CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED-THIRTY

                                    

                                          
DON'T SAY THAT — PLEASE DON'T
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Seraphina woke up the morning after Regulus's return to an empty bed. Dread filled her when she realised that he once again disappeared without a trace other than the necklace with his signet ring that he'd given her the previous day; a necklace that since then hung around her neck alongside the one Sirius gave her two Christmases ago.
Since she left Sirius, Seraphina often found herself twisting the dragon pedant when thinking about her boyfriend. Now Sera had another piece of jewellery to nervously play with while thinking about where the hell Regulus disappeared to. 
During the week Regulus was absent, Narcissa noticed her distress and suggested Sera do something to keep her mind occupied; after all, stressing was bad for the baby. Therefore, Narcissa introduced a tradition within the Black family where a soon-to-be mother embroidered a baby blanket.
With nothing else to do, Seraphina decided to indulge in the tradition. With the gender of the baby remaining a secret, Narcissa chose a white fabric and provided threads in every possible colour she could need. Before allowing her anywhere near the blanket, Narcissa forced her to practise on old fabrics until 'her stitches were acceptable'.
According to Narcissa, a majority of the blanket needed to be finished by the time the baby was born. All of it except for the baby's initials and date of birth that was embroidered afterwards to complete the blanket.
Seraphina held up a piece of practice fabric in front of her, admiring her own progress. Even Narcissa acknowledged that her stitches were less atrocious than a few days ago — which definitely was the highest praise one could get from Narcissa Malfoy.
Two firm knocks on the door made her still and hope swelled in her chest. "Come in," Seraphina called, praying to all those weird Gods the Muggles believed in that Regulus would be the one walking through that door.
Disappointment filled when Tom stepped into her room instead, his expression one of indifference but something about his demeanour seemed off. Maybe the pregnancy was getting to her head, but Seraphina thought the Dark Lord seemed uncomfortable. An emotion she'd never seen him display before.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Seraphina said, scooting backwards to sit up in bed with her back resting against the expensive pillows.
Lately she'd seen less of him. She guessed he didn't care much for her company at the moment since the pregnancy made it difficult for her to channel much wandless magic without exhausting herself. 
"How are you feeling?" Tom asked, ignoring her question. He crossed the room, stopping in front of the window to look out in the garden.
"I feel like an erumpent," Seraphina told him.