Always and Forever - A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter Seven

Caradoc Dearborn... He was only eighteen years old. Just barely an adult. A child. He was missing and no one knew where he was but the fear was already there. Caradoc's parents had been found in their house, murdered but according to Moody, showed clear signs of having been tortured beforehand and who knew how long for. There had been clear signs of a struggle but Caradoc was nowhere in sight. He was missing. Moody went on temporary leave with Sturgis and Dorcas but nothing came out of it, no clues and no body. We had to presume the poor boy was dead. We held a small service in honour of him but there was nothing else we could do. Just grieve and move on.

It was November and it was getting harder to continue the Order of the Phoenix. There were only a few of us left... So many had been killed and I think we grew more scared of what could occur to those who still remained strong. There were eight of us currently, joined by Minerva, Severus and Moony to make eleven. Somehow... Our bonds were breaking and it showed. The meetings were less.

I was four months pregnant now and it was weird. I didn't confront Severus about what Albus had told me a couple of weeks earlier. I didn't really have the heart to ask him about it. However, I did depend on Sev a lot. He was the one to comfort me when I had spent the night watching Harry through my sister's living room window, slipping into the house when Vernon, Petunia's husband left with the Invisibility Cloak. It comforted me to have Harry so close but my arms ached to hold him close and protect him. With all the danger surrounding me, it was hard to believe that Harry would be okay in a muggle's home. I wished... I wished so much that I could hold my baby boy close to me and comfort him when he cried or even when he was happy, which was rare at Tuney's house. Severus always was at Minerva's, waiting for me to return with a cup of hot chocolate and a hug. I couldn't explain how I felt about losing Harry. He had been the biggest part of my life and it felt like there was constantly something missing without him near. Even with the brief moments I had with my son, I still felt like something was missing. Severus filled a small inch of that gaping hole but he could distract me from all my pain with a joke or with a horror movie (I couldn't watch romances currently) and everything was okay again even just for a little while.

I woke up on a day in late November. I was in bed for once. Lately I had been struggling with sleep so sleeping with my best friend on the couch was a way to get over that. Severus must have carried me to bed. The last person who had done that had been James... I woken up to him carrying me up to bed and he placed me on the sheets and lay down next to me and we slept, fully clothed but we slept cuddled into each other's arms. I shook the dream away and sat up. It wasn't morning pouring through my curtains like I thought it was going to be. No it was night still. The clock on the bedside said it was two in the morning. I wondered if Severus would be downstairs.

I got up and pulled my slippers onto my feet. I had put my own pyjamas on after a bath earlier. My nightie was starting to show my bump a bit more now. I quickly checked in the mirror. It made me happy to see my baby growing safely and snugly. I would keep her safe. At least I could do that.

I padded out of the room and onto the landing. Light flooded from the bathroom, lighting up where I was going. I got to the top of the stairs and placed my hand on the banister, about to take the first step down the flight of stairs. I looked down and that's when I froze. He froze too, clearly not expecting me. We looked at each other for maybe a minute. I then heard footsteps behind me and made the stupid mistake of turning to look at my left where the steps had been heard. I was about to scream when I heard a whisper.

"Stupefy." Everything blacked out, but I remembered to put a hand on my tummy to protect my little girl.

I woke up with a banging headache and was about to scream when I realised that my mouth seemed to be glued shut. My eyes flickered upwards when I saw in my peripheral vision a shadow. A man, wearing a mask. A Death Eater mask. I tried to cry and scream anyway.