Him - A Harry Potter Love Story

Chapter Sixty-Four

"Hey, everyone! I have a surprise!" Neville announced, stopping in the doorway in order to block us from view. I stood in the back behind Harry, holding his hand tightly.

"It's not more of Aberforth's cooking, is it?" someone called out; it sounded like Seamus.

Neville only let out a laugh as he stepped out and to the side, letting Ron, Hermione, Harry, and finally, me, step into the Room of Requirement, which was filled with people, much to my surprise.

Gasps and exclamations rang out over the crowd, some staring at me, and others at Harry. Ginny had immediately run over, throwing her arms around me.

"I've missed you so much!" she cried out, making me smile. "I was incredibly worried! You were so sick when I left."

"Well, I'm definitely okay now," I joked, making her laugh as she pulled back. People all around us were talking, some to Harry, but a lot approaching me with wide eyes. After maybe a minute of activity, Neville called out for everyone to go and sit down and let us talk.

"Listen, everyone. We need to find something inside the castle," Harry announced, holding my hand tightly. "It will be something...valuable. Something hard to find."

"Do you know what it is?" someone called out.

"Er-no," he responded.

"Why do you need to find it?" someone else questioned.

"We can't tell you."

"Well then what's the point of this?" they exclaimed.

"The point is, it will get us a step closer to defeating Voldemort," I snapped, narrowing my eyes at the kid. They immediately silenced.

"There's Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem," Luna suggested, her voice quiet and sweet, yet confident.

"Yeah, but Luna, it's lost," Cho said, just a few feet away from her. She looked over at me, her eyes seeming cold and accusing. "You'd never be able to find it. It hasn't been seen in centuries."

"That's actually a really good start, Luna," Harry said, ignoring Cho.

A sudden stab of pain in my stomach caused me to gasp out, the sound mixing with an alarm that rang through the entire school. I felt something dripping down my leg, and I grabbed my stomach and looked down, trying to see what it was, because I refused to believe it was what I thought. Everyone began to stand, walking out the door. The pain in my abdomen was quickly growing, and I bit my lip to keep from yelling out.

"Harry, come with us," Ginny suggested, walking up over. "The school needs to know that you're here."

He nodded, turning to me for a moment and taking one of my hands from the babies.

"Are you okay with staying here?" he asked, staring deep into my eyes. I took a deep breath to keep from letting out a cry, squeezing his hand tightly.

"I-I don't think I have a choice."

A frown appeared on his face. "What do you..."

As soon as he noticed my eyes looking down, he backed up a little, glancing at my legs. His eyes immediately widened and he let out a gasp.

"Someone help! She's going into labor!" Harry shouted, grabbing my hand and pulling me over to a couch. I finally let out a whimper, holding my stomach as what could only be a contraction became worse.

"Everyone who has been called, go quickly!" Lupin yelled, ushering out the students who had heard Harry's yell and stayed to see what would happen. "She'll be okay, get going!"

The contraction finally faded, and I let out a sigh, leaning my head back and closing my eyes.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, gripping my hand.

"Can someone get my parents?" I murmured breathlessly.

"Hermione, Ron! Can you go back and see if they're with Aberforth yet?" Harry called back. They agreed and walked back into the portrait, and Harry stood up, squeezing my hand one last time before letting it go.

"What are you doing?" I asked, frowning up at him in confusion.

"I need to go. I'm sorry," he sighed, obviously battling with himself on whether to stay or not. "They know I'm here. It's either they find me with you, or I reveal myself now."

"Fine," I groaned. "Just...come back. Quickly. I'm scared."

"Cassie!" Mum's voice rung out from the portrait.

"I love you," he said, quickly leaning over and pressing a short but sweet kiss against my mouth. I watched him go with tears stinging at my eyes. I was about to have a baby...two babies.

"I've helped with births before, Cassandra," Mum told me as she dropped to my side. "You can do this. When was your first contraction?"

"Um...about a minute ago, I think?"

"Someone time her when the next one starts," she called out, my dad immediately running to my side to take the job.

Only a few minutes later, another contraction hit...and it was a lot worse than the first. I immediately let out a cry of pain, Mum grabbing my hand. I started to squeeze her fingers, already feeling bad for the pain I was probably putting her hand through.

"It's okay, Cassie, deep breaths," Mum instructed, and I tried to control my breathing, which was hard when I let out sobs every few seconds. The pain was one of the worst things I had ever felt; I would say that it came dangerously close to the cruciatus curse.

This went on for long. Too long. It was hours before I saw Harry again.

"I'm here, darling," Harry gasped, dropping by my side. I was in between contractions, but I was already incredibly tired. I could feel a thin sheen of sweat over my face, although Harry didn't seem to mind as he kissed me, not letting me talk at first. When he pulled away, he asked my mother how I was.

"Things are going great," she said with a smile. "She's about seven centimeters dilated. At this rate, I believe she'll be ready in about an hour."

"An hour?" I exclaimed, letting out an exasperated cry. "I have to deal with another-SHIT!"

Harry quickly grabbed my hand again as I let a yell, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to slow my breathing like Mum had said.

"Cassie, you can do this," Harry told me, his voice seeming slightly panicked. "You know, we got the diadem."

"Really?" I asked breathlessly, opening my eyes to look at him again. He had a cut on his face, and his hair was a mess...but he was all I ever wanted to see.

"Yeah. And Hermione and Ron got rid of the cup," he added. I smiled through the pain, nodding my head.

"Good...good job," I mumbled, letting out a small yell as the pain began to grow again.

"Hey! We'll be able to tell everyone the names, soon," Harry said quickly, obviously trying to distract me. I nodded, the thought actually helping.

"Yeah. Yeah, what else?"

"We'll go to the Weasleys'. We'll take care of them together," he explained. "You'll be able to go to the bathroom by yourself."

I let out a laugh, making the smile on his face grow.

"And...and we'll watch them grow up together," he continued, his voice calming down as he did. "Our little girl and boy. They'll fight all the time, but they'll still love each other, just like they'll love us."

The contraction began to fade away, and my grip on his hand loosened.

"Thank you, Harry," I murmured, leaning over and wrapping my arm around him for an awkward half-hug thing. He stroked my hair, suddenly stepping back again.

"I'm so sorry, but I need to go," he said softly. "Hermione and Ron are waiting."

I smiled a little, nodding. "I understand. Just...try to be here when they come."

He wasn't.