Author:enchanted nightingale

BetaReader: pussycatadamah

Disclaimer: The characters from Harry Potter books do not belong to me. I merely use them in my plot for fun.

Chapter 14 – Learning not to panic

There was silence in the infirmary apart from the noise the medi-witch made as she checked over her patient.

Poppy Pomfrey was honestly nice and kind and would have preferred it if there were no students visiting her at all during the year and especially a certain green eyed Gryffindor. She logically knew that it was not Potter's fault that he got into so much trouble, at least half the time (the Quidditch accidents were a result of playing and that game was like asking for trouble). When the teen had been brought in on a stretcher levitated by Filius Flitwick himself, with Neville Longbottom in tow, she grew worried.

"Put him on a bed," she ordered, taking control of the situation swiftly.

The Charms professor did not seem offended by her tone. He merely levitated the teen to the bed she pointed at.

"I must return to class, Poppy," the Charm's professor told her and Pomfrey waved him off; she had work to do.

"What happened?" the medi-witch asked, immediately assuming the worst.

"He fainted," Neville supplied the answer.

"Just fainted?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"We were talking and he grew even paler and it happened," Neville stated.

The witch started taking Harry's vital signs.

"What else? He cannot just have fainted," the witch told the Gryffindor.

Neville Longbottom looked torn. "Harry's been under the weather lately."

"Elaborate mister Longbottom," Pomfrey told the teen.

"Well, almost every morning without fail he wakes up at dawn and empties his stomach, everything he ate really the night before. He gets tired easily… Well, there was a bit of an emotional problem…"

"Teen angst with the girls?" Poppy sighed.

Neville bit his lip. "Not exactly. Harry does not like girls that way." he hated telling that but she was medi-witch and it was not like Harry was hiding it, just not shouting it from the rooftops and towers of the castle.

The medi-witch froze. "Boys?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"This complicated things," Pomfrey muttered. She waved her wand over an unconscious Harry Potter.

Neville could only watch, looking lost.

"Longbottom," the medi-witch lowered her wand. "Go and get the Headmaster. The password is 'Sugar Quills'."

Neville nodded and took off.

Pomfrey looked at the unconscious teen on one of her beds. She still needed to take some blood, three drops tops, but she was starting to get a very good idea of what was wrong with the teen. It was not uncommon but still not something that happened all that often with wizards. Male pregnancies were more common in non-human species but as purebloods more often than not had some creature blood; everything was possible really. The medi-witch did all the possible tests, not excluding the common flu yet (Muggleborns and half-bloods were susceptible to it) or the flu's magical cousin. She was waiting for the results when the Headmaster returned, without Longbottom.

"I sent the boy to class," Dumbledore answered her enquiring gaze. His blue eyes looked grave when they fell on Potter's still unconscious form. Pomfrey had lent a hand there, casting a very mild sleeping spell on the teen. It was obvious he had not been sleeping well.

"I was just studying the results. I took three drops of blood; apparently I'm also testing for pregnancy."

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore agreed. He recalled that the Potters had diversity in their family tree. He recalled Charlus Potter, James' father and Harry's grandfather, mentioning how his own father, Harrison, had been married to the child of a water nymph, a Naiad. They were much like mermaids in a way but they had been descendants of Oceanids. There was a lot of power there and magic the wizards and witches never dared to delve in. Before that, about two centuries actually, there was a rumour that another Potter had mated a Naga but that was never proven. However when he had been younger and looking into the Peverell's and the Tale of the Three Brothers he had found that one of Ignotus' sons had married an actual mermaid. And that was only the Potters. Albus had no idea what went on in the Lestrange line, or with the Black blood in Harry; Dorea his grandmother had been a Black and they were a secretive bunch.

"You know something," Pomfrey muttered.

"I merely suspect," the Headmaster replied. "The results… I think Harry should be awake for this."

The medi-witch sighed. "Enervate!"

o

o

o

Waking up in the infirmary was nothing new.

Waking up to the faces of Poppy Pomfrey and Albus Dumbledore, nothing new there either.

"Harry?" Dumbledore looked worried and was not bothering to hide it.

Madam Pomfrey was her usual controlled self.

"Mister Potter," she said. "Do you know what happened?"

Harry slowly raised his body, supporting his upper weight on his elbows. "I think I fainted."

"You did," the medi-witch replied.

"Oh!"

"Professor Flitwick and mister Longbottom brought you in," the witch continued.

Harry sighed. "I worried them, didn't I? I just have been so stressed lately…"

"And you had reason to be so stressed," the Headmaster told him.

Harry grimaced a bit. He had lots of reasons to be stressed.

"Well, mister Longbottom described certain symptoms that had me thinking," Pomfrey commented. The medi-witch then told Harry about the spells she had done and the tests they were needed for. "… Dragon pox as you never had it as a child, exhaustion and of course, pregnancy."

Harry blinked. "Pregnancy? Me? How? Why? W- huh?" the teen spluttered, looking rather bewildered.

"Honestly," the medi-witch muttered.

"Perhaps I should explain," Dumbledore cut in.

"Please do," Poppy told the man. She eyed the vial of blue potion that was on the bedside next to Harry. The teen eyed it as well.

"Oh, dear," Dumbledore muttered.

"Sir?" Harry started. He felt confused and lost and he thought he had a headache building. Magic was magic but even magic could not make babies out of nothing. He knew about the birds and the bees, or rather sperm and ovaries. Two men could not make a baby, it just was not possible.

"That potion," the teen could no longer look at a vial. "Is it what I think it is?"

Pomfrey moved away and Dumbledore took a seat by Harry's bed side. The teen was too nervous to even admire the armchair the Headmaster transfigured out of the simple visitor's chairs.

"First of all, male pregnancies are possible, they do not happen often but they do," Albus Dumbledore started. "There are no mechanics about this, no special magic, no potion…"

"Then how?"

"Wizards are humans; won't you say they are Harry?"

"I guess, yes."

"What of magical creatures?"

Harry blinked. "Am I one?"

"No, but the genes, as the Muggle's say, are in your line. Your great grandfather Harrison married a water nymph of the sea, a Naiad. Her name was Khione, like her ancestor was named. She chose to leave the seas behind her, shedding her half immortal side and lived as a human with her loved one and their one child, Charlus, your grandfather. The union between wizards and creatures has small intricacies. You have to understand Harry, every case is different. Naiads have no genders; not really, most nymphs are energy, not magic, but pure energy. Khione took on the appearance of a female because she could, but she was not essentially female, do you follow me?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied; he was drinking in the information, he had honestly never known much, he had not known anything at all about his grandparents. "My father's grandmother was not female but looked like she was."

Dumbledore smiled. "It was not the only example in your line but it was the most recent one and the one most likely to affect you."

"I'm not going to sprout a tail, am I?" Harry asked. "I'm being a bit of an idiot, right?"

"Just overwhelmed," Albus reassured the teen.

"Please continue," Harry sighed.

"Okay. Let me see… Well, Khione could not pass anything of her powers on, but certain genetic traits… being capable to reproduce was one. You must understand that beings like nymphs and sylphs and the like do not have the same reproductive system humans do, inside that is. No ovaries, no sperm. They utilize energy and emotion and touch," Dumbledore explained. "How do you think mermaids reproduce?"

Harry thought about it. True, they did not have all the organs humans did even if they resembled them from the waist up.

"I see," he finally muttered. He swallowed a bit; his throat was suddenly dry. "So, am I? Pregnant I mean. If I weren't you would not be telling me all this."

Dumbledore sighed. "The potion, it is usually clear. Three drops of blood are all that is needed. It turns blue in the event of a possible pregnancy."

Harry sucked in a deep breath. Everything was suddenly blurry. "Oh."

"Poppy!" Albus called out. "We need a Calming Draught!"

Next thing Harry knew he was being fed a potion and then, blissful sleep.

o

o

o

Albus returned to the infirmary that same evening. Harry was awake again and there was a tray of food placed in front of him. The teen was prodding the food with his fork but otherwise looked unresponsive.

"Harry," the old wizard said by way of greeting. "Did you finish with your meal? I would not want to bother."

"Sir," the teen blinked. He looked at the plate and grimaced. "I'm done with this." He pushed the plate away and it vanished.

"My boy," Dumbledore sighed. "I worry about you."

Harry refused to look him in the eyes.

"Harry," the man gently called the teen's name. "I do not believe I ever told you this and I think that was a grave omission, but I am very proud of you."

The teen's head snapped up. His green eyes were wide. "P-proud? Despite… despite the fact that I… with a Death Eater? And now…"

"I am proud of you because of who you are," Dumbledore stated. "Because you are brave, and strong and a kind soul."

"And immature and…"

"A teen," the blue eyed wizard cut in. he peered at Harry with a smile. "I was young once. And I can definitely top you on being immature but that is a story for another day. Today, now, it is all about you. How are you feeling?"

"Shocked," Harry replied. "And part of me thinks you are Fred, or George Weasley under Polyjuice."

Dumbledore laughed.

"It is quite possible," Harry argued.

"Harry…"

"Yes, I know, even they would not take it this far," Harry admitted. "I just cannot wrap my mind about this! Teenage pregnancy? I'm a boy, a gay boy! And, damn it, we used spells for protection!" the teen yelled in frustration. He then buried his face in his arms. "This cannot be happening!"

Harry did not even realize that Dumbledore drew him in his arms in a hug; the man seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Oh, my boy, my poor, poor boy," the older wizard sighed.

He let Harry get it off his chest, the tears, the fear, the uncertainty. Only when he felt the distraught teen calm down did he release the youth.

"Better?" he asked Harry, offering a tissue while he did so.

"I've been a mess lately," the teen replied. He reached for the tissue to wipe his face.

"We really need to talk a bit," Dumbledore told Harry. "Are you up for it?"

The teen shrugged.

The Headmaster made himself a bit more comfortable, called a house elf and requested something sweet and comforting. A tray with two cups of hot chocolate and two plates of lemon pie appeared.

"Heaven," Albus sighed with delight.

That prompted a smile from Harry, who reached for the dessert. A sip of hot chocolate and a few bites of lemon pie later he was not feeling that bad, just lost.

"I'm pregnant," Harry said aloud.

"Yes."

"From Rabastan Lestrange," the teen continued. "Are you still proud of me sir?"

"Harry, this is something unexpected but it does not make me care and love you any less."

"You really care for me? Love me even?"

Dumbledore smiled. "I used to often visit Lily just to see you. I was never blessed with children of my own you see. Did you know; I was James godfather…"

Harry's eyes went wide.

"… yes, I don't think I mentioned that before. Many people did not know that. Anyway, I was your father's godfather and my grandmother was a Potter on my father's side," Dumbledore chuckled at Harry's wide eyed look.

"Why was I left with the Dursley's then?" the teen asked.

"You really want all the answers tonight?"

Harry shrugged.

Dumbledore sipped his hot chocolate. "Well, the wards I set up around the house were based on your mother's blood. You were still young and the connection with your mother stronger. Birth and death play a big role in certain wards. I was right too. Petunia … I don't think she ever realized that there were attempts against you."

"There were?" Harry was shocked.

"Four of them," Dumbledore gravely replied. "All during the first three years of you staying with them."

"I had no idea. Who was it?"

"Does it really matter? They were caught, found guilty of many other crimes and sentenced to Azkaban. They all died in prison," Dumbledore replied. "But for what it's worth, I wished you never had to stay with the Dursley's. Petunia never had the right to do all those things to you."

"It's okay," Harry muttered. "As long as I'm not going back…"

"Never again," Dumbledore promised.

"Then that subject is over."

"Really? Awfully mature of you."

Harry snorted. "Wait till the hormones kick in, the teenage hormones, not the pregnancy hormones."

Dumbledore smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. Back to the subject we were talking of; I visited quite a lot when you were a baby. I even have pictures somewhere…."

Harry blushed at that. "Oh."

"Harry," Albus said. "What happened with Rabastan is in the past. You have a future ahead of you. And you have to make some very difficult decisions. But first, I need to tell you about male pregnancies."

The teen nodded after he took a bite of his lemon pie.

"Male pregnancies vary, depending on the species of the creature blood and the degree of that bloods strength," Dumbledore started saying in a lecture tone. "Usually the time a pregnancy can last stretches from nine to ten months. Some species, like Banshee, have a three month period but that is not something that affects you."

Harry gave a decisive nod.

"Now, there are the usual, cravings, nausea…"

"I'm familiar with that symptom," Harry muttered.

"Quite," Dumbledore smiled. "What you need to know is your body has started changing. You have no uterus, no birth canal…"

Harry turned a bit green.

"But that won't be a big problem," the older wizard continued.

"Let me guess, magic?"

"In a way," Albus replied. "Basically a bubble forms in your stomach, surrounding the forming babies…"

"How does it form… wait! Let me guess, magic."

Dumbledore nodded. "That's the simple, short answer," he told the teen.

"And why the plural?" Harry asked, his green eyes looking alarmed.

"Just covering all the possibilities Harry," Dumbledore responded.

"Right. So, a bubble surrounds the baby…"

"It is much like a womb but not exactly. It filters nutrients, provides oxygen and protects the foetus, and I mean that it does it in the best way," Dumbledore explained. "It expands with the baby, basically acts like a mother's womb and placenta."

"Okay, so far so good."

"There are a few other things but I will let you know later, with the help of Madam Pomfrey of course."

"Why later?" Harry asked.

"Because there's another option Harry," Dumbledore said.

The Gryffindor caught on immediately.

"There's no way I'm doing that!" And Harry was certain of that. This baby he was carrying was family. His family, not his father's, not his mother's, not his former best friend's, just his. The teen knew that it was not the most logical decision, but it was the one he wanted. And it was not the shock speaking but the fact that he wanted and needed a family. A little voice taunted him that he also wanted the child because it was Rabastan's and his, but he tried to ignore that. He would not think about that man, just yet; if he did, Harry feared he would become a crying mess again. How could one man change his life so much?

"Ah… the big question of life," Dumbledore commented and only then Harry realized he had spoken out loud.

The older wizard was giving him a knowing look.

"Perhaps, after this whole mess is over you might find some time to hear an old man's tale."

Harry quirked his lips. "Sure."

"Well, I had better let you eat that pie and finish with the chocolate."

"Won't you stay until you finish yours?"

"I suppose I have some time…" Dumbledore considered with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. "Would you like to ask me anything?"

Harry bit his lips. "What were my grandparents like?"

o

o

o

Neville came to visit next along with Luna. The Gryffindor had brought Harry's homework assignments and Luna a circlet made of corks.

"To keep the Humblederds low in numbers, you don't want an infestation of them," the Ravenclaw told him.

"Hey! You even painted on them. Is that a mini Ciel?" Harry asked in a serious tone; he really was not being patronizing, merely supportive.

Luna smiled. "Yes."

"Great, thanks Luna, er… do I wear this or…"

"You hang them over the bed," the witch told Harry.

"How are you?" Neville asked. "I was so worried when you fainted! And then no one was allowed inside the infirmary to see you… Is it true what I heard? One of the Hufflepuff's said that Headmaster Dumbledore came at least three times and stayed for quite a while."

"Was it the flu?" Luna asked.

Harry's smile faded. "No, not the flu."

Now Neville and Luna looked at him with worried eyes and anxious faces.

"Harry? What's wrong?" Neville asked.

"Why don't you sit first?" Harry suggested.

Neville and Luna looked at each other and back at Harry. Then they moved to Harry's bedside and each took a seat at the bed.

"Talk," they said together and Harry had a small hunch that those two hooking up would not end well for him. Luna was rubbing off on Neville, her bossy traits at least.

"Okay," Harry said. He took a very deep breath, hoping the extra oxygen would help calm him. There was no easy way to tell this and he was not about to dance around the topic. "The fainting and the puking…"

Neville grimaced. "Yes…?"

"Turns out they were symptoms…"

"Stop stalling," Luna warned him.

"I'm not stalling, I'm just trying to figure out a way to let you know I'm pregnant," Harry replied.

Neville and Luna continued staring.

Madam Pomfrey came then with what Harry recognized to be a nutrient supplement in the form of a potion. She took one look at the two stunned teens and then at Harry's face.

"You told them?" the medi-witch asked.

"Yes," the green eyed wizard replied.

"Drink this," Madam Pomfrey told the teen as she handed him the potion vial. "If they stay like this longer…"

"I'll holler for you," Harry promised.

That prompted a reaction out of them.

"Pregnant?" Neville stuttered. "How?"

"You don't look like a tree nymph," Luna commented.

Harry snorted, "Actually, it was Naiad."

"Really?" the blonde witch asked.

Harry shrugged.

"Guys, I cannot follow you," Neville cried out.

Luna and Harry turned to him.

"I can explain," the green eyed teen said and proceeded to tell Luna and Neville what he knew about male pregnancies, about his ancestors, anything that could explain the bizarre situation Harry was in.

End of chapter

A/N:

For information on the creatures mentioned: www. mythicalcre atu resguide.com/#fbid=NmnMnvw3EiD (don't forget to remove the spaces)