First-Borns
~July 18th, 1979; the Potter�s house~
�James! I think it�s time!�
�But we haven�t even made preparations yet!� James yelled, rushing around in a mad panic. �We have to get a message to Albus and�the doctors��
�Damn it James, the babies are coming now! Call him from the cab! He probably knows already! Oh, you�re useless! Give me that phone! I�ll call from the cab! Go get my bag! Think you can manage that?�
James backed down. He knew better than to argue with Lily. The doctors insisted that it was just hormones and she�d be back to normal after she had the babies, for which James was very thankful. He didn�t think he could take this any longer.
�Hurry up! The cab�ll be here any minute!� Lily shouted, grabbing her purse from James and running out the door. James sighed and followed her out.
* * *
�Okay Mrs. Potter, one more push.�
�Come on Lily,� James whispered, squeezing her hand. �One more push and it�ll all be over.� He felt her grip on his hand tighten and the sounds of a baby�s crying suddenly filled the room.
�Congratulations Mrs. Potter,� the doctor said, holding up the baby for them to see. �It�s another girl. I�ll bring her out here to clean her up a bit, and then you can see them both.�
�Did you speak to Albus?� Lily whispered once the doctor had gone.
�Yes,� James said gently. �Don�t worry about it. He�ll do some memory charms on the doctors.� This got a surprising reaction out of Lily as she sat up suddenly.
�James, you know how I feel about those!� she said, looking up at him. �The Muggles are never quite right after them. What if they forget something they weren�t supposed to?�
�Lily, calm down. Save your strength,� James whispered urgently, listening for noises outside the room. �Albus is taking care of the charms. He hasn�t made a mistake yet. Besides, we have to,� he reached up and gently stroked Lily�s cheek, �for the girls.�
Lily smiled weakly and put her hand over James�s.
�For the girls.�
~Three weeks later; Malfoy Mansion~
�Lucius,� Narcissa said timidly, entering her husband�s office.
�What?� he growled, not bothering to look up from his desk.
�I think it�s time,� Narcissa said, bracing herself for the yelling that would certainly result from her bothering Lucius when he was busy.
�No, it�s not,� Lucius said simply, looking at his watch. �The meeting isn�t for another couple hours.�
�I mean the baby,� Narcissa cried, tears flowing down her cheeks.
�So?� Lucius asked coldly, still not looking up.
�I have to go to the hospital,� Narcissa said weakly, collapsing into a chair.
Lucius finally looked up from his paperwork and Narcissa immediately wished he hadn�t. The cold, emotionless stare of those eyes made her cringe. They were silent for a moment before Lucius finally spoke.
�Fine,� he hissed. He obviously thought this wasn�t his problem. He pulled out a small bag of Floo Powder and sprinkled some over a crystal ball on his desk. An image of a Muggle telephone appeared in it.
�I suppose you�ll have to go to the Muggle hospital, as it�s closest,� Lucius sneered, intentionally drawing out Narcissa�s suffering. He waved a hand over the crystal ball and the phone started ringing. Almost immediately, a man picked it up.
�Good afternoon, you have reached Excel Cabs, how may I serve you?�
�Send a cab to 1286 Newport Drive. It�s the only house on the street, you can�t miss it,� Lucius said calmly. As an afterthought, he added, �Be quick about it.�
Narcissa went downstairs to wait for the cab. Lucius stayed upstairs until the last minute, coming down at the same moment the cab showed up. They rode to the hospital in silence.
�Go on,� Lucius said when they arrived. �I have a meeting, but I�ll be by later to see my son.� But Narcissa didn�t leave the cab just yet. Somehow, she had to get some kind of reaction out of him besides anger.
�What should we name him?� Narcissa asked, scanning Lucius� face for some emotion, any emotion.
�Doesn�t matter,� Lucius said in the same toneless voice as always. �Call it whatever you want.�
Narcissa felt a fresh wave of tears form behind her eyes, but she held them back. She got out of the cab and it immediately drove away, splashing her with water as it went through a puddle.
She sighed. She should�ve known better. Lucius didn�t care about the baby. He just wanted an heir, someone to carry on the Malfoy name.
But she did care. She had to get up to the hospital. She took a step forward. Unfortunately, she misjudged the height of the curb and tripped. She landed face first on the sidewalk, a splitting pain erupting suddenly in her lower abdomen. She hoped to whatever higher power was watching that the baby would be okay. As an answer to her prayers, a nurse came running out of the hospital.
�Are you all right?� the woman asked, kneeling by Narcissa.
�My baby�� Narcissa whispered so quietly the nurse probably didn�t even hear her. �Please save my baby.� And she blacked out.
* * *
When Narcissa woke up, she was in a hospital bed. A wave of nausea was the first thing she felt. Luckily, she was able to calm her stomach before she got sick.
She knew something was wrong. She could feel that the baby was gone. Whether he had survived or not remained to be seen.
�Oh good, you�re awake,� said a nurse, walking into the room. It was the same nurse she�d seen outside. �When I saw you out there, I thought��
�My baby,� Narcissa interrupted, grabbing the nurse�s wrist. �Where�s my baby?�
�We managed to deliver him by cesarean-section,� the nurse said, obviously avoiding the question. �You�ll have to come back to get the stitches taken out.�
�Where is he?� Narcissa asked again.
�He�s in intensive care,� the nurse answered, wincing as Narcissa�s grip on her wrist tightened. �I�m afraid your fall may have damaged the womb, cutting off his oxygen supply. Would you like to see him?�
Narcissa nodded and, with the nurse�s help, got up and followed her out of the room. They walked past a couple doors before entering one at the end of the hall.
The room was brightly lit and filled with Muggle medical equipment. Several couples were spread out around the room, each standing next to a similar Muggle contraption. Some of them cried while others simply stood, too distraught to cry.
The nurse led Narcissa to the far corner. There, in a contraption identical to all of the others, was a small baby boy.
Narcissa collapsed into a chair, tears streaming from her eyes. How could this have happened? Why did this have to happen?
�I�ll let you have a moment alone with him,� the nurse whispered. �Have you decided on a name?�
�Gerry,� Narcissa said immediately, taking her father�s name. �Gerry Malfoy.� The nurse walked away, leaving Narcissa with her son.
Narcissa looked at the boy. He was so small he could probably fit in her hand. This wasn�t surprising as wizard children are always smaller than Muggle children, but it wasn�t much of a comfort either.
A man from one of the other couples came over. Narcissa assumed he was a Muggle, but she really couldn�t tell. He was wearing long, black robes and carrying a small, black book.
�Would you like me to say a prayer for your son?� he asked. Narcissa now realized that he must be a Muggle priest. She could see that his book had the words �Holy Bible� on the front.
�Yes, thank you,� Narcissa said. Lucius had never allowed her to go to church, saying he didn�t hold with such nonsense. Even before they were married she hadn�t been very religious. But right now, her son could use all the help he could get.
When the man had finished, Narcissa thanked him again. After he left, the nurse came back in, Lucius not far behind.
�Why have you brought me here?� he was saying as he followed the nurse. �I said I wanted to see my son.�
�You�re Mr. Malfoy, aren�t you?� the nurse asked, leading him to the corner where Narcissa sat waiting.
�Yes, but you still haven�t answered my�� he stopped when he saw what the nurse had brought him to see.
�This can�t be him,� Lucius said, looking away.
�It is him,� Narcissa said, standing up. �Like it or not, he�s your son.�
�What is this�thing he�s in?� Lucius asked, putting up a fake concerned voice.
�It�s an incubator,� the nurse said. �We decided to wait for your arrival to tell you. Your son is very weak. With the proper medications, he is likely to survive, but with possible brain damage.�
�Brain damage?� Narcissa repeated, suddenly feeling very faint.
�Yes, I explained earlier that his oxygen supply was cut off,� the nurse said. �We rushed him here and put him on a respirator, but not soon enough to prevent all brain damage. Your son, once given the proper medication, will grow up healthy, though he will need special classes once his education starts.�
Narcissa was relieved that her son would be okay, but she was still troubled. She had no idea what kind of reaction this would draw from Lucius. From the look on his face, she could tell that it wouldn�t be good.
�Of course, I�ll need you to sign some papers before I can administer the medicine. It�s extremely expensive, I�m afraid. I�ll go get the paperwork.�
�Don�t bother,� Lucius said coldly. �We can�t afford it.�
Narcissa knew he was lying. They had plenty of money. He just didn�t want to spend it on this.
�But surely you can. It�s covered by insurance and��
�I said we can�t afford it,� Lucius interrupted.
�Then, there�s only two options left,� the nurse said, clearly shaken by Lucius� cruelty. �We can keep him alive on the machine or we can disconnect him. With the first, he�ll most likely never recover. If we take him off the machine, he�ll have to fight for his life. If he wins the battle, he�ll most likely make a full recovery, but if he loses�� She broke off, waiting for an answer.
Narcissa looked up at her husband fearfully. There was no doubt in her mind of what he would do. He looked at his son one last time before giving the nurse his answer.
�Disconnect him,� he said, his voice toneless. The nurse nodded and went to another Muggle machine not far away. After she had pressed several buttons on this machine, the ones around little Gerry all shut down, leaving him to fight his battle alone.
Narcissa watched as everything shut down. Gerry�s breathing slowed, and he seemed to be fighting for every breath. Then, he stopped, his battle lost.
�I�m sorry,� the nurse whispered. �I�ll leave you alone.� She went to speak to another couple across the room.
�We�ll try again,� Lucius said coldly, grabbing Narcissa�s arm. She had one last glimpse of her son before she was pulled away. That was the last day the name of little Gerry Malfoy was spoken.
~A few hours later; unknown~
�You�re late, Malfoy.�
�I am sorry master,� Lucius murmured, kneeling down to kiss the hem of the Dark Lord�s robes. �I was delayed.�
�Yes, I saw, most unfortunate. But that doesn�t excuse your absence. You know this is a very crucial point in our plan.�
�Yes master,� Lucius whispered, standing up, and moved to take his place in the circle. Of course he knew. Everybody knew about the children, the children who, if allowed to live, may grow to be more powerful than the Dark Lord himself. What they didn�t know was who or where they were. But they would find out soon.
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