𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄, j. potter

── 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲

┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄
┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛

THE FIRST TIME OLIVIA WOKE UP, it was from the shouting next outside her hospital bed. She could hear Amara the most, the eldest Kinsley's voice dominating above everyone else's. James was obviously arguing with her. She could hear Remus and Madame Pomprey there too.

"She's a child!" Olivia heard Amara scream. "You did this to her. You took advantage of her!"

"Watch your mouth, Kinsley." Even without seeing him, Olivia could tell James was seething. "I didn't plan this, okay? I'm just trying my fucking best not to completely screw it up."

Olivia heard Amara scoff. "You expect me to believe that, Potter? You can barely come to class on time and yet you expect me to believe you won't fuck this up and end up leaving my sister with a kid she doesn't know how to care for. You're a boy, Potter. You're not a man."

"Well, at lease I was there!" James said, his voice full of venom. "Where the fuck were you, Amara? Running away from Voldemort? I may not know the whole story but I damn well know you abandoned her. You left her in that house all alone."

"You don't know a single thing about me!" Amara screamed. "She doesn't have to go through this. She can live her life as if this never happened. She can give it—"

A sudden bang cut her off. A hand slamming on a table, or maybe a wall. When James spoke again, his voice was low and calm but it was shaking with unreleased anger. "Don't you fucking dare finish that sentence. I'm warning you. I don't want you anywhere near my family."

Olivia was helplessly trying to grasp on consciousness. Madame Pomprey must have given her something because even though there was a war brewing outside between James and Amara, she felt calm and at peace.

She could hear Amara and James still spewing venomous words at each outside the drawn curtains of her bed, but as her hands moved to her stomach, the dillusionment charm gone and her baby bump in full view, Olivia can feel herself being lulled back to sleep. She can imagine the even beating of Little Nugget's heart and with that thought in mind, she allowed herself to return to dreamland.

The second time she woke up, it was quiet, the bright fluorescent lights blinding her eyes. She blinked a few times, allowing them to adjust to the sudden brightness before glancing at the clock showing 9:07 pm, an hour before curfew.

This time her curtains were open and she can see that she's the only patient in the deserted hospital, making her wonder where Sirius had gone. Turning to her right, she can see James sleeping on a chair, his arms crossed over his chest and his glasses askew. Clutched with his left hand, Olivia can see a new sonogram, probably taken while she was asleep.

Pulling herself up, she reached for the sonogram, seeing the slightly bigger oval blob floating around in the moving photograph. Olivia heaved a sigh of relief, thankful that nothing had happened to her baby. However, her mind wondered back to what had happened in defense against the dark arts, suddenly feeling her breath hitched.

She remembered the terrified eyes of the little boy, James' eyes, her baby's eyes. The blood covering the innocent child's pale, soft skin made her own crawl. She remembered her father and the fear that enveloped her body when he raised his hand. She felt like a little girl again, hiding from the man who was meant to protect her.

Suddenly, she felt as if the deafening silence of the Hospital Wing was suffocating her. She turned back to the sonogram, willing it to calm her. Olivia could feel her breathing get uneven and shivers running along her skin.