human
To Readers
This story may not make sense to you! This has been a long-standing role-play continued on this site from another, where it would be tedious and annoying to copy over all of our posts.
It had been weeks since she'd seen Harry last, but mere moments since she'd felt him. Juni sat at the edge of her bed that had now become a place where she got the least rest and stared down at her feet as they dangled so close to the floor. In so many ways she looked like a child again, with her soft porcelain face and her wide and innocent eyes, but her body betrayed her more now than it ever had.
Weeks ago she'd been a slim thing, hardly even a wisp of a girl that was smaller than her classmates and nowhere near as voluptuous. Pregnancy had filled her out in ways that puberty had not. Her breasts felt heavy on her chest and had swelled to fuller cups and weight had settled in her forever aching hips, her stomach pressing out and skin already drawing taut from the slowly more noticable signs that she had made a very very grave mistake.
Her hands grasped the robe that was at her side and she slung it over her shoulders, tugging it snugly around her body to hide her deepest secret and most horridly felt shame. From deep within her own body, she felt the lightest movement - a thump against the inner wall of her belly that reminded her. Harry. She needed Harry.
Fear couldn't deny that she was growing his child inside of her and logic couldn't be denied. There was only one person that could have him, and there was only one way she would be able to get him back. Her letter to him had been brief but it had said everything she needed.
Rodolphus,
We need to talk.
Urgently.
Meet where we met.
Bitte.
xo,
J.
Escaping the castle was easy enough when people didn't tend to notice you, her head kept low as she approached the hump backed witch and snuck away down the tunnel. In the area where she was left only to her thoughts, she felt the tickle of doubt in the back of her mind that she shouldn't be doing this. It whispered and promised that Harry was dead, long dispatched when the Lestranges got a hold of him.
She had to hope. Her hand moved to the swell in her belly as she ascended the steps to the cellar of the candy shop, sneaking out the empty store and into the streets. Head down, walking fast, she looked liek any other witch, making her way to the Shrieking Shack. The difference was that by the times he got there she was nearly out of breath, her cheeks flush as she entered the room, letting out a soft and whimpering sigh as she eased slowly onto the floor.
Her hand went to her stomach again. Harry. Do it for Harry....
gpt
There were few things Rodolphus detested more than down time, and unfortunately that was the exact hell he was living. Jobs were done, all that was left to pace like the dog he was and wait for further instructions. At least he had cigars and whiskey to keep him occupied, if only he could get Bellatrix in on the fun and games it would be a bit easier. Until then he would enjoy the solitude of his study. A solitude that was interrupted by the pecking on his window. The owl looked familiar but even in the most hopeful part of his soul he could not imagine his dear Juni would be reaching out to him.
Straightening his shirt for no other reason than to give himself a bit of courage, he strode to the window, stopping to grab a treat for the owl. With a quick swap of goods, he practically sprinted to his desk. A tumbler of whiskey in hand, he downed it quickly before looking at the note. So hope had won out! She was reaching out to him! The kidnapping of Harry was quickly becoming the best thing that had happened to him. Bellatrix was beyond thrilled that not only had he kidnapped the Golden Boy, she had him to torture but it also made Juni need him.
For a moment he pondered whether or not he would respond to the note, impatience overrode logic choosing to go for his robe instead of his quill. Taking a moment to center himself, he apparated near the Shrieking Shack, far enough back though to avoid any notice. With a quick pace he made his way to the shack, going over in his head what he could and could not say. More importantly the sympathy he would have to show for the missing Harry. If he could get Juni to begin to forget him for the night he would most certainly join his wife for a rather good torture session of the boy.
He entered making sure to close the door quietly, the need for absolute secrecy was needed now more than ever. He could barely make out her figure when he began to speak. Mein lieber Juni, geht es dir gut? Ich kam, sobald ich deinen Brief bekommen habe, sag mir, ich werde mich um dich kmmern.
human
Juni expected to feel the anxiety, but she didn't expect to feel her heart sink lower in her chest as her eyes fell on his face. They trailed over the scruffy beard growing on his jaw and the way his eyes were shaped and for a moment - just a moment - the seed of doubt wormed its way into her heart. What if she was wrong? What if it was? Her stomach rolled and she felt sick for a moment on that thought, her mind twisting and turning with terrible thoughts that she didn't dare entertain.
His voice broke her from the swirling, spinning world just as her eyes started to have tunnel vision, snapping away from his face to look instead at the ground. The insidious thoughts still whispered away in the back of her mind, but she was able to hear him above the symphony of screaming possibilities.
Her native tongue sounded like betrayal dripping from his lips, even if his voice was sincere enough. She didn't have the effort to respond immediately, forcing herself onto her feet and keeping her cloak about her as she brushed the dirt off of it to give her another moment to think of her response.
"Rodolphus," His name tasted like ash and for a moment her stomach threatened her again that she would be sick, but she'd taken her potion this morning to keep the morning sickness at bay, "I... I have been avoiding you because I do not know what to say... How to... To tell you," Her voice cracked, and her hands were visibly shaking as she clutched her cloak around her body, looking like a trembling flower in a storm with how frail she was.
Juni couldn't meet his eyes so instead she looked out one of the grimy windows as she tugged the cloak off her body and let it fall to the floor reluctantly. Her whole body was trembling but there was no mistaking the new shape of it, her eyes brimming then overflowing with tears she'd been struggling to fight back.
"Ich... Ich bin schwanger..." She choked finally, cheeks turning rosy.
gpt
When she did not respond right away, Rodolphus began to wonder what exactly had been going on. She sought him out, it wasnt as if he begged and pleaded to see her. Now he was supposed to wait? Patience may have been a virtue but it was one he was lacking greatly. Yet he knew that for the bottom line it was one he would be forced to adopt, as difficult as it would become. It wasn't until he noticed her eyes had finally settled on him that he allowed himself a warm smile, he just wasnt sure if it was because of her attention or the fact he knew her beau was locked up in their dungeon. Either way it counted as a victory for him.
Meine Geliebte? There were many things he despised about his parents, but never was he more thrilled with them forcing him to learn German that he was in that very moment. It allowed her a better in with her, a throw back of sorts to a more comfortable time. Even if Junis father was a fool. It mattered not now, all that mattered to him was to keep Harry away from Juni. He started towards her slowly, like a person to a wounded animal.
He shook his head, it wasnt as if he didnt know Harry was missing. It was news no matter who you were, and obviously that was the whole reason she had called him to her. Wasnt it? Juni, my liebe Juni, tell me. You know I will not judge you. He took yet another step closer, As I told you before I am here for you, no matter what. He offered yet another smile, hoping beyond hope it would be enough to convince her that he meant no harm.
The smile that grew as her cloak dropped quickly went away when he saw the distinctive bump. Followed up by schwanger it sent him into a spell. So many things started to flow through his head, so many questions he had. Schwanger is it mine? Is it Potters? Are you ok? Is there something I can do? The concern he felt was genuine, especially if indeed the child was his.
The next set of questions was what should he do next. Instead of letting himself get into his own head, he chose the easiest route and that was to kneel in front of her, eyes on the bump. He held his hand up as if he was going to touch it but paused, May I?
human
The moment his eyes laid on her softly swollen stomach she felt her heart drop and her shame double. Instict rose above everything else and her hands moved to the top of the soft swell that pressed against her shirt, the other cupping just beneath her belly button as she stepped back from him. There was nothing more primal than the want to protect one's child and every inch of her knew that Rodolphus could be nothing but trouble for it.
But even still there was a change over his face and she struggled to breathe through her tears as harsh sobs shook her small frame. He was doing his best to make things right with her and she could hear the sincerity in his voice. But he was still Rodolphus. Still a Lestrange and still so dangerous to everything that she wanted to protect.
And Harry....
Fresh tears fell and she wiped them on her shoulder as he lowered himself to the ground in front of her, hands held up and reaching towards her as if he wanted to touch her. Her skin crawled and she backed away out of pure instinct, her tears coming to a quick stop as adrenaline rushed her veins. Her cheeks were ruddy as she cleared them of the glistening shame, sniffling weakly.
"I.... I am sorry." She murmured, her voice low as she came to her senses, stepping slow and reluctantly back towards him. There was hesitation again as she lifted up her shirt, revealing the full extent of it. Her body had been accustomed to running in the mornings and she'd been a slim girl before the pregnancy, which made it show earlier than she'd ever planned. Even though she was just rounding into the second trimester, the swell had moved above her hips and poked her stomach out enough that it was obvious she wasn't just gaining weight.
Her hand trembled but she reached out to take his and slowly brought it to her own skin, the adrenaline running fresh through her veins. Her eyes were on him as she felt a soft thump on the inside of her body, something still too small for him to feel from the outside but enough that she felt the weight of her guilt pressing down on her shoulders.
Instead of telling the truth she knew in her heart, that it was Harry's child, she forced a lie out of her lips, "I... It is yours..." She muttered. "No one knows."
gpt
Patience. It was the one thing he had to keep a constant reminder of with Juni, even before her pregnancy was known. Given how their first encounter went there was little doubt to having demonstrate patience with her, it still left him aggravated especially when there was a very good chance his lineage was about to be discussed. A fleeting thought grew in his head on whether or not they should have kidnapped the Potter brat sooner. It would have at least eliminated the chance of the child not being his.
As he watched her reactions and emotions he knew decisions had to be made sooner rather than later, and as much as he wished for a polyamorous relationship with Bellatrix and Juni he doubted it would happen. Shaking his head briefly he did his best to clear his mind of that trauma and decisions that would be soon to come to a head. Even then he had to force himself to stop doing that in fear of scaring her off.
His eyes shot to her face once he heard the utterance of an apology fall from his sweet Junis lips. Sorry? There was no reason he felt she should be sorry for, even if she had left him for the Golden Boy. What are you sorry for? His voice trailed off when she lifted her shirt. There was a chance his child could be inside, a thought that brought a tear to his eye. In spite of his desperate need to insert his masculinity he chose not to wipe the tear away.
The warmth that emanated from her touch brought a smile to his face, a smile which turned to a slack jawed awe when she brought his hand to her. Hed yet to ever touch a pregnant womans belly and to it have been Juni he still felt honored.
He blinked once. He blinked twice. A small attempt at talk failed. It was his child. He had a child. Es gehrt mir? Bist du sicher? He could not stop the smile that began to form once more, then leaned in to kiss her growing stomach whispering, Mein Kind, ich verspreche, mich zu kmmern und zu lieben, bis mein sterbender atem. He kissed it once more then looked up, Let me help you, Juni. Please, you are the mother of my child, allow me this.
human
His demeanor had changed almost the moment that he had realized her pregnancy and the possibility of it being his and it left her already teetering mind wander into the world of possibilities. Even with all of the bad that Rodolphus had done to her in the short span of their relationship, there had been a spark there in the beginning. Well, the part after the beginning. He'd been intimate and soft, a different from from the oen that had been dominating and commanding. Her shoulders bowed and she almost curled in on herself around her belly but chose instead to remain standing, her face pinching as she fought with her own internal dilemma. Her lips pressed into a hard line and she struggled for a moment with translating his words back and forth between English and German.
Even more confusing was the warmth of his hand on the small swell of her stomach, her body wanting both to press into his touch and be assured that all would be alright, but also horribly craving to recoil from him and flee from the possibility it could be his. A whisper deep in her mind started planting the seed of doubt, sewing itself into the fabrics of her thought as she finally grounded herself in the moment and found him speaking her native language.
"I..." She choked on her words again and let out a sob, wiping at tears pitifully as she tried her best to be strong if only for a moment, "Rodolphus... I am sure it's yours." She whispered, a dark seed of truth that made her heart clench painfully, a gentle movement wriggling against her bladder as if it too agreed that this was a painful thing to be.
Harry. For Harry.
Juni gathered her strength again and fought back another whimper as tears threatened, her eyes lifting up to look up and meet his gaze. "What do we do? Bellatrix..." She whispered the woman's name as if she were afraid she would appear at any moment and frankly, she wasn't far off, "Can you protect him from her?" The word 'him' had slipped from her lips without thinking, a secret that she had kept dear to her heart but the worry was real, her brows furrowed as she searched his face for the answer before he could speak. It didn't matter whose child it was... It was hers. And Bellatrix would want her hands on it. Either way would be a win for Bellatrix. Either she would have the ultimate control over Rodolphus by threatening his son, or the ultimate control over Harry. Juni couldn't bear the thought of it, and she knew... Knew it without a doubt to the core of her spirit that the wicked woman would undoubtedly use it against her.
gpt
He could not help but be entranced by the soft swell from Juni. Pregnancy had always been an intriguing thing to him, the ability to have another life grow from within. Yet now it was magnified knowing now more than ever that there was very little to doubt it was his. He continued to allow himself to get farther inside his own mind with the various possibilities, the various outcomes, and even wether the child inside of her was a boy or a girl. The sounds of a sob broke him from his trance, and he looked up to Juni.
Mine? The smile that grew was hard to hold back, and perhaps it was one of the truest ones he had in many years. Perhaps even as far back as when he had first married Bellatrix, and their honeymoon phase of killing mudbloods in the night only to fuck at the scene of the crime shortly after. He had to shake those thoughts from his head, especially now that the child in question was his.
A baby. His baby. A bark of laughter escaped his lips before he was even able to stop it, how could he not be overjoyed by this? Though now creeping thoughts of how Juni felt, and what Juni was going through filled his mind. An initial thought of killing Harry entertained his mind briefly, but he was fearful of what the aftermath could do to his child. To their child. For years he couldnt tell if he or Bellatrix was the problem in their inability to conceive. Now that Juni was pregnant his mind laid the blame on her.
Let me talk to her He was about to launch into another diatribe when the gender fell from her lips. A son. A bloody son. A son which could carry on his name and be a strong Lestrange. A bloody son! He laughed again, leaning to kiss her belly once more. He could not help it, he was to be a father, and he was to have a son, life could not get much more perfect. I swear to you, no harm will ever come to him. From Bellatrix or anyone else. He stood, giving her a warm smile, Bitte, meine Liebe, du bringst mein Kind, du bringst mein Herz. Ich werde sterben, bevor ich irgendjemand irgendwas passiert.
human
His joy was laid plain on his face when he knew that it was his and it only hurt the confusion in her heart as she felt his lips press against that small swell that rose just above the level of her hips. It was becoming almost painful now for him to touch her, not because he was hurting her but because she wanted to pull away from him and to hide herself away. It was difficult to expose herself to Rodolphus, the man that had taken everything from her, but yet left her with something so much better than the innocence that had been robbed in this very shack.
She pulled away from him now though, anger rising in her quicker than she had ever felt before and bringing her blood to a swift boil. "You will not protect me from her. You are her pet." She nearly spat the words, her hands pulling her shirt back down to cover her stomach as she let her back press against the wall until she felt secure and let her slim fingers cover over her stomach. "How can you protect me? What will you tell her? That you had sex with another woman and are now expecting a child? How do you think that will go?"
These words weren't hers any more than the tone of her voice, which had risen to a sstate of panic that made her nearly mute as her fear closed up her throat. Her heart was racing in her chest and her thoughts were spinning, flipping wildly between English and German. He wanted to not only tell Bellatrix about her child, but try to explain it away? No.No.
"Swear to me. Swear it, Rodolphus. On your blood."
gpt
He recoiled both from the venom in her voice, as well as her anger. It had been a very long time since he had seen such anger from her but even then he understood her reaction. I may be her pet He practically spat the words out, there was no use denying it. But you are He stopped, trying to figure out the next words he wanted to use. Running his fingers through his hair he rocked backwards, allowing him to sit on the floor, You are you.
Use of English was never his strong point, especially when it came to issues involving his own emotions, I dont know how it will bloody go! I wont let anything happen to you. He snarled, looking down as shame from reaction washed over him, I love you, Juni. I love myour son yes, I am her pet. But I love you. I will not let anything happen to you.
Letting out a sigh of frustration he looked up to her, watching as the various emotions flowed through the woman. No, not yet a woman, a girl, still, in front of him. Things were beginning to get tough, and the frustration was quickly dissipating the happiness of the announcement of his son. He had no choice, he had no other options, and just like most of what he had done in the past he took a risk.
I will take an unbreakable vow if it shows you just how serious I am.
human
Much as she was dissolving, her anger had dissolved him from the collected and cold man he typically was into someone that sat in the floor and really contemplated where they were to go from here. There weren't many options for them considering the situation and she knew that she was in between a rock and a hard place. She would have to save Harry by walking a fine line because otherwise... She could possibly lose him and her child by the same whirlwind that was Bellatrix Lestrange.
But Rodolphus' offer couldn't be refused, and her swirling panic settled in the dust as she heard the words. "The vow?" She had never seen it done but she had heard of thte magic that was more powerful than anything else. Her eyes moved to meet his and she felt her body cold on the inside, because she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he meant what he said now.
"I... Yes. I want you to vow to me that you will protect our child." She said, the word 'our' tasting like ash in her mouth and falling limply off her tongue. Not his child. It couldn't be. It would be too much. It had to be Harry's. But she couldn't dare risk that. Her hand moved out to stand between them, an offer that he could still refuse. "Vow it."