As the two witches left the clothing store behind, Evangeline found herself an anonymous member of a crowd of eager shoppers. How she envied them their freedom! It saddened her to realize how restricted her life was since she'd become a fugitive from the Dark Lord. No longer could she come and go as she pleased but instead was trapped inside her sanctuary prison. Sometimes it seemed as if both she and Severus could only exist behind walls. Fate was laughing mightily at their expense. Now she found herself hoping that they could simply manage to stay together inside the same prison…behind the same walls.
An hour's time found them back in the Three Broomsticks, laden down with packages. Satisfied that their expedition had been a success despite its rocky start. Briefly they stopped to chat with Madame Rosmerta in the pub, then they went back upstairs and returned to Hogwarts through the painted realm. The two witches came out of the concert painting, into Snape's dungeon quarters, and dropped their packages onto the bed.
As she released her hold on her parcels, Evangeline put a hand to her head and staggered a step as once more a brief wave of dizziness washed over her. Minerva lurched forward and grabbed her by the arm. "Evangeline, are you all right?"
Evangeline shook her head to clear it. "I think so. I just felt dizzy for a moment. Going through the paintings didn't feel right somehow. I'm not sure how to explain it."
Minerva felt herself getting a bit alarmed. So she kept a steadying grip on her friend's arm and pulled Evangeline gently towards the door. "Let's just take you upstairs and have you checked over by Poppy, dear?"
After her horrible near death experience with the poisoned knife, Evangeline had had quite enough of Poppy's kind but thorough ministrations, and she wasn't exactly anxious to provoke any further treatments or examinations. So she attempted to protest vigorously. "I'm fine, Minerva. Really! The dizziness has passed. There's nothing wrong with me."
Minerva shook her head firmly and refused to relinquish her grip. "No, dear. You felt odd coming and going on this trip. There must be a reason for it. Perhaps you're coming down with something. Sometimes things can change quickly. I want to have Poppy check you out. I'm not taking no for an answer."
Evangeline sighed in frustration. "All right, all right, but I feel perfectly fine now. I'm sure it's nothing! After all, Poppy told me I was in excellent health only a few days ago. What could possibly have happened since then?"
In spite of not having an answer to her friend's question, Minerva refused to change her mind and insisted that Evangeline get herself checked over. So without any further argument, the two women made their way up to the hospital wing together.
As it turned out, Poppy wasn't particularly busy at the moment, so she sat the reluctant witch down despite her continued protestations that she was "fine" and gave her the once over with her wand. Partway through the examination, the mediwitch stopped abruptly and frowned. With a slightly puzzled look on her face, she performed a more complicated diagnostic spell.
As Poppy's expression lengthened, Evangeline suddenly found herself getting nervous. "What's the matter, Poppy? Just a few days ago, you gave me a clean bill of health. I'm okay, aren't I?"
Poppy nodded absently but her sharp eyes gazed oddly at her patient. "Yes, Evangeline. You're fine. I wasn't looking for this a few days ago so I missed it… I think. Or maybe it's newer than that…it's so early, it's hard to know. I've certainly never been able to tell this soon."
Minerva and Evangeline exchanged puzzled looks. They'd never heard Poppy babble before.
"Poppy, what are you talking about?" Evangeline asked in exasperation.
Poppy sighed and smiled wryly at the young woman sitting on the bed. "Evangeline, you're pregnant!"
Evangeline just stared at her as if she'd taken leave of her senses. "Pregnant?" she whispered.
Poppy nodded and smiled more broadly at her. "It's unbelievably early…just a few days, I think…how you could have felt anything this early is beyond me, but yes, you're definitely pregnant."
Everything abruptly went gray for Evangeline, and she began to topple over.
"Evangeline!" exclaimed Minerva in surprise, as both women lunged to support her.
The dazed witch came back to reality lying down on one of the hospital beds. Frowning in confusion, she put a hand to her head. "What happened?"
Minerva smiled down at her. "You fainted, dear. Do you feel better now?"
Evangeline shook her head in bewilderment. "I'm not sure." She looked from Poppy to Minerva and back. "I'm really pregnant? I'm going to have a baby? Severus' baby?"
Minerva and Poppy nodded and smiled. Minerva added dryly, "Well, we certainly assume that Severus is the father."
Evangeline blushed. "Oh, Minerva, of course he's the father, but my god…does he want to be? We've barely gotten engaged…we've never talked about children…but from things he's said, I've always gotten the feeling that he doesn't really want any…and with this mess over Gringotts…the timing couldn't be worse. He's got so many other things to be concerned about right now, I don't need to be adding to his burdens."
She put a hand to her abdomen and felt frightened. "Oh…how could this have happened? We've always been so careful!"
Poppy smiled understandingly down at her. "Have you been taking a contraceptive potion, dear?"
Evangeline shook her head and looked up at the mediwitch. "No. Severus made one for me months ago, but when I took it, I broke out in hives. Apparently I'm allergic to the main ingredient. But Severus always performs the proper spell to prevent conception whenever we're together. He's been very careful and very insistent about it. His firm insistence on taking all possible precautions is one of the things that makes me think he doesn't want children."
Poppy patted her hand. "Don't worry, Evangeline. As I said, it's very early. If you wanted to end the pregnancy now, it'd be very easy to do."
Evangeline looked shocked. "Without telling Severus? I couldn't do that. It's his baby as much as mine. He needs to know, but…oh, how do I tell him? What can I say? I can't believe he'll be happy about this…especially not under these circumstances. How will he react?"
Minerva smiled at her. "Well dear, considering your reaction, perhaps you should be sure that he's sitting down before you tell him."