Darkness and Devotion - A Tom Riddle Story

Bonus: The Surprise

Evelyn's hands trembled as they held the white stick. Two lines. Positive. On the counter sat three more tests, all different brands of muggle pregnancy sticks. All saying the same thing.

Positive. Pregnant.

Evelyn shuddered out a breath. How could this happen? They were told that her reproductive organs were damaged after years of being beaten with a beater's club. She and Tom had been having unprotected sex for years daily with absolutely no signs of a pregnancy ever coming. While she had been sad at first—upset that she couldn't ever grow a real family with Tom—they had both accepted it long ago. Evelyn Riddle would never get pregnant.

Until now.

Her limbs felt like gelatin, her mind covered by a cloud of pure panic. I'm pregnant, it repeated. I'm pregnant... pregnant... pregnant...

She triple-checked that her mental walls were up between her and Tom. He was going to be gone for a few more days and he didn't need to hear about this until she had decided what to do. Since becoming the Dark Lord, Tom occasionally had to take long trips on Death Eater business. He pleaded for her to come with and usually, she did but lately, she hadn't been feeling well so she lied and told Tom that she was too tired to come when in reality, it was because she had spent the past week throwing up everything and feeling like the Hogwarts Express had run over her. 

The idea that she could have been pregnant hadn't even occurred to her until Kreacher returned from a muggle pharmacy with multiple different kinds of pregnancy tests, saying that he was concerned for his mistress. "Kreacher has seen witches this way before," he croaked. "Kreacher thinks mistress should take the tests."

And there she was. In the bathroom surrounded by those tests, every single one saying positive. She was pregnant with a baby she wasn't even sure she wanted, wasn't even sure her husband wanted either. Neither of them expected to ever have a child. What if he was furious? What if he...

No. There was no sense in letting her mind wander. Tests could be faked all of the time. False positives were a thing and Evelyn was sure these were some. But still... it was probably better to check.

Evelyn quickly purged what little breakfast was in her stomach, groaning as she placed her forehead on the cool, black tile of the bathroom. She desperately wished Tom were here but there were still two days until he returned from Bulgaria. And Evelyn was beginning to think that she needed those two days to think.

Finally, once her stomach seemed under control, Evelyn dressed and used the floo to travel to Saint Mungo's. Apparating in this condition seemed like a terrible idea.

The hospital wasn't busy so it took no time at all for them to usher Evelyn into a dim, warm room with a bed in the middle. She fiddled with the hem of her black sweater before sighing nervously. Her stomach did seem a little larger than normal, a little rounder. She thought it was just bloating but could it be more?

And what if it was more? What then? She and Tom were secure enough to have a child. Their marriage was strong, their finances settled, and Tom had been Dark Lord for long enough to feel more than secure in the position. They were no longer children but were they ready for children of their own?

Evelyn wasn't sure. And that thought scared her.

A nurse came and took a vial of Evelyn's blood, explaining that the doctor would be there in about half an hour to go over the results. They were checking for all sorts of diseases, not just pregnancy, and Evelyn couldn't decide what she hoped for. You should be hoping for the disease. You don't even know if Tom wants a child. But... but what if he did? What if she did? What if they were ready to have a family and this little miracle was a sign?