Disclaimer – I own nothing of the HP books or whatever associated, blada blada blada, you know the drill…

xXxXxXxXxXx

Author's Note:

Creatress: (fidgetting, biting fingernails, looking like something bbbbbbbbbaaaaaaaadddddd's gonna happen)

Tom & Gin: ...

Tom: Hellloooooooo!! Creatress!!

Gin: Come on, start typing!! I'm so excited!!

Creatress: Okay... Don't freak out...

Tom: What...?

Creatress: I... have a bit of writers' block -

Gin: Oh, SHIT!!

Creatress: I know!! (starts crying)

Tom: Oh, damn - the readers are going to want to murder you - I mean if they're not already hounding for your blood after that cliffhanger - !

Gin: Damn straight!! Just write something - anything! I'm in labour here, dammit!

Creatress: (closes eyes and starts randomly typing)

luv

Creatress

xXxXxXxXx

Chapter 7

"Damn."

Upon hearing Kingsley's soft statement, everybody else in the house followed his gaze out the window. Eyes widened in fear as dark, hooded figures began advancing on the house.

"Listen! They're probably all around us and we can't apparate until we're a kilometer away!" Kingsley suddenly yelled. "Minerva - go out the back garden and get to Hogwarts! Get Dumbledore! Go!" McGonagall barely nodded before taking off, grabbing her wand to start defending herself against any curses that may be fired at her. "Luna - auror department at the ministry!" Luna took off after McGonagall. "Hermione and Poppy will stay here. We - " He looked at Remus and Tonks - "are defending the house. Let's go!" With that, Kingsley, Remus and Tonks left to face the Death Eaters.

"Mi..." Ginny's voice was so soft and pained, it was barely recognizable. Hermione looked down at her, dumbstruck for a second before rushing to her side. For a brief moment, she thought that Ginny looked a little as she did six years ago, when all of this first started. The redhead was trembling and crying, fear and sorrow clear on her face. She looked as if she was about to say something when another wave of pain hit her and she cringed away.

"What happened?" Hermione asked Madam Pomphrey when Ginny didn't go on.

"I don't know - she just started bleeding. It looks like the baby's turned around, but I have no idea how it did so fast - " Pomphrey started blabbering.

"Alright, let's just undress her and get ready," Hermione interrupted, glancing up once in a while at the window. She couldn't see the actual figures since she was crouched on the floor, but coloured lights occasionally lit up the night darkness and shouts interrupted the silence. A battle was waging outside - how long would Kingsley, Tonks and Remus last? Tearing her thoughts away from the battle, she turned back to Ginny, who was whimpering silently. "Gin - it'll be okay, we're here. You'll get through this." She would have killed to give Ginny a painkiller then, but any forms of medicine may interfere with the baby's magic and numbing spells could not be used because they didn't know whether it was safe or not in this case.

"I don't want - " Ginny suddenly gasped. She suddenly gripped Hermione's hand and looked at her through watery eyes. "I don't want it to end like this... I don't want to die here. I want - " She let out a few sobs and gently touched her stomach. She tried to compose herself as much as she could before continuing. "I want to be with him - I want to watch him grow up..."

"You will. You will... " Hermione said with as much conviction as she could muster. She glanced at Madam Pomphrey who'd cleaned up Ginny legs and was now pushing her black peasant skirt up her legs to prepare to get her in position. The brunette pulled out her own wand and pointed it toward the stairs to accio a few pillows and towels. "What will you name him?" she asked in an attempt to distract Ginny from what was going on around them.

Ginny didn't answer - she let out out an ear-piercing scream as ungodly painful contractions hit her.

"Breathe!" Hermione suddenly said. "Come on, breathe through the pain... Inhale... Take a deep breath..." She was very aware of Madam Pomphrey looking curiously at her, and, accioing a knife just for the sake of having something to do, Hermione had to admit that this was in vain. Of everything she'd studied, she'd forgotten breathing techniques - they were very basic afterall, but they seemed to be the only things that could help in this situation. She just decided to go with whatever made sense as she started placing pillows and blankets around Ginny to make her as comfortable as possible.

Ginny, however, found it physically impossible to take a deep breath - she couldn't stop herself from screaming or crying out every time a wave of contractions hit her.

She suddenly thought of cruciatus lessons with Voldemort and the pain she was feeling now seemed to have slightened a little. Just a little.

"Alright, I've done as much as I can here," she suddenly heard Madam Pomphrey say. "Get ready to pu - "

All of a sudden, there was a sickening crash and the two mediwitches looked up to briefly see Remus hitting the window and before falling to the ground outside. The window hadn't smashed and it was still up, but the impact left the glass with web-like patterns where it had snapped and the place with the most wreckage was outlined with Remus' blood. The questions this sight brought to the womens' minds were the same: Had McGonagall or Luna reached their destinations yet?

Ginny suddenly screamed after a new burst of agony, bringing both their attentions back to her.

"Push!" Madam Pomphrey suddenly ordered.

Not knowing what else to do, Hermione grabbed a small handkerchief she'd conjured with the pillows and used it to wipe the sweat off Ginny's forehead and neck. She thought she could hear Tonks yelling outside... She suddenly felt useless inside. Making a quick decision, she looked at Madam Pomphrey and leaned in closer to the woman, almost as if trying to hide her next move from Ginny. "Take care of her," the brunette quickly muttered.

Madam Pomphrey didn't have a chance to reply before Hermione suddenly shot up and ran to the front door. Hermione gave Madam Pomphrey a fleeting look that a mother may give a teenaged babysitter before leaving her child with him as she stepped out of the house to join the battle. Ignoring the urge to call the girl back, the older witch turned back to Ginny, intent on helping her deliver the baby as soon as possible. She started giving Ginny instructions to use her strength to push.

Poppy and Hermione had examined Ginny the previous night. The baby had been upright and there were absolutely no other signs that the redhead was about to give birth soon. After giving Ginny a small dose of one potion to help the lower back pain she'd developed and an even smaller dose of Dreamless Sleep (they had given her such a tiny dose because they had run out and Ginny had been sleeping without it for two days - the Potions Master had just sent a fresh batch to them that day and they had wanted to start her on the drug slowly) that would not harm the baby, the two meditwitches had sent her off to bed and had not checked her since. There had been no reason to. Now, it seemed that not only Ginny's baby had turned, but she'd also dialated to seven centimeters before anyone knew what was going on.

Through all her years as a mediwitch, Poppy had never seen anything like this. The girl was only at seven centimeters, but the baby was being pushed out... It was almost as if the baby didn't want to wait or Ginny's own body was trying to get the child out of her before she was physically ready.

There was nothing that could be done to reverse labour. Nothing could reverse anything in the oh so beautiful process of making a new life - sex, pregnancy, labour. Stopped, yes - that could be done. Either leave the bed or get an abortion. Or stop the baby's growth, as Hermione and Ginny so creatively did. Reversal, however? No. So what could be done here? What could she do to make the baby go back to the position it was in the night before and stay that way until Ginny was ready?

Before Poppy could think 'nothing,' she was suddenly in the air and was hurled past the Dark Lord before being thrown through the window Remus had been smashed against a few short minutes ago.

Voldemort, who had just walked into the house, closed and warded the front door behind him. The noise from the ongoing battle outside still poured through the now open window to his right, and he was a little irritated by the shouts of random spells and occasional screams from the street. A flick of his wand and the window was up, fulling repaired, clean of both Poppy and Remus' blood, and the noise was gone.

He didn't take a second to look over the house he'd grown up in - in his own opinion, he'd seen too much of it during his childhood. His onyx eyes were fixed on the girl lying in the front hall, barely two meters away from where his own mother had given a life and lost her own about seventy years ago. It would end differently this time, of course - firstly, the child would know its father; that was certain. Secondly, mum wasn't going to die this time around. Because where was the fun in Ginevra's death?

He walked silently to and around her so that he was standing behind her head. She was so focussed on her pain or the birth or maybe both, that she hadn't yet noticed him. He briefly wondered if she'd noticed the absence of that mediwitch he'd just sent out and decided that it would be news to her as well. Not that she'd probably care when she finally realizes who her new... coach... is. He put away his wand and crouched down before reaching out to touch her.

As soon as she felt his fingers on the side of her face, Ginny's pain was instantly forgotten and her mind focussed instead on the face looming above hers. Voldemort.

Voldemort smirked. She didn't think of him as 'Tom' anymore. "Regina," he said, by way of greeting and gave her a quick, cold kiss to the lips.

She gasped against his mouth. Her heart lurched in panic and fear, and she tore her eyes away from his charcoal orbs (through which amusement had flashed through a second ago) to scan the room for Hermione or Madam Pomphrey. "What - ?" she asked,.weakly, barely able to talk. "Where... Mione and Madam Pomph..." her voice trailed off. She thought she felt a burning sensation at the bottom of her stomach as another contraction hit her. She gasped, but otherwise didn't show her pain.

"It's good to see you as well, my Lady," Voldemort murmured, a small smirk playing across his features. He started gently combing her hair back and looked almost bored and absentminded as he answered her inquiry, but his eyes glinted coldly. "I just sent Madam Pomphrey on her way - I never liked her very much. Miss Granger just ran out to the battle a few moments ago. Very interesting twist that brought - just about everything's on blue fire out there. My Death Eaters are having a hard time putting it out - blue bell flames. Used in potions. It seems Severus has taught her well. If he hadn't done such an excellent job of sending you to this house while keeping that old fool in the dark all the while, I'd be angrier with him."

Ginny looked up at him, shocked. No...

Voldemort glanced at her and chuckled softly before getting up. He walked around her, twirling his wand in his fingers, looking a little bored. "Yes, my Lady, he was on my side all along. Severus told me of your pregnancy. He found out from that witch of his. Not that the oh so good and noble Hermione Granger cried about it into his shoulder. I always warned you, sweet, if you're going to give away your secrets, give them to someone who knows at least enough legilimency to confuse a weak amateur. The little mudblood wasn't even fit to do that."

Ginny shook her head. "He couldn't..." she breathed. Dumbledore would have known if Snape had been evil...

"Oh? Why not?" Voldemort asked. He sauntered over to the window and looked out. "He also told me about the Newton Crescent headquarters."

As soon as he said it, Ginny realized the truth. She had heard Snape complaining to Hermione about how angry the Dark Lord was at the time. Later, Harry had started complaining about how gleeful Voldemort was feeling. In the middle of the two incidents, Snape had gone to visit Voldemort. Why hadn't she linked the three incidents before?

"He also sent you here instead of Dumbledore's real safehouse on some island in the Phillipines. If only Wormtail had done as good a job with your living arrangements. I'm quite disappointed with him - there'll be hell to pay if he survives out there." Voldemort paused and shook his head, frowning out the window. "Not that there's a high chance. Your friend got him - blue suits him." He smiled nastily and turned away from the window. "You see, Ginevra, I had asked Peter Pettigrew to clear the house of any sign that it may have ever been an orphanage and get it out of here. And guess what he did? Not only did he leave the numerous beds, chairs and tables in the house, he didn't even bother to take the paperwork and historic records off the property. He got lazy, wrote you that delightful letter from Dumbledore, and stashed the papers in the attic." He shook his head. "If he'd done his job properly, Granger would never have figured it out and McGonagall would still be here for us to capture and use as bait. He could have at least told me - I just read a few minds right now. The man'll lose more than a few limbs when I - "

Ginny suddenly screamed, interrupting him. Throughout his story, she had literally felt her blood run cold and she'd stopped paying attention to the pain in her womb. But now it felt as if her uterus was about to be torn into two. For one insane moment, she thought of picking up the knife Hermione had conjured and cutting herself open to pull her baby out. What did Hermione call it... Cesarean? She didn't notice Voldemort eye her emotionlessly before casually walking to the staircase to lean on the banister.

When she stopped screaming, Voldemort inclined his head toward her stomach in a lazy gesture. "Severus' doing as well," he said, matter-of-fact. "I asked him to cause an early labour. I hadn't thought he would come up with something so quickly. I'm actually quite proud of him. He's a model Death Eater, save for his attraction to that Gryffindor." He paused and eyed her. "But I'd be a hypocrite to reprimand him, wouldn't I, Ginevra?"

And that was as close to a compliment as he would ever get, Ginny suddenly thought bitterly. She forced herself not to listen to him and to focus on giving birth to her child. She felt a wave of contractions coming, and prepared for the pain.

"Give me the silent treatment if you must," Voldemort was now saying. "But I'd be pleased - " He was interrupted by another scream from the redhead. He didn't seem annoyed by this, though, but only let an expression of grudging patience wash over his handsome face as he waited for her to become silent again. When her screams subsided into gasps, he started again. "You should be pleased, Ginevra, that I'd bothered to come to this miraculous event - "

"Why are doing this?!" Ginny suddenly cried out. She turned to look at him, tears in her eyes.

"Why am I doing what, Ginevra?" Voldemort asked, looking quite bored.

Ginny slumped back against the pillows and screwed her eyes shut. "I can't do this..." she whispered. She let out two sobs before looking down at herself. "Oh, Merlin, I'm so sorry..."

"And yet you keep insisting that you're not eleven anymore," Voldemort stated, scathingly. He eyed her and that nasty smirk returned to his lips. "I was going to hold your hand - it's always easier to have a grounding against pain by gripping something, but since you're such a brave little Gryffindor... Let's see what you're really made of, my Lady. Let's see if you can give birth on your own."

"Damn you..." Ginny whispered, barely audibly.

"Of course, if you feel you need me, all you have to do is ask." He had thrown this offer on the table, knowing full well that she would never call for him. She'd take herself and her child to the grave first before turning to him. Six years ago, he wouldn't have needed to give her the offer. Any injury and she would have come to him first instead of going to Pomphrey and she'd peacefully curled up against his chest after letting him fix whatever it was. Gone were the days... Not that he missed them much. He just wasn't someone who healed people - while he'd looked at her, he'd done so with a burning desire to make her hurt worse. Sometimes, he'd given in to temptation and poured unnecessary potions over wounds to watch her cry out when it stung.

Ginny soon started screaming again and he leaned against the banister, waiting for a beg for help that would never come, letting her cries lull him into relaxation.

He'd always been a sadist - the pain of others lessened in him a dull ache that he could never seem to be rid of. It was all over inside of him - his chest, his stomach, sometimes his head... It made him feel sick. Screams and tears were like a medicine - a temporary cure - taking it away for at least a little while. Ginevra had always been such a drug. If her mere presence hadn't been distraction from his illness enough, her agony had taken him to a new high. Perhaps that was why, as she'd lain against him after one of her ordeals, he'd been at peace enough to lay with her for however long she needed without touching her in any harmful way. It was unfortunate for her that her pain brought him a sense of peace. So unfort -

His thoughts were interrupted by a rather loud scream from Ginny becoming accompanied by a new voice. Voldemort's eyes snapped open when he heard the baby's cries.

Ginny almost slumped back against the pillows as a feeling of relief passed over her. She couldn't see her child - only hear his feeble mewling grow into strong, steady wails. What she did see was Voldemort stiffen visibly when he heard him and freeze when his now crimson-tinted eyes found his child. For a brief second, the Dark Lord looked unsure of what to do and he almost ... nervous? Afraid? It was only there for a second, but Ginny caught it. This she would always remember. As soon as it was gone, Voldemort straightened and took a step toward her and Ginny felt panic leap into her throat.

"Don't," she gasped. "Please don't hurt him - "

Voldemort almost rolled his eyes before wandlessly conjuring the knife to his hand. "I won't hurt him, Ginevra... It's not time yet." He silently got down on one knee before swiftly cutting the umbilical cord. He then performed a quick scourgify to clean the child and the towel he was lying on up. Another flick of his wand caused the white towel to wrap itself around the still wailing baby. After half a second's hesitation, he gently and unsurely picked the child up in one arm. The boy immediately stopped his wailing and looked up at him with wide brown eyes.

Voldemort rose and took a second to look his son over. His son. The words brought up something in him and he wasn't quite sure what it was - whatever it was had to be linked to the ritual that would be performed later. The child had pale skin and black hair. As far as babies go, he looked good, Voldemort decided. It was almost a shame that he wouldn't grow up. However, if he could grow up, it was certain he would look very much like his father. The only indication of him being his mother's son were his brown eyes. As the thought registered, he turned from the baby to Ginny to find her staring at him with a glazed, but unreadable expression on her face. He smirked. "It looks like you were right, Ginevra," he stated. He unceremoniously placed the boy next to her shoulder. Ginny stared at the bundle, awe-struck, her own eyes as wide as the boy's had been when he'd looked at his father for the first time. "It's a boy."

Ginny's heart was fluttering inside her chest in nervous excitement. She turned so that she was a bit on her side as she brought a trembling hand to touch her son's face. He stared at her before reaching up to grip her finger and a wide smile spread across his face. Seeing her son smile, Ginny felt a smile forming on her own face before she burst into tears and pulled him closer to her. She was never letting him go - never.

"Touching."

Ginny looked up at Voldemort who was now looking at her with a wry smile.

"You have about ten minutes, Ginevra," he stated. "Then I'm taking him to Little Hangleton to finish this off." The look that came across her eyes then wasn't anger - it was more of a sign of primal instincts to protect her child. The Dark Lord hadn't been expecting it, but he knew what it was - the same look had passed over Lily Potter's face about eighteen years ago. He stiffened inwardly. She wouldn't... Who had ever seen Ginny Weasley sacrifice anything for the sake of another? As Gryffindor as she was, she wouldn't.

"You won't," Ginny said, staring defiantly at him. "You will have to kill me first - "

"And never you doubt that I would not," Voldemort snapped. "I can't have children, Ginevra, so I would not have to fear having a bastard with any woman. So believe me, I have no use for a wife." He eyed her. She was willing to do it - kill herself and use the sacrifice to make her son invincible against him. He decided to change his tactic. "You're a powerful witch - one of the greatest of our time. Don't waste yourself on something that's useless unless dead."

Ginny looked up at him in disbelief. "How can you say that about your own son?" she whispered.

"It's very easy, Ginevra, and it should be easier for you. This child's been the bane of your existence for the last seven years and now you're willing to do anything to protect him? It's hormones talking, and nothing else," Voldemort said, voice hard as steel. He eyed her for a second and he seemed to soften. "Hand him over and go to sleep, Princess. You'll think more clearly after you rest."

Ginny shook her head and glanced down at the baby before turning to the Dark Lord. "No."

Voldemort looked furious at her outright disobediance, but before he could react further, there was a loud thump against the front door, followed by shouts. Voldemort scowled and glanced out the window at the street. The battle was evenly matched now - Death Eaters and Aurors, Vampires and OTP Members, Dementors and DA Members. It was utter chaos out there, but Potter, Longbottom, Lovegood and two of the Weasleys had managed to drag themselves from the battle and were now trying to break through his wards. Scowling, he turned back to his wife and gave her a cold smile. "Fine then, Ginevra, have it your way." He ignored the shock that appeared on her face. "I'll leave him with you for now, but the ritual can be performed at any time within the next seventeen years." He got down on one knee and cupped her cheek before softly kissing her. He then turned to his son and ran his other hand through the child's dark hair in what any outsider would have called an affectionate gesture. He turned back to his wife and gave her a chilling smirk. "Count your son's days, my Lady." And he disapparated.

Harry, Neville, Luna, Ron and Charlie burst through the front door only a second later because he'd taken the wards off before he'd gone. Sounds of the battle rushed in with them, but numerous cracks also sounded with the entrance - the Death Eaters and their allies were leaving. Alerted by their yelling, Ginny turned to look at the five of them and as soon as she saw them, she promptly fainted.

xXxXxXxXx

Ginny groaned a little and softly opened her eyes. The blinding sunlight pouring through the window made her close them again. She wished someone would shut the green curtains...

"Ginny?" a nervous voice asked.

"Mione?" Ginny asked. Hearing the brunette's voice brought back everything that had happened before she'd fainted and her eyes snapped open. She met Hermione's troubled eyes for a second before looking down to her right to see her son, who was sleeping peacefully in a small cradle.

"I'm sorry," Hermione suddenly whispered.

"What?" Ginny asked, looking up at her.

Hermione got up from the neighbouring bed she'd been sitting on and turned away. "I'm so sorry, I should've known he was working for them..."

"It's alright, Mi. No one knew," she said. She tried sitting up, but found a pain in her stomach that stalled her. "Help me up, please?" she asked.

Hermione turned to her and she blinked, before coming to her side and helping her sit up against the headboard. "I can't believe I'd been so stupid..."

Ginny looked around, hit by a sudden feeling of deja vu. "Has this happened before?" she asked.

Hermione also looked around. "We were here seven years ago," she said. "These same beds. I was lying here..." She nodded to the bed Ginny was now on.

Ginny smiled weakly. "See? We're square."

Hermione nodded slowly. "I suppose it started here for me. This whole story, I mean."

"Not for me, though. It started down in the Chamber of Secrets." She looked at her son. "May I hold him?"

"Of course!" Hermione gently picked him up and placed him in Ginny's arms.

Ginny cradled in against her chest and stared at him. "I can't believe this," she murmured. "It doesn't feel real." She gently brushed back some of his hair and looked up at Hermione, who was smiling, eyes sparkling. "I just can't get over it. This is my baby."

"Arthur was here," Hermione suddenly said.

Ginny looked at her, surprised.

Hermione nodded. "He just left - he desperately needed sleep. He'd stayed up with you the whole night. You should have seen his face when he held your baby - he'd never looked more proud. It was so heartwarming. He held him forever - the baby seems to like him as well. He wanted to talk to you..." Her voice trailed off and she smiled, seeing the pleased look on Ginny's face.

They sat in silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts.

Ginny was having a hard time believing that she was sitting safely with a friend, her child in her arms. The previous night, she'd thought they would both die. She frowned a little. "He said he may kill him any time within the next seventeen years," she said, softly. She looked at Hermione. "Why?"

Hermione took a deep breath and told her about the prophecy, Voldemort's ritual, how they'd found out about Ginny's pregnancy... Her voice cracked many times. It seemed Snape had played a major role. "He has the next seventeen years to do it because he himself had killed his father when he was seventeen," Hermione finished.

"How do we know all of this?" Ginny asked after taking a moment to absorb everything.

"We captured Igor Karakoff last night. Veritaserum. He told us everything."

Ginny nodded, understanding. Another moment passed in silence before Hermione spoke up again. "Gin?" she asked.

"Hm?"

"What will you name him?"

Ginny blinked. She hadn't thought of that. Something occurred to her and she frowned. "I suppose his last name can't be Weasley? Since I'm married?"

Hermione thought for a second, and looked a little pained. "I'm... not sure... " she murmured.

Ginny looked down at her son, and a soft smile graced her features. She looked at Hermione, face serious, but peaceful. "Tom." She turned back to her son and gently kissed his forehead. "Tom Arthur Riddle."

xXxXxXxXxXx

A/N

Creatress- YOU THINK OF A BETTER NAME!!!

Tom - What?! WHAT?!?!

Gin - I think it's a good name!

Creatress - You can't tell me you liked "Micheal"??

Tom - ...

Creatress - Didn't think so. Review replies!!

mary - I'm so evil, I know I waited loooooooooong after I got the tenth review, but this was a hard chapter!! Please forgive! Thx for the review!

Emma - I'm so evil!! I know!! And yes, the circle would be unbroken that way as well, wouldn't it, but there's still the chance that Tom III would get angry at Tom II for everything Ginny went through and kill him the way Tom II got pissed at Tom the Original for everything Merope went through and killed him... Thx for the reviews - I love reading them!

firefly of hell - lovely name!! Yeah, I explained a LOT in that chapter. Hope this chapter cleared up the attic scene! Thx for the review!

DracoGinnyLover24 - Thx for your review!!! Why couldn't you sign in though? (narrows eyes suspiciously, wondering if this is the true DGL24)

Creatress- Readers -

Tom - There are better names to name a kid than Tom!!! ARGH!

Creatress -...

Readers, what do you think? Good labour/birth scene? Tom a good name? Ten of you have to tell me!!

Chapter 8 won't be posted until I get TEN REVIEWS!!