Chapter Twenty-five
The Big Day
September 1978
It was finally getting less hot every day. Florence was feeling heavier and more tired than ever. Eileen was around her all the time. She still had one more month to go. One more month and she would finally see her babies faces.
LINHA
October 3rd , 1978
James and Lily were going to come to Eileen's for dinner that night.
Florence was taking a shower, sitting on a chair under the shower head. Eileen had put it there in case Florence felt too weak to stand. Her belly was huge. Eileen waited for her by the bathroom door.
Then they heard the doorbell.
"Flor, I'll go down there to open the door. It'll only take a minute. Wait for me. Don't try to stand up on your own."
"Ok, Eileen." Florence murmured, smiling. "This grandma of yours." she talked to her sons. "She's always worried about us and your father..." the boys kicked hard, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't understand how you two can know... ouch... every time I think of him or he's near us you two react..." the pain came again, stronger now. "Stop it, boys! Ouch!" and then she felt it, something wet between her legs, something different from the water falling on her head. "Eileen!" she screamed.
She heard the rapid foot steps on the stairs and Eileen and Lily appeared in the bathroom.
"What happened, Florence?"
"They're coming, Eileen." she looked at her friend. "Hi, Lily. Oww. I'm having the babies, noooww."
"Lily, ask Tiffany to bring all the things we need. She knows it all, we were already prepared for this." Eileen helped Florence to put on her robe and walk to the bed. James and Sirius were inside the room, looking scared. "You two. Get that plastic sheet and cover the bed with it, please." the boys quickly obeyed. Eileen helped Florence to lie down. "Now, James, go to Hogwarts and call Madam Pomfrey here. Sirius, you can wait in the corridor."
Soon Lily and Tiffany were back with everything they would need.
It took Pomfrey 20 minutes to get to Eileen's house.
"How are you, my dear?" asked Pomfrey as she entered the room.
"Not so good." gasped Florence. "It hurts. Oww. A lot. And the contractions are happening every 5 minutes or so." Florence was all red faced and sweating a lot. "Ooouch!"
"Let's bring these babies into this world then." said Pomfrey smiling.
LINHA
James and Sirius were in the corridor, waiting for something to happen.
"When could we have ever imagined that one day we would be at Snape's bedroom door waiting for his kids to be born?" asked James.
"Never. It's totally bizarre, right?" said Sirius, realizing what he had just admitted.
"Yeah. I already imagined that they weren't yours..." said James.
"But I'll look after them and Florence. I'll make them happy."
"I don't doubt you, my friend." said James.
"I didn't know it took so long for a baby to be born..." murmured Sirius.
And then they heard the first cry.
"It's James, man!"exclaimed Sirius. "James is here!"
They hugged. And less than 10 minutes later they heard the second cry.
"Nicholas is here too!" exclaimed Sirius.
LINHA
When the first baby cried, Florence cried with him, while pushing for the second baby to come out as well. Eileen, crying with happiness, held a screaming James in her arms. Once Nicholas was born, Pomfrey checked the two babies and Lily helped Florence to sit up in the bed. Eileen gave Florence the two kicking boys. As soon as they found their mother's nipple they started to suck and calmed down. James was the first baby to open his eyes.
"Look, Eileen. His eyes!"
"James has his father's eyes." murmured Eileen, crying harder.
When Nicholas stopped eating he also opened his eyes.
"Nick has my eyes..." said Florence.
Eileen helped Florence to close her robe. The babies fell asleep in their mom's arms.
"They are both in great health, Florence." Pomfrey said after she finished cleaning and organizing everything. "I'll go back to the castle. Call me if you need anything and next week I'll come here to check you three again, ok?"
"Ok, Madam Pomfrey. Thank you for everything. And tell Dumbledore about the babies!"
"I will." and the healer opened the door and left the room.
Sirius and James walked in.
LINHA
They had dinner late that night. Florence ate in the bedroom, she didn't want her sons to wake up alone.
After Lily, James and Sirius left, Eileen helped Florence to breastfeed the babies one more time. Florence fell asleep as soon as the babies did.
Eileen stood there in her son's bedroom, watching the two dark-haired angels that were sleeping in a beautiful dark blue crib. She touched their thin black hairs, lost in her own memories. They look just as my Severus did when he was born... I wish you dad were here to see the beautiful babies that you two are.
And she wiped away her tears, going to her own bedroom.