Chapter 11 Telling Harry

The Quidditch match was done. Gryffindor was celebrating their win. Nathaniel Potter was trying to determine if he was lucky or cursed in having two mates. Both were young and both loved to gossip. He knew that his Lord and cousin would tolerate them for only so long. He had yet to say anything. One, he knew that Nick would tease him to no end after all that he had put him thru and two, his mates would probably annoy everyone else to no end. He found them to be parts of his own personality. He also found it funny that no Potter male had had two mates in almost three hundred years.

A party was being held in the Gryffindor tower, and as Ginny's intended Nicholas was invited. Not to be out done, Lavender invited Nate as well, not knowing that this was exactly what the vampire wanted. Harry and Hermione also stayed for a short time. But weird things kept happening while they were there. Like how all the butterbeer turned into lemonade, or how the cream puffs turned into brownies. But what really threw most of the Gryffindors was how their banner, complete with lion, had basically come to life. It was one thing for the lion to roar but to jump out of the banner?

Nicholas jumped in front of Ginny in order to protect her. Ginny saw Hermione talking to her stomach and realized that the baby was being 'playful' again. She had to bite back the laughter. She grabbed Nicholas' shirt to get his attention. "It's alright. Hermione's sort of doing it."

"What do mean 'sort' of doing it?"

Ginny sighed. She didn't want to give Hermione's secret away but she also knew that this man would not back down until he knew the reason. "Hermione is pregnant and the baby is doing this. Harry doesn't know yet", she whispered. Nicholas actually turned around and faced her with the biggest look of surprise on his face that she had ever seen. She could only imagine what his face would be like when she had to tell him about their child. That was a thought to savor for later.

Nicholas turned back around and watched as the lion went over to his Lady and started rubbing her like a cat would. He sent a coded signal to his brother that everything was fine. He got a look of surprise back as if Nate didn't believe him. "If the babe can do this now, inside the womb, heaven help us when it's born", thought Nicholas. He truly felt sorry for his lord at this point. How do you discipline a baby not even born yet?

Harry was trying to get Hermione behind him as the lion approached, but the big cat had other ideas. He could hear Hermione muttering something about 'behave your self' but it made no sense. Then the lion came up and started rubbing Hermione, his Hermione!

"It's alright, Harry. The lion's not going to hurt me. It seems that someone wants to play and can't just yet."

"WHAT are you talking about?"

"I'll explain it to you later, but not right now and not here, when we're alone." She still wasn't making any sense.

Ron entered the tower just then. The lion noticed and lunged for the redhead. It seemed intent on doing the redhead harm. Although the lion didn't attack him, it did growl at him, threatening him. Then it turned and peed on him, then disappeared. No one said a thing as they were too surprised. Ron turned bright red and muttered "Very funny, brilliant joke." He stomped upstairs to clean up. Most waited until they heard the door to the boys dorm slam before loosing the hold that they had on their laughter.

Hermione was mortified that the baby would do something like that, even if it was poetic justice. The more she thought and remembered Ron's expression the more her giggles escaped. The only one that wasn't truly laughing was Nicholas and he had a smile on his face. The party really got going after that and Ron never joined in.

Harry and Hermione left the party fairly early, by party standards, and warned the Gryffindors to end it by midnight. A quick patrol of the castle was done and the couple found themselves in their rooms by half past eleven. Hermione readied for bed first, climbing in as Harry got ready. As Harry kissed her, Junior changed the sheets of emerald green to a kiddie theme of Quidditch.

"What the HELL is going on!?!"

"Umm, Harry I, have something to tell you."

"What? Is your magic going crazy?"

"No I believe that our child is making its preferences known."

"Is that all? Our WHAT!?!"

Hermione reached up and grabbed Harry's face with her hands. "I said that our baby want us to know what it wants."

Harry leaned above her, searching her face for a lie or truth Hermione didn't know which. His whole expression was one of surprise, joy, and love all rolled into one.

"A baby? Are you sure?" he whispered, looking down at her stomach, caressing it with his hand.

"I'm sure. Madam Pomphrey confirmed it. I wanted to wait until after the game to tell you. Junior almost gave it away."

"Junior?"

"Well I had to call it something. So boy or girl, right now its Junior and behaving like a marauder."

"Like making the pitch orange? Or changing your pancakes to nachos? Making a lion come to life out of a banner and peeing on Ron?"

Hermione nodded her head. "Or changing the library wall different colors and the bookcases in carved animals."

Harry looked stunned. "Our baby has to be powerful to do all of that or is that normal?"

"Nothing is normal where you are concerned."

Harry slid down so that his face was above her stomach. He kissed it softly and said "Behave yourself and go to sleep. Mummy and Daddy want to celebrate."

"Harry!" she was silenced by the kiss that her mate gave her and thought of nothing else.

Nicholas and Nathaniel were sitting in their quarters that the Headmistress had graciously provided for them. Nicholas had explained about the baby and that it was the one who brought the lion to life and did everything. Nate had laughed until he cried. This newest Potter was going to be a handful. He really couldn't wait for baby Potter to meet his mother. The child would probably conjure a dragon.

Nicholas wasn't going to be put off. "You want to explain about the two young ladies that you seemed to attach yourself to?"

Nate sighed. He knew that his brother was just waiting to bring it up. "I believe that they are my mates."

Nicholas had thought it was something like that. "Are you going to talk to their families are you going to ask our cousin to do so?"

"Actually I was thinking that I would talk to Harry, but ask Father to do the actual negotiations."

"That might not be a bad idea. Father is very good at that sort of thing. Mother won't know what to do."

"Yes well Mother brought all this on herself. She'll be more active in trying to match Nicola with someone prestigious."

"Mother is always trying to match someone up. She's rarely wrong, as long as it isn't family."

"Wonder who she'll try for Nicola?"

"As long as it isn't a Deatheater, I could care less."