1997

Josh frowned as he awaited his girlfriend. The girl had been nervous in her letter she had sent less than a week ago. Apparently their school had been attacked by the terrorist foundation, and a few people were seriously hurt, and that she had news best shared in person.

"Josh!" Hermione tackled him, and he stumbled. Pulling back, she gave him a quick kiss. "Come on, Harry has to go back to the Dursleys for while." Swallowing, Josh nodded. "Don't worry, he's being watched for his safety. They won't hurt him again."

The ride home was tense, and quiet. What little conversation that the Grangers got out of their daughter was stilted. Forced. Josh was surprised when they got out, and she dragged him to her room.

"Hermione? What is it? What is wrong? Why did Harry go back?" Josh ask as she flopped carefully on her side, cradling her stomach carefully. Almost like... "Does your stomach hurt?' He noted that she looked very bloated. "Are you sick?"

"No. Josh, no, I'm not hurt." Hermione exhaled. "Can you sit, please?" She motioned to her desk chair. She took a deep breath and met his gaze. "I'm pregnant. We didn't use a condom." The boy froze for a moment, before gasping as his world went black.

When he came to, he was laying on her bed, and he could hear Hermione speaking to her parents. He heard the words "War, Baby,' and 'Harry." It made his heart race. So Josh rushed to the living room, where they were all sitting.

"You are pregnant?" He distantly acknowledged his grandmother sitting in the room as well. "You were attacked! Are you okay? Is the baby okay? What war? Why hasn't there been any broadcasts? Is Harry okay? Why did he go back to them?" He could feel a panic attack coming on.

"Josh, please, calm down. We're fine. I promise. I've been seen by a healer."

"Healer?" Josh frowned. Wondering if the word meant what it did to him.

"Yes, Healer." Hermione clenched her jaw. "Josh, I can't carry a baby to full term. The only way I can protect you, and our child, is if you carry them. To do so, you need to be informed about a few things." Josh felt his heart in his throat.

"What?" Josh leaned forward, both eager and terrified, causing the girl to sigh.

"I'm a witch. Potion brewing, broom flying, wand waving witch." Josh blinked, tilting his head before slapping his face. Hermione cried out in shock. "Josh, why would you do that?"

"You mean to tell me, that I didn't have to hide what I knew about the magical world?" Josh demanded, causing the group to stare. "I have known about magic for years! Bailey told me when we were ten!"

"Are...are you serious?" Hermione gasped, "they could get into so much trouble!" Hermione paused, frowning. "Hey, Josh, is Bailey a girl or boy? You never have said." Josh looked ready to face palm again. Recalling how jealous Hermione had been.

"Bailey is a boy." Hermione nodded, making Josh frown. "It doesn't weird you out that I used to like a boy?"

"Josh, I just told you that you would be the one to carry our child to full term...if you're willing." Hermione pulled him onto her lap, cuddling against his back. She inhaled at his neck. "Do you think that Bailey would be willing to help protect you, and a family of magic hating muggles, in the states?" Josh hummed thoughtfully. He knew which muggles she was referring to.

"Most likely. Let me go get my two-way journal to find out." The boy rushed off to get said item from next door. He returned, writing in the booklet as he walked. "So glad he doesn't sleep in." He muttered, sitting beside his girlfriend. "He says that he's willing to put up with us in his house, that of course he is willing to protect us, and that he better be one of the godfathers." Hermione laughed, nodding. "So, what needs to be done?"

"I'll go get the potion." Hermione stood only after kissing him softly. "I love you so much."


"Josh, sit down!" Hermione gasped as she walked into his house a week after he took on carrying the baby. He rolled his eyes as she made him sit from where he had been cleaning his grandmother's drapes. Dorothy was just laughing as his girlfriend fretted.

"Hermione, I'm fine! I'm not invalid. I can still do things-" A hand cut him off. A finger pointing between his eyes.

"Male pregnancy is far more dangerous than female pregnancy! I told you that!" The girl scolded. "A simple fall from bed can cause you to miscarry for the first two months after you start carrying!"

"Hermione, calm down. I wasn't going to fall! I wasn't even on a stepping ladder!" The girl huffed, pulling him onto her lap and kissing him intensely. Josh smiled, closing his eyes as he enjoyed it. He could feel her hand rubbing his stomach. He waited until she pulled from the kiss. "We're going to be fine, okay?"

"I'm sorry. It's just, I love you both so much! I don't want to lose either our baby, nor their mummy!" She rubbed his stomach. "Don't worry, daddy will make sure that mummy takes it easy! And that you have a healer with you at the safehouse! Nothing will go wrong, daddy promises." Josh felt his eye twitch. "Mummy and daddy love you."

Since the second day, she had insisted that he be called the mother. That, since he was the one carrying, that made him the mom. Like that mattered! He was still a male! He was the father! Not her! Yet, he was unable to protest. The way Hermione glowed made all comments die. A talk with Bailey and his grandmother assured him that it was common in the wizarding world for witches to be called father when things like this happened.

So long as Hermione made it home, Josh knew he would be able to handle it.


"Hermione, what did you do? Where are your parents, and my grandmother? Where are you going? Why aren't you filling me in on everything?" Josh demanded a day before Harry's birthday. "Why hasn't Harry been here yet?" Hermione pulled him into a hug as Emmeline Vance waited by the van she was using to pick the Dursleys and Josh up.

"Josh, I had to temporarily remove their memories. Don't worry, I can give them back. I had permission to do so. From them." Josh relaxed slightly, but he was still mad. "I also sent them to somewhere I can easily find them. Now, this is Emmeline. She's going to be taking you to Harry's house to pick up the Dursleys..." Her jaw clenched, as she looked him over. He was showing more than she had.

She could only pray he made it full term.

"I'll be fine." Josh assured. "We'll be fine." Hermione pulled him into a hug.

"I just worry. This isn't easy, Josh. So much can go wrong." Flashes went through her mind of finding both dead, of the Dursleys hurting him, of the stress killing their baby.

"I know." Josh whispered, hanging on tightly. "I know. But we have to do this, Hermione. For our baby."

"For the both of you."


The Dursleys were in terrible shape. The woman, Petunia, was too thin and resembled a horse. The males were heavily over weight.

"Who are you, boy?" The man demanded angrily. "Ever since last summer-"

"I'm Hermione Granger's boyfriend. Harry's best friend." The man narrowed his eyes. "I also know exactly how you treated him. You're lucky that he doesn't want to press charges for child abuse! How could you treat your own nephew that way? So what if they have magic? They are still human! What if your grandchild have magic? Going to hit them too?" The man sneered.

"Dudley won't have a freak for a child." Josh rolled his eyes as he turned to Petunia.

"Is he really this thick? Magic runs in families. Because of how powerful Harry is, I'm surprised your own son isn't magical! I've been studying the gene the last few years that causes magic. Everyone has it, that I've seen. It is just a matter of chance. One in four non-magical off-springs will be magical." Dudley was gaping.

"You're the boy that Harry talked about! The one that is pregnant with his friend's baby!" A disgusted look crossed Vernon's face at his son's words.

"That's right!" The boy sang, cradling his stomach. "To protect the both of us, I agreed to carry the baby, while Hermione went off to fight that bastard." His eyes saddened. "I wish she didn't have to endanger herself. But that bastard would come after her to hurt Harry. I don't want to be a burden just because I refused to carry our child."

"In other words, she is a slut that spread her legs and dumped the child on you." Vernon sneered. Josh glared back.

"I don't like you." Josh snapped as they pulled into the airport. The group was lead into a magical alcove that was selling Port-Keys. Where a tall brunet male stood waiting them. If Josh didn't know better, he would say that Bailey was a bodyguard, but knew the man was a healer-in-training. "Bailey!" The man pulled Josh into a hug.

"Josh! Hey! Looking good!" The man winked, then turned to the Dursleys. His warmth had turn glacier cold. "I'll be your main ja...protector until Hermione writes to me. She is the only one who knows our location." He glared at Vernon, "you are to be quartered in the mother-in-law tiny home on my property. Your son and wife may come into the main house, but I know exactly what you have done to Josh's friend. If it were up to me, you'd be the first one this bastard got his hands on. Am I clear?" Vernon looked like he was fit to burst.

Then he spotted the wand tip aimed by Bailey.

"Crystal." The man spat.


14 February, 1998

Josh gasped as he felt something trickle down his leg. Dudley looked up from his reading, eyes widening.

"Bailey! Josh is going into labor!" Something broke in the kitchen, followed by a stampede of footsteps as Petunia and Bailey ran in. "What do we do?"

"Calm down." Bailey chided, before focusing on Josh, "okay buddy, lets get you into the med-bay. Nutty and Butter are waiting for us already." Josh nodded, tears falling down his face.

"Hermione should be here." He sobbed as the potions to numb him were applied. He could only have the child if it was a c-section. Thankfully, magic made that easier to heal from. he smiled sleepily as the small form of his child was attached to his nipple, despite him not lactating, to get the skin to skin contact.

He could only hope the war was coming to an end, and that Hermione would be coming soon. He looked down at his baby, brushing the thick brown hair back to meet the dark blue that most babies are born with. He felt his lips twitch at the heart shaped freckle on the cheek.

"Hm...I think I'm going to name you Rhys." Josh smiled dopily at the boy. "Rhys Harry Granger."

"I see how it is." Bailey huffed teasingly.

"Sorry Bailey, but Harry's the reason I even had Rhys. Maybe the next one."