February 17th, 1971
Deus, along with the rest of the Dumbledore McGonagall household, was fighting sleep desperately. It was now very nearly midnight, and Poppy had made no predictions regarding the arrival of the newest Dumbledore. Sedna had gone into labor just after lunch. She was healthy, and they were both doing quite well, according to Madam Pomfrey's hourly reports, but Deus' nephew apparently intended to rival his sister in stubborn behavior. Damara had been put to bed long ago, lulled to sleep by Uncle Deus' lullabies. The adults were now left to pace the study, waiting for any news. Albus and Neptune tried to beguile the time with a half-hearted game of chess. Euripides, Sedna's father Bragi, and Ariadne, Daphne's girlfriend were all discussing international Quidditch teams. Bragi was a very strong fan of the Nordic team, but as the seeker for the Montrose Magpies, about to go out for the National team of Britain, Ariadne had rather strong feels about his preferences. Euripides, who had very little interest in Quidditch, was merely trying to prevent an open fight. Deus was toying with a composition he had been laboring over for the past month.
Since becoming an uncle, a few subtle changes had taken place in Deus' life. He became a more regular occupant of his home country, both in his London apartment and the family home in Invergeldie. His tour schedule had been thinned out to the essentials, with the heavier touring seasons skirting around any holidays. His fanbase was still quite strong, and he had a full roster of students because of it. All these things kept him very well supported. He continued to record albums and tour with great classical works. But he had recently started putting serious work into writing his own music. He found that he could not quite connect to the music of others on as deep a level as the improvisational sessions he started a few years ago. Finally, his manager suggested he start making compositions from his improvisation. It would take another year or two, but Deus dreamed of eventually releasing an album and touring with his own original compositions. He had two solid songs for the album, after six months of work.
Looking for distractions he glanced around the room. His uncle Neptune was in a foul mood. Ever since Deirdre died, childbirth had always driven him to a particularly dark melancholy. But Deus also knew that his uncle was trying to reconnect with his estranged son, Mars. The boy was in his seventh year at Hogwarts. Like his mother, he had a special interest in magical creatures, and wanted to study abroad in his field after graduation. Neptune was desperately attempting to establish a relationship with Mars before that happened. His efforts were not as well-received as he would have hoped.
Over on the other side of the room, the debate was subsiding into exasperated gestures and disgusted sighs with Euripides desperately fishing for the next conversation. Deus smirked at the arrangement of the room. He was deeply fond of Ariadne. The twenty-two year old Quidditch player meshed impeccably with the rest of the family. He had seen her around Hogwarts, and maybe even spotted her on the Quidditch pitch the few times he was forced to make an appearance. Her flyaway brown hair and sharply green eyes held the same flash and verve as his sister's. They were both so young and excited about life. After his exhausting week, he felt a slight tinge of envy at their energy. And while he had yet to see such a thing happen, Deus secretly wished for the day he could see Ariadne and his mother go toe-to-toe in an argument. The young witch was very opinionated, and gave little heed to where her disagreements fell. He privately suspected that this wiry, snappy little lady might actually best his mother if it came down to it. Until that theory could be proven, he would simply stand by, an avid spectator of her off the field challenges.
With nothing less than fatigued resignation, Deus resumed his incessant etching of music to parchment.
/*\/*\/*\
In Sedna and Theseus' room upstairs, the atmosphere was equally tense. This tension, however, freely flowed in the volume of noise in the room. This particular suite of rooms was equally crowded as the study downstairs. Minerva and Eir were on either side of the large bed, encouraging Sedna with each contraction. Teddy sat next to his wife, and desperately held her hand, wishing that his efforts could somehow provide a swifter end to her struggle. Poppy and Daphne were conferring at the end of the bed. Close to the end of her Healer's training, Sedna and Poppy had agreed to allow Daphne to observe the delivery. Daphne had even brewed, under heavy supervision, Sedna's pain-relieving potions.
Meanwhile, Sedna was her typical sedate, majestic self, despite the prolonged arrival of her son. She had been through this entire process once before, knew the awe and wonder of the end result, and was perfectly willing to savor the anticipation that was building before this moment. Indeed, as the parent of a toddler, this labor had been the longest, uninterrupted stretch of time she had devoted to anything in the past eighteen months. Earlier in the evening, she had had a lovely chance to simply talk with Teddy. Between the arrival of their daughter less than two years ago and the rising pressure in the Auror office at Voldemort's rise, the two had hardly a minute to themselves at work or home. Their weeks were spent in the cozy London flat they had purchased. Damara went to the Ministry child-care three times a week, while Theseus worked part-time in the Auror Department. Both Sedna and Theseus were deeply devoted to their careers, but Sedna had advanced quite quickly to a high level of responsibility. Thus, it was agreed that Teddy would stay with the children and work part-time until they were able to have a house-elf baby-sit them during the day. The nursery was prepared for the new arrival, their child-care plans were arranged, everything was perfectly, impeccably planned. Such calm, clear-headed organization was part of Sedna's popularity in the Auror department.
After another contraction, during which Poppy promised that it couldn't be more than another hour, Sedna was still filled with the same sense of peace and calm that had flowed through the entire labor process.
/*\/*\/*\
Minerva was nearly ready to explode. She had sat by her daughter-in-law's bed for the past several hours. Everything was far too calm. It may have simply been the stress of the moment, and the anticipation of the impending arrival, but Minerva knew that more than one impetus was at play on her jangled nerves.
First, this was another grandchild to worry about. Voldemort was clearly moving, and tragically aware of the exact extent of the Duembledore-McGonagall family. Sedna and Teddy's marriage began in battle, and she was terrified that the growth of their family made them more vulnerable to attack. Never the less, she loved her granddaughter very dearly. But she would have to insist that Teddy take a house-elf as a nanny, if nothing else than to protect the children more thoroughly. And on top of their family, both Sedna and Teddy were rapidly climbing ranks in the Auror office, making them both higher profile targets for Dark Wizards than ever before. These thoughts stole hours of sleep each night.
And Neptune was in a terrible state. Mars had finally, after two years of cajoling, been persuaded to spend Christmas at the McGonagall estate. He had seemed to enjoy himself, despite occasional fights with his father. But now, a more recent dispute drove him to silent scorn his father all together. It was a very trying time, not only for Minerva's poor, melancholic brother, but for the entire family. They had loved the boy when he was living on the estate, and were eager to have him back in the family. The tension of that situation alone had her nerves raw.
Deus was also gaining prominence in the musical world. It was only a matter of time before someone uncovered his true background, and that could lead to incessant revelations that would send her family to the altar of public commentary. Daphne was making noises about proposing to Ariadne, and another wedding was the last kind of stress Minerva needed at the moment. To top all of these worries off, Minerva and Albus had two children under the age of five. While the first one had been rather unplanned, the second had seemed a necessity. They were both incredibly gifted, magically, just as their other siblings had been. But this made them an exceptional handful. Poor Professor McGonagall felt herself at the breaking point.
So it was, half an hour later, when Sedna finally started the pushing stage of labor, Minerva's encouragements were louder than the yells of the woman in labor.
At the end of it all, Wotan Thanatos Brian McGonagall Dumbledore became another great joy in her life, and worry for her soul.
