ch 14-Two sides of a knut

Xiomara walked into Minerva's room, noticing all the different spells surrounding the sleeping witch, especially the four stretches around her middle section. Two bands both shades of green beat steadily.

iThe kittens are hanging in there. Thank Merlin, they inherited Min's Scottish stubbornness.
/i
The red, measuring Minerva's heart rate, was slowly creeping up with each contraction. The blue line flashed every twenty minutes announcing another contraction.

"Oh, honey. This wasn't supposed to happen. One youthful stupid mistake wasn't suppose to cost you this much." Xiomara leaned over and brush Minerva's hair from her face, and settled in to wait and watch for her friend.

A moment later, green eyes met yellow.

"It wasn't a nightmare. Apollo knows." Minerva's eyes begged her friend to lie. Xiomara sighed.

"No it wasn't. Apollo knows about Tom."

Minerva began to cry.

Apollo stared at the fire stonily waiting for his father to prepare the memories.

"Do we ever really get to know you?" Apollo wondered tiredly.

"What was that, son?"

"I was just wondering if we ever really know our parents. I mean, children are pretty egoistical. We think our parents' lives begin when we're born. But they live within whole different selves."

"Oh, I don't know how different we become when children are born. We just grow into the new role." Albus tried to figure out what Apollo was thinking but after a few attempts, he gave up.

"Here. 1944. you know about the Chamber of Secrets. These are the events during the months before and after…"

"How did Apollo take the news of Tom?" Xiomara gently asked.

"He's never going to forgive me." Minerva braced herself against another contraction. Xiomara slipped behind her, and started to rub her back.

"Breathe, deep breath." She glanced at monitor. "It's almost over."

Minerva slumped back against Xiomara, crying.

"Make it stop. They are too little."

"I know, Min. Did Dominick give you something to relax you and stop the labor?"

Nodding, Minerva said, "About a half-hour ago."

"Well, let's give it time to work." Xiomara glanced at the clock. Damn Apollo. He should've known better.

For the first time in his life, Xiomara wished ill-will towards her beloved godson. She leaned over and whispered, hoping to distracted Minerva,

"I got a secret."

Apollo plunged into the icy cold silver liquid. Immediately he recognized the place, the main hallway of Hogwarts. The hall stood silence and still, until the image of a young girl, around the age of seventeen flew down the hall, her dark hair flowing behind her.

Mom? Apollo thought.

"Sorry I'm late, Tom. Professor Dumbledore was helping me with the Transfiguring homework."
"I thought you were a natural. What do you need help with?"
Minerva smiled secretly, "Extra project."
Apollo noticed the brown eyes looking at his mother harden for a second.
"You know I don't like spending time away from my girl."
"Of course, Tom." With that, Minerva kissed Tom, which he deepen, pulling her towards him. Minerva never noticed the auburn hair transfiguration professor watching.

Minerva let out a deep breath. The labor became more intense in the short half-hour it took for the medince to work. But the three heartbeats were still steady, and there was no greater danger yet.
"Here, if you can, why don't you drink this tea? You need to keep your strength up."
Minerva sipped the tea and glanced at the monitor.
"I think I got about twenty minutes. What's the secret?"
Xiomara smiled mischievously.
"How would you feel about becoming a godmother in late March? I believe that's when Theoriski said they were due."
"Mara, that's great. Severus must be over the moon."
"He's in another galaxy. You haven't realize something." Xiomara's eyes were laughing.
"What?" Minerva asked, just as another contraction began.

"When did you first realize Tom Riddle was, well, evil?" Apollo shuddered with the thought of his mother, first having sex and then with Tom Riddle.

"He was interested in dark arts. More than any other student I had. He eventually, I suspect, succeed where I fear the most. He created horcruxes."

Apollo gasped involuntary.

" The first one I believe was created after he and your mother, er, consummated their relationships. I know for a fact, Pol, she didn't realize who he was. She was simply seventeen."

"Is that an excuse?"

"It is a matter of fact. The day she found out about Tom Riddle was the day she lost her first born son. I caused the fight between myself and Tom. I forced your mother to protect me instead of protecting her." Albus felt the tear run down his check.

"OW! Hee, hee, hee." Minerva collapsed back on the pillow. I need Albus. Xiomara fed her ice chips.

" Thirty minutes between that one and the last one."

"Who would thought four minutes would encouraging?" said Minerva, half crying, half laughing.

"You know when I said they?" Xiomara asked, a grin beginning to showed.

"They? Mara, you aren't twins, are you? " Minerva studied her friend.

"Well, now I'm not sure I want to. You don't make it look easy."

"Mara, I love you, but for Merlin's sake, cut the jokes."

"Twins, my love, twins."

"Twins. Oh." Minerva briefly closed her eyes. "Due in March? That means they will be with the kittens at Hogwarts. Four professors' kids at once. Imagine the horror. I know the first set were bad but four at once…"

"My godchildren didn't do anything I wouldn't do myself." Xiomara started to defend her beloved Rory and Pol.

"Mara, we ended up killing a professor."

"Granted, but I'm trying to remember did we ever get in trouble for that?"

"um, well, I think we received dentations, and a warning letter in our permanent records." As she spoke those words, her belly tensed and started another contraction.

"Now I remember why I didn't have the eight kittens we planned on!"

"You knew mom was sleeping with Vol-Tom? Why didn't you stop it?" Apollo looked at his father, aghast.

" What would I say? They were both of legal age. 'I'm sorry Mr. Riddle, but don't sleep with Ms. McGonagall, because I think you're evil and I want to sleep with her'?" Albus' voice shook with anger and frustrated. Pulling one of his worst memories into the stone basis, he nodded towards it. "That's the last one. That's why we didn't let you use the Dumbledore name."

"He stole my name." Something that simple made Apollo's heart break. The sliver liquid swirled and finally he placed his head in.

A bright red light shorn from the hand of Tom Riddle. At seventeen he was already accomplished the art of wandless magic.

"I wouldn't step closer, old man. I have the goddess and you have nothing."

"Please Tom, I'm pregnant. Please, it's your child. Please, your own flesh and blood. Please, I'm begging you" Minerva whispered, tears sliently on her cheeks.

"How do I know it's my child? You're nothing but Dumbledore's whore."

"Mr. Riddle, I swear to you, I haven't touch Minerva!"

"Minerva? How strange. The always so proper Professor Dumbledore calling a student by their given name."

"Tom, we seems so close because he's been teaching me how to be an animagi. Tom, your son! Please we'll marry and raise the baby." Minerva begged.

Tom paused and looked at Minerva, staring into pools of shining emeralds.

"Ha, not only a whore but a lying whore. It's pity Dumbledore never taught you occlumency. I have no use for you, my whore. Old man, I give your whore." With that, Tom threw Minerva against the castle. She twisted into a ball and Albus immediately rushed over to her. Neither of them noticed Tom apparating into the night.

"It was the last time I saw Tom as Tom Riddle. When he came back to apply for the D.A.D.A. post. He asked about 'my whore' and I replied that I haven't heard from Minerva in months. That was when your mother went back to Scotland to get her degree and piece of mind back. I proposed six months after she came back to London and you know the rest. "

"Dad, what happen to the baby? Mom looked five months pregnant. There had to be a body." Apollo wanted to know what happened to his brother.

"I sent the body with Fawkes to burn it and then spread the ashes in Scotland with your mother and grandparents." Albus felt exhausted.

Suddenly Xiomara's head appeared in the fireplace.

"Albus, we need you now!"

Without a second glance at his son, Albus grasped Fawkes' feathers and went off to be with his wife.