**Disclaimer** I do not claim to own anything that's not mine (J.K. Rowling wrote these amazing things before I could even dream of them). I do claim my main character, Dee.
I didn't know how long I lay there in that bed, but I was so tired and sick that I didn't care. I would wake up feeling sick and barely make it out the door before I spilled my guts. Ol' Lark was there the whole time to help me though. I was very thankful I hadn't continued with my journey and gotten stuck somewhere, alone and sick. Ol' Lark had told me to stay. Had he known I was going to get sick?
Finally one morning I woke up and I wasn't sick anymore. I blinked and cautiously got out of bed. Ol' Lark looked up at me from the fire. He smiled and shook something at me.
"Yeez finally feel-in better I seez. Good." Then he went back to carving on the thing he had shaken in my face. I went outside to relieve my bladder then headed from there to the large pond so that I could bathe. I felt dirty and sweaty and fat. I hated it. I stripped down to nothing and waded into the water. It was cold but I reveled in the shock of it. After I finished bathing I lay myself out on the dead grass nearby as I let the sun dry me before I dressed again.
D~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~D
A bright light shown from the end of the hallway and I walked toward it. My eyes were assaulted with colors of red, blue, orange and green. I blinked to clear my vision and shifted as I did. The light no longer shined in my eyes. I was now looking into a small empty bedroom. The walls seemed to shimmer between different colors, magically or maybe not. As I stepped curiously into the room something nagged at me in a familiar way. I knew this room. Where was I? The answer seemed to linger at the edge of my brain, just out of reach. I heard a familiar laugh but couldn't figure out who it was or where it had come from. I only grasped that the sound of the laughter made me feel happy. A wooden rocking chair appeared in the corner of the room and I moved to it, setting myself down. Each rocking motion caused the floor to creak. Soon I heard footsteps that seemed to match the rhythm of the creaking. The footsteps, though, changed and I suddenly wasn't sure whether it was footsteps I was hearing or a heartbeat. I just knew that they were getting closer to me. The anxiety it created within me made me want to flee but I was rooted to the chair. They were outside the doorway now. I couldn't see them until they stepped into the room though. I stared, wide eyed, at the door. A familiar laugh sounded from the barrier of the doorway that obscured my vision. The laughter was followed by the innocent cries of a baby. It was if I was doused in cold water.
D~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~D
I awoke from my dream with a start. I sat up and looked around bewildered. The dream still clung to my memory in bold print. I looked down at my, now dry, naked body. My hands slowly spread across my stomach. I did seem a little pudgy and that wasn't normal. Was I pregnant? That familiar laugh I had heard had been George's. Ol' Lark had made me feel like I was being stupid by completely not grasping something. Was this what he had grasped that I had not? I couldn't remember the last time I had my monthly… I've been feeling sick to my stomach and Ol' Lark had acted like it wasn't anything to worry about…
"Git yerz clothes on gal. Yee don know what kindz o lunies is run-in round this wood." Ol' Lark startled me out of my thoughts. I shook my thoughts away and quickly grabbed my clothes and dressed. Ol' Lark found himself a spot nearby and, for once, politely allowed me my privacy and averted his eyes. "Ask meh yerz questunes gal." He added as I sat down next to him, dressed. He wouldn't look at me still. This bothered me.
"Am I pregnant?" I asked with a shaky voice. He laughed his deep baritone laugh.
"N howz I ta know dat?" He replied. I pursed my lips at him.
"Well, how am I supposed to know?" I replied back tartly in exasperation.
"The usual wayz I spoze." He said with a shrug. We sat silent for a long moment.
"You know though, don't you?" I asked meekly. He finally turned and looked at me.
"Gal, yewz never had yaz a mum, so I spoze yew ain't as stupid as ignant." He sighed before continuing. "Yewz gonna have yeez a babe, gal." He said, almost regretfully. I sat in shock for a long moment before I realized I was crying. "Wipe them tears way gal. Yewz gonna be fine." Ol' Lark quickly stood up and reached out a hand to me and pulled me up into his arms. We hugged. "Noz tears. Yew gonna be fine. May-be yewz shud head home to yaz sweety and tell em da news and rest." Ol' Lark suggested sweetly. I shook my head no against his thin, but sturdy frame before I pushed away.
"No. I have to go on with my journey. I'll have to deal with this situation later. If I don't go on with my journey there may not even be a decent world left for me to bring a baby into." I said sternly. Ol' Lark nodded grim agreement and reached up to wipe away my last few tears for me.
B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B
I stood in the door frame of the shack with my pack slung over my shoulder. I shut the door behind me and turned to see Ol' Lark sitting on the nearby tree stump. He held something in his hands but I still couldn't tell what it was. He grinned his toothless grin at me.
"Yewz a brave gal. Don be fo-getin Ol' Lark tho. Eyz gonna miss yaz." He said firmly. I smiled sweetly, touched by his affection.
"I'm going to miss you too Ol' Lark. Keep an eye on the shack for me?" I asked. He laughed his deep baritone.
"Gal, I alwayz be cozy in dat shack while yew gone." He replied. I laughed in shock. "Yew a powerful witch but yew ain't stronga dan meh." He added with a grin. He then held out the object to me. I still couldn't see it clearly for the magic that concealed it. "When yaz touch et, yewz see et." He explained. He placed it in my hands and I stared in shock at the item. Tears leaked down my face.
"Thank you Ol' Lark. Thank you so much. You are such a sweet old man." I replied and hugged him tight. I turned and walked away from him quickly before I'd be tempted to stay. As I ducked beneath tree branches and entered the forest once more, I heard Ol' Lark's deep baritone voice swell and fill the land with sweet song.
You may travel far far from your own native land
Far away o'er the mountains, far away o'er the foam
But of all the fine places that I've ever been
Sure there's none can compare with the cliffs of Doneen.
Take a view o'er the mountains, fine sights you'll see there
You'll see the high rocky mountains o'er the west coast of Clare
Oh the town of Kilkee and Kilrush can be seen
From the high rocky slopes round the cliffs of Doneen.
It's a nice place to be on a fine summer's day
Watching all the wild flowers that ne'er do decay
Oh the hares and lofty pheasants are plain to be seen
Making homes for their young round the cliffs of Doneen.
Fare thee well to Doneen, fare thee well for a while
And to all the kind people I'm leaving behind
To the streams and the meadows where late I have been
And the high rocky slopes round the cliffs of Doneen.
I smiled and ran, the music filling my soul with happiness. There was still hope. There was still happiness. There was still something worth fighting for. I had to help Harry. Voldemort could not win. My free hand rested absently on my stomach as I stopped to catch my breath. We had to win. I couldn't raise a child in a world of evil. For a brief moment, fear clinched down on my heart, but I shoved it away. I thought of George and of Cedric. I thought of Con and Annie. I thought of all the people I loved that I knew I had to do this for and now I had added one more to the list. I suddenly remembered my flower and dropped my bag to rummage for it. I pulled it out and saw that a new petal was added, but it remained blank, no name. I frowned. I'd have to work on that. I laughed, feeling a sudden feeling of hysterical delight. I was going to have a baby. I was going to have George's child. I was going to be a mother.
"Oh momma, if only you were here to help me. I'll have to ask Con and Mrs. Weasley for advice. That's if Mrs. Weasley doesn't kill me first…" I laughed again and put away the flower and continued on my way. No more time for stopping. I had a mission. No more procrastinating.
***Surprise! Or not. Who already guessed it? Lol. She's been pregnant all along since when she got sick at the Weasley's but I didn't like how everyone guessed it so easily so I put off actually making it finally announced. Anyways, sorry it's a short chapter. It felt like the right place to cut off at. The song Ol' Lark sings is an Irish song called Cliffs of Doneen. Anyways, thanks for Reading. Please Review.
p.s. I disable anonymous comments because of an annoying commenter who asked a stupid question and really irritated me on top of being anonymous so I couldn't reply to them about it. So blame the person who commented anonymously as "2lazi2login". Please if you want to review, make a account. =) I love to hear what everyone thinks. Though I do appreciate having the ability to respond to my reviewers.