CHAPTER 19 – THE BIRTH OF A NEW HEIR
Jude and Rach just finished their dinner at the Great Hall. Harry also finished his and he braved himself to walk towards Jude’s table. Draco looked at him in annoyance.
“What are you doing here, Potter? This is the Slytherin’s table, you’re not supposed to be here!”
“I’m just here to discuss about certain things, if you know what I mean,” Harry replied as he took Jude’s arm. “Come, Jude. I need to ask you something.”
Draco was about to protest when Jude laid her hand on his arm, her eyes gazing at him, giving him a Let-me-go look. Draco resisted for a while before he sighed and let her go. Somehow he couldn’t resist Jude’s temptation. Jude was taken to his table. Rach was also sitting there.
“What is it you want to ask?” Jude asked Harry as soon as she sat down.
“Have you both felt anything yet?” Harry got straight to the point.
“Felt what?” Jude and Rach asked in unison.
“You know…anything wrong? Any pain? Any contraction or…” Harry tried to make it less obvious for other people.
“Oh, you mean that thing,” Jude began to comprehend. “No, I don’t feel anything yet.”
“Neither do I. Why do you ask?” Rach replied.
“Nothing. It’s just that you three were pregnant at the same time, so…if you were to feel anything, that means Becka also might feel something,” Harry replied worriedly.
“You mean if the time has come, Becka would have to give birth at that idiotic Voldemort’s domain?!” Jude lowered her voice when she mentioned the name ‘Voldemort’.
“I’m afraid so,” Harry nodded. “Tony did say about Cedric having hicks for Becka. I hope he won’t be cruel enough to kill her. Hopefully she’ll be in good hands with him.”
Becka was sitting alone in a dim room with only a few candles to light the place. She couldn’t believe that Tony was actually the spy for Voldemort. She even found it hard to believe that Cedric was a Death Eater for Voldemort and made her into one of them. Becka glared at the mark on her hand and let out a huff in contempt.
The door of her room was unlocked. She turned around and saw that it was Cedric carrying a tray of food inside. She growled, “What are you doing here?”
“I just came to get you dinner,” Cedric replied as he put the tray on the table. He came near Becka and tried to hold her in his arms but Becka resisted.
“Go away. I hate you. You betrayed me.”
“Rebecca, I don’t like this more than you do, but this is the Dark Lord’s orders.”
“Oh, and I suppose you followed his orders like a dog because you’re grateful that he brought you back to life. That’s typical!”
Ignoring Becka’s resistance, he hugged her close to his chest and whispered, “Don’t be angry with me, Rebecca. The person you should hate is Harry. He got you into this.”
Becka pushed him harshly away, “How could you?! He didn’t do anything to hurt me!! You yourself didn’t mind when he made me pregnant! I did it by my own free will! I have no reason to hate him!!”
“Maybe you don’t, but I have,” Cedric’s silver eyes gleamed in contempt.
“What…?”
“If it weren’t for him, I would’ve been alive! It’s because he’s The Boy Who Lived, he was often the target of the Dark Lord. Yes, the Dark Lord had killed me, but if Harry hadn’t existed, if only he had just died when the Dark Lord tried to kill him, all this problem would’ve just went away! I would’ve lived until now and have a normal life! It’s all Harry’s fault I was killed!!”
“If Harry hadn’t existed,” Becka said, moving further away from him, “you would’ve died all the same, along with the rest of the wizarding world. There wouldn’t even be a Hogwarts anymore.”
Cedric glared venomously at Becka and hissed, “Well, that’s not my problem now, isn’t it? Maybe it would’ve been better that way. My misery wouldn’t be so great like now!”
So saying, he stomped out of the room and locked the door. Becka rushed to the door and tugged at the door handle. No avail. It was locked from the outside and it was immune to the Alohomora spell. She looked at the food on the tray. It smelt really nice. She wanted to ignore it, but her pregnant situation wouldn’t allow it. She had to eat. She had a baby to feed.
Jude carried the tray of food all the way to the towers of the West Wing. She saw one of the house elves carrying the tray and asked him where he was taking it. When he said it was for Tony up at the West Wing, she took the tray and lied to the elf saying that there has been a change of orders.
As she reached the West Wing, she used her power to detect Tony’s aura and find which room he was. She saw a flash of the image of the Death Eater’s mark when she touched one part of the wall and opened the latch of the door. She felt a minor flash field going through her body when she came into the room, as if it was meant for people to go in and out except Death Eaters like Tony. Tony looked up and was surprised to see her.
“What are you doing here, Judith? Where’s the elf that usually send my meals?”
“A change of plans. Besides, I want to check out to see if you’re OK,” Jude said as she laid the tray of food on a table that had seen better days. “You’re still my friend.”
“Friend,” Tony snorted. “Yeah, right. You’re just here to gloat at my pathetic situation right now.”
“No, I’m not.” Jude replied indignantly as she went close to Tony. “I really am here to see if you’re OK. Hmm, at least you’re just dirty. No bruises and all.”
“Why are you doing this?” Tony glared at Jude with hate.
“Like I said, you’re my friend. You look weak. Did you even eat? Let me feed you…”
Tony pushed her away and yelled, “I don’t need your pity! Get out of here and leave me alone!!”
Jude was unperturbed. She walked over to the table and got the plate of pumpkin pie. She forked a small piece and fed it to Tony. Tony slapped the fork away, growling like an angry dog. Again, Jude slapped him, but much lighter this time. And before Tony could do anything harsh on her, Jude planted a kiss on his forehead, stopping him in his tracks.
“I may have rejected you, but I still have enough friendly feelings towards you to do this. Now, will you be a good boy and eat?”
Tony finally gave in and nodded. He couldn’t lie to himself. No matter how angry he was to her and how much hate he felt for her, his heart still had a small inkling of love for her. He didn’t protest when Jude offered to feed him. Somehow he felt blissful all over again, just like during the first time he fell in love with her.
Suddenly Jude stopped feeding him. She dropped the fork she was holding and clutched her chest in pain. Tony came to her and asked, “What happened? Are you alright?”
“I…I don’t know…I think I have some sort of…heartburn…” Jude groaned.
Tony laid his hand on her chest and said, “Judith, I think it’s time.”
Rach was in the Hospital Wing, her hands tied onto the bed railings. She was tossing and turning, groaning in pain. She felt the heartburn when she was studying in Prof. Sinistra’s room and Prof. Sinistra rushed her immediately to Madame Pomfrey.
“Where is Judith? She should be experiencing the same thing by now!” Madame Pomfrey exclaimed. “Don’t tell me Severus is trying to do this on his own!”
“What is it?” Prof. Snape asked when he entered the Hospital Wing after hearing the news. “What about me?”
“Isn’t Judith with you?” Madame Pomfrey asked.
“No, Light is not with me. I thought she was with Yearne all the time.”
“She’s…not with me…” Rach protested. “She’s already…gone somewhere…after dinner…I haven’t…seen her since!”
“Did she say where she was going?” Prof. Snape asked.
“She…said something…about meeting…someone…I don’t know who…OW! Damn it, it hurts!”
“That fool!” Prof. Snape hissed as he quickly left the ward. Madame Pomfrey quickly attended to Rach.
“Alright, Rachel. It’s going to be alright. We’ll just have to start without her.”
“Take it easy, Rebecca. I’m right here,” Cedric coaxed Becka as he tried to hold the struggling Becka in his arms.
“Go away! I don’t need your help! Oww~!” Becka whined in pain.
“It’s alright, Rebecca. I’m here. Just hang in there…”
“I hate you, damn it, I HATE YOU!!”
“Shh~~ Everything is going to be fine,” Cedric hushed her and rocked her to and fro.
“It hurts, Cedric…It hurts…” Becka finally burst into tears as she clutched Cedric’s robes tight.
“Oh shit! OH SHIT!! I’m gonna die~~!!”
“No, Judith, you’re not going to die. Just hang in there and don’t move too much!”
Jude was lying on Tony’s thighs and Tony was holding her down as hard as possible to keep her from tossing and turning too much. Jude felt as if there were thousands upon thousands of sharp knives cutting her inside her body. She started crying and whining like a child who lost her mother.
“Shh…It’s going to be alright. Just hang in there and try not to move.”
Jude grasped Tony’s wrist tightly and sobbed. She never felt so much pain before in her life. It was excruciating, like she was undergoing a slow, painful death, like a surgery without anesthesia. Tony continued to hush her and coax her, ensuring that everything would be fine. Slowly she felt her abdomen getting warmer and warmer until it actually felt like burning fire. She opened her sodden eyes and saw her abdomen glowing like an inferno. It glowed a very bright green, like a green fluorescent light. The heat began to increase until Jude couldn’t stand it anymore. She let out a bloodcurdling scream that filled the whole tower. Tony quickly tore part of his sleeve and stuffed it into her mouth, gagging her and muffling her voice. He didn’t want to risk people coming up.
Jude continued to scream and tossed her head like a mad dog. She wanted to toss and turn to get rid of the pain that was killing her but Tony held her down. No matter how she struggled, Tony was much stronger. Her abdomen glowed even brighter, lighting up the whole tower. It was even brighter than any light bulb can ever make. The pain gradually subsided but the glow still remained.
“Give it a push, Judith. Just give it a little push,” Tony whispered to her ear. Jude did as she was told. She held Tony’s wrist hard and pushed. The pain finally lifted itself from her body and the glow subsided.
When she opened her eyes, the tower was dim once more. In the glow’s place was a small baby, wailing as the air entered its lungs. Jude wept happy tears as she took the baby who was lying on her stomach close to her chest.
“Oh my God, Tony, I…I have a son…! I have a baby boy…!” Jude exclaimed weakly.
“Thank Merlin you’re alright,” Tony sighed in relief and kissed her forehead. “He’s beautiful…”
“Light?!” Prof. Snape burst into the room in the nick of time. He saw Jude lying on Tony’s thighs with the baby in her arms and quickly picked her up in his arms. He glared venomously at Tony and hissed, “I warned you that if you ever lay a finger on her, it’ll be the death of you!”
“Prof. Snape, no! He helped me with the baby! He didn’t do anything bad. I came up here by myself,” Jude defended Tony.
“You know perfectly well that you’re not supposed to be here, Light! You have been a fool long enough!” Prof. Snape snapped at her.
“I’m sorry…”
“Come away, and I do not want to see you coming up here again,” Prof. Snape carried her out of the room and latched the door with a spell, leaving Tony all alone in there.
“Yes, sir.”
Rach gave it a push like Madame Pomfrey instructed. Her efforts were answered with a loud wailing of a baby. The pain and the blue glowing finally came to a stop. Madame Pomfrey smiled and said, “Congratulations, Rachel, you have a healthy baby boy.”
“Damn. I’m actually a mother now,” Rach smiled weakly, gasping for breath. Her voice was quite rash after shouting in pain quite a long time.
“Yes, you are, Rachel. Your son would like some milk now, if you may.”
Rach blushed as she turned to one side. She pulled her shirt up and let the baby feed on her. Rach asked in surprise, “I’m not really pregnant as in physically. I didn’t expect to have any milk.”
“Oh, but you do,” Madame Pomfrey replied. “That’s the only thing physical that has changed in you ever since you have this baby. You’ll just have to live with it. Ah, there’s your friend now.”
Rach turned to see Prof. Snape coming in with Jude and the baby in his arms. He laid her on the bed beside Rach’s and Madame Pomfrey checked her and the baby thoroughly. The duo asked each other about the sex of their baby and they were surprised to find out that both their babies were boys.
“Time to have the baby weaned now,” Madame Pomfrey said. Jude blushed and waited until Prof. Snape has left the ward before unbuttoning her shirt to feed her son.
“I really, really hope that Becka is in good hands with Cedric,” Rach said as she fed her son.
Jude couldn’t agree more.
Becka opened her eyes. She must have passed out due to fatigue. The pain was gone. And she remembered a very bright red glow and her pushing before she lost consciousness. She tried to sit up but she felt herself being pushed back down to bed.
“Don’t move, Rebecca. You’re still tired.”
It was Cedric’s voice. He sounded kinder than he was when he snarled at her the last time. Just like the old Cedric she used to know. She lay back in bed.
“What…What happened to me…?” Becka breathed out her words.
“You just gave birth, remember? You just gave birth to Harry’s child.”
“Is it…Is it a boy or a…?”
Cedric came to her with a bundle in his arms, “It’s a girl. You have a baby girl.”
“Oh my God…” Becka burst into happy tears as she held the little baby in her arms. Although the room was dim, she could still make out the features: she had Harry’s eyes and her beautiful maroon hair.
“What are you going to name her?” Cedric asked.
“Henrietta. Henrietta Gryffindor-Potter,” Becka replied after a momentary thought. Cedric leaned over and kissed Becka’s forehead.
“Good work, Rebecca. You did a great job.”
Becka turned around, ignoring Cedric and tending to her baby. Cedric turned her back to face him.
“My love for you is still true. I still love you and I always will.”
So saying, he laid his lips on Becka and kissed her deeply. Surprisingly, Becka didn’t attempt to fight him away.
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