He entered the dark room, waving his wand and watching as candles soon bathed the room in the warm glow of their light. Moving to the crib, his fingers ran along the wood, his eyes flashing with anguish as he turned away. All too easily, a memory of his beautiful wife came to mind. She loved sitting in the rocker, reading to their unborn child with her hand resting on the growing swell of her stomach. He had come home from work many times to find her in the nursery rocking, either napping or reading or sometimes just smiling a happy smile that always made the world seem right.


He walked to the chair, sitting down and smelling her scent surround him. He'd known her since he was eleven, been in love with her since he was sixteen, finally became her boyfriend when he was eighteen, married her when he was twenty-two, and he'd lost her when he was twenty-six. Their first child, a baby boy, the news delighting them both. Everything had been going perfectly, she was healthy and the medi-witches said the baby appeared to be healthy. In the seventh month, only a day ago, there had been complications. She'd woken up screaming and there had been so much blood. He'd rushed her to St. Mungos, but it was too late. Their son was gone and she followed a few hours later.


He began to rock slowly, holding a teddy bear that she had bought for their son, tears running down his face as he thought about everything he had lost. She was his life, his happiness, everything good in the world, and now she was gone. He'd never see her smile, hear her laugh, feel her touch, hear her moan, make love to her or simply hold her. Without her, life wasn't worth living. He had promised her he wouldn't do anything stupid, her last words to him words of love and eternal devotion and a promise that they'd be together again one day after she made him swear that he'd not do anything rash in the days following his loss.


He would keep that promise. No matter how difficult or painful, he would continue to exist because there would be no living without her in his life. She was everywhere, her scent in the air, her touch all over their house. He'd only promised her a month, refusing to make a promise he couldn't keep. He had seen the look in her eyes, knew that she understood the pain and heartache he was feeling, seen the reluctant acceptance in her eyes when he'd only promised a month without doing something foolish.


She'd kissed him and told him they'd be together again before he'd been pushed aside by the medi-witches that were trying to save her to no avail. She'd squeezed his hand and then she'd faded away. With a pained sob, he clung to the teddy bear, crying for the loss of his wife and son, his entire world shattering in a few hours. One thing gave him hope, made him smile despite the loss, comforted him and gave him a reason to live for the next month to fulfill his promise to his beautiful wife. Soon, he would join them and they'd be together again.


the end.