A/N: Thanks to all of you again for your reviews, no matter how you feel about the story, I appreciate the fact that you are taking the time to give me your opinions on my story. I am glad that most of you like it, and a couple of people have gotten the idea that the story is done, well it isn't done yet. And I am going to admit, I have lost track of time in the story so this next part takes place when Harry is 9 pregnant and Draco is 8 months pregnant, I know I could go back and figure it out if I really really wanted to, but I want to write this and post it before I lose track of what I want to do in this chapter, so please forgive my laziness. And before you start throwing things at me for not continuing with those speedy updates, I just want to let you know that it wasn't my fault…Harry and Draco just weren't in the mood to cooperate, the hormones really have the best of them…bloody boys! LOL! Without further ado, the next part….
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Part 15: Time
Harry…
Harry and Hermione sat in her private rooms holding each other. Since the baby shower they had been spending a lot more time together, just enjoying each other's company and relishing the time they had left as HarryandHermione before the baby came along. The couple was sitting in front of the fire each having a hand placed Harry's rather large abdomen feeling the baby kick and watching Harry's flesh give in to the kick. This is what they had found themselves doing since the baby shower. Harry had been excused from classes since his unborn child's magic had started to begin interfering with his own magic. He was performing as well as Ron did second year when his wand had been broken by that monstrosity of a tree! Since Hermione was three months ahead of everyone with her studies anyway, she just chose to hand in her assignments and magically record the classes and take notes later; she wanted to be with Harry so he wouldn't have to do anything and she hated to ask the school's House Elves to do it for her.
"Harry are you afraid?" she asked as she ran her soft hands over his bump
"Of course, but if I could kill Voldemort…"
Hermione cut him off, "This is nothing like Voldemort, and you know it!"
"Yes but how does it look if The-Boy-Who-Saved-The-Free-World can't handle such trivial pain as child birth?"
Hermione smiled almost knowingly and then in a very condescending tone said, "You're right Harry child birth is just a trivial pain"
They stared into the fire again in silence, Harry's mind working over what Hermione had said, but more specifically how he said it. After a very long silence Harry seemed to pick up the conversation where he left off the reasoning in his own mind, "That's it, the baby will just have to live in here for ever, because I am not going to let it come out!" Hermione was about to giggle, but then she noticed a look of panic that spread across his face; it was worse than the one he wore before marching off to face Voldemort. She silently reprimanded herself for putting that much fear in him and in an effort to quell the fear, she leaned over and placed a passionate kiss on his lips…
Draco…
Draco was in the common room with his legs lying across Ginny's lap, his ankles were swollen to what felt like the circumference of a vast oak tree, and he had been keeping his feet propped up almost 24 hours a day. Ginny was dutifully giving him a foot and ankle massage, filling him in on all the gossip around the castle and kidding around with each other, like they used to when no one was looking.
"Gin, you're absolutely gorgeous, you know that don't you?"
"Always a charmer you are!" and she leaned in and kissed him on the top of his forehead
Draco mockingly scoffed, "You don't think I got myself into this situation because I got kissed on the forehead!"
"No you stupid git, you got in this position because you were an arrogant prat with a wand up his arse and his nose in the air" she kidded
"Ha Ha Ginny!"
"Draco?"
"Hm?"
And then Ginny leaned in and kissed him chastely on the lips, he returned the kiss a little more aggressively and tried to pull himself up to reach her lips and run his fingers through his hair…but he had to struggle with the bump that pulled him down onto the couch every time he tried to get up.
"Oh settle down there little mother, don't want to work yourself into a frenzy" Ginny teased in her best Molly impression.
Draco pursed his lips, "I'd like to see you try to maneuver with one of these things" he said pointing to his stomach
"So would I…"
"Ginny…I…are you…sure…can we…don't you think…"
"Draco, you are forgetting that we have to wait until after you have the baby…some requisite parts are…erm…on sabbatical" she had to try really really hard not to giggle
"But who said I can't kiss you and make unicorns everywhere run from you?"
"Draco!…."
Harry…
All of a sudden Harry pushed Hermione off of him. Hermione was in a daze and was pulling her shirt up over her shoulders and was irate when she yelled, "What in bloody hell was that….", her eyes grew wide as she saw Harry's face, "Oh my Gods Harry…I thing…are you in labor?"
Harry started to do the breathing exercises that Hermione had painstakingly taught him to keep himself from screaming. It wasn't that it hurt…yet. "I don't know what is going on, but I think I've wet myself!" his face was crimson with embarrassment.
"Oh, Harry, we haven't got much time, Your water has broken. We need to get you up to the hospital wing…where is the portkey,,, and your bag"
"I don't need that portkey" he screamed indignantly "I am perfectly capable of waddling to the hospital wing!"
"Harry do you think you can get up all 17 flights of bloody stairs and down and around 9 corridors before we reach the hospital wing?"
Harry was about to say something, but just as he opened his mouth he felt like his abdomen was going to explode…"Fine give me that damned portkey…"
Hermione handed Harry the rubber doughnut he received at his baby shower and said the activation word baby booties and the pair felt the familiar tug of the portkey as they were whisked up to the hospital wing…
Draco…
Ginny jumped off the couch in one fluid motion… "Merlin Draco!"
"Sorry…I ….Oh…Gin…grab the portkey"
"Oh is that what that was I thought…never mind" Ginny grabbed the portkey from her a pocket in her robes and held Draco's hand and said the activation words pleas let it grow back and the two of them were whisked up the hospital wing…
The Hospital Wing…
"Would you four mind telling me why you are in here causing such noise?" boomed a voice from a dark corner of the room that definitely did not belong to Madame Pomfrey…
"Professor Snape?" asked Hermione
"Who else would it be? Well I am guessing that the time for the births has arrived." He said matter of factly, "Just my luck"
"What do you mean, JUST MY LUCK I don't see you getting ready to have a baby!" shouted Draco as he pushed himself off of Ginny.
"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, you both need to get yourselves onto a bed…preferably not the same one, and you two can help me deliver these babies!"
"What? Where is Madame Pomfrey?" asked Hermione with a very worried tone in her voice. It wasn't that she didn't trust Snape with her life, he did after all play his very important role in the battle, but he was Snape.
"Ms. Granger, do make yourself useful and get Professor McGonagall so we can proceed"
Hermione made her way to Professor McGonagall's chambers but she did not like the fact that Snape seemed very happy about seeing Harry and Draco in such a vulnerable state…it was all very unsettling. She decided she would do the only thing that was plausible: talk to Professor McGonagall about it before she decided she would just push him out of the room and deliver those babies herself, after all she had read about such things.
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Professor McGonagall did not hesitate an instant before she used her ward to change herself out of her dressing gown and into appropriate robes; she was half excited and half nervous. Professor McGonagall had explained to Hermione that Madame Pomfrey was unavailable to deliver the children because she was ill, and highly contagious, therefore Professor Dumbledore had sent her to St. Mungo's where she could get the care she needed.
"Misters Potter and Malfoy, please do try to control the screaming, we can hear it through the silencing charms!"
Harry was red faced with sweat dripping from his brow, squeezing Hermione's hand, he had immediately latched onto it the instant she got into the room and it looked as if he was not going to let go of it anytime soon, "HAVE! YOU! EVER! DONE! THIS!?"
"No, but I dare say boy, you have endured far worse pain than this during the battle and with that scar…now just try to calm yourself…" she took a vial of potion that Snape had handed to her, "Here boy, for the love of Merlin drink this"
"NO, going to do this the natural way. I am only going to do this once so I am going to do it right"
"Now is not the time to be a hero Potter. I have spent days brewing that potion, take it and relax. The labor is going to be drawn out as it is due to the spell. I imagine you are going to need all of the strength you can gather for the actual birth!" Snape said as calmly as he could.
Another contraction hit Harry, but he assured himself it was still minor compared to what he was going to face so he opted not to take the potion in a rather rude manner…
Draco was in the bed next to Harry, he however, was not going to pass up the chance to get his hands on the good potions while he could. He took full advantage of Snape's generosity in that department. Draco then decided he should take advantage of this opportunity to goad Potter into one of their now classic debates about something totally irrelevant that would generally just piss Potter off to no end…he had to think about it for a second, then he remembered the prediction Trelawney had made in Ginny's last Divination class and decided that that would be a topic for a few good reasons.
"So, Harry, how are you doing over there…it is really hard to concentrate with all that bellowing"
"Shut up Draco! Some of us are trying to do this like real MEN and not like a nancy git so sod off…"
"You know, even the women take the potions…you shouldn't be able to out do them on this one it is like robbing them of some right… just take the blasted potion so I can discuss more important matters with you" Harry welcomed the distraction that Draco was trying to provide, but he didn't want to distract himself from the process at hand, he wanted to experience every pain filled second, but nodded at Draco anyway while Professors Snape and McGonagall ran their wands over him performing one test or another, trying to determine when the best time to transfigure certain parts would be. So Draco taking the hint began, "Well Trelawney had one of her brilliant predictions…" he paused to see if Harry would respond, " she said that our children were going to get married…"
Harry's jaw dropped… "There is no way any child of mine is going to marry any demon spawn that springs from your…your…what ever the hell it is you have where things of that nature come…OUCH…from…" Harry was now hissing from a very bad cramp that was building in his abdomen, as he breathed the pain away according to Hermione's instructions, he realized something, "This stupid Lamaze or Lemons or whatever this breathing crap is isn't working so let's just stop with the incessant" Harry put on his best Hermione voice ever, "OK Harry, he…he…who…," he regained his own voice, "breathing and why am I saying HE HE WHO? It is a bloody baby boy so I know it is he he baby Potter damn it!"
"Anyways Potter!" chimed in Draco, "Like I said our two sons are going to be married"
"My son is a clone of myself, therefore he will be dating someone much like his mother"
"Does it threaten your sexuality to have a gay son?"
"I don't care if he is gay, he is still not marrying any bloody Malfoy!"
"Well, Trelawney does have the tendency of being right once or twice in a blue moon" then he paused and turned to Ginny, "I don't see what you women go on about, this isn't so bad!" Famous last words…
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Many Many Many Hours Later…
Draco was lying in his hospital bed on his side, screaming out in pain, "I WANT MORE PAIN POTION"
"Mr. Malfoy, I cannot give you another dose for a half an hour" Snape explained coolly, "So kindly STOP your screaming!"
Meanwhile, Harry was having a fight with Professor McGonagall and Hermione.
"Harry, look, you've known all a long that you've had to do this…"
"I've changed my mind, the baby is just going to have to find another way out!"
"Mr. Potter, I assure you, it will all turn out fine, there are no documented cases of this being permanent, I had Ms. Granger research it extensively"
"No way, get away from me…hey…what do you think…let me go…help…somebody!"
Before Harry knew what was happening, Hermione, Ginny, and good old Professor Snape were holding him down so that Professor McGonagall could transfigure him so that the birth could get underway. This process was however, disrupted, by one Draco Malfoy who wouldn't , as Snape put it so delicately, "Stop his blubbering long enough for anyone to get his or her work done"
"Now isn't the time to pull the two of them into an argument…especially when…" before Hermione could finish her sentence, there was a loud shattering noise that came form the other side of the curtain…hundreds of vials of miscellaneous medical potion ingredients shattered all over the floor…wide eyed Hermione finished her sentence, "when they don't have control over their magic right now" and then something else happened, Snape's hair turned green and he grew an amazingly large pair of breasts. Hermione and Professor McGonagall were trying not to laugh and Harry muttered something that sounded like sorry under his breath.
" Turn me back!" Snape demanded
"I'll turn you back when I get my body back to normal" Harry said through gritted teeth as he braced himself for another contraction, "Oh Merlin, I can't take this anymore…Hermione hand me a vial of potion"
"I can't do that Harry"
"Why the bloody hell not?"
"It's too late, you are going to deliver any second now"
"What do you mean its too late? It isn't too late, I'm still in pain, give me the potion"
"There was a window of opportunity and now it is closed" she said as she grabbed his hand and moved his matted hair off of his sweaty forehead, "here have an ice chip"
"I don't want a fucking ice chip I want pain potion"
"I told you the window closed"
"You are one of the most powerful witches I know, find a way to open the bloody window"
"Once the window is closed it is closed!" Hermione said sternly as she wiped Harry's face with a damp and cool wash cloth
"I don't care give me the potion, it can't hurt"
"Well it won't help either, so you can't have the potion"
"Please…it hurts"
"You were the one going on about how it was a natural process and how you wanted to feel all the experience had to offer…everyone tried to warn you…but now you are just going to have to be brave, you can do this Harry"
"But why does Draco get potion?"
"Because he has been taking it from the beginning and…oh just concentrate on your breathing…come on now Harry you have to breathe through the pain…focus on your happy place"
"Hermione, I know you are trying to help, but I don't have a happy place right now that doesn't have a big vial of pain killing potion in it!"
"Potter…would you stop moving so I can see how much further you have to go until you are ready to give birth!" cried Professor McGonagall
"No…get out of there… that hurts…ouch…another contraction…mother of Merlin…"
"Potter its almost over, you have another four centimeters to go before you can push!" she said beaming, she found herself getting more an more excited by the moment. She was then distracted by the screams of Draco… "PLEASE I NEED MORE POTION, PLEASE"
"Mr. Malfoy, you just had a dose of potion not more than five minutes ago. Ms. Weasley you should be mopping off his brow and feeding him ice chips"
"I tried Professor, but he keeps spitting them back at me, and I must say I don't fancy having chunks of ice spit at my face. It smarts!"
"I'd like to see you go through half as much pain as I am going through right now"
"I do Draco, it is called menstruation, you see once a month…"
"Yeah I know all about dealing with you and your moods"
"If you weren't in labor right now I'd use the Bat Bogey Hex on you! You.."
"Enough!" snapped Snape, "I see that you are ready to start pushing Draco" Snape moved to seat himself so he was in a better position to deliver the baby, but Draco snapped his legs shut.
"What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?"
"I am going to deliver your child"
"Oh no you aren't you're going to hurt me!"
"I assure you Mr. Malfoy that I am getting rather enough enjoyment by seeing you in such a state without further pain caused at my hand…now Minerva is busy with Potter over there, so you are just going to have to make due!"
Draco looked at him with a steely gaze, "I'll cross my legs and wait for her!"
"Suit yourself, but I may be too busy when you come to your senses!" and then Snape glided away, Minerva had set him right, but his hair was still changing to a putrid shade of green every few minutes, and he didn't want to go near Potter for fear of something worse happening to him.
---
At About the Same Time
Harry….
" Oh Merlin, I swear Hermione, I am never going to make you do this"
"Don't flatter yourself, you can't make me do anything"
"Mr. Potter, I want you to give me a big push while Ms. Granger counts…and don't forget to breathe!"
"What is it with you people and the bloody breathing?"
There was no response from either of the women as the set to work, "one…two…three…four…Don't stop Harry you have to go all the way to ten…six…seven…eight…nine…ten… good job.."
"No More"
"Well I am afraid you are going to have to do that quite a few more times before you get to see your beautiful baby"
"Too hard…no more" Hermione kissed his forehead, and then wiped the sweat from his brow with a cool cloth, and helped him sit up so he could push again as soon as the next contraction hit….
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Draco…
"Ginny, I told you I will wait for….bloody Hell that is a lot of pressure…"
"Draco you can't wait quit being so stubborn"
"I don't have to have a baby I have to take a crap!"
"No you don't you have to have the baby. I am going to get Snape!"
"No, just help me to the bathroom"
"No"
"I said…AHHHH…PAIN POTION NOT WORKING…"
"Lie back in that bed and I'll be right back with Professor Snape!"
"No" but the pleading fell onto deaf ears as Ginny turned on her heel to find Snape
--
Harry…
"Oh Harry, I am so proud of you…you're almost there!"
"Shut Up! I am never going to let that git near me again…if he even thinks of hexing me I am going to…AHH…that bloody burns!"
"Oh, Mr. Potter I can see the head, it is almost over…" said Professor Minerva like she herself was a third year walking into Honeyduke's for the first time, "a full head of the Potter hair I see…"
"C'mon Harry, you've got to give one more good push!" Harry looked at her with determination in his eyes, fear in his heart, and sweat pouring off of his face and then did what he had to do to bring his new baby into the world. He screamed as he felt himself rip and was then overcome by the most horrendous burning sensation ever, but the pain was dulled by the cries of his new born son who was covered in the most disgusting goop he had ever seen, he always thought that babies came out all clean, but no that thing looked like something even the Magical Community would vanquish… "He's, so…slimy and gross" Harry said through a haze, "but he is so…I love him already.." and then Harry laid his head back and let himself sort through his thoughts.
--
Draco…
"Come on Mr. Malfoy, you don't have much further to go"
"No, it can stay like that forever, it's head is out and it can eat so it is fine"
"You know that is just ridiculous, now push!'
"I can't"
"Draco, honey," coaxed Ginny, "you can do it. Just a few more pushes and then you can rest and take all the pain potion you want"
"Really?" he asked as an attempt to delay the inevitable
"Come on, I'll help you up"
Draco pulled himself up by the backs of his knees and pushed, "Bloody hell I swear if that arsehole ever comes near me with a his wand again I am going to hex him into the next century!" he paused only to let out a very animalistic scream "How much longer do I have to do this…it is stretching…it is never going to go back to the way it should!"
"Mr. Malfoy, one more push to get the shoulders out and you should be done!"
"Fine, but you better have that potion standing by"
Ginny dangled a vial in front of his face and he screamed as he brought his baby into the world, screaming and carrying on just as much as his father!
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The Next Morning…
Draco and Harry were in beds next to each other their babies in between them and their devoted other halves sleeping in their own beds back in the Gryffindor common room…it had been a very long night.
Harry was the first to very carefully get out of bed and waddle his way over to his baby's bassinette. "Hey there…it is too bad I can't give you a name until the Naming Ceremony, Hermione would never forgive me if I broke with tradition."
"Yeah, Ginny would kill me too" came a groggy voice from the other bed
"Oh well, I guess it gives us time to see how their personalities are so we name them properly"
"I guess"
Fin
A/N: Don' t throw anything at me just yet a sequel is going to be coming after I finish Harry Potter and the Charm Bracelet…maybe at the same time. And I did the name thing for a reason, you all needed the rest of the story and I need time to think of very appropriate names…so until the Naming Ceremony…Please read and review…
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