CRACK! – the sound of thunder ripped through the silence of the cold night. Inside the grand old castle, a loud cry echoed, causing the tall blond wizard to rush into his wife's bedroom, falling to his knees in front of the four-poster bed. Louisa McMahon was lying there, pale and exhausted, her golden hair messy and drenched in sweat. The candlelight gleamed on the surface of many colourful crystal amulets arranged in a strange pattern around the room. The storm was raging, the wind howling loudly outside the McMahon family's home.
Duke Edward McMahon's handsome features were distorted while he was caressing his wife's ivory cheek. The young woman opened her bright eyes, still dizzy with pain, and smiled weakly.
"Do you understand now why I didn't want you in the room?" – she said softly and chuckled.
"It's not funny, my nymph!" – Duke McMahon answered, unable to tear his gaze from his wife's face - "I thought I would go insane."
"Precisely!" – Louisa McMahon nodded her head – "I think we've all learnt something from Greg's birth. Is he asleep?" – she added, casting a worried glance at the door.
"Yes, do not worry. I ordered the house elves to put some spells around his room so he would not be disturbed by all the noise. Although he usually sleeps so deep even half a dozen step dancing giants wouldn't wake him up. I hope we have the same luck with his brother" – the Duke said, looking for the first time at the small whining bundle in the arms of the house elf Betty.
"Don't be like that, a baby always cries a little bit" – the Duchess scolded him gently.
"Betty, hand me the young Lord, he is probably hungry." – she said extending her arms lovingly towards her new baby boy.
The long ears of the household's oldest servant flinched violently. But she didn't move towards her Mistress.
"Betty, didn't you hear the Duchess?" – asked the Duke impatiently.
The creature trembled intensely and took a step back towards the large fireplace.
"The fuck is wrong with her" – swore the Duke under his breath. Betty had been with his family since before he was born. Actually, she helped his mother during his own birth. Maybe she was getting too old now and needed to retire. The McMahon family, being aristocrats, didn't believe in the so-called 'pure-blood' wizarding families' tradition of beheading their old house-elves. 'What a bunch of barbarians' - the Duke thought, standing up and swiftly reaching the house elf who was still holding his second-born son franticly.
The aristocrats were also pure-blood wizards strictly speaking, but their lineage was so ancient that they believed their blood could not be diluted, regardless of their marital choices. As a result, they seamlessly integrated into Muggle society, holding noble titles and even jobs there, reaping the benefits of both the wizarding and Muggle worlds. Still, the aristocrats had their own governing structures and laws which were necessary when so many formidable wizarding families with unique powers and secrets needed to coexist and avoid the bloody conflicts of the past. Nevertheless, alliances, feuds and power plays remained integral components of the aristocrats' existence.
The McMahon family was one of the seven major aristocratic Houses, and the Light knew they had more than enough reasons to be wary - both due to their own family history and the adversaries among the other six Houses. Descendants of the four founders of Hogwarts and thus directly related to Morgana le Fay, the McMahons had borne a target on their backs for over a thousand years. Navigating this world of power, influence, violence, gold and magic was a daunting and solitary task, as well as exceedingly dangerous one. All this briefly flashed through Duke McMahon's mind and his heart clenched for his two-year-old little boy sleeping soundly in the adjacent room. Yet, he now had his younger brother by his side, ready to aid him in preserving their family legacy and protecting one another.
The Duke abruptly took the newborn baby from Betty's hands. "No, Master! Kill old Betty instead!" – shrieked the house-elf, dropping to the ground and sobbing loudly. Edward McMahon looked at his old servant helplessly, mentally affirming that she needed to retire as soon as possible. But this was a task for tomorrow; now, he wanted to hold his wife and new baby and spend some quality family time. Then he looked at his son for the first time and froze. That little human in his arms looked more like a porcelain doll. Despite just being born, the baby had eyes wide open and stunningly green, just like Louisa's. Several soft ebony curls were visible on the little head. However, the most shocking thing was that the baby was clearly a girl.
"Edward, what is it? What is wrong with him?" – the Duchess cried trying to get up.
The Duke awakened from his trance and rushed to prevent his wife from hurting herself. The crystals around the room started humming, sparks appearing on their surface. Louisa snatched the baby from her husband's arms and looked at her speechless.
"She is so beautiful!" – the witch mumbled.
"Beautiful?" – the Duke exclaimed heatedly – "What about the spells? What about the ancient magic? How could this happen? We did everything right, didn't we?"
He was now pacing nervously, his magic causing glasses to shatter and books and small items to fly around.
"Edward, mon amour, this is nobody's fault" – Louisa answered gazing lovingly at her daughter's face. – "Sometimes these things happen, even with all the magic in the world."
The Duke looked at his wife in disbelief. "My nymph, we are not talking about some kind of whim here. You know perfectly well that girls should never be born in the McMahon family. We cannot allow the demon to destroy us all."
"She is not a demon! She is our daughter!" – Louisa shouted angrily.
"Yes, she is' – Edward said, his tone full of desperation – "and that's why we shall sacrifice her life like we swore after the death of Morgana le Fay. This was our family's responsibility and our burden."
A set of perfume bottles flew from Louisa's nightstand towards the wizard's head, barely missing it. "I don't care if it is about the family! You are not killing my daughter!" – the witch shouted growing angrier and angrier.
"Louisa, please, do you think I want this? We haven't had a girl in our family in nearly 300 years. We thought it was impossible. Do you honestly believe that I want to kill my own flesh and blood? But if we do not do it ourselves the rest of the aristocrats are going to come for her and then for us as well because of treason. I cannot risk Greg's life, and neither can risk yours. Furthermore, what kind of life is she going to have, tormented by the demon inside her, being feared and alone until she cannot hold anymore and destroys everything in her path. Is it not kinder if we end it now? Wouldn't she be happier this way?" – Edward said softly, approaching his wife and the baby.
"Catherine!" – Louisa said.
"Pardon?" – asked the Duke.
"Her name is Catherine" – said the Duchess.
"I know the lore of your family and I know your curse" – she continued frantically – "but I also know that this is our daughter, and she is not a monster. She is just our precious little baby. She has a demon inside her – fine! But so did Morgana le Fey and she was able to control it! Catherine can do it! She is a McMahon, and she is my daughter!"
Edward bent down and kissed his wife's pale lips. "I love you!" – he said – "Stupefy!"
The house elf continued sobbing in the shadows of the room.