Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Survival of the fittest	By : Sasunarufan13 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 18502 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 9
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor profit from it. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Author's note: Yeah, I couldn't resist. I have some time between my exams, so I decided to update this story with the second part. The third part is almost finished as well (and it is a really long one. I don't think I'll cut that part in half, because then you readers would have to wait even longer for Sirius' reaction and I think you're waiting long enough already. So be prepared for the next chapter being more than 11 000 words O.O)
Thanks to the following reviewer: littlepanther (good luck with your exams!)
Warnings: MPreg; a bit angst; chapter edited by myself (so I apologize for any mistakes left behind); and I hope that I managed to not make Lucius and Severus too OOC in their reactions. Again, I don't have any experience with this, so I create the reactions from stories I have read about this.
I hope you'll like it!

Chapter 10: Informing the family Part 2
"Why does Draco have to do this alone?" Harry asked suspiciously.
If he had to be honest, he didn't want to be alone with Narcissa right now. He knew she approved of him as a lover for her son, but would her approval last now that he had gotten pregnant?
"It's traditional for Purebloods that the father of the child informs his father about it. It's the duty of the son to bear the news of a new heir to his father on his own," Narcissa replied calmly and gestured towards his cup. "Drink, Harry, before it gets cold."
Resisting the urge to tell her he would just cast a Heat charm if that happened, he picked his cup back up and took a sip from it.
"Have you decided what to do during the school year?" she asked after a moment had passed in silence.
He stared at her confused. "What do you mean?"
She gestured towards his stomach. "I mean, have you decided whether you're going to let the school know that you're carrying a child or are you going to hide the pregnancy?" she clarified and poured more tea in her cup.
"Oh, eh, I haven't thought of that yet," he muttered bemused. It hadn't crossed his mind that everyone would know about the baby once his pregnancy progressed. How could he have been so stupid to forget that crucial fact? Considering the way most students either avoided him or went out of their way to antagonize him, he didn't think it was a good idea if they knew about the baby. What would they do once they heard that news? Somehow he couldn't imagine the students taking it well and his hands clenched around his cup.
He would have no other choice than to hide his pregnancy. But was that even possible? Even with large clothes, it would eventually be obvious that his stomach would be big.
"How far along are you?"
"A bit more than a month," he replied, startled by the question.
"Hm," Narcissa narrowed her eyes and looked at him calculatingly. "Chances are big that you'll give birth at the end of the school year then. Of course with babies you never know, but I estimate that you'll go in labour around the end of June."
"Oh," he blinked, not certain what kind of response he should give to that. He hadn't thought about the labour date yet, but after doing a quick math, he had to agree with Narcissa that the baby was likely to arrive at the end of the school year. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.
He almost jumped two feet in the air when Narcissa clapped her hands and a house elf popped up in the room immediately.
"Fetch me parchment, quill and ink," she ordered and the house elf bowed, snapped two fingers together and the requested material appeared on the table. "That'll be all," she dismissed the house elf and after one last bow, it disappeared again.
Without preamble she immediately started to write something on the parchment, which appeared to be some kind of list.
"Eh, Narcissa?" Harry asked uncertainly and glanced at the paper, trying to read it upside down.
She looked up and for the first time since they were here, she smiled at him warmly. "I'm making a list of everything you're going to need in the upcoming months – and the months following that," she replied, adding the last bit almost absently.
"Everything I'm going to need?" Harry repeated confused.
"Yes, we need to make certain that you'll get the necessary potions, like vitamins and some Nausea reducing potions as well, which you'll going to need soon. Then there are the maternity clothes you'll be wearing once you start showing," she began to sum up. "You'll also need equipment for the baby, like a crib; a wardrobe, clothes; pacifiers; toys; diapers; bottles. Everything a baby needs. You won't need to worry about a house, because my son told me you accepted his request to live together in the manor he got for his inheritance. And, because I'm fairly certain you don't want other people to know about the baby, I'll order some magical belts for you that will hide your stomach once you start showing. It will create the illusion of a flat stomach."
"Eh, won't it harm the baby?" was all Harry could think of to ask. He was getting rather overwhelmed by the sheer number of things he would need. Of course he had already figured out that he would eventually need stuff for the baby like the crib and such, but he hadn't thought about the clothes or even potions he would need to take. Merlin, he was too unprepared for this.
"No, no," she reassured him. "All these belts do is create an illusion, like a Glamour, only stronger. It won't interfere at all with the baby's growth."
"Oh, that's – that's good to hear," he stammered, feeling panic threatening to overwhelm him when he imagined all the things that would happen in the upcoming months. He and Draco clearly hadn't thought those aspects through when they had made the decision to keep it.
Narcissa seemed to realize that he was getting overwhelmed and on the verge of panicking, for she placed the quill and the paper down and stood up, walked over towards him and sat down next to him.
Her eyes gazed at him gently and she extracted the cup out of his hands, putting it down on the table, before she grabbed his hands in her own and squeezed softly in them.
"Harry, darling, everything is going to be alright," she said soothingly.
An embarrassing, high chuckle escaped his throat and he could feel his cheeks burn in shame. "That's what your son says as well," he muttered, staring down at his hands enveloped by slightly smaller, pale ones.
"And he's right," she said firmly. "Harry, you don't need to worry. I know what you and the baby need, because I went through the same thing. I'm going to help you with this."
"So you're not angry?" he asked in a small voice. His chest tightened at the prospect of facing her anger. So far she hadn't shown exactly what she thought of the baby. Did she accept the news because she was genuinely happy with it? Or did she only accept it because both of them had made it clear that they would keep the baby?
"Oh sweetie," she suddenly sighed and the next moment he was engulfed between two warm, slender arms that cradled his head against her shoulder and his nose was filled with the smell of lilies. "Of course I'm not angry at you. Why would I be?"
"Because I got pregnant now?" It came out as a question and Harry hated the way his voice wavered. He wasn't a small child that needed to be coddled and he squeezed his eyes shut, when they started to burn. Why on earth did the urge to start crying threaten to take over? He was seventeen, for Merlin's sake! There was no need for him to cry.
"Harry, you didn't know about the charm, so it isn't your fault that you got pregnant now. Sure, it probably would have been better if you and Draco were older before starting on children, but it is what it is," she murmured and a hand came up to caress his hair. "I'm not angry, dear. How could I be angry when you're giving me a grandchild?" She tilted his chin up and looked straight into his eyes. "I love you like my own son, Harry. I see how happy you make my son and it's clear to me that you two love each other very much. If you two hadn't been serious about each other, then yes, I would have been angry about it, because then this baby wouldn't have a stable home."
To his shock she kissed his forehead softly. "You not only gave me a second son when Draco introduced you to me, but you're giving me a grandchild now as well. There is no way I could ever be angry with that or hate you."
He bowed his head and a few hot tears escaped, making a trail down his cheeks before they spat apart on his pants. He hadn't known how relieved he would feel once he heard Narcissa's reassurance. Of course having Remus' and Sirius' acceptance would even be better, but it was good to know that at least one person would be on his side.
Narcissa didn't actively acknowledge his tears, but she hugged him again. "Your parents would have been proud of you, Harry," she whispered and he hid his face against her shoulder, hugging her back while a weight seem to fall off his shoulders. He had always wanted to hear that his parents would have been proud of him, especially now.
"Everything will be alright, I promise," she spoke soothingly and Harry let himself tentatively believe in the promise, secure in the knowledge that he had Draco with him and Narcissa on his side at least, if things would turn out less than alright.

Draco took a deep breath to steel himself and knocked on the closed door in front of him, waiting with bated breath for the permission to enter.
"Yes!"
His father didn't seem surprised to see him entering the office, though that probably had to do with the wards alerting the master of the manor of their arrival.
"Draco, is there something I can do for you?" Father asked and rolled up the letter he had been reading.
He came closer to the desk and halted in front of it. "Yes, I want to talk about the heritage Harry received."
Father raised an eyebrow. "Take a seat."
Draco sank down in the comfortable chair and forced himself to not fidget in agitation. His father wouldn't approve of such behaviour, stating it wasn't befitting for a Malfoy to behave like that.
"It was an interesting letter that Remus sent me," Father mused and gave him a sharp glance. "I assume you have read the heritage book."
"Yes." Draco nodded, even though it hadn't been posed as a question. "Together with Harry."
"Do you have any questions? I do have to admit that I'm still doing more research about this, as I wasn't made aware of this particular part of the Malfoy history," Father continued and while he sounded neutral to an outsider, Draco could hear the small note of irritation hidden in his father's voice. He probably didn't appreciate the fact that this particular part of history had been hidden in books that nobody looked through unless they had a good reason.
Like they had now.
"Not a question. I want to talk about a specific part of the heritage," Draco replied, keeping his voice as even as possible.
"Which part?"
"The part that states that Harry is capable of carrying children now."
"Ah yes." His father frowned slightly. "That was a particularly interesting part. The complexity of the charm is very intriguing; especially the part of it activating whenever a Malfoy becomes a couple with a Potter. I'm doing research about that mostly, so that we won't be surprised if you and young Harry decide to have children in the future. It's better to avoid complications after all."
Well, he wouldn't find a better opening than that. "Father, I need to tell you something."
Grey eyes – eyes that he had inherited – looked at him expectantly.
He opened his mouth, ready to confess, but the words got stuck in his throat and he closed his mouth again, wondering how on earth he was supposed to tell news of this particular magnitude. How could he tell his father that he would need to sped up the research, because there would be a baby arriving in eight months? How could he inform his father that he had basically thrown every Pureblood rule out of the window by knocking up Harry, when they were still in school and not even engaged?
His hands clenched into fists and he stared at the floor, keeping his breathing as calm as he could. It wouldn't do now to start panicking. But the prospect of facing his father's anger, or worse, his disappointment seemed to have stolen his voice and his nerves and he was seriously beginning to consider writing a letter and leaving it behind before fleeing back to Hogwarts. He didn't care that that sounded cowardly. He didn't want to face the disappointment that would surely appear on Lucius' face once he heard that his son had gotten his boyfriend pregnant at the age of seventeen.
"Draco, what do you need to tell me?" His father broke through his thoughts and when he looked up, a glint of concern had appeared in his father's eyes.
"It's … Because Harry and I didn't know about the charm before his birthday, we never used any protection," Draco admitted and he began to feel uncomfortably warm.
"Are you telling me that Harry is expecting your child?" Father's voice had cooled a bit and Draco couldn't hide the flinch that went through his body.
He nodded and swallowed; not looking his father in the eyes, he continued, "Yes, we found out a week ago. He's almost a month and a half pregnant. We have decided to keep the baby."
There. He had said it. There was no going back now.
The silence that reigned after his confession seemed to ring in his ears and he closed his eyes in resignation, deciding he could do nothing but wait what his father would say about this.
But there was one thing that he was absolutely certain about and that was that he wouldn't give up his baby, even if his father ordered it. He didn't want to lose his father, but when it came down to choosing between him or the baby, he would choose his child without a doubt.
"Are you absolutely certain you want to keep it? A baby is going to change your lives completely," his father finally broke the silence and Draco was shocked to hear that he sounded calm instead of furious or disappointed. That didn't mean he was in the clear yet though.
He took a deep breath and then looked his father straight in his eyes, wanting to show that he wouldn't go back on his decision. "Yes, we thought about it and we're certain we want to keep it. We realize it won't be easy, but we won't give up the baby."
His father studied him, his face unreadable. "And what if I told you, you wouldn't be welcome anymore in the manor? If I decide to disinherit you?" His voice was soft, but dangerous.
This was what he had been afraid of. But he wouldn't back down.
"I would regret being disinherited, but there is nothing you can do that would make me even considering giving our child up. So, if you think it's necessary, you can disinherit me, but that won't change our decision," Draco spoke firmly, but inside fear was swirling around in his stomach and he felt faintly nauseous.
Their gazes never wavered and the tension – that had been hanging around them – broke when his father nodded approvingly.
"I'm glad I managed to raise a son who knows the importance of family," Lucius said calmly.
Draco managed to avoid having his mouth fall open from shock, but it was a near thing. Did his father really approve of the baby?
"I know you're a responsible adult, but know that you can always come to me or your mother if you need help with the baby – in fact, I'm fairly certain your mother is already making lists of the necessary equipment your baby needs," his father continued dryly.
"You – you are not angry?" Draco asked baffled.
Father raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be? Yes, it would have been preferable if you and Harry had started on children when you were older instead of now, but you made it quite clear that you wouldn't go back on your decision. I only want you to realize that it is not going to be easy, taking care of a child at your age."
"We realize that," Draco murmured and wetted his lips. The tension in his body seemed to slowly disappear after his father's reassurance that he wasn't angry.
Abruptly Lucius rose up from his chair and came to stand next to him, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Then you have my approval. Don't hesitate to write me if you find yourself in need of assistance. I'll make sure that I have my research completed soon, so that you know what to expect."
Draco closed his eyes in sheer relief. "Thank you, father."
"I'm proud of you, son. Don't ever doubt that," Lucius murmured and gave his shoulder one last squeeze before he released him and sat down again behind his desk. "Now I think it's best that you and Harry go back to Hogwarts, before you're too late."
Draco nodded and stood up. A quick glance at the clock standing next to one of the big bookcases showed him that time was indeed running out for them. If he wanted to avoid his godfather coming through to personally retrieve them, he and Harry had to leave now.
He had opened the door already when his father's voice made him halt.
"Draco?"
He turned around and looked at his father inquiringly.
A faint smile was visible on the older man's face. "Take good care of Harry and my grandchild."
Draco smiled and nodded. "Of course," he replied and slipped out of the office.
He gave himself a moment, leaning against the wall while trying to steady his still trembling hands. That had gone better than he expected.
Relief coursing through his body, he made his way back to his lover and mother. Even if Lupin and Black didn't react well, at least they would have his parents to count on.

Lucius stared thoughtfully at the door which was closed after his son's departure. He had to admit that he never expected to hear such surprising news so early in his life. Of course he had realized that what Harry and his son had together wasn't merely a flirt – that was evident in the way they looked at each other and how they behaved when they were together. Then there was the fact that Draco had requested Harry's name to be put on the document that would transfer one of the Malfoy properties to him once he became of age.
Living together was a big and important step in the Pureblood culture and it wasn't something that was to be treated lightly. Even the most promiscuous Pureblood knew better than to take a fling to his or her manor. A manor was a sacred sanctuary; a place where the children of a couple could grow up safely and the magic infused in the building would protect and nurture anyone who lived there for an extended period of time.
So for his son to have asked to have his boyfriend's name on the same paper meant he was very serious about his relationship with the Potter heir. It wouldn't surprise the older Malfoy that Draco would soon ask Harry to marry him – even if Lucius had given his son a bit more slack when it came to traditions, he had made sure that Draco realized that a manor was a sacred place and that he should only share it with the one he intended to have as spouse. Too many different lovers and the manor's magic would weaken in its confusion as to whom it needed to protect.
He couldn't say he had been surprised that Draco has asked for Harry's name on the document. He had even expected it, but had left it up to Draco to start the conversation about it.
Lucius smiled faintly when a memory of a nervous looking Draco popped up in his head, who had given him a whole speech as to why he thought Harry's name needed to be on that paper. His son had never looked so flustered before and it had made Lucius realize just how far his son had fallen for the dark haired boy.
Shaking his head to dispel the memory, he glanced at the letter in front of him. It was sent by his cousin Marcus, who spent the majority of his time studying the heritage of Purebloods. He had published several books already, each one talking about the history of a Pureblood family; its specific traits like magical talents that was only inherited by that particular family or certain looks; family members and their various allegiances … Lucius had never managed to figure out how exactly his cousin managed to get his hands on that valuable – and often sensitive and highly guarded – information and the younger Malfoy couldn't be persuaded into giving away his methods.
When Remus had sent him the letter with the explanation, the first thing he had done was contacting Marcus, asking him to search every piece of information he could find with regards to the Potter family. The Potter family was one of the few oldest Pureblood lines that Marcus hadn't researched yet, so the man had been very accommodating and had sent a thick package together with the letter, in which he had written or copied down everything he had found about the Potters.
According to Remus the Potters hadn't known much about the charm, because the Malfoy family had carefully guarded that secret, but it could never hurt to see what the Potters did know about it. It would help for example if another Potter had gotten together with a Malfoy later down the line so that he could compare the two situations.
While he had been waiting for his cousin's reply, he had gathered all the books that dealt with Lucian Malfoy and he would study those together with the information Marcus had gathered about the Potters.
With a sigh, Lucius rolled up the letter and put it in the first drawer of his desk. He had thought he would have at least a year before the subject of pregnancy would come up, but of course, when it came to the Boy-Who-Lived, he really should have expected to be given even less time than that.
He didn't fault them for not using protection though – it wasn't their fault that they hadn't known about the charm sooner. Lucius was certain that if the boys had been told about Harry's heritage before the boy turned seventeen, they would have been smart enough to use protection.
Broodingly he stared through the window on the opposite side of the room, which showed various stars twinkling softly.
When Draco had confessed that Harry was expecting his child, he was shocked. He had assumed that with this news they would wait until they had at least graduated before thinking about children. That would have at least cleared one obstacle in their lives.
He would have reminded his son about Dumbledore and the big threat he posed, but he assumed the boys had already taken that into consideration before they decided to keep the baby. They were both responsible, despite their young age, so he couldn't accuse them of going about this whole affair lightly.
And who was he to forbid his son from keeping the baby? Yes, the circumstances were not favourable, but they would have to work with what they got. He would do everything in his power to make sure that they wouldn't be in danger and that they would survive the future confrontation with Dumbledore.
He couldn't bear to think about losing his son and Harry, but to think he could now potentially lose his grandchild as well … No, he wouldn't allow that to happen. He didn't care what he had to do, but he would protect his family.
A soft knock on the door alerted him to Narcissa's presence and he turned his attention towards her when she entered.
"I assume from Draco's face that the conversation went well?" she asked lightly and walked forwards until she was standing in front of his desk.
He nodded slowly. "Yes, he has my support with the baby."
"I thought you would give him your support, but our son seemed to fear the opposite happening," she replied, shaking her head.
"Did I give him such a bad image of myself that he would fear talking to me about a delicate issue like this?" Lucius frowned, not liking the thought that his son was afraid of which subjects he could breach with his father.
"The blame doesn't lie with you, dear," his ex-wife soothed him and sat down on the chair previously occupied by their son. "I presume that every young man of his age would be nervous to tell his father about his upcoming fatherhood."
"It's going to be a tough year for them," he said softly.
She bent forwards – a lock of her blond hair falling across her cheek – and grabbed his hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "Yes, but we'll be there for them whenever they'll need us," she stated firmly.
He smiled at her. "Draco is lucky to have a loving mother like you," he complimented her.
She laughed softly. "And he's lucky to have you as a father and Severus as his godfather."
After having briefly shown him the list of all the things she wanted to buy for Harry and their grandchild, Narcissa bid him goodnight and left to her own private wing.
Yes, the boys wouldn't have it easy. But they wouldn't have to do it all alone; that Lucius would make sure of.

Dark eyes shifted from the page detailing the proprieties of Mermaid blood to the fireplace when the fire flared up green and spit out his godson and Potter. He snorted inwardly when Potter stumbled a bit, but was caught by his arm on time by Draco and he heard him mumble an embarrassed 'Thank you'.
"So you are able to read a clock," Severus drawled and closed the book, directing it with his wand back to its place on the bookshelf.
"Yes, you made sure I managed that, uncle," Draco replied dryly and muttered a quick charm that got rid of the ashes on his and Potter's robes.
"Thank you for lending us your fireplace, sir," Potter muttered and shot him a quick glance before he looked away.
That quick glance was enough for the older man to notice the red rimmed eyes and the flushed cheeks. Against his will he started to wonder what exactly had happened during their talk with Narcissa. For that matter, what had been so important that they couldn't say it in a letter or talk to her face to face during the holidays?
"Good night, uncle," Draco said and before Potter could open the door to escape, a sharp snap of Severus' wand locked the door with an audible 'click'.
"Sir?" Potter asked warily.
"You two are going to tell me exactly why you needed to talk to Narcissa now instead of waiting for a holiday," Severus replied calmly. "And don't even try to lie to me, because I will know."
His godson shared a look with Potter and the dark haired boy frowned. They seemed to have a quiet conversation, which unnerved the Potions master a little.
"Fine, let's tell him," Potter sighed suddenly and scowled lightly.
"We had to tell him sooner or later," Draco murmured and Potter shook his head, but let himself be pulled to the armchair opposite of Severus'. Draco sat down first and pulled the other boy on his lap and linked his arms around Potter's waist.
"We went to talk to mother about the letter Lupin sent my parents," Draco started.
"Which letter?"
"The letter about my heritage," Potter replied quietly.
Severus narrowed his eyes. He had heard of Lucius what had happened during Potter's birthday as soon as the blond man had received the letter. Initially he had thought Lucius had been joking when he told the whole story about the charm, but when the older man had looked at him solemnly and had offered to show him the book where the information could be found, he had had no choice but to believe him.
He shouldn't have been that surprised though – Potter seemed to always find himself in weird situations. It figured he wouldn't have a normal inheritance either.
Later, after Lucius had left and he had been nursing a glass of Firewhiskey, he had mused over the fact that James Potter probably would have been horrified to hear that an ancestor of the Malfoy family had assumed all gay Potter men would bottom and that had made the whole thing slightly more bearable. Of course the thought of future Potter children running around made him scowl – especially if they would inherit their father's tendency for attracting trouble – but hopefully by the time they started on children, he would have quit his teaching job already and so wouldn't be bothered by them.
"I thought you had read all the information that could be found about Potter's inheritance in the book your father sent?" Severus answered when it became clear that neither of the two boys would divulge more information without any kind of prompting from him.
"Yes, and we went to talk about something specific to my parents," Draco said and he looked on his guard.
"If I remember correctly, you told me you needed to speak to your mother – not your parents," Severus said softly, but his tone warned them not to play games with him. "Why did you need to speak to both your parents?"
"Because it was my duty as the Malfoy heir to inform my father of the same news we brought to my mother," Draco replied neutrally and his arms tightened momentarily around Potter's waist.
That action coupled with the wording of Draco's reply made Severus suspicious.
"And what kind of news did you bring them?"
This time it was Potter who replied. "We told them that I'm," he hesitated before seemingly gathering his courage and he continued, "that I'm pregnant. Because we didn't know about the charm and so we didn't use any protection."
Severus closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. Potter was pregnant. They were barely seventeen years old; students on the verge of graduating and were in danger because of Albus and they were expecting a child now.
This is just wonderful, he thought sarcastically.
"I take it you decided to keep it?" he inquired, keeping his voice neutral.
"Yes, we're not giving our baby up either," Draco replied and the stubborn look in his eyes warned Severus that he wouldn't be swayed.
Potter's eyes told the same.
"Is this the reason why you needed to use the Potion's lab in the last couple of weeks?" he asked when he remembered the two times when Draco had requested to use his lab privately. He hadn't thought much of it, had written it off as his godson experimenting as preparation for his studies after his graduation, but in the light of their news, Draco's requests suddenly took on a whole other meaning.
Draco nodded warily. "Yes, the first time was to brew the potion to test for pregnancy."
"And the second?"
"A potion that would abort the baby."
Severus could do nothing but stare at that admission.
"I wasn't certain at first whether it was a good idea to keep the baby," Potter replied curtly. "So Draco made the potion, though in the end it wasn't needed."
"What made you decide to keep it?"
Potter shrugged, his eyes locked on the carpet. "I couldn't go through with it." was all he answered.
"You two do realize that a pregnancy isn't to be taken lightly?" Severus said harshly. "Especially not with Albus waiting for a chance to finish what he started. Are you really certain you want to bring a baby into this world with Albus still on the loose?"
Both boys flinched; Potter clenched his hands and bit on his lip, while Draco scowled at him.
"Yes, we do realize this is serious," he bit out and Severus was startled to hear the hostile tone. He had expected such a tone from Potter, but not from his own godson. "Do you really think we didn't think this through? It's not like we decided this on a whim! We know the consequences and we realize how dangerous it is now with the old coot still running free. But we're still having this baby." He took a deep breath. "I'd like to have your approval as well, because you're my godfather, but there is no way we are giving up our child."
"Potter, you're certain of your decision?" Severus asked after a moment had passed in silence.
"Yes, I'm absolutely certain of it," Potter replied confidently and this time he didn't look away from Severus' stare. "I'm not planning on giving up our baby; no matter what happens."
Severus sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "If that is the case, arrangements will have to be made regarding your classes," he said curtly. "How far along are you?"
"Almost a month and a half," Potter replied and Severus could see tension leaving his shoulders.
"I assume Narcissa has already talked to you about what you'll need to keep this hidden from the other students."
"Yes, she said she would send me a belt as soon as she found a good one," Potter grimaced and Severus silently wondered how overwhelming Narcissa had been. Giving that this would be her first grandchild, he imagined she hadn't hold back when she told them what they would need.
"I can't give you a free pass for my class, because other students would get suspicious, but I can give you a list of charms that will prevent the fumes from harming the child," Severus continued neutrally.
Potter looked at him in shock, but then nodded; his eyes conveying his gratitude.
"What about the other lessons?" Draco spoke up after shooting Potter a look that the Potions master couldn't interpret.
"You can use Shield charms designed to protect a particular body part during Curses and Defence against the Dark Arts. The other classes shouldn't give you much trouble, but I have to inform the other teachers about this, so they are warned about it."
"Can you wait with informing them until we have told Lupin and Black?" his godson asked and for the first time he sounded nervous.
"Yes, but inform them quickly. It's better to not leave the other teachers too long in the dark," Severus warned him and he inwardly grimaced at the task he had taken upon himself. It had been quite a while since Hogwarts had last had a pregnant student and considering this time it was Harry Potter, there were bound to be some outrageous reactions.
He would need to devise a lie about the exact reason how Potter had fallen pregnant – it was better that not too many people knew about the inheritance.
"Thank you, Sev," Draco smiled.
"Don't thank me, brat," he shook his head. "Go to your dormitory – Potter, you to your quarters – now."
They both left after wishing him a good night and he sighed when the door closed, leaving him alone in the room; the crackle of the fire the only loud sound in the otherwise silent room.
The upcoming months wouldn't be easy for them and he hoped they really knew what they had gotten themselves into.
Shaking his head, he extinguished the fire and entered his bedroom. He needed to go to sleep now, because undoubtedly Narcissa would fire call him early in the morning tomorrow. He remembered the various potions a pregnant person needed to take and he was fairly certain Narcissa would demand he would be the one supplying Potter with them.
Sometimes he wasn't too sure whether it was a good thing that Narcissa had readily accepted his relationship with her ex-husband.
He felt a bit – a bit, not much – sorry for Potter. Narcissa was a force to be reckoned with when she wanted to be and no doubt Potter would be the recipient of that in the upcoming months.
At the very least that would make her stop nagging him about his apparent "lack of free time". Maybe the unborn child wasn't such a bad thing, if he took that into consideration.
After a final thought about hoping that the child would mostly take after Draco to prevent future trouble making, Severus fell asleep; unaware that a particular portrait had followed the entire conversation between him and the boys and was mulling it over in his head.

AN2: So that were Lucius' and Snape's reactions to the news. All that is left are the reactions of Remus and Sirius, which you will read in the next chapter. I hope I managed to write their reactions well. Please leave me your thoughts behind in a review!
The next part should normally appear in two weeks, like the regular schedule dictates.
Cuddles
Melissa
- 9
- 10
- 11
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Survival of the fittest