The Pregnancy Chronicles

Disclaimer: No, no and more no. I own nothing except maybe minor characters. That is all.

January 2005

New Years Day dawned bright and early on the Potter home and Ginny stirred when she felt the warmth of the morning sun on her face. She didn't want to get up. All she wanted to do was sleep some more. Judging by the way the sun was hitting her face; Ginny reckoned it was only seven.

Unwillingly, she opened her eyes and glanced at her alarm clock. Her guess was correct as she saw it was seven thirty.

Stretching, Ginny snuggled into the warmth of her still sleeping husband, resting her hand on his chest. She enjoyed moments like this when she woke before Harry did. She liked seeing him look so relaxed and at ease. That and she was totally jealous of his insanely long eyelashes. She didn't think it was fair that men had such long eyelashes while women spent a small fortune trying to attain them. Men have it so lucky, Ginny though to herself as she pressed her legs against Harry's. But babies also have long eye—

Just the word 'babies' brought her crashing back to reality and a wave of guilt overcame her.

She still hadn't told Harry she was pregnant.

She had been meaning to tell him about the positive pregnancy test when he returned from his week long mission in France but the night before he came home, Ginny had used the toilet to discover that she was bleeding.

A panic-stricken Ginny had rushed to St. Mungo's where a Healer had examined her and told her that the baby was well. Healer Morris had explained to a tearful Ginny that bleeding during the first month of pregnancy was normal. The examination had also revealed that Ginny was about six weeks pregnant and that everything looked well. However, while Healer Morris said that the bleeding was normal, she also wanted to closely monitor Ginny too, just to make sure nothing abnormal would happen.

The fear that she could miscarry—especially with her recent bleeding—was the reason why she didn't tell Harry she was pregnant.

She just couldn't imagine telling Harry that they were going to have a baby only to tell him later that she miscarried. She didn't want to see the heartbreak on his face. Ginny knew that Harry wanted a family and the thought of dashing that wish away was enough to make the witch sick.

The Healer told her that because she was in the first trimester, her risk of miscarriage was greatest in the 13-week time zone. However, Healer Morris reassured Ginny by telling her that during the eighth week of pregnancy, her chance of miscarriage was greatly reduced.

That was nearly two weeks ago and Ginny was rapidly approaching her eighth week. She knew she had to tell Harry and she definitely planned on it. She wondered if she should wait until she passed the day of the eighth week but she decided against that. She was too impatient.

These thoughts plagued her as she got out of bed, shivering as her feet touched the cold floorboards. She padded to the bathroom and shut the door quietly so she didn't wake Harry. She eyed the toilet warily and prayed that she wouldn't have to vomit. Her nausea had been on and off the past few days; some mornings she would spend all morning in the bathroom and others she would be perfectly all right.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Ginny groaned when she saw how disgusting she looked. Her hair was a mess and the minimal makeup she had worn was smeared. Grumbling to herself, Ginny scrubbed her face and combed through her long hair and put it into a ponytail.

Once that was done with, she proceeded to glance at herself in the full-length mirror in the corner of the bathroom. Turning to the side, she noticed that her stomach wasn't as flat as it usually was.

It's either a food baby or the actual baby, Ginny mused to herself as she imagined herself with a huge belly and waddling about the house, unable to see her feet.

Thinking about the pregnancy only reminded Ginny that she had to tell her family—especially Harry. So far, only Healer Morris and Elizabeth knew that she was in the family way and Elizabeth especially was excited.

If it's a girl, her friend wrote in a letter to Ginny, Elizabeth, naturally. And if it's a boy, Elizabetto.

Ginny needed to tell Harry but she just didn't want to walk up to him and say, "Hi I'm pregnant." She wanted to surprise him.

But how?

So focused on these thoughts that when Ginny opened the door she smacked right into Harry.

"Whoa there," Harry laughed softly as he steadied Ginny. He rubbed her arms tenderly and pressed a loving to kiss to her forehead. "First off, good morning, love. Second, what has got you so out of sorts that you don't even realize that I was right in front of the door?"

Ginny looked up at Harry and reached up on her tiptoes (damn her height sometimes!) to ruffle his hair affectionately. "It's seven thirty in the morning," Ginny said. "Can't expect me to be coherent until at least eight thirty."

Harry smiled at her before glancing at the shower. Suddenly, his eyes darkened and he asked his wife casually, "are you coherent enough to take a shower with me?"

A slow smile spread across Ginny's face and she replied cheekily, "well of course. After all, conserving water is best, right?"

In the end, Ginny never got to plan out something special to tell Harry she was pregnant.

After a very fun shower (where more water was wasted than conserved), Ginny had felt the familiar twinge in her stomach and she knew that vomiting wasn't too far off. She just made it to the toilet before she threw up, keeping her eyes shut so she wouldn't see the sick.

Harry, now very concerned about Ginny's frequent nausea, sent a Patronus to Elizabeth's sister, a Healer, to please come over as soon as she could.

Leah Gold arrived within the hour and by then, Harry had forced Ginny into bed, threatening to tell her mother that she hadn't been taking care of herself. The poor man was worried sick, thinking that something was terribly wrong with his wife.

Leah listened to Harry speak about Ginny's symptoms and a knowing look came into her eyes. After a quick examination, Leah had announced that Ginny would feel better in about seven months.

In the time it took Leah to wink at Ginny and Disapparate, Harry had finally realized the meaning of Leah's words.

"Y-You're pregnant?" Harry asked faintly, staring at Ginny as if she grew three heads.

"Yes," Ginny said, getting out of bed to sit on the edge of the mattress. She eyed Harry warily, not sure how he would take the news.

"So, in seven months, we're going to be parents. We're going to have a baby," Harry said. His face still hadn't changed in its expression, something that worried Ginny. Is he not happy that I'm pregnant? The redhead thought to herself frantically. Does he not want this baby?

Even though inside, she was freaking out, she still kept a mask of composure on her face. She nodded and said, "yes."

Harry returned her nod and the next thing Ginny knew, she was falling onto her back, Harry on top of her as he hugged and kissed her face.

"A baby!" Harry said excitedly. "We're going to have a baby!"

Ginny felt a wave of relief crash over her as she heard Harry's excited voice. "So you aren't angry?" Ginny asked hesitantly.

"Angry?" Harry looked at her dubiously. "Are you mad? I'm so happy. I know we wanted to wait a bit before we started a family but—" He paused a moment before studying Ginny's face. "You don't seem too thrilled that you're pregnant," he said. "In fact, it looks like you already knew?"

Ginny inwardly groaned but she knew she had to tell Harry the truth, which she did. Harry hadn't been mad at all. He understood completely and to him, all that mattered was that she was happy that they were expecting a baby.

A baby.

Now that Harry knew about the pregnancy and was happy about it, Ginny finally allowed herself to get excited about the pregnancy. She thought of black haired babies with messy hair and her brown eyes and she smiled to herself, thinking about how wonderful that would be.

"What are you thinking about, love?" Harry asked her, noticing the smile.

Ginny looked at her husband and smiled teasingly. "Oh, just thinking about how ridiculous our child would look if we had a girl and she had your hair."

"Hey!" Harry yelped before he pinned her into the mattress. "You take that back."

Ginny laughed and tried to swat him away. "Never!" She proclaimed. "You can't make me either." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh yeah?" Harry's eyes glinted dangerously and Ginny had a feeling something awful was about to happen. "We'll see about that." Quick as a flash, his hands were out and he was tickling her sides.

"No!" Ginny shouted before dissolving into a fit of giggles, twisting and turning on the bed as she tried to escape him. "You're such a—haha—prat!"

"Take it back," Harry grinned as he continued to tickle her. "And I'll stop tickling you."

"Stop!" Ginny shouted, her words mixed with fits of laughter. "Stop! I'm going to—haha—pee on myself!"

Harry did stop when Ginny said that and he pressed a soft kiss to her temple. "That'll teach you to make fun of my hair," he said as he cuddled her, his hand on her stomach.

Ginny covered his hand with hers and smiled in contentment, basking in the warmth of Harry's body and their combined happiness.

"Hey Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"You know we're going to have to tell my family, right?"

"Shit."

xxxxxx

"Did Grandma Molly make treacle tart for dessert tonight?" Teddy asked Harry and Ginny curiously as they made their way down the lane to the Burrow.

"I hope so, buddy," Harry remarked. "That's my favorite dessert."

"Mine too!" Teddy exclaimed and gazed up at his godfather adoringly.

Ginny bit back a laugh, knowing that Teddy loved treacle tart because Harry loved the sweet dessert. The six year old tried to emulate Harry in everything he did—including copying Harry's hair. Today, Teddy's hair was the same color as Harry's and it even stuck up in the back like Harry's did.

Sunday Family Dinners were a weekly thing at the Burrow. Molly Weasley demanded it, as she loved to be surrounded by her growing family of children and grandchildren. Everyone attended because no one wanted to face the wrath of the Weasley matriarch. Even her sons, who towered over her in height, still cowered when their mother brandished her wand and shouted at them.

As they neared the house, Harry picked Teddy up and took his wand out. Muttering a few choice words, a path was created for them through the snow, away from the normal walkway. George enjoyed setting booby traps beneath the snow so that when people walked on the path, they would fall flat on their faces. Harry had fallen for that one too many times.

When they got inside the house safely, Harry and Ginny helped Teddy take off his winter apparel and boots before watching him run off, yelling to his cousins that he was here.

"Oi! The Potters are here! About time, we're starving!" Ron quipped as he approached Harry and Ginny, hugging them both. "Hurry up, Mum won't even let me in the kitchen but now that you're here, I can eat."

"Honestly, Ronald," Hermione scolded as she hugged her two friends also. "Is food all you think about?"

"I'm sure he thinks about other things too, Hermione," George said, eavesdropping on the conversation, a wicked grin on his face. "Although I think it's probably about se—OW!"

Angelina, knowing that whatever her husband would say wouldn't be good, smacked George upside the head. "You deserve it," she said breezily, resting her hands on top of her swollen middle. "I would hug you two," she said to Harry and Ginny, "but I'm as big as a barge."

"Oh Angie," Ginny scolded as they walked towards the kitchen, "you are not huge. You're pregnant."

"I can't see my feet anymore," Angelina complained. "Sleeping is awful, the heartburn is ridiculous, the false contractions are hell and my charming son seems to enjoy pressing on my bladder every five minutes. Speaking of that, I'll be right back." Angelina turned and waddled in the opposite direction, aiming for the bathroom.

Is that what I have to look forward to? Ginny thought to herself as she entered the kitchen and accepted an enthusiastic hug from her mother.

"Sit down!" Molly said, nearly shoving her youngest child into a chair. "We'll start eating as soon as—Ronald Weasley, if you do not move away from that dish I will hex your fingers off."

Looking slightly guilty and alarmed, Ron scurried to his seat, which was right next to Harry's. Hermione sat to Ginny's left and the two women started a conversation about work. Hermione was very enthusiastic about a new piece of House Elves legislation that was being introduced and she proceeded to tell Ginny all about the bill.

Rather quickly, the entire kitchen was filled with Weasleys as they all sat down at the table. Teddy sat in between Harry and Ginny, eyeing Victoire warily. "She keeps trying to kiss me," Teddy whispered to Harry frantically. "But I don't want her to kiss me. Girls are icky."

"Thanks for that, Teddy," Ginny said in a mock huff.

Teddy's eyes widened and his hair quickly turned red. "No! Not all girls are icky. You and Nana and Grandma Molly are the onliest girls allowed to kiss me."

"That's better," Ginny laughed as she kissed Teddy's cheek, watching as her niece's face screwed up into a scowl. "Here, do you want some potatoes?"

The food was passed around the table easily as Molly watched carefully in order to make sure that no one was hogging one dish. As Ginny cut up Teddy's food, she heard broken bits of conversation surrounding the table. Hermione was scolding Ron for eating too fast ("honestly Ron, you act as if you have never seen food before!"), her father was coaxing Harry into explaining how digital cameras work and her mother was trying to get Bill into cutting his hair for the thousandth time ("Mum, Fleur and Vic like my hair and that's all that matters to me.").

"Hey Gin," George called from the opposite side of the table, a smirk on his face. "Eating contest?"

Hearing the words 'eating contest' brought Molly out of her one-sided conversation with Bill. "No." Their mother said firmly. "We're having a nice dinner and—"

"Five Galleons on Ginny," Bill said as Ron nodded in agreement.

"Five on George," Percy called as he fed his two-year-old daughter some mashed potatoes. His wife, Audrey, glared at him and Percy held up his hands defensively. "What? George won by a landslide on Christmas. It's only fair to bet on him."

Ginny scowled, remembering how badly she lost. She had blamed it on stress and her ever-present nausea. It still hadn't stopped George from lording it in her face that he beat her.

"Five on George as well," Angelina said. "Sorry, Ginny, but he did beat you last time. You looked positively nauseous and it wasn't a good look on you."

"Thanks for the support, Ang." Ginny said dryly, feeling Harry's hand on her thigh. She relaxed when he felt her squeeze her knee and she knew that they would have to tell her family within the next few moments that they were expecting a baby.

"I don't think an eating contest is a good idea," Harry cut in. "You two already ate an alarming amount of food. You wouldn't be proving anything if you competed right now."

Molly looked at Harry approvingly and said, "Harry is right. There is no need—"

"A drinking contest then!" George announced, clapping his hands together.

"George, what on earth is it with you and contests—"

"—GEORGE WEASLEY. I will not have you and your sister get drunk in front of the children!

"Daddy!" Victoire tugged on Bill's arm impatiently. "What does 'drunk' mean?"

"I got the Firewhiskey!" Ron cheered as he brought the bottle out, dancing just out of reach from a murderous looking Hermione.

"Mum, we're not going to get drunk," George said, trying to be heard above the numerous conversations now going around the table. "We Weasleys hold our liquor well! Besides, what else is a Sobering Solution good for?"

"Arthur!" Molly rounded on her husband. "Arthur, do something about this!"

The older wizard opened his mouth to say something but stopped when Ron shoved two shot glasses in front of George and Ginny. "Drink up!" Ron said cheerfully.

Ginny eyed the liquid with barely concealed panic. She wasn't about to drink this and harm her baby. However, this wasn't the way that she and Harry wanted to announce their pregnancy…

"Er," Harry said, his facial expression mirroring Ginny's. "I don't think this is also a good idea."

"Why not?" George demanded as he downed his shot and slammed the glass on the table, smacking his lips. "C'mon Ginny, I've already one upped you. Catch up."

Ginny's temper flared and she shoved the drink away. "I'm not drinking that," she said testily.

"Why not?" Ron asked curiously. "You never had a problem before. What's going on with you Ginny? You haven't been your usual self since before Christmas."

"And I won't be for a while," Ginny muttered, feeling uncomfortable as her mother eyed her suspiciously. Ginny knew it wouldn't take long before her mother put two and two together. After all, Molly Weasley was quite familiar with pregnancy. She's going to have kittens when she hears the news, Ginny thought to herself.

"Why not, Ginny?" Arthur asked concern etched on his face.

Ginny sighed and twined her fingers with Harry under the table. "This wasn't the way we wanted to tell you," she said as she looked at her husband. "But I guess we have no choice. In seven months, you lot can expect a new addition to our Sunday night dinners."

There was a pregnant (no pun intended) pause before absolute chaos erupted. Mrs. Weasley burst into tears and lunged at Ginny and Harry, grabbing them both in tight hugs. Arthur beamed with joy; Hermione jumped in on the hugging action while Angelina laughed and told a stunned George, "Oh they're in for it now. They don't know what hit them."

xxxxxx

Thanks to your lovely reviews, you guys are getting a nice long, chapter (about 3200 words) to show my appreciation for you readers. You guys are the bee's knees.

By the way, have you noticed the new changes to this site? What is it with these new pictures in front of the stories? I'm not too fond of them, to be honest. Lame.