"Harry, be rational. You need to see a medi-witch to be sure everything is alright. You wouldn't want to endanger your child, would you? And you definitely need to get something that takes care of your morning sickness." Hermione's voice was soft, like she was speaking to a child. She suppressed a sigh as she saw the stubborn look upon Harry's face.
"No," was all Harry had to say, crossing his arms in front of his chest. But Hermione did not give up. She just kept sitting there, beside him on the bed, never taking her eyes off him.
Ron, on the other hand, was not so patient. Harry's childish behavior made him furious. He stopped pacing through the room and yelled, "Stop acting like a complete moron, Harry. First, you mix anti-flu potion with alcohol and are surprised to get sick – though you should know better. Then, you manage to get yourself pregnant from a total stranger. Next you tell us you want to be with a greasy git like Snape; and now you jeopardize your health by acting like a stubborn three-year-old. What's wrong with you, mate?"
Before Hermione could react, Harry sat up in the bed, shooting angry looks at Ron. "You want to know what's wrong with me?" he shouted back, his hands clenched into fists. "I'll tell you what's wrong with me. My whole life I have done what others expected me to do: I have fought Voldemort. My 'mission in life', since I received that damn scar. Do you think it is fun to be the personal enemy of the worst dark wizard existing? In case you don't know, I'll tell you: No, it is not. And then, after I have fulfilled my duties, completed my task and destroyed him; after people died on the battlefield and I once again lived, there is this huge celebration." Harry's voice was dripping with sarcasm, only his slightly trembling lower lip indicating how hurt he really was.
Taking a deep breath he continued, talking more to himself than to his friends, "I didn't want to go there. I didn't want them to glare at me like I'm a rare animal at the zoo, or a trophy, worthy to win. I felt sick and I only wanted to be left alone. But hey, who cares what I want, right?" he sounded so defeated now that Hermione felt like crying. She reached out to touch him, but he would not let her. Instead he began wandering around the room.
"'You have to participate, Harry. You defeated Voldemort. You saved us. People want to thank you for that. For sure you would not want to let them down, would you?'" Harry mimicked, sounding terrifyingly like McGonagall. "So I took an anti-flu potion, told myself this would be the last time I would have to do such a thing and hoped it would be over, soon. And when I began to feel worse that night, I searched for a place to lie down. I hoped for nothing more than for a few hours of sleep. How foolish of me to hope my life could be normal, for a change. Because then," Harry's voice grew louder again and he was facing Ron now, "then, stupid Muggle-raised Potter managed to get himself impregnated by a total stranger. Oops! Who would have thought men could get pregnant? Not me, for sure!" His voice had gained in volume during his outburst until he was yelling at Ron. Channeling his fury into another, more physical form he picked up a pillow from the bed and threw it at the nearest wall. He needed to control his anger, or he would lose the grip on his magic once again.
His two best friends looked horrified.
Then, as if he had suddenly lost all his energy, Harry collapsed on the bed, crying. Between two sobs he managed to say: "Don't you understand? I don't want to be pregnant. And I don't want to be a single father. Now Severus will never want me. Merlin, I am 17! All I wanted was to teach, to find someone to love and to live my life in peace. Is that such an unusual wish to ask for?"
"No," Hermione reassured him, hugging the shaking figure tightly, "that is perfectly normal. And you would have deserved it. But denying the facts will not change them, I'm afraid. You will have to carry this child to terms, Harry, unless you decide on…" she broke off, not wanting to say it.
But Harry understood what she meant. He looked at her in horror and shook his head, stating: "No. I'm going to have this baby. I will not kill my child. I made a promise to myself that never again anyone will have to die because of me. Not if I can prevent it.
Hermione smiled at his words and Ron, who had been watching this whole scene silently, said, "Well, I guess we should go and pay Poppy a visit, then."
About thirty minutes later, the three of them were entering the hospital wing at Hogwarts. They had apparated to Hogsmeade and then walked up slowly to the castle, not wanting to stress Harry in any way. He had upset himself enough for one day.
When Poppy Pomfrey saw them coming, she looked delighted. "Harry, Ron, Hermione! What a nice surprise. What brings you here at the holidays? Visiting Hagrid?" She asked cheeringly. Then she took in the sight of a tired looking Harry, and her tone grew serious, "Harry, dear, what's the matter with you? Do you want to lie down? You look like fainting," the medi-witch stated and grabbed his arm to keep him from falling.
"Yes, please." Harry answered in a weak voice, as the room began to spin around him. Seconds later he sighed with relief as he found himself lying in one of the infirmary beds.
Deciding to give him some time to recover, Poppy took out her wand and turned to her other guests, "I think you owe me an explanation. Why are you here and why is Harry looking like he's got the flu?"
Ron wanted to reply something, but Hermione poked him in the rips. "Sorry, but it is not our place to tell, what happened to Harry." She answered apologetically.
"Fine, so I will have to ask him then." The medi-witch was definitely annoyed. She turned back to the dark haired man lying on the clean sheets, his skin almost as white as the pillow. "Ok, Harry. I'll quickly check you through and then…" she started, but got interrupted by an energetic: "No, don't!" from the young wizard. Gazing down at him suspiciously, Poppy asked, "Harry Potter, what is this all about? Don't be childish; you spent more time in here than every other student, in a long time. So, tell my what brings you here, this time?"
Swallowing hard and then sitting up slowly, Harry gathered all his courage and looked into the medi-witch's eyes. "I need to be sure that you will keep everything I am going to tell you secret. You have no permission to let anyone know what the results of these tests are. If you don't agree, I'll go find someone else. " Harry's voice left not doubts about him being serious.
"Of course, I will keep your results under lock and key if you wish so." The elderly witch sounded definitely offended. "Are you now going to tell me, what this secretive behavior is all about?"
With one last deep breath Harry answered, "I'm afraid, I'm pregnant!"