The air inside the hospital carried the scent of antiseptic. A few clouds drifted above the red brick buildings looking soft and pale like stretched cotton. Somewhere inside a woman's voice cried out muffled through glass and wall, a raw and honest scream.
Adrian sat alone on a worn steel bench near the reception of the hospital. His schoolbag was plopped beside him as he stared through the window in front of him thinking deeply about the current situation. The world outside felt gentler than it should have been to him.
He ran a hand through his messy black hair, leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.
He hadn't expected this kind of day at all. As he was thinking, he remembered what had happened earlier in the afternoon.
Right after that brief moment with Delphini, after he had that strange and incomplete conversation where he asked something she didn't answer. He heard his name being called sharply.
"Adrian!"
He had turned being still caught in the corner of her eyes.
Mr. Farley was standing near the main building of the school and was breathing heavily as if he had jogged across the field. His face had a serious expression screaming that something urgent had happened. The kind of expression that adults only wore when something important had happened.
"You're needed in the office. Now! Your father called us. ."
Adrian nodded slowly and turned back to Delphini. She didn't speak. She simply blinked once and looked at him.
"We can continue this conversation later on," he said after her.
Then he ran to his class. He grabbed his bag, asked Mr. Farley to use the phone in the office and called back his dad immediately.
Darian said in a calm voice but full of worry, "She's been taken to the hospital,"
"The baby's coming. A little earlier than expected. I'm heading there now."
Adrian swallowed hard and informed the teacher nearby then rushed outside. Michael was in the parking lot fixing his bike chain and barely had time to react before Adrian asked, "Can I borrow this? It's important. Please."
Without waiting for an answer, he was already pedalling.
The streets flew by in a blur with street signs, traffic lights and tall hedges bordering the sidewalk. All of it melting into a blur as Adrian pedalled away. The wind clawed at his face but he didn't stop cycling.
His legs were aching by the time he reached the hospital. The bicycle skidded slightly as he stopped and hopped off before it fully slowed.
The doors slid open with a creaky sound and inside was a different world entirely.
People were walking in hurried lines. A receptionist was answering calls in a practised voice, trying to reassure someone. Nurses were pushing stretchers across shiny floors.
And in the middle of it all was Darian White standing near the reception with his coat folded over one arm with his eyes fixed on the hallway ahead.
He looked up as Adrian ran in and said, "Dad!".
Darian turned instantly and pulled Adrian into a firm hug before he could say anything at all.
"She's in delivery," he said quickly. "They rushed her in about ten minutes ago. She started feeling lightheaded at home. Then her water broke."
"It all happened so fast," Darian said in a worried tone.
Adrian clung to his father's jacket and asked anxiously, "Will she be okay?"
"They're taking care of her. It's early, but not too early. Doctors say the baby is positioned well."
Adrian nodded slowly and followed his father to the metal seats in the waiting area just outside the maternity ward. He sat down with his legs still sore from the ride and looked at the hallway.
They waited.
Minutes moved slowly like honey falling from a spoon. The sky outside the nearby window was now tinged with purple and streaks of peach.
It was going to be evening soon.
Adrian fidgeted with the hem of his school shirt and kept looking at the clock every few seconds. The ticking noise made it worse.
Darian looked at the anxiousness of his son, rested one hand on Adrian's shoulder and squeezed gently.
"She's strong," he said again, like it was a chant he needed to believe in. "She's done this before. She'll be alright."
Adrian nodded slowly but the knot in his chest didn't loosen.
More time passed as they waited.
A nurse came out once to update them and said reassuringly, "She's doing well, just taking a bit longer than expected. The contractions are steady. Baby's responding fine."
Adrian felt himself relax a little. His dad exhaled and smiled weakly at the nurse.
Adrian imagined her in there, his lovely mom clutching the sheets while breathing through clenched teeth and wincing with every wave of pain. He didn't like that thought. He didn't like imagining her in pain at all.
Then, after countless hours passed.
There was finally a soft knock on the glass door and a nurse opened it with a wide smile.
"Mr. White?"
Darian stood up instantly as Adrian followed him.
"Would you like to meet your daughter?"
The room beyond the cold hallway of the hospital felt different, warmer and felt human. The lights were soft while the curtains were drawn..
Ashley lay on the hospital bed with her blonde hair messy, her cheeks flushed but she was smiling through tired eyes. Her arms cradled someone tiny wrapped in a pale pink blanket.
"Adrian," she said softly in a weak but warm voice. "Come here."
Adrian stepped slowly toward the bed barely being able to breathe.
He looked down at the bundle in Ashley's arms. The baby's eyes were closed while her hands were curled like tiny fists near her face. Her nose was small and perfect and her breathing was soft and gentle.
"She's beautiful," Adrian whispered.
Ashley nodded. "She's your beloved sister now."
Darian stood beside them with his hand resting on his wife's shoulder while his other hand wiped the tears threatening to spill out of the corner of his eyes.
They stayed there for some time, just the four of them standing with their quiet and fragile happiness.
After some time, Ashley drifted into a much-needed sleep.
Adrian stepped out of the room to give her rest while his father sat beside the bed watching over her and holding her hand gently. His baby sister was lying in the cradle nearby.
"I'll get you some water, Dad," Adrian said.
Darian nodded. "Thanks, Adrian."
The vending machine was just outside the main entrance. Adrian walked towards it slowly breathing in the cool night air and taking in the moment.
He fished out a few coins from his pocket.
But then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement.
Across the lot, near the alley by the emergency exit, two men were standing while talking in low voices. Both wore dark robes and looked more like 16th-century residents. One of them had a strange limp and the other kept scanning the area nervously.
Adrian squinted quizzically, It seemed like an extremely unusual situation. He hid behind a trash can situated near the exit to eavesdrop on them
The shorter one of them muttered something as he glanced over his shoulder.
"Didn't expect anyone to spot us apparating. Blasted timing."
"Someone did spot us," said the taller man in a gruff tone. "Bloke nearly tripped over his stairs. Hit his head. They took him in through that entrance."
"That's why we're here," the short one replied. "The Ministry's not going to let another Muggle run wild thinking he saw someone vanish into thin air."
Adrian froze in place behind the vending machine. His breath caught in his throat.
Apparating.
Ministry.
He peeked around the edge carefully.
The two men walked over to a bench on the far end of the hospital lot where an elderly man sat hunched with a dazed look with a bandage wrapped around his forehead.
The balding man stepped forward, withdrew something long and wooden from his sleeve and flicked it with a practised motion.
A wand.
Adrian's eyes widened in surprise.
He pressed his back to the trash can barely breathing.
From the corner of his eye, he saw it at the moment it was cast.
"Obliviate," said the man with a gruff voice as he flicked his wand.
He saw violet shards as he focused on the magic, a similar kind he used to see but in a different colour. They danced in the air like a glass breaking in reverse. But these were softer, more fluid and they moved in graceful spirals to the old ma's forehead.
Adrian watched the entire scene being unable to look away.
The old man blinked once and then leaned back against the bench.
Calm. Unbothered as his expression eased down.
The shorter man gave a nod and asked, "All done?"
"All done," the other replied. "He'll remember nothing."
Then they turned and walked away vanishing down the alley they had turned to.
Adrian stepped out slowly from behind the trash can.
He didn't speak. He didn't move. Not for a couple of minutes.
His heart thumped in his chest as he tried to understand what had happened right now.
He had seen it again.
The shimmer. The shards. The magic.
It was real.
He wasn't imagining it.
He wasn't crazy.
He turned and jogged back inside as his shoes tapped against the polished floor.
He reached his father who looked up with a gentle smile.
"Did you get the water?"
Adrian blinked with an unfocused look.
"Oh. I-" he looked down at his empty hands and then back up. "I… forgot."
Darian chuckled, patted on a chair beside him and said, "That's alright. Sit with me."
Adrian sat down beside him quietly.
But in his head, those violet shards were still spinning.
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