A/N Thanks again M.

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Hearing the door, Poppy looked up. She knew at a glance that it wasn't good. For one thing, Minerva had so far neglected to come to her for any prenatal care – that was perhaps because of a comment Poppy had made after escorting Minerva to her rooms the night that Minerva had made her announcement. Perhaps she should have tried better to contain her excitement about the prospect of chronicling the differences between this and an ordinary pregnancy, but really, just how many articles could one person be expected to publish on Quidditch mishaps and engorgement charms gone wrong?

And more obviously, Minerva wasn't merely being supported by the Headmaster, he was carrying her. Poppy rushed over as he set her down.

Minerva's hands were pressed against her abdomen. "Poppy it hurts!"

"What happened?"

She had addressed the question to Minerva, but while Minerva gave out with a cry of pain, it was Albus who answered. "I really must be going. I have a very important meeting."

Poppy nodded. He had done his duty and delivered Minerva to the Hospital Wing. It was hardly as if Poppy expected him to stay.

"Don't go!" One of Minerva's hands grabbed at Albus's. Apparently, she did.

He didn't even look at Minerva as he responded. "I have a very important meeting. I really must be going."

As another cry subsided, Minerva pleaded with him. "Albus, it hurts and I'm so afraid! Please stay!"

He didn't even have the decency to look apologetic. He wore a vague, almost bored look. "I really must be going. I have a very important meeting."

Tears had begun to slide down Minerva's face. "Albus, I'm sorry! It was wrong, the way I went about things, but you can't possibly leave now!"

It was hardly a secret that the Headmaster did not approve of the situation that Minerva found herself in, but still Poppy found his reaction surprising. Surely any other man would have been swayed by Minerva's pleas, but the Headmaster was not to be won over. "I have a very important meeting."

Obviously Minerva was in pain, but to do anything about it, Poppy needed to know more. "Minerva, I need to know what kind of pain it is. Is it constant or shooting? Did it come on suddenly or have you been feeling unwell for a while?"

Minerva wasn't listening. She was too busy screeching at the Headmaster. "Stop saying that!"

Given Minerva's frequent and sudden shrieks of pain, Poppy gathered that while the pain might be constant, it must at times intensify.

Poppy turned to Albus for information. "Was she like this when you found her? Or was she unconscious? Could she have fallen?"

"I really must be going. I have –"

Poppy said it with him. "-a very important meeting – yes, we know." This cold-heartedness was a side to Dumbledore that most people never got to see.

Every time Minerva cried out in pain, he just repeated himself louder.

Whatever was wrong, Minerva was in too much pain to speak for herself and apparently Dumbledore couldn't be bothered to concern himself with such mundane matters as the health of his deputy and her baby. Poppy's diagnostic spells would have to speak for Minerva and her child. Poppy started casting them.

Albus was beginning to raise his voice and of course Minerva's was already up. Between the two, Poppy was having trouble hearing what she needed to hear. Since only one of the two actually needed to be there… "Albus, if you have to go then go!"

Minerva begged to differ – quite literally. "You can't leave me!"

"I really must be going! I have a very important meeting!" The way he kept repeating himself – he sounded like one of the suits of armor with their holiday carol enchantments running out.

Seeming to momentarily forget the pain she was clearly in, Minerva's focus was entirely on the Headmaster. "More important than this baby?"

Of course, Dumbledore had an answer for that. "I really must be going."

Again and again he said it, but he made no attempt to actually go. Minerva had finally stopped begging him to stay. She was still crying, but now it was a silent, almost choked cry that Poppy thought to be even more pitiful.

Seeing Minerva's fingers still twined around Albus's, Poppy thought that to be the reason that Albus couldn't go. Needing some quiet to work, Poppy tried to separate them so Albus could be on his way. When she pulled on Minerva's hand, she discovered that Minerva wasn't the problem. Finally tearing the Headmaster's hand away, Poppy saw that his hold had been so tight that his nails had broken the skin of Minerva's hand in several places.

Dumbledore insisted that he had to leave, yet he was the one with the death grip on Minerva. The Headmaster always was an odd sort of duck.

Needing the space Dumbledore was standing in, Poppy gave him a slight shove in the direction of the door. Once in motion, he stayed in motion.

While the Headmaster's presence had hardly been comforting, it had provided a distraction for Minerva. Now that he was gone, her focus returned to the problem that had brought her here.

"Poppy, what's wrong with my baby?"

The news was not good. The baby was in distress. Another spell confirmed what was already obvious. "Minerva, you're having a miscarriage."

"No!" Beginning to sob, Minerva turned her face away. "Don't say that!"

"I'm so sorry, Minerva. Let me give you a potion to sleep through the worst of it."

Turning back, Minerva's expression was somehow both at once furious and pleading. "No! No! No! You have to do something!"

Poppy hesitated before responding. There were any number of things that she could try to do – there was no guarantee that any of them would work – but there were things that she could try to do. Brushing the tears away from the younger witch's face, Poppy chose to do what would be best for Minerva.

"There will be other children, Minerva. Lots of other children." Children that weren't half-kneazle bastards forced upon her by some animal. "In time you will meet a man, fall in love, marry, and have all the children you desire. And looking back at these past few months, it will all seem like a bad dream-"

Minerva was adamant. "I want this baby! Oh Poppy, you have to help my baby!"

Poppy tucked some of the many errant strands of hair behind the other witch's ear. "Minerva, really, it's for the best, dear."

"She keeps moving!" Minerva was nearly hysterical now. "I can feel her moving inside of me! I can feel her!"

Poppy knew that she should just allow nature to take its course, but the desperation in Minerva's voice weakened her resolve. Poppy began to cast spell after spell to try to diagnose the exact problem. The spells told her what she already knew; that the baby's respiration and heart rate were ominously high. But they couldn't discern why.

"Hush now, Minerva. I need you to calm down. I know you are frightened, but try to relax. Your being upset is not helping the baby."

Minerva nodded. She stifled her sobs, but the fear and desperation in her eyes remained. Her words came out in a way Poppy had never heard from Minerva McGonagall before; meekly. "I can feel her kicking."

Poppy squeezed her hand. "I'll be right back."

Having exhausted her own knowledge, Poppy needed to seek outside assistance. Using the Floo in her office to contact St. Mungo's, she hadn't even time to get past the Welcome Witch before she heard Minerva crying out from the other room.

"She stopped moving! Oh Poppy! I can't feel her anymore!"

Rushing back out of her office, Poppy began recasting one of the earlier spells. She frowned at the result.