The following morning I awoke to a number of owls in my bed room. I opened the first letter, and immediately realized that the rest would be the same. Each one was asking for an exclusive interview with me about this baby. I wanted nothing to do with it. Sure, I wanted a family, but I wanted to have my own baby, not the baby of Ashley and some random guy she had blown off. After getting all of the owls out of my room, I went to the kitchen to get something to eat for breakfast. Half-way through my pancakes, I heard the phone ring. I got up from the table to answer it.
"Hello?" I spoke into the receiver.
"Harry, it's Hermione," I heard her voice speak. "About this ordeal with Ashley Waters-"
"Yeah, about that," I interrupted. "I received about a dozen letters this morning from reporters asking for interviews about the baby. They all want a confirmation that it's actually mine."
"So are you going to do it?" Hermione asked.
"Of course not!" I exclaimed as though it was obvious. "I want nothing to do with this baby or its mother. How am I supposed to prove it isn't mine?"
"There are ways of performing tests, but we wouldn't be able to get her to agree to it. She says she's positive it's yours."
"What if we found the father?" I asked. I really wanted this whole issue to disappear.
"How are we supposed to do that?" Hermione asked me. "Again, we'd have to get Ashley to agree to a test, and if she's after your money and fame, that's not going to happen."
"Unless I didn't go through the media, but directly to her," I said. "I could invite her over for dinner, poison her food-"
"Harry, we don't want to kill her!" Hermione said. "Why don't we just slip a sleeping potion into her drink, and I'll run over and perform a test myself. I've read about them. It shouldn't be too hard. It's just a spell – nothing fancy."
"That sounds like it actually might work. Do you know if she owns a telephone?" I asked.
"Hold on, I'll look up her number," I heard her set down the phone. A few minutes later she came back and gave me the number and address for Ashley Waters.
"Thanks a bunch," I said. "I'll call you when she's out."
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said. "Don't forget to work your charm on her. She has to believe it."
I smiled to myself. "Good bye, Hermione." I hung up the phone and dialed the number I had recently received from Hermione. It rang three times before I heard her voice.
"Hello?" She asked.
"Ashley?" I asked.
"This is she. Who are you?" She asked in return. She apparently didn't recognize my voice.
"This is Harry," I said. I could hear her breathing pattern change. "I was wondering if you'd like to come over for dinner tonight."
"Oh, sure," She answered. Wow, she's easy, I thought.
"Alright, can you be here around seven? You do remember where I live, right?" I said.
"Of course," she answered. Did I just place a memory in her head? "I'll see you then. Bye."
"Bye," I said and hung up the phone. Tonight was going to be one interesting evening.
I spent the rest of the day planning what to say and how to go about it. I made the sleeping potion. It wasn't very strong – just enough so she would be out all night. I was so nervous about the evening that when it came to be 7:00, I realized I had completely forgotten to cook. I chuckled to myself, going to the kitchen. Occasions like this were exactly why I let Mr. Weasley tamper with my oven. He took my ordinary Muggle oven and put a charm on it to instantly prepare a meal. Just after setting my oven to make lasagna, the doorbell rang. Once in the foyer, I opened the door to see Ashley Waters, the evil witch. Literally.
"Ashley! How are you?" I asked wrapping my arms around her in a hug.
She let out a sigh. "Listen, we both know why I'm here. You're going to yell at me about how the baby's not yours, and-"
"The baby isn't mine?" I asked, faking a hurt look. This certainly took her by surprise. Her entire facial expression changed. She now was smiling like we had known each other for years.
"Of course it is!" She said. I saw her eyes lift to my forehead. A beeping sound came from the kitchen. My lasagna was done.
"Go ahead and have a seat in the dining room through there," I said, pointing to the next room. "I'll be in with the food in a moment."
I went into the kitchen, poured two glasses of wine, and put the potion in one. I brought the glasses into the dining room and set the glass with the potion in front of Ashley, and the other in front of my seat.
I was surprised that she didn't figure out that something was in her drink. I must have asked her how she was feeling ten times throughout the meal, and I kept looking over at her quite frequently to check if anything had happened yet.
"So anyway, he tells me that there's no way I can play another game in this condition," Ashley began. "I mean, I'm not far along. I don't even feel any different-"
Then her eyes shut and she fell to the ground. I smiled. Though it took a very long time, part one of the plan was complete. I quietly got up from my chair and made my way to calling Hermione. I told her that the plan was working and to be ready to perform the test.
Hermione apparated right over. "Where is she?" She asked.
I told her to go into the dining room. Hermione nodded and I followed her there.
"Harry, you can't see this," Hermione said.
"What?" I asked.
"Leave, now," Hermione said, shoving me out of the room. Well, fine, I thought, I guess I don't deserve to see the outcome of the test of the woman who says she's pregnant with my baby. Why should I get to see it?
So I sat in the great room for a little while until Hermione came back in the room with a piece of paper in her hand. The look on her face was priceless. She looked purely bewildered.
"Well? Did you find out who the father is?" I asked. I was suddenly very interested. I almost felt sorry for the man whose name was written on that piece of paper. Whoever he was, he didn't deserve to have his child taken away from him.
Hermione didn't say anything. She only handed me the paper. I took one look at it and my eyes widened.
A/N: Sorry this chapter is shorter than the previous, but if I hadn't ended the chapter there, another good ending place wouldn't have come for a while.