Kami's Fake Boyfriend, a harry potter fanfic

Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine.

So…. I'm trying to get back into writing. That has consisted of me stopping and starting various stories. But, I do want to get back to my incompletes. I'm hoping to in a few weeks!

In the meantime, I have a story choc full of cliches that's already finished. I'm posting it in honor of Mother's Day! Part Two is already done!

Part One, Kami's Fake Boyfriend

Every year, on the anniversary of end of the Wizarding War, there was a charity ball at the Ministry. Kami was heading off and checking her make up as she passed her parents to the floo. She barely noticed the Crabbes were there.

"Kamelia." Mother was smiling at her. "Look who is here to see you."

Draco's old friend had a cousin, who was there to see her. He seemed handsome enough. Polite as he rose from his seat to greet her. Kami looked into his eyes though and saw nothing. She kept walking. Her father followed her to the floo in the other room.

"I have to go," she said as lightly as she could.

"Nox has traveled all the way from Italy to meet you," her father said coolly, in a way that told her that he had no patience today. Did he ever?

Tough. She had to at least act tough or she would be walked all over. Kami turned to him and sneered. "I don't give a shit."

The shriek was more of a high-pitched yelp when he grabbed her. Kami didn't move as he held her arms tightly, as if he could hold her in place like a toy that he was getting ready to show his friends. He did this to scare her. She couldn't let him know that it scared her. Father exhaled but didn't let go until his guilt fully set in. His fingers slowly unwrapped themselves from her arms and Kami all but ran for the floo. She couldn't help it.

And… her seat was moved. Next to Potter's. "Great," she mumbled as she sat down. "This night couldn't get any better."

Potter looked at her and grimaced. "What a pleasure as always, Princess Malfoy."

Kami stared at him. Her heartrate was just starting to calm down from the previous incident. She found herself laughing breathlessly as she helped herself to a glass of wine that was in her place. She was stuck with Potter and his godfather companions. "Thanks, Chosen One. No wonder they sat us together. The princess and the Savior. A fairy tale in the making."

"You wish," Black muttered.

Kami pretended to study him. "Is that a flea?"

"Sirius!"

"She's lying, Moony!"

Kami grinned at the argument she started while Potter just shook his head. Eventually, Lupin dragged Black off to the bathroom to check him over. Potter sighed, but in a happy way. "Remus would be bored without him."

They loved each other. Kami could tell by the way Lupin fussed over him. No one cared about her like that. She tried not to feel bitter. "He was the only teacher who remembered my birthday when we were kids."

"I'm sure it had nothing to do with the gaggle of balloons you used to carry with you all day," Potter said dryly. Kami snorted. "All the other professors probably didn't want to inflate your fat head any further or they feared it would pop with your balloons."

"You popped my balloons," she accused.

"Because you hit me in the head with them all fucking day," he snapped. Then, they looked at each other and burst out laughing.

A few hours later…

Kami could not stop laughing. She was such a stupid kid. Even Potter admitted that he was way too serious. Probably something to do with the mass murderer hunting him down on a yearly basis.

"I believed everything my mum told me…" she practically yelled between laughs. She downed her third glass of wine. "She told me that Muggles didn't have toilets and went in a hole that they dug in the backyard. Toilets were invented by Muggles!"

Potter laughed. "Remember during the War when you told the uniforms of the security aurors were ugly?"

"They were!" Kami giggled. "What did you call me? Fathead Fashionista?"

"And then you called me a pickle sniffer for following your brother." At his words, Kami turned bright red at her past offensiveness until Potter started snickering.

Then, she looked around to see that everyone was leaving. Kami checked her watch to see that it was well past midnight. Hopefully her parents weren't still awake.

Potter picked up on it too. "Let me walk you to the floo."

As Kingsley's secretary, she had access to his private floo. Kami felt oddly comfortable as they chatted while taking the long walk. She wasn't even this comfortable talking to her best friend Pansy.

Kami turned to face him and saw Potter looking at her with a look she couldn't quite place. No one looked at her like that. Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest when he leaned in and kissed her. No one ever…

"Do you want to stop at my place for a drink?" His voice was husky. Kami found herself feeling absolutely dazzled. He fancied her. No one ever fancied her, just her parents' money.

"Yes," she said breathlessly.

The next morning…

They woke up at the same time, equal looks of shock on both their faces. They also both seemed to be struggling to find words. The charity ball, Hermione's elven wine made exclusively by freed house elves, being forced to sit next to each other all night…

"Let's pretend this never happened," Harry found himself saying.

Kamelia Malfoy, or as Ron called her at school, Hogwarts's resident bitch, blinked in surprise. She stuttered for a moment, but thankfully, agreed. "Y-yeah. See you next year, Potter." Harry raised his eyebrows, making her turn red as she pulled the sheets closer to her chest. "I-I mean at the ball. Next year."

She scurried off with his sheets, and Harry left it at that.

"You and Harry looked cozy last night," Minister Shacklebolt, or Kingsley as he preferred it, said with a smile the next morning.

Kami looked at him and shrugged, trying not to feel hurt by this morning. The Malfoy in her wanted to rip his head off to hide her feelings. But she was Kingsley's secretary, so she tried (and often failed) to keep the sarcasm to a minimum. "Potter was just passing the time. You know how he hates these things."

The events last night were going to go forever unspoken. This secret she was going to take to the grave. Potter clearly was going to too. Kami busied herself in paperwork. At lunch, she was going to double check the Minister's schedule for next week and try to forget about last night.

Work kept her busy, so it was about three weeks before she let herself think about it again.

She was late. For the first time ever, she was late. Kami sat in the bathroom and stared at the sanitary napkins as if she could will herself to menstruate. It was the weekend, and for once, she had off. She should be having brunch with Pansy, gossiping and making obscene jokes while covering her giggling goddaughter's ears. Kami closed her eyes. It was only a week, but she wasn't one to be late for anything, even her period. Her parents were going to kill her.

"Holy shit!" Harry nearly fell over when he left his office on Saturday. He had a rare half a day, and opened the door to find a very disheveled looking Kamelia Malfoy on the other side. Like her mother, she was never one to look disheveled.

She tilted her chin up as if she could make herself taller and at eye level with him. "We need to talk."

"We do?" What Harry needed was a nap.

"Yes," she said slowly. Then, she glared at him. "Why else would I tell you we need to talk, Potter?"

"Er…" Harry rubbed the back of his head. If he wasn't so tired, he would be curious. "Can it wait?"

"No!" She shoved him into his office before Harry could even comprehend what was going on. She shut the door and even locked it. Kamelia spent a good few minutes putting up silencing charms too. What the fuck?

When she reached in her pocket, Harry's auror training kicked in, and he took out his wand and pointed at her. Was she even Kamelia? She could be an ex-Death Eater in disguise. "Stu…"

She took out a Muggle pregnancy test. Harry wasn't close enough to see the result, but he could only guess. She wouldn't be there if it wasn't positive. Oh God.

Her eyes filled with tears. "Before you say I'm a slag—"

"I wasn't going to say that," he said. "I would never say that."

Silence. Kamelia wiped her eyes and started crying quietly to herself while Harry stood awkwardly in the background. "Sorry. I just really needed to hear that."

"I'm going to be a dad?" he asked. His mouth suddenly felt very dry. "I-I mean, what are we going to do?"

She looked about as lost as Harry suddenly felt. Termination was an option. It was still early enough. They had sex only three weeks ago. Feeling guilty, Harry gestured to the sofa in his office for her to sit on. Just yesterday, he had been napping on it between shifts without a care in the world.

"I'm going to be in so much trouble," she said, as if she were sixteen, not twenty-four. Slowly, she sunk into the cushioned seat.

Harry awkwardly sat next to her, thinking about that night. They were tipsy. For the first time, in well, ever, they had had a conversation that wasn't either full of insults or bitter sarcasm. They had chatted like old friends, laughed about their past childhood angst… But then the sun came up, and they were strangers who used to hate each other again. They both had grown up and didn't know each other anymore. Now…

"So you want to keep it?" Harry tried to keep his voice neutral. A million thoughts were running through his head. He knew nothing about being a dad... He wished that night had never happened… Now he really was never getting back together with Ginny… He was going to be a dad.

She stared, probably guessing his thoughts. For all she knew, he still hated her. Kamelia bit her lip. "It would be better if I got rid of it, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," Harry found himself saying. His throat felt tight, but again, he tried to keep his voice neutral. She put her face in her hands and started crying again, making Harry want to reach out and comfort her. He stopped himself though. They weren't even friends.

Finally, she looked at him with wide, red eyes. "Will you go with me? No one knows but you."

Harry nodded. It was the least he could do. This was half his fault after all. He would make time for emotions after this was all over.

He got a magical fax two days later with the address of a Muggle clinic, and to meet her there during their lunch break on Thursday.

"I took the rest of the day off," Potter said. Kami couldn't bring herself to look at him. Tears were already in her eyes. She was filling out the paperwork on a clipboard, and her leg was bouncing up and down with nerves. "So if you want to rest at my flat… I could order takeaway or something."

I don't want Kingsley to ask. But Kami just shook her head as she took the clipboard to the front desk. She was sure it would be fine. They were just taking out a clump of cells. When she sat back down, she said, "Did you see those protesters out there?"

Potter frowned. "They're ignorant. Did any of them do anything to you?"

Kami shrugged. She hadn't been called a murderer since her parents and brother were on trial for being Death Eaters. Somehow, this stung more. Maybe because the smallest part of her wondered if these protesters were right, even though it wasn't true. What was true was that she didn't want to do this. She just felt like she should. For once in her life, she should do the right thing. "I just feel…"

"We have time to talk about it," Potter said. "It's been less than a month."

"Kamelia Malfoy," a nurse called out. She seemed kind, neutral, like Potter was trying to be. Kami's legs suddenly felt like lead. She couldn't get up. The nurse repeated, "Kamelia Malfoy."

"Give her a moment," Potter said.

The nurse raised her eyebrows but not in a judgmental way. She seemed surprised, although Kami wasn't sure about what. "You can come with her, if you'd like, sir. Until it is time for the procedure."

Potter nodded and held out a hand to help Kami up. She forced herself to take it and stand up. This would all be over soon. It had to be over soon. Do the right thing. Do the right thing.

"I don't want to," she whispered. Potter froze and didn't let go of her hand. "I'm sorry. I-I don't want to."

"Er…" Potter shook his head at the nurse and started leading her away. The secretary showed them the backdoor, which was, thankfully, free of protesters, but Kami could still hear their chants. The one that stuck with her the most was the one that yelled slut. "What now? I-I mean, sorry. I just… It's a lot."

"I know. Trust me." Kami hung her head. "I just can't."

"I know," Potter said. "It's okay. Really. We'll just… be parents."

And with that, Kami did what she did in her spare time lately. Cried like a baby. Like the baby she was going to have.

"I'm sorry." Harry didn't know what else to say. They apparated to a café and ordered sandwiches. After spending all night thinking about how he wasn't going to be a dad, he suddenly was again. What was he going to tell Sirius and Remus?

Kamelia picked at her sandwich and said nothing. That gave Harry's mind time to race. It was still early. What if she changed her mind again? And then again? He wasn't sure if he could take it.

"So…" And if she did keep it, what would become of the two of them? Harry had zero feelings for her right now except pity and guilt. He had no idea what to say, and what he did want to say, he didn't know how to say it without making her cry again. "We'll just take some time to get used to this, I guess."

Kamelia nibbled on her sandwich. Half the time he spoke to her, she looked surprised, like she expected him to be an asshole, which bothered him. They weren't kids anymore. They didn't hate each other anymore. In fact, in Harry's eyes, given the circumstances, they couldn't. "My parents are going to be so angry with me."

"Is that your biggest worry?" Harry asked. Because his was the obvious. Being a parent. He always thought that he'd be married. If he wasn't, he'd always thought that he would have a child with Ginny. She had never wanted to get married. She'd told him so. She said she never wanted to get married or have children, which broke Harry's heart. They loved each other but wanted different things out of life.

"Yes," Kamelia said, bringing him back to reality. "If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have… I wouldn't have even thought of getting rid of it."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't then." Was he? Harry's mind was still spinning, and all he could think about was talking to Ginny about this, which made him feel guilty. "I-I mean… I don't want you to do anything you don't want to. I'll support you, if you change your mind again."

Kamelia laughed bitterly. "Oh really, Potter? The first words out of your mouth when I showed you the piss stick was that you were going to be a dad."

Harry stuttered for a moment, not knowing what to say. She was being incredibly rude, but she was telling the truth. "It's your decision."

The realization made her seem troubled. At least she didn't cry again as she put her barely eaten sandwich in a napkin before stuffing it in her purse. "I have to go. I guess I'll see you around?"

Harry rose from his seat and held out his hand. "Friends?"

It seemed like she was going to laugh again, albeit this time crazily. But Kamelia took his hand and held it for a minute before shaking it. "Friends."

"So what was this big emergency?" Ginny asked as she stepped through the floo. She had a bottle of wine, but after taking one look at his face, she transfigured it into vodka. "What's wrong?"

Harry didn't say anything until she poured him a shot. He held it in his hand but didn't drink it. "We were never going to work out, were we?"

Ginny sat next to him. They still had sex occasionally, and judging by her outfit and curled hair, she thought today was going to be one of those occasions. The smell of her perfume once drove him wild. Now, it only made him sad.

"No." Her voice had a finality in it. "You're my best friend, and I want you to be happy. And that wouldn't be with me."

"I fucked up." His voice cracked mid-sentence, and she put an arm around his shoulders, not even asking what was wrong. "I love you."

"There's someone else," Ginny said quietly. Harry shook his head and then shrugged. "It's okay. I knew this would happen eventually."

"I had a one off." Harry paused. Ginny wouldn't care about that, but she would about his next sentence. "She's pregnant."

Ginny's eyes widened, but she didn't get angry. How could she? She left him. "That's… wow. What are you going to do?"

"I have no fucking clue." Harry knew what she meant. About her. About Kamelia. "It's Kamelia Malfoy."

He expected her to get mad or feel bad for him. Something negative. Instead, Ginny threw her head back and laughed. "You've got to be joking. Kingsley's secretary? Malfoy's sister?"

"The one and only," Harry muttered. "At the moment, I can only get tears and occasional sarcasm, followed by more tears from her."

"At least you know she's not using you for your fame." Ginny snorted. Then, she forced herself to be serious. The corners of her mouth twitched though. "It will be okay, Harry."

He needed to hear that, but he still put his face in his hands. His shoulders shook with the effort not to cry, especially when Ginny told him that they would always be friends no matter what. What was he going to do?

Two weeks later, the nausea set in. Kami was in a meeting. A rather important one at that, taking notes with commentary for Kingsley. There was a proposal to make Wolfsbane mandatory for all werewolves. And it was when there was discussion of potential side effects and allergies that Kami vomited her breakfast all over her lap.

She did it rather quietly, or at least what she thought was quietly. Therefore, only half of the decrepit Wizengamot noticed. Beady, rheumy eyes stared at her while the other old men and women droned on. Kingsley raised his eyebrows, but spelled the sick away and quickly told her take the rest of the day off. Kami didn't trust herself to speak and hurried off.

The floo trip home made her immediately rush to the toilet. Kami locked the door with her wand and spent a few good minutes retching. She barely had time to clean herself up before there was a knock at the door.

"Are you sick?" Draco was so fucking nosey as he spelled open the door effortlessly. "You never take off work."

"You never work," Kami snapped back. Draco smirked and waited for her answer. "Yes. It's very contagious. I guess I'll be skipping your birthday this weekend."

Draco looked around her bathroom, trying to find some evidence to blackmail her with. He settled for trying to pick away at her instead. "Mother thinks your depressed. She thinks it's because you're becoming of spinster age and are realizing you'll never have a husband or children."

Kami wanted to laugh, but she knew if she thought too deeply about Draco's words, she'd start crying. "Are they here?"

"No." And then he waited, knowing that was code for I have a secret to tell you. "Neither's Astoria."

"I…" She almost said am having a baby. But that sounded too real. They walked in her room and sat on her bed like when they were kids. Except now they weren't gossiping or talking about secret crushes. "… am up the duff."

Draco laughed. "Very funny. Is that what you plan to say when Mother has another suitor show up to family dinner? Because you'll probably kill her and have to deal with her ghost trying to set you up."

Kami waited for Draco to stop laughing and making up ridiculous scenarios. Finally, after a minute or two, he stopped laughing at his own jokes and realized how serious she was. Then, he gave her a once over like she would suddenly become nine months pregnant before his eyes.

"Are you kidding me?" he hissed. "I thought you liked Blaise!"

"And you know as well as I do that, he's gay," Kami snapped. "And that was when we were like twelve!"

Draco snorted. "Like seventeen."

"Still seven years ago," Kami growled.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I didn't know you were seeing anyone."

That took all the fire out of Kami. Not only did she have to tell her parents she was having a child out of wedlock, but she also had to tell them that she wasn't even seeing the bloke, that they had just recently agreed to being 'friends.' "I'm not."

All the jokes instantly died on Draco's lips. Even he seemed appalled. In fact, he sounded a little angry when he asked, "Who?"

"No one," Kami said stubbornly.

Draco sneered at her. "Claiming immaculate conception is so Muggle."

He was going to find out eventually. Potter was probably out there celebrating right now. I'm going to be a dad? Kami could still hear those words clear as day. Whether she liked it or not, Potter was going to be in her life forever now.

Like she was telling him that she had an incurable disease, Kami quietly said, "Potter."

Potter the halfblood. That was going to put the final nail on her coffin. She was having a baby, not married, not even in a relationship, and having a baby with a halfblood. She might as well start packing her things now. Maybe she should start searching the papers for flats.

Draco voiced her thoughts. "You are so fucked."

"Shut up!" But Kami knew he was right. She was living on borrowed time. "What am I going to do? I can't tell them I had a one off with Potter!"

"Does Potter know?" Again, he seemed angry. Perhaps the old rivalry was bubbling up because this was just as much Kami's fault as Potter's. She should have taken a potion the day after or asked Potter to cast a spell.

Kami halfheartedly pushed his shoulder. "Yes. He's actually been incredibly kind."

"Hmmm… I have an idea." Uh oh. Draco grinned, knowing she wasn't going to like it. "Ask Potter to pretend you're in a relationship and that its serious enough to meet Mother and Father. Then "breakup" with him a week or two later. And then tell Mum and Dad that you're pregnant but aren't getting back together."

"How is that going to be any better in their eyes?" Kami asked, but she knew that it would. She couldn't look her parents in the eye and tell them what really happened. "I can't ask him that."

Draco huffed. "It's the least he can do. You have to carry his sprog until…?"

"February." Kami did the math as best she could. She was going to be a mother in February.

"And you'll have to watch it while he's out saving the world," he added. "You're not going to get much help."

"That's not true." It probably was though. Potter loved his job. She loved hers too. Now she had another thing to worry about. "I don't know, Draco. Just shut up about this for a while."

Draco shrugged like it was no big deal. "Fine. I'll just sit back and enjoy the shit show."

"How are you?" Potter showed up at her office later that week with a box of donuts and coffee. Her stomach turned at the very thought. Kingsley didn't seem to notice.

"Don't mind if I do." Kingsley took Kami's coffee and opened the box of donuts to take a crème filled one. "How are you, Harry?"

Potter stared for a moment until Kingsley started laughing and handed Kami the coffee. She shook her head and turned away from the cup to try to avoid the smell. Kingsley shrugged and took the coffee and donut to his office. He didn't shut the door though, shamelessly letting Kami know that he fully intended on listening into their conversation.

"How are you?" Potter repeated awkwardly. "I… haven't heard from you."

Kami shrugged. "I work."

"But she's done around dinner time tonight! Six o'clock!" Kingsley called from his office. Wait until he found out why Potter was really there.

Potter perked up. "Would you like to go out? We could check out a store later and look at things."

We have until February, Kami wanted to say. Instead, she stated what was even more obvious. "You're excited, aren't you?"

Potter blushed. She supposed it was better than not excited. Why couldn't she be excited? Her parents' faces quickly popped into her head. Potter was blunt as ever when he said, "Yes. I've always wanted… This… this is wonderful, actually."

Kami's heart swelled with an emotion she couldn't describe. She found herself wiping her eyes. "Dinner sounds great."

This wasn't a date, Harry told himself over and over again. Still, he found himself nervous. What he told Kamelia was true. He was excited. He was going to be a dad! For some reason, before this had all happened, he had sadly given up on the idea of parenthood. And that reason was currently getting ready for a Quidditch match.

"You sure you don't want to go?" Sirius asked for the millionth time.

Harry nodded. Sirius liked to barge into his flat whenever he wanted. "I told you that I have something to do."

"What?" his godfather demanded.

"Sirius," Remus chided. "He's rather dressed up and has evening plans. Perhaps he needs some privacy."

But Sirius knew exactly how Harry felt about Ginny. Worse, he hadn't given up on the two of them like everyone else had. "Why would you want to waste your time on a date when you could watch Ginny's game?"

"Sirius!" Remus almost desperately wanted Harry to move on.

"Actually," Harry said before Remus could smack his godfather. He was probably excited for him since Harry hadn't really dated anyone besides Ginny since his Hogwarts days. "It's not exactly a date." Well, here goes nothing. Unlike Kamelia, he wasn't going to hide this. He wasn't ashamed. "I am seeing a friend…"

Sirius threw his hands in the air. "Then bring him!"

"I told her that we'd do something else," Harry said. He paused. Even Remus was going to be surprised, which was rare. "We're having a baby."

Silence. He expected silence. After that, he didn't know what to expect. Sirius, for once in his life, was speechless. Wait until he found out who the lucky lady was.

"We didn't realize there was someone." Remus, mercifully, stopped himself from saying someone else. "But you say she's a friend?"

Harry shrugged. "It was a one-time thing."

Sirius opened and closed his mouth like a fish. "How do you know it's yours then?"

Even Remus seemed interested in his answer. Honestly, Harry hadn't given it much thought. He just instantly believed Kamelia. Now that he thought about it though, with her family, if she was going to just pick a potential father out of multiple people she'd slept with, she was better off picking literally anyone else. "I just know, okay."

"We just don't want you getting hurt," Remus said worriedly. "When are we going to meet her?"

"I need to talk to her," Sirius said, earning him a smack from Remus. "Hey! I—"

"I'm going to be late." Harry checked his watch. He wasn't, but he wasn't going to risk it. Sirius's melodrama could drag on if he wasn't kept in check. "We'll talk later."

"Harry." He only stopped because it was Remus. His old professor smiled at him. "Congratulations." Sirius looked appalled but then thought about it for a moment and nodded.

"Thanks." Wish me luck, Harry thought.

Kami wished she hadn't agreed. She felt so sick that she just wanted to crawl into bed. But if she skipped dinner at home again, she'd have to deal with the questions. She was actually dozing in her chair when Potter knocked on the doorway. He cleared his throat when she jumped, making Kami's face flush.

"You feeling alright?" he asked, concerned.

Kami shrugged. "Just nauseous. But I haven't eaten today, so I probably should do that... I didn't feel like I can keep anything down."

"Is that normal?" he asked. "We don't have to go out. I can order in, so you can relax, or reschedule. Does Kingsley know?"

"No." And she wanted to keep it that way. Kingsley was so oblivious about some things, that she had a feeling he wouldn't notice until she told him she had to go on maternity leave. "I don't want him to fire me."

Potter laughed like any of this was funny. "If Kingsley ever fired you, he'd somehow instantly lose everything and be begging you to come back within fifteen minutes."

Kami found herself smiling. "Where do you want to go?"

They were at a nice Muggle restaurant. Kami wondered if he was trying to impress her because Potter seemed to struggle as he looked at the menu. She found herself smiling as she tried to find the blandest thing possible.

"How have you been?" he eventually asked. Kami shrugged. She wished she could fast forward to February. Everyone would be happy then. Her parents couldn't resist their first grandchild, could they? "I told Sirius and Remus before I left."

"What?" It took Kami a moment to realize she had said that out loud. "Sorry. I wish I didn't have to tell anyone. I wish they'd just know and be happy."

"I mean, eventually they're going to figure it out," Potter said slowly. Then, he looked embarrassed. "Sorry! Sorry! I mean you don't look… but, er, eventually you will." As if worried that that would insult her, he quickly added, "But-but maybe you won't! Maybe you'll be small the whole time."

Kami tried to keep a straight face. She couldn't even look offended like she wanted to. She ended up laughing so hard she snorted, making him sigh in relief. When she calmed down, she informed him, "I told my brother."

That earned her a wince. "How'd that go?"

"He said he's going to sit back and enjoy the shit show." There was no way she was going to tell him about Draco's little plot.

His mouth quirked into a smile as he turned to the waitress to order. Kami thanked her lucky stars he didn't order anything too smelly. She just picked baked chicken and vegetables. "Anyway, I gave Sirius and Remus quite the shock."

"I'll bet." Kami wondered how much Sirius Black was hating her right now.

"But they weren't mad," Potter said quickly. "I'll probably talk more about it to them soon. Anyway, is there anything you need? Even if it's just to be there when you tell your parents."

That would be the icing on the cake. She could already hear her mother crying. Kami shook her head. "I'm not telling them any time soon."

Potter raised his eyebrows but said nothing more on it. "So… Would you be okay with checking out a Muggle store?"

"I wouldn't be able to work at the Ministry if I wasn't okay with Muggles," Kami said bluntly. "Maybe ten years ago, but not now."

"Good to know."

They sat in awkward silence until the food came. Kami wrinkled her nose but forced herself to eat. She had a feeling she was feeling so bad from not eating all day. Hopefully this won't go on much longer.

"I'm on desk duty right now," Potter told her. "I had a concussion, but I think I'll ask to stay on for a while. It will make things easier."

"Okay." Kami held back the urge to gag. "Sorry. I'm not feeling well."

Potter nodded, and the awkward silence continued throughout dinner.

Harry was surprised that Kamelia wanted to go to the baby store. She looked rather peaky, but he supposed it couldn't be helped. Unless it could… The only thing Harry knew about pregnancy was from sitcoms that he fell asleep to occasionally. He was glad they went though. She looked happy.

"I always pictured myself with a little boy," she told him. She was holding a soft blue bear, running her thumb over it lovingly. "I think it's a boy."

"Get it," Harry pushed. "You can keep whatever you want at my flat. Actually…" He reached into his pocket and handed her a piece of paper. "Here's my floo address. Come over any time."

"Harry's Flat." She grinned. "How creative."

"I thought of it myself." They smiled at each other and walked through the store. Kamelia could only settle on the bear while Harry wanted to buy everything in sight, reminding him of when Hagrid took him to Diagon Alley. He didn't have much as a kid and wanted things to be different for his own.

"We have time you know," she told him. "It's a little early for a crib."

"Sorry." Harry smiled in embarrassment. Then, he realized that he didn't have a place for the crib and was going to have to get a two-bedroom flat instead of his one. There was so much to do.

She shook her head. "I like that you're happy. It lets me be happy too."

Harry felt bad for her but pushed it to the side. She had to tell her parents. Things would blow over eventually, but she was dragging it out and making herself miserable. This was unexpected, but he was all in. He had always wanted children, but never thought that was going to happen. Now it was.

They browsed the store, chatting about the future until it was near closing time. Harry resisted buying half the store, and they just settled on the teddy bear.

"Watch it be a girl," he said with a smile. They looked at each other, and Harry couldn't help but thinking about kissing her. She seemed to be waiting too, but neither of them was brave enough to make the move. Tonight was good, and it needed to stay that way. "I'll see you?"

Kamelia nodded. "I have an appointment for a checkup at Saint Mungo's Monday, if you'd like to come."

"I'll be there," he said without hesitation. Again, she seemed shocked that he wasn't being a jerk. Before Harry could comment on this, she practically threw herself at him and hugged him tightly.

"Sorry," she said as soon as she tore herself away. She apparated home before he could tell her that she didn't need to apologize.

"How are you dealing with all this?" Remus asked. As he fully expected, Harry came home from work the next day to see Sirius and Remus over for dinner. Sirius's favorite Chinese food was on the table, probably a bribe from Remus to keep him on his best behavior.

Harry grabbed himself a butterbeer and tossed one to Remus and then to Sirius. "I was upset at first, but after thinking about, I… I'm happy. I want this."

That seemed to be enough for Remus, but of course, not for Sirius. "How do you know it's yours? It's not rude to ask for a paternity test, Harry. It's not like you two were committed to each other."

For once in his life, Sirius was being reasonable, but it still made Harry's blood boil. Therefore, he didn't hesitate to rip the band aid off and snap, "I highly doubt Kamelia Malfoy would lie about me being the father since you know, I'm not a pureblood or with her or anything like that. She has money and a job and has never given a flying fuck about me being The Chosen One or any of that shit. So I think I know, Sirius."

"What?" Sirius finally said once he got his wits about him.

Meanwhile, Remus said, "The Charity Ball." Harry felt his face heat up from embarrassment. "I recall you not even noticing Gabrielle Delacour asking you to dance because you were laughing too hard with Kamelia."

"He was drunk," Sirius accused. "Maybe even drugged."

Remus, as usual, intervened before Harry could lose his shit on Sirius. "As I recall from my time as a professor, Kamelia was all bark and no bite. She's rude and can be offensive, but she would never hurt anyone, and she wouldn't lie about something like this, Padfoot."

"I need to talk to her," was all Sirius said.

"Leave her alone," Harry growled.

"You like her!" Sirius was acting like he committed a crime. Harry sure felt like he was on trial anyway. "And you don't even know if—"

"I KNOW!" Harry yelled. Even Remus seemed startled. "Sirius, I swear to God, you won't be welcome here anymore if you don't respect her."

"Sirius, it's his first child," Remus whispered.

With a sigh, Sirius dug into his Chinese food. "Fine. We'd love to meet her."

Harry glared at him but started making himself a plate too. His godfather was on thin ice.

Harry expected a visit from Draco Malfoy eventually. What he didn't expect was a punch in the face as soon as he shut the door to his office. They tussled for a few minutes before Malfoy finally spoke.

"What the fuck did you do to my sister?" he rasped once Harry had him in a headlock.

"We had sex, and I got her pregnant," Harry hissed, just to bother him. Finally, after struggling for a few more seconds, he let Malfoy go.

Malfoy threw his hands up in anger, gasping for air and trying to look tough at the same time. "Ah yes. Maybe the papers will start calling you Potter the Virgin Slayer from now on, you fucking prick!"

"Wait, what?" Oh no. She didn't tell him that he took her virginity. Harry's guilt came back in full force. No wonder she was so afraid to tell her parents.

Malfoy laughed. "You didn't know?" And like the git that he was, he went on, not sparing Harry's, or Kamelia's, feelings. "She's never even been on a date before, let alone kissed someone! And you get her up the duff like a fucking animal!"

"I… She's twenty-four!" How was he supposed to know?!

Malfoy shoved him, and this time, Harry didn't immediately start fighting back. "You make this right. Marry her."

What the fuck? And this was only the beginning. Only one of the Malfoys knew. Harry still had to deal with Lucius and Narcissa. "What? No! I don't like her like that, Malfoy!"

That earned him another punch in the face. Harry found himself putting all the anger about this situation into their fight. Kamelia would be so much better off if her family could be supportive and not stuck in the 1800s. This time Proudfoot in the office next door had to break them up.

"So…"

Kami looked up from the memo she was writing to see Potter's face, swollen and red. With a gasp, she hopped out of her seat, ignoring the dizziness that followed. He held his hands up to show that he was okay and tried to smile in spite of his swollen cheeks.

"So I am on desk duty for a while," he informed her. "… after my suspension is over."

"What happened?" she squeaked. Potter, the Golden Boy, suspended? Hell must have frozen over.

"Your brother," Potter said after Kami conjured a chair and a bag of ice. "I said I started the fight so he wouldn't get arrested."

"The bastard!" Kami yell whispered as she put the ice pack to his face. He put his hand over hers, and Kami hesitated before letting hers slip away. "Just wait until I get home!"

Potter shook his head. "I'm worried about you. I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had never…"

Of course. Of course, Draco told him! Kami turned scarlet and backed away from him. She folded her arms over her stomach and leaned on her desk. "It's not like I didn't want to."

"I know," he assured her, "but that's why you're so afraid, isn't it? Because your parents think that you've never…"

Kami glared at him but said nothing. "Do you want me to take you to St. Mungo's?"

Potter shook his head, probably sensing the potential fight. She was fully prepared to take her anger at Draco out on him. "No. I'll see you there Monday."

"Fine."

"How are you?" Harry asked awkwardly at St. Mungo's the following Monday.

Kamelia shrugged. "I threw up on my brother's birthday cake Saturday, faked the flu for the rest of the weekend, and am now here making sure I'm not dying, according to my mum. However, I will say that it was the perfect revenge against Draco, so I'll take this weekend as a win."

Harry smiled, not sure what to say. "Well, I'm glad I guess."

She turned to him but seemed satisfied once she realized that he wasn't going to bring up what Malfoy had told him. "How are you? I know you said you were recovering from a concussion before my brother beat you up."

"He didn't beat me up!" Harry stubbornly added, "We fought."

Kamelia laughed slightly but jumped when her name was called. As she went in, Harry waited five minutes like they had discussed through owl post. If they were seen going in together, the papers would start speculating and probably figure out what was going on before she could tell her parents.

When Harry came in, they were discussing a potion for her nausea. It sounded much worse than she had let on before. She was confessing to the healer that there were some days that she couldn't even keep water down, making her afraid to eat or drink until she was done work for the day.

"I'm writing you a script," the healer told her. "But this should clear up in the next two or three months." Two or three months? The healer barely glanced at Harry. "Do you have any allergies?"

Kamelia shook her head and smiled in embarrassment at Harry. "No. I don't think so." Then, she suddenly wouldn't look at him. "When will I, you know, start getting bigger?"

That was why. Because she knew Harry would have a problem with her not telling her parents until she absolutely had to. Honestly, it was started to worry him. What if she just didn't tell them? What if she was one of those women who hid the pregnancy until she went into labor?

"Are you alright, sir?" The healer, Patel, had a thick accent that Harry couldn't quite place. Then, he realized why Kamelia had picked her. She was clearly new to this country and didn't recognize him.

"Y-yeah." Harry rubbed the back of his head. He had a million questions and felt like an idiot for wanting to ask them.

"Nervous?" She smiled when Harry nodded. "Very common with first time fathers!" Then, she turned back to Kamelia. "So, it is different for everyone. Most first-time mothers don't show until sixteen weeks or later or earlier, depending on your body. Some barely do until the third trimester!"

That seemed to lift a big weight off her shoulders. Harry wanted to walk up to Lucius and Narcissa and hex them both. His kid will never be this afraid of him. He would make sure of it. Before Harry knew it, it was time for the scan.

"I think it's a boy," Kamelia said as she lifted her shirt to just above her ribs. She seemed so happy now that she thought she could keep her secret for another few months. "Can you tell?"

"Not yet," the healer said as she waved her wand over Kamelia's abdomen. "In twelve weeks."

"That's so long…" Before she could complain further, an image appeared over her stomach. Harry's throat tightened. It actually looked like a baby. A fucked up deformed looking baby, but a baby all the same. "Why does he look like that?"

Harry gave her a halfhearted glare, but the healer merely laughed. "He or she is still developing. Remember, a few weeks ago, the fetus was just a bundle of cells."

Kamelia smiled and looked at Harry. "He looks just like you."

Harry found himself too mesmerized to say anything, especially when the healer cast a spell so they could listen to the baby's heartbeat. He couldn't wait to meet him or her. "Wow…"

The baby was due towards the beginning of February. Kami was given a few prescriptions, but everything was fine. Potter was staring at the pictures from the scan. The healer gave left to give them some privacy.

"Can you keep these for me?" Kami asked. Maybe she could keep her copy in her desk at work. But what if Kingsley saw or someone at work who would gossip? Kingsley would be too over the moon to keep a secret.

Potter looked up from his pictures. He looked annoyed, then a little sad. "This is getting ridiculous, Kamelia. Is it really going to be that bad? I'll fucking tell them at this point."

Kami tried to picture telling her parents. Mum was definitely going to cry. After that… "I don't think either of them will want anything to do with me."

"So what's it going to be like when the baby's born?" Potter said slowly. "Because I don't want my kid around people like that."

Kami wanted to bristle and defend her parents, but all she felt was defeat. She grabbed her bag and started to leave. "I don't know, Potter. I just don't know."

Sunday morning. Kami fully planned to spend it crying in the shower when there was a knock on her door. She forced her eyes open to see her mother, who tossed pink dress robes on her bed.

"Marcus Flint's here," she gushed. Ew. "For brunch!"

Kami sat up and narrowed her eyes. They had this battle every few months ever since she turned seventeen. "I don't like him. Not happening."

"You don't know him," Mother corrected. "Get up, Kamelia. You are running out of eligible bachelors who would accept a woman your age."

"No," Kami snapped. She hated Marcus Flint. He was so obnoxious.

Mother put her hands on her hips. "It's the Minister isn't, it? You're in love with him."

"What? No!" He was like her dad! But Kami knew better than to say that out loud.

Of course, Mother didn't believe her. "He'd never marry someone who files his paperwork. He'll just use you and pay you off once you're carrying his bastard. You will not shame our family like this, Kamelia. You are too innocent to understand such things. Now… it's time to get ready."

Maybe it was the hormones. Maybe it was desperation to keep her secret. But most of all, it was the desire to be nowhere near Marcus Flint. Kami threw her covers off dramatically and started heading to the bathroom. "Actually. I can't. I have a date. With my boyfriend, also known as Not Kingsley."

"What?"

Kami straightened up and clung to the bathroom door. It was like Draco had stuck and hand up her ass and was using her like a puppet to enact his plan. "Yes. Not Kingsley and I are very serious."

"Who?" Mother hissed. "What's his surname?"

Oh fuck. Kami settled for moodiness and slammed her bathroom door shut. "I have to get ready."

"KAMELIA!"

Harry had to say that breakfast with Remus and Sirius was going great. Sirius had four waffles and hadn't once implied that he should get a paternity test. He even wanted to see the scan photos. Then the floo lit up.

"I am so fucked!" Kamelia yelled before she even was fully out of the floo. She didn't see Sirius and Remus until the smoke cleared. Then, they just stared at each other. None of them knew what to say.

Remus, of course, was the peacekeeper. "Kamelia! We've been eager to welcome you into our family."

Sirius glared at her. "What's the matter, cousin?"

Kamelia opened and closed her mouth several times. She seemed alright, but Harry found himself worrying all the same. "Did you tell your parents?"

She laughed crazily. "Do I look like I've been pushed down the stairs?"

Harry clenched his jaw. "That's not funny."

"Would you like breakfast?" Remus offered kindly. "Or perhaps you would like to some time alone with Harry?"

"Your parents don't know?" Of course, Sirius had to comment on that. "I can already hear Narcissa crying. Her little flower!" He barked out a laugh before further describing Kami's worst nightmare and ignoring how rigid she had become. "And Lucius! Ha! You might as well start looking for a new place to stay!"

"Sirius," Remus whispered as she started shaking.

"This is going to rival when I left home," Sirius went on. "What was the word that Narcissa had used to describe Andy when she ran off? Wanton, I think."

Harry advanced towards Sirius but stopped when Kami fell to the floor like a ton of bricks. Pure panic enveloped him as he rushed towards her. Remus was there too and checked her pulse just in time for her to open her eyes. "What's your healer's name, sweetie? Sirius and I will fetch her."

"We will?"

Harry told Remus her name and as Kamelia started to mumble in disagreement. Remus was literally dragging Sirius to the floo by the ear. She didn't seem to have much focus, so Harry was afraid to help her up. Eventually, he just picked up her and laid her on the couch.

"I need to eat more," she muttered as she started to wake up a bit. "But that potion doesn't really work. I just-I was already upset and lightheaded…"

"He had no right to say that," Harry said. His heart was racing, but he kept telling himself that the healer was on the way. "What happened?"

"I lied to my mother." Kamelia sat up and brought her knees to her chest. Harry wanted to say that she had been lying to her for over a month now but decided against it. "She keeps trying to set me up. She won't take no for an answer. And I hate Marcus Flint. Then she accused me of being in love with Kingsley and-and I panicked and it's all Draco's fault!"

"What?" Harry glanced at the floo. She seemed alright, just exhausted. Still, he wanted to make sure.

She ran her hands through her hair. "He put this plot into my head! He said we should pretend to be together, "break up," and then tell my parents about the baby, so I'll seem less…"

Harry waited for her to finish. Her eyes glistened with tears, and she seemed absolutely humiliated. "So when she told me that Marcus was downstairs waiting for me, I panicked and said I was going to meet my boyfriend and that it was very serious. I-I didn't say it was you, so I guess I could tell her that I was lying so she'd get off my back."

"But then you're right back where you started," Harry said. She nodded. Honestly… He was going to be stuck around Lucius and Narcissa forever now anyway. Maybe it would be better if they didn't know the full story. "Kamelia—"

"Kami," she corrected.

"Kami," he said, "if that's what it takes for you to tell them, I'll do it."

"Really?" She didn't look happy though. Harry supposed it was sad that she was this afraid of her parents. "They're still going to hate me…"

Before Harry could comment any further, the floo roared to life with Kami's healer. She smiled in a way that told him that Sirius had caused a scene, said hello and started running a few diagnostic spells.

"You've lost half a stone," she said in concern. "The potions still aren't working?" Kami shook her head, like a child in trouble. "We'll try another. My main concern is dehydration. Are you able to keep anything down?"

"Boiled chicken." She sounded disgusted at the thought. "And gummy bears."

"Sounds like a well-balanced diet to me," Sirius said sarcastically. Remus glared at him. "What? You said I needed to be more supportive."

"Eat what you can," the healer said, ignoring Sirius, which was probably for the best. "And you still don't want to stay overnight?" Kami shook her head, pretending she didn't see Harry's eyes boring into her skull. Why didn't she tell him? "Then I want you to come after work every day. I think an IV would be better than a potion in your case."

"It's not going to leave a mark, is it?" she asked. Again, she was probably thinking about her parents. Harry found himself starting to hate them more than he had when he was a kid.

The healer shook her head and smiled sadly. So she knew too. "I'll heal the injection site before it starts to scar."

The healer left, leaving Kamelia, or Kami, looking rather embarrassed. She just sat on the couch, staring at nothing, probably thinking about the mess she had created for herself. Harry was too. He was supposed to be her fake boyfriend for what? A few weeks? Then he would be the bad guy for dumping his pregnant "girlfriend."

"So Kamelia," Remus, back in peacekeeper mode, asked, "how is Kingsley?"

"A hot mess," Kami said without hesitation. "… My mother accused me of being in love with him this morning."

Harry snorted. No wonder she started going along with her brother's plan. "That explains a lot."

"So Harry," Sirius said happily, "are you going to invite your new friend to Sunday dinner at the Weasleys tonight?" Just wait until Kami left…

"How Slytherin of you, cousin." Kami gave her best fake smile. Sirius flushed with embarrassment but, unfortunately, didn't back down.

"Harry goes every Sunday," he said. "He's very close with the Weasleys."

"Ginny knows," Harry said, making Sirius jump and Remus laugh to himself. "She knew before you."

"What?" Sirius gasped. Now Kami was staring. She had no idea that he was in love with Ginny. "But-but…"

"But I have to tell Hermione and Ron," Harry warned. Then, he turned to Kami. "They've been trying for over a year. I… I'm not sure how to tell them."

"Oh." Kami held her hands up in surrender. "I-I should go… I…"

"No. I'll tell them. I'm not ashamed." Harry winced at his own accusatory tone. He should try to put himself in her shoes, but it was hard. He wanted this baby, and she was trying to hide it.

She clearly didn't like what he had to say but also didn't have a defense for it either. "I'll go."

After Remus and Sirius left, Harry made Kami some dry toast. She seemed to be able to choke it down, but fifteen minutes into the program they were watching, she was dry heaving by the toilet after throwing up every bit of food she had managed to force down. Harry found himself holding her hair and trying not to gag himself.

"I'm sorry," he found himself saying.

Her cheek was on the toilet seat and her eyes were red from crying and gagging so hard at the same time. "How many butts have touched this seat?"

Harry laughed, although he wanted to cry himself now that it was over. He had never seen someone so sick. "I'm a bit of an introvert, so not many."

Kami paused and then admitted, "I don't have the energy to get up."

"Can I get you some water?" he asked.

She shook her head. "That'll make it happen again."

"Okay…" Eventually, Harry got up and returned with a book, an unread mystery novel that Hermione had given him for his last birthday. When he started reading to her, she gave him that shocked look again, like she was surprised that he just didn't just decide to be an asshole and leave her on the bathroom floor.

Once some of the color returned to her face, she crawled next to where he was leaning against the tub. Harry conjured her some soda water, which she wrinkled her nose at but sipped until it was all gone. By the time he was on chapter 3, she was sound asleep with her head on his shoulder.

Kami woke up in horror to see that she had fallen asleep on Potter. He was shaking her shoulder and smiling apologetically. Worse, he seemed halfway through the novel he had just started when she was ready to pass out again on the bathroom floor. How long had she been there?!

"I didn't want to wake you…" With a groan, he stood up and stretched. Kami checked her watch to see it was four o'clock. It had been four hours! Like it was no big deal, Potter held out his hand to help her up. Kami hoped she didn't smell like vomit. "How are you feeling? I'm going to tell the Weasleys I can't make it to dinner."

It took Kami a moment to process what he was saying. Black already hated her. She wasn't about to make it worse. "No! No. I'll go."

"I think you should get that IV," he said, sounding concerned. Kami didn't want to admit it had been like this for days. It was only getting worse, and she found herself hiding at home, pretending to have dinner in her room while working.

"It shouldn't take that long." What if it was like until the baby was born? "And if it does, you don't have to stay."

"I want to," he said firmly, making Kami's heart flutter.

"Okay…"

Harry was surprised how Kami looked so much less… half dead after going to St. Mungo's. She just looked tired and slightly uncomfortable as he helped her out of the floo to the Burrow. She looking around the living room, seeming more curious than anything else. When Ron spotted them, his usual loud voice made her jump.

"Oi! Hermione look! You owe me five sickles!" he hollered. Hermione appeared from the kitchen where she was probably helping Mrs. Weasley. "See! I told you they'd start dating!"

"What?" Harry asked, as Kami behind him turned pink.

Hermione glared at him and turned to Harry. "Ron thought you and Kamelia would start dating after seeing you at the charity ball. I guess he was right…"

"Actually… We're just friends." Friends who were going to fake date and fake break up.

"Then what's she doing here?" Ron said rudely.

"Ronald!"

"What?"

"What do you mean what?"

"Well, that's the thing." Harry took a deep breath and looked at Kami. "We did, er, connect that night." Kami snorted. "And… we're having a baby."

Silence. Harry expected it, but suddenly, he felt guilty. They desperately wanted a baby, and now, Harry did too, but Hermione was on hormones. They were constantly in and out of the healers' office. Ron said Hermione cried every month when she got her period.

"Just like that," Hermione said flatly. "After one time?"

Harry rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah…"

Ron looked grim but got up and clapped Harry on the back. "Congrats, mate."

"Congratulations," Hermione mumbled. Then, she turned away. "I'm going to go for a walk."

Kami felt guilty when Granger came back red eyed. She picked at her food and didn't even really notice that no one was talking to her until Mrs. Weasley piped up.

"Harry, dearest, how are you going to bring a date over and talk to my daughter the entire evening?" she asked sweetly, scary sweetly, Dolores Umbridge level sweetly.

Potter blinked in surprise, like he had forgotten Kami was there. No wonder Black made a comment about the youngest Weasley. Potter was clearly very much in love with her. Kami darkly wondered if Potter had cheated on Ginevra with her.

"Oh… it's not a date," Potter said. He squirmed under Mrs. Weasley's stare.

"They're just friends," Granger said tightly.

Now Ginevra was staring her. Kami tried not to remember that she herself couldn't fight her way out of a paper bag. But Ginevra just shrugged. "Still rude, Harry. The only one that really knows her here is Percy, and they clearly don't like each other."

"T-that's not true!" Percy squeaked. It's very true.

"Sorry," Potter apologized, looking mortified.

"It's not your fault that Percy doesn't like me," Kami said lightly. Percy was having a mini-stroke.

"No, I mean…" Potter sighed and then turned to the rest of the Weasleys. "We're having a baby, so I'd like Kami, and eventually the baby, to be welcome here."

Percy was the first one to speak, and of course, he was thinking of work. "Does the Minister know?!"

Kami stared at him blankly for a moment and then said, "Yeah. He was there. He performed the dark ritual to ensure—"

"Kingsley doesn't know," Potter said quickly.

Ginevra grinned. "Oh I like her."

"Kingsley needs to know," Percy pressed. "What if he can't perform his duties because you're incapacitated?"

Usually, Kami made Percy blow up. Maybe she was having a mood swing because all of the sudden, she was ready to lose her shit. "Incapacitated? I can still work!"

"She can," Mrs. Weasley said slowly. "I'm sure Audrey would agree if she weren't on a business trip."

Kami tutted, acting like she was laughing at him for getting in trouble with him mum, but inside, she was still stewing. Maybe because part of her worried he was right. She was so sick right now. And what would happen after the baby was born?

"Kami will tell Kingsley when she's ready," Potter said.

"Percy can tell him," Kami snapped. "Since he's so worried."

"To be a fly on the wall at these meetings," Ginevra said quietly. Then, she pushed Potter's shoulder playfully, making Kami turn away. "See? They don't like each other."

"That's not true," Percy muttered in defeat.

Awkward small talk ensued for the rest of dinner. Kami found it weird that Mrs. Weasley kept hinting at her and Potter dating, so it was a relief when Potter nudged her and told her it was time to leave. Kami jumped, feeling her face flush when she realized she was falling asleep into her chocolate cake. She found herself taking a step back when Potter and Ginevra hugged goodbye. They held each other just long enough for it to get awkward.

Kami seemed a little woozy when she came out of the floo, making Harry worry. She looked sick, but thankfully, she didn't rush to the bathroom like he thought she would. Instead, she asked, "Do you think you'll ever have more children?"

Harry blinked in surprise. This one wasn't even here yet. "Huh?"

"Well…" Her voice had this odd tone, somewhere between annoyed and uncomfortable. "We aren't together, so I was wondering if you'd ever have children with someone else."

"Oh Ginny doesn't want kids, so I can't really see myself having any," Harry said automatically. As soon as the words left his mouth, he froze. That's what he used to say when family and friends asked him, probably hinting that he should move on from Ginny. The hurt in her eyes left a sinking feeling in his chest. "I-I mean…"

"No, I get it." Now she wouldn't look at him. Great. He shouldn't have sat them near Ginny at dinner. It was like he couldn't help himself around her. "I should go."

"Kami—"

"I'm tired.'

Kami didn't know why she was so bothered by Potter obviously being in love with someone else. She just was. In fact, she was in such a foul mood that she had forgotten the mess she made for herself at home. All three of them were waiting for her. At least Astoria never wanted to be part of these "confrontations" as she called them. Draco had a smirk on his stupid, pointy face.

"You were gone for nearly ten hours," Mother accused. "With-with this mystery boy! Kamelia, we raised you better!"

"Were you alone with him?" Father asked in a way that made Kami want to cry more than she already did. "What's his family name?"

"Perhaps we should meet him," Draco said after seeing how upset Kami was. "He can come to Astoria's birthday dinner Friday."

Mother didn't miss a beat. She knew very well that they covered for each other every chance they got. "With other guests around? No. Saturday. What's his name, Kamelia?"

After the conversation she just had with Potter, Kami couldn't bear to say his name. Ginny Weasley should be having his baby, not her. She barely saw her brother's wide eyes before her vison blurred with tears. "It doesn't matter because it will never work out anyway!"

She ran upstairs to cry herself to sleep before they could say anything.

Kami did her best to cover her misery with makeup the next morning. Draco spotted her just as she was about to head off to work.

"I effortlessly blamed Mother and Father for your little episode last night," he told her. Then, the nosey asshole waited. "What? Is Potter refusing to go along with the plan?"

"No, he agreed," Kami said tersely.

"Then what's the problem?"

Kami shrugged. She wasn't sure why she was so upset, and she sure as hell wasn't going to try to figure it out with Draco. "Hormones."

"Lies." He folded his arms over his chest, waiting.

Kami chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to figure out what to say. Instead of telling him the truth, she pulled one of the million other worries out of her head. "How are they going to treat the baby when its born?"

Draco raised his eyebrows, but thankfully, he bought it. "Ah… Good question. Probably with the usual coldness, passive aggressiveness, and backhanded compliments."

Wonderful. Another thing to cry about. Kami shrugged and went off to work.

After yesterday, I figured you could use a "well balanced breakfast" as Sirius would call it. Can we talk?

-Harry

Kami stared at the note attached to the bag of gummy bears she found on her desk that morning. Kingsley was swooning.

"He fancies you," he gushed.

Ginevra Weasley's face popped into Kami's head. "He doesn't."

"Harry rarely gives any girl the time of day," Kingsley insisted. "And you know how many women throw themselves at him on a daily basis."

"He's just being nice." Kami felt a lump in her throat.

Kingsley shook his head. He was as excited as a thirteen-year-old girl whose friend had an admirer. One would think he had work to do… "I am telling you, Kami. He's serious about you."
"I'm pregnant." He didn't look shocked, making Kami wonder if Percy ignored her sarcasm and told him. "That's why he's being nice. It's his. But we're just friends. … Why aren't you freaking out?"

"You've been getting sick," Kingsley said. "But you aren't sick. You ate half a chicken at lunch the other day. You didn't drink at dinner with the Russian Minster last week, even though it offended him. And… I know would take a lot for Harry to pull his head out of his own ass."

"I'm just his incubator," Kami muttered. Kingsley, who could go all day with ketchup on his dress robes, noticed before her own parents. "He's in love with—"

"He is," Kingsley said bluntly. Kami's heart clenched, which she tried to tell herself there was no reason for. "But it was never going to work out for them. They want different things out of life and need to let each other go."

"I'm not going to be anyone's backup plan, Kingsley." Maybe she said that so nastily because she felt like crying… She would just blame the hormones if he asked…

Kingsley frowned. "You aren't a backup plan. Like I said, they were never meant to be. They fell in love during the War, the hardest parts of their lives. But they were children. This was meant to happen, Kami. You'll see eventually."

"Thanks Professor Trelawney," Kami mumbled.

"Until then," he said brightly, "we have to figure out what you're going to wear."

"What?"

Kingsley grinned. "I responded to Harry's letter. I told him that you'd have dinner Saturday."

Now it was Kami's turn to grin. "That's when my parents want to meet him."

"Oh fuck…"

Harry should have known that typed letter was from Kingsley. He was getting ready for dinner, and Sirius was still laughing after Kami sent him her real response, saying that they would be having dinner with her parents Saturday. He couldn't help but be nervous. Either way, it wasn't going to be pretty when they found out about the baby.

"You're wearing that?" Sirius asked before barking out another laugh. He had on dark jeans and a white dress shirt. "You are going to be eaten alive, Harry! Good thing they're all on probation."

"Narcissa's not," Remus said lightly.

Sirius seemed startled at the thought. "Maybe I should go…"

"No!" Harry said quickly, making Remus laugh. "They… they don't know about the baby, Sirius. And I know you can't keep your big mouth shut."

"Are you telling them tonight?" Remus asked, concerned. "She can always stay with us, if she needs to." Sirius grimaced at the thought.

"No." Harry rubbed the back of his head. "We're going to pretend that we're together, 'breakup' in a few weeks, and then she'll tell them."

Sirius and Remus shared a look. Harry knew it was wrong, but he honestly wanted Kami to be okay with telling them. If this made her do it, then he was all for it. Finally, Sirius spoke. "I know she thinks that's going to make them more receptive, but it's not. They're going to kick her out, Harry, and probably never speak to her again."

Remus sighed. "Let them try, Padfoot. She's having a baby. She probably wants nothing more than her mother, right now."

Harry let them quietly bicker as he headed for the floo. Now he felt like he was heading to the gallows and guilty.

As soon as he stepped through the floo, Harry heard Malfoy laugh. He was smiling evilly, leaning against the armchair his wife was sitting on. Then he saw Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. Their eyes might as well be popping out of their heads. Kami was in silk red dress robes and was staring sadly at her feet, like a child who had been caught red-handed.

"No," Narcissa said loudly. Harry had yet to leave the threshold of the fireplace.

Lucius didn't even say anything. He just grabbed Kami by her arm so harshly that she shrieked. Harry found himself advancing toward them, but Narcissa blocked his path.

"This is not happening," she hissed.

"Mum," Malfoy's wife, Astoria tried. She was ignored. Malfoy whispered something in her ear, making her sigh and shake her head.

"I am not allowing this," Narcissa whispered. "I'm not naïve like my daughter, Potter. I see the five-minute flings you have. And I see how you look at that Weasley girl."

"You can't believe everything you read in the papers, Mrs. Malfoy," Harry said as politely as he could. "Molly Weasley and I broke up ages ago." That earned a snort from Malfoy, causing his mother to round on him.

"You knew about-about this abomination of a union, didn't you?" she accused. "The two of you always cover up for each other!"

"Like when she told you Draco was with her when he was really eloping with me," Astoria said sweetly. Christ, what did he walk into?

Before Narcissa could respond, Lucius and Kami returned. Kami's eyes were watery, and her cheeks were tearstained. Lucius, however, looked stony. His cheek was sporting a red handprint that apparently no one was going to take notice of but Harry.

"Lucius," Narcissa hissed. "Get him out of my home!"

"We're having dinner," Lucius said solemnly.

"Excuse me," Narcissa breathed. "We are not giving my innocent baby to—"

"I said we're having dinner!" he yelled. Harry had to say that he jumped along with Narcissa.

But clearly, Lucius's word was law because even Malfoy and Astoria started heading to what had to be the dining room. The walk had to be one of the top ten awkward moments of Harry's life. And it was only going to get better and better.

"Are you okay?" Harry whispered. Kami didn't answer him.

They sat down. Narcissa's eyes were boring holes into his skull. Lucius sat at the head of the table. Astoria was looking at Harry with sympathy as he sat down next to Kami. Malfoy seemed to be enjoying this.

"Well," he said cheerfully, "looks like the Scared Twenty-Eight is going to become the Scared Twenty-Seven."

"Draco!" Narcissa seemed ready to start screaming, but ever the Malfoy, she took a deep breath and calmed down. "Kamelia probably won't want children anyway. She's a working woman after all."

Malfoy grinned, making his wife give him odd look. Then, her eyes widened, and she looked at Kami. Great. "How convenient," Malfoy said cheerfully. "For you anyway. I for one am looking forward to being an uncle. Maybe I'll be one by next year."

He was pushing her and enjoying it. Narcissa was also taking the bait. "Don't speak about your sister like that! They aren't married!"

"Oh, they'll be married." Malfoy was staring at Harry like a satisfied, overfed cat. Kami's face fell. "Because Kami—"

"Draco beat Harry up a while ago," Kami said quickly. "So he did know, Mummy. And I didn't want to tell you because of how he reacted."

"He didn't beat me up," Harry muttered. "We fought."

Narcissa seemed ready to explode, but thankfully, Lucius butted. "Shut up! All of you! Kamelia, how long has this been going on?"

"Uh…" They probably should have gotten their story straight before dinner. Kami looked at Harry while he had to wrack his brain to figure when his last "five-minute fling," as Narcissa had put it, was in the papers.

"Six months," Harry said quickly. Narcissa narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yeah. Almost exactly," Kami added.

"That calls for a celebration," Malfoy said happily. "Which would you prefer Kami champagne or perhaps—"

"I'm about to stick my fork in your eyes," Kami said viciously. That was when it clicked for Harry. Malfoy had told him to marry his sister. He had put the plan of them faking being together in Kami's head. He wanted Lucius and Narcissa to find out before they could "breakup" to try to force them to get married.

"So Kamelia," Lucius said as if the exchange hadn't occurred, "it never crossed your mind to ask for permission in the last six months?"

"Permission?" Harry was beginning to think Sirius was right. There was no way this was going to work out. They shouldn't even bother. "She's twenty-four. She doesn't need your permission!"

"My daughter comes from a proper family." Narcissa's voice was like ice as the food was brought out. Kami took one look at the ham and darted from the table, leaving him alone with the Malfoys.

"You've got to stop making her cry like that," Astoria lied smoothly. She gave her husband a look, and all insinuations he was about to make instantly died on his lips. "Clearly Draco was chaperoning them."

Now Malfoy was staring at her, and Harry almost smiled. He would be part to blame when his parents finally knew the truth. Kami came back soon after that, and Harry helped her back into her seat, whispering in her ear to ask if she was okay. She nodded, but he could tell it was an effort to remain steady. He put his hand on her back as she sat down and could feel her mother glaring at him.

"Well Draco clearly won't be chaperoning anymore." Narcissa wrinkled her nose at what she saw as an intimate touch, not noticing that Kami seemed like she was light headed.

"What?" Kami asked weakly.

"Your father or I will be with you whenever you are with Potter," Narcissa informed her. Kami stared. "Until this is over."

"Excuse me? No!" Harry found himself more outraged by Kami's lack of freedom than anything else. "Mrs. Malfoy, your daughter is brilliant, one of the smartest people I know. She organized Kingsley, a walking sea of papers, can charm anyone she meets, and-and she's afraid of you! She can handle herself, except when it comes to you and your husband. She's terrified to tell you anything!"

Kami gave him that startled look she always gave him when she expected less of him. Then, she sarcastically mumbled, "That's not true. I tell you guys everything."

Narcissa turned to Kami. "He's improper. And brash."

"And you guys are assholes," Harry found himself saying. Stupid Malfoy was openly smiling. Astoria was covering her mouth to hide her own smile. "So much so that she looks at me like I have three heads when I do anything nice for her. What is wrong with all of you?"

"Genetics, I'm afraid," Malfoy said lightly. "So prepare yourself, Potter."

"Stop making insinuations!" Mrs. Malfoy yelled. Pink blotches started appearing on her cheeks. Thankfully, she seemed to think her son was making jokes to upset her. "Do you want people to think horrible, nasty things about your sister? Worse, say these things? Do you want our friends and family to call her a whore? See, look at what you're doing to her!"

Kami's eyes watered, and Harry had a feeling it was more from Narcissa's words than Malfoy's. She was staring at her, probably picturing the conversation that she planned to have with her in a few weeks. Harry put his hand over hers, but she slid her hand away and looked down at her empty plate.

"Stop proving Potter right!" Lucius snarled. Harry was starting to wonder if this was what a typical dinner was like because Astoria just rolled her eyes and helped herself to some ham and vegetables before continuing to watch these exchanges with a bored look on her face. He tended to picture all families as happy and loving. That was even how he pictured the Dursleys without him when he was at Hogwarts. "Kamelia, stop acting like you didn't create this mess for yourself. Draco, shut up and eat."

"She didn't do anything wrong," Harry defended.

"Yes," Malfoy said lightly. His father glared at him, causing him to plant a big smile on his face before taking a bite of his food and continuing to obnoxiously smile as he chewed and eventually went back to being an asshole. "Kami is so perfect, in your eyes at least, Potter. I think she is poorly educated, but then again, that is Mother's fault, I suppose. Kami, do you even know—"

Kami picked up a small potato and managed to hit him square in the eye, causing him howl dramatically. His wife ignored him, and Kami seemed poised to throw another at him until she got a look from her mother. Malfoy was holding his eye, complaining loudly.

"So we're just going to let this happen?" Narcissa asked Lucius. She sounded disgusted. Harry was beginning to realize that there was no way he was going to let them around the baby. He didn't know how he was going to tell Kami. If Sirius was right, however, he might not even have to.

But then Lucius surprised him. He nastily told his wife, "Yes. We are. Kamelia is an adult. Perhaps it is time we let her make her own mistakes and deal with the consequences."

"Thanks Dad," Kami said sarcastically.

"He's going to ruin her!" Narcissa hissed. Harry remembered Remus's words. That Kami probably wanted her mother more than anything right now. What would Narcissa do if she knew the truth? He doubted she would be there for her.

"She's not ruined," Harry snapped.

"She will be once she's carrying your bastard!" Narcissa said. Malfoy seemed rather satisfied as Harry jumped out of his seat. Ready to hex her. The only thing that stopped him was Kami squeezing his arm.

"Draco is putting thoughts in your head, Mum," Astoria said calmly. "It's not like you to let him."

There was awkward silence. Harry found himself only becoming angrier. Malfoy was trying to goad everyone until the truth came out. It was working, and Harry didn't even care. His child was not growing up with a family like this. Kami was just sitting there, near tears, listening to her mother talk about their baby like that.

Lucius sighed and started cutting up his food. "Sit down, Potter. You couldn't have expected this to go well."

He was being the most civil, and Harry still wanted to hex him. "I don't like the way that you all treat her. I expected insults towards me, not for you to treat your own daughter like trash."

Lucius and Narcissa looked at each other. Like it was nothing, Lucius shrugged and started eating. Narcissa, however, had the decency to look ashamed. Malfoy sat back in his chair and smiled like some sort of puppet master.

"I…" Kami took a deep breath but still wouldn't look at them. "I was hoping that I meant more to you than tradition."

Narcissa seemed shocked. "You do, my flower… but these traditions exist for a reason. We know what's best for you. Your brother is making these jokes… I don't anything horrible like that happening to you."

Kami finally looked her in the eye, and Harry was relieved to see that she wasn't being a doormat and looked angry. Before she could say anything though, all the food turned black and suddenly smelled like it was rotting. Her eyes widened, and she turned to Harry in a panic, telling him that it must be pregnancy related.

As tempting as it was to let the truth get out, Harry quickly said, "Sorry. I, er, was really angry."

"Really?" Malfoy asked. "Accidental magic is so… child-like, Potter." The wine glass in front of him exploded, making him yell. "Christ, Kami!"

"It was me," Harry pressed, "so shut up, Malfoy."

"He does seem to care for you." Narcissa shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "Lucius?"

"We'll put up with it," he said grimly. "For now."

Potter left soon afterwards, what with there being no food and all. He darkly promised that they would talk later. A vase shattered before he stepped through the floo, so as soon as he was gone, Kami retreated to her room before her parents could realize that Potter wasn't the one destroying everything in sight. Three guesses who magically unlocked her door and entered fifteen minutes later.

"For some reason, Astoria says I'm sleeping in a guest room tonight," Draco announced. He looked around her room where everything was floating and candles were flickering on and off. "Well, good to know its magical."

"Shut the fuck up," Kami said tiredly. She covered her face with her hands and groaned. "Why'd you have to do that?"

"Because he should marry you." Draco sat at the foot of her bed. "It's the right thing to do."

"We barely know each other." Kami whined when she heard her window open and close by itself.

"Mother and Father didn't really know each other when they got married," he pressed.

"But they both wanted to get married." Kami sat up and stared at him. There was absolutely no remorse. He truly thought he was doing the right thing. "Potter—we don't want that."

Draco raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "Then you shouldn't have made a baby."

"You're impossible!" Kami yell whispered. "You know what this is going to lead to? He's going to want to take it from me! That or he'll want me to leave here!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Draco said casually. "Oh and by the way, get some rest, sister. I wrote Potter a letter in Mother's handwriting apologizing and asking him to come to breakfast tomorrow."

Kami groaned and covered her face with a pillow. She hated him.

Harry had to say he was still pissed the next morning. Still, he found himself flooing to Malfoy Manor and being led to the garden outside for Sunday breakfast. Perhaps Narcissa was just being goaded by Malfoy. Her letter seemed sincere. At least it did until he arrived to see a look of shock on her face.

"What are you doing here?" she said softly. "Draco, I thought you said Kami was still sleeping."

"She is." Malfoy rubbed his chin. "She's been so tired lately, for some reason."

"She does lead a busy life," Astoria said icily. "How was the guest room last night, darling?"

"Cold as ever." Malfoy sighed. "Fine. I wrote that letter, Potter. Mum, you apologized to Potter last night. I'd just roll with it, if I were you."

"Just roll with it?" Narcissa huffed until she got a look from her husband. "Fine. I suppose I was rather uncivilized yesterday, Potter. I apologize."

"Er…" Before Harry could force himself to accept the most half-assed apology he had ever received, Kami arrived. Narcissa gasped at the sight of her in silk pajamas. The rest of them were dressed rather formally except Harry, who was stubbornly wearing jeans and a grey t-shit. Kami still seemed half asleep and didn't notice.

"Hey," she mumbled. She sat next to Harry and rubbed his arm in an attempt of displaying affection and grabbed a muffin. Even Malfoy was staring as she took a big bite out of it while barely looking at anyone.

"Kamelia," Narcissa chided, "where are your manners?"

"If they're in that muffin they're long gone," Malfoy said.

Now that she had some food in her, Kami seemed to have more wits about her. "I'm hungry. No one invited me to the late dinner last night!"

Malfoy shrugged. "We wanted to talk about you."

"The three of you are dangerously close to repeating last night," Lucius said coolly. "Now, Potter. What are your plans with my daughter?"

Awkward silence once again. Harry had no idea what to say. Kami ignored the awkwardness and started helping herself to the mini-breakfast buffet that was before her. "Well, I really want ice cream. So my plans with him are to go get some."

Malfoy opened his mouth, but his wife beat him to it. "Isn't Pansy having her fifth wedding anniversary party in two weeks? That would be a wonderful place for the two of you to go public."

"Sounds brilliant." Harry had no idea what to tell Lucius. He was trying to lie as little as possible. At this point, he saw Kami as family.

"You're really going through with this?" Narcissa sounded mortified at the thought, but then, she rubbed her eyes as if she could rub the shame off her face. "I-I mean, Kami, you and Mortimer don't get along."

Kami was just about to shove a huge fork full of egg in her mouth. "Pansy's my best friend, so I'm going." Then, she proceeded to stuff her face.

"I meant what are your intentions?" Lucius was clearly not a man who was used to being ignored. "My wife may have been ill-mannered, but she was correct to say that you are never serious with women who are not Ginevra Weasley."

Harry frowned and glanced at Kami. He hated to lie, even to Lucius. Now he was starting to think that it would be easier if they kept being assholes. "Well, Kami's different. She's special. She's going to be in my life forever."

Lucius narrowed his eyes at no mention of marriage. "You have a rather demanding job, Potter. I think my daughter would be rather lonely."

"Actually…" He was planning on making this change for the baby, but he might as well use this to his advantage. "I'm switching to an office job. I'm putting in the paperwork tomorrow. I want to be around more."

That made Kami finally tear herself away from her food. She looked relieved, probably thinking that she was going to be doing much of raising the baby by herself. Maybe now she wouldn't feel so dependent on her family. "Really?"

"Really." They smiled at each other until Narcissa cleared her throat.

The interrogation continued, although Harry had to say, things went a lot better than expected. Then he asked Kami if she wanted to go to dinner with Weasleys.

"By yourselves?" Narcissa asked. Lucius made a face at the mention of the Weasleys but said nothing.

"Yeah, Mum." Kami rolled her eyes. "None of the Weasleys are home. We're just going to their house for the hell of it."

Narcissa lowered her voice to a whisper as if Harry couldn't hear her. "They won't make sure that you don't get into trouble."

"Because I have absolutely no self-control," Harry said sarcastically.

At no sign of being backed up by Lucius, Narcissa said quietly to Kami, "I just want you to understand, darling that you're worth waiting for. Once it's gone, you'll never get your innocence back."

Oh she was good. For whatever reason, Lucius had given up on tearing Kami and him apart, but Narcissa clearly wasn't, even though she was being the ever polite and charming Malfoy. The weight of her words made Kami's eyes filled with tears bringing Harry's anger back to full force.

"Leave her alone," he growled. Again, Malfoy was smiling that stupid fat cat satisfied smile. "We are having dinner with who I consider my family and even if we were having sex…." He gritted his teeth as Narcissa flinched as if he had cursed at her. "There would be nothing wrong with that! She wouldn't be soiled! She's still your daughter, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Don't act like—"

"Narcissa," Lucius warned, and she promptly, well, shut up. "Be back by eight, Kami."

"Because when the sun goes down…" Malfoy grinned until Astoria whispered guest room to him.

Harry didn't know how he was going to take a few more weeks of this.

"I hate them!" Harry ranted when Sirius and Remus stopped by for lunch. "They treat her like a kid! Worse! They treat her like she's an idiot who they can walk all over!"

Sirius leaned back in his seat, looking infuriatingly justified. "Sounds like it went better than we thought."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't want them around the baby. Oh! And even better, Malfoy is trying to force us to get married."

Sirius barked out an obnoxious laugh and took a swig of his butterbeer. "Like you'd ever marry her."

Remus gave him a dirty look. "Have you ever considered…" Harry raised his eyebrows at him. "Dating?"

Harry frowned. There were times he thought about kissing her, but… it never completely felt right. "We're friends. She's family, like a sister... or a cousin or something."

Sirius raised his butterbeer. "Now you're thinking like a pureblood."

"You know what I mean." Harry threw himself in his armchair. "She's not…"

"Ginny?" Remus filled in for him. Sirius brightened at the mention of her. "Perhaps that's a good thing."

"Actually…" Sirius was smiling. Harry found himself worried about what he was going to say. "Ginny doesn't want kids, right? So now you have one, so you can have your kid and be with Ginny."

What a wonderful time for Kami to jump out of the floo. She stared at Sirius open mouthed, probably having no idea what to say. When Remus smacked him on the back of the head, she forced herself to smile like she was in on some kind of joke.

"My apologies, Kamelia," Remus said. "My dear Sirius is, well, an idiot."

Kami shrugged and looked at her feet. "I don't care anyway, so…"

"See! You have her bless—" Sirius started dramatically trying to pry his lips open after Remus hexed his big mouth shut.

"Sorry." Harry's fingers itched with the effort not to kill Sirius. It was one thing to say that they were just friends, but Sirius had to say he should just jump into a relationship with Ginny before the baby was even born. "I didn't think you were coming over." If he did, he defiantly wouldn't have invited Sirius.

"Ice cream," she said as a way of explanation. Then, she thinned her lips. "I know you think my mum is well, a bitch. And she is… But, she thinks she knows what's best and—"

"She called our baby a bastard," Harry snapped.

Kami shook her head weakly. "No, she didn't."

"She might as well have," Harry yelled. "And you just sat there and let her! You let them all treat you like shit. Is that what it's going to be like with the baby? It's not normal, Kami."

Kami crossed her arms and looked away, telling Harry that things were always like that in that house. She had no defense. "My dad—"

"After you slapped him!" Harry said before she could use him as a defense. Sirius was absolutely dying to break free from Remus's hex. "What did he say to you before that? Because the two of you just came out acting like nothing happened! I saw the handprint on his face! Don't act like the two of you were having a precious father-daughter moment!"

"We should go," Remus whispered. Sirius was shaking his head furiously.

Now Kami was angry. "Oh stay Professor Lupin! I'm sure Potter will tell you all about it anyway! Fine! You're right! We argued, and he called me a slut! I slapped him and grabbed me and then felt bad. Happy now?"

"You are not staying there with my kid," Harry growled.

Her nostrils flared, and for a moment, she looked like her miserable mother. The lights flickered and the butterbeer bottles started smoking and foaming over as the liquid inside boiled. Her eyes filled with tears, but Harry only felt guilty when she said, "They love me."

His anger instantly cooled. "I never said they didn't."

"They will be-be better for me." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself. "Because it's my baby too, so they will learn to be better."

"And if they don't?" Harry pushed.

She shrugged, looking defeated. "I guess it won't matter to you, Potter, because they'll kick me out anyway."

Sirius finally broke free from the hex since he went unnoticed by Remus as everyone else went quiet. Like it was nothing, he asked, "Does this mean we aren't getting ice cream?"

Kami only agreed to ice cream because she wanted it since she woke up this morning. It had absolutely nothing to do with how guilty Potter looked. She was so hungry today that it was maddening.

They were in a Muggle place. Kami found herself staring at the families with kids as they waited in line. What would her baby look like? She pictured a little boy with chubby cheeks and a smile that made her heart swell.

"Look," Potter said, "I'm sorry that I yelled at you. It's just… I grew up in a house where no one liked me, and I don't want my kid to go through the same thing."

"Potter," Kami started.

"Harry," he corrected.

She looked down at her ice cream and mixed the sprinkles. "They weren't always like this." Black snorted. Kami ignored him. "Draco and I disappointed them. They don't like Astoria. Her mum is the new Muggle Studies teacher at Hogwarts. I've turned down marriage proposal after marriage proposal—"

"I thought…" Then he glanced at Black and Lupin. "Never mind. It doesn't matter. They shouldn't talk to you like that. There's no excuse."

There wasn't. Kami ate a spoonful of her vanilla ice cream. Maybe Potter, Harry, was right. She shouldn't live with her parents anymore. She avoided them every chance she got. She and her brother were always scheming to do things behind their backs. She clenched her fists and changed the subject. "Are you still going to Pansy's with me? Draco won't go because he hates her."

"I'm sure it will be lovely," Potter said dryly.

Kami held up her index finger. "Rule Number One, if you don't know if I hate someone, assume that I hate them and be rude to them."

"What?"

"Rule Number Two," Kami went on, "don't wear any pastel colors. Pansy hates them."

"What?"

Kami held up her third finger. "Rule Number Three when Nyssa, my goddaughter, goes to bed, we leave as soon as possible. Why? Reference Rule Number One."

P-Harry put on a fake smile. "I can't wait."

At dinner with the Weasleys, Harry made a point not to sit in his usual spot next to Ginny. She looked at him and smiled sadly, accepting it. Kami didn't, however. Whenever he and Ginny came up, she had this odd look in her eyes but tried her best to seem like she didn't care.

"We can sit where we sat last time," she said quietly. Harry shifted uncomfortably. Maybe it was because he had chosen to sit across from Ron and Hermione, who was avoiding eye contact with Kami. "Really, I don't mind."

"Er…" When Harry didn't get up, she stubbornly sat in her old spot two seats away from him. Ginny raised her eyebrows, seeming to admire her bravery.

"So dearest," Mrs. Weasley said, "what are your favorite colors? I'm starting my Christmas jumpers. Harry tells me that you aren't due until February, so I'll be sure to make room for the baby."

Kami stared, and Harry prayed that she would be polite. He doubted that she owned anything that wasn't ridiculously expensive and would scoff at the thought. "What do you mean?"

Mrs. Weasley didn't seem to take note of everyone staring. Ginny was ready to pounce in defense of her mother, but she simply answered, "Every Christmas, I make everyone jumpers. I would like to make you one too."

Kami looked nothing more than confused. "No one's every made anything for me before." Now Mrs. Weasley looked confused, causing Kami to flush. "I-I mean, blue and silver."

Ginny laughed loudly, causing Kami to jump. "Excellent. We'll match." Great. "Well, except I won't be huge."

"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked. "You swore you'd be on your best behavior!"

"I'm just stating facts, Mum!" Ginny threw her hands in the air. "She'll be like eight months by then!"

"Did you tell Kingsley yet?" Percy butted in.

Kami narrowed her eyes and straight up lied. "You told him before I could."

"PERCY!"

"I didn't, Mum! I swear!"

Kami looked at Harry and smirked as the chaos ensued. Maybe he should have pushed for her to sit with Ron and Hermione…

Wednesday. Kami had just finished her morning puke party when Potter, no Harry, arrived at her desk. Kingsley was looking smug, so Kami decided to schedule him for lunch with his mother twice next week. That would show him.

"So." Harry blushed when Kingsley stood by Kami's desk to openly watch them. "Remus wanted to have you over for dinner tomorrow. If that's okay. He's worried that you think he and Sirius don't like you, for some reason."

Because Black didn't. Frankly, Kami was surprised that Black hadn't asked if the baby was Harry's. Still, unlike her parents, she knew that Black would be happy for him. Right now, she pictured her parents distant, but polite at best.

"Yeah. Sure." It was going to be so awkward.

Kingsley put a hand on her shoulder, making her jump. "I'll make sure we're done by six tomorrow."

She couldn't button her favorite pants. In fact, all her casual clothes looked like shit on her right now. She didn't look pregnant, just like she gained weight. Black would surely laugh at her if she showed up in dress robes or a work outfit.

Kami had yet to talk to Astoria about all of this, but she needed clothes and her sister-in-law was more on the curvy side. She thanked her lucky stars when Draco didn't answer when she knocked on their door. Astoria raised her eyebrows at the sight of Kami in a robe but let her in anyway.

"I need clothes," she announced.

Astoria laughed quietly and opened her closet. "Good to know that you can confide in me."

Kami sighed. "I'm in hot water."

Astoria shook her head and started handing outfits to her. "Lucius and Narcissa need to get over themselves. Just tell them, Kami. Before I kill my husband."

"I can't." She was going along with the plan, but she honestly had no idea how she was going to tell her parents. Kami picked up one of Astoria's floral dresses. "I'm scared."

Astoria looked at her with pity. "It's not like it's going to just go away. In a few weeks—"

"I have to go. I'm going to be late." Kami looked at her feet. "Thank you for the dress."

"Is that Astoria's?" Narcissa accused. Harry had to say that he was happy to be ignored when he flooed over to the Malfoys to pick Kami up. She came down in a dress that was clearly too big for her, and Narcissa was scandalized. She even gasped when the sleeve of the dress slipped, exposing Kami's shoulder.

"Yep," was all she said. "She lent it to me."

"Why?" And they said Muggles were clueless.

Maybe she was thinking of the argument she and Harry had about her letting her parents treat her like dirt because Kami just looked at her and said simply, "I'm getting fat."

Harry desperately wanted to inch to the floo. Narcissa was gaping like a fish. "Excuse me?"

"I'm going to Lupin's to eat." Before Narcissa could respond, Kami grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him to the floo. "See you later!"

"What the fuck?" Harry muttered as soon as they stepped into Number 12. Then, he frowned when Kami looked a little green and led her to the nearby sofa. "Are you feeling sick?"

She nodded and took a deep breath. "I'll be fine in a minute."

"Do you need me to take you to the bathroom?" he asked, but she shook her head. She put a hand on her stomach and closed her eyes but thankfully didn't get sick. "Would apparating have been better?"

Kami shook her head. "It's not as bad as it was a few weeks ago."

"Okay." Harry sat next to her and tried not to ask a million questions. If he was in her shoes, he surely wouldn't want to talk about how sick he was while trying not to get sick. After a few minutes, Remus poked his head into the living room and smiled in understanding. Sirius could be heard complaining in the other room that he was hungry.

Kami forced herself to stand and then needed a moment to steady herself. "Let's go before he has a tantrum."

Apparently, Sirius's promise to be on his best behavior meant that he was going to be awkwardly silent. Kami sat across from him and they stared at each other. Harry and Remus were sitting across from each other and looked equally worried.

Remus cleared his throat and started making his own plate, telling everyone else to do the same. "So, Kamelia, how have you been? How are your parents?"

Sirius laughed. "Probably enjoying life in blissful denial." Everyone stared at him. "I mean… I hope they're well."

Kami shrugged and started eating. "I'm not home. Draco's off studying alchemy in the library. So they're probably great since no one is around to torture them."

"We would love to meet them soon," Remus said gently, as if Kami were a bird that was about to fly away.

Sirius snickered. "Narcissa probably wouldn't even look at you, Moony. Lucius probably would, but only long enough to spit…"

He cut himself off because of the look Harry was giving him. Of course, Remus looked ashamed while Kami seemed so embarrassed that she couldn't even move. And the reality was that he was undoubtedly telling the truth.

"Sirius," Harry said, "how do you manage to turn every conversation into a disaster?"

Sirius turned to Remus. "I meant it as an insult to them, not you, Moony."

"Of course, Padfoot," Remus said tightly. "It's not like we're trying to make Kamelia feel welcome or anything. I just invited her to give you yet another opportunity to bemoan pureblood society. You better get in what you have to say quickly though because soon enough, she won't feel comfortable enough to come back."

"It's okay," Kami tried but now Sirius was annoyed.

His godfather threw up his hands. "Well, Harry was right! They aren't going to treat the baby right, Remus! And I'm not going to stand for it!"

"She's not even three months in!" Remus yelled. Harry started sinking into his seat. "How the bloody hell do you think you're making her feel? Harry feel? They have plenty of time to figure this out and what they do is none of your business."

"It's important," Sirius growled.

"I'm not my parents!" Kami said loudly. Harry should've known they were going to clash. Sirius seemed to be itching for it.

"But you know how they're going to act," Sirius snapped. "And it's only going to get worse after you tell them."

"I'm not telling them!" she practically screamed as the table shook. Pictures started falling off the walls. Harry winced when the pitcher of pumpkin juice shattered and oozed all over the table. Remus silently spelled it away before it could reach the food.

"You know," he said hoarsely over the tense silence, "Lily realized she was expecting Harry when her magic started going haywire."

"Really?" Harry asked. Sirius smiled sadly at the memories.

Remus nodded. "She was so happy. James was a nervous wreck of course. What did she always say, Padfoot?"

"I'm having a baby, not turning into glass," Sirius said sadly.

"He must have really loved her," Kami said wistfully. The subject was changed, and she clearly was going to act like nothing had happened.

Sirius beamed like he always did when he was talking about his best friend. "From the moment he saw her. Before our eleven-year-old pea-brains even knew what love was!"

"But," Remus said, "Lily didn't love him at first. She had a few boyfriends before she fell for James."

"James pranked them all mercilessly," Sirius added.

"And James wondered why she hated him," Remus said dryly.

Sirius laughed. "Remember the one he hexed to start walking backwards whenever he headed in Lily's direction! Oh! And the one he spiked with Polyjuice with Lily's hair!"

Maybe it was because she was a Slytherin, but Kami didn't pick up on the fact that his dad could be a jerk. She, like Harry did when he was a kid, was falling in love with the love story. She seemed to have her head in the clouds when she dreamily said, "I like that name. Jaime."

"Careful," Harry muttered. "Sirius never forgets and holds a grudge." Sirius gave him an innocent offended look. "Besides, it could be a girl."

"Jaime's a girl's name too," Sirius piped in.

"It's a boy," Kami insisted.

"Girl." Harry didn't care either way, but he couldn't wait to see her face when the healer told her it was a girl.

"In ten more weeks, you'll be proven wrong, Potter." She seemed to be gloating. Yes, he definitely couldn't wait to see her face if it was a girl.

"He loves her," Remus whispered as they watched Kamelia try to teach Harry how to dance for Pansy Parkinson's, or Pansy Selwyn's, anniversary party. His honorary godson had to have his ear twisted by Hermione to so much as put on dress robes. Now, he was learning to dance, panicking whenever he stepped on her foot.

Sirius shook his head. "He's doing her a favor. You know how he's always trying to save people. He probably feels guilty too. Which he shouldn't." Kamelia grinned at Harry when he froze mid-dance and completely forgot all the steps. "She's in love with him."

Remus wasn't so sure about that, but he hoped so. "She's lonely, that's for sure."

"I'm going to embarrass you," Harry said worriedly. He definitely loved her. They just had to make him see it.

Kamelia shook her head. "The Selwyns hate me. Pansy always ignores me when her husband's around."

Harry frowned. "Then why are we going?"

Kamelia became guarded. "Pansy's my best friend."

Remus watched them dance, thinking to himself that Harry was going to instantly forget when it came time for the party next weekend. Lily would have been cooing and embarrassing her son right now, and Remus didn't think that James would be on Sirius's side like he thought. He surely would be able to see how much his son loved Kamelia.

And Kamelia, for all Sirius's complaining, was a bit like him. It was clear that she didn't fit in with her family and friends and never would. The only difference between her and Sirius was that she desperately wanted to.

Her green dress robes were tight. Just around the middle. Kami tried not to panic as she stared at herself in the mirror. No one would notice, and if they did, they wouldn't suspect the truth. She refused to borrow something of Astoria's again. Everyone would notice if she didn't have something tailor-made.

Kami felt even worse when she came downstairs to see Potter staring. Thankfully, her parents were nowhere in sight. She felt miserable as they walked into the floo. But then he whispered in her ear, "You look beautiful."

She shivered and closed her eyes, not wanting to ruin the moment by saying she looked like a cow. She just wanted to get this night over with.

"Nyssa!"

Pansy's daughter looked just like her, only rather pudgy. Harry couldn't find much fault in that though. She was only four after all. The pure joy on her face at the sight of Kami made Harry beam as she ran to them, wheezing with excitement and laughter.

"My special person!" Kami cooed as she picked her up. Harry noticed that no one else paid them any mind. Nyssa repeated Kami's next words as she spoke them. "My smart person! My beautiful person! My important person!"

Harry surveyed the ballroom. There was dancing, occasional dirty looks in Kami's direction, and house elves serving food. Finally, he spotted Pansy. She had a boy toddler and a baby boy with her. She was also heavily pregnant. Kami didn't even stop to greet her.

"What should we have for dinner?" Kami whispered to her goddaughter. Harry followed them to a buffet table. "Did you wait for me?"

Nyssa giggled. "No! You're late!"

Kami gasped. "I am not!"

"Are too!" Nyssa pointed a chubby finger at some sliced turkey. "Dat!"

Kami looked at Harry. "You heard her, Potter. Make our plates!"

Harry rolled his eyes but complied. Eventually, they found a table and sat down. He had to say it was rather enjoyable. Nyssa hurled question after question at him, but it was innocent, not the interrogation that he received from the Malfoys.

"What do you do wif the bad guys once you catched them?" she asked as she chewed on a dinner roll that she swiped from Kami's plate.

"He eats them for breakfast," Kami hissed in her ear, causing her to shriek with laughter.

Before Harry could give an honest, kid friendly answer, a miserable looking man loomed over them. Nyssa's face fell, and she climbed out of Kami's lap and full on ran away. Kami stared at him as if she were preparing herself for battle.

"Seven hundred years," he said. "Seven hundred years this manor has stood and not once has a halfblood set foot in it." His cold eyes didn't even look in Harry's direction. And he thought the Malfoys were bad. "Kamelia. You're getting as fat as my daughter."

Harry clenched his fists, but Kamelia didn't miss a beat. "And you haven't changed a bit. Mort. You're still as appealing as two goblins spitting in each other's mouths."

Selwyn narrowed his eyes. "I didn't tell you that you could bring him."

Kami smirked. "Because I didn't ask."

"You do tend to do whatever you want, don't you?" Selwyn muttered. "How your mother must weep."

Kami got a little quiet after that, and Harry thought he was finally going to get the chance to kick this pompous prick's ass. But once again, perhaps because he wasn't family, she held her ground. "My mother can clearly handle disappointment better than you."

That shut him up. He turned away and started to head off towards Pansy. Nyssa, who seemed to be waiting for him to leave, got caught in the cross fire. "Go to bed," he barked. "I'm tired of looking at you."

She scurried off and Kami shamelessly followed with Harry trailing behind them. Once they got to her room on the other side of the manor, Kami whispered, "Do you want me to read you a story my special person?" The little girl frowned. "My smart person." Nyssa started repeating after Kami. "My beautiful person. My important person."

Harry listened to wizarding fairy tale after fairy tale, wondering if they would read this with their son or daughter. Once Nyssa was asleep, they crept out of her room and quietly closed the door behind them.

"Do you want to go to the garden?" she asked. "I don't want to go home just yet."

Harry soon found himself lying on a conjured blanked staring at the stars. The party still went on inside, but it was better out here. He enjoyed the summer sounds of magical creatures tittering about. Kami pointed at a pair of pixies dancing like the people inside.

"Do you want to know a secret?" she asked. "Not even Pansy knows."

Harry turned to her, but she kept gazing at the stars. "What?"

"I was supposed to marry Mortimer," she said quietly. "Well, I was supposed to marry his brother first."

Now Harry sat up, trying to picture it. He thought she never had a boyfriend. "That would have been a disaster."

Kami hummed in agreement. "His brother, Art, came over to set up a marriage contract. We had dinner first, and then… he took me to the sitting room. My mother was over the moon. He said…" She paused, telling Harry that whatever he said still hurt. "He said, 'Kamelia, when I first came over, I thought I could spend the rest of my life with you, but then you opened your mouth and started talking.'"

"What an asshole," Harry muttered.

Kami shrugged. "It was the first day we met. Like most men, he was in love with my parents' money, but all the money in the world isn't enough to put up with the obnoxious, rude, and opinionated, Kamelia Malfoy. My father was annoyed. Art had agreed to sign a contract after all."

"I would have punched him in the mouth." Harry wasn't entirely sure if he was talking about Art or Lucius.

Kami's mouth twitched into a half smile. "I went upstairs after that. I thought that no one was ever going to marry me, so I might as well get used to it. I applied for a job at the Ministry, to work at the front help desk. What I didn't know was that Art told my father that Mort could 'put up' with me."

"How kind of him," Harry said sarcastically.

"So when I was going to head off for my interview the following week," she went on, "Mort was there, waiting, quill in hand." Now she was full on smiling. "I told him that I didn't have time for him, and I wasn't signing anything. I had a job to get… Before I could tell Pansy, he was engaged to her. She was so happy. I couldn't tell her."

"Does she love him?" Harry asked.

Kami laughed like he had asked a stupid question. "No. They hate each other. Well, maybe she does. She'll do anything for him. Including having a baby every year to make up for the fact that she gave him a daughter first. An 'ugly' daughter, as Mort calls her."

Harry didn't say anything because honestly, he didn't know what to say. He didn't understand any of this. He didn't understand how Mortimer Selwyn didn't love his daughter, and he didn't understand how Pansy would allow it. He couldn't imagine not loving his kid.

"I will never get married," Kami announced. From what she saw on a daily basis, Harry didn't blame her. "No one will ever look at me like Draco looks at Astoria. Or how your dad must have looked at your mum."

"That's not true," Harry said. He just couldn't see her with any of these pureblood assholes.

At first, Kami didn't say anything. She just took his hand and put it on her stomach. There was a firmness there that he hadn't expected. "I can feel him. I can't feel him move yet, but I can feel that he's there. He's all I need."

"She," Harry teased lightly.

Kami shook her head. "Jaime. My little boy, who loves no matter what."

"After all that we didn't even dance," Harry told Sirius and Remus the next morning over breakfast. "But I think if I got too close to Mortimer Selwyn, I would have knocked his teeth out."

Sirius looked rather triumphant. "Now you know what I'm talking about."

"Did you have a nice time otherwise?" Remus asked innocently. Too innocently, in fact.

Harry chose not to comment and flipped the pancake he was making. "Her goddaughter was sweet though. I wouldn't mind seeing more of her."

"We would like to see more of Kami," Remus said.

Sirius blinked. "We would?"

"Whenever you're both free for dinner, you two should come over," Remus went on as if Sirius hadn't spoken.

"They should? Ow!" Sirius rubbed the back of his head after Remus smacked him. "Remus! You're going to give me a concussion!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Have you thought about what I said earlier?"

"We're friends," Harry said flatly. He thought about what Kami said, about how no one would ever look at her like his father looked at his mother. He really didn't understand how though. She was smart, funny, beautiful… "We'll always be friends."

At the twelve-week scan, Harry realized that Kami was definitely starting to show. He also realized that hell would freeze over before he told her. He looked straight ahead as she told the healer that she wasn't sick anymore and just ate all day. Surely, she realized.

"Are you sure you can't tell if it's a boy or a girl yet?" she asked.

The healer smiled. "Not yet. So you are in the second trimester now." Diagrams were summoned while Harry listened intently. After three months from now, the baby would be born alive if he or she came early. "You'll start to feel movement soon. By the third trimester, your partner would be able to feel it too."

Kami looked at Harry and blushed at the healer's assumptions. She didn't correct her though, probably out of embarrassment. Harry found himself not correcting her either. I wonder why? A voice that sounded suspiciously like Remus said in his head.

They walked through Diagon Alley after that, mostly window shopping and whispering to themselves about the future. It was a beautiful day. Kami found herself like Harry two months ago, wanting to buy everything in sight. There was something else she needed to get first.

"I want to get a flat," she told him. "Like you. But I don't know Muggle London. Do you think you can help me get one near you?"

The look of shock on his face… She might as well have slapped him. But then, he brightened. "That's brilliant! Of course! Actually, I need to find myself a two bedroom."

"Maybe we can look in the same building then?" That would make more sense. Then, the baby wouldn't have to be lugged around so much.

Harry paused, making Kami wonder if she went too far. Then, he went too far. "Or we can just get a three bedroom together."

Kami found herself blushing to the roots of her hair. Her parents would have simultaneous heart attacks. She found herself blaming Harry instead of telling him the truth, that she was uncomfortable and wished she wasn't. Instead, she insulted him with the reason she was uncomfortable. "It'll be awkward with Ginny coming around at all hours."

Harry stopped in his tracks and stared at her. "Ginny and I stopped sleeping together when I found out you were keeping the baby."

"Why?" Kami found herself saying rudely.

"Because… I don't know," he admitted. "It didn't feel right anymore. And I wouldn't bring women in and out of the house with the baby there, if that's what your worried about."

Kami shrugged. She had this ugly feeling in her chest that she couldn't describe. "What if you fall in love with someone?"

"What if you fall in love with someone?" he said just as nastily as she did.

They stared at each other. Finally, Kami snapped, "I won't."

"Well, I won't either," he snapped back.

Somehow, that made the ugly feeling go away. Still, Kami was not going to let him know that he won. "I get my own bathroom. You can keep all your lovers in yours."

Harry gritted his teeth but left it at that. "You're impossible."

"So Potter, how's the desk?" Lucius drawled. He had Sunday breakfast with the Malfoys while Kami went to the Weasleys for dinner.

God they were so passive aggressive. Harry tried to act like he didn't notice. "Excellent. How's being on probation?"

Kami started choking on her fruit salad. She was trying not to laugh but might as well have because she was stomping her feet with the effort. He got the usual appalled look from the Malfoys.

"So Astoria's parents want to meet Potter," Malfoy announced. From the look Astoria was giving him, Harry figured he must have suggested it to them. "They want us all to spend the weekend at their beach house." He stopped to smile at Kami. "And go swimming."

Kami's face fell at the thought of her parents seeing her in a bathing suit. "Sorry Astoria. I just hate your parents."

"Kamelia!" Narcissa gasped, even though Harry knew that she was the one who didn't like Astoria's parents. "You adore them!"

"Harry hates them," Kami said. Harry was about to go home.

"I actually hate swimming," Harry said. "So, er, I, uh, that's why she's pretending to hate Astoria's parents." God the lie sounded like horse shit even as he was saying it. "Kami, this is ridiculous. Just tell them."

"Tell us what?" Narcissa asked innocently.

The table shook slightly, and Harry didn't take credit for it. She had to do this. Kami looked at her mother and her father, looking so heartbroken that Harry felt bad. Then, he reminded himself that she was a Slytherin. "Harry and I are thinking about moving in together."

"WHAT?!" She might as well have told Narcissa. The utter look of horror on that woman's face…

Kami nodded like it was nothing. "We talked about it the other day." They argued about it the other day. "I think it will be good for me. I'll be more independent."

"Independent," Narcissa gasped as if she were repeating a curse word that her five-year-old had said, not her twenty-four-year-old daughter wanting to have her own space. "Lucius! Are you hearing this?"

Lucius stared at Harry as if it were his fault. That fight he had with Kami though must still be fresh in his mind though. He never thought Lucius would think of himself as crossing the line. "It's not like we can stop her."

Kami looked at Harry and smiled like she had won a victory for them. At this point, she was going to be denying it in the delivery room. "So, when are we leaving for the Greengrasses'?"

"It's like she's ashamed." Harry found himself ranting to Ron and Hermione. He didn't want to talk badly about Kami around Sirius and certainly not around Ginny. "Which bothers me."

"It should," Hermione said. Then, Ron put a hand on her shoulder, and she softened. "Are you two really getting a flat together?"

Harry blushed. "It makes sense, since we'll have a newborn and be tired."

"And then what?" Hermione pushed. "You'll eventually get your own places again?"

That had never occurred to him. He just pictured the three of them living together from then on. "Uh, I don't know. I want to live with my kid, 'Mione."

"And then when he or she goes to Hogwarts?" Hermione said slowly. "And what if you meet someone? Or Kamelia does? It's going to get weird, Harry."

Harry scoffed at the thought. "We both said we weren't going to do that." Ron and Hermione shared a look. "What?"

Ron laughed lightly. "It's not exactly something you can control, mate. Even if you don't let yourself. What if you come home one day, and she's getting ready for a date? Says she met this amazing bloke—"

"She wouldn't," Harry snapped. Ron's mouth hung open at his nasty tone, but the cogs started turning in his wife's head.

Hermione's inner Slytherin kicked in. "She's beautiful, she has money, and as much as I hate to admit, she's cleaned up her attitude over the past few years. She works for Kingsley. She's a catch."

"She's more than that." Harry found himself trying not to raise his voice. Hermione was playing him like a fiddle. "And she wouldn't ruin what we have over some bloke. Just like I wouldn't for some other girl."

"And what is it that you have exactly?" Hermione said gently.

Harry opened and closed his mouth several times. Even Ron was interested in his response. "Our friendship. Our family."

"Hmm…" Hermione glanced at Ron as if he would confirm her words. "Last I checked, a romantic relationship doesn't get in the way of friendship. You remained friends with Ron and I."

"Yeah," Ron added before Hermione could start confusing him.

"So," she went on, "it shouldn't bother you if, down the line, Kami were to find someone she genuinely cared about." Harry stared, not knowing what to say. "But the thought bothers you, doesn't it?"

Just then, the clock struck five and Ron clapped his hands together. "Five o'clock, time for dinner at the Burrow!"

Great.

"Are you mad at me?" Kami asked when she flooed to the Weasleys. Harry found himself staring at her after the conversation with Hermione. "Because, I was thinking, I'll tell them we 'broke up' once we get the flat, so I know I have somewhere to go when I tell them about Jaime."

Harry could feel Hermione's eyes on him. Luckily, Ron and his big mouth were too busy asking if dinner was ready yet. "I was, but that makes sense…"

Kami nodded, looking a little nervous. "I don't want to be stranded because I know what's coming."

"Yeah. Yeah. It's fine." Harry wished he was still mad at her at this point.

Kami frowned and put her hand to his forehead. "Are you okay? You look flushed."

Before Harry could answer, he was saved by Ginny being a jerk. "Are parents blind, Kami?"

"What?" Her attention was turned to Ginny. Now she was flushing and ran her hand over her belly. But she smiled because she was Slytherin to the core. "No. Just stupid. And maybe a little in denial."

"A little?" Harry said bitterly. Ginny threw herself on the sofa and patted on the seat next to her, inviting Kami to sit down. She looked horrified, but Harry just shrugged, so she sat.

Ginny looked at her from head to toe, sizing her up. "You are much less of an asshole than you were in school."

"Thanks," Kami said slowly. Harry was going to kill Ginny. "I'm still an asshole though. You can ask literally anyone I spend a significant amount of time with."

Ginny's eyes turned to Harry. He should have just said he was sick and went home. "Okay. Harry?"

Harry's eyes nearly popped out of his head as they both waited for his answer. She was rude and lied sometimes. She was so hard on herself that constantly mulled over any mistake she made. She… "She's my best friend."

Ginny looked at him sadly while Kami was in such shock that it seemed to be a good thing that she was sitting down. Ron was, well, Ron.

"Finally," he moaned. "Dinner's ready!"

"Do you think I would still look okay in my old one-piece swim-suit?" Kami asked as Friday loomed closer and closer. She wished she wasn't so damn hungry all the time.

Her best girlfriend, Kingsley, frowned. They were eating lunch together in his office while halfheartedly working a policy for charmed cauldrons. He considered for a moment. "Hmm, let's see. No."

"Kingsley!" He could at least pretend to think that she would.

He pushed around his salad, pretending to feel guilty. "Well, your parents haven't noticed yet, so maybe they won't notice this weekend. Or you could tell them this weekend?"

Like she would stage a break up and announce her pregnancy all in one weekend, in front of Astoria's parents. But she still had to tell them. She was running out of time. If she got kicked out, she could always stay at Harry's until they found a bigger place. "Next week. I'll tell them next week."

"Two bathrooms," Kami said as she pointed to an ad in the newspaper that they brought with them to Astoria's parents' beach house.

Harry tried not to notice how close she was to him. She was just cuddling up to him because her parents were nearby. They were sitting on the beach on a soft towel with an umbrella under them. "Is that what's most important to you? There could be roaches and rats for all you care as long as there's two bathrooms."

Her head was on his chest, and Harry hoped she wouldn't notice how fast his heart was beating. Why did Hermione have to put these stupid ideas in his head? He was just confused. That was all. She was giving him flesh and blood family that would love him, unlike the Dursleys. They had already slept together. It was perfectly natural for him to have feelings for her. She might have feelings for him too. He was the only one she had ever been with. Should he ask?

"Let's break up next week," she said lightly as she highlighted a flat with her wand.

Harry's heart sunk. "What?"

If his voice gave away his emotions, she didn't seem to notice. "I'll do it at breakfast on Saturday. So don't come over! I'm going to one hundred percent blame it on them being so nasty to you. It will be perfect."

"Okay." He was mad at her less than a week ago for not telling her parents. Now, she was finally putting the plan in motion, and he was panicking. Hell must have frozen over because he wanted to say that he liked going to her parents' house. He liked looking at her and trying not to laugh when her stupid family said something outrageous. He liked hearing her sassy version of mundane stories. He liked spending the extra time with her.

The oblivious Kami grinned, made sure her parents were focused on their picnic, and put his hand on her belly, which was a bit rounder compared to the last time she had done so. "I think I'm going to have to tell them about Jaime a few days later. He is refusing to stay hidden."

"She," Harry found himself saying automatically. His tongue felt like a brick. "And I never agreed to Jaime, by the way."

She sat up and turned to him. Kami was wearing a big floppy hat and sun glasses, hiding her emotions. "You hate the name, don't you? That's what I've been calling him."

"I never thought about it," Harry said honestly. "After Ginny rejected my proposal, I never thought I'd get married or have kids or anything. I thought I'd just have… nothing." He laughed without humor when he noticed her staring. "Sorry. It was a really dark time for me."

"I didn't know you had proposed to her." There was an edge to her voice. The sunglasses still hid her emotions besides a pout.

Harry winced at the memory. "I was twenty-one and stupid. I thought she'd say yes, but she, we, were too young. She later told me that when I had proposed, she felt trapped, like the walls were closing in on her. She said I made her realize that she didn't want to be tied down to anyone: babies, a husband, me."

He saw his pitiful expression in her black sunglasses. Kami didn't say anything at first, and he started to feel uncomfortable. She turned away from him and looked at the ocean. "How can you still love her then?"

"I don't." And for the first time in years, those words felt true. "I used to think that I should have waited until we were older, that I scared her, but…"

Kami stood up and stared down at him. "Well, you can ask her again after Saturday, Potter. Let me know how it goes before I put a down payment on the flat."

"Kami!"

"I'm going to go take a nap."

Kami felt like a first-class brat when she woke up from her nap around dinner. Harry was pouring his heart out to her, and all she could do was get jealous. No, she was not jealous. She was just worried for Jaime that's all. She didn't want him to have different women in and out of his life and—

"I'm sorry," she whispered when she spotted Harry outside on the balcony. He was leaning against the railing, watching everyone set up for dinner downstairs. "Sometimes, I feel like your backup plan. You couldn't have kids with her, and I get up the duff instantly."

"That's not true," he muttered. She clearly had hurt his feelings. Awesome.

Kami put her arm around his and leaned her head on his shoulder. "You'd rather being doing this with her though."

"No, I wouldn't," he said firmly. "Any time I spent with her these past few years has been us living in the past, wishing that things were different. I'm tired of that. I want this, with you. Because its real. You really want it, and I'm not making you feel trapped."

It was out of guilt, she told herself later. Kami, like a fool, practically threw herself at him. She turned to kiss him, but thankfully, her mother stopped her. "Are you two coming down for dinner?" she called. "Because it looks like things are getting a little inappropriate up there!"

She backed away so quickly she almost slammed into the railing. She would have, if Harry hadn't grabbed her arm. Now, she couldn't look at him. She could feel him staring. He must think she was a total basket case.

Malfoy was laughing at them. Kami looked absolutely mortified as she sunk into her seat. Harry felt like Sirius. He wanted to demand answers to every question he wanted to hurl at her. But at the same time, he was afraid of her answer. If she said no, their friendship would go down the toilet, and what would that mean for the baby?

"Oh he loves her," Astoria's mum said as soon as they sat down. She had long, red finger nails that wrapped around her wine glass. "You look at her like—"

"You're embarrassing her, Violet." Astoria's dad had a warm, booming laugh.

"I can already hear the wedding bells," Malfoy said lightly. The ass then started singing. "Here comes the bride, all dressed in… hmmm… what was the next word in the song?"

"That's it!" Kami shrieked. Astoria sighed but made no move to defend her husband. "Mummy! Draco used to steal sweets in the middle of the night and blame it on Dobby!"

Malfoy straightened up in offense. "Kami once peed in the garden in front of all my friends!"

"I was six!" Kami yelled. "Mummy, Draco told Blaise Zabini that he couldn't take me to the Yule Ball, and I couldn't go!"

"Because the bloke's bent!" Malfoy yelled back. Harry had a feeling that this was going to go on all night. "Kami used to write Potions essays and sell them to Muggleborns for extra pocket money!"

"Draco got a ticket two years ago for flying his broom over London!"

"Kami used to throw letters from potential suitors in the fire, laughing and saying that she would jump into the fire herself before marrying them!"

"SHUT UP!" That seemed to be Lucius's favorite line. "Can't we get through one meal together? ONE MEAL?!"

They started eating in silence after that. The only sounds that could be heard were the clanging of cutlery on plates and bowls, and the occasional giggle from Astoria's mum. Kami was chewing rather aggressively, staring at Malfoy the entire time.

"Usually, they start hexing each other by now," Astoria's dad said.

"I think I know why," Astoria's mum said knowingly.

"Because Harry would kick Draco's ASS," Kami said so loudly that Narcissa yelped.

"KAMELIA!"

Harry couldn't sleep. Kami acted like nothing happened between them for the rest of the night. Eventually, the summer heat got to him, and he got up for a glass of water. He stopped though when he realized Narcissa and Violet were sitting in the kitchen, talking.

"Lucius said that if I keep disapproving that it will only make them closer." Narcissa sniffed. So that was his strategy. He must think that Kami was rebelling and was trying to act like he didn't care, thinking she would tire of Harry eventually. "I'm afraid he's right!"

"Is it really that big of a deal, Cissa?" Violet Greengrass was the most leaned back person that Harry had ever met. "Her eyes absolutely light up when they're together."

"He's a halfblood," Narcissa tried. She was met with silence, so she came up with another excuse. "I've picked perfectly good young men for her. She would be safe and comfortable."

"But not happy." Violet was smirking. "This isn't our parents' time, Cissa. You can't choose who your children marry anymore."

"How many death threats to you think Potter gets on a daily basis?" Narcissa asked bitterly. "And he wants her to live in a-in an apartment!"

"Heaven forbid," Violet said quietly. "And when were you going to tell me that she's…" Oh shit. Just then, Violet looked up and saw Harry and the pure panic in his eyes. "… found the love of her life?"

Harry backed away to his room just in time to hear Narcissa say, "Would you stop it, Violet? I thought you were going to help me break them up!"

He hurried off to bed but didn't sleep a wink for the rest of the night.

They both took off Monday to look at flats. The first two they looked at were okay, but Kami fell in love with the third. She smiled when she looked out the window. A park was right across the street. A bakery was two buildings down from them. There was a grocery store within walking distance too. And…

Kami pointed at the bathroom farthest from the kitchen. "This one's mine."

Harry smirked. She was glad he had decided to forget about the almost kiss like she did. She did not want to talk about it. "Before you say you even want the place, you claim the bathroom."

Kami smiled at him. The realtor was hovering. This was one of the more expensive properties compared to the others on the list. She walked to the room in the middle and pictured herself sitting in a rocking chair by the window while feeding Jaime. "I can take him to the park while you're cooking and cleaning for us."

Harry held up his hands. "Wait? Do I have to clean this bathroom?"

"Of course." Kami grinned but suddenly found herself a little embarrassed. "You may have to teach me to cook and clean… And everything."

"Deal," he said, "We'll practice with my bathroom."

"Do you like it here?" she asked. She tended to just assume, like with the name Jaime. He never told her what he thought of the name.

Thankfully, he smiled. "I do. I think she will make lots of friends here."

"So this is it?" the realtor asked, ready to pounce. They both nodded, and she gushed, "You are going to love it here, Mr. and Mrs. Potter!"

They both stared, but neither of them corrected her.

Harry was in the foulest of moods Friday and refused to admit why. All throughout the week, he only saw Kami at work. She said that they had to make it seem like they were fighting. He only saw her when she went to drop off maternity clothes that she bought at his flat before quickly flooing home.

And of course, Sirius had to stop by while all Harry wanted to do was sulk. It wasn't enough that he had stopped by for dinner every night this week. His godfather sat on the couch and put his feet up, waiting for Harry to offer him a butterbeer.

"Where's Remus?" he asked. No Remus meant an unfiltered Sirius.

Sirius shivered in disgust. "Book club."

"Great," Harry grumbled. "So I'm responsible for feeding you tonight."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What Kami do to you this time?"

"She didn't do anything!" Harry snapped. Well, she did. Their apartment wouldn't be ready for a few weeks, and she rejected his suggestion that she put off the breakup until then. "I haven't seen her all week! Because apparently we need to make the breakup 'realistic.'"

Sirius frowned, deep in thought (never a good sign). "Wait…" Here we go… Then, a light bulb went off in Sirius's head. "You fancy her, don't you?"

"No," Harry said stubbornly. "She's my best friend, and we're having a baby. I'd like to hear more from her than her lunch order, even if it is half the bloody menu."

Sirius laughed in a way that made Harry want to punch him. "Lily was like this when she started to fancy James."

"Like what?" Harry asked. "And I don't fancy her!"

"In denial!" Sirius sang. "If only Remus were here."

"If only," Harry muttered.

"Let me guess," Sirius said as if Harry hadn't spoken. "You haven't told her?" Harry said nothing. "Listen, Harry, you can't let life slip you by. As much as I love Ginny—"

"This isn't about Ginny." Annoyed, Harry marched to the only thing that could possibly shut Sirius up. The takeaway menus.

"It is." Sirius eyed the Thai food menu but barreled on. "Because the last time you put yourself on the line like this, Ginny rejected you."

Harry froze, thinking of that day. Her backing away from him with tears in her eyes, shaking her head as her family watching in horror. "I don't want to talk about that."

"She's not Ginny," Sirius pressed. "Take the risk."

Harry sat next to Sirius and didn't say anything at first. There was more at risk here than rejection. They were building a life together, and he didn't want to ruin it. "I can't."

"If Remus were here, he would say to just ask her. Some mature bullshit saying that you're open to a relationship but would be okay if she wanted to remain friends." Sirius shook his head like the hypothetical Remus was the unreasonable one. "But he has stupid book club, so I'm in charge of fatherly advice."

"Oh joy," Harry muttered.

Sirius put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "Tell her how you feel."

Harry shook his head. Eventually, they ordered pizza, got drunk, and passed out on the couch. He was not going to tell her.

"What are you doing here?" The week had gone perfectly. She pretended to sulk and spent most of it shut up in her room with a book and hot chocolate. Then, just as she had got her family around to tell them the fake news, Harry showed up at the exact time that she told him not to. He looked a wreck too, like he hadn't slept in days.

He took a deep breath and said, "I need to talk to you."

Kami didn't know what to say. Her whole family was staring as her heart rate started to speed up. What could he possibly have to say to her that couldn't wait? "About…?"

Before he could answer, Draco decided it was the perfect moment to butt in. "Kami's pregnant. Has been for nearly four months."

And that's Part One! Part Two is already finished. I was thinking of posting it for Father's Day, but maybe sooner. If you have any requests for fluffy extras in Part Two, let me know and I'll take that time to add them in!