On the twenty-fourth of June - over a month since the baby shower - Charlie slammed the front door behind him on his way to work. He could still hear Lyla yelling at him as he walked away.
"I guess I'll just raise this baby on my own, then!" she yelled at the shut wooden door. When she realized he really wasn't coming back she huffed and put her hands on her hips then started pacing back and forth, trying to get her flaming hot face to cool off.
It was the third day that Charlie had to work when he wasn't supposed to and they made plans to paint the nursery. She sighed and fell backward onto the couch, then leaned as far forward onto her knees as her large stomach would allow and bounced her legs up and down in her anger. After letting the silence ring in her ears for a few more minutes she hoisted herself back off the couch, stormed into the nursery, angrily wrenched open the top of the large paint can on the floor and tipped it over into the paint tray.
An interesting side effect of a witch carrying a child that will grow to possess magical powers is that her own powers are dampened. That's one of the reasons she so badly wanted Charlie to help her paint the room; with him, it would take her a quarter of the time to complete. Instead; in her stubborn anger, she resolved to complete the room by herself...the Muggle Way.
As she rolled the paint onto the bare walls furiously she felt her anger dissipate and started to take deep, calming breaths. Soon, though, the smell was too much for her so she opened the bedroom windows; let the room air out in the early summer breeze.
Before she knew it, the room had been doused in the burning yellow of the orange sun. It eclipsed the fresh blue paint on the walls and turned them a muddy green. She sighed with pride, wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of a paint-flecked hand as she looked around at the finished room.
Orbs were starting the float across the wall she was smiling at; she blinked hard and lightly shook her head trying to get them to dissipate. They didn't. Still smiling, she closed her eyes peacefully and moved slowly backward, her hand stretched out blindly behind her until it rested on the polished arm of her brand new glider. She used this point of reference to get her bearings and lower herself softly into the chair.
Once comfortably seated, Lyla opened her eyes again and saw that her vision was slightly blurred. So tired, she thought to herself, and rested her head back before passing out.
She dreamt that her water broke except instead of the cool rush of watery fluid it was hot fudge that ran down her inner thighs and she was swimming in fog.
"Lyla!" Charlie screamed when he saw her sleeping peacefully in the blood that was pooling on the glider beneath her. He fell to his knees and stammered wildly, his hands shaking around her body as he didn't know whether or not to touch her. "Lyla! Lyla!" he screamed at her face; his mouth dry and throat tightening. When she still didn't respond he slapped her across the face.
She flinched vaguely and moaned. At this sign of life Charlie scrambled back to his feet and rushed to the open window. He brandished his wand and it sent and steady, continuous stream of red sparks into the air that made a sound like a siren as they went through their cycle of rising and falling above his house.
The Medi-Wizards descended almost immediately on Charlie's cabin and rushed to transport Lyla to the medical center.
At Hogwarts, Harry Potter was entering the maze for the Final Task of the Triwizard Tournament.
At Lyla's childhood home, her mother was filling a tea kettle with water.
At the Medical Center, Lyla sprang back into consciousness after having a strong potion held under her nose. She immediately wished she was still asleep as she was disoriented and her body was wracked with pain.
"What's happening?!" Lyla cried helplessly, looking around at all the people in the room; her gaze landing on a very pale Charlie standing up against the wall. He was looking somewhere immediately to the left of her; trying very hard not to look at her face or body. His arms were folded tightly over his great, broad chest as though he were trying to squeeze himself smaller and smaller until he disappeared. He hand was clamped tightly over his gaping mouth.
"Charlie," she croaked at him, pleadingly. He shifted uncomfortably but otherwise didn't move. "Charlie!" she said firmly and slightly louder even through the tears that were choking her and causing her to shake uncontrollably. He still said and did nothing; he was in shock.
"Lyla." Midwife Allegra said firmly, in a tone Lyla had never heard her use before. Lyla looked over at her quickly. Midwife Allegra's face was close to Lyla's as she squeezed tightly on Lyla's left shoulder. "You've had a severe placental abruption."
"A...a...wh-wha-a-a-t?" Lyla stuttered
Midwife Allegra shook her head, "You need to push, Lyla."
"No" Lyla swallowed hard. "It's too early, the baby won't -"
"We need to worry about you now, Lyla."
"No, no, no, no, no" Lyla wailed over and over again, shaking her head as she did. At this, Charlie turned his face to the wall and hid his anguished face.
"Yes, Lyla, I'm sorry." Midwife Allegra said, running her hand over the hair that was plastered to Lyla's scalp with sweat. "PUSH!" she boomed suddenly in her ear, causing Lyla to sit up, grab her knees and push, hard. He mouth open in a continuous scream of physical pain and heartbreak.
Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory grabbed the Triwizard Cup at the same time.
The kettle went off with a piercing screech and a blast of steam.
Lyla's scream was plastered across her face even though the sound was lost in her throat. She felt the scream radiate in her head and shake inside her chest. On her shoulder, the dragon tattoo was writhing in silent pain, it's mouth open in a silent scream itself.
"Push!" Midwife Allegra boomed again
"AhhhHHHHH!" Lyla screamed as she took a deep breath and her voice found its way out of her throat again. Her hands were clamped behind her knees but slipping from the sweat that was pouring from her skin as she pushed again.
When she breathed in again and relaxed her muscles a little an ice cold wave of despair washed over her insides. "Wh-h-h-hyyy" she moaned in between rattling sobs and let her sweat-soaked head loll back.
Midwife Allegra cradled the back of Lyla's neck in her hand; her fingers resting in the wet hair plastered against Lyla's skin and lifted her head until their eyes met. "I'm so sorry." she whispered, trying to wipe the wet strands out of her face. "I'm so sorry. Just one more."
Lyla's breath quickened at the thought of having to push her child's lifeless body out of her; she started hyperventilating. Her eyes darted around the room in a panic, hoping for someone to give her breath back; give her baby back. She saw the back of Charlie's bright red head and his broad shoulders shakings so vigorously he appeared to be vibrating. Every once in a while, a wet sob escaped his mouth and he gently hit his head against the wall.
"No, no, no" Midwife Allegra started, "Don't do that." she let go of Lyla's neck and rummaged around for another potion. When she found it, she poured it into a soft, shallow bowl and held it directly up to Lyla's nose and mouth. She grabbed the back of Lyla's neck again and tipped her head all the way back, the bowl still against her face, and then back down again. She repeated this step quickly three times until Lyla was breathing normally again.
"Okay" Midwife Allegra said, resolutely "Last timeā¦" Lyla started shaking her head as tears streamed down her face "Yes! You have to or you will die, Lyla! Do you understand? PUSH!"
Lyla closed her eyes; squeezing yet more tears out of her lids and sunk down into the cushioned medical chair she was in wishing she could cocoon and die there. She felt a wide, calloused hand on the cold, wet skin of her arm and slowly opened her eyes to look up at Charlie's grey face, trembling lip, and wet blue eyes.
"Please" he rasped as he squeezed her arm "Please push" he started crying again and reached under her shoulders to pull her back up. He started doing some of the Birthing Breathing he remembered and rested his nose against her cheek.
As the breath from Charlie's mouth warmed her earlobe in the rhythmic way she remembered from Breathing Class she cried softly, grabbed her legs behind her knees again and dug her nails into her skin as she pushed one last time.
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named climbed out of a cauldron in the middle of a graveyard miles away from Hogwarts.
Lyla's mother started as she heard a knock at the door, put her tea down, and got up to open it.
