All the legal stuff, summery and notes are on chapter one.
Beta: Long live the Dragon!!
Mini-Moony- chapter Thirty-five
..o0o.. ..o0o.. ..o0o..
It had been three days since the August full moon and still Harry hadn't been to see Hermione. Remus was doing his best not to bully Harry into it but Harry could tell he was dead worried about what had happened that night.
Truth be told, Harry was scared shitless about what it could mean. He didn't want to find out he was ill with something that was incurable and would finish him off anytime in the foreseeable future. He much preferred not to know and have his last days with his family as happy and carefree as possible. Even the prospect of being in absolute health but being unable to transform anymore sent chills down his spine. In short, Harry decided that the 'What-you-don't-know-can't-harm-you' approach was the best way to handle his current situation.
But three days into his decision Harry finally reached the conclusion that ignorance couldn't be the answer. He decided to have another little test before he completely panicked and promised himself that if the results were less than satisfactory he'd go to see Hermione immediately. Choosing his day off, he waited until Remus had taken Aaron over to Hogwarts for his lesson with Snape, in order to carry out his test.
Comfortably arranging himself on his bed, Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. A feat made harder by the memory of the pain that still sat fresh and white hot in his mind. But Harry refused to succumb to it and brought Seff's image to the forefront of his mind. Before he could reach out the pain seared through him again, causing his entire body to arch off the bed and a scream to echo in the bedroom. Opening his eyes and panting Harry could feel tears streaming down his cheeks, both from the pain and from the realization that there was nothing for it, he was dying of some strange disease and was leaving his loved ones behind.
Trying to get his breathing under control again Harry waited until the cramps in his abdomen subsided enough for him to be able to move. He made his way to the fireplace, holding his abdomen and grabbed a handful of floo powder calling out Hermione's office address, and rushing through the grate to stand before his oldest friend, who looked a little startled to see Harry with his hair in a bigger mess than usual, sooty tear tracks on his face,
"Hermione!" He cried, "I need you to check me out!" Biting her lip the witch leaned back and ran her eyes over Harry's disheveled form,
"You look a mess, but you've got a really cute arse so most people won't even mind." Harry wasn't sure whether he should roll his eyes or simply strangle her,
"Hermione, I'm serious! Tell me what's wrong with me!" He snapped. Hermione sighed; Harry was no fun like this. She rose from her seat and took her wand from the desk, running it over Harry and muttering a series of generic diagnostic spells,
"There's nothing wrong with you, you and your baby are in perfect health." Harry's eyes grew comically wide and his jaw dropped. Hermione was not far behind. The two blinked at each other for a whole minute, trying to process what Hermione was saying.
Hermione was the first to recover, dropping back onto her chair, running the wand between her fingers with the smuggest expression on her face,
"So…" She said slowly and deliberately, while Harry still stood shell-shocked before her, "I take it you and Remus had a little bit of fun on your birthday…" Harry closed his eyes in pain, dropping into the chair before her, burying his face in his hands. Hermione's eyes were alight with mirth and she leaned forward, "I believe there's something you wish to tell me…" Harry lifted his head and glared at her, but Hermione just gave him a sweet smile. Harry sighed, it was better to have this charade over with so that he could get the answers he needed,
"You were right." He mumbled, and Hermione's face split into a grin so big that Harry feared the top of her head might fall off.
"Ah, music to my ears," She simpered, "Say it again…" Harry glared at her,
"Don't push your luck Granger!" He snapped. Hermione rolled her eyes, looking far from impressed by his rudeness. Silence stretched between them for a long moment more. Hermione waited for the news to truly sink in and made sure her wand was within reach in case Harry went into a full blown panic attack and she needed to sedate him for his own good.
"Harry, are you alright?" She tenderly asked when she realized Harry wasn't going to snap out of his shock anytime soon,
"I don't know, am I?" He asked with a wondering voice, in a somewhat detached manner that had Hermione slightly worried,
"Physically you are, but maybe you should talk about it…" Harry fixed her with a glare,
"Talk about it? Talk about it… About what exactly, huh? Your crazy theory proven right and the fact that I'm now bloody pregnant?!" He rose from his seat and started pacing the room. The fact that he wasn't terminally ill and wasn't about to die anytime soon didn't really make him any happier about the predicament. Sitting down heavily he rubbed his stomach unconsciously taking a deep breath, "I'm pregnant aren't I? I'm a freak…" Tossing his head backwards he let out a mad bark of laughter, "Gods, uncle Vernon was right… I'm a complete freak!"
"You're not a freak, Harry." Hermione said in the most patient voice she could muster. Harry just shook his head in disbelief,
"Really? How many pregnant males do you know?" He asked sarcastically. Hermione gave him a tight smile and opened her desk drawer, pulling out a small stack of files,
"Four actually." She slid the files towards Harry who looked doubting but flipped the first one open anyway. Scanning the page and seeing nothing in his turbulent state of mind he decided this was getting him nowhere and snapped it back shut,
"What do you want me to say?" Hermione shrugged,
"How about, you're happy that you finally got the family you wanted?" Harry snorted,
"I already have the family that I want. Gods, this is a fucking lark! What am I going to say to Remus?" He tossed his hands in the air, and rubbing his face.
"Why do you assume he won't be happy?"
"Because he's leaving for Spain in a week, and he's going to think I did this deliberately to get him to stay." Harry answered bitterly. Gods, just when he and Remus finally found the silver lining in this situation this… this… predicament was going to mess things up all over again!
"Harry look, I think you should go home, and get some rest and think things over. You do have options, whether you choose to keep the baby or not, but I strongly suggest you discuss things with Remus before you make any rash decisions." Hermione said in a soothing voice, laying her hand over Harry's. Harry nodded dumbly, feeling completely lost, "Oh, and I wouldn't try to transform if I were you, but if the state you showed up in here means something than I guess you already know that."
"Why wasn't I able to transform?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Well, it's a bit complicated and I'll try not to get too technical because I know it makes you go crossed-eyed," Harry rolled his eyes at this, but to be fair, she did know him quite well… "The thing is, since you are not a female and therefore ill equipped to carry a child your body has started to form some sort of magical barrier to allow the baby to grow in. Now, this barrier will expand as the baby grows, which may cause some fluctuations in your own magic, but we can discuss that later on. The point is, your wolf's form isn't able to sustain the magical barrier and therefore your body is rejecting it- its utmost priority is to keep the baby safe." Harry nodded,
"So, I won't be able to transform again?" Hermione shook her head,
"Not while you're still carrying the child. After the baby is born I fully believe you'll retain your normal animagus abilities. Technically, if you pushed it real hard you could achieve transformation, but there's a very high chance that you could lose the baby." Harry nodded again, well that didn't sound so bad, it was only for… Wait, how long did a male pregnancy last?
"How long does a male pregnancy last?" He asked,
"Nine months, the same as a woman's. Since you conceived on your birthday I can tell you that you should be a proud father again by the end of April. A spring baby." She beamed at him, though Harry didn't really share her enthusiasm yet, there were just so many questions needed answering…
"But the baby was conceived under the full moon, how come I can't transform? And… Oh gods, does that mean…" He closed his eyes briefly, hoping Hermione would catch onto his meaning without him having to spell it out, Hermione caught on to his drift and shook her head,
"No. It doesn't mean anything. I could explain to you why you can't transform but it's too technical and boring, so just trust me on this one. As for your second question… There is no proof the child will be infected with lycanthropy. All evidence of werewolves so far were reports of biting, not being born with it. But I will be able to tell you for certain only after the baby is born." Harry sighed; Remus is not going to like this… "Harry, you're still in shock, and it's understandable, you should go home and rest, take a couple of days to think things over before you make any sort of decision." Reaching across the table Hermione placed a soft hand on Harry's, "For what it's worth, I'm going to support you no matter what you decide." Harry took a deep breath and nodded, placing his other hand on top of hers,
"Thanks Mione, you have no idea how much that means to me." He rose to his feet, and gave Hermione a weak smile before he stepped into the grate.
Upon arriving home Harry immediately went to his bedroom, glad that Remus was still out- probably snagged by Sirius to do nefarious things now that neither of them was working. He lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling and tried to make sense of what just happened in Hermione's office. He was… He was p… Gods, he was pathetic, he couldn't even think the word…
Harry took a deep breath and placed a soft hand on his abdomen. A month, it's been a month since he and Remus were… and now he was… A baby, he and Remus had created a baby. Harry was quite overwhelmed with the knowledge. Yes, of course Hermione had badgered them about this sort of thing for ages but neither of them thought it could really happen. Harry rubbed his face; this could not have come in a worse time… Not only was Remus leaving for Spain in a matter of days but what of poor Aaron? The boy was just beginning to gain his footage around the house, getting used to being their child and now they were going to bring another?
Solutions, Hermione said there were other solutions, but Harry refused even begin to contemplate what that meant. Killing a despised and hated half-human was bad enough for his mental health and conscience; could he even imagine doing it to someone that was conceived with the utmost love? Someone that was as much a part of him as, say… his heart or mind? Never.
Rubbing his face harder Harry wanted to let out a mad laughter, burst into tears and scream, all at the same time. He briefly wondered if this was a pregnancy effect or whether he was truly losing it. He was having a baby! Will it be a boy or a girl? Harry wasn't sure what he wanted more, both options seemed perfect to him. Will they look like him or Remus? Gods, he hoped they'd get Remus' hair; anything else was up for debate, but the hair… Harry didn't think he could live with the knowledge that he had passed on James' rat nest onto yet another generation.
James… Oh sweet Merlin, his parents were going to have kittens over this! Harry giggled softly to himself, trying to imagine his parents and Sirius' reactions. Lily would be thrilled he knew, she'd love every second of taunting him on how the baby was conceived, he would never ever hear the end of it! James and Sirius… Now, those two would probably turn red, start muttering and flee the room as soon as Lily would broach the subject of gay sex in her 'Oh so very subtle, it looks like a herd of blind and dumb hippogriffs just stampeded through here' sort of way. Well, at least he would get some sort of amusement out of all this, Harry thought with a grim smile.
And telling everyone else… And then there was the press… Although they lived in a remote enough area, and spent very little time in London outside of the 'Sugardust' that is, Harry and Remus weren't as press free as they would like. The cottage itself were under Fidelius charm and the shop under a modified version of it, so at least the wizarding version of paparazzi couldn't get them there but it didn't mean that they didn't try whenever Harry ventured out of the safety of those places. It seemed that the magical world was ever keener on finding details of their favorite hero, the more reluctant and camera shy Harry became the more they wanted to know. So far, Harry had made it clear that any interviews he was ever likely to give were to Luna Lovegood of the 'Quibbler'- which was his way of saying he was still pissed as hell that the 'Daily Prophet' kept Rita Skeeter on its payroll. The last thing Harry wanted was for the magical world to find out about his pregnancy. This would surely lead to a world war size catastrophe.
His brain aching with the swirling of thoughts Harry decided he needed rest above all. First things first, he'd have to tell Remus about this new turn of events and hope for the best. Taking his wand in hand and muttering the spell that Dumbledore taught all these years ago to clear his mind of the jumble of thoughts. Once his brain was washed with nothingness he closed his eyes and succumbed to sleep, his hand softly resting on his stomach.
..o0o.. ..o0o.. ..o0o..
A/N: I just want to remind you that I posed the question of Hermione's theory after the first chapter and no one seemed to object, so there.
I will be following Harry's pregnancy and whatever comes over the family. If you've got any helpful suggestions, especially pregnancy-wise, feel free to play Healer Granger and let me know. Thank you.