Emmeline held her son in her arms, hours of pushing and pain was so worth it. Her husband kissed the top of her head as they admired their bundle of joy.
"He's so beautiful" she murmured
"He must have your genes then"
"Hush, you are the most beautiful man I've ever met" She leant her head back and they shared a short, sweet kiss.
"What do you want to name him?"
"My father's name was Luke… if that's okay with you?"
"It's perfect" He said adoringly.
….1 year later
Another baby one year later, this time a little girl. Emmeline sighed into a smile as her daughter was handed over to her, her husband Dave holding their sleeping son.
"She looks so much like you Emmy"
"You think so?"
"Definitely, your hair especially."
She smiled and brushed a hand over her daughter's bright, sparse red hair.
"...what do you think about Mary?" Dave said
"I love it" Emmeline smiled at Dave "Mary and Luke"
"I love you" Dave kissed her head as well as he could with Luke in his arms.
…11 years later
Emmeline hugged her son tightly, even though he fussed at her for it.
"Be safe! I hope you have as much fun at Hogwarts as I did"
"Okay mom"
"Hey now kiddo, listen to your mom"
"Okay dad" Luke rolled his eyes
Emmy and Dave shared a look.
'He's getting to that age'
'Don't I know it'
Emmy kissed his cheek "Love you sweetie"
"Love you too"
Dave side-hugged him "I love you too son"
"Love you too dad"
….1 year later
"Mom! I don't want to go" Mary cried as she held on to her mom.
"Ladybug, it's okay!" Emmy hugged her daughter tightly as Luke was pacing around, embarrassed at his sister.
"C'mon Mary, stop being such a baby"
"You're so mean Lucas!"
"Luke" Emmeline said sternly "be nice to your sister. Look honey, Luke will be there too. And he's going to be nice and help you figure stuff out." She gave a pointed look to him.
"I'm scared mom"
"You'll be okay" She kissed the top of her head. "Come here Luke"
He did what she said and she enveloped them in a tight hug.
"I love you both so much. Luke, help Mary with her luggage?"
"Fine. Bye mom" He kissed her cheek and grabbed the luggage.
"Love you mom" Mary hugged her again and got some of her stuff, following Luke.
Emmeline couldn't help but wish Dave was there, but Ministry dealings were more important to him she guessed.
When her kids graduated, she was so proud, and thought back to her own graduation…
A younger Emmy hugged her friend, talking about their plans for the future. A lot of them wanted to get married and have kids, but there were some who wanted to pursue jobs in the Ministry. She supported them all, but when they asked her about what she wanted, her mind blanked.
"I don't really know. But maybe some drinks will help that?" She grinned
"You've got the right idea Em! Maybe you'll meet somebody" One person said, she was another Slytherin
"Not all of us want to get married right away" Another one said, a Ravenclaw.
The Slytherin rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's go have some drinks"
"Actually, I want to go see the dorms one more time"
"Okay you weirdo, meet you at Hogsmeade then"
Emmeline entered the Slytherin dorms, a wave of nostalgia swept over her, thinking about all her times with her friends, and all the drama that surrounded Tom.
"So, you've come back one last time?" Tom's voice came from behind her from where she sat on the couch.
She stood up to look at him.
"Saying goodbye is always the hardest."
"Or the easiest, depending on how you do it"
He circled around to stand before her. Even though he was paler and thinner than ever before, he was still the most beautiful man she had ever seen. But after you got past that flawless exterior, he was nothing but ugliness.
"Of course you would say that" she smiled mirthlessly as she looked down.
He tilted her chin up "How long will we be stuck playing this game?"
"That depends on how long you want it to last"
He chuckled, a cold hand resting on her cheek.
They were two complete opposites, she was bright and youthful with red, wavy hair and flushed skin, while he was dark, pale and cold. She wasn't fit for his world, and he wasn't fit for hers. It was only a matter of time before they fell apart, and she knew this, distancing herself from him for the past year.
But now, when they were stood face to face, like they were still children playing around with the idea of love. She leant into his touch, and her hand circled around his wrist, she closed her eyes with a sigh.
He put his hand on her waist and pulled her close, the hand she was holding coming up to stroke her hair. She put her head on his shoulder and embraced him. In that moment she wasn't thinking about all the awful things he had done, just all the good times they had shared.
"What if I want it to last forever?"
"Tom…"
He kissed her neck, trailing his lips up to her own. She fell into the kiss, before coming to her senses and pulling back.
"...We both know that can't happen"
His hands tightened, one in her hair and the other on her waist.
"Just say you'll be mine Emmeline. One word is all it takes"
They held eye contact for a moment, before she looked down.
"No, Tom"
He retracted his hands, moving away and leaving her cold.
"Goodbye Emmeline" He walked away toward the door.
As he stepped out a last goodbye escaped her.
"Goodbye Tom"
Emmeline shook herself, that was a long time ago, she needed to let go.
…
Her kids were having children of their own now, where had the time gone? She looked over at her sleeping husband, and wondered about Tom. Or Voldemort now, she guessed.
Why had he done it? Why had he killed all those people? And then a child, only for it to backfire? She supposed he deserved it, but would things have been different if she had said 'Yes'? Could she stop him? Emmeline sighed and rolled over, there was no use pondering over a lost love, a love that was a ruthless killer now. Did he ever truly love her? Did she love him? These thoughts kept her up all night, going through different scenarios over and over again.
When did it all start? With the Chamber of Secrets, that was when muggleborns were showing up dead and he became colder and more cruel. That was also when they got close. Could it have been her fault?...No, of course not. There was something wrong with Tom. She had heard rumors about him being conceived under a love potion, so that would explain some things
"Oh God…" she sighed as she got up. She kissed her husband on the cheek before tying her greying hair up, putting a robe on over her pajamas. Emmeline walked out of their bedroom. The house was so empty with her children's stuff gone. She walked outside, sitting on the steps to their house in the cool night air.
AN: I hope you liked this story, this is kind of the last part of what I've written, so I'm just working backwards I suppose :)