Marriage Law Madness

Cornelius Fudge was pacing his study, unable to sleep. The doctors had told them that if Molly didn’t improve by tomorrow, they would have to take the baby to keep it from killing her. Never before had he felt so absolutely helpless - not even when he had to admit that Voldemort had returned. He wasn\'t ready to give up, there had to be something someone could do that hadn’t been tried yet. Suddenly an idea came to him. He strode over to the large portrait on the wall, poking the man awake. “I need to talk to the other minister. Go tell him I will be there directly.” The man nodded and strode out the side of the frame.

Fudge sat sipping his tea – what was it with these Muggles about tea in a crisis? He outlined the problem, hoping against hope that maybe some Muggle doctor knew something about the subject. “So, Lucius’ potion would cure them both, but I don’t think that we can keep them both alive that long,” he concluded miserably.

“So you think this potion is the best option? We have a doctor at Paddington Hospital that works on problems with Muggle babies before they are born. If you have the potion ready, he can get a part of the baby out of the womb for you. Get her over there now, and I will call and make the arrangements.”

Fudge nodded, tears in his eyes. Suddenly he reached out and hugged the minister tightly, surprising them both. “Thank you,” he said simply before Disapparating to St. Mungo’s. Once he was finished there, he headed to Hogwarts.

Lucius Malfoy had just fallen into bed after a long night, Wednesday being the night for his N.E.W.T astronomy class. He was on the verge of sleep when a frantic pounding sounded on his chamber door. Pulling his pillow over his ears, he prepared to ignore the visitor until they went away. Instead, Lucius heard the sound of the wards falling and the bolt sliding back.

“Lucius, it’s Cornelius Fudge. If you are here, I really, really need you to get up. It’s about Molly.” At that Lucius jumped from between the covers. Not even bothering to grab his robe, he ran to the front room.

“What is it? What’s happened?” Lucius demanded.

“PLEASE tell me you have some of that bonding potion! Grab it and let’s go, or get brewing!” Fudge was panicking now.

“Yes, I have some. Let me get decent.” Lucius ran towards his room, throwing on the first robe he found, which was last nights’ teaching robe crumpled on the floor. Dobby had been sent to wake Severus, so they headed off to St. Mungo’s.

Severus made it there before they did, just as a Muggle ambulance pulled up. He could see Molly being rolled down the hall towards him. A smile of recognition lit her features.

“Molly, what is going on?” Severus panted, out of breath.

“The Minister came, said he had found a doctor that could strengthen the baby enough to make it to term without harming Molly. Gave us orders for her to be moved to a Muggle hospital for surgery.” The attendant spoke.

Just then Lucius and Cornelius came panting up behind them. “Come on, not a moment to lose!” Fudge ordered, and the attendants started moving Molly towards the ambulance. “Come on, gentlemen, I was informed that the Muggle minister will have appropriate attire for us there.” Severus sat in the back next to Molly, and Lucius climbed in next to the driver. Since there were only two spots, Cornelius said he would find a spot to Apparate.

An hour later the men were wearing Muggle scrubs as Molly was prepped for surgery. She was wheeled into the operating room, a mass of wires and tubes around her. “Severus,” the Muggle doctor beckoned him forward. “I\'m Doctor Churchill, I\'ll be working on Molly today. This box here is monitoring Molly’s heartbeat, this one is monitoring the baby’s. We are going to make an incision into the uterus, using a sterile bag to pump out some of the amniotic fluid. This will allow a small part of the baby to be removed from the womb for Lucius to use. However, we must make sure EVERY trace of the potion or blood is absorbed or washed away before we are done, as Molly’s body would treat it as a foreign object and attack it, and by extension attacking the baby. Then we close the incision, leaving a space for a tube to pump the fluid back in. Stitch that, and then stitch the abdomen closed. I’ve done over a hundred surgeries like this to correct birth defects, so I don’t anticipate problems.”

The anesthesiologist said, “She’s under, doctor, and vitals are good.”

“Let’s get this show going, shall we?”

Severus watched in awe, catching a quick glimpse of his tiny daughter’s face as the doctor extricated her arm. Then he sat in the chair next to the table, and Lucius petrified him before binding him and his new child together. Lucius bound himself next, saying, “I hereby fulfill the final pledge of our blood bond. You as godfather of mine, I return the favor.” He looked at the monitor and frowned. “We need more.”

Fudge offered his own arm. “I ask to be bound to this miracle, as Severus has done for my child, I do the same.” The binding improved the baby’s vitals considerably, but Lucius still wasn’t satisfied.

The Muggle doctor rolled up his sleeve. “Here. All I ask is that you help me if I ever get into a case where this would work.”

“As good as done.” Lucius completed the binding, smiling at the monitor as two more gowned people entered the room. One was immediately recongnizable as Albus Dumbledore due to the second gown that was wrapped around his beard and tied with sterile suture string. He immediately stood next to Lucius.

“Good morning, Lucius. Getting an early start this morning?” Albus froze as the baby’s tiny hand curled around his finger. “Merlin. That is the most incredible thing I have seen in my hundred and fifty years.”

“A hundred and fifty?” The doctor looked stunned.

“Yes, magic folk can live up to two hundred years – some of us have to challenge that, like Methuselah for instance – nine hundred and something.”

“Cool. I look forward to getting to know you all better.” The person next to Albus lifted their hand, exposing her arm.

“A little more can’t hurt her.” The voice belonged to Minerva Dumbledore.

“No, it can’t,” Lucius agreed. “Come here if you want to give her some.” Minerva quickly crossed the room, adding a bit of herself to the baby. Once they were done, the doctors carefully cleaned, then began to restitch the womb. Dr. Churchill led them out once he was done, taking them to a small family waiting room.

“She should be out of recovery soon, and you can see her one at a time for a few minutes. Then I want you to go home and go back to bed, and you may come back and visit her this evening.”

~~~

Several hours later, Severus was finally able to sit with Molly for more than five minutes. He was amazed at the change in just a few short hours. Her skin was a soft pink rather than the gray it had been, and she was awake and alert for the first time in several days.

“Hi, Sweetheart.”

“Hi yourself. Where am I? And why are there Muggle nurses?” Molly looked thoroughly confused.

Severus explained the events of that morning, telling her about Fudge’s visit with the other minister and the surgery. Molly’s eyes widened in disbelief as she felt a strong kick from her abdomen, laying her hand on her daughter,tears of silent joy leaking from her eyes. “So, you’ll have to take it easy, but it should be easy for you to carry our daughter to term. He laid his hand on her stomach next to hers, feeling their little one assert her presence – and the fact that she wasn’t going anywhere until it was time for her to be born.