And here it is, as promised…the birth of the miracle baby Scamander!
Phoenix – 22nd June 1931 – 9 (going on 10)
Linnet – 13th January 1933 – 8
Leo – 3rd March 1935 – 6
Set in May 1941.
That May brought sunshine and flowers to the vast open fields surrounding the Scamander household; there was a calm peacefulness those first few days of May, the air filled with cheerful birdsong and the sound of children's laughter as they explored the world around them. The blissfulness was surreal, lovely and welcomed.
And then on the fourth evening, sometime after the children were tucked into bed and their parents settled with mugs of hot cocoa for the evening, the contractions started.
Despite the fact it was late, Newt had hurriedly run down the road to the Kowalski home at Tina's insistence to find Queenie and Jacob; when they opened the door, looking alarmed by how out of breath he was, he simply locked eyes with his sister-in-law – and she knew.
"Teen's having the baby," Queenie realized, eyes widening as her lips curled upwards. "Oh, Newt, how wonderful!"
"Yes," He panted. "Very, but…but the children…are in bed…and we…we need…"
The blonde witch nodded immediately. "Of course, honey – just give me a sec to change."
She had pointed her wand at her slip and less-than-demure nightgown, transforming it into a slightly more appropriate outfit for that time of evening, and followed him briskly up the path; Jacob waved them off, grinning as he shouted his congratulations to Newt.
Once they had reached the house, Queenie was immediately by her sister's side and putting an arm around her. "You'll be alright, Teen…I know it hurts, I know, but just think: you guys are gonna have a little baby soon. How fun is that?"
Tina wasn't exactly sure she'd describe new babies as 'fun' but she didn't have the energy to retort to that; instead, she allowed her sister to press a kiss to her cheek and then followed Newt to the fireplace to use the Floo Network. Flooing was awful and she hated it, but it was safer for the baby than apparating (she had learnt that the hard way with Leo).
As it turned out, getting to St. Mungo's was only a tiny fraction of the battle.
The previous labours had been like strong clenches, something pulling at her insides and not letting go – this was closer to being tortured, and she knew because she'd experienced the hot burn of a Cruciatus curse before during her career.
"I'm sure everything is fine," Newt told her optimistically, patting her hand. "After all, we've done this three times before – once without Healers – so I'm sure we'll manage just fine."
"Yes," Tina gritted out warily. "But it's never hurt this much."
He bit his lip then, looking somewhat fretful. "I know, dear, I know. It probably won't be long at all – then we'll be holding the baby, you'll see, and all of this will seem rather small in comparison."
Well, that was easy enough for him to say, he supposed: he wasn't the one having to actually give birth.
Newt spoke to her softly as they waited for a midwife to come by their room, rubbing soothing circles first on her hand and then her back when she complained of it hurting; he spoke of their creatures, hoping to distract her somewhat, and then of their children – they were all excited for a new brother or sister, and the three of them would eagerly be waiting for their parents to come home with the new baby. Tina did give a pained and weak smile at this, her nails digging into his hand uncomfortably – he didn't say anything, of course, for he knew better than to provoke or annoy a birthing mother.
When a Healer finally did enter, she gave them a kind smile and immediately set about checking Tina over; Newt politely averted his eyes when the midwife started to prod about between Tina's legs, instead looking at his wife and sending her as positive a smile as he could manage.
"You're doing well so far," He encouraged her quietly. "Now, remember, it's best to keep calm – it won't be long-"
"You're two centimetres dilated," The Healer interrupted, standing up and going to clean her hands. "You still have eight more to go until delivery."
Tina looked horrified. "No…No, I've been in labour for three hours now, I've got to be more than two centimetres!"
"I'm afraid not. I wouldn't worry too much though," The older woman added hurriedly. "I'm sure things will pick up soon – sometimes it's just a slow start."
It was clear by the look on Tina's face that she was already exhausted – the very idea of having to wait for her cervix to dilate another eight centimetres seemed appalling. Newt could only squeeze her hand, resting his chin on the top of her head, and sigh.
"I know," He murmured comfortingly. "But you can do this, Tina – I know you can, and I'll be with you every step of the way. I have the utmost faith in you."
As with their other children's births, Newt promised to stay by her side and help her through it as much as he could – if he'd been able, he would have done it for her because she was clearly in a great deal of pain and he never wanted her to go through that…but, alas, that was not possible, and so instead he settled for the next best thing. His comforting felt slightly useless, but it was better than nothing.
It won't be long, he repeated to himself and to Tina as firmly as he could; it was nearly three in the morning and they were both tired, but he couldn't very well leave her like this – no, it surely wouldn't be much longer.
"Can't I just sleep through it?" Tina muttered, wincing as another strong contraction hit her. "Is that possible?"
Newt paused, thinking about it to himself momentarily. "Well…I suppose in some cases it might be possible…I've never really seen a beast sleep during labour, though I'm sure humans would be different of course…"
Three o'clock turned to four, then to five – and still, there didn't appear to be much progress. Their midwife returned twice to check how dilated Tina was, only to shake her head apologetically – apparently she was only dilated by four still, nowhere near enough to start pushing.
"If they ask to cut the baby out," Tina gritted through her teeth when the Healer was out of earshot. "Tell them to do it – I don't know how much more of this I can take."
She was a strong woman and always had been; she was an Auror, she had a relatively high threshold for pain and didn't cave easily – that alone made it obvious just how much agony she was in. He promised her that, should the Healers advise cutting the baby out like they had with Linnet, he would give his consent: if it lessened her pain even a little bit, it had to be worth it.
The midwife entered the room again shortly before eight that morning when Tina suddenly felt something tearing in her stomach; her hand slipped from Newt's, weak and limp – and he knew something was very wrong.
As he squeezed her hand, attempting to get her to squeeze back, the midwife gave a quiet gasp from the end of the bed; when she stood up, her hands were covered in blood – and Newt's heart stopped in his chest at the sight because he knew that that was an awful amount of it.
Two more Healers were summoned quickly, and then they were hurriedly pushing him from the room; he protested, trying to get past them so that he could stay with Tina – she was growing paler by the second, looking ill, he had to stay with her, didn't they understand – but their stern looks and sharp words halted him.
"Mr Scamander, you need to wait outside – your wife is losing an excessive amount of blood, and we have to stop the bleeding as soon as possible."
Newt didn't want to wait outside at all – he wanted to be in there with his wife, to hold her hand and make sure she was alright, to help coax and support her through it…but the blood…he suddenly felt extremely sick at the thought of it. Bleeding wasn't uncommon during labour, he'd learnt that through helping his creatures birth their offspring, but this amount was too much.
Worrying means you suffer twice, He told himself, repeating it like a mantra in his head as he paced the corridor outside the room: worrying means you suffer twice.
Newt thought of Tina, so deathly pale, losing blood as she struggled to bring their baby into the world.
Worrying means you suffer twice.
He thought of Phoenix, Linnet and Leo; he thought of how jubilant he and Tina had been when they'd been born, so unbelievably happy with each of them. Phoenix was just like Tina; dark hair, brown eyes, a quiet and stubborn determination – Linnet had her eyes too, and her stubbornness was more pronounced, more obvious. Leo was his mirror image, and though neither parents had favourites it was obvious Tina had a soft spot for him.
Worrying means you suffer twice.
He thought of their unborn baby; they had wanted another baby for so long only to have the idea crushed, to be told it was impossible – but they'd managed it somehow, they'd conceived this baby and they both already loved it more than they cared to admit. They had struggled through the entire pregnancy, it had been difficult, but they were both still eager and excited.
Worrying means you suffer twice.
His personal philosophy suddenly seemed meaningless – of course he was worried! Any man in his position would be, Newt thought, and he allowed himself this moment of panic. He worried that the baby wouldn't be alright, that something would go wrong with the delivery and affect them dreadfully. He worried because he had three children at home who would be anxious to see their parents come home with the new baby, three children who needed their parents.
Most of all, he worried because his wife was currently in a hospital bed losing an unholy amount of blood, and there was nothing he could do about it.
The birth canal had ruptured, a Healer told him half-an-hour later; the baby had also been facing upwards instead of downwards, and it had been causing her more pain and stress than was normal or healthy.
"Will you need to cut the baby out?" Newt found himself asking anxiously.
The midwife sighed, shaking her head. "No, I'm afraid not. She's lost so much blood already that it would be unwise to risk it…we've managed to staunch the bleeding for now, but it could easily start again when she has to push."
"Can I…?" His throat was dry and he had to swallow before speaking. "Can I go in and see her?"
"It's for the best if you stay out here, Mr Scamander. If she starts to bleed again, we need to be able to help her immediately." She looked sympathetic. "Don't panic yourself too much – we know what we're doing. If you let us get on with our jobs, your wife and baby will hopefully be fine."
Newt didn't know whether to believe it or not; it was nearing nine in the morning now, nearly ten hours of labour – and while he knew she had endured longer, it didn't stop him from being concerned all the same.
He could hear her screaming from the corridor.
Tina had never screamed like that in her life, not even with their other children's births – it was a scream of anguish, of pain, of fear, and it was all he could do not to rush into the room to her.
I'm going to go mad, Newt thought to himself anxiously, hunching over so far forward in his seat that his face was nearly pressed to his trousers; he wanted to block out the noise, wanted to distract himself because he knew it was quite possible he'd go crazy at this rate. The Healers didn't seem to share his concern – whenever one exited the room, they simply smiled tightly and informed him things were going well. How could it be going well when she's screaming in agony?!
He had promised he wouldn't leave her – he'd promised it first on their wedding day, that he'd always be there when she needed him, and then in the delivery room too he had sworn he would help her through it. The sound of her sobbing in pain only served to remind him how he had failed at even the simplest of tasks – she did so much for him, for their family, and he couldn't even be there to hold her hand or comfort her.
It stretched on for hours and hours; Newt was briefly aware that he had missed breakfast and lunch that day, though such things seemed rather insignificant in comparison to what was occurring in the hospital room, and he was absolutely shattered from a lack of sleep. He didn't bother attempting a nap, knowing it would be fruitless to try sleeping through such an event – instead he would wait, he told himself: he would wait for the Healers to come out and give him news, and he would wait to make sure Tina and their baby were fine too.
It was four that afternoon when the midwife exited, looking frazzled and tired; Newt stood up immediately, desperate for her to give him some news. "Is she alright? Please tell me Tina's going to be fine – has the bleeding stopped? Is there anything I can-"
"Mr Scamander," Her voice was soft as she spoke to him, and he was surprised to see that the corner of her mouth had lifted. "Your wife is perfectly fine – and so is your daughter."
Tina was sat propped up against a mountain of pillows when he entered; she was still deathly pale and looked exhausted – but she smiled at the sight of him, reaching out to beckon him closer. Newt immediately sat down at her side, taking her face into his hands gently and pressing a kiss to the top of her forehead.
"Merlin, Tina, I'm so glad you're alright…"
"Me? 'm fine," She dismissed, quite weakly. "Was nothing really."
Despite himself, Newt couldn't help but chuckle – out of relief, mostly, relief that she was alive and relatively well. "I knew you could do it, love: you're the strongest, most amazing woman I know."
The Healer entered shortly afterwards, holding a swaddle of blankets; she gently passed the bundle to Tina, making sure that she was steady, before congratulating the two of them with a smile and excusing herself to give them some time alone. As soon as she had gone, they found themselves looking down at the baby – their baby – in a mixture of awe and joy.
"Linnet got her little sister," Tina whispered, and her husband grinned to himself. "Look at her, Newt…look at how perfect she is."
Their daughter was perfect: though she was relatively small, it wasn't unhealthily so – with cherub pink cheeks, long eyelashes that fanned out and soft dark down on the top of her head, there was no denying how utterly wonderful she was. Newt felt that his heart was going to explode from the sudden rush of love he felt wash over him, warm and sweet; without meaning to, he found himself growing tearful at the sight.
"Hello," He found himself murmuring, voice thick with emotion. "Aren't you lovely? You might have given your Mummy some trouble, but I think you're going to be more than worth it, aren't you?"
The baby gave a squirm, wriggling about in the blankets and scrunching up her face; when Newt looked at Tina, he saw that she was teary-eyed as well. "They said she's healthy," She muttered, a radiant smile breaking out across her face. "She's healthy and beautiful and…and just look at her."
"She's wonderful," He agreed earnestly, and he pressed his lips to the side of his wife's head softly. "She's going to be like you, Tina…she's already got your hair, and she's going to be just as strong and lovely too, I know it."
Tina leaned into him, eyes glazed over slightly as they focused on the baby. "I love her already… I love you."
"Yes," Newt affirmed, putting an arm around her shoulders. "I love you too."
Queenie was the first to visit the hospital later that afternoon; her eyes were glistening, smile wide and infectious, as she hurried over to her sister. "Congratulations, Teen – and you too, Newt…tell me about the baby!"
"Well-"
"A girl?!" Queenie exclaimed, cutting Newt off completely. "Teen… Oh, she is beautiful – she looks just like you already, I can tell, and…that sounds rough! But you're okay now?"
"I'm fine," Tina told her, somewhat weakly. "They stopped the bleeding, no problem…don't worry about me, Queenie."
Newt offered Queenie a chair near the bed, smiling at her fondly. "So, how are the children? Have they behaved?"
"They're darlings," She assured him. "They played at our place all day; Phoenix and Linnet went to the bakery with Jacob for the day, and Leo's just been reading your book, Newt. They can't wait to see you guys – and they're all excited 'bout the baby too."
The visit was short for it was getting late, but Queenie promised to return early the next morning with the children to see the baby; it was just as well really, for both Newt and Tina were exhausted by the whole ordeal. As Tina got comfortable for the night against the pillows, eyelids drooping, she suggested her husband return home – he was adamant about staying, of course, and he resumed a rather uncomfortable position stretched out on two chairs.
"Newt, honestly, I'll be fine for the night…"
"No, no," He disagreed firmly. "I'd feel far better if I was nearby, Tina – I've slept in far worse conditions, believe me."
Newt woke up the next morning with a stiff neck and an ache in his lower back; his spirits instantly lifted, however, when the midwife appeared with their daughter, saying it was time for a feed. Tina looked only marginally better, still pale and tired – but her face lit up as the Healer gave the baby to her, a wide smile spreading across her face.
"Have you thought of a name yet?" The midwife asked them as Tina settled the baby against her breast.
"Err…no," Newt admitted, casting a glance at his wife. "Not really."
"We'll…We'll think of something," Tina muttered, though she looked uncertain.
With their previous children, the names had seemed to come to them quite suddenly – but for some reason, neither of them could quite manage to think of a sufficient name for their daughter; they both wanted something somewhat unique, though not so much so that there was potential for teasing when they went to school. They knew they needed a name soon, however, for the paperwork still needed to be filled out before they could even think of going home.
"Perhaps we could name her after my mother?" Newt suggested. "I know Florence is perhaps rather old-fashioned, but it could be shortened quite easily-"
"As lovely an idea as that is," Tina interrupted, looking somewhat apologetic. "It's kinda taboo to name babies after living relatives…it's a long story, but…"
None of the names either of them came up with seemed right for their daughter – none of them really seemed to fit her, and they were both in agreement that they needed the right name. This topic was soon forgotten, however, when Queenie appeared in the doorway of the hospital room beaming – and she was closely followed by the older three Scamander children.
"Mummy!" Linnet cried out happily, running up to the bed. "You're alright!"
"Did you have the baby, Mummy?" Leo asked excitedly, tugging on Queenie's hand to bring her into the room. "Where are they?"
"In the nursery," Newt chuckled, shaking his head at them. "Did you all have fun with Auntie Queenie and Uncle Jacob?"
Linnet beamed at him. "Uh-huh – we helped Uncle Jacob in the bakery, and then we got to eat his pastries, and then Auntie Queenie bought me a book when we went to Diagon Alley…"
Phoenix was grinning boyishly as he helped Newt bring some chairs over, face bright and eager. "Is it a boy or a girl?"
Linnet looked ready to burst into tears of joy when they informed the children they had a sister, practically hopping up and down in her seat; Phoenix looked slightly put out for a moment before shrugging and smiling, clearly pleased nonetheless, and Leo looked awestruck as he realized he was no longer the youngest.
"I'm a big brother?" He asked Newt, looking stunned; when his father nodded, he beamed happily. "Auntie Queenie, I'm a big brother!"
"I know, sweetie," Queenie giggled, ruffling his hair affectionately. "And you'll be a wonderful big brother too!"
A Healer brought the baby in for another feed shortly after the children had arrived, and they all watched in fascination as Tina took their younger sister into her arms. Linnet's fingers were twitching, clearly eager to hold the baby, Phoenix was smiling fondly, and Leo's mouth was agape.
"What's her name?" Phoenix asked after a few minutes.
"Well…she doesn't have one yet, I'm afraid," Newt admitted. "Here, why don't you all come and take a look?"
Phoenix was so tall that he could stand and see perfectly fine, thankfully, and so Linnet and Leo settled on either side of their mother so that they could peer at the bundle; it made Newt's heart soar when they all looked rather taken by the baby, watching intently as she wriggled. Queenie put a hand on his arm, beaming to herself, as she read his thoughts – she didn't need to say anything, for they both knew how he felt already.
"She was born facing up," The blonde suddenly said, looking rather amused. "They have stories 'bout that kinda thing, you know…in some countries, they call those babies 'star-gazers' and believe they're ready to take on the world."
He sent her a surprised look. "How do you know all of this?"
"I done my research," Queenie informed him coyly. "You end up doing a lot of it when you're having babies, hearing a lot of things when you go about…"
"She's so pretty, Mummy," Linnet cooed. "I'm like you, Mummy – I have a sister too!"
"Yeah, you do," Tina agreed amusedly. "I'm glad you like her, Lin; you're gonna have to look after her, show her how to do things."
Her daughter nodded enthusiastically, not taking her eyes from the baby. "Yeah, I will… And I'll be able to show her my book too!"
"What book?"
"Auntie Queenie got me a book in Diagon Alley," Linnet explained happily. "It was about muggle birds; now I can tell what birds are what! See, there's crows and they're big and black, then there's sparrows and they're real small…oh, there's even a bird called a linnet, like me!"
Newt was affectionate as he pushed one of her messy pigtails behind her ears, chuckling to himself. "Yes, we named you after a linnet bird – they're very small and loud."
Phoenix snorted. "That's definitely Linnet."
She shot her brother a dirty look but continued speaking enthusiastically. "I already knew about owls and hummingbirds…and there's wrens near our house too!"
"Wrens are very inconspicuous birds," Newt noted with a nod. "But they have loud and complex songs."
The conversation had soon changed topic - it wasn't until later when Queenie took the children home (beaming somewhat knowingly to herself as she did) and the Healers had taken the baby back to the nursery that Tina turned to Newt thoughtfully, clearly having had a sudden idea.
"How about Wren?" She asked him curiously. "Like a bird."
"Wren?" He repeated, somewhat surprised. "Wren… Wren Scamander."
Tina nodded. "Yeah: she's small, loud – I think it fits her. What do you think?"
Newt thought it over to himself, picturing their new-born daughter in his mind – and then he grinned at his wife quite unabashedly. "I think it's perfect, Tina…absolutely perfect."
Whoo, the last baby has been born and I can write some other stuff! Thanks to the anon who suggested the baby facing up idea – I know who they are and they know I know and I just wanted to thank them!
I haven't listened to the audiobook yet :/ I'm so busy writing fics and stuff that I haven't got the time – it's already 11pm over here, and I have rehearsal at 9am.
I hope you all enjoyed!