Chapter 7:

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I do love playing with it, though :-)

Harry decided that he needed to help Hermione. He knew that she was taking better care of herself, she had shown over the weekend that she was taking more breaks from studying. However, he knew her and she was not a big eater, she no longer skipped any of the three meals but she had still not gotten use to eating a lot after the war. This was the reason why Harry now stood in front of a well-known painting of a bowl of fruit and was in the process of tickling the pear.

The doorway to the Hogwarts kitchens opened and Harry stepped through. Immediately, several huge tennis ball eyes, in all kinds of colours, were looking at him in excitement. The house elves immediately began asking Harry if 'Mister Harry Potter was hungry,' if ' Mister Harry Potter sir, was thirsty' and if 'Mister Harry Potter was in need of any help', though without letting him answer. Harry had expected his greeting so he willingly let them guide him to a table, where he sat down and soon had three different kinds of pastry in front of him, along with pumpkin juice and ice cream. Harry indulged them until they had settled down, then he decided the time was right as he had a semblance of order again. He looked at the two eager elves who kept themselves nearby, the rest had gone back to work. "Excuse me, I was wondering if you could do me a favour." The two house elves jumped forward to, him looking curious and eager to please.

"What may Crumble and Nitty do for Mister Harry Potter, sir?"

'Crumble?' Harry thought 'odd name', he was momentarily distracted, "First, were you by any chance named by the former Headmaster Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

Crumble and Nitty nodded widely with huge smiles, "Yes, oh yes, Mister Harry Potter sir, Crumble and Nitty indeed were named by the wonderful Master Dumbledore sir, he said he tried to find names from what he loved." Crumble sounded very proud of being named by Dumbledore.

"What did he name you after?" Harry asked curiously, he had an idea with Crumble, knowing Dumbledore's sweet tooth.

"Crumble was named after Master Dumbledore's favourite cake in his youth. He said Crumble was a happy and sweet young elf who could bake wonderful cakes." Crumble beamed at Harry.

"Nitty was named after Master Dumbledore's favourite hobby. He said Nitty was creative and could sew his clothes like no other." Nitty was close to tears of joy over such an honour she had been shown by such a great wizard.

From their voices Harry gathered that Crumble was a male elf and Nitty was a female, though he could be wrong. Gathering his wits and remembering why he came, Harry got back to business.

"I came here because I need help taking care of my very good friend Hermione." Nitty and Crumble looked unsure, they knew who he was talking about, the girl who had tried to free them a few years ago, she had stopped and even apologised but the elves were still wary.

Harry could guess what they were thinking by the loss of their smiles, "I promise you, Hermione has really learned her lesson and will never try and free Hogwarts elves, she only wants to help house elves who are being abused by their masters." Harry really hoped they would listen, he had no hope of completing his mission without the help of the house elves.

"You be promising Crumble and Nitty?"

"Yes!" Harry knew he told the truth, Hermione really had learned a lot about house elves.

"Then we will help Mister Harry Potter sir! How can we help?" Nitty asked, now the huge smiles were back in place.

"I need you to promise to keep this a secret, the teachers all know but the rest of the students must not know." Nitty and Crumble both nodded widely.

"You see, Hermione is pregnant, she has been given a potion without her knowledge to make her pregnant. Now she needs to take care of herself, because she could risk loosing the baby if the potion she was given were not made correctly." Nitty gasped and held her tiny hands over her mouth, Crumble started jumping nervously on his feet in unease, they were both clearly shocked by the news.

"Hermione needs to eat small meals all day. Now she is only eating during breakfast, lunch and dinner, she needs fruit or other small meals brought to her the rest of the day, to keep healthy. I know you make the best food," Harry knew the flattery had worked as they beamed at him, "and you are able to bring her food without her having to collect it herself. Would you be sure to help me keep her healthy during her pregnancy? You do not have to show yourselves just leave the food in front of her. It would mean a lot to me!" Harry stopped and looked at the house elves pleadingly, but he needn't worry, they both agreed immediately.

"Yes sir, Harry Potter sir, we will be keeping Missus Herminy healthy!" Nitty agreed with Crumble nodding with her.

Harry let out a sigh, good, that was one less worry off his mind. Now to hope Hermione did not find out what he had done.


Hermione was on her way to Potions Class Monday morning, she had begun to get used to the idea of being pregnant, and even Harry and Ron was not being too bad. Unless you counted the not so subtle attempts to fill up her plate during meals. She had decided to stop reading while eating to make sure she would focus on her meals, this however, also meant that she would catch Harry and Ron's attempts to load more food on her plate. Hermione wanted to eat more, but after a year basically starving, her stomach had not been able to get used to larger portions, she hoped it would change. They were also being more helpful than usual, Harry had offered his arm when walking down the stairs and Ron was currently holding her, as usual, heavy bag. She did find it endearing and did not tell them off, though she was sure it would get tiring in time and she would have to ask them to stop.

Hermione, Harry and Ron entered the potions classroom as the first. To her surprise, Snape was already there, he rose immediately as they come through the door and walked towards them. Harry and Ron stepped in front of Hermione, apparently out of habit, when seeing the scowl on Snape's face however, they stood aside, looking embarrassed. Hermione smiled widely, It would always be fun to see them try and interact with Snape. She looked at the professor curiously, he had what appeared to be an apron in his hands.

"Miss Granger, you will wear this apron during my classes, it will protect you from any potions that might come in contact with your skin, even places where the apron does not cover. I will not have you loose that child in my class and I refuse to teach with only dunderheaded Gryffindors left." With these words he turned around and went back to the board where he started writing out information on the lesson.

Hermione looked intrigued at the apron, it was not exciting to look at, all black with silver linings. She was about to put on the apron when Luna walked in, she looked curiously at Hermione and then smiled widely, humming as she took her seat. She had qualified for the seventh year potions class and was as perceptive as ever, Hermione trusted her though.

Hermione quickly put on her apron and sat down, Ron looked at her with huge eyes as he was looking at her apron, confused she looked down, the apron was gone, invisible, she could still feel the material but could only see her uniform. She looked at Professor Snape who met her eyes for a brief second before he turned to the Slytherins, who had just entered the classroom.

Hermione was touched, Snape had not needed to make the extra effort to make it seem invisible, but he had considered her and saving her from a lot of questions from curious students. She beamed at her professor who send a small sneer back. The rest of the class she enjoyed herself, she was happy that she would not miss out in all of her slightly dangerous classes.

She looked back to the table where she found a small bunch of grapes on her open potions book. She looked around curiously, no one was looking her way. She waved her wand to test them, after several tries she found them to be fine but suspicious and decided to save them to further test them later. Besides, no one in their right mind would eat during potions, not with the different ingredients being used in here, such as rat spleen, Hermione shuddered. She missed the displeased look of Harry next to her.


Hermione met Ginny thirty minutes after class, they both headed to the library to study. The boys both had Quidditch practice so they took the opportunity to have some time to themselves.

"Have you started to get use to the thought?" Ginny asked Hermione, she did not need to elaborate as Hermione knew what she meant.

"I am not sure, I has become easier to accept, but I guess time will tell," Hermione answered. They fell quiet as a small group of seventh year Hufflepuff boys walked past them, Hermione looked after them sadly.

"I cannot help looking at every male in school wondering if I am carrying their baby," Hermione admitted very quietly when they had passed.

Ginny looked thoughtful, "You know, my mother once told me that every time she was pregnant, my father would call her his 'glowing light'. According to her, he could see a glow around her when she was pregnant, it would not show before a month in or so, so she could still surprise him, but apparently he was the one to know first when she was pregnant with Charlie and Ron as she apparently had different symptoms. But she knew when he started calling her his glowing light. Some believe it to be a myth because couples like to keep it for themselves. Only the father of the child can see the glow."

Hermione looked thoughtful, "So you are saying than in a little over a week my baby's father will be able to see a glow around me? I need to pay attention then!" Hermione commented.

Ginny laughed, "lets look for a guy who looks totally confused and walks into a wall."

Hermione joined her snickering with a hand over her mouth, they were about to enter the library and it was best not to make too much noise.

"Something amusing Granger? Weasley?" A voice in front of them asked. Both girls looked up in shock. There stood Malfoy, Zabini and Parkinson, books in their hands, clearly on their way out of the library.

"Uhhh, a secret Malfoy," Ginny said dramatically with a teasing smile.

Malfoy and Zabini both lifted an eyebrow at this. "We can keep a secret," Zabini said in a very deep teasing voice.

Hermione and Ginny both shuddered. That voice, and the accompanying smile, had lured many witches astray. "Damn Zabini, draw back you weapons, we come in peace!" Ginny said again hands in the air. This had Zabini laugh shortly. Everyone knew Ginny was devoted to Harry, but she loved a good verbal sparring.

"I never knew you were funny, Weasley," Malfoy commented with a smirk.

"We use our advantages Malfoy," Ginny said simply with a smirk of her own. Malfoy was about to retort, when another voice entered the conversation.

"You are amusing the Blibbering Humdingers. That means good luck, you know!" That voice was unmistakable, Hermione and Ginny smiled widely as they turned around and saw that Luna and Neville had arrived. Zabini looked mildly curious and Pansy was, for some reason, smirking at Neville.

"Are you having a party outside the Library? I could sing a song my father taught me, it is about a handsome blond knight rescuing a lonely princess. I am not sure how accurate it is, but it is a nice story." Luna said with her usual dreamy voice, looking at them each in turn. Hermione noticed her gaze lingered a little longer on Malfoy and in turn noticed a pink tinge in Malfoy's pale cheeks before he looked down. 'Hmm, interesting,' Hermione thought.

Hermione quickly came back from her thought when Luna's eyes settled on her, a smile forming again, "I also know a song fit for a family."

"Thank you Luna, but we are not having a party," Hermione quickly answered. Honestly, that girl was too perceptive. Maybe she was related to Dumbledore, an all-knowing gene running in the family. Luckily Neville saved her.

"Are you going in to study?" Neville asked Hermione and Ginny.

"Yes, we should get started," Hermione said, and turned to the Slytherins, "I guess the secret is out Ginny, we should get started." She gave a little wave to the Slytherins, not knowing how to treat them. They only smirked at Hermione and Ginny, nodding their heads and heading away from the library.

"Oh, no fun, alright, " Ginny sighed, "Neville could you help me with my Herbology homework, I cannot seem to find the right part." Neville quickly agreed and entered the Library with Ginny, Luna and Hermione.


Hermione did not even bother getting rid of Luna and Neville before starting her research again. Naturally they were both curious. Hermione and the others had sat down at the table they had chosen, the one furthest back in a quiet corner where students rarely came. She divided the books into two piles and bend down to take out parchment and a pen and ink, when she straightened back up she saw a few apples, a small bowl of almonds, a plate filled with carrots and cucumber sticks. She looked at it in confusion, where did it come from?

"Did any of you bring this?" She asked the others. The others looked up and shook their heads.

"Weird," Hermione tested it with her wand, nothing seemed to be wrong with it. "A bunch of grapes appeared on my potions book during class," she spoke to no one in particular. She brought out the grapes as well.

Ginny looked confused, she brought out her wand and checked the food as well, "Nothing seems to be wrong with it."

"I know," Hermione answered, "But it is weird!"

Luna did not seem to find it weird, she took a grape and popped it in her mouth, then simply started studying not noticing the shocked looks of the rest.

"I do not feel safe eating it," Hermione admitted. Apparently the food could understand her, as an apple suddenly started hovering in front of her face starting to lightly bump into her, repeatedly. Hermione jumped back in shock, but the apple simply followed, stilling bumping into her face, again and again and again.

Ginny started giggling and Neville looked mildly concerned. Hermione was annoyed, the apple was not hurting her, but this was too much. She picked up her wand and vanished the apple with an annoyed swish of her wand. She sat down and started looking through the books. She noticed Luna, Neville and Ginny eating the food as they studied, it did seem to be alright but she did not dare, she was looking after more than herself now. She picked up a pear from her bag, she had grabbed it from the common room before coming to the library.

They had all now settled and relaxed until it apparently became too much for Neville.

"Are you going to tell us why you have ten books on," Neville read one title, "'The History of Potions and Its Uses'? And potions in general?"

"Has it something to do with the other thing?" Luna asked in a way she perhaps thought of as being subtle.

Hermione thought hard, she did trust Luna and Neville, and the truth would come out at one point, she just did not know if she was ready to tell the story again so soon. She looked to Ginny who had raised her pen from her parchment to look at her, she shrugged, as if to say, it could not do any harm to tell them.

"I need you to promise not to say," Hermione told them as an answer.

"We promise Hermione!" Neville assured with Luna nodding smilingly.

Hermione looked around, she wanted to tell them somewhere secure but she might loose her nerve. She mumbled "Muffliato", silencing the area around the table. Then she proceeded to tell them the whole story, though a bit censured around the more explicit language she had used before. Neville and Luna was a good audience, they gasped and Neville even swore when the implications of her being given the potions was explained. She included that all the teachers knew and her restrictions in class.

"So you see, I need to know as much as I can about the potion and if it was used before and how, Snape is looking deeper into the potion and the Aurors are trying to find whoever could brew the potion. The problem is that I cannot seem to find anything in the library." Hermione felt disappointed, her trusted library was, so far, proving useless.

"Wow, Hermione, we will help you anyway we can! We have a library at home, I will look there." Neville was so full of conviction that Hermione hugged him.

"Maybe dad has heard about it, I will ask him during the holiday," Luna promised and received a hug as well.

"Yeah Granger, you can count on us as well," A very familiar voice spoke up.

Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Neville all jumped up, shocked, all with their wands out. There stood Malfoy, Zabini and Parkinson, who had apparently not left the library.

They must have looked very shocked and confused as Zabini felt the need to explain, "Did you believe us to go away when a secret could be learned Weasley? And Granger, that Muffliato spell was a dud."

"Ruddy magic," Hermione complained, then she looked seriously at the three Slytherins. "Please do not tell, people might turn on me, on my baby, what if they think I am carrying the spawn of Voldemort or something, they might try an kill my baby and I." Hermione was terrified, she had thought of this, people turning on her. She could feel her eyes watering at the thought.

The Slytherins looked shocked at the name of their former master, and then the amount of feelings Hermione was letting out in front of them.

"Wow Granger, easy, we will tell no one! We are going to help you," Parkinson said, and she actually lay a hand on her shoulder in comfort. This shocked Hermione so much that the tears stopped.

"How can you help?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Like Longbottom, we have family libraries as well, we will look it up during the holiday. Most older families have libraries, each with their own special subjects. Would it be okay to bring Daphne Greengrass in on it as well? Her family has focused on potions for many generations." Malfoy said calmly.

Hermione loved the idea of family libraries formed over generations, maybe she would be able to visit one. She did not really know the oldest Greengrass sister, nor the youngest for that matter. But a library with a focus on potions was too good to miss.

"I would be okay with that, but you need to be discreet." Hermione said

The Slytherins snorted, "that is what we do best, we certainly would not try to cast a silencing spell to share something so secret, if we knew there was a chance our magic would not work properly." Parkinson mocked but not in a condescending way. Hermione scowled, again cursing her wonky magic that would still play off from time to time. Madam Pomfrey said it would go away within the first three months.

"We will even keep your secret during class, though you are not making it very obvious yet that you cannot be a part of some of it, good job Granger," Zabini smirked.

"So kind Slytherins we have here," Ginny deadpanned, making Luna laugh.

"Yes the nargles have definitely left them after the war," Luna said. For some reason this made Hermione calm about them knowing, Luna was a great judge of character.

The Slytherins looked as though they had no idea how to react to this from Luna, their expressions making The Gryffindors laugh, the tension was broken. As they laughed an apple and the last few grapes left on the table rose again and started bumping Hermione's head again, making everyone laugh again, even Hermione. It was getting ridiculous.

"I think we missed something Harry," Ron's voice was heard through the laughter.

"I think you are right," Harry's voice answered. "We just came to remind you of dinner, Hermione."

Everyone turned to look at the newcomers.

"Ehmm, Hermione, why do you have an apple and grapes hitting your head?" Ron asked confused.

"I have no idea, food has been appearing and, apparently, disliked not being eaten, has started bumping my head, it is annoying." Hermione did not notice the slightly guilty look on Harry's face, but someone else did.

"Say Potter, have you been sending Granger food?" Malfoy asked.

"What? Me? Noo? Why do you think that?" Harry asked, now everyone was suspicious, Harry was a terrible liar.

"Harry…" Hermione prompted. Harry, embarrassingly, soon caved under all the stares.

"Okay, I may have asked the house elves to help make sure you eat during the day while you work, it was only to take care of you!" Harry said quickly.

"You asked the house elves to help feed me?" Hermione asked.

Harry swallowed deeply, everyone else had gone quiet, "Yes." Harry answered in a small voice.

"Because you were worried that I would not eat enough while pregnant?" Hermione continued, her face not giving any of her emotions away.

Harry was sweating, he may have miscalculated, he knew Hermione's feelings on house elves, but he thought it would be okay. "Yes," he repeated in his small voice. There was a few seconds of heavy silence.

"That is so sweet of you Harry!" Hermione exclaimed and hugged Harry. Harry let out a deep breath, as did everyone else in the group.

"Sweet? You mean it?" Harry asked perplexed

"Off course, next time just tell me, I am not going to eat anything from an unknown source after what has already happened." Hermione smiled, Harry's punishment for using the house elves was to sweat a bit, it was good for him to feel a bit of consequence for his actions once in a while.

"I promise," Harry smiled.

"Now, get them to stop the attack," Hermione said sternly. Harry paled, looking at the fruit still bumping into Hermione.

"I will do it on our way to dinner, I promise!" Harry said, then he started laughing. "You must admit, it looks funny." Hermione huffed, which started a new round of laughter, the librarian Mrs. Pince arrived and threw the Gryffindors and Luna out. Apparently the Slytherins had managed to slither away in time.

A/N:

A long chapter – this took longer to get inspiration to write.