"Cedric, be useful and grab the dinner rolls will you?" Cassie asked. Cedric rolled his eyes and reluctantly stood up from his chair and trudged over to the pantry, beginning his search for dinner rolls. Amora had to stifle a laugh as she poured tomato sauce over the noodles. When she began to mix it in with a big wooden spoon, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
"We could smell the noodles," Rey grinned as her and Aaron sat down next to each other, refusing to let go of each other's hands.
"Finally! Thought you people were going to let me starve," Hazel huffed as she collapsed into a chair next to Rey.
"Let us starve," Ned corrected her, helping Belle down the stairs.
"I'm feeding two so I get double the pasta," Belle called out as she navigated the rickety stairs. Belle wasn't wrong, as her stomach had doubled in size from a small bump two a full belly in around three months.
"Dinner is served!" Amora announced as she waved her wand. Plates of spaghetti flew through the air, landing neatly at everyone's dinner place.
The dining room practically burst with life as the sounds of laughter and silverware clattering filled the room. Belle did indeed get two servings of pasta, which she practically inhaled. Cassie and Hazel started throwing dinner rolls at each other, practically dying from laughter. Aaron took a spaghetti noodle and made it look like a mustache on his face, crossing his eyes while doing so, which made Rey double over in laughter. Ned simply stared at Belle, like she was the most amazing thing he had ever seen, even if she was stuffing her face with pasta.
The Diggory house was small, but Amora felt that it was quite cozy. Cassie and Hazel had spent the first day they arrived there stringing fairy lights around the house, and now it looked like the ceiling was twinkling with light. Plants dotted windowsills and hung from the air.
It was another peaceful August night, one that Amora spent with her family and friends. Cedric pulled the chair out for Amora, and she smiled at the fact that he was such a gentleman. He took the seat next to her and they dug into their meal.
"So..." Cedric said, "What do you think you're going to do?"
"What do you mean?" Amora asked, twisting her fork in the spaghetti.
"My dad is pushing for me to be an Auror, except I don't feel comfortable working for the Ministry right now," Cedric shrugged, taking a bite out of his dinner roll.
"I...dunno what I'm going to do. I guess I've never really thought about it," Amora said, furrowing her brows. When Amora thought about it, who would be willing to hire a LeStrange? It never mattered what Amora had done, it was always over shadowed by being Bellatrix's daughter. She could never imagine that anyone would be willing to hire her or see her differently, no matter what good things she had done.
"You're doing it again," Cedric said. Amora looked over to him, and noticed his grey eyes were focused on her.
"Doing what again?" she questioned.
"That thing where you space out and go to your not happy place where you convince yourself that nothing will get better," Cedric explained matter of factly. Amora almost spit out her Butterbeer, surprised at how accurate he was.
"How is it that you know me better than I do?" Amora asked.
"You know yourself quite well, you just can't believe that you're as amazing as you truly are," Cedric sighed, wrapping his arms around her. She leaned back and rested her head in his lap, and watched as Ned told everyone a story about how in his first year, he snuck into the Dark Forest and fought a big spider.
"That's total bull!" Aaron laughed, shaking his head.
"It's really not! I dropped my wand and had to grab a stick and fight it with my bare hands!" Ned told them.
"Very macho," Hazel smirked, trying not to burst out laughing.
"Does no one here believe me?" Ned asked, outraged.
"A giant six foot spider? Hmmm, let's think about it," Cassie mused.
"I believe you babe," Belle chuckled quietly, pressing her lips to his cheek.
"At least there is one smart person here then," Ned sighed dramatically.
Suddenly, Belle shrieked. Ned immediately had his arms around her, asking her what was wrong.
"Water...broke," she forced out, her face turning white. Ned's eyes widened, and he looked down at her stomach fearfully.
The room went completely quiet for a couple of moments as everyone registered what was happening.
"Well, why are we all just sitting here? GO GO GO!" Cedric shouted, and everyone sprang into action. Ned and Aaron helped Belle get to her feet, and carried her over to the fireplace. Hazel raced up the stairs, disappeared into Ned and Belle's room, and returned later with a large duffel bag.
"Where's the floo powder?" Cassie screamed, looking around frantically. Amora feared that Cassie would flip over a table or something, so she quickly helped Cassie look for it. They finally found it lying in the pantry, and Cassie snatched it.
"Deep breaths, okay? You got this Bells, I know you do," Ned muttered to Belle, who clung to Ned's hand.
"You ready?" Amora asked, letting Ned grab a fistful of the lime green powder.
"Never been readier," Ned assured her. He then held Belle in one arm, the duffel bag in the other, and stepped into the fireplace.
"Saint Mungo's!" Ned shouted. He threw the powder down and him and Belle disappeared in a burst of flames.
"Me and Cedric ought to go next," Amora said, and no one objected. They quickly jumped into the fireplace as Cedric took a handful of the green powder.
"Saint Mungo's!" he shouted, throwing down the powder. Amora squeezed her eyes shut as the world flew away.
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"Hey, I got here as soon as I heard," Aspen huffed, bursting into the waiting room. Aaron and Rey were fast asleep in a couple of chairs, while Cassie and Cedric were curled up together also fast asleep. Amora and Hazel couldn't rest, either from anticipation or worry.
Aspen swept Hazel up in a hug as they murmured things to one another. He then gave her a quick peck on the lips before walking over to Amora.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, giving her a side hug.
"Well, my best friend is giving birth...how do you think I'm feeling?" Amora asked, rolling her eyes.
"How long have you all been here?" Aspen asked Hazel.
"Six hours, I'd say," Hazel shrugged, taking another sip of coffee.
"You need to get some rest, both of you," Aspen told them.
"But what if," Hazel started.
"Nope, you get super cranky when you don't get enough sleep. Can't have that, now can we?" Aspen asked, and Hazel rolled her eyes.
Aspen then walked her over to a small bunch of chairs, and she laid down on a row of them. Within moments, she was fast asleep on Aspen's shoulder. He threw his leather jacket on her, making sure she was warm, before he rested his head on her's, falling asleep as well.
Amora then trudged over to Cedric and Cassie, who were fast asleep on a small bunch of chairs. She curled up next to Cedric, who sleepily tossed and arm around her and hugged her. She rested her head in the crook of his neck before also dozing off into a dreamless sleep.
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"Amora? Amora?" a voice asked. Her eyes fluttered open as she tried to blink the tiredness away. Ned was standing over her, his brown curls a mess and bags under his eyes, but he was grinning.
"Do you want to meet the twins?" he asked her.
"Twins?" Amora shouted, sitting upright so fast that Cedric almost fell off of the chair.
"Yeah, twins," he chuckled. Amora shoved Ned out of the way and ran down the hallway.
"I swear to god Belle! You told me it was one blasted child! I better be the godmother of one of them!" Amora hollered, probably waking up the entire hospital.
She burst into the room and saw Belle laying down in her bed, with a small vase of flowers next to her. The mustard curtains were open, revealing London's bustling city, alive in the morning. Belle's black hair was a tangled mess, and she had bags under her eyes. Still, just like Ned, she was grinning.
That's when Amora saw them. The two bundles of blankets wrapped up in her arms. One pink, one blue.
"I tried to catch up with her," Ned huffed. Cedric came running behind him and stood behind Amora. Cedric froze, shocked for a moment, before his face broke into a grin. Without warning, he tackled Ned in a hug.
"Nice one, mate," Cedric chuckled.
"Here, you guys can hold them," Belle said. Amora hesitantly looked between Belle and Ned, before reaching and lifting up with blue blanket. She looked down and saw a tan baby face peeking out, fast asleep. His lips were slightly parted as he breathed in and out. Amora stood there for a moment in awe, before she noticed Cedric holding the pink bundle.
"She has your eyes," he told Ned. Ned simply nodded as he sat in the chair next to Belle, holding her hand.
"Well...what are their names?" Amora asked Belle.
"I haven't told Ned my idea for their names yet, but I guess now would be a good time," Belle shrugged.
"Please don't let it be Belle or Amora Jr," Ned prayed, crossing his fingers. Belle swatted him across the head playfully before looking back towards the babies.
"I want to name him Frank Ned Longbottom, and her Alicia Iris Longbottom," Belle announced.
Ned stopped for a moment, staring blankly at the wall. He sucked in a breath, trying to maintain his posture. He then turned to Belle, tears in his eyes, and reached for both of her hands.
"Will you marry me?" he asked. Belle froze, turning her head to him. She looked completely caught off guard, and he looked completely in love.
"Of course I will, you blithering idiot!" Belle snapped, tossing her arms around him.
"About damn time!" Amora shouted. Frank then began to wail in her arms, and Amora froze.
"Crap! No! Sleep baby!" she panicked.
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A/N: 30k READS??? UH- MISS GIRL- THANK YALL SO FREAKING MUCH AHHHHHHHHHHH! Ok well, hope everyone enjoyed! :)