Smoke and Stars - A Theo Nott Story

Epilogue

Screams echoed down the hall of the villa.

Normally, the corridors of the Nott Family's Italian home were light and airy. Plants rested against the edges of each room while the walls held paintings, some portraits, some of nature. Some of these paintings were of the young Master Nott in his youth, surrounded by his late father and mother. Some were of his ancestors who held the same grey eyes Master Nott did. But most of them held a beautiful woman with deep blue eyes, a testament to her husband's enduring love for her. He insisted that she get herself painted often by the local artists. They were the only ones, he felt, that could accurately capture her beauty, though he also had several moving pictures throughout the walls. There were photos of her graduation day from Hogwarts, the end of a long year in which he could hardly see his beloved outside of Christmas break. Their relationship was tested that year, held together by Theodore's letters, one written each day while he prepared to take over his father's businesses for him. 

There were pictures of the young couple just one week after her graduation standing in front of the Italian Villa, a home he inherited from his father, who died just a year and a half later. While they now owned both the British and Italian estates, Theodore much preferred this one and lately, the fresh air was good for his wife's health.

There were pictures of a smiling family, five together. Theodore and his wife, Aria, and her brother, Lorenzo, with the mother of a smiling baby girl. Aria held in her hands the baby with thick brown curls, smiling and waving in the moving picture.

There was a picture, only one, of Theodore's proposal to Aria, taken place at night underneath the stars. He had the servants prepare a dinner, which he ate with her by the lake of the villa before proposing to her with a ring made of sapphires and diamonds. Then, later, a picture from their wedding, a small affair with only their closest friends, Aria's little niece serving as the flower girl. Aria wore a simple dress, lace without much fuss. Her parents were not invited. His were dead. Both were happy with who surrounded them.

Other pictures lined the walls of course. Aria and her best friend, Astoria. Aria and Lorenzo and even some with her sister-in-law. Theodore with his friends Lorenzo, Draco, Mattheo, and even the infamous Tom Riddle. 

But lately, Theodore's favorite picture had been the one sitting on his desk. He was standing outside their home, smiling happily for the camera while rubbing his wife's swollen belly. Her face was rather gaunt, her body unable to get some of the nutrients it needed. Both of them were told this would be a difficult pregnancy, a dangerous pregnancy. Theo paled when those words were told to him but his wife insisted that they stay on the course. So he remained silent and held her hand for every appointment, every injection, every hospital visit. He kept that picture to remind himself of what was to come: a happy life with his wife and their child. He wasn't going to turn out like his parents. Aria would be fine.

But then the screams started.

They were lying in bed together, Theo's arm resting on her belly like it always had, when she shot up in pain. He fumbled in the dark to find that their bedsheets were soiled with a water-like substance. Aria began to groan, her hand tight on her belly as she kept repeating the words, "It's time... it's time... it's time."

The baby was coming. Eight weeks early.

Theo yelled for the house elf, who immediately fetched any healer, doctor, and midwife she could find. Premature wizard births were incredibly uncommon. His mother had not survived hers and yet Aria was now in labor even earlier than her.

He swiftly carried his wife into another bedroom, one set up for her delivery. It had a view of the lake just like she wanted but with the darkness, one could hardly see it. While the midwife began to set everything up, Theo got a damp cloth and began to wipe her forehead. She was covered in sweat, her face completely red. Just like his mother.