Prove You Have A Heart

Chapter 10

Already halfway through his first trimester, Harry hoped he would soon start seeing an end to the morning sickness. Unfortunately, according to the books Hermione had sent him, the sickness lasted right through the pregnancy in some men. Still, those were rare cases; most people were okay around the beginning of the second trimester, so the books said.

Thankfully, after the quick travel of information following his initial announcement, the news of his pregnancy seemed to be staying in the family. The last thing he wanted was for the Prophet to catch wind of it, especially before the second trimester; the books said miscarriage in the first trimester was fairly common. Harry tried not to think on the exact statistics too much, hoping the Potter Luck would carry his baby through to term. He hadn't realised just how desperately he wanted to be a father until the option was presented to him.

September 22nd found him and Remus flooing to a private room in St Mungo's for his first appointment with the healer recommended by Madame Pomfrey. He wrung his hands nervously on his lap, and Remus squeezed his shoulder with a small smile. "Calm down, cub; everything will be fine." Harry opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off when the door opened, and a smiling man with dirty blonde hair and lime green healer's robes poked his head in.

"Ah, good, Mr Potter. I'm Healer Thompson, I'll be looking after you for the duration of the pregnancy," he declared, slipping into the room. Harry shook the man's hand with an anxious smile, rising from his seat.

"Hi, Healer. It's good to meet you; Poppy has nothing but praise for you," he complimented, making the man chuckle.

"Yes, well, I have only the same for her. Why don't you change into the scrubs behind the screen while I get set up, yeah?" Thompson suggested, gesturing to the screen set up in the corner. Harry nodded, ducking behind it to change into the pale green scrubs set out for him, emerging to find the bed set up for him, Thompson waiting with a bright quill in hand that was no doubt spelled to record his vitals. Climbing up to lay on the bed, Harry tried not to shake too much, reaching for Remus' hand as the man came to stand beside him. "I understand you'll be doing this one solo, then, Mr Potter?" the Healer asked, gently nudging Harry's top up to bare his stomach. "The other father isn't around?"

Harry swallowed thickly, shaking his head. "No, no, he won't be involved," he replied, jaw set defiantly, as if daring the man to protest. Thompson merely continued to smile, his expression non-judgemental.

"Then it's good you've got Mr Lupin here with you, isn't it?" he remarked brightly. "Sorry, this is going to tingle a bit." He murmured a spell under his breath, wand pointed at Harry's stomach, and the teen automatically tensed, gripping his godfather's hand a little tighter. He gasped as a flat screen of magic hovered in the air above his stomach, showing the monochrome blur of his ultrasound, similar to the muggle machines. Thompson shifted around to get a better look at it, lips pursed, and Harry's heart pounded in his chest as he waited for the man to speak, half expecting him to say there was something wrong with the baby. "I understand this little one was conceived in rather... unusual circumstances, correct?"

It took him a moment to figure out what the Healer meant, before Harry nodded. "The other father is a muggle, yes. Why, is that going to cause problems? Is everything alright?"

"Oh, no, no; everything looks perfectly in order, I assure you. You'll just have to be very careful later on. The womb will need more magic than usual to compensate, as it won't be drawing from the other father, but from what I hear that isn't a problem for you," he added with a wink, making Harry flush. No, his magical levels were definitely not likely to deplete any time soon. "But all the same, do try and use magic as little as possible, if you can."

"I hardly use it anyway, ever since, y'know," Harry replied with a shrug. Seeing what his magic could do to a man like Voldemort made him realise just how dangerous it could be; it seemed silly to use it for things he could just as easily do without. "But duly noted." Thompson smiled at him, pointing at the centre of the scan, where there was a small grey-white bean-shaped blob.