Since Sirius and Harry were both living at Hogwarts, for now Barbara was still living alone in her London flat, the way she had before she met Sirius, although her parents and godmother came by to visit frequently. Barbara planned to work for Mr. Glacier until Sirius left Hogwarts and she, Sirius, Harry and the baby would all be a happy family of four.

They had all agreed that their moving-to-Hogsmeade date should be "as soon as possible", not only because the further along Barbara got the harder it would be for her to move anywhere, but also because two males sharing a smallish, two-bathroom flat is most certainly a lot different than two males sharing a smallish, two-bathroom flat with one pregnant woman. Harry hoped Barbara wouldn't take his bathroom, because Sirius took more time in the bathroom due to his little "problem", and it usually didn't smell too great when he left.

Barbara thought this was somewhat amusing when they finally told her on the way to the sonogram appointment. Since it was impractical for all three of them to ride on the motorcycle, and neither Sirius nor Harry could actually drive, Barbara drove them in her car (she wasn't pregnant enough yet that the baby interfered with it). Harry liked Barbara's car, even if it was a bright-red Ford Fiesta, because it smelled good and gave a comfortable ride.

"You know," she said, "pregnancy causes constipation, too."

Well, then, you and Sirius have to share and the other bathroom is MINE, Harry thought, but he didn't say it.

"Oh really," said Sirius. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah." Barbara nodded understandingly. "It seems like you could sit on the toilet for hours and hours but then…nothing."

"Or like when you feel like you have to go, but it's really just gas pains and you don't have to at all," Sirius added.

"That's the worst," Barbara agreed, grinning at him.

Harry sighed and leaned his head against the window. It was taking a long time to get to the doctor. He wished Sirius and Barbara wouldn't discuss this sort of thing so openly, at least not in front of him, but at the same time, he figured maybe when you move in with a girl or a woman, things were different than if the two of you were just dating.

"You two sure don't seem embarrassed by that at all," Harry commented.

"I'm having a baby, and he's on prescription medication," Barbara said, giving some of her smile to Harry. "Both totally normal things…with some unfortunate side effects."

"Exactly," said Sirius. "What's there to be embarrassed about?"

"Well, I don't know," said Harry. "It's just…I would be really embarrassed if I had constipation and my girlfriend found out about it."

"That's because you're so young and awkward," Barbara told him. "In time, it'll just be another thing to laugh about with her."

Sirius and Barbara laughed, and Harry glared at them. Barbara took another sip out of the water bottle in the cup holder.

"Why are you drinking so much water, anyway?" Harry asked, more to change the subject than anything else.

"You have to have a full bladder, or that's what the doctor told me," Barbara replied. "It helps her get a visual on all my lady organs."

"Wait, isn't that my job?" said Sirius jokingly. Harry groaned.

"I meant the ovaries and uterus, idiot," Barbara told Sirius, playfully flicking him in the head. "I think you ought to clean out your dirty mind."

"Oh, it's not just dirty. Now I'm as horny as a grindylow."

"As a what?"

"I'll tell you later."

It seemed like ages before the little red Ford finally pulled into a little clinic. It wasn't like the big hospital where Harry had been given his physical exams last summer. There was still the horribly overpowering smell, though, like a mixture of rubbing alcohol and hand sanitizer, that Harry now kind of associated with hospitals and clinics. He decided he would try to ignore it. Sirius and Barbara both had stronger senses of smell than his, Sirius because of his Animagus form (when he was a human, it was about twice as strong as a normal human's, whereas as a dog it was six times as strong), and apparently being pregnant gave Barbara a very good sense of smell, too. (Harry had a feeling that once he finished first year and moved in with Sirius and Barbara, he would learn a lot more about pregnancy, and about women in general, than he had ever imagined.)

"You know, you'll get to find out whether this will be a baby girl or a baby boy," Barbara reminded Harry as they waited for the doctor to be ready.

"We just look right at the screen and…there it is," said Sirius. "Or isn't."

"Hermione thought it was going to be a girl, and Ron thought it was going to be a boy," Harry told them. "So they bet ten Galleons, then Hermione wagered fifteen, then Ron wagered twenty. So now if it's a boy, Hermione owes Ron twenty Galleons, and if it's a girl, Ron has to pay Hermione twenty Galleons."

"And which kind of baby do you want, Harry?" Sirius asked.

"I don't care, as long as it's happy and healthy," Harry said sincerely.

"Oh, c'mon," said Barbara. "Every kid has a preference."

"Not me," said Harry. He was convinced that this baby would make their family 100% whole, and not only that, he was determined to be everything Dudley, the closest thing he ever had to a sibling, wasn't. He would be a great companion, and he would teach his little brother or sister everything he knew. He was going to be the best big brother in the history of the world, and that wasn't going to change.

When everything was finally ready, they got into the ultrasound room. The doctor knew Sirius to be the baby's father, then kindly asked Harry for his name. That was one thing he loved about the Muggle world, or at least appreciated—he wasn't a celebrity there.

"I'm Harry," he told her. "I'm the baby's big brother."

"Nice to meet you," she said kindly. "Now, I understand you two wanted to find out the sex?"

"Yeah, we want to be able to buy all our baby stuff accordingly," Barbara replied.

Sirius smiled. Harry knew Barbara's grandmother was sewing the baby a patchwork quilt as a surprise, but Barbara didn't know that. The crib was also to be a surprise.

Harry kind of had a feeling how this was going to go, since he'd seen ultrasounds happen on TV. It always seemed like an excuse for soap opera writers to put out a real sappy episode, and that was something Hermione and Harry loved to poke fun at.

Sirius and Barbara, however, were waiting for the results eagerly. Sirius was trying hard to hide his amazement with Muggle ultrasound technology—there really was no spell that would let you see your unborn baby inside you—and Harry knew this must be two-times-over miraculous for Barbara, considering what she'd lost four years ago.

"Well, there you go," said the doctor. Harry heard the smile in her voice. "That's your baby right there. Are you sure you want to know the sex?"

"We're sure," said Barbara, Harry and Sirius all at the same time.

"Very well." The doctor beamed. "Congratulations…you're going to have a little girl!"

"Oh my God!" Barbara squealed, and tears sprung to her eyes. "Sirius, we're having a girl, do you see?"

"I don't see anything," said Harry, looking at the screen. "I mean, it just looks like a blob to me."

"Look closely, Harry," Sirius told him, smiling. "See? She's just moving around a lot. There's her head, and her tummy, and her legs…"

"She's about the size of a large banana," the doctor added.

Harry looked at where Sirius's finger was pointing. He kind of had to squint, because his baby sister wouldn't stop moving around in there, but with some concentration, he could make out the shape of a head, the baby's legs, and amazingly, even some of her facial features.

"Oh…wow," said Harry. That was all he could say. It was so different from seeing it on TV. That was his baby sister, thrashing around like a crazy person, and now that he knew what to look for, he could see her, and he thought she looked beautiful. His heart skipped a couple beats, and now he felt September 12 couldn't come soon enough. How he wanted to meet her…

Harry finally turned around and looked at Sirius and Barbara. They were both staring intently at the screen. Sirius had Barbara's hands clasped in his. They were both beaming.

"My daughter," Sirius choked, and he looked like he couldn't wipe the smile off his face. "I'm going to have a daughter."

"Not to mention you, Harry, you'll have a sister," Barbara added, finally managing to tear her hazel eyes away from the screen for a moment.

"And we'll all be one big happy family," Harry said, without even meaning to. He gave Sirius and Barbara one hug each, then hugged them both, and then they just stared and stared at the screen, just waiting for their newest addition to join them.

-to be continued-