Chapter Text
“Hurry, Vernon! Before someone sees!”
“I'm going as fast as I can!”
Vernon was hastily shoveling dirt in the backyard, digging a hole in the early hours of the morning before most people were up. A small wrapped bundle lay nearby. His wife looked around anxiously, making sure no one saw as her husband haphazardly tossed the bundle into the ground and started shoveling dirt on top.
Harry was watching from somewhere above them as they buried his body. He didn't like these people. They weren't his parents, and they had beat him and locked him up in a cupboard without letting him use the bathroom or even feeding him. The last thing he remembered was lying there hungry and scared and crying, hearing them yell at him for making noise. The next thing he knew, he was waking up here.
He still didn't feel right, like something was missing, like he had a hole in his heart that wasn't filled. Now that he was out, though, he could find a new home. He drifted over the skies, out of the neighborhood, across the country, thinking about only one thing. The skies felt cold, and he was lonely. He didn't like being by himself. He wished he had a mommy and daddy to hold him and feed him and keep him safe and warm. Didn't he have that once? Where had they gone? Where could he find parents?
It was after the sun had come up when he came across an old house with a man going inside after getting something from an owl. He looked lonely. Harry flew closer and followed him inside.
Severus got his morning paper and sat down at the kitchen table with a cup of tea. He needed to start preparing for the new term at Hogwarts, but that could wait until after his morning cuppa. He brought the hot, steamy mug to his lips.
“Hi!”
Severus dropped his mug on the floor, staring with wide eyes. Standing in his kitchen was a small, scrawny little boy looking up at him hopefully, barefoot in dirty clothes. Severus’ heart skipped a beat as he noticed two things: the messy hair and almond shaped eyes, and the whispy, see-through body. He had seen enough of them at Hogwarts to know what this was. A ghost. A spirit who had not moved on for whatever reason.
He gulped past the sudden dryness in his throat and croaked out a few words. “Hello. What can I do for you?”
“Can I be your baby?”
His heart jumped again. Why was he asking such a thing? How could a ghost be his child? Surely this child had parents who were mourning him? Why wasn't he haunting them? Why him?
Maybe the boy had no parents. Maybe he had a father with messy hair and a mother with beautiful almond eyes who had died themselves not too long ago…
No, he shouldn't jump to conclusions. He needed to verify some things first. But right now, the boy was waiting for an answer to his absurd question.
Severus should have asked some questions of his own first, but the word that came out of his mouth was yes.
The boy grinned brightly. Then he flew up towards Severus, who couldn't help flinching. He felt something cold in his stomach, and he glanced down in time to see the ghost boy gradually disappear inside. His stomach started growing, slowly rounding out and expanding. He hurriedly yanked his shirt up and watched in shock as his stomach kept steadily growing, inflating bigger and rounder like a balloon.
When it finally stopped, it sat on his lap, swollen huge like he was due with a toddler. It didn't feel heavy at all, like there was nothing in there, yet his skin was stretched taut. He cautiously felt it, and drew back in shock as he felt something move in response, eyes wide as he saw ripples of something rolling around under his skin. He could feel it, yet there was nothing there.
What the hell was happening?
Severus tried to remain calm, sitting in his kitchen with his shirt up and his belly hugely inflated with a ghost child rolling around inside. There had to be an explanation for this. Ghosts didn't occupy physical space like this. This shouldn't be possible. Yet it had happened right before his eyes.
He took a few deep breaths, trying to ignore his impossibly swollen stomach. He needed to think. What had the ghost child said? Not much. Only a couple of sentences.
“Hi! Can I be your baby?”
And like a blithering idiot, Severus had said yes without getting more information. It had sounded harmless, and it wasn't like he was in any pain. Yet this was hardly normal. Was this some sort of game that ghost children played?
He sat there for a while, watching his belly, impossibly swollen with something and nothing at the same time. He poked it, and felt wiggles in response. It was the strangest feeling.
“So, how long do you think you're going to be in there?”
More rolling around, and then nothing, like the ghost child was getting comfortable and settling in. He sighed. Maybe he just needed to wait this out. He might get bored in there eventually.
Severus stood up; it was strange to have his belly so swollen yet not feel heavy with anything. He got a fresh cup of tea and made breakfast. He sat down again and ate quietly, then washed the dishes and began his day. His trunk needed to be packed and he had lesson plans to go over. Throughout the day, the belly stayed swollen, with an occasional shift from its bizarre occupant. It threw him off a little, but there was no discomfort.
When he had eaten dinner and gone to his room to go to bed, there had been no change. His nightshirt barely fit over his stomach, and he had to magically stretch it. He sat in bed reading for a while. The ghost child didn't move, presumably content to stay put for the time being.
When Severus lay down to sleep, he had to shift around a bit to accommodate his big belly. He sighed as he closed his eyes. He had done his best to ignore it all day, but if the ghost was still there in the morning, he would deal with it then and try to get some answers.