Chapter 2
The second time was when Jamie had gotten sick. He had a very high fever that scared me to my core. Even Poppy had been worried at that moment. However, she couldn't stay for too long as she has other patients at the Hospital Wing. She advised a week of bed rest and a fever potion after every meal.
After she left, I immediately sent a patronus to Harry telling how Jamie is not feeling well. A familiar stag wandered around the room a few hours later. The infernal brat had the audacity to reason out his work instead of taking a leave. His response made me so angry to the point that I asked Hermione and Molly to look after Jamie while I go to the Auror Department.
That was proven to be a bad idea. I left alone in tears instead of what I was expecting. Harry immediately pulled me to a corner and asked the reason of my visit. We argued for a while about Jamie's condition and how he's drifting off from me and Jamie. He told me that there are still death eaters out there hurting people and that he can't abandon those people in need. Apparently, my remark that he cannot even be there for our son didn't go very well.
The next thing I knew was the stinging sensation on my right cheek. It hurts me more emotionally than physically to think that my pleas for my husband to be there for Jamie would lead to this. Harry had tried to apologize, but I tuned him out and walked away, not even bothering to see if he goes after me.
Molly had mothered me about the light bruising on my cheek when I got home. Not wanting to worsen the situation, I told her that I tripped on the way out of the Auror Department instead of Harry slapping me after being so caught up in the moment.
She reluctantly dropped the topic and went back to the Burrow with a skeptical looking Hermione. Jamie had managed to distract me from everything until night time, that is. I'm lying in bed silently crying when he arrived from work.
I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep when I felt him standing behind me. He muffled an apology as he tucked away the stray lock on my face and wiped out my slightly damp cheeks. He then laid down pressed my head on his chest in an embrace. That marked the first of many of the times I felt alone despite of him being there with me.
Harry talked to me the following day when we woke up. I didn’t have the energy to argue so I just agreed on everything he said. We ended up having make-up sex even if I wasn't really in the mood. He didn't even comment on me being a bit more than dry when he sheathed himself inside me. The burn made me wince but I decided to hide it with a moan that can be mistaken as pleasure. I might've even bled but I can't remember. Don't get me wrong, it was consensual, but it simply lacked the passion we used to have when we're making love. If you can call it making love, that is.
After our little spat, everything went back to normal. Jamie got better after a few days and Harry became more immersed on his Auror duties. I on the other hand, started having morning sickness and mood swings after two months.
Since it wasn't my first time experiencing this, I immediately knew that I was with child. A male bearer's body is designed to carry a child so the symptoms are minimal. Poppy even verified it to me when I came for a check-up. The only thing left was to tell Harry about our newest addition to the family. Maybe telling him would make him see that we need him. Maybe
.
I decided to tell him on our anniversary. We had been planning on a romantic dinner in our favorite restaurant in muggle London before he even got the Auror position. I reminded him about our date a week prior. He always responds with a peck on my cheek and that he'll be there after working hours. It actually made me happy that he's finally warming up after months of drifting apart.
Then came the day of our anniversary. Hermione had already picked up Jamie to stay at the Burrow overnight. After a quick checkup in muggle hospital that also secretly caters wizards for a sonogram, I almost teared up at the sight of our baby. I went ahead to the restaurant and waited in anticipation as I patted the shrunken sonogram on my pocket.
The third time the waiter asked for my order was the time when I'm close to crying. Bloody hormones. And that was three hours after I arrived. He looked at me in sympathy and told me that if I didn't order now, then the food wouldn't be served. The restaurant is closing in thirty minutes. I wiped my tears and gave him a tip, opting on going home instead.
I left the restaurant more than a bit embarrassed and crushed. He didn't show up. And here I was thinking that everything's finally looking up. I went straight to the Auror Department and asked Kingsley if I can see Harry. His response made my blood freeze.
He told me that Harry along with a few other Aurors had been assigned on a case the other day about a rogue death eater and that they had apprehended them earlier on a raid. But then, I told him that he didn't answer where Harry is. He looked baffled as he told me that Harry already left with his teammates for a drink after their mission which was hours ago.
I thanked Kingsley and marched towards the closest pub nearby. The closest one was a muggle pub named "The Red Lion". It's so loud that I could even hear it before I set foot inside. I opened the door with determination, hoping that Harry would be here so I can drag his bloody ass home and yell at him for forgetting our date.
Needless to say, I ate my own words when I entered the pub. The place was crowded as I expected it to be, so it would be a little hard for me to look for him. I climbed up the mezzanine and discreetly fished out my wand. I then casted a silent Point Me spell and to my shock it did work.
Sure enough, I peered down below to see the most painful thing that I had a privilege to see in my life. It's not every day you see your husband snogging someone else in a pub while it is your anniversary. I desperately wanted to claw at the bitch playing tonsil-hockey with him, but then a Slytherin doesn't act brashly. I don't want to make a scene. I want to handle this privately. And frankly, I was too emotional to even stop him that day.