A/N:
Theme for part 6/9: MAJOR FLUFF — run for your life! :E
I seem to have lost webmaster_liz as a beta :( Fortunately Cloudy had time to help, so huge thanks to him :)
Check the End Notes, too!
Warnings: AU (Fred's alive) & Bad language & EWE & Mature themes, including all sort of nasty things: like rimming and top!Harry — oh, and Mpreg! I repeat:There's a pregnant man in this story!Should I also warn about slash?
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the Potters, not me. I'm just playing with them. Don't sue!
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Chapter 7: 6/9
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"Should we be worried?" Harry asked nervously.
"Well..." the healer pondered, "It is not unusual for a first-timer to feel the movements later than someone who has given birth before."
Ron yawned. He hadn't had his afternoon nap because of the healer's appointment.
"Maybe he's lazy," he joked, but Harry didn't laugh. "Seriously, mate, you can see it with your own eyes — the baby is fine!"
"Yes, yes, the heart rate is normal, and all the vital functions are within the range. There seems to be nothing wrong, so maybe Mr Weasley is right. Maybe the foetus is just... sluggish."
"Comes from his Dad," Ron chuckled. "You should see Harry on Sunday morning — couldn't get him off the sofa if the house was on fire."
Harry didn't even crack a smile; he was too busy staring at the hologram. Then it happened.
"There!" he yelled, startling both Ron and the healer. "Did you see it? He moved!"
"Calm down, Mr Potter!" the healer barked, waving his wand. The hologram grew twice its size. "Did you feel that, Mr Weasley?"
"What?"
"As you can see, the foetus is changing position as we speak. You should feel something."
"Oh, that!" Ron exclaimed, placing his hand on his belly. "I thought it was just gas."
Healer blinked twice, and then ground his teeth together. Harry hopped on the bedside and laid his hand next to Ron's. They waited for a moment until they suddenly drew sharp breaths at the same time.
"That... was that it?" Harry demanded, his eyes widening in surprise.
"I think it was," Ron whispered reverently.
"Well, I've felt that before. I thought it was just gas, too."
"You see?" Ron nodded sharply to the healer. "Feels like normal indigestion."
After that, it was impossible for Harry to leave Ron's side. His hand was always on Ron's belly, and every single time Ron sat down, Harry pressed his ear against the bump so that he could hear the baby.
"Are you expecting it to start talking soon?" Ron huffed, amused.
"No," Harry hummed, his eyes closed. "It just feels more real when I can feel it. And hear it."
Ron ruffled Harry's hair, but then pushed him off.
"Got to pee."
Ron had just closed the bathroom door when there was a tapping on the window. Harry let the small owl in and unravelled the note from its leg. He read the letter quickly, turned it over, and scribbled an answer on the other side of the parchment. He had just closed the window after the owl had taken off when Ron emerged from the loo.
"I think I'm dehydrated. Must've peed at least a dozen pints today. Is there any soda?"
"Sure," Harry grinned.
He waited patiently until Ron came back from the kitchen, carrying not only the soda but also a large plate full of assorted snacks. Ron threw himself on the sofa and put the plate on top of his belly.
"Ron, there's something I haven't told you," Harry began. He took the soda can out of Ron's fingers and placed it on the table.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, well, first of all, I've quit my job."
"What?"
"I want to be home with you," Harry explained, rubbing Ron's swollen fingers soothingly. "And, it's not like we can do this again, the twins still don't know how you got pregnant."
Ron grabbed a cookie and crammed it in his mouth. He munched it for a while, staring at Harry's nervous smile.
"Okay, I guess it makes sense," Ron said eventually. He tried to reach the soda can but couldn't. "Could you pass me the—"
"In a minute. There's something else I want to talk about."
Harry produced a small box from his pocket. He stared at it, glanced at Ron, and finally thrust the box in Ron's hand, removing the empty tray off his belly.
"What's this?"
"Open it."
Ron furrowed his brow. Harry was acting very weird, and his voice was higher than usual. Of course, Ron recognized the jewellery box but he didn't understand why Harry had bought him something shiny. Neither one of them were that kind of gay. So, it took a couple of minutes for Ron to find something to say after he had pried the lid open.
"Blimey."
"Yeah."
"Do you mean—"
"Yeah."
"Seriously?"
"You don't want to?"
"No! Of course I do!"
"Really?"
"But I didn't know that—"
"Your Dad."
"My — what?"
Harry chuckled and took the two golden rings out of the velvety box.
"Your Dad got us a permission to get married. That is if you'd take me."
"Git," Ron huffed, rolling his eyes. "Of course I would!"
Harry's answering smile was so bright, it illuminated the whole living room. Ron wiped a stray tear out of the corner of his eye.
"Are you welling up?" Harry teased, taking Ron's left hand in his.
"Shut up."
"No, I won't," Harry quipped, rising to one knee. "Ron, would you marry me?"
"Yeah, I would," Ron replied softly.
~o~
The wedding ceremony was beautiful, and thanks to Harry and Ron's demands, mercifully short. Ron noticed the womenfolk huddling together, sharing their stash of handkerchiefs and weeping. On the other hand, the twins were grinning broadly next to Charlie and Lee, making Ron feel secure — at least some things were constant, the weeping Hermione had scared the daylights out of him. But as Ron checked the man beside him, he was surprised to see that Harry, too, had tears in his eyes — the same eyes that kept staring at him.
"Quit checking me out!" Ron hissed from the corner of his mouth.
"I love you," Harry mouthed, looking like a love sick cow in Ron's opinion.
"Bugger," Ron mumbled as he felt his own eyes to moisten.
Hermione served as a best man for both of them — she was able to organize everything by herself, so there was no need to involve anyone else. Even Ginny showed up dressed in a feminine gown, surprising them all. Harry didn't remember the last time he had seen her in anything other than the Quidditch gear.
"You're a good catch," Ginny teased Harry while Ron was fetching the fourth slice of the cake.
"Really?" Harry asked, genuinely surprised. Ginny had dumped him two months after the war, saying that he was boring.
"Yeah. Well, for Ron anyway. It's not like he could do any better," Ginny smirked and pinched Harry's cheek. "I'm seeing someone, too."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Mom won't be pleased to hear that I'm the third gay out of the seven of us."
"Oh!"
"There she is," Ginny said softly, pointing at an athletic looking, dark skinned woman in her forties who had just emerged from the door. She waved at Ginny and walked briskly towards them.
"Gwen, meet Harry Potter," Ginny introduced, placing a soft kiss on Gwenog's cheek. "Harry, this is my Gwen. Gwenog Jones."
"Oh," Harry said, before remembering his manners. "Pleased to meet you, Ms Jones."
"And you, Mr Potter," Gwenog said, smiling. "I believe congratulations are in order. You two set a fine example for the rest of us."
Ginny blushed, but Harry didn't figure out the meaning behind Gwenog's words before he led Ron to the floor for the last dance. He cast a bemused glance at Ginny who had her arms wrapped around Gwenog at the other side of the room.
"We'd better not rip our clothes this evening," Harry whispered in Ron's ear while they swayed with the music.
"Huh?"
"We might need them at the next wedding."
"The next what?" Ron asked, bewildered.
"Just call it a hunch."
~o~
End Notes:
Again, major thanks to everyone who took their time to read (and possibly review, too) \o/
Horus Potter: Aw, it's good to hear that cuteness is a good thing. Especially after this chapter, filled with fluff :D
Eryk Lestrange: I wish it too, it would've probably been a funny story to write. Unfortunately, it didn't sit with the flow imho. Ron has a belly, though, it's not that big yet even if it's visible. But it's growing all the time \o/ And, yes, Harry made Ron an honest woman :P
Preetoaka Raven Potter Weasley: We can agree to disagree about Ginny :D I just think that she was a teenager at the time and made some bad decisions. They don't make her a bad person. I know I have made some horrible stuff when I was younger, but I consider myself a nice person at the time :) I also agree about Harry/Luna, they would have made a cute couple :) I think in the next chapter they will find out what caused Ron's pregnancy. I haven't written it yet but I have the frame of it in my mind. Well, I have started it but not very much. Hopefully I'll make some progress on vacation (starting on Friday, yay!).
alykat14: Thank you! Did this chapter answer to your question? :P
TheSlytherinShadow: Thanks!
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Lots of love to all of you, and happy holidays! \o/
