✧PURE AGONY✧

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Rabastan Lestrange had dropped his glass of whiskey in hearing what the elf had said.
As had the rest of the room as they knew it was too early.

It was far too early.

Rodolphus had taken the liberty of getting his brother back to the manner and to his wife in hopes of making it in time to witness the birth.

Though before he left there were yells of congratulations and cheers of future raids in honor of a new generation, as that was what his child would be.

The next generation.

Daisy had escorted him and him alone into the guest bedroom, and he was thankful to see Cissy there beside his wife, clutching her hand in support.

The birth was already proving to be difficult, and never...Never had Aurora yelled in so much agony, it made him sick, weak to his knees as he took Cissy's place beside her.

Her forehead layered with sweat as she was met with a break in contractions, but it was soon time to push. And his wife was already in tears, even with the coaxing on either giving rallies of their support.

Seeing how pale and sweaty the love of his life was, was giving into his personal fears, especially with how hard her grip had turned.
There were gasps of words but never full sentences.

"Mrs.Lestrange, it's time to push..." The woman nodded in response as her legs were parted and the healers starting working their magic.

Though it wasn't any less painful, each push led to cry, and every cry signaled more blood.

Aurora had already downed a replenishing potion, but for right now their main focus was on the baby. She made that clear the second they came into the room, save the baby.

Everything else had seemed less important, but the mother was already feeling empty and drained, the heaps of blood were starting to dwindle the helpfulness of the potion.

With one more push had Aurora leaned forward on instinct before falling back to the pillow, her breathing far too spastic but she smiled at the sound of her baby crying into the world.

"It's a boy!" The woman cheered, cleaning the fellow up while the other attempted her wand work to aid the healing process...

But Aurora didn't feel like it was over just yet.

"S-something is wrong..." Aurora sucked in another breath as the second coming was going to follow. Rabastan didn't realize it was two parts to giving birth until he read the book. The baby, and then the home in which the baby had lived in.

But this wasn't the case. Not yet.

The healer had offered the little boy to the mother, who held the little lad with ease, even with the amount of pain she was experiencing...While the healer was attempting to uncover the issue, Aurora took the opportunity to kiss the top of her son and cried further.

He is perfect.

His cries were long gone, and he was utterly beautiful. Aurora's eyes turned to her husband who was in the same state of awe as his wife was, the cute bugger snuggled in the blanket as blinking up to his parents.

However the moment was ruined by another painful stab in her lower abdomen, something was entirely wrong.

One of the healers called upon another member of their unit and she too arrived a few moments later. Aurora was in tune with her body now as she handed the baby to Rabastan as she couldn't rightly hold Romulus while giving birth to another babe.

Rabastan sat back in awe as he clutched the child unknowingly wrong, causing Cissy to take the child away from the scene...But not too far as she wanted to support her cousin.

Twins. The Lestranges were having twins.

"Mrs.Lestange, three hard pushes...We need to get the babe out quickly to—" The main healer had been interrupted as Aurora pushed, the first one had been perfect.
The baby was ready to come out as well, the little hidden fellow was unexpected.

But not at all unwanted.

Rabastan's attempt at soothing words had earned him a long line of curses and death threats, only for him to respond with: "And that's why I love you."

Aurora did what she was told, her second child into the world with a higher pitched scream than their older brother. But the mother nothing left in her, even with the heightened healing spells and potions she downs...It was the pure bliss in seeing her daughter cleaned and bundled in the same fashion as her son now in her arms.

Cissy came closer and sat beside Rabastan as he overlooked either of his children.

Seeing his wife completely such a task...Seeing his child—children come into this world?

He couldn't help but kiss his wife, even if she grumbled in dismissal.

Aurora, overwhelmed and still battling hormones had looked up to Rabastan with tearful eyes as she was indeed trying not to cry, so he offered another kiss to her temple.

"They still need names love...What shall we call them?" Aurora began to blink out of sequence, the black patches in her vision were threatening the likes of her thoughts as she hummed and smiled.

"Romulus...A-a-and Halsey." Rabastan smiled, they were indeed going with their first choices, and whatever her husband had said was going on numb ears as her hands started to go numb and her eyes started to flicker.

"R-Raba...Ta—take her." It was a warning, and Rabastan had ignored the bustling sound of a newly entered healer and their attempt to save the mother.

The blood loss was coming into effect, and how weak Aurora's body was in the beginning, is now proving to be true. The man did as he was told, still grasping the idea of being parents...

They were parents.

It was hard to imagine that just last year was she worried about never having children or getting prepared for her classes. But right now, August 3rd did she give birth to a very healthy baby boy and girl.

"R-raba...Pro...Promise me. Pro—promise me you'll love them...With all your heart." The likes of her trembling lips and shutting down brain was causing her to lose focus.

And then it hit him as what was happening, his tears of joy soon turned to tears of angst.

"R-rory? Love what—"

"I love you Raba...I'm—I'm so—sorry." She whispered, her breathing becoming labored and short-lived, though she tried so hard to grasp the next. Romulus was already set up in the cot near the window, while Cissy pried Halsey from her father's arms. But once he realized she was simply taking her away from her dying mother he allowed it.

"Aurora. Love you promised..." The women shook her head, her eyes refusing to open for a few moments until she managed for a second chance.

"As within...So without. As above...So below. As the Universe...So—so the soul..." It felt like a sigh, a tired sigh had been Cassiopeia Lestrange's final tug of oxygen into her lungs.

The hand that had previous gripped her husband close to breaking it... no longer squeeze the lights out of him, nor gave off a beating heart.

Those rushing around still continued to try and save the woman, but there was only so much Rabastan could take.
HIs wife had taken the strikes and deliver the babies.

Her job was done, but her life meant more than giving birth.

To see their children live without their mother?
For her to never know their Hogwarts houses...

"Aurora...Please...Please." He began to beg, his eyes crying harder and harder as she clutched her limp hand entirely. A scared version of her was no longer his boggart, she laid rightly in front of him now.

Cissy gripped his shoulder and pulled him back, as he hadn't heard the conversation the healers were giving him to step back.

They were still set on saving her.

The man shook his head, and seconds turned to minutes...And there was no part of him that could even think to look at his child after causing her death.

But it wasn't, the Ghalax was taking effect.
The stress, the weak immune system.
The year's tolls were making it difficult for everything to work.

But Aurora's faith was going to be put to the test.

While others came and moved the babies out of the room for their own analysis, Rabastan was left oddly in the hall.

Cissy, tear-stained and dreading to tell anyone, looked to her brother in law and he looked beyond miserable.

Devastated didn't cover the likes of Rabastan Lestrange.

He felt sick, he felt empty. As though his rings were burning on his fingers. He turned into a father and a widow in a single hour.

But there was one way to gather his anger, a raid.

"Rabastan no, stay with your children—"

"I want nothing to do with them." Cissy flinched at how cold he turned in a moments time, she staggered back and retracted her hand.

There was no talking to him, her promise to Cassi would live up in the future.

She'll be damned if Romulus and Halsey grew up with anything less.

The master of the house strode down the stairs, and in an instant he looked to his brother and sister...His face was too telling.

"Brother are—"
"She's dead." Dread laced each syllable.

Bella...The coldest witch in Britain had froze at hearing about her cousin's face.

Died at childbirth.

"I want Sirius...I want him dead." It sounded like a perfect plan, but Bella was still unmoving from hearing about the young mother to be.

"And your son?" Rodolphos had carefully mentioned, and Rabastan wiped his hands down his face and nodded. "Son and daughter." Twins.

A joyous moment was entirely short-lived, Aurora was barely nineteen. Barely a potion-mistress, barely a mother. His promises were kept up to what a year could offer but no more.

And there would be no more.

Without another thought, the man had left the building with his siblings in pursuit of a certain Gryffindor.

Rabastan had broken his promise to his wife already, and that was simply to love the children.

Cissy watched in agony as the babies were settled into newborn gear, their names shared with the witches but they too weren't upbeat and sporting as many smiles as they should.

Instead they managed to put Aurora into stasis, they were moving the likes of Cassi and her children to the clinic for better help.

Narcissa's job was to inform Rabastan, but going downstairs to the set guard they simply shrugged and shared what the Lestrange's plan was.

They were here to protect the children.

"The children are heading to the clinic, you listen here and you listen good Nox. You get Rabastan here now, and if you fail you get Avery and McNair to do it. Understood?!" The Black family rage had slipped into the order now, and pairing it with her tearing eyes was enough to make anyone cower to the whims of another.

"R-right away Mrs.Malfoy!" He cheered and rushed to do the second task, because the first was nearly impossible considering who he was.

Avery and Amelia were the first, and the rushed words of Nox were hardly audible. But what was clear was 'Mrs.Lestrange is dead' as it had Amelia crumble to her knees at hearing it.

The news was spreading far too quickly and to the wrong sorts. Harper was quick to join Mrs.Malfoy as the cousin explained all that happened.

Aurora was now clinging to dear life, which had been at least an upgrade as to what happened before, though the private nursery of this established pureblooded clinic gave the twins their own little room.

Though the four walls were concealing the hushed whispers of Amelia and Narcissa.

"She begged him...The pure hatred on his face, speaking ill of his children." Cissy was in clear defense of the kids, barely hours old and facing the hardship that they wouldn't begin to understand.

Harper did not defend the likes of Rabastan, Rory would indeed want the father of her children to still act like a father.
Not a Death Eater.

"He's off trying to kill Sirius, I don't know why." Currently Cissy was holding Romulus tightly in her hold, coddling the first born while Harper seemingly turned doe-eyed at the little girl.

But started to tear further in seeing her best friends eyes in the little girl.
"She's going to look just like her mummy," Amelia whispered, and Mrs.Malfoy could only agree further.

The Lestrange children were exactly how she and her sister Andy had predicted while watching the two interact at family gatherings.

But the likes of the parents were up in auction, especially when a healer returned and scanned through for the patient's husband.

"He...He's—" Amelia attempted, but how would you tell a medical professional about Death Eater fanatics and them on the hunt for a certain Sirius Black?

"He's with his brother at the moment, he can't—"

"I understand, currently we have her in a Cralic stasis...It will keep her heart and body functioning in a forceful manner to allow healing." There was a chance.

"How long?" Harper croaked, and the wizard smiled.
"A little while longer, had we known she was pregnant with twins we would've been more equipped...However the Ghalax is making it difficult." Narcissa narrowed her brow and shifted Romulus in her hold.

"Difficult how?" 

"On top of return blood, her immune system damaged. We need to stabilize everything, at most three to five hours." He formed it like a question but then nodded in confirmation, the hopes were starting to grow higher and higher.

While Rabastan, on the other hand, was leading a raid at the mercy of his Lord. They lured the man out and were now playing the same game they had done multiple times with his wife...

His beloved wife.

His deceased wife.

His mind couldn't wrap around it, he was a damned idiot.

"And what do I owe the pleasure of all these snake eyes?" Sirius gestured, but the man was fuming with rage. This blood traitor lives while his wife was no more.

Rabastan wasted no time throwing his curses, causing Sirius to deflect them.
"Best get your anger out now lad, don't really want my sister dealing with you like this." Sirius laughed, he was seemingly enjoying this...But even he sensed something wrong in the man.

"She's dead." His voice rough and rasp to even properly hear, but Sirius heard...He was damned to hear it.

"What?!" Black yelled, and Lestrange nodded in confirmation.
"She's dead...And you're still standing!" There was no point in feeling guilty in killing him anymore, Rory's emotions were gone, her mind gone.

She is gone.

Sirius made a getaway, causing Rabastan to roar out in agony as he had lost his target, though his other Death Eaters had no trouble in wreaking havoc to those around. Muggle and magical alike.

The Dark Lord was in his own contemplation to the situation, with Cassiopeia gone he would need a new seer. But there was a closer connection, an involvement that brought the visions and prophets closer to the truth and easier to manage.

They indeed lost today.

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Date Posted: 09-20-19

Time: 7:12

Words: 2616

Sorry this is late, I got the cold that's going around!
Don't forget vote and comment! :)