DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own anything Harry Potter affiliated. If I did, I would be sending this off to a publisher—not posting it online.
Chapter Five
Madam Pomfrey took a deep breath to calm and steeled herself. "You're pregnant."
Harry and Ginny sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness!" Harry said.
"What?" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "How are you—what do you mean—what!?"
Ginny smiled, leaning into Harry's embrace. "We're sorry if this is confusing, but we already suspected as much."
"Be that as it may," Madam Pomfrey said, closing her eyes and shaking her head disapprovingly, "we'll have to inform your parents, Miss Weasley, and your guardians, Mr. Potter, as soon as possible."
The two stiffened. "No," Harry stated simply.
"What do you mean, 'No'?"
"Exactly that, ma'am," he replied. "No."
"It's policy that parents and guardians are informed of, ah, situations such as these, not that this has happened in quite a few years, but nonetheless—"
The argument continued for nearly fifteen minutes until the three were gratefully interrupted by the return of McGonagall and Dumbledore.
"Professor Dumbledore! Good, you're back. Perhaps you can explain the policy so that they'll stop arguing with me!" Madam Pomfrey huffed as she rushed to the headmaster with a rolled bit of parchment in her hand. "We have a serious situation here and these two insist that no one needs to know. But school protocol states that I have to inform parents and guardians when an underage student is afflicted with a major malady, illness or condition."
"But we're not underage," Harry protested.
"Nonsense," Pomfrey said, brandishing her parchment roll. "I've been treating you both since you were first years. You're 15 and 16 years old."
"Ah," Dumbledore drawled. "You would be right, my dear Madam. However! You cannot judge them based on their calendar ages, as your records indicate. If you perform an age spell on these two you'll find that they are in fact both over 17."
"What?" the mediwitch protested. "They go missing for three days and come back months, years older? Explain."
Professor McGonagall, looked pointedly at the pair. "I'd like to know the same thing."
"We believe, Professor," Ginny stated, "although we were never physically allowed to see it—that a time turner was involved."
"I thought they were all destroyed when we went to the ministry," Harry said, "but it seems to be the only explanation why we lived months in the span of what you all say is days."
"I performed the age test myself," Dumbledore stated, "and Harry and Ginny are both now physically 17. If I were a betting man, I would put money that their trace has even expired."
"But how is this possible?" Professor McGonagall asked. "Even if we assume that not all of the time turners were rendered useless at the end of last term—and that a time turner was used—how would it be possible for the two of them to age that much? They would have needed to use the time turner every five hours for, what? Almost 400 days?"
"It was more than 600 days for me," Ginny said. "Maybe seven or eight months for Harry—and we were only taken back only once a day, just before dawn."
Professor McGonagall shook her head, disagreeing. "That would go against Croakers Law! You can't travel back in time with an hour reversing spell more than five hours without serious repercussions to the timeline or the user or both."
"Surely Professor," Harry reasoned, "that law was created to meet the determined safety recommendations. They knew five hours were safe after testing so the law was created to ensure the safety of users. From what Hermione told me about the ministry's examples you gave her when she had her time turner, people have gone back further, interacted with their past selves, et cetera. The results weren't favorable, but it was done."
"And I doubt Death Eaters care about contaminating the overall timeline as long as they get what they want in return," Ginny interjected.
"Plus," Dumbledore chimed in, meeting Harry with a pointed gaze that ensured that he caught the bit about the death eaters (but they'd talk about it later), "there's no reason to believe that this time turner is a ministry issued time turner. Or what kind of spell it contained—"
"Well, as fascinating as this impromptu lecture on time-charms and their pitfalls, there is still the matter of their ages!" Madam Pomfrey interjected.
"Poppy, perform the age test yourself if you don't trust our results!" McGonagall said.
Dumbledore chuckled. "At Mr. Potter's insistence when they arrived here, Professor McGonagall and I took the needed hair samples. And, by our calculations, they have indeed aged more than the three days our perspective dictates it should have been—and interestingly different amounts for each of them—"
"Would it kill you to speak plainly Albus?" Madam Pomfrey asked, exasperated.
McGonagall shook her head. "Harry and Ginny are somehow nearly identical in age, both being over the age of seventeen, making them both legal adults. We performed the spell three times to be sure that it wasn't a mistake. So, due to the apparent use of illegal time travel during their captivity Mr. Potter and Ms. Weasley are legally adults," McGonagall clarified, "and therefore their medical information cannot be shared with any parties—including myself, the headmaster or even their parents—without their express consent."
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and took a deep breath to absorb the finality of what her colleague was saying. Releasing a deep breath that Harry didn't even know the woman was holding in, Harry was shocked that the matron suddenly turned on her heel and headed off to her office. The door clicked loudly behind her as it shut.
"Well," Ginny murmured. "That went well."
Dumbledore opened his mouth to take the conversation back to Harry's reveal about the Death Eaters, but before he could Madam Pomfrey returned.
"Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley," she started. "While I'm sure you have an amazing tale to tell about the last three days—or however many it was to you—it's late, and I think you've had enough excitement. Please follow me." Madam Pomfrey held the door to her office open and gestured for them to come inside. "Minerva, Headmaster," she said looking pointedly at them to emphasize her point. "I assume since you are both so comfortable with their sudden increase in age, and how it came to be, that you would agree that for the time being it would be best if these two stay for... observation in the long-term ward?"
"Long-term ward?" Harry questioned, confused. He and his friends had all had extended stays in the hospital wing in the years prior and never had they been moved into a different area of the infirmary.
Madam Pomfrey, huffed. "Rarely has it been used, as most parents prefer to take students home or move them to St. Mungos for illnesses or conditions that require long-term monitoring and care. However, there is a small dormitory located in this wing of the castle that can be accessed through my office if the need arises that a student wants to stay at Hogwarts with the extra security and safety of a mediwitch nearby."
"That's a wonderful idea Poppy," Dumbledore replied with his usual twinkle. "Until we can determine exactly what happened and what the long-term effects will be, I think the hospital dorm will be the perfect place for these two to rest and recuperate.
"And, after a good night's rest tonight," he said, catching them each with his trademark piercing gaze, "you can catch us up on your exciting tale."
Ginny sighed in relief, nodding in agreement. "Thank you, Professors," she said.
Harry helped Ginny off the bed she was resting on and followed her into Madam Pomfrey's office. It was the first time he had ever actually been inside the room and it was different that he was expecting. While most private offices he'd been in at Hogwarts were full of rolls of parchment, overstuffed bookcases and trinkets of various natures, her office was sterile by comparison. Neat shelves lined the far wall separated by a large bank of windows in the center, her desk centered perfectly between them. There were also two hospital cots behind privacy screens, identical to the ones in the infirmary, and two doors.
"That door," Madam Pomfrey said, pointing towards the door nearest her desk on the far side of the room, "leads to my personal chambers. This door," she said, opening the other door wide for them to enter, "leads to your new dormitory."
Stepping through the plain wooden door, they entered what looked like a smaller version of the Gryffindor common room, but with more book cases, and decorated in various shades of purple that made the space feel neutral and calming. The space was complete with a fireplace, a few small workspaces, dining table, kitchenette, couches and chairs—as well as several doors on either side of a passage.
"The passage in the center leads to the main hallway outside of the infirmary. You'll be able to enter and exit through the portrait in the hall using the password, but unlike the portrait that guards Gryffindor Tower, this one locks at curfew and you'll have to enter through my office if you're late. The other doors are individual bedrooms, each with a private bathroom," Madam Pomfrey explained. "These two," she said as she pointed out two specific side-by-side rooms, "are yours. I'm sure the house elves have already moved your belongings into them. If you need anything, you can call for Mipsey. She's the infirmary's house elf and has been trained—"
"Trained?"
"Yes, Miss Weasley," she replied. "Unlike most house elves, I have personally taught and trained Mipsey in my own field. In an emergency, she'll call me, but she is able to stabilize patients until I am able to arrive. Mipsey also serves a traditional house elf roll, and helps with cleaning, laundry and preparing meals for patients staying in the dorm."
Harry thought back on his stays in the hospital wing. "Doesn't the kitchen provide meals for patients?"
"In most cases, yes—but in special cases," Madam Pomfrey paused to eye Ginny specifically, "Mipsey prepares meals for specific dietary needs. If you need anything, call out her name. Mipsey?" she called and was quickly greeted by the soft pop of the arrival of a small elf, dressed in a red and white striped tea towel.
"Are you needing Mipsey, Madam?" the small elf asked.
"Yes Mipsey," she said. "Can you please bring appropriate meals for our new patients?"
"Right away ma'am!" Mipsey replied, popping away.
"Well then," she said. "I'll leave you two to get settled."
"Wait," Ginny called out. "Before you go, could you finish your exam?" she asked quietly. "I don't think I'll be able to rest until I know everything is okay."
"Of course," Madam Pomfrey said, giving her a small smile and motioning for her to settle onto the nearest couch.
When everyone piled into the Gryffindor common room from the hospital wing they were a somber group. For nearly an hour they sat around the common room in small groups making holiday small talk or, in Hermione's case, standing separate from the group, deep in thought by the fire. Although they had gotten Harry and Ginny back—relatively unharmed as far as she could tell—there was something suspicious going on. Where had they gone? How did they get back? And then there was Ginny's new wandless, wordless abilities—where had that come from?
They seemed like her friends and yet they were different—and Harry had answers he was denying her. Well, not exactly denying her. There hadn't been an opportunity to dive-in to her questions. She needed to get back to them unseen, which meant that she would have to get Harry's cloak, cause a distraction, and sneak out. And as much as she wanted to bring Ron with her, his knack for making the situation worse—making Ginny worse in this case—would prevent Hermione from getting answers. Perhaps it would be best, just this time, if Ron were to stay behind. 'No,' she thought to herself. 'We're a team. He's just going to have to keep his temper in check.'
"Here," she heard from behind her, causing her to nearly fall over in surprise.
Placing a hand over her chest to calm her racing heart, Hermione turned to see Neville standing over her shoulder. Looking down, she saw that he was holding Harry's invisibility cloak at his side so as to casually pass her the item without drawing attention.
"Neville—what are you doing with that?" she asked, astonished.
Neville snorted as he moved to obstruct the hand-off from the rest of the room. "You honestly think, after everything that happened in our first year, that I wouldn't pay more attention to you three?" Hermione looked away, ashamed but Neville simply pressed the cloak into the hand behind her back. "I may not have been in the inner circle—" Hermione tried to interrupt to disagree, but he shook his head to silence her. "But I've done what I could when I could so the three of you could operate without calling more attention to yourselves."
Hermione looked up at Neville with a new respect for her friend. She should have realized a long time ago that someone was covering for them when they disappeared from the common room together. At the very least, when Neville showed up at the end of last year, knowing they needed help without asking, she should have realized that he was the silent fourth to their trio.
"Thank you Neville," she said.
He nodded in return. "Slip away now, while everyone is distracted complaining. If anyone notices I'll tell them you went up to your room."
"What about Ron?" she asked, looking over at her friend who was deep in conversation with his older brothers.
Neville didn't even glance in the other boy's direction. "Wait outside for a few minutes. If I can get him away without arousing suspicion I will," he said. "But if not, you'll have to have this adventure solo."
Hermione smiled at him mischievously before slipping behind his tall figure to put on the cloak to disappear from view. As she made her way towards the portrait hole, she had to side step the twins who had, without her realizing it, already escaped the common room and returned with armloads of provisions from the kitchens for an impromptu holiday feast. 'Perfect,' she thought, silently thanking them for unknowingly causing the perfect distraction for her.
Slipping out, Hermione quickly realized that for the first time she didn't have to crouch while under the cloak. Wearing it without the added height or bulk of one or two extra people left plenty of room for her to stand up straight and walk normally. It was a revelation that almost made her laugh out loud, but too many trips under the cloak to count had subconsciously trained her to be as silent as she was invisible.
"Hermione?" she heard from the portrait hole.
"Ron!" she called quietly, popping her head out. "Over here."
Ron hurried to her side. "You know," he said. "We're prefects—and it isn't even curfew yet. Either way you don't need to sneak around under the cloak."
Hermione rolled her eyes. He made a good point—not that she'd admit that. "True, but we should however use it when we get to the hospital wing to avoid Madam Pomfrey, in case she hasn't gone to bed yet."
"Fine,"Ron said. "After you."
Making their way down the stairs, they had to stop in their tracks and toss the robe on quickly when they reached the entry to the infirmary as Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore made their way away from the hospital wing. Hurrying as fast—and quietly—as they could the last few steps, they managed to slip in the door as the older pair stepped out to counteract any caterwauling charms Madam Pomfrey might have on the doorway to alert her when someone came in.
There were still a few candles lit in the infirmary and Hermione hoped that meant that Harry and Ginny were still awake and hadn't taken any sleep-aid potions so she could get some answers. Carefully, the two tiptoed towards the last two beds, but their efforts were in vain. Both beds were empty. Looking at Ron, Hermione saw his puzzled look.
"Where are they?"
Hermione shook her head. "How would I know Ronald?"
"Maybe we should have brought the map, too?"
"Well if I thought it possible that they could be anywhere but here I would have asked Neville—"
"Neville? Why Neville and not me?"
Hermione turned to glare at him in the dim light."How would I have asked you when you were across the room, surrounded by your brothers? If it wasn't for Neville, we wouldn't have even gotten the cloak in time to use your brothers' impromptu party as a distraction!'
"Good night, ma'am!"
Hermione's hand quickly went to cover Ron's mouth as her head snapped towards the sound of Ginny's voice from inside Madam Pomfrey's office. Ignoring his annoyed look, she motioned for them to go towards the ajar office door, following the sound they had just heard.
As they nearer the office, the two had to flatten themselves behind the door as Madam Pomfrey stepped out, carrying a tray of supplies and heading away to restock the bedside cabinets. The two slipped inside her office and were dismayed to find that Harry and Ginny were not inside. Instead they were faced with a choice between two doors.
"Where do you think they are?" Ron whispered into her ear, hovering close under the cloak.
"Must be private rooms behind these doors. One's hers, the other for students?"
"What? Why would the other be for students?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Like a private medical exam room," she whispered. "It only makes sense since they aren't right in front of us. Let's try the left one first."
"Why left?"
Hermione didn't wait, but rather answered him as she moved towards the door on the left, pulling him with her. "The door closer to her desk is probably her chambers—"
"Why—"
"We don't have time for this Ron!" she snapped. "She'll be back any minute. We need to pick a door and check it and if it's wrong hopefully we'll have time to check the other before she returns."
"Good night, ma'am," Ginny called out, adjusting her shirt and slumping into an armchair next to Harry as the door to their new dorm closed behind the matron. The chair was oversized, but not exactly meant for two. Harry gingerly pulled Ginny closer to him as he lifted her legs over his lap. She snuggled close and Harry couldn't help but kiss her forehead as he rested his hand across her stomach, her hand finding his and overlapping it. "I can't believe we made it out of there."
"I know," he said quietly, basking in the quiet for a few moments as he held her close and listened to the sound of her breathing.
"Harry," she said looking into his eyes, "we're going to be parents!"
Before he could exhale, and share the first truly happy moment they'd had in forever, technically months, they were interrupted by a shocked voice from the door.
"You're pregnant?" Hermione asked, whispering harshly as she removed the cloak and tossed a quick Muffliato on the room out of habit.
"WHAT!?"
A/N: please review!