NOTE: I think I have finally gotten back into the swing of this story. Yay! I think I'll need to finish this one before attempting to do the same for Little Miss Longbottom. Hope you enjoy. Typical Disclaimer applies.
The next two days were pretty uneventful. Harry had to admit that he entered a bit of a depression after the trip to the lake, but he was slowly recovering. He concentrated fully on his classes, striving to prove that he was making use of the extra effort that the teachers were going to. His homework was always done and Hermione rarely caught any errors when he insisted that she check it over. Besides the normal work load for class, Harry was also still studying the book that he had found in the library at Grimmold place. The thought of being able to perform spells even after you've been disarmed held a lot of appeal for Harry. He was relaxing in the common room Wednesday evening, reading his book, when Hermione interrupted.
"Harry, are you supposed to go see Madame Pomfrey this evening?" He glanced up at the clock and shrugged.
"She never said she wanted to change the schedule, but she didn't specify a time either." He placed a book mark in his page and closed the book. "I guess I could just head up there. See if she's ready for me." Hermione nodded and glanced at Ron who was heading in their direction. "Do you guys want to come along?" Hermione smiled and nodded.
"Of course, I want to see her on the ultrasound. She's going to be so much bigger." Her gaze flicked down to his belly and her smile broadened. "You might even be able to find out if she actually is a 'she'." Harry smiled and touched his belly briefly.
"Let's go." Ron gave him a hand up from the chair and they crawled through the portrait hole, headed for the infirmary. When they entered the hospital wing a few minutes later, Madame Pomfrey looked up from the bed she was making and smiled.
"Ah, Harry. Wonderful. I was hoping you would make your way up here this evening. I would have sent for you eventually, but I didn't want to if I didn't have too. Try to keep things as inconspicuous as possible." He chuckled as he, Ron, and Hermione followed her to one of the private exam rooms.
"Thanks. I appreciate that." Once the door was closed and secured, he removed his robes and sat on the edge of the bed. Madame Pomfrey bustled over and stuck a thermometer under his tongue and then reached for his wrist to check his pulse.
"Very good." She said as she grabbed his chart and marked down his pulse. She reached up and took the thermometer from his mouth, then squinted at it to see the reading. "Also good." She said as she smiled at Harry. "Anything to report? Any changes?" Harry shook his head.
"No. Everything's been about the same. Angelina almost had a meltdown when I told her I couldn't play Quidditch this year though. She tried to demand a reason out of me, but I just told her it was personal." Madame Pomfrey nodded in approval.
"Good boy. I'm glad to see you standing up for yourself." She stepped over to the corner of the room and started to wheel over the ultrasound machine. Harry smiled and started to unbutton his shirt. He lay down and watched as the medi-witch turned on the machine. She shooed Ron and Hermione over to the other side of the bed as she got everything positioned and then took a small towel and tucked it into the waistband of Harry's pants as she pulled it below the curve of his belly. Harry braced himself as she pulled out the bottle of conductive gel, but relaxed when it went on warm. "Better?" Madame Pomfrey asked with a smile. Harry nodded.
"Much better." They all turned their attention to the monitor as she began to spread the gel around and look for a good angle. Harry watched as the colors swirled and blurred around on the screen until Madame Pomfrey found her angle and stilled the transducer wand. His mouth dropped open as he looked at the baby. It was perfect. At his first ultrasound, Harry had been surprised by how well developed the baby already looked, but it was nothing compared to this time. It looked like a fully formed perfect baby. He glanced up at Madame Pomfrey. "She looks like she could be born tomorrow." Madame Pomfrey smiled.
"Just a few more weeks and it likely would be able to survive outside the womb, but only with a lot of medical help and risk of complications. This little one needs to bake for a good bit longer yet. It has everything it needs to survive now, but it all needs to mature a bit to be fully functioning. It's also very scrawny at this point. They use the last few weeks to pack on the baby fat, after everything else is finished developing." Harry nodded in understanding. Madame Pomfrey started moving the wand around then and clicking different buttons on the machine console.
"Are you taking measurements?" Hermione asked. The elder witch nodded and they watched as she continued to click away. They all glanced at each other at one point during the proceedings when Madame Pomfrey smiled to herself, but she just went on with her exam without saying anything. After a few more minutes she finally sat back a little and returned the transducer to a position that offered a good view of the baby's face.
"Everything looks good. Baby's a good weight, about four hundred and twenty-eight grams. And the length is good, around twenty-seven centimeters. It's active and making lots of movements." Madame Pomfrey smiled at Harry. "In other words, you're doing a good job Harry. Baby looks nice and healthy." Harry smiled at her and blinked a little wetness back but he didn't quite trust his voice. Hermione put a supportive hand on his shoulder.
"You smiled at one point when you were doing the measurements. What were you smiling at?" She asked. Madame Pomfrey's smile grew as she moved the transducer again.
"That." She said as the image stilled. Hermione gasped and grinned as Harry and Ron stared at the screen a bit confused. Harry looked at Hermione questioningly. She shook her head and giggled a little as she reached up to point at the screen.
"Harry look. There's a leg and here's the other leg. Up here is the belly with the umbilical cord attached…" Harry stared at the screen for a moment before Hermione's statements registered and he realized what he was looking at. He gasped and looked at Madame Pomfrey for confirmation. She nodded.
"You and Cho were right. You're having a little girl." Harry grinned widely and didn't even try to blink back his tears. He couldn't remember ever being so happy and excited. Madame Pomfrey wiped the gel off of the transducer and stowed it away, before pressing a button to print out a small square picture of the baby's face for Harry. He looked up from wiping the gel off of his belly with the towel and smiled as he took the picture.
"Is there any way I could get two of them?" He asked. "I'd like to send one to Aunt Petunia and Sirius." She nodded in understanding and printed out another copy of the picture. Harry finished wiping up and sat up to button his shirt. Madame Pomfrey put away the rest of her equipment and came back to sit by Harry.
"Well, Harry. Now that you are back at school, and we've gotten a good look at the baby, I think we are safe to drop you back to every other week for your checkups. The every week thing was more to make sure that you were being properly cared for at home and I don't think that should be an issue here at school. And I won't be doing anymore ultrasounds until closer to the end of your pregnancy, unless we start to run into problems." Harry nodded in agreement. "However, if you have any questions or feel off in anyway in between checkups, come and see me immediately. Understood?" He nodded again as she helped him to his feet and Hermione handed him his robes. He looked at Madame Pomfrey for a moment and then stepped in to give her a quick hug. She looked startled for a moment before returning the embrace.
"Thank you Madame Pomfrey. Thank you for agreeing to take care of me and the baby. I know you didn't have too, you could have insisted I go to St. Mungos, but the baby will be safer for a lot longer because you agreed to this. It means a lot to me." She leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.
"It is my pleasure Harry." She released him and he pulled away. "All right." She said, all business once again. "Off you go. I'm sure you've got homework needing done." She ushered them out of the room and watched them exit the wing before heading back to her office, a smile on her face. When Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to the common room, they were met by a thoroughly offended Ginny.
"Were you up with Madame Pomfrey?" She demanded in a whispered hiss. Harry nodded, a little surprised by her tone. "I can't believe you went without me. I wanted to come too." She seemed genuinely upset and Harry was ashamed that he hadn't thought to ask her.
"I'm sorry Ginny. I didn't think to ask you. It's always just been me for my appointments, except a few that Ron and Hermione came to." She gave him a hurt look. "I really am sorry Ginny." He dug in the pocket of his robe and carefully removed one of the ultrasound pictures. He handed it to her. "Look." He said as he pointed at the baby's face. Ginny softened immediately.
"Oh, Harry. She's adorable." She said as she gently ran a finger over the picture. She looked back up after a moment or two. "Is it a girl? Could you tell?" Harry nodded and grinned.
"Hermione had to basically tell me what I was looking at, but, yeah, she's a girl." Ginny smiled and gave him the picture back with an excited glint to her eye.
"Now we can start shopping! When is the first Hogsmeade weekend?" Harry's face dropped a bit when Ginny mentioned shopping, but the girls didn't notice. They had already headed off to make shopping lists and plans. He resisted the urge to rub his belly and sighed, his happiness deflating a bit. Ron gave him a concerned look.
"You alright Harry?" He asked as they headed for their spot in front of the fireplace. Harry shrugged as they sat down. He took a quick glance around to make sure they were alone before speaking.
"I'm not sure I want to go shopping yet." Ron furrowed his brow as he waited for Harry to continue. "I'm still not sure if I can keep her, Ron." He said as he took the chance to briefly press a hand to his belly. "It'll just about kill me to give her up, but if it's the only way to keep her safe, then I'm going to do what I have to do." He said. Ron stood and reseated himself next to Harry.
"I'm sorry Harry. I'll talk to them; tell 'em to take it easy for now." Harry released a shaky sigh and nodded in agreement. Ron leaned his shoulder into Harry's in a show of support as he shook his head ruefully. "You know, I'm really starting to realize how foolish it was of me to envy you. I don't think I could do some of the things you've had to do Harry. Just know that I'm here if you need anything, Okay?" Harry gave him a tremulous smile.
"I know you are, Ron, and I really appreciate it." He sighed again a rubbed a hand across his eyes before glancing over at the girls. "I'm going to head up. I'm pretty tired." He said as he stood. "G'night Ron."
"Night Harry." Ron said as he too stood. He watched Harry disappear up the stairs before heading for Ginny and Hermione, fully prepared to rein them in.
Harry got through the next few weeks with very little trouble. He helped Angelina with the team tryouts and they wound up picking Ginny to be the new seeker and Ron as the new keeper. His belly was getting harder and harder to hide. His robes did a good job of it, but even they showed the now prominent curve when he moved in certain ways. He was twenty-five weeks in when he decided that he had to at least tell his dorm mates. He was tired of dodging them in the showers. It was a Friday after dinner when he asked Ron to round up the rest of their dorm mates and meet him in their room. He paced nervously around the room until they arrived, looking extremely curious. They all sat together on his and Ron's beds. Perched on the edges and looking at Harry expectantly. He took a bracing breath and turned to face them.
"I have something really important to talk to you guys about, but I need you to understand that what I am going to say cannot leave this room. Can you all promise me that? It's really important." The boys looked at each other but eventually they all looked back to Harry and nodded, promising to keep his secret. He sat beside Ron and started to tell them about the day Cho died. He stood back up and began to unbutton his robes as he finished. "So, now I'm twenty-five weeks pregnant and it's getting really hard to keep hiding it from you guys." He said as the last button came open and he smoothed his hands down over his belly, pushing the robes away in the process. Seamus and Dean stared at his belly in astonishment. Seamus' couldn't decide if he should look at Harry's face or his belly.
"Holy Mary, Harry. You're pregnant!" He said as his gaze finally settled on the belly. Harry laughed.
"Yeah, I know Seamus." He said. He gave them a moment longer to let the information sink in before he spoke again. "I'm trying to keep the news about the baby quiet for as long as possible. The longer she goes undetected by Voldemort, the better." He ignored the chorus of gasps and flinches and kept going. "Can I trust you to keep this to yourselves?" he asked as he looked at each of them. "If you don't trust yourself to not let it slip, then just tell me and we'll go to Dumbledore. He can make you forget what I said and make it so you don't notice anything having to do with the baby. Please, just be honest." He looked imploringly at each one of them in turn. Seamus and Dean nodded their agreement but Dean looked at Neville, skeptically.
"Neville, no offence, but maybe you should let Harry take you to Dumbledore. We all know you aren't very good at hiding things." Neville just grinned. "What?" Dean demanded. "This is serious Neville. Harry's counting on us." Harry walked to Neville and put a hand on his shoulder as he smiled.
"Dean, Neville has known about the baby ever since the train ride to school. He's been keeping my secret for weeks." Dean and Seamus looked almost as surprised about this as they had about the baby. Harry sat back down on his bed. "Thank you. All of you. This means a lot to me. At least I have one place where I can relax completely now. I'm getting tired of getting up at the crack of dawn to beat you to the showers." Dean was looking at Harry, a frown on his brow.
"How's the baby going to be born, Harry? Is there a spell or something to get it out?" Harry blushed and looked down at his belly.
"It'll be born the normal way. Cho's spell gave me everything I need to have her naturally." Now it was Dean's turn to blush and he shook his head slightly. "What?" Harry asked. Dean glanced at the other boys and then back at Harry.
"Maybe we should make up a shower schedule or something. I mean, if you've got girls bits we shouldn't really be showering with you, right?" He said. Harry closed his eyes and sighed as he rubbed at his forehead. He was developing a headache.
"They're not obvious, Dean." He said in a slightly annoyed tone. "Not unless you're planning on sticking me in stirrups and doing an exam in the shower." Dean's mouth dropped open but no sound came out as Ron snorted in laughter. Harry looked at Dean's bright red countenance and felt a pang of remorse for his sharp tone. "I'm sorry." He said. "I shouldn't have snapped. I'm just tired." He stood back up and rubbed his belly as the baby started to move. "Trust me, exams with Madame Pomfrey are the only times those bits are seen and they'll go away once the baby is born." Dean seemed to relax a bit and nodded his head. Neville was the next to speak.
"Is she moving Harry?" He asked. Harry smiled and nodded. Neville held a hand out toward Harry. "May I? I've never felt a baby move before." Harry smiled and stepped closer, taking Neville's hand to guide it to the spot the baby was kicking. His eyes widened in surprise when he felt the baby's movements. Harry laughed as Dean and Seamus started jockeying around for their chance to feel the baby.
"Does it hurt when it does that?" Seamus asked when he felt some body part or another roll past his hand. Harry shook his head.
"Not usually. She'll dig her feet into my ribs sometimes or try to burrow her head into my bladder. Those can hurt, but not this. I like it." He said as he smiled down at his belly.
"When is the baby due Harry? Do we need to do anything if you start having it here?" Dean asked, looking genuinely concerned. He shook his head.
"She's not due until after the holidays. And, unless something really drastic happens I don't think we need to worry about her coming before I can get to the hospital wing." The boys all seemed to relax a bit at that. They asked Harry a few more questions and one by one started to make their way back down to the common room. Finally Ron and Harry were the only ones left.
"That wasn't too bad, huh?" Said Ron as he watched Harry lay back down on his bed. "You alright, Harry? You look uncomfortable." Harry groaned as he rolled onto his side and stuffed a spare pillow between his knees.
"I am uncomfortable Ron. My back has been bothering me more for the last couple of weeks and from what I understand, it's only going to get worse." Ron watched for a few minutes as Harry struggled to find a comfortable position before going to the closest cupboard and pulling out another pillow.
"Mum used to stuff one under her belly when she was carrying Ginny." He said as he handed the pillow to Harry. "She said it kept her belly from pulling on her back so much." Harry took the pillow and started to stuff it under his stomach. Ron smiled. "You know you're going to fall asleep as soon as I leave the room. Why don't you just get ready for bed awhile?" Harry grunted in frustration and yanked the pillow back out.
"You're right. I may as well just get it done." He got back out of the bed and started for the bathroom as Ron headed for the stairs. "You going back down?" Harry asked. Ron nodded.
"Yeah, Hermione's helping me with my potions homework. Night Harry." Harry gave him a halfhearted wave as he disappeared into the bathroom. Ron chuckled at him and trotted down the steps to Hermione and his waiting homework.
Harry awoke a few hours later with an urgent need to use the bathroom. He struggled out of his bed and hurried to the bathroom. He was washing his hands when he felt an odd sensation start to spread over his abdomen. It was a tightening, pulling sensation. It didn't quite hurt, but it was uncomfortable. He laid a hand on his belly and was disconcerted to say the least when he felt how hard the usually pliable mound had become. He quickly dried his hands and hurried for the stairs when he saw that Ron's bed was still empty. He had made it to the first stair before he realized that he was only in his pajamas. He cursed quietly and turned back to grab his robes off of their hook. He thrust his arms into the sleeves as he hurried down the stairs. He held the front closed as he emerged into the common room and scanned the occupants for his friends. The tightening sensation had left his belly by the time he spotted them off to one side of the room. Ron was still working on homework while Hermione appeared to be reading. He all but ran over to them and sat down gingerly beside Hermione.
"Hi Harry. I thought you were sleeping." She said as she looked up at him. "What's wrong?" She said as soon as she got a good look at his face. Ron's head jerked up from his parchment at her worried tone. Harry felt his eyes start to burn as he tried not to panic.
"I don't know." He said. "I got up to go to the bathroom and when I was washing my hands, I got this really weird feeling in my stomach. It got all tight and hard to the touch." Hermione immediately placed a hand against his belly, but he shook his head. "It's gone now. It didn't last long." He bit his lip and looked at his friend. "Do you think I should go to Madame Pomfrey?" Hermione laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Are you bleeding or having any other pain?" She asked. He shook his head and she rubbed his arm. "We're nearly finished with Ron's homework. Why don't you just rest here for a bit and we'll see if happens again. If it does, we'll go right up to Madame Pomfrey." Harry nodded his agreement and settled himself into the overstuffed couch. He leaned over and rested his head against Hermione's shoulder as he closed his eyes and tried to relax. It was about twenty minutes later, just as Ron was finishing his charms homework, when Harry felt it start to happen again. He grabbed Hermione's hand and pressed it to his belly as he felt the whole thing pull up into a tight ball. Hermione gasped in surprise and tuned to face her distressed friend.
"Okay Harry. It's alright. Look at me." He opened his eyes and stared at her face. "Try to relax. Breathe deep and even." She did the same, breathing with him, as Ron quickly packed up his books. Hermione waited until she felt his belly soften again. She stood and offered him a hand up, which he gratefully accepted. They started out through the portrait hole, ignoring the fat lady's indignant mumblings about the late hour. "Is it painful when that happens, Harry, or just uncomfortable?" Hermione asked as they descended toward the hospital wing.
"Just uncomfortable, but, if it gets any worse it'll hurt." He said. His voice sounding scared. Hermione put her arm around him, trying to comfort him.
"It's alright Harry." She said. "I think I know what's going on, but we should still let Madame Pomfrey check you over." Harry looked at her expectantly and she smiled at him. "I think they're just Braxton-Hicks contractions." Harry paled at her words.
"But, I can't be having contractions yet. It's too soon!" Hermione shushed him.
"Braxton-Hicks contractions, Harry. False labour. They're just your body's way of practicing for real labour. They're normal at this point. It'll be alright. You'll see." They entered the hospital wing and heard the wards chime to let Madame Pomfrey know that she had a patient. She came bustling out of her private rooms about a minute later, tying her dressing gown as she came. She looked startled when she spotted Harry and his escorts.
"Harry? What's wrong?" She said in a no nonsense tone as motioned them back to his usual room. Hermione spoke up as she ushered Harry into the room and over to the bed.
"I think he's having some Braxton-Hicks, but we thought it best for you to check him out." Madame Pomfrey nodded and sat down in front of Harry taking his cold and clammy hands into her own warm ones.
"Tell me what you're feeling Harry." He nodded and took a deep shuddering breath to calm himself.
"I woke up to go to the bathroom and when I was washing my hands, my belly tightened up on me. It got pretty hard. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable." She nodded and encouraged him to continue. "I went down to Hermione right away and she had me sit with them for a while to see if it would happen again. After about twenty minutes," he said looking at Hermione for confirmation. "it came back. We came right up here after it went away." Madame Pomfrey nodded and then helped Harry to remove his robes and lay down. She lifted his pajama shirt and began to gently palpitate his abdomen. She smiled when the baby started to kick in protest.
"Settle down young lady. We're just making sure your Daddy is okay." She said softly. She prodded a bit more and then pulled his shirt back down. "Well, Harry. I think Hermione is correct, but just to be sure, I'd like to do an internal exam." Harry closed his eyes, and started to blush furiously. Ron made a bee-line for the door, mumbling something about waiting outside. Hermione touched his shoulder and he looked up at her.
"Do you want me to stay or wait with Ron?" She asked. Harry looked at her and decided that having her there would be a little more embarrassing than he could tolerate.
"You can wait with Ron, but, thank you for offering." She smiled at him and nodded before slipping out to join Ron, closing the door quietly behind her. Harry watched until the door was closed then looked back up at Madame Pomfrey who already had a sheet in her hands. She spread the sheet over him and then reached underneath to help Harry out of his pajama pants and boxers. She pulled them out and laid them over the nearby table before pulling a pair of exam gloves from the drawer and putting them on.
"Knees up and out Harry." She said as she hooked her hands behind his knees and helped him to bend them up. She sat beside him on the bed and laying her left hand over his abdomen, reached under the sheet with her right. Harry gasped and clenched his eyes shut as he felt her hand enter him and start the exam. He tried to stay relaxed by breathing in through his nose and slowly blowing out through his mouth. It was less than a minute before she finished the exam, but Harry sighed gratefully when she removed her hand and pulled the sheet back over his legs. She removed her gloves and rested a gentle hand on Harry's belly. "I think you're fine Harry. They were just some Braxton-Hicks contractions. The cervix hasn't changed at all. It's still tightly closed."
"That's a relief." He said as she helped him sit up on the edge of the bed. She held his clothes out to him and started making notes in his chart while he hastily put them back on. Once he was dressed Madame Pomfrey opened the door and let Ron and Hermione back in. Hermione looked from Harry, who was still a bit red, to Madame Pomfrey.
"Is he alright?" She asked. The medi-witch smiled and nodded as Harry stood and she ushered them back out of the room.
"He's fine. They were just false labour pains." She stopped them at the door to the hospital wing. "They are likely to happen again, but it's nothing to worry about. Sometimes taking a walk will help them go away. However, if you ever start having them where they actually hurt and fall into a regular pattern that can be timed, get back up here immediately, alright." Harry nodded and shrugged back into this robes.
"Thanks Madame Pomfrey. Sorry for waking you." She waved his apologies away and shooed them out the door.
"Nonsense. That's what I'm here for. Now go on, and get back to your beds. It's late." The trio made their way slowly back to the common room. Ron made two or three false starts at a question before Harry finally stopped walking and looked at him.
"What?" He said as he looked at Ron. Ron blushed and mumbled a question that Harry couldn't quite hear. "What?" He said again, a bit exasperated. Ron sighed dramatically and repeated himself.
"I was just wondering if it hurts when she does those exams." It was Harry's turn to blush as he started walking again. Ron thought he wasn't going to get an answer, but Harry eventually responded.
"Yes." He said as he glanced at Ron. "It hurts and, no, I don't want to talk about it. It's embarrassing." Ron nodded in sympathy as they gave the password and crawled back through the portrait hole. Harry turned back to his friends. "Thank you for coming with me. Sorry I kept you up." They all glanced at the clock and saw that it was just after one in the morning. Hermione stepped up and gave him a hug.
"It's alright Harry. I don't care what time of day or night it is. If you need help you come to us. Alright?" He nodded and returned her hug. She felt him droop with fatigue. "Alright, bed." She said. "You're exhausted. At least you can sleep in tomorrow. Don't worry about breakfast. We'll bring something up for you." She turned Harry around by his shoulders and gave him a gentle push in the direction of the boy's dorms. "Good night, Harry. Night Ron." She said as she started up to the girls dorms. She smiled as she heard them return the salutation and entered her dorm, gratefully seeking her bed.