Dolasitas

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Lucius was working in the study when one of the house elves rushed into the room. “Please, master, Mrs Snape is in the fire, she says it is urgent, sir!” he squeaked. Lucius frowned, but followed the elf downstairs to the fire.

“Good morning, Mrs Snape, how are you?” Lucius asked with a small frown as he bent down to the fireplace.

Ginny had tears in her eyes. “There is no time for pleasantries, Mr Malfoy. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Severus has just rushed Lexy to St. Mungo’s and he asked that you meet him there immediately.”

Lucius felt as if he was unable to breathe. “What’s wrong with my angel?” he demanded urgently.

“It’s not really my place to say. Please, Lucius, Lexy needs you.”

Lucius needed to hear no more, and Ginny withdrew from the fire for him to be able to Floo to St. Mungo’s, which he did with all haste. As he stumbled out of the fireplace, his eyes flashing wildly, a Healer rushed forward to greet him. “Lord Malfoy,” he said urgently, “Professor Snape told us you were on your way. If you would follow me, I will take you to your wife.” He began to hurry down a corridor and Lucius rushed after him, his heart pounding.

“Please, tell me what’s wrong with my wife!” he demanded insistently.

The Healer shook his head. “I do not know, Lord Malfoy. The Healers are still working to stabilise her. Healer Byfield is in charge, she will be able to tell you more when we get there.” He paused outside a door and opened it. “I hope she has good news for you, sir,” he said quietly as he stepped aside to allow Lucius to enter the room.

Severus was standing in the corner of the room, his face pinched, as he watched a team of Healers standing over Lexy who was lying unconscious on the bed. Lucius rushed into the room. “Will someone PLEASE tell me what’s wrong with my wife?!” he shouted, his voice breaking.

Severus crossed the room quickly, striding to Lucius’ side and pulling him away from the bed. “Let them do their work, Lucius,” he said sympathetically. “It seems that Lexy will be fine. She’s lost a lot of blood, but they’ve already started giving her blood replenishing potions so that won’t be a problem.”

“Gods,” Lucius whispered. “But what happened, Severus? She was fine when she left this morning, I swear.”

Severus paused, not wanting to be the one to have to tell Lucius what had happened, but he was saved from speaking when a harassed looking Healer walked over to them, holding out her hand. “Lord Malfoy, I presume?” she asked assumptively.

He nodded and took the woman’s hand. “Is Lexy going to be alright?” he asked anxiously.

To his great relief, she nodded. “My name is Healer Byfield, and I’m in charge of your wife’s care. I’m sorry to have to inform you of this, sir, but Lady Malfoy has most unfortunately suffered a traumatic miscarriage this morning.”

“No,” Lucius moaned, sinking back against the wall. “Oh gods, no.”

Healer Byfield pursed her lips. “I am sorry to have to be blunt with you at this time, sir, but I must insist on knowing whether your wife was taking any fertility potions.”

Lucius looked up guiltily. Severus did not miss the look on his face and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Why do you ask?” Lucius replied eventually.

“Because I have ascertained the reason for the miscarriage. Lady Malfoy was, in fact, carrying four embryos, two of which implanted outside of the womb. Obviously, her body was unable to cope with this, and she had a massive haemorrhage which resulted in the loss of all four. Lord Malfoy, this sort of incident can only be the result of an overdose of fertility potion,” she said sharply. “It was extremely irresponsible of you to allow her to do this. She is only seventeen, for Merlin’s sake. You should have guided her away from this ridiculous path which has only resulted in a great deal of pain and distress for you all.”

Lucius stared at her coldly. “Has the damage been repaired?”

“Yes. She should have no problem with future pregnancies. But…”

“There will be no buts,” he interrupted her. “Thank you for your help, and I ask you now not to inform Lady Malfoy of what you have just told me.”

“Sir! She has every right to know!” Healer Byfield retorted incredulously.

“Healer, do you really think it would be difficult for me to discover where your family are? Should I find that you have disobeyed my instructions… well, I would hate to be in your shoes,” he finished dangerously.

She swallowed hard. “I believe we have an understanding, sir,” she said shakily. “However, I am duty bound to warn you that had we been even fifteen minutes later in treating her, your wife would be unable to bear children now. Please bear that in mind.” Healer Byfield returned to Lexy’s side, speaking hastily with the rest of the team.

Severus seized Lucius’ arm and pulled him outside. “You fool!” he said angrily. “I warned you to only give her one drop of the potion a day. I hope you are satisfied with yourself now.”

To his great surprise, Lucius broke down and began to cry. Furiously, he blinked back the tears. “I was terrified of losing her, Severus! Surely you have something in your life that you would do anything to keep? Lexy is that something for me. Gods, if I lost that woman, my life would be meaningless. And yes, that is me saying that. Had you told me six months ago that I would be in this position today, I would have laughed. I never expected to ever lose control so totally. But this morning when I thought I had lost her… Merlin,” he said, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

Severus stared at him keenly. “If I didn’t know better, Lucius, I would say that you love her.”

He laughed harshly. “Me? In love? That’s a crazy proposition, Severus. I do not think that I am even capable of love. I am a Malfoy, after all.”

“I cannot berate you further, Lucius,” Severus replied quietly. “I must get back to the school. My deepest sympathies for your loss, and please give Alexis my regards when she awakens.” Lucius nodded, and Severus clapped a hand on his shoulder. “If you need anything, Lucius, you and Lexy know where we are.” He turned and walked away and Lucius went back into the room where Lexy was beginning to stir.

Lucius hurried to her side. “Oh, thank Merlin you are safe, princess,” he exclaimed, kissing her fiercely.

She shook her head. “I’ve lost the baby, haven’t I?” Lexy asked tearfully. When Lucius could not reply, she began to sob in earnest. “Oh gods, Lucius, I am so sorry.”

“Lexy, it is not your fault in the slightest,” he said sternly, his heart thumping wildly. “The Healers assured me that it is nothing that you did wrong, and we will absolutely not have a problem conceiving again. This one just wasn’t meant to be,” Lucius finished, his voice catching in his throat painfully.

“But I wanted this one!” she insisted, her chest heaving. “When Ginny did the test for me this morning, I was so excited. All along, I thought that I wouldn’t want a baby, but when I realised that I was pregnant, I was so excited. It’s so unfair, Lucius, the very same hour that I finally realise how much I want to have your child, it gets taken away from me. What did I do to deserve it, Lucius?!” she demanded, her voice rising.

A Healer hurried over. “Is everything alright?” he asked.

Lucius gestured helplessly towards the bed. “I don’t know what to do for her,” he explained, holding his head in his hands. “I feel so useless,” he whispered.

“It’s a perfectly normal reaction, sir. However, we will give her a slight sedative now before you take her home. I really do recommend that you sit down and talk about it once she has slept it off though. The worst thing for you both is to keep your feelings bottled up. You’ve both suffered a loss, and you need to grieve,” the Healer explained.

“Of course,” Lucius replied with a tired sigh. “How soon will I be able to take her home?”

“Oh, we’ll just administer the sedative and you can be going. It’s better for Lady Malfoy’s recovery that she is somewhere that she can relax. Best of luck for the future, sir, and we would ask that you come straight to us next time you conceive, just to be on the same side.”

Lucius nodded and the Healer leant over Lexy and gave her the potion, causing her to drift back into unconsciousness.


It was early evening by the time Lexy awoke in her bed, Lucius sat anxiously at her side. He leapt to his feet when he saw she had awoken. “Can I get you anything, Lexy?” he asked anxiously.

She sat up slowly, still battling to hold back the tears. “A cup of tea, please, would be lovely.” Lucius quickly summoned a house elf to fetch one and then sat beside her on the bed, wrapping his arm around her.

“Lexy, you have to understand that I do not blame you in the slightest for what happened today. Yes, it hurt terribly, and we are both devastated,” he said in a choked voice, “but these things happen. I believe that we are meant to be together, and you are meant to have my children. I have every faith that we will conceive again before the four months are up, darling.”

Lexy sniffed slightly but her tears dried up. “I’ve been so worried these past few months that I wouldn’t want our baby when I conceived, but when I saw the blue light this morning I was so excited. I truly did want this baby, Lucius, and I was so looking forward to telling you about it,” she explained sadly. “I don’t really remember what happened, though. I remember passing out in Potions and briefly waking up in hospital, but I don’t remember anything of what the Healers had to say.”

“Severus took you to St. Mungo’s and Mrs Snape Flooed me, telling me to meet him there urgently. A Healer greeted me to the entrance and he rushed me to your room.” Lucius paled as he recalled the sight of Lexy lying motionless on the hospital bed. “No-one would tell me what had happened, and I was terrified that I was going to lose you, princess,” he said, holding her tighter. “Finally, the head Healer came over to me and told me what had happened.”

“Did… did they say what had caused it?” Lexy asked, desperate to be given a reason.

Lucius hesitated. “They said that the embryo had implanted outside of the womb, and that it caused you to bleed heavily. There was nothing you could have done, princess; it really was one of those things. They stabilised you and repaired the damage, then gave you a sedative before I brought you home.”

“So they said there was no lasting damage?” Lexy asked eagerly.

Lucius nodded, relieved to move on. “Precisely, darling. Thanks to Severus’ prompt actions, you’ll be fine. You will need to rest for a few days, though, because you did lose a lot of blood.”

Lexy looked out of the window for a few moments then turned back towards Lucius, her face set decidedly. “I’m not going back to Hogwarts, Lucius,” she said.

He was shocked. “But princess, you were so determined to finish your education.”

“I can take my exams at any time, Lucius. Right now, I want nothing more than to bear your child.”

His eyes shone as she made her declaration. “I think you know how much it means to me to hear you say that, Lexy. Let me assure you now that I think you are the most wonderful thing in the world, and no other woman could have made me happier than you do, and I will do my best for as long as I live to make you as happy as you make me.”

A house elf came into the room with Lexy’s cup of tea, and she drank it gratefully, relaxing in Lucius’ arms. Lucius noticed the cup begin to slide from her grasp and he took hold of it, lowering the now sleeping Lexy down onto the pillows and covering her with a blanket.

Surprising himself, he crossed the corridor and entered the nursery, staring longingly at the empty cribs. As he began to mourn for the babies they had lost and bemoan his idiocy, Mobby came in with Will. “Oh, sorry, master,” he gabbled, “would you like me to take the young sir away for a bit?”

“No,” Lucius replied thoughtfully, “Leave him with me. What time does he need to go to sleep?”

“Er… mistress Lexy likes him to be asleep by half seven, master,” Mobby replied dubiously.

“Very well, Mobby, you can leave now thank you.” Lucius turned to the small boy who was looking a little bemused by the turn of events. “Hello, Will,” he said.

Will frowned at him. “Why don’t you play with me very much?” he demanded.

Lucius was taken aback. “Well, I am a very busy man.”

“Lecky is busy too, but she plays with me,” he replied sulkily. “What am I ‘sposed to call you, anyways? Lecky said you was called sir, but that’s a stupid name.”

Lucius chuckled. “My name is Lucius. You can call me that, Will.”

“Lucius?” the boy said dubiously. “That’s a bit of a girly name.” He marched over to the bookcase and stretched for a book that was obviously well-loved. “Can you read this for me, please?”

Lucius looked down at the child and was about to refuse until he saw the hopeful look on his face. He had always refused to read to Draco when he was small; in fact, he barely saw the boy until he was of Hogwarts age. Lucius resolved to start correcting his many mistakes now that he had a second chance. He took the book from Will and lifted him into his arms. “Come on then, Will,” he said as he walked across to the nursing chair and began reading to him.

The time passed quickly and it was soon quarter past seven. Lucius looked around the room for the boy’s nightclothes, and was relieved when Will pointed them out for him and dressed himself. “Can I say good night to Lecky?” he said hopefully. “I don’t sleep so good without my kissy.”

“Well, she’s been a bit poorly today, little one, but we’ll go and see if she’s awake. You must promise not to wake her if she isn’t though,” Lucius said sternly.

Will nodded, and Lucius carried him through to his and Lexy’s bedroom, quietly opening the door. She opened her eyes as they came in, and they lit up at the sight in front of her. “Hello, darling,” she said to Will.

“We didn’t wake you, did we?” Lucius asked.

Lexy shook her head and held out her arms. “No, I was only dozing. I’ve always got time for my little man,” she said fondly as Will clambered across the bed to get to her. “What have you been doing tonight, trouble?”

“Lucius,” Will stumbled over the new word, “read my book to me and then we played with the horsie for a bit and then we played with teddy.”

Lexy’s eyebrows shot up. “Did you have fun, baby?”

He nodded earnestly. “Yeah! Hope Lucius plays with me some more.”

“I’m sure he will,” she replied, beaming at her husband. “Come on then, give me a kiss before you go to bed.” Will planted a slobbery kiss on her cheek and she smiled tenderly at him before turning to Lucius. “Do you want me to get up and put him to bed?”

Will spoke before Lucius could. “No, you’re poorly,” he said insistently, “Lucius can do it.”

“Quite,” said Lucius with a small smile. “I shall be back in once he is asleep, princess. Come back here then, Will,” he said, beckoning the child towards him. Will climbed back across the bed, unsuccessfully trying to hide a yawn.

Lucius carried him through to the nursery and laid him down in the toddler bed, tucking him in carefully. Will looked up at him sleepily. “Can I have ‘nother kissy?” he asked.

Lucius shook his head. “Let your sister sleep now.”

“Not from Lecky, from you,” Will asked sweetly.

Taken aback, Lucius leaned over the bed and quickly kissed the child on his forehead. “Good night, Will,” he said, turning down the lights with a flick of his wand. When he turned back around, Will was already asleep.

Lucius walked slowly back to their bedroom where Lexy was sat up waiting for him. “That was a lovely surprise, Lucius,” she said with a beaming smile.

“I don’t quite know what came over me,” he admitted, “but when Mobby brought him in after his dinner I suddenly had the urge to spend a bit of time with him. I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

“I’m glad,” Lexy replied sincerely, before imitating Will’s yawn of a few minutes earlier. “Will you hold me until I fall asleep, my love?”

“Of course, my darling,” he said tenderly, climbing into the bed beside her, and softly stroking her hair.

“Thank you, Lucius,” she mumbled as sleep began to take her.

“For what?”

“Everything today. I couldn’t have gotten through today without you, Lucius.” He closed his eyes as an intense feeling of guilt caused a lump in his throat. It was his fault that this wonderful woman was in such pain, and yet she was thanking him. What had he done to deserve so many second chances? Lucius did not know, but he resolved not to throw this one away.

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