The next 9 months were...interesting. I couldn't attend meals with everyone, because the smells were overwhelming. I'd get morning sickness. Other days I'd have cravings and the house elves would gladly supply me with the requested foods. Voldemort came into our room one day. "What are you eating?" he asked in disgust.
"Pepperoni pizza. It's quite popular in America," I replied.
Then there were the mood swings. I'd be in the middle of a very serious meeting and the baby would kick. I'd burst into fits of giggles. Everyone would stare and I'd calm down, only to have the baby kick again. Eventually they made me stop attending the meetings.
Other days, I would think of Ron. I'd break down crying. "What's wrong?" Voldemort would ask, confused.
"IT'S NOT RON'S BABY!" I'd wail.
Then at two in the morning on March 23 I sat up straight in bed. "Wake up," I said nudging him.
"Go back to sleep," he mumbled.
"THE BABY'S COMING!" I yelled. That got him up. I don't remember much after that, I just remember lots of pain and wizards and witches all around me. I think they finally knocked me out because they were panicking about something.
When I awoke, the room was quiet. I looked over and saw my husband, his back toward me, holding what I could only guess was my baby. He heard me sit up and walked over to the bed. I noticed he was holding...two?
"You had twins, darling," he said giving me one. "A girl," he nodded to the one in my arms, "and a boy," the one in his arms. I looked down at the beautiful creation in my arms and couldn't help but smile. She was asleep. They both were. He was gorgeous. They both had actual noses unlike their father and my skin color, not his pasty white, thank goodness.
"The boy will be named Zosimos. It means, able to survive," my husband said, sitting beside me.
"Can I name the girl?" I asked, my eyes pleading. He paused but then nodded. "Leilani," I said immediately. "It means flower from heaven."
"Sounds like you've been thinking about that for awhile," he commented.
"I have. Thank you for letting me name her."
Voldemort smiled. "I never thought I'd see the day when you thanked me." I felt awkward and didn't say anything. "You know it's been 9 months since you last tried to kill yourself?" he pointed out.
I paused. I hadn't noticed that. "I guess...I have something to live for now," I said thoughtfully.
"Indeed," he said, kissing my forehead.
During the next three months, I began to live again. My life revolved around my darling children. They were my joy. I didn't mind waking up at four in the morning when they would cry. I would sing to them like any mother would. I loved them more than anything.
They both had brown eyes, but I noticed it was a few shades darker than my own. When I mentioned this to Voldemort, he smiled. "Originally, that was my eye color," he said.
"Really?" I asked, staring at his eyes. "I never would have guessed."
One day, I was looking for Voldemort. I had finished reading all my books and wanted to ask for more. I paused outside his study door. I was about to knock when I heard voices.
"And now that you've got the children, what are your plans my lord?" One voice asked. It belonged to a middle-aged man I guessed.
"My wife needs to become the Dark Lady. However, she refuses. So, I'm going to take the children away from her until she submits to me. If she still refuses, I'll kill one of them."
"And if she still refuses my lord?"
"Then I'll kill her and raise the other as my own, of course."
I felt sick. I quickly and quietly went back to my room. I didn't want my babies to have this future. Just when I thought Voldemort was possibly warming up to me, this happened. I would become the Dark Lady for them; there was no doubt in my mind of that. But I hoped that wasn't my only choice. I'd do anything just to start fresh; the twins and I. I wanted to escape this nightmare. I looked down upon my children, sleeping so peacefully, not knowing how dark their future was. I had to save them from their future.