DISCLAIMER: Not yet. We still have a couple weeks before Christmas. Perhaps I'll own Harry Potter by then.
A/N: Okay, so here's the next chapter for those of you still interested. Things start to change in this chapter and I'm pretty sure you'll like how this is starting to turn. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 11: The Tables Start To Turn
As fast as the baby came, it was gone. Maddy wasn't sure what caused the baby to die, and she didn't want know. Charles, of course, wasn't around, so Maddy was left to herself.
Maddy confined herself to her room, once again, not allowing any visitors. She knew there would be many, for Charles's family was huge, and each of them adored Maddy. (And Charles for that matter.) Charles did call, but Emma took it instead of Maddy. She told Charles that Maddy was still grieving. The truth was Maddy was angry that he didn't have the decency to stay with his wife while she was pregnant, and didn't want to talk to him.
"Yes…Yes, I will tell her that, sir…Good bye." Emma hung up the phone and turned to Maddy, who was looking older by the minute.
"What did he want?" Maddy asked, sobbing lightly.
"He…He said that he will be home soon…" Emma said slowly.
Maddy nodded, secretly not believing a word of it. She loved her husband very much, but she wished he would show her that he loved her as much instead of saying it over long distance.
"Would you like the newspaper to read, Ma'am?"
"Yes, Emma. That would be nice…"
Emma returned a few moments later with the newspaper. Maddy stared at the front page in horror. In great bold print was a headline: A ROYAL AFFAIR?! The subheading read: "Wife of the Duke Charles Penly, Madeleine Penly was seen in public with Harry Potter while her husband was away on a business trip". Under it was a picture of the two of them in the restaurant, and another of them in the carriage.
Maddy scanned the story and caught a few of the lines. 'Rumors are flying that Mr. Potter and Mrs. Penly have been together for years…' 'Reliable sources say that the couple were lovers in school…' 'Mrs. Penly waits until her husband is out of the country…' 'The baby may not have been Mr. Penly's'.
Maddy dropped the newspaper on the floor, and grabbed the phone. She dialed a number so quickly, that she feared she had pressed the wrong numbers.
"Hello?" A woman's voice answered.
"Hello…May I speak to Harry, please?"
The woman on the other end paused; "Who is this?" her voice was sharp.
"Please, I have to speak with Harry!"
"Who is this?!"
"Ginny, please!" Maddy sounded desparate. "Just let me speak to him!"
"Maddy?! How dare you call here! I don't want to see you anywhere near my husband!"
Maddy hung up the phone. She hated Ginny! Hated her! Hated her! Hated her! She had ruined her life, and was continuing to do so when she was older. Maddy flung herself back into the pillows, and helped herself to a new wave of tears.
There was a sudden knock on the door, and Emma's head peered in.
"Mrs. Penly, I know you said no visitors, but there is a Mr. Potter here for you…"
Maddy sat up and stared at the little maid.
"Do you wish to see him?"
Maddy didn't even have a chance to answer. Harry entered the room, and Emma disappeared.
"Harry…you shouldn't be here…" Maddy murmured.
Harry nodded, "I know, but I had to-"
Maddy shook her head in disbelief, "How could they write such things?"
Harry didn't know how to answer. Maddy's eyes seemed to have run out of tears.
"Maddy…sometimes…"
"My life is ruined! What if…What if Charles hears about this? And it's…it's not even true!"
"Maddy! I know…" He sat down on the edge of her bed. "I know. Ginny's threatening to leave me. She says she's known it for ages. She won't believe a word I say…"
Maddy continued to shake her head, "Harry, I'm practically royalty. Hell, I am royalty! Do you know what happens to royalty when they have extramarital affairs? I'll never be able to go out in public again! I'll have to change my name…a-and leave the country!"
Harry wrapped his arms around her, as she sobbed into his shoulder. "Shh…no that won't happen. As long as you tell Charles the truth...he'll believe you…"
"Charles knows I'm mad at him," Maddy said, distraught. "He'll believe what the papers say." She sniffled loudly. "And Harry…t-the baby…"
"They have tests to prove that the baby is his…"
"No, Harry…" Maddy shook her head feverishly. "That's not it...the baby…it's…it's dead…"
Harry stared at her. "Are you sure?"
Maddy nodded, a new flood of tears pouring down her cheeks. "The…The doctor came in and told me y-yesterday…"
Harry held her closer. He knew Maddy had not had a good line with children. In one of her past lives, the one that affected her most in this one, her only child was a miscarriage. The child's name was Elizabeth.
"Oh, Mad…I'm so sorry…"
Harry decided to spend the day, and possibly even the night, to make sure that Maddy was okay. Ginny called several times, and Emma, under Maddy's command, told her that he was not there. Maddy fell asleep early, and Harry watched over her.
The next morning, Harry entered her room, just as she was waking up.
"Good Morning, Gorgeous." He said playfully.
Maddy's eyes popped open and she looked at him, "Harry! What are you still doing here?"
Harry shrugged, "I thought you might want some company…and I really didn't fancy going home last night…"
"Ah…Ginny…" Maddy said, sitting up. "I don't remember her so hostile. Well, except maybe toward Ron and me, occasionally, but, what happened to her that made her all…temperamental?"
"Me." Harry sighed.
Maddy nodded, "Ah yes…Mr. Mood, himself…" She smiled weakly. Harry had the worst temper of anyone she knew. (She had come face to face with it on many occasions.)
Harry laughed bitterly, "I am happy to say, though, that I do not yell as much as I used to…"
"Yeah, well…that's 'cause we aren't there to get on your nerves…"
"By 'we', you mean…?"
"Me, Ron and Hermione…" Maddy said, answering his question. Harry nodded. "And speaking of which, has there been any-"
Harry shook his head, "No. There has been no word of Ron, but we have a general idea of where he may be…"
"Oh…" Maddy said. Then she thought of something, "Wait a second…I thought you said you weren't on that case…"
Harry smiled mischievously, "Ooh! And the reading people gift finally fails…"
"Shut up…" she hit him upside the head with her pillow, knocking his glasses to the side.
Harry prepared to attack. He dove for another pillow and hit her back. For a few minutes they acted like children, and hit each other repeatedly with the pillows. Finally, Maddy fell down into the pillows and sighed. Harry fell down next to her.
"Harry…" Maddy said quietly. "I miss doing this..."
Harry turned on his side, "Doing what? Pillow fights?"
Maddy turned as well, "No. Just being normal around each other. I mean, you were the only person I could be goofy, crazy Maddy around."
Harry smiled, "Well, I always saw the goofy, crazy Maddy no matter what," He suddenly frowned. "Unless you were threatening to kill me, 'cause then I saw a crazy, psychopathic Maddy…which scared me…"
Maddy couldn't help but smiling a little. "God, what happened to us Harry?"
"Umm…we grew older…"
Maddy shook her head. "That's not what I meant Harry. I mean, we used to be the best of friends. What happened? What went wrong?"
"Well…" Harry started uncomfortably, "You knew about how I felt about Ginny…and you got jealous…and refused to speak to me. And then when I told you, myself…you told me that I was dead to you…"
Maddy looked away hastily. "I don't remember that…"
Harry grimaced, "I do."
Maddy closed her eyes and tried to remember. She couldn't. It was something that she had completely blocked out of her mind. She could remember being mad at Harry. She could remember trying her best to split him and Ginny up. She even remembered the day she caused all the merpeople in the lake to splash them while they sat on the grass during lunch.
"I'm sorry, Harry…"
Harry didn't reply. Slowly, he leaned forward. He was just centimeters from Maddy's face, when the door downstairs shut with a loud bang. Both Harry and Maddy sat up quickly. They could hear a muffled voice through the floor, and faint footsteps coming up the stairs.
"It's Charles!" Maddy said, worriedly. "You have to leave!"
Harry nodded, and headed for the door. She caught him by the arm.
"No! Not that way! He'll see you!"
Harry looked around quickly, "God, where's my invisibility cloak when I need it?"
"Just Apparate!" Maddy said quickly, "I'll cover up the noise, just go!"
Harry nodded, and with that deafening crack, he was gone. Maddy threw the pillows back onto the bed, and tried to make it look like she was trying to get something from the closet.
Charles entered the room, and looked around.
"Darling? Are you in here?"
"Charles!" She said in a falsely cheery voice. "You're home!"
She was glad that he was home, but she was just so nervous that he would have found Harry there, and thought exactly what they were trying to prevent him from thinking.
Charles enveloped Maddy in his arms and kissed her deeply. "Darling, I heard about everything. Are you all right?"
Maddy nodded. The subject of the baby brought up a surge of emotion. She buried her face in Charles's jacket, and he held her even tighter.
------
Charles learned of the Harry-Maddy scandal, but thought it ridiculous.
"Mr. Potter is a good man! I trust him, completely."
Maddy was very thankful that Charles believed her. She even admitted to him that she didn't think that he would, and she would have to leave the country.
"And then I would have all my buddies in every country out looking for you, because I would never let you get away from me. I love you too much."
Charles stayed for his longest time yet. He was there for two months, before he had to leave again. She was starting to feel like an actual wife, and was starting to talk about trying for another child. She wanted children so badly. Even when she was younger she would talk about it.
"So, Charles, I was thinking if we ever considered having a boy, we could name him James…"
"Why not Charles?"
"Well, Darling, I love the name Charles, only...that's your name and I don't know if I want to name my son Charles…"
"We don't want a Charles Jr.?"
Maddy didn't know the correct way to answer it. Her two favorite boy names were James and Oliver. Charles, honestly, was nowhere near the top of her list.
Before Maddy could answer, Emma's voice called from the foyer. "MRS. PENLY! TELEPHONE!"
Maddy reached for the phone on the table beside her and answered it. Covering the receiver, she called back to Emma. "I GOT IT, EMMA!" She returned the receiver to her ear. "Hello?"
"Maddy?"
Maddy couldn't place the voice. "Who is this?"
"Who is this?"
"Madeleine Penly, speaking…"
"I must have the wrong number then…" the woman on the other end sounded nervous. "I was looking for a Madeleine Black."
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Maddy said, before the woman hung up. "My name is Madeleine Penly. Black is my maiden name. Who is this?"
"Maddy! Oh thank goodness. I thought I had the wrong number. I could have sworn it was the number you left…but…Maddy, it's-it's me. Tonks!"
Maddy nearly shot out of her seat and through the roof. "Tonks?! Oh my God! I can't believe you called back!" She shifted in her seat to a position that would mirror that which you would see a teenage girl talking to her best friend in.
Charles looked at her curiously. He had no idea who she was talking to. Whose name was Tonks?
"I didn't believe Remus when he told me you'd called. Though I must say, he was rather shocked as well. We all thought you were dead."
Maddy laughed grimly, "So I've been told."
Tonks laughed as well, "I thought it was ridiculous at first, but it was the only-"
"Answer you had…" Maddy finished her sentence, "As I have also been told."
"Right." She heard Tonks give a nervous chuckle. "So, Penly is it? You're married. Any relationship to the Duke, Charles Penly?"
Maddy ran a hand through her hair and glanced at Charles who was staring back at her, utterly confused. "Uh…yeah, actually. He's my husband."
Charles could hear the scream that came from the other end of the line.
"Oh my God! You married the Duke? Wow! I mean, that's got to be a slap in the face for Harry, eh? I mean you were so sweet on him, and thought that there was no one else for you in the world, and now you're with a Duke!"
Maddy made a face, "Yeah, I suppose. I mean, Harry and I still talk…"
"That's good, that's good! I'm glad you kept in contact."
"Well, actually…I only saw him for the first time in a while at a party that my employers were throwing a couple months ago. Well…nearly half a year ago."
Charles looked at her curiously. He could have sworn that Maddy and Harry had said over dinner that night of the party, that they had never met. Now, Maddy was saying that she saw him for the first time 'in a while' at that party. Maddy eyed her husband warily.
"I mean…I saw him for the first time, at that party…" Maddy said quickly.
Tonks didn't seem to hear her, "So, how is everything? Are you getting along all right? I mean, you must. Married to a Duke and all."
Maddy nodded, then realized Tonks couldn't see what she was doing. "Yeah, Charles…he…he travels a lot."
"Do you get to go with him?" Tonks asked excitedly.
Maddy secretly thought Tonks forgot to grow up. She also forgot how annoying Tonks could get when she was in a good mood. But, the two of them were both going through problems involving men at the same time, when they were younger, so they had become rather close.
"No…I don't actually…"
"Oh, that sucks…it must be real- What?" she started to talk to someone in the background, "Fine, I'll check it. But you know how horrible I am at cooking…well, I'm actually on the phone. With Maddy…yes! Maddy! Here, you talk to her!"
Maddy could hear Tonks trying to hand the phone to someone and then a man's voice saying, "No, no…that's all right. I'll check it…". Maddy took a deep breath. She knew whose voice it was. Her hands were trembling as his voice came through the receiver.
"Hello, Maddy…"
Maddy's voice shook, "Hello Uncle Remmy…"
Remus Lupin made an strange noise that was a mix between a sniffle and a laugh. "You haven't called me that in ages…"
Maddy laughed, though she seemed to be on the verge of tears. Besides her real father, and her uncle Sirius who had died when she was fifteen, Remus was the closest thing to a father for her.
"I haven't seen you in ages…"
Neither of them really knew what to say. Maddy was so glad that they weren't meeting face to face, because it would be a most heart-wrenching scene. Slowly, tears started to form in Maddy's eyes. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to see him again. She had up and left without a single good-bye to the people who meant the most to her. Suddenly, Maddy started to cry.
"Maddy…please don't cry…please…honey, everything's gonna be okay…everything's all right…don't cry…"
"I'm…so…sorry!" Maddy said through sobs.
Charles was watching horrified. He wasn't sure if the person on the other line was purposely making her cry, or if she was doing it on her own.
"Maddy, there's nothing to be sorry about…"
"Y-Yes there is…I left…and I didn't say g-g-good-bye…"
"Maddy, listen to me! You're okay, and that's all that matters. We're just glad to know you're alive…"
Maddy could hear his voice start to crack as well. Without warning, she laughed. Remus copied her.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked her gently.
"Yeah…I think so…" Maddy smiled, "You?"
"I'm fine…"
Maddy could hear Tonks talking to him in the background. She waited patiently for Remus to speak again.
"Maddy?"
"Yeah?"
"I have to go, but we'll have to get together sometime soon, okay? We can meet this husband that Nymphadora just told me about…"
Maddy ran her hand through her hair again. "Yes…that-that would be great…"
"All right…Love you, Maddy…"
"Love you Uncle Remmy…"
And she hung up. For a moment, she sat there with her hand slightly over her mouth. She was still trying to resist the urge to cry.
Charles was still looking at her curiously. Finally, he decided to speak.
"Who was that?"
Maddy looked up at him and smiled, "My...family…" she nodded to herself, "My family…"
A/N: Okay, so that's the end of this chapter. I will try and update as soon as I can, but I'm not sure when that'll be. So, in the meantime, please please please review! I really want to know how you guys feel about this! So...let's put it this way. I won't update until I have 17 total reviews. That's only 4 more reviews. Reviews really motivate me to update, so if you really want to know what's coming next...you know what you have to do! Thank you so much!
Ciao bella! Arriverderci!
-M.C.E.Black