shook her head and sunk down onto the nearest bed.

"So, let me get this straight… you're pregnant, or at least you think you are, and it's not planned?"

"Of course not!" was she crazy? Did she honestly think my life's ambition was to be a mother at seventeen?

"Ok, ok, just checking. So, you two unexpectedly got together after we won the last Quidditch match, correct? You didn't take the potion because you weren't expecting to have sex, and because Katie had borrowed the last of your supply?"

"Correct."

At the time, I didn't mind supplying my team-mate with the control-potion from my own stock, not wanting her to end up pregnant or with a permanent infection. It was too bad that I hadn't thought of myself in that moment of generosity.

"And the father is George?"

"It has to be- he's the only one I've slept with, you know that!" I cried indignantly, not understanding why Angelina suddenly bore a smirk on her face. She knew very well that I did not sleep around with guys, especially when I was in a steady relationship.

"Well, that settles it then."

"What? I'm a slut? One of those typical, knocked up teenagers who can't control their emotions?"

Angelina continued to grin at me before finally replying, "Well, no. I'm going to be an aunt!"

"What?"

She laughed, patting her knees to control her merriment, "Well, I'm dating Fred and we'll probably get married, and you're with George, so now you can get married and we'll be a family! You're like a sister to me, and now this will be official!"

I groaned- of course Angelina would see my news as something worth celebrating. As nice as the proposal sounded, for I had always wanted a sister, it didn't solve the million other issues I would soon have to face. Did this mean I had to get married? How did I tell George? What would I do about NEWTs next year? What would my parents think?

Angelina quickly realised it was too early to make jest of the situation and held her hands up in surrender, "Okay, okay, I'll stop planning your wedding," when I smiled gratefully, she continued, "because I can't anyway, not until we know for certain. Come on, up you get!"

She perked up, intent to take me to the dreaded Hospital Wing, but when she noticed I was still glued to the floor, she turned around and flashed a sympathetic smile.

"Best to get it over with, and don't worry, Madame Pomfrey knows how to keep a secret," she winked conspiratorially and grabbed for my hand. "Come on; let's see your Gryffindor courage, that's it. We'll sort this out, together."

I managed to put on a brave face and nodded in agreement. She was right, of course- there was no point in worrying about anything if I didn't know my situation for certain. With her hand protectively wrapped around my own, I followed my best friend down the steps.

If I was to find out my fate now, at least I would have a friend by my side.