Chapter Text
Shit. Fuck. Merlin’s fucking bollocks.
The two pink lines on the plastic stick in her hands stared back at her, confirming her worst fears. She didn’t trust the diagnostic charm as the golden orb fluttered in front of her, so she had resorted to the Muggle method of peeing on a stick. She thought that surely her magic had been interfering with the charm, holding onto the results of someone else from within the hospital.
But lo and behold, it was undeniable.
Pansy Parkinson was pregnant. With Harry Potter’s baby.
There was no doubt that it was Harry’s baby. Not only did the timing match up, but Pansy hadn’t slept with anyone else in over a year. It wasn’t physically possible to be anyone’s but Harry’s.
A shiver ran down Pansy’s spine as she recalled the night of their encounter, the images stamped on her brain.
Pansy’s eyes squinted as she tried to make out the stumbling figures in front of her.
“Salazar’s sake, Potter, tell Henry to ease up on the Ogden’s next time,” she moaned, tripping over the cobblestone path.
Harry’s hand shot out to grab her, stopping her from face-planting the pavement. Damn those fast Auror reflexes.
“Nothing to do with Henry’s heavy hand, Parks, you’re just a lightweight.”
Harry’s brilliant green eyes glistened at her from below the dim streetlamp, his cheeky smirk sending bolts of nervous energy ricocheting around through her skeleton. He had been touchy and flirty with her all night, and now with Weasley off stumbling into lampposts, his full attention had shifted to her.
The sensation of his pinky finger brushing against the back of her hand sent a barrage of goosebumps up her arms, the fine hairs standing on end.
Harry licked his lips, those green eyes darkening as he opened his mouth. “Pansy, I—”
The dull sound of a metallic thud stopped his words, as both Harry and Pansy looked up to see Ron falling to the pavement after colliding headfirst into a pole.
Harry let out a resigned sigh. “Help me get him home?”
Harry Potter had sauntered into Pansy’s life nearly a year ago as he came back from a raid with all the bones on his right-hand side completely shattered. It took a team of three healers and almost the entire supply of Skele-Gro at St. Mungo’s to repair his broken body, but it was Pansy by his side as he finally came to.
“Pansy Parkinson? Is that you?” Harry’s voice rasped from behind her. She spun quickly to find his groggy stare pointed at her. “How long have you been a healer?”
Pansy crossed her arms defensively. “I finished my training three years ago, before spending another six months specialising in trauma injury. You’re lucky to have me here, Potter, you’d probably be dead otherwise.”
Harry raised his good arm weakly. “Ease up, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just curious. I haven’t heard much from you since the war, I didn’t realise you were still here.”
Pansy softened slightly. “I did my training in France and worked over there afterwards. I’ve only been back in England for a few months.”
“I had a feeling you hadn’t been back long, I’ve been in this ward more times than you can count the past year.”
Pansy rolled her eyes. “That must be why they needed me so desperately. Only Pansy Parkinson could deal with the antics Harry Potter gets himself into each week. Poppy Pomfrey must be glad she’s getting a break.”
Harry chuckled before grimacing weakly, clutching his side. “How much longer do you suppose I’m in here for?”
Pansy twisted the lid off a bottle of Skele-Gro. “Another day or two at most. I’d joke that you had a share in this stuff with how much you’ve gone through it the past day, but’s it’s not a joke is it?”
“What do you mean?” Harry asked, a puzzled look on his face.
Pansy paused. “You do know your ancestor, Linfred of Stinchcombe, invented Skele-Gro, right? Where do you think the gold in your Gringotts vault came from?”
Harry took the cup from Pansy. “I guess my ancestors could see the future and knew I’d need it someday. Blimey, this stuff never gets any tastier.”
“Maybe while you’re not getting disembowelled you could improve the recipe.”
Harry grinned at her, his eyes sparkling. “You’d better still be on the ward next time I need a dose, you’ve certainly made it go down easier.”
Pansy raised an eyebrow challengingly. “And if I’m not?”
“Then I’ll launch myself from this bed and re-break every bone so that you’ll come running.”
Pansy tried to stop the wry smile from forming on her face, but failed. “Fine. I’ll be here.”
Thus had begun the constant game of cat and mouse. Harry would come into St. Mungo’s, injured from whatever death mission he had been on, and would refuse treatment unless it was from Pansy. He would cheekily flirt with her, Pansy would heal him, then he would be on his merry way.
Pansy knew he was divorced, of course. It had been splashed all over The Daily Prophet as Ginny Weasley moved on with Gwenog Jones of the Holyhead Harpies, their public displays of affections after each Quidditch match being too steamy to ignore. Harry didn’t seem to be too heartbroken, still working as an Auror at the Ministry, so she figured he was doing okay.
It wasn’t until that fateful night that Pansy followed Harry home that she saw what his post-divorce life was like.
Harry pushed open the door to 12 Grimmauld Place, grunting as the lock got stuck in the jamb.
“Sorry, it’s a bit sticky sometimes,” Harry apologised, “The Floo is blocked up at the moment, Percy is supposed to come around and fix it during the week.”
He almost sounded embarrassed as he pushed aside toys and children’s books with his foot, clearing a path to lead Pansy down the hallway.
“It’s fine, my flat still isn’t connected to the Floo yet, so if you could send Percy my way afterwards that would be fantastic,” Pansy said nervously. She couldn’t believe that he had invited her home, getting a look inside Harry Potter’s house was almost as good as getting a private tour of Gringott’s.
Harry moved a basket of unfolded laundry off the couch to make space for Pansy to sit with him. “The boys are with Ginny in Wales this week, since I’ve been—well, you know.”
Pansy did know. She had been healing him for three days, during which he had asked her to come to drinks with his friends at the Leaky Cauldron. She had finally said yes after he convinced her it wasn’t a date and there would be other girls there. Pansy didn’t know that he meant Hannah Abbott, who was quiet as a mouse by Longbottom’s side, and Luna Lovegood, who examined everyone’s auras before they were allowed to buy a drink.
Harry had flirted with Pansy all night, but now that they had dropped Ron back to his mother’s house with a Sober-Up potion and some Dittany paste for the bruise on his head, he had turned shy.
Taking a leap of faith, Pansy grabbed Harry’s hand where it rested on the couch between them. “Harry, it’s fine.”
Harry’s eyes met Pansy’s for the first time since they had arrived at Grimmauld Place. It was dark inside, but she could still see the way they lit up.
“What was that?”
Pansy frowned. “What was what?”
Harry smirked. “You just called me Harry. Not Potter, Harry.”
Pansy scoffed, her cheeks heating up as she realised. Fuck. “Well, don’t let it get to that big, fat head of yours, Potter—”
“Who?” Harry began to lean toward her, his arms caging her in on the couch as she leaned away from him.
Pansy swallowed roughly, her breathing becoming rapid as he licked his lips again. “Harry.”
Harry swooped down to connect his lips with hers, tasting like the Firewhiskey he had been drinking all night. Pansy moaned as he nipped at her bottom lip, allowing his tongue entrance to her mouth. Her hands gripped that messy black hair that she had been dying to run her hands through for months now, tugging him closer to her.
Harry came up for breath, panting heavily as his darkened eyes met Pansy’s.
“You know, Parks, this couch isn’t the greatest piece of furniture to be lying down on. Why don’t I show you to somewhere a little more comfortable?”
Pansy slapped his ass playfully. “Lead the way, Potter.”
And now, after spending a night in a bed that was not quite as comfortable as Harry made it out to be, Pansy was standing in her private office, holding a Muggle pregnancy test that confirmed she was having Harry’s baby.
A knock came on the door and Pansy scrambled to hide the plastic stick as the door opened. Susan Bones’s round face peeked inside.
“Sorry to interrupt, Healer Parkinson, but you’ve been requested down in the emergency ward by a new patient. Well, a familiar patient, but it’s the first time he’s been in this week. Must be a new record for him,” Susan said.
Fuck. Harry was requesting her healing services. She couldn’t well tell him no, otherwise he would know something was wrong. She hadn’t seen him since that night, as he had been assigned desk duty while Ron recovered from his alcohol-induced concussion, and then went out on a mission once he was cleared.
“Tell him to sit tight and I’ll be down shortly.”
Susan closed the door behind her, leaving Pansy to panic alone. It was fine, she didn’t have to tell him right here and now, there were no visible signs of pregnancy and Harry’s eyesight was poor enough that he probably wouldn’t notice anyway.
With shaking hands, she left her office and made her way to the emergency ward.
When she finally reached the emergency ward, she found Harry holding a bag of ice to his head with his right hand, while his left arm hung limply by his side.
He grinned at her as soon as she entered the room. “There’s my favourite Healer.”
Pansy rolled her eyes. “I’m the only Healer you’ve seen in the past year, I would want to hope I was your favourite.”
He shrugged. “Not every Healer can do the things to me that you do.”
Pansy’s spine stiffened at his double entendre. She knew exactly what he meant, and with the positive pregnancy test sitting in the desk drawer in her office, it made her feel uncomfortable.
Pansy ran the diagnostic charm to determine exactly what she was dealing with. A dislocated shoulder and possible concussion, with deep lesions at the temple.
She began to snip away at his shirt with her wand, cutting the seams precisely so she could repair it for him afterwards. Besides, the less of his bare skin she saw right now, the better.
“You know, Parks, if you wanted me to take my shirt off, you could have just asked me,” Harry said suggestively.
Pansy shot him a filthy look. “You’re in my workplace, Potter, and what happened between us technically goes against the hospital’s ethics code. If I wasn’t the head of the ward, I would get fired. And it’s Healer Parkinson to you.”
Harry’s cheeks flamed up as he averted his gaze, unable to stop the smirk from crossing his face. “Sorry, Healer Parkinson.”
Pansy placed her hands on his now-bare shoulder. “Brace yourself, Potter, this is going to hurt.”
His eyes closed and she could see him grit his jaw as she popped his shoulder back into the socket. He made a small grunt of pain before flexing his fingers, wincing at the movement. He moved the bag of ice to his shoulder as Pansy looked at the gashes on his head. They were too deep for dittany alone, they would need stitching.
Pansy took a seat next to him as she pulled her suture kit from her robes. Most healers stitched wounds with their wands, but Pansy preferred to use her hands. It was easier for her to control, and they were more precise.
As her fingers gently caressed his battered head, she caught the way Harry’s body sagged under her touch, his eyes fluttering closed again.
“We really should stop meeting like this,” Harry chuckled weakly.
“Well, you’re the one that requested me as your personal Healer, and you can’t seem to stop getting hurt.”
“Did you ever think that maybe the reason I keep hurting myself is so that I have an excuse to see you again?”
Harry’s admission came quietly, and as Pansy looked up into his green eyes, they were soft and his expression open. It had been a couple of months since she had seen him, but she was sure that he hadn’t forgotten about their night together. Not with the way he was staring at her right now.
Pansy cleared her throat, returning to her sutures as the positive pregnancy test flashed in her mind. “You’ve been landing yourself in the hospital wing ever since you stepped into the doors at Hogwarts, I hardly think it’s me that’s still landing you in these situations.”
Harry chuckled, wincing as Pansy tugged a little more forcefully at his skin. “You got me there, Parks. But I could have just taken a desk job, you know.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
He shrugged his good shoulder. “What’s life without a little risk?”
Pansy avoided risk as much as possible after the war. Hiding away in France, where no-one knew her, only coming back to Britain once she was sure her name wouldn’t be dragged through the mud. There was a reason she lived a safe, uneventful life. The one time Pansy had taken a risk, she ended up pregnant with Harry Potter’s child.
Pansy snipped the end of her suture thread, applying a few drops of Dittany over the wound to seal it off. “You’re free to go, Potter. How long until you’re back in my ward?”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you missed me, Parks,” Harry said with an impish grin.
Pansy lightly smacked his stitches as he hissed in pain. “Get back to being the saviour of the Wizarding World.”
His eyes never left hers as he stood in the doorway to leave. “Miss you already, Pansy.”
Pansy slumped down in the chair once he was gone, her hand coming to rest on her stomach. There was hardly a hint of a bump, just a little bloated pooch that looked like she’d gone too hard at the Chinese buffet for lunch, but it would soon be noticeable to everyone else.
How was she supposed to tell him?
Pansy traced the rim of her glass with her finger, gathering the condensation on the tip. She had invited Astoria and Daphne out to dinner, which to her best friends meant cocktails and an appetiser to share. Pansy’s stomach grumbled as she watched them sip at their fruity drinks, wishing she could join them. Alas, she was destined to a sober journey for the next seven months.
Daphne noticed Pansy’s sullen mood first. “In what universe does Pansy Parkinson not demolish a spicy margarita within the first five minutes of it arriving?”
Pansy sighed, pushing her glass away slightly. “I guess I’m not really in the drinking mood.”
The two sisters shared a look with each other before moving their own drinks to the side and leaning over the table towards Pansy.
“If you don’t tell us exactly what happened in the next two minutes, I’ll hold you down while Daph removes your eyebrows,” Astoria threatened.
Pansy bit her lip, unsure of how to begin. “So, you know how Potter is one of my regular patients at work?”
Daphne grabbed her sister’s hand in excitement. “Please, please, please tell me you made a move.”
Pansy’s face flushed slightly. “I may have accidentally slept with him after a few drinks.”
Astoria squealed gleefully, bouncing in her seat. “Oh I knew it! You’ve been absolutely glowing since you sat down, and—”
“And now I’m pregnant.”
Astoria’s bubbly laughter cut off abruptly as Daphne’s eyes widened, now clinging to her sister’s hand like a lifeline.
“What?” Daphne whispered softly.
Pansy slumped further into her seat, holding her head in her hands. “I fucked Potter and now I’m pregnant.”
“Are you—are you sure it’s his?” Astoria asked, her doe eyes wide.
“Yes, I’m fucking sure,” Pansy spat, “You would have known by now if I’d slept with anyone else. Besides, you know how I feel about him, I’ve practically been saving myself for him since day one. Gods, what is wrong with me?” Pansy groaned.
“Does he know yet?” Daphne asked, her expression grave.
Pansy shook her head. “He came into my ward yesterday just after I found out, but I was in such a state of shock myself that I didn’t know how to tell him.”
Daphne grabbed Pansy’s abandoned margarita and downed it in two long gulps before she flagged down their waiter.
“Can I get two more of these spicy margaritas and a bowl of alfredo pasta for my friend over here?” she ordered, sending the waiter away swiftly. “Here’s what we’re going to do: you’re going to eat some real food for once, and Tori and I are going to help you plan out how to tell Potter the news.”
As Pansy ate her pasta and her best friends slowly got drunker and drunker, they came up with the perfect way for Pansy to gently break the news to Harry. When it finally came time for Pansy to bid her friends farewell, Daphne had a glassy, faraway look in her eyes.
“You’re going to be a great mum, Pansy,” she said softly, her hand coming to rest on Pansy’s belly.
Pansy swatted her hand away, looking around to see if anyone had noticed. The last thing she needed right now was for someone she knew to see the exchange, or worse, someone from Witch Weekly. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown had managed to take their penchant for gossip and turn it into a career. Pansy often saw them lurking around corners in Diagon Alley, listening in to conversations and conspiring together.
“Keep your voice down, Daph,” Pansy hissed, before her expression softened and her hand curled around her friend’s, “But thank you. I hope I will be anyway.”
Astoria hiccupped from beside them, her face turning pale. “I’m not sure I should have had that last margarita.”
Before either Pansy or Daphne could respond, Astoria’s head was in the shrub as she wretched up all six margaritas she had consumed. Pansy groaned as the sickly smell reached her nose, making her pasta turn uncomfortably in her stomach. She had managed to avoid severe morning sickness so far, but still couldn’t avoid the sensitivity to certain smells and the roll of nausea in her belly that followed them.
Daphne noticed Pansy’s uncomfortable face as she rubbed her sister’s back soothingly. “Go home, Pansy. I can take it from here.”
Pansy gave Daphne a grateful smile before she Apparated away.
Pansy frowned as she looked at herself in the mirror. Surely not.
Right there, underneath her skirt, was a round, firm bump. No longer able to pass it off as bloating, it was unmistakably the small swell associated with the beginnings of pregnancy.
She sighed as she ran her hand over it, trying to push it back in. Even if she held her breath as she sucked in her stomach, it still protruded the slightest bit. She had hoped to have an extra couple of weeks to work up the nerve to tell Harry, but it seemed she was going to have to rip off the bandage sooner rather than later. If he were to come into her ward before she could tell him, her condition would be easily recognised.
The plan was simple. Invite him out to dinner, break the news gently. She knew that this was his week without the kids; he was about to go on a mission and the Holyhead Harpies didn’t have a game for another two weeks, so James and Albus would be in Wales with Ginny.
Once she had broken the news to him, she would give him the option of being as involved as he wanted. Of course, she wanted him to be there for her as much as possible, and for him to be excited about another baby. But she also knew that his job required him to be away from home often, sometimes for weeks at a time, and she would need to be able to take care of herself during that time.
So it was decided that today was the day she would tell him. The entire journey to Grimmauld Place, she went over the plan in her head. It was foolproof, really. There was no mistaking the way Harry’s eyes lit up every time Pansy walked into the room, he would be thrilled about the news, right?
Unfortunately, even the best-laid plans could go awry. As Pansy approached Harry’s front door, no longer hidden from the view of Muggles, the wail of a small child could be heard. She frowned as her closed fist hovered over the door. The boys were supposed to be with Ginny this week, so why could she hear a child crying?
Pansy had barely knocked on the door when it flew open, revealing a dishevelled looking Harry with Albus screaming in his arms.
His expression was confused as he saw Pansy standing at the doorway, her hand still raised from where she had knocked.
“Pansy? What are you doing here?” Harry’s voice was strained as Albus’s wails filled the space between them.
“Oh, uh, Potter I thought the boys were with Ginny this week,” Pansy stammered.
Harry’s sigh was heavy as he shifted Albus further up into his arms, attempting to console him. “They were supposed to be, but she had an emergency training session. Someone got injured and they have to re-strategize or something along those lines, but whatever it is means I have the boys until I go on my mission and neither of them are coping with it well.”
This certainly put a spanner in Pansy’s plans. “Well, I was wondering if we could go get dinner? I need to talk to you about something.”
“This really isn’t the best time, Pansy,” Harry sounded exasperated as a crash could be heard further into the house. His head turned briefly at the sound, and when he looked back at Pansy, she could see how weary he was. “Could it wait until after I get back from my work trip?”
“Well, not really—”
Another crash, followed by a loud cry echoed through the house, adding to the cacophony of noise already emitting from young Albus Potter’s lungs. Harry’s hand rubbed his eyes below his glasses, pushing them further up his head.
“I don’t really have the time right now, Pansy.”
“Wait, Potter, I really need to—”
“I just can’t right now,” Harry said, the door beginning to close in Pansy’s face. Her window of opportunity was closing rapidly, all her plans flying straight out the window.
“Harry, I’m pregnant!” she blurted out quickly before Harry disappeared from view completely.
The door stilled for a moment before Harry’s hand pushed it back open. “What?”
“I’m pregnant,” Pansy said, softer this time.
She could have sworn she saw Harry’s face drop as he processed the words. “I—congratulations, I guess? I don’t see why—”
“Harry, it’s yours.”
Recognition dawned on his face as Pansy’s words hit him like the Hogwarts Express. His eyes darted down to Pansy’s stomach, finally noticing the small bump that her skirt clung to. “Ah, fuck.”
Pansy frowned as she crossed her arms. “What do you mean by that?”
Harry’s mouth opened and closed rapidly, like a fish out of water, as Pansy could see him trying to string together the words to create a sentence. “No, I just—”
Tears stung the back of Pansy’s eyes as his rejection hit her like a wall of bricks. “Forget it, Potter. Find someone else to patch you up next time you get hurt.”
“Pansy, wait—”
Albus’s screams were the last thing Pansy heard before she Apparated away.
Daphne’s fingers ran softly through Pansy’s hair as her head sat in her lap. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that.”
Pansy covered her face with her hands, trying not to let her tears slip out again. “He absolutely did.”
Pansy had found herself at the front door of the Greengrass estate when she left Harry at the doorway with his two screaming kids. She wasn’t exactly sure what had compelled her to go straight to her best friends, but the moment Daphne opened up the door, the floodgates had opened and Pansy couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.
Daphne had allowed Pansy to sob in her arms for exactly five minutes before pulling her to the tearoom, summoning the family elf to bring some comfort food. It took only minutes for Dipsy to bring back a towering pile of croissants, Danishes and mini muffins, alongside a pot of fresh chamomile tea.
Once Pansy had managed to quell her tears, she recalled her encounter at Harry’s house to Daphne, who listened intently to every word. She let Pansy unleash the full extent of her emotions before she finally chimed in, only offering her support and love.
“He was probably just overwhelmed,” Daphne countered, “Didn’t you say he had his kids unexpectedly?”
“And they were both screaming, I was surprised he could even hear me,” Pansy grumbled.
“Give him some time, Pans,” Daphne said softly, reaching down to rub Pansy’s belly affectionately, “He’ll come around.”
“Who’ll come around?” Astoria asked sleepily from the doorway, rubbing her eyes. She took in Pansy’s red eyes and the plate of comfort food, immediately rushing to Pansy’s side to envelop her in a hug.
“At least I’ll have some time to think about things while he’s away for work,” Pansy sighed, “I want him around so badly, but I just don’t know if it’s the best decision for any of us right now.”
“In the meantime, you have us,” Astoria said sweetly, holding Pansy closely as Daphne pressed a kiss to Pansy’s head, “You’ll never have to doubt our love and support for you.”
“I have no idea what I would do without you two, truly,” Pansy said, gripping each of their hands in hers, “The real saviours of the wizarding world.”
Astoria’s giggles were infectious as Daphne joined in her laughter, forcing Pansy to break her sad mood.
It had been two weeks since Pansy stood on Harry’s doorstep to tell him her news, and she hadn’t heard a peep from him since. He’d had ample time to talk to her before his mission, but as the days went past, Pansy realised he wasn’t going to come around. The longer he went without speaking to her, the angrier Pansy got. It got to the point where she answered every question with an irritated huff, taking her frustration out on everyone around her.
Pansy was writing up a report when a knock came on her door. “Healer Parkinson?”
“Come in,” Pansy said, not looking up from her parchment.
Susan Bones entered tentatively. She had been on the receiving end of Pansy’s barbs over the past two weeks, so Pansy could understand her trepidation.
“You have a patient requesting your healing,” she said quietly. “He’s down in room four.”
Pansy’s hand froze over her parchment, her quill dripping ink onto the page. There was no way he was coming crawling to her now, not after giving her the silent treatment for two weeks. She had told him to find a new Healer, yet here he was. It was time for her to tell him how she really felt.
Pansy took a deep breath in and out, making Susan take a step away from her. “Come with me, Healer Bones.”
“Are—are you sure?” Susan sounded like she was scared.
“Yes,” Pansy snapped, “No more questions.”
Pansy stalked down the halls, her robes billowing out behind her as Susan hurried to keep up with her. As she pushed the door open forcefully, Harry’s eyes lit up.
“Parks, you—”
“How dare you, Potter?” Pansy seethed, pointing her perfectly manicured finger in his face. “How dare you come back in here and expect me to heal you after you give me nothing for two whole weeks?”
“I can explain, Parks—”
“What if I don’t want you to, Potter? And it’s Healer Parkinson to you.” Pansy crossed her arms over her chest, feeling the fire spark inside her belly. Not seeing Harry for two weeks had made her forget how much he had meant to her, and how much his rejection had hurt her.
But she could feel her resolve crumbling the more she looked at him. His dark hair was sticking out every which way, like he had been running his hands through it, and his green eyes glittered under the harsh fluorescent lighting of the hospital. It was the way he looked right now that had drawn her to him in the first place. Pansy had to be strong, she could not give in to the mounting pressure to cross the room and press her lips against his, no matter how much he looked like a kicked puppy right now.
“Pansy, please just let me talk to you?” he pleaded, his expression almost pathetic. His eyes darted to Susan, standing behind Pansy with wide eyes as she watched their exchange. “Alone.”
Pansy pursed her lips as she stared at him. All she wanted to do right now was crawl up onto his hard hospital bed and let him pull her into his arms, his strong biceps holding her close. But she was hurt, and he needed to know just how hurt she was.
“I can’t heal you anymore, Potter,” Pansy said sternly, “Healer Bones will take care of you from here.”
She could hear Harry’s weak protests as she left the room, stalking down the hallway by herself as her bottom lip began to quiver.
Pansy waited until she was back in her office to let the tears run freely down her cheeks. She closed the door behind her, stifling a sob as she sat back at her desk.
Seeing Harry again had brought back the emotions she felt two weeks ago, as she left him on the doorstep of Grimmauld Place. She had pined after Harry for years, an embarrassingly long time, really, and now that she had him right where she wanted him, she was letting him go.
Pansy didn’t know how long she had been sitting at her desk crying when a soft knock sounded at her door.
“Healer Parkinson?” Susan sounded timid.
Pansy wiped her eyes quickly as the door opened. “Come in.”
Susan stepped inside Pansy’s office, quickly closing the door behind her. “I just wanted you to know that the patient has been healed. And he told me to tell you that he’s sorry.”
Pansy heaved a sigh. “Thank you, Healer Bones. I owe you one.”
Susan gave Pansy a tentative smile. “It’s nothing. But Pansy? If you ever need to talk about anything, I’m always happy to listen.”
Pansy returned her smile. “Thanks, Susan.”
A whole week had passed since Pansy walked out on Harry in the ward, and he still hadn’t made any effort to reach out to her. Part of her was grateful that he had heeded her advice to leave her alone, but another part of her was angry that this was the one time he had listened to her. She wanted him to fight for her, and their baby, but she didn’t want to say it outright.
She was just tired. Tired of her feelings for Harry, tired of them not being reciprocated. Tired of worrying what was going to happen when the baby came and just plain tired all around. She had been working doubles at St. Mungo’s to help fill some gaps in staffing, and she had barely been home in the past week. When Daphne caught wind of Pansy’s schedule, she immediately sent Dipsy to her office with home-cooked meals and wouldn’t let the elf leave until she witnessed Pansy eat something that didn’t come from a vending machine.
It was close to midnight and Pansy was still in her office, yawning as she read over her latest report. With her attention taken away from healing Harry, she was seeing more patients than ever, which meant more paperwork than she had done in over a year.
A sharp knock on her door broke her from the micro-sleep she had fallen into, jolting upright at her desk.
“Come in,” she called out.
Instead of seeing another Healer in lime green robes enter her office, Harry Potter himself waltzed in, still wearing his Auror uniform. His maroon trousers were fitted to his firm thighs and round ass, clinging like a second skin, and seeing the leather wand holster still strapped to his chest caused heat to crawl all over Pansy’s skin. It would be so easy for her to grab the strap across his body and pull him flush against her, capturing his lips in a searing kiss.
But she didn’t do that. She tried to remind herself that she was still mad at him, but she was too tired to fight right now.
Harry took the seat opposite her desk, his hands clasped in front of him.
“Healer Parkinson,” he greeted her, his voice low and gravelly. He sounded as tired as she was.
“Potter.”
Harry’s tired eyes looked into hers. “How are you?”
Pansy shrugged. “As good as I can be, I guess. How are you?”
Harry sighed, his body deflating like a balloon. “I’m tired, Parks. Tired of whatever game it is you’re trying to play.”
“I’m not trying to play any game, Potter,” Pansy gritted out through her teeth, “I’m just trying to protect myself and my child.”
Pansy’s hand drifted to her belly, Harry’s eyes following the movement.
“I’m sorry about that day, Pansy,” Harry said quietly, “Ginny had just dropped the boys back and they were upset their time with her was cut short, and I was trying to rearrange my plans since I had them unexpectedly. It was just—”
“Bad timing, I get it,” Pansy cut him off, her voice softening. “I should have been more understanding, but I had to let you know sooner rather than later. I can’t exactly hide it anymore, can I?”
She gestured to her stomach, her bump proudly on display under her robes. She watched as a reverent smile spread across Harry’s face, his eyes creasing in the corners.
“I’m really excited, Parks,” Harry’s eyes finally met hers, all shiny and green, “Now that the initial shock has worn off. I loved being part of Ginny’s pregnancies with the boys, so I hope you’ll let me do the same for you.”
Pansy’s heart fluttered as her smile mirrored his. She couldn’t be angry at him, not now anyway. She didn’t know whether it was her hormones or her over-exhausted state speaking, but she said it anyway. “I’d really like that, Harry.”
Harry pushed himself out of his chair, pulling Pansy to her feet and crushing her in a tight hug. “Thank you, Pansy. Now I think it’s high time you get yourself home to bed. Have you been eating properly?”
Pansy rolled her eyes. “You sound just like Daphne.”
It didn’t slip past him that she had avoided answering his question.
“Pansy, tomorrow night you will finish work at five o’clock and come straight around to my house for dinner,” Harry said sternly, “That’s an order.”
Pansy grinned cheekily. “Yes, Dad.”
Harry winked at her. “That’s ‘Daddy’ to you. Sleep tight, Parks.”
Pansy had to sit down and cool off for ten minutes before she could Floo home.
Pansy stood outside Grimmauld Place, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. She could hear screaming and crying from inside, followed by Harry’s stern voice as a set of footsteps grew near.
She hadn’t even raised her hand to knock on the door when it flew open. Harry was standing in front of her with Albus on his hip, the toddler crying as a dark red welt began to grow on his head.
“How did you know I was here?” Pansy blurted out as a way of greeting.
“I’m an Auror, Pansy, it’s my job to know where people are at all times and sense things that are out of the ordinary,” he said, ushering her inside, “That, and the wards alerted me.”
Oh. Of course Harry Potter’s house would be warded. You didn’t spend years fighting the darkest wizard of all time and not be cautious and protective of your home and children.
Albus was still screaming as Harry tried to shush him, rubbing his back soothingly. Albus’s teary brown eyes were trained on Pansy as she followed the pair to the living room.
“Al just took a tumble off the couch before you arrived,” Harry explained, “It’s not always this chaotic around here, I swear.”
“Did you want me to take a look at him?” Pansy offered.
“Oh, uh, only if you want to. It’s just a bump, nothing serious.”
“I don’t mind.”
Harry looked between Albus and Pansy, before carefully handing him off to her. “I’m just going to check on dinner, I’ll be back in a minute.”
Albus’s cries had turned into hiccupping sobs as Harry left, his eyes following his father’s retreating back.
“Hey, Albus, is it?” Pansy said softly, getting his attention. “Did you fall and hurt yourself?”
Albus nodded slowly, his thumb making its way to his mouth as he watched Pansy timidly.
“Let me see if I can make you all better.”
There usually wasn’t much point in curing a bump to the head as it would heal itself in time, but Pansy knew that a gentle cooling charm would stop the swelling, and a dab of bruise paste would clear up any discolouring. Albus’s sobs turned into a sniffle as Pansy’s cool fingers applied the paste to his head, watching as his skin turned pale once more.
He had sat in her arms so patiently as she worked, that she couldn’t help pressing a kiss to the top of his mousy brown curls once she was done.
“There you go, all better now.”
She looked up to find Harry watching them from the doorway, leaning against the frame casually with a warm expression on his face.
“I didn’t know you were this good with kids. I would have let you stay the other week if I knew.”
Pansy shrugged. “I worked in the children’s ward in France while I was studying to be a trauma specialist. You soon learn that sometimes a little bit of love makes all the difference.”
Albus reached out to Harry once he had been spotted, clearly wanting some affection from his father. Harry planted a kiss on his forehead as Albus snuggled into his neck, making himself comfortable in his father’s arms.
“Dinner is ready if you wanted to go take a seat at the dining table,” Harry said before turning towards the staircase. “James! Come down for dinner!”
James’s footsteps were loud for a six-year-old as he came thundering down the stairs.
“Dad, I want nuggets—” he cut off his sentence as he saw Pansy sitting on the couch, his mouth clamping shut.
James Potter was the spitting image of Harry, wild hair and fierce green eyes included. Pansy felt his stare burn holes into her skin as he sized her up, trying to figure out if she was friend or foe. It seemed to be typical behaviour for James, as Harry simply continued to speak to him.
“We’re not having nuggets tonight, I’ve made bolognaise. Did you wash your hands before coming downstairs?”
James only nodded, his eyes still on Pansy before he ran to the dinner table.
Harry sighed, shaking his head softly. “Boys.”
Pansy bit her lip to keep from laughing. Harry had been a boy once, surely he knew of the antics they got into as kids.
Pansy took her seat on the opposite side of the table to the three boys, Harry sitting between the two children. She watched as he carefully cut Albus’s pasta into smaller, more bite-size strands, all while coaxing James into eating a food that wasn’t chicken nuggets.
“If you can manage at least four bites for me, I promise you can have ice cream after dinner,” Harry tried to compromise with his eldest son.
James simply pouted. “But I wanted nuggies,” he whined, his legs kicking under the table.
“We can’t eat nuggets every night, James,” Harry sighed, “You don’t see Albus complaining, do you?”
Pansy looked to Albus, who couldn’t have said a word if he wanted to, his mouth stuffed so full of bolognaise and pasta that he had to use his little hand to keep it all in. He just looked happy to be eating.
James made more whining noises, his legs swinging faster as he inched further towards a full-scale tantrum. The calm way that Harry handled it told Pansy that this was a common occurrence, but Pansy was going to avoid tears at the dinner table if she could help it.
“Do you like cheese, James?” she found herself asking before she could stop herself.
James’s eyes went wide as Pansy addressed him directly. Harry looked across to James, giving him a subtle nudge.
“Are you going to answer Pansy’s question?”
James looked to his father, as if seeking confirmation, before turning back to Pansy and nodding slowly.
“Would you like some cheese on your pasta?”
James nodded slowly once again.
Harry went to stand from his seat, but Pansy beat him to the punch.
“I’ll get it, you take the time to eat your own meal.”
Between getting Albus and James situated, Harry hadn’t even managed to touch his plate yet. He began to twirl pasta around his fork as Pansy reached the kitchen.
Pansy found a bag of shredded cheese in the refrigerator and brought it back to the table. She reached her hand into the bag, but was halted by a screech.
“Stop! I want to do it,” James whined.
“James,” Harry warned with a stern voice, but Pansy simply held the bag out for James to stick his little hand into. He grabbed a fistful of cheese, pieces falling onto the floor below him before he dumped it unceremoniously on top of his pasta. Pansy made her way around the table to Albus as James began to pick at the cheese on top, holding the bag out to the youngest Potter.
“Cheese, Albus?”
Albus’s eyes went wide at the offering of more food, unable to give Pansy any more than a garbled “Cheese” with his mouth still full of pasta sauce. Pansy chuckled as she sprinkled a small amount on top of what was left of his meal before taking her seat again.
She could feel Harry’s stare as she put cheese on her own plate, his eyes drilling into her curiously as she offered the bag to Harry.
“Would you like some cheese, Dad?”
The corner of his mouth lifted into a wry grin as he stuck his hand into the bag, sprinkling cheese on top of his pasta.
“Thank you, Pansy. Boys, what do you say?”
Albus’s thanks was muffled by pasta and cheese, while James mumbled under his breath as he stared at his plate. It was still mostly untouched by the time Albus had shoved the last handful into his mouth with his fist, cutlery be damned.
“Come on, James,” Harry sighed, “You need to eat more than that. You can’t fight dragons and trolls unless you’re big and strong, and you need food to do that.”
“Nuggets make me big and strong,” James whined, his legs beginning to kick again.
Pansy felt a tug on her robes, and she turned to find Albus by her side. His sauce-covered hands reached for her.
“Up.”
Pansy cast a quick Scourgify to clean him up before hoisting him onto her lap. He sat happily, stealing strands of pasta from Pansy’s plate as James and Harry continued their back and forth.
Finally, James shoved a forkful of pasta sauce into his mouth, chewing angrily as Harry turned triumphantly back to his now-cold meal. James ate precisely four bites of his pasta before sliding off his chair and stomping back upstairs, forgetting Harry’s promise of ice cream.
“Moody little thing,” Harry muttered at the empty staircase, before turning back to Pansy and Albus. “Al seems to have taken a liking to you.”
Pansy looked down at the toddler on her lap, happily eating the remainder of Pansy’s dinner. She had to admit that he was very cute, all chubby cheeks and dimples as he grinned up at her. If she wasn’t already pregnant, he would have made her clucky, and as it was he was only making her more excited for the future.
“I think maybe we should wait a little longer before we tell the boys about…” Pansy trailed off.
Harry nodded in agreement, twirling the last of his pasta around his fork. “James has taken a while to adjust to the divorce, I don’t want to introduce him to something new this soon. I’d like to be able to tell Ginny before the boys, just so she’s prepared.”
“I’d like to tell the rest of my friends soon as well,” Pansy said, “Daphne and Astoria already know, but no-one else.”
“Are Daphne and Astoria going to try and hex me on sight? I’d like to be prepared if so.”
Pansy chuckled. “No, but they will probably grill you about your intentions with me. They want to be on your side, you just need to give them a reason.”
Harry nodded thoughtfully. “I think I can do that.”
Harry walked Pansy to the front door, Albus beginning to nod off in his arms.
“Thank you for dinner, Harry,” Pansy said as she stood on the doorstep.
Harry gave her a brilliant smile that lit up his entire face. “Any time. Say goodnight to Pansy, Al.”
Albus gave Pansy a shy wave, his sleepy face tucking into Harry’s neck. Pansy giggled before kissing the top of his soft curls.
“Goodnight, sweet boy. Goodnight, Harry.”
“Goodnight, Pansy.”
As Pansy Apparated out of sight, she couldn’t help but think that Harry looked like he wanted to kiss her.
It felt strange being on the other side of the St. Mungo’s waiting rooms. The chairs in the maternity ward were hard and uncomfortable, making Pansy shift in her seat every minute. She made a mental note to tell the department head that they needed new chairs in waiting rooms, ones with padded seats.
Harry leaned over to her with a concerned frown on his face. “Everything okay?”
“These chairs are shit, Potter,” Pansy moaned, “If I’d known how awful they were, I’d have rolled my office chair down to wait in.”
Harry snickered as Pansy thwacked his arm. “Hey, no assaulting the patients, Parks.”
“Last I checked I’m the patient here, Potter. If this is how you treat pregnant women it’s no wonder Ginny dumped your ass.”
Harry choked on his laughter as the Healer entered the waiting room. “Pansy Parkinson?”
Pansy smoothed out her robes as she stood from her seat, Harry following her into the examination room.
“Healer Parkinson, I must say I was surprised to see you on my patient list,” Healer Bell said as she flipped through a small pile of parchments, “And I’m even more surprised to see you here, Harry.”
“What can I say, Katie, I just can’t get enough of this place that I like to come here when I’m fit and healthy too.”
Healer Bell rolled her eyes subtly as she looked at the information Pansy had provided her. “So it says here your last menstruation cycle was eleven weeks ago?”
Pansy nodded. “Correct. The date of conception was roughly two weeks after that, so I believe I’m nearly finished my first trimester.”
“Let’s see just how accurate you are.”
Healer Bell waved her wand in a circular motion over Pansy’s abdomen until a golden orb grew. Pansy had seen the spell performed on many women over the years, but to see the shimmering gold orb slowly transfigure into the image of her baby was mesmerising.
Pansy held her breath as the image shifted slightly, Healer Bell moving her wand from side to side to take measurements. “You’re absolutely right, Pansy. Maybe when you get back from maternity leave you’ll have a career in this ward instead of down in trauma.”
“Who will heal Potter if I leave?”
Harry snickered from her side as Katie rolled her eyes. “Maybe Harry could take a less dangerous job and make sure he keeps himself alive, for his children’s sake.”
“But then who will protect the Wizarding World from crime?” Harry said, faking outrage, “McLaggen is as useless as tits on a bull most days.”
Pansy rolled her eyes. “Healer Bell, Potter, I’m sure you two are having a wonderful time catching up, but I’ve got patients of my own waiting downstairs. Let’s get through this appointment as quick as possible.”
Healer Bell composed herself before turning back to the shimmering image in front of Pansy. “Baby is looking healthy and normal at the moment, no signs of any serious conditions so far. We’ll take another look when you reach twenty weeks, but for now just make sure you’re eating plenty of iron-rich foods and protein. If you find you’re lacking in any nutrients we can prescribe you a potion, but it tastes pretty horrible.”
“Can’t be much worse than Skele-Gro,” Harry quipped. Pansy elbowed his ribs sharply as he hissed in pain.
“Do you have any questions for me?” Healer Bell asked to conclude their appointment.
A million questions ran through Pansy’s head at once. Will I get fat? Can I eat cheese? What if the baby starts to move? What if the baby stops moving? Can I have sex?
Pansy mentally struck that last question from her mind as she shook her head. “None at the moment, but if I think of any I’ll be sure to find you.”
Healer Bell beamed at Pansy and Harry. “Well, you’re free to go, Pansy and Harry. Congratulations, I’m sure the pair of you will make a beautiful baby.”
Pansy blushed slightly as she thanked Katie and stood from her chair, leaving the examination room. She had been so busy processing the fact that she was pregnant that she had barely thought about what the baby would look like. Would their baby have Harry’s green eyes or Pansy’s brown ones? Would they have dimples like Albus? Or would they inherit Pansy’s stern gaze?
The images of a green-eyed, dark-haired baby plagued Pansy’s thoughts for the remainder of her journey downstairs, distracting her enough that she didn’t even see a head of tight, blonde curls following her and Harry down the corridors.
Pansy couldn’t help but feel eyes on her everywhere she went. She was no stranger to having people whisper things about her in corridors and corners, but it had been years since the war, and she had gained enough of a reputation as an experienced healer to squash the foul comments that people once made.
Still, she couldn’t help but feel as if people were talking about her and the small bump concealed under her robes. As she rounded in on the last few days of her first trimester, she knew it was far more visible than it had been the day she took the Muggle test.
Just as she slipped into Flourish and Blotts, a tanned hand reached out to grab her arm. Pansy yelped in surprise as she was pulled into an empty aisle, a second hand clapping over her mouth to silence her.
“Shhh,” a hushed voice warned her, low enough that only Pansy could hear, “Keep it down, Parkinson.”
Pansy frowned as she came eye to eye with a set of dark brown eyes, framed by a set of thick brows. She yanked the hand from her mouth as she glared at the offending witch.
“Watch where you’re putting your hands, I ought to sue you for emotional distress.”
Parvati Patil rolled her eyes. “Of course, because you really want to draw attention to yourself in your current condition.”
She gestured to Pansy’s open robes, baby bump proudly on display.
Pansy drew her robes tighter around herself. “What I do in my personal life is none of your business.”
“What you do, maybe, but it’s the who that the public are more interested in. No-one cares that you’re pregnant, but they will once they find out who the baby daddy is. I’ve come to warn you that it’s about to be revealed to the public.”
Pansy’s heart plummeted to her stomach as she tried to keep her composure. “How would you know?”
Parvati’s eyes softened. “Rita sent in a tip to Witch Weekly after she saw you and Harry leaving the maternity ward at St. Mungo’s together. She’s been working with Lavender on the article and it will be released in Monday’s edition. I thought you deserved to know before it became public news.”
Pansy’s hand clawed at her chest as her heart stammered wildly. They hadn’t told anyone except Daphne and Astoria yet, she could only imagine the Howlers the pair of them would receive. From Draco, Weasley, Granger even. Worse still, from Ginny.
“You have to stop it,” Pansy spluttered, no longer denying the news, “We haven’t told our friends, or his kids yet.”
Parvati’s face was sympathetic as she twisted her hands together. “I’m sorry, Pansy. I tried to pull the article, but Lav was adamant it went to print. I’m going against Witch Weekly code by telling you about it, but if you want to tell your family and friends, I suggest you do it this weekend.”
Pansy’s breath caught in her chest as her mind reeled from the news. They had planned out their announcement meticulously. Ginny would be back in London in a few weeks for a game, so they were going to tell her before breaking the news to the boys, and then gather their friends for dinner at Harry’s house. But now they had two days to get the news out to as many people as they could before it was splashed all over the tabloids.
Pansy strode out of the bookstore, making her way furiously to the Ministry of Magic. The crowds parted like the sea as they took in her furious expression, no-one wanting to be on the receiving end of Pansy Parkinson’s wrath.
The elevator took her to level eight, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Ron Weasley’s goofy grin entered her eyeline, wiping clean off his face as he got a glimpse of her.
“Out of my way, Weasley,” Pansy snarled.
Ron jumped almost a foot in the air at the sound of her voice as she barged into Harry’s office. Harry spun in his desk chair, the smile dropping off his face as he saw Pansy enter.
Harry locked the door quickly behind her, casting a Muffliato over the office. “Pansy, what happened?”
“We need to tell them, Harry,” Pansy’s voice shook as she tried to get her words out as quick as possible, “This weekend.”
Harry’s hands were firm on Pansy’s upper arms as he led her to his seat, gently coaxing her into it. “Slow down, Parks. What are we telling, and to who?”
Pansy took a deep breath. “We need to tell our friends this weekend. About the baby. Parvati Patil cornered me in Diagon Alley and told me that Rita Skeeter is releasing an article in Witch Weekly on Monday outing you as the baby’s father.”
Harry exhaled deeply as his hands clenched into fists. “I wonder if Hermione still has her jar.”
Pansy frowned. “What?”
“Never mind,” Harry shook his head, “We’ll do dinner at my house tomorrow night, as many as we can gather at once. The rest we’ll just have to Floo call. Fuck, I need to tell Ginny.”
Harry’s fingers pinched the bridge of his nose, his face looking pained as he sat on the edge of his desk. Pansy reached for his hand, her fingers curling around his.
“Harry, it’s fine, we—”
“No, it’s not!” Harry exploded, making Pansy jump in her seat. His hand pulled out of hers as he buried if face in his palms. “Sorry, it’s not your fault. It’s mine.”
“Harry—”
“This wouldn’t be happening if you were having a baby with literally anyone else,” he grit out through his teeth, “You would have been able to tell all your friends and family in your own time. But because it’s with me, your private life is going to be splashed across the headlines, and everyone is going to gossip about you. I’m sorry, Pansy, you deserved better than this.”
Pansy pushed out of her chair to grab Harry’s face between her hands. “You listen to me, Potter. I wouldn’t want to have a baby with anyone else in the world, except for you. Sure, we didn’t plan to have the news outed like this, but we didn’t plan for this baby in the first place. This is just a small bump in the road that we’ll overcome and adapt. At the end of the day, no matter how we tell everyone, it’s still going to be you and me and the baby. Got it?”
Harry’s eyes focused in on Pansy’s, his cheeks turning warm under her palms. Pansy inhaled sharply as she watched his Adam’s apple bob roughly as he swallowed, suddenly aware of how close they were. They hadn’t been this close to each other since the night that they slept together.
But they were inside Harry’s office, which was as appropriate for a kiss as Pansy’s examination room. So Harry simply nodded as Pansy’s hands slid down his face, hanging limply at her side.
“Rally as many of our friends as you can, Parks, I have a feeling I’m going to be on a Floo call with Ginny for a long time.”
“Well, that went better than I expected,” Harry sighed as he pulled his head from the fireplace.
As expected, he had spent hours on a Floo call with Ginny, who after a lengthy grilling on safe-sex practices, offered her full support and assistance. Pansy had arrived at Grimmauld Place during the last thirty minutes of the call, allowing her to help strategize how to tell Albus and James. The three of them had eventually settled on still telling them in two weeks’ time, just before Harry handed them over to Ginny for the week.
“Do you think the boys will be okay?” Pansy asked quietly, her hands wringing nervously.
“Albus is young enough that anything will excite him, but James…” Harry trailed off, his eyes turning wistful, “James took the divorce the hardest. He was old enough to understand how it was going to change his home life, and I can’t help but be a little worried of how he’ll react to this news.”
Pansy nodded. “I can understand that.”
Harry reached for Pansy’s hand, squeezing it comfortingly. “Who did you manage to get together for tonight?”
“Weasley, Longbottom and Finnegan on your side, and Draco, Theo and Blaise on my side. Daphne and Astoria are going to come along for support as well, but Granger is off saving some down-trodden creature in northern Scotland at the moment,” Pansy said, counting the names off her fingers.
“She’s discussing ownership boundaries with the Loch Lomond Selkie colony,” Harry corrected her with a smirk, “She’ll be back next week, but I’d like to tell her before Monday. Maybe we’ll connect her via Floo call when we tell everyone else tonight.”
Harry’s spine stiffened momentarily before a knock came on the door. It was distinctive; five shorts knocks, a pause, then two more knocks. Harry’s body sagged with relief at the sound.
“Ron’s here.”
Harry stood to let his best friend in, their voices trailing down the hallway as they approached the living room.
“… thought she was playing tricks with me, mate, when was the last time Pansy Parkinson ever wanted to have dinner with me—” he stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw Pansy’s look of distaste as she glared at him. “Oh, Healer Parkinson. You’re here.”
Pansy rolled her eyes. “I’m not working, Weasley, you don’t have to call me Healer Parkinson.”
“Right, er, sorry Heal—I mean, Parkinson.”
Pansy surpressed a roll of her eyes. It was going to be a long night.
Daphne and Astoria were the last to arrive, Daphne’s face fighting back a grin as she saw the segregation of the two friendship groups. Harry’s friends were seated around the fire, talking jovially, while Pansy’s friends had squeezed themselves into a corner, their conversation no more than hushed whispers as they snuck glances at the Gryffindors across the room.
Though Pansy was quick to catch the way Ron’s eyes widened as Astoria entered the room, before quickly averting his gaze as his cheeks turned pink.
Pansy cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the room. “Right, there’s a reason Potter and I have gathered you all here tonight, and—”
“Wait!” Harry interrupted, darting towards the fireplace, “Let me dial in Hermione first.”
Draco choked on his own breath. “Granger? Where is she?”
Harry waved his hand flippantly, completely missing the way Draco’s eyes darted nervously. “In Scotland on a work trip. Hermione, are you there? Can you hear me?”
“I’ve got you, Harry!” Hermione’s voice came through the Floo, followed by the image of her face in the flames. Even remotely, her unruly curls were frizzing out of control with excitement. “Sorry, this trip has been absolutely exhausting, the Selkie colony is near impossible to negotiate with, but I think we’re making some real progress, so—”
“Hermione,” Harry cut in, “You’re on a Floo call with Pansy and the rest of us.”
Hermione was silent for a beat. “Who is ‘the rest of us’?” she asked nervously.
“Ron, Neville, Seamus, Daphne, Astoria, Theo, Blaise and Malfoy.”
“Malfoy?” she squeaked, causing Draco to hide his sly smirk.
“We have something that we need to tell all of you,” Pansy addressed the room, ignoring Hermione’s outrage over Draco’s presence.
Harry stepped forward, wrapping his arm around her waist with a grin. “Parks and I are having a baby.”
The room was silent enough that the only sound that could be heard was the crackle of the Floo flames. Even Hermione was speechless.
“You’re having a baby?” Ron finally asked incredulously, “Like, together?”
Draco snorted, rolling his eyes. “No, Weasley, separately.”
“Don’t be rude, Malfoy,” Hermione’s crackly voice spat back.
“I think you’ll find it was perfectly warranted, Granger,” Draco hissed.
Pansy rolled her eyes, silencing the room with a snap of her wand. “Would you lot stop bickering for two seconds and celebrate with us?”
Blaise’s eyes darted between Pansy and Harry. “You’re actually having a baby together? And you’re happy about it?”
Pansy smiled shyly at Harry, whose green eyes were sparkling back at her. “Yeah, we are.”
Ron finally shot forward, clapping Harry on the back. “Well done, mate. Thought you’d never find another woman after my sister left you for one.”
Pansy giggled as Harry let out an exasperated sigh, untangling herself from Harry as Daphne and Astoria approached her with open arms.
“We’re so proud of you, Pans,” Daphne whispered in her ear, low enough for only Pansy to hear.
They stepped away to reveal Draco’s pouting face. Pansy rolled her eyes as her longest friend sighed dramatically.
“Spit it out, Draco,” Pansy crossed her arms over her chest.
“I can’t believe you’re abandoning me for a Gryffindor,” he whined.
“I’m not abandoning you, you idiot, I’m just…”
“Upgrading?” Ron interrupted, pushing his way between Pansy and Harry with an arm slung over each of their shoulders.
Draco narrowed his eyes at Ron. “Go fuck yourself with a pinecone, Weasley.”
Hermione’s snicker could be heard over the crackle of the Floo.
“None of that language, Malfoy,” Harry chastised his former nemesis, “You’re lucky the boys are with Gin in Wales right now.”
“Does Ginny know? Or the boys?” Ron questioned Harry.
“We told Ginny before everyone came over, but we need to time it right when we tell the boys. James in particular, you know how he can be,” Harry said.
Ron nodded wisely, as if he had plenty of experience with James’s emotions. “Good luck with that one, mate. Glad it’s you and not me.”
Harry frowned. “Thanks, Ron.”
The rest of the evening was spent with good food and good friends, as Pansy watched the two friendship groups entwine with one another. Draco had turned back into his moody, sullen self once Hermione’s Floo call ended, while Astoria spent the night quizzing Ron on his family and his work. Even Harry watched the pair with a spark in his eyes, catching Pansy’s glance occasionally.
“Reckon it’ll be them next?” Harry whispered to her over dinner.
Pansy watched as Astoria whispered something in Ron’s ear that made him go as red as his hair.
“If it’s not, I’ll pluck each of my eyebrows out one by one.”