An Unexpected Gift

An Unexpected Gift

~ Chapter 07 ~

Neither of them said anything. They just kept staring between Ginny and the baby.

"Seriously, you guys, what's wrong?!" Ginny was really worried at this point.

Madam Pomfrey took a soft, white blanket and wrapped the still crying baby up in it. She leaned over and picked it up in a way that kept Ginny from seeing what it looked like.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked. "Why won't you let me see my baby?"

"I have to clean him up," Madam Pomfrey said in a monotone voice.

"Oh," Ginny said, wiping away sweat from her brow. "Okay." She leaned back against her pillow. She suddenly sat up again. "It's a boy?!" Madam Pomfrey nodded. A small smile spread across Ginny's face.

Hermione sat down beside Ginny on the bed while Madam Pomfrey went around the curtain to go clean him up and put some clothes on him. "Yeah, Gin. You have little boy." Her voice and her face gave way to a little bit of sadness, which Ginny only slightly registered, but didn't bother to say anything about.

"Can I see him?" Ginny asked hopefully.

"In... in a minute. She just has to clean him up first."

"Okay." She leaned back again, nodding. "Okay."

~*~

Ron and Dumbledore were sitting silently, listening to the sounds and voices behind the closed curtain, when a sharp cry filled the air - the cry of a newborn baby. Ron got up and started to pace this way and that across the hospital wing floor. After about five or so minutes, Madam Pomfrey emerged from behind the curtain, carrying a small bundle in a white blanket. Ron stopped pacing and walked slowly over to her, a set expression on his face; Dumbledore got up off the bed and followed suit.

"Is Ginny okay?" Ron asked.

"Your sister is doing fine," Madam Pomfrey replied, a weird expression on her face that neither Ron nor Dumbledore could quite identify.

"What is it, Poppy?" Dumbledore asked, concern in his voice.

Madam Pomfrey noticeably hesitated.

"May we see the baby, Poppy?" asked Dumbledore.

"I'm... not sure if that's the best idea at the moment," she said, clearly looking at Ron when she said this.

"I think it is an okay idea, actually," Dumbledore said, the usual twinkle in his eye suddenly seeming to appear more prominent.

Madam Pomfrey gave Dumbledore a strange look. "You know, don't you?"

"Know what, if I may ask?" he said, the twinkle still there.

She stared at him a moment before saying, "Perhaps not. Very well. You may see him. After he is cleaned up, that is." She headed off to her office. The baby had stopped crying by now. After about ten minutes, Madam Pomfrey emerged from her office carrying the baby in her arms, now wrapped in a blue blanket with a blue hat covering his head. She walked up to Ron and Dumbledore, who hadn't moved from their spot on the floor. She turned the baby around in her arms, opened the blanket, and pulled off the hat.

Ron's face, which had had the possibility of a very small smile coming on it only moments before, instantly fell in an unmistakable expression of pure rage and fury. "I'm gonna kill the fucking bastard," he said. He turned swiftly around and ran out of the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey put the hat back on the baby and wrapped the blanket around him once more.
"Miss Granger," Dumbledore called out towards the still-closed curtain. "Could you come here for a moment, please?"

Hermione emerged from behind the curtain and walked over to Dumbledore. "Yes?" she asked.

"Would you kindly go and retrieve Mr. Weasley before he does something he will most likely regret?"

"Certainly, sir," she said. She started to turn, but stopped when he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Please bring him back here when you find him. That way I will be able to make sure he stays out of trouble."

"Alright." She left the hospital wing quickly.

Dumbledore heaved a heavy sigh. He turned to Madam Pomfrey. "I need to summon a few people here; may I use the fire in your office?"

"Certainly. You need not even ask."

"You may show Miss Weasley her baby. I will come too, before I go to the fire."

They walked towards to still-closed curtain. Madam Pomfrey was still holding the child. When they got to the curtain, Dumbledore held up a hand to halt her.

"I will go first, so I may attempt to prepare her as much as possible."

"Prepare her?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "For what?"

"I have reason to believe she does not know who the father of her child is."

Madam Pomfrey didn't say anything, although she had a confused look on her face, and nodded her head. Dumbledore disappeared behind the curtain, leaving Madam Pomfrey standing there, waiting.

Dumbledore found Ginny leaning back against her pillow, hands folded across her stomach, a small smile on her face. She sat up when she saw Dumbledore, the smile on her face shrinking a little.

"When am I going to get to see my son?"

"In a moment," he said, sitting down on the end of her bed. "I need to speak with you first about something that is... rather important."

"Yes? What is it?"

"This is going to seem like a strange question to ask, but... do you happen to know the identity of your child's father?"

She was silent for a moment. "Actually... no." She looked down, an uncomfortable look on her face.

"Well, I believe I do."

She looked up at Dumbledore. "You do?" she asked warily.

"Yes. I can tell just by looking at him."

"Who - who is it?"

"I prefer that you discover that fact on your own. I'll have Madam Pomfrey bring him in now. Please... do not be alarmed." He got up off the bed, then, and stepped around the curtain. She heard murmurs and, a moment later, Dumbledore came back, Madam Pomfrey behind him, holding the child wrapped in a blue blanket and with a matching hat on.

Madam Pomfrey looked hesitantly at Dumbledore; he nodded. Sighing, she turned the child around, opened the blanket, and took off the hat.

Ginny's face, which had been looking happy and expectant, suddenly fell as she stared at the child in Madam Pomfrey's arms, taking it all in. She had an inquisitive look on her face. As she looked at the child, she could point out where each of his distinct qualities came from. The silveryish-blonde hair - his. The gray, almond-shaped eyes - his color, her shape. It's face - her shape as well. The skin tone, mixed between light almond - his - and a darker, sandy color that belonged to her. His nose, her mouth. And even a few light, very light, freckles. These came from her, only hers were more prominent than the few that speckled the young child's face.

She sat there, taking it all in, the appearance of such a precious being, a child that had come from her. Her and....

"Malfoy," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Oh my gosh, I remember."

"You remember what, Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked her.

"I remember... the night.... It was the party you held at the beginning of the year.... I was really drunk.... We both were. We took a walk and ended up at the greenhouses. We went in one... had some more to drink.... I woke up in the morning and couldn't remember anything.... But I remember now...."

Neither Madam Pomfrey nor Dumbledore said anything. Madam Pomfrey conjured up a scale and weighed the three-week-early baby. He weighed five pounds, fifteen ounces. She measured him with a conjured-up measuring tape, and he was nineteen inches long. She waved her wand, making the scale and tape measure disappear, and conjured up a bassinet at the end of Ginny's bed. She laid down the now-sleeping baby in it, making sure to cover him up snugly with the blanket.

"Would you mind if I used your fireplace now?" Dumbledore asked while she was checking Ginny's heart rate and blood pressure.

"Not at all," Madam Pomfrey said, standing up. "I told you you didn't need to ask."

"Of course," Dumbledore said.

"Still doing fine," Madam Pomfrey said to herself. Dumbledore, however, heard, and smiled. He walked out from behind the curtain, and headed towards the open office of Madam Pomfrey. Once inside, he closed the door behind him.

Kneeling down on the floor in front of the fireplace, he took a violet-covered bag from an inside pocket of his robes, set it on the floor, and untied the tie keeping it closed. It was filled almost to the brim with a sparkling, green powder. Very carefully, he took a pinch of it and threw it into the fire. As soon as the powder made contact with the inside of the fireplace, the fire turned an emerald color. He stuck his head in, saying as clearly as possible with a mouthful of ash, "Professor Severus Snape's office." His knees remained firmly upon the semi-warm floor of the office, while his head hurtled swiftly through the emerald fire....