As far as Harry could tell, Barbara was greatly enjoying her week at Hogwarts. She loved to hear about his classes, and they even let her try on the Sorting Hat, which told her that if she'd gone to Hogwarts, she would have been in Hufflepuff. She and Sirius were already looking at homes for sale in Hogsmeade. Barbara said that since she'd lived in her parents' flat all her life and then her own, it would be the first time she had ever lived in a house—or, indeed, a small, quaint village like Hogsmeade.

On Friday, after Care of Magical Creatures, Harry went to visit her and Sirius in Sirius's quarters. He was telling her about Herbology, because that was the class Hufflepuffs were supposed to be good at.

"I don't think I'd be good at it, though," Barbara said thoughtfully. "I've never really had a 'green thumb', so to speak. I bet I'd be good at Potions, though. It can't be that different from cooking."

"It's really not, actually," Harry agreed. "Snape says Muggles can't make Potions. But I bet you could do it while you're pregnant."

"And even if you weren't good at Herbology, it's very Hufflepuff to be good with food," Sirius added, then stood up. "Speaking of…I need to go to the bathroom for a minute. You two just stay here and chat, okay?"

Harry and Barbara had been getting along, but as soon as Sirius had left the room, things got a little uncomfortable. It was like one of those times where two people have a mutual friend, but once that mutual friend leaves, there's nothing much to talk about. Finally, Harry attempted to fill the terrible silence.

"So, um…are you excited to be a mother?" he said awkwardly.

"Of course I am," said Barbara, but then she sighed and added, "I just don't think I'm going to be very good at it."

Harry was surprised Barbara would tell him something that personal. He turned to look at her intently and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I just see how Sirius is so excited, and he's so ready to be a father—I know he'll be a great one," she told him. "And then there's me…"

It was obvious to Harry that Sirius had Barbara totally fooled. He was completely nervous about being a father, and he hadn't let on one bit, probably because he didn't want to worry her. For a minute Harry wondered if he should tell Barbara how Sirius really felt, but then he figured Sirius had told him that in confidence, and it was Sirius's choice to share with Barbara, not Harry's.

"What about you?" said Harry. "You're not ready?"

"I don't think so," she replied sadly. "I've never been very good at most traditional mum-things, like cleaning, gardening, entertaining or interior design. When we looked at houses in Hogsmeade, I didn't know what I was doing. I know how to do laundry, but in the winter my clothes always have static on them, and I'm terrible at folding. I don't know how my mother ever got them so neat. And when something of mine gets a bad stain on it, usually I end up just throwing it out. I don't know how to change diapers or make babies stop crying. I've never even babysat."

"But you're amazing at cooking," Harry pointed out. "It's important for a mother to be good at cooking, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Barbara nodded. "And it's not something I'm just good at, either—I really enjoy it. That's the time when I feel the most…myself."

"Right," said Harry. "And as for all the other stuff, you can learn it, or Sirius can help you. Plus, my Aunt Petunia had a trick for getting the static out of clothes. She would just rub them with lotion before she put them away."

Harry couldn't believe he was sharing his aunt's homemaker tips with anyone, but if it made Barbara feel better, he would do it.

"There are also all these decisions," Barbara continued, "like I think I started lactating a couple days ago—"

"What?" said Harry.

"It means my breasts have started making milk," she said. "That's why they hurt so much in the first trimester. I also have to pee all the time and I feel really bloated and crampy."

"Well, I didn't know that," said Harry, not wanting to tell her she'd given him a bit too much detail.

"I agree with what my godmother says, which is that it's the mother's choice and you have no right to tell her either way," Barbara continued, "but I don't know what I'll choose."

"What's the mother's choice?" Harry asked.

"Whether to breastfeed or bottle-feed," Barbara explained. "Sirius said he'd be happy to feed our baby a bottle, and he also said that using magic, he can get bottles to refill themselves."

"Like how his hair potions refill themselves, you mean?"

"I guess so," she said. "But now that you've told me that, I need to steal some of those. Considering how long and thick my hair is, you can imagine I go through shampoo and conditioner quite quickly. I always buy those salon-size bottles, but it's never enough."

"I'll let him know," Harry promised. He could sympathize with anyone who had hair issues.

"But my worst fear," Barbara said abruptly, and her voice was shaking, "isn't that I won't be able to change a diaper or that our house will be dirty. What I'm afraid of is that when the baby grows up, it'll hate me—or at the very least, I won't be able to relate to it. I'm hoping it'll be like the sort of relationship you have with Sirius, but what if we're not close? I don't think I could take it."

"There's no reason for your new baby to hate you," Harry told her. "I know you'll love it a lot."

"I'm going to be the worst mother ever!" Barbara declared, and to Harry's alarm, she began to cry.

Harry wasn't really sure what to do. It wasn't a complete surprise, considering the pregnant women he saw on TV were always having crazy mood swings, for whatever reason. But how was he supposed to get Barbara to stop crying? He and Barbara had never been very close, but still, he felt bad, watching her sit on the couch and cry. Finally, he found something that he thought might work.

"Don't cry, Barbara," he said, putting his arms around her. "You're the closest thing to a mother I've ever had."

Almost an instant later, Harry wished he hadn't added that last part, since it only made her cry more.

"I'm sure you won't be the worst mother ever," he added, thinking of Sirius's mother. "As long as you love the baby, it'll be fine. And I know that nobody will love this baby more than you and Sirius will."

Barbara hugged Harry back, tightly, and tousled his hair. For some reason he found he didn't mind as much this time. She didn't smell like lavender perfume anymore; in fact, she smelled a little like sweat, which he figured maybe had something to do with her being pregnant.

"Oh, you're such a sweet kid, Harry," Barbara said tearfully. "I can see why Sirius thinks so highly of you."

"He does?"

"Of course," Barbara said. "He loves you until the ends of the Earth. And I love you too."

Harry had only half-meant it when he told Barbara she was the closest thing to a mother he had ever had. She had always been a little irresponsible, and she and Harry weren't exactly best friends. Nothing about her really seemed that motherly, to be honest. But then, maybe it didn't need to. He didn't really have another "mother figure" in his life, and she obviously had grown to care for him. Most importantly, for the first time since he had known her, he now felt safe in her arms. And maybe that was what being a mother was all about.

"I love you too, Barbara," he said, and his voice wasn't the steadiest it had ever been. He wasn't going to cry in front of her, though. They weren't that close.

Then they heard someone say, "How long was I in there?"

Both Harry and Barbara turned their heads at once to see Sirius, who had just stepped into the drawing room and was watching them, smiling, his arms crossed.

"Oh…hi, Siri," Barbara said shakily. Sirius's smile faded a little when he saw that her cheeks were streaked with tears.

"Were you crying, honey?" he asked, climbing onto the couch. Harry moved away, so she and Sirius could be next to each other.

"No," she said defensively, but then she started crying again.

"What's the matter?" asked Sirius, putting his arm around her and looking a little concerned.

"Barbara was afraid she would be the worst mother ever," Harry explained. "I was telling her she wouldn't be."

"You can't be the worst mother ever," said Sirius, trying to make a joke of it. "My mother has already secured that title."

"But except for cooking, I can't do any mother things," she told him. "I can't clean house properly—you've seen my flat, it's a total mess. And I've never changed a diaper in my life."

"I can clean the house by magic," Sirius reminded her. "And as for the diapers, it's easy once you get the hang of it. Ever wiped your own ass? It's not that different."

Barbara finally let out a shaky laugh.

"Thanks, Siri," she said. "You always know how to cheer me up."

"Anything for my baby," he told her, giving her a gentle hug and smoothing her long dark hair.

"Which one?" she asked jokingly, and they both laughed, until Barbara screamed, "Oh!"

"What?" said Sirius anxiously, pulling away.

"I swear I felt—some…some kind of movement!" she cried.

"Like a kick?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"No, no, more like a…like a fluttery little thing…"

And for the third time that day, Barbara started to cry, burying her face in Sirius's robes, but this time it was because she was so happy. Sirius hugged her again, looking like he couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

"It's a baby," she sobbed, holding tightly onto Sirius. "It's our wonderful little baby."

"I know, honey, I know," said Sirius, rubbing her back. Tears shone in his gray eyes, but they were so full of life.

"Well, I'm going to get some rest," Barbara said finally, after she had managed to stop crying.

"Tell us if it moves again, please," said Harry, as she got up from the couch.

"Will do." Barbara gave them a watery smile, then left.

"I've never seen Barbara so emotional," said Harry, once she had disappeared into the bedroom.

"I guess it's because she's pregnant," said Sirius, shrugging. "It seems you just have to let her get it out. Since I'm not the one in the family way, I might as well try to make it easier for her."

"How do you know?" Harry asked.

"Well, I checked out a book on it from the Muggle library," Sirius told him. "And even though most of that stuff I didn't know, it was really quite amazing. I remember I was reading about this hormone that's designed to keep the baby safe when it was really small, and for some reason it struck me so hard right then. Like this chemical thingy is designed just for that purpose, so that a tiny unborn baby, just the size of your fingertip, will be safe. And even though it doesn't always go okay, just the fact that the human body is capable of something like that…well, life really is a miracle. From now on, I don't think I'll be able to take one single breath for granted ever again."