Hybrid Destiny

Chapter 33

The announcement of Harry and Draco’s engagement occurred the following morning. The Great Hall erupted into a low roar of noise. There were several gasps of dismay and surprise. Only a few people in the dining hall actually clapped in congratulations to the couple, and those were mainly in Gryffindor. Several people actually screamed and shouted threats to the couple. Most of those were Slytherins.

Since Ron and Ginny were no longer at school, Harry and Draco had taken to sitting at the Gryffindor table during meals. This was due mostly to the fact that ever since Harry and Draco had managed to escape Voldemort’s clutches, the Slytherins tried sabotaging their food.

“Draco? We need to leave for class,” said Harry, wincing every so often because of the noise assaulting his sensitive ears.

“We may as well. It’s not like we’re going to be able to finish our meal in peace.” Draco grabbed his bag and Harry’s hand, and they walked to DADA.

Harry enjoyed DADA class because the lecture was very interesting. They discussed several magical creatures and their particular powers before moving onto more advanced shielding and the Patronus charm. Harry didn’t participate in the practical lesson because, for one, he was pregnant, and for another, he had already taught most of the lesson to the DA in 5th year.

Herbology passed quickly. Harry couldn’t touch the plants because they were venomous. He ended up sitting in a corner alone and wrote an essay about venomous plants and their magical properties.

Harry rushed into the Great Hall and sat beside Hermione. She looked at him strangely for a moment, and then said, “What’s up with you today?”

“I have been bored out of my mind. I couldn’t touch the plants in class because they’re venomous. Instead, I had to write a one-foot essay to turn in by the end of class. If this is how it’s gonna be for the duration of my pregnancy, I foresee death by boredom. Speaking of pregnancy, did you find out anything about elfin and fae pregnancies?” asked Harry.

“Yes, I did. Both elfin and fae pregnancies usually have a gestation period of six months. Single births are more common, of course, but in powerful individuals, twins are more likely. I would definitely check with Madame Pomphrey, Harry,” said Hermione.

“I only have to go six months? Not nine? What about the actual birth?” he asked.

“Well the reason elfin and fae males can carry young is because they have an actual womb. The book said at the time of delivery the womb will connect directly to the rectum and you will have a natural birth,” she said.

“I will be squeezing this baby from my anus?” he asked incredulously. “That is gonna hurt. I don’t wanna.”

“Too late for that now, Harry,” she said, smirking at the disgusted look on the elf’s face.

“What’s that look for, elf?” asked Draco.

“I was telling him what to expect over the next 5 1/2 months. He wasn’t too happy about some of the news,” said Hermione teasingly.

“If you were in my position, you wouldn’t be happy about some of the news, either. I don’t wanna be an elf anymore.” Harry was just whining pitifully at this point. He couldn’t believe he was expected to squeeze something as big as a baby out of something as tiny as his anus. He would be ripped apart. “I need to see Madame Pomfrey.” He stood abruptly and practically ran from the room.

*****

“Hermione? What exactly did you tell him that disturbed him so much?” asked Draco.

“I told him about the birthing process. He will have a natural birth and the baby will be born rectally,” said Hermione, grimacing at the scowl Draco directed her way.

“You told him that? Why on earth would you deliberately terrorize my elf like that?” Draco was extremely upset now. He was also worried that Harry would get careless in his unhappiness and get hurt. “Never mind, I’ll go find Harry.”

Draco hurried out after the distressed elf. He finally found him sitting in the infirmary, talking to Poppy quietly. Poppy had pulled him into a hug and was rubbing his back soothingly. As he got closer, he could hear her murmuring, “Yes, childbirth is painful, but when that baby is in your arms, all the pain will be worth it. I will be right here with you through the whole process, and I’m sure Draco will be as well.”

Harry finally fell asleep. He was only three weeks pregnant but he’d been napping a lot more lately. Draco let him sleep in the infirmary while he went to his next class. Once class was over, Draco went back to collect Harry from the hospital wing.

****

The next two months passed with no problems. Harry only had minor nausea in the mornings that quickly passed once he’d eaten. He still visited Poppy every week and she gave him a positive report with every visit. He was especially excited about this week, though, because she was going to tell them what sex the baby was. He couldn’t wait.

Since this was Easter weekend, they were among only a few students who had stayed over the holidays. They were going to meet Poppy in the infirmary at 11:00 this morning.

Harry had been awake since 7:00 this morning. Of course, it was only 8:00 but Draco still showed no signs of waking. He finally decided drastic measures were needed, and he jumped up on the bed, jostling the snoozing blonde.

“Harry? What are you doing? Come back to bed,” mumbled Draco. He wasn’t at all ready to get out of bed yet.

“Draco, get up,” he wheedled. “We have to see Poppy today, remember? She’s going to tell us what our baby is. I can’t wait.” He bounced on the bed with every sentence.

“Fine, I’m up. What time did you get up this morning? And did you eat any chocolate?” asked Draco, climbing slowly out of the bed.

“I’ve been up since 7:00,” he said.

“And the chocolate?” asked Draco pointedly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You know Madame Pomfrey told me to cut back on the chocolate,” said Harry, evading the question.

“She told you that because you ate an entire box of fudge instead of eating lunch. Now, did you have any chocolate this morning?” he asked once again.

“Just a piece,” he started, “or five.”

“Five pieces of chocolate?! No wonder you’re bouncing off the walls. I hate to do this to you, elf, but you’ve left me no other choice. I’m throwing away all the chocolate.” Draco collected every box of chocolate in the room, called a house elf, and ordered him to throw all the chocolate away.

“Draco! I can’t believe you did that! I don’t ever want to see you again!” Harry had tears rolling down his face as he ran from his cruel mate.

****

“Harry?” asked Hermione, seeing the elf when she came out of Gryffindor tower. She gasped when she saw the tears on his face. “What’s wrong, Harry? What happened?”

“Draco threw away all my chocolate. I need chocolate,” pouted Harry at the injustice of it all. “I only had a couple of pieces this morning, and he threw it away because he was in a bad mood.”

“I can’t believe Draco would do something like that. Here, I have some chocolate you can have.” Hermione rummaged in her bag and found a small bar of chocolate and handed it to Harry.

“Thank you so much, Hermione. You wanna come to the infirmary with me. I get to see what sex my baby is,” said Harry, happy once again.

“Isn’t Draco going with you?” she asked.

“That traitor? Who cares?” he said negligently.

“Harry! You don’t really mean that,” she said sternly.

“Of course not, but I can still vent,” he sighed. “You can still go with me, if you want.”

“Sure. Why not?” she said.

*****

“Harry! Where have you bee? I’ve been looking all over for you,” said Draco worriedly. “I can’t believe you rushed out of the room like that.”

“I can’t believe you threw away all of my chocolate. How could you?” wailed Harry, unhappy once again.

“I’m only doing it for your own good,” said Draco reasonably.

This little comment really set Harry off. “For my own good? Like Dumbledore made me stay at the Dursleys where they starved me on a regular basis? Or like Dumbledore kept information from that resulted in the death of my godfather?”

“Harry, no. I just don’t want anything to happen to you or the baby. I love you. It would destroy me if anything happened to you,” said Draco fiercely.

“Gods, Draco, I am so sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately. Hermione’ll probably say it’s hormones and at this point, I would have to agree. One minute I’m perfectly happy and the next, well you know,” said Harry contritely.

“I’m sorry for throwing all your chocolate away. You can still have chocolate, just don’t eat so much,” said Draco apologetically.

“Well you might want to hold onto this, then,” said Harry, handing over the chocolate bar Hermione had given him.

Hermione, who had been watching the conversation with fascination, realized that Harry had manipulated her for that chocolate. “I can’t believe you, Harry. You tricked me into giving you chocolate.”

“No, I didn’t. Draco did throw all my chocolate away,” he said.

“Draco just said that Madame Pomfrey told you to cut back,” she said.

“I have cut back,” he said indignantly.

“I think she meant by more than just one less piece a day,” said Draco teasingly.

“I’ve cut back a lot more than that. It’s at least by five pieces a day,” he pouted.

“And that’s why you woke me up at 8:00 bouncing on the bed because you had already eaten five pieces of chocolate in the hour you’d been awake,” said Draco.

“Five pieces of chocolate? And all before breakfast? Really, Harry, you know better than that,” sighed Hermione in exasperation.

“Five pieces of chocolate? It’s no wonder you’ve gotten so pudgy,” drawled a voice behind them.

Hermione and Draco turned around cautiously expecting to see Severus Snape. When they had turned around completely, they didn’t see him anywhere. They did see, however, a smug smile on Harry’s face and his wand in hand. They finally followed the line of his gaze and saw a black-eyed toad.

“Draco, I think I have a sudden craving for frog legs. What do ya think?” asked Harry, staring at the toad with malicious intent.

“I think you should turn Uncle Sev back. He’s going to kill you when he’s normal again,” said Draco.

“Then I think I’ve just acquired a new pet. Besides, it’s nothing less than he deserves. You heard what he said,” said Harry reasonably, stalking the nervous toad. He lunged at Severus just as Poppy walked in the room.

“Harry, what are you doing?” she asked.

“Trying to catch my new pet. Ohh, maybe Ryoku would like a snack,” he said.

“Don’t you dare feed Uncle Sev to that snake, Harry,” said Draco sternly.

“That’s Severus? Who turned him into a toad?” she asked. She was thoroughly confused.

“Harry did,” said Hermione, trying to catch the toad before Harry could.

“Harry, why did you turn Severus into a toad?” she asked patiently.

“He said I was pudgy,” he said, and then he burst into tears.

“Really, Severus, you know better than to tell a pregnant person they’re fat,” she sighed. “Accio Severus.” Poppy turned Severus back into his normal snarky self.

“Why you little..,” he started. He didn’t get very far because Draco stepped in front of Harry and Poppy put him in a body bind.

“Don’t you even start, Severus. It’s your own fault,” said Poppy sternly. “When I lift this binding spell, I suggest you go back to class.”

“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. He stalked out of the infirmary with a glare at Harry as soon as the binding was lifted.

“Well now that all the excitement is over, do you want to see your baby?” she asked.

“Yes!” cried Harry, rushing over and jumping on the bed. He quickly lay down and waited for further instructions. Hermione and Draco just snickered at his exuberance.

“Lift your shirt and lower your pants a bit,” she said. Once that was done, she waved her wand over his abdomen and a three dimensional picture appeared above his belly. “Well, well. Look, Harry, you’re carrying twins. This one,” pointing at the figure on the right, “is a boy. And this one,” pointing to the other figure, “is a little girl. Now you just have to think of names.”

“Oh my god, Draco, look. That’s our babies,” said Harry with a misty smile.

“Oh no. What if they’re both like you? They’ll be in life threatening situations before they’re two,” he teased.

“If they’re both just like me, that just means you get double the perfection,” Harry teased back at Draco.

“You’re really having twins. Wow, that is so amazing,” said Hermione with tears in her eyes. “Have you thought of any names yet?”

“Nope,” said Harry.

“Well it’s no wonder you’re already showing. With two babies packed in there, it was inevitable,” she said reasonably.

“Are you saying I’m fat?” asked Harry indignantly.