𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨-𝙧.𝙖.𝙗

38-𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙨

random diclaimer: i had to accelerate the cannon timeline so i will finish this fic. i am so determined to finish it so i had to do it. im sorry if yall hate this know that it must be done.

JO FEELS AS IF THE FLOOR HAS FALLEN OUT FROM UNDER HER FEET. She stands in the middle of her dorm room, mouth slightly agape and not quite sure if she's breathing. Her head spins. "Pregnant?" she repeats back, voice sounded pitched up.

Alice, sitting upright at the edge of her bed, hands folded on her lap, bites down on her lip and gives Jo a quick nod. "Yes, pregnant."

She crumbles on her own bed, limbs going limp. Jo can't wrap her head around it. She sits there, eyes fixed on the floor, and tries to understand but her brain is sticky and slow, thoughts churning like cold molasses. Jo looks back up to Alice. "Like, with a person?"

"What, like I'd be pregnant with a Boggart?" she replies, a bit of nervous laughter laced into shaky breaths. She rubs her palms against the tops of her thighs. "Yes, Jo, I'm pregnant with a person. Few months along, actually."

Quickly, Jo tries to do the calculations in her head, but she is so deep into a fog she cannot even fathom what a number even is. She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Alice, I don't mean to be so," Jo stops, and inhales sharply. "It's just that, y'know, was not exactly expecting this."

Alice gives her a soft smile. "I know. I'm very good at hiding it."

Pregnant. That really can't be, Jo thinks. There's no way. But there Alice is, sitting still with a protruding belly that was not there before and Jo finds herself looking at everything but Alice's belly. For some reason the whole thing makes her a bit nauseous. But she swallows and forces herself to meet Alice's stare. "And, you're happy? You and Frank?"

Tears are starting to well up in Alice's eyes now, and Jo goes rigid, instantly panicking that she's said the wrong thing-like she always does at times like these. But Alice just chuckles. "Never been happier, honestly."

And Jo still thinks she might throw up, but she forces a smile. "Then I'm thrilled for the both of you. Really."

Alice's shoulders deflate at once, and she rushes over to Jo, arms flung over her shoulder. "Easy there, careful," Jo cautions, now thousands of times more concerned with Alice's physical well-being than she was just fifteen minutes ago. "Got yourself a little lad in there," Jo says, still somewhat not believing it.

"Actually, I'm hoping for a girl," Alice confesses, releasing Jo and sliding to sit in the spot next to her. "I told Frank I'm not partial to one or the other, but I think it'd be really lovely to have a girl."

Jo smiles for real this time. "If they're anything like you, Fortescue, they'll be lovely, boy or girl. And either way, you can name them after me."

The two of them sit there on Jo's bed for hours, and Jo asks a million questions. About when and how long she's known. About what it feels like. If Alice is scared. What does Frank think. What do her parents think. Who knows. It was Christmas. She's known since the middle of January. Sometimes it's horrible and sometimes it's wonderful. Sometimes she doesn't feel like it's real and others it's the best thing that's ever happened to her. She's always hungry. Everything hurts. Hiding it with spells and too-big robes is tedious but she doesn't want other students to know. She's terrified. Frank is over the moon, euphoric, so desperately in love with her and so eager to be a father he has started buying toys and setting up a room for them. Her parents are overjoyed, though they do wish she had at least waited until she was done with school. Her and Frank's family know. Jones and Vance and Meadowes all know. She wanted to tell Jo earlier, really, but it never really seemed like the right time. Not with what happened to Ivan. Jo understands.