Duelling and Birthing
Ron immediately began fighting dirty, firing a cruciatus curse at Harry. Fortunately Harry remembered the counter that Moody had told him about. "Tranquilo." The spells cancelled one another out.
Ron cursed and blew a gout of flames at Harry with his wand, but Harry knew a counter to that as well. A spell for healing wounds just happened to counter a flame spell. Fortunately, Ron was not powerful enough to conjure Fiendfyre. Harry followed up with a jelly legs jinx that caused Ron to collapse onto the floor. Harry took his wand. "Crawl away, Ron. It can be part of your punishment."
Scowling, and muttering horrible threats, Ron crawled away through the portrait hole, to the cheers of the Gryffindors.
"Nice work, Harry," said Dean. "Ron's unicorn wand was less use than Hermione's unicorn's wand."
Hermione blushed rather pinkly.
"I think we can agree that Harry has fought for Ash's right to be accepted here," said Angelina.
"You love me, Harry," squealed Ash, bouncing up and down on her four little legs.
"I would risk my life for you without a second's thought," said Harry truthfully.
Ash gave a little whinny and nuzzled Harry's leg. "Harry loves me, he loves me."
Harry wondered whether that were true. He would blunder into danger for any friend, even if he did not exactly love them.
Elsie, a blond third year girl, had been sitting there watching the duel. Now she spoke. "It's great that Harry fought for magicorns to stay here, because there's going to be another one soon. My water just broke."
Harry just noticed that Elsie was very heavily pregnant and wearing a maternity dress.
"We've got to get you to the Hospital Wing," squeaked Hermione, clutching her face with both hands. "Congratulations Elsie, on becoming a mother, no matter how. It will make you happy and I can support you. Ash… you're going to have a little brother or sister."
Ash gave a louder whinny of approval and galloped around Elsie's chair as Hermione conjured a stretcher. "Yay! I'm a big sis now! Don' worry Elsie. I wanna help."
Ash had definitely inherited Hermione's helpful disposition.
The Gryffindors levitated Elsie onto a stretcher and she lay back, her huge belly sticking out. They made their way down the corridor, the stretcher with Elsie on it floating in front of them.
Ash cantered along at their heels. "I c'n help ya, Elsie."
Elsie pouted. "Yeah… are you going to do the foal sitting now, little Ash?" She sighed. "Hagrid made it sound fun when I started his class in September. Unicorn sex, then a Pegasus as well, one after the other… But he didn't say I wouldn't be able to play Quidditch. Not that I could've made the team, anyway. And he didn't say that boys don't go for girls with kids or foals."
"Aw, come on now, a pretty girl like you can't get a date?" said Dean. "Your boobs'll get really big. That'll be sexy."
Elsie was pretty. No doubt about it. Harry looked at her freckled nose and cheeks, her dark blue eyes and her soft blond hair. She had a nose ring, but whether that was against Hogwarts rules hardly mattered now that she was pregnant by a unicorn.
"That's not all you've given up," said Hermione sharply. "Being a mother is a big responsibility, whether you have a baby or a foal. You're going to have to give up your studies for a while."
"Yay," said Elsie, not really taking it seriously enough.
In the hospital wing, Elsie did have to remove her Elsie huffed and cried, her face turning red. Her engorged belly rippled and pulsed. "Merlin's beard, it hurts so much! Why didn't Hagrid say so?"
Hermione took her hand. "Yes, it does. But you'll pull through it as well. Push harder."
"Oh, what does it look like I'm doing?"
Eventually a little, green magicorn with a pink tuft of hair popped out, in a hot slippery rush. Madame Pomfrey presented it to Elsie. "It's a filly."
"That means you have a pretty little girl foal," said Hermione. "Ash, you have a new sister."
"I know. Give me my baby." Elsie cradled the little green creature in her arms and it bleated for milk until she put her nipple in its mouth. "There, there. You are my gorgeous little thing."
Hermione held Ash up and the magicorn gazed at the foal, her brown eyes wide in her spotted face. "My lil sis? I wanna play wiv her. Lemme play wiv my lil sis. An' does she like reading? I c'n show her my fave book."
"Later. She needs her rest," said Hermione soothingly.
Elsie smiled at them. "She's my little Jade."
Imaginative name, thought Harry.
"It's a great feeling, isn't it?" Said Hermione. "You'd do anything for her. You're not the same person you were. Now the rest of your life will be very different. But at this time, you can just feel love and calm…"
At that point, Elsie gave a yell, her face turning red.
"Oops, there's still one in there," said Madame Pomfrey.
Elsie clutched Jade to her and yelled again. Eventually, a little gold foal popped out. It had tiny little stubs of wings.
"Aah, the Pegasus swooped in their pretty quickly for the unicorn's sloppy seconds," said Dean knowledgeably.
"Clever of the Pegasus," groaned Elsie. "It took him five minutes. It's taken me a lot of pain…"
"It's a colt," said Madame Pomfrey.
Elsie took the colt in her other arm and let him suckle on her other breast. "You'll be my beautiful, flying stallion. You'll grow big and strong and fly high," she cooed. "I'll call you Dash. We'll fly away someday. You'll carry Mummy on your back."
Then she gave a sharp cry and convulsed. Then she expelled the afterbirth. Gross. Harry had forgotten the rather gross details from when Hermione had given birth to Ash. Lucky Harry.
Madame Pomfrey picked up the afterbirth to check that it was all there and that there was none of it left in Elsie.
"Is there such a thing as an after-birthday party?" quipped Dean.
Hermione stroked Elsie's hair. "You did brilliantly, Elsie."
"Two foals for me to play with?" whinnied Ash, her brown eyes wide.
"You can help with the foal-sitting," said Elsie, her face pale and her freckles really showing.
