Post by Hogwarts Duo on Jan 10, 2007 11:05:35 GMT -5
Challenge by Rogueinker: There is a very real condition where soon-to-be Dads experience or simulate the experiences that the Moms have during pregnancy. Nausea, sleep deprivation and weight gain are some symptoms. It's often called the Male Pregnancy Experience or a sympathetic pregnancy.
The Challenge - Should you accept this challenge I would like your wonderful story to have the following elements:
- Albus must experience the Wizarding equivalent of the Male Pregnancy experience for the whole of the pregnancy. No potions to relieve symptoms or shorten the duration. He must suffer.
- Albus and Minerva need not be married which should open up plenty of scenarios.
- Albus may or may not know what the condition is. He may not get diagnosed or he may. Your choice.
- Minerva can react any way you see fit.
- Albus must have at least one of the symptoms below. He can have more symptoms from the list but at least one. You may also add your own symptoms.
Symptoms:
1. Magic Misfires - He loses full control of his magic. It can be by a lot or a little.
2. Albus Says Yes - Albus cannot say No to anything. Imagine the chaos if all requests made to him were approved? How many ways can one say Yes?
3. Cocoa Overload - Albus cocoa dependency hits an all time high.
4. Weight Gain - Wonder if Albus is vain about his appearance?
5. Green-eyed Albus - Most Dads become very protective of what is theirs (wife and unborn child). How possessive would Albus get?
6. Killer insomnia - There can be a lot of cause and effect from lack of sleep.
7. Libido Overdrive - This could be interesting. Women do get that hormonal surge too.
8. Honest Albus - Albus cannot tell a lie during the pregnancy. Honesty is good but too much can be brutal or suicidal.
9. Bard Albus - Albus can only speak in Shakespeare style and meter.
How the Hogwarts staff and friends react and handle this situation is your choice.
A/N: We found this challenge in the Challenge Board section here on the board and thought we'd like to tackle it. Here is our response and we hope you enjoy it! It is told completely from Minerva’s point of view. And now we give you:
It all started rather innocently enough. A simple touch. A lingering kiss. One roaming hand soon followed by another. That was enough to send me over the edge and within the hour I was moaning his name as I had done so many times in the past. He always has that effect on me and no matter how long we’re married, I don’t think that will ever change. The man has a way of igniting my passions and he knows my body almost better than I do myself. Be that as it may, we do have a remarkable sex life and for that I will always be grateful.
It was a few weeks later, on a bright March morning, that I began to feel a bit unlike myself. But several of our students had been suffering from a stomach flu so I didn’t think too much about it. I assumed, as did Albus, that I had been the unfortunate victim of the virus so I stayed home, much to my protests and his delight. When my symptoms did not go away after a few days, I decided it was time to pay a visit to Poppy. I’m fortunate to say that she is among my dearest friends and is one of only a handful of people who know of my marriage to Albus so that makes things much easier when one of us falls ill.
After a few preliminary questions and a test or two, I was given the greatest news of my life. I learned that Albus and I were to be parents, sometime around Christmas if her calculations and my recollections were correct. I couldn’t wait to share the news with Albus and I hurried off to plan the evening of surprise.
To say my dearest was happy is most assuredly an understatement. I’ve never seen him smiling broader or more enthusiastically. He immediately kissed me hard on the lips as his strong yet loving hand settled on my stomach, rubbing it softly. He spent the better part of the next half hour speaking softly to the little one inside me, sharing with him or her all the wonderful things he wanted for them. It was truly the happiest moment of my life and I could not control the soft tears that fell from my eyes. We celebrated that night by renewing our love for each other and expressing our joy in the most intimate way possible. To this day I don’t believe we’ve ever had such an exhausting and satisfying evening, even on our honeymoon.
Over the course of the next few days, Albus watched me intently. He knew I hadn’t been feeling well and now that we knew why, he wanted to ensure that I was eating properly and taking my prenatal vitamin potion as Poppy had directed. Bless his heart; he was so attentive and loving. A woman couldn’t have asked for a better spouse and father for her unborn baby.
As had been our custom since our first night together, Albus and I always slept curled up together. Sometimes he would spoon against me and other times I would press myself against his back but we always slept in each other’s arms. It was early one morning, when I suddenly felt Albus roll away from me and I could hear his feet sprinting across the floor towards the bathroom. Not thinking too much of it, I nestled my head into his pillow and waited for his return, assuming it was merely an unexpected call of nature. But when he returned to the bed, I could see, even in the pale moonlight, that his face was flushed and he seemed to be trembling.
He assured me that everything was perfectly fine and that it must have been something he ate which made him sick. I had seen him looking a bit flushed over the last few days but he always seemed to have an answer. Now, I was not taking any chances. He was going to see Poppy before breakfast and that was the end of it.
I should have known when he offered me no resistance that something was amiss for he never willingly went to see the mediwitch unless it was a life or death case. I later learned that he had been experiencing bouts of nausea for the past two weeks and had managed to hide it from me. He actually admitted that he hadn’t had a proper breakfast since that time and thinking back on it now, I should have seen the signs. My husband’s appetite has always been a healthy one and when he suddenly started eating dry toast and juice for breakfast, I should have known something wasn’t right.
Poppy ran a few tests on Albus and couldn’t find anything wrong with him medically, for which we were thankful. She suggested that perhaps it was a case of nerves since he was going to become a new father in a few months time. It seemed like a logical assumption on her part and being new to the entire experience we were ready to go along with her evaluation.
My thirst for knowledge has always been something I’ve prided myself on and the pregnancy was no exception. At the first opportunity, Albus and I went to our favorite bookshop in London and purchased several books on pregnancy and what to expect for new and expectant mommies. As soon as we walked through the door though, I lost Albus. He headed straight for the children’s section and when I found him an hour later, he had enough books in his arms for a proper library for our little one. With a little convincing on my part, we narrowed his selection down to a mere fifty books, the ones he deemed essential, and headed home with our treasures.
For the first time in several days, Albus woke hungry and was ready to eat everything in sight. I won’t go into the details but his appetite for food wasn’t the only thing he needed that morning and it was my utmost pleasure to give my husband exactly what he needed and wanted. After all, I too benefited from his early morning craving. I do believe we were slightly late for breakfast but that wasn’t necessarily a result of our morning activities. In truth, I do believe it had everything to do with his inability to get dressed.
Albus had dressed and was about to put on his socks and shoes while I pinned my hair into its’ customary bun. I heard him mutter “accio purple, phoenix socks”, a seemingly harmless spell for such a great and talented wizard. But what I did not expect, nor did he, was to find the entire sock drawer sailing through the air towards him. Had he not being watching for the socks, he could have been seriously injured. The drawer crashed against the opposite wall with such force that it splintered into thousands of little pieces and leaving a pile of wood and wool on the floor. I rushed to his side to make sure he was unharmed and we both sat trembling for a few minutes, trying to wrap our minds around what had just occurred.
As we entered the Great Hall, the chatter among the students filled the air and they seemed genuinely excited to see us. No doubt they were just as hungry as we were and had been waiting for our arrival so Albus could start breakfast. Sometimes, I think it’s a terrible thing for the Headmaster to have to officially start the meals at Hogwarts. I know it’s an age-old tradition but I’d like to spend mornings in bed with my husband and share a leisurely breakfast alone instead of with all those eager young students.
I can’t even begin to count the number of times Albus has summoned a meal from the kitchens to the tables in the Great Hall; countless times and never with any trouble at all. He always has a little something to say to make sure the children are smiling and then he summons the feast with a clap of his hands and a wave of wandless magic. Nothing spectacularly hard or out of the ordinary for him. It should have been as simple as summoning his socks and in hindsight I should have suggested letting me get breakfast started.
The look on the faces of the students when breakfast appeared was one that I will always remember. Shock, surprise, utter elation at the sight but most of all curiosity. Albus followed his morning routine down to the letter but when breakfast appeared, everything was on the ceiling or floating just out of reach. Based on this incident coupled with the sock mishap, I had to assume that something was not quite right with my beloved. It took me nearly fifteen minutes to formulate the correct array of spells to charm the food from the ceiling and another half hour to see that the students stopped playing with their food and actually ate it.
Unfortunately, Albus’ magical mishaps did not stop there. When I arrived back in our rooms before lunch for a short rest, I found him on the floor covered in bright purple ink. It seems he had been unsettled about his unfortunate accidents and had tried to cast simple spells to test his skills. He assured me that some of the spells had worked but more than a few had also gone array. Thus explained my ink covered husband, my stained rug, and the remnants of the ordeal on the floor. In trying to summon a book from the nearby shelf, he had knocked over the ink well. Like any normal wizard would do, he attempted to clear the mess away with a spell but with his magical abilities going haywire, the ink well exploded, all over him and the room. So much for my rest before lunch, but I will admit that Albus now looks much better since the purple splotches have been removed from his beautiful beard.
He promised me he wouldn’t try any more spells for the remainder of the afternoon and I promised to let my last class out early so we could discuss what was happening. During one of my classes, I managed to steal a few moments for myself while notes were copied from the board to read a bit about my pregnancy. I can’t even begin to express how excited I am about the entire process. The end result will be the most precious gift I could ever receive.
As the days passed, Albus regained control over his magical talents, something for which the entire school is grateful. I must say that it’s nice knowing I don’t have to worry about him as much anymore though I have noticed a few changes recently.
Day and night, all hours of the night in fact, Albus drinks his cocoa. In the past, it hasn’t been an issue since he was always very careful about consumption of the sweet drink. Never have I had a problem convincing him to drink juice, milk, tea, and water even but lately it seems that if he doesn’t have a cup of cocoa in his hand he gets downright irritable.
I knew we were in for a rough night when the house elves informed him that their stock of cocoa had been depleted, no doubt his own fault for drinking so much. The look of panic and pain in his eyes was unbelievable. You’d have thought they told him there would never be another cup of cocoa. He was so frantic over the fact that he actually went to the kitchens and inspected the cupboards for himself. I offered to melt some chocolate and warm some milk, mixing the two, to create a chocolaty blend but he let me know in no uncertain terms that the idea did not appeal to him.
We walked slowly back to our rooms. His shoulders were slumped and the twinkle was most definitely missing from those amazing blue eyes. I’d never seen him so upset over something so insignificant. Even Fawkes’ songs did nothing to appease him. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands…literally.
I started by drawing him a hot bubble bath and once I was sure he was relaxing there, I transformed our bedroom into a paradise. Everything he could possibly want, with the exception of the cocoa, was there. I changed into his favorite emerald silk nightgown and using just a dab of the perfume he bought me for our anniversary. It had been far too long since I properly seduced my husband so I thought now would be a perfect time. It might alleviate some of his stress, and mine as well, and get his mind off the current dilemma. I stretched out on the bed with a few candles simply for soft illumination and waited until he emerged. The absolute hunger in his eyes sent shivers down my spine and in no time at all the cocoa was long forgotten and his mind was occupied with new ways to please his very pregnant wife.
But that was just the beginning of another phase of Albus’ new behavior. Apparently I had managed to replace his cravings for cocoa with a desperate and most ardent desire for me. I don’t think we made love so many times during our honeymoon phase, though I am not complaining at all.
I would wake in the morning to very tender yet passionate kisses all over my body. When I was completely aroused and nearly panting his name, he would pleasure me orally, making sure I was satisfied before he even attempted to see pleasure for himself. On more than one occasion, he caught me off guard in the hallway in between classes and drew me into a lesser-used corridor for a few blissful moments of time together. Those often left me heated and with very little choice but to pay a visit to his office afterwards to finish what he started. I swear those hands of his can do more in a short span of time than some men could do with hours of time on their hands. Needless to say, if I wasn’t already bearing his child, there would be no doubt that I would have been pregnant by the end of this glorious phase…my favorite one of them all so far.
My curiosity got the better of me and as I began reading more earnestly in my pregnancy books, I discovered why my Albus had suffered so many changes. As luck would have it, my discovered actually coincided with the final stage of my poor lovers problems, for lack of a better word.
I was lying in bed trying to read, sharing little bits of information with Albus, as I deemed necessary, when I looked up. Standing in front of my full-length mirror was my husband, in his full naked glory. That sight alone was enough to raise my interests enough to discard any book or thoughts of further education but it was his actions that aroused the most curiosity. He seemed to be examining every inch of his body, turning this way and that in front of the mirror as if looking for something specific.
After assuring him that I had not marked him in any visible way, unless they were undressing him, he turned and asked me the one question I never would have expected from him. He asked me if I thought he was gaining weight. To be honest, I had noticed a slight rounding of his belly but I assumed it was merely from his newest craving, aside from the delights of my body. On one of his shopping trips to Hogsmeade, he discovered a muggle confectionary called a sherbet lemon and it seemed to fill a void for him when I wasn’t available or feeling up to another round of playtime after hours.
Apparently his zeal for the new candy was taking its toll on his stomach and I had to admit that he was putting on just a bit of weight. I tried to downplay it as much as possible, hoping he would remember my kindness in the matter days of my pregnancy. He seemed offended at first that I would even presume to tell him that he was gaining the weight around his middle and for another five minutes or so, he stood there sucking in his stomach and then releasing it. It was quite amusing from my vantage point but I knew better than to make light of his concerns.
I rose from the bed and walked over to him, standing belly to belly. I reassured him that no matter how large or small he might be it was his heart and mind that I loved. He chuckled, which was music to my ears, then leaned down to kiss me softly before sharing with me once more just how happy he was that we were going to have a baby in our lives. I led him back to the bed and after a few good hours of reassuring him that he was still the sexiest man alive to me, we snuggled up to explore the delights of parenthood in the pages of our book.
It was then that I discovered the only logical assumption to the things that had been happening for weeks. According to the book, there was an actual condition among men called Male Pregnancy Experience. The further we read on the matter, the more it sounded exactly like what Albus had been experiencing. To simply the matter, he was going through the same hormonal changes that my body was experiencing, though in varying degrees.
Suddenly everything made sense. His lack of control over his magic for those few stressful days, the cravings for cocoa at all times as well as the sherbet lemons later, the weight gain, and my favorite…the highly inventive, insatiable and very gratifying need for physical contact with me could all be explained away.
Once we knew the cause of his sudden mood swings and eating habits, things progressed nicely. I had a wonderful time being pregnant. Albus was a very doting husband and made sure that I never wanted for anything. Even in labor he stayed right with me, despite having a few labor twinges of his own. I have never heard him sing my praises more highly as he did after his first few labor pains ceased. I do believe his phrase was something along the lines of the creator knowing who was best to handle pain therefore women were given childbirth. If I hadn’t been in so much pain myself I might have laughed at his observation.
I am happy to say though that for everything we endured, we were given a brand new baby girl on Christmas Eve. Albus has always said it was the best gift I could ever have given him. I threatened to take back his socks I’d purchased him for Christmas and when he didn’t even flinch, I knew he was enamored with our little bundle of joy. The apparent love and sparkle in his eyes was unmistakable and since that night, I do believe I’ve fallen deeper in love with him every single day that we wake up together.
Our little girl turns three tomorrow and her Papa has nearly bought out every toy store in the entire United Kingdom. I do believe he’s more excited about the idea of Father Christmas than she is but I would expect no less from him. She truly is the apple of her daddy’s eyes.
I just wonder though if Albus will like my Christmas present to him this year. It will be another rough year ahead of us, what with all the changes coming, but I can’t wait to see his face tomorrow morning when he wakes. You see, I have planned to give him his present long before our little one decides to come bouncing on our bed. I want a little time to bask in the glow of our love when I tell him we’re expecting our second little miracle right before the start of term next year.
Let’s just hope that this time around, nature is kinder to him when it comes to magical mishaps, is equally as kind when it comes to cravings and pain but is more than willing to grant us even more of the delightful joys of being in each other’s company.
Minerva McGonagall Dumbledore
The Challenge - Should you accept this challenge I would like your wonderful story to have the following elements:
- Albus must experience the Wizarding equivalent of the Male Pregnancy experience for the whole of the pregnancy. No potions to relieve symptoms or shorten the duration. He must suffer.
- Albus and Minerva need not be married which should open up plenty of scenarios.
- Albus may or may not know what the condition is. He may not get diagnosed or he may. Your choice.
- Minerva can react any way you see fit.
- Albus must have at least one of the symptoms below. He can have more symptoms from the list but at least one. You may also add your own symptoms.
Symptoms:
1. Magic Misfires - He loses full control of his magic. It can be by a lot or a little.
2. Albus Says Yes - Albus cannot say No to anything. Imagine the chaos if all requests made to him were approved? How many ways can one say Yes?
3. Cocoa Overload - Albus cocoa dependency hits an all time high.
4. Weight Gain - Wonder if Albus is vain about his appearance?
5. Green-eyed Albus - Most Dads become very protective of what is theirs (wife and unborn child). How possessive would Albus get?
6. Killer insomnia - There can be a lot of cause and effect from lack of sleep.
7. Libido Overdrive - This could be interesting. Women do get that hormonal surge too.
8. Honest Albus - Albus cannot tell a lie during the pregnancy. Honesty is good but too much can be brutal or suicidal.
9. Bard Albus - Albus can only speak in Shakespeare style and meter.
How the Hogwarts staff and friends react and handle this situation is your choice.
A/N: We found this challenge in the Challenge Board section here on the board and thought we'd like to tackle it. Here is our response and we hope you enjoy it! It is told completely from Minerva’s point of view. And now we give you:
Baby Blues
It all started rather innocently enough. A simple touch. A lingering kiss. One roaming hand soon followed by another. That was enough to send me over the edge and within the hour I was moaning his name as I had done so many times in the past. He always has that effect on me and no matter how long we’re married, I don’t think that will ever change. The man has a way of igniting my passions and he knows my body almost better than I do myself. Be that as it may, we do have a remarkable sex life and for that I will always be grateful.
It was a few weeks later, on a bright March morning, that I began to feel a bit unlike myself. But several of our students had been suffering from a stomach flu so I didn’t think too much about it. I assumed, as did Albus, that I had been the unfortunate victim of the virus so I stayed home, much to my protests and his delight. When my symptoms did not go away after a few days, I decided it was time to pay a visit to Poppy. I’m fortunate to say that she is among my dearest friends and is one of only a handful of people who know of my marriage to Albus so that makes things much easier when one of us falls ill.
After a few preliminary questions and a test or two, I was given the greatest news of my life. I learned that Albus and I were to be parents, sometime around Christmas if her calculations and my recollections were correct. I couldn’t wait to share the news with Albus and I hurried off to plan the evening of surprise.
To say my dearest was happy is most assuredly an understatement. I’ve never seen him smiling broader or more enthusiastically. He immediately kissed me hard on the lips as his strong yet loving hand settled on my stomach, rubbing it softly. He spent the better part of the next half hour speaking softly to the little one inside me, sharing with him or her all the wonderful things he wanted for them. It was truly the happiest moment of my life and I could not control the soft tears that fell from my eyes. We celebrated that night by renewing our love for each other and expressing our joy in the most intimate way possible. To this day I don’t believe we’ve ever had such an exhausting and satisfying evening, even on our honeymoon.
Over the course of the next few days, Albus watched me intently. He knew I hadn’t been feeling well and now that we knew why, he wanted to ensure that I was eating properly and taking my prenatal vitamin potion as Poppy had directed. Bless his heart; he was so attentive and loving. A woman couldn’t have asked for a better spouse and father for her unborn baby.
As had been our custom since our first night together, Albus and I always slept curled up together. Sometimes he would spoon against me and other times I would press myself against his back but we always slept in each other’s arms. It was early one morning, when I suddenly felt Albus roll away from me and I could hear his feet sprinting across the floor towards the bathroom. Not thinking too much of it, I nestled my head into his pillow and waited for his return, assuming it was merely an unexpected call of nature. But when he returned to the bed, I could see, even in the pale moonlight, that his face was flushed and he seemed to be trembling.
He assured me that everything was perfectly fine and that it must have been something he ate which made him sick. I had seen him looking a bit flushed over the last few days but he always seemed to have an answer. Now, I was not taking any chances. He was going to see Poppy before breakfast and that was the end of it.
I should have known when he offered me no resistance that something was amiss for he never willingly went to see the mediwitch unless it was a life or death case. I later learned that he had been experiencing bouts of nausea for the past two weeks and had managed to hide it from me. He actually admitted that he hadn’t had a proper breakfast since that time and thinking back on it now, I should have seen the signs. My husband’s appetite has always been a healthy one and when he suddenly started eating dry toast and juice for breakfast, I should have known something wasn’t right.
Poppy ran a few tests on Albus and couldn’t find anything wrong with him medically, for which we were thankful. She suggested that perhaps it was a case of nerves since he was going to become a new father in a few months time. It seemed like a logical assumption on her part and being new to the entire experience we were ready to go along with her evaluation.
My thirst for knowledge has always been something I’ve prided myself on and the pregnancy was no exception. At the first opportunity, Albus and I went to our favorite bookshop in London and purchased several books on pregnancy and what to expect for new and expectant mommies. As soon as we walked through the door though, I lost Albus. He headed straight for the children’s section and when I found him an hour later, he had enough books in his arms for a proper library for our little one. With a little convincing on my part, we narrowed his selection down to a mere fifty books, the ones he deemed essential, and headed home with our treasures.
For the first time in several days, Albus woke hungry and was ready to eat everything in sight. I won’t go into the details but his appetite for food wasn’t the only thing he needed that morning and it was my utmost pleasure to give my husband exactly what he needed and wanted. After all, I too benefited from his early morning craving. I do believe we were slightly late for breakfast but that wasn’t necessarily a result of our morning activities. In truth, I do believe it had everything to do with his inability to get dressed.
Albus had dressed and was about to put on his socks and shoes while I pinned my hair into its’ customary bun. I heard him mutter “accio purple, phoenix socks”, a seemingly harmless spell for such a great and talented wizard. But what I did not expect, nor did he, was to find the entire sock drawer sailing through the air towards him. Had he not being watching for the socks, he could have been seriously injured. The drawer crashed against the opposite wall with such force that it splintered into thousands of little pieces and leaving a pile of wood and wool on the floor. I rushed to his side to make sure he was unharmed and we both sat trembling for a few minutes, trying to wrap our minds around what had just occurred.
As we entered the Great Hall, the chatter among the students filled the air and they seemed genuinely excited to see us. No doubt they were just as hungry as we were and had been waiting for our arrival so Albus could start breakfast. Sometimes, I think it’s a terrible thing for the Headmaster to have to officially start the meals at Hogwarts. I know it’s an age-old tradition but I’d like to spend mornings in bed with my husband and share a leisurely breakfast alone instead of with all those eager young students.
I can’t even begin to count the number of times Albus has summoned a meal from the kitchens to the tables in the Great Hall; countless times and never with any trouble at all. He always has a little something to say to make sure the children are smiling and then he summons the feast with a clap of his hands and a wave of wandless magic. Nothing spectacularly hard or out of the ordinary for him. It should have been as simple as summoning his socks and in hindsight I should have suggested letting me get breakfast started.
The look on the faces of the students when breakfast appeared was one that I will always remember. Shock, surprise, utter elation at the sight but most of all curiosity. Albus followed his morning routine down to the letter but when breakfast appeared, everything was on the ceiling or floating just out of reach. Based on this incident coupled with the sock mishap, I had to assume that something was not quite right with my beloved. It took me nearly fifteen minutes to formulate the correct array of spells to charm the food from the ceiling and another half hour to see that the students stopped playing with their food and actually ate it.
Unfortunately, Albus’ magical mishaps did not stop there. When I arrived back in our rooms before lunch for a short rest, I found him on the floor covered in bright purple ink. It seems he had been unsettled about his unfortunate accidents and had tried to cast simple spells to test his skills. He assured me that some of the spells had worked but more than a few had also gone array. Thus explained my ink covered husband, my stained rug, and the remnants of the ordeal on the floor. In trying to summon a book from the nearby shelf, he had knocked over the ink well. Like any normal wizard would do, he attempted to clear the mess away with a spell but with his magical abilities going haywire, the ink well exploded, all over him and the room. So much for my rest before lunch, but I will admit that Albus now looks much better since the purple splotches have been removed from his beautiful beard.
He promised me he wouldn’t try any more spells for the remainder of the afternoon and I promised to let my last class out early so we could discuss what was happening. During one of my classes, I managed to steal a few moments for myself while notes were copied from the board to read a bit about my pregnancy. I can’t even begin to express how excited I am about the entire process. The end result will be the most precious gift I could ever receive.
As the days passed, Albus regained control over his magical talents, something for which the entire school is grateful. I must say that it’s nice knowing I don’t have to worry about him as much anymore though I have noticed a few changes recently.
Day and night, all hours of the night in fact, Albus drinks his cocoa. In the past, it hasn’t been an issue since he was always very careful about consumption of the sweet drink. Never have I had a problem convincing him to drink juice, milk, tea, and water even but lately it seems that if he doesn’t have a cup of cocoa in his hand he gets downright irritable.
I knew we were in for a rough night when the house elves informed him that their stock of cocoa had been depleted, no doubt his own fault for drinking so much. The look of panic and pain in his eyes was unbelievable. You’d have thought they told him there would never be another cup of cocoa. He was so frantic over the fact that he actually went to the kitchens and inspected the cupboards for himself. I offered to melt some chocolate and warm some milk, mixing the two, to create a chocolaty blend but he let me know in no uncertain terms that the idea did not appeal to him.
We walked slowly back to our rooms. His shoulders were slumped and the twinkle was most definitely missing from those amazing blue eyes. I’d never seen him so upset over something so insignificant. Even Fawkes’ songs did nothing to appease him. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands…literally.
I started by drawing him a hot bubble bath and once I was sure he was relaxing there, I transformed our bedroom into a paradise. Everything he could possibly want, with the exception of the cocoa, was there. I changed into his favorite emerald silk nightgown and using just a dab of the perfume he bought me for our anniversary. It had been far too long since I properly seduced my husband so I thought now would be a perfect time. It might alleviate some of his stress, and mine as well, and get his mind off the current dilemma. I stretched out on the bed with a few candles simply for soft illumination and waited until he emerged. The absolute hunger in his eyes sent shivers down my spine and in no time at all the cocoa was long forgotten and his mind was occupied with new ways to please his very pregnant wife.
But that was just the beginning of another phase of Albus’ new behavior. Apparently I had managed to replace his cravings for cocoa with a desperate and most ardent desire for me. I don’t think we made love so many times during our honeymoon phase, though I am not complaining at all.
I would wake in the morning to very tender yet passionate kisses all over my body. When I was completely aroused and nearly panting his name, he would pleasure me orally, making sure I was satisfied before he even attempted to see pleasure for himself. On more than one occasion, he caught me off guard in the hallway in between classes and drew me into a lesser-used corridor for a few blissful moments of time together. Those often left me heated and with very little choice but to pay a visit to his office afterwards to finish what he started. I swear those hands of his can do more in a short span of time than some men could do with hours of time on their hands. Needless to say, if I wasn’t already bearing his child, there would be no doubt that I would have been pregnant by the end of this glorious phase…my favorite one of them all so far.
My curiosity got the better of me and as I began reading more earnestly in my pregnancy books, I discovered why my Albus had suffered so many changes. As luck would have it, my discovered actually coincided with the final stage of my poor lovers problems, for lack of a better word.
I was lying in bed trying to read, sharing little bits of information with Albus, as I deemed necessary, when I looked up. Standing in front of my full-length mirror was my husband, in his full naked glory. That sight alone was enough to raise my interests enough to discard any book or thoughts of further education but it was his actions that aroused the most curiosity. He seemed to be examining every inch of his body, turning this way and that in front of the mirror as if looking for something specific.
After assuring him that I had not marked him in any visible way, unless they were undressing him, he turned and asked me the one question I never would have expected from him. He asked me if I thought he was gaining weight. To be honest, I had noticed a slight rounding of his belly but I assumed it was merely from his newest craving, aside from the delights of my body. On one of his shopping trips to Hogsmeade, he discovered a muggle confectionary called a sherbet lemon and it seemed to fill a void for him when I wasn’t available or feeling up to another round of playtime after hours.
Apparently his zeal for the new candy was taking its toll on his stomach and I had to admit that he was putting on just a bit of weight. I tried to downplay it as much as possible, hoping he would remember my kindness in the matter days of my pregnancy. He seemed offended at first that I would even presume to tell him that he was gaining the weight around his middle and for another five minutes or so, he stood there sucking in his stomach and then releasing it. It was quite amusing from my vantage point but I knew better than to make light of his concerns.
I rose from the bed and walked over to him, standing belly to belly. I reassured him that no matter how large or small he might be it was his heart and mind that I loved. He chuckled, which was music to my ears, then leaned down to kiss me softly before sharing with me once more just how happy he was that we were going to have a baby in our lives. I led him back to the bed and after a few good hours of reassuring him that he was still the sexiest man alive to me, we snuggled up to explore the delights of parenthood in the pages of our book.
It was then that I discovered the only logical assumption to the things that had been happening for weeks. According to the book, there was an actual condition among men called Male Pregnancy Experience. The further we read on the matter, the more it sounded exactly like what Albus had been experiencing. To simply the matter, he was going through the same hormonal changes that my body was experiencing, though in varying degrees.
Suddenly everything made sense. His lack of control over his magic for those few stressful days, the cravings for cocoa at all times as well as the sherbet lemons later, the weight gain, and my favorite…the highly inventive, insatiable and very gratifying need for physical contact with me could all be explained away.
Once we knew the cause of his sudden mood swings and eating habits, things progressed nicely. I had a wonderful time being pregnant. Albus was a very doting husband and made sure that I never wanted for anything. Even in labor he stayed right with me, despite having a few labor twinges of his own. I have never heard him sing my praises more highly as he did after his first few labor pains ceased. I do believe his phrase was something along the lines of the creator knowing who was best to handle pain therefore women were given childbirth. If I hadn’t been in so much pain myself I might have laughed at his observation.
I am happy to say though that for everything we endured, we were given a brand new baby girl on Christmas Eve. Albus has always said it was the best gift I could ever have given him. I threatened to take back his socks I’d purchased him for Christmas and when he didn’t even flinch, I knew he was enamored with our little bundle of joy. The apparent love and sparkle in his eyes was unmistakable and since that night, I do believe I’ve fallen deeper in love with him every single day that we wake up together.
Our little girl turns three tomorrow and her Papa has nearly bought out every toy store in the entire United Kingdom. I do believe he’s more excited about the idea of Father Christmas than she is but I would expect no less from him. She truly is the apple of her daddy’s eyes.
I just wonder though if Albus will like my Christmas present to him this year. It will be another rough year ahead of us, what with all the changes coming, but I can’t wait to see his face tomorrow morning when he wakes. You see, I have planned to give him his present long before our little one decides to come bouncing on our bed. I want a little time to bask in the glow of our love when I tell him we’re expecting our second little miracle right before the start of term next year.
Let’s just hope that this time around, nature is kinder to him when it comes to magical mishaps, is equally as kind when it comes to cravings and pain but is more than willing to grant us even more of the delightful joys of being in each other’s company.
Minerva McGonagall Dumbledore
