A/N: But, I want reviews!
Part two is over. This is the start of darling part three.
There's a reason why the date is "April 27" but it's not for the reason you think it is. No, it's not significant. You'll know what I mean when you get there.
I have been waiting so damn long to write this chapter. I like this one.
Important: This sets the mood for all the following chapters.
Homework Assignment for You: What is a caulbearer, and what are some of the myths or benefits of being one?
The Scribe's Resurrection
Part Three: Chapter Nineteen
Thursday, March 20, 1980
Selena was having the time of her life.
"Run in circles," Sirius instructed. She ran. "Sit." She sat. "Good girl!"
He patted her on the head; Selena growled, giving him an irritated look.
"Sorry, sorry. I know you're not a dog." Selena nodded curtly.
Sirius stepped back, looking at his wife. He tilted his head. Nothing seemed to be wrong with her, and hopefully, nothing was. But, one could never know with Animagi.
When she finally accomplished transforming for the first time, Sirius had marveled at her coat. It was a shiny grey, almost silver, color, and Sirius was surprised that her fur wasn't black like her hair. And another thing Sirius found amazing was that she could use her back left leg that she could not use when she was human.
Selena barked, pulling Sirius out of his reverie.
"Sorry."
Selena questioningly stared at him, wondering if she could pull out of this form.
"Yeah, go ahead."
Selena stretched, and her fur began to recede. She grew, standing on two legs. She was smiling as she hugged her husband.
"I can't believe I'm a wolf!" She exclaimed. "That's so funny!"
"I can't believe it either." Sirius pulled away. "Most of the time, your Patronus is the same as your Animagus form."
"Psh, I wouldn't want to be a peacock!" Selena clapped happily. "I did it, I did it! Thank you for helping me."
"You're welcome. Now I suppose you'll want to get registered and all-"
"Why would I want to do that?" Selena picked up her cane and began to hobble onto the back porch.
"True."
"Selena? Sirius?" Someone called.
"In the back!" Sirius called. Selena settled into a chair as the guest strode swiftly towards them on the veranda.
"Great news!" James came into view. "Peter turned up."
"Oh! How is he?"
"Fine, strangely." James' face was puzzled, but he went on. "Not a scratch on his body. His mind isn't addled either."
"Hope he wasn't under the Imperius Curse," Selena mumbled.
"Yeah, that's what Dumbledore said. But Peter says he's fine and that he just needed a vacation."
"Since when does Peter go on vacation without his mum?" Sirius asked. James just shrugged in response. They stayed quiet, thinking of their friend.
"I'm a wolf," Selena said, breaking the silence. "Sirius taught me how to be an Animagus. I'm a wolf."
"Brilliant!" James exclaimed. He knew that Sirius had shown her the steps for becoming an Animagus. "Go on, lemme see."
"Okay." Selena stood up and morphed into a wolf once again.
Friday Night, March 21, 1980
Selena picked up her journal and thought about something that she had not given thought to in over six months. Her friends had prompted her to think of it.
Just that evening, Lily and Alice had announced the due date of their baby boys. For some reason, the Healers had predicted the births on the same day: July the thirty-first. And as soon as Selena heard it, she felt a tug in her heart, but she did not know why.
So now, Selena flipped through the pages of her diary, searching for some reason as to why she should feel sick. And then she saw it. The date was August the twenty-fifth of nineteen seventy-nine, some days before she found out that Darcy was expecting. She read her entry, and the events of that day replayed in her mind.
On that day, she was working the desks in Level Nine. No one ever came down to Level Nine, but on this day someone did.
Dumbledore had come in, wearing wonderful sky blue robes, holding a small, crystal vial with a swirling liquid inside. Selena had known immediately what it was. A prophecy. With Dumbledore close by, she had seen its contents. Then, she had documented it appropriately and placed the file in the Archives of the Ministry.
After this, Selena had taken a glass ball, screwed it open, and placed the memory inside. She and Dumbledore had strolled through the Hall of Prophecies together to put the foretelling in its proper place. Selena remembered distinctly taking the ball, breathing on it, and watching it hover slowly to its place on the shelf.
And it was this prophecy that now had Selena so unnerved.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives."
Selena almost retched when she realized that the seventh month was July. She wished now that she had not put the prophecy on that shelf. Picking up her quill and setting it in the writing stance, Selena began thinking of all the things that worried her poor heart. Although she tried not to let it happen, thoughts of Dumbledore fled through her mind, specifically the memory of him asking her, "Would it be wise to place this prophecy in the Hall, Selena?"
10: 29 PM, Saturday, April 26, 1980
As much as they hated to say it, Sirius and Selena were more or less in hiding. More because they were spending a week at The Belladonna Estate due to the Prewett Brothers' death at the hands of the Lestranges two days before. And less because Sirius didn't like to think himself a coward.
Selena waved her wand, lighting a fire.
The night was particularly blustery and stormy, and Selena was debating whether she should listen to the crackle of the fire or the downpour of the rain. Twinkles and her family, now all grown up, seemed to relish the idea of sleeping by the fire, so Selena placed their basket next to it.
"Artemis is fine," Sirius said, coming in. "I fed him his owl tonic. He's fine." Artemis slept in one of the corners of the garage.
"He's getting old," Selena sighed.
"Oh, he's fine. He'll live for twenty more years after this."
"He's already twenty-one."
"He's older than you?"
"Sure."
"So he'll live for-"
"He'll live for as long as he wants, I suppose," Selena sighed, getting off of the couch.
"Where're you going?"
"I want a book."
"I could get it?"
"No, I'm fine."
Selena ambled over to the shelf and peered at it. Then, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and looked out the window into the rain. Her eyes focused on a faint figure by the magnolia trees; these trees had sprung up by her parents graves and had grown like bamboo. She frowned.
"The book I want is in the living room," she said vaguely.
"Alright, but you know how your leg hurts in this kind of weather. You should rest it and let me get-" But Selena had already hobbled into the foyer and looked out the window on the side of the door. She flipped on the light, grateful that the house had electricity.
"OH!" She gasped. Selena thrust open the French double doors and looked out into the night.
"Hello, Half-Miss," a little house-elf said, bowing. A great figure hovered over her head, and Selena opened her arms to receive the bundle. It was heavy, forcing Selena to kneel.
"SIRIUS!" Selena yelled, holding the sopping wet thing. She heard him run into the area, and Selena turned towards him. "Look! It's Darcy!" She showed him the woman resting in her arms.
"Selena?" Darcy breathed.
"Yes! Yes!" Selena cried. Her eyes had filled up with tears. Darcy's face was pale as could be. She shivered uncontrollably, and her cloak was soaked through- never mind that she was nine months into pregnancy.
"Here," Sirius said. He picked Darcy up and set her on the couch in the library. Selena followed, urging Muffy the House-Elf to do the same. The raven-haired girl collapsed next to her best friend, taking off the dripping blanket and cloak she was swaddled in while Sirius closed the curtains.
"Muffy knows your house is Unplottable, Half-Miss, but you was the only person Muffy knows to take Miss Darcy to."
"Oh, thank you Muffy, you were very right." Selena pulled off the blanket, only to find Darcy's clothes in tatters. Darcy began to cough. Selena wondered how she had the energy to do so.
"I'll go and get her some of your clothes," Sirius said, mechanically walking out of the room.
"What happened?" Selena asked, feeling Darcy's head for a fever. Darcy could not stop coughing.
"A hankie, Half-Miss." Muffy produced a clean, white handkerchief for Selena.
"Thank you." Selena put the kerchief up to Darcy's mouth, as she was starting to cough blood.
"Here." Sirius set down a clean set of self-warming pajamas, then sat down adjacent from them. Selena waved her wand over Darcy, drying her.
"Thanks." Cough. "H-h-he sn-n-n-apped my w-w-wand."
"Who?" Selena asked as Muffy propped up Darcy's head with pillows.
"That b-bastard V-V-V-V," Darcy tried to speak, but her shivers and sporadic coughs impeded her progress. "Voldemort."
"He found you?" Selena asked.
"Y-y-yes. So cold, so-o-o cold." Her shivers would not go away, and Selena realized that these were shakes and coughs due to the parasite living on her heart. Selena waved her wand again, momentarily paralyzing the plant.
"Thanks."
"What happened?"
"He found me." Darcy cleared her throat. "And the Cruciatus Curse hurts so bad. So bad. He said that he was going to kill me and my baby... Long and slow. Because Regulus left, and Voldemort wanted Regulus to face him like a man."
"You were bait," Selena simplified.
"Yes. Bait." She took a deep, ragged breath. "I asked Muffy to come, and she did. And here we a-a-are." She began the shivers again. An awful cough racked her body over and over. She spat out blood into the handkerchief.
"Oh, Darcy."
"L-l-listen to m-m-me," the blonde said, putting her hand on Selena's. "Th-th-the b-b-baby is c-c-coming now. And I w-w-w-won't li-li-live through. I g-g-got the plan-ant in m-m-my body be-be-because I ha-had to b-bury Mother in a pl-place where V-V-Voldemort wou-ou-oud never f-f-find her." Her hand went to her chest, and she wheezed. Selena paralyzed the plant once again.
"You can't let Voldemort find the baby, okay? He said as I left that he would find it and me. Don't tell anyone. I want the baby to be safe. And you can't tell Walburga. Grimmauld Place is not safe. The only thing she knows is that Regulus is dead because of that Black Family Tree she's got. Baby and I can't be on it because I never married Regulus. So she doesn't know. She can't know."
"Of course."
Darcy clenched her teeth and rubbed her stomach.
"The baby is coming," Muffy said solemnly. Selena's eyes widened, knowing that she had to deliver this baby.
-
Selena peeled the caul off of the newborn.
"A caulbearer," Darcy whispered, watching this careful process. Darcy's voice had taken on a scratchy tone, which worried Selena.
"It's a girl!" Selena exclaimed, showing the baby to Darcy. "Born on April the twenty-seventh at four-seventeen A.M."
"She's beautiful!" Darcy said softly, holding out her arms. The shivering had stopped.
"What are you going to name her?"
"I decided Alrescha Polaris Black. Polaris because... Well, it's the North Star. Thousands of years ago, Vega used to be the North Star." Selena nodded; she knew this because of Astronomy and the Planet Room on Level Nine.
"Very pretty."
"Mm, Regulus thought so too." Darcy began to sing to Alrescha Polaris as the both of them cried; Darcy sobbed out of happiness, and the baby cried to fill her lungs with air.
"Darcy? I've got to bathe her now."
"Sure, sure." Darcy handed over the now quieted baby. As Selena carefully washed the child, Darcy talked to Muffy. "I want you to follow everything Selena and Sirius say. And when Alrescha talks, I want you to obey her too."
"Yes, Miss Darcy." Muffy nodded, sniffling as she did so.
"Don't cry."
"Yes, Miss Darcy." Darcy began to cough again, producing more blood than before. She rubbed the left side of her chest, and then she began to moan.
"Oh... It stings."
"Darcy? Darcy, shh, don't talk!" Selena wrapped the baby in a towel and placed her in the bassinet she had Sirius retrieve from their house. Darcy's ragged breathing became spastic, like her lungs were having convulsions. Selena clasped her hands.
"I w-w-wonder if R-r-regulus will be there."
"Oh, oh yes, he will."
"I'm s-s-s-orry f-f-f-for wha-at I did t-t-to you, S-s-ele-e-ena," Darcy murmured. "I-I-I jus-s-t wan-n-nted to b-b-belong t-to someo-o-one." She gave a violent cough; dark sangria colored blood spurted out of her mouth, which she promptly covered with her handkerchief.
"No, I forgave you a long time ago."
"Oh, t-t-thank you."
"I love you, Darcy."
"I-i-i lov-ve y-y-you too." At this final declaration, Darcy's eyes traveled towards the ceiling. She harshly gasped for air, and exhaled slowly; Selena could see the light leave her eyes as she exhaled.
"Sirius," she whispered. "Get me my boots."
Without a word, he left, knowing exactly which boots his wife wanted.
"Goodbye, my dear friend." Selena closed Darcy's eyes carefully.
1:07 PM on the Afternoon of Sunday, April 27, 1980
Selena and Muffy had lowered Darcy and had placed the earth over Darcy's dead body. Selena had insisted that she dig this grave by way of a shovel and nothing else. The deceased's body had been bathed in rosewater and not put in a coffin. When Muffy asked why they were putting her former mistress' bare body into the wet soil, Selena replied, "Because she was a martyr, Muffy."
While they prepared her body, Selena found the Best Friends Forever pendant around her neck. Selena decided to bury her with it.
They were also exceptionally careful to not inhale the spores when Selena Summoned the infernal plant from Darcy's body. Selena burned the plant far from the house and the graves.
So now, like a crypt or even a sepulcher, the magnolia tree gave shelter to four departed souls' bodies: Raphael, Komali, Baby Raphael, and Darcy. These four people Selena had loved above all else were now enjoying eternal sleep. Flowers went on all of their graves that afternoon, and Selena said no words.
Sirius left her at The Belladonna Estate, preferring to go back to his home. Selena knew he was sour, and she could definitely tell why. The moment she came home, they would have an argument. She knew that well.
But now Selena had Alrescha to take care of. She strode back into the house.
Walking back, it was in that moment in which Selena understood that this was the beginning of a new life; she hadn't decided if she liked this new life yet. It was too soon to announce her feelings on the subject. She recognized that the equation of her life had changed drastically, and that life would never be the same again.
Selena wiped a tear from her eye and looked at her reflection in the window. Her face was rosy and full, like it should be. She ran her tongue over her chapped lips; her skin was tanned, like normal. But Selena could only faintly see the blushing bride from almost two years ago. Her bistre eyes were not tired, per se, but just sad. As long as she had known Sirius, Selena could remember having this sad glint in her eyes. Happiness could never overcome that glint. Her eyes could twinkle with glee, yes, but still that sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach would remind her of how imperfect her world was. And now, with that prophecy in the back of her mind and the welfare of her loved ones to constantly think of, Selena knew she was fading fast. Gone were the days of old. The days of heartbreak had arrived.
Oh yes, the equation had changed to a harder one, and Selena was currently having trouble finding the answer, despite all her intelligence.
Thursday, May 1, 1980
"Aw, yes, you're such a sweet little baby, aren't you? Alrescha," Selena cooed. The baby heard her, as her eyes were transfixed on Selena's face, but she still cried.
"Ah, ah, I'm almost done. See? Your diaper's all done. No, don't cry sweetheart, I'm about to put on your pajamas. I know you're cold, I know." Selena finished dressing the newborn, and by the time she walked into the nursery with her, Alrescha was already asleep.
"Good night, my baby." Selena kissed her head, placed her in the crib, and walked out.
Selena had returned to the house she shared with Sirius that day, and Sirius had not spoken to her yet. She walked into their bedroom and saw him feigning sleep on his side of the bed.
"Hi." The woman settled in the bed, tired and ready for slumber.
"What are you going to do with her?"
"Who?"
"The baby."
"I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing now. Take care of her."
"She's not yours."
"She's our niece."
"She's my brother's kid."
"Your brother's dead."
"She belongs in an orphanage or something."
"Don't you say that."
"What? She's not our baby. And I saw what you did with the nursery." Instead of blue, the nursery room was now different shades of flaxen yellow and amaranth pink.
"Sirius, Darcy gave her to me. Why can't you see her as a gift?"
"She's not my kid."
"There's not a thing you can do to stop me."
"What if I left you?"
"You would not."
"Oh really?"
"Don't be a prat." Selena rolled her eyes.
"You'd choose her over me?"
"She needs me more than you do. You're grown up. Alrescha's a baby who can't do anything for herself except breathe, sleep, and cry."
"I'm not paying any money for her."
"No one asked you to."
"She's his child. Just because my idiot of a brother knocked up some girl that just so happened to be one of your stupid friends does not mean that you have to take care of her."
"Lineage doesn't matter."
"I do not want her in my house."
"If she goes, then I go." Selena paused. "Do you want me to leave?"
"No," Sirius sighed. He began to wrap his arm around Selena's body.
"Don't touch me." She hit his arm away.
"Selena, please don't be this way-"
"You're the one who wants to refuse a baby sanctuary just because you hated her parents. And what's more is that she's your blood."
"Sel-" Selena sprang up from the bed, reaching for her walking stick.
"No! I'm sorry I couldn't give you a baby, okay?! I really am. And you and I both know I can't try again. We've been trying for months! Who cares if she's not exactly from my body! She's a baby! You're just mad that she is not your Baby Raphael. You're mad that Regulus was going to have everything you wanted! A wife, a house, a family. And when he died, you figured you got the better end of the deal! But Sirius, I know he would want you to care for his child. If you won't do it for him, then by God, do it for me! How do you think I feel? All our friends are walking around pregnant, and I lost my child. How do you think I feel, Sirius?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know-"
"Know? You didn't know?" Selena laughed sardonically. Then, she roared, "HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW! QUIT THINKING ABOUT YOUR OWN DAMN FEELINGS AND JUST THINK ABOUT HOW SAD I FEEL! MY PARENTS ARE DEAD, MY CHILD IS DEAD, AND MY BEST FRIEND IS DEAD. MY HUSBAND IS TOO GODDAMN WRAPPED UP IN HIMSELF TO PAY ATTENTION TO ME! AND YOU GET ON TO ME ABOUT HOW I DON'T TALK TO YOU? YOU DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO ME! YOUR PREJUDICES DON'T ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU EVERYTHING, SIRIUS!" She took a deep breath. "No. No, you only hold me up like this because you don't know who I really am."
Sirius, the master of debate, was scowling something terrible, mouth opening and closing, trying to figure out a clever retort and triumph in the verbal duel.
"Don't speak," Selena said. "Quit trying to win. ... I'm going to sleep in the nursery with someone who actually needs and wants me."
And with that, Selena retreated from the room, hobbling with fury.
Sirius sat there, stunned.
Wednesday, May 28, 1980
"Ah, my cute little baby, how are we doing today?" Selena reached into the crib and pulled out Alrescha.
Alrescha sighed, her eyes focusing on her surrogate mother.
"Are you hungry? Does Mummy's baby want her bottle?" The dark haired woman traveled through the house, shuffling in her bamboo flip-flops. Upon going downstairs, she heard quite a racket, which startled Alrescha.
Sounds of a piano floated out from the den, and Selena frowned. She had not seen or spoken to Sirius in a month, though they lived at the same address. He had been holed up in the music room, and she had been in the nursery.
Selena pushed open the door a little, and a sharp pang stabbed through her chest when she saw what was inside.
Bottles of firewhisky, dizzy fizzies, wine, and even Muggle beer were everywhere. The shades were drawn, giving the room an unhealthy dark. Dust was on everything. A makeshift bed was in the corner, sheets yellow. The stench in the room filtered out when Selena had opened the door; both Alrescha and Selena scrunched their noses.
Sirius, to put it bluntly, was depressed. His hair was long, down to his shoulders; his face was unshaven, with almost a full beard. He hadn't bathed in days, Selena supposed. She wondered if he'd had any contact with anyone from outside.
Sirius' fingers moved swiftly across the keys, playing chaotic tunes that blended into slow ballads. Selena was going to leave him be, but Alrescha cried out in response to those last loud, low notes.
As if he was going to be attacked, Sirius spun around on the bench and looked at the double doors. His face did not soften from its tense composure.
"Do you want something?" He asked quietly.
"Um. Have you spoken to anyone?"
"No. I've not gotten any mail since the Prewetts died."
"Oh. Alright." Selena still stood there.
"Do you want something?" He asked louder and with more force.
"No. I just... Never mind." Selena turned to go.
"Going to feed her?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Nothing. Just wondering why. Isn't it midnight?"
"No. Sirius, it's nine in the morning." Selena paused. "Of May the twenty-eighth."
"Oh."
"What day did you think it was?"
"The second."
"Of June?"
"Of May."
"Oh." Selena knew she had to leave, or else she'd break down crying and drop the child in her arms. So, she cleared her throat and closed the door.
Selena walked into the kitchen and placed her baby in the bassinet on the table. Alrescha did not fuss.
As she waved her wand to put a pot on the stove, Selena brushed her hand over her eyes.
"All right, Miss Selena?" Muffy asked, appearing on the spot.
"Oh, oh yes, Muffy. Um, when he goes to sleep, do you think you could change Sirius' sheets and clean up in there?" Selena turned to get a bottle from the counter.
"Of course, Miss Selena."
Rubbing her wrist over her cheek harshly, Selena sniffled, trying to wipe out the tears.
Ending Author's Note:
"Your heartbeat is pulsing at night in your chest. It's gold and it's glowing with all the life you have left... Run where you'll be safe, through the garden gates to the shelter of magnolias. Your eyes are like sea glass, so weathered and worn from all they've seen of adolescence torn. The lovers who have tainted you, they pulled you into the night, and they touched your skin with velvet gloves and made you feel alive. Run where you'll be safe, through the garden gates to the shelter of magnolias. There's not much time; the blush in the sky begins to fade." -- "Magnolias" by The Hush Sound, and I don't own that. That's an incarnation of what happened to Darcy, maybe? I'll save you the trouble and tell you magnolias mean dignity and perseverence.
I wasn't originally going to say this, but one of the songs from Darcy's music box to Selena is "Everytime" by Britney Spears. I'm not going to tell you the other one until the very end of this story.