[Remains silent once she starts humming, listening drowsily as he waits for a reaction from the twins]
[She continues to cradle Dominik in her arms and sings, smiling when his crying slowly ceases]
“Little red riding hood, I’d like to hold you if I could, but you might think I’m a big bad wolf so I won’t.”
[He walks over and awkwardly picks up the crying Alden before making his way over to Dominique, taking a seat beside her] That’s it? Brilliant.
No, Aleks, not it. [hums the Little Red Riding Hood song, and rocks Dominik in her arms]
[He pauses in silence for a moment, rubbing his temples as he attempts to keep his patience for her]
I’ve tried. Nothing works.
[picks up Dominik, even though he’s crying] Pick up Alden? [walks back over to the bed and sits on the edge]
They’re doing it again.
[She wakes up and blinks at him for a bit before realizing her bbies are crying.]
Mm… [Gets out of bed and rubs her eyes]
Aleksandr Krum had never been very sociable at school, though this was probably an understatement seeing as he had never been very sociable in anything—things only got worse when he returned. The only thing on his mind at this point in time was doing well in his lessons and passing exams, which had never really been a problem for him in the first place. He spent his mornings and afternoons in and out of classes and most of his evenings writing to Dominique and tending to his homework, occasionally making an exception to stop by the library. There wasn’t much to tell in his letters but she continued to ask and he wanted to give her something to thrive on, so that was what he did.
The months went by slowly and eventually Dominique stopped responding to these letters. He had been worried about this at first, even having a couple of drinks each night to pass the time. Eventually, he did the sensible thing and wrote his parents—as much as he hated doing so. His mother informed him that she hadn’t been feeling too well recently and he felt a sense of relief along with a new sense of worry. It was to be expected as she came farther into the pregnancy and things would get worse before they got better, he was reassured. Of course, the boy wasn’t one to be reassured too easily. He continued to worry but managed to push it aside enough to do what needed to be done.
One afternoon, he sat silently beside the lake with his Potions textbook in hand. It wasn’t any different than most days. Dull, plain, and repetitive as each and every one had been for the last couple of months. He was about to stand and head back inside when he spotted the family’s owl flying in his direction with a letter attached to its beak. He impatiently waited for the bird to land before he slid the letter off of it and tore it open. The handwriting was frantic and almost sloppy—very different than his mother’s usual writing. He quickly reached the end of the parchment and swallowed hard, now realizing why. Dominique was in labor. It was really happening. Wasn’t it too early for that? Was this normal? He crumpled the letter up and stuffed it into his pocket before he began the much too lengthy walk off the premises. It would have been wise to inform McGonagall of his departure beforehand but Aleksandr wasn’t feeling too wise at the moment. He had promised that he would be there and he needed to be. She couldn’t do this without him, he wouldn’t force her to.
His heart racing and a deep frown present on his face, he apparated to St. Mungo’s as soon as he was off grounds. With a quick jerk in all directions, everything went black and the next thing he knew, he was standing in the main lobby of the hospital. There was no sight of his parents or Dominique’s, so he assumed they were already in the waiting room and proceeded to the front desk. “I need to know what room Dominique Weasley is in.” He more demanded than asked as he roughly tapped the palm of his hand against the desk, attempting to get the gray-haired woman’s attention. She stared at him for a moment, much to his annoyance and he felt a rush of anxiety fill his body as he waited for the imbecile to speak. “Well?”
“Are you of relation? We ask that all relatives wait in the—”
“I’m the damn father.” He nearly yelled in frustration but the calm woman didn’t seem phased by this and gave a small nod in response, fumbling through her stack of paperwork before scribbling down a number and handing it over to him. “First floor. I suggest you hurry.”
I suggest you shut up. What do you think I’ve been trying to do, you old bat? He thought but only gave a nod in response and rushed off to find Dominique’s room. It wasn’t far off and minutes later he found himself entering the much too quiet room. She was unconscious which explained the lack of noise—and she was surrounded by healers who seemed more than ready to operate. He ignored them for the most part and made his way over to her side, slipping his hand into hers. She would be alright. She always was.
Dominique didn’t know what was going on. She had passed out and as if that weren’t enough the healers had given her a sedative. The operation went relatively smoothly… with the one exception of the blonde going into shock. It was quickly handled and the children were delivered without any further problems: twins, a boy and a girl just like Madame Pomfrey had predicted. It took several hours for the sedatives to wear off, luckily, because the healers still had to close up the incision they had made on the blonde’s stomach. A nurse handed the baby girl, congratulating Aleks and the baby boy to Fleur. They were both mumbling, though strangely enough, after the initial cry, the two were silent.
As soon as the sedative wore off, Dominique’s eyes fluttered open. She was dazed, confused, and incredibly tired. For a moment, she didn’t know where she was… unconsciously reaching for her stomach and finding it flat. Alarmed, the girl gasped, only to remember that her water had broken and she had gone into premature labor. Her first thoughts were of the babies. Had they survived? Oh Merlin, they must have. A nurse walked by and she raised her hand to pull on the woman’s sleeve. “Where are they?” she asked in a hoarse voice. “Where’re my babies?” she continued in a whisper.
Dominique had spent the first month getting nutrition. Both Fleur and Lucille stressed the importance of health and hardly let the blonde leave the bed. She was bored, and the only thing that gave her any amusement was counting the falling leaves outside or twisting her engagement ring. Now that she thought about it, she supposed that she should start planning the wedding, though she didn’t want to do so and have Aleks call off the wedding. It was the only thing getting her through the days; that and the thought of having the children. The young couple had yet to agree upon a name for the twins, and she couldn’t help but wonder when that would actually be happening. They agreed to send letters to one another and Aleks’ letter was one thing Dom looked forward to every so often. They made her smile—made her feel better about doing this alone. She wasn’t really alone, was she?
The next two months were difficult. Dominique was nauseated all day, and had no appetite whatsoever. She couldn’t leave the bed without stumbling and falling to the floor. Her spirits fell and her health was diminishing. Of course she kept this from Aleks, choosing to continue asking him about the school. The blonde tried her best to write back, but at one point, she just couldn’t anymore. Fleur and Lucille were preoccupied with getting the Slytherin the right amount of food; too busy to send Aleks a letter telling him what was going on in case Dominique kept certain out of her responses. She spent most of her days in bed, under the covers, singing softly and crying.
In her eighth month, she was starting to feel stronger—the nausea was slowly subsiding as well. Dom was walking to the garden in the back when she felt a pain in her stomach. It couldn’t have been time; it was too early. She ignored it, thinking it was indigestion and proceeded to go outside. It persisted, ranging from a full ache to back bending pain. “Mum?” She yelled as loudly as she could, leaning against the door and grasping her stomach. Her water had broken. Dom screamed, losing all strength in her limbs just a Viktor appeared and scooped her up in his arms. Her mother cleared the way, holding doors open as they frantically made their way to the fireplace. Apparition wasn’t recommended during pregnancy, supposedly, so they would be going by floo powder.
“Is it coming?” Lucille asked, handing Viktor some floo powder.
Dominique just yelled out in response. There was cold sweat on her forehead and the contractions were getting shorter and shorter. She groaned and gripped on tight to Viktor’s robes. She heard him call St. Mungo’s and the next thing she knew, that’s where they were. “Aleks! Aleks has to be here!” The petite blonde gasped. Viktor smoothed down her hair and nodded to let her know he understood before setting her down on a free bed. He barked some orders and soon there were three healers and four medi-witches surrounding her and wheeling her into a private room. By this point Dominique had passed out from the excruciating pain that came with her pubic bones expanding.
“We’re going to have to operate on her, Mr. Krum. It’ll be dangerous, but the babies are coming now!” One healer said as they wheeled her into the private room. Fleur and Lucille held each other’s hand and looked absolutely terrified. Once the healer received consent, the three of them were kicked out. Lucille then proceeded to send Aleks a letter telling him of the early labor and the operation.
Dominique had yet to regain consciousness, but the healers fed her a sleeping draught in case she were to wake up in the middle of he operation. They worked quickly, preparing the tools needed and sanitizing the room. A medi-witch made sure the blonde’s breathing was stabilized, and sat with her—holding her hand. It was going to be a long day.
When he noticed her tearing up, the nervousness slowly returned and he began thinking over just about every way she could possibly turn him down. He would be prepared for it—or not. “Yes.” He heard her say and the momentary shock on his face was unavoidable. She had said yes and any negative thoughts that had previously taken over his mind were gone. She was his, just the way that he wanted her to be. She then began rambling and as he listened with a slight smirk on his lips, he took her hand in his and slowly slipped the engagement ring onto her finger.
“Don’t apologize.” He closed the now empty box and slipped it into his pocket, giving a dull shrug as though it had been the easiest thing he’d ever done. He would never let her know just how nervous he had been. Aleks didn’t work that way. Weaknesses made you inferior and that was the last thing he desired to be. ”I love you too and I want you to be happy, Dominique. Why else would I willingly take Giselle in public?” It couldn’t have been more truthful and he decided not to mention his leaving again. Even that had the potential to ruin this moment.
Dominique laughed at the comment about taking Giselle out in public while she stared at the ring on her finger. She almost forgot to breathe. It felt like a dream and she couldn’t help zoning out and in. She knew how much Aleks hated depending on anyone—let alone Giselle. Don’t get her wrong, Dom loved Giselle, even though they didn’t start out as friends, but she knew that Giselle was much like herself: cheerful, loud, and talkative. One Dominique was enough for Aleks. The blonde leaned forward and gave Aleks a quick kiss. “You should sleep.” She hadn’t forgotten that Aleks was leaving in the morning; she just felt better about it now that she had something to hold onto while he was away. “Long morning tomorrow.” Dominique smiled, this time genuinely before pulling the dark-haired boy to the bed. She lay down on the bed, and attempted to sleep. Her insomnia hadn’t gone away, but she found the draughts did help. She should probably take some, but she usually didn’t need it around Aleks, strangely enough. After a few moments of silence, she drifted off to sleep.
Just as Aleks was about to respond to her reminders with one of his infamous sarcastic remarks, he found his lips being gently captured by her own—they were trembling most likely from the entire situation but he didn’t give it much thought. The dark-haired boy instinctively slid an arm around her and pulled her closer to him, deepening her kiss and returning it with one of his own. He had never been too physical in their relationship, at least not as much as most couples their age were but he felt they both needed this—something to hold onto.
“I wanted to wait but now seems appropriate…” He more muttered than spoke as he finally broke the kiss and dropped his hand to rest at his side. He said nothing else as he walked silently across the bedroom and stopped at the dresser on the other side. Fumbling around with his back turned to the oblivious blonde, he spotted the small box hidden underneath a pile of neatly folded laundry. It had been picked out during their three month stay at his home. Stubborn yet nearly helpless, he had been forced to ask help from his older sister—though he hadn’t exactly asked. It came out as more of a demand but she seemed to be more than thrilled with lending a hand. As irritating as it was to hear her squeal and make a big deal of the matter, the female Krum had been strangely helpful in selecting the ring, especially after he had shot down many of her other choices. Most were too large or flashy. They weren’t meant for Dominique Weasley. Hell, none of them were perfect but he found the closest thing that he could find.
Aleks had no doubt in his mind that he wanted to marry her, he had no reason to have any or even a single doubt. He loved her more than he knew he was capable of loving anyone. Still, there was the possibility of rejection. Despite everything positive Dominique had said to him in the past and even recently, somewhere in the boy’s mind he felt that it was too good to be true. She was too good for him and would eventually realize it. The pregnancy was a common mistake. She could very easily not want to marry him, for all he knew. This was discouraging but after a couple of drinks that night, he had made up his mind. As though that decision wasn’t difficult enough, he had to figure out a way to go about it. Aleksandr Viktor Krum was no romantic—at least not the traditional type. There was no way that you would catch him serenading you on one knee or writing some ridiculously pathetic love poem. The mere thought of doing anything of the sort made him want to burst out laughing at the idiocy—it also caused nausea and the possibility of vomiting. No. He would do something simple, yet memorable.
Grasping the small box within the palm of his hand, he inhaled silently before turning around. Are you honestly nervous? You don’t get nervous. What the hell is wrong with you? He made his way back over to her, quite calm and unchanging from his usual self, though it was obvious by the look in his eyes that this was important. He couldn’t screw it up…and so it began. “Dominique, I’m shit at this and you know it but I’m going to give it a shot. I’ve known you most of my life but didn’t realize that you were more than an obnoxious little brat until about three years ago. We’ve been through a lot and I’d like to think that you’ve changed somethings about me for the better. Let’s face it, I was pretty fucked up there for a while but you were mental enough to put up with me. We made a mistake but you’re making the best of it and I’m going to as well. I’m not just doing this because of the mistake, before you go and get all emotional. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. I love you and I wouldn’t change a thing.” He resisted the urge to sigh at what came next. Stubbornly, he forced himself to kneel down before her and hold out the box, flipping the top open to reveal the shining ring.
“Dominique Weasley, will you marry me?”
As if the kiss hadn’t been enough to leave Dominique breathless, this was sure to knock all the air out of her lungs. She was confused, puzzled even, when Aleks left her and walked across the room. She had no idea what he was doing, but didn’t think much of it. Her eyes wandered until she heard him approaching her again. Dom’s blue eyes fixated on the little box he was holding, until she tore her eyes away and stared up at Aleks instead. No… This had to be a dream. There was no way that Aleksandr Krum was proposing to her. He thought it trivial—ridiculous, didn’t he? His words became muffled, and the blonde’s ears strained to hear him speak.
Dominique felt the urge to retort and sarcastically say, ‘Thanks,’ in response to her boyfriend’s backhanded remark on her being an obnoxious brat three years ago. She didn’t, however, seeing the look in Aleks’ eyes. Her jaw dropped slowly and she rose to her feet when the dark-haired boy stubbornly got down on his knees. ‘Will you marry me?’ the words rang in her ears and she couldn’t believe it. Everything felt so surreal, and Dom couldn’t look away from the ring inside of the box. She almost forgot to answer.
Of course the emotions hit her late. Of course. Dominique’s throat clamped up and her eyes decided that now was the best time to tear up. She could feel herself blushing slightly as well. It wasn’t the most attractive trait, but it would have to do, yes? Aleks was proposing to her. Merlin, how much time had passed? The blonde nodded silently, trying to swallow at the lump that had formed in her throat and tell him yes. When she finally felt like she could do so, she took his hand and pulled him up onto his feet. “Yes,” she breathed with a smile on her face. “Of course I’ll marry you. How could I not?” Dom bit back tears, failing miserably, and let out a breathy laugh. “It’s beautiful… I love you, Aleks,” the girl said as she pulled her arms around his neck and hugged him (a not-so-easy task for a pregnant Dom).
The Slytherin covered her mouth and gasped. “Oh! Of course I don’t love you because you got me the ring, but… I… you know what I mean. Merlin, I didn’t get you a ring. Am I supposed to have a ring for you?” Dominique sniffled, feeling anxious and overwhelmed. “How did you know my size? Is it my size?” She covered her mouth again, knowing that her habit of talking twice as much when she was nervous had already kicked in. “Sorry. I’m just really happy.”
Aleks finally moved his eyes to her, knowing all too well that the smile on her face was taking more than just a little bit of effort. She didn’t want this and neither did he but it was for the best. Sure, his parents annoyed the hell out of him half the time but it wasn’t the only reason that he wanted out of the house. The boy was stubborn as hell and didn’t want to ask them for help in paying for the things they would be needing after the birth. He would worry the entire time he was away from her but in the long run, he hoped that it would be worth it. Dominique deserved everything that he could possibly give her and that’s what he planned to do.
When she asked if he would be there for the birth, he didn’t need to think about it. He would find a way to be there. McGonagall surely knew of their situation and if she didn’t, he couldn’t have cared less. He needed to be there for the accident prone blonde. “Of course. I’ll come ahead of time to be sure.” He shrugged weakly. Aleks hadn’t given much thought to the birth, in all honesty. He was aware of the procedure and the risk of complications—those being all that he had been concerned about. Dominique was more fragile than ever. What if something were to go wrong with her? What would he do then? Blow up St. Mungos, most likely. He was being ridiculous. Women had been giving birth since the beginning of time. The healers knew what they were doing. You keep telling yourself that. They could be morons for all you know. “I’ll leave tomorrow.”
Dominique nodded, glad that he was planning on showing up around the time she was going to deliver. “T-tomorrow…?” So soon. The girl leaned against the bed post and picked at her lips. “Okay…” It took everything she had not to cry. Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. She kept repeating it to herself over and over. She let out a sigh and glanced over at Aleks. “Don’t forget your textbooks and your wand… and anything else you might need,” she said with a forced smile. Dom bit her lip and leaned forward. “You can’t forget this either.” She kissed him gently, lips trembling slightly from the inner turmoil she was in.
