Note The Icon Change. Coz Rab/Ros No Longer Is.
Title: Mine.
Genre: NonRomance, almost tragic
Characters: Rabastan Lestrange, Rosalind Bungs, Charlie Weasley, Aurelia Selwynn, Rashnu Lestrange, bunch of random people
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1907 words
Summary: Rabastan and Rosalind lead their own lives. But something pulls them back in.
Author's Notes: Written for my Rab/Ros Prompt Table: #11 Birth. If I'm not careful, I might fall tragically in love with these people.
The screams coming from the next room were deafening. Ophelie paced the room angrily, muttering curses under her breath. Her father, Vasilis, sat on the couch with eyes closed. His fingers though, we're drumming anxiously on his knee. Alphonse had his head in his hands, singing nursery rhymes in French to alleviate the tension. Nasi had been forced to go downstairs when the screaming started. Sevastien had leaned his head against the door that separated them from the screams.
"That's it!" Ophelie screamed at her husband. "I want her in a hospital, now! I don't fucking care if it's a Wizarding Hospital or a Muggle Hospital! I. Want. Her. In. ONE!"
"Darling, your mother said--"
"Oh, don't you call me 'darling'!" she yelled. "She is my daughter and I can't take anymore of this!"
"Your mother assisted in all your births."
"My pregnancies were easy! Listen to her!" Ophelie covered her ears as a fresh waves of screams pierced the air. She began to sob. "My baby girl!"
Suddenly, the door that Sevastien was leaning against opened. A redhead emerged with a large grin. "The first one's here!" he declared before running back into the room.
"Oh, dear God, thank you," Sevastien fell to his knees.
Alphonse was the first to catch it. "Wait. The first one?"
"They're beautiful, Charlie," Ophelie whispered, beaming at her grandchildren, who lay in small cots.
"She's beautiful," Charlie answered.
"She is," Ophelie looked at Rosalind briefly before turning back to Charlie. "Take care of her."
"I will."
Rosalind was sick for three days after the birth. She had a fever and was delusional. The babies were starving for want of milk and they refused to drink the supplement potions Sophie concocted. They needed their mother. Sophie sighed as she watched Rosalind sleep. She could hear the babies crying in the next room. She got up to make their food.
"Don't---leave me. Please," was the soft plea.
"I'll never leave you, ma petite," Sophie turned around. Rosalind was still asleep.
"Take them away, please," Rosalind groaned, handing the babies over to Charlie and falling back on the bed. She had tried feeding them, but she had very little to give. Ruslan began to fuss and cried as Charlie put him back in his crib. "Oh, no, Charlie, give him back here," Rosalind said feebly. She forced herself to sit up as Charlie returned with her baby boy. "Shush, Ruslan, no, don't cry. Mama's never going to leave you."
Back in her crib, Reia slept.
"Are you feeling better, cousin?" Evan turned to Rosalind after taking a look at the babies.
Rosalind smiled at him. "Yes, I am."
"And they are premature?" Evan sat down beside her.
"Six weeks early, but they're in perfectly good health."
"Eight months ago you were in Romania," Evan said. It wasn't a question. It was a statement.
"Yes, yes, I was."
Rosalind was finally able to stand up on her own about a month after the birth. She had just finished feeding Ruslan. She was finally strong enough to have milk for both of them. She hummed a lullaby as she laid her son beside his sister. Her door swung open and a tall, handsome wizard barged into her bedroom without preamble. He looked at the empty bed before turning his head to look at her.
"Dammit, Rashnu, couldn't you knock?" she hissed, grabbing her robe from a nearby chair and throwing it on.
"There is no need for such propriety, Rosalind. It isn't like I haven't seen all of that before," Rashnu replied dryly.
"Sod off, Rashnu," she snapped, tying the belt in place.
Rashnu walked over to the crib and looked at the newborns. They were now about a month old and were currently sleeping soundly. "They're beautiful," Rashnu declared as he ran his fingers lightly over Reia's forehead. Rosalind walked back to her bed. Her wand was under her pillow and she intended to curse his head off if he tried anything stupid. "One should be named after his grandfather, of course."
"Yes, yes," Rosalind waved her hand dismissively. Ruslan Vasilis was torture for any child, but she'd had to give in.
Rashnu smiled at her happily. He turned back to the children and tickled Reia under her chin. "And, you, Calliope, I've always wanted a darling little girl to spoil. Grandfather shall spoil you rotten."
"I beg your pardon?" Rosalind sat up to look at Rashnu.
Rashnu turned to Rosalind. "We've come to the point I intend to discuss seriously. These children are Lestranges. While they may not, of course, carry the family name, I intend to treat them as such. I shall be allowed visits with them, at which point I will probably bring presents. They will also receive presents on Christmas and--"
"You are getting ahead of yourself here," Rosalind said, cutting him off. "They are not Lestranges."
Rashnu looked at her. "Ten months ago, you were sleeping with my son."
Rosalind tried not to imagine how he knew that. "Ten months ago, I wasn't pregnant."
"But these children must have been conceived then," Rashnu answered. "Counting backwards is not that difficult."
"Ruslan and Reia are premature," she answered.
"An unlikely story," Rashnu narrowed his eyes at Rosalind.
"Six weeks, ask my Healer and my doctor."
Rashnu walked up to her and leaned in to look in her eyes. "I don't believe you," he said slowly.
"I don't care. They're MINE."
"You have to see them, Bill, they're gorgeous," the door opened and Rashnu straightened up. Two men entered.
"Oh, I didn't know you had a guest," Charlie said, stepping backwards.
"No, no, he was just leaving," Rosalind said, looking at Rashnu.
"And you are?" Rashnu arched an eyebrow at Charlie and Bill.
Rosalind stood up and walked over to Charlie, who reached out to help her. "Rashnu, this is Charlie and his brother Bill. Boys, this is Rashnu. An old friend."
"Are you feeling better, Ros?" Charlie kissed the tips of her fingers. Rashnu's eyebrow went up higher.
"How do you do?" Bill said, extending a hand.
Rashnu looked at Bill's hand and ignored it. "So this is..."
Rosalind nodded. "Let me walk you out," she offered as she shooed Bill and Charlie inside to coo at the babies. Once they were at the stairs, Rosalind touched Rashnu's arm. "I told you. They're not yours; they're mine. I'd appreciate it if you never came back."
"Very well," Rashnu said coldly. "They are beautiful. I wish you well." He bowed shortly before walking down the stairs. Rosalind waited and was relieved when she heard the front door snap shut. She walked slowly back to her bedroom, where Bill and Charlie were cooing like idiots.
"GOT YOU!" Rabastan looked down as someone declared they had 'got him'. A little boy of about three years had latched himself onto his leg. For some odd reason, Rabastan didn't cringe or try to pry the boy away. Merlin, I am going soft. He had been waiting outside of Madam Malkin's for his wife and children to finish their shopping. Seriously, how many dress robes did one need? Diagon Alley was not as crowded as usual today, though there was still a decent number of people bustling about.
"Darling, that's not Charlie!" Rabastan spun around to look for the source of the laughing voice.
"Rosalind."
"I--I'm sorry. Come along, Ruslan," she declared, picking her son up.
"Rosalind," he reached out to take her arm, but stopped himself. "You...look well."
"Thank you. So do you," she answered. She held Ruslan possessively and the boy leaned his chin on her shoulder.
"I--"
"Rabastan, I told you we shouldn't have come today," a voice said plaintively. "Commoners!" she declared. "Oh, who is this?"
Rabastan and Rosalind both looked in the direction of an elegant woman that emerged from within a shop. A little boy about Ruslan's age was carrying a small book. He walked beside her. Rosalind realized he looked so much like Rabastan, it hurt a little to watch. Another lady, presumably a governess, walked behind them, pushing a pram.
"An old friend," Rabastan replied, unable to keep the strain out of his voice. "This is my wife, Aurelia."
"Good day," Rosalind said. "Oh, how darling, they're gorgeous!"
Aurelia beamed proudly at the compliment on her two daughters. Rosalind smiled at the two little girls in the pram. They looked up at her smiled, opening and closing their little fists. "Thank you."
"Russ! Look what Charlie bought me!" a happy little voice declared from behind Rosalind. Reia came up wearing a pair of heart-shaped rose-tinted glasses. "They make the world look funny!" she declared.
"Oh! Want one!" Ruslan began squirming.
"Charlie bought you one, too!" she declared, procuring a pair of star-shaped ones. These were blue. Rosalind set him down as he ran to meet his sister.
"How I look, Mama?" he asked once he had put them on.
"Adorable."
Charlie ushered Ruslan and Reia towards their mother, hastily explaining that Reia had seen them in a window and pointed them out. He hoped it was all right.
"Of course," she said gently, receiving the kiss on her forehead happily. She turned back to Rabastan and Aurelia. "Charlie, their father. You remember Rabastan from Hogwarts. His wife, Aurelia."
Rabastan noted both the lack of a ring and their father. Not my husband, but their father. He tried not to acknowledge the short blast of joy the erupted in his chest. Charlie couldn't bring himself to extend a hand to Rabastan. In fact, he sort of wanted to hit the man. Rabastan didn't make any attempt at cordiality either. He, too, felt like cracking Charlie's head open. There was a brief, tense moment before Ruslan declared he was hungry. Rosalind smiled, inclined her head at the Lestranges and turned around to usher her children into Florean Fortescue's. Charlie gave Rabastan a brief nod before following Rosalind and her children.
"Daddy, I'm hungry, too," Rivalen said softly. Rabastan smiled at his own son as they made dinner plans.
Rabastan laughed as his two daughters creeped and crawled over him. He was sitting in his library when the governess had passed by, carrying the twins. He had called her in and told her to leave the girls with him for a while. Briallen grabbed his shoulders and forced herself into a rather awkward standing position before planting several wet kisses on his chin. He laughed again.
"I was wondering who was laughing," Aurelia walked in slowly. "I don't think I've heard you laugh for a long time."
"You exaggerate," Rabastan countered, letting Briallen down so she could hug her sister.
"Perhaps," Aurelia walked around to him. "I asked Till if she knew of an acquaintance with dark hair and playful eyes. She didn't want to tell me at first, but being her mistress, I convinced her to speak. Rosalind, hmm?"
"Yes," Rabastan answered, letting his two daughters continue to climb and kiss him. "You could have saved yourself the trouble of asking Till."
"The rose," Aurelia said. She took a book off the shelf and flipped it open. "Ah, Briallen. First rose."
Rabastan shrugged. Aurelia snapped the book shut and looked at Briallen's twin sister who was now leaving kisses along her father's jaw.
"Coincidence, perhaps. But what of our darling Rosalie?"
Genre: NonRomance, almost tragic
Characters: Rabastan Lestrange, Rosalind Bungs, Charlie Weasley, Aurelia Selwynn, Rashnu Lestrange, bunch of random people
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1907 words
Summary: Rabastan and Rosalind lead their own lives. But something pulls them back in.
Author's Notes: Written for my Rab/Ros Prompt Table: #11 Birth. If I'm not careful, I might fall tragically in love with these people.
The screams coming from the next room were deafening. Ophelie paced the room angrily, muttering curses under her breath. Her father, Vasilis, sat on the couch with eyes closed. His fingers though, we're drumming anxiously on his knee. Alphonse had his head in his hands, singing nursery rhymes in French to alleviate the tension. Nasi had been forced to go downstairs when the screaming started. Sevastien had leaned his head against the door that separated them from the screams.
"That's it!" Ophelie screamed at her husband. "I want her in a hospital, now! I don't fucking care if it's a Wizarding Hospital or a Muggle Hospital! I. Want. Her. In. ONE!"
"Darling, your mother said--"
"Oh, don't you call me 'darling'!" she yelled. "She is my daughter and I can't take anymore of this!"
"Your mother assisted in all your births."
"My pregnancies were easy! Listen to her!" Ophelie covered her ears as a fresh waves of screams pierced the air. She began to sob. "My baby girl!"
Suddenly, the door that Sevastien was leaning against opened. A redhead emerged with a large grin. "The first one's here!" he declared before running back into the room.
"Oh, dear God, thank you," Sevastien fell to his knees.
Alphonse was the first to catch it. "Wait. The first one?"
"They're beautiful, Charlie," Ophelie whispered, beaming at her grandchildren, who lay in small cots.
"She's beautiful," Charlie answered.
"She is," Ophelie looked at Rosalind briefly before turning back to Charlie. "Take care of her."
"I will."
Rosalind was sick for three days after the birth. She had a fever and was delusional. The babies were starving for want of milk and they refused to drink the supplement potions Sophie concocted. They needed their mother. Sophie sighed as she watched Rosalind sleep. She could hear the babies crying in the next room. She got up to make their food.
"Don't---leave me. Please," was the soft plea.
"I'll never leave you, ma petite," Sophie turned around. Rosalind was still asleep.
"Take them away, please," Rosalind groaned, handing the babies over to Charlie and falling back on the bed. She had tried feeding them, but she had very little to give. Ruslan began to fuss and cried as Charlie put him back in his crib. "Oh, no, Charlie, give him back here," Rosalind said feebly. She forced herself to sit up as Charlie returned with her baby boy. "Shush, Ruslan, no, don't cry. Mama's never going to leave you."
Back in her crib, Reia slept.
"Are you feeling better, cousin?" Evan turned to Rosalind after taking a look at the babies.
Rosalind smiled at him. "Yes, I am."
"And they are premature?" Evan sat down beside her.
"Six weeks early, but they're in perfectly good health."
"Eight months ago you were in Romania," Evan said. It wasn't a question. It was a statement.
"Yes, yes, I was."
Rosalind was finally able to stand up on her own about a month after the birth. She had just finished feeding Ruslan. She was finally strong enough to have milk for both of them. She hummed a lullaby as she laid her son beside his sister. Her door swung open and a tall, handsome wizard barged into her bedroom without preamble. He looked at the empty bed before turning his head to look at her.
"Dammit, Rashnu, couldn't you knock?" she hissed, grabbing her robe from a nearby chair and throwing it on.
"There is no need for such propriety, Rosalind. It isn't like I haven't seen all of that before," Rashnu replied dryly.
"Sod off, Rashnu," she snapped, tying the belt in place.
Rashnu walked over to the crib and looked at the newborns. They were now about a month old and were currently sleeping soundly. "They're beautiful," Rashnu declared as he ran his fingers lightly over Reia's forehead. Rosalind walked back to her bed. Her wand was under her pillow and she intended to curse his head off if he tried anything stupid. "One should be named after his grandfather, of course."
"Yes, yes," Rosalind waved her hand dismissively. Ruslan Vasilis was torture for any child, but she'd had to give in.
Rashnu smiled at her happily. He turned back to the children and tickled Reia under her chin. "And, you, Calliope, I've always wanted a darling little girl to spoil. Grandfather shall spoil you rotten."
"I beg your pardon?" Rosalind sat up to look at Rashnu.
Rashnu turned to Rosalind. "We've come to the point I intend to discuss seriously. These children are Lestranges. While they may not, of course, carry the family name, I intend to treat them as such. I shall be allowed visits with them, at which point I will probably bring presents. They will also receive presents on Christmas and--"
"You are getting ahead of yourself here," Rosalind said, cutting him off. "They are not Lestranges."
Rashnu looked at her. "Ten months ago, you were sleeping with my son."
Rosalind tried not to imagine how he knew that. "Ten months ago, I wasn't pregnant."
"But these children must have been conceived then," Rashnu answered. "Counting backwards is not that difficult."
"Ruslan and Reia are premature," she answered.
"An unlikely story," Rashnu narrowed his eyes at Rosalind.
"Six weeks, ask my Healer and my doctor."
Rashnu walked up to her and leaned in to look in her eyes. "I don't believe you," he said slowly.
"I don't care. They're MINE."
"You have to see them, Bill, they're gorgeous," the door opened and Rashnu straightened up. Two men entered.
"Oh, I didn't know you had a guest," Charlie said, stepping backwards.
"No, no, he was just leaving," Rosalind said, looking at Rashnu.
"And you are?" Rashnu arched an eyebrow at Charlie and Bill.
Rosalind stood up and walked over to Charlie, who reached out to help her. "Rashnu, this is Charlie and his brother Bill. Boys, this is Rashnu. An old friend."
"Are you feeling better, Ros?" Charlie kissed the tips of her fingers. Rashnu's eyebrow went up higher.
"How do you do?" Bill said, extending a hand.
Rashnu looked at Bill's hand and ignored it. "So this is..."
Rosalind nodded. "Let me walk you out," she offered as she shooed Bill and Charlie inside to coo at the babies. Once they were at the stairs, Rosalind touched Rashnu's arm. "I told you. They're not yours; they're mine. I'd appreciate it if you never came back."
"Very well," Rashnu said coldly. "They are beautiful. I wish you well." He bowed shortly before walking down the stairs. Rosalind waited and was relieved when she heard the front door snap shut. She walked slowly back to her bedroom, where Bill and Charlie were cooing like idiots.
"GOT YOU!" Rabastan looked down as someone declared they had 'got him'. A little boy of about three years had latched himself onto his leg. For some odd reason, Rabastan didn't cringe or try to pry the boy away. Merlin, I am going soft. He had been waiting outside of Madam Malkin's for his wife and children to finish their shopping. Seriously, how many dress robes did one need? Diagon Alley was not as crowded as usual today, though there was still a decent number of people bustling about.
"Darling, that's not Charlie!" Rabastan spun around to look for the source of the laughing voice.
"Rosalind."
"I--I'm sorry. Come along, Ruslan," she declared, picking her son up.
"Rosalind," he reached out to take her arm, but stopped himself. "You...look well."
"Thank you. So do you," she answered. She held Ruslan possessively and the boy leaned his chin on her shoulder.
"I--"
"Rabastan, I told you we shouldn't have come today," a voice said plaintively. "Commoners!" she declared. "Oh, who is this?"
Rabastan and Rosalind both looked in the direction of an elegant woman that emerged from within a shop. A little boy about Ruslan's age was carrying a small book. He walked beside her. Rosalind realized he looked so much like Rabastan, it hurt a little to watch. Another lady, presumably a governess, walked behind them, pushing a pram.
"An old friend," Rabastan replied, unable to keep the strain out of his voice. "This is my wife, Aurelia."
"Good day," Rosalind said. "Oh, how darling, they're gorgeous!"
Aurelia beamed proudly at the compliment on her two daughters. Rosalind smiled at the two little girls in the pram. They looked up at her smiled, opening and closing their little fists. "Thank you."
"Russ! Look what Charlie bought me!" a happy little voice declared from behind Rosalind. Reia came up wearing a pair of heart-shaped rose-tinted glasses. "They make the world look funny!" she declared.
"Oh! Want one!" Ruslan began squirming.
"Charlie bought you one, too!" she declared, procuring a pair of star-shaped ones. These were blue. Rosalind set him down as he ran to meet his sister.
"How I look, Mama?" he asked once he had put them on.
"Adorable."
Charlie ushered Ruslan and Reia towards their mother, hastily explaining that Reia had seen them in a window and pointed them out. He hoped it was all right.
"Of course," she said gently, receiving the kiss on her forehead happily. She turned back to Rabastan and Aurelia. "Charlie, their father. You remember Rabastan from Hogwarts. His wife, Aurelia."
Rabastan noted both the lack of a ring and their father. Not my husband, but their father. He tried not to acknowledge the short blast of joy the erupted in his chest. Charlie couldn't bring himself to extend a hand to Rabastan. In fact, he sort of wanted to hit the man. Rabastan didn't make any attempt at cordiality either. He, too, felt like cracking Charlie's head open. There was a brief, tense moment before Ruslan declared he was hungry. Rosalind smiled, inclined her head at the Lestranges and turned around to usher her children into Florean Fortescue's. Charlie gave Rabastan a brief nod before following Rosalind and her children.
"Daddy, I'm hungry, too," Rivalen said softly. Rabastan smiled at his own son as they made dinner plans.
Rabastan laughed as his two daughters creeped and crawled over him. He was sitting in his library when the governess had passed by, carrying the twins. He had called her in and told her to leave the girls with him for a while. Briallen grabbed his shoulders and forced herself into a rather awkward standing position before planting several wet kisses on his chin. He laughed again.
"I was wondering who was laughing," Aurelia walked in slowly. "I don't think I've heard you laugh for a long time."
"You exaggerate," Rabastan countered, letting Briallen down so she could hug her sister.
"Perhaps," Aurelia walked around to him. "I asked Till if she knew of an acquaintance with dark hair and playful eyes. She didn't want to tell me at first, but being her mistress, I convinced her to speak. Rosalind, hmm?"
"Yes," Rabastan answered, letting his two daughters continue to climb and kiss him. "You could have saved yourself the trouble of asking Till."
"The rose," Aurelia said. She took a book off the shelf and flipped it open. "Ah, Briallen. First rose."
Rabastan shrugged. Aurelia snapped the book shut and looked at Briallen's twin sister who was now leaving kisses along her father's jaw.
"Coincidence, perhaps. But what of our darling Rosalie?"