A/N: First of all, I'd like to thank you all for your kind reviews. I'm very happy that you liked chapter one. I hope you'll like this one just as much, though it'll have some grammatical mistakes, because my beta reader is 'lost'. I'm sure you'll still be able to understand the plot. ;-)
Have fun!
Chapter 2
Guess who?
"What? What did you say?" McGonagall gaped.
"She is pregnant, Minerva."
"But… she's only sixteen!"
"I know, I know. She is still a child… and going to have a child herself. Tut, tut, tut, no good. What are we going to do now?"
"Good question." McGonagall frowned. "You were right, this is the first case of a student getting pregnant in the whole history of Hogwarts. What a shame!" her eyes were gleaming with fury, sending fire-bolts at poor Poppy.
"Hey, don't look at me like that, Minerva, it's not my fault!"
"Oh, sorry…" McGonagall shook her head. "It was too sudden, too shocking… by the way, speaking of fault, who's the father?"
Madame Pomfrey shrugged. "How could I know that? Maybe we should ask Ginny herself… but of course we'll have to tell her the news first…"
"What?" Minerva raised an eyebrow. "She doesn't know it…? Doesn't even suspect…?"
"No. I guess she doesn't." the nurse replied. "So, should we ask her about the father?"
"No." McGonagall said sternly. "If she doesn't know it yet, then she mustn't know it until we can talk to Dumbledore. And he has just left for Transylvania, to enter into a contract with the V.C.R."
"The V.C.R.?" Pomfrey gave her a bewildered stare.
"The Vampire's Community of Romania.
"Oh. I see." Pomfrey nodded. "So you think that we shouldn't tell anyone that Ginny is with a child."
"Exactly."
"But then… how are we going to get to know who the father is?"
"Easily. We'll keep our eyes open."
"What do you mean?"
"We'll tell everyone that Ginny has an ailment called… clupea and that she mustn't leave the medic bay for another two days.."
"Clupe-what?"
"Never mind." McGonagall sighed. "It means herring in Latin. That was the first thing I could think of."
"Okay. So let it be clupea." Pomfrey agreed. "And…?"
"And we'll, I mean you'll keep an eye on Ginny's visitors. There will be someone among them who'll behave in a strange way."
"All student of Hogwarts behave in a strange way." Poppy reminded Minerva.
"Well, true, but I meant, that… hey, you'll know it! …Or not." she shrugged. "Anyway, sooner of later we'll find it out. If not sooner then only after Dumbledore comes back. He'll be back in three days."
"Okay, but how should I 'keep and eye' on her, without her noticing it?"
"Use the Videus-Camericus Charm."
"The what?"
McGonagall rolled her eyes in disbelief. This was a charm that every graduated witch and wizard had to know!
"Okay, I'll explain it…" she started.
* * * * *
"How are you, sis?" Ron asked, sitting on Ginny's bed. "You don't even look sick. Is that clupe-what dangerous?"
"Oh, no, it isn't." Ginny smiled. "Madame Pomfrey told me that I'd be okay in two days. Don't worry about me, brother."
"Hi, Ginny!" Hermione entered the infirmary. "Feeling better?"
"Yes, a lot better." the red-headed girl answered. "I was bored, though."
"Bored? I can understand that!" Ron said. "I've got a cool story for you, little sister… no, not only one: two! Which one would you like to hear first? The one about Draco or the one about Harry?"
When Ron uttered Harry's name, Ginny blushed a bit, but fortunately no one noticed.
"Start with Draco." she said.
"Okay." Ron grinned. "Now, imagine the dungeon, Snape teaching us something pretty boring, and Neville bungling as usual…"
Ginny enjoyed Ron's story very much. At the end Ron didn't forget to mention that Draco looked almost as cool with the blossoming branch in his left ear as he was as a bouncing ferret. Ginny giggled imagining Malfoy screaming in terror when he realised what happened to him.
"…and the result was the Snape got a new opportunity to bully Harry. He told him that he was sure that Harry found Draco's case very amusing, and that Harry should drink the potion he cooked. Poor Harry, he drank it and… fell in love with Mrs. Norris!"
"WHAT?????" Ginny gasped, all the blood running out of her face. "He… he loves… a CAT?????"
"Oh, not really…" Ron snickered. "You know, Snape made him an antidote… so he isn't smitten with the kitten anymore… it was funny, though."
"Ron!" Hermione gave him a very disapproving look. "I don't think that Ginny enjoys stories in which Harry discredits himself." she gave her friend an impish smile. "She likes Harry more than that, doesn't she?"
Ginny's face turned the same colour as her hair. "Are you sure that he doesn't love Mrs. Norris anymore?" she worried. Ron and Hermione burst out laughing.
"You can be sure of that." Hermione smiled. Ginny smiled back.
"Oh, my, I've just realised how late it is!" Hermi shouted, looking at the grandfather's clock in the corner. "It's nearly eight o'clock, and I still have some work to do in the library. I must go, Ginny. Take care."
"Bye, Hermi." the other girl responded.
"Bye, Hermi." Ron added, imitating Ginny's voice. "See you in the library tomorrow morning."
Hermione turned back from the door. "Why in the library?"
"'Cause you'll fall asleep among your precious books, that's why."
"I won't." Hermione scowled. "And stop mocking me with my book-mania, will you?"
"I will… when you stop strolling on the corridors with all the four volumes of Beautiful Bill's Biography."
Now it was Hermione's turn to blush. "It's non of your business, what I read in my free time! And he's not a second Lockhart!"
"I didn't say he was." Ron pointed out.
"But you implied!"
"Did not."
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Stop, stop making such a clamour, kids!" Madame Pomfrey chastised them as she entered the room. "This is a medic bay, you know, and Ms. Weasley needs some rest."
"We weren't…" Hermione began.
"I don't care." Pomfrey declared. "Out with you two!"
"Night, sis." Ron told Ginny and left the infirmary with Hermione.
As the door slammed shut behind them, the girl lunged at Ron: "How dare you insult me like that… especially before the eyes of your sick sister!"
"Oh, you aren't mad that I insulted YOU, but because I insulted Beautiful Bill!"
"Oh, shut up you fool!" Hermione snapped and turned her back on him.
"Okay, I'll shut up and won't talk to you anymore!" he retorted.
"Okay."
"Okay."
"Okaaay." she started to get bored with their little play.
"Don't you think we are behaving foolishly?" Ron asked.
"Yea, we are." Hermione admitted, facing the boy. Ron also turned around to face her. The moonlight came across the window, painting silver streaks on the corridor's walls and floor… and making Hermione's hair glitter like a glorious halo around her head.
"Oh my, you are so beautiful!" Ron sighed.
"Am I?" her lips tucked into a smirk.
"Yeah." he stepped closer, taking her hands. "I don't wanna quarrel with you anymore, Herm."
"Neither do I."
"Then let's kiss and be friends."
"Kiss?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Uh-huh." he answered. "May I kiss you?"
"What a silly question…" she smiled and pulled Ron's head down, catching his lips with hers.
That was how Peeves found them.
"Bad kiddies! Naughty kiddies! I'll go and tell Prof. McGonagall what you were doing here!" he howled at them.
"Don't dare to do that, Peeves, or I'll…" Ron began.
"Or you'll do what?" the poltergeist gave him a wicked grin. "Kill me?" he started to guffaw. "You are so funny, Ronniekins! Hey, Granger, you chose well: he is the best clown in the whole school! Not to mention how well he smooches!"
"Shut up, Peeves, or I'll tell McGonagall that you dropped this vase." Hermione said.
"What vase?" Peeves frowned.
"This one." she answered, lifting a very fragile vase from a nearby shelf. It was the favourite decoration of Professor McGonagall. She had brought it from a journey to China where she had a short romance with a magical mandarin. Of course she had never told anyone about her little fling, but she cherished the mandarin's present very much and wanted everyone to admire it whenever they passed by it on the corridor.
"Yeah, she'll tell McGonagall…" Ron added, "or rather the Bloody Baron. What do you think, Peeves, is it worth bugging us?"
The poltergeist gave them an 'okay-I'll-try-again-next-time'-stare and left through the closed window.
Hermione put the vase back on the shelf and turned to Ron. "So, where were we?"
"Here, I think…" the boy replied, pulling her into a tight embrace and continuing their kiss where they'd left off.
* * * * *
When they finally got back to the Gryffindor common room, Ron decided to check on Harry. Hermione left for the girls' dormitories after giving Ron a small kiss on the cheek.
When the boy entered their dorm, he perceived at once that his best friend was nowhere to be found there.
"Where's Harry?" he asked Dean and Seamus who were playing 'who-can-hold-his-breath-for-a-longer-time'.
"He left about ten minutes ago." Seamus replied.
"Why? Where did he go?" Ron wondered.
"No idea." Dean shrugged. "But he got a bit jittery when we told him about your sister's faint. I don't know why… is that clupea thing so dangerous?"
"Nope, it isn't." Ron chuckled. "Do you think he went to visit Ginny?"
"I don't think so." Seamus shook his head. "It's already half past eight, and visiting time ends at eight o'clock."
They all looked up as Neville entered the room.
"Have you seen Harry, Neville?" Ron turned to him.
"Yup, he dashed down the corridor." the boy answered. "He didn't even notice me and almost bumped into me."
"Most interesting." Seamus commented.
"Yeah… hey, Trevor! Come back!" Neville shouted as his toad jumped out of his hand. He started to chase the frog among the four-poster beds, but Trevor was much quicker than he. "Okay, you wanted it!" he warned the animal. "Accio Trevor!" he cried, holding up his wand.
The toad immediately flew into his inviting arms.
"Well done, Neville!" Dean and Seamus expressed their admiration.
"I've never seen a flying toad. Looks cool." Ron added.
They all started to laugh, scaring the befuddled frog even more.
* * * * *
Madame Pomfrey was almost asleep when the Videus-Camericus Charm waked her. "Huh?" she rubbed her eyes and propped her head on her hands, staring into a small magical screen floating in the air before her desk. *I've almost fallen asleep!* she chastised herself.
It really had been a long watch for her: from 16:00 to 20:00 at least fifty visitors came to Ginny and she observed all of them with the greatest attention. She wanted to spot someone who behaved strangely. Then she gave up on that, since everyone behaved that way: Parvati and Lavender brought Ginny a small mirror and a comb to re-arrange her hair that easily got tousled by the pillows. Susan, Ginny's best friend came with a pile of books, she surely explained her what pages to read through, not to miss anything. She even started to whisper and giggle about something, along with her friend, but all Pomfrey was able to make out was the sentence: 'What a relief!'. Shortly later Draco and his two sidekicks visited the girl. Malfoy told her quite sarcastically that she had to be grateful that the school provided free medical care, because her family surely wouldn't be able to pay for it. Then came a pack of her other friends, all telling gossips about 'those damned teachers who never leave them in peace'. Madame Pomfrey partially agreed with them, especially when Snape was concerned.
Shortly before eight, came Ron and Hermione, and they were the last visitors.
Though Madame Pomfrey was quite sure that no one would dare come after eight, she decided to keep watching the medic bay through her charm from her adjoining room. Of course Ginny had no idea of being watched.
It was past 20:30 when the noise of an opening door woke Poppy. She immediately directed her attention to the small screen hovering in front of her. She was too sleepy and dazed to realise at once who entered the room. She rubbed her eyes once more as the figure approached Ginny's bed. It bent over the bed, seeing that the girl was fast asleep. Whoever the figure belonged to, it decided to let her doze. It turned and put something on Ginny's bedside table and intended to leave.
Pomfrey blinked, trying to make out the visitor's face.
It was Harry Potter.
Though she couldn't see him properly, his glasses were unmistakable.
*What does he want here?* Poppy wondered. *No, boy, don't leave yet!* she screamed in herself, suddenly feeling that it was Potter's behaviour she could describe as the most suspicious one from all the visitors'.
To her relief, Ginny opened her eyes and called after the boy. "Harry?"
He turned around and walked back to the bed. "Hi. How are you doing?"
"Fine, thanks." she smiled and beckoned him to sit down on the edge of her bed. Harry sat down.
"I heard you had an illness with the name… sorry, I forgot it."
"Never mind. I can't keep it in mind, either." she replied. "Um, thanks for the rose."
"You like it?" he glanced at the yellow rose he had put on her bedside table.
"It's beautiful." she nodded.
"I was contemplating whether to bring a red one, but eventually I decided to choose a yellow one." he explained. "Red would have been a bit… um… suspicious, wouldn't it?"
"Sure." she giggled, taking his hands into hers. "I thought you wouldn't visit me."
"Why?" he tried to frown, but didn't succeed.
"Because you haven't cared for me since… well, you know…"
"I know, and I'm sorry, Gin." he sighed. "But it was you who avoided me, not vice versa."
"Maybe. I was so silly, Harry." she smiled sadly.
"No, you weren't. You were just scared, like me." he replied. "But you see, there was nothing to worry about."
"Yea, there was nothing. I implemented that very difficult Anti-Conceptus-Charm on myself. It worked."
"Thanks to heaven, it did." he squeezed her hands, lifting her right one to his lips. When he kissed her hand, she blushed to the roots of her fiery hair, but quickly managed to recover her voice.
"Do you intend to kiss only my hand, Harry?"
The boy's lips tucked into an impish smirk. "'Course not." he bent closer to Ginny, his mouth gently descending on hers.
In the adjoining room Madame Pomfrey was close to fainting.
As Harry pulled back, the girl grabbed his neck and caught his lips in a searing kiss, clearly indicating that only one didn't satisfy her.
In the neighbouring room Madame Pomfrey was about to freak out.
Ginny didn't let Harry break their kiss, and pulled him down with herself, so they both reached a horizontal state, their kissing and petting getting wilder by the second.
In front of her secret-peeping-screen, Madame Pomfrey felt like jumping up and howling at the top of her lungs that 'Holy chocolate frogs, it's Harry Potter, it's Harry Potter!'
To her greatest relief the kids' fierce love-scene ended about two minutes later, and Harry left for his dormitory.
Poppy waited until Ginny fell asleep and dashed out of the infirmary, running upstairs to McGonagall's room.
She knocked on the door. No one answered.
She knocked again, this time shouting: "Minerva, Minerva, it's me, Poppy, let me in!"
The door opened and a very sleepy-looking professor McGonagall peered out.
"What… what happened?" she yawned, letting the other woman in.
"We've got him!" Pomfrey answered hastily.
"The culprit?" McGonagall asked, stifling another yawn, pulling on a tartan robe to cover her night-gown.
Poppy nodded.
"Aaaaand?" Minerva raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you'd never believe it."
"You are enjoying the tension you are making, aren't you?"
"No, of course not." Pomfrey shook her head.
"Then out with it!" McGonagall raised her voice. "WHO IS IT????"
Pomfrey really started to enjoy the other woman's confusion. "What about playing a little guess-who?"
"Whaaat?" McGonagall shouted, not caring that she might wake the whole castle.
"Ask questions, and I'll answer them with a yes or no." Poppy said. "Go ahead!"
*Argggh, this can't be happening to me!* Minerva cursed. *It's bedtime, I'm tired and Poppy wants me to play guess-who! The world is just not fair!*
She suddenly looked up. "Okay. Is he a sixth-year?"
"No." Pomfrey shook her head.
"A seventh-year?"
"Yes."
"A Slytherin?" McGonagall hoped that the culprit wasn't from her house.
"No."
"Hufflepuff?"
"No."
"Rawenclaw?" she still hoped that Pomfrey'd say yes.
"Noooo."
*Damn!* "So, a Gryffindor, then."
"Yes."
McGonagall started to count the possible boys. She managed to count seventeen seventh-year male Gryffindors.
"Okay, does he have brown hair?"
"No."
*Then twelve of them is out of the question.* "Blond, maybe?"
"Nay."
*Two others out.* "There are only two black-haired and one red-haired guys… but the red-head is Ron, thus he cannot be." McGonagall started to think the whole thing over again. One of the black-haired boys was Jim Benton, the other… *No! Not him! Just not him!* she prayed. *Though it'd be typical for him: he knows how to get into trouble… but…*
"Your facial expression reveals that you've solved the riddle." Pomfrey grinned.
McGonagall flinched. "Tell me that it isn't Potter! Tell me, Poppy! Please!"
Madame Pomfrey reached out and placed her hand on Minerva's shoulder to calm her. "I know that it's hard for you, because he's a Gryffindor, Ginny's one too, and there'll be soon a terrible scandal which will include the humiliation of your house as well, but listen, Minerva, look at the bright side of it!"
"The bright side? WHAT bright side?" McGonagall lifted her head, looking directly into the other woman's eyes.
"Those children love each other. I've seen it. They were hugging and kissing so fiercely that I almost believed that I was seeing a love-scene from a Muggle movie."
McGonagall scowled. "Love each other? Rubbish, Poppy! It's just passion they are feeling. They are only two hormone-driven teenagers, who'll find out pretty quickly that all's not love that makes them get aroused."
Madame Pomfrey shrugged. "I think they should know it better than us."
"Okay. Send Potter to me. Right now."
A/N2: okay, I hope there weren't too many grammatical mistakes. Chapter three will be up soon, taking you one and a half month back in time…
Please, review!