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“Just one more push!”
Ominis felt Poppy’s hand squeeze the life out of his, but he didn’t care. He was not going anywhere, especially not now.
Poppy let out a long yell and her grip somehow tightened even more than he thought was possible. He was pretty sure he lost circulation in his hand.
He heard Poppy pant, completely exhausted. Ominis leaned closer to her.
“Poppy? Darling?” He quietly asked with worry. He flexed his hand in her loose hold, moving his other hand to envelop hers.
His heart stopped beating when he heard a cry ring through the room.
“Congratulations, you two,” Ominis heard Garreth say with a smile in his voice. “It’s a girl!”
Ominis heard Poppy choke out a small laugh, and he felt the biggest smile come onto his face. He wrapped his arm around Poppy’s shoulders, pulling her against his chest. He used his other hand to gently brush away her hair from her sweaty face. He kissed her forehead.
“You did it, love,” he whispered as they heard their baby girl calm down from letting out her first cry.
Poppy breathlessly chuckled. “We’re never doing this again,” she tiredly joked.
He laughed, and he heard Garreth walk over to them.
“Meet your daughter,” Garreth said, and Ominis heard a rustle of soft fabric. He guessed Garreth handed the swaddled baby over to Poppy as he felt her move.
Poppy gasped, and Ominis heard her sniffle. “Ominis, she’s so beautiful,” she whispered in a tight voice.
Ominis smiled, and he felt a familiar and old ache in his heart. Oh how he longed for the ability to see, even for a moment, just so he could see his daughter. He carefully reached down, and he felt Poppy’s hand guide his fingers to brush the top of her head. He felt the smallest tuft of hair, and his heart started to swell with more love for this little bundle of joy he and Poppy brought into the world.
“What color is her hair?” Ominis asked.
“It’s—”
Poppy suddenly let out a horrified gasp, and Ominis’s stomach dropped when he couldn’t feel their baby’s hair.
What just happened?
His blood froze when he heard a familiar snicker. He straightened and turned toward the source. He reached for where his wand was, but his hand just grasped thin air.
“Such a sweet lil thing,” Marvolo crooned.
Ominis closed his hands into fists, fear creeping more and more into his heart. His brother, his psychotic, wretched brother, had his child. “Let her go,” he choked out. While he was desperate to run to get his baby back, he just couldn’t move!
“A Gaunt is a Gaunt, Omi,” Marvolo sneered. “Since you turned your back on your own flesh and blood, it would only make sense that your daughter returns the favor!”
“You’re not taking my daughter,” Ominis snarled, gritting his teeth. He had to figure out something. He couldn’t let Marvolo—
Marvolo barked out a mocking laugh. “Or what? You’ll stop me? How well did that work when you were eleven? Or even a couple years ago?”
Ominis stiffened, the fear in his heart being crushed by guilt and remorse deep within.
“You’re a coward, Ominis,” Marvolo spat. “You’ll always be one, and when it comes down to it, you’ll never have what it takes to protect the ones you supposedly love.”
Ominis shook as self-loathing pulsed in his blood. He couldn’t conjure anything to refute his brother’s claim…
“I’ll prove it,” Marvolo taunted. “Crucio!”
“No!” Ominis yelled, but his feet stayed frozen to the floor. He was forced to listen to Poppy’s shrill screams of pain as she was tortured by his brother. Ominis kept trying to will his feet to move, or jump, just something—anything!
He failed to protect his love…
He really was a coward.
Ominis gasped loudly when he felt someone touch his shoulder. He moved away from their hand and curled up, resorting back to how he handled nightmares in the past. He trembled like a leaf, and he felt tears trailing down his face.
“Ominis,” he faintly heard Poppy soothingly say.
He kept breathing hard and fast, still scarred by what he heard a second ago. He choked on a sob as he felt Poppy reach for his hands that he held close to his pounding heart. Warmth graced his cold hands, and he quieted. He lowered his head to lean his forehead against the meager source of warmth, feeling his heartbeat in his ears. He tried to hold onto the fact that Poppy was here and not being tortured by his sadistic brother, but the mere thought made him let out a shuddering sob.
“Ominis?” Poppy quietly asked, and he felt her other hand brush his hair back. “What happened?”
He shook his head, both trying to dispel the nightmare and trying to convey to his wife that he didn’t want to talk about it. He swallowed hard and let go of her hand to wrap his arms around her.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered against the top of her head. He held onto her, and he felt her own arms tentatively wrap around him. Ominis then realized something and he inhaled sharply. He started to lean back. “D-darling, am I hurting you or—?”
“You’re not hurting anyone,” she interrupted.
Poppy calmly grabbed his hand from her back and moved it down to her baby bump. Ominis sniffed as his hand splayed over her stomach, feeling his heart start to calm down. He felt the same feeling of love rush through him as he thought about how their baby was right here. He couldn’t fathom how devoted he already was to their child that had yet come into this world. He wanted nothing more than for their child to be safe, and he felt a few more tears fall down as he thought he couldn’t protect them.
Then he gasped as he felt a little movement against his hand. He had felt their baby kick before over the months, and it always mystified him. For a moment, he felt his fears go away, leaving only the great adoration surging in his heart.
“She’s perfectly fine,” Poppy murmured.
Ominis instantly caught what she said. “She?” He echoed.
Poppy chuckled, and he sensed the warmth of her reassuring smile. “Call it a mother’s intuition,” she playfully said.
Ominis mustered a small smile, but he thought how in his dream, their baby was a girl.
“Ominis?” Poppy asked, and he felt her staring at him. He must look as crestfallen as he felt.
“Just…” He held her close again, still shaking a bit. “Not tonight, please,” he whispered. He didn’t want to talk about his dream and possibly relive it.
“Alright, darling,” she whispered back, curling up against him. She rested her head against his chest, feeling his pounding heart. She was a little worried as his heartbeat was not exactly at a calm pace, but she didn’t want to agitate him anymore tonight.
Poppy didn’t fall back asleep until Ominis did. When he finally stopped trembling, and his staggered breathing came out deep and even.
~~~
In the morning, Poppy waited for Ominis to say something, but he stayed quiet. They had gotten ready for the day, and had eaten breakfast across from each other at the dining table. She watched Ominis wave his wand to have their dishes float to the sink and be washed on their own. He had a distant look on his face, one she knew he made when he usually kept his troubles to himself.
Poppy sighed and set down her cup of lavender tea. “Ominis, do you want to tell me what’s bothering you?” She gently asked.
His pale blue eyes went up to her upon hearing her, and then he turned his head away. Poppy ignored her back aching and reached out to cover his hand with hers. He swallowed, and she saw that same crestfallen expression he had last night.
“I…had a nightmare,” he hoarsely said. His other hand went to his head, and her heart ached at seeing his eyes brimming with tears.
“What happened?” Poppy frowned at seeing him shake his head. “Ominis, I can’t properly comfort you if you don’t tell me what got you so shaken.”
“Poppy, you shouldn’t be so stressed this late—” He tried to protest.
“I’m already stressed at seeing my husband in anguish, and I can’t do anything to help him!” She exclaimed, clearly distressed. Poppy winced at seeing Ominis jolt, and she sighed at her impatience. “I’m sorry, Ominis,” she quietly said.
He moved his hand to properly hold hers, rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand. “I’m sorry, too,” he mumbled as he looked dejected. “We’re getting closer to the due date, and…it’s only now that I am starting to fear the worst.”
Poppy tightened her hold on his hand. “What do you mean?”
Ominis took a deep breath, his exhale coming out shaky. “I…” He swallowed thickly, and he blinked back his tears. “Last night, I was shown that I can’t protect you or our child…”
“Ominis—” She started, but he shook his head.
“N-no, it’s true. I’m a coward,” he bitterly spat. He withdrew his hand and stood up, running a hand through his hair. “I folded to my family twice. First when I hurt that poor Muggle, and…” He turned to her with dismay. “When I left you,” he softly said.
Poppy lowered her gaze, remembering that heartbreak all too well, but she put that aside. “I forgave you a long time ago, Ominis,” she solemnly said. “We’ve gotten past that.”
“And what if my family comes after you or our child?” Ominis worriedly asked. “We might have been able to get my ties with them severed, but they could still try to take our baby! I-I literally won’t even see it coming! H-How can I possibly protect you two? I want to, of course! But I don’t know how…” He couldn’t say anymore, starting to choke up at the thought.
Poppy got up from the table and made her way to him. She reached up and cupped his face, saddened to see him so wracked with fear for them.
“Ominis, I’ve been worried about that too,” she admitted. His eyes widened at that, and she wiped away the couple tears that managed to fall. “You’re not alone in that fear, and I also don’t know how to protect our baby.” She sniffed, knowing her pregnancy was probably not helping with her emotions at the moment. Especially when they’re playing on an old anxiety of hers. She too was afraid of this new part of their lives. Even though they had nine months to prepare, it felt like it all passed in the blink of an eye.
“But…we both love our child,” she added, meeting his hesitant, pale eyes. “And I know that we would do anything for her.” He smiled a bit at that, and Poppy smiled back. “You know that we would fight like hippogriffs for the ones we love, and our child will not be an exception to that.”
Guilt started to come back to Ominis, and he held onto Poppy’s wrist. “But…I had given up before…” He faintly pointed out.
“It won’t happen again,” Poppy replied. She then slyly added, “And I’ll stop you if, by any chance, you do that.”
He tearfully chuckled, feeling reassured by her words. “Thank you, Poppy.” He kissed her palm, sending a wonderful thrill to her core from the small affection. “I love you.”
“I love you, Ominis,” she happily said, pleased to see him feeling better. They shared an endearing smile and then he leaned down, sweetly kissing her. She enthusiastically kissed back, but before either of them could begin to deepen the kiss, she felt like something…popped.
Poppy frowned and pulled away, looking down at herself. Ominis looked slightly worried, and he moved his hands to her waist. “Honey?” He asked.
She felt liquid trickling down her leg, and her eyebrows rose as she remembered what her gran told her when she was pregnant. “Er…I think my water broke,” she muttered.
Ominis’s hands squeezed her waist from surprise. “What?” He asked, completely shocked.
“I think my water broke,” she repeated, stunned herself.
“The baby’s coming?” Ominis urgently asked, panic heard in his voice.
“Well, I don’t think right away, but I think I’ll be going into labor!” She exclaimed, starting to freak out like her husband.
He caught onto her frightened tone and forced himself to calm down. If Poppy got more stressed, her labor could be worse. He took a deep breath and kissed her forehead. “Okay,” he quietly said. He felt her lean into him, and his heart hammered against his chest. “Let’s get ready to bring our little girl into the world.”
~~~
Ominis was nervously pacing in his own sitting room, disconcerted that his wife and unborn child were in the bedroom, and he was forced to stay out here! He couldn’t even be there with Poppy as she was being tended to by her gran and Garreth. It’s already been about ten hours since her water broke. He wasn’t sure if that was a short or long amount of time to wait for labor to occur. He had helped when he could, like getting Poppy tea or holding her hand, but her gran could tell he was anxious and suggested he stay outside for a moment to calm down.
“You’re going to wear out your carpet,” he heard Imelda warn.
“I don’t care about the carpet at the moment, Imelda,” he snapped. His bitter mood lessened when he heard a baby’s coo.
“Don’t worry, Regina,” Imelda murmured to her three-month-old child. “There’s just a man that is un poco loco.”
He rolled his eyes, but he tried to not make things worse for Imelda. “I should be in there,” he quietly added.
“Poppy isn’t yet ready to give birth, right?” Imelda asked. “She still has to wait for the contractions to be more frequent, and I’m sure you can be with her then.”
Ominis shifted on his feet and wrung his hands. “I feel like we should have gotten someone else to be a midwife.”
Imelda snorted. “Garreth told me he helped the births of his nieces and nephews plenty of times. It’s part of why he was the most unfazed wizard in Healer training when it came to childbirth.” She chuckled. “Your baby will be in good hands under his instruction, and Violet Sweeting’s instruction.”
Ominis’s nerves seemed to heed her blunt words. “Thank you,” he mumbled.
“Don’t mention it.” Imelda went back to holding Regina close, who now seemed to be lulled back to sleep.
Ominis couldn’t help but worry how similar this day was getting to how his nightmare went. Garreth was going to help Poppy through labor just like his dream. Would that mean…?
He heard the front door open, and two familiar sets of footsteps came in.
“Protection wards are up!” Sebastian proudly declared with a grin.
“With a touch of Ancient Magic to positively ensure no breach,” Estelle added with confidence. The couple walked up to Ominis and Imelda. “No one will apparate anywhere near here, no one will be able to Floo or use a Portkey to get in. A worm cannot even wriggle into your yard without our say.” Estelle smiled at Ominis, seeing him relax more at their words. “This is a safe haven all around, Ominis.”
“Thank you,” he whispered, pleased to know that they could prevent one part of his nightmare from ever happening. The fear that was snarled around his heart was reluctant to lessen its hold.
“You’re welcome, mate,” Sebastian said as he fondly watched his wife go to Imelda and coo over the Weasley baby. “Just think: In a little less than a year, all three of us couples will all have kids!”
“You planned that, didn’t you?” Imelda dryly asked with a lifted eyebrow. “You just wanted to make sure all of our kids would be eleven and go to Hogwarts at the same time, just so they all wreak havoc together.”
Sebastian laughed. “Do you really think I’d plan that far ahead?”
“You did carry around an engagement ring for six months,” Estelle teasingly pointed out.
“I wanted the perfect time to propose, love,” he exasperatedly explained. She giggled and went back to lightly brushing Regina’s auburn hair out of her little face. Sebastian smiled and he glanced at Estelle’s middle. There was no baby bump, but they all knew Estelle was now the last of the three couples to be with child. “And…how are you?”
“Still five months pregnant,” she lightly reported. She turned to him and wrapped her arms around his torso when he approached her. She rested her chin on his chest, smiling up at him. “I’m completely fine, Seb.”
“That’s good,” he quietly said, tucking her hair behind her ear. His eyes held so much warmth and delight at the thought that he too was going to be a father.
Garreth opened the bedroom door and poked his head out. Ominis instantly heard and turned toward him. Garreth smiled and walked out of the room.
“Is Poppy alright?” Ominis immediately asked, completely worried.
“Your wife is perfectly fine, Ominis,” Garreth reassured him, patting his shoulder. “In fact, we’re getting to the point where she’s ready to give birth.”
Ominis straightened. “So…I can be in there?”
“You need to remain calm,” Garreth firmly advised. “You need to stay with Poppy and be there for her as she’s in pain from labor. If you get too agitated, it can easily transfer to Poppy, and the labor can be prolonged. Not to mention, it will make it harder for me to concentrate.”
“You? Wait, isn’t Poppy’s gran going to help?” Ominis asked.
“Violet is with her now, but she thinks it best if, and I quote, ‘healthier, younger people helped her great-grandchild’.” Garreth grinned. “Don’t worry. I’ve personally been a midwife for my sister-in-law. My mum was sick, and my sister was busy, but I had enough experience to know what to expect. From then on, I’ve become a reliable midwife for my family.”
“As long as you don’t push any of your experiments,” Sebastian teased.
Garreth rolled his eyes. “Believe it or not, I happen to know the right times to offer experiments. And I know during labor or even after is not an ideal time.”
Ominis wasn’t sure what to think. He didn’t think his nightmare was a premonition, but it was starting to unsettle him how accurate his dream was. Dream or not, though, his wife needed him.
He forced away his worries and lifted his head. “I can do it,” he solemnly said.
“Alright. Come on in, then,” Garreth said as he opened the door.
Ominis took a deep breath and followed Garreth into the bedroom. He could hear Poppy’s gran murmur last words of encouragement before walking away. She passed Ominis and patted his arm.
“She’s a Sweeting, dear, she’ll be fine,” she told him with a smile as comfortably warm as a fireplace.
Ominis nodded, and he heard Violet leave the room, closing the door behind her. He walked to the bed where Poppy was, and he reached out, gently holding her hand. He had his other hand reach up to move her hair aside.
“How are you feeling?” He asked.
“Well, in as much pain as one about to give birth would expect,” she answered. He softly chuckled, knowing even now, she was still trying to keep him calm. Poppy let out a short breath. “You’re not going anywhere, though, right?”
Ominis could finally hear her bravado fade, and he knew she was just as terrified as he was. He kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger. “Of course not, my love,” he promised.
Poppy smiled at his words, but then she hissed at feeling another contraction. Garreth was standing close by with his pocket watch out. Ominis’s eyebrows instantly furrowed in worry as Poppy instinctively gripped tightly onto his hand. Less than a minute later, though, she relaxed.
“That was forty-five seconds,” he heard Garreth mutter.
“D-does that mean I’m close?” Poppy asked.
“Just about. We have to wait for when the next contraction occurs.”
Poppy nervously laughed, clearly anxious for what was about to happen. “You certainly know what you’re doing as a Healer. That’s good.”
“I certainly hope I know what I’m doing,” Garreth jokingly replied. “I’ve only assisted my sister’s and sister-in-law’s births at least six times.”
“Who helped Imelda with her birth?” Ominis curiously asked.
“My mum and Imelda’s mum,” he easily answered. “I was helping Imelda and having to hear her say every possible curse under the sun in both English and Spanish.” He chuckled. “It was actually pretty funny—”
Poppy let out a sharp cry of pain, and Ominis jumped from the sudden noise. Her hand squeezed his, and he was starting to feel helpless.
“Okay, that was two minutes between,” Garreth decisively said, quickly putting away his pocket watch. He got into position. “It’s time, Poppy.” Ominis couldn’t believe how different Garreth’s attitude was, going from his usual playfulness to complete seriousness. “Take deep breaths, push when I tell you to, and everything will be just fine.”
Poppy panted from the pain, and she gritted her teeth as she felt another piercing contraction. “O-Ominis!”
“I’m right here,” he instantly said, having both of his hands hold hers. He wished he could do more to not have her be in pain, even if it were natural pain, but all he could do was stand there. “Follow my breathing, okay?”
He managed to keep a pattern of deep breaths, and though Poppy would be interrupted by bouts of pain, she managed to keep breathing evenly.
Poppy felt like Gran still understated how painful child labor was! She couldn’t even fathom thoughts or say anything, just making noises of pain and grunts as she pushed. She felt pain flare, and she yelled in pain, but she also heard:
“The baby’s crowning!” Garreth sounded excited. “We’re getting close, Poppy!”
“We better be!” She yelled, feeling strangely better taking her pain out as anger. She soon pushed again, and she felt even worse pain, but Gran told her that was expected. She faintly heard Garreth encourage one more push.
Poppy squeezed the life out of Ominis’s hand, and shouted as she pushed the hardest she could. The pain was suddenly gone, and she collapsed back against the mound of pillows, letting go of Ominis’s hand. She panted, feeling drained beyond belief. She felt Ominis’s fingers brush away her hair that was matted with sweat.
She sighed heavily, and she was about to ask if something went wrong when she and Ominis heard it.
Their baby’s first cry.
Poppy no longer felt exhausted, and she moved to sit up. Ominis straightened as well, turning toward the source. She saw he still looked worried, and while he didn’t go into detail about his nightmare, she wondered if he had dreamt of this moment. She could only imagine how his family ruined such a moment.
Garreth walked over to the other side of the bed, holding a baby swaddled in a soft, yellow blanket. The baby had started to calm down, but was still whimpering for its mother. He smiled at it before looking up at the anticipating parents.
“Congratulations. It’s a girl,” he said as he handed her over to Poppy.
Poppy gasped as she carefully held the baby close to her. She smiled at seeing the little baby instantly calm down at being in her arms. She felt so emotional, tearing up because of joy instead of pain.
“Oh, Ominis,” she whispered. She sniffed. “She’s so beautiful.” Poppy looked up to see Ominis wistfully smile. She saw the certain pained longing in his eyes, and she knew he sorely wished he could see. Poppy looked back at their daughter, who seemed to sink further into her blanket cocoon. “She’s got skin the color of porcelain. She already has a little tuft of chestnut brown hair.”
Ominis reached out, as if to feel it for himself, but then he closed his hand. Poppy gently grabbed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile.
“It’s okay,” she quietly said. “You need to see our daughter too, Ominis.”
She then guided his fingers to the dark hair on the top of her sweet, little head, and she saw Ominis’s eyes widen in awe.
Ominis had felt haunted by that cursed nightmare for so long, but the moment he actually felt his daughter, all of it vanished to nothing. Because nothing mattered more than their child. He felt so much love surging in his heart, and he let out a sharp breath, tearfully smiling as he carefully cradled the baby’s little head.
It amazed him how something so small could mean the world to them.
He wouldn’t want it any other way, though. He swallowed and slowly moved his two fingers to feel her little forehead, and then the faint eyebrows. He felt her nose and he chuckled, feeling the first tears of pure happiness start to fall.
“She has your nose, honey,” Ominis whispered, and he heard Poppy emotionally chuckle as well.
He kept going, wanting to memorize the details of his daughter he knew he would cherish forever. He felt her ears, wondering if they were like his own, and then her cheekbones and jawline.
When he finished, they heard the baby coo and wriggle a bit in her blanket.
“Oh, she’s opening her eyes,” Poppy told Ominis. He leaned closer, wanting their daughter to see both of her parents for the first time. Poppy watched her scrunch up her little nose before slowly but surely opening her eyes. Her left eye was a stunning blue, and her right eye was a warm brown.
“What color are they?” Ominis asked.
Poppy smiled, finding their daughter even more beautiful than she already was. She tapped her finger on the edge of the blanket, and she watched their daughter blink owlishly up at them. “Her left eye is water blue, and her right eye is chocolate brown.”
Ominis’s eyes widened at her description. “She has two different colored eyes?” He asked with so much wonder.
“She does,” Poppy said, tearing up again. “She’s so perfect,” she choked out, loving her daughter more and more.
Ominis spontaneously and fervently kissed Poppy for a moment. “I thought I couldn’t have fallen in even more love for you, darling, but I’m proven wrong right now,” he murmured. He sniffed, still emotional like she was. “Thank you for everything, my love.”
“It’s only thanks to you, my love,” she murmured back with a tearful smile. She couldn’t imagine wanting a different life than this one she shared with Ominis.
They then heard chatter behind the door, pulling them out of their bliss. Garreth must have snuck out a long time ago and told the others already. Now their friends and Gran wanted to see the baby.
“Here we go,” Ominis remarked, making Poppy breathlessly giggle.
The door burst open, with Sebastian being the first in. Estelle followed her husband, shaking her head with an amused smile. Gran was next, and Garreth and Imelda came in at the end. Garreth had his arm around Imelda’s waist as Imelda held Regina in her arms.
“Can we see the baby?” Estelle excitedly asked, always eager to see babies.
Ominis lightly rolled his eyes and moved to be closer to the head of the bed, no longer obstructing the others’ view of their baby girl. Poppy carefully moved her to be better seen by the others.
Estelle happily gasped, and Sebastian’s eyes widened. Gran beamed, and Imelda and Garreth smiled warmly.
“Oh, she’s so pretty!” Estelle said, walking a little closer, bending down to see her at eye-level. She smiled brightly at the baby making little noises, surprised to see more new faces.
“So, I’m the godfather, right?” Sebastian asked with a grin.
Ominis sighed. “We haven’t discussed who would be guardians of our daughter just yet.”
“If anyone is a guardian, it will be her Gran,” Violet said, walking up to the couple. She smiled endearingly at her great-granddaughter. “Hello, little one.”
She merely let out a small coo in response, and Poppy and Ominis quietly laughed, finding her so adorable.
“What’s her name?” Imelda asked as she and Garreth came a little closer to finish the half-circle at the bedside.
Poppy and Ominis exchanged a smile. They had plenty of months to discuss names for a boy and a girl. They have even prepared names for twins and triplets just in case. Ominis wrapped his arm around Poppy’s shoulders.
“We wished to continue the Sweeting tradition of naming,” Ominis started. Violet knew what that meant, and she looked so touched to hear that they wanted to keep it going.
“So, everyone,” Poppy added with an excited grin, “meet Daisy Noctua Sweeting.”