Briar POV
There was a gentle snoring in my ear when I woke up. For a moment, it worried me. I wasn't in my bed, it was too large and too soft, and someone was holding me tight. Until a sleepy voice mumbled 'B' and snuggled in even closer - if that was at all possible. This wouldn't normally have been a problem. But these days I have a tiny human who likes to use my very full bladder as a trampoline and my belly was growling loudly letting me know it was probably fairly late into the day on Saturday.
"James," I half whispered, giving one of his muscular arms a squeeze. "I really need to get up."
"Stay." He mumbled and tightened his arms again.
"Seriously, Jamie," I sighed. My belly was really starting to hurt now with my seriously desperate need to use the bathroom. "The baby is doing a number, I need a wee." His top arm let go of me. Or I thought it had. Now the hand made it's way to my swollen belly and he nuzzled into my neck.
"Our baby." my heart felt like it was going to burst at his sleepy words and hot tears stung the backs of my eyes. I had been so prepared to take her away from him. Yes he's giving up so much but I really should have let that be his choice.
"James, please, I need to go!" I managed to get out without crying. James stuck his head up at me now, only half awake. His hair messy and fluffed up the way it always was in a morning.
"You promise you'll come back?"
"If you promise there's food." He nodded and let me go. The room had conjured an adjoining room at some point that had a quaint little bathroom behind it. Complete with all the toiletries a girl could need. On my way out of the bathroom, I caught sight of something shining. It was a full length mirror. The mirror reminded me I was only dressed in my bra and knickers - neither of which had really been intended to be seen. I hadn't been looking at myself often recently, not that I've ever been the type of girl who spends hours staring at her own reflection. But seeing myself now, all bare and swollen, was strange. Fine lines had started to trace across my stomach, a gift thanks to the pressure my ever growing child was putting on my skin. I know I should embrace these things, but I couldn't right now.
How could I? I'm here in an old t-shirt bra that's seen better days and a comfy pair of flowery boy shorts currently beginning to resemble a baby whale while James is lying back in the other room looking like he is just ready to go on to some photo shoot for Witch Weekly and then out partying with pretty girls with legs as long as their entire bodies. Girls like Polly. I let out the worlds most unattractive sob as tears fell hot and fast down my face. It was as a pair of arms wrapped around my shoulders I realised I hadn't locked the door.
"What's wrong, B?" James's voice was soft, but he was worried. "Is it the baby?"
"N-no." I sobbed. He held me tight.
"Tell me," James was panicking now. "I want to help!"
"I'm not pretty like you," I got out in one breath -total word vomit.
"Pretty... like ..." James turned me to face him. Annoyingly his stupid face had broken into a stupid grin. "You think I'm pretty,"
"Piss off, James!" I hissed and tried to turn away from him again.
"No!" He held me tight, his fingers digging into my shoulders. "You are absolutely beautiful, B."
"I'm fat."
"No," he sighed. I could see a little of his own annoyance starting to settle behind his eyes. "You're pregnant. Pregnant people get bigger because babies get bigger."
"You're only saying that because that's what you're supposed to say to pregnant whales," I sighed looking down at our feet.
"No, I'm saying it because..." It was his turn to sigh now. "This is embarrassing to admit but... I find you really sexy like this." The air felt like even it stopped to go 'what the fu-'
"No you don't."
"Yeah, I do." He pulled me into him. And I'll admit I could feel something's presence between us, but I was ignoring it. "I mean, I think you're sexy anyway but now... I don't know what it is or why, but I really like it."
"Is this a fetish thing?" I half laughed. "Like did you plan this just to live out a fantasy?"
"What?" James's look of mild embarrassment had melted away. Quickly. He now just looked mortified. "No.. I -I just-"
"Shush," I gave him a quick kiss on his lips. "I was just teasing."
"Mean," He muttered before pulling me over for a hug. We returned to the main room and started to get dressed. My belly was growling loudly and while morning sickness had been a thing of the summer, I was starting to feel nauseous at the lack of food in my stomach. But there was something I needed to know first. Something I only worked up the courage to ask as we exited the safety of that secret room.
"James," I said, quietly. He'd already started walking off down the corridor, clearly unaware I'd stopped. "James," I said louder.
"Hmm?" James's head turned, and he stopped walking, then turned around. He looked a little confused but made quick work of the distance between us. "Briar?"
"What are we... you know... doing?"
"Going for food?" James laughed slightly. "You said you were hungry."
"Yeah I am," I could feel myself rolling my eyes. "But I mean is, what are we doing about us... about ..." I gestured to my stomach. "her?" His face softened and his shoulders dropped. His hands reached out, one grabbing mine and the other resting on the side of my beach ball belly.
"I will always be there for her, and you, no matter whatever else happens." My heart was officially a puddle. Seriously. "As for us, well that one is up to you,"
"James-"
"No, I want you to take some time to think about what you want. Really think and not whats best for anyone but you." James's lips - those delicious lips of his - curled into a smile. "But considering we're set for life in one way or another, if we could keep the fact she's mine quiet for a little longer, it would be a massive favour." My heart, now reformed, sank. He was ashamed of us. He didn't want anyone to know. Was this thinking time so he could get something together that would take her away from me? Or set him somehow free of any parental responsibility - which would be fine, you know, that's what I'd planned for in the first place but... To actually hear it? Ouch.
"I see."
"Just until I can tell the family," I looked around a little. They're pretty much here. "I don't want one of the cousins to tell Mum and Dad before I can. They aren't going to be impressed, but they'll be less impressed if Molly tells them before I do."
"And why would Molly do that?"
"No idea." James shrugged. "First name that came to my head. These days it's a good bet that whatever name I think of, there's family." I giggled. I was still sore by his wanting to hide us. But I got it. And the holidays are only a week away. I can carry on as normal for a week.
James POV
I decided the next morning that I really needed to get my shit together. So I got up, not early but Sunday's without Quidditch usually only mean I get up for food and a shower, and piled all my books into my bag. Then I dragged Freddie to the library.
"You're trying to impress someone." Freddie yawned after our first hour.
"Yes I am," I mumbled trying to write a quote on the differences needed between conjuring an eagle or turning a persons arms into eagle like wings. Tricky stuff. "I massively have a thing for Webster and his god awful assignment choices."
"Hey," Freddie said another twenty minutes later. "You know whose really good at Transfiguration?"
"Not me?"
"Is very kind?"
"Not you?"
"Just walked into the library and loves to help out her cousins?"
"I'm not sure we know anyone of that description, Fred." I sighed putting down my quill and looking over where Fred was looking. Dominique and Briar looked like they had just arrived and were making themselves comfortable on a table across the library. "I thought you said 'kind'? We'll owe her for this, you know that right?"
"It'll be worth it." Fred's voice was sombre. "Think of the grade." He got up, taking his half finished assignment with him. So I followed. One, because he's right in the fact that Dominique is leagues ahead of us at Trans. Best in the year, closely followed by Briar. And two, because Briar was over there and I had seen her, or the baby, since a last hug before walking into the great hall for lunch yesterday.
"Oi! Dom!" Freddie shouted. A round of 'shush!' greeted him from around the room like a chorus of speech impair snakes. "Sorry!" He half whispered, nodding his head and grinning. "Fancy helping your two favourite cousins out with their Transfiguration homework?"
"I don't see Molly or Lily anywhere?" Dom didn't even look up from her book. But Briar was chuckling, even if she wasn't looking at me.
"Common, Dom!" Freddie slid onto the chair next to the part veela. "Help a guy out, I've already got half way, I just need some advice." Dominique looked at us both, her silvery eyes flitting from Fred to me, down to the parchment in our hands and back again.
"Fine." She held her hand out and took the sheets. Then handed one to Briar.
"They're your cousins." Briar muttered passing the parchment back.
"Please, B." I whined, sitting down next to her. She sighed and took the page back.
"It reads like a first years work," Dom finally said looking at Fred. "Honestly, you might as well just wipe your arse with it."
"Jeez, Dom." Fred looked hurt. "Don't hold back why don't you. I really need to get a good grade on this though."
"You know it's 12feet on this right?" Briar added looking at me.
"What?"
"'12 feet on the exceptional properties and rights of incantations involved with flighted transfiguration', you've only done two."
"Whens it in?"
"Tomorrow."
"Oh Merlin, just kill me now!" I sighed and threw myself down onto the table. I couldn't manage twelve feet on the subject. I can't even reliably complete the spell.
"Lets see it anyway." Dom ignored my display.
"See what?" Thankfully Freddie was as confused as I was.
"The spell." We looked at her in horror. Then burst out laughing.
"You... want ... us-"
"To actually... do .. it?"
"Yes." The girls sat back. Neither finding the idea as funny as me and Fred. So that sobered us up some. Freddie went first. It was a mess. He basically looked like someone had dunked him in tar and thrown chicken feathers at him. So I went. I was trying to give one of the text books (using its cover as arms) dove wings. They were hideously formed with talons and scales, more dragon like, but they were also completely useless for the poor book that kept trying to lift of from the table and failing. The girls looked at each other and sighed. Dom picked up her wand.
"If you can't perform the incantation, how do you expect to write about it?" She waved her wand at Fred, muttering the spell under her breath. Freddie yelp as his arms began to morph into long, drawn out shapes with his fingers pulling back and spreading into the bones of a wing. Then a shock of pink feathers began to fill in the skin that held together the bones.
"You turned me into a bloody flamingo!" Freddie yelled in horror.
"And a magnificent one at that." Dominique nodded and quickly reverted her spell. Briar then turned on the poor malformed book I had tried to spell. I noticed that while she gave the same flick of her wrist that Dominique had, her mouth didn't move.
"Since when can you do non-verbal spells?" I couldn't even watch the transformation, the words just fell out of my mouth.
"Since our topic in the subject in last years Defence against the dark arts." Briar offered, almost robotically. Her now finished spell had the book soaring around us on a raven black pair of full, strong wings.
We spent the rest of the day trying to complete our spells. Dom had been right, really knowing the spell had made writing the essay easier. But I was still up writing it at 1 am in the common room that night.