Chapter Twenty-Eight
For the Love of Alicia
It was quite a long time before Severus would let the whole incident go, using the word 'habit' in every single snide sentence he could think of, throwing in an occasional 'sister' for good measure. Okay, so perhaps he was right that Jennifer should have been a little more careful considering the person responsible for what happened to her and Icarus had not been found yet. But when wasn't someone trying to kill her? It wasn't as if she had any idea where Anna was going to take her when they were went to lunch, and it wasn't her fault there was a Grimlin there, not that a Grimlin was really considered even all that dangerous of a creature.
Besides, Jennifer had really been glad to spend some time with Anna, even if they were the mismatched pair of the century. They still both had Severus in common, and Jennifer had been eager to have someone in the same position as she was to talk to. Of course, even that was different for Anna. Not only was she expecting two of them, but her magic had done things while she was pregnant that Jennifer's had never done; becoming stronger instead of weakening, and even becoming a bit of a nuisance.
Jennifer also had to reluctantly admit that Anna did have a bit of a point when it came to Jennifer's lack of knowledge of the Muggle world. There had been a time when Anna was just as clumsy in the magic world as Jennifer was in hers, but now she had become comfortable in both. Jennifer had not the motivation, desire, nor even any reason to do the same. What she didn't know was that over the course of a single event, that opinion was going to change dramatically.
It all began near the end of April when a very expected visitor arrived. For once, Jennifer didn't mind dressing up in Muggle clothes, and neither did Severus, as the two of them, Anna, and Sirius went to meet Dr. Linde at the airport.
He had grey hair and a rather cheerful face, and he was tired and unbelievably glad just to be able to step off the plane and get through customs, greeting them warmly. He was in his early sixties but not considering retiring just yet, and was excited to attend the conference on new advances in medicine and even more interested in seeing a little of the world he had heard so much about from Jennifer. He hugged Jennifer and Anna warmly, shaking both of the wizards' hands cheerfully, and Sirius quickly offered to take his bags to Anna's car.
"It is good to see all of you! I see you're doing well!" he chuckled at the two girls merrily. "Goodness, Anna, should you even be on your feet? You must be due quite soon now."
"Two weeks, technically," Anna agreed. "This will be my last week at the school before I go on leave, and believe me, at this point I'll be glad to get off my feet."
"Well, Doctor Sagittari says if you keep climbing those stairs, you're likely to go sooner," Jennifer said mischievously.
"Why do you think I've been using the stairs lately," Anna told her, sticking out her tongue. Dr. Linde laughed good-naturedly.
"And you, Jennifer?"
"Oh, I'm not due until June. And I'm not sure exactly if I'll be happy for it to be over with or not. This is our last one," Jennifer said.
"Four is more than enough," Severus protested. "And I for one will be glad when it's over. Mood swings, bursts of temperament, tendency to take off on a whim…"
"Yes, and that's just him," Sirius said, earning a dirty look from Severus and earning another chuckle from the doctor.
The conference was to start on Monday, so as soon as he was settled at the Black Mansion and was well rested, he was invited to a tour of Hogwarts and had even agreed to speak in Anna's early Muggle Studies class on her last day. Jennifer had expected him to be interested in the paintings, or perhaps just the nature of the classes themselves, but she still wasn't a bit surprised when the thing he most wanted to see was the hospital wing.
Madame Pomfrey was there to give them the tour, and Jennifer was quite surprised just how much he knew already, having absorbed every bit that Severus and she had told the Muggle doctor about potions and procedures. It was then he inquired about Sagittari, and Jennifer, knowing he probably had a class, offered to take the doctor down to his office. Jennifer had forgotten all about telling him he was a centaur, so it was quite an extra surprise indeed for the good doctor to see him standing tall over the class as they stood by the pens, learning the finer arts of taking care of flying horses. Jennifer's own Pegasi Ruby turned to her head to look at them and whinnied where she stood sleepily being rubbed down by a handful of students.
"Of course, most known breeds of Pegasi are now domesticated, and Britain can contest to a high number of those, thanks to the Stoddard Withers Foundation. These two, however, were night bred in upper Norway, I believe?" the centaur said, glancing at Jennifer who nodded with a smile. "And were brought here by our former groundskeeper. Now, for tomorrow, we will be looking at some crossbreeds, and begin talking about their effects on magical and nonmagical environments, so be sure to read chapter twenty-three before then," Sagittari smiled at them. "Very well! If you've completed your assigned chore for this lesson you may go. If you're not, I'll be in my office, so just sign yourself out when you're done and I'll check and mark your scores later."
"I really need to have a course that makes my students clean up my classroom like that," Jennifer chuckled as the centaur came close, smiling at her.
"Well, with all the creatures I tend to look after over the course of the year, it is really the only way I can keep up with it and look after my numerous patients as well," Sagittari smiled.
"This is Doctor Sagittari, school groundskeeper and renowned centaur Veterinarian, which includes humans," Jennifer explained. "And this is Doctor Jonathan Linde, of Pediatrics, which means a children's doctor, I believe."
" I am honored to meet you, sir. Jennifer has mentioned you on occasion, of course," Sagittari smiled offering his hand.
"Yes, and she speaks highly of you as well, although I do believe there are some things she left out," Doctor Linde chuckled, shaking his hand.
"I'm a centaur, yes, although really, more a wizard than a centaur in a lot of ways," Sagittari smiled. "I don't suppose you'd like to see my office?"
"Oh, most definitely," Linde said eagerly. It wasn't long after they entered that Jennifer got lost in some of the technical terms the two of them began discussing. Instead, she decided to raid the kitchen, peeking in the stew pot simmering over the stove and peering in the icebox to liberate the leftover baklava. It was over a half an hour later before Sagittari noticed she was gone, peering out to see her sitting on a stool at the table and making herself quite at home, even putting the kettle to boil.
"Well! It must be time for tea," Sagittari laughed, smiling warmly to Jennifer. "And here I am rattling on. Come now, let me heat that up for you, Jennifer. Please, have a seat, doctor, and experience the other passion in my life; Mediterranean cooking."
"If your knowledge of that is half as impressive as your herbal lore and diagnostics, I am quite sure you are a wonderful cook indeed," Doctor Linde said, sitting down.
"Not as impressive as yours, Doctor," Sagittari assured him, putting some cups on the table. "I must say your knowledge of internal science is amazing."
"Perhaps, but there is something to be said about not needing surgery at all," Linde smiled. "I only wish I could return the favor and give you a tour of our facilities, but I suppose er, considering…"
"Oh! But I have something that'll disguise what I am to those who don't know it, would that be of any help?" Sagittari suggested.
"Splendid! Let me make some queries with my colleagues at the conference, and we'll see about getting a tour of one of the hospitals nearby. Speaking of which, I still have some panel work to go over," Doctor Linde said, drinking down his tea and taking a quick bite. "No, don't bother getting up, Jennifer, just relax. I know my way back to Anna's office," he smiled.
"Please feel free to come back and see me again," Sagittari smiled.
"I'll send a note if I'm able to arrange something," Doctor Linde said, waving to them as Sagittari showed him out, closing the door behind him.
"That is quite a friend you have there. I can see why you've kept up such a long correspondence with him," Sagittari smiled at Jennifer cheerfully, taking the baklava out of the oven and setting it on the table.
"He's really interested in learning about magical medicine," Jennifer nodded. "But what I don't understand is why you're so interested in his? I mean, I've been in a Muggle hospital and, well, they don't seem to be anything but a bunch of machines and not much else, and you won't believe how long it takes them to even heal a broken arm."
"Jennifer, how long, exactly, have you been trying to duplicate the exact taste and carbonation of a Coca-Cola?" Sagittari asked with a slight smile.
"Well, about five years, actually," Jennifer said. "I got the burp quotient right once or twice I think, but I just can't seem to nail down the flavor…"
"But it's only a drink. It doesn't really do anything but act as a quick pep-up, and you have many more effective potions for that."
"Yes, but it's not that, exactly," Jennifer said. "I rather just like it."
"And if a member of the soda company actually came to you and offered a tour of the facilities and perhaps even gave you some insight to the formula, wouldn't you go?"
"Probably, but I don't see how this could be in any way like medicine," Jennifer said, not seeing where this was going.
"Jennifer, there are secrets to chemical mixtures and solutions that you cannot even begin to fathom that the Muggles have discovered, and even the significance of a what they consider a 'simple' vitamin pill eludes you," Sagittari said gently. "And yes, perhaps much of what we do can be considered more effective, but I am certainly not so blind that I can't see they also have some areas of medicine that we probably haven't even begun to explore. If there are better ways out there to treat my patients, I want to know about it. There's no such thing as having too much knowledge, even if it seems to conflict with what we already know. I may not be able to use the exact methods they do any more than the good doctor could possibly use ours, but perhaps by exchanging knowledge, we can find answers to questions that we couldn't solve without it."
Jennifer thought about that quite a bit while they ate, trying not to feel hurt about being told there were potions she couldn't fathom. After all, she could learn it if she wanted to, she told herself. She had just never seen much point to it. Well, except for the soda, of course, which had to be the best thing invented since tea. What else could the Muggles really have to offer? Well, except for maybe the pill with water thing. Getting an idea, Jennifer quickly finished and headed to the lab, dutifully putting on her protective gear as she raided the office for supplies.
It was there Severus found her two hours later, stepping in the door with his hands on his hips and a puzzled expression on his face as he found her leaning over the table holding a tiny, minimized cloth tube with a sharp needle-like funnel tip in hand, poised over a row of Bertie Botts beans.
"Would it be too much to ask what on earth you are doing?" Severus said.
"Filling these beans with test phials of some potions I had on hand," Jennifer said calmly. Severus stared at her. "I want to see if I can get any of these that need only small dosages to work if they're in a candy form."
"You know, Jennifer, I really think you've been working too hard lately. Perhaps it's time you headed upstairs and found a book to read," Severus suggested with a sigh and began to pick up the lab.
"But think how useful this would be, Severus. For one thing, it gets quite heavy carrying all those phials around in our cloaks, and although I'm sure we can't do this to all of them, it'd definitely cut down the weight. It'd also be easier to get students to take the nastier tasting potions if we can put them in a gel form like this."
"And what's to stop someone from accidentally picking up one of these instead of regular candy when they want a snack?" Severus frowned at her.
"Correct labeling, I suppose."
"Something you are definitely not famous for," Severus chided her, picking up one of the beans. "And how do you tell what's in them?"
"Right now, I have them color coded…blue beans are Pepperup potion, Green is Erumpment, and so on. I suppose I'll have to figure out some other labeling down the line if this works."
"You should be busy helping me trying to track down Icarus' remains instead of experimenting with new gimmicks anyhow. Like him or not, he would know of exactly who attacked you that night."
"Even if his remains are still in the castle… if castle ghosts and Pyther can't find them, how can we? It's a big castle, Severus, and we're talking about tiny fragments of bone," Jennifer pointed out, filling another bean. "And despite what you may be thinking, I wouldn't mind having him back myself. Janus and the others, well they just haven't been the same without him, and poor Rachel hasn't stopped weeping in days. I've never seen her so upset," Jennifer sighed, looking up from her work. "Someone should try to talk to Sibyl too. She hasn't come out of her Tower since it happened."
"That isn't unusual, she hardly leaves it normally," Severus said. "But if you insist on someone talking to her, I will. I'll not have her putting ideas in your head again."
"You need not worry about that," Jennifer insisted, picking up another bean. "It seems to me that even the real Visionists seem to go well out of their way to make their own ideas of the future come true."
"So you've given up on the idea of fate altogether?" Severus asked, gazing at her thoughtfully. It didn't take much effort to read his thoughts at that moment.
"No, I haven't. I just think that Fate probably changes depending on the decisions we make," Jennifer said with a smile, facing him. "Take us for instance. Would Fate been as kind to us had we not made the choices we made to get where we are now? And if Fate had been against us getting together, would you have fought it?"
"With all my heart and soul and every fibre of my being," Severus said seriously, his black eyes fixed on her own loving gaze.
"You're really the only true destiny I've ever wanted, Severus," Jennifer said lovingly.
"Then I suppose we must have made the right choices," Severus decided, leaning over to kiss her.
By the end of the week, Doctor Linde had spent quite a bit of his spare time with Sagittari, doing everything from tours to working hands-on in the hospital wing with him and Pomfrey, learning the basic concepts behind magical healing. Jennifer in turn had invited him down to the Potion Roomz; getting tongue-tied trying to answer all of his questions about ingredients and their properties. He was also quite intrigued by Jennifer's new line of experiments with the beans, but she warned them she hadn't even begun to test them yet. It was as they began going over the basics of balance in simple potions that Jennifer began to get a wave of pain, grimacing noticeably as he looked at her with concern.
"Braxton-Hicks?" he asked.
"What?"
"Are you having a pre-term contraction?" he asked.
"Yes, actually," Jennifer admitted as he helped her sit down. "Strange though, I've never had them quite that strong so soon before."
"It can happen," he smiled at her sympathetically. "Let me get you a glass of water."
Just then there was a knock on the door, and Jennifer looked up to see Minerva, smiling at them.
"Hello, I just got done talking to Severus, and he asked me to let you know that Anna has gone into labor. She's already at the doctor's office and he went to sit with Sirius, just in case you wanted to head over," she smiled.
"You're not going over?" Jennifer asked.
"Oh no, I'd rather watch from my office, it's much more interesting," Minerva said with a wink before heading back down the hall.
"How does she watch from her office?" Linde asked curiously.
"Oh, well you see there's this book…" Jennifer winced again, and the doctor glanced at the watch but then handed her the water. "Thank you. Anyhow, it writes down the names of magic children who will be asked to come to the school someday."
"Really? Well that is quite exciting," the doctor said. "And perhaps nerve wracking too, I suppose, for an expecting parent."
"Well, most parents don't find out until the child gets the letter before they enter secondary school, especially since the names can appear at any age before then," Jennifer explained, "But Minerva's been good about letting staff have a peek," she said, finally feeling good enough to stand up. But it wasn't long after starting again that another pain hit, and the doctor's face grew increasingly concerned as he glanced at his watch.
"Jennifer, those two after the first were both regular, seven minutes apart," Linde said. "Perhaps you should go to the hospital wing, just to be safe."
"Honestly, that's not possible. I have two months left," Jennifer protested.
"All the same, we should probably make double sure it isn't anything," Linde smiled, taking her arm. It was halfway up to the medical wing when the next one hit that she began to truly accept that something was wrong.
It was Rolanda who came banging at the hut door a few minutes later, Severus opening it to see her unusually frantic.
"Where's Doctor Sagittari?"
"In with Anna, of course," Severus said, watching with surprise as Rolanda then banged on that door as well, Sagittari opening it a moment later.
"What is it? I'm rather busy…"
"It's Jennifer, she's gone into labor," Rolanda said, Severus' expression turning to alarm, fumbling for something in his pocket. "Pomfrey says the potions aren't stopping it, she needs you there as soon as you can."
Severus, taking out his watch and opening it suddenly turned as white as a sheet as he read it her needle under 'Mortal Peril' and dove out the door before Sagittari even had time to react, taking a deep breath.
"So this is what the stars meant," Sagittari muttered to himself. "Rolanda, please wait here with Sirius, and I will send Poppy down as soon as I can. Anna still has a little while yet, so she should be here in plenty of time," he told her, closing the door a moment to speak with them a moment before coming back out, galloping out the door as well.
"Boy I'm glad I'm not a doctor right now," Rolanda said, getting up only when Sirius asked for a cup of ice.
Back in the castle, Jennifer was anything but calm, knowing it wasn't right, knowing it wasn't time. And yet, so it was…a strange conflict resting inside of her that she didn't understand, fear pouring through her even when the warmth of Severus' hand began to grasp her own.
"Everything will be all right, Jennifer, try to relax," she heard Sagittari say. What was he doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be with Anna? Another round of pain hit her, and she was far from happy. None of the potions for pain or to stop the contractions seemed to be working at all. Her mind was spinning, and she couldn't make up her mind if she just wanted it to stop or she wanted it over with. But this time, she had no choice in the matter, none at all. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
Just outside, Doctor Linde and Professor Dumbledore took turns pacing the floor, torn in many ways between what was happening there and what was happening just yards away in Sagittari's office. But Anna had been healthy and fairly on time, and the two of them both stopped expectantly when Minerva came into the room with a slight smile.
"Well, we can welcome two new prospective students into the world; Zoë and Zacchius Black."
"Such classic names for such tiny babes, but I daresay they'll grow into them," Linde said with a smile.
"Yes, I believe so," Dumbledore agreed, pausing when he heard the soft cry of a baby. It wasn't long before the door opened and Sagittari looked out searchingly, and Linde quickly went in, Dumbledore not far behind.
Severus' face was solemn and worried. He was trying desperately not to be and knowing he could hardly hide it from Jennifer, who was tiredly holding his hand, looking as if she could fall asleep at any moment. But she was so tiny! And so curiously blue, even after Sagittari had gotten her to breathe on her own. It didn't take a healer's license to tell that the baby wasn't doing well. Had they gone through all this trouble to try to save her only to lose her again? Severus gazed over at Jennifer again, only to see her eyes gazing at him with indefinable sadness.
"I couldn't stop it," she said quietly, but Severus quickly kissed her forehead, cutting off anything else she might have said.
"You are far from blame here, Jennifer. And you need to rest," he coaxed her. "Leave the worrying to me for a change. Especially since I'm going to do it anyhow." He gazed up to see Sagittari and Linde hovering over the baby, Linde growing increasingly worried.
"Do you have anything like an incubator?" Linde asked.
"I'm not quite sure what you mean," Sagittari replied in a low voice. "There really aren't any spells to help her… in fact, I've never had any witch reject the potion to keep them full term before. We don't have premature children," Sagittari explained.
"We do. Quite a number of them, actually," Linde said grimly. "And without medical attention, this child has a fifty-fifty chance, if that. She needs to be on a respirator. That's a machine that gives her oxygen. In fact, if I would make a recommendation, I think this child needs to be in a hospital. One of ours," he added, looking over at Severus who had come over to join them the moment Jennifer had drifted off.
"Do you have any idea what you're asking?" Severus asked in a low voice, gazing over at Jennifer.
"Probably about the same as someone asking me to take my child to a witch doctor," Linde said. "But what's important now is what's best for the baby, no matter what the method."
"I agree with Doctor Linde, Severus," Sagittari said. "I cannot do anything for Alicia here except to hope she's strong enough to make it. If Doctor Linde has better treatment, I really suggest you consider it. Jennifer will understand," he added. Severus sighed in annoyance. Why was he always the one to have to make these decisions? Finally he nodded.
"Alright, we're going to need some sort of official paperwork, many hospitals won't take newborns without their mothers without special circumstances," Linde explained.
"I'll contact the Ministry and have someone meet you there," Dumbledore offered. "And I'll go check in on Anna while I'm at it."
"Severus, you had better come along if you have something you can wear…" Severus nodded, gazing at Jennifer one last time before slipping out of the room.
"Good luck, doctor," Sagittari said to Linde as he bundled little Alicia up. "And thank you."
"Anything for this little angel," Linde said, picking up the tiny baby, waiting only long enough for Severus to reappear before heading down the stairs. Dumbledore then stepped out and to his office long enough to send out the note, pausing on his way out to glance inside the book. The name he was looking for wasn't there.
