Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, it encouraged me to write this chapter faster! This one is also back to the more average length, enjoy!
--Chapter 6--
They were woken from their slumber by the sound of footsteps. Sitting up together and moving to lean against the headboard, silently, they could tell from the light outside that it was almost dawn. As the footsteps approached they turned to see who it was and were unsurprised to see a stern-faced Albus Dumbledore stalking towards them. They exchanged nervous glances before turning towards the professor, who stopped at the foot of the bed and surveyed them. The tension was tangible and no one wanted to break the silence. It could have been hours, though it was unlikely to be more than a minute, before Harry cracked.
"So…Madame Pomfrey mentioned something about procedures…what exactly does that mean?"
"Indeed, Mr Potter," his voice was void of emotion and his face was blank, "It means that, due to the actions of you and your…partner, we now have an extremely sensitive situation on our hands and I am unsure about what can be done to right your foolish mistakes."
Charlie jumped up, swinging his legs around so that he could stand and face Dumbledore, though he remained close to Harry's side who sat, head hung, on the bed.
"How dare you speak like that to us," Charlie fumed, "You have no right to treat us like that. We have followed all your rules."
"It is clear that you have not, Professor Weasley, or we would not be having this conversation," Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling dangerously. Charlie's ears turned pink in anger and for the first time in knowing him, Harry was reminded of Ron and he realised that the famous Weasley temper did not start with the youngest red heads.
"I think it is clear, that you are going senile in your old age," Harry gasped but Charlie ignored him, "as it seems you are incapable of simple mathematics. Harry is 8 weeks gone, which would make the conception at the beginning of August and therefore before we came to this school and before you even wrote to me about joining the staff. If I didn't work here, we wouldn't have a problem and to be honest, I don't even think we have one now," he finished smugly and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly.
"That is where you are wrong. Despite the fact that this baby was conceived before you became Harry's tutor, you have still been disobeying my orders."
Charlie frowned. "How so?"
"Did I or did I not, walk in on you two cuddled up together on this bed?"
"Yes but-"
"Well then you haven't been following my rules," Dumbledore interrupted, rudely.
"If you would let me finish. That is the first time that Harry and I have been in any kind of close proximity, other than classes, since the first night of term, right Harry?" Harry glanced up from where he had been studying his clasped hands in his lap and nodded to the headmaster, not meeting his eyes. Dumbledore's face scrunched up in a frown until he sighed, some of the tension leaving his body.
"I'm sorry, I jumped to conclusions," he said sincerely and Charlie nodded, also relaxing, "but this is still an important matter. There are details which need to be discussed."
Charlie snorted. "I don't see what details might need to be discussed. Harry can move into my suite, I'm sure the house elves wouldn't mind attaching another room on for the baby," he turned to Harry who looked up at him in confusion.
"You have a suite?"
"Of course I have a suite, Harry. You didn't think I lived in Hagrid's cabin, did you?" Charlie asked amusedly.
"Oh, well," Harry felt himself blush, "I hadn't given it any thought, I guess."
"And you didn't think I would suggest bringing you to live there. Or the baby?" the red head exclaimed.
"No!" Harry said hurriedly, "Sorry." Charlie just shrugged and smiled at him.
"I'm sorry to interrupt but that just wont be possible. There is no way I can allow Harry to share rooms with you, pregnant or not," said the headmaster and they both turned back to him.
"You don't honestly expect me to allow Harry to sleep alone in his condition?" asked Charlie, incredulous.
"He will not be alone, he dorms with four other boys," Dumbledore stated calmly.
"And how can you ask them to deal with the problems of pregnancy? You can't expect them to look after Harry on top of everything else they have to do this year. If this is about the welfare of students, then think about them boys when Harry is up at the crack of dawn heaving his guts up or when he's getting up five times a night to go to the bathroom and fumbling around making all sorts of noises in the dark!" Charlie was ranting now, his arms gesturing madly as he tried to get this point across. Harry couldn't help but blanch at the description of the wonders he had to come during his pregnancy.
"I'm sure they are quite up to the challenge and would be fully obliging," the headmaster was still infuriatingly calm.
"Of course they will be, they're Gryffindors, but that isn't the point. Besides, a tower is hardly suitable living conditions for a pregnant person. How do you expect Harry to navigate a spiral staircase when he's the size of a whale?"
"Hey!" Harry shouted indignantly.
"Sorry, babe," Charlie said absently and Harry huffed in annoyance.
"I'm sure if it becomes a serious problem, we can always relocate Harry to a spare room elsewhere in the castle, but I simply cannot allow you two to share a room, it would be extremely improper!" Dumbledore's voice was regaining it's edge as the elderly man lost control of his temper.
"If this is about us sharing a bed, then by all means give Harry his own room in my suite. It's not a problem. I think it's extremely unfair for you to expect Harry to go through the trauma of a pregnancy, especially a male pregnancy and especially at such a young age, alone. The pressure would be too much for anyone," Charlie argued. He could not believe the audacity of the man, sometimes. He was so used to meddling in things for reasons beyond all comprehension, that he could not see sense.
"The Ministry would-"
"The Ministry have absolutely nothing to do with this and they would not become involved unless you specifically asked them to," Charlie switched to using Dumbledore's techniques, interrupting him before he could finish his point, hoping to get through to him.
"It would quickly become public knowledge that I had allowed something like this to happen and soon enough we would have students boycotting rules all over the place," Dumbledore pointed out.
"Finally, finally, we get down to it," Harry gave Charlie a bemused look, not quite understanding what revelation his lover had had, but Charlie merely winked at him before continuing, "You can't let it get out that the Boy-Who-Lived is pregnant by one of your staff and you have now allowed them to live together within the school. The public would go crazy, thinking you had allowed their saviour to be tainted," Charlie spat and Harry realised suddenly, gloomily, what this was all about.
"But they haven't bothered me in almost a year," he said quietly and the heads of two men standing both shot to his direction.
"That may be the case, Mr Potter," Dumbledore said kindly, "but news like this would not go unprinted."
"Even if it is printed, I doubt the public would disagree with allowing the boy who saved them , the chance to lean on his lover when he carried his baby. You are being far too hasty with your assumptions at the moment, Dumbledore. I think the wizarding world would be a damn sight more angry about the fact that you would have us separated past even the baby's birth, than they would about us being together. Surely you can see that?" Charlie implored.
Dumbledore sighed, turning away from them as he thought things through and Charlie took the opportunity to retake his place on the bed next to Harry. He realised, with shock, that the younger man was trembling and he pulled him into his arms, soothing him with caresses and nonsensical words of love.
"Professor?" Harry's quite voice broke the silence and the headmaster turned to him. The boy had tears flowing freely down his face and his eyes were red-rimmed but he seemed unconcerned and a determined look graced his features as he untangled himself from his lover and stood up, stepping forward to stand feet away from the old man.
"I know we've put you into an awkward position and I'm sorry, truly, I really am but it's happened now and we just have to make the best of it," Harry paused to sniff and take a deep gulp of breath, "The thing is, I want to ask you to think about what you're asking me to do. You're asking me to go through something so important and so life-changing, alone, without the one person who deserves to be there most of all and it's not fair. I've done so much in my life so far, I've fought and won a war and now… I just want the peace of a normal life. Why are you stopping me?" he asked in a broken whisper and Dumbledore couldn't bare to look into his pleading green eyes anymore and tightly shut his own.
"But that's not the point, it's not important anymore. The important thing is that this baby needs both its fathers there for it. I've lived nearly my whole life as an orphan and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I want any child of mine to have as much love as it can get and I know that we, me and Charlie, can give that to it but we need to do it together because otherwise, this baby isn't going to survive," Harry paused there as a sob overtook him and he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists, drawing the strength to finish what he had to say, "I can't do this on my own, I can barely look after myself without Charlie, let alone someone else. This baby only lived through the last month because of my magical power and believe me, I've never been more glad to be abnormal before in my life. But… I guarantee that if you separate us again… it's going to die. Please don't kill my baby, Professor, it's all the family I have," he was sobbing forcefully now and he felt his knees give out under him and tensed his body to prepare for the harsh landing on to the stone floor, but it never came. He opened his eyes to see an equally tearful Charlie holding him up and he curled his body into the strong arms surrounding him and sobbed into his chest.
They stood there for an age, both too consumed in the confusion of emotions to be aware of the rest of the world. By the time Harry had cried himself out, there was a large wet patch on Charlie's shirt and Harry's hair was damp from the tears his lover had shed into it. He pulled away to give Charlie a watery smile and brought his right hand up to dry the last of the tears that lingered on the taller man's face and then his own. Charlie smiled in return and gave him a comforting squeeze about the waist. Harry took a deep breath, steeling himself, and turned around in Charlie's arms to face the headmaster, who's own face was streaked in salty water.
"I'm sorry, boys," the headmaster said quietly and Harry's heart sank as he understood what the headmaster meant. He felt Charlie stir behind him and clamped his hands over his lover's, moving their linked fingers up under his shirt to rest on his stomach. He looked down at their hands and had to close his eyes in pain, hardly able to bear the sight. Charlie leant forward to nuzzle his face into Harry's neck, stroking his fingers across the dark-haired boy's tummy over where their baby slept, trying to sooth both Harry and himself.
"It's okay," Harry mumbled, though he was unsure to who he was speaking: Charlie, Dumbledore or himself.
"I'm not finished, Mr Potter," Dumbledore said loudly to catch their attention and they both frowned as they looked towards him.
"What do you mean?" Charlie asked, his voice rough.
"I mean, that I had not finished what I was going to say. I am sorry… but in order to let the two of you stay together, which is what I would like to happen, I will have to meet with the Governors and discuss it with them. As it will require a change of school policy, they will need to be consulted," he was smiling broadly at them and Harry let out a hysterical laugh as the headmaster's meaning settled over him like a warm blanket. He pulled out of Charlie's embrace and rushed towards Dumbledore, throwing his arms around him without permission and hugging him tightly. To Charlie's surprise, the old man just laughed and wrapped his own arms about the boy, petting his hair like a grandfather might a favourite grandson.
"I'm sorry, Harry," he whispered to him, "I lost sight of what is important, I tend to do that in my old age. I hope you forgive me?" he felt the nod against his body and he sighed in relief, dropping his arms and stepping back. His eyes twinkled once more in the way that amused and infuriated Harry at the same time and he clasped Harry's hand in his own, pulling him over to Charlie and placing the freckled palm on top in the same way Mr Weasley had when he had first found out about his son's relationship. It was a blessing and Harry beamed at him.
"Now," Dumbledore said, formally, "I must arrange the meeting. It would most likely be best to hold it this afternoon, so I suggest, in the mean time, that you talk to Madame Pomfrey about the medical care you might need, Harry. Also, I will send for Miss Granger, Mr Weasley and Miss Weasley to come speak to you. I know they have been worried and I am sure you will want to tell them the news," with a smile and a nod, he swept up the ward and into the office he had entered from, leaving the shocked men to themselves.
Note: Please review again, I'd like to see what you think!