Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and the Unexpected Pregnancy ❯ Morning Sickness and a Bath ( Chapter 3 )

Harry was out of bed before he was even awake, trying to get his bearings and reach the bathroom before he threw up all over a floor that was not his own. Remembering that he was at the Burrow, Harry had no problems locating the elusive bathroom. It seemed that he arrived not a moment too soon as he fell to his knees and emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet bowl. When all the food was gone, dry wretches wracked his body and tears fell down his flushed face. Morning sickness was a bitch.

Ron, hearing Harry stumble down the hallway, went to see what all the commotion was about. He wasn't expecting the sight that met his eyes; Harry bent over the toilet, knuckles white as he gripped the sides, breathing in loud sobs with tears running down his face. For a while he couldn't move and just stared. Harry, unaware of his presence, remained on the floor, trying to get his breathing back to normal. It took a while, but he finally felt well enough to stand. Unfortunately, he was wrong. A wave of dizziness swept over him and he could see the toilet bowl coming up to meet him as he fell.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around him from behind, pulling him close to a well-muscled chest and holding him in an almost upright position. "Harry, what the fuck has he done to you?" Ron could feel the unnatural thinness through Harry's clothes and the weakness of the boy showed in his inability to stand.

"S-sorry, Ron. I don't mean to be a bother." His voice was harsh and grating, not at all like its usual melodic self.

"You're not a bother, we enjoy having you here." Ron smiled and picked Harry up, depositing him on a conveniently placed stool beside a very large but very old stone bath. "I think you need a bath, no offence, but you smell terrible. All sickly." Harry managed a weak smile at this, thankful that he had such a good friend.

Ron busied himself with running the bath water, which took quite a long time, before turning back to look at Harry. "Can you do this yourself, or do you want any help?" Harry wasn't sure, but he thought he spotted a slight blush on Ron's face.

"I think I'll be ok, but can you stay anyway?" Harry really didn't feel like being alone and Ron looked happy enough. He looked away as Harry undressed but heard the stool fall as Harry stumbled. Turning quickly, Ron caught him just before he fell for the second time that day. "Thanks." Harry still sounded so weak; Ron was worried about his friend's health and took the opportunity to inspect him.

What he saw made his eyes widen and his jaw drop. Harry was so thin you could count every rib and his hips stuck out terribly. What shocked Ron so much wasn't any of this; he'd practically been expecting it. What shocked Ron was the slight but very noticeable bulge of Harry's stomach, which seeped to stick out a mile from his already skinny body. Ron recognised it and knew what it was, his cousin, Fiona, Had spent a month with them the year before when she was expecting. But...Harry couldn't be pregnant, could he?

Lowering his dark-haired friend into the bath, Ron quickly excused himself, telling Harry that he was going to fetch some clean towels for him. He was swift, not wanting to make Harry worry too much while he was gone, making his way to the kitchen where his mother was cooking a rather large, chocolate gateaux. "Mum?" The plump lady smiled and turned to her youngest son. "Can men get pregnant? Wizards, I mean?" His mother looked shocked to say the least.

"Yes, however it's very rare and usually impossible without the help of magic. Why? You're not..." She took a step towards he son, anger, concern and apprehension written across her face.

"No! Not me, Harry. I think Harry might be pregnant. He looks just like Fiona did when she was expecting, only skinnier." His mother turned white, clearly thinking this over.

"It is possible, if he loved Draco enough it would happen. Perhaps we should contact Sirius? After all, he is the only family Harry has." She sat down at the table, not really knowing what to do. Most male pregnancies ended in disaster, with the death of either the parent or the child, sometimes both.

"Well, it would explain the sickness, and I know he loved Malfoy more than life itself, he told me so himself." Ron remained standing, scratching his nose as he so often did in thought. "Sirius might be some help, I'll owl him later. Can I have some towels for Harry?" Molly quickly gathered their best towels for Harry and dropped them in Ron's arms. He turned to leave, but an ominous warning from his mother made him stop.

"He's your responsibility now, he needs someone. If you don't look after him, he may not make it through this alive." Ron nodded and left, knowing he had been away from the bathroom for far too long.

Ron grinned as he re-entered the bathroom, struggling to see from behind the large pile of fluffy towels they reserved for special guests only. "Sorry, Mum decided that only the best would be good enough for you, so you've got our best towels." Ron deposited the towels on the stool, which Harry had been sitting on a while before, and held his hand up when it looked like Harry was about to protest. "No, you're the guest. You have the special towels. Mum wouldn't have it any other way." Another grin and he plopped to the floor beside the tub.

Harry was a little worried. Ron had been gone quite a while and his stomach wasn't getting any smaller. It was beginning to become quite noticeable, even through his clothes. Ron didn't seem any different, though. But, that could just have been because he didn't know how to react. "Ron." The redhead looked up, his smile fading as he saw the serious look on Harry's face. "I...I have to tell you something. I'm pregnant." To Harry's surprise, Ron didn't freak out, yell at him or any of what he was expecting. Instead, he smiled. Then laughed at the look of confusion on Harry's face.

"Yeah, I figured when I saw you earlier. Didn't know if I was right, though, so I want to ask Mum. I'm not exactly top of the class when it comes to human anatomy. Or any anatomy for that matter." He was still trying to joke about it, and Harry was grateful.

"I still don't know how I...I mean, I'm a guy. I figured it's different for wizards, though." Harry looked down at the water and blushed. He was thankful for the mass of multi-coloured bubbles surrounding him, as he was feeling particularly vulnerable and exposed at that point in time.

"Mum said that it happens if you love someone enough, and I guess you did. Harry?" Harry looked up. "Is that why Malfoy kicked you out?" He had to find out sooner or later. After all, if he was going to kill Malfoy he might as well know what he was killing him for. Harry's tears were enough to tell Ron that he was right. He leaned over; taking the sobbing boy in his arms and pulling him close, not caring that he was getting wet or that the bath was digging painfully into his side.

"S-sorry." Harry apologised again. He didn't really know what he was apologising for. Everything, he supposed.

"No! Harry don't apologise, it's not your fault. Never, ever apologise for something you have no control over. And, don't apologise for being a bother, you're not and we love having you here. You can stay for as long as you need." Ron still hadn't let go of Harry, who was gripping the front of his robes as though his life depended on it.

They stayed like that for a long time, neither one speaking or moving. Harry was the first to pull away and Ron gave him a puzzled look. Harry smiled and said just one word; "Cold." He tried to get up, feeling a lot better than he had when he had woken up. He would have made it by himself, but Ron wasn't taking any chances and quickly slipped one arm around Harry's waist, helping him out. Harry stood shivering and dripping on the cold linoleum of the bathroom as Ron wrapped a warm, fluffy towel around him.

"Harry, I think you should tell Sirius." Ron stopped emptying the bath and turned to look at the now fully clothed boy standing behind him. When he was clothed, you couldn't tell that there was anything wrong with him unless you looked at him from the side, and even then you really had to be looking for it. Harry nodded and Ron turned back to the task at hand. "I'll owl him when I've done this. You go downstairs, Mum's cooking you a late lunch." Harry really didn't feel like eating, or talking to Sirius, but he knew that he had to do both.

"I'll wait for you. What time is it, anyway?" For the first time, Harry realised that he didn't know what time of day it was, whether it was morning, afternoon or night. Well, from what Ron had said about a late lunch he knew that it must be some time between around three and six. Ron looked at his watch.

"Three-fifty. You don't have to wait for me, you know." Ron appreciated Harry staying, though he didn't show it.

"I know, but I want to. I don't know if I can face your Mum by myself right now. Especially now that she knows. I don't know how I will face Sirius either, but I know I have to." Harry sighed, taking his place on the wooden stool where the Towels had been placed. Only one remained and it made the seat rather more comfortable.

Ron quickly finished his chore with Harry watching intently. Their trip downstairs was a silent one, both apprehensive of how Mrs Weasley would react around Harry. Though, they needn't have worried, she was the same as usual. She made Harry eat as much as he could, and wasn't satisfied until his plate was almost empty. While Harry ate, Ron sent a letter to Sirius with Pidwigion, the annoying little owl which he had received as a gift from Sirius since his rat, Scabbers, turned out to be none other than Peter Pettigrew, a mass-murderer who had framed Sirius and was now serving a life sentence in Azkaban.

"I've sent it." Ron sat across the table from Harry, resting his head on one of his palms. At Harry's worried look, Ron quickly added, "I haven't said anything in the letter, just that you need to see him and that it's urgent. He'll probably arrive some time today or tomorrow." Harry visibly relaxed. He didn't want Sirius storming over to Draco's house and killing him. Normally Remus would be the voice of reason and hold him back, but in something like this, Harry wasn't so sure.