Author Note: This little one shot is dedicated to all of the avid mpreg supporters, who hoped my fic 'The Consort' would contain mpreg. I was sorry to disappoint you all!

You can consider this as a slightly alternate world (with established mpreg), and is set ten years after the end of, 'The Courtesan.'

Thank you for your continued support,

Drops of Nightshade x

The Dark Lord and Lord Consort Announce Fourth Pregnancy

By the Witch Weekly's Gossip Correspondent, Amelia Riley

An official spokesperson said Monday that the Dark Lord and his husband, Lord Consort Harry Potter are expecting their fourth child! The due date is yet to be confirmed.

The announcement follows months of avid speculation by most of Europe's media. Four weeks ago during the birthday celebrations for eldest son Alexei (now seven), the Lord Consort reportedly complained of nausea, and visited the bathroom numerous times, sparking rumours of pregnancy.

Once again Harry is being treated for acute morning sickness, attended to by a Healer in his residence at the Citadel. Readers will remember the scare during the Lord Consort's third pregnancy with younger son Kaiden. The Lord Consort, suffering from a rare form of severe morning sickness, was hospitalised at St. Mungo's for a period of two weeks.

Male pregnancies are exceedingly rare (see the timeline of male pregnancy since 1906 on page 8), but of the documented cases there is a definite trend of acute morning sickness. Experts speculate that the Lord Consort's illness should abate within a few weeks.

The new baby will join older siblings Alexei (7), Myrina (5) and Kaiden (2).

Due to his illness, it is unclear if the Lord Consort will be able to attend the Yuletide celebrations this year. However it has been confirmed that the Dark Lord will be attending with his three current children.

Official public appearances of the Dark Lord's sons and daughter are extremely limited. In his candid 2001 interview following the birth of his daughter Myrina, Harry admitted he, "wanted to give [his] children a normal childhood."

Clearly standing by this declaration, the Dark Lord and his Lord Consort enrolled eldest son Alexei in a small but public magical training program in September (see page 4).

Another official Citadel spokesperson has commented that the couple are "delighted" with the news of another child and extend their gratitude to the well-wishers who are hoping for the Lord Consort to make a quick recovery.

'Are you sure you are well enough for this?' the Dark Lord murmured, hands straying to the slight bump on his younger husband's abdomen.

Harry Potter had celebrated his twenty-sixth birthday that year, but after binding his magical core to the immortal Lord Voldemort, his aging had been significantly slowed down.

Striking emerald eyes set in a youthful face focused on the Dark Lord, a slightly exasperated look flashing across his handsome features.

'I've been out of bed for five days now. Healer Wright says I'm well enough to attend the Yuletide Ball tonight. Do you doubt her assessment?' Harry asked, a note of challenge in his tone.

Lord Voldemort smirked slightly, crimson eyes slitting with quiet amusement as he commented, 'I never doubt Healer Wright.'

Harry grinned back at his lover at that admission. The middle-aged woman had guided Harry near-effortlessly through his three previous pregnancies. She was considered the leading expert on male pregnancy in Britain, and had been a stable source of support for Harry after the shock of discovering he was pregnant back in 1999 with his first child.

As of yet, there was no actual way of detecting male pregnancy unless surgery or a scan was conducted. Those males capable of bearing children were born with the rough equivalent of the internal female reproductive system. Externally, there were no indications of this.

In most cases of unexpected male pregnancy, it was simply so rare that no one had even thought to look for it.

After his numerous sexual encounters with Rabastan Lestrange, Harry recognised the fact that it was nothing short of a miracle he hadn't gotten pregnant earlier, while he was still a Courtesan.

Harry was distracted from his thoughts when his lover placed a heated kiss on his neck. His pressed up firmly behind Harry, enveloping his younger lover in an embrace.

'I love you like this,' Lord Voldemort admitted in Parseltongue. ''Pregnant with my child.'

Harry tilted his head to allow the other man better access to the pale expanse of his neck, breath escaping in a moan as a brush of teeth crossed his skin.

The Dark Lord's hands were on the baby bump, gently caressing his unborn child with the careful reverence of a person who was aware of the sheer good fortune of the pregnancy.

Harry was aware that his lover had never intended to have children. He was immortal, with no need to produce a legacy to succeed him.

Yet when Harry had informed him that he was pregnant all those years ago, the Dark Lord had not hesitated to embrace impending fatherhood. He had taken to the raising of their children with a fierce determination to succeed where his own parents had failed him.

Of course, there was a serious obstacle in the terrifying mortality of their offspring.

They had debated the issue in length while Harry was pregnant with Alexei, and had made the decision to wait until the child came of age before discussing options with him.

Each of their children would have the choice to age normally or share in their parent's immortality. The key to this immortality lay in the Philosopher's Stone.

The late Nicolas Flamel and his wife had bequeathed the Stone to Harry upon their decision to finally pass on.

It was entirely unexpected. Nicolas had been a staunch ally of Dumbledore, and had gone into deep hiding after the Dark Lord seized control over Wizarding Britain.

Harry suspected it was Perenelle Flamel's decision to give the Stone to him, and that she had convinced her husband to agree.

Despite never having children, either by choice or inability, Perenelle had, had a deep understanding and sympathy for Harry's situation.

She had been ready to die for a long time. But she had wanted to see the Stone put to the best use before passing on.

Placing his own hands over the swell of his child, Harry leaned more securely into his lover's hold.

'Do you think the baby will be a boy or a girl?' Harry asked as the Dark Lord continued to lavish attention on his neck.

'You know I would be happy with either gender,' came the response.

'Yes, it's our children who seem to be rather opinionated on the matter,' Harry commented wryly.

Five-year-old Myrina had been particularly insistent in her desire to have a little sister. Alexei of course decided to bait her by declaring the baby was undoubtedly going to be another boy.

While his two eldest often left him with his hands full, little Kaiden was an absolute angel most of the time. He was an effortlessly laid back and happy toddler with Harry's emerald eyes and easy smile.

The other two children took more after the Dark Lord, eyes the same deep blue that their father's would have been, had he not experimented with his soul and turned his eyes crimson.

As though speaking of their children had summoned them, the sound of feet pounding on wooden floorboards signalled their imminent arrival. First was Myrina, all but flying into the room, her braided black hair whipping behind her. Alexei was hot on her heels.

'Alex stole my training wand,' their daughter declared firmly, before she had come to a complete halt, panting a little breathlessly. Her expression was icy and dangerous like her father's sometimes turned.

'I did not!' Alexei protested. He turned blue eyes to his parents in silent supplication to believe him. Their boy was barely seven and already well aware of how to emotionally manipulate those around him. 'Myrina hit me!' he added for good measure, lower lip beginning to quiver slightly.

'Children…' Harry began with a sigh, already feeling a slight headache forming in his right temple.

They were going to be attending the Yule Ball in a couple of hours; the children had to be on their best behaviour and yet they were already fighting.

Fortunately his husband stepped in swiftly.

'Alexei if you wanted to borrow your sister's wand, then you should have asked,' he said firmly but gently. The boy ducked his head under the weight of his father's admonishment. Just as Myrina began looking smug the Dark Lord focused on his daughter. 'Myrina, you should not have hit your brother.'

Without needing further prompting Alexei fished the wand out of his pocket, offering it to his younger sister with an apology. She accepted it primly and offered an apology of her own.

Then they were off again, as children often were, the altercation forgiven and forgotten as they clattered through the private wing of the Citadel the family occupied.

Leaning against his husband with a sigh, Harry rubbed his belly absently, imagining another child running through the corridors of the Citadel. He couldn't help the warm, fluttery feeling in his chest, in spite of the fatigue his children sometimes brought him.

Parenthood was challenging and at times unpleasant; that was the raw truth of it.

Yet it was also rewarding, and Harry would not change anything.

'Do you think Kaiden is up from his nap yet?' Harry asked his lover. He had put his youngest down for an afternoon sleep so he would be well rested for the Ball.

'You go and check on him – I'll go after Alexei and Myrina and get them cleaned up for tonight.'

Pressing a quick kiss to his lover's lips, Harry made his way to the nursery where their toddler slept.

As he entered the room he was greeted with the sight of his little one standing on his legs, hands fisted around the bars of his crib and and a toothy grin in place.

'Daddy!' Kaiden screeched happily.

'Hello to you too, darling,' Harry cooed, scooping his youngest son into his arms, being careful of his baby bump.

Kaiden was getting so big now, Harry's arms strained a little at the weight before he settled his son on his hip.

Kaiden quickly busied himself playing with Harry's hair, interestedly tugging on the locks with the single-minded intensity toddlers seemed to employ.

Harry chuckled, pressing a gentle kiss to his baby's brow. Kaiden giggled at the motion, legs kicking slightly in excitement.

'We're going to give you a bath and then get you all dressed up for tonight,' Harry informed his son.

'Bath!' Kaiden echoed happily.

Alexei had been neutral toward bath time growing up, and Myrina had often dissolved into an utter tantrum at the mere mention of the dreaded bath when she was a baby.

Kaiden was so cheerful with seemingly everything he experienced. Harry hoped his angel would retain most of that positivity as he grew older.

Bouncing the toddler slightly as he walked out of the room and down the corridor toward the bathroom, Harry was struck again by how lucky he was to have his children.

It shouldn't have been possible and yet here he was, with three beautiful children and a fourth on the way.

He couldn't imagine his life any different to the way it was now.

Yuletide at the Citadel

By the Witch Weekly's Gossip Correspondent, Amelia Riley

The Lord Consort made a surprise appearance at the Yule Ball last night, accompanying his husband the Dark Lord and their three children. Both leaders looked striking in dress robes designed by the talented Louisa Malkin.

The Lord Consort appeared to be in good spirits, clearly recovered from his bout of acute morning sickness.

There was a slight baby bump evident on the twenty-six year old, and he all but glowed as he spent the night attended to by his devoted husband.

An official confirmation has come from the couple that the baby is due in July. The announcement means Harry is now safely past the 12-week point and the couple have had their 12-week scan.

No word yet on whether a boy or girl is expected - but use of the word 'baby' means twins have been ruled out.

It is thought the baby is due earlier in July, which means he or she could be an eighth wedding anniversary present for the Dark Lord and the Lord Consort, who married in a private ceremony on the seventh of July in 1998.

Harry spent the majority of the night seated, often with youngest son Kaiden on his lap. He did however accompany his husband for the traditional opening dance, impressing the guests with his skill as he does every year.

The Lord Consort also shared a touching moment with daughter Myrina, taking her out on the dance floor for a song.

Harry was clearly at the heart of everyone's attention on the night, and he will remain in focus as his pregnancy progresses over the next few months.

Our best wishes to the couple, from the team here at Witch Weekly.

Author Note: I hope you enjoyed this ridiculously fluffy drabble. You'll notice I deliberately avoided addressing secondary characters – I didn't want to write anything that might influence the progression of 'The Consort.'

I've never started and finished a story before with news articles, just something new I wanted to try.

Whilst I won't make any promises, I may look to adding chapters to this if the fancy takes me. Little updates on this alternate universe of my alternate universe.

Thank you again for all of your support,

Drops of Nightshade x