Coral

Author\'s Note--



Thank you Bethany Jade for the lovely review. I\'m so glad you are enjoying the story. I am encouraged now to begin putting up the rest of the chapters. With lemons, of course.



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Isn\'t she lovely



Isn\'t she wonderful



Isn\'t she precious



Less than one minute old



I never thought through love we\'d be



Making one as lovely as she



But isn\'t she lovely made from love--



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Amanda had endured a very long labor and had lost quite a bit of blood. Despite Healer Thoroughgood\'s excellent care, there had been some minor complications due to the effects of the miscarriages she had suffered before. The ingestion of the poisons, according to her Healer, caused a strange striation of scarring that contributed to the difficulty and length of the birthing process.



Thoroughgood was however, both impressed and exasperated that she had endured the entire labor without the assistance of pain relief.



" Anaesthesia is the reward of civilised persons." he said dryly to her the next morning. " And you wouldn\'t feel so rotten today, if you hadn\'t been so stubborn yesterday."



Amanda would not be put off her good mood, but Edward had been horrified at the thought.



" Why? " he had demanded, softly, when they were alone. He couldn\'t look at her delicate hands, and pale face and believe that she could endure that much.



Amanda looked up from her pie, (which he had managed to slip past Pernicia Thoroughgood by shrinking it to the size of a walnut), and winked. She might have refused pain potions yesterday, but but today she was under the effects of a very good one.



" Conception is ecstasy, but birth is labor. I read that in a history book once." she ignored his expression. " Besides, I believe in a little self-sacrifice. My mother did so for my father, and my grandmother for her husband, and so forth. What better way can a woman show her love?"



" I\'m sure there is something else..." he muttered, but all the same, he knew how to accept these bizarre whims as gifts. Saying no more on the matter, he watched in silent amazement as she ate the entire pie, then looked longingly at the empty plate.



" Did you enjoy it?"



" It was marvelous."



" Good. Don\'t ask me where I found it...suffice it to say that it was somewhat free."



In fact, he had summoned it from Eloise\'s kitchen the night before. One could always trust in Eloise to keep something rich and chocolate lying about for the taking.



Charlotte made a smacking noise with her tiny lips. He had been holding her while Amanda ate, having seated himself stiffly in a tired green chair so there was no danger of dropping her. Already he felt the beginning tendrils of the same desperate attachment for the child as he did for the mother, and was surprised at himself.



He had felt nothing like this for Elias, and he was rather ashamed of that fact, now that he realized what had been absent. Absent, had been the ability to look at and rock the small warm body; to marvel that it was a part of two people, yet a whole being unto itself.



He tried to recall whether or not his son had ever been so expressive. Anytime Amanda looked away, he made a face at the baby, and smiled as her tiny fist curled around one of his fingers. As she did this, Lottie seemed to be considering him, and he thought he could detect tiny flickers of expression and emotion on her new features. Perhaps it was merely his Legilimency atuning to her undeveloped thoughts. She might well be a Legilimens as well, if properly tutored.



That he would see to. There were far too few Legilimens and Occlumens in the Wizarding world; the modern ideals of the day creating a barrier between brilliant minds and one of the most useful skills a man or woman could posses.



He made a little noise to amuse Lottie, but she only yawned and waved her fist.



" She is going to look like you, the lucky thing." he said, softly. " And just look at how she holds her hands. I\'ll bet she is a mistress of charms."



Amanda smiled indulgently. She had learned that he himself had been an enthusiastic student of charms, but had nearly failed transfiguration.



The baby began to fuss slightly and Amanda eagerly held her arms out. Edward seemed slightly reluctant to relinquish this new treasure, but on cue Pernicia Thoroughgood stepped into the room to inform him it was time to leave.



His face assumed a look of narrow eyed obstinacy at this command. Why should he have to leave now? He could think of nowhere else he wanted to be.



" Please. She will be ready to go home tomorrow at three o clock." she reassured him.



" I am ready to go home right now." Amanda said.



The older woman fixed her with a friendly yet reprimanding look that simply said there was absolutely no chance of that.



" Well, we\'ll be ready to release you, at three o\'clock tomorrow." she amended. " That is earlier than we would like, but since you have been so well-behaved, and taking your potions without argument..." Pernicia produced a vial of something less than purple, and offered it with a smile to Amanda. " Then we have decided to be lenient."



Edward stayed only long enough to watch his wife down the potion, admiring how her still drawn face twisted daintily in disgust, before she shuddered.



" Revolting." she informed him.



After that, he was unceremoniously ushered from the room, so that Amanda could nurse Charlotte.



" You can come back this evening, if you must." Pernicia said with exasperation as he made to seat himself in the corridor. " I promise they will both be here!"



--



" I still cannot believe that I am a mother." Amanda sang out softly to the small being in her arms. Charlotte had no opinion on this, but Amanda felt superb. Tired yes, and very overwhelmed, but still superb.



There was no explaining the excitement, the disbelief, and the utter ferocity of her love. She had to resist the urge to hug the baby tightly to her breast, so intense were her emotions.



" Shall I sing to you?" she asked. " I don\'t believe I sing well, but I can try. What would you like to hear?"



Charlotte only looked up at her sleepily.



\'\' Way down yonder in New Orleans



In the land of the dreamy scenes



Theres a garden of eden...you know what I mean\'\'



Amanda began softly. Charlotte\'s eyes fluttered.



\'\'Creole babies with flashin\' eyes



Softly whisper their tender sighs



Then stop...wont you give your lady fair...a little smile



Stop..ya bet your life you\'ll linger there...a little while



We\'ve got heaven right here on earth



With those beautiful queens



Way down yonder in New...Orleans...\'\'



When she had finished the lullaby, Charlotte was completely asleep, her tiny rosebud mouth occasionally working reflexively. A happy tear had slipped down Amanda\'s cheek and fallen onto her daughter\'s. With a gentle finger, she brushed it away, and planted a kiss in it\'s place.



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Lyrics--Stevie Wonder



Conception Quote-Revolutionary War, by James Street.



Way down yonder in New Orleans-Louis Armstrong