A/N: Hello everyone! I am making the rounds and updating all of my WIP stories so hang in there! I hope you are still continuing to enjoy this one!
~o0o~
2 Months Later
~o0o~
"Why is he so adorable? No one is getting anything done around here!" Fleur groaned as she handed Luna's sweet baby boy back to her and moved into the kitchen. Luna followed, patting the little one's back to help him burp from his feeding.
"He is perfect, isn't he? And with Hermione having another…this house will be full of children," Luna grinned wistfully but Fleur wasn't as excited. Luna's newborn, Benjamin Christophe, was the new little star of the household, but Fleur was still not over the fact that Claire had all but taken Narcissa from her.
"Psshhh," Fleur rolled her eyes and started prepping a sauce for dinner as Luna rocked from side to side to calm Benjamin.
"You are the only one who isn't nice to Claire. And everyone notices…" Luna continued the conversation, having picked up on Fleur's annoyance.
"She's fine but she becomes an incompetent bumbling idiot whenever Remus is in the house. Her job is to take care of Narcissa, by actually keeping her eyes on her," Fleur remarked but quickly held her tongue when the strawberry blonde governess walked into the kitchen looking for a snack for Narcissa.
"Fleur, do you have any fruit for Cissa? She's a bit hungry…" the young girl asked tentatively, turning to smile at Benjamin in his mother's arms.
"She's not supposed to eat this close to supper. It's what Sirius and Hermione want," Fleur reminded the girl and took pride in being able to boss her around when Minerva was out.
"I'm sure it won't hurt her," Claire continued, oblivious to Fleur trying to keep a tenuous hold on her power within the household. She was so young and sweet and bright-eyed and it drove Fleur absolutely crazy sometimes.
"I said no," Fleur snapped and turned back to the stove. Luna gave the girl a helpless look and decided that the solace of her rooms was better than the tension she was getting caught up in. When the house was mostly empty, especially if the only ones that remained were Fleur and Claire, there tended to be a fight at least once a day.
"I'm her maid and governess, not you…she's hungry!" Claire said, frustrated and trying to stand up for herself.
Fleur finally caved and moved to the pantry to grab an apple for Narcissa and slice it up. She had another big dinner to start cooking for and didn't have the time to teach Claire a lesson at the moment. She handing the chopped fruit in a bowl rudely to the younger girl and with a huff, went back to cooking.
Claire shook her head and started to head back through the foyer to the stairs, not really understanding why Fleur was the only one who hadn't warmed to her, when Neville came through the front door, holding it open for Hermione and Sirius.
"Oh…Claire…if you are going upstairs, can you get some cold compresses? Hermione was feeling a bit feverish so we came home a bit early," Sirius gently asked of her, but there was clear concern on his face. Her mistress looked pale and tired and was holding onto her husband's arm for support. Claire nodded and hurried up the stairs, brought Narcissa her snack, who thanked her like the polite little doll she was and continued playing with her toys, and then Claire turned down the master bed and filled a bowl full of cold water. Hermione was there a few moments later, with Sirius helping her take off her corset.
"We are going to have to cancel the dinner tonight," Sirius said, both to Claire and his wife.
"No…no that won't be necessary. I'm just a bit worn out from the baby…" Hermione rubbed her stomach, which was only now showing some signs of growing with her next child.
"Nonsense, you are sick. Would you like me to call for the doctor?"
Claire pressed a towel damp with the cold water against Hermione's neck, which was covered in a thin layer of swear. There were dark hollows under her eyes as she crawled into bed.
"I'm fine, Sirius, really…" she promised as Claire attended to her, but soon told Hermione that she should get Fleur. Besides the fact that she knew Fleur would be livid at Claire playing ladies' maid, she needed to get back to Narcissa, even if the girl was fine to be alone for a few minutes.
"Sirius wanted me to tell you that dinner is cancelled. Hermione is rather sick and she needs you upstairs," Claire said softly, returning to the kitchen and finding Fleur humming to herself as she cooked.
"Half of the sup is on…everyone will be arriving in a half hour's time…" Fleur turned to Claire as if this was her fault, but soon instructed to her to get Luna and mind the stove while she went to Hermione's side.
Frazzled, Claire did the best she could to give out some instructions to Luna and Neville before bringing Narcissa downstairs to keep a watchful eye on her, letting her play in the dining room with her dolls.
There was a strange silence among them, especially when Minerva came back from running some errands. Sirius and Hermione were always vibrant and the picture of health and never got sick. Her pregnancy with Narcissa had been an easy one, so naturally, everyone was a bit on edge, especially when their guests started arriving.
"We didn't have time to send word to you, but Hermione is feeling rather poorly at the moment…but we'll still serve supper if you'd like to stay" Minerva promised kindly when the Snapes were at the door. No one could deny Narcissa her playmate of Henri; the two children were instantly connected at the hip as they always were in each other's presence, talking in basically jibberish with a few real words thrown in.
"Is baby number two giving her a hard time? Must be a boy…" Dora smiled to Minerva when she took her shawl and offered to make them some tea while they waited for the others to arrive. Soon after, the Potters were told of the circumstance and Ron and his new bride, Lavender, were as well.
The dinner was supposed to be a congratulatory one for Ron and Lavender, who had married very quietly a week ago in the country. Their entire courtship had been quick, but Ron hadn't wanted to wait. Now though, the atmosphere was far from a party without knowing their hostess was alright.
Sirius came down the stairs a few minutes later, saying warm 'hellos' to all of his friends just as Fred and George had arrived with Remus. From what Claire could tell, he didn't seem too concerned about his wife's unusual state but said he had called for the doctor just in case.
Claire tended the children and fed them all dinner as everyone else partook in a meal at the dining room table, catching up with each other and inquiring about Ron and Lavender's nuptials. The mousy-haired girl giggled a bit too much for some of their liking, but she was part of their extended family all the same. Claire wasn't particularly worried about Lavender though. The moment that Monsieur Lupin had walked through the doors his eyes had sought hers out and she tried her best to ignore him. Now, as she was watching Narcissa and Henri color on some butcher paper that Minerva always brought back from the grocers and held Lily Potter in her arms, she was aware that he was looking at her from his place at the table. It had seemed to her that he had purposefully chosen his space at the table with a view of her and it made her blush to have that kind of attention.
"I was going to wait…but I guess I will just have to tell Hermione later," Ginny interrupted the dinner by gently tapping her glass with her knife and bringing the conversation to a halt, "But I'm pregnant with my second!"
"Congratulations!" Sirius's happy, deep voice started a round of well wishes. Another baby for the already growing brood of children amongst the friends. Claire mused that every time the group saw each other, which was often, there was another happy occasion to celebrate. They really were lucky.
~o0o~
"Fleur, is the doctor here yet?" Hermione asked, reaching out to grab her friends' hand. She was flushed and her fever had spiked and now she was very much in pain.
"He should be soon…" Fleur tried to console her.
"There's something very wrong with the baby, Fleur, I just know there is…I don't feel him inside of me anymore," Hermione said and Fleur wondered if it was too soon to even feel a child inside at all, but also knew Hermione had a very strong sense of intuition.
"He'll be fine," Fleur smiled, moving to answer the knock on the bedroom door. It was Doctor Moody, who had helped her through her pregnancy with Narcissa along with his assistant, Madame Pomfrey. He greeted Hermione and set down his doctor's bag on the chair, removing some instruments before coming over to her.
"What is ailing you?"
"Horribly sharp pains in my stomach and lower…" Hermione was trying not to cry as he eased her up from her lying position to listen to her heartbeat.
"It might just be a bit of a virus or some anxiety, Hermione, nothing to worry about just yet… but let's get you looked at," Doctor Moody was trying to be confident in his words, but something felt off to him too. He had just seen her a few weeks ago and she had been perfectly healthy.
~o0o~
"Thanks for helping me up the stairs with them, but I'm sure you'd rather be in the drawing room with some of Sirius' cognac," Claire blushed as Remus set Henri down in the playroom to join Narcissa. Lily was carefully placed in the crib and Claire sunk into the rocking chair, sighing.
"I had quite enough wine at dinner…" Remus mumbled; he knew his faced was flushed and that he really shouldn't be alone with Claire. Everyone had seen him offer to help take the children upstairs while the ladies chatted and the men smoked and he would be expected back downstairs. Instead, he closed the door behind him, his heart lurching when it was snug shut.
"We're quite a boring lot up here…" Claire continued and Remus found her British accent so endearing when she let it come out, which was usually when she was tired or stressed. She tried her best to speak to all the children in both English and French equally.
"Hardly," Remus smiled, but his nervous slouch was noticed by her. He didn't know what to do in her presence and neither did she, but she found sitting helped her fidget less around him.
Remus took a deep breath. They had been tip-toeing around each other for months and any time they were within a few feet of each other, one of them said something to try and pretend the spark between them wasn't anything definitive. He had planned on talking to Sirius and Hermione about his feelings for Claire that night and hopefully receiving some advice, but since Hermione had fallen ill, he wasn't sure of the next time he would get an opportunity.
"I'm sorry for this but I need to speak to you about something," Remus was very formal when he said it and she looked away from her darlings playing to meet his intense stare.
"Of course…"
"If I have misunderstood your feelings for me, can you please tell me now and spare me any embarrassment?" Remus asked, "Anytime I am around you I just want to stay in that moment. Surely you've noticed that…"
Claire could barely breathe. For months now she knew she was secretly head-over-heels in love with this man she barely knew anything about and only saw when her employers had him over. She knew it was silly, and hoped that maybe he felt something for her as well if the way he watched her was any indication, but she also knew he was much older than her and that it certainly wasn't proper for a man like him to date a simple governess of a friend.
"Monsieur Lupin, you have not misunderstood my feelings…" Claire began, trying to speak quietly to not draw attention from Narcissa, who was becoming very intuitive like her mother.
"Remus, please, how many times have I asked you to call me Remus?" his voice was playful and gentle as he walked over to her and gently took her hand to raise her from the chair to her feet.
"You have nothing to be embarrassed of but I'm not sure if it's prudent that we…" she tried to reason out. The longer he was in this room alone with her, the worse it looked to everyone else. She was trying to impress this family of friends and a man wasn't supposed to be in a closed room this close to her.
Nor was he supposed to have his hands on her waist, but he did.
He slowly leaned his head down and their lips met for a brief second before she pulled away.
"The children!" she whispered, but one glance showed that Narcissa and Henri were too absorbed in their make believe world to care about them this time. Remus captured her lips with his once more, pulling her close to his body. He had dreamt of this moment for a very long while and couldn't believe this beauty who had captured his attention was finally in his arms. He kept the kiss as chaste as he could, but it was still urgent and made both of them nearly giddy when he parted from her.
"I'll speak with Sirius…" Remus promised her, cupping her cheek with his hand gently as he looked at her face with adoration. Before the children could catch on, he moved to the door and opened it. She tentatively followed, drawn towards him and not wanting him to leave. Her lips were still tingling from the kiss as he moved into the hallway.
"Remus! Oh God we need help!"
It was Fleur's voice. She was all the way at the opposite end of the hall, having just come out of the master bedroom at the same moment. She was holding a rag covered in what Remus hoped was not blood but certainly seemed like it was.
Remus waited for no further explanation before running downstairs. Claire hurried to Fleur who let her into the bedroom. Hermione was wailing and crying and the entire mattress was soaked in blood as the doctor was bent over her.
"She's hemorrhaging, Poppy…" Doctor Moody's voice was firm but urgent as he was trying to keep Hermione from moving about too much. Fleur's eyes were filled with tears as she handed Claire some of the soiled rags.
"My baby….no….my baby…." Hermione cried.
"Hermione, just breathe, we need to keep you healthy…" Poppy Pomfrey smoothed back her hair as Hermione felt another round of pains in her stomach.
Sirius was barging into the room a few minutes later, eyes wide when he saw what was going on.
"The baby?" he asked, looking at his wife in pain and the blood around her.
"Miscarried. It was very sudden. We're just trying to stop the excess bleeding. I'm very sorry Monsieur Black".
A/N: Reviews are welcome and stay tuned for the next chapter!