Months passed like slow-moving decades. Lindsay was now in her ninth month and was getting very uncomfortable. Her energy levels were still high and she'd never felt healthier, but the loneliness and boredom was taking a great toll on her mood. She cried often and later felt guilty for potentially making her baby miserable. Then a thought struck her as a bolt of lightning: what if her little Niketas had his father's depressive temperament? Lin sat upright in her bed. She hadn't considered this problem before and just assumed that her child would be happy because he'd be loved.
Lindsay rose and began to pace the floor. This new anxiety occupied her mind wholly. She didn't mind if her son had a peculiar temperament so long as he was a well-adjusted, secure, and happy child. She thought of Severus and his brief moments of relatively good cheer. She really didn't know if Severus was dour by nature, or if he'd been made miserable by circumstance, or if he'd cultivated his personality for espionage purposes.
Lin was not so blinded by her unexpected and inexplicable love for Severus that she was oblivious to his faults. He could be jealous and controlling, and he had a cruel streak in him that Lindsay despised. His poor hygiene thoroughly annoyed her. But he had many good qualities too: he was very protective, at least of her, and he had a good sense of humor when he chose to employ it. He was reliable, hardworking, and dauntless. He could even be kind at times; an austere sort of kindness, but kind nonetheless. Hopefully little Niketas would inherit more of his father's good qualities than bad.
Lindsay's anxious ruminations were interrupted by a distant sound outside. She stood stock still and listened hard. The unearthly silence in the cottage made it easy to focus on outside noises. It was a clanging metallic sound and Lindsay assumed a cow had wandered near her cottage. It wouldn't be the first cow that had wandered away from the herd, but they usually did most of their wandering in the daytime. Lindsay put on her shoes and slipped her coat on over her pink lounge clothes and wandered outside to see if the cow was in distress.
She followed the clanging sound with her lit wand in her left hand to light her way. Lumos maxima would've been very handy to use, but Lindsay feared that some of the native inhabitants might see it and come rushing to locate the source of all the light. The moon was bright, but the many tall trees cast long shadows. Trudging down the path hurt her back. She stopped to rest and to listen for the clanging sound. She could tell the clanging sound was nearby yet it sounded muffled. Perhaps a cow had caught its collar on something.
The next sound Lindsay heard made her wish she'd stayed in her cottage. The muted clanging was followed by a mooing sound that was clearly not being made by a cow. Lindsay looked around and saw the green eye-shine of many cows far up on the hillside. They obviously weren't moved by the bad imitation of cow calls and were resolutely staying where they were. Someone was obviously trying to lure one or more cows down the hillside, but for what purpose? Why would someone try to lure cows down to a spot that was so close to a crag in the middle of the night unless they were trying to do something unspeakably cruel?
Lindsay extinguished the light from her wand with the intention of going back up the hill, but it was too late. She'd been spotted. She was grabbed from behind by one of the German men she'd met at the market some months ago. He called to his friend, who appeared almost instantly holding a cowbell in his hand. They spoke to each other in what sounded like Low German to Lindsay. Her German wasn't good enough to fully understand the conversation, but she grasped enough of what they were saying to know that the two men were no longer interested in tormenting cows. Lindsay's obvious pregnancy wasn't a deterrent to their plans. She let the two men think that they had the upper hand and did what she did best. She began to converse with them. She spoke to them in French and chatted in her most amiable and disarming manner.
The one holding her relaxed a little and leaned in to lick her cheek. The other one remarked about her belly and placed his hand on her without asking. Lindsay went along as though she found his behavior delightful. Niketas was restless, perhaps feeling his mother's agitation, and he was kicking hard and moving more than he ever had. The one touching her belly remarked to the other who released his hold enough to also place his hand on her belly. Lindsay placed her hands on theirs in an attempt to appear more cooperative. They continued to converse with each other in German and in French with Lindsay.
While this unpleasant altercation was occurring, Lindsay focused on something happy, the way Remus had taught her, until a wisp of silver burst forth from her wand, which went unnoticed by the men. Lindsay's patronus was on its way to rouse her nearest neighbor by growling viciously like a wolf and hopefully draw him down to check on his precious cows. Lindsay hoped she could stall the Germans until her ill-tempered neighbor arrived.
Niketas kicked hard, hard enough to make Lindsay draw a sharp breath. The man in front of her held his hand on her belly and grinned as he felt the baby's distressed kicking. He laughed and said something to his friend. Lindsay claimed her back hurt and asked to sit down. The man behind her took off his coat and laid it on the ground in the long shadow of a tall wintergreen tree. She thanked him for his chivalry, and he even had the good manners to help her sit and offered himself as a backrest for her. His hands roamed a little, but he didn't touch anything inappropriate.
The other man sat next to her still holding the cowbell, which he moved back and forth letting it ring out in a muted clang. He ran his free hand up and down Lindsay's leg. She wondered if the men, though obnoxious and disruptive, were interested enough in her baby's welfare to be satisfied with just female company and nothing more. Lindsay was too forgiving. The one sitting behind her put his hands on her belly again and spoke to his friend, who smiled viciously; looking very much like the venomous animal he was.
Lindsay wasn't sure exactly what the German had said, but she did recognize that it was a question. From the words she did understand, she put together the general meaning of his question to be: "Can we make it come out?" Lindsay felt nauseated. If someone didn't appear soon, she'd be forced to throw these two reprobates over the crag. The only thing that stopped her was a fear of committing murder and the risk of damaging her soul. Surely she wouldn't risk splitting her soul if she killed them in self-defense?
She considered immobilizing them as Severus had taught her, but because of their proximity she'd risk one of them grabbing her wand. She'd also risk giving away her identity as a witch. The locals were very tolerant of a strange Muggle in their midst, but they may not be so accepting of a wand-wielding witch. In her current condition, running away was not an option. Lindsay was practically immobilized with fear for her baby's safety. Thinking of Severus reprimanding her for her indecision gave her courage.
The man behind Lindsay began lifting her shirt and the one next to her clanged his cowbell again. The sound that followed was so ferocious it startled all of them. Lindsay thought it was a shout, but the man that uttered it was so incensed that whatever he'd said sounded like the howl of a wild beast. His cows were mooing and their bells were clanging as they shared their master's agitation.
The two Germans rose to meet Hagrid's twin head-on. Lindsay rose with a dancer's agility and slipped deeper into the shadows. She turned to see Hagrid's twin bashing the Germans' heads together and shouting threats at them for trying to hurt his cows. Lindsay turned and made her way up the path to her cottage. She was almost home when she was forced to stop due to a terrible pain in her lower back. She gently patted her belly hoping to stop the baby's frantic movement. "Settle down, Niketas. We're almost home."
Lin caught her breath and began walking again. She had just passed through the cottage's door when pain wracked her again. "Not now, baby, Mommy's not ready."
"The baby comes when it's ready, not when the mother is ready." Lin jumped at the sound of a strange woman's voice. "Relax, my dear," said a luminescent ghost dressed in a medi-witch's uniform. "I'm here to help you. Albus Dumbledore sent me."
"Albus sent a ghost to attend me?" said Lin.
"Well, I wasn't a ghost when he asked me!" Lin bent over again from the pain of another contraction. "You need to get those clothes off," said the ghost.
"No, no," replied Lin, "I just need to rest. I've had a rough evening."
"You're in labor, my dear. There's no time to waste."
"These are the first contractions I've had, which means I'm in the early phase of labor so I should have some time to relax."
"I'm a certified medi-witch, and I specialize in midwifery!" replied the ghost testily. "I've had one-hundred-and-four years of experience, and I'm telling you that baby is coming!" Lin was moving toward the table chair to have a seat when her water broke. She ceased to argue and undressed to sit on the birthing chair. The chair felt alien to her, and she now regretted not sitting in it earlier in her pregnancy just to get accustomed to it. Another very strong contraction hit her as she sat.
"The little one's coming fast," said the ghost, who stayed far enough away that she didn't chill Lindsay, but was close enough to observe her.
Lin grabbed her wand and said, "Sanguinem numero." Two sets of vibrant-blue numbers appeared next to her; one labelled 'Mother' and the other labelled 'Child,' and both showed the patients' systolic and diastolic blood pressures as well as their heartrates. A blue light appeared around the baby cradle as it moved from its place next to the bed and settled under the birthing chair. It had been packed for over a month with clean linens. Lin flicked her wand again and said, "Leniter capto." This spell would catch Niketas and lay him safely in his cradle.
"Well done, dear. My name is Madame Littlefoot, by the way." Another powerful contraction wracked her body and Lin gripped the arms of the chair tightly. "Control your breathing," said Littlefoot. Despite the fact that this woman was only a ghost and couldn't physically help Lin, her presence and the sound of her voice were great comforts. "Take a pain potion, dear. There's no point in trying to be heroic." It was good advice that was more sensible than it was kind. Lin couldn't risk passing out. The pain potion would obviously reduce pain, but it would also keep her alert longer by reducing the fatigue that pain causes.
Lin had the placement of her potions memorized, but she still checked the label on the bottle before she drank it. This wasn't the standard pain potion used by healers and medi-witches. This potion was used when it was important to relieve pain without causing sleepiness, or reducing awareness, or slowing motor responses. It wasn't as potent as the standard pain potion, but it would allow Lin to remain alert. She felt a relaxing warmth spread throughout her body immediately after swallowing the potion. She could still feel the subsequent contractions, but their intensity was greatly reduced. Several more contractions passed, and Lin was getting tired.
"Stay with me, Lindsay. You're doing very well." A really strong contraction hit Lin, and she gripped the arms of the chair. "Control your breathing." An excited smile spread across the ghost's face. "There's the little chap's head! You're almost there, Lindsay, almost there. Give me another big push...and there he is! Oh, isn't he beautiful!" The spell Lindsay had cast caught Niketas as his little body approached the cradle, turned him face up, and gently set him down. "Cut the cord, dear," said Littlefoot as she flipped up the watch that was pinned to her front. "Ten forty-five," she mumbled. "Now get him cleaned and out of the way before the afterbirth comes."
Lin's shaking hand grasped her wand; she pointed it at Niketas' navel. "Et interficiam ligatum." The umbilical cord severed and tied itself off. Next she said "Ad trahendum muco involute" to clean all the fluid out of Nikki's nose, mouth, and throat. Lastly, she used tergeo to clean Nikki's body and his cradle linens. She set her wand down and a blue light once again enveloped the cradle and slid it back to its place next to the bed. Nikki's vital signs followed him and two new numbers, Nikki's weight and length, had appeared.
Nikki was crying and it made Lin smile. Her own baby crying was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard. She was feeling very weak and tired. Her eyes were fixated on Nikki. Madame Littlefoot paced in front of her wearing a concerned expression.
"That's a little more blood than I like to see. Take some dittany and a blood-replenisher."
Before Lin could reach for the healing potions, she was wracked with another contraction that seemed much more painful than it should've been. She tore her eyes away from Nikki's cradle and looked at her own feet. The afterbirth was there and so was a large puddle of blood, which was rapidly growing larger.
"The dittany, my dear, the dittany!" cried Littlefoot.
Lin felt dizzy and her vision was rapidly darkening. Her feet and fingers tingled unpleasantly, and simply breathing felt much more laborious than it should have. She heard a distant sound, a percussive sound followed by a small shrill cry. My baby! thought Lin. My baby needs me! She forced herself to rouse and opened her eyes to see Littlefoot manically clapping her hands together and shouting at Lin to wake. The noise frightened Nikki, and he cried harder. He certainly had a healthy pair of lungs. Lin, who'd nearly fallen out of her chair, straightened up and turned for the dittany, and it took all of her strength of both body and will to lift her left hand and grasp the small vial. Two drops of dittany was all she needed, as instructed by Littlefoot, and it roused her enough to locate and drink the blood-replenishing potion. Lin immediately felt stronger and more alert.
The ghost approached to look closely at Lin's face, but didn't linger because she feared chilling Lindsay too much. Littlefoot gave Lindsay words of encouragement, telling her to relax and breathe deeply. The expired medi-witch waited for Lin's vital signs to normalize before she allowed her to do anything but relax. "Alright, dear, everything's looking well. Get yourself cleaned up. I wish I could do it for you." Lin used scourgify this time to clean herself, the chair, and the floor. "Get in bed, Lindsay, you need rest, and your baby needs to eat." Lin rose shakily. "Slowly, dear, no rushing." She climbed into her bed, which never felt more comfortable, and her vital signs followed her. Lin stowed her wand in her pajama top and used her natural magic to lift Nikki out of his cradle and into her arms.
"Are you quite certain there's no draft near the cradle?" said Littlefoot.
"Yes, I've checked several times."
Lin opened her top to place Nikki at her breast. She smiled as she looked down at her sturdy little bundle. Nikki had wispy black hair and bright-blue eyes. She wasn't sure just yet who he looked like, but he was long and chubby and reminded her of her brother, Noble's, baby pictures. Niketas Rubeus Noble, that's what she'd name him. If a name could affect its bearer's character, then the name of three good men should ensure that little Niketas would grow to be a man of honor and strength. She cuddled him and patted him until he fell asleep, and still she didn't want to part with him despite her exhaustion.
"Put the little chap in his cradle before you fall asleep," said Littlefoot.
With Nikki safely sleeping in his cradle, Lin fell into a fitful sleep and was awakened four hours later by Madame Littlefoot clapping. The kindly ghost was still keeping her distance while keeping a watchful eye on her charges. Lin fed and changed Nikki and rose to wash. Littlefoot wouldn't allow Lin to clean up until she'd inspected the bedsheets for excessive blood. It wasn't until Littlefoot was satisfied that Lindsay was on the mend that she allowed her patient to bathe and cook for herself.