A/N: Hi! Sorry it took so long for me to write this one. I'm not promising anything, but I may be able to update more often now because I am currently experiencing a TWO-WEEK break from school! It may not be much, but one learns to savor these fleeting moments for all they're worth (sigh). To all my readers, I hope this chapter was worth the wait…
But before we find out what's happening to Harry and Hermione… I have to thank the people who took time off their busy schedules to click the little button at the lower left corner of the screen to review my story. Sniff, I love you guys.
MuGgLeNeT27: Why don't you like Harry/Hermione? Oh well, everyone has their own preferences. I myself prefer Draco/Hermione… I'm glad you enjoy the story!
blue3ski: Aww… don't hate me… (blink blink) Hehe.
Angel of Ravenclaw: Hmm… it seems like Dottie and Lily are my most popular characters. Don't fret! You'll see more of them in coming chapters.
freespirit65: Well, other people may look at 'interesting' in different ways. Hope this chapter lives up to your expectations of 'interesting'!
Ashley Potter13: No, it came out right. Sorry if I'm so dense… but I don't really know what you're trying to say. Hope you won't get too annoyed by my thick skull…
creepy susie: I hope this is long enough.
HarryNDracosDarlin: I like S.P.E.W. too! Hope you like this chapter too!
MysticalSpirits: You're a 'famazing' writer yourself! Update your story! Please!
Book Lover990: Well, this chapter's definitely longer…
HPgirl7: I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there probably won't be a chapter of Harry playing a game. But don't worry, there will be a chapter of Harry on his broom, just not in a game. Hope that's alright.
Queen of Harry Potter: Aww… Vablatsky isn't too bad. The real baddie here is Amanda Beechwood.
Kristen: I hope this satisfies your 'want'. J
midnite star watcher: Wow, I hope my fanfic doesn't take up much of your time.
icicle7: You bet it will be interesting! Watch out for future chapters.
meagz hugs back Luv ya too!
Adnama: I don't like it when they're out of character too. I really do hope I got their psyches right.
JCluvsxiezhi Hehe, 'bitin' rin 'to.
FairyWings101: I'll check out your story, promise.
quizgirl: I'm actually going to read your story after I upload this baby. Sorry if I used too long…
Paige Malfoy: We might never know if it's a boy or a girl. Harry and Hermione won't stay that long to find out.
HayleyPotter: Well, if you're going to review again and it's blank, I'll know you liked this chapter. J
Also, big thanks to my other reviewers, Lunatic Pandora1, AJ the Ass Slayer, Ken, Willow Ann Rover, Ashes, Gabwr, wockygal, PruePotter, the-power-of-love, fanjimmy, alexian-goddess, nini04, Hikari Kuu, sally, RomeliaAmoria, black-velvet-roses11.
Story time…
Chapter 7
It was now dinnertime and Harry, Hermione, and Lily were at the table digging in to the delicious dinner prepared by Dottie. Harry ate with gusto, for it had been a tiring day.
They had spent the entire afternoon decorating the house. Harry had to admit that it had been quite fun, especially when it came to adorning the beautiful Christmas tree he had apparently, according to Dottie, bought the day before. The whole house seemed to be buzzing with Christmas spirit, and everyone was smiling. To top everything off, Hedwig and Crookshanks had been returned via the Floo Network, much to the animals' agitation. They were in good health, and Harry hadn't wasted any time in sending her off with a letter addressed to Cassandra Vablatsky attached to her leg. He and Hermione were confident that they would be receiving a reply by the next day, and would be returning back to their own time soon.
Harry had just taken a big bite of baked potato when Lily spoke up.
"Mummy, Daddy, where do babies come from?" she asked innocently.
Harry nearly choked on his potato and had to take great gulps of water to swallow properly. Hermione just sat really still, as though she were frozen in her seat. Finally, she stood up.
"Lily, Daddy and I just want to check on something in the other room, okay? We'll answer your question when we get back." Hermione said quickly.
Lily nodded. "Okay."
Harry stood up and followed Hermione into the living room, which was glittering with garlands and decorations.
"Harry, what do we tell her?!" Hermione asked him in a panicked whisper, the moment they were out of earshot.
"I don't know, we're not supposed to be dealing with this yet!" Harry retorted.
"Do we tell her the truth?" Hermione asked in a small voice, "Like erm, explain the scientific processes involved and the… other process…?" She turned red when she said the last part.
Harry turned a deep shade of red to match Hermione's. "I think she's too young to, erm, understand the whole… procedure, and all…" he scratched his head. "Why don't we just tell her the old stork story? Or… or the 'you'll-understand-when-you're-older' speech?" he finished in a slightly pleading voice.
"No way! I remember how annoyed I was when my parents gave me the 'you'll-understand-when-you're-older' speech. I'm not putting my daughter through that kind of aggravation. As for the whole stork thing, come on! I don't want her to grow up delusional!" Hermione stated.
Harry rubbed his temples; he was starting to get a headache.
"How about you? How did your aunt and uncle explain everything?" Hermione asked.
Harry gave a dry laugh. "Ha! The Dursleys would eat a giant vat of flobberworms first before explaining all that to me."
"Then how did you find out about… you know?" Hermione asked timidly.
"Dudley. I was about 7, I think." Harry said simply. "I think he found out from one of his mates. Anyway, he gave me all the… explicit details. He was rather green-minded then…"
Hermione made a face at this information.
"Anyway, I threw up after Dudley told me everything." Harry continued. Then his face soured. "Stupid git. He so very kindly took a picture of me after my… accident, then showed everyone at school my less-than glamorous moment. I couldn't walk into school without people snickering at me for months…"
Hermione giggled despite herself. "So where's the picture?" she asked between her laughing.
"Dunno, probably still with Dudley, I suppose." Harry shrugged. "So anyway, how did you find out?"
"Well, my parents waited until I was about 9, my mum came home from work one day with a video." Hermione said. "I think its title was 'The Process of Life' or something or other. My mum made me watch the whole video, all three hours of it."
Harry laughed. "So you learned it all from a video?!"
"Well, not really. The video wasn't really… specific. So I asked my mum some questions afterwards." Hermione said matter-of-factly.
"And she told you?!" Harry asked incredulously.
Hermione sighed. "Oh yeah. My mother said, 'Well, it's about time you found out,' then gave me a talk about it. She didn't go into details, obviously, but I got the gist of it."
"So how did you take it?" Harry asked her with a grin.
"Well, I didn't throw up if that's what you want to know." Hermione shot back, "But I never did look at my parents the same way again…"
Harry laughed. Then he remembered the situation they were in. Wasn't it enough to find yourself married to your best friend?! Now they had to explain "the birds and the bees" to a three-year-old. "So what do we tell Lily?" he asked.
"I don't know, but I think we should get back. We've been gone too long." Hermione said, heading back to the kitchen. "We'll just wing it, I guess."
"Wing it?!" Harry sputtered. But Hermione was already in the other room. "Fine." He muttered under his breath, and returned to the bright kitchen.
"Where do babies come from?" Lily repeated her question, the moment Harry sat back down.
"Well, Lily, babies come from their mothers' tummies." Hermione said quickly.
Lily furrowed her brow then eyed Hermione. "So my baby sister is going to come out of your tummy?" she asked.
"Well, we don't know if it's a girl yet. But yes, that's how it's going to happen." Hermione replied.
"But how does the baby get there in the first place?" Lily continued.
"Erm… well, the baby starts out as an egg." Hermione said.
Lily's eyes widened. "An egg?! You mean like a chicken's?"
"No, not like a chicken's. It's really, really small. So small that you can't see it." Hermione said.
"Wow, how does the egg get there?" Lily prodded.
"It's just there, inside grown-up women." Hermione stated.
"So any grown-up woman can have babies?" Lily asked.
"Well, no. There has to be a daddy." Hermione said.
"Why?"
"Because you can't have a baby without a daddy." Harry said, speaking up for the first time.
"Why?" Lily asked again, this time turning her head in Harry's direction.
"Erm, because the daddy has to love the mummy a lot to have a baby." Harry said, rather lamely. He gave himself a mental whack on the head. What kind of answer was that? Hermione raised her eyebrows at him as though asking the same question.
"But you and Mummy love each other, why don't you have babies all the time?" Lily asked, puzzled.
"Because it's a decision, a well-thought out, responsible decision wherein all aspects should be considered first before that the parents decide to have a baby." Hermione said with some fervor.
Silence greeted her words. "Huh?" Lily said, confused.
"What she means is that the parents have to decide first." Harry explained.
"Oh." Lily said, nodding her head. "So when the mummy and daddy finish deciding, the egg starts turning into a baby?"
"Uh, no. There are… some things the parents have to do first." Hermione said. She could feel her cheeks getting warmer.
"What kinds of things? What do the parents have to do?" Lily questioned.
"Uhh…" Harry said.
"Ahm…" Hermione trailed off. They looked at each other.
"You'll understand when you're older." Harry and Hermione said in unison.
"Well, that went well." Hermione said sarcastically a few hours later, as she and Harry made their way back to the bedroom.
"Well, she wasn't as annoyed as you would have thought." Harry said nonchalantly. "I mean, she only pouted for an hour or so…"
Hermione sighed. "Well, it doesn't matter anymore. Let's just get some sleep and hope that when we wake up tomorrow, we'll be seventeen and in Hogwarts again. Or else find Hedwig tapping on the window with a response from Vablatsky."
Harry yawned and opened the door to the bedroom, where Dottie had already made a fire in the fireplace.
"Erm… where do we sleep?" Hermione muttered beside him.
"What do you mean? On the bed, of cour… oh." Harry said, when he realized what Hermione really meant. He shrugged. "You take the bed, I'll sleep downstairs on the sofa."
"But Lily and Dottie might think we were fighting, or something." Hermione frowned.
"Then I'll sleep on the floor." Harry said, pulling out his wand to conjure a sleeping bag.
"But sleeping on the floor will make you stiff all over the next day." Hermione responded. "I'll sleep on the floor."
"No way, that'll go against my sense of chivalry and gentlemanliness." Harry said, grinning.
Hermione snorted. "Look, it's a big bed. You take one side, I take the other. Simple as that." She compromised.
"Erm… alright. Are you sure you're… comfortable with that, though? Harry asked.
"Oh course," Hermione said briskly, "You're my best friend, why wouldn't I be comfortable with you?" And with that, she opened the closet, grabbed some pajamas and proceeded to the bathroom to change.
A/N: Decided to leave it at that… for now. To those who are still unsatisfied with this chapters' length, I'm sorry, but this is the best I can do. Anyway, watch out for the next chapter…
P.S. I'd just like to recommend my best friend's story. It's really good. Her penname's blue3ski, and I especially like her Lily/James one. J
