It was Neville.
"Harry, Harry!" he panted. "I-I saw Sirius in the hallway! With—with some woman!"
"What?" Harry gasped.
Neville nodded, but Harry couldn't believe it. The woman couldn't be Barbara, because Muggles couldn't see Hogwarts. The more he thought about it, the more Harry feared the worst. What if they had indeed lost their baby, and on the way back from London, Sirius had stopped at a pub in Hogsmeade, gotten drunk and…Harry couldn't even think it.
"I'm sorry, Harry," said Neville, leaning against the wall. "I didn't think he was capable of that, either."
Ron and Hermione were both staring, speechless, at Harry, who wouldn't look at them. But then two other people stepped into the room, and Sirius did indeed have a woman with him.
"Barbara!" Hermione cried.
Harry felt his mouth drop open. Yes, it was Barbara, and she was smiling. So was Sirius. Harry, Ron and Hermione all scrambled up to her, demanding an explanation.
"Calm down, everyone," said Sirius, and Harry was not just relieved but overjoyed to see that the light had finally come back into his eyes. "We've got some good news for you."
"Is it that Barbara's pregnant?" Hermione asked. She was now smiling, too.
"Wha—how did you—?" Barbara looked confounded.
"Well, the only people who can see and enter Hogwarts are people who have a magic gene," Hermione began. "And since Barbara's a Muggle, the only way she could have a magic gene inside of her is if she was impregnated by a wizard."
"She's right," said Sirius in shock. "Barbara and I are indeed expecting a baby."
"Oh, congratulations!" Hermione shrieked, and she ran up to Barbara, hugging her tight. "This is so great…When are you due? Do you know what kind of baby it's going to be?"
"I'm due September 12, 1992," said Barbara, "and it was a bit too early to tell whether it will be a boy or a girl. But we can find out in another month or so."
"And I'm going to build a crib, and I'm going to paint it either pink or blue, and we're going to turn the guest room into a baby room, and we're going to babyproof the whole flat, and we're going to get to see the baby again—by the way, did you know I got this awesome picture?"
Sirius's eyes were wet again, but this time with happy tears, and Harry laughed at how excited he seemed. He looked at the picture Sirius was holding out, and so did Hermione, Ron and Neville.
"Um…what are we supposed to be looking at?" said Ron.
"It's a sonogram, Ron," said Hermione, rolling her eyes. "Can't you see the baby?"
Harry squinted at the black and white photo.
"I see it!" he said, pointing. "See that, right there? That's the baby!"
"Muggle technology is amazing," Sirius said enthusiastically. "We got to hear the baby's heartbeat and see it swimming around—"
"I don't think swimming is the right word," said Barbara, grinning. "But it was moving a lot, and the doctor said the heartbeat was really strong."
"And then Sirius told you he was a wizard?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," said Barbara. "I was really shocked at first, of course, and I thought he was playing a joke on me. But then he showed me some magic, and he showed me how his motorcycle flies—can you believe it? Then he said he could show me Hogwarts, because if our baby had a magic gene I would be able to see it, too."
"You might also be capable of accidental magic now, too," Hermione told her. "But it will be very rudimentary, since you haven't had any training."
"That's amazing," said Barbara.
"So where are you going to be staying?" Ron asked. "Sirius's teacher's quarters, right?"
"Of course." Barbara nodded, and Sirius put his arm around her waist. "I thought I would stay here with you lot for a week or so and then I could go home this weekend. We were just going to head back to Sirius's quarters now—but Sirius, you said you wanted to catch up with Harry before we left?"
"Yes," said Sirius, kissing her on the cheek. "You go on without me—take this Map. My place is labeled as 'Professor Kettleburn's Quarters', because that's who lived there when the Map was written."
Barbara took the Marauder's Map from him and looked at it with wide eyes, then used the Map to find her way to Sirius's teacher's quarters. Neville, Ron and Hermione headed off to bed, while Sirius and Harry sat in some armchairs near the fire.
"So, how was it?" Harry asked, smiling. "Didn't I tell you everything was going to be okay?"
"Yeah, you did." Sirius was smiling too. "It was really great. I have to admit, I actually did cry a little when I heard that heartbeat. I just couldn't believe it, you know? My own little baby…and someday it will be born, and I'll get to hold it in my arms. I know that machine works with science and not magic, but it was still a little magical."
"The baby will be born once the school year starts up again," Harry reminded him. "So you'll need to get home really quickly when the baby comes."
"Well, actually, Barbara and I were thinking we might move into Hogsmeade over the summer, so Barbara and the baby can be close to Hogwarts," Sirius said.
"Can Muggles see Hogsmeade?"
"Yeah, they can, unlike Hogwarts," Sirius replied. "Most of them just don't know where it is, that's all."
"I think Barbara's life will be a lot more exciting now," said Harry. "And it'll be great to live in Hogsmeade. I won't even have to take the school train to get to Hogwarts. I'd just have to go through that shortcut in Honeydukes you showed me."
"Just make sure you meet the other students in the Great Hall," Sirius told him, then yawned. "Blimey, it's been a long day…I'd better go meet Barbara in the teacher's quarters, make sure she got there okay…"
"Hmm…" Harry voiced something he'd been wondering. "Can you still shag her when she's pregnant?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," said Sirius. "Those pregnancy hormones—well, you'll find they make her almost insatiable."
"That was way more than I needed to hear, but okay," said Harry. "Have fun, I guess."