Tides of Fate | ᴍᴀʀᴀᴜᴅᴇʀs ᴇʀᴀ

27 | Vows to the Next Generation

-- JULY 31, 1980

"Oh, he is just precious!" Carina cooed at the tiny bundle in her arms. 

The exhausted mother smiled wearily from her bed, hair still matted to her head from the hours of labor. 

"He's perfect, darling." Frank leaned over, brushing a kiss over Alice's temple. 

"How is Lily?"  

"She and Harry are just behind you." Carina laughed. "They're a few rooms down. You can visit them once you get some rest." 

"I need to check in with Fabian," Frank groaned. 

"The only place daddy needs to be is right here," Carina interrupted pointedly as she handed Neville off to his father. "I will check in with Fabian on security. And if we need additional eyes, I'll get Sirius. You three rest. I mean it!" 

Carina closed the door behind her quietly, off in search of the deputy head auror. When Alice and Lily had gone into labor within hours of each other, Carina all but panicked. When she couldn't get a hold of Gideon, she dragged Fabian out of bed at an ungodly hour of the morning instead. Since Lily had an earlier due date, they originally planned to take her to a muggle clinic. But when Alice went into labor first with Lily following less than an hour after, they had to improvise. Fabian disappeared in a rush, leaving Carina to stew in confusion, before returning and hastily shuffling them all through a private floo to St. Mungo's. 

"What if news leaks about their babies?" Carina had asked Fabian urgently as the healers whisked away the expecting mothers.  

"We're technically in an old wing of the hospital. The attending healers have agreed to a wand oath of secrecy. I'll be here to make sure the wing stays secure until we can safely take Alice and Lily back to their homes." 

Sirius joined them not long after, helping Fabian add to the wards on the abandoned wing. She and Sirius flitted between the two mothers' rooms throughout the day and well into the night. In the end, Neville finally came into the world just before midnight. He was such a quiet baby, he gave them all a fright. But when he opened his big brown eyes and sighed softly into his mother's arms, they all took a breath of relief. 

Carina only had to wander as far as the wing's old waiting room to find Fabian. He stared unseeingly out the window, lines of tension carved into his spine and the weight of the last day heavy on the neck that tilted down. 

"There you are." 

Fabian's head jerked upwards.

"Neville is settled with his parents. I told Frank I would check in with you about the wards." 

With a beat of silence that prickled at the edge of Carina's mind, Fabian finally turned with a tired smile. "Neville? That's a nice name. And the wards are fine, I re-checked them not long ago." 

"Thank you," Carina exhaled with a sigh of relief. 

"Of course." He walked to the nearest couch, long limbs folding under him as he finally took a seat. "I'm sorry Gideon couldn't be here. Moody called us late the night before, and Gid insisted on taking the assignment." 

Carina gently perched on the other end of the couch. "I'm not surprised. He mentioned you've been taking all of Moody's solo assignments recently. I barely see you these days." 

A ghost of a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth before he shrugged. "Well, I can't exactly expect another promotion if I don't step up to the role."  

"What about the Order?" Carina inquired softly. 

A small part of her felt saddened that she'd seen less and less of him over the past weeks. They'd grown so close over her first year working with the Order that the absence of him hit harder than she'd anticipated. It was jarring to shift from working with him nearly all the time to the twins splitting up their responsibilities between them. On the bright side, she saw more of Gideon than ever, which was a blessing for their blossoming relationship. But there was something off about seeing the twins separated.