Year/Job
Dad
"I'm pretty major and I'll sing it out loud." |
Travis
Fox Bishop
Flourish and Blotts Employee IS OFFLINE
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Wolf
Jun 1, 2023 15:59:43 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by Fox Bishop on Jun 1, 2023 15:59:43 GMT -8
Breathe, Fox Bishop. This is your life.
"Mr. Bishop."
Fox blinked through the fog, his vision clouded by sweat, tears, and the as-of-yet unexplored delirium of pure adrenaline. He imagined for a moment his wife, Emilia, zipping through the sky to deliver the decisive dagger in a toughly fought contest, and he knew immediately that this was the same feeling. Yes, Fox had tried out for the Gryffindor quidditch team in the absence of Emilia, one of a handful of sudden, irrational choices that he'd made in heartache. In a year the boy had worked his way up from a crippling fear of flying to a reserve spot on the Gryffindor quidditch team. He was chasing something. Like if he could capture the same energy that Emilia had when playing quidditch, if he could feel what she feels, then it would be like she'd never left. And in practice Fox had felt something like that, but he never saw the field. And Emilia barely made it a day.
There was no big trial, no dramatic speeches--even though Fox had penned several drafts over their summer together. Just a quiet backroom meeting, and an arrangement between the Bishops and the headmistress in light of unprecedented events. Hogwarts, it turned out, was very good at preventing their kind of situations, but there was nothing the school could do about whirlwind elopements over Christmas break.
"I wrote a little something," Fox had said to McGonagall, dipping his hand into his robes to retrieve the parchment.
McGonagall observed him behind the ice cold glare of her spectacles and she said, "Mr. Bishop, your...betrothed has already pursuaded me to let her stay until she has the baby. You may read whatever speech you've prepared but consider that it can only serve to change my mind."
Fox moved like a tape playing in reverse as he tucked the parment back into his breast pocket and shot his glance downward at her desk.
Breathe, Fox Bishop.
The days passed too quickly after that, but Fox made sure to make the most of it with Emilia. He realized that they'd only managed to buy themselves just a little bit more time, but for some reason these days felt far less apocalyptic than the ones in Frigiliana.
Every day after class Fox would take Emilia to one of their favorite spots. They'd really only known each other for a year but they'd claimed significance to every little corner of Hogwarts. There was the night they spent in the clock tower on Emilia's first day back, and the lakeside picnic which, coincidentally, was in the same spot s certain American had celebrated a certain Italian's birthday.
Even Fox's newfound passion for quidditch took on new significance. It was no longer about capturing Emilia's feelings, but letting her live vicariously through him. She was the best coach anyone could ask for, that had always been true.
But that was all behind them now, because this thing has been inching ever closer. For nine months they waited, sometimes scared and sometimes excited. This thing that had upended their lives, this thing that had derailed Fox's campaign for head boy and Emilia's shot at a quidditch. This thing that would bring with it so much stress, anxiety, and sleepless nights. This thing that they would love more than anything else in the world.
Breathe.
Fox wiped the tears from his eyes. He was staring down at his wife in the hospital bed, looking more exhausted than he could even comprehend. And she was so beautiful.
Her hand was around his and he realized that she'd been squeezing it. He couldn't feel anything there now.
Fox smiled.
"You did it," he said. "We did it."
"Mr. Bishop."
Fox turned to see the nurse holding a lump of blankets. It took a moment for him to even register what she had in her arms. The world was spinning as she transferred the baby into his arms.
Fox shook his head. No, no, no. But the words escaped him. He quickly spun around with their baby in his arms and held him out for Emilia.
"Our baby," he cried through hoarse sobs. "Our son."
Emilia Montes
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Year/Job
Healer
Potion & Plant Poisoning
Heaven’s here, it’s right where you’re standing. |
Steph
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Wolf
Jun 1, 2023 21:53:40 GMT -8
Post by Emilia Montes on Jun 1, 2023 21:53:40 GMT -8
Every day Fox would wait for Emilia at the entrance of the dungeons, he would carry her bag and guide her to her destination whether it’d be the Great Hall or an emergency stop to the girl’s bathroom. He was so sweet but Emilia couldn’t help but feel like she was being paraded around the school. Obviously that wasn’t Fox’s intention, she knew that, but she always noticed the stares from other students as the pair walked down the corridors. It was like they had never seen someone in her current state before. Fox tried his best to distract her with an encouraging smile and a squeeze of the hand. She knew when she made the choice to return to Hogwarts that this was never going to be easy. She just didn’t expect to feel… god, what was that feeling. Embarrassed? For someone like Emilia, who did everything with confidence and never doubted her choices, this wasn’t a familiar feeling. This wasn’t the first time her peers would stop and stare as she walked down the hallways. In previous years, she’d had plenty of rumors circulating about her. But they were mostly just rumors and no one could prove anything. Now, she felt double in size and her choices were on display for everyone to see. There was no denying this one. But she didn’t regret it and she wasn’t ashamed. The whole world could judge her, at the end of the day she was with Fox and that’s all that mattered. They spent a lot of time in the usual spots when Emilia could make the trek but that was getting harder and harder with each passing day. Sometimes instead of the clock tower, they had to settle for a quiet spot in the library. Fox would trace his hand over Emilia’s swollen belly as they poured over their homework. So, yeah, the stares and whispers were difficult but not as difficult as this would have been without her husband by her side. They spent late nights talking over the plan, wanting to be completely prepared for when the time came. When the time did come, Emilia felt extremely unprepared. She’d been fighting a tightening sensation starting from her back all morning then the waves came, the same sensation moving to the front of her body throughout her day. She was told by the healers in the Hospital Wing that it was a false alarm. But as she sat in the audience during the talent show that night, Gooby’s bass blasting from the stage as Fox read some poem or something she couldn’t even remember now, she knew she couldn’t take it anymore. Everything seemed like a blur from there. The plan was for her to be moved to London at the end of the weekend, where she could be close to St Mungo’s but baby Bishop had other plans. All plans were thrown out the window and she found herself in the Hospital Wing again. They placed her in a corner and closed it off from everyone else. Thankfully, the only patient at the time was being discharged when the chaos ensued. The healer attending her wasn’t that much older than Emilia herself, but through sweat and tears they all made it through the whole ordeal; Emilia, Fox, and the young healer. He came out wailing and it seemed only fitting given how much Fox liked to talk. Then the baby was whisked away while they checked that everything was okay and Emilia was left squeezing Fox’s hand. She wasn’t sure how long they both stayed like that, silent and reeling from what had just happened. Enough time passed for them to bring the baby back, wrapped in a blanket, and Emilia had to let go of Fox’s hand for the first time in hours. She watched as they placed him in Fox’s arms, her breath catching in her chest and she could feel that she was so close to tears. Through more tears, Fox placed him on her chest and it was like the whole world stopped for a second. Just an hour ago, she’d been pale and shaking in this same bed. Now, she didn’t care about any of that. Emilia felt his little heartbeat on her skin and she couldn’t stop the tears flowing down her cheeks as she stared down at this perfect little human. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. “He’s so beautiful.” Emilia placed a kiss on his little head and then looked up at Fox, holding her hand out for him to take. “Our little Wolf.” Fox Bishop
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Year/Job
Dad
"I'm pretty major and I'll sing it out loud." |
Travis
Fox Bishop
Flourish and Blotts Employee IS OFFLINE
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Wolf
Jun 2, 2023 21:49:46 GMT -8
Post by Fox Bishop on Jun 2, 2023 21:49:46 GMT -8
Breathe, Fox Bishop. This is your life.The day was still a blur to Fox. Details would come back to him slowly, scattered and out of context until he could grasp some rough approximation, fill in what was missing with his imagination. But this is how it really transpired: Fox was standing before an audience of his peers reciting Ozymandius accompanied by music provided by Gooby. The students loved it. All kids love Percy Blythe Shelley. It was, without a day, the greatest display of talent that Hogwarts had ever seen. But Fox wasn’t there to accept the trophy, because when he wrapped up the reading and turned to smile at Emilia, he found her seat empty. That’s when he knew.
The audience erupted into hushed murmurs as Fox sprinted from the stage.
McGonnagall had planned to ship Emilia off to St Mungo’s. They’d made preparations in case she entered labor early, but pregnancy magic was very accurate and there was little concern for an early birth. Of course, nothing really ever went according to plan with Fox and Emilia. This worked out better than any plan they could have made anyway. The way it had been arranged, only Emilia was allowed to leave campus. Fox was expected to stay behind and “be a student for a change,” as McGonnagall had put it. But having Wolf in the hospital wing meant that Fox could be there for the whole thing, and he was.
When it was all over, Fox and Emilia were given the chance to share their first moment with their little boy. “He’s so beautiful.” Emilia had said. When she reached out, Fox took her hand, and she added, “Our little Wolf.”
“Wolf,” Fox smiled. Where had that come from? Of all the names they’d gone through, Wolf had never been in consideration but hearing it from Emilia’s lips it somehow felt like the only name there ever was for him. Fox just stood there by Emilia’s side, unable to take his eyes away from this, this little person they’d created. It hadn’t yet settled in for Fox that this baby represented a new, massive set of responsibilities that most kids their age weren’t equipped to deal with. Even if it had, Fox certainly believed he was the exception.
The moment passed quickly, and soon a visibly stressed out healer was ducking through the curtain to take Wolf again. A group of students was gathering on the other side now, word of the first baby born at Hogwarts in—however long it had been since a baby was last born at Hogwarts—had spread quickly. Fox encouraged Emilia to rest.
Time moved like fog over the day as the sun drifted by the window and the sky turned dark. Things died down on the other side of the curtain after the crowd was assured out of the hospital wing for lights out. When the ward was empty, Fox moved the curtain so that they could see their baby in his cradle and he scooted a chair next to Emilia’s bed so that he could sleep by her through the night. Fox awakened around midnight to find Emilia sitting up restlessly in bed. He couldn’t help but smile again.
“Hey,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
Emilia Montes
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Year/Job
Healer
Potion & Plant Poisoning
Heaven’s here, it’s right where you’re standing. |
Steph
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Wolf
Jun 7, 2023 16:28:40 GMT -8
Post by Emilia Montes on Jun 7, 2023 16:28:40 GMT -8
Emilia didn’t know exactly how the name came to her mind. They’d spent countless nights discussing baby names; Amadeus to Esperanza to Bear. But, while that last one really stuck around for a while, when Emilia looked down at the precious little face and his dark curly locks, she instinctively knew his name. It felt right and it sounded right when Fox repeated it. They both stayed still watching Wolf for a while but it felt like only seconds when the healer came by to take him away once more. The chatter behind the curtain was getting louder as the healers tried to shoo the other students away. Emilia tried her hardest to keep her eyes open but the orange glow of the setting sun coming through the windows made her feel drowsy, she was completely drained. So she fell asleep with the sun forcing her to close her eyes and the distinct voices of her peers in her ears.
When she woke up, hours later, the room was completely silent. For the first few seconds, as she blinked away any remnant of sleep, she could have sworn it was all a dream. Then her eyes adjusted to the soft glow of the candles by her bedside. Fox was in a chair next to her bed, his head resting on the edge while he slept. Emilia sat still while she watched him, she could hear his quiet breathing. From somewhere behind him, she heard the short and sweet breaths, like soft pants, while Wolf slept in his crib. Her fingers brushed Fox’s hair away from his closed eyes and she knew it was all real.
Emilia let Fox rest, he also must have been exhausted. That rush of adrenaline had subsided by now. She tried closing her eyes but she couldn’t find a comfortable position. She spent about an hour tossing and turning in her bed until Fox opened his eyes and sat up. Of course, the first thing he did was ask her how she was.
“I feel so in love,” she said with a smile as she finally settled back on her pillow. “With you, with him.” She moved over to make room for him on the bed and patted the spot next to her. The bed was small and with both of them it would be crowded but she wanted him with her. “How do you feel?”
Fox Bishop
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Year/Job
Dad
"I'm pretty major and I'll sing it out loud." |
Travis
Fox Bishop
Flourish and Blotts Employee IS OFFLINE
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Wolf
Jun 10, 2023 12:26:53 GMT -8
Post by Fox Bishop on Jun 10, 2023 12:26:53 GMT -8
While Fox would look back on this day for the rest of his life, remember the exact look in Emilia’s eyes when he lifted his head and blinked the sleepies out of his eyes, this moment was only unique in the circumstances by which they shared it. The truth was that their relationship had been a thousand little moments just like this. In Frigiliana, when they were just stupid kids with a bad idea, when Wolf was just a distant concept trailing a hundred other life goals, Fox had woken up one morning to find Emilia staring at him. The circumstances were different, but the look was the same. The baby wouldn’t change the way they loved each other. He only offered a new form to express it.
They’d spent a lot of time discussing Fox’s ambitions over the summer. Emilia was a world class athlete with a passion for medicine. Fox felt like she’d long narrowed down her dreams to two paths. But for Fox, the paths were numerous. He’d never narrowed them down to less than twenty. A politician, a writer, a professor—he’d grown up in the generation of “you can achieve anything that you put your mind to” and he believed that. Fox even found himself imagining a career in Quidditch once he took up flying, daydreaming from the bench. But Fox had never imagined this. And sitting there with Emilia in the hospital wing it occurred to him that he didn’t want to be anything else but a husband and a father. Was that crazy? Was he really too young to feel something like that?
It was hard to care about anything else when he saw Emilia’s smile, and he heard her speak in that soft accent. “I feel so in love. With you, with him. How do you feel?”
“Tired,” Fox laughed a bit. “I feel like I can’t get enough sleep.” He felt a little dumb admitting it to the woman who had just had a baby, but it was like the entire weight of the day’s emotions were pressing down on him. He could feel it in his legs, a dull ache that begged him to close his eyes and wake up in a different year. He’d read enough to know about the sleepless nights ahead of him, but for now he chose to enjoy the peace.
“You know we’re the talk of the school?” Fox asked. “They’ve cordoned off this whole section of the wing because kids wouldn’t stop gawking. And um,” Fox looked down at his hands. “McGonnagall was in here a while ago. She wants to move you two to Mungo’s before sunrise. Something about giving kids bad ideas.” Fox reached out toward Emilia. Even though they were barely a foot apart, he couldn’t get close enough. He wanted to climb into bed and hold her. “I asked her for a bit more time but I don’t know how patient she’ll be. I just, um…I needed a chance to be alone with you. I needed a moment to tell you how much I love you. Can I do that?”
Emilia Montes
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