Elizabeth stared down at her hands in shock. I'm only sixteen, she thought.
She left her room and saw Tom waiting for her in the common room. They had Prefect duties.
"Is everything alright?" Tom asked as he stood, locking his fingers with hers.
"We can't talk about it here," Elizabeth whispered, feeling her heart flip at the thought of telling Tom, "I'll tell you whilst we're on duty."
Tom was confused but nodded as if he understood. It can't have anything to do with... that, right? He was thinking. He continued to hold Elizabeth's hand, swaying them slightly as they walked through the Slytherin dungeons.
"Elizabeth, tell me," Tom demanded as they stopped at a secluded corner. Elizabeth sighed.
"I don't know how you're going to react."
Could she be... Tom shook his head at the thought. Surely not.
"Tom, that night..."
"We didn't... protect..." Tom gulped. He was dreadfully confused, but he could feel another emotion rising in his stomach. Excitement?
"I... I'm pregnant," the words spilled out of Elizabeth's mouth like venom, as if having a baby was a curse. Of course, to her it kind of was. She hadn't finished her education and she had at least a year of Hogwarts alone left. The first thought that came into her head was to speak to Dumbledore.
She felt her eyes tingle with tears. Letting go of Tom's hand, she ran to Albus Dumbledore's office. She composed herself before she knocked, convincing herself she didn't need to cry.
"Miss Marin?" Dumbledore questioned as he saw Elizabeth enter. He saw her look of distress and instantly gestured for her to sit. "What's the matter?"
"Professor, I-I'm... pregnant." Elizabeth said so quietly that Dumbledore had to wonder whether he'd heard her right. As soon as he saw her tearful expression, he knew he had.
"I see," Dumbledore announced calmly, "There are some spells that could prolong it until you're ready, but it can have some side effects..."
"Please, I'll do anything. I just want to finish school," Elizabeth begged. She took a deep breath and asked, "What side effects are there?"
Dumbledore nodded, "Very well. The side effects are very unlikely but have been known to happen. There is a higher possibility that the child may be born a squib. You may also fall ill more frequently, but it would cause you to miss less school than if you continued with this now."
"Is there anything else?" Elizabeth inquired. There was a chance her child would be a squib regardless and falling ill was the least of her worries. She had a child inside of her. And it was Tom's child.
"You may die, Miss Marin," Dumbledore said solemnly, "It's not very likely. Out of thousands of witches it has happened to few, but there is a chance."
Elizabeth nodded, "Are you able to perform the charm?"
"Not myself, no," Dumbledore shook his head, "The matron is able to. You'd be surprised how many students actually have this spell performed on them."
Elizabeth smiled sadly, "I see."
She went straight to the matron's. She didn't see Tom on the way. She knew he'd be absolutely furious when she told him that there was a possibility that she might die, but she wasn't going to lose the baby nor was she going to have it whilst still in education. Their child deserved a proper, loving childhood.
The matron was quick to help her, although she felt like a complete idiot from the looks she gave her. She knew exactly what she was thinking - sixteen and pregnant.
Elizabeth loved Tom with everything she had. It was his child that she was carrying and there was no way she'd kill a baby regardless. As soon as the procedures were done, she headed where she thought Tom would have gotten to with his duties. The seventh floor.
She looked around and decided he was in the Room of Requirement.
Elizabeth entered after thinking hard about him and she saw Tom curled on the sofa near the corner of the room. She approached him slowly, her sad expression softening. "Tom?"
Tom's frosty eyes glanced up. He shook his head, "Don't feel sorry for me, Elizabeth. You know I hate that."
"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth asked, bewildered by his words.
"I understand now. I'm a monster. You wouldn't want such a child in case it grows up like me and there isn't anything to stop it," Tom sighed, sinking his head back down to his knees, resting it there.
"What?" Elizabeth said. She couldn't suppress her giggle. "The only thing I didn't want was to have the child now. I'm still in school. Tom, do you think you'd be the same if you grew up with two normal, loving parents?"
Tom shook his head for the second time, "No. I would have been like you - normal."
Elizabeth smiled, "See. This baby, it'll have us... Right?"
Tom stood, cupping his hands on Elizabeth's still flat stomach, "Of course."