Chapter 43

A million thoughts rushed through Tiannah's head as Oliver's expression changed from surprise, to shock and then to joy.

"Seriously?"

Tiannah took a deep breath. She had all of the signs of a pregnant woman, and there were a few times when she and Oliver forgot to use protection. Although she definitely wasn't prepared to be a mother, Tiannah found herself looking a joyful as Oliver.

"I think so-"

Before Tiannah could get the rest of the sentence out, Oliver had smashed his lips on to hers, his arms snaking around her waist and pulling her closer. When he pulled away, the ecstatic grin on his handsome features made Tiannah's heart soar; he looked just as he did when they won the house cup.

"That's amazing, Tia!" he said happily, his eyes glistening. Tiannah smiled shakily and squeezed Oliver's hand. It was a lot to process; they were only eighteen, after all. And they had just received contracts for their respective Quidditch teams, so those plans would all change. The one point that Tiannah struggled to get her head around was the fact that she was most likely to become a mother. After all, she had all of the symptoms of a pregnant woman. However, she was too joyful to think about the possibility that she wasn't pregnant, especially since Oliver had never, ever looked so happy. Tiannah herself had never felt happier, despite the fact that she was also incredibly nervous.

"I love you," she whispered tearily, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend and grinning.

Oliver placed a palm on her stomach and looked up into her shining blue eyes, and responded.

"I love you more than you could imagine."

That night, Tiannah stayed at Oliver's unit. There were no Quidditch practices the next day, so they could stay up as late as they pleased. Tiannah didn't feel well enough to do anything but the occasional snog, but Oliver was more than fine with it. Tiannah joked that the wind changed and that was why Oliver had a continual grin on his features, which made him look even happier. They lay in Oliver's bed, enjoying the close proximity to each other.

"We should go to St Mungo's tomorrow, Ollie. I don't want to tell my parents just yet, because we don't know for sure. I'm fairly certain that I am pregnant, though," he added, as Oliver's huge grin slipped a tiny bit. It returned in full, dazzling force as Tiannah kissed his cheek.

The next morning, Tiannah and Oliver dressed quickly, in preparation to go to the magical hospital. They apparated together, their hearts pounding nervously in their chests. Tiannah had never been more nervous in her life. What if all the Quidditch training had damaged the baby? How far along was it? And was there a chance (Tiannah didn't think about it; she was too happy) that she wasn't pregnant at all?

They waited in reception for what felt like days, but only was minutes. Oliver squeezed Tiannah's hand as they walked into a room with a nurse, who had kindly eyes and a warm smile.

"My name is Mara," the nurse said, smiling at the couple. "And I take it that you are here because you believe yourself to be pregnant, yes?"

Tiannah nodded as Oliver wrapped an arm around her shoulder, squeezing her reassuringly.

"What have your symptoms been?"

"Well," Tiannah began. "Since I was accepted into the Holyhead Harpies as a reserve, I started to feel ill. I would vomit frequently, always be in pain, feel tired, have the sniffles and generally feel poor."

Mara frowned, scribbling down notes. "What has led you to believe that you are pregnant?"

"I checked my calendar and realised that I hadn't had my period; it was very late. And there have been a few times when we forgot to use a protective charm..."

The nurse smiled kindly at the hopeless looking brunette. Ah, to be young, Mara thought.

"I will have to ask for your handsome boyfriend to leave," she said softly. "I will have to perform some tests."

Oliver looked as though he was going to stay exactly where he was, but Tiannah gave him that look. He muttered an apology and shuffled out of the room, slowly closing the door behind himself.

Mara started muttering spells that caused Tiannah to experience odd sensations: tingling, burning, chills and stinging. Afterwards, Mara scribbled down a few more notes and looked at Tiannah.

"Can I please perform some physical evaluations?"

Tiannah nodded, frowning. Mara lifted Tiannah's shirt up and the brunette was shocked to see that she had a rash on her stomach. I swear that wasn't there this morning, Tiannah thought. Mara nodded and took a few more notes.

"Well, you have Glandular fever."

"What's that?" Tiannah asked, completely nonplussed.

"It is a disease that can last several weeks, which is caused by a virus that attacks white blood cells that are responsible for fighting off infection. You've obviously been working yourself very hard with your Quidditch training, which already weakened your immune system, causing you to contract the disease."

Tiannah blinked a few times. Mara sounded as though she was speaking gibberish. The nurse noticed this, however.

"Basically, you have a sickness that won't go away for a few weeks. That means no Quidditch."

"And what about me being pregnant?" she asked eagerly, ignoring the last part of Mara's sentence.

The nurse sadly shook her head, and Tiannah's heart sank. A few tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them away.

"Tiannah, were you trying for a baby?"

"Honestly?" Tiannah sniffed. "No, but it really was a pleasant surprise. I didn't realise how much I really wanted a baby until last night. And I didn't expect Oliver to be so happy either."

Mara handed Tiannah a tissue and spoke. "There is no reason why you can't conceive. I can give you some advice on how to do so if you need it. But you need bed rest for at least a month, and a few months to recover. Glandular Fever isn't life threatening, but if you do physical activity and you have a swollen spleen as part of the symptoms, it can be. I would say that you wait a few months before trying for a baby."

Tiannah nodded, wiping tears away. In a way, she was relieved; she wasn't ready to be a parent. But at that moment, all she could really feel was sadness.

She walked out of the room and was greeted by the sight of Oliver, who was pacing. He cocked his head curiously and expectantly as he saw Tiannah's tear streaked face.

"Are you pregnant?"

The emotions came rushing back in full force, and she snapped at Oliver.

"No, I am not fucking pregnant. Instead, I have a stupid fucking disease and I can't play Quidditch for a month. Great consolation prize, eh?"

Tiannah stayed at Oliver's unit that night. She went to bed first and bitterly cried herself to sleep. She woke up in the middle of the night and went into the kitchen to get a drink of water, and was startled to see Oliver sitting on a chair, drinking some firewhiskey. His eyes were bloodshot and his posture slumped. When he spoke, he did so huskily, as though he had been crying.

"Ollie?" Tiannah said gently, pulling a chair up and sitting next to him. She rubbed his shoulder, having a slight inkling as to why he was so upset.

"I was so happy for sixteen hours, Tia," he said huskily, sipping from his bottle. "I guess I didn't realise how much I wanted something until I had a taste of it."

Tiannah let out a small sob as Oliver spoke, and he immediately hugged her tightly, as she buried her head in his chest.

"I want kids, Ollie."

"I do too."

Tiannah looked up into Oliver's shining brown eyes and felt even sadder. Seeing the man she loved looking so sad wasn't something that she enjoyed witnessing.

"Hey," Tiannah said. "Worse part of this sickness is that I can't snog or shag you."

"I don't give a fuck about that, Tia," Oliver growled. "As long as you get better, everything will be fine."

They both silently cried themselves to sleep that night, wrapped in each other's arms on a chair in the kitchen.

Disclaimer: I own a lot of things, including Tiannah and Hestia, but not Harry Potter. That's Jo Rowling XD