* 1 MONTH LATER *
I grab my jacket from the peg, putting my arms through and smoothing out the front with my fingers. I button it from the bottom, working my way up and leaving the first few undone. As I look down, I smile, gently caressing my belly with my palm, feeling comfort.
I still couldn't believe there was a baby in there.
I'm sure I was about 3 months gone now, so no bump had appeared yet. But even still, the thought made me grin like an excited child.
Lucius was excited too. And this made me even happier.
He believed this baby was our gift- our little miracle that only we shared and no one could take that from us. He was adamant that our child would also be a girl. A little girl, who no matter what, would always be the center of our lives.
A little girl who we would always protect.
I don't look up, but I can feel as Lucius emerges from the next room, observing me from behind. I can almost sense his anxiety reaching out to me, trying to convince me to change my mind.
"Still overreacting, are you?"
There's a pause before he answers.
"Not so much overreacting. More... concerned, for the safety of my child and her mother."
I turn around then, taking in his appearance with a slight smirk on my face. He's wearing a silk black shirt, the top buttons loose to reveal his toned chest. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, showing his dark mark but I merely glance and look away for no more than a second.
When he had first arrived at the house, he had used the same concealing spell he used at the manor, just to make me feel more comfortable. But later on I realised it didn't change anything, and so when he forgot the spell one day, I didn't say anything about it. And neither did he.
I wanted him to know I loved him the way he was.
He leans on the door frame, a worried look on his face as he studies me. I sigh before going over to him, looping my arms around his neck. "You worry too much." I smile as his head rests on mine.
"I'm sorry darling, but now that you're pregnant..." Instantly, his mood lifts. He barely manages to hide his grin every time he mentions the baby, and it makes me wonder how I ever feared his reaction. "I'm not taking any chances. And neither should you."
I breathe out quietly. "It's not dangerous, Lucius. All I'm doing is visiting the woman for an hour or two." He still doesn't look convinced. "Besides, you'll be there with me."
Lucius had agreed a week ago to meet Bathilda Bagshot with me. This was after I had received a call from Harry, telling me all about his reunion with his two best friends and the research they had carried on in his absence. He told me of the close friendship between Bathilda and Dumbledore and how he thought she may have answers about him, and hopefully, knowledge of any more horcruxes.
But it was a dangerous time for Harry to go investigating now, since everyone was preparing for a battle. And being spotted at a time like this... wouldn't be good.
So naturally, I had agreed to go. It took a lot of persuasion to convince Harry. Lucius was a whole different matter. He still hadn't fully agreed.
He attempts to break me with his stare, but he fails. He sighs as I smirk, "Fine, let's go." Grabbing his long black coat from the peg, he turns to me as I grin happily, placing my hand in his outstretched palm. His fingers tighten around mine as he watches me for a moment and I can see the worry in his eyes. "I'll be fine," I say softly and he nods, a small comforting smile on his face.
He turns to me, "Are you sure you can do this?"
"Yes. But the quicker we leave, the less sick I'll feel," I say, growing annoyed.
"All right," he smirks at my hormonal response, closes his eyes and within seconds, I feel us twisting and turning, my hand still in his. When we get there, Lucius catches me quickly before I fall, holding me up steadily. "Careful," he says but I'm too distracted by the scenery around us to hear. I couldn't believe I was in this town - where Harry was born, where voldermort murdered those muggles and then poor James and Lily right after.
I hold onto Lucius's arms as I steady myself, looking around at the small rows of houses behind us. We had apparated to the center of town, meaning Harry's house couldn't be far from here. I remembered all I had been told from Dumbledore's stories, and without thinking, I soon find myself moving forward, like an invisible force is pulling me along.
Lucius looks around before yelling, "Kelly!" He rushes after me, grabbing my arm. "Where are you going?"
"The house... I feel it." I ignore his frown. "It's close, around the corner I think." He shakes his head.
"No Kelly, we came here for- "
"Oh, come on." I cut him off, losing my patience as I grab his arm and walk on to find the house. He's shocked for a second at my actions, before smirking a little and shaking his head. "This girl," he mutters under his breath but I don't react as I find myself staring at the small house before me, the gate at the front creaking loudly as the wind pushes it aside.
Lucius stares too, and pretty soon the both of us are silently gazing at the house, a million thoughts running through my mind. After a few minutes, I break the silence."Do we go in?"
"We can't go in, pet. There'll be a new family living there now."
Just as he says it, we see a woman appear in the window. Her long brown hair falls loosely on her shoulders as she plays with her baby in her arms, putting it down in the cot before kissing it goodnight.
I feel tears spring to my eyes at the sight, realising how Lily must have done the same with Harry. Lucius holds my shoulders as he stands behind me, whispering in my ear, "That will be you soon." I smile at the thought, my spirits instantly lifting.
"We should find Bathilda," I tell him, turning to go back. He nods.
"Where's her house?"
"I don't know, Harry didn't tell me."
We reach the center, looking around before I spot a large gate on the side, leading out into a field with gravestones. I immediately go straight to it, Lucius following me without question. He opens the heavy gate for me and soon we're walking through the rows of graves, an uneasy feeling almost suffocating me.
I hated cemeteries. Especially going to them at night, and it was already starting to get dark. It was cold as well, which I found odd considering we were halfway through spring.
As we pass by the various gravestones, I'm reading the names and dates whilst Lucius walks beside me, looking around cautiously at any people that near us. I stop abruptly when I see the names James and Lily Potter. I grab Lucius's wrist to stop him and he turns, following my gaze. "Poor Harry," I say, the events of that night playing in my head.
I remember how my mum had allegedly been close friends with Lily. Apparently, from what my grandma had used to tell me, they were best of friends. They even shared a dorm together in gryffindor tower.
From what I had heard, as soon as she had died, Arabella seemed somewhat... distant. It wouldn't have surprised me if she was the one who told Voldermort where Lily was. But I didn't want to think of that possibility.
We pay our respects with the simple silence and our heads bowed. But don't stay for more than a few minutes, not wanting to waste time. As we enter the second row, Lucius speaks. "You've seen their graves now darling," he says as I carry on reading the names we pass by. "Shouldn't we turn back?"
I shake my head. "Not yet. There's just one more name I need to- " I freeze, staring at the name in front of me in shock.
I hadn't ever visited her grave. Arabella never let me. She always told me it was too much for me to handle but I think her true intentions were now clear. After what she had done back at the house, I was more sure than ever the old rumours were true.
She killed her.
Her own mother.
As I sink to my knees on the grass, Lucius follows suit, swiftly dropping to my side. I feel the tears stream down my face as I lightly stroke the name engraved into the stone. Lucius watches sadly, holding my shoulders and smoothing down my hair.
He looks at the grave, reading out the engravings. "Esme Rivera, a cherished woman and loving mother."
I nod, smiling a little. "My grandma..."
* * *
Lucius squeezes my shoulder comfortingly, silently watching over me as I sit on the grass, staring at the gravestone. We had been here for about 20 minutes now, but he didn't dare rush me. He merely kept quiet, staying by my side and allowing me my moment of grief, which was a lot more than I'd ever been given.
I don't notice him watching something behind me, staring for a moment before turning to me briefly. "I'll just be a minute. Stay here." I nod, and he kisses my cheek before standing and leaving me alone on the grass, watching the breeze blow the stray leaves onto the stones.
After a few more minutes, I decide to move since we hadn't even found Bathilda yet. I get to my feet, looking around to find Lucius. I thought he stopped somewhere near, but as I search for him, it becomes clear he had gone. "Lucius?"
I turn, gasping in fright when I nearly walk into someone. I press my hand to my chest, breathing out heavily as I stare at the old woman before me. She stares back.
"Bathilda..?" I find myself asking, convinced it was the same woman I had saw in the Daily Prophet the other day. The one on Dumbledore's memorial page.
She nods slowly, a tiny breath coming from her pruned lips but no words are spoken.
"Hello," I say, a smile on my face. I couldn't believe I had found her this easily. "My name is Kelly. I'm a friend of Harry's." When she doesn't speak, I carry on. "I was sent here by him actually, to ask you some questions. We didn't know where to find you- "
I look around, "Well, I say we and yet the other one's disappeared." I look back at her as she stares at me blankly. I'm confused for a moment, before I realise she's just an old and frail woman. She wasn't exactly the talkative kind.
As I stare into her eyes longer, I realise they were actually very dark.
Almost black.
After a moment, she speaks. "Come."
Her voice scares me. It seems low and raspy, certainly not what I had expected.
I watch as she turns around, slowly making her way through the path, out of the gates and back into the streets. I look around helplessly for Lucius, sighing when I realise he was nowhere to be seen.
Oh well, I'll find him after I've talked with Bathilda.
I quickly walk up to the old woman, silently following as she leads us into a different street and soon enough, to her house. When she opens the door, the first thing I notice is the mess. Books were strewn across the floor and many of her shelves had fallen down, breaking into multiple pieces. As we walk through the house, I even realise the ceiling is partly caved in, a cold gust of air rushing through the house.
I gulp, following Bathilda as she nears a particular shelf, still standing, with a single book on it. She stops, nodding towards the book and looking back at me. I watch her in confusion, unsure of what to do. She picks up the book, clutching it in her frail hands and handing it to me. I blink, looking down and reading the title out loud.
"A guide to dark magic..." I frown, reading the small print on the back. "Must not be in possession of any regular wizard or witch. Contains unforgivable curses and spells."
I look up, at Bathilda and my heart skips a beat when I see her.
She's... smiling.
A large smirk on her face, as though she was amused at a joke I didn't know about out.
"Miss Bagshot, what is this?" I ask, my voice shaky as she starts to laugh, her mouth opening to speak.
But she doesn't speak... she hisses.
She starts to say some foreign words - words that I didn't understand but was obvious enough to know she wasn't speaking a different language.
She was speaking parseltongue.
"Bathilda..?" I call her name fearfully as I take a step back, the sound of her snake like voice becoming louder in my ears. She laughs shortly, before she hisses, twisting and morphing into a huge serpent.
I scream, running through the house as I listen to the hisses behind me, getting closer and closer. I look behind me, yelping as I lose my balance and trip over a book on the floor, landing on my back. I groan, sitting up as the snake approaches me, about to attack when I grab a book near to my hand, throwing it and hitting it's head. "Get away from me!" It shakes it's head as I get to my feet, running to the door but it blocks my way, angrier than before now I had pissed it off.
I gasp, looking around and spotting the staircase behind me, running up the steps as fast as I can. When I see an empty room, I rush inside and slam the door shut, quickly locking it with the key in the hole. Breathing heavily, I walk back slowly, taking small steps and sighing in relief when a huge bang is heard from the other side of the door. I wait, listening carefully when suddenly the creature bursts through the door, sending splinters of wood everywhere. I scream in fright, falling back as it towers over me, hissing in triumph.
"Lucius!" I find myself screaming. "Lucius, help!"
I know it was stupid to think he would hear me. But I had to do something.
I glance to my hand, seeing the silver ring on my finger as I feel my heart lift with hope. The serpent suddenly comes dangerously close, but I don't have enough time to stop it as it bites my arm, sinking it's fangs into my skin. I scream out in pain, tears rolling down my cheeks as it slithers back, ready to pounce again. I groan, using my other hand to twist my ring around my finger, the glow of the dark green light brightening the room.
Soon enough, I start to feel drowsy, feeling my breathing slow as I cover my belly with my palm, whispering, "I love you, little one."
I watch as the snake brings itself higher than me, getting ready to attack for the second time. I close my eyes, wishing desperately I had my wand with me to protect myself. As the serpent rises, I lift my head in pain, trying to crawl back to the wall. It takes this as a challenge, hissing loudly and going to bite me when a blast of blue hits it from behind, making it almost yelp in pain. I gasp, watching as it recoils and turns to its attacker behind it.
I smile in surprise when I see him, "Lucius?"
He hits the snake with another spell, sending it falling down the hole in the floor and eventually, the sound of it disapparating is heard. I sit up, glancing at my bloody arm as Lucius rushes forward, kneeling beside me. "Kelly, are you alright?" He strokes my hair, examining my cut. "You foolish girl. Didn't I tell you to stay put?"
I smirk, "Since when do I ever listen to you?"
"Never, it seems."
He whispers a spell, and I watch as my wound starts to heal, the blood clearing up. Lucius watches me silently as I bite my lip, getting on my knees and reaching out for him. His hands tighten around my body as I hold him close, the fear in my heart immediately evaporating. "Where were you?" I mumble into his shoulder, breathing in his scent.
"I thought I saw- nevermind." He runs his hand through my hair, "I'm so sorry for leaving you, my darling." He pulls back, "I'll never leave you again."
I smile. "Good. I need someone to save me every time."
He smirks, tucking my hair behind my ear. "I'll always be there to save you. You know that."
I hold him tighter, burying my face in his neck. "I love you baby."
"I love you too, sweetheart."
* * *