Author's Note: This story begins during the Second year at Hogwarts, during the Chamber of Secrets and will continue as time goes on. This is my first Harry Potter fanfic and along with my friend, ElfFlame, we are writing a series of four stories, which begins with ElfFlame's story- True Revenge. All four of these stories are interrelated and for the best understanding of the characters as we see them, they should be read in conjunction to each other. As always, I own none of this wonderful world that JK Rowling has created.
Author's Note: At this point in time I would just like to say that in telling events of this story from Lucius Malfoy's point of view, I am merely showing his frame of mind. I do not in any way condone or promote the things he does.
Spoiler Warning: This story contains spoilers, both minor and major from all five Harry Potter books.
TavingtonRose: The Lucius chapters are going to be very dark from here on out, so be warned. But here's a nice little break from that. I loved writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoy reading it!
And Baby Makes Two
Albus and Adriana had been writing to one another over the remaining two months of her pregnancy, planning what to do for the birth. Albus wanted her to have the baby at home. He and Severus could be there, and he'd bring Madam Pomfrey to assist in the birth. Adriana didn't want this, and she fought with Albus for several weeks before he gave in. He caved when he received a howler from Adriana that he thankfully got while in his office, not in front of the entire school. "ALBUS, I WILL BE HAVING THIS BABY IN A HOSPITAL!! THAT'S THE WAY IT'S DONE IN ALL THE MOVIES AND ON THE TELLY AND I WILL BE DOING IT THAT WAY TOO!! IF YOU DO NOT APPROVE OF THIS, THEN YOU CAN STUFF IT!!" Albus sighed and gave up after that.
Adriana had packed a small suitcase with all the things she thought she'd need for her stay in the hospital. She packed a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush, a couple of books, nightgown, and a change of clothes for both her and the baby. She put diapers, and Madam Kapelo's hat, still in its box, in the suitcase. She put the baby's car seat and Sly the Rinbear by the door to take as well.
For her other births, Adriana had used magic, and she wanted to see what natural childbirth was like this time around. She'd done research on all the different types of pain relieving drugs, but wanted to try it without any drugs. She'd read about all the different breathing techniques that she planned on using to help her through the delivery.
Christmas had come and gone without incident. The baby received his first Christmas presents. Severus had sent the baby a green and silver Christmas stocking, with room for a name on it after the baby was born. It was filled with toys like a snake-shaped baby rattle, a stuffed plush snake doll, and a set of round snake teething rings. He also gave the baby a miniature potions set that actually worked.
Albus had sent the baby a gold and maroon Christmas stocking. In it was a stuffed lion, and a stuffed phoenix toy, and a book entitled, Great Gryffindors in Wizarding History.
Adriana laughed as she set these gifts out before her. She wondered how those two men would take it if the baby ended up being a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw. She didn't care though, she'd love the baby no matter what house he was sorted into.
Severus spent New Year's Eve at Adriana's house, since she couldn't attend the Masque this year. They spent a pleasant evening on the couch watching, Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. Adriana had never seen Severus so amused as he laughed over the "And cancel Christmas" line. "Now there's something I'd do if I was in charge of the school!" He'd laughed.
Adriana smiled at the end of the movie, and informed Severus, "I don't see what Marion saw in Robin Hood, I'd have taken the Sheriff of Nottingham any day!"
Severus smiled again, "He definitely was the better of the two men, I'd agree."
Midnight struck on the clock in the living room and Severus kissed Adriana. They'd never spoken of what had almost taken place between them, but had chosen to just move on as though it had never happened. As Severus was leaving, he placed his hands on Adriana's stomach and was rewarded with a couple of fluttery kicks against his palms. Adriana was instructed to send him an owl as soon as she felt the first signs of labour, which should be anytime in the upcoming month.
During the next couple of weeks, Adriana was quite uncomfortable and tried to pass the time by making last minute changes in the baby's room, which she had finished over a month ago. Late one Friday evening, Adriana was lifting a box of cloth diapers and putting it on the changing table, when she felt warm fluid drenching her legs. At first she thought she'd wet herself, which didn't surprise her seeing as the baby had enjoyed resting on her bladder for the last several months, but when she felt herself beginning to cramp up, she realized her water had broken.
The pain began slowly, but in the next several minutes, as Adriana was walking to the writing desk to write to Severus, it increased. Bending over in pain, she hastily wrote a note to Severus, telling him what city and which hospital she'd be going to. Opening the front door and calling out to Hitchcock, she attached the note to him and sent him off.
As the pain had subsided, Adriana carefully picked up the car seat, walked to Flynn, and put it in the back seat. The next contraction began and Adriana didn't want to walk back to the house for the suitcase, so she summoned it to her, locked the door, and got into the car. Unable to drive Flynn, Adriana put a driving spell on it and allowed it to take her to the hospital. She felt a thrill of excitement at the thought of going to casualty and being taken up to the maternity ward.
The drive to the hospital took about 45 minutes, and Adriana had contractions every five minutes during the ride. Finding a spot in the car park, Adriana parked Flynn, took her suitcase, and slowly made her way to casualty.
A kind nurse helped Adriana into a wheelchair and took her up to the maternity ward, where she signed herself in. She was taken to a private room where another nurse helped her out of her clothes and into a hospital nightgown. Within minutes, Severus came bursting into the room. "Where have you been? I've been here for the past half hour looking for you!" He said. He watched as the nurse examined Adriana, and listened as she told her she was only dilated to two centimetres so far. The nurse suggested to Adriana that she and Severus walk around the hallway for a while in order to speed up the dilation process.
After the nurse left the two alone, Severus closed the door and began to berate Adriana for leaving without him. "How could you do such a thing! You could have gotten in an accident!" He yelled at her. "I've never been so worried in my life! And when Albus finds out, I don't even want to know what he'll do!"
Adriana bent over in pain as another contraction began. When it subsided, she looked up at Severus. "Nothing happened, what was I supposed to do? I had no idea if you'd be busy or able to come help me. You're very involved at the school and I can't depend on you to do everything for me!"
"You still should have waited till you heard from me!"
"Well, I didn't think about that! It's not that big of a deal! I'm here, you're here, and soon the baby will be here," Adriana said, clearly not understanding why Severus was so upset.
Severus shook his head. She was obviously not thinking logically. "You know what? Let's just walk around for a bit, ok?" He held his hand out for Adriana to take and helped her stand up. Adriana made him check to see if the nightgown was tied tightly enough to cover her backside. When he'd assured her she was properly concealed, he put his arm around her waist and helped her out of the room. And thus began the longest night of their lives.
Up the hall, down the hall, back and forth, for an hour, stopping only when Adriana bent over in the pain of a contraction. Severus hated seeing her in pain like that and kept asking if she'd allow him to make her a potion for it. Adriana insisted on not using any magic and reminded him that it would be difficult for him to brew a potion without anybody noticing him and that maybe he'd better just shut up and help her walk, because that's what he was there to do.
After checking in with the nurse back at her room, Adriana found out she'd dilated two more centimetres that hour. They were sent back out to the hall for more walking. Severus tried to come up with interesting things for them to talk about in order to help pass the time. "So, the kid spills the potion all over his clothes, and his black robes turn bright pink! I had to clean both him and his mess up! Kids can be so stupid sometimes!" He had moved onto school stories by the time they had walked another hour in the hallway.
"You know, I'm sure you were responsible for some stupid mistakes yourself when you were a student there. I'll have to make sure to ask Albus if he remembers anything. And by the way, you are never teaching this kid!" She said, pointing to her stomach. With that, Adriana bent over once again in a very strong contraction, groaning and holding tightly to Sev's hand.
Severus grimaced in pain as he felt his hand being crushed. "Do you want to go back now?" He asked. Adriana silently nodded her head and he gently led her back to the room.
The nurse looked at Adriana and told her she was seven centimetres dilated and should stay in the room now. She hooked Adriana up to all sorts of monitors that measured her and the baby's heart rate and blood pressure. The contractions were almost constant now, and Adriana was in a great amount of pain. Severus rubbed her shoulders and the small of her back, while she lay on her side, breathing deeply.
Sev's hands were cramping after a while and he had to stop to rest them. Adriana was moaning and rocking gently back and forth on her side. He hated feeling helpless like this, why wouldn't she just let him help her! He could have brewed up potions to take away her pain and speed up the process at the same time! Why was she being so difficult? He was relieved when the nurse returned to look at Adriana's progress. Eight centimetres! Severus was shocked. All that pain for an entire hour for one lousy centimetre? Severus made the nurse check again, only to be dismayed that Adriana was still in fact, only eight centimetres dilated. Adriana was pretty wrapped up in the pain to notice what was happening, so he decided not to tell her how little progress she'd made.
As Sev was rubbing her back, Adriana began to whimper quietly. "Sev?" She called out in barely more than a whisper, "I think I'm done, I don't want to do this anymore, I want to go home now."
Severus leaned over her and kissed her cheek. "You're too far into this to quit now. You're doing a great job, I'm so proud of you." Those words seemed to be the encouragement Adriana needed to endure the pain, for her whimpering stopped and she began to breath steadily.
The nurse came back on the hour and examined Adriana. Nine centimetres! Severus couldn't help himself. "Nine centimetres is pretty close to ten, what's the big deal about one centimetre? Can't we try with nine?"
The nurse smiled sympathetically and patted his arm, "I'm sorry sir, but it has to be ten. If it's any consolation, she's doing amazingly well for somebody with no pain medication. Most women would be screaming and writhing in agony by now."
Severus looked fondly at Adriana, he cared about her so much, it was torture to see her like this. He walked back over to her and rubbed her shoulders. Adriana seemed to be in some sort of trance, embracing the pain she felt as a way of working through it. The hour passed slowly, Sev watched the clock as each minute ticked off to the next. He wasn't too much of a drinker, but Sev was thinking he'd need a few stiff drinks after the baby was finally born. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. "Adriana, would you like me to read to you? You packed some books in your suitcase, didn't you?" Severus walked to Adriana's suitcase and opened it up. Taking the first book he found, he brought it back to the bed, and began reading aloud, where he found the bookmark. "Colonel Brandon alone, of all the party, heard her without being in raptures. He paid her only the compliment of attention; and she felt a respect for him on the occasion, which the others had reasonably forfeited by their shameless want of taste." What book was this? It was so boring. Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen. How could she stand reading this? It was putting him to sleep! Tossing the book back to the suitcase, Severus went back to rubbing Adriana's back.
Finally the hour passed and the nurse returned to check on Adriana. Ten centimetres! Relief flooded Severus' body, now they could begin with the really hard work. The nurse went to tell the doctor that Adriana was ready for him to see her, which brought up another issue, a male doctor? Adriana was going to let a man deliver her baby? Severus wasn't so sure he wanted a strange man to look at Adriana that way, but wasn't going to interfere with Adriana's plans. This was what she wanted, and he couldn't stop her. Severus gently told Adriana that the doctor was coming to see her in a few minutes, and that she could start pushing soon.
After a short time, the doctor appeared with the nurse. He wore blue scrubs and a confident look on his face. Severus didn't like this man. He didn't want him anywhere near Adriana and had to restrain himself as the doctor walked to her and introduced himself. Dr. Dan. Adriana spoke quietly to the doctor as he held her hand. Dr. Dan moved around to Adriana's legs and told her he was going to examine her. Severus watched as he lifted her nightgown up over her stomach, exposing her bottom half to the world. Dr. Dan helped move Adriana's legs into stirrups where she could help push more easily. Dr. Dan put his hands on Adriana's thighs and spread them apart so that he could put his arms in between them to assist in the birth.
Dr. Dan told Severus that the best way he could help would be to position himself behind Adriana's back, supporting her while she sat up to push. "Sev, I'm so thirsty, I'm so hot," She said as they moved her around. The nurse left the room and returned a few minutes later with a glass of ice chips, a spoon, and a damp cloth. Severus fed her ice chips and wiped her sweating brow with the cloth.
Dr. Dan told them that with the next contraction, he wanted Adriana to push. So Severus braced himself against the wall, with Adriana against his chest. Adriana grabbed onto the handles of the bed and dug her feet into the stirrups. As Adriana felt the contraction beginning, she leaned into Severus and whispered, "Well, here we go," and began to push with all her strength. Adriana cried out in pain as she pushed. When the contraction subsided, Dr. Dan told her to stop pushing and catch her breath. Panting and leaning her head back against Sev's chest, Adriana tried to regain her strength for the next round. As the doctor reached inside of her to feel for the baby's progress, Severus thought he might reach over and punch the Muggle senseless. The doctor told her that it was a good start, but there hadn't been much movement of the baby.
Adriana braced herself for the next contraction and pushed again. The baby seemed to be stubborn and didn't want to come. After two hours of pushing, only a small amount of progress had been made. Adriana was exhausted. Severus kept feeding her ice chips and wiping her forehead. He was pretty tired as well, but wasn't going to quit until the baby was born.
While looking at one of the monitors, Dr. Dan told them to prepare for the next contraction which was going to be big. Adriana pushed harder than she had before this point, screaming in pain and exertion as she felt that her body was splitting apart from the inside out. The doctor told her that had been the best one yet and one more like that might do it. Preparing for the next contraction, Adriana took one last deep breath and began to push. The pain was overwhelming and Adriana screamed in agony. But she felt the blood of a thousand generations of women who had done this before her, flowing through her body that gave her the power to push harder than ever before. She felt something pass between her legs and suddenly the pain stopped. Gasping, Adriana asked, "Is it over? Did I do it?" She was answered by a little scream that sounded more beautiful to Adriana than any symphony she'd ever heard before. A huge smile broke out on her face as the baby wailed loudly. Tears filled her eyes as she listened. "Is it a boy or a girl? I want to see my baby! Let me see my baby!" She cried out.
Severus looked down at her, grinning, "She's beautiful, Adriana, you have a daughter!" He leaned down and kissed her in congratulation. Sev forgave Dr. Dan for everything when he was allowed to cut the baby's umbilical cord. He followed the baby over to the table where they washed and weighed her. The nurse wrapped the baby up in a blanket and placed her in Sev's arms. He gazed at her, seeing how she'd grown since he'd seen her several months before, though she was still very tiny. He slowly walked the baby over to Adriana and placed her daughter in her outstretched arms.
Adriana looked at her daughter for the first time. She was small, with five perfect fingers on each hand and five perfect toes on each foot. It was difficult to see her pale blonde hair through all the tears in Adriana's eyes. When the baby opened her eyes to look at her mother, she saw the beautiful clear blueness that all babies had when they were born. All the pain she had been in that night faded away as she held the wonderful reward in her arms.
Severus leaned down to look at the baby, "Adriana, what are you going to name her?"
Adriana gazed into the baby's eyes, as though waiting for her daughter to tell her her name. "Renata," Adriana said finally, smiling. "It means reborn."
Severus caressed the baby's cheek and whispered, "Happy birthday, Renata."
Author's Note: At this point in time I would just like to say that in telling events of this story from Lucius Malfoy's point of view, I am merely showing his frame of mind. I do not in any way condone or promote the things he does.
Spoiler Warning: This story contains spoilers, both minor and major from all five Harry Potter books.
TavingtonRose: The Lucius chapters are going to be very dark from here on out, so be warned. But here's a nice little break from that. I loved writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoy reading it!
And Baby Makes Two
Albus and Adriana had been writing to one another over the remaining two months of her pregnancy, planning what to do for the birth. Albus wanted her to have the baby at home. He and Severus could be there, and he'd bring Madam Pomfrey to assist in the birth. Adriana didn't want this, and she fought with Albus for several weeks before he gave in. He caved when he received a howler from Adriana that he thankfully got while in his office, not in front of the entire school. "ALBUS, I WILL BE HAVING THIS BABY IN A HOSPITAL!! THAT'S THE WAY IT'S DONE IN ALL THE MOVIES AND ON THE TELLY AND I WILL BE DOING IT THAT WAY TOO!! IF YOU DO NOT APPROVE OF THIS, THEN YOU CAN STUFF IT!!" Albus sighed and gave up after that.
Adriana had packed a small suitcase with all the things she thought she'd need for her stay in the hospital. She packed a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush, a couple of books, nightgown, and a change of clothes for both her and the baby. She put diapers, and Madam Kapelo's hat, still in its box, in the suitcase. She put the baby's car seat and Sly the Rinbear by the door to take as well.
For her other births, Adriana had used magic, and she wanted to see what natural childbirth was like this time around. She'd done research on all the different types of pain relieving drugs, but wanted to try it without any drugs. She'd read about all the different breathing techniques that she planned on using to help her through the delivery.
Christmas had come and gone without incident. The baby received his first Christmas presents. Severus had sent the baby a green and silver Christmas stocking, with room for a name on it after the baby was born. It was filled with toys like a snake-shaped baby rattle, a stuffed plush snake doll, and a set of round snake teething rings. He also gave the baby a miniature potions set that actually worked.
Albus had sent the baby a gold and maroon Christmas stocking. In it was a stuffed lion, and a stuffed phoenix toy, and a book entitled, Great Gryffindors in Wizarding History.
Adriana laughed as she set these gifts out before her. She wondered how those two men would take it if the baby ended up being a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw. She didn't care though, she'd love the baby no matter what house he was sorted into.
Severus spent New Year's Eve at Adriana's house, since she couldn't attend the Masque this year. They spent a pleasant evening on the couch watching, Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. Adriana had never seen Severus so amused as he laughed over the "And cancel Christmas" line. "Now there's something I'd do if I was in charge of the school!" He'd laughed.
Adriana smiled at the end of the movie, and informed Severus, "I don't see what Marion saw in Robin Hood, I'd have taken the Sheriff of Nottingham any day!"
Severus smiled again, "He definitely was the better of the two men, I'd agree."
Midnight struck on the clock in the living room and Severus kissed Adriana. They'd never spoken of what had almost taken place between them, but had chosen to just move on as though it had never happened. As Severus was leaving, he placed his hands on Adriana's stomach and was rewarded with a couple of fluttery kicks against his palms. Adriana was instructed to send him an owl as soon as she felt the first signs of labour, which should be anytime in the upcoming month.
During the next couple of weeks, Adriana was quite uncomfortable and tried to pass the time by making last minute changes in the baby's room, which she had finished over a month ago. Late one Friday evening, Adriana was lifting a box of cloth diapers and putting it on the changing table, when she felt warm fluid drenching her legs. At first she thought she'd wet herself, which didn't surprise her seeing as the baby had enjoyed resting on her bladder for the last several months, but when she felt herself beginning to cramp up, she realized her water had broken.
The pain began slowly, but in the next several minutes, as Adriana was walking to the writing desk to write to Severus, it increased. Bending over in pain, she hastily wrote a note to Severus, telling him what city and which hospital she'd be going to. Opening the front door and calling out to Hitchcock, she attached the note to him and sent him off.
As the pain had subsided, Adriana carefully picked up the car seat, walked to Flynn, and put it in the back seat. The next contraction began and Adriana didn't want to walk back to the house for the suitcase, so she summoned it to her, locked the door, and got into the car. Unable to drive Flynn, Adriana put a driving spell on it and allowed it to take her to the hospital. She felt a thrill of excitement at the thought of going to casualty and being taken up to the maternity ward.
The drive to the hospital took about 45 minutes, and Adriana had contractions every five minutes during the ride. Finding a spot in the car park, Adriana parked Flynn, took her suitcase, and slowly made her way to casualty.
A kind nurse helped Adriana into a wheelchair and took her up to the maternity ward, where she signed herself in. She was taken to a private room where another nurse helped her out of her clothes and into a hospital nightgown. Within minutes, Severus came bursting into the room. "Where have you been? I've been here for the past half hour looking for you!" He said. He watched as the nurse examined Adriana, and listened as she told her she was only dilated to two centimetres so far. The nurse suggested to Adriana that she and Severus walk around the hallway for a while in order to speed up the dilation process.
After the nurse left the two alone, Severus closed the door and began to berate Adriana for leaving without him. "How could you do such a thing! You could have gotten in an accident!" He yelled at her. "I've never been so worried in my life! And when Albus finds out, I don't even want to know what he'll do!"
Adriana bent over in pain as another contraction began. When it subsided, she looked up at Severus. "Nothing happened, what was I supposed to do? I had no idea if you'd be busy or able to come help me. You're very involved at the school and I can't depend on you to do everything for me!"
"You still should have waited till you heard from me!"
"Well, I didn't think about that! It's not that big of a deal! I'm here, you're here, and soon the baby will be here," Adriana said, clearly not understanding why Severus was so upset.
Severus shook his head. She was obviously not thinking logically. "You know what? Let's just walk around for a bit, ok?" He held his hand out for Adriana to take and helped her stand up. Adriana made him check to see if the nightgown was tied tightly enough to cover her backside. When he'd assured her she was properly concealed, he put his arm around her waist and helped her out of the room. And thus began the longest night of their lives.
Up the hall, down the hall, back and forth, for an hour, stopping only when Adriana bent over in the pain of a contraction. Severus hated seeing her in pain like that and kept asking if she'd allow him to make her a potion for it. Adriana insisted on not using any magic and reminded him that it would be difficult for him to brew a potion without anybody noticing him and that maybe he'd better just shut up and help her walk, because that's what he was there to do.
After checking in with the nurse back at her room, Adriana found out she'd dilated two more centimetres that hour. They were sent back out to the hall for more walking. Severus tried to come up with interesting things for them to talk about in order to help pass the time. "So, the kid spills the potion all over his clothes, and his black robes turn bright pink! I had to clean both him and his mess up! Kids can be so stupid sometimes!" He had moved onto school stories by the time they had walked another hour in the hallway.
"You know, I'm sure you were responsible for some stupid mistakes yourself when you were a student there. I'll have to make sure to ask Albus if he remembers anything. And by the way, you are never teaching this kid!" She said, pointing to her stomach. With that, Adriana bent over once again in a very strong contraction, groaning and holding tightly to Sev's hand.
Severus grimaced in pain as he felt his hand being crushed. "Do you want to go back now?" He asked. Adriana silently nodded her head and he gently led her back to the room.
The nurse looked at Adriana and told her she was seven centimetres dilated and should stay in the room now. She hooked Adriana up to all sorts of monitors that measured her and the baby's heart rate and blood pressure. The contractions were almost constant now, and Adriana was in a great amount of pain. Severus rubbed her shoulders and the small of her back, while she lay on her side, breathing deeply.
Sev's hands were cramping after a while and he had to stop to rest them. Adriana was moaning and rocking gently back and forth on her side. He hated feeling helpless like this, why wouldn't she just let him help her! He could have brewed up potions to take away her pain and speed up the process at the same time! Why was she being so difficult? He was relieved when the nurse returned to look at Adriana's progress. Eight centimetres! Severus was shocked. All that pain for an entire hour for one lousy centimetre? Severus made the nurse check again, only to be dismayed that Adriana was still in fact, only eight centimetres dilated. Adriana was pretty wrapped up in the pain to notice what was happening, so he decided not to tell her how little progress she'd made.
As Sev was rubbing her back, Adriana began to whimper quietly. "Sev?" She called out in barely more than a whisper, "I think I'm done, I don't want to do this anymore, I want to go home now."
Severus leaned over her and kissed her cheek. "You're too far into this to quit now. You're doing a great job, I'm so proud of you." Those words seemed to be the encouragement Adriana needed to endure the pain, for her whimpering stopped and she began to breath steadily.
The nurse came back on the hour and examined Adriana. Nine centimetres! Severus couldn't help himself. "Nine centimetres is pretty close to ten, what's the big deal about one centimetre? Can't we try with nine?"
The nurse smiled sympathetically and patted his arm, "I'm sorry sir, but it has to be ten. If it's any consolation, she's doing amazingly well for somebody with no pain medication. Most women would be screaming and writhing in agony by now."
Severus looked fondly at Adriana, he cared about her so much, it was torture to see her like this. He walked back over to her and rubbed her shoulders. Adriana seemed to be in some sort of trance, embracing the pain she felt as a way of working through it. The hour passed slowly, Sev watched the clock as each minute ticked off to the next. He wasn't too much of a drinker, but Sev was thinking he'd need a few stiff drinks after the baby was finally born. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. "Adriana, would you like me to read to you? You packed some books in your suitcase, didn't you?" Severus walked to Adriana's suitcase and opened it up. Taking the first book he found, he brought it back to the bed, and began reading aloud, where he found the bookmark. "Colonel Brandon alone, of all the party, heard her without being in raptures. He paid her only the compliment of attention; and she felt a respect for him on the occasion, which the others had reasonably forfeited by their shameless want of taste." What book was this? It was so boring. Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen. How could she stand reading this? It was putting him to sleep! Tossing the book back to the suitcase, Severus went back to rubbing Adriana's back.
Finally the hour passed and the nurse returned to check on Adriana. Ten centimetres! Relief flooded Severus' body, now they could begin with the really hard work. The nurse went to tell the doctor that Adriana was ready for him to see her, which brought up another issue, a male doctor? Adriana was going to let a man deliver her baby? Severus wasn't so sure he wanted a strange man to look at Adriana that way, but wasn't going to interfere with Adriana's plans. This was what she wanted, and he couldn't stop her. Severus gently told Adriana that the doctor was coming to see her in a few minutes, and that she could start pushing soon.
After a short time, the doctor appeared with the nurse. He wore blue scrubs and a confident look on his face. Severus didn't like this man. He didn't want him anywhere near Adriana and had to restrain himself as the doctor walked to her and introduced himself. Dr. Dan. Adriana spoke quietly to the doctor as he held her hand. Dr. Dan moved around to Adriana's legs and told her he was going to examine her. Severus watched as he lifted her nightgown up over her stomach, exposing her bottom half to the world. Dr. Dan helped move Adriana's legs into stirrups where she could help push more easily. Dr. Dan put his hands on Adriana's thighs and spread them apart so that he could put his arms in between them to assist in the birth.
Dr. Dan told Severus that the best way he could help would be to position himself behind Adriana's back, supporting her while she sat up to push. "Sev, I'm so thirsty, I'm so hot," She said as they moved her around. The nurse left the room and returned a few minutes later with a glass of ice chips, a spoon, and a damp cloth. Severus fed her ice chips and wiped her sweating brow with the cloth.
Dr. Dan told them that with the next contraction, he wanted Adriana to push. So Severus braced himself against the wall, with Adriana against his chest. Adriana grabbed onto the handles of the bed and dug her feet into the stirrups. As Adriana felt the contraction beginning, she leaned into Severus and whispered, "Well, here we go," and began to push with all her strength. Adriana cried out in pain as she pushed. When the contraction subsided, Dr. Dan told her to stop pushing and catch her breath. Panting and leaning her head back against Sev's chest, Adriana tried to regain her strength for the next round. As the doctor reached inside of her to feel for the baby's progress, Severus thought he might reach over and punch the Muggle senseless. The doctor told her that it was a good start, but there hadn't been much movement of the baby.
Adriana braced herself for the next contraction and pushed again. The baby seemed to be stubborn and didn't want to come. After two hours of pushing, only a small amount of progress had been made. Adriana was exhausted. Severus kept feeding her ice chips and wiping her forehead. He was pretty tired as well, but wasn't going to quit until the baby was born.
While looking at one of the monitors, Dr. Dan told them to prepare for the next contraction which was going to be big. Adriana pushed harder than she had before this point, screaming in pain and exertion as she felt that her body was splitting apart from the inside out. The doctor told her that had been the best one yet and one more like that might do it. Preparing for the next contraction, Adriana took one last deep breath and began to push. The pain was overwhelming and Adriana screamed in agony. But she felt the blood of a thousand generations of women who had done this before her, flowing through her body that gave her the power to push harder than ever before. She felt something pass between her legs and suddenly the pain stopped. Gasping, Adriana asked, "Is it over? Did I do it?" She was answered by a little scream that sounded more beautiful to Adriana than any symphony she'd ever heard before. A huge smile broke out on her face as the baby wailed loudly. Tears filled her eyes as she listened. "Is it a boy or a girl? I want to see my baby! Let me see my baby!" She cried out.
Severus looked down at her, grinning, "She's beautiful, Adriana, you have a daughter!" He leaned down and kissed her in congratulation. Sev forgave Dr. Dan for everything when he was allowed to cut the baby's umbilical cord. He followed the baby over to the table where they washed and weighed her. The nurse wrapped the baby up in a blanket and placed her in Sev's arms. He gazed at her, seeing how she'd grown since he'd seen her several months before, though she was still very tiny. He slowly walked the baby over to Adriana and placed her daughter in her outstretched arms.
Adriana looked at her daughter for the first time. She was small, with five perfect fingers on each hand and five perfect toes on each foot. It was difficult to see her pale blonde hair through all the tears in Adriana's eyes. When the baby opened her eyes to look at her mother, she saw the beautiful clear blueness that all babies had when they were born. All the pain she had been in that night faded away as she held the wonderful reward in her arms.
Severus leaned down to look at the baby, "Adriana, what are you going to name her?"
Adriana gazed into the baby's eyes, as though waiting for her daughter to tell her her name. "Renata," Adriana said finally, smiling. "It means reborn."
Severus caressed the baby's cheek and whispered, "Happy birthday, Renata."