26 : Zero to Hero

                                    

                                          
Here was a kid with his act down pat
From zero to hero in no time flat
Zero to hero just like that
                          
26 : Zero to Hero (edited)
                          
1 YEAR AND 2 MONTHS LATER
OCTOBER 1979
                          
     Catherine lay in bed, fiddling with her wedding ring with James's arms secured around her. It was a gold band with the word Potter's engraved on it. James's was similar to hers, except with the word Valentine's. Her stomach was filled with uneasiness that night, causing her insomnia as she tossed and turned in bed. 
                          
     James groaned, waking up from her constant movement as he reached up to smooth down her hair. "Go to sleep, love," he told her in a husky voice. 
                          
     "I can't," she mumbled back, snuggling against her husband's chest as she tried to get a shut-eye. 
                          
     James opened an eye to glance at the clock on their bedside table. "Valentine, it's three in the morning. What's wrong?" 
                          
     Catherine sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, nothing's wrong." She reached up to kiss him on the cheek. "I'll go check on Tessie, maybe I can sleep after." 
                          
     James nodded. "Alright. Kiss her goodnight for me." 
                          
     Catherine smiled at that, he spoiled Tessa way more than Catherine did. Sometimes, they would even have an unspoken competition on who could spoil her more. She slipped out of bed and yanked a shirt over her head. Only then did she realise it was a shirt that belonged to James when it fell past her shorts. 
                          
     Leaving the bedroom, she walked in the next room to find her daughter fast asleep in the crib. She was two weeks old already, having been born in the early days of October. Catherine cooed gently at her baby. She was so beautiful with hair the colour of blue-black just like Catherine's and eyes a shade of hazel like James's. 
                          
     After a couple more minutes with the girl, she got up and carefully stroked Tessa's soft arm. She stirred in her sleep for a while, her little hand reaching up to grasp her mother's finger. 
                          
     Suddenly, Catherine felt a jab against her gut, a feeling so familiar she never thought it would happen again. She was thrown into a new place, her knees buckling as she fell to the ground. Catherine was breathing heavily, her heart hammering against her chest as she looked around with wild eyes. 
                          
     "Where the fuck am I?" she blurted out loudly upon seeing that she was in what looked like a dining room with a long table at the center. It was empty and the temperature had dropped by several degrees. 
                          
     "And so she appears," a cold, chilling voice mused from behind Catherine, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to rise in fear. "The great Catherine Valentine." 
                          
     "Potter," she automatically corrected before rising to her feet and spinning around the face the man who just spoke. She narrowed her eyes at the cloaked man. "Voldemort," she spoke his name unflinchingly. 
                          
     He chuckled. "You're not afraid of standing before the Dark Lord?" 
                          
     She raised her chin up high. "I have no reason to fear you."
                          
     "My, my. What a brave little thing you are."
                          
     Fired up, she snapped at him. "Why the fuck do you think I was sorted to Gryffindor?"
                          
     Voldemort refused to show her his face as he walked passed her to sit at the head of the table. "Years ago, I had Bellatrix and Lucius bring you to me."