I SPY || 𝕝𝕦𝕔𝕚𝕦𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕗𝕠𝕪

Chapter 22. Style

"From how far along you are, twelve weeks, we put conception at around the third week of December, does that sound about right?" the red-haired nurse at St Mungo's asked as she flicked through her clipboard. Astrid sat on the cold metal table, the skin of her bottom and thighs stinging with the cold sensation due to her short hospital gown.

            "Yes, that sounds about right," Astrid breathed as she swung her loose hanging legs to distract her from her memories of that night. The way Lucius had grabbed her around her waist, pushed her against the wall. Her mind flashed back to intensity that raged in his eyes as he kissed her, the feel of his hands, rough and frantic on her legs. She remembered the way he was so gentle yet so assertive. Astrid's stomach flipped with nausea as she thought of how she wrapped her legs around his waist.

The nurse noticed the colour drain from the young woman's face, and reached for a cardboard, disposable container, she held it out to Astrid, who grasped it quickly and heaved the contents of her breakfast up into the receptacle.

"Sorry," Astrid muttered as she accepted a tissue and wiped at her mouth.

"It's not a problem, it's to be expected at this point in the pregnancy," The nurse smiled as she disposed of the foul-smelling container, and went back to her clipboard.

"Your due date is the thirteenth of September, but that is just a rough estimate, some babies like to come early, some late," The nurse informed her as she read off the chart. "Doctor Atticus has said the effects of the bitterroot balm on your baby are minor and that everything is looking healthy, he also expressed concerns about delivery, it states here you have a blood malediction related to your heart, he believes the safest option for you and your baby will be caesarean,"

"I can't have my child naturally?" Astrid asked, she'd dreamed of her future often over the last few years, and always imagined having her child at home (ideally the little cottage on the sea cliffs) naturally with her beloved holding her hand through the entire thing. Alas, nothing else in her fantasy life had come true, so why should this?

"No, I'm afraid not, Doctor Atticus believes a natural birth would put too much stress on your heart, he believes the effects of that stress could be fatal, I'm sorry," The nurse said with a small frown.

"So essentially my heart could explode in labour, great," Astrid sighed as she ran her fingers over her scalp and through her blonde waves.

"Your chart says you work at Hogwarts, and that Madam Pomfrey there will be doing regular check-ups with you to make sure your heart is dealing with the added stresses pregnancy brings," The nurse read. "How incredible, a Hogwarts professor, at twenty-two, what an achievement,"

"I'm twenty-three next week," Astrid's mind and voice were distant as she stared at a poster of a loving husband and wife holding a baby on the opposite wall.

"Ah yes, says here, your birthday is the fifteenth March, Happy Birthday for next week, and congratulations on your pregnancy, do you have any questions before I leave you?"

"Yes, why am I not showing? It's hard to believe I'm even pregnant, I look in the mirror... and I just don't see anything, not even a slight bump," Astrid had wondered this since the moment Madam Pomfrey had informed her of her pregnancy. Her stomach was still flat, toned, she didn't even look bloated, and it bothered her. It made her feel almost in denial, how could there be a baby in there?

"You're still early, but in women as slight and petite as you are it can often take the majority of the pregnancy to show, especially when it's a surprise, late blooming is quite common, but don't worry you'll get your bump before the nine months are up."

The nurses' words didn't really improve Astrids feelings, if she was going to be pregnant, she at-least wanted to feel pregnant. But then of course perhaps this was a blessing she thought, the less noticeable her growing stomach is, the less likely the likes of Lucius or Draco would notice. She had been successful in avoiding the younger Malfoy around the castle, but her luck would run out eventually.