(Notes from fearless leader Meru - Hey dear readers. Sorry I didn't post last week but I was overstuffed with homework and then the next day my grandfather had a sudden heart attack and I've been out of it all week. Now that the funeral/memorial is over, I think I might be able to move on. This is good because it means posting!)

Part 2:

McGonagall wasn't aware that her entire class was asleep as she just continued her lecture, drawing massive graphs and diagrahms on her chalkboard. Harry was one of the few that remained awake, drawing all over his arm with his quill. Thick black tendrils of ink wrapped and entwined themselves around his arms.

Hermoine smacked Ron, causing the redhead to jump up. He cleared his throat and pretended he had been paying attention. He caught a glipse of Harry's arm and chuckled.

"Mr. Weasley, would you mind sharing with the class what it is you find so amusing?"

Ron stared up at her a moment, "I'm sorry, Professor; I was just looking at Harry's arm."

This caused the entire class to turn and bore holes into Harry's arm with their eyes. Harry seemed to transform into a deer caught in headlights. He frowned and ignored them, going back to working on his arm without even waiting for McGonagall to continue speaking.

He began humming while she finished. She concluded her lecture then sighed defeatedly and dismissed them. Harry quickly gathered his things.

"Mr. Potter," she said from behind him, forcing him to turn around and stare at her blankly, "I understand that these are stressful times for you at the moment, but please try to pay attention in my class. I'd hate to see you getting held back a year or expelled because you are currently easily distracted." Harry nodded and apologized then hurried to catch up with Ron and Hermoine.

"Socks again?" asked Ron teasingly. Harry sighed heavily.

"My ankles are so swollen I can't get my shoes on. And my back is killing me because I can't sleep right. I'm afraid of rolling onto my stomach.

Hermoine grinned, "I think it's too small to crush right now, Harry. You can sleep on your stomach if you'd like."

Harry smirked and muttered, "The Dursleys are coming back tonight."

"Ah yes," sighed Ron, "The dreaded dining with the ministry. Any idea who the representative they've sent is?"

"Hello, Ron."

Ron jumped and whirled around to find himself staring at none other than Percy.

"Percy!' Ron exclaimed, "You're the representative? That's great! Harry, you'll get to keep the baby for sure now!"

Percy broke in, "I'm afraid it won't be that easy." He breathed deeply, "The ministry doesn't want you to keep this baby, Harry, and they say if I let you keep it without enough evidence supporting my decision, I'll lose my job and the baby will be sent to social services without any considerations of your next of kin or legal guardians."

Harry gaped. He looked as though the whole world had suddenly come crashing down on top of him. He rubbed his abdomen thoughtfully. The being inside of him had only been there for a week, but he already knew that he would die trying to protect it until the end of his days.

"On the upside, I also need strong evidence in favor of Malfoy if the baby goes to him. I believe the ministry was insinuating that they believe he will attempt to bribe me. I highly doubt that. He's a very respectable member of society, all personal opinions with held. The ministry can be extremely biased."

"Weasley, I don't believe for a moment that you didn't know I was behind you that entire spiel," said Lucius who stood directly behind Percy. The middle Weasley's eyes grew wide and he slowly turned around.

"Mr. Malfoy," he said with pseudo-poise, "Always a pleasure. What is it I can do for you right now?"

"Nothing unless you can get the ministry to authorize elongated time-travel," snorted the senior Malfoy.

Percy nodded, "In that case, would you please excuse me? I simply wished to greet my brother before going to discuss the matters of my visit with Professor Dumbledore." He proceded to leave hastily, obviously intimidated by Lucius' presense.

"At least one Weasley has potential," muttered Lucius before walking away.

Ron frowned deeply, "What did he mean by 'potential'?"

"He wants to fuck your brother," teased Harry. Ron let out an undignified shriek at this and chased after the brunette as he ran away, laughing maniacally.

Hermoine rolled her eyes.

The pile of homework just seemed to grow like a bacterial infection, expanding by mitosis, mutiplying over and over. Harry groaned and buried his face in his text book, eternally greatful that fate had made it so he wasn't studying the Monster Book of Monsters at that moment.

'I can barely handle all of this work right now; how am I going to take care of all of this and the baby at the same time?'

He let out a dry sob and ran his fingers through his messy hair. He hadn't attempted to comb it in three days and wasn't about to start now. It was just showering and sleeping. He didn't have time for anything any more. He was too busy eating, throwing up, or running to the lavs it seemed. The stress just kept piling up on top of him.

"Harry," said Hermoine who had been watching his actions, "You need to relax. It's not good for the baby if you're this tense all of the time."

He sighed. He knew she was right, but he was just so... exhausted. He removed his glasses, setting them down next to his book, and massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He anxiously licked his lips.

"What am I going to do, Moine?" he lamented pitieously, "I'm going to be stuck with this kid for the rest of my life. I'm going to be at home every night making sure its tucked in instead of being out at the movies with my friends or anything like that... My childhood ends as soon as I start showing because as soon as that starts I won't be allowed to leave Hogwarts period."

"Harry," Hermoine started in a soothing voice, but didn't continue. She couldn't summon any soothing words to her mouth. How could she comfort someone going through a trial of this magnitude?

"I'd give anything to go dancing one last time..."

Hermoine frowned, "Dancing?"

Harry nodded, "Over the summer I am able to sneak out and I go to these dance clubs a few blocks away. It's just a way for me to... relax, I guess. I'm always so lonely over the summer and..."

"You don't feel it when you dance?"

"Yeah."

Ron suddenly burst into the common room and grinned at them, "Dinner!"

Harry rose to his feet as quickly as his body would allow and he and Ron sprinted down to the dining hall with Hermoine running after them, shouting for the two of them to wait for her as the boys laughed riotously.

The Dursleys sat uncomfortably, surrounded by all of the young wizards and witches at the Gryffindor table. Seamus was drilling Petunia about everything that came to his mind. He rambled on for what seemed like hours without every stopping to breathe or allow her the chance to tell him to shut up. Dean was smirking the entire time.

Vernon sat stiff, nearly afraid to eat the food, speak, or make eye contact with anyone. Dudley was the complete opposite. He stuffed his face with every bit of food he could get his hands and talked to anyone that would listen. He thoroughly enjoyed himself.

Harry, on the other hand, was so busy eating that he didn't have a chance to carry out a conversation. Several of his fellow Gryffindors watched in awe as he devoured one plate of food after the other. It was oddly... disturbing.

Dumbledore through the announcement routine, introducing the Durselys and telling the students to be courteous to them because they were the first muggles to ever walk through the halls of Hogwarts or something along those lines. It was odd, but everyone seemed very attentative during his little speech. Most of the Slytherins usually ignored their headmaster at these occurences.

After dinner, the Dursleys followed Harry up to the clinic, though Dudley had disappeared with some of Harry's classmates. Vernon and Petunia were worried, but knew there was nothing they could do.

"You're coming along nicely," Madame Pompfrey said later, prodding Harry's abdomen with her cold fingers while Harry sat on an infirmary bed shirtless, "You'll have to start using something on your stomach to give it more elasticity and avoid stretch marks. Some of those muggle moisturizing lotions work wonderfully. Also you'll need to begin stretching out your alimentary canal."

Harry jumped, "My WHAT!"

Pompfrey looked at him, underlying amusement in her eyes, "Your anus. The baby has to come out eventually and that's where it's coming out of. Nearly every male pregnancy in history has resulted in death by bloodloss. The anal muscles tear when something the size of a baby is forced through them. We would remove the baby surgically if it were possible Harry, but that has potential to be worse than the other choice."

"How?" asked Harry, walking over to stand in front of the full-length mirror.

"Well, once we get you open, it's highly probable that we won't get you closed again. That has happened in the past as well. In fact, there are only two successful male-mother births known to this date. One of them is in your bloodline somewhere, but I forget how, so the odds are slightly in your favor. Then again, you are the Boy Who Lived."

"What does that mean?" asked Petunia, slightly miffed.

Pompfrey gaped, "You don't know? Harry's our hero. He's the only one to-"

"Ever survive an attack from Voldemort. Yay rah me," Harry said dryly, sarcastic and surly.

"I see the mood swings have kicked in," murmured Pompfrey, "This is going to be a long two months."

"And this is the greenhouse," said Neville, followed closely by Dudley, "This is where all of the plants are grown and where the Herbology classes take place. Most people don't come here except for class other than me. Professor Sprout is great if you give her a chance, you know. All of the teachers here are pretty nice, minus Snape. They're very helpful... minus Snape."

"What's wrong with Professor Snape?" asked Dudley, stepping away from a plant that kept winking at him with a "come hither" expression.

Neville sighed, "You're never good enough in his class. He just picks on you and he keeps picking like a vulture to carrion."

"You turn into a bloody carcass?"

Laughing, Neville shook his head, "No, that's not it, though it does feel like it sometimes. It's very... disheartening. But he does it to everyone except Slytherins. He hates Gryffindors in general, really. Just... me most of all, I guess."

"Harry was talking about you the other day," Dudley stated, "He said you were the nicest guy in the whole world, but people just kept stomping on you."

Neville nodded, "They do that. You get over it."

"It didn't," chuckled Dudley, "I cried myself to sleep every night."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Neville, frowning in confusion. Dudley shrugged.

"After this, I'll most likely never see any of you people again. Why not? It's nice to get things off your chest."

Neville nodded at this though he still didn't fully understand, "Come on. Let's go look at the Quidditch field. There's a match tomorrow, you know."

"What's Quidditch?"

"You don't know! It's the best sport ever!"

Draco watched from a distance as the two headed off to the Quidditch field. He frowned. He was extremely bored considering all of the Slytherin had deemed him a traitor for sleeping with the one all of them outwardly hated and most secretly wanted for their own. After thinking for a moment, he shrugged and jogged to catch up with them. It wasn't like he had anything better to do with his time.

Percy Weasley, the Dursleys, Albus Dumbledore, and Lucius Malfoy all sat together in the small conference room. They all looked uncomfortable and weary as Percy quickly wrote down something none of them had any knowledge of on a long scroll.

"Alright," said Percy, setting down his quill next to his parchment, "Let's begin. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, do you have any reason to believe that Harry would be incapable of raising the child without considering his age as a factor?"

Petunia began to speak when Lucius cut her off.

"You know, we could just kill Potter and his damn offspring right now and be done with all of this."

Percy stared at him and blinked then began writing and turned to the Dursleys, "Will you be seeking any financial support from the ministry for Harry's child?"

Lucius vociferously protested, "I didn't know that was going on record! Remove that statement immediatly, Weasley!"

"Any malevolent comments made toward the child or the mother need to be noted and that is Mr. Weasley to you, Mr. Malfoy."

Both Lucius and Dumbledore gaped at the former Head Boy.

"As I was saying, do you have any reason to believe that Harry would abuse the child mentally, physically, sexually, emotionally, or in any other way that I have failed to mention?" continued Percy.

Pertunia shook her head, "He's a... good boy in the long run, I suppose. He's completely useless and a larger burden than he's worth, but I know he would never hurt his own kin."

Nodding, Percy inquired, "Is Harry known for any types of substance abuse?"

Vernon answered, "No. We had him tested every month he was around Dudley since he was six. There's no way he could have."

"Was there any reason you felt Harry needed to be tested?"

"I trust him about as far as I can throw him, the little wart."

Only Lucius heard Percy's whispered, barely audible retort, "Judging by Harry's size from you not feeding him, you must trust him a lot." He cleared his throat, "Has Harry ever expressed irresponsible behavior such as abandoning his duties or acting out of turn with no legitimate explanation?"

Petunia swallowed, "He used to sneak out of the house at night. It started when he was about nine, I believe, and we would lock him in... his room and he would get very upset, throw tantrums, and not speak for several days. It was very relaxing, actually."

"Where did he go?"

"'Dance' clubs, I believe he called them. I've heard them called other things, though. Night spots, raves, 'thump' parties or something of that sort."

The interviews continued for several hours and all were exhausted by their conclusion.

"We're staying the night," explained Dudley to Harry, "Mom and Dad get to stay in a guest room, I believe, and they said I could stay here with you guys."

"Why?" groaned Ron.

Dudley shrugged, "I said I wanted to hang out with Neville and they said it was fine."

Ron gaped at Neville, "And you're ok with this!"

Neville looked insulted, "You know Ron, you can't base your opinions of people on rumors and first appearances. Come on, Dudley. Maybe explaining the potions homework to you will help me understand it along the way."

Ron stared as they went up to the boys' dorms, "Can you believe this?" he asked, turning back to Harry in Hermoine, "It seems as though everyone has gone insane. Neville's befriending your evil cousin, said evil cousin is at Hogwarts in the first place, Harry's been sleeping with Malfoy-"

"SLEPT!" shouted Harry, "I slept with him. Once. Only once. Not even a little more than that! ...Ok, so there was a lot of foreplay, but that's beside the point."

Ron had his fingers in his ears and was screaming, "IAMNOTHEARINGTHIS! IAMNOTHEARINGTHIS! IAMNOTHEARINGTHIS!"

"Drama queens," chortled Hermoine, "Did you guys notice that Draco was walking with Dudley and Neville for a while?"

"Really?" asked Harry, trying to hide his blush. For some reason, it was alright when he talked about Malfoy, but his face seemed to heat up when other people did, "What were thay talking about?"

"Quidditch," she replied, "They were out on the field explaining the game to Dudley. He wants to stay and see the game tomorrow, you know."

"He's becoming enamored with our lifestyle," sing-songed Ron in a strange accent that none of them recognized. They just stared at him quizzically for a moment and shook their heads.

"I knew we'd lose him eventually," sighed Hermoine.

Harry nodded in agreement, "It's all just too much for him."

Ron grabbed a pillow and began beating the both of them with it. They laughed and made half-hazard attempts to defend themselves while laughing. It soon grew into an all-out pillow fight which lasted for several minutes the three of them collapsed to the floor in laughter.

Harry stood in front of the mirror again. He'd just taken his shower and had noticed it as he was wrapping a towel around his waist. He stood sideways, giving himself a profile view of his body. He ran a hand down his stomach. The muscles there were toned and hard. The expanse of flesh was flat, not an inch of flab on them. He silently thanked Quidditch and frowned.

It would all be gone soon. It was in there, growing. It would be big soon, too soon, and his formerly flat abdomen would protrude a foot away from the rest of his body. He wasn't vain in the slightest, but... he didn't want to be fat. He liked his body just the way it was and he didn't want it to change...

"Harry?"

He looked over to see Seamus standing in the doorway with a concerned look on his elfin features, "Is everything alright?"

Harry exhaled, causing his posture to slump in defeat, "As best as can be expected, I guess."

Seamus smiled weakly, "You coming to bed? The light is keeping Dean awake."

Nodding, Harry told Seamus to go on, he'd be finished in a moment. He looked at his stomach one last time then turned away. As he left the bathroom, he turned off the lights.

TO BE CONTINUED