Author's Note: Well, this chapter was unexpected. I don't even know why I did this. I shouldn't be allowed to write.
Written for…
Daily Weird Prompt Challenge. Prompt: "We're not naming the baby after your mother, and that's final!"
Distraction
"JEMMA!"
Tom came back to his senses just as Bellatrix was shrieking for the elf. Cradling the infant, he attempted to follow the elf into the bedroom, but a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"Leave them be, Tom," Avery advised. He was only one allowed to call him by his true name, and only in private. Many of the recruits knew Tom only as the Dark Lord, but Avery had been a roommate at school.
Tom looked to the shut door as more screams echoed out. His immediate concern was of losing Bellatrix and what that would do for the cause but the thought faded just as quickly.
"Everything alright with the baby, then?" Avery asked, reaching over to smooth down the small tuft of black hair on the infant's head. Tom thought he might've been trying to distract him.
"The elf says she's fine."
"Have you thought of a name yet?
"No." A name hadn't seemed important until now. Tom had planned on letting the elf choose what to call it – or Bellatrix if she showed interest.
Avery continued petting the baby for a moment before a smile crossed his face. "Well, if I might make a suggestion? My mother's name was Zenobia. Helen refused to let me name our children after her. Mother liked you, you know. She thought you were very charming."
"Be that as it may, I don't think I'll be naming the child after her." He was being kind. He wasn't sure why; he'd never cared about anyone's feelings before, not even Avery's.
The door opened again before Avery had a chance to push further, and Jemma rushed out with a grin on her face.
"Mistress has had another baby! Twin girls!" she squealed.
Tom stood in shock, his mind was reeling. He hadn't allowed Bellatrix to go to the hospital during the pregnancy; they'd been content with the services Jemma could provide. Evidently there were some things not even house-elf magic could determine.
Avery clapped a hand on Tom's back, grinning as big as the elf. "Great, you can name her Zenobia!"
"We're not naming the baby after your mother, and that's final!" Tom growled, following Jemma into the room.
Bellatrix was lying in bed looking close to death. She managed on to roll her head to the side to watch him enter.
"Never … again," she struggled out.
"Mistress will be fine," Jemma assured him. "She needs sleep."
The elf hurried to a bassinet in the corner and retrieve the baby laying in it. It looked identical to the one in Tom's arms, not that he was looking too hard. He was finding it hard to focus on everything but keeping upright.
"I want those … things out of here," Bellatrix spat. Her hand felt around on the nightstand until she found a hairbrush. In a move that Tom would've thought impossible in her current state, she launched the brush in the elf's direction. Jemma squeaked and scurried out with the second baby.
Dazed, Tom followed.