I don't own Harry Potter.
Trade Mistakes: Chapter 14
Harry looked down and sighed heavily as he pulled his pants up over his stomach. He stretched his back as he waddled down the stairs and flopped ungracefully down onto a kitchen chair.
"Morning, Papa," Remus said, smirking as he put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of the pregnant teen.
"I plan on being daddy, thank you very much," Harry grumbled, taking a big mouthful of egg. "And there is nothing good about today because I'm officially freaking out!" Remus raised an eyebrow, sitting down across the table from Harry.
"And you're freaking out because?"
"Well for one, it's NEWT week, which means I have to talk in front of proctors all week since I'm not allowed to just do everything the exam covers yet. And I don't know if I know enough about the theory of Defense to make myself not sound like an idiot. And oh hey! My bits are gone which means Cressa is coming any day now and I have to push a watermelon out of a really small hole!" Harry yelled, slamming is fork down. Remus blinked a few times at the panting boy, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Right. So you're freaking out." Harry groaned, letting his head fall down onto the table. "Now, stop your pity party, get your bag, and meet me in the entry way in ten minutes. Obviously you can't floo to Hogwarts, Preggo, so Dumbledore has forced the ministry to loan us a car to get us back and forth this week. It'll also be getting you to St. Mungo's since I know there's no way to talk you out of seeing Draco."
"I have a name you know," Harry mumbled as he pulled himself out of his chair with some difficulty. "It's not daddy or papa or preggo or any other thing you've taken to calling me."
"Whatever you say, Pup," Remus said, smothering his smile as Harry glared at him.
Harry stood with his arms crossed outside the classroom Dumbledore had set aside for his NEWTS. Remus and the Headmaster approached him, both smiling and laughing.
"Ah, Harry my boy!" Dumbledore called gleefully. "I trust your exam went well?" Harry shrugged, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Come along, come along! Remus tells me the baby should be here any day now. Let go and meet with Poppy and see what she says."
Harry groaned at the thought of the nurse poking around his private parts, san penis, before the baby was born but begrudgingly followed his two professors. Without a word he went behind the curtain and stripped out of his pants. He frowned at the line around his stomach. Even his biggest pants were tight. He slipped on the gown and positioned himself on the bed before calling for the nurse. He closed his eyes, his cheeks red as he fit his feet into the stirrups. He bit his lips, not opening his eyes as the nurses cold hands began touching him.
"Oh wonderful, Mr. Potter! You're birth canal has formed just as it should. You are even dilated two centimeters!" Harry groaned but nodded, his nerves getting the better of him. The nurse ran a scan to see where the baby was sitting and cooed again. "The baby is beginning to drop. Everything looks wonderful, Mr. Potter. Now we just need to discuss what you need to do when your contractions start."
"Do we have to?" Harry grumbled, sitting up as he pulled his feet out of the stirrups. The nurse gave him a stern look and Harry sighed. "Fine."
"You'll probably feel some increased back pain right before they start. Sharp pain in the small of your back is common. Normally when contractions start they will be sharp pains like cramps and far apart. Don't ignore them, Mr. Potter. I know you. Come to me as soon as they begin so I can monitor what happens. The length of your labor process will just depend on how eager your little one is to get out."
"You hear that kid?" Harry asked quietly. "Let's make this quick so Daddy can have his body back." Remus snorted, shaking his head in amusement at his godson.
"I'll be able to give you some drugs so this process will hopefully not be as painful. But you have to be honest with me, Mr. Potter. None of your stubborn hero complex this time." Poppy said, pointing a crooked finger at the teen in front of her. Harry gulped but nodded. "Now, get some rest. Keep your stress levels down. Enjoy sleep; you'll be losing it pretty soon."
With that the nurse strode out of the room, leaving the father to be to fidget nervously. "Get dressed, Pup," Remus called. "We'll stop and see Draco on the way home." Harry sighed but nodded, rubbing absent-mindedly at the bump containing his child.
Draco struggled to sit up, finally feeling stronger for this first time in months. He straightened his glasses and smoothed the stubble of hair that covered his scared skull. He straightened his hospital gown and made sure his knee was covered. Although the emotional trauma was still there, Draco was beginning to feel like himself. He wanted to make Harry feel special that night. He loved the Boy-Who-Lived and he hoped to show it.
Healer Jones knocked on his door, holding the bouquet of roses and teddy bear Draco had requested. "Do these look alright?" She asked as she sat them down on Draco's bedside table.
"They look wonderful, thank you," Draco answered quietly, shifting slightly to get more comfortable.
"How are you feeling?" The Healer asked as she ran a diagnostic scan over the broken teen.
"Besides my knee, okay I guess. I'm just uncomfortable sitting in this bed all the time." The Healer bit her lip but nodded, her eyes scanning the room. She transfigured a plain chair into a big cushy arm chair with a footrest. "I'm going to move you over now Draco. Try not to panic, I won't drop you."
Draco closed his eyes as Healer Jones lifted him into the air with her wand and levitated him over to the arm chair. She slowly lowered him onto the chair and put a pillow under his knee. She pulled the blanket off his bed and covered his thin, pale limbs. "How's that?"
"Better, thank you," Draco whispered, smiling slightly. The Healer nodded before excusing herself. Shortly after, Harry waddled in, looking extremely uncomfortable.
"Har," Draco said with a smile as Harry's face broke into a grin.
"You're sitting up!" Harry cried, as always stating the obvious. "Oh you look so good! You've gotten so much better. I'm so proud of you!" Draco grinned, nodding his head at the bedside table before Harry sat down.
"Those are for you. Or at least the flowers are. The bear is for Cressa. I figured she'd like it. Or she will once she's old enough to realize what it is. Uh, yeah…" Draco trailed off, his cheeks flushing red. Harry grinned moving to kiss Draco's forehead.
"I'm sure she'll love it. Just like I love you. And guess what?" Harry said, perching in his own arm chair next to Draco. "She'll be here any day now!"
"Are you sure?" Draco asked, sitting up a bit straighter.
"Well," Harry began, a twinkle in his eyes. "My, er, bits are gone. Which, you know, means there's a birth canal now. And that means she'll be here soon. Poppy says I'm already 2 centimeters dilated; only 8 more to go!"
"That's wonderful! I can't wait to meet her!" Draco took Harry's hand and squeezed it tight. "I can't wait to be Papa."
"And I can't wait to be Daddy. I can, however, wait for the whole pushing a watermelon out of a hole the size of an orange…"
Draco grinned, kissing Harry's knuckles. "I want to be there…" he began, trailing off. "But they're operating on my knee tomorrow and I doubt they'll let me…" Harry's face fell, realizing for the first time that his boyfriend who had suffered so much wouldn't even be allowed to see his daughter be born.
"I…I didn't think of that. I'll…I'll try to hold her in so it'll give you an extra day to recover. Yeah! That's it. I just won't let her out until you're allowed to be there."
Draco raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side. "And they were worried that I was the one that had brain damage…Harry, I can just watch yours and whoever else's memories after the fact. Don't force her to stay inside just for me." Harry sighed, but nodded his head, squeezing Draco's hand.
"I'll try to be there when you wake up tomorrow," Harry whispered. "Or, wake up from surgery. I have my potions NEWT tomorrow and I think Poppy's forcing me to check in every day. But right after that I'll be here, okay? And I'm sure they're going to make it better. Maybe not 100%, but maybe enough to stop most of the pain. And you're going to make it through with flying colors because you are the bravest man I know."
"You're rambling," Draco said, smiling slightly. "And thank you. I love you so much."
"I love you, too," Harry said, his eyes filling with tears. "And I can't wait to be a family with you and Cressida. And I can't wait to take you both home with me and start our real lives as adults and I just love you so much."
Draco shifted, leaning heavily on the left arm of his chair. His lungs, which were still slightly weak, screamed in protest as he leaned against his ribs to kiss his boyfriend's stomach.
"I love you Cressida Lily. Not that I don't want to see you, but try to hold off on making your grand appearance so Papa can be there, too. And try not to cause Daddy too much pain on your way out, either." Harry grinned, his calloused hand rubbing circles through the stubble on Draco's scalp. The two boy's spent the rest of the night enjoying the silence, not wanting to leave each other.
Harry stood in front of the group of proctors, explaining the use of frozen Ashwinder eggs in love potions when the pain in his back became extreme. It was a sharp pain like Poppy had described and he had to stifle a groan as he placed both hands flat on the small of his back.
"The eggs have to be frozen as soon as possible," Harry said, swallowing thickly as he shut his eyes in discomfort. "If they aren't frozen, they're flammable enough that they can ignite pretty much anything in minutes."
"Good, good Mr. Potter!" The short man with grey hair said, raising to his feet. "On this diagram, I need you to identify the proper steps of preparing the Draught of Peace." The man, Professor Dean, moved so he was standing next to Kurt, a large parchment spread across the table with out of ordered steps on how to prepare the potion present. Kurt swallowed thickly, placing a hand on his stomach as a cramp made his way through his make shift uterus.
"I-uh-I…" Harry trailed off, his eyes going wide with alarm.
"Mr. Potter is there a problem?" Professor Dean asked, his voice stern.
"I think the baby is coming. I think I-" Harry was cut off as his water broke, the liquid splashing all over the proctor's dragon hide boots. "I think I need to go see Madame Pomfrey!" Harry cried, waddling away before the other men in the room could respond. With his wet pants the walk was even more uncomfortable. The proctor's shouted after him but Harry kept moving.
The pregnant teen met Remus in the hall at the landing of the moving stair case. "What are you doing out of your exam?" Remus asked, his eyes wide. "And why are your pants all wet? You didn't wet yourself again, did you?"
"Remy that baby's coming!" Harry yelled, groaning as he bent over in the wave of another contraction. "I'm scared!"
"Hey, hey it's okay. Come on, let's go. We're almost to the Hospital Wing." The professor led the teen up the remaining stairs, keeping a tight grip on his arm to prevent him from falling. Although Harry was having contractions, they were still ten to fifteen minutes apart. Remus was pretty sure that baby wouldn't be coming right away.
"Poppy!" Remus called out as he threw open the doors to the Hospital Wing. "Poppy the bun is coming out of the oven!"
"Not funny, Remus!" Harry yelled, his eyes filled with tears as his godfather laughed and apologized. The nurse came out and led Harry to a secret door in the infirmary. "Where are we going?" Harry asked, his voice strained.
"A private room," Poppy said in a calm voice. "I doubt you want half the school trying to get in here and watch." She carefully helped Harry out of his pants and into a hospital gown. She lowered him onto the bed and helped him get his feet situated in the stirrups. "Well looks like you're in for a long night, Mr. Potter."
"What? What do you mean?" Harry asked, his voice cracking in fear.
"You're only four centimeters dilated, dear. You must be 10 before you can start pushing. Also your contractions are twelve minutes apart. They will have to much closer than that."
"But I-I want to do this now!" Harry said, his face screwing up in pain as another contraction took over his body.
"I'm sorry, Harry," The nurse said quietly, patting his arm sympathetically. "But your little girl won't be coming out until she's ready to come out. I can give you something now which will dull the pain a bit. Once it's time to push I'll give you something a little stronger that will help." Harry bit his lip but nodded. He swallowed the potion, making a face of disgust that the nurse ignored.
"Now," Poppy started, lowering Harry's legs from the stirrups. She handed him a robe before pulling out her wand. She whispered a spell Harry couldn't hear while pointing at his stomach. A parchment appeared, lines being scribbled down from an invisible quill. "This will keep track of your contractions and how strong they are." She stuck two small pads on his skin. One went on his stomach and one over his heart. "These will monitor both you and the babies hearts. I suggest you make yourself comfortable. As long as you have someone with you, you can get out of bed and walk around a bit. It might even speed up the dilation process but there are no promises there. If you need me, just holler."
Harry watched as the nurse left the private room. He let his head fall back as he closed his eyes.
"My water broke on the proctor's shoes…" He groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "I'm never going to pass my potions NEWT."
Remus snorted but sat in the chair next to Harry's bed. "Don't worry, Pup. I'm sure they'll make an exception. If not, who really needs potions anyway?"
"I'm supposed to be with Draco!" Harry exclaimed suddenly. "He had knee surgery today and I promised to be there when he woke up! And I promised to hold off this whole kid thing until he could be here!"
"Well, if Poppy's right, you might be able to hold off the whole kid thing. However, being with Draco when he wakes up is out of the question. You're to stay here."
"Someone needs to tell him!" Harry said, his eyes wide with panic. "There needs to be someone with him when he wakes up and they need to tell him Cressa is coming!"
Remus sighed but nodded. "I'm on it. Try to get some rest; Poppy's right you are in for a long night." Harry groaned but closed his eyes, taking comfort in the drug that Poppy had given him was helping with the pain.
Draco whimpered, his whole body shaking in pain as he opened his eyes. The lights had been kept low and he carefully patted around on the bedside table until he found his glasses. His right leg was wrapped in many thick layers of gauze and he could see a metal frame holding everything in place. He groaned as he shifted slightly, alerting the woman in the chair next to him that he was a awake.
"Afternoon, cousin!" Tonks called, her voice extremely too loud. Draco winced and Tonks lowered her voice. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got hit by the Hogwarts Express," he mumbled, taking the small glass of water she gave him.
"Healer Jones left this for you also," Tonks offered, handing off the bottle of pain relief potion. Draco drank it quickly, sighing in relief.
"Where's Harry?" he asked, upset that his lover wasn't there like he promised.
"Well," Tonks said, shifting so she was at the edge of her seat. "He started having contractions this morning during his NEWT and his water ended up breaking on the proctor's shoes. Poppy's looked him over. She said they baby's coming but it's going to be quite awhile before he's ready to start pushing. "
"The baby's coming? Draco asked, his voice raising an octave. "I have to go! I have to get to Hogwarts. I can't miss this!" He tried in vain to get his legs swung over the side. Tonks put his lower body in a body-bind and pointed a finger at him.
"What do you think you're doing? Are you trying to become a permanent cripple? The Healer' couldn't prevent a limp but they've made it better. But if you try to get up and run off to Hogwarts hours after surgery-you're just going to make it worse! Now you sit there. I'll talk to your Healers. You can't go right now, but maybe we can get you there before the baby comes. Like I said, Harry's no where near ready to start pushing so she might not even come until tomorrow night. Now you stay and don't make me put you under a full body bind!"
Draco sighed but nodded. His daughter was going to be brought in to the world soon and he might not even be there to see it. For just once he wanted something to go his way.
AN: I'm so sorry it took so long to update! Pharmacy school is kicking my butt! I hope you liked it. Please review.