warning: depictions of torture
I closed my eyes and prayed that this pain was just a coincidence.
"She was supposed to be there to kill you, Sallow. But instead, she decided to test her little Veela powers on you. Make you go with her. Really fucked my plan right up."
Please baby, not now. Not now. Not now.
My internal monologue did nothing. I was carrying a stubborn Sallow child, after all. And I simply knew this kid would come on it's own terms. Of course it would be now.
If Marvolo hated when I threw up, I can't imagine how he'd react to a baby being born on his floor.
"And then, she tried to get into the Auror programme. To finish the job she couldn't do at Ilvermorny. But that didn't go to well either, did it, Franny?"
Sebastian noticed me wincing and shifted his body towards mine so he could see me better. He was still silenced.
I peered down at him, his eyes looking up at me all glassy. I nodded. He squeezed his eyes tight and the tears he was holding back were now free falling down his cheek.
"But I suppose she proved fruitful after all, disguising herself as Prewett here for months. Imagine? Months and the Aurors couldn't even tell their boss was using Polyjuice Potion!"
Wait. Sebastian was right...
"So, the enchanted waterfall...?" I began.
"Would have stopped the potion? Yeah. That's why your 'boss' stopped showing up for work. But I don't have use for her anymore now that you're here. And with how much trouble she put me through, I might just end her right here as a preview for what's to come for the rest of you."
"What?! Volo? You promised my father..." Francesca began to panic. I had never seen her react like this. She was always so cool and calm. Something inside me relished in it.
"What? Scared? Maybe you shouldn't have tried to seduce Sallow then and done the job you were chosen to do!"
Francesca backed herself into a wall, her knuckles gripping to the bricks like her life depended on it. Because it literally did.
Marvolo pulled out his wand and smirked, pointing it directly at Francesca's chest.
"Volo... Marvolo... please! Please I am begging! I'll be good. I'll—"
"Shit."
Marvolo dipped his wand and looked at me, my nonchalant profanity gaining everyone's attention.
"What now?" He bellowed at me.
"Don't mean to inconvenience you at this most wonderful time, but I believe my water has broken. Probably from the rough landing you gave me." I said, so casually and confidently I surprised even myself.
Marvolo's eyes widened and I don't think I'd ever seen him so nervous.
"Well, how long? Until... you know?" He asked, waving his wand about in the air.
"Who knows. Could be half an hour, could be sixteen." I shrugged.
I smiled through the dull pains that only now seemed to be picking up now the waters had broken.
"Ah—for fucks sake." Marvolo scratched the back of his head with his wand. "Fine. Fine. You're all staying here until it's over, I don't care who delivers the thing. Then I'll killing you all."
With a lick of his wand, Francesca was now bound, just as we were, and tossed to the floor and Marvolo left, charming the room behind him to make sure we couldn't escape.
"I hope he kills you first so I can watch the light go out of your eyes." I seethed through gritted teeth.
If I could have slapped my hand over my mouth, I would have. I don't know where that came from, but I suppose I did mean it. I was furious. And apparently lost the will to care since I was giving birth on this cold cellar floor.
But then my mind went to Eloise. I'd left her at fucking Hogwarts! With both her parents dead, where would she go? Would she permanently become one with the house elves? Would they know to take her to mum? Would Ominis and Lawson step in?
What was I thinking...
"I'm... I'm really sorry." A soft low voice brought me back to the reality of what was in front of me. "I didn't mean for anything to go this far... I was told I had to kill him... and I got scared. I thought if I got Sebastian to like me enough, he'd agree to come back to Britain with me and I could give him to Marvolo instead of me having to kill him myself.."
"Francesca, nothing you could say right now is going to make any of us feel any better. I suggest you shut the fuck up before I find a way to get off this floor and kill you myself before Marvolo gets the chance." I said, my voice loud and furious.
Francesca's face paled as my words hit her like a cold, hard slap. She fell silent, tears streaming down her face, mixing with the dirt on her cheeks.
Sebastian continued to watch with wide eyes, still silenced from the charm. His helplessness was agonising, and I wished there was something more I could do to reassure him.
But I had a flickering thought. It might work.
Between dull contractions, I shimmied myself to lay down next to Sebastian. "How do I use the distress signal on the tracker?" I whispered in his ear.
He looked at me for a moment and rolled onto his other side, moving his hands that were bound behind his back. He took his index finger and tapped on the inside of his wrist three times.
It was worth a shot. I knew Sebastian's had been deactivated, but I didn't know about mine. He'd told me to do it at Hogwarts, but didn't show me how. So I discreetly copied what Sebastian had done, and tapped my wrist three times with my finger.
Though, it seemed like it wasn't going to work.
Because hours passed and nothing had changed except Sebastian's silencing charm wore off, Leander had come to and my contractions were getting bad. Real bad.
Sebastian watched helplessly as I writhed in pain on the cold cellar floor, trying hard to offer me words of encouragement but I could see the worry on his face.
"It will be fine. They'll come and get you before the baby is born. I promise. Keep going. You've done this before, you can do it again." He cooed, unable to do much more than lay gentle kisses on my sweaty forehead.
I also wished Leander was still unconscious because I truly was going to kill him myself. "Oh, Merlin. How much longer? This is agonising." He moaned.
"Prewett, I swear if you don't shut the fuck up I will end you before Marvolo gets a chance." Sebastian said through gritted teeth.
Leander recoiled and screwed up his face. I wish I was going through what his idea of agonising was and not this.
But I smiled through the pain. It was like we were back at Hogwarts and I'm sure if we had our wands, they'd end up in a duel right now.
But time was running out. The pain of the contractions was becoming unbearable, and I knew that I couldn't wait much longer. Our child was coming, and there was no stopping it.
The door to the cellar swung open and for a fleeting moment, I had hoped it was someone, anyone, coming to save us. But it was just Marvolo.
He eyed me up and down, looking at my sweaty, dishevelled and distressed appearance.
"Is this still going? It's been four hours!" He moaned, rolling his eyes and he casually leaned against the door frame.
"Yes, you dimwit. I wouldn't expect you to grasp how a woman's body works though, considering you had to kidnap one to even try and understand what it's like," Sebastian snapped.
Marvolo's expression hardened, and he pointed his wand at him threateningly. "You'd do well to watch your mouth, Sallow. I could make this much more painful for you."
"Go ahead, Marvolo. It won't change anything."
"Sebastian! Stop!" I seethed through another painful contraction, my bound legs tucking up to my stomach.
"Yeah. Listen to her if you know what's good for you." Marvolo smirked.
The pain of the contraction was overwhelming, and I clenched my teeth to stifle a cry. Sebastian and I exchanged a glance, and he understood that bickering with Marvolo wasn't helping anyone, especially not me.
"Well, since you haven't learned from the last time, maybe I need to punish you more." Marvolo snickered. "I only got you with Diffindo once before. Let's see how you go with it again and again and again."
I watched as panic flooded Sebastian's eyes as he realised what was about to happen, and he struggled against his restraints, but it was futile.
Marvolo flicked his wrist and cast Diffindo on Sebastian, and the impact was immediate. Sebastian cried out in agony as the curse sliced through him, leaving a deep, bleeding gash straight across his back. Blood began to pour from the wound, staining the cold cellar floor.
"Stop! Stop it!" I screamed, my heart breaking at the sight of Sebastian in pain. But it was useless. If there was anything I knew by now, Marvolo liked it when we screamed for mercy.
He laughed. And cast it again, the shirt now torn as blood pooled across his back from the fresh wound. Sebastian's face contorted with pain, but he refused to give Marvolo the satisfaction of hearing him scream.
Seven times.
Seven lashes.
Sebastian's body was racked with the slashing pain seven fucking times, and his strength was waning with each successive hit. His back was a gruesome tapestry of gashes, blood, and torn fabric.
"Hmm... that looks better. What do you say? I could do it to your wife next? Show her what real pain is? Not this pathetic bullshit..."
Sebastian's voice finally broke, crying out in agony. "Don't you fucking dare touch her!"
Marvolo snickered at Sebastian's outburst, "Touching, really... but I'm certain you've learned not to waste your breath."
"I won't say it again. Don't touch her." Sebastian said, his voice hoarse and dry.
Marvolo scoffed, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're even stupider than I thought."
"I don't think I am." Sebastian retorted.
"What the fuck are you doing?" I whispered between another back to back contraction.
"Trust me." He whispered back.
"Fine. You've just volunteered yourself first. I was going to grant you the blessing of laying eyes on your child before I killed you, but I've changed my mind."
Sebastian was far from stupid. I always admired him for his unique intelligence. But this was the single dumbest thing he'd ever done. I just prayed he actually had some sort of plan.
Marvolo raised his wand up, pointing it straight at Sebastian's chest. "I've been waiting for this for years. Revenge is fucking sweet, isn't it, Sallow?"
Sebastian strained to sit up and spun around so his broken and bloodied back was facing Marvolo.
I watched Marvolo raise a curious brow, but hold his stance. "Anything you'd like to say? Last words? Beg for mercy?"
"Yeah."
The seconds ticked by, each one feeling like forever as Marvolo held the curse ready to strike.
Say something... say something... fucking hell, Sebastian, say something!
I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch the moment my husband was snatched from me, doomed to the same early demise all of his family was. Maybe it was how it was supposed to be.
"Imperio!"
What?
"You'll untie us. But not Francesca. Then you'll take us to the exit."
What the fuck?
I opened my eyes to see Marvolo standing before us, eyes all glassy and with no expression.
"Wh- how?" I panted through the pain I was currently in.
"I'll explain later." Sebastian murmered.
The body of Marvolo complied, reversing the binds on myself, Sebastian and Leander.
Sebastian groaned as he stood up, helping me to my feet, which was incredibly difficult in the midst of another contraction that were getting stronger with every minute.
"Prewett. Help me." Sebastian pleaded.
"Oh. Right, yep." Leander scrambled to his feet, throwing one of my arms around him, Sebastian taking the other.
As fast as I could go, we followed a compliant Marvolo out of the room, desperately ignoring Francesca's pleas for us to take her with us.
Marvolo lead us to the front door and even politely opened it for us.
Such a gentleman...
"Go, get out of here!" Sebastian yelled at Leander, dropping my shoulder. "Marvolo, stay here until the Aurors arrive."
"Yes."
"Seb...as...tian... I... I can't..." I panted, the only thing stopping me from keeling over was Leander pulling my weight.
"Fuck... okay. We need to apparate. Can you do that?" Sebastian said, standing in front of me with both hands on my shoulders.
I shook my head. "But just do it."
"Okay... okay... Prewett, get to the Ministry and bring them back here. He should stay under the curse until they arrive."
Leander nodded, not questioning Sebastian's plan.
"Come on, love, let's go have a baby."
Sebastian concentrated on the Apparition, ignoring the blood still pouring down his back. With a sharp crack, the world around us spun and twisted, and for a brief moment, I felt like I was being torn apart. But then, we landed in a dimly lit alleyway that I had been to numerous times. I stumbled forward, clutching my abdomen as another contraction washed over me.
"We're almost there... just a few more steps..." He encouraged me, walking me through the disguised doors of St Mungo's hospital.
I made my entrance known, announcing my presence with a loud scream.
"Yes, hello, can we get some help? My wife is in labour." Sebastian called from the doors to the Welcome Witch.
"I can certainly see and hear that. Come on, this way!" The Welcome Witch located a wheelchair and shoved me in it before she hurried us down the corridor.
I was wheeled straight into a room and placed straight on a bed, a few Healers coming in to assess the situation, changing my clothes, checking my pulse, all things that weren't getting this fucking baby out of me.
"Oh! Absolutely not. Sir, you need to take yourself downstairs to get that fixed." One of them said, noticing Sebastian's severely injured back and the trail of blood he'd left on the floor.
"No. I'm watching this kid be born." Sebastian replied, not letting his eyes leave me for one moment.
The Healer frowned, about to say something before one that was clearly more senior stepped in.
"Certainly, Mr. Sallow. Take a seat and we'll have someone attend to it here." They smiled.
I recognised this Healer. They were around while Anne was here. They clearly remembered Sebastian, they knew him by name. I did find it kind of odd, but I was in too much pain to care.
Sebastian looked satisfied with himself as he sat down in a chair beside me, finally able to simply be with me. One hand moved to my forehead, wiping away beads of sweat while the other clung to my own, our fingers interlaced, helping me get through each painful wave that crashed over me.
A few more Healers entered the room, removing Sebastian's torn shirt and getting to work on his injuries. They began treating him quickly, conjuring bandages and applying healing lotions to his wounded back. Sebastian gritted his teeth, but he didn't complain once.
"Alright Olive, I think you got here just in the nick of time. It's time to push." The Healer between my legs told me.
I nodded weakly, doubtful I'd even be able to do this.
With each push, the pain intensified, but I pushed through it, determined to get the pain over with.
"Come on, Olive, you're doing great! Just a little more." They encouraged me.
But I was weak. I was tired. "I can't... I can't do it."
"Yes, love. You can. You have faced so much worse. Look where we just came from. You did it with Ellie, you can do it again now. Come on, squeeze my hand." Sebastian cooed, his hand pushing sweaty strands of hair out of my face.
I nodded softly, squeezing his hand harder, my other hand gripping onto the side of the bed so hard my knuckles turned white.
I summoned every ounce of strength left in me and pushed with everything I had. The Healers cheered me on, it was like I had my own personal cheer squad.
"That's it, Olive! You're doing wonderfully! The head is right there!"
"Can I look again?" Sebastian whispered into my ear.
"You're... insane..." I panted, taking a quick break from pushing.
He threw me a devilish smirk and peered down, this time looking a lot more composed then he did with Eloise's birth.
His face lit up, he looked excited.
I summoned every ounce of strength within me, determined to meet our baby that was moments away from being Earthside.
"Yes, Olive, that's it! Just a little more!"
Sebastian's hand never left mine and then, with one final bout of energy, I pushed as hard as I could and I felt the rush of relief. Our baby was born.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked down at our newborn, their tiny face scrunching up as they let out their first cries. Sebastian was right there beside me, his eyes also filled with tears.
"It's a girl," one of the Healers announced, placing our daughter on my chest.
The tears of joy broke away, streaming down my face as I gazed down at our precious daughter, her cries filling the room with the sweetest sound I had ever heard. Sebastian leaned in and he placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.
"Another little girl," he whispered.
I held our daughter close, feeling the warmth of her tiny body against my chest. This moment, with our daughter cradled in my arms and Sebastian by my side, was the culmination of everything we had fought for and endured.
She had a tuft of dark hair, just like Eloise, and the most delicate features that resembled Sebastian's.
Sebastian leaned in closer, his eyes locked onto our daughter's tiny face, and he whispered softly to her. "Hello, little one. We've been waiting for you."
"Alright, well done, Olive." The Healer said. "Ready to go again?"
"Again?" Sebastian said, sitting upright, his head snapping to the Healer.
"Yes, for the next baby."
"What? What!" I cried out, my voice laced with sheer panic. Surely he was mistaken.
Twins? There was no way. I hadn't expected twins. Sebastian hadn't expected twins. Twins didn't run in my family. And they came from the mother... right? I looked quickly at Sebastian, who looked equally stunned.
"Twins?" I stammered, my voice trembling.
The Healer nodded with a reassuring smile. "Yes, looks like the next one is just about ready to come out now."
"What the fuck do we do?" I looked at Sebastian, my hand gripping wildly to his bare shoulder.
"We have another baby." He replied with a small smile, taking my hand off his shoulder and linking it with his own.
Sebastian's lack of panic concerned me. I wasn't ready for this. We weren't prepared. This was a fucking nightmare.
But I knew we couldn't change the circumstances. This next baby was coming, whether we were ready or not.
One of the Healers took our daughter from my chest, wrapping her up and getting her warm and cozy while I focused on the task ahead.
"Alright, Olive. One more time. Let's push."
I didn't want to, but I realised I had no choice. And just like before, I summoned strength from somewhere within me and pushed as hard as I could.
"Well done, you're almost there. The head is almost out."
As the final push came, I gave it everything I had, pushing with all my might. I yelled, screamed, damn near broke Sebastian's hand as I pushed past the pain and the familiar wave of relief washed over me again.
"And a little boy! Congratulations."
His cries filled the room and I felt the same sense of relief as I had just moments before. They placed the wriggling baby on my chest and brought back our first twin, our daughter. Two beautiful children, nestled on my skin.
More tears of happiness streamed down my face as I looked down at our precious daughter and son, their tiny bodies nestled against my skin. Sebastian leaned in close, his own eyes betraying him and spilling over.
"Two babies," Sebastian whispered. "I can't believe it. Thank you."
He pressed kisses to my forehead, his large hand able to fit across both of the babies.
"I love you," I whispered to Sebastian. "Thank you for being by my side through all of this."
Sebastian leaned in and kissed me tenderly. "Of course, I love you too, Olive. You did so well. I'll never understand how you're able to do that."
"Me neither. But please don't ask me to ever do it again." I smirked, my eyes closing as I nuzzled my two babies under my chin.
Sebastian's laughter filled the room, a sound I never thought I'd be so happy to hear. "I promise, no more surprise babies," he replied with a grin, his eyes filled with love as he looked at our newborn daughter and son.
"So, Sebastian Jr. and Olive Jr.?" He suggested, stroking the thick dark hair on their heads.
"Aren't you hilarious..." I moaned.
"Well, I'm open to other suggestions..."
Sebastian's suggestion made me chuckle, despite the exhaustion. "Sebastian Jr. and Olive Jr. would be a bit too on the nose, don't you think?"
"I do. I actually had been reading a book that had some names in it... I did see one. It was Archie. A nickname for Archibald. Maybe with Edward as a middle name, after your dad."
"Oh. You'd... you want my dad for a namesake? What about yours?"
"I hardly knew my parents. It's very clear your father meant a lot to you and if I could, I would personally thank him myself for shaping the girl you used to be so you could become the woman I love."
I looked at Sebastian, my heart swelling with love for him as I choked back a hysterical bout of crying. "If you're sure..."
"I am." He smiled.
"Alright. And what about a girl?" I asked, wiping a stray tear with my finger.
"I kind of liked Emma." Sebastian said, his finger stroking the cheek of our sleeping daughter. "I think she looks like one."
I peered down at her, taking in her features that were identical to Sebastian. "She does look like one, doesn't she..."
"And I like Louise. For a middle name. It was mums middle name too." Sebastian said with a small smile. "Anne also had that middle name. I think it would be nice to carry it on."
I smiled at Sebastian's choices. "Archie Edward and Emma Louise."
"Eloise is going to lose her mind."
Oh my god. Eloise. I'd completely forgotten we had another child for a fleeting moment.
"When should we get her?" I asked, trying not to sound panicked.
Sebastian chuckled. "Don't worry. In the rush to leave while you were having a contraction, I told Leander to get Lawson and Ominis to collect her and take her home. They'll bring her by in the morning. For now, you rest. You did so well."
He kissed my head repeatedly, making sure not to miss any bit of sweaty skin.
And I did rest. Sebastian took the babies and I closed my eyes, the image of him cradling our two new babies ingrained in my mind.
We were finally complete.