Chapter Seventy-eight

Note to Tess: Thank you! I'm glad you managed to avoid injury re: the chair. Don't know why everyone is so obsessed with the p-word, though... ;)

Madame Pomfrey would never ignore a medical emergency just because of a costume ball. No, she wouldn't; Hedwig couldn't find her because she didn't know what disguise Madam Pomfrey might be wearing.

The One() I hope you saw my review back on chapter 3 Yes, I did. This site emails them to me automatically.

"I can't deliver your baby!" Araminta shuddered with horror. This was certain to be messy and unpleasant. Sweat was running down Snape's forehead and staining his armpits.

"Please--please--I can't do this alone," Snape begged. "I'll do anything. What grade do you want for Potions?"

Araminta thought about this. She was doing fine in Potions, actually. "I want an O...for Harry."

"Never mind," Snape grunted. "I'll do this mysaaaaaah."

"All right, all right--what should I do?"

Snape had another contraction, and couldn't answer. Araminta scoured out the inside of her brain. She'd read a book about this once. She hurried over to the fire and put the kettle on. There was something about putting water on to boil...a knife under the bed to cut the pain...or was that to keep it handy in case the mother wanted to stab the father?

A book on Madam Pomfrey's desk caught Araminta's eye. A Magical Guide to Mpreg. Eagerly, Araminta paged through it, grimacing at each vile illustration. "Ew, so that's how they...and he's going to...oh, my..."

"Araminta," Snape said weakly, "I don't think I'm going to live through this. If I don't, promise me you'll take good care of baby Blake."

"Um, what about Pansy? I thought she was going to raise him, anyway."

Snape's face lit up like a halogen. "Oh yeah! Thanks... Ow... I want Pansy--I need Pansy. She should be here when Blake is born."

"Hedwig!" Luckily, Harry's owl was still hanging around. Araminta wrote a new note. "Take this to the giraffe!"

Hedwig winged her way out of the infirmary.

"Take my hand," Araminta said. "I want you to concentrate on a happy place. Someplace peaceful. Someplace where there is no pain."

"Okay...Fortescue's..."

"And I want you to imagine the baby, healthy and strong."

"Healthy...strong...butterscotch topping..."

"Breathe in deeply, then let it out slowly."

"Iiiiiinhale, eeeeeeeeexhale. Got it." Snape rested back against the pillows. A wave of pain washed over his features. "That didn't work for crap!"

Luckily, Pansy came sprinting into the infirmary with Millicent on her heels. "Is it the baby? Is it time?"

Araminta lifted the tome entitled A Magical Guide to Mpreg and swallowed hard. "We need to check." She reached out gingerly and started unbuttoning Snape's clothes.

"Oh. My. God."

The three girls could only stare at the gaping hole.