Harry rose early the next morning in order to beat his dorm mates to the showers. He knew they had to be told about the baby, but he just wasn't ready yet. He had just finished pulling on his shirt and pants when Dean stumbled in, yawning and rubbing his eyes.
"Morning Harry." He said through his yawn. Harry smiled in reply and quickly sat on the closest bench. To all appearances he just needed to have a seat to pull on his socks and shoes, but the real reason was that his regular clothes did little to hide his bump these days. He got his socks and shoes on and was fastening his robes when Seamus and Ron came in. Harry said good morning, collected his things and left.
Breakfast was an interesting affair as each of his friends tried to encourage him to eat just a bit more of this or that. There was even a contribution that Harry was sure came from Dobby. A nice big mug of perfectly steeped ginger tea. He didn't need the tea for morning sickness any more, but it had become a part of his routine.
Professor McGonagall wandered around the room handing out time tables. Ron took one look at his and let his head slump onto the table. Hermione and Harry laughed as he rolled his head back and forth mumbling what sounded like "No, no, no" over and over again.
"It can't be that bad Ron." Hermione said as she looked at her own schedule. Ron looked up at her with raised eyebrows. "Oh, I guess it can be." She said with a frown. Harry quickly looked at his timetable and started to feel nauseous. Three of his least favorite classes started off the week.
"Was it really necessary to give us History of Magic, Potions, and Divination all on the same day? And lets add insult to injury and make it on Monday while we're at it!" Ron exclaimed. "I think they've got it in for us this year. The only good class we have today is Defense Against the Dark Arts!" He glanced at Hermione's schedule. "At least you get to go to Arithmancy instead of Divination." She gave him a sour look.
"Well whose fault is that? I told you to give up that stupid subject two years ago and you wouldn't listen." Harry heaved a sigh in hopes of averting a full bickering session and it worked. Hermione looked questioningly at him and he just waved off her concern.
"Well, I suppose if I can manage to not fall asleep for Binns , not puke in potions or get stuck in the trap door to Trelawney I should get through the rest of the day in one piece." Ron and Hermione smiled and they all began to collect their things.
As it turned out Harry was not able to stay awake in History of Magic. Hermione had had to nudge him awake numerous times when his snoring had started to gain even Binns' attention. As they left the class Harry started to feel a bit nervous about what their potions class would bring. They were seated at their stations and reading over the blackboard when Snape swept in.
"I want you to divide into two groups." He said as he strode to the front of the room. "We will be studying alternative brewing this semester. In each class half of you will be brewing using traditional methods and the other half will be using an alternative." He turned to glare at the class. "Who can tell the class why one might want to employ an alternative method?" Hermione immediately shot her hand in the air, but Snape ignored her and called on Malfoy instead. The Slytherin boy thought for a moment.
"Well, the most common reason is usually lack of an ingredient. Potions brewed with alternative methods also tend to be a bit weaker than traditionally brewed ones so if you don't need a full strength potion you can use the alternative. Other reasons could also be an allergy to a specific ingredient or pregnancy. Some ingredients such as tansy and mistletoe can cause miscarriages." Snape nodded his head in affirmation.
"Well done Mr. Malfoy. Ten points to Slytherin." Harry smiled slightly as he automatically began to copy down the method for the alternative potion. He made a pointed effort to complete the potion properly. He figured that was the least he could do after causing Snape and all of the other teachers so much extra work and was rewarded by Snape passing his potion by with no comment. At the end of the class he packed his things slowly and waited until everyone but Ron and Hermione had left the room. He told them to wait by the door as he approached the professor's desk.
"Professor Snape, Sir." He said as he stopped in front of the desk. Snape sighed and looked up at him. "I just wanted to say thank you Sir. I know I've caused you a lot of extra work and I really do appreciate it." Snape nodded his acknowledgment.
"See that you continue to make good use of it Potter. I do not like to do extra work for no reason." Harry nodded back to him.
"I'll do my best." He nodded again and joined Ron and Hermione at the door. Harry was very glad that he could once again enjoy his food as they made their way to the great hall for lunch. Harry raised a few eyebrows at the table as he broke a meat pie apart and covered it with mashed potatoes and gravy. He was on his second helping of this concoction when he looked up to see Dean and Seamus staring at him.
"What?" He asked as he reached for a jug of milk.
"Are ye a bit hungry?" Seamus asked. Harry grinned at him and started to down his milk in large gulps. When lunch ended Hermione said good bye and left them for Arithmancy as Harry and Ron set off at a quick pace for Divination. They made it to the trap door just before it closed. Harry didn't have any trouble getting through the door, but almost as soon as he got through it, he was overwhelmed by the warmth of the room and the noxious fumes of incense. Suddenly wishing he had taken it easy at lunch he swallowed hard and quickly took a seat. Ron sat next to him and glanced at him warily.
"You alright?" He whispered. "You look a bit green 'round the gills." Harry shook his head slightly and closed his eyes.
"It's too hot in here and that incense is making me want to puke." Ron quickly leaned across Harry, a risky move by anyone's measure, and pushed open the small window that was beside him. Harry immediately leaned closer to the fresh air coming in through the opening. He ended up falling asleep with his head on the sill. Ron woke him at the end of the class. Harry struggled to regain his faculties as they packed up and left for Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Why didn't you wake me?" Harry asked as he yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Didn't Trelawney notice?" Ron nodded his head and smiled.
"She looked at you, gave you a soppy doe eyed smiled and kept walking." Ron said. "I figured if she wasn't going to wake you I wasn't either. You need the sleep these days." Harry grinned wryly.
"Remind me not to eat so much lunch on Mondays anymore. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep it all down." Harry said as he rubbed a hand across his stomach under the cover of his book bag. Ron snickered but nodded. They met up with Hermione outside of DADA.
"How was Divination?" She asked. Harry laughed.
"It was great!" He said. She gave him a puzzled look. "I slept the whole way through it." She gasped.
"You didn't!" She looked at Ron for confirmation and he just smiled and nodded. "Harry! You'll get yourself into trouble if you keep that up." Harry leaned closer to her and whispered.
"I'm already in trouble. That's why I keep falling asleep." She just laughed and pushed him into the classroom. They all took their seats and within moments Professor Alastor Moody, the real one, was stumping his way up to the front of the room.
"Good afternoon." He growled at the class. "I understand that the imposter you had last year actually did a fair job teaching you about the kind of things you can expect of someone using the dark arts. Now we will get on with learning how to defend oneself from those kinds of attacks." He looked up at the class. "Who can tell me the best way to defend against attacks by dark wizards?" Hermione's hand shot into the air. "Ms. Granger."
"Shield charms, professor." Professor Moody nodded but disagreed.
"We'll call that the second best defense. Anyone else? What is the absolute best defense?" Harry raised his hand tentatively. "Mr. Potter."
"Keep away from them." He said. Moody nodded encouragingly so Harry continued. "Steer clear of them to begin with and you won't have to worry about it. But the tactic also works for those of us who trouble seems to search out. If your facing an opponent, don't just stand there. A moving target is always much harder to hit. Get some distance if you can and keep moving."
"Well done, Potter. Ten points." Moody moved around to the front of his desk. "Mr. Potter is absolutely correct. If you find yourself in trouble, keep moving. High tail it out of there if you can. If not, face your opponent but keep moving. Don't offer them a stationary target. Everyone on your feet." As they all stood the Professor waved his wand and all of the desks slid to the edges of the room. "Pair up. I'm assuming you can all manage a decent tickling charm by now. We'll be using them to practice avoidance techniques. The student who can last the longest without getting hit will win another ten points for your house." Harry quickly paired up with Hermione. Ron looked somewhat offended, but Harry didn't trust anyone else to be throwing spells at him and the baby.
Soon the class was awash with out bursts of laughter and fits of giggles as Moody had them switch off between casting and avoiding every five minutes. Harry got Hermione on their second round, but she didn't get him until they were nearing the end of the class period. Harry tried to duck the charm, but the bump kept him from getting low enough and he felt a flurry of invisible fingers running up and down his ribs. He barely had time to laugh though before Hermione ended the spell and looked at him with questioning apprehension. Harry smiled to let her know he was fine and they continued on. Ron was the one to win the ten points. Most people glared at him believing that he had gotten off easy having been paired with Neville. Ron shook his head.
"Neville was actually doing pretty good. He nearly got me a couple of times, but when you have five older brothers and a younger sister, all of whom can be very vindictive, you learn to move fast." he said with a grin.
After dropping their books and things off in the common room Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to go for a walk to kill time before dinner. Hermione and Ron were engaged in a debate about the treatment of house elves and Harry just automatically followed in their wake, not paying much attention to their direction. He eventually looked up when he heard the sound of water, and froze when he realized where they were. Not even ten feet away was the tree where Cho had died. He could see the scar in the trunk where branch had broken off. His breath hitched as he inhaled, causing Hermione to look up from her and Ron's conversation.
"Harry, are you alright?" She glanced quickly at Ron when she didn't get an answer and they hurried back to Harry's side. "Harry? You're white as a sheet, what's wrong?" she pleaded as she grabbed hold of his arm. Harry closed his eyes at her touch and drew in a slow, deep breath. He reached up and took hold of her hand, squeezing it in an attempt to get his bearings again. He blinked moisture from his eyes and pointed at the tree.
"Cho died at the foot of that tree, in my arms." Hermione's mouth formed an O of astonishment, which was quickly replaced with a look of remorse.
"Oh, Harry! I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about it when we headed down here. We've always walked around the lake." Harry shook his head and took a few steps closer to the tree.
"Now that I think about it, I don't think I ever showed anybody where it happened. I carried her and levitated Pettigrew to Hagrid's hut. He called Dumbledore. Nobody ever asked exactly where it happened." He laid a gentle hand against the trunk of the tree and used the other one to open his robes and gently cup the swell of his belly. "I'm trying." He said softly as he looked up at the trees branches. "She's still safe." The wind blew and rustled the leaves that were starting to turn color for the fall. He felt a gentle hand come up to rest on his back and sighed as he pulled his hand away from the tree. He looked at Hermione and gave her a sad smile. She wiped a tear from under her own eye and pulled him into a hug. She pulled away after a few moments and began to search the ground around the tree. She found a small boulder, about the size of a quaffle, and levitated it to the base of the tree. She went through a complicated series of wand waves and with a final flick turned the boulder into a stone statue of a beautiful butterfly. Harry looked at her questioningly.
"Cho's name means Butterfly." She explained. Harry knelt and gently caressed one of the stone wings before smoothing his hands down over his belly again. He looked down at the curve and spoke to the baby inside.
"Your mother died here, but she loved you more than anything and the last thing she did was make sure you were safe. I'm going to try to do the same. Try to keep you safe, but I won't say it's for her. Not anymore. I know how she felt now. You're the most important thing in my life now and I will do anything to keep you safe. I promise."
He gave the butterfly one last caress and rose to his feet with a bit of assistance from Ron. He heaved a heavy sigh, wiped the last traces of moisture from his face and smiled tentatively at his friends. Hermione came up beside him and threading her arm through his started to steer him gently back toward the castle.