Disclaimer: See Chapter One!
Uploaded: 29th December 2004
A/N: It's going to be a bit sad for the next few chapters, but it will get happier, I promise!
"Black Light"
By Dante Lewis
Chapter Three: Confusion Sets In.
But where was Sirius? There was no question in Selina's mind that Sirius had more than likely happened upon the scene of the Potter's untimely demise. Nothing would have kept him away from seeing the truth with his own eyes. Was he so distraught in his grief that he couldn't travel? She wondered. Why hadn't anyone brought him here? Did something happen to him in the storm? Was he taking care of Harry? Oh Gods Harry…
"My husband!" She grimaced, grabbing the arm of the hovering midwife. "Where's Sirius?"
The young nurse pulled back abruptly and avoided her eyes, seeming uncomfortable in her presence. Selina's questioning look, however, was interrupted by the rapid onset of another excruciating contraction.
"No…" she wailed. "This isn't right." Gasp. "Something's wrong." Another Gasp. "Not yet. Sirius…" her voice trailed off as she struggled for breath, oblivious to the nervous looks the nursing staff exchanged at the mention of Sirius' name.
Exhausted, Selina fell back unto her pillows, the pain etched in her face framed by stray rays of lightning that sharply illuminated the room in its pursuit of thunder. Drifting in and out of awareness as weariness crept in to succumb to the calming draughts and potions the Doctor's had given her, Selina struggled to put her thoughts together in her mind. Sirius' boastful voice was suddenly in her head as she was reminded of a conversation that took place a few weeks earlier…
"No-one will expect Peter to be the Secret Keeper, everyone will just assume I'm the Secret Keeper. No one will go after Peter, it's brilliant, Selina your husband's a genius!"
Selina shot up in bed as the realisation hit her. No one knew that James and Lily had swapped secret keepers! The Ministry were after Sirius! Maybe they already had him! Selina screamed both in pain and fury as the thought of her husband being treated like a criminal graced her ever-fogging mind. Gods, James and Lily. Sirius would soon as die for them. Surely people would know that?
The door opened, as though by force. Voices trailed in from outside.
"With all due respect Nurse Steinberg, but I don't care what the hospital policy is, Selina Black is my friend and she's all alone, so I am going in. Now kindly step out of my way before I show you the business end of my wand!"
Selina could barely make out what was said, but there was no doubting in her mind who this softly spoken male voice belonged to.
"Remus!" She cried out. "Thank Merlin!"
At this, the door opened wider to reveal the gaunt and tattered form of her old friend. Recent times, she realised, had not treated him kindly; but all that mattered at that moment was that he was there. It hit her with a bitter sense of irony that despite all of the unwarranted speculation questioning the Werewolf's loyalties and the subsequent ostracising of him from his circle of friends, no one had thought to remove his name from the emergency contacts on her medical records. For that she was eternally grateful.
"Remus!" She rasped, reaching out her hand to beckon him into the room. "Sorry… so sorry… we thought… we didn't think… Sirius… oh Gods Sirius… Remus they think… he didn't… must help him… James…. Lily… oh God. OH GOD!" Selina screamed as another contraction hit her.
Remus ignored the glares he was getting from the nurses and took a seat at Selina's side, grasping the hand which wasn't wrapped around her 'Snuffles' toy and gently brushing her sweat-drenched hair out of her face with a cool cloth he had conjured.
"Shhh… Selina, remember to breathe. Don't worry about anything else right now; just concentrate on the task at hand, mmm? We will sort everything out, all right? Everything will be taken care of!" Remus soothed in comforting tones, sighing in relief when his werewolf senses picked up signs of her relaxing under his ministrations. 'Thank Merlin tonight isn't a full moon.' He mused to himself.
"What?" Selina whispered once she had caught her breath. "Not going to offer me some Chocolate, Remus?"
Remus quirked his lips. "Well actually if you insist, I do happen to…"
His response was rapidly cut off by sharp intake of breath from the woman at his side. "Oh Gods, again? …So soon."
The healer at the end of the bed, who had been carefully monitoring the ongoing situation, gave Selina a meaningful look. "Right, now Mrs Black, I do believe that it's time to push!"
The angel opens her eyes
Pale blue coloured iris
Remus' eyes widened. Selina grimaced and gripped his hand like a lifeline. The moments that followed went like a blur. Before they knew it, Selina was spent, and a piercing wail gave the storm outside a run for its galleons.
"Congratulations Mrs Black, you have a beautiful blue eyed baby girl." The midwife announced, wrapping the baby firmly in a fluffy yellow blanket. "Mrs Black?"
Her placenta falls to the floor
The angel opens her eyes
The confusion sets in
Before the doctor can even close the door
Fear gripped Selina's eyes as they met Remus confused look. "Moony… something… something's wrong. I don't feel… quite right."
Remus looked from Selina to the deepening concerned looks on the Healer's face, comprehension setting in.
"Selina?" His throat constricted in fear. 'No not her too…'
"Healer, what's happening? What's happening?" He demanded.
Healer Svigos nodded quickly at the midwife who nodded back gravely before sweeping out of the room with the baby; then turned his attention to Remus' question. "Mr Lupin, if you would be so obliged as to leave the room, there seems to be a problem."
Selina gripped Remus' hand weakly. "No! Please don't leave me!"
Remus looked helplessly between the woman fading before his eyes and the now frantic Healer who was barking orders left right and centre between casting complex charms. His Werewolf senses were overwhelmed with… the scent of blood. Too much blood. All colour left his face as the grip on his hand started to weaken.
"Selina. Don't worry. I'll… I'll… everything will be taken care of." Remus choked back his emotion.
"Remus, my baby, don't let them take her away!" Selina cried desperately, realisation setting in. "Go to her Remus. Give her this. I don't… you shouldn't… Go."
Remus wiped away the lone tear that had flooded from his misty eye and gruffly accepted the distressed looking black dog from Selina's outstretched hand before turning on his heel and stalking from the room, not looking back. The last look between them conveying more than words ever could.
Selina watched her friend walk away for the last time as the darkness began to envelop her. Eyes glazing over, all tension left her body as her lips curved into a slight smile.
"He knew." She whispered.
Lightning crashes
Aold mother dies
Her intentions fall to the floor
With that, and a deafening crash of thunder, Selina Black was no more. Outside her door, Remus' werewolf senses failed to pick up her heartbeat, and the realisation was instantaneous. Letting out a ragged sob, he followed the newborn cub's scent. Down the hall, a baby screamed.
She knew too.
The confusion that was hers
Belongs now to the baby down the hall
End Chapter: Confusion Sets In