Say Hello, Say Goodbye

Chapter 4

After leaving the headmaster's office Draco and Harry made their way to the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey proceeded to give Harry a thorough examination. Giving him a good bill of health she told him that he needed to give up Quidditch and to make sure not to drink any potion that might harm the baby. She had also told him all his professors would need to know just in case something should happen to him while in one of their classes, lest they try a spell and/or potion that may cause more harm than good.

The two seventh year boys left the wing laden down with pamphlets upon pamphlets with titles such as: "So You're a Pregnant Witch: What To Expect", and "Congratulations You're About To Be A Daddy: What To Expect When Your Witch Is Expecting" (for Draco) and many others. They went to their respective common rooms and Harry wrote a letter to his godfather letting him know that everything went alright with the spell and that he was so far doing fine.

Once Hermione knew he was back she began bombarding him with questions on how it went. He patiently answered her questions before heading to his room that he shared with the other 7^th year boys. Ron was already there sitting on his bed but he promptly closed the curtains that surrounded his bed when he spotted Harry causing the other boy to sigh sadly and do the same.

The following day Harry went through his lessons like it was just any other day, as of yet he wasn't feeling any differently. He could tell that Dumbledore had told his professors about his pregnancy though because McGonagall kept giving him odd looks during Transfiguration. He was glad he no longer took Divination because he didn't want to know what Trelawney would say about this turn of events.

He put up a notice on the Gryffindor Notice Board that asked the Quidditch team to meet him at the field that night after dinner. He needed to tell the team that he was quitting and he wanted to do it soon since everyone was leaving in a few days for the Christmas holidays. He was now able to spend the Christmas holiday with his godfather so for the first time since entering Hogwarts he was going home for the holiday and Draco was coming with him since his parents died in the last battle. This was the first since that first Christmas right after the defeat of Voldemort more than 16 years ago that Hogwarts would be empty for the holiday.

The rest of the day went by quickly and when he went down for dinner he was bombarded by the members of the team wanting to know why he was calling a meeting so soon before the holiday. He placated them by saying that he had a very important announcement that couldn't wait till after the holiday.

When Harry was finished eating he made his way to the pitch and waited a few minutes before the rest of team joined him. He stood up and faced them. He knew this wasn't going to go over very well. It hadn't gone over well when they had found out two years ago that he was kicked off the team because of Umbridge and that wasn't truly his fault!

Harry sighed, it was best just to get it over with. "Ok, I have an announcement to make. I'm afraid that after the holidays you are going to have to find a new seeker. The position of captain should in my opinion go to Ron as he is the best in strategy out of all of us."

The Gryffindor team was shocked by his statement and it took several moments before anyone said anything. "What!" came several cries from the younger members. "You're the best we've got Harry! We'll never win against Slytherin now!" came the cries of the Creevey boys.

"I just don't think I will be able to devote myself totally to the team with my NEWTs coming up. I want to make sure I do well on them."

There were a few grumbles from most of the team but they accepted it as there wasn't much they could do about it. However, Harry could feel eyes on him and turned his head to see Ron staring at him.

"That's not it is it?" Ron asked in a cold voice. "You've never cared so much about your grades, that's Hermione's job. This is about him isn't? You just want to give him the chance to win." That last part was hissed so quietly only Harry heard it.

Harry was shocked by the venom in his best friend's voice. "Of course not Ron! This has nothing to do with him. I truly want to do well on my NEWTs!" Though Harry could tell Ron didn't believe him, he left it alone for now.

When he got back to his dorm he saw that Hedwig was back with a reply from Sirius and Remus. He patted her feathers for a few minutes before opening the letter which told him how happy his godfather was that everything had gone well and it also plainly showed their worry over him.

The rest of the week went fast and it was soon the day before they were to leave for the holiday and that morning at breakfast Harry received a note from Dumbledore asking him to come see him right after breakfast. He quickly finished eating and told Hermione where he was going and then made the long walk to the headmaster's office.

When Harry reached the Headmaster's office he was surprised to also see Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey there as well. "Professor?" He asked, turning towards the headmaster.

"Harry, glad you could make it here so quickly. Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey have been in here for some time wanting to talk to you."

Madam Pomfrey came up to him with her wand pointed at his stomach. "Yes, let's see how you are doing, Mr. Potter." She waved her wand and chanted a few words until a blue hue surrounded Harry's stomach. After a few seconds she stopped and smiled up at Harry. "It seems your body accepted what has been done to it and things are progressing very well. Now, I am going to need to see you once every month so I can monitor yours and the baby's health. More often as the due date gets closer, which I am anticipating to be around September 20^th. I need to go to my patients now, have a happy Christmas Harry and don't do anything stupid." She said pointedly.

Harry just smiled. "I will Madam Pomfrey, you have a Happy Christmas as well."

Once she was gone he turned toward his Head of House wondering why she was here as well. What he saw was something he didn't think he would ever see coming from his professor. She looked completely floored by what transpired between Madam Pomfrey and himself. 'Must not have believed the headmaster about my being pregnant,' he thought to himself.

"Professor are you alright?"

McGonagall shook her head trying to clear it. "Yes, Mr. Potter. I just....I didn't expect you to really be..."

"Pregnant?" he supplied with a hint of amusement.

"Yes...pregnant."

"Yes, well, I am." Harry hide a smile, to be truthful he was getting a kick out of seeing his normally prim and proper Transfiguration professor so flustered.

"Headmaster! How did this happen! Well I know how it happened but...but..."

Dumbledore chuckled, "Calm yourself Minerva. You know how teenagers are."

She took a deep breath but didn't look all that much more calm and turned toward Harry. "Who is she? Does she at least know! Goodness this sounds ridiculous! A teenage boy pregnant! You would think I would be used to odd things happening in the wizarding world."

Harry blushed. "It's actually a he and yes he knows."

If McGonagall was shocked with the pregnancy she was even more so with this news. "He?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, he. Though I can't tell you who because we plan on 'coming out' so to speak after the holidays."

McGonagall nodded. "Very well. Do look after yourself, Potter." She stood up slowly and then walked out the door.

Harry stifled his laughter till he was sure she was out of ear shot. He plopped into a chair and just laughed. After a few minutes he calmed down. "I don't think I've laughed that much in a while." He turned toward Dumbledore and saw his eyes were twinkling merrily with humor and a large smile on his face that made him look years younger.

"Yes, I would have to say that I haven't seen Professor McGonagall that flustered since she was a student herself."

Harry just chuckled at that, it was hard for any student to think of their professors as students themselves. "Professor? Did you need anything else?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, that's all I needed, since you will be leaving tomorrow for the holidays you had better start getting packed."

Harry nodded. "Yes, I should. I'm surprised Hermione hasn't already hounded me about it. Hope you have a Happy Christmas, professor," he said with a smile as he got up to leave."

Dumbledore's grin widened. "Thank you Harry. And you do the same."

Harry got up and left the room and headed back to his dorm room and proceeded to pack his trunk for the trip home. After a few minutes Harry heard a loud commotion coming from the general direction of the common room. He walked down the staircase and was shocked to see Ron and Hermione locked in a heated argument.

"Come on Ron! He's your best friend! Don't you want to see him happy?" Hermione shouted.

"Of course I do!" Harry felt his heart leap at this. "But not if he's going to be like that! I would rather him be happy with Ginny or any other witch!" Ron shouted that last word before storming out of the tower.

Harry felt like he was slapped in the face at this. He had hoped that Ron would realize he was being a git again but maybe that wouldn't happened after all. He gave a great sigh and was about to go back upstairs when Hermione called after him.

"Oh God. Harry! I didn't think you were back yet!" She quickly made her way to the stairs and grabbed hold of his arm to stop him from going back up. He turned back around and looked at her with sad eyes.

"It's ok Hermione. Thanks for trying. I shouldn't have really expected for him to change his opinions so suddenly anyway." He turned back around and began to climb the stairs. "I should go and continue packing."

"Harry wait!" Harry stopped but didn't turn back around. "No, Hermione. I just...need to be by myself." Without another word he climbed through the hole that led to the boys' dorms.

The next day Harry, Draco and Hermione boarded the train that would take them to Kings Cross Station where they would meet their respective families for the holidays. Harry was anxious to begin his first holidays with his family and Draco. When they got there Harry and Draco said good-bye to Hermione and looked around for Sirius and Remus. They finally spotted them a few minutes later and walked over to them.

"Sirius! Remus!" Harry called out as they drew near. "There you guys are!" Harry exclaimed happily.

Sirius grinned at his obviously happy godson. "Hi Harry. Hi Draco. Did you have a good trip?" He asked as the older wizards grabbed a hold on the trunks and wheeled them to the exit.

"It was fine. It was just us and Hermione though both Neville and Ginny stopped by for a little while." Draco said as they reached the exit. He looked around at all the Muggle cars and buses before voicing his next question. "How are we getting to your house, Sirius?"

Sirius pulled out a ball roughly the size of a Muggle baseball and held it out toward the boys. "We will be using a specialized Portkey. Take us right into the living room of Black Manor." They each put a hand on the ball and held tightly onto any luggage they had on them. A few seconds later they each felt the unmistakable feeling of a hook behind their navels giving a great tug.

When they arrived Harry was surprised to realize he had managed to stay on his feet during the landing. Though he felt a queasy feeling in his stomach seconds later and dropped Hedwig's cage and ran to the nearest bathroom. The three remaining wizards looked at each other before Draco took off in the direction Harry ran in. When Draco got to the bathroom he saw his boyfriend kneeled in front of the toilet, his head resting on the rim.

"Harry? Are you ok?"

Harry looked up at Draco without lifting his head. "What does it look like?" He said weakly.

"I'm sorry, Harry. Is it time for morning sickness already? I didn't think we had to worry about that for another month or so!"

Harry chuckled weakly and stood up on shaky legs. "No, I don't think so. I think the portkey ride didn't agree with the baby too well."

Draco wrapped his arm around Harry's waist allowing the smaller boy to lean on him. "Do you want me to help you to your room? You should rest after that."

Harry nodded and the two boys walked slowly up the stairs and to Harry's room. It was the same room on the second floor that he had shared with Ron when the Order had occupied the house for those years before he had been able to kill Voldemort. Now it was just Harry's and the 17 year old couldn't be happier with having a room that was just his. Sirius and Remus had promised to help him decorate the room when he came for the Christmas holiday. Now they would also need to figure out a room for the baby since by the time summer came he would be much too pregnant to decorate. When they arrived they noticed that Sirius and Remus had already set up Hedwig's cage and his trunk. Draco helped Harry to the bed and tucked him in. "You should rest, I'll wake you up when it's time for dinner."

Harry shook his head and tried to sit up. "Draco, I'm fine now. I don't need to rest. I've felt ill after a port key trip before."

"Harry," he said as gently pushed Harry back down. "Yeah but you've never got sick before, you should rest. You don't want anything to happen to the baby now do you?"

Harry looked exasperatedly at Draco. "Of course not! But, I shouldn't let every little thing get to me. If I did I would spend every day in bed! Besides, Hermione said women don't even know they are pregnant at this stage anyway and nothing they do harms the baby. So nothing I do or experience this soon would do any harm."

"But, you're a different case Harry! Madam Pomfrey already said that something could go wrong since there aren't many documented male pregnancies. Harry, if anything happened to you or the baby, I don't know what I'd do," Draco said with tears in his eyes.

Harry's eyes widened. "Draco, love, you're not going to lose me. With Voldemort gone I'm afraid you're stuck with me." He said with a laugh trying to joke.

"Harry don't say that. I want to be stuck with you as you call it. Besides don't start thinking your invincible now that Voldemort is gone, because your not."

Harry sighed and pulled Draco down on to the bed as well. "I know I'm not, I was just trying to lighten the mood with a joke. I guess it didn't work too well." He slung an arm around Draco's shoulders and continued. "Besides, Madam Pomfrey will be checking up on me frequently and she won't let anything happen. I'll be fine and so will the baby, you'll see." The two boys snuggled down into the covers and were soon fast asleep. When Sirius and Remus came up a few minutes later they both smiled at how cute they looked together and Remus went to get their wizarding camera to take a picture to give to Harry at a later date.

A couple of hours later Remus came up to wake the two for dinner. He almost didn't have the heart to wake them but knew they needed to eat. After getting them up he followed them down to the kitchen to where Sirius was. Harry was surprised to see the table nearly groaning from the weight of all the food on it. "You guys didn't cook all this yourselves did you?"

Sirius shook his head and laughed. "No, of course not. We got a new house elf."

"Really? I didn't think you would want to after Kreacher..." He trailed off. He knew that his family house elf, Kreacher, died two years ago and Sirius hadn't wanted to get a new one because of all the bad memories of the old one.

Sirius shrugged at that. "This one is different trust me. He used to work at Hogwarts so I know he's trustworthy. Though I do need to pay him as he's a free house elf."

Harry's eyebrows rose at that, the only house elf at Hogwarts that was free was..."Dobby?"

Sirius smiled. "Oh yes, that's right, I forgot you knew him. He's very willing to please especially when he found out that Harry Potter would be living here." He teased.

Harry groaned. "Let's just hope he doesn't try and save my life again."

At this point Draco was really confused. "Dobby? Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"He used to work for your family. I set him free in our second year."

Now it was Draco's turn to raise his eyebrows. "I remember Father being angry about losing an elf but he didn't say you did it! How did you manage that?"

Harry chuckled. "It's a long story, I'll tell you sometime. But right now I'm starving!" He exclaimed as his eyes widened as they took in all the food on the table.

"Alright, Harry!" Sirius laughed. "I take it you are feeling better?" he asked, with concern in his eyes.

"Yes, I'm feeling better. The port keying didn't agree with me." He said as he scooped food on to his plate.

"Must have been because of the added stress of the baby during transportation. Once your body gets used to the baby being in you it shouldn't be as affected." Remus said.

Harry nodded and they continued to eat their dinner and talked about what had been happening at Hogwarts and with Sirius' and Remus' jobs. Over the next few days leading up to Christmas, Sirius, Remus and Draco helped Harry decorate his room a navy blue and hung up several posters of his favorite Quidditch team, Puddlemere United. They also cleaned up the furniture in the room and bought him a new desk and book case. Sirius and Remus supplied several framed pictures of James and Lily and even a few of Harry as a baby being held by his parents and one each with Sirius and Remus. There was even one with his grandparents (his father's parents) who, as Sirius said, were killed shortly after the picture was taken, by Death Eaters.

They also decided on the baby's room, the room next door to Harry's which was roughly the same size as Harry's own. They painted it a soft baby blue and to Sirius' insistence the walls adorned many flying snitches. Remus promised to pick up a cot and any other necessary furniture for the baby.

Along with all the room decorating they found time to help Dobby decorate the whole house for Christmas. By the time Christmas Eve came around the house was decorated from floor to ceiling in every room. A huge tree was in the corner of the family room and already there were piles of presents underneath. Harry felt almost giddy about the whole thing since it was really his first family Christmas since he had only been 5 months old.

That night the four wizards sat around drinking warm butterbeer and singing wizarding Christmas carols such as; "God Rest You, Merrye Hippogriffs" and many others. After they finished drinking their drinks and their voices were long since tired out they all marched up the stairs for the night.

The following morning, Harry awoke to someone jumping on his bed. He opened his eyes and was shocked to see his Godfather's cheerful face staring back at him. "Sirius!" He shouted as he scrambled to get off the bed. "What are you doing?"

Sirius grinned down at him from atop the bed, "Giving you the annual Christmas wake up of course! Your father did it to me for years. Though if I remember right Lily didn't like it much and let us know it!" He said with a fond smile on his face. "Anyway, everyone else is downstairs already. We're just waiting for you so we can open presents."

Harry chuckled and followed Sirius down the stairs. 'Sirius really is like an over grown kid most of the time', Harry thought to himself.

When they walked into the family room Harry was shocked at the sheer number of multicolored boxes and presents that were underneath the tree. "Wow," Harry said, not knowing what else to say.

The others just grinned at him. Draco walked over to him and gave him a big hug. "Happy Christmas, Harry."

Harry smiled and hugged him back. "Happy Christmas, Draco." Harry looked over to his godfather to say the same to him but found him in a lip-lock with Remus. He just shook his head and chuckled and buried his head in Draco's shoulder.

Draco looked over at the older wizards and chuckled as well. "Hey, you two! Stop that so we can open presents!"

Sirius and Remus broke away blushing slightly, which caused Draco and Harry to snicker. Sirius clapped his hands and rubbed them together before motioning them toward the tree and presents. There were 4 rather large stacks of presents for each of them. They each immediately started sorting through them. Right away Harry noticed he had gifts from Sirius and Remus, Draco, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, Hagrid and Dumbledore and McGonagall. From Sirius and Remus he received a large album filled to the brim with pictures and notes from all 7 years of their Hogwarts schooling. Flipping through he saw notes from lessons, their Animagus notes. Conversations they had with each other during lessons, and notes on all the pranks they did and pictures of the results. When he finished flipping through he looked up at his guardians, he didn't know what to say and by the looks on their faces they understood what he couldn't say.

Sirius nodded toward the book. "I had forgotten about that book actually and Remus was the one to find it in his attic when he was packing to move here over the summer. We thought we'd give it to you for Christmas instead of your birthday."

Harry nodded and continued opening his presents. From Hermione he got a parenting guide book that listed any and every problem a young parent would encounter with their first child. From pregnancy all the way through the teenage years. It was geared toward witches and wizards, though more so for witches. Even at first glance he knew it would come in very handy. From Mrs. Weasley he got his annual Weasley sweater in hunter green and a large supply of mince pies. In the package there was also a letter from Mrs. Weasley:

Dear Harry,

I know that right now you are going through a rough time as Ronald has told me what has transpired between you two over the last week or so. I just want to let you know that no matter what you decide to do with your life and who you date or marry you will still be considered a member of our family by all of us. That being said I have had a long conversation with my son and he is much more calm about things. I know he plans on approaching you once you return to Hogwarts so please do both of you a favor and listen to him. You both need to hear it.

Harry, dear, have a Happy Christmas and please tell your family I wish them the same as well.

Molly Weasley

Harry quickly wiped the stray tears from his cheeks and passed the letter on to Draco so he could read it as well.

"Harry? Are you ok?" Sirius asked as he opened the package of Weasley Wizard Weezes that Harry had got him.

Harry nodded and sniffed. "Yeah I'm fine. Just a letter from Mrs. Weasley."

Both Sirius and Remus nodded, they knew what had happened between their godson and the youngest Weasley boy.

When Draco finished reading the letter he smiled and passed it on to Sirius. "That was nice of Mrs. Weasley to write that for you. She seems like a special lady. I can't imagine someone so nice having a son like Weasel."

"Draco! He's going to try and if he does I want you to promise not to bait him into a fight. If he's going to behave around you I want you to do the same." Harry said pointing a finger at his lover.

Draco raised his eyebrows, he was so shocked by the authoritative tone in Harry's voice that he found himself nodding his head before he realized he was. "Of course Harry."

Sirius and Remus just laughed. "Merlin, Draco! You are whipped!" Sirius said as he laughed.

Remus nodded. "And Harry, you sounded very much like your mother just then. She may have been a tiny thing but when angered she could really show some one who was boss. None of us would dare cross her."

Harry just smiled and ducked his head, this had been one of the only times he had been told he shared something with his mother besides his eyes. They quickly continued to open presents. Next in the pile was one from Dumbledore and McGonagall. He opened it and was shocked to find a baby's quilt. He opened it up and fanned it out so he could get a good look at it. It was baby blue in color and in each square of the quilt held a magical creature and in the very center of the quilt was a large phoenix much like the headmaster's phoenix, Fawkes.

"Wow, Harry. Who sent you that?" Draco asked shocked. "Who else knows that you're pregnant?"

"It's from Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore."

Remus reached out to touch the quilt. "This is really nice work. Have to hand it to the old cat, she certainly knows how to sew."

Harry nodded and folded the quilt back up so that nothing could get on it. While doing so he found a note written by McGonagall.

Harry,

I thought I'd give you something for the baby now while I still can. Since if my calculations are correct it will make its appearance in late summer. I hope you are having a happy Christmas.

Professor McGonagall

After the shock wore off Harry went back to opening his remaining gifts. When he moved the paper from McGonagall's gift out of the way he realized there was something else in there. Moving more of the paper away he found many maternity robes that would change to fit him through out his pregnancy so he wouldn't have to constantly buy new ones as he grew bigger through the months. Many he noticed were school robes but there was also many summer style robes for the remaining months that he would be out of school. Harry smiled at this, figures the headmaster would be practical about his gift. Harry reached for Hagrid's gift and smiled, inside the parcel he found wooden carvings of all different types of magical creatures. There was a phoenix, a hippogriff, a dragon and many others. His last present was from Draco. He had left this one for last on purpose knowing it would mean the most to him. Opening the wrapping he found an empty baby book. It had spaces for the ultra sound pictures and the things the doctor says and for the baby's first 7 years of life. This present more than any other touched Harry deeply because it showed that Draco was accepting the baby even if it wasn't his biologically.

He looked up at Draco. "Draco...I..." He really didn't know what to say.

Draco just smiled and took Harry's hand. "No thanks needed. We will need that book so we can document every little thing that kid does. 11 years down the road when we're moping about because the kid is off to Hogwarts we can look back and remember when we felt him kick for the first time."

Harry couldn't help but grin like an idiot and kiss Draco full on the mouth. Draco grunted from the surprise attack before surrendering to the kiss.

Sirius and Remus, realizing they should leave them alone, picked up their gifts and retreated to their room to finish what they had started earlier.

The rest of the holidays went by quickly, with Harry and Draco finishing their holiday work and just relaxing and enjoying their time together. Before they knew it it was time for them to meet the train at Kings Cross.