Susan was sitting in the relative quiet of the birthing room. There was a healer standing in the dim corner jotting things on a parchment. Hannah had just left to tell the Neville the good news. Cecily Harriet had been born. She was a beautiful pink bundle, wrapped in a tiny blanket her grandmother had made for her. She wore a tiny hat, not in pink, but in the blue, yellow and green of Ernie's family tartan. She smiled down at her little Cecily, her blonde ringlets peeking out from the cap. Ernie had made it himself. Susan found it soon after the war, hidden away in his trunk, hidden as a surprise for his two girls.
Light seeped in suddenly, and Susan looked towards the door, searching for Hannah's return with Neville. No one was there. The door remained closed. The healer remained with her back to the room, scribbling and mumbling in low tones to herself, but said two words that made Susan jerk her head away from the door. "The father."
"S-S-Sorry?" Susan stammered.
"I'll need the father's name for the forms. Pity he couldn't be here today. To miss the birth of your first child –"
"His name is Ernest Macmillan," Susan interrupted coldly. "He's not here for his only daughter's birth because he died. Fighting Voldemort. She'll grow up knowing her father was a hero who sacrificed everything for her to be safe; to be born. She has a father and his name is Ernie Macmillan." Susan had not intended to sound so harsh. She was actually relieved to have someone to take her frustrations out on. Everyone else tiptoed around the fact that Ernie wasn't here, but no one said the dreaded "d" word. They were all afraid of upsetting her. Her family was surprised when she wanted to spend the remainder of her pregnancy at the Macmillan's farm. Only Hannah understood, and came with her to help in the last few weeks waiting for the birth.
Susan heard the door open and close, and the healer was gone. The seeping light grew brighter, and without looking up, she spoke, brushing a curl from her hour-old daughter's sleepy eyes. "I knew you'd come."
"Did'ya think I wouldna be here today?"
Susan looked up now, into her husband's luminous hazel eyes and smiled. "She has your hair."
"But your beauty." Susan felt a tingle across her lips, and swallowed back a tear. She watched her daughter's face light up, and Cecily began to coo and was soon sucking on something. The tiny girl fell back asleep and as Susan closed her eyes, the light was gone.