Spending New Year's Eve sitting on a sofa doing essentially nothing but being pregnant would have been boring for Mia Black if she hadn't been right in the middle of a Weasley celebration at the Burrow. Honestly, she thought, who could have been bored with all the shouting, laughing and the million conversations that happened at the same time everywhere?
Between herself, Sirius and the kids, all the Weasleys, excluding Percy and Bill, Remus and Tonks, Lulu and Gabe and a handful of other people, which included dates and more friends of the family, the welcoming of the year of 1997 had had been one hell of a mess and Mia had loved every minute of it. She'd spent some enjoyable time talking to her friends, thought, along with Lulu, a Muggle card game they used to play when she was little to Arthur Weasley, and even had a chance to snog her husband when midnight sounded and the New Year started. By the time it was over and most people had already gone home, she was both delighted and exhausted.
"Maybe you should stay until the morning and rest a little," a concerned Molly Weasley told Mia half an hour into the New Year as she stood in front of the Burrow's fireplace, ready to go back home. "I just don't think it's safe for you to take the floo if you're tired, dear."
Mia smiled and shook her head. "I'm not that tired, Molly," she lied, not very smoothly. "My back just hurts a little, which I suppose must be normal because of all this weight," she told her, patting the large bump.
"It can't be much longer, can it?" the redhead asked her.
"Elizabeth calculated the due date for next Saturday but we all know babies don't usually care about that," Mia pointed out.
"I was nearly two-weeks overdue when it was Ron's turn," Molly told her. "Lazy even to be born, that boy. Anyway, one day I just got up and said 'young man, either you get out of there on your own will or I'll have to make you!' Less than a day later, he was born."
Mia chuckled. "If this little one gets that far, maybe I'll give your way a try," she promised. "But there really is no need for me to stay, Molly. I'm perfectly alright. Besides, you'll have your hands full with Harry and Izzy staying here tonight."
Molly waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, you know they're no trouble. Bill is in France with the Delacours – you and Sirius can perfectly take his room for one night. No need to risk a bad landing out of the fireplace – Merlin knows that wouldn't be any good for the baby…"
"Sirius hasn't let me floo anywhere alone for the past weeks, Molly. He'll side with me as soon as he comes back," Mia assured her. Sirius had headed home ahead of her with little Alex so he could put their sleeping son to bed before coming back to get her. She might have complained about that side-flooing arrangement a few months before but, honestly, nowadays magical transportation in general made her a bit nervous since it wasn't infrequent for people to end up sprawled on the floor after a missed landing – not a good idea with a bump as big as hers. "You know how protective he gets of the baby."
Molly sighed but nodded. "Ah, well, if you're sure…" she said in defeat. "Just promise me you'll send a Patronus back as soon as you arrive. It would give me a little peace of mind knowing you'd gotten home safely."
"I promise, Molly," Mia told her with a smile just as the sound of vibrant shouts coming from the outside increased, followed by a bunch of high, mocking voices.
"Oh, don't tell me they're still not done with that blasted snowball fight," the redheaded woman said, shaking her head as she made her way closer to the kitchen's window, followed by Mia. "It's past midnight, for Merlin's sake!"
"It's New Year's, Molly. They're having fun," Mia replied with a smile.
Looking out the window, she saw Harry and Ron reconstructing a partly ruined snow fort as, several feet opposite them, Charlie Weasley and one of the twins hurriedly made snowballs, dropping them on a large pile by their side. Izzy and Ginny weren't far away, the first hiding behind a tree covering from attacks and the other carefully moving towards her older brothers, clearly planning to ambush them. Mia imagined Harry, Ron, Ginny and Izzy were forming a team against Charlie and the twins, though one of them was still missing.
At some point, Ron grabbed a handful of snow and made it into a ball, throwing it tamely at his brothers, who laughed at the attempt, which revealed itself as a distraction when Ginny literally jumped on top of them. At the same time, the missing twin – Mia has no idea if he was Fred or George – showed up behind Izzy out of nowhere and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her from the floor and bringing her to the centre of the battlefield to use her as a shield. Izzy didn't remain passive, though, letting out a scream and kicking and elbowing her kidnapper.
Huffing, Molly opened the window, letting out a breeze of freezing winter air, and poked her head out as Mia let out a laugh. "George, you put that girl down right now! You're twice her size – you'll hurt her!"
"No, I won't, Mom – she's a light-weight. One barely needs to use force to lift he…"
A successfully placed elbow in the ribs and a head-blow against his chin had him biting his own tongue and shouting a string of profanities out loud, which had Izzy grinning triumphantly and asking 'who's the light-weight now?', though the older boy still didn't drop her.
"If I ever hear those words come out of your mouth again, George Fabian Weasley, I'll jinx your tongue together with the roof of your mouth!" Molly yelled furiously before turning to Ginny, who was busy pinning Fred on the ground, over what used to be her older brothers' fort, and yelling at him to forfeit as Charlie struggled to escape the snowballs thrown by Harry and Ron.
"What did I miss?" Sirius's voice came from behind Mia, who hadn't even noticed him flooing over.
"The snowball fight has just turned into a vicious battle," Mia whispered with a smile as he wrapped one arm around her back, standing by her side.
"Well, look at that," he said in amusement. He reached for the window and gave his best to make himself sound angry as he shouted outside. "Hey, Weasley! Whose daughter do you think you're using as a shield? I ought to go out there and kick your arse!"
Instead of George, who was too busy avoiding Izzy's kicks, Charlie was the one replying for his brother. "All's fair in war, Sirius!" And following that thought, he reached for his wand and pointed at a tree behind Harry and Ron, causing all the snow that had been piled on the branches to fall on top of the two boys, catching them by surprise.
"Hey!" Harry yelled as he dug himself out of the snow pile. "That's cheating!"
"Yeah! We're underage – we can't use magic!" Ron agreed.
Charlie snorted. "Too bad! You guys had an extra team-member!"
Ginny, unsatisfied by her brother's reasons, used Charlie's distraction to pull the back of his winter cloak, creating a gap between his clothes and his skin, and shoved a handful of snow down his back which had him jumping at the cold and cursing her very existence.
Fuming, Molly Weasley yelled at them. "Alright, everyone inside and to bed! Now! I can't believe I have raised a bunch of savages!"
Outside, both teams groaned and unsuccessfully tried to change the matriarch's mind. They ended up promising a rematch for the following morning when they concluded they wouldn't be successful and had to break the fight up temporarily.
"Your hair is all covered with snow," Ginny said with a laugh as she approached her boyfriend on their way into the house.
Harry grunted. "I know. It's melting all over my neck," he mumbled with a shiver, trying to get it out.
"Head down," she ordered in order to help him get the snow off and then using the Gryffindor scarf around his neck to dry it a little. "There. We'll get them back for that tomorrow," she promised him before they walked arm in arm into the warmness of the Burrow.
"Lil' minx almost had me hacking half my tongue out," George was complaining, mock-glaring at Izzy as Harry and Ginny closed the door behind them.
Sirius proudly rested a hand on his daughter's shoulder and grinned. "That's my girl. Give 'em a fight," he told his daughter as Molly left the kitchen, hurrying Charlie into the nearest bathroom to help him dry the melting snow all over his back. "You know, next time you guys make a snowball fight and I'm around, I want in," he informed them all.
"Fine by us," Fred told him. "We'd never refuse a chance to have a Marauder in our team."
"You mean our team," Ginny corrected. "He's Izzy's dad and Harry's godfather, which naturally would give us the first call."
"Except you guys already have four members," George pointed out.
"Well, you can keep Ron if you want to," she stated.
Her brother was caught by surprise. "Hey! Why me?"
"Because you're the oldest of our side and, honestly, because our team doesn't care for guys with lame nicknames such as Won-Won and annoying girlfriends," his sister spat back. "It's a matter of principle."
Mia chuckled. "Well, I guess we'll just leave you to fight over Sirius and tell us the results later. We were just heading home."
"Oh, right now?" Harry asked.
"It will be one in the morning in twenty minutes," Mia told her, rubbing her stomach. "The baby needs a little rest, I reckon."
Bidding them goodnight, Izzy took a step to approach her parents, pressed a kiss to each of their cheeks and wished them a Happy New Year and Harry did the same, though he replaced the kisses with a couple of more boyish hugs.
After a bunch of warnings to behave directed to their kids and a quick farewell with the Weasleys, Sirius stepped into the fireplace, his arms firmly circling his wife's form in order to provide her with support, and the two flooed away, headed home. They successfully landed straight into the kitchen and only then he loosened his grip on Mia, picking her up from the floor instead and pressing a kiss to her lips. "Happy New Year," he whispered as he took her up to their room.
"Hum, I was under the impression we'd already had our 'Happy New Year' kiss," Mia pointed out, smiling. She would have protested about him carrying her but it felt so comfortable and she was so sick of walking…
"One can never have too many of these, can they?"
"I guess not," she agreed. "Is Alex all tucked in? Did he wake up when you brought him?"
"Yes, he's tucked in, and no, he didn't wake up. That kid sleeps like the dead – didn't even notice when I changed him into his pyjamas," Sirius informed her, entering their room. "And now, I'll change his Mummy into her nightgown and I'll tuck her into bed. How about that?"
"Doesn't sound all that bad," she agreed as he sat her down on the edge of their bed. "This is gonna be a rough year, isn't it?"
Yes, it was, Sirius thought. Everything seemed to be pointing that way. "All years are rough," he offered, looking down as he helped her out of her shoes. As his mind came up with a silver lining, he looked up and gave her a smile. "We sure will have our hands full between the nappies and the sleepless nights, hum?" As he motioned to stand, he pressed his lips to her belly softly.
The corners of her mouth curled and, for a moment, he was sure he had succeeded in getting her mind off the dark thoughts. "Two teenagers, a toddler and a newborn," she said. "That's going to be quite a challenging ride."
"I always liked a good challenge. I'm sure I'll especially like this one."
She smiled even more widely. "Yeah, me too." And minutes later, when they lay together in bed and the lights were turned off, Mia slept peacefully with no sign of the other, darker, challenges that were ahead of them.
She woke up suddenly at half past three in the morning, probably in the most uncomfortable way possible. Through the shock of gaining complete consciousness so abruptly, she noted that her lower back felt as if somebody was breaking it as did her abdomen. It didn't take her more than a second to realize she was having a contraction – a ridiculously painful and long one. "Crap," she managed to gasp through her teeth before it started to subside several seconds later and let herself take a long, deep breath.
It had been unbelievably strong, considering she'd just started feeling the labour pains – could she have slept through the whole first part of it? No, of course not. She wasn't such a heavy sleeper. It was happening fast, that was the only explanation. And she wasn't sure if she should feel relieved or nervous about it…
Glancing at the Sirius's form in the bed, she felt her head boiling with anger. He'd slept through the whole thing! "Bastard," Mia hissed bitterly. How unfair was that? She was right there, still catching her breath from one hell of a contraction caused by the impending birth of his kid and the guy was just lying by her side, enjoying the delights of calm, careless sleep. Well, if she'd gotten a rude awakening, so was he, she decided, shoving her elbow into his ribs so hard that he nearly rolled out of bed with the shock. Mia imagined, in spiteful delight, that in whatever dream he'd been having, her husband had all of a sudden been ran over by the Hogwarts Express or a herd of centaurs.
Sirius's eyes were startled when he came awake, suddenly looking everywhere, completely confused. "Wha… what the… where's the attack?" He looked at his wife and saw her glaring, which only confused him further. "What?"
She didn't let herself soften up by the label of 'cute' that she gave to his confusion in the back of her mind, keeping the glare intact. "There's no attack, you idiot!"
"Then what? It's three-something in the morning," he mumbled, still not quite alert.
"What do you think? I'm in labour!" she snapped.
"In… oooh," he mumbled, realization dawning. Then, his face lit up slightly. "The baby's coming."
"What are you smiling ab…" She suddenly pursed her lips and her whole face tensed, her hand grasping the bed sheets as another contraction hit her. She felt the bed moving and, before she knew it, Sirius was sitting on the edge of her side of the bed, one arm around her back as he pulled her against him for comfort and his hand in hers so she could grasp it. It didn't help much with the uncomfortable pain but it did ease her nerves and her temper a bit. When she let out another relieved breath, afterwards, he was shoving his pillow behind her back and looking at her in concern.
"You okay?" he asked her, his face half-buried in her hair.
"Been better," Mia replied, not letting go of his hand. "Get Elizabeth here, okay? Tell her to hurry because I don't think this baby is going to make us wait very long. It's coming fast."
"How fast?" he asked nervously.
"Fast," she repeated.
He really didn't want to leave her side for a single second in an occasion like that – he wanted to make sure she was alright – but he just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that she might end up having the kid without Elizabeth there to help. "Okay. I'll go downstairs and floo her." He didn't even remember he could simply send her a Patronus from right where he stood…
"And cast an imperturbable charm around Alex's room. I don't want him to wake up with me screaming bloody murder."
"But will you be okay here by yourself? I can call out for Kreacher…"
Mia shook her head. "No need. Just don't take long and get your arse back here as soon as you're done," she added firmly as he was about to get up. "Hey," she called him back before he had a chance to actually do it. "Whatever I say from now on, remember that I'll probably love you again by the time this is all over."
He smiled and couldn't resist having his lips touching hers in a very soft kiss. "I know." Then, he pressed another kiss to her forehead. "I'll be right back, love. If you think the baby's about to come out…"
"I'll use all the insults I can remember," she tried to joke.
"Yeah, you do that," he mumbled.
And as he hurried out of the room, Mia's hand softly caressed her belly and she let out a sigh, followed by a smile. That baby was about to get out of her. Thank Merlin, she thought. Another week feeling like an enormous walrus and she'd have sold herself to the nearest zoo for a bargain. A new year followed by a new baby – she should have known. Blacks did have a tendency to make grand entrances into the world right around special occasions: Izzy a few days before Christmas, Alex in the eve of hers and Sirius's birthday and baby number three in New Year's Day. "Be a good baby and come out just easily, okay? Mommy's tired."
The answer was another contraction and she groaned, not sure of how to interpret it. A temper, she thought. Typical…
"You were in a hurry, weren't you, little one?" Sirius asked in a whisper as he rocked the tiny blanket-wrapped form, pacing along the hall right outside his and Mia's room. "Gave Mommy and Daddy quite a jolt."
The baby let out a little whimper but didn't start crying, instead opening those sleepy newborn blue eyes to look up at Sirius, making him smile. He might have been kicked out of the room by Elizabeth so she and her trainee (Melanie? Mabel? He just couldn't remember the girl's name) could help Mia 'freshen up', but at least they'd let him come out in good company. His heart had one more owner now – that tiny little bundle of joy, so soft and warm that it seemed to melt in his arms. A hundred times worth the wait, he thought with a proud grin.
A miniature arm managed to sneak out of the yellow blanket, revealing the soft white bodysuit the trainee had dressed the baby with, and flung itself against the air above before Sirius got a hold of it, admiring how little the hand seemed. Poor thing – the baby had looked rather stunned right after being born so fast. The little one had waited a couple of seconds to figure out what the heck had just happened before showing him and Mia what a great pair of lungs it owned by wailing like there was no tomorrow. His soul had shaken all over at that sound, pride and elation running through his veins.
When she opened the room's door and poked her head out, Elizabeth Harper smiled at the picture in front of her. She could never accuse that guy of not loving his children. The look in his eyes right then was of pure adoration. "Hey, you with the kid," she called Sirius. "Mia's demanding the baby back, since she was the one who had to go through those very painful three hours of labour."
"She wasn't the only one who was in pain – she actually broke my hand this time!" he replied in a soft tone, trying not to startle the newborn, who he kept observing with delight.
The healer laughed. "Yeah, and you didn't notice until I told you so – hopefully she won't remember any of this and conclude that you've clearly numbed your hand… again."
He looked up in alarm. "Shh, Harper! Mia may hear you!" Sirius warned her, walking his into the room as the blonde chuckled at his terror. "Sadist," he hissed at her.
"Yes. I live to give you grief," she replied sarcastically.
When the bed came into his view, Mia was lying in it, smiling tiredly as she saw him arriving with their baby. "Can I hold my daughter now or will you simply monopolize her for the rest of her life?" she asked, forcing an annoyed look onto her face.
He smiled as he sat on the edge of their bed. "I think I'm hooked for life all over again." There was that little girl, barely half-an-hour old, and he knew he could die for her. He could kill for her. He wanted her to be around forever. "This one will never… ever date."
"That's what you used to say about Izzy when you learned about her," Mia pointed out as her husband passed her the baby. She looked down at her daughter and, once again, counted the little girl's fingers just to make sure she'd been right the first time and there were actually five on each hand… It seemed unreal that the baby she'd carried round for nine months was right there in her arms – even more unreal that that had been the baby she'd feared having lost because of that battle at the Department of Mysteries. Miracle or not, now she had a perfectly healthy baby in her arms.
"Well, Izzy already owned a wand when we met," he said. "As much as I love her, I have a feeling that one possesses a hidden nerve that would allow her to hex me, her beloved father, if I pushed the wrong buttons…"
Elizabeth joined in and snorted. "Well, she's your daughter – it's only natural Izzy may have inherited part of your lack of respect," the healer told him with a glare, continuing before he had a chance to spit back some answer. "Well, I'll leave you guys alone for a moment to enjoy your daughter. I need to take Mabel to the fireplace so she can go home and to make a floo call or two…"
"I'll give you the lack of respect…" he mumbled as the healer shook her head and exited the room along with her trainee, leaving the two of them alone with the baby. "She's all annoyed at me because I nearly walked in on her with some bloke. It's not my fault she wouldn't answer the call and I had to physically floo her home… it was an emergency. I had no idea her father had taken her kids to his place so she could have her 'date'."
Mia looked interested. "Did you see who it was?"
He shook his head. "I didn't actually enter the room… Though I think his voice sounded familiar. Can't place it, though…"
"It wasn't Ludo Bagman was it?" his wife asked, recalling that it wouldn't be the first time her friend ended up in bed with her ex husband.
"I don't think so…" He shrugged. "You know what? Let's quit talking about Elizabeth's… 'adventures'. It will corrupt our little Mary."
Mia looked at him in surprise. "Mary?"
"Well, you said I would be the one to pick her name. It took me a while, but I settled with Mary. After one of my favourite women in the world and probably also one of the first I've ever loved."
She gave him a doubtful look – hadn't the guy been telling her for years she'd been the first he'd ever loved. "Is there something I should know about?" she asked stiffly.
Sirius grinned. "Don't get all jealous, woman. I meant Judy Potter, James's mother. She was as good as mine too." He sighed thoughtfully. "Hell of a woman, that one. Anyway, as Judith sounded kind of old-fashioned, I went for her middle name, which is always classic. Do you like it?"
Over the little burst of jealousy, she felt touched by his reasons. "I think I do. Mary Black has a nice ring on it." Her daughter… Mary. Yes, it sounded perfect. She reached down and placed a kiss on the newborn's forehead, making the baby shift slightly. "What about the middle name? Are you still sticking with Elizabeth?"
He frowned slightly. "Yeah, about that… I kind of changed my mind. Mary Elizabeth just makes her sound so… goody two shoes. Blacks are far from goody. What do you think of Mary Harper Black instead? It still counts as naming her after Elizabeth."
"Merlin, you are a mess with the naming thing, aren't you?" his wife asked in an amused tone.
"Yeah, I guess," he admitted with a laugh. "Well, you're the one who made me do it. And you still haven't said if you liked it."
"I love it, Sirius." Carefully holding the baby with just one arm, Mia used her other hand to cup his face before reaching to kiss him. "I love you. And our babies: every single one of them. I'm just so happy right now."
He chuckled. "Join the club, love," he told her. "And now that we've named this little princess, what about her godparents? We didn't really speak of that before."
"No, we didn't. But why do I feel like you already have a couple of candidates in mind?"
He grinned, stretching by her side on the bed so he was lying down too. "Which couple that we know and love is in need of a push to get themselves into a deeper stage of commitment?"
Mia sighed. "Remus and Tonks . You'll never leave them alone, will you?"
"That's exactly what makes me a great friend to them. Come on, nothing says 'just go ahead and propose to her already' like handing them a goddaughter to share," he said, reaching to offer a finger for his little girl to grasp when she started whimpering for attention. "Plus Tonks will make a great godmother – Mary here will have the time of her life with her around and since Moony is Alex's godfather too, he'll tag along. Free babysitting all around. What do you say?"
Mia sighed. "Well, Tonks is one of the few members of your family that I like and I suppose she'd be a positive influence around Mary…"
He sighed, looking proudly at the girl in question. "Our little girl's a beautiful baby. Despite the wrinkling and the reddish colour, I mean. The kids are in for one hell of a surprise – bet they weren't expecting to get a sister for New Year's."
"You should probably owl the Burrow telling them."
Sirius shook his head, smirking. "Oh, I have a much better way planned to tell them." He looked up to face her. "You look tired, love. Why don't you sleep a little now and let Daddy handle the parenting for a while?"
She was about to deny that she was tired but the yawn that came out of her mouth gave her away. "Alright, maybe I could rest a little," she offered, lying further down after Sirius carefully removed the baby from her arms. "Wake me up when Alex gets out of bed, will you?"
"Hum, hum," he said, nodding.
"And don't let Mary get cold," Mia added, full of motherly worry. "Keep the blanket around her."
"Don't worry, Mommy," he said, tightening the blanket around the little girl just in case. It occurred to him how amazing it was that less than five years before, he'd been a desperate bloke running away from prison hoping, only hoping, that the woman he loved had waited for him. Now, there he was with her lying by his side, holding his newborn child for the second time in his life. "It's great having a family, you know, Mary?"
The baby yawned, relaxing against her father's arms and drifting slowly to sleep as her mother had, oblivious to what he's said.
He wished he could be that innocent and careless and not know how messed up the world they lived in was. Maybe it wouldn't be so messed up by the time Mary was old enough to walk. Maybe she and Alex would grow in a peaceful world. Certainly, if he needed another reason to fight for it, he was holding her right now. He couldn't really complain, Sirius concluded – he had more than enough reasons to fight and to hope, he had complete trust in the boy in whose hands the fate of the world rested on and, all in all, he was a pretty happy bloke.
And with that thought in his mind, Sirius black watched his newborn daughter sleep with a smile on his face.
A/N: So, after around eleven chapters of pregnancy, the youngest Black makes an entrance into the world. Hope you all liked it! Feedback is welcome. Review!