Change of Heart

By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: From the previous chapter, I own Rick Davies, Clara Huntley, Louiza Levene, Pearl Oyster, Leon Turner, Keaton Weber, and Michael Sayers. I like Michael Sayers. He'll be in this more, I think.

Summary: I think you know by now. Plus I can't think of something that ends in "change of heart" anymore.

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Chapter Twenty-Seven: Blue

"Why, Miss O'Brian," said the nurse, looking at her seriously, "you're pregnant."

For one long moment, Colleen's brain stopped functioning. She gaped at Madam Pomfrey. Then a familiar feeling crept at the bottom of her tongue, and she quickly lowered her head and threw up into the blue trashcan for a fourth time.

"No wonder you've been throwing up so much," Pomfrey said knowingly.

Colleen's head whipped up again. "You can't be serious. It's impossible," she said firmly.

Pomfrey raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't tell me we've got another Virgin Mary on our hands."

Colleen blushed. "Um, no, not exactly," she muttered. "But I… er… checked… right after… uh… it."

The nurse sighed and handed Colleen a cup of mouthwash, which she swished around. "Kids these days. Don't you know anything?" she asked. "It can take up to two days for insemination. You can't accurately check until then. Honestly, I don't know what's happened to this generation, but…"

Colleen stared at the Styrofoam cup of blue liquid as she listened to Pomfrey go on about pregnancy and the irresponsibility of 'kids these days'. The minty blue mouthwash sloshed against the sides of the cup. A lot of things seemed to be blue. The trashcan, the mouthwash. The all-purpose wand. Colleen glanced at the royal blue tip of the wand and shuddered.

"So, who's the father?"

She snapped back into real life and stared up at Madam Pomfrey. "What?" she croaked.

"Who's the father?" Pomfrey repeated impatiently.

Colleen panicked briefly. Not that there was any doubt in her mind who the father was. Just the idea of "the father" made her frantic.

Pomfrey noted her obvious unease and said with a sigh, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Privacy and all that." She bustled back into her room huffily and slammed the door.

Colleen groaned and flopped back onto her bed. "I always knew I'd be a juvenile delinquent," she muttered.

Suddenly she remembered Michael Sayers. He was in the Infirmary, too, just two beds over from her. She turned toward him. He was carefully inspecting his red, swollen wrist, pretending he had not heard anything.

"You heard it all, didn't you." She said it as more a statement than a question.

Sayers jumped visibly – he was a jumpy kind of kid, Colleen noted without interest – but as soon as he calmed down, he nodded. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Oh, yes, because it's entirely your fault," Colleen said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sorry I ran into you," he said quietly after a moment. "I… Do you think the, uh… the baby's all right? You know, from the fall."

Colleen looked down as she swished the mouthwash around in the cup. "Yeah," she said finally. "But my life's not."

- - - - -

"I really hope Colleen's all right," said Lily nervously to Remus and Peter as they waited outside the locker rooms for James. "She didn't fall quite so far as she did before, but it still looked like it hurt."

"I'm sure she's fine," Peter said what would have been reassuringly if not for the note of annoyance. Remus looked at him sharply.

"Excuse me, miss," said a hoarse voice from behind Lily and the boys. "Is this the entrance to the Gryffindor locker room?"

Lily, Remus, and Peter whirled around and met a tall, thin man in black businesslike robes. He had salt-and-pepper hair under a tall wizard's hat and a thick, bristling moustache. "Yes, but who are you?" asked Lily.

The wizard withdrew from the sleeve of his robe a small piece of paper. "My card," he said, handing it to Lily.

"'Ichabod Ingelbert, Talent Scout for B. Q. I.,'" read Lily.

"Ichabod Ingelbert!" exclaimed Remus. "I'd no idea you were here!"

Mr. Ingelbert nodded. "Of course. I always come to some Hogwarts Quidditch matches to check out the new blood," he said. "And I was particularly interested in a certain Gryffindor player, but I don't suppose – Oh, hello!" He seemed to note their Gryffindor badges for the first time.

"Um, hi," said Lily, uncomfortable at the man staring at her chest.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mr. Ingelbert said quickly. "I was just examining your badge, of course. You seem to be from the very House from which the player I was interested in comes! You wouldn't happen to know a Chaser by the name of Colleen O'Brian?"

Lily's mouth dropped open, Remus's eyebrows rose into his hair, and Peter stared agape at Mr. Ingelbert. "C-Colleen's the one you're interested in!?" exclaimed Lily.

"Why, yes, of course," said Mr. Ingelbert, unruffled. "I take it you know her?"

"Know her!" cried Lily. "She's my best friend! She's my boyfriend's best friend's girlfriend!"

Mr. Ingelbert smiled widely. "Well, in that case, could you inform her of my interest?"

"Oh, yes," Lily said quickly. "Yes, I'll just – " In her flustered state, she started for the locker room door, but Remus grabbed her collar.

"Um, Lily," he said. "Colleen's up in the Infirmary, remember?"

Lily flushed red. "Oh. Right. Well, in that case, follow me, Mr. Ingelbert."

- - - - -

"I won't tell anyone."

Colleen looked up from her sloshing mouthwash at Michael Sayers. He was still staring at his swelled wrist. "Th-that is, if you don't want me to," he said uncomfortably. "I won't tell."

She looked at him for a while, weighing what he'd said in her mind. Not telling would involve… not really lying, because no one knew or had any suspicions. And there was only a little more than a month more of school. No one would be able to tell before then, right?

But what about Sirius? Colleen cringed at the thought. Yes, it was his child. Yes, it was partly his responsibility. No, she did not want to tell him. She really, really did not want to tell him. But how was she supposed to support the thing? She certainly couldn't do it on her own. She had only worked once, as a waitress at a pub close to her home. She'd lasted a week before the manager had kicked her out for being late too many times.

Financial support was a definite problem. She couldn't go to her father. He already had his hands full with her four younger brothers and sisters. They lived in a trailer, for goodness sake! She could not put that burden on him any more than she could tell Sirius. So what was she to do?

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Colleen and Sayers both stared at it, then they both glanced at the door Pomfrey had disappeared into. She didn't seem to have heard the knock.

"Er, come in," said Colleen anxiously, praying it was not Sirius.

It wasn't Sirius, but it was nearly as bad. Lily, Remus, and Peter all walked into the Infirmary, followed by a strange man whom Colleen had never seen before.

"Uh, yeah," said Colleen, feeling her old self upon seeing Lily, "it's great that you wanna visit me and all, but do you have to bring a tourist with you?"

Lily laughed a little and said, "Colleen, this is – "

"Ichabod Ingelbert," the man interrupted, stepping forward and handing Colleen a small piece of paper from his sleeve. "My card."

Colleen scanned the card's bold lettering and looked back up at the man, Mr. Ingelbert. "B. Q. I.?" she asked, not understanding.

"Or the British Quidditch Industry, of course, if that rings a bell," said Mr. Ingelbert. At Colleen's blank face, he said, "Ah, a Muggle-born? Half-blood?"

"Half-blood," Colleen confirmed.

"Of course. Then you wouldn't know," said Mr. Ingelbert. "Well, the BQI controls all professional Quidditch teams, players, and matches in Britain, as the name suggests. I, of course, am a talent scout, as it says on my card, and I come to Hogwarts every year to check out the current talent on the field. This year, I watched this game, and I was especially intrigued by the Gryffindor team. Particularly one Chaser by the name of Colleen O'Brian." He looked at her meaningfully.

Colleen stared at him. "Y-you were… intrigued by me?" she squeaked.

He smiled widely at her. "Of course! You were definitely one of the star players out on the field."

She blinked at him, a grin spreading on her face. "W-what does this mean for me?" she asked.

"Well, I do believe there's a spot for a Chaser on the Holyhead Harpies Reserve Team, and they're looking for a nice young witch who could be with them for a long time." Mr. Ingelbert beamed broadly at her again.

Colleen's face lit up. "I… I don't know what to say, Mr. Ingelbert," she said, for probably the first time in her life.

"You don't have to decide now, of course," said Mr. Ingelbert. "But if you want to reach me, you have my card." He tipped his pointy hat to her and the others and quickly left the Infirmary.

Colleen stared down at the small piece of paper in her hand. It had just solved her problem. Professional Quidditch players made a lot of money, didn't they? Enough to raise a child on. Enough to not have to go to her father for money.

Enough to not have to tell Sirius.

"So what're you gonna do, Colleen?" Lily asked her excitedly. "You're gonna do it, right?"

Colleen looked up at her friend and grinned and nodded. Lily smiled back, but before she could say anything more, Madam Pomfrey became aware of healthy people in her Infirmary and came bustling out of her office once again.

"Out! Out you go!" she said, ushering Lily, Remus, and Peter out the door. "Your friend needs her rest. You'll see her when I release her. Go on. Get out." She closed the door and with a sniff at Colleen, whisked herself back into her office.

After a few moments, Colleen turned to Michael Sayers, who had been silent this entire time. "You won't tell anyone, right?"

He looked up at her. Then he nodded.

"Thanks."

- - - - - - - - -

Tempest: So, yeah. This chapter, while not as worthless as twenty-five, was a bit on that side of the usefulness factor. I had originally intended Sirius to be in it, too, but, as you can see, that did not work out. I'm just trying to get out as many chapters as I can before the break is over. I seem to work fastest after 9 o'clock, but I'll try for another one tomorrow. I just need to finish this story before July 16th, when THE NEXT HARRY POTTER BOOK COMES OUT! Oh em gee, guys. Oh em gee.

Also, I'm a loser, so here's a link to a poll I made for you guys. It's a poll for you to vote on your favorite original character from this story.

Now for the reviews. Lavamad: You'd be surprised how many people reviewed asking me how Colleen could be pregnant now. Actually, I was hoping people wouldn't think she could be, so it would come as a surprise. Shima And Tempis: Haha, yes, I felt sorry for him. Clinching ending, indeed. Someday we'll find out Sirius's reaction. Someday. Lily Natalia Evans: Yep, from Napoleon Dynamite. I love that movie with a passion. Such a cult movie. I say lines from it all the time. CandyCaneLane: Yeah, that'd kinda suck, but I couldn't think of another way for her to find out quickly enough. Muus: Indeed I am a woman. I'm sorry to anger your manliness, but I also suggest you give menstrual cramps a try.  Daleia: Thanks. Reviews like that give me the ol' Warm And Fuzzy Feelings. To Prongs Luver, animerocksjapanrocks, Stepha-Lah, sum1strange, Lily Natalia Evans, and daleia: You guys were either surprised at the pregnancy or were confused. I hope I did a good follow-up to the last chapter and smoothed out any unclearness on how she could be pregnant if the test before said she wasn't.

Also thanks to Ohepelss Oramtnci, astronomylover, xangel-luvx, A.Simeone, Jaimee, JamesLuver19, and Caitlin: Thank you all for reviewing it. It means a lot to me. I hope you all review this one, too!

Well, till the next author's note, buhbye and review, review, review!

8-20-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before.