A/N- Okay, so I came to a conclusion before I started writing this chapter. I hate writing separate battle chapters, which is what the next chapter was supposed to be. So, I'm combining this chapter with that one. Which means two things: one, I've been unintentionally lying to all of you for the last couple of countdowns, and two, this is the next to last chapter. Only one more to go. I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 8- Battles
Although it was a distance of only four feet or so, the time it took Pansy and Le-Annette to carefully cross from one room to the next was agonizingly slow. The vampire could feel Pansy's nervousness and tenseness and read those feelings in the jerky eye movements the girl was making. Somewhere, downstairs in an unseen room, the sound of Voldemort's voice faintly leaked into Le-Annette's ears. She ground her teeth a bit, annoyed that she could not hear Voldemort as loudly as she should. Finally, they came to door of the neighboring room. Pansy, fighting all instincts to run, slowly pushed it open. Once the two were inside, they closed it just as softly.
The room was dark, all except for the orange light of the fire in the fireplace. Le-Annette's eyes then found the jar of floo powder on the mantle. Pansy put away her wand and grabbed the powder.
"My wand," Le-Annette said suddenly. "Where is it? I had it on me at Hogwarts."
Pansy shook her head, grabbing a fist full of powder and handing the jar to Le-Annette. "You didn't when we brought you here. It must've fallen out of your robes when we stunned you."
The vampire nodded. If that was the case, then they surely would've found it at Hogwarts.
"Where are we going?" Pansy asked as Le-Annette took what she needed and replaced the jar.
"Dumbledore's fireplace. But say, 'Al's Candy Shop.' It's password protected, for obvious reasons."
With a decisive jerk of her head, Pansy threw her floo powder into the fireplace, saying clearly, "Al's Candy Shop!"
No sooner had the words left her mouth, Le-Annette heard the approach of footsteps. They were hurried and heading towards the room the two had just escaped from.
"Go!" Le-Annette hissed, shoving Pansy into the magicked flames.
Once Pansy was clear, Le-Annette threw her powder into the flames and shouted the password to Dumbledore's fireplace just as she heard some Death Eater shout from next door, "She's not here! Neither is the Parkinson girl!"
Le-Annette stepped into the flames and escaped just moments after hearing the door of the room open and Voldemort's scream of rage.
She slid out of Dumbledore's fireplace into his office moments later, stopping at Harry's feet. She looked up to see Dumbledore curiously staring down at her and Harry holding tightly to Pansy's arm. Pansy was muttering very nasty things about Harry in between trying to convince him that she wasn't there to hurt anyone.
"Thank goodness you're okay, Le-Annette," Dumbledore said, coming around his desk and helping the vampire to her feet.
Le-Annette dusted off her robes and instructed Harry to release Pansy's arm. He did so reluctantly.
"Severus, Hermione, and Draco have been beside themselves with worry," Dumbledore said.
"And they weren't the only ones," Harry said.
"Are you injured? I assume Voldemort was the mastermind behind your capture?" Dumbledore continued.
"I'm fine, thank you. Yes, of course it was that bastard. But he's coming. Tonight. He's planning an attack on Hogwarts. We must get prepared." Le-Annette said.
Pansy's eyes flashed, and the vampire scoffed.
"Child, I was not going to forget what I promised," she said. Then, turning back to Dumbledore, she added, "Pansy's mother's life was threatened if she did not help him. He will certainly hurt the woman now that she helped me escape. Will you get someone to get Mrs. Parkinson to the Order's headquarters? Immediately?"
"Consider it done, my dear," Dumbledore said.
Harry looked a bit angry at this, but Pansy sighed. She smiled.
"Thank you, Professor Zachary," she said.
Le-Annette smiled back. "No need to thank me. In fact, I should thank you. But that's for later. We have to gather the troops, as it were."
As the four moved to the leave the office, Le-Annette cried out. Harry whirled and ran to her side as she fell to the floor, doubled over in pain. Then, she gasped and was sitting in a pool of water.
"Oh no…my baby…" Le-Annette said, breathing heavily.
Harry backed away, shaking his head. Le-Annette looked up, feeling a bit dizzy.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Do-don't you…feel that?" he asked.
"What?"
Dumbledore and Pansy looked white as ghosts, and Harry looked damn near transparent. Le-Annette placed a hand to her heart, trying to get it to slow down…when she gasped again. She was a vampire. Her heart wasn't supposed to be going at any speed. And she wasn't supposed to gasp or breathe. Dumbledore rushed forward and put his fingers on Le-Annette's wrists. His eyes grew to the size of saucers.
"She's…alive," he muttered.
…………………
The infirmary was nearly empty, all except for five people. Soon to be six. Dumbledore had conjured a stretcher for her shortly after their shocking discovery and had rushed her to the infirmary, and Madame Pomfrey. He left after telling the mediwitch what had transpired and warning her of the coming battle. Le-Annette had smiled when Pomfrey had told Dumbledore, "Oh, bother the Dark Lord. I've got a baby to deliver!"
Soon after he had gone, Hermione, Draco, and Severus had arrived. Severus was currently holding Le-Annette's hand through contractions—she was no where near as strong now that she was alive—while Hermione and Draco stood on the other side of her bed.
"He'll be here soon," Draco said quietly.
Another contraction seized Le-Annette, and she gasped and grabbed at Severus's hand. She was not used to this. Any of it. It had been much too long since she had last had a child or breathed a breath of air. The beating of her heart frightened her for reasons she could not rationally explain. When the contraction passed, she pressed her free hand against her heart, closing her eyes.
"Are you okay, Aunt Le-Annette?" Hermione asked, a bit sheepishly.
Le-Annette reopened her eyes in time to see Severus shoot the girl a "don't-ask-stupid-questions-of-course-she's-not-okay" look. Hermione's balked under the look. Le-Annette shook her head.
"I'm okay. What's going on about Voldemort? Is the Order here?"
"They've just arrived. They're preparing. Lupin sends his love and says good luck," Severus said.
Just then, Pomfrey bustled over. She lifted the sheets covering Le-Annette's lower half, and clucked. "She'll be having that baby any time now. So, who's staying? Now would be the time to decide that."
"I am," Severus and Hermione said simultaneously.
The two glared at one another. Pomfrey shook her head.
"Nope. Either Professor Snape stays, or you do, Miss Granger. Not both. But I'm sure Professor Zachary would probably want the father of her baby here with her," the mediwitch said.
"I want Hermione here," Le-Annette said, causing Severus's head to whip back around towards her.
"What?" he asked. "I'm not missing this, the birth of our child. I'm going to be here."
She shook her head. "No. You're too much of an asset to the Order to be here holding my hand. Hermione is an asset as well, but between the two…they need your experience."
Hermione's hard eyes softened. Draco turned and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm going on to meet with the others, love. I'll see you soon."
Draco exited the infirmary. Hermione's eyes followed him until he had disappeared, then she turned her attention back to Le-Annette.
"But he's right," she said. "He's the father. If there can only be one person here, it should be him."
"But it'll be you. I have my reasons," Le-Annette replied, gasping through another contraction.
Pomfrey sighed while Severus looked on with wide eyes.
"Fine then," Pomfrey said. "Come on, girl. Let's get your hands washed up. I won't have anything unclean getting in the way of birthing this child."
Pomfrey placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder, leading her away. She pulled the curtains shut around Le-Annette and Snape. Le-Annette couldn't help but smile. Pomfrey was quite astute.
"Why don't you want me here?" Severus asked, pained.
"Because I have something more important to ask you for," she replied.
"What could be more important than this?"
She lifted her shirt, revealing the mark. "This."
Severus gasped. "A Dark Mark? Why did he brand you? And here?"
Le-Annette re-covered the mark. "It's a new mark. It ensures complete loyalty to him. It'll be on our baby, Severus. It'll cause our baby to turn to him."
Severus said nothing. He could only stare, still holding Le-Annette's hand. It took a few moments, but when he managed to collect his thoughts, he asked, "What did you need me to do?"
"I need you to get the mark off. That only happens if Voldemort dies. I need you to make sure he dies, Severus. Please. Make sure that bastard rots."
Severus locked eyes with Le-Annette. Then, he leaned in and kissed her swiftly on the lips. "You have my word."
And he left the room.
…………………
By the time that Severus made it to the front steps of the school, Voldemort and the Death Eaters were a line on the horizon. He found his way to front where Harry, Dumbledore, Draco, and Lupin stood. He took his place in between Harry and Dumbledore.
"How is she?" Lupin asked, leaning around.
"Fine. She wishes us luck," Severus replied, not looking away from the oncoming Death Eaters.
"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked.
"With Le-Annette."
"Why aren't you there instead?"
"I have something that she needs me to do. I intend to do it for her."
"At least Hermione's safe this way," Draco said.
The Death Eaters and their master pressed ever closer.
"Unless we lose," Harry said glumly.
"We can't lose," Severus said with determination.
"Don't worry, Professor," Draco said. "If we lose, Hermione will hold back Hell itself to protect Aunt Le-Annette and that baby."
Severus couldn't help but smile a little at Draco's statement. With a nod, the group pulled out their wands, followed by the mass of Order members and volunteers from the student body doing the same.
"It's time to end this," Dumbledore said.
"I couldn't agree more," Harry and Snape said in unison.
…………………
The baby was ready. At ten centimeters, Pomfrey had instructed Le-Annette to get ready to push her child out into the world. Hermione stood on Le-Annette's right, taking Severus's place in holding her hand. Below, a massive noise of spells cracking against the castle walls exploded.
"Oh, no," Le-Annette muttered for the second time tonight. "It's started."
"Don't think about that now," Pomfrey instructed. "Push, girl. Push."
It was hard to ignore the spells rebounding the castle walls, even in the pain of labor. Each crack gave Le-Annette a new, more horrible thought.
Crack. Severus dead. Crack. Harry dead. Crack. Dumbledore dead. Crack. Voldemort breaking through. Crack. Her baby marked.
"Focus!" Pomfrey's voice cut through Le-Annette's dark thoughts. "You have to focus! This baby isn't going to force herself out!"
That caught Le-Annette's attention. "She?" she grunted, pushing as instructed.
"You're doing great," Hermione encouraged.
Pomfrey smiled up at Le-Annette. "Yes. A baby girl."
Sheer joy blocked the sounds of the battle out as she pushed again and again, stopping only when instructed. Hermione stood by with a cool rag, wiping Le-Annette's brow whenever she could.
"One more good push, Le-Annette, and she'll be born," Pomfrey said.
She took a deep breath, preparing to give it her all, when a sudden, loud cheer rose up. She stopped pushing before she had even started.
"Hermione, the window. Quickly," Le-Annette said.
Hermione rushed to the window as Pomfrey said, "Push, damn it!"
Le-Annette ignored her. "What do you see?"
"I can't see anything," Hermione replied. "All I can tell is that there are no more spells being shot. I think…I think it's over."
Pomfrey, who had still been instructing Le-Annette to push, paused. "Who…who won?"
There was silence as the three women stared at one another, each unable to answer the question. Finally, Le-Annette looked down at her stomach. Grabbing at her hospital gown, she pulled it up, revealing…nothing but her stomach. The mark was gone. She smiled.
"We've won," she said as she pushed.
Neither Pomfrey nor Hermione—who moved to stand once again at Le-Annette's side—questioned this knowledge as Le-Annette's final push ended with the healthy cry of a beautiful baby girl. Le-Annette gasped and laughed, a tear of joy escaping her eyes as she rested her head back on her pillows. Pomfrey bustled off to clean the baby just as the doors to the infirmary burst open.
Severus Snape, bleeding only a little but quite bruised, strode in, stopping only when he reached Le-Annette.
"We've won! Voldemort's dead! Potter did it! I watched him destroy the monster!" he proclaimed, taking Le-Annette's hand and kissing it. "Where is the baby?"
"Pomfrey is cleaning her up," Le-Annette answered.
"Is Draco all right? And Harry? And Ron?" Hermione asked.
Snape nodded. "Yes. All three. All of them have suffered injuries, but nothing serious in the long run. We lost quite a few…but Draco, Potter, and Weasley are all okay."
Satisfied with that, Hermione murmured that she would leave them alone, walking over to where Pomfrey cleaned the baby. Snape smiled down at Le-Annette.
"What is it? Boy or girl?"
"Girl," she replied. "Beautiful and healthy."
Severus kissed her, resting his forehead on hers. Pomfrey returned, placing the newborn in Le-Annette's arms. Severus smiled at his daughter.
"What should we name her?" Le-Annette asked.
Severus shrugged. "I don't know. Have you considered any names?"
Le-Annette smiled. "Yes, actually. Mostly for boys, oddly enough. I only came up with one for a girl."
"What is it?"
Before she could answer, she suddenly felt strange. Weak. Then, a jolt of pain shot through her body, and she cried out. Oddly, the thought of, "This feels familiar," calmly passed through her mind. Pomfrey and Hermione both rushed back as Severus carefully took the baby from her. Pomfrey pulled out her wand and waved it over Le-Annette. When she was done, she had a look of absolute horror on her face.
"What's wrong?" Snape demanded as the baby began to cry.
But Le-Annette recognized the look. She had seen it before. She answered before Pomfrey could, in a voice of such calm that she shocked even herself.
"I'm dying."
Another jolt of pain. They were coming faster than they had the last time this had happened, so many years ago.
Hermione's eyes were tear-filled. "What are you talking about?"
"She's right," Pomfrey confirmed. "She's dying. I can't explain it. She bleeding internally, and I can't find it to stop it. And there's something else, but I don't know what it is…she's just…dying."
Another jolt of pain. Le-Annette bit down hard on her lip to keep from crying out.
"No!" Snape said. "This can't be! You have to do something!"
"Severus, there's nothing!" Pomfrey said. "I wish there was…"
She was silent for a moment. Then, she added, "Maybe I could…"
"No," Le-Annette said through the pain.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"No. There's nothing you can do. I know that now. This is how it was supposed to be. I'm meant to die just like this," she answered, her head lolling back on her pillow.
She felt strange. Dizzy and drained. The pain was fading, but Le-Annette knew that that was not a good sign. Not when she felt like this.
Severus gave Hermione the baby and instructed both her and Pomfrey to leave. They did so quietly, Hermione crying silent tears. Snape leaned over her.
"We could find a vampire," he said desperately. "He could turn you. Like before…"
Le-Annette smiled, not looking at him right away. Instead, her eyes were locked on the window that she had sent Hermione to look out. A sudden peace descended upon her. Another jolt of pain…but not as powerful this time. It was almost over.
"No," she said quietly, now turning her head to look at Severus. "It's all the same. This is the same room as before. When I was dying the first time. I remember that window. I'm even in the same place my bed was in. Only there will be no Zion. Only me…dying with the man I love holding my hand. This is the way I was meant to die. I can think of no better way."
"But…" Severus began to protest. Le-Annette shushed him.
"No. I love you, Severus," she whispered, feeling herself growing weaker.
"I love you too, Le-Annette," he whispered back, tears falling.
"I don't have to worry about my children this time…This time, I know her father will take care of her…" she whispered, finding the words harder and harder to push out. "Take…care…of her, won't…you?"
"Yes, yes, of course," he replied.
Le-Annette felt one of his tears fall on her lips, which suddenly felt parched. She smiled. "Take…care…of…our daughter…our…little Ba—"
Le-Annette drew one, final shuddering gasp, then grew very still. Severus felt the sobs rock his body as he bent over to rest his head on Le-Annette's body. He didn't even hear Hermione re-enter the room with his child, followed by Pomfrey, Dumbledore, Harry, Draco, and Lupin.
End Notes: So, only one more chapter to go. I'll go ahead and tell you that it's an epilogue. I hope everyone liked this chapter! I hope it came off sad enough. I also apologize if any of the labor stuff isn't right. I've never given birth before. Please review!