Thanks to Bex for beta-ing!

Warnings: House Elf murder, creepy kid, horror, minor gore

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Chaos From Within

Alexia Walkin Black

Born: 1815, Died: 1826

Parents: Oberon and Lyra Black

Siblings: Licorus, Eduardus Limette, Phoebe, Hesper

1815

Lyra's final pregnancy was the worst.

In fact, she would go as far as to say that no woman could ever have had a pregnancy as bad. From the moment she conceived, it seemed as though the baby wanted nothing more than to corrode Lyra from the inside out. The morning sickness was dire; she couldn't keep any food down, and anything that touched her mouth made her stomach turn.

She knew the morning sickness was normal, but in her past pregnancies, it had subsided by the time she began to show. With this baby, she was sick throughout the entire pregnancy.

When Lyra started to show signs of birth, she panicked. She was only seven months into the pregnancy. It was too early. But deep down, she was secretly delighted. She was finally going to get this demon out of her.

Lyra's friend and midwife, Magnolia Avery, arrived quickly. The years of assisting Lyra with her pregnancies had been good to Magnolia—she wasn't the apprehensive training medic that she used to be, and no longer needed to be shadowed by her expert mother, Forsythia. Despite the short notice, Magnolia arrived with her dark brown hair neatly scraped into a tight bun, and her black, high-necked robes were smart and sharply pressed. But despite her professionalism, even Magnolia couldn't have prepared for the chaos that ensued.

There was no time to get Lyra up to the bedroom that Lyra usually gave birth to her children in. It hadn't even been prepared for her yet, as Lyra wasn't due to give birth for another two months. Magnolia yelled for the House Elves to bring linen and towels and hot water, whilst using her wand to clear the dining room table of clutter. The House Elves snapped their fingers and magically spread the white sheets over the table, and a bowl of hot water whizzed into the dining room.

Lyra climbed onto the table awkwardly, her breath rasping. She was deathly pale, her dark eyes wide with terror. "This child is going to kill me," she gasped, laying back on the table.

Magnolia pointed at the bowl of water and nodded at a nearby House Elf, who reached into the bowl and squeezed out a damp rag of fabric, before using it to dab at Lyra's sweaty forehead gently. Even in the state she was in, Lyra managed to jerk away and shoot a look of disgust at the Elf.

"Magnolia, I haven't had the servants assist me in childbirth yet," she snarled, glaring at the Elf, who reeled back, bowing her head. "I'm not about to start now."

"Who else do you recommend?" Magnolia snapped. "My mother could not be with us at such short notice. Even if your husband was here, you know he wouldn't be much use."

"Hesper," croaked Lyra. "Where is Hesper?"

"Even if I knew where she was, I wouldn't trust a child with assisting to deliver a baby," Magnolia flapped her hand. "Especially not with the complications you are having. No, hush now, my friend. The House Elves can help just fine."

Lyra looked as though she was going to complain, but a contraction suddenly rippled through her body, causing her to scream so loud that the candlelight flickered out. Magnolia waved her hand, and the candles soon ignited again.

"The baby is breach," Magnolia murmured, more to herself than to anyone else. "I don't think I can deliver it like this." She pressed her hands to Lyra's stomach, trying to force the baby out of it's position, but Lyra howled in response.

"Get this monster out of me!" she screeched, her voice rattling the walls.

"There's no time to relieve your pain," Magnolia shouted over Lyra's screams, as she conjured a thin, sharp tool out of the air. "You cannot birth this baby naturally. I'm going to have to…" her voice trailed away as Lyra's cries drowned her out.

"I don't care!" she sobbed. The House Elf had resumed patting her forehead with the cloth, and Lyra no longer protested. "Just free me from this torment."

Magnolia nodded gravely. Carefully, she bent over Lyra's swollen stomach, and proceeded to cut straight into the strained white skin on Lyra's underbelly. Blood spurted from the wound, over Magnolia's hands, and Lyra screamed into the night.

oOo

It was hours later when Lyra's baby was free of her womb, and Magnolia wrapped the bloody child in a towel before handing her to Lyra. "Another girl," Magnolia announced. "Though, consider handing the child to the House Elves to look after. You have lost a lot of blood, and you need your rest."

Lyra laid in the bed, stick-thin apart from her stomach, which was still swollen from the pregnancy. She was grey-white, with deep bags under her eyes, and her hair was thin. All of her other pregnancies had made her radiate life and energy. This child had only sucked the essence straight out of Lyra.

"What have you done to me?" Lyra murmured to the bundle.

"What will you name her?" asked Magnolia.

Lyra gestured to the House Elf with a beckoned finger. "Alexia Walkin," she answered quietly. "After my great-grandmother." She passed the child into the arms of the House Elf, who scurried out of the room.

"Perhaps you're changing your ways," Magnolia observed. "This will be the first time you have allowed a House Elf to look after your child so soon after birthing."

"I do not want that creature near me," scathed Lyra. "There is something wrong with her. There has always been something wrong with her, ever since she was conceived in the womb. I've always known it, and now, since she tried to kill me with her entrance to the world, I'm even more convinced."

"Lyra…" started Magnolia, taking a breath.

"She didn't even cry when she was born," Lyra continued. "I haven't heard a sound from her lungs, yet she stared up at me with those empty, dark eyes." Lyra noticeably shivered. "No, no. She is not right."

1817

Lyra avoided spending time with her toddler as much as she could. The House Elves nannied her from birth, particularly Pippin, who was the Elf who helped deliver Alexia.

Other than the Elves, the only one who showed an interest in Alexia was her older brother, Eduardus. Despite only being five years older than her and still a child himself, he did his best to help the House Elves where he could, and spent time playing with Alexia, even when Lyra tried to stop him.

"Eduardus Limette!" she snapped one day when she found Eduardus and Alexia playing in the old, disused pantry, where the House Elves slept. "What are you doing, squatting down there in the filth?"

"I'm playing with Alexia Walkin, Mother," Eduardus replied quietly. "She isn't causing any harm."

"She isn't causing any harm yet." Lyra glared down at her youngest daughter, who smiled strangely and held her arms up to her mother.

"She just wants some company." Eduardus took hold of one of Alexia's chubby fists and waved it at Lyra. This caused Alexia to shriek with laughter.

Lyra grimaced at the noise, and snatched Eduardus by the wrist, dragging him out of the pantry. "She is evil, and she will bring chaos to this house," she hissed, wide-eyed. "Let the House Elves deal with her. Stay away from her, unless you want her to corrupt you."

"Mother!" Eduardus cried, but it was to no avail. Lyra dragged Eduardus away from the pantry and slammed the door, leaving Alexia inside.

As Alexia was lapsed into darkness, her smile wavered. "Eddie," she murmured softly to herself. It was one of the few words she knew, along with "Pippy". She connected Lyra's face with the sudden loss of Eduardus, who she loved to play with.

Frustration filled her little heart, and her big dark eyes filled with tears. Magic prickled the musty air around her, causing her short, fuzzy hair to stand on end and the old jars and pots in the pantry to rattle tenuously. Her small hands were balled into fists, as she opened her mouth and began to wail.

It wasn't long before the handle on the pantry door started to turn, and Alexia thought about her mother's face with all her might. Once the door swung open, she gave such a shriek that seemed to release the magic that was hovering in the air around her. The magic broke away from her person, causing the jars to shatter.

It was the House Elf who came to the door. It was Pippin who had heard Alexia's cries from the other side of the house, and rushed to her aid. It was Pippin who had pushed open the door to comfort her favourite child. And it was Pippin who received the full force of Alexia's deadly accidental magic.

The gust of magic sliced through Pippin like a razorblade. For a moment, Pippin stood stock-still, her round green eyes blinking slowly. Then, her head toppled forward, away from her body, and landed with a thud on the pantry floor. Pippin's headless body, the neck spluttering with blood, crumpled to the ground a moment after.

oOo

Lyra made quick work of cleaning up Alexia's mess. She vanished Pippin's body without a trace, and forbade any of the other House Elves from talking about her.

She knew that Alexia had killed the Elf with magic, and the thought of that chilled her to the bone. That her youngest child, still practically a baby, could kill with such deadly magic, terrified Lyra. She couldn't risk Oberon finding out that Alexia had revealed magic so early, and she didn't want to reveal this phenomenon to anyone else.

There was something dark within Alexia Walkin. Lyra had always known it, and now it had reared its wicked head.

Lyra double checked the pantry, making sure every speck of blood had disappeared from view. When she closed up the pantry and turned around, a toddler standing at her feet made her flinch. "Alexia Walkin," she muttered, tucking her wand up her sleeve. "It's time for bed."

Alexia grinned widely, showing the sporadic baby teeth across her gums. The smile was sinister and didn't meet her eyes. She held up her arms to Lyra, and opened her mouth to talk. "Mama."

It went against every ounce of Lyra's nature, but she recognised the threat. Taking a breath, she reached down and picked up her child, for the first time since she had cradled her after giving birth. Alexia nuzzled into her mother happily, and Lyra swallowed.

She would bring chaos to this house.

Written For:

- Hogwarts Assignment #6/Religious Education Task #3: Write about a child under five

- Writing Club/Disney: Sibling Love - Write about a sibling coming to their brother/sister's aid no matter what.

- Writing Club/Showtime: #16 If I Could Fly - (dialogue) "What have you done to me?"

- Writing Club/Amber's Attic: #4 Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast, Fall River, Massachusetts: Write about someone causing their parent(s) any sort of pain or distress (bonus)

- Writing Club/Marvel: #6 Abomination - Word: Monster

- Seasonal/Days of the Year: 12th October: Moment of Frustration Day: Write about someone screaming with frustration.

- Seasonal/Elemental: 3. (word) Gentle

- Galleon Club: (word) blood

- Monster Mash: List #1/Prompt #12: (word) Wicked

- Build Your Own Horror Movie: (cliche) A creepy kid

Word Count: 1,799