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Format: Novel
Chapters: 19
Word Count: 44,374
Status: WIP
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Strong Language, Strong Violence, Scenes of a Sexual Nature, Substance Use or Abuse, Sensitive Topic/Issue/Theme, Contains Spoilers
Genres: Drama, Romance, Angst
Characters: Teddy, Scorpius, Albus, James (II), Rose, Victoire, OC, OtherCanon
Pairings: Other Pairing, Rose/Scorpius, Teddy/Victoire, OC/OC
First Published: 06/03/2010
Last Chapter: 04/23/2013
Last Updated: 04/23/2013
Summary:
I'm stuck with the perfect sister, so therefore I have to be perfect too. So far, I've fooled my parents. But they don't know that I failed my last three Potions assignments, they don't know that I've had two boyfriends in the last two weeks, they don't know that I'm madly in love with Teddy, my sisters fiancé, and they don't know that I'm pregnant with his child. I am far from perfect.
10000+reads! Thanks!
A/N: Well everyone, this is my newest project. I am quite excited about this story, and am incredibly enjoying writing it. Hopefully you will enjoy reading it :)
I was currently pacing the small bathroom, not bothering with sitting down. There was no way I could sit still and just wait patiently for this. Honestly, why can’t these go faster? Things are supposed to be easier by living in the Wizarding World. So shouldn’t this be faster than the Muggle test?
Of course it’s not. Why? Life has never been very bloody fantastic to me. I mean, if I look at it, life wasn’t bad for the first years of my life. But now, life is like one of those kids that live to torment ants under a magnifying glass in the sun. I can’t help that I was born into the Weasley-Delacour family.
It’s not exactly easy being Victoire Weasley’s sister. My sister had perfect grades (she seriously got all Outstanding on her OWLs), she is the most beautiful woman that men have had the pleasure of meeting (I get told this a lot), she was a Quidditch star, and now she’s engaged to a wonderful man, Teddy Lupin, who is perfect in the eyes of my parents. And in my eyes.
Me? I’m just Dom Weasley. I have good grades, boys find me fairly attractive, and I made the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but I’m still only average to my sister. I must live up to my parents’ perfect standards or else I will surely be kicked out of the house. I only had another year or so to be ‘perfect’ and then I would be out on my own to do as many stupid things as I pleased. But no. I’ve had to screw up more times in the last month than I have in my entire life.
A word suddenly burst from my wand, and it was hands down the worst word in the entire English dictionary. Positive.
“This is so bad. This is so bad.” I started murmuring, now pacing around the bathroom again. On the outside, it only looked like I was minimally worried, but inside I was screaming. This could not be happening to me! I can’t be pregnant!
A soft knock on the door startled me. “Dom? It’s Rose. James is just wondering if you’re okay since you’ve been in here for so long.” It was Rose Weasley, my cousin, and one of my closest friends. James Potter was my best friend, but Rose was a close second.
Deciding to finally face my problems, I unlocked the door and faced my friend. “I’m fine, Rose.” I lied, hoping she wouldn’t see through it. Luckily, none of my other roommates were in our dormitory. I honestly don’t like a single one of them, which is quite impressive considering there are four of them. All they do is gossip and fawn over James and Al. It’s quite annoying.
Thank goodness I have Rose in my year to room with. I wouldn’t have survived this long without her.
Rose raised one of her red eyebrows, and though she had flaming red hair, she looked exactly like Aunt Hermione like that. “I can tell that there’s something wrong. Do you want to go talk in James’s dorm?”
Hating my body for fighting my brain, I nodded, and followed Rose down the stairs in defeat. I could barely keep a secret from my friends when they’re separate, but when the two were together, there was no way I could keep something from them. My dark secret wouldn’t be a complete secret for much longer.
When we entered the sixth year boy’s dormitory, James had cleared out his two roommates and was resting comfortably on his bed. He gave me a look that made me sit down next to him on his bed. Rose was sitting on the bed next to James’s. “So, Dom, what’s going on? Are you okay?”
I sighed. Was there any way I could get out of this? I sat and pondered on it for the moment, and consequently confused my friends. They probably weren’t used to me being this quiet. Finally, I came to one conclusion: I’m screwed.
“Yes, I am perfectly fine.” I lied again.
This is weird. I never lie. Except for the time that Rose showed me this really ugly frilly pink thing that she was going to wear on a date with Scorpius, and she asked me if it looked good on her. She obviously didn’t see me turn slightly green when I saw it. But being the amazing friend that I am, I told her she looked wonderful, and she went walking around Hogsmeade with this horrendous thing that reminded me of a giant Pygmy Puff with people staring at her from all directions. She honestly thought it was because she looked so fabulous.
James wrapped an arm around me. He did this every time he wanted information from me. You’d think by now it wouldn’t have any effect on me, but it still does. There’s a reason that girls love to date James. “Dom, we know you too well to believe that. Your eyes give you away.”
Damn. My eyes. I always considered my eyes to be my best feature; blue eyes weren’t very common at Hogwarts. Why did my best feature have to betray me? Maybe I could tape them shut for the next seven or so months; that way the only thing that could give me away was the giant belly I would be sporting.
“Is it something to do with Matt?” James asked, now angry. “Did that bastard do something to you? If he did, I’ll curse his ass into next year!”
Matt was my last boyfriend. I broke up with him yesterday before the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor Quidditch match. Matt was the Seeker for Hufflepuff, and he really screwed up in the game. He’s angry because he thinks that it was all planned out from the moment that I agreed to go out with him. Honestly, we only went out for two days. Who could be that angry? Plus, I’m not that cunning. Most mornings, I tumble downstairs on my way to the Great Hall.
“No, it wasn’t Matt.” I snapped. Man, my hormones are sure kicking in. “I’m having a bit of problem. I’m, well, pregnant.”
Rose’s jaw dropped to the bed, which was expected. However, James had an unreadable expression. This must really be shocking him. He’s never unreadable. He just sat there, watching me. “You’re—“
“Yes, I’m pregnant. Is that so hard for you to wrap your mind around?” I yelled. “Do you need a picture?”
James’s eyes widened with fear. “No, no, no picture is needed. I would like to keep my sanity intact, thank you very much.”
Rose now moved over to the bed that James and I were occupying. It was really quite crowded. It’s a good thing that I wasn’t a fatty yet, otherwise no one else would’ve fit. “So, you’re pregnant?” her comforting brown eyes never left mine as I nodded. “Wow, that’s bad luck.”
Bad luck? I’ll give her bad luck! “Bad Luck? I’m pregnant all you can say is ‘bad luck’? What kind of friend are you?”
Rose looked slightly sheepish. “Sorry about that. This is just a little shocking.” She paused for a second before becoming excited. “Wait, who’s the father?”
I opened my mouth to say something when James said, “Yeah, who’s the guy that’ll have a sore ass from me beating it all night?”
Rose and I both looked at him with grins. I looked at her, silently asking her to voice our thoughts, and she nodded, showing her approval. “James, you realize how dirty that sounded, right? I mean, I never knew that you swung that way.”
James now looked horrified. “No, no, no! No! No!” Rose and I kept laughing for several moments during James’s silence. Suddenly, he repeated in a soft voice, “No.”
“Okay, we get it. You’re straight.”
It was quite amusing to watch James flip out like that. So this accomplished two things: my bad mood was now gone (for the moment) and both have forgotten the topic of my baby’s father. That secret will go with me to the grave. Although, it wouldn’t be right to keep it from him. But my circumstances aren’t the only ones that are bad; his situation isn’t much greater. If I tell him, his whole life could fall apart. Or, we could get married and have lots more babies. That sounds quite lovely, actually.
“So, Dom, are you going to tell us who the father is, or are we going to have to make a batch of Veritaserum?” James threatened. He wasn’t kidding. He’d actually go through with it if he had to.
“Firstly, you could always steal it from Professor Harrison’s secret stash of potions, and secondly, I’m not telling anyone until I tell him.”
James suddenly gasped, and I could almost see a light bulb shining above his messy hair. “It’s either got to be Matt or Gary. You haven’t slept with anyone else.”
Wow. I love James, but he could be really thick. “Honestly, James, no one checks to see if their pregnant a couple of weeks after having sex unless you’re trying to conceive.”
“So, wait, that means that you’ve slept with someone else? Which house is he in? You can tell us that, can’t you?”
This was really bloody annoying. Couldn’t James just drop it? In my furious state, I accidentally blurted out, “He doesn’t go here anymore!”
Rose and James blanched, which was quite impressive for Rose because she has naturally pale skin. “You’re a minor, and you had sex with an adult! You’re such a rebel." Normally, people couldn’t say that with love, but Rose was one of those people.
“I don’t need anyone telling me that I’m a rebel. I know that already. I’m the one who’s going to pop in a few months.”
Rose pulled me into a hug, clearly anxious about my moodiness. “So, when are you going to tell him? I mean, it’s not like you can visit him in the Great Hall or anything.”
I never actually got to thinking about how I would tell him. I mean, how do you tell someone that you care about that their world has been turned upside down?
“I don’t know,” I muttered, picking at my manicured nails. “I guess I’ll just write to him.”
I, luckily, didn’t see the expressions that James and Rose dawned on their faces. I honestly didn’t want to see them. I didn’t even want to be talking about this. Before my friends could say anything else, I hurried off of the bed and back to my dorm.
The more I thought about telling him, the more nervous and anxious and nauseous I became. But then I realized that if things were the other way around, I’d want to know that I was about to father a baby. Before I had the chance to lose my nerve, I quickly pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill, and some maroon ink. I saved the maroon ink for my letters to him.
Dear Teddy,
I know I haven’t written to you this week. I’m sorry. James had me working so hard at Quidditch practice every night in order to beat Hufflepuff, which we did. It was quite spectacular too. I ‘accidentally’ launched a Bludger at the Seeker’s favorite area, and he could barely walk off of the field. I actually think he’s still in the hospital wing.
I know that James and Rose are sneaking me into Hogsmeade this weekend to celebrate my birthday. Maybe you could ‘accidentally’ run into us and have a drink with us. I’d love it if you could.
I hope that everything is well there. I know that you must be busy planning the wedding, and I’m sure that Victoire isn’t making things easy. Honestly, if she’s becoming too stressful, just steal one of Aunt Hermione’s Muggle pills and slip it into her drink (yes, it actually works. I’ve seen Aunt Hermione use them on Uncle Ron). I still feel weird about being her maid-of-honor since, well, that night.
The biggest reason that I’m writing is something else. You cannot tell anyone else until we discuss this face-to-face, okay? I’m pregnant. I took the test today; it came back positive.
Send my love to Mum, Dad, Victoire, Harry, Ginny, etc.
Love,
Dom
I quickly reread the letter and sighed, knowing that it wasn’t going to get better than this. I finally folded it up and was about to head to the Owlery when a sudden bought of sleepiness hit me. The bed seemed more appealing than ruining my lover’s life.
A/N: Comments? Thoughts? Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!
I finally went up to the Owlery two days later after double Potions, which I failed, yet again. Honestly, it’s the middle of May. I should be able to brew this crap by now. James says not to worry, that I’ve had other things on my mind. That doesn’t matter! When I go home and tell my Mum and Dad that I’m an irresponsible slut, I want to at least be able to say that I aced every single exam. Especially since they’ll be saying that this entire thing is a plot to win Teddy’s heart, which it’s not. I’m not that cunning.
As I watched my gray owl, Stormy, fly away, letter attached to its feet, I started thinking about Teddy. I hoped he would get my letter with enough time to reply. The Hogsmeade adventure was in four days, and it would probably help to discuss this rationally.
Yeah right. We’ll probably get into some petty argument. It’ll be our second argument since we’ve started this oh-so conventional relationship. Not that you could call it a relationship. It was mostly sex, but there were some revealing conversations. We had those mushy conversations just like every other couple. Well, if you could call it a conversation. It was also the night that I would first start my affair with him.
I remember it so well too. Teddy, Harry, Ginny, James, Al, Lily, and I Flooed back to the Potter’s house, where I was staying and where Teddy was now living. I was originally supposed to stay with my parents and sister, but they disappeared to France to announce the good news to my grandparents. Teddy and Victoire had announced their engagement about a week ago. But unfortunately, Teddy’s gran had died a couple of days later.
I sat down on the bed next to Teddy. I didn’t care that it was his room, and that my room was three doors down. I knew that he needed someone. Surprisingly, he had asked his godfather to leave him alone for the night, and that things would be better in the morning. However, his eyes were as revealing as mine; he wanted someone with him.
We sat in a comfortable silence. We’d been good friends for many years. Teddy and Victoire were best friends for almost as long as I could remember, and when he started dating her, we became even closer. It was a mutual decision that I would be maid-of-honor. Of course, I was practically in love with him by that time.
I finally looked up and was surprised to see him watching me intensely. His eyes were red and swollen from crying. Mrs. Tonks was a wonderful woman and Teddy loved her so much. This was a devastating blow for him. Finally, he murmured, “Why did something so terrible happen right after something so wonderful?”
I grabbed one of his strong hands and squeezed it. “I know that it’s terrible, and you deserve time to grieve. But just think, you’re getting married! These next few months should be some of the happiest of your life.”
“I don’t know.” Teddy muttered so softly that I almost didn’t hear him. “I keep thinking about how she won’t be there, now.”
I hadn’t even thought of that. No wonder he had a hard time thinking about his wedding. I still think it’s ridiculous that Vic had to run off to France and leave her fiancé alone when this is clearly a difficult time for him.
“I’m so glad that I have you as a friend, Dom.” He said with his charming smile. How could any woman resist that smile? “No one is as loyal or loving as you.”
I felt a blush coming onto my cheeks. “Thanks.”
We sat for a moment, gazing into each other’s eyes. I couldn’t get over the intensity in his amber eyes. “Dom, please forgive me for what I’m about to do.” And then he kissed me.
That kiss wasn’t my first kiss, but it was hands down the best one. I never knew that such sensations could run through my body. The rest of the night was almost as magical. As we stripped each other of our clothes, we never lost contact with each other. I found my hands roaming on his fairly toned chest and back, reveling in the fact that she was touching him in such a manner. Things were fairly awkward at first, but eventually they became just as blissful as the kiss.
Though it was my first time that night, that was not the time that I got pregnant. Teddy, though upset, was still smart about using protection. It was just the catalyst that started this whole affair. My second time with him, only a couple of weeks later, was the night that I remember most of all. That was the night I got pregnant, and it was the night that I had one of the deepest conversations of my life.
It was a Hogsmeade weekend, and I was pleasantly surprised to find Teddy sitting alone in the Three Broomsticks, nursing a Butterbeer. Separating from my friends, I went to sit down by him. “I thought you needed some company.”
He grinned at me. If my heart could literally melt, it would’ve. “I could always use your company. Sometimes you can be so much more pleasant than your sister.”
I felt one of my eyebrows raise. “I knew that already, but please elaborate on why you now believe this. Is it the wedding?”
Teddy sighed, and he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “It doesn’t matter. Come on.” He suddenly grabbed my hand, abandoned his Butterbeer, and dragged me outside and down the street.
“Teddy, where are we going?” I asked, loving his spontaneity. I love spontaneous men; they’re so sexy.
We were running along the street, dodging people that were walking around. We turned suddenly, and I found myself facing a motel. Teddy pulled out a key and unlocked the first room that we came upon. “This is where I stay when I visit Hogsmeade for a couple of days.”
He switched on a light, and I wasn’t very surprised by what I saw. The room smelled kind of dank and musty, and the room wasn’t in the best of shape. But it looked incredibly clean, and smelled a tiny bit like lemon cleaner. The must’ve been Teddy’s cleaner. He was incredibly immaculate. It was probably why he could hide any hints of an affair.
Before I could say anything, his lips were on me. If it were any other person, I would’ve screamed “He’s molesting me!” But this was Teddy, so I kept my impulses to myself. Unfortunately though, I came to my senses and my conscience started nagging at me. Curse that damn thing coming up at the worst moment.
I pulled away from Teddy and sat down on the bed. “I’m sorry, Teddy. You have no idea how sorry. But you’re going to marry my sister. And I know that you love her.”
Teddy sat down next to me and we could tell that there was going to be a serious discussion. “Yes, I love her. But I don’t think that I’m in love with her anymore.” I looked at him with confusion on my face. “I mean, I know that I used to be. That’s why I asked her out during my sixth year.”
“So why are you still with her?” I asked him, thinking that maybe I didn’t want to be with such an idiot. Victoire would want to know the truth.
“Honestly, because it’s safe. I’ve been with her for so long that it seems crazy to break up with her now. And it’s not that she’s a terrible person. She’s incredible, and I know that she’d never do anything to hurt me.”
“Why do I feel a but coming?”
Teddy smiled, but it was brief. “But when I’m with you, things are entirely different. You’re so warm, caring, gorgeous—“
“Why do I feel like you’re just trying to get me into bed now?”
He chuckled. That wasn’t a joke. I was being serious. I didn’t get the chance to tell him this thought because he started chattering again.
“I mean it. I know that some say that Victoire is the prettier of the two of you, but I think that you’re so much more beautiful than Victoire. And ever since our first time together, I can’t get you off my mind. I want you, Dom. I need you.”
“This isn’t right!” I shouted, now standing up. “She’s my sister. She would want to know the truth, even if it was painful. What you’re doing to her and to me isn’t fair!”
“Let me show you that what is between us is right.” Teddy whispered, and ravaged my lips into another kiss.
That was the night I became pregnant, and the night that I stupidly agreed to this affair. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. Karma made sure that I got my punishment for being so bloody thick. Maybe I was a bit cunning, though, because no one knew about it.
It didn’t matter that the cold stone walls of the Owlery and the odd smell were making me uncomfortable and nauseous; there was peace and quiet up here, and I could hide from my problem for as long as possible.
The door slammed open, and in came Penny and Gina Brown. I was so thrilled to see them. They were twins, and both in my year and house. They were two of those girls that were obsessed with my best friend. Luckily, they weren’t James’s type.
Surprisingly, James was into intelligent women, and was often attracted to girls with dark brown or black hair. Penny and Gina were blonde. James liked girls who either played Quidditch or were educated about Quidditch; Penny and Gina couldn’t tell the Snitch from a Bludger. And he hated girls that fawned over him or stalked him; I think you can see where this is going…
“What are you two doing up here? I didn’t know that you were smart enough to climb up the stairs.” I snorted, not caring how mean or harsh I sounded.
Penny glared at me before flipping her hair and saying in that snobbish voice, “We heard that James was up here or something. So we thought that we’d drop in. So, where are you hiding him?”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but he’s not here. He’s probably taking a nap right now or something.” James was the pure antithesis of a morning person.
Gina stomped her foot. “Fine, you’re no help.” Thank Merlin that they left after that. I probably wouldn’t have resisted the urge to vomit on them.
So far, I had been spared by the typical morning sickness. But when the door to the Owlery opened again, it tried to sneak up on me again. Rose and Scorpius were kissing quite fiercely and who knows what they came up here to do.
“Seriously, you guys, spare me that picture. It’s stuff like that that got me into this predicament.” I spat at them, not bothering to get up or apologize for being so snappy.
Rose and Scorpius broke apart, both red as beets. “Sorry, Dom. What are you doing up here?” Rose asked, walking towards me with Scorpius in tow. Their relationship is conventional; I hate them for it.
“Oh, I just sent a letter.”
Rose’s eyes widened. “Was it to him? Did you tell him? Can I know who it is now?”
I literally growled at her. I hope that she understood my answer. I was not in a good mood, and she just had to make it even worse.
“What are you talking about?” Scorpius questioned, clearly confused.
“Oh, Dom is pregnant.” Rose said like she was discussing the weather.
My fury rose even higher. “Rose, what the hell are you doing? Did you tell the entire school as well? Am I going to be called a slut when I walk around here?”
Rose, even though she had a temper that could rule mine, looked frightened. “No, I’ve only told Scorpius. You know, since he’s my boyfriend.”
I rolled my eyes and looked outside again. It was a cloudy day, and it looked like it was going to rain. I’m unique in the fact that I love cloudy days more than sunny days, and rain is probably my favorite thing in the world. I hope it rains soon. It’ll calm me down.
Rose reached her hand down to me. “Come on, it’s really hot up here and that wall can’t be doing your back any good. Let’s go get some pumpkin juice and some good food.”
A managed a smile and took Rose’s outstretched hand. I was lucky to have such good friends in my life, even if the rest of my life wasn’t so good.
A/N: Reviews are love! So please review!
I was sitting next to James, Rose, Scorpius, and Al at breakfast, and I was searching the table for something. I currently had some sausage sitting on my plate with a piece of toast that was drenched in grape jam. But there was something else I wanted on my toast. Finally, I looked just past Al and saw what might’ve been the most beautiful thing ever: crispy bacon.
“Al, give me some bacon!” I ordered, not caring if I sounded rude.
Al now knew that I was pregnant because Scorpius couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Al and Scorpius were both in Slytherin and had been best friends since their first day. So, of course, Scorpius had to share this bit of juicy news about me. I don’t think Lily knows because she’s in Hufflepuff, and we don’t hang out with the Hufflepuffs a lot, especially after the last game. But she’ll know soon enough; the whole family will know too.
Not wanting to make me angry, he passed over two pieces of bacon. I grabbed them, quickly put them on my toast, and excitedly took a bite. It was one of the most amazing things that I have ever tasted. It was so good that I was able to ignore the disgusted looks that I receiving from my friends. I couldn’t help it if my cravings were starting.
I stopped eating, though, when Stormy arrived. I was incredibly relieved. The Hogsmeade adventure was tomorrow, and I hadn’t heard back from Teddy. Luckily, it was still only going to be me, James, and Rose sneaking out. I grabbed the letter from Stormy and read it.
Dear Dom,
Wow. I was definitely not expecting that. I will definitely meet you there. I’ll be at the Three Broomsticks waiting for you. We need to have a serious discussion.
Things are okay here. Vic is going to be sending you some magazines with wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses that she likes; she wants your opinion on what to get.
Harry, Ginny, your parents, and everyone else send their love.
Love,
Teddy
I was so excited at the prospect of seeing Teddy and talking with him about this that I didn’t get angry about the mentioning of the wedding. During my temporary bliss, I saw James trying to peek at the letter to see who it was from. I clutched the parchment to my chest. “It’s rude to intrude on people’s privacy, James.”
“Not when I’m your best friend, it isn’t.” He retorted, but left the letter alone. “Are we at least going to know tomorrow? Is he coming?”
I really wish that people would just drop this. I mean, I was pregnant, not dead. But to others, I guess it is a big deal. “Yes, he’s coming. And when I talk to him, you’re going to be silent or you won’t have your precious hair by the time we get back to the castle.”
James looked terrified. I was quite proud of myself. This was the eleventh time this week that I made him so terrified that he would show it. I’ll have to write it down on my calendar or I might forget.
Saturday was here. We were leaving in five minutes. I found myself in front of the mirror, checking my appearance and fussing over the tiniest little detail. All of my roommates are sitting on their beds, gossiping and doing their nails, and none of them even acknowledge me. None of them have even said happy birthday to me. I could only imagine what they would do once they got their hands on my dark secret, which is becoming less secret by the day.
Pretty much every single cousin of mine that is currently attending Hogwarts now knows. I’ve had them coming up to me all day and asking me how I’m feeling or asking who the father is. The latter is the most annoying of them all. Don’t they think that when I was ready to talk about it, I would talk about it with them?
I had my down and straightened, as always. James and Rose have a bet on whether or not I’ll ever wear my hair up. I almost want to put it up just so James has to pay Rose ten galleons; it could be his punishment for nagging me about my baby’s father.
Finally telling myself that I don’t have time to change anything, I begrudgingly go downstairs and find James and Rose waiting for me. Damn them. I was hoping that they had forgotten and that I wouldn’t have to go. I actually vomited this morning after thinking about my meeting with Teddy.
James and Rose stood up to greet me. I noticed that James had his Invisibility Cloak. Again, it’s a good thing that I’m not fat yet; we wouldn’t be able to fit. We greet each other silently, knowing that this is not only a celebration but an important day as well. I really wish that I wasn’t pregnant because then I could down some firewhisky.
All I could think about as we traveled through the dank, dirty secret passageway that led to Honeyduke’s was Teddy. I couldn’t even think about the fact that today was my seventeenth birthday. I was an adult now. An adult who is sleeping with her sister’s fiancé and is carrying his baby. Yes, I’m incredibly mature.
Once we snuck our way into the shop itself, James turned to me and said, “Pick anything you want for you and your baby. It’s all on us.”
I’m sure that my eyebrows disappeared into my hair. Though, my eyebrows were hard to see anyway because they were so thin and light. Was I dreaming? “What are you talking about, James?”
“It’s your birthday, and you’re having a baby. It’s our gift to you and your baby. Don’t worry about the amount, either, because you know that we’re loaded.”
“Your parents are loaded, James and Rose.” I pointed out.
“Which means that we’re loaded as well. Don’t say no, Dom, or we’ll start picking out stuff for you.”
I looked to Rose for help. She shrugged. “I would just do it, Dom. You know how stubborn this idiot and I can be.”
About a half an hour later, I had my pockets stuffed full of various kinds of candy. This was turning out to be a fantastic day, actually. We arrived in the Three Broomsticks, and my eyes immediately scanned the place for Teddy. I found him sitting at his usual table. However, both Rose and James saw this. “Honey, go meet him and we’ll bring you some drinks.” Rose insisted, pushing me towards his direction.
I grabbed the stool next to his and said, “Hey there, stranger.”
Teddy looked up and actually beamed. I thought that we would hate me or something. “Wotcher, Dom. How are you doing?”
“Aside from the frequent bursts of outrage and nausea, I’m doing fantastic. I’m only carrying the baby of my sister’s fiancé.”
Teddy sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He did that quite a lot, now that I think about it. Dad told me once that Teddy’s dad, Remus, had that habit as well. “You would get right to the point. So, when’s the due date?”
“December 2nd.”
Teddy blanched. “That’s only a week before the wedding. Oh shit.”
I now blanched. Though I couldn’t see myself, I’m positive that I did. I didn’t even think about the wedding being around the same time. “Oh Merlin, and the first baby usually comes late. Oh God.” I mentioned, now panicking. I barely registered James and Rose delivering a round of butterbeers.
“This is just my luck.” Teddy muttered angrily. “I had to go and get my mistress pregnant and the baby is due at approximately the same time as my wedding.”
What the hell did he just say? I felt my temper rising again. This happened a lot more than usual now.
“Hey, now, don’t me a mistress. You’re as much of a mistress as me!” I growled. “We should both be wearing slinky red lingerie and black stilettos!”
“Listen,” James interrupted, not caring that he was eavesdropping on a private conversation. “I know that you are trying to work this out, but don’t scar people for life with images.”
I turned towards James now. He was going to really get it. “Speaking of scarring people for life, I remember you scarring me for life that one night that I was in your dorm and you came out of the loo in only a hot pink thong!”
James looked like he couldn’t decide if he was more angry or embarrassed. “You swore that you’d never say anything. And I didn’t know you were there. And I did it on a dare.”
“You liar.” I retorted, laughing now. Picking on James was one of my favorite activities.
“Fine. I was curious. But never again will I wear something like that.”
Teddy, though chuckling, turned back to me. “When would I have been a mistress?”
Not caring about how horrible I sounded, I informed him, “The last time we slept together, I was dating someone.”
“You dated someone while you were sleeping with me?”
“You slept with me even though you’re marrying my sister!”
“Call it even?”
“Fine.”
Teddy chortled and I was surprised. What part of this situation was funny? “We should form some Adulterer’s Club or something.” He told me.
James suddenly raised one of his fingers. “Can I join it?” I glared at him, silently asking him if he’s ever cheated on someone. “I swear it was just once, not like you guys.”
Give it to James to clear the tension.
And that was how it goes. That’s the best way to solve an argument. And then there was the slightly awkward silence. “So, have you seen Madame Marsh yet about this?” Teddy asked, now acting like the adult that he was. Although he wasn’t very old yet; he was still only nineteen.
I hadn’t even thought about that. Some future mother I am. “No, I didn’t even think of going to her.”
Teddy then told us about this girl that graduated from Hogwarts before I came there, and that she got pregnant during her seventh year and raved about how wonderful Madame Marsh was about the whole situation. I sat there, wondering something. Was she sleeping with her sister’s fiancé?
Teddy broke my thoughts though when he said, “Do you want me to go with you when you see her?”
Was this man insane? He wasn’t student anymore. If he was seen at Hogwarts, questions would be asked, and people would put two-and-two together and find out about our affair. However, sounding calmer than I was, I told him, “It’s okay. I can just bring James or Rose with me.”
“Who says I want to go to some gyne fest?” James said.
I leaned in towards him, making sure that I had an evil expression. “If you don’t, I’ll make sure that everyone knows about your secret thong.”
James paled. I knew that my threat worked. I could be so manipulative sometimes. Mum and Dad have a manipulative slut for a daughter. They’ll be so thrilled to hear that.
I looked at Teddy, and even though my heart was pounding in my chest so much that it hurt, I grabbed Teddy’s hand and promised, “I’ll go see her this week. And I promise that any information or any sonogram pictures will be sent your way.”
“Thanks.” Teddy smiled, squeezing my hand back. He looked at me and exhaled noticeably. “I can’t believe that we’re having a baby.” He even went one step farther and kissed me briefly on the lips.
How could he be so calm about this? Maybe he was one of those people that looked calm on the outside but was freaking out on the inside. I bet that’s what it was. But man, even though it was romantic, he has guts to still be kissing me after this whole affair? Did this mean that he was leaving Vic?
“What about Vic? Are you going to tell her?”
I couldn’t help but notice that Teddy was now avoiding my eyes. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I should tell her, but she’ll tell your Mum and Dad for sure.”
My mind was in a panic. Mum and Dad couldn’t know until I told them! “You can’t tell her, then. Mum and Dad need to hear it from me! I’ll only be about four months along. I shouldn’t be showing too much.”
“Okay, okay, I won’t tell her.” Teddy suddenly jumped and said, “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I forgot to tell you Happy Birthday!”
I was stunned. Was he always this spacey? Or possibly good at changing the subject? It was probably the latter of the two. But he suddenly shoved a small gift into my hand. Pleasantly surprised, I opened the box up and in it was a golden locket. One picture was of me and him and the other was of me and Vic as kids.
“It’s from both me and Vic.” He said, hoping that it wouldn’t annoy me or unleash my wrath. “I hope you like it.”
Rose was already helping me put it on. “I love it Teddy. Tell Vic thanks for me.”
I hoped that I wasn’t sounding rude. But I was getting quite tired and I still had Quidditch practice. And if I didn’t have a good amount of energy, James would kill me. He wouldn’t care if I was pregnant.
“Teddy, I love talking with you, but I want to head up to the castle to get a nap before practice.” I stood up, drinking down my Butterbeer, and as I started to move away, Teddy grabbed my hand to stop me.
“What practice?”
He couldn’t be that stupid, could he? He used to be on the Quidditch team! “Teddy, we’ve got Quidditch practice. The championship is next weekend; we have practice tonight.”
“Is that safe though? For our baby?”
It makes my heart soar to hear the words ‘our baby’, but I really thought that they would be said under different circumstances. “Of course it’s safe. I’m the one flying around with the Beater’s bat, so I think that I’ll be safe.” I’ll keep our baby safe. I wasn’t the first girl beater at Hogwarts for nothing. I was talented with hitting things.
As we left the warm and cozy pub, I felt eyes watching me the entire time. I knew that those eyes belonged to Teddy. Why was this man so confusing?
A/N: Reviews are love! So please review
When we arrived back from Hogsmeade, Rose immediately pushed James towards his room and told him sternly, “Don’t follow us, not that you could. This is strictly girl talk.”
I now knew what was on Rose’s mind. She wanted to talk about Teddy.
Rose made sure that our snoopy roommates weren’t there, and then dragged me into the room and locked the door behind us. I noticed that she also cast some type of spell on the door that I wasn’t in the mood to guess. Perhaps she was sound-proofing the room. I hope she wasn’t planning on killing me.
“TEDDY LUPIN?” she screamed. Yes, she literally screamed it at me. “Of all the people in the world that you can shag, you had to shag Teddy?”
Finally, she shut up, clearly wanting an answer from me. I decided to be honest. After all, she was one of my best friends. “It wasn’t planned. I mean, you know about my feelings for him. When he kissed me that first night, I felt like I was floating on clouds. And then, it just spiraled from there. Believe me, I know how terrible this is.”
“This is worse than terrible! This is the worst thing that could’ve happened to you and to your family! I mean, your parents are going to flip out! And your sister, your only sister, will hate you! And Teddy will probably be shunned from the family as well!”
“Stop criticizing me!” I screeched. “Don’t you think I’ve told myself all of this? I don’t think you understand how guilty I feel about this, or else you wouldn’t be yelling at me like this. I’m not heartless. I love my sister more than any other member of my family. Do you think I’m happy with myself that I’m going to cause her so much pain because of this?”
Rose kept her mouth shut for a few minutes. She was probably trying to control her temper. I swear that she inherited Aunt Ginny’s temper. “You’re right. You’re a good person; otherwise you would’ve been excited about this. I’m glad you realize just how dire the repercussions are.” She moved over to where I was standing and pulled me into a bear hug. “I promise that I’ll be here the entire time. I’ll be the best Aunt that the baby could ever ask for.”
“You know that you’re not technically the baby’s aunt, right?”
“Yes, but it’ll call me ‘Aunt Rose.’”
I chuckled. That was true. There was no way on Earth that this baby would ever live life without knowing Rose.
Rose suddenly got excited and sat me down on the bed. She had this grin on her face that slightly scared me. “Okay, now that I’m done scolding you, I want details."
I stood in the steaming hot shower, praying that the water would eliminate my stress. Why was it that James could cause such stress in this situation and yet be supportive? He was always asking me how I felt, if I needed anything, if I was too sick to go to class, or even if I wanted some food from Hogsmeade. But just when I think that he was the greatest guy in the world (besides Teddy, of course), he goes all nutso-crazy during Quidditch practice.
“Dom, what the hell are you doing?” James screamed at me, landing softly on the field. “Everyone else, practice is done. I need to talk to my Beater, though.”
I swear that it wasn’t my fault. Okay, maybe it was a little bit my fault. I was flying around, gripping the bat in my hand, and I started to think of my baby and Teddy and Victoire and then the wedding. I saw the Bludger coming at me and I randomly aimed it, not paying attention. Unfortunately, James happened to be nearby and almost lost his head to the ball. But in his effort to move, the ball clipped his shoulder. Needless to say, he was not happy.
“I’m sorry James. I was just a little distracted, that’s all. Are you okay?” It was true. I just wasn’t saying the entire truth.
It looks like he decided to ignore my question. He had the nerve to glare me down, even though I still possess the ability to scare him with my angry spurts. It didn’t help that he was close enough to get spit on me when he spoke. “We can’t afford a mistake like that on Saturday. You’re lucky that my head didn’t get hit. And my shoulder hurts really badly right now.”
He was in pain? Apparently, it was a lot of pain. When he said this, my temper started flare again. Who was he to judge how painful something was? Was he going to be having a pot roast coming out of his body in seven months? I had half a mind to kick his you-know-what just so he could feel something remotely close to what I would be feeling down the road.
However, I kept my mouth shut and restrained my tongue. If Teddy was here, he’d say, “You have a hard enough time doing that around me, let alone him.” And no, he was not referring to my temper. But since I kept my words to myself, the tension and stress went straight to my aching shoulders.
Even though I was only a few weeks along, I could already feel the growing baby’s weight on my own. My mother, who was the skinniest person on the face of the earth, insisted from a young age that Vic and I need to watch what we eat. Because of this, I had been fairly skinny for most of my life. Of course, I did have some arm strength now, and I had the tiniest of bumps. Thinking about my mother’s perfect standards made me eat a bar of chocolate once I was dressed.
At least Dad understood my pain. He always gave us candy or other foods when he could.
I went to open up another bar of chocolate when a thought hit me. I should probably go see Madame Marsh before I forgot again. I put my green bathrobe on and scuffled over to Rose’s sleeping form. I bent down next to her ear and whispered loudly, “Get up!”
She jerked awake. “Dom, what is it? I’m tired from practice too, you know.”
I didn’t even feel guilty. She wasn’t carrying a baby. Okay, maybe I felt a little guilty. I haven’t become completely heartless. I was going to genuinely apologize to James when I went to fetch him. “I’m sorry, but I want to visit Madame Marsh. Will you come with me?”
Rose rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and pulled the covers off. “Of course I’ll come with you. Are you going to get James?”
She followed me out of the room while she pulled on her own robe. I didn’t answer because we were already at the seventh year boys’ dormitory. I went in, not bothering to be quiet. I knew all of his roommates and they’ve seen me hanging out in here enough times to not question my motives. I walked next to James’s bed and pulled the covers off of him.
“What the hell?” James quietly said. When he saw me, he became the good friend once again. Maybe he was schizophrenic? “Are you okay? Is your baby okay?”
“That’s what I’m going to find out. Put your robe on so no one sees your thong when we visit Madame Marsh.”
James blushed, and I knew he was lying even when he said that he wasn’t wearing a thong. I promised not to tell anyone as I dragged him out of the dark room.
Having my best friends chatter about random topics behind me made me realize how lucky I was to have friends like them. They were so supportive of this whole ordeal, and even though they scolded me for having an affair with Teddy, they still promised to be there no matter what. Maybe James would let me stay at his house when my parents kick me out.
I was dreading this meeting. Having Madame Marsh examine me would be officially confirming the pregnancy. I keep hoping that I’ll wake up one morning and have dreamt the whole thing. If that happens, I keep promising myself that I’ll break up with Teddy (but it probably won’t).
The hospital wing doors were open, and sitting just inside at her desk was Madam Marsh. She was a fairly kind woman, even though she didn’t always look it. Most of the time, she had her slightly graying brown hair in a loose ponytail and her eyes were always honest kind. I think that’s why so many students are willing to go to her when there’s a medical problem instead of finding a solution themselves.
“Madame Marsh, I need to talk to you.” I said softly. Why was I so nervous? Maybe it was because I would be admitting my mistake to yet another person. Or maybe it was because I still had lots of homework due tomorrow. Just because I got knocked up doesn’t mean I’m going to slack off on my classes.
She stood up, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “What is it dear?” she asked me as she closed the doors. “I can tell that this is secret.”
I felt a blush on my cheeks. Was I that obvious? “Well, you see, I’m kind of pregnant.”
Madame Marsh sighed, almost like she was disappointed. Believe me, Madame, I’m disappointed as well. This was not how I imagined it would be. “Alright, dear, let me give you a tonic. It’ll be beneficial for your baby’s growth and development, especially in the early stages. How far along are you?”
I lay back on the bed, James and Rose on each side of the bed. Their presence calmed me quite a lot. “About ten weeks.”
She started waving her wand over my abdomen, and I noticed that James was gripping my hand. I could tell by his body language that he was as concerned about my baby’s health as I was. I almost started crying because of his sincerity. Damn these mood swings.
An image appeared in front of us, and I could tell it was a scan of my abdomen. Madame Marsh zoomed in to what must’ve been my uterus. She pointed at something. “This is your uterus. And this is your baby.”
I squinted my eyes and finally saw something. I smiled. Madame Marsh smiled back at me. “I’ll leave you alone for a minute.”
Once she was away from hearing range, I said, “Is it just me, or does my baby look like a peanut?”
James shook his head. “It’s not just you. But now I have to stop by the kitchen for some food because I’m hungry now that you said ‘peanut’.”
I slapped him upside the head. “You can get food tomorrow. Right now I’m looking at my peanut.”
I think I may have found the perfect nickname for my kids when he or she is born.
A/N: Thanks for reading this story everyone! Things will be a bit more exciting in the next chapters. I'd love some feedback!
When I walked down to the Great Hall on Saturday, I was in quite a good mood. Gryffindor had their final practice last night, and it went spectacularly. I had sent the scan of my baby to Teddy and told him to hide it with his life or else. Plus, this was the first morning in a couple of weeks that I had woken up without nausea. I had gotten every single assignment done and felt extremely confident about my grades.
With my luck, though, this day would become shit and I’d regret ever getting out of bed.
I was all dressed up in my Gryffindor Quidditch robes, and I was greeted by the sight of the team eating breakfast together. In the midst of that maroon and gold, however, was one blonde wearing green and silver. He just happened to be sitting next to Rose. Big surprise?
I took the empty seat on the other side of Scorpius and he greeted me with a smile. “It’s nice to see that even though this is the championship, we still have Hogwarts’ favorite couple on good terms.” I told them, grabbing my usual toast with grape jam and bacon. Obviously, we were playing Slytherin. It had been this way for many years, actually.
Rose looked over at me darkly. “Tell that to Captain Potter over there and his giant ego. He keeps glaring at me and accusing me of fraternizing with the enemy.”
“Well, technically, he is the enemy.”
“Yeah, but he’s my boyfriend. He’s not Scorpius Malfoy, Captain and Keeper of the Slytherin Quidditch team off of the pitch. Unless we’re flying on broomsticks and slamming balls at each other, he’s my boyfriend.”
That was sweet. It was so sweet and touching that I wanted to vomit a little. Not because it was gross or anything; it was because of my relationship with Teddy and because I couldn’t ever say anything like that in public.
“Just don’t go all easy on him today, Rose.” I warned her. I almost felt like I was channeling James. “You and James are our best Chasers.”
I continued to eat my breakfast and suddenly I felt a presence behind me. “Scorp, we have to head down to the pitch now.” I heard Al say almost coldly. He was just as passionate about Quidditch as James. I think it ran in the Potter bloodline.
As Scorpius stood up to follow him, I said in a cheery voice, “Hi, Al.”
He turned and looked at me with that glint in his eye that was so similar to James when he was going to cause trouble of some sort. “Hi, fatty.”
As he tried to walk away, I stalked after him and grabbed him by the back of his green robes. “Take that back and never call me that again. Or I’ll just your Mum and Dad what I caught you doing with Cecilia Monroe last night.”
I love blackmail. It works every time. Not only did I get an apology from him, he gave me a hug and said, “Be careful out there. I don’t want you to get hurt.” I hugged him back. But as he pulled away, he smirked. “I promise I’ll try and catch the Snitch before anything happens to you.”
He started chuckling and I playfully pushed him away. That was more like that Al Potter that I knew. Caring and loving, yet competitive.
“Potter, let’s get going to the pitch.” I told James quite loudly. I saw him nod at the rest of the team and they started to file out of the Great Hall. I walked next to Rose, who was in the middle of the group.
As we walked by a group of students, one boy separated himself from the group. I recognized him. He was Nathan Thomas, a seventh year Ravenclaw and Captain of the Ravenclaw team. He was one of the hottest guys at Hogwarts, according to pretty much every girl that had ever seen him. Although, I could understand that claim. His eyes were so blue that you could just float away in them. It was similar to the eye color that Teddy usually had.
He winked at me and flashed me a smile. “Good luck out there. I hope you win.”
I couldn’t help but feel some fluttering in my stomach.
The game had been fantastic! Me and the other beater, Fred, had lobbed those Bludgers away from our team like never before. James, Rose, and Danny Wood had gone on a scoring frenzy. Hugo blocked every single attempt to score except for one, and even though Al had caught the Snitch, we were ahead by over two hundred points.
James had invited any supporter of Gryffindor up to the Gryffindor common room for a party. Many Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws showed up, as did a couple of Slytherins. Of course, those Slytherins were Scorpius and Al. While they had wanted to win quite badly, they wanted to celebrate the victory of the people that were close to them.
Rose was currently snogging Scorpius on one of the maroon couches, not a care in the world. I was envious of them. They were so happy. I mean, yes, I was happy with Teddy, but not happy about the situation, obviously.
James was flirting with some girl, and I was pretty sure that Al was his wingman. I even saw Uncle Harry in here, congratulating the team.
Harry was being a substitute for our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and he had been here for the last month or so. Many of the students loved him, and were disappointed that he only had another two weeks left at the school.
Apparently, I was the next person to congratulate because I felt his hand on my shoulder and turned to find his fatherly smile. “Not enjoying the party much?”
“No, I am.” I assured him. But I couldn’t help but thinking about that fact that I just played my last game of Quidditch at Hogwarts. The thought was depressing. “I’m just thinking about things.”
He pulled me to a more secluded part of the common room, nodding sympathetically. Once he made sure that no one was listening, he said quietly, “I know about your pregnancy.” My eyebrows shot up. “Teddy told me about it. He was awfully concerned about you and this whole situation, and he just wanted someone to confide in.”
I tried to be angry about Harry knowing, but I couldn’t. He didn’t even have a trace of disappointment or anger inside of him. “Does anyone else at home know?”
“Just Ginny. She’s promised to be there for you as much as she can and that you can always talk to her if you have questions.” His eyes were looking into mine, almost imploring me to confide in him about my troubles.
“I’m really sad that I just played my last Hogwarts Quidditch game. I mean, when the new school year starts, I’ll be over six months along. I won’t be able to come back, let alone play Quidditch.”
“Have you talked to your parents about this? Or even Teddy?”
I sighed. “No. I don’t want my parents or family to know yet. And it doesn’t matter what Teddy thinks. I’ll be the one who’s with the baby the most, so it’s my choice to decide what I’ll do.”
Harry hugged me. “If you ever need anything, you can always come to me and Ginny.”
“Thanks.” I tried to hide a yawn, but failed miserably. “I think I’m going to go to bed now, though. It’s been a long day.”
Harry smiled again and I felt him watch me ascend the stairs until I was out of sight.
I snapped awake by some unknown sound. It sounded close by. I brushed my hair away from my face, and looked towards the window closest to my bed. I saw Stormy pecking at my window. Groaning slightly, I pulled myself out of bed and pulled the window open. Stormy was carrying a letter. I took it, and then Stormy flew off again into the misty morning. As soon as I saw the cursive writing on the front, I inwardly moaned.
This could not go well. She was probably writing to let me know not to bother coming home this summer and that I was disowned from the family. I slowly opened the letter and saw that the letter was officially from my mother.
My dear Dominique,
Harry told me all about the wonderful Gryffindor victory. Congratulations, honey! Your father and I are so proud of you. I also hear that your grades have been fantastic as well. Keep up the good work!
Vic is so excited about you getting done with your term soon. She’s eager to discuss her wedding plans with you and Teddy. She’s got plenty of brilliant ideas, and I know that you’ll make her details even better.
I know how stressful the end of term can be, so stay strong and focused. I still remember how much I wanted to ignore my work, but hard work yields amazing rewards.
Your sister and Teddy would kill me for telling you this, but I wanted to give you a heads up about something going on here that you would need to ponder upon. Even though they aren’t trying to conceive yet, Teddy and Vic went to see some doctors. Unfortunately, it appears that Vic is unable to carry kids. She and Teddy have been seriously discussing the idea of surrogacy, and I know that your name as come up quite a lot.
I’m glad that you enjoyed your birthday present. Your father picked it out, and I thought that it would be perfect for such a beautiful young lady like you. You remind me so much of your sister sometimes.
Hugs and Kisses,
Mum
As I read the last part, I absentmindedly fingered the necklace that I had been wearing since my birthday. It was gold with a diamond pendant on it, and it was stunning.
But then I started to think about something else: Teddy and Vic’s future baby. I really hope she was kidding about them asking me. If they did, I’d have to say no simply because my uterus is already occupied and will be for some time. Besides, even if I wasn’t pregnant and I agreed to do this, what would I do about my final year at Hogwarts?
However, my heart started to slow down from my mini panic attack. Teddy would never let that happen. Although, if he did choose her over me, they would probably ask me at some point. Of course, they’d have to be desperate by that time. Or perhaps I would be desperate to carry another spawn of Teddy Lupin and would agree to the stupid idea.
I was quite positive that once my family found out about my predicament, they’d permanently scratch my name from the list of surrogates. I sighed with relief. I don’t think I could handle carrying a baby that was half Teddy, half Vic.
Finally, it was June. June is hands down my favorite month because during the last few years, it was the wettest month when it came to rainfall. In fact, it was only the second day of June and it was incredibly cloudy outside. The clouds were so darkened with moisture that I knew it would start to rain at any moment. I was sitting outside in the grass by the Black Lake, waiting for that moment.
Most people think that I’m thick for wanting to sit in the rain, but now more than ever, I wanted to enjoy it. I want my baby to be familiar with rain. Plus, the rain was so cleansing to me. I felt like all of my problems and worries could just be washed away with the drops of water.
The cool drops were so refreshing and calming. It was my favorite place to be when I try and escape the stresses of the end of term exams. Finally, I felt the first wet drip on my forehead. The rest followed quite rapidly.
I could just sit here forever. Everyone else that had been outside was quickly hurrying to take shelter, but not me. Because of this, I almost felt like I had my own sanctuary. Nothing and no one could disturb me.
“What are you doing out here?” a heard a voice from behind me. Alright, so nothing could be perfect. I was kind of upset about someone bothering me until I turned around. It was Nathan Thomas. “You might get sick.”
I waved his comment off with my hand. “I love the rain. It’s so cool and reinvigorating.”
Surprisingly, he sat down next to me. I could smell a cross of cinnamon and vanilla coming from him. Two of my favorite scents. “I can tell that you enjoy it. You’ve got this glow about you right now.”
I had never heard that before in all of my years of sitting in the rain. Maybe it was the pregnancy giving me a glow. Of course, I didn’t tell him this. I didn’t want to scare him off.
“People underestimate the beauty of rain.” I told him. “We all need rain to survive. It gives us the green grass, the vibrant flowers, and the healthy trees. Plus, without rain, how could our vegetation survive?”
He nodded, and a bit of his brown hair fell into his eyes. Don’t stare at him! He’ll probably think that I’m some creeper if he sees me staring at him. I couldn’t help but see so many similarities to Teddy, yet many differences as well.
Suddenly, he turned towards me and I lost myself in his eyes. Plus, I couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was when he was soaking wet. “You were so fantastic in the game. I wish that you could’ve been a Ravenclaw so I can have that kind of talent on my team.” I couldn’t help but blush. “Can I call you Dom?”
“Sure, Nathan.”
“Oh, call me Nate.” He cleared his throat. “Dom, will you go out with me?”
This was certainly not what I was expecting. Maybe this whole pregnancy thing isn’t too bad. Apparently, I have a glow. Not an angelic glow, but some glow that seemingly attracts men. I kind of wanted to say no. I mean, I was pregnant and in the midst of an ugly love triangle. If I dated Nate, it would be a love square. How much more complicated could it get? Plus, what would he say if I told him that I’m pregnant? I turned back and saw his eyes again. I could deal with the other stuff later.
“I’d love to, Nate.” His smile was so infectious that I couldn’t help but smile. In fact, he was clearly so excited that he leaned in gave me a brief kiss on the lips. Even though it was short, it was one of the best kisses that I’ve ever had. If it was possible, I think I now loved the rain even more.
The next week of my life was one of my happiest. It ranked right up there with the week that I made the Quidditch team, all of the weeks that we won the Quidditch Cup, and the week that I first started my affair with Teddy. Nate was one of the best boyfriends I could ever ask for. He was so cool and funny, yet kind and caring. I couldn’t help but notice many girls giving me glares.
My relationship with Nate even made me blow off the fact that if I wore something tight, a small bump could be seen. That was saying something. Of course, both Rose and James were still planning on having a serious discussion with me about my new relationship.
When I had some time to myself, I sat in a corner of the common room searching through the magazines that Vic had sent me. I already chose the bridal gown that I liked the most and sent it back to her. Right now, though, I was looking through the bridesmaid dresses.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Rose and James whispering while glancing over at me. I could tell that they wanted to talk to me, but there were still quite a few people left in the common room. Thank Merlin they had enough respect to wait until we were alone.
On one particular page, Vic had circled every single dress. They could all be ordered in a light green, which was one of the wedding colors. I looked at all of them, debating which would look the best on me when I would still be carrying some baby weight. There was one in particular that I was positive would make my chest and bum look fantastic.
As soon as I was alone in the common room, the two of them cornered me, interrupting my decision process. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Rose asked, sitting next to me. James sat on my other side.
“Um, I’m reading a magazine.”
Rose playfully glared at me. “Yes, I can see that. I will agree with the rest of the school that you and Nate make one of the cutest couples ever, but what about Teddy?”
“What about him?” I said, frustrated. “He’s making it perfectly clear that he’s not leaving my sister. Otherwise, he would’ve already broken up with her. So why can’t I find someone that makes me happy?”
James messed up his hair. It was one of his strange habits. “We have nothing against your happiness, but do you honestly believe that Teddy is happy with your sister?”
No. I don’t think that he is. But he’s being thick enough to stay with her because he wants to be the good guy. What’s he going to say when he finds out about Nate? I’m not sure that I even want to know.
I chose to remain silent for a moment and not answer James’s question. “Listen, Nate is a great guy. And I think that when the time comes, he won’t judge me too much for being pregnant. And if Teddy goes all haywire on me, I’ll deal with it. So I’d appreciate it if we could drop this and discuss why Rose now has a diamond ring on her hand.” I could help but smirk triumphantly. This was a juicier topic.
Rose’s eyes widened and she quickly hid her hand. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her cheeks were almost as red as her hair.
“Come on, Rose. We’re your best mates.” James said, putting his arm around Rose. James knew us too well. That moved worked on her as well as it worked on me.
She reluctantly pulled her hand out again and let us look at the shining ring. “Scorpius proposed a couple of nights ago!” she squealed.
Surprisingly, I started to squeal to and pulled her into a hug. I also felt James hug her as well. “Rose, I’m so happy for you and Scorpius. Have you started talking about the wedding?”
Rose nodded shyly. “I know that we both still have another year left at Hogwarts, but we were discussing the possibility of getting married this summer.”
James was currently interrogating her about why they’d want the wedding to be so soon when something hit me. There was something odd about the way that Rose avoided my eyes. I cut James off when I asked, “Rose, did you get yourself knocked up as well?”
She didn’t answer, but she didn’t have to. Her face somehow got even redder. “Rose, you’re pregnant too, aren’t you?” James asked.
“No.” Rose told us, unconvincingly. I summoned a small glass of Firewhisky. One of the seventh year girls kept a secret stash upstairs. Luckily, Rose was seventeen so I could test her.
“If you’re not pregnant, chug the Firewhisky.” I challenged her. Both James and I watched her very carefully as she grabbed the glass and brought it up to her lips, but then stopped. “You are pregnant. Congratulations!”
James groaned. “I’m happy for you and all, Rose, especially since you and Scorpius are getting married too, but now I have two hormonal pregnant women to deal with.”
Rose leaned over towards me and whispered, “We’ll have fun torturing him.” I grinned back at her.
Me and one of my best friends were pregnant. Maybe she’ll miss the next Hogwarts year as well and we can be each other’s pregnant support.
Darkness was surrounding me. I loved nighttime as much as I loved the rain. I could hear Rose’s light snores breaking the silence. My mind thought about all that had happened recently. I could say with all honesty that things were going fantastic.
Rose, Scorpius, James, some random Hufflepuff girl, Nate, and I ended up having a triple date in Hogsmeade soon after Rose and Scorpius officially announced their engagement. It was the final trip into Hogsmeade for the year, and probably my last in a long time. Possibly for Rose as well. Rose’s pregnancy was being kept secret, like mine, until we were done with the school year.
For most of the lunch, Rose and Scorpius were discussing the upsides and downsides of having a wedding so soon. Rose officially asked me to be her maid of honor, and James was asked to be a Groomsman. Surprisingly, Scorpius also asked Nate to be a Groomsman as well. Apparently, Nate and Scorpius had known each other for some time, but never found much time to spend with each other.
One topic that got brought up was whether or not their parents knew. “Well,” Rose explained, “I know that my dad will probably have a fit. But they finally approved of me and Scorp dating, so I hope that they’ll get on board with the wedding too.”
“As for my parents,” Scorpius added, “My mum will probably want to come but my dad will try to disown me.”
It was true. Draco Malfoy had greatly disapproved of Scorpius dating a Weasley. Things were unlikely to change. But that didn’t matter. Scorpius and Rose were engaged and pregnant, and I was happy with Nate. And James was happy for the both of us. Perhaps we live semi-charmed lives.
A/N: Sorry about the semi-filler chapter. The next one has a lot of exciting things happening.
A/N: This is the point of the story where the angst is introduced. Hope you enjoy it!
Well, today was the day. It was the final day of the term. Unfortunately, we had to spend it doing the rest of our exams. However, I was finishing up on my exam for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and it was my final exam for the day. I glanced over at Rose and she grinned at me. We both loved this class, and if we didn’t get a perfect score, it must be the teacher’s fault.
Harry had found a way to stay for the final week of the term, and he suddenly stood up from his desk at the front of the room and went upstairs to his office quickly. I could’ve sworn that I heard hushed voices talking upstairs. It didn’t last long though, because Harry came back down right away. However, I didn’t miss the figure that was now standing at the top of the stairs. What was he doing here?
“You are dismissed. Have a fantastic summer everyone!” Harry called out as he summoned everyone’s exams.
My eyes hadn’t left the top of the stairs, and Rose saw the figure standing up there also. Thankfully, she left without saying a word. She merely gave me a supportive smile before leaving. Harry disappeared into his office right as someone touched my arm. I turned around to find Nate smiling his wonderful smile.
He leaned in and kissed me softly. Subconsciously, my hands slid down to my abdomen, and I hoped that he didn’t see the baby bump I was starting to sport now. “Once I was done with my NEWTs, I waited for you to get done. I thought that we could spend the rest of the evening with each other.”
I smiled. He was so sweet. But I could also feel eyes boring into the back of my head. I could guarantee that he was not happy right now. “Listen, Nate. I have to talk to Professor Potter about something. Maybe we can meet up at the feast.”
Nate nodded. “Okay, honey.” He kissed me again, and I felt like I was flying again. His kisses had the tendency to do that. Just like the kisses of the man behind me. Once Nate was gone, I turned around and said, “Teddy, what are you doing here?”
“I came here to see how you’re feeling. I can see that you’re starting to show a bit.” He placed his hands on my belly. “Does he know that you’re carrying my child?”
I could tell exactly who he was talking about. I could see the anger in his eyes. Who was he to talk? “I assume that you’re talking about Nate. And no, he doesn’t know. I was going to tell him shortly after I tell my family.”
“And you’re not afraid of him judging you?”
His tone was biting. He must be really miffed. “No, because unlike you, Nate wouldn’t judge me.”
His eyes flashed at me. I think I pushed him a little too far. Honestly, though, I didn’t care because he was judging me. “How dare you say that to me! I’m not the one dating some random guy while carrying a baby. My baby.”
“You have no right to talk to me like I’m cheating on you. You’re the one that’s still engaged to my sister, and you’ve made no hints of leaving her anytime soon. Why should I let you be the only one that’s happily involved with someone?”
I couldn’t remember ever seeing Teddy this angry before. I swear that there was a light bit of steam coming from his ears. Plus his hair was now a dangerously bright orange color. “You know, when you jokingly talked about being a slut, I laughed with you. But now, I think that I’ve changed my mind. You are a slut, and I can’t believe I let myself fall in love with someone as horrible as you.”
I felt the tears pricking my eyes, and it didn’t even matter that Teddy almost looked like he regretted what he said. Before I could stop them, the tears were falling down my face. Without saying anything else, I ran out of the room and down the stairs.
I wasn’t even sure where I was running. I just knew that I had to get away from Teddy and his stinging words. When I stopped running, my legs were cramping, and I noticed that I was wet. I was outside on the grounds, and once again, it was raining. My tears mixed with the raindrops, and I couldn’t tell them apart.
Why couldn’t I just float out of my body? Maybe hearing those words wouldn’t be so painful. I never thought that Teddy could hurt me so deeply. Not even the rain could comfort me. He said that he had fallen in love with me. But why would you insult someone that you claimed to love so much? I would never ever insult Teddy like that.
“Dom, what’s wrong?” I heard Rose say. I don’t think I had ever been so happy to hear her voice. I could use the company of my pregnant best friend. “Does it have something to do with Teddy?”
I felt her hand on my shoulder, and I spilled out the entire story. Talking about it didn’t make me feel any better, but it somehow stemmed my tears. “He was just caught up in the moment, Dom. You and I know that Teddy would never intentionally hurt someone.”
I chuckled coldly. “Well, he seems to have a knack for it. He hurt me, and he’s hurt Vic by sleeping with me. He’s hurt the two women that mean the most to him.”
I should be jumping for joy because Teddy told me that he loved me, but I almost wished that I had never even met him. If I hadn’t met him, I wouldn’t be pregnant, I wouldn’t be so insulted, and I would be able to date Nate without anyone interrogating me. Like I said, life has never been entirely kind to me.
“You know what, let’s stop talking about Teddy. We need to figure out how we’ll tell our families about our pregnancies.”
“Did you go see Madame Marsh like I told you to?”
Rose smiled. She keeps talking about me being a mother hen now that I know she’s pregnant. “Yes, I saw her.”
“When’s your baby due?”
“February 3rd. I also get to tell my parents that I’m not going back to Hogwarts next year. We can hang out. James will be so happy about being with both of his pregnant friends.”
I grinned. Thank goodness I would have someone with me to keep me sane, because Teddy certainly wasn’t doing a good job. But then my grin fell away. Tomorrow would be the day that I told my family. Rose seemed to read my mind because she said, “I know that you were always joking, but I know how insane your mother can be. What if she does kick you out? Where will you go?”
I had already thought about this actually. I was planning for the worst. “I think if that happens, I’m going to go to Harry and Ginny’s house. Harry and Ginny know already, and they’re being incredibly supportive. Plus, they’ve got so much room in that mansion of their anyway.”
Rose nodded her approval. “You do realize that Teddy lives there as well. I mean, you’ll have James, Al, and Lily on your side, but you’ll still have to see Teddy.”
“I know. But that’s the price I’ll have to pay.” I cleared my throat, thinking about actually being kicked out. “Rose, would you be willing to come to my house with me tomorrow and be my moral support?”
Rose pulled me into a hug. I always loved her hugs. She poured all of her love into her hugs. “Of course I will. But you have to be my moral support as well.”
“You can count on me.” I promised. It felt nice to have someone to rely on, especially someone who knew exactly what you were going through. “Maybe we can start getting your wedding plans set up that night. You won’t have much time before Scorpius leaves for Hogwarts again.”
Rose agreed. We walked back into the castle, and I felt a little bit of happiness once more.
I didn’t want to leave Hogwarts. I know that Rose felt the same way. Plus, James and Nate had finished up their schooling, so they wouldn’t be returning either. While Al and Scorpius chatted away on the train, the other four of us sadly watched Hogwarts get smaller and smaller in the distance. Of course, Nate probably thought that Rose and I were just sad about leaving for awhile. I haven’t told him about the person growing inside of me.
“Just think, Nate.” I said, grabbing onto his arm. “You get to meet my family. They were so excited about you staying with us for a night. And don’t worry, you’ll still be in one piece when your Mum comes to get you.”
Nate chuckled, but still looked kind of nervous. I mean, we had only been dating for about three weeks, but things were going really well. Of course, it was always nerve-wrecking to meet the girl’s parents. Unfortunately, he was probably going to witness the wrath of my mother when I told her my news. My eyes met Rose’s, and she looked just as concerned.
The train ride went way too quickly for my taste. As soon as the train started slowing down, I felt the extreme waves of nausea coming on. My head was resting on Nate’s shoulder, so I had to fight the urge to vomit on his outfit. I don’t think he’d like that.
Once the train came to a full stop, everyone stood up and started to grab their luggage. Nate helped me get mine down, while Scorpius helped Rose. We had such gentlemen as boyfriends. James, Al, and Scorpius left the compartment first, luggage in tow. Nate looked at me, almost waiting for me to go first.
“You go ahead. I’ll be out in a second.” I told him with a smile, hoping that I was hiding my real emotions. Apparently I was because Nate nodded and left as well. I turned toward Rose, and I felt tears in my eyes again. “Rose, I can’t do this. I can’t go out there and ruin my sister’s life!”
Rose set aside her luggage, placed her hands on my shoulders, and forced me to look her in the eye. “You can do this, Dom. You are one of the toughest people I know. I mean, you play Quidditch like you were born with a Beater’s bat. And I know that this is scary, but you can’t run from it. So let’s go out there and get this over with.”
I nodded. Her motivational speech didn’t help me much, but I felt a little better when she complimented my Quidditch skills. Taking slow, deep breaths, I grabbed my luggage and made my way out of the train. Unfortunately, my hormones were trying to take advantage of me by making me want to cry.
When I stepped onto the platform, my eyes combed the area. I saw Harry and Ginny hugging their three kids, Scorpius was standing by his mother, and Nate was standing right by the door. Not too far away, I saw my mum, dad, and Vic smiling and waving at me. Vic was the first one to pull me into a hug. “Oh, Dom. I’ve missed you so much. I can’t wait to get started on the wedding plans now that you’re here.”
Once she let go of me, my dad hugged me. Lastly, my mum hugged me. When she pulled away, she put a hand on my belly. “Oh Dominique, you’ve gained a bit of weight. We can solve zis during the break.”
I briefly glanced at Rose who was talking with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione, probably telling them about coming to my house. Hugo was standing next to Ron, and it occurred to me that Hugo was literally a mini-version of Ron. But then Nate cleared his throat behind me. “Mum, Dad, Vic, this is my boyfriend, Nate.”
Both Vic and my mum hugged him, and my dad shook his hand while looking at him suspiciously. Nate seemed to be handling the situation quite well. The scars on my dad’s face tended to scare people. Once Rose showed up, all of us started the journey home.
When we finally arrived at Shell Cottage, Vic began giving Nate the grand tour. It was bigger, apparently, than it was during the second war. There were five bedrooms: one for my parents, one for each of the kids, and a guest room.
“Nate,” I said sweetly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Why don’t you put your stuff upstairs and get comfortable? I need to talk to my family real quick.”
“Okay.” He said, and trekked up the stairs.
“Where’s Louis?” I questioned my sister.
“Oh, he’s at a friend’s house. He’ll be back tomorrow. He’s awfully excited to see you again.”
Yeah, well, I probably won’t be alive when he sees me next.
I sat down on one of the plush, suede loveseats, and thankfully Rose sat next to me. Only a careful observer could see that she was now gripping my hand for support. On the other side of the living room, my parents and sister sat down, clearly curious about what I wanted to talk about.
I exhaled. Where do I begin? “First off, I want to tell you that got a perfect on each of my exams.” Yes, I want to look good before I reveal it. “And lastly, Mum, I have gained a bit of weight, but it’s not from eating too much.” Everyone in the room looked clueless now. “It’s because I’m…pregnant.”
I felt the air immediately tense up. Nobody moved, blinked, or even showed some sign of emotion. Honestly, it was scaring me. I squeezed Rose’s hand even tighter, waiting for the explosion.
“You’re pregnant?” My mum screamed. Yes, she literally stood up and screamed. If looks could kill, I should be dead on my feet from the look that she was giving me. “Is that boy Nate the father?”
“No, no, no.” I told her quickly. I didn’t want Nate dragged into this. Although, my mother’s scream was so loud that he probably heard it. “It’s not Nate’s baby.”
“Then whose baby is it?” My dad asked coldly. His tone almost hurt me more than my mother’s anger.
Did I have to tell them this? I already had two of my parents angry with me. Right now my sister was looking at me with sympathy, like she was ready to help me through this time. That wouldn’t last long. “Teddy Lupin.” I murmured quietly.
“Who?” my father asked again.
“Teddy Lupin.” I repeated a little louder. Now the wrath would really come. I was surprised that Rose’s hand was still intact. I felt like I was squeezing it off. Surely she’s lost circulation by now.
It was Vic’s turn to stand up. “Did you just say that you’re pregnant with Teddy’s baby?”
“Yes.” I said, looking down at the ground.
“Teddy Lupin’s baby?”
“Yes.”
“My fiancé’s baby?”
“Yes, Vic! Do you need me to spell it out for you?” I shouted, standing up as well.
Rose kept looking back and forth between me and my family. I think that everyone has forgotten about her. Victoire flipped her hair over her shoulder and stalked over to me until were only inches away from each other.
It was just then that I noticed a couple of things. We were exactly the same height. She had a light area of freckles like me. I was practically looking into a mirror, but there were only a few minor differences. I had blue eyes opposed to her brown ones, and I had a small scar on my left cheek from a Quidditch injury a few years back. But for once in my life, I could the similarities between us that proved we were sisters.
“How dare you seduce him?” she muttered, spit flying onto my face. I didn’t even bother to wipe it off. I was tempted to say ‘Maybe he seduced me’ but I didn’t think that would be a lovely idea. However, I did want her to know something about her precious Teddy.
“It was consensual. And it wasn’t just one time. We’ve been sleeping together since the beginning of February!”
Surprisingly, her visible anger changed to cold, calm fury. “I can’t believe you. You’re a little slut.”
Yeah, like I haven’t been told this already. “If it’s any consolation, we haven’t been together since we found out. He’s made no sign of leaving you for me.”
Victoire just shook her head and stormed upstairs to her bedroom. Rose stood next to me, and we watched my parents fight quietly. “Well,” Rose whispered, “that could’ve been better.”
“Are you kidding me? I thought it would be a lot worse. Although, once my parents are done talking, it could get a lot worse.”
Almost on cue, my parents stopped. Mum turned to me and growled, “Get out of my house.”
“What?” I asked, needing to hear it again.
“You heard me you horrible girl! Get out of my house! You don’t deserve to have ze name Delacour. You have disgraced zis family, and you’ve betrayed your sister. So get the hell out of my house!”
Even though I had played this scene in my head over and over again to prepare myself, but I still couldn’t help but be floored. My own mother was kicking me out of the house. I felt the tears coming before I could even stop them.
“Mum, I’m so sorry. I know what I did was wrong. Please don’t kick me out of this house! I’m your daughter, for Merlin’s sake.” I cried. I could hardly believe that I was begging.
She glared at me with such hatred that I cringed. “You are no daughter of mine.”
I literally felt like I had been slapped in the face. I turned to dad for help, but he avoided my eyes looking sad and disappointed. I couldn’t tell if it was because I was pregnant or because of what my mother told me. “Well, what about Nate?”
“I think that Nate would prefer to be with you than with us. You’ll have much to discuss. Now get your things. Rose, go help her. I want you and your friends out in five minutes.”
“I hate you. I thought that you actually cared about me.”
I could hardly feel myself being dragged upstairs by Rose. I started putting together a bunch of my things, and kept shrinking them into my pocket. Rose went and brought Nate and his things into my room just as I finished packing.
“I don’t want to face them again.” I told them softly. “Let’s Apparate to Harry and Ginny’s house. Nate, I’ll Side-Apparate you.”
I turned on my heel, and I took one last glance at my room before it vanished. When I was able to breathe again, I found myself outside of a large, elegant house.
There was a pause of awkward silence, and then Nate said, "That was fun. Your mum was an angel."
I didn't have the heart to even smirk at his sarcasm.
I knocked on the door. A moment later, Ginny answered the door. I saw Teddy, Harry, James, Al, and Lily sitting in the living room. They all stopped as soon as they saw me. Ginny’s eyes looked over me, my friends, and then my stuff.
“Aunt Ginny, can I stay with you?” I requested, starting to cry again.
She pulled me into a hug, and brought everyone and everything inside. Ginny showed Nate where he could stay, and as she led me and Rose upstairs, I ignored Teddy’s cold look. All I wanted was a nice, hot bubble bath and a giant bar of chocolate.
I sat in the large white marble tub. While Rose unpacked her things and Nate got himself comfortable, Ginny had drawn me a bath. She hadn’t asked me what happened. I think it was pretty obvious. I almost felt spoiled by being in this tub.
Ginny had placed a few lavender scented candles in the room, and made me a wonderfully hot bubble bath. The bath took away as much stress as it possibly could. Of course, there’s no way I can be completely calm in this situation.
I hoped to the God of all that is merciful and good that Rose’s confession would go much better than mine. Of course, her parents were a bit more laid-back than mine. Plus, she was marrying the man that got her pregnant. The two situations were much different.
For some odd reason, I lifted my left hand out of the water and observed it. The tips of my fingers were awfully wrinkled, my hands were very pink from the heat of the water, and the silver nail polish that I had painted on a few days ago was almost completely gone. Suddenly, I felt the need to get out of the tub before the rest of my skin became wrinkled. Once I tried off, I put on a pair of sweatpants and a bathrobe. My hair was still wrapped up in my towel. I didn’t care how I looked; everyone here was like family to me.
My first stop was next-door to the room that Nate was staying in; the door was closed. I knocked softly, and slowly opened the door. Nate was in the process of unpacking a couple of things. He looked up at me when I entered. I couldn’t read his emotions.
“Nate, can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked him quietly. He stopped what he was doing, grabbed my hands gently, and pulled me down onto his bed. He sat down next to me. “I really meant to tell you. I didn’t think that my mother would…no, that’s a lie. I knew that my mum would flip out. But I was hoping that she would keep her temper in check with company in the house."
Nate exhaled. “So, how far along are you? Now that I know, I can see your baby bump. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before…”
“Honestly, most people haven’t realized it until I told them about it. I’m about four months along.”
“And can I ask who the father is?”
“It’s Teddy Lupin.” I was quite surprised that he hadn’t heard the entire fight. Of course, the part with my sister was a little quieter. “He’s my sister’s fiancé.”
Nate nodded. I could see that he was trying to wrap his mind around the situation. “I never meant for me and Teddy to be romantically involved, but we haven’t been with each other since I started to date you.” I told him, hoping he’d believe me. “I really like you a lot, Nate. But I can understand if you don’t want to be with me anymore.”
Nate took my hands in his again. “This is just a little shocking, that’s all. But I really like you a lot too. And I certainly don’t want to lose you. It’ll just take a little time to get past the weirdness, that’s all.”
“So you’re not dumping me?” I verified, now excited so much that I was practically crying.
He chuckled at my emotional outburst. “No, I’m not.” I was so excited that I pulled him into a long, passionate kiss. “I need to know one thing, though. Are you sure that there’s nothing between you and Teddy anymore?”
I put on a fake smile, hoped he fell for it, and lied, “Yes, I’m sure.”
I felt a pang of guilt. I couldn’t tell him the truth. Was I supposed to tell my boyfriend that Teddy and I were in love? That he was clearly unhappy with my sister and that I obviously met his needs? Of course not! Only a stupid person would do that. I would like at least one thing to be going right in my life.
I trudged downstairs where the Potter family, Teddy, and Rose were sitting and chatting. “Nate is just finishing some things upstairs. He’ll be down in a minute.” I informed them, and sat down by James. He smiled at me, and I smiled back to let him know it was appreciated. Even though I avoided looking at him directly, I could tell that Teddy was still watching me.
Of course, there couldn’t be a single moment of piece because Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione came in through the fireplace. Hermione hurried over to Rose. “Honey, Bill told me that you would be staying here instead of with him. Are you okay? What happened?”
Rose looked at me, silently asking for permission to tell the story. I nodded, and made sure that I spaced off through the entire thing. I had just lived it. I didn’t want to hear about it shortly after.
“Rose, do you want to come home with us?” Ron asked after she was done with the story. I didn’t miss the pitiful glances that my Aunt and Uncle gave me.
Lowering her voice, Rose replied, “I’d like it if I could stay here for a few days. Dom really needs someone.”
Hermione nodded her understanding, but still looked a little hesitant about not having her daughter home. “Look Mum, you and Dad will have to be coming over here every day. You have to help me and Scorpius plan.”
“Plan what?”
Rose was now positively beaming. “Scorpius and I are getting married. And we want to have the wedding this summer!”
There was a chorus of “that’s great” and “congratulations” from around the room. However, Ron and Hermione’s faces fell. “Are you angry about me being engaged?”
Hermione shook her head rapidly. I was surprised that she didn’t have whiplash from it. “No, we’re very happy for you. But you both have another year of school left. Why so soon?”
I now moved away from James and stood next to Rose for support. Her silent support earlier had meant the world to me; I wanted to return the favor. “Mum, Dad, please don’t be angry. But, I’m pregnant too.”
Hermione and Ron blanched, along with most of the other people in the room. I almost felt sorry for Rose. She was telling her mother, father, godfather, and godmother all at once. But thankfully, Ron and Hermione pulled Rose into a hug. I sighed, instantly relieved. There would be no fights or arguments. I’d had enough arguments today to last a lifetime.
Ginny was now grinning, and she looked back and forth between me and Rose. “Isn’t it ironic that you two are both pregnant at the same time? It’ll be great that you’ll have each other during this time.”
Rose grinned at me. “Yeah, we’re baby buddies.” I couldn’t help but chuckle. Rose was so lively when she was talking about this that I couldn’t help but be cheered up a bit. “Maybe we’ll have one boy and one girl, and they’ll get married when they’re older.” This made me actually laugh. We were only a few months along and she was thinking about the kids getting married.
“Let’s deal with giving birth to them first, shall we?” I told her, smirking.
While Rose told her parents what details had been figured out, Ginny pulled me aside. “I’m terribly sorry about what your parents did. I promise you that I will have stern talk with my brother and Phlegm—I mean, Fleur.”
“Thanks, Ginny. But they’re actually the ones that I’m not entirely worried about. I’m worried about Vic. She was really angry with me, and I’m afraid of how angry she’ll be with Teddy.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. What happens with them is between them and up to them to work out.”
I nodded, and I actually glanced over at Teddy. Again, he was looking at me. We held each other’s gaze for a minute before I turned and went back upstairs.
Suddenly, I woke up. I didn’t even realize that I had dozed off. I glanced outside and saw that the sun was setting, making the clear sky streaked with brilliant red and orange. I noticed that a bed had been set up on the other side of my room, and I instantly recognized Rose’s things. I smiled. That girl was the best friend a person could ask for.
There was a knock on my door, and I saw Teddy walk in with a tray of food. “Ginny wanted to make sure that you got some food. I offered to bring it up.”
I instantly shut myself down, knowing that I would look and act coldly towards him. “Thanks. You don’t have to be nice to me because of what you said yesterday. Just because I got told the same things again today multiple times doesn’t mean you should feel guilty.”
Teddy set the tray down and sat next to me. “I do feel guilty, though. I had no right to say those things to you.”
“No. You said what you were thinking. You were honest. That took guts. I commend you for doing that.”
I felt him lightly touch my hair, but I refused to look at him. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. You’re the last person that I want to hurt. And I’m sorry.”
I sighed, wanting to lean into his touch so badly. I felt myself tearing up because I wanted it so much. “Don’t waste your apologies on me. I don’t blame you for what you said. I was saying that about you because you’re with my sister. You should be saving your apologies for her. When will you talk to her?”
“I’ll see her tomorrow. I’ll try and patch things over. Hopefully she won’t call off the wedding. I’ll talk to her about staying involved in your life and in our baby’s life as well. I mean, she’s going to be an Aunt. I know that she’ll love the baby no matter what.”
I removed Teddy’s hand from my hair and gripped it with my hands. “Tell me, does she make you happy? Do you love her more than you love me?”
Teddy avoided my eyes, and chose to remain silent. I opened my mouth to repeat myself, but then he asked, “Does Nate make you happy?”
I wanted to say ‘not as happy as I am with you’, but that wouldn’t be smart. So I nodded, not looking at him. “What is he doing here anyway?” Teddy questioned. I had been waiting for that question for awhile.
“His parents are in Russia until tomorrow. He was just going to stay the night at my family’s house. But Mum thought it would be best if he left with me.”
“Were you planning on sleeping with him as well?” Teddy suddenly snapped. Where the hell did this come from? Well, two can play this game.
“No, you asshole. I’m not a complete slut like everyone has made me out to be!”
“Well, our affair was unplanned. Who’s to say that you wouldn’t sleep with him if it was in the heat of the moment?”
“I don’t have low morals like you! You slept with me even though you were engaged!”
“You have lower morals than me! You still slept with me even though I was marrying your sister, and then dating someone else during our affair, and now you’re dating someone even though you’re pregnant! You’re more selfish than I am by a long shot!”
He had drawn the line again, and crossed way over it. “Get out of my room!”
Nate opened the door to my room without knocking. “Is everything okay in here?”
“Yes.” I said coldly. I made sure that I was glaring at Teddy. “Teddy was just leaving.”
Teddy stood up, clearly miffed. I suddenly became frightened when Nate extended his hand to Teddy. “So, you’re the father of my girlfriend’s baby.”
Teddy grabbed the extended hand and said through clenched teeth. “Yes, and you’re the guy that’s dating the mother of my baby.”
“Yeah. I guess we’ll be getting to know each other quite well over the next few months.”
Though Teddy was trying not to show it, I could see that he was struggling to restrain himself. I could tell that he loathed Nate. I was glad that Nate was only staying for one night. Otherwise, I think Teddy would’ve killed him in his sleep.
Nate shut the door after Teddy left as I turned to look out of my window. The sunset was so breathtaking. I could feel a light breeze on my face mixed with the remaining warmth of the daytime. Nate stood right behind me and pulled me close to him. He whispered softly in my ear, “I don’t know what is going on between you two, but I’ll still be here for you, no matter what happens.”
A/N: I was browsing through my iPod the other day and came across the song that inspired me to write this story. It's called Run to You by Bryan Adams. It really explains part of my thinking for the Dom/Teddy/Vic triangle.
All of the windows in the Potter house were wide open. Thank Merlin for this because it was burning up. The July heat was getting to me, especially with my pregnancy, and the Rose’s stressing over when her wedding would be somehow made the house heat up even more.
“Well, we have to have it before the beginning of September because Scorp goes back to school. But we don’t have enough time to get everything done if we have it in July.” Rose repeated for the millionth time.
Rose had called this big meeting of family and some participants of the wedding. I was sitting by Rose, trying to help Scorpius keep her calm. Next to me was Nate, who kept grabbing my hand and kissing it lightly. Each time he did it, it sent shivers through my body. I think he can read my mind, though, because he keeps doing it with this little smirk on his face. Hermione and Ron were sitting on the other side of the dining table. Al and James just looked bored. I think they wanted to play Quidditch because their eyes kept drifting to the windows longingly.
Hermione, always her logical self, suggested, “Honey, what about the middle of August? There will be enough time to get things done, plus you’ll have a little time to be together afterwards before Scorpius has to leave.”
At Hermione’s words, Uncle Ron paled. I tried to keep a straight face because I knew what he was thinking about. Luckily, so did his wife. She snapped, “Oh, Ron, you’re daughter won’t be having sex for the first time after she gets married! I mean, that was done about nine weeks ago.”
Ron’s face turned red. Even Rose was giggling at this point. Uncle Ron was quite amusing, even when he wasn’t trying to be.
“That doesn’t matter. It still means that my Rosie will be—doing it again.”
Hermione grinned at Rose, now making her turn as red as her father, and said, “Now, I know you want it to be on a Saturday. So how about August 17th? Everybody will help get things put together.”
Rose jumped out of her seat, her face lit up with happiness. “Yes, Mum, that’s perfect! I’ll only be about three and a half months along, so I shouldn’t be showing very much.” But then Rose looked faint. I stood up and grabbed her arm, ready to catch her if she decided to faint. “Oh Merlin, that means I’ve got under five weeks to put this together. Oh my.”
Rose started to hyperventilate. Scorpius kept saying comforting things, but suddenly Rose broke away from my grip and went into the kitchen. She looked underneath a cupboard, and found my secret stash of giant chocolate bars that Aunt Ginny had bought for me. She unwrapped an entire one, and had it gone in about two bites. She then broke into another one. And another. And another. Finally, I stood up and forcefully pulled the chocolate away from her.
Letting my temper get the best of me so that I could sound firm, “Rose, not only are you eating my chocolate, but you’re eating too much. If you eat like this, you’ll get so fat from it that it’ll look like you’re further along than me!"
I saw Rose look me up and down. I took that as an insult. I mean, I was only four months pregnant, not pregnant with a whale. “But Dom, chocolate takes away my stress.” Before I could do anything, Rose started to cry.
Good God, this woman’s hormones were less stable than mine. And that was saying a lot. “Rose, calm down! You’ll give yourself a coronary if you keep eating like that, and I don’t think you’d enjoy that very much.”
Rose finally stopped crying and calmed down. “I know that you’re stressed out with the wedding and all, but you need to rid yourself of it in a more productive manner. You’ve got another person to think about now, too. Your baby is never happy when you’re stressed, and I can guarantee it’s not happy about having all of that nutrient-poor food.”
Rose sighed, and nodded. I was quite proud of myself. Ron and Hermione looked quite impressed with me. I felt a surge of pride. My parents would also be proud if they were part of my life still.
I felt a pang of sadness at the thought of my parents. I hadn’t talked to them in about a week, and there was no word of apologies or regrets. It hurt me more that my dad didn’t stand up for me at least. I had always been closer to him than my mother.
Rose broke my reverie when she said, “You know, Dom, you’re kind of maturing.” She lowered her voice. “I mean, before you were just this gorgeous teenage girl that slept with three different attractive men because she could. And now, you’re focusing on your baby and mine.”
I grinned. I did feel kind of mature because of this whole thing. But I did correct one thing. “I only slept with Teddy because of my feelings for him. The others, I just wanted a good shag.”
Rose chuckled at my last sentence. “Hey, I’m going to call Roxanne. I was thinking that maybe you, me, Lily, and Roxie can go shopping for our dresses today.”
“I’d love to. Just let me know when you’re ready to go.”
She beamed at me, and skipped away. I was slightly jealous. I couldn’t skip anymore. I was getting too big to handle that anymore.
I was sitting at my mahogany desk, twirling a quill, and gazing at my pile of textbooks. I was quite glad to be relieved of my summer assignments, but I felt weird. Usually, I was almost done with my summer work by now. But the books and parchments were collecting dust.
My eyes traveled over to Rose’s bed. I was surprised that Hermione and Ron were letting her stay for so long. But I guess I could see some reasons behind it. This was still the house of Rose’s godparents, her two best friends were living here, Ron and Hermione came over to the Potter’s house every day anyway, and Rose could experience her pregnancy with her pregnant best friend. It was a unique bonding experience.
I guess that when Ginny was pregnant with Lily, Hermione was pregnant with Hugo. Apparently, they shared this close bond that had become so strong that they became even better friends, and felt connected in a special way. Perhaps they wanted me and Rose to experience that as well…
Rose had been great throughout this situation. She was always there when I needed to discuss the awkwardness between me and Teddy. Teddy hadn’t spoken to me since our argument last week. I had only seen him a couple of times, so I was positive that he was trying his hardest to patch things up with Vic.
I just wanted things to be fine with him and my family. I mean, Teddy and I never argued while we were sleeping with each other. But now, it seems like we can’t do anything but argue. But thank Merlin that I’m not in love with him anymore! I’ve got Nate; he’s all I need. If Teddy insists on being such a git, Nate can just be the father figure in my baby’s life.
I faintly heard two pops outside of my bedroom door. I groaned, wondering who it was. I tried my best not to cry when I heard Teddy’s voice. “Dom, it’s me. Will you let me in?”
“Fine. Get in here then.” I snapped, running my fingers through my hair to make it appear as good as possible. I wasn’t surprised to see Teddy enter my room, obviously, but I was floored by the person that followed him. Victoire.
Teddy stood in between us, waiting in silence. I felt the air grow tense as Vic and I made eye contact. I knew that Teddy was waiting for one of us to say something, but our Weasley stubbornness meant that this would most likely be a long night.
Vic took a step forward, tore her eyes from mine, and sighed. “Dom, I’m sorry for what I said.” She said shortly. I honestly didn’t believe her. I knew my sister well enough to know when she was lying. “What you did wasn’t right, but what I said also wasn’t smart.”
I looked her face up and down. I noticed that she kept chewing on her lip. So, she must be feeling slightly guilty. But surely the real reason she was here was because of Teddy. Teddy was blatantly watching me, silently telling me to say something as well.
“I forgive you, Vic.” I grumbled. “I’m also sorry that I hurt you by being with Teddy.”
I now felt the ability to speak what my heart was dying to say. This was my one chance. I stepped forward, closing the space between me and her. I grabbed her hand, and quietly asked her to look at me. When she did, I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. “You’re my big sister, and I love you so much. I know what we did was stupid, but I love you and you mean the world to me. If we could find some way to get past this, it would mean the world to me. I want my baby to know its aunt.”
I was still pissed off about what she said to me. There was no doubt about that. And I would be angry about it for a long time. But everything I said was true. I missed my big sister.
Vic’s eyes started to water too. “I’ve been so caught up in your affair that I haven’t thought about the fact that I’m going to be an aunt.”
I wasn’t used to being so emotional, or my sister being so emotional, let alone the both of us at the same time. I had to get away from this topic. “I know that it’s probably a sensitive topic, but can I ask if the wedding is still on?”
I noticed Vic tense up a little bit, but she also squeezed Teddy’s hand. “Yes, it’s still on. And I still want you to be my maid of honor.”
I was not expecting this. I would still expect to be invited, but not keep such an important role as this. “Even after I slept with Teddy?”
Victoire’s lips thinned. It was amazing that I could point out all of these little habits and what they meant. This meant she was uncomfortable with something. “Yes. Everyone knows about the wedding and who is in the wedding party. If I suddenly remove you from it, people will ask questions. Eventually, they’ll put two and two together. I want this scandal under the ropes as much as possible.”
I searched her face as I asked her, “Will you be able to handle this? Is this going to be too awkward?”
Vic shook her head. “It will be a bit strange, but I promise to handle it as maturely as possible.”
Nothing gave me a reason to distrust her. She was looking me dead in the eye, and I don’t think I had ever seen her look so serious and mature. Suddenly, she titled her head, and I almost felt exposed. For the first time in my life, I felt like she was really looking at me. “You know,” she told me with a small smile. “This thing has made you look more mature. You really look like an adult now.”
Instead of shying away, or being shy, I looked her back into the eye and said, “Thank you. I kind of feel like it. Hey, how’s Louis doing?”
Vic sighed. “He’s taking this whole thing really hard. I mean, Louis always crumbled under unstable situations, and this is definitely one. Plus, Mum and Dad are fighting a lot now, and I think it’s traumatizing him a bit.”
I nodded. “I mean, he’s only ten. Of course it’s going to be bad. Why don’t Mum and Dad shut up when he’s around?”
“They’re so wrapped up in their anger that they don’t even notice him. I have to pull him from the room and I usually take him out for some ice cream.”
“Dom! Get your blonde pregnant butt down here!” I heard Rose shout from what must have been downstairs. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I’m sorry you guys, but I promised Rose that I’d go wedding dress shopping with her. If I don’t go, she’ll have another panic attack.”
“That’s okay.” Vic assured me. “I’ll send Louis your love.” Once again, she surprised me by pulling me into a hug. Granted, it was a bit tense and awkward, but it was a start.
“Um, no offense Rose, but I’m not wearing pink. It’ll clash with my hair.” Lily voiced. Rose kept insisting that we were to wear pink dresses, but Lily was putting up quite a fight. Although, I could see where she was coming from. That pink color would look ghastly with her hair.
Rose stepped right into Lily’s face. “Lily, you’re my cousin and I love you. But this is my wedding! What I say goes!”
“No offense, Miss Balloon, but I’m not going to wear something in a wedding that looks horrible on me!”
Figuring I should fulfill my role as maid-of-honor, I stepped in-between the two fuming redheads. If I wasn’t part Weasley, I wouldn’t even dare do that. “Okay, ladies, there will be no insulting especially of pregnant women who are still smaller than me. Because I will make my pregnancy hormones act up and both of you will be cowering.”
Thank Merlin that they took my threat as the truth. While I have a strong temper, I don’t think I would’ve been able to take these two tempers together.
I looked at Rose. “Rose, Lily doesn’t want to wear pink, and I agree with her. While you need to look the best, we need to look good too. So how about we go with Plan B?” I then turned to Lily. “Would you be okay wearing a light yellow?”
Lily nodded. “But I think that we should wear halter-top dresses.”
I glared at her. “Lily, you won one battle but don’t guarantee a victory in every battle. We will wear the strapless ones that Rose has chosen. Besides, they make our chests look good, so don’t complain.”
“Yeah, Lily. You should be grateful for the strapless design. It makes non-existent boobs from nothing, which should make you happy.” Roxanne added.
I loved Roxanne. She totally inherited Aunt Angelina’s attitude. And she always knew how to break the mood with some line. Besides James and Rose, she was probably my favorite cousin.
Lily looked like she couldn’t decide if she was angry or embarrassed. Taking advantage of her silence, I told both her and Roxanne, “Let’s work on Rose’s dress. It’s her big day. Let’s make sure that she’s beautiful.”
Thankfully, they both nodded. I then turned to Rose. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so mature or organized in my life. “Go put on that dress I chose for you.”
Rose grinned and hurried into the changing room. The three of us waiting impatiently, checking our watches about every twenty seconds. Finally, Rose came out of her room. To say that she looked like an angel would be an insult. She was wearing a strapless white dress with elegant beads at the bottom, and she had a light yellow sash around her middle. She didn’t even look pregnant at all.
“So, how do I look?” Rose asked us shyly. She almost looked innocent again.
“You look stunning, honey.” I promised. “Scorpius is going to drop dead when he sees you.”
Rose blushed, but beamed at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roxanne nudge Lily and say, “See, that is what your boobs look like in your dress.”
I burst out laughing for the first time in awhile. I loved Roxanne. Only she could talk about boobs so easily.
There was nothing like a hot summer day. Especially when there’s a Quidditch game going on in the Potters’ backyard. I wished that I could play, but no one thought that it would be a good idea. So now I was sitting here in a lawn chair, sipping an ice cold sweet tea. Rose was sitting next to me, surprisingly. I thought that she’d play one final Quidditch game before she started to show. Honestly, I think it was because I was sitting out on the fun, and she didn’t want me to feel too bad..
It was the Potter family against anyone else that wanted to play. The other team was Teddy, Victoire, and Hugo. It bothered me that my sister and my former lover were playing together, but I was happy for them deep down. But it wasn’t a crime to watch an incredible looking man that was currently sweaty and shirtless.
I couldn’t keep my eyes from trailing Teddy. When he landed like a feather on the ground, he glanced at me, flashed me a smile, and winked. It was like he knew what kind of effect he had on me. Was he doing this on purpose? I thought that we had agreed to be uninvolved. Of course, it wasn’t a verbal agreement, but more of an agreement that came from our actions.
“Down girl. He’s not yours anymore.” Rose grinned.
I watched Teddy fly around once again with a sad smile. “I don’t think he was ever mine to begin with.”
Rose put a hand on my arm. “Don’t be so sure.”
What was that supposed to mean? Why was my life so complicated? I didn’t have time to think about those questions because Vic flew towards me and yelled “Think fast” before tossing a Quaffle at me. I quickly grabbed one of the Beater bats in the Quidditch equipment that was next to me and I smacked the ball back at my sister’s face. She gave me thumbs up and I grinned.
“I still don’t understand why you asked me of all people.” My sister said to me as we walked up to the floor and room where my Healer, Healer Goldman, was waiting for us. “I mean, I understand why you invited Teddy, obviously, but why me?”
Was my sister really that daft? Couldn’t she see that this was part of our ‘healing process’? “Vic, you’re my baby’s only aunt. Plus, it really feels real when you see the scans.”
“I still can’t believe that you’re pregnant with Teddy’s baby.” She muttered angrily.
I sighed. This was a little old. “Vic, don’t think of it as his baby. Think of it as my baby, at least for now.”
I inhaled the scent of the maternity ward. It smelled kind of like baby powder and lemon cleaner. It reminded me of Teddy. I smiled, but then remembered that he was walking right beside me. Besides, I was over him. We were both happy now.
When we walked into the brightly lit room, Healer Goldman greeted us. “Hello Dominique and Teddy. How are we today?”
“We’re pretty good.” I replied, hoisting myself up onto the comfortable bed. That was no joke. These beds have got to be the most comfortable things since fuzzy pajamas. Teddy stood beside me like he did before, and Vic stood next to him, looking anxious almost. Why?
Healer Goldman suddenly noticed Vic. “Well, well, well. Dominique, this beautiful woman here bears a striking resemblance with you. Is she a relative?”
“Oh, this is my sister and Teddy’s fiancée, Victoire.”
Healer Goldman shook Victoire’s hand. “Well, it’s nice to meet you. Shall we get on with the tests?” He moved around to my other side, and started waving his wand. “How have you been feeling?”
I closed my heads and rested my head at the top of the Sheer Comfort. “Besides the moodiness, vomiting, swelling of my feet, and the intense cravings, I’m pretty good.”
Healer Goldman chuckled. In the next instant, the image of my uterus with a growing baby inside was visible for everyone to see. “Well, your baby looks very healthy and seems to be growing at a comfortable rate. Now, would you like to know the sex of the baby?”
I looked at Teddy, who then looked at Vic. Vic was actually crying. “Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Teddy asked in that soft, comforting voice of his. I remember when he used that voice with me. He always spoke so softly when he was with me.
Vic waved Teddy’s arm away. “This is my sister’s baby. I mean, look at it. It’s a real baby. I’m going to be the best Aunt ever for it. Now figure out if you want to know if I’m having a niece or a nephew.”
I looked again at Teddy, who now met my eyes. We held intense eye contact for a few moments before he shrugged. Gee Teddy, thanks for being so decisive. I turned to my Healer. “I think that we’ll wait. I kind of want it to be a surprise.”
He smiled at me. “Okay, then. Now, your baby should start to kick in the next couple of weeks. Since I won’t see you for a bit, I want to give you a supply of Pain Numbing Solution. Many women say that if the baby kicks quite a bit, it becomes painful. So this is just a precaution.”
He handed me a wooden box with lots of vials of potion. It was one of the most beautiful sights in the world. I had no doubt that I would need these eventually.
“Now,” he said, looking sternly at me. He kind of reminded me of a father talking to his child. “You are only supposed to take one vial every sixteen hours. But if you accidentally lose count, go ahead and take a dose anyway because there is no chance of overdosing. Although, you will feel disoriented and dizzy.”
“Thank you so much.” I told him, and let Teddy help me off of the table. I couldn’t ignore the sparks I felt when I touched his hand, but I tried not to think about it. I mean, those sparks have always been there, right? So it shouldn’t bother me like this…
Stop thinking about Teddy!
I looked at the incredibly high pile of envelopes sitting on the Potters’ dining table. Rose was sitting nearby, looking at it with satisfaction. I knew that I wasn’t going to like this. “Rose, what is this?”
She smiled. “Oh, those are the wedding invitations.”
“But I thought it was going to be family only.” I reminded her, scrutinizing the pile.
Rose raised one eyebrow. It was a cute quirk that I think she stole from me. “It is family only.”
I mean, I knew that the Weasley family was big and tended to reproduce rapidly, but this was outrageous. I started to go through the names of each section of the family. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that yes, my family is that big.
“Did you invite my parents?” I asked her, plopping down into the chair next to her. I was almost terrified to hear the answer.
She looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, Dom, but they’re family. And they may not even show up. I’m sure that they’ve figured out that you’re my maid of honor.”
Before I could open my mouth to snap at her, the doorbell rang. I knew that the Potters were out for some event, so it was just Rose and I in the giant house. I groaned as I stood back up. Rose looked too entranced by her invitations to answer the door. “I just sat down!” I mumbled irritably. But when I opened the door, any irritation I felt disappeared. “Hi Nate!” I squealed, and pulled him into a long, deep kiss. “What are you doing here?”
I let him inside and he answered in a dopey voice, “I came here to see my beautiful girlfriend.”
I felt my smile disappear and turn into a scowl. “Is that some kind of crack? Are you making fun of me? Or are you trying to raise my self esteem because I’m such a fat cow?”
Nate tried his best not to look frightened, but it didn’t work. “No, I really meant it. You are beautiful. It’s a compliment.”
Wow, I was hoping that the mood swings had died out, but I guess I was wrong. I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment, but Nate just cupped my face and softly kissed me. Any embarrassment was gone now. Now I felt that warm bubbly sensation in my gut. “What are you doing here?"
“I was hoping that you, Rose, and Scorpius might be up for a double date. There’s this new restaurant in Diagon Alley that I want to take you to.”
“Yeah, that sounds great. Let me get Rose.” I decided to agree to the deal. This was how we were going to summon each other if we weren’t in the same room. “Rose, get your redhead pregnant butt out here!” Nate raised his eyebrows at me. “Don’t ask.” I added.
Rose came skipping into the room with a grin on her face. That summon technique was her idea. “Oh, hi, Nate. What’s going on?”
“Get your fiancé over here so we can go on a double date.”
“Oh, okay.” Rose agreed with a smile. “How about you head over there, and we’ll meet you there in five minutes?”
“Sounds good.” Nate told her, putting his arm around me. He escorted me out of the house. “Why five minutes?”
“They’re probably going to snog during that time.”
Nate grimaced. “I know that they’re a couple and that they’ve kissed, but that still put a bad image in my head.”
As Nate and I walked hand in hand down Diagon Alley, I couldn’t help the fact that I felt like bursting from content and happiness. His presence was always so calming, and I always felt safe when I was with him. And he made me feel like the only girl in the world that was beautiful enough for him. I could hardly believe that we had only been dating for six weeks.
I immediately spotted this new restaurant that Nate had told me about. It didn’t exactly stand out, but having been here each year at least a couple of times, I could tell when there was something new. He turned to me and smiled, and then led me inside.
It seemed like a wonderful restaurant. It wasn’t overly fancy, and it kind of reminded me of some bistro. But the first thing that greeted me when I walked through the door was the lovely smell of lasagna. Maybe I’ll get that…
A woman with red hair tied back greeted us with one of those fake smiles. I tried my best not to scowl at her. “Hello, welcome. Would you like a table for two?”
Nate smiled a genuine smile back at her. That’s what I loved about him. He knew that she was faking her smile, but he was decent enough to give her a real one. “Actually, we have two more people arriving shortly.”
“Okay, can I have a last name?”
Nate looked at me. “Put down Weasley.”
As soon as he said my last name, the woman looked at us interestedly. Her eyes lingered on me more than Nate. I was used to this, though. Once she was done ogling, she said, “Right this way, please.”
The tables were a dark, polished wood that contrasted with the lighter hardwood floors that we were walking on. The walls were a maroon color, and each of the tables had a candle as a centerpiece. We were lead towards the back of the restaurant, and as the woman showed us which table we would be at, my eyes drifted a little farther to a slightly unwelcoming sight: Teddy and Victoire were eating here as well.
Nate pulled out a chair for me, which, unfortunately, gave me a lovely view of Teddy and Victoire, who were now snogging. I rolled my eyes before Nate sat down next to me and started looking through the menu. I was at a public restaurant with people dining; I could not throw up, no matter how bad the urge was.
Once the glass in front of me filled up with water on its own, I took a sip of it, trying to ignore that nauseous picture. Luckily, Rose and Scorpius showed up at that moment. “Hey, sorry if we’re late.” Rose said breathlessly.
Rose sat down next to me, and while the guys debated on their meal, Rose leaned over to me and whispered, “What’s got you in a pissy mood?"
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Dom, I’m your best friend. Your pale and you look a little disgusted.”
I frowned. I guess I would have to tell her. I tried to point my head as discreetly as possible at the apparently glued together couple. Her eyes drifted over and landed on them as well. Realization dawned on her face. “Ah. Just try and ignore them and eat until your heart is content.”
“Don’t worry. I plan on it.”
I started looking through the menu, and so many things popped out at me. Maybe I’d have the lasagna with the chocolate torte for dessert. Or maybe the filet mignon with the cheesecake. Why did everything have to look so good?
My eyes stopped looking over the menu when two people were suddenly standing at my table. Don’t get angry, I kept telling myself. Don’t ruin this evening. “Hi Teddy, Vic. I didn’t think that I’d be seeing you twice in one day.”
“Neither did we.” Vic laughed. “But when I saw you, I had to say hi. I can’t stay though; I’ve got to work in the morning.”
Teddy turned to her. “Why don’t you wait outside and I’ll be there in a minute, okay?”
“Okay.” Vic agreed, and kissed him. Again, I rolled my eyes and watched my sister disappear.
Teddy looked at me. “I wanted to tell you that Vic wants to go shopping for some wedding outfits probably sometime this week. I just want you to have a heads-up in case she suddenly drops by and says ‘let’s go’.”
“Alright, thanks.”
“It was nice to see you all again.” Teddy said with that gorgeous smile of his. He shook Rose’s hand, then shook Scorpius’ hand, and then kissed me on the cheek. He totally ignored Nate’s outstretched hand and left without another word.
I was smiling when he kissed me, trying to still my beating heart, but I felt my smile disappear when he acted so rude towards Nate. I could see Nate kind of scowling as well. Rose cleared her throat and said, “I’m going to go freshen up. Dom, will you come with?”
I was kind of confused, but I obliged. In my gut, though, I knew that she was going to chew me out for some reason. Once we were in the loo, she rounded on me. “What the hell is your problem?”
“Um, excuse me?”
“I mean, you have Nate is totally crazy about you and yet you feel the need to ruin your sister’s relationship as well.”
I stepped into her face now. I was glad that I had about two inches on her. “What are you implying?”
“You knew that they would be here and snatched up the opportunity to make Teddy jealous by bringing Nate here—“
“How dare you accuse me of that? I am happy with Nate. I may have loved Teddy in the past, but I don’t anymore! If anyone is unable to let go, it’s him!”
Rose looked at me skeptically. “There is no way that you are just suddenly over him. You don’t fall out of love in a snap.”
“Okay, maybe I still have some feelings for him. But I love Nate. Teddy had his chance! He had his chance, and he chose her over me! That’s why I’m not hung up over him.”
For the second time tonight, Rose told me, “I’m your best friend, Dom. I know you better than that. And I know that you know yourself better than that as well.”
She was right. I did know myself quite well. And maybe that’s what I was afraid of…
There was no getting around it. I was uncomfortable. All of my clothes were tight on me, so I had to wear fat people clothes now. Needless to say, I was not happy about it. But I was trying not to dwell on it. Besides, I was trying to plan the last minute details of my best friend’s bridal shower. And it seemed like things were falling apart right before my eyes.
“Well, can we switch the food at this point?” Lily asked worriedly.
Roxanne snorted. “Of course we can. We’re witches. We can just whip something together with our wands.”
Lily pursed her lips. “Correction: only you two can wave your wands around. I can’t yet.”
However, all debates stopped when James suddenly plopped into the dining chair next to mine. I looked at him amusedly. “Do you want to help us plan this little girly party thing?”
He just smirked at me. For some reason, it was irritating. “It just sounds like you ladies are troubled and stressed. I could never deny help to damsels in distress. So give me some details.”
I watched him for a moment, debating on whether or not he was serious. Nothing said otherwise, so I let him the conversation. “Rose’s shower is in two hours. Right now she’s getting an exam, so we’ve got to hurry up. We’re doing an around-the-clock theme. We still have to get decorations up and now we’re trying to change our menu.”
“Why?”
Roxanne leaned forward. “The more we thought about it, the more we realized that finger sandwiches and tea weren’t exactly Rose’s perfect match.”
James chuckled. “That is certainly true. How about we have Belgian waffles?”
Lily sighed. “That’s more of a breakfast food. I don’t really want to have it in the afternoon, but it’s really up to Dom. She’s the final decision maker.”
At first, my mouth watered as I pictured a huge plate with waffles stacked high and strawberry sauce dripping off of them. But then I felt my stomach churn. “Um, my baby is telling me that waffles are a big no-no.”
“We’ll just have to think of something else.” James announced, and sat in what looked like deep thought for a moment. “Rose loves cheeseburgers. How about we have that?”
I nodded, not being turned off of the idea. “But there’s one problem: I’m pretty sure that none of us have made cheeseburgers. It’s not exactly the most popular food among our family.”
He pulled out his wand and arrogantly twirled it a few times. “It’s a good thing that you have me, ladies, because I have made cheeseburgers before.”
I was impressed to say the least. I didn’t realize that James could cook. I knew he could eat the food that was cooked (believe me, it was almost scary to watch), but I didn’t know that he could make the food as well. I opened my mouth to tell him this, but I felt a snap by my waist and a shot of pain.
Apparently, I visibly looked like I was in pain because I had Lily, Roxie, and James all beside me in a second. “What is it?” James implored, looking terrified. “Is it the baby?”
I grimaced. “Guys, don’t worry. That was just my last pair of knickers snapping.” James, Lily, and Roxie breathed sighs of relief, but then it really hit me. My last pair of knickers from my skinnier days was gone. Before I could do anything, I felt the tears coming. Everyone looked surprised. I quickly stood up and ordered, “Go get everything ready. I’ll come down when guests start arriving.”
And with that, I stomped up to my bedroom, ignoring the stunned expressions of my friends’ faces.
Life was so wonderful. I wasn’t pregnant. Teddy was standing just a few inches away, looking as handsome as ever, and he was leaning in slowly. I leaned in towards him, puckering slightly as I waited for the moment of bliss whenever his lips met mine. But it didn’t happen. I opened my eyes, and Teddy wasn’t in front of me anymore. He was a few feet away, and he was kissing Vic. I screamed loud, and suddenly I was surrounded by my unlit room.
“Wow, that was intense.” I whispered to myself, sitting up and pulling the covers. My shirt and shorts were soaked. I didn’t realize that I could sweat that much in my sleep. And no, it wasn’t a pleasant dream, but it was far from a nightmare.
Feeling gross and sticky, I pulled off my shirt and my hands paused on my belly. I loved this baby so much, even though it was complicating life. I put on some fresh clothes, washed my face, and went to open the door and head downstairs. However, Rose opened the door before I could reach it. She was grinning from ear to ear and had the glow of an expecting mother.
“What’s put you in such a good mood?” I asked, hugging her fiercely. I couldn’t help it. She was so happy that it made me happy.
“I went to see my Healer today, right?” I nodded. “Well, he said that my babies are just fine.”
At first, it didn’t occur to me what she was saying. But she was clearly waiting for some type of outburst. Finally, it hit me what she announced.
“You’re having twins?” I squealed. She nodded, and we pulled each other into fierce hugs again. We were there for a few moments when I whispered, “You know, this probably isn’t good for our babies.”
Rose obviously agreed with me because she let go of me and just smiled. “Our babies are going to have such a blast growing up together! Maybe your kid and one of my kids will get interested in each other.”
“They’ll be second cousins! Isn’t that weird?”
“Hey, if my one of my kids wants to marry your kids, I won’t say no. Your kid is probably the only one I’d trust with my kids.”
I chuckled, and secretly wondered how I would react if something like that happened. “Now come on, Rose. I’m sure that you’ve seen your party, so let’s party.”
I had a list of moments in one of my journals that had specific moments during which I had wished to not be pregnant. This happened to be one of those moments. Why? I really wanted to down some Firewhisky. Maybe it would add some livelihood to this party.
My train of thought was broken when I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder. I actually had to force myself to not shiver from the pleasure of his touch. I missed his touch, and it was at this moment that I truly realized it.
“So, Maid of Honor, can Vic and I steal you away to go get some dresses?” Teddy whispered in my ear. It was like he was my savior. Could he tell how bored I was?
I was actually kind of relieved when Teddy and Vic came to fetch me from Rose’s party. It was honestly one of the most boring parties I had ever attended. It was probably because it was a bridal shower. Thankfully, Lily and Roxie agreed to take the reins and keep everything under control.
I was honestly happy to leave that boring place, but I was also kind of disappointed because I was going to find Vic’s wedding dress and my bridesmaid dress. This means discussing the wedding. This also means that Teddy and Vic will be all lovey-dovey and make me throw up on her new dress. But I would try and restrain myself. Apparently, Uncle Harry was already here trying on his dress robes, so I’d have his support.
Vic turned to me excitedly as we reached the dress area. “Okay, I want to find your dress first. Harry actually liked the dress robes that we picked out, so he’s home right now.” I was incredibly disappointed. “So, we’ve decided that you will be wearing a light green color. And I trust your fashion taste, so you can pick out your dress. Just run it by me or Teddy when you find one that you like. I’m going to go find my dress right now.”
I nodded, and went searching through the many dresses that were surrounding me. I did notice one thing, though. When Vic left, Teddy stayed with me. Why? Why me? I turned to him. “So, what kind of dress do you think would look the best on me?”
Teddy grinned. “Well, actually you look fantastic in no dress."
I playfully pushed him. “Good luck seeing me wearing that again.”
He just continued to grin at me. I wanted to hex him. My eyes trailed over all of the dresses. I didn’t know what I had in mind, but I knew that when I saw a dress that I loved, I would try it on. Luckily, it didn’t take very long. I saw a lovely green satin dress that probably fell to my knees and was strapless. I was so excited as I pulled it to me and hurried off to try it on.
This fabric felt so fantastic on my skin. I didn’t realize how wonderful satin felt! I felt like such a luxurious goddess or something to that effect. It even made my baby bump basically invisible. Of course, it couldn’t be completely invisible. I was almost five months along.
I felt like the most beautiful woman in the world, and was brimming with self-confidence went I left the room to show Teddy.
The combination of this dress and the way Teddy looked at me made me feel like there was no woman as wonderful as me. I hadn’t seen him look at me like this for a long time, at least that I know of. He was honestly looking at me like I was the only woman in the world. I couldn’t help but feel my heart beat faster. He took a couple of steps so that we were only a few inches apart.
“Have I ever told you just how beautiful you are? And that every man would kill to be with a woman like you?” he breathed, looking intently into my eyes. His gaze was so intense. I couldn’t help but be entranced. His hands sneaked around my waist, pulling me right up against his body. I felt myself leaning closer to him. His lips were so beautiful and so close, and I didn’t think of anything except how much I wanted this and wanted him.
“Oh goodness, Dom! You look stunning!” my sister suddenly said, appearing near us. Luckily, Teddy and I pulled away from each other before she could see anything. I felt flushed, and that the room had warmed up at least ten degrees. “This is perfect. Go change, and I’ll pay for it. They had the dress that I ordered in my size, so I already paid for that. I’ll try it on at home sometime."
I nodded, and obliged her request. When I came back out, I handed the dress to her, and when she was gone, Teddy and I looked at each other. He opened his mouth to say something, but I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t handle this seesaw. I just looked him over once more before I walked away, not letting him say what he wanted to say.
Ah, tonight was the night. The night that the bride and the bridal party always looked forward to. No, I’m not talking about the reception after the wedding. I’m talking about the bachelorette party. Although, I won’t be able to get into the full spirit since I can’t have alcohol. Rose couldn’t either, though. But it was her bachelorette party. She would definitely be into the male stripper.
It had been such a fight to even host this party. Aunt Ginny was all for it, which is one of the reason that I love her so much, but Harry was a bit uncomfortable with the idea. But then Ginny confessed to Harry that she had her own bachelorette party and that it was such a wonderful send off into married life. Eventually, Harry caved. As for Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, they didn’t even know about this. I had a feeling that they would both flip out. They just think that we’re having a girl’s night.
I love Rose and Scorpius, and I have always loved the idea of Rose and Scorpius getting married, but right now I was trying not to vomit. This was the last time they would see each other until the wedding, and they were snogging goodbye. Unfortunately, this didn’t even help the already tense air between me and the man that was helping throw Scorpius’ bachelor party: Teddy Lupin.
Teddy and I were standing fairly close together, watching the happy couple act like they were glued together, and I felt uncomfortable. After our little incident a week ago, we hadn’t talked or even stayed in the same room for more than ten seconds. He had tried on several occasions to talk to me, but I just walked away. I didn’t want to talk about it. I was tired of riding the roller coaster. But being the amazing person that I am, I broke the silence.
“So, are you going to be staying at his bachelor party, or should I expect you home during Rose’s party?” It didn’t occur to me until after I said it that I sounded like his wife. He heard it too because he gave me one of those wolfish grins.
“I’ll be there for a bit, but I’ll be home well before Rose’s party is done.”
“Not in the mood for half-naked women?”
I meant this as a joke, and I’m pretty sure that he heard it as a joke too. But then he looked at me, looked right into my eyes, and whispered, “No. The only woman I’d want to see half-naked is you.”
Many women would’ve laughed because I’m sure that their male friends had said something similar to this during their friendship. But Teddy said it with such passion and seriousness that told me that a message was hidden under that. I didn’t get time to ponder on it though because Rose and Scorpius had finally broken apart. That was the signal that made Teddy move away from me and over to him. I couldn’t help but watch him as he walked away. This man was like a puzzle, and I only had a few of the pieces put together.
Scorpius and Teddy were about to open the door when James and Al came running downstairs. “And where are you two going?” I asked them sternly. Even though I had blonde hair, I hoped that I reminded them of their mother. They never messed with Ginny.
“We’re going to Scorpius’ bachelor party!” Al told me like I was some daft idiot.
I did my fake laugh. James’s smile dropped. He knew what that laugh meant. It meant that stern and stubborn Dom would be showing up soon. “James, you can go. But Al, you need to stay here. Your parents made me promise that I would keep you here.”
He was clearly blindsided by my response. “Dom, come on. Have a little sympathy. I’m his Best Man!”
Luckily, I knew how to stand my ground. Al and James had this puppy-dog look that melted anyone’s heart, but they only saved it for special occasions. Apparently, this was one of them. “You don’t want to see naked women anyway. It’s not as good as you think.”
James went and started to whisper something into Al’s ear, and I knew that James was making some snide remark. “Don’t even think about it, James.”
James held his hands up, trying to rid himself of any accusations and took off out the door before anyone could say another word. I turned to Al. “Why don’t you go hang out with Lily? Maybe you could play Quidditch.”
Al stomped his foot. He reminded me very much of an angry toddler. “Why won’t you let me go?”
“Your mum and dad made me promise to watch after you tonight. And even if you sneak off, you’ll be the one getting punished because they can take me at my word.” I pasted on my evil smirk just to be safe. Al actually looked kind of frightened. He nodded, and hurried back up the stairs. Sometimes, I really do love being me. But then as I watched Teddy disappear, I realized that it was not always lovely being me.
“Dom, you throw one hell of a party!” Roxie yelled into my ear over the loud music. Right now, there were some loud songs playing and the male stripper I hired was stripping down for a slightly blushing Rose. Pretty much all of the girls were whistling at him, and dancing to the music. And, of course, all except for the pregnant women were drunk. “Can I tell you a secret? I secretly like James.”
I froze while slipping some Muggle money into the gorgeous man’s thong to give Rose a lap dance. Did Roxie seriously just tell me that? Rose smiled a ‘thanks’ at me and returned her attention to the muscular, tan man that was making sure that Rose had a fantastic time. I, on the other hand, dragged Roxie away from the dancing.
“Roxie, did you just say that you had feelings for James? As in our cousin, James Potter?” I asked, eyes probably looking like they’re about to pop out of my head.
She downed another drink. “Yeah.” She confirmed.
Part of me wanted to vomit. “He’s our cousin, though. That’s just disgusting! That’s, like, incest!” Clearly, I was not handling this well. But at least I was not voicing every single thought that was going through my mind. They would’ve included some very interesting words that would’ve resulted in a severe punishment from my mum.
Even though Roxie was clearly still intoxicated, she sobered up slightly. She pulled me even farther away from all of the action in the party room of the Potter house. It looked like she was very hesitant about saying something. “Technically, James and I aren’t cousins.” If I was shocked before, then there were no words in the English dictionary to describe what I felt now. Maybe I’d have to make one up…
Once I was capable of finding my voice again, I requested, “Can you please explain this revelation?”
“Mum and Dad split up. Apparently, Mum had been pressuring Dad into having another child, but Dad didn’t want to. I guess it’s been a problem for awhile now. They officially separated last week. No one knows; they’re trying to keep it a secret until Dad serves Mum the divorce papers. It should be anytime now.”
I pulled my crying cousin into a hug, whispering soothing words while trying to process this information. Uncle George and Aunt Angelina couldn’t be breaking up! They were such a fun couple! And everyone thought that they were a perfect match. I couldn’t even imagine how this would affect the family. I bet that Fred was taking this really hard as well.
“That’s not even the last bit.” Roxie sobbed. “Apparently, they were also fighting on whether or not to tell me something. Finally, Dad told me that I was adopted. Fred is their biological child, but I was abandoned by my biological mother.”
Wow, and I thought that my life was bad. My problems were nothing compared to what Roxie was going through. I couldn’t help but hug her again. “I’m so sorry, Roxie. If it’s any consolation, I always thought that you and James would make a fantastic couple if you weren’t related.”
She giggled, wiping away her tears. “Thanks. I do like him a lot. But I’m going to wait a bit before I do anything.”
I nodded with a small smile. “That’s probably a good idea.” I grabbed her hand and forced her back into the fun room. Near me were a bunch of drinks, so I shoved one into her hand. “Drink, and enjoy this night.”
I stumbled up the carpeted stairs, putting a large portion of my weight on the wooden railing. Bachelorette parties are terribly exhausting. Of course, I’ve only been to one, and I wasn’t even able to enjoy it properly. My head was too mixed with thoughts of Teddy, my baby, and Roxie’s new dilemma to enjoy myself. Plus, I was bitter about all of the alcohol around me and not being able to partake. Merlin, I must sound like an alcoholic…
As I reached my bedroom door, I sighed with relief and happiness. There was nothing in the world that I wanted more than to drop onto my bed and sleep. But, like always, life couldn’t give me exactly what I wanted. Teddy was sitting on my bed looking quite relaxed. Regardless of the fact that my head was telling me to leave, I went and laid down next to him on the bed.
“So, how was the party?” he asked, not even looking at me.
“It was good. I feel intoxicated, though, just from smelling all of those drinks down there.” I chuckled. “Why are you in my room?”
“I don’t know.” He said kind of awkwardly. “I just felt like coming in here. No, I haven’t searched through your stuff.”
I laughed at him. It seemed like he could always make me laugh, kind of like James. “I know you well enough to not think that. Most of the time, you are a complete gentleman.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “I’m sorry that I came in here. But for some reason, it’s kind of peaceful for me.”
“That’s alright. I think that my room is kind of peaceful—” I told him, but then I felt a sharp pain in my belly. Teddy sat up when he saw me touch my belly. I held my hand there for a moment, almost waiting for the pain to come back. It did. “Teddy, you’ve got to feel this. The baby is kicking!”
Excitement lit up his eyes and he placed a hand right by mine. The baby must know its daddy because it kicked again. “Wow.” He breathed. “Our baby’s kicking. How do you feel?”
“Honestly, it’s great but painful.” I had to pry Teddy’s hands away from my belly so I could get some of my miracle pain killing potion. Eventually, I ended up chugging four of them. What could I say? This baby was a strong kicker. “You know, Teddy,” I said with a slur. “I feel really funky right now.”
Teddy stood up and placed his hands on my shoulders to hold me steady. “Dom, you drank way more of that stuff than you were supposed to. No wonder you feel bizarre.”
“I didn’t think that I could get drunk anymore, but I was obviously wrong. Although, I’ve only been drunk once. But I’ve wanted to do it again.”
Teddy looked at me strangely. I couldn’t read his expression. But that was probably because of the potion. My eyes drifted down to his lips. They were pink, and very kissable. I noticed that his eyes were now watching my lips as well. Normally, when I’m this close to Teddy, I have these walls that go up to prevent me from doing anything stupid. Of course, being doped up on potion kept those walls from forming. When he started moving closer to my lips, I got tired of waiting and crushed my lips against his.
Did I ever mention that being with Teddy is like bliss? I swear that his kisses could actually send me to heaven. Our kisses were so full of emotion, so passionate. Why hadn’t we been doing this the whole time?
Suddenly, there was a crash from downstairs. I’m pretty sure that a drunken Roxie knocked something over. Anyway, it was enough to snap me out of my Teddy-worshiping state, make my walls go up, and make me break away from him. I placed my hands on his chest as he rested his forehead against mine. I wanted to just cry. Why did things have to be so complicated?
“Teddy,” I whispered. “We’ve got to stop doing this. We keep having these moments.”
“I was pretty sure that you were enjoying them.” He smirked.
I sighed. “Yes, I was. But it’s wrong. I can’t do this with you. Not while you’re engaged to someone else."
Teddy’s face became expressionless. I hated when that happened. He was never afraid to show his emotions around me, but maybe that was part of the problem. He leaned into me again, but I turned my head so his lips brushed softly against my cheek. “Please go.” I said, choking up with tears.
I could see it in his eyes that he didn’t want to go. Thankfully, he obliged and I was left alone in my dark room with nothing but my thoughts and my tears.
A/N: Well, what did you think of that little twist in the plot with Roxie? In the next chapter, Rose and Scorpius will get married...but will Dom finally give into her feelings?
A/N: Yes, this is much longer than usual chapter, but there is a lot to this chapter. This was one of my favorite chapters to write, but it was also one of the most difficult. I hope you enjoy it!
When I opened my eyes, I knew instantly that they were swollen. I wasn’t surprised. I had cried myself to sleep last night after chowing down on a pint of banana flavored ice cream that my baby apparently wanted. As I closed my eyes again, wishing that I could sleep for five more minutes, I felt my baby kicking again. Luckily, it wasn’t as painful as it was last night. I couldn’t help but beam as I felt my child kicking me, letting me know that it was there and that it was growing.
I honestly felt like I could stay in bed all day, feeling my baby kick, but I was the person that had to keep this wedding together today. Repressing a groan, I rolled over and saw Teddy standing near my bed. I shrieked and pulled my covers up over my exposed body. “Teddy! What the hell are you doing here?”
He immediately took a defensive position and opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off with some more yelling. “You have no right to be in my room without my permission! You of all people are not allowed in my room!” He kept trying to but in, but I wouldn’t let him. I wanted him to know exactly what I thought of his actions. “I mean, I’m practically naked! What, you couldn’t get laid last night so you thought that you’d watch me sleep in my knickers? You are perverted!”
“Dom! Shut it right now!” he roared in my face. Lucky for him, I shut up after that. “I’ve only been here for a minute. Al wanted me to wake you up so that you could talk to Scorpius. Apparently, he’s getting cold feet and no one can get through to him.”
This time, I did groan. I already needed to help a pregnant bride get ready, but now I had to deal with a guy getting scared. Plus, Teddy saw me half-naked. This was not starting off as a day full of sunshine and rainbows.
I sat up in bed, wishing that someone else could be me right now. “Fine.” I growled. “Now get out of my room before I decide that you never get to meet your child.”
Teddy snorted. Wow, I wanted to actually smash his face in right now. I never get that violent. I don’t have violent tendencies because I am Dom Weasley. And Dom Weasley is a kind, loving woman. And kind and loving women don’t smash faces in. “What are you snorting at?” I snarled.
He shook his head in amusement. “Nothing. It just looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” He gave me one of those smirks again and started walking towards the door.
“Hey, you’re not some hormonal pregnant woman that has to deal with another hormonal pregnant woman and her wimpy fiancé!”
Apparently he was afraid of all the yelling because he then ran out of my room before I could say anything else. But hey, I wasn’t going to complain. I did what I had to do. And now I had to convince someone else to do what they have to do. This day had to get better.
A few minutes later, I stumbled out of my room fully dressed and ready to have some pep talks with certain people involved in a certain wedding. Apparently, my baby was not a morning person either. I hoped that it gained more of my characteristics, and not develop a habit of watching people sleep inappropriately like its father. With my eyes full of sleep and my baby angered, I accidentally ran into a coat rack, and it fell over on the floor with a loud clatter. I winced, praying that Harry and Ginny wouldn’t wake up.
I heard a door open and cringed, fearing the possible wrath of Ginny. I was filled with relief when I saw a disheveled Roxie. I had never seen in her in the morning, and she clearly was not an early bird either. Her brown eyes were filled with sleepiness, her shoulders were slumped, her black nightgown was rumpled, and her hair was in a position that I swear defied gravity.
“What the hell are you doing?” she grumbled. I swear that there was a slight snarl on her face too.
“Sorry. Teddy woke me up.”
Roxie sighed, probably assuming that something happened between the two of us last night. I didn’t bother to correct her because I didn’t care at this point. “But still, you could’ve slept for another two hours.”
“Yeah, well, apparently Scorpius is getting cold feet. None of the guys can talk him out of it, so they’re relying on me now.”
Roxanne nodded. “I’ll come with you to literally knock sense into him if he doesn’t snap out of this.”
I grinned. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of that before. It was a brilliant idea, really. Roxie could be very intimidating, and if she appeared over there like this, it may scare Scorpius into cooperation without even having to say a word. “Alright, well keep in mind that James is over there and he’ll see you like this.”
I followed Roxie downstairs to the sitting room, which housed one of the fireplaces in the Potter house that was connected to the Floo Network. “I really don’t care at this point. It’ll give him a preview if we ever date.”
I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around Roxie’s family crisis. But I didn’t even contemplate it as I Flooed to Scorpius’ home.
I had never been in Scorpius’ flat, though Rose had many times, and I was quite shocked at the state of this place. Rose swore on the name of Merlin that his flat was as shiny clean as gold and silver. Apparently her standards were a lot lower than mine…but maybe this was from the bash last night.
There was a hint of sophistication under this mess. Bottles of Firewhisky, Butterbeer, and Muggle Beer were strewn all over the tan carpet. Some of the wall-hangings on the green walls were crooked, and the men of the party looked half-dead from their hangovers…especially James.
I snickered as I walked over to James who was chugging large amounts of coffee. “So,” I smirked, “did you let the female entertainer of the night see your thong?”
James looked up from his mug, glared at me, and tossed a pillow at my head. I caught it with ease. “Wow, you must be nursing a serious hangover to throw like such a girl.”
James grunted, “Whatever. Just talk to Scorpius. He’s being a douche.” His eyes glanced behind me. “I see that you brought some reinforcement. Roxie will knock sense into him if you aren’t good enough.”
I stood and looked at him with my hands on my hips. “You don’t think I can handle this? This is Scorpius that we’re talking about.”
James sighed, put his mug of coffee down, and put his hands on my shoulders to start rubbing them. “You just look like you had a long night last night and that it had nothing to do with a late-night party.” I averted my eyes from his. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”
I shook my head. “Let’s just say that it’s getting really old.” He looked at me sympathetically. I hated that. There’s something about pity that I despise to the core of my being, but only when it was directed at me. I pasted a smile on my face. “Now, we have some dumb, hung-over wimp to deal with. Where is he?”
“He locked himself in the bathroom. It’s just down the hall there. I tried talking to him, and then I called Al, but none of us can get through to him.” James told me, leading me to the bathroom. “He’s been in there since he woke up this morning and vomited.”
I nodded and put my face right up against the golden-yellow door. “Scorpius, its Dom. I’m going to tell you what I plan to do. First, I’m going to approach this calmly and tell you soothing things. Then, if you refuse to come out of there, I will open up a tiny hatch of hormones and irritation at being up this early, and then if you still refuse to grow up I will bust this door down and drag you out of there myself. Am I being clear?”
I heard no response, so I assumed that he heard me. “Scorpius, I honestly believe that you have the guts to do this. I know that you wouldn’t have proposed to Rose if you weren’t ready for that type of commitment. Rose loves you, and you love her, so nothing will go wrong today, okay?” There was still no noise of any sort. “Scorpius, you are an adult now. Everyone here is an adult now. I know that it might be scary when we’re all at this age still, but you are a grown-up now. You need to get yourself together for your sake, for Rose’s sake, and for your baby’s sake.”
I heard what sounded like shuffling, and then a voice said, “I’m afraid. I don’t know if I can handle this. I’m not even done with Hogwarts yet.”
I tried to understand where he was coming from. Actually, I did understand where he was coming from. I didn’t feel ready to have a baby. I was supposed to be going back for my final year of Hogwarts in a couple of weeks. “Scorpius, I really do understand where you are coming from. I’m scared of everything that is going on. But Teddy and I are dealing with it. And you need to deal with it too!”
The bathroom was silent again. Now I was getting frustrated. “Scorpius, so help me Merlin, I will knock this door down and sick Roxie on you!” Apparently it was enough to get Scorpius to open the door. “Don’t think about how big of a step this is. Think about how much you love Rose and your baby.”
Scorpius still avoided my eyes, but he nodded and started to brush his teeth. I grinned with satisfaction as I turned around to face James. “See, you should’ve just called me in the first place. I am so good with fixing situations.”
“Then how come things are weird with you and Teddy, still?”
I mockingly glared at him. “That was low, my friend.”
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around to see Nate smiling that beautiful smile at me. “Good morning, beautiful.” He murmured before kissing me softly. I heard James pretending to gag next to us, but I just ignored him. “You did pretty good work.”
“Honestly, it was just the threat of Roxie that got him to toughen up.” I glanced around quickly for Roxie, and saw her chatting away with James. I felt a small smile appear. “So, I guess I’ll be seeing you at the wedding.”
Nate pouted at me. He always looked so cute when he had that damn pout. “You’re not staying any longer?”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and told him, “Love, I have to get a hormonal pregnant bride ready for her wedding, along with dealing with my own hormones.”
“Fair enough.”
I kissed him lightly. “I’ll see you later. Make sure you look handsome.”
He smirked at me. At that split second, I thought that I was looking at Teddy; their smirks were so similar. Once I shook myself out of that thought, I smiled back at him and left with Roxie in tow.
I stood looking at myself in the mirror, checking my appearance. My bridesmaid dress actually looked kind of flattering on me. Even so, my hands kept rubbing my showing pregnant belly. This was my baby. My baby. And my best friend was getting married. This was a good day.
“Dom! I need you here now! I need your beautiful observant eyes!” Rose shouted through the door. This was just one more bit of the chaos. Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione were downstairs in the spacious backyard getting the chairs, the flowers, and the massive wedding tent set up, along with making sure all of the other details were being taken care of. Ginny came up every ten or so minutes to give me an update on how things were going. Luckily, things downstairs were going smoothly.
I pulled out my wand out as a precaution and made my way to the room where Rose, Lily, and Roxie were finishing their appearances. As soon as I walked in, Rose dragged me forward. “You look wonderful!” she said quickly before stepping next to Lily. “How do we look? Make any changes you feel are necessary.”
“Rose, this is your wedding. You should be making these decisions.”
“Yes, yes,” she waved it off impatiently. “I’ll see how we look after you make the changes.”
I nodded, agreeing to her terms. First of all, I started with Lily. I tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and moved on to Roxie. I changed her straight hair into a slightly wavy hairdo, and put it back into a fancy formation. And then I moved onto the most important woman of the day. At first I kind of played around with her hair, but then I just ended up stroking it like a mother does to her daughter and the tears of happiness fell before I could do anything.
“Dom, stop crying. I don’t want your makeup to get messed up.” Rose told me trying to hold back her tears too.
“I’m sorry.” I sniffled. “I’m so happy for you two, but I think it’s partly my hormones.” I summoned a handkerchief and wiped my eyes. “But I think you all look perfect now.”
Rose looked Lily and Roxie over quickly and gave her approval. The timing was impeccable, for Ginny popped her head in the door and said that everything was completely ready and that the guests had finished showing up. The minister was here, and Scorpius was waiting down at the altar. Ginny gave Rose a hug and left right when Ron and Hermione showed up beaming.
“Honey, you look so beautiful.”
“I still can’t believe that my Rosie getting married to a Malfoy and carrying his child!”
Rose grumbled a bit. “Dad, was that resentful?”
“No, I’m happy that you’re getting married! I promise. But I’ve warned that boy that if he does anything to hurt you, I’ll beat him into the next dimension.”
Rose simply rolled her eyes. She knew deep down that he wasn’t overly concerned about Scorpius hurting her. He was being more mature than most guys in this situation, and everyone could see that both Hermione and Ron appreciated that.
“Anyway, I want to head downstairs and get this thing started!” Lily exclaimed. With a nod from Hermione, we all proceeded down the stairs, and stopped just outside of the glass doors that led to the yard. Ron and Hermione were whispering last minute pieces of advice and compliments. Literally out of nowhere, Al, Nate, and James appeared beside us.
After I briefly kissed Nate, I pulled James aside and whispered, “Are my parents out there? Please tell me that they aren’t there.”
“No, they couldn’t make it.” James shifted his eyes around to make sure that no one was eavesdropping. “Don’t tell Rose or Scorpius, but as an apology for not making it, they’re letting them use their beach house in France for their honeymoon.”
“Merlin, they’re treating my pregnant best friend better than their own pregnant daughter.” I groaned. James responded by hugging me.
“Now isn’t the time to be worrying about your parents. They’ll come around eventually. But Victoire brought Louis, so you can see him. And this is Rose’s big day. Don’t let anything get you down.”
I wanted to tell James how much I appreciated his presence in my life and how I didn’t deserve such a good friend and that I didn’t know what I would do without him, but couldn’t find any words to properly express this. I just nodded, hoping that my thoughts were somehow radiating off of me, and hooked arms with Al. It was kind of weird because Al was a few inches taller than me even though he was younger than me.
Some music started up, and Roxie and James started the procession. Once they reached the altar, Lily and Nate followed. And then Al and I were the last of the wedding party to reach the altar. A new song was played, and Rose stepped out of the house with Ron and Hermione.
I couldn’t help but grin as I saw Scorpius’ jaw drop. Rose really did light up the entire yard, especially when she beamed at Scorpius. These two had never looked more in love before, and believe me, that was a feat. Hermione was lightly dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, and Ron was full out sobbing his eyes out on her shoulder. It was kind of alarming because Uncle Ron believed that crying was too feminine for him.
As Rose grabbed hands with Scorpius, my eyes met with Teddy’s. He was in the second row next to Vic and Louis. I couldn’t read his expression, but I quickly broke contact with them and focused on Rose and Scorpius.
“Friends and family….”
I couldn’t help but watch with teary eyes as Scorpius and Rose danced their first dance as husband and wife. The two of them looked so lovesick that it was nauseating yet hopelessly romantic. They literally only had eyes for each other. And practically everyone else only had eyes for the newlyweds. That is, until she felt a light tap on her shoulder and turned to see Nate grinning at her. “It’s quite romantic, don’t you think?”
I felt a tiny smile spring forth. “Yes, it most certainly is. Who knew that those two would get to the point that they are now at?”
He extended his hand towards me, and said in a very gentlemanly tone, “May I have this dance with the Maid of Honor?”
As he slowly pulled me to the dance floor, I whispered, “I don’t know. Maybe you’d rather be seen with some beautiful, non-pregnant woman instead chubby ol’ me.”
“Merlin, no. To me, you are the most beautiful woman in this whole party.”
I felt a blush come to my face. I didn’t deserve someone as marvelous as Nate in my life. I closed my eyes and leaned into his embrace for a moment, but then we suddenly stopped moving when someone tapped Nate’s back.
“Excuse me, but can I cut in?” Teddy asked politely.
Nate’s expression instantly became stony, and he looked back at me as if asking for my approval. I nodded. “He and I need to talk anyway, so this’ll be a good time. How about you dance with Vic or something?”
He nodded, gave me a quick smile, and disappeared. I turned back to Teddy, hesitant to have him touch me but yet yearning for it. As his arms slipped around my waist, I felt shivers throughout my body. We seemed to naturally fit together.
“Are you sure that Vic won’t get mad at the two of us for dancing like this?” I murmured against his neck.
“I’m positive.”
We danced in silence, and my eyes gazed around me. I smiled when I saw Louis dancing with Rose. He had given me the biggest hug after the ceremony, saying how much he missed me. Thinking about it almost brought tears to my eyes. I regretted how little he had been a part of my life over the last couple of months, but I knew that things would all work out in the end. Besides, I didn’t want him involved in the drama that was my life right now.
“What are you thinking about?” Teddy whispered.
“Louis. Vic. Us. Our baby. There’s so much going on in our lives right now that it’s hard not to think about any of it.”
Teddy pulled back a bit so that he could look into my eyes. “When it gets overwhelming, you have wonderful friends, wonderful aunts and uncles and cousins, Nate, Vic, and you’ll always have me.”
His gaze was so intense now that I felt myself blush. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his. There was now a much more sensual feeling to this action. Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. I quickly pulled away from his touch and hurried as fast as I could into the house, up the stairs, and to my room. I barely had enough time to get a deep breath when I heard my door open behind me. It was Teddy.
“Dom—”
“No!” I shouted. “I can’t think when you look at me like that. I can’t breathe when you look at me like that!” I turned away from him, afraid to lose control of myself. But then I felt him behind me.
“Do you think I like this? Don’t you think I’d rather be looking at my fiancée? I don’t like this anymore than you!” He was breathing heavily now. We were both silent, unsure of what to say now. However, he made up his mind and chose not to speak with words, but with his emotions.
“What are you doing here, then, Teddy? Tell me the truth.” I sighed, trying to ignore the mind-numbingly pleasurable kisses he was placing on my neck.
“I’m here because I want to be here with you. You’re my Dom.” He breathed into my ear. His hot breath made my skin tingle. He was trying to break my walls down. And honestly, he was doing a good job.
“But where have you been the last few months when I wanted you here?” He was silent, so I answered for him. “You were with my sister.”
“And you were with Nate. We’re even.”
I shook my head and he started to message my scalp. Merlin, this man knew my weaknesses. “I love him. And you love Vic. That’s the way it is supposed to be.”
I heard him exhale in frustration. “Why are you fighting this? It doesn’t matter where we’ve been the last couple of months. We’re both here now. We both want this. I’m yours.”
Instantly, my mind flashed back to my conversation with Rose a few weeks ago when we were watching the Quidditch game. I used the same sentence when responding to Teddy. “You were never mine.”
He forcefully turned my body so that I was facing him. This was another moment when I wished that I wasn’t pregnant. My baby bump stopped my body from being pressed up right against his. This felt like one of those moments when contact would make the moment more intense, more intimate. His eyes were gazing deep into mine, just like outside. They were like tidal waves of emotion. Tenderness? Possessiveness? Maybe love?”
He closed the small gap between our lips until there was an inch separating us. “Don’t be so sure.”
And that was the final stone that sent my walls tumbling.
A/N: Sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter, but there's some good stuff in here.
I didn’t care that about anything else. Not the fact that my best friend was celebrating her marriage, not that my sister was probably still dancing with my boyfriend, and not that the baby was being pushed into my bladder. All that mattered was Teddy and our fantastic chemistry. I seriously can’t remember why we haven’t been doing this the entire time. It felt so wonderful, like the stars were falling into place.
I couldn’t even say when our clothes fell onto the floor. We were both too lost in the moment, too alive to care about whether this was right or wrong. Before I could stop it, I was on top of him. The sensations flowing through my body were so magical, like a soft, fluttering breeze amidst a sweltering hot day. I couldn’t get enough of it. He was clearly enjoying himself as well. Our eyes held contact the entire time, and I actually saw happiness floating in his. Did being with me really make him happy?
Even the sweet cuddling afterwards was wonderful. The way he held me was possessive and protective, exactly what I wanted. Not many people knew this about me, but I had this deeply rooted fear of being alone. I always felt the need to be protected. Living by myself scared me more than death. Perhaps hearing the horror stories of the last two wars made me afraid. But when Teddy smiled, kissed me on the nose, and hugged me tighter, I felt completely safe; safe enough to voice my thoughts.
“Leave Vic.” I murmured.
There was a long silence before he replied, “What?”
I smacked his shoulder rather hard; there was a red mark. “I know that you heard me. Don’t be a coward. I want you to leave Vic. Will you?” He groaned. It was a frustrated sound. This really infuriated me. “It’s not a hard question, Teddy. You are either willing to leave her or not! So what’s it going to be?”
“Why do you always insist on ruining the moment?” he growled.
“Me? It’s you that’s ruining the moment! I’m pregnant with your baby, you’ve had both an emotional and a physical affair with me, you claim to love me, but yet you won’t be with me. What more do you need?”
“Dom, don’t put me in this position!”
“It’s not an outrageous request! Why are you hurting Vic, me, and yourself? What is it about Vic that holds you so tightly?”
He sighed, crawling out of bed. He ran his hands through his hair. “She’s so sweet, loving, and loyal. She stayed with me despite what I did to her. If I break it off with her, she’ll be devastated. A girl like that doesn’t deserve that pain.”
The anger that burned in my veins rapidly melted into a devastation that chilled my blood. “So according to you, I’m not sweet, loyal, and I deserve this pain that you bring me?”
Teddy grunted in frustration again. I didn’t understand what was so frustrating. Was anything I said just complete nonsense? Apparently it was to him, otherwise he wouldn’t be so temperamental.
He rested his forehead on my shoulder for a moment before he lightly kissed it. I wanted to give in, to forget the anger that was swelling. I longed to ravage his lips with mine, to give into our passions without emotional scarring. But I couldn’t do that now.
“Leave.”
“What?” he questioned, shocked.
“I want you leave right now. I don’t want to see your face again unless it’s concerning our baby.”
He tried to hug me again, but I pulled away and started putting on my clothes again. “I don’t understand where this is coming from.”
It took all of my energy to not hex him. “This relationship we have, if you can even call it that, is like poison. It’s draining me, and I’m done with it.” I was now fully dressed again, and I opened up my door.
“Dom, wait!” Teddy called.
I slowly turned back to him and said, “I have waited for you, but not anymore.” And with that, I was down the stairs and back out to the reception. I instantly spotted Louis and James sitting at a table close by.
“Hey, where have you been? You look a bit flustered.” James pointed out, taking a sip of his champagne. I barely shook my head, indicating that I didn’t want to talk about it.
“Come on, Louis. Let’s go dance for a bit.” I told my brother, and he eagerly pulled me onto the dance floor. I was happy to get my mind off of other things.
Dear Dom,
Things here in France are going good. It’s so nice to be alone with Scorpius for the week. I’m terribly sad that he’s leaving soon, but we’re definitely making the most of our time together. I promise to bring you home something. See you soon!
Love,
Rose
I read this letter to James, who had just plopped on the couch at the same exact time that Rose’s letter had arrived.
“Well, it sounds like they’re having fun.” James said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“When is your mum getting back from work? She’s supposed to watch a birthing tape with me tonight.”
“She’ll be home later. Probably in a couple of hours.” He replied, putting his feet on the coffee table in front of us. “Speaking of birth, how are things going with Teddy?”
I groaned. This was the hundredth time that James had asked this question. He assumed that the reason I was so distracted and flustered during the wedding was because of my baby’s father. And he was right, but I hadn’t told him that yet. Usually I would just blow him off and switch the topic. What happened that night was starting to eat away at me; no one knew what had taken place, not even Rose or Vic or Nate or anyone. So I caved.
“Teddy and I slept together the night of Rose’s wedding.” I murmured, not looking at him.
I didn’t even have to look at him to know that things made sense in his mind now. “So what does this mean for the two of you?”
I was silent for a moment before I revealed, “I told him that I was done. The only time we will see or talk to each other is if it’s about the baby or about the wedding. My emotions are tired of being stretched to different spectrums.”
I could practically feel the sympathy pouring out of him as he put his arm around my shoulders, pulled me close, and kissed the top of my head. “Maybe it’s better this way. You don’t want to be involved in that kind of drama.”
I chose not to reply, but just simply close my eyes and rest my head on his shoulder. That was the last thing I remembered before I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.
I woke to a noise, and saw Ginny and Vic standing in front of me and James. I instantly knew that Ginny had taken a magical picture of us. I tried not to scowl as I started to fully wake up. Ginny smiled and told me, “I brought the tape. I went and got your sister before I came here because she wanted to see it as well.”
James had apparently been sleeping too, because he had been rubbing his sleepy eyes until his mum said that. “Well, I’ll leave you ladies to your girl fest.” Then he hurried away faster than I had ever seen in my life, and that was saying something.
His former spot was immediately replaced by my sister. I felt completely embarrassed and horrified to be sitting by Vic merely because of what had occurred between Teddy and me. But she didn’t seem to be grouchy or give off any signs of being angry or resentful. This was good, and it needed to stay that way.
Ginny then sat down on my other side, and lightly touched my hand. “Before I start this, I want to know that it will be scary looking, and it will be just as painful as it looks. But once it is over, your baby will be worth any pain you will go through.”
I’m sure she was telling me this to keep me calm, but it did the exact opposite. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to see James being born anymore. And then the images appeared.
I felt my eyes widen, my grip on my sister tighten, and I felt the fear inside of me well up. Ginny was clearly at St. Mungo’s, and she was practically screaming with pain. “Harry, I’m going to kill you for doing this to me!”
I had never truly heard Ginny yell before, but now I could understand why James and Al were so afraid of it.
“Merlin, Ginny, it looks like your ass is going to explode, and that’s not even where the baby is coming from!” Vic shrieked, tightening her grip on me as well. “Dom, I used to hate you for being pregnant before me but not anymore. I don’t think I have any problems with adoption anymore!”
“You’re not helping matters!” I screamed at her, feeling tears come down my face. “I don’t want to do this anymore! I don’t want to! How do I get out of it?”
But then the screaming from the tape stopped and it was replaced by a baby’s cry. I took a risk and opened my eyes. Ginny was now crying happy tears and she was holding a little baby.
“Aww, he’s so small.” I said, any fear I had gone.
Ginny smiled at me, and informed me, “Now look how happy I am.”
Vic nodded, adding, “You’ll be just as happy once you have your baby.”
I suddenly jumped off of the couch, and left the room muttering to my sister, “Oh, screw you. You don’t have to do it.” I heard her laugh before I disappeared up the stairs.
A/N: I apologize for the wait, and for giving you a shorter chapter, but this one has a nice little twist in it. The next few will have twists as well, so start preparing yourselves now...
It was a sad day indeed. These familiar scents overwhelmed me, wrapping me in their richness and familiarity. I stared blankly ahead of me, hardly aware of the crowds of families around me. It wasn’t until someone accidentally brushed against me that I snapped out of my reverie. I smiled up at Nate, who was beside me and holding my hand. He lightly squeezed it, smiling back at me. However, not even his presence could make me feel better today.
It was the first of September. Many members of my family were here, wishing goodbye to those that were going back. Rose was saying goodbye to Scorpius while Ron and Hermione were hugging Hugo. Harry and Ginny were chatting with Lily and Al, and my siblings were standing just a couple of feet away from me. Louis was heading off to Hogwarts. I was trying terribly hard not to cry. Damn these hormones.
However, there was something else here that, according to everyone else, was a good reason to have my spirits dampened. Vic, Teddy, and Louis were separating me from my mother and my father. When we saw each other, we barely even made eye contact before mutually agreeing to ignore one another. There was no way that we were going to fight on this exciting day for Louis.
The train whistled, signaling that it was time for everyone to board. I hugged Al, Lily, Scorpius, and Hugo. When it was my turn to hug my brother, I hugged him tight and whispered, “I’m so proud of you. You’re going to have a blast. Send me a letter anytime you want.”
Louis nodded, hugging me as tight as possible, and then he hurried onto the train with his cousins. As the train took off, I saw Louis poke his head out of the window and he started to wave goodbye. As I waved back, I couldn’t help but envy him. I wanted to be his age again so badly. Sometimes it really sucked to be grown-up.
Once the train was gone, Nate and I moved over by Rose. I wanted to be as far away from my parents as possible. I saw them laughing with Vic and Teddy about something. A twinge of sadness hit me. I wished that I was on good terms with them. I saw them turn away, presumably leaving, but my dad made actual eye contact with me. It was hard to read them, but I think there might’ve been guilt. But I was probably just seeing what I wanted to see.
Rose glanced at her watch and muttered, “Bloody hell! I’m almost late for my appointment. Come on Mum, Dad, Dom.” Since Scorpius was no longer here, I was required (according to Rose) to go with her to all of her check-ups. Even though I was filling Scorpius’ role while he was away, I refused to act like I was her husband.
I took one last glance at my father before I disapparated.
It was a bit awkward being with Rose while she enjoyed this appointment with her family. It made me awfully nostalgic. At this point, there was almost no hope of reconciling with my parents. The only possibility of changing their minds about this situation was perhaps seeing or holding the baby. But that wouldn’t happen for another three or so months. The longer we kept this gap, the smaller the chances were of closing it.
I snapped back to the situation at hand, and focused my attention and Rose and her Healer. I couldn’t get over how much Ron and Hermione were glowing, especially when the Healer said that the babies looked fantastic so far. I know that they wished it would’ve been under different circumstances, but I knew that they were happy to have a grandchild.
“Well, Rose,” the Healer said with a smile. “You are far enough along that I can inform you of the sexes of your babies. Would you like to know?”
Rose’s face was overwhelmed with a nervous kind of excitement. She looked to her parents, silently asking for their opinions. Hermione placed a hand on Rose’s shoulder and replied, “It’s up to you, honey. They’re your babies.”
Clearly not satisfied with this answer, Rose then turned to me. “I know you chose to not find out, but you are taking the place Scorpius. I need you to channel his thoughts and tell me what he would want.”
I sighed, expecting this to happen. But I gave her an answer that I was sure that Scorpius would’ve given, “I think he would say the same things as your mum and dad. It’s your decision.”
Rose bit her lip, not entirely sure if she wanted to know. In the next minute, however, Rose told the Healer, “I would like to know, please.”
“Congratulations, Rose. You’re having a boy and a girl.”
Rose’s eyes widened with happiness. She had the biggest grin on her face as Ron and Hermione hugged her. “Oh, wow, Scorpius is going to be so happy! That’s what he predicted!”
I couldn’t help smile back at my best friend.
His arms were around me, and I felt completely at peace. I didn’t think that feeling was possible anymore, given the situation between me and Teddy. But this guy always managed to make me feel wonderful.
I felt his lips kiss the top of my head and he whispered, “A knut for your thoughts?”
I sighed, loving the sound of his voice. “Honestly, Nate, I was fine until I saw my parents this morning. And now, I can’t stop thinking about them, and how I want to change things between us. But how can I be cordial with them again after they treated me so cruelly? They would have to be the ones to make the first move.”
He starting playing with my fingers, and it sent shivers up my arm. It felt so good to sit here like this. And I loved it when he played with my fingers. I looked up at him, and admired his handsome features. He really was the greatest boyfriend in the world, and I couldn’t imagine life without him now.
I heard the doorbell ring, and I groaned. “I don’t want to leave. I’m awfully comfortable right now.”
Nate kissed me and said, “You probably should answer that. I have to use the loo.”
I nodded, and made my way to the door. I hated how much harder it was to stand up after sitting down on certain pieces of furniture. Ah, the downside of being six months along…
I opened the door and was not at all surprised to see my sister and her fiancé. I was to the point of no longer using his first name; it made things easier. “Hi Vic.”
“Hi, dearie.” She beamed, and rubbed her hand on my belly. “I can’t believe how far along you are. Before you know it, you’ll be pushing a watermelon—“
Teddy quickly clapped a hand over her mouth. “Vic, don’t scare her. I’m sure she’s already looking forward to it after that video.”
I was actually grateful that Teddy was there, though I would never admit it. But who knows how long Vic would’ve talked before she realized that she should shut it. At least Teddy understood that I was a bit freaked out about the birth itself, and did not need a reminder of how painful it would be.
“Come in.” I told them, opening the door farther. “Nate’s here, but he’s using the loo.” I noticed Teddy’s lips tighten, but chose to ignore it. “I’m assuming that you want to talk about the wedding.”
Vic nodded, eagerly pulling me to the dining room table. “I want to start finalizing certain details.” She waved her wand and a bunch of folders appeared on the table. As she rapidly starting going through details, I kept glancing at Teddy, and saw that he was watching me. But then Nate sat down beside me and started playing with my hand.
Vic just asked me how everything sounded so far, and I was about to reply when the doorbell rang once more. I was confused. “Is anyone else supposed to come over today?” Everyone shrugged. Normally, family just used the door instead of the doorbell. “Alright, I’ll go get it.”
I honestly didn’t want any visitors. I just wanted to sit, and not have to move. However, this time when I opened the door, I was so shocked by who I saw that my jaw dropped. It was my father.
He was looking at the ground, but glanced at me quickly. “Hi, Dom.”
“Hi.” I responded, wanting to keep the pleasantries. But I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “What in Merlin’s name are you doing here? I thought you never wanted to see me again.”
He sighed, and rubbed his eyebrows. “Look, I know there’s nothing I can say or do to make up for what happened. Not having you at home has bothered me, but I adjusted. But when I saw you earlier, I couldn’t stand not being a part of your life anymore.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. Part of me wanted to hug my father until he couldn’t breathe, and the other part of me wanted to slam the door in his face. But I saw the guilt and sadness in his eyes, and I knew that he was telling the truth.
“What you and mum did really hurt me. I want you to know that. But I can say that I’ve missed having you in my life, and I really want you to know your grandchild. I can’t forgive you yet, but I’m glad you’re here.”
He looked up at me with shock. “Really? Do you mean that?” I nodded, and gladly brought him into a hug. “I’ve missed you, sweetie.” He whispered.
“I’ve missed you too.”
We stayed like that for awhile, and I couldn’t help but feel elated that my father was in my life again. That right there made anything that happened in the last couple of weeks instantly better. When we pulled away, I smiled at him. It was then that I saw the suitcase next to him.
“Dad, why do you have a suitcase?”
“I was hoping that Harry and Ginny had another spare room. I left your mother.”
As I lay in bed, I couldn’t help but recall how chaotic the day had gotten after Dad announced that he was leaving Mum. Vic had gone insane, but was kind of proud of him. I was happy to have her more on my side than my mum’s side. Dad was properly introduced to Nate, and declared that Nate was a fantastic guy for sticking by me. When Harry and Ginny had arrived home, they showed him where another guest room was, and then I know that they went to a private room that was commonly used to drink in. I’m sure that Harry and Ginny were trying to comfort Dad. This then resulted in Ron and Hermione coming over as well to join them. I wondered if Louis knew yet…
Now I had everyone on my side except Mum, but I doubted that would ever change. It was just so difficult to believe that my parents were separated, especially after going through the Second War together. I now understood why Roxie was so sad…
I wouldn’t be surprised if Grandad and Grandma Weasley showed up tomorrow. But they’d probably bring lots of food, and I wouldn’t object to that.
However, I would probably be eating my body’s weight in food over the next couple of days. If Grandma Weasley brought food, and she would bring more than enough to last for a year, even with James’s stomach, she would force feed me until I was ready to vomit. Plus, I was planning on going food tasting with Vic. And Vic was showing no signs of knowing what had occurred between me and Teddy.
Things were going good. I could only hope that they would remain that way.
I couldn’t get over how many people were seated around the Potter dining table right now, all chatting mostly about my dad’s announcement. I wasn’t even kidding. We honestly had dad, Vic, Teddy, Nate, Harry, Ginny, James, Ron, Hermione, Roxie, and me.
However, I was avoiding as much of the conversation and gossiping as I possibly could. I sat with a piece of parchment in front of me, and a quill poised to write. Roxie was sitting by me, and quietly asked, “What are you doing?”
I sighed. “I’m supposed to write a letter to Louis, to explain what’s going on at home. Dad said I always had a special way of keeping Louis calm, so he thought that it would be best for me to tell him. But honestly, he’s only been at Hogwarts for a few weeks. This is just going to devastate him, and I don’t want it to affect his first year.”
Roxie nodded. I could feel the sympathy and understanding just pouring out of her pores. “Look, you know that I’m going through the same thing. If you ever want to talk about your parents, my ear is always available.”
I nodded, silently thanking her.
I felt Nate slip an arm around my shoulders. I was happier than ever to have him by my side, along with my family. They were so good about being there for one another when someone was going through a rough patch.
I noticed Rose looking at me from across the table. I furrowed my eyebrows towards her with confusion. Were people going to be randomly watching me over the next few weeks? Keeping her voice low, Rose told me, “I still can’t believe your dad left your mum. But I knew that he’d be on your side eventually. He loves you too much to not be by your side.”
I grabbed a chocolate chip biscuit from a giant plate that was sitting in the middle of the table. Grandma Weasley had delivered them earlier this morning. “It is nice to have him here,” I admitted. “But I would love to have them both.” I took a bite of the biscuit, and though it tasted delicious and the baby was very happy with it, I did not finish the rest of it. “I really shouldn’t be eating this. I have to go food tasting in an hour or so.”
After I said this, I chanced a glance at Teddy and Vic. He was sitting with his arm around her, and she was resting her head on his shoulder. But he kept glancing over at me. I really wished that he would just stop doing that. I didn’t need Vic getting ticked off and joining my mother’s side again. But I was distracted by Nate gently grabbing my chin and touching his lips against mine. Merlin, I loved that man.
As I sat there tasting the newest variation of fish beside my sister, I detected something. And no, it wasn’t that my baby was not fond of the last type of fish I ate. There was an odd air about her. She almost looked like she needed to talk about something, that something was eating her alive inside. She kept chewing her lip, a sure sign that something was wrong. I placed my hand on hers, and she looked up at me. “Vic, is there something wrong? You seem a bit worried.”
Vic pursed her lips. Whatever was going on, she was definitely reluctant to reveal it. “Come on, Vic. I’m your sister. You can talk to me about anything.”
She stayed silent for a moment, glanced around the room to make sure there was no one nearby, and rubbed her eyes. “Teddy’s acting weird. And I mean really weird. I feel like he’s hiding something, but I’ve tried to tell him that he doesn’t need to keep secrets from me. Honestly, after what happened between you and him, I thought he understood that he could talk to me.”
I knew exactly what was wrong. I knew Teddy well enough to know that he hated keeping secrets. Of course, I hated keeping secrets as well, especially from the two people that meant so much to me: my sister and Nate.
I was torn. The good side of me wanted to blurt out the entire story, to beg for forgiveness, and to justify my actions. But the horrible side of me wanted to lie, to avoid any mention of what happened that night.
But I was loyal above all else. While I may not have been loyal to Vic or Nate that night, I knew that I could be loyal to her now, that I had to be loyal to her now. I felt sick to my stomach.
“I actually know what’s bothering Teddy.”
Vic looked genuinely shocked. “How do you know? Did he tell you about it? Why would he tell you and not his fiancée?”
I was very aware of how large my tongue felt inside of my mouth, and how dry my lips and throat had become. But this was the moment of truth, quite literally. She needed to know the truth.
“I only know what he’s hiding from you because I was there when it happened. I’m part of the secret that he’s hiding from you, that we’re hiding from you.” I could tell that Vic had her suspicions now, but she didn’t look angry. I was grateful for this, because it made it a bit easier to say this. “The night of Rose and Scorpius’ wedding, Teddy and I slept together.”
It was painful to watch the emotions travel through her face. First, there was pure disbelief and shock. Then, acceptance set in and she looked devastated. But then, she looked furious and deeply betrayed.
“Vic, I know you may not be thinking it right now, but Teddy loves—” I tried to tell her, but she slapped me.
“I thought I could trust you. You are my sister. I thought that you could keep your hands off of my Teddy, especially since you have Nate!” she ranted. She continued to go on and on, but I sat there silently, accepting it because I had it coming. But the words she was saying cut deep into my soul, and I felt worse than ever for betraying her. I couldn’t lose her support.
“Vic, I’m sorry about this.” I muttered quietly, pulling out my wand. “Obliviate!”
Vic immediately stopped talking, and had a dazed look in her eyes. I knew it had worked. Vic no longer knew that Teddy had been acting weird, or that he had cheated on her with me. I felt guilty for doing it, but I couldn’t stand the thought of losing my sister again.
Merlin, please forgive me.
When I arrived home, I found that the dining room was now empty of everyone except James, who appeared to be working incredibly hard on something in front of him. It was a rarity to see James work, let alone work so hard.
“What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be out chasing some ladies or some Quaffles?” I smirked, sitting down next to him. My body was overwhelmed with relief to be sitting down. I was no longer able to stand up for long amounts of time.
He tossed a glare my way before setting his quill down. “For your information, I happen to be filling out a form for the Auror Training Program. It needs to be sent to the Ministry by next week if I want to be considered.”
“Aww, does wittle Jamesie want to be just like his daddy?”
James simply looked at me for a moment before turning back to his form. “Ha ha, very funny. But honestly, I always admired my dad and what he does to help keep the Wizarding World safe.”
I observed him, and saw that he was being serious. “I think it’s great that you want to be just like Harry. It doesn’t surprise me. I just thought that you wanted to pursue a career in professional Quidditch.”
James nodded. “I used to, but over the last couple of years, my ambitions have changed. I want to contribute something besides my dashing good looks and my talent with a Quaffle.”
I felt a small smile appear. At least the egotistical James was still there a little bit. But when did he mature so much? “So I’m guessing that this new James won’t get plowed next week during his birthday party?”
He gave me a small grin. “Who said I wouldn’t ever get plowed again? I just won’t do it very often. Besides, a birthday is a good reason to go crazy.”
I ruffled his hair before deciding to retreat to my bedroom. I really wanted to just relax in my own sanctuary. The guilt of wiping my sister’s memory was really eating away at me.
To take my mind off of things, I grabbed a book off of my nightstand. It was by my favorite Wizarding author, Eugene Harrison. He wrote mystery novels, and I loved that he made the plots be in the Wizarding World. He had a flair for writing, and his books could always suck me into the story like a black hole.
I vaguely heard the front door downstairs open up, and just assumed that it was one of its current residents. I let my mind wander for a minute to the occupants of this house, and just how much room Harry and Ginny had here to comfortably accommodate everyone. But the disappearance of the small child drew me back into the novel’s world.
However, the sudden presence of a certain person that gave off an uninviting aura made me regret not locking my door. Without looking up from my book, I asked in a monotone voice, “What do you want, Teddy? I’m busy.” I jumped when he suddenly tore the book out of my hands and threw it down onto the ground. “What is your problem?”
Teddy looked livid. “My problem? My problem is that my fiancée came home after spending time with you, and I saw the look in her eyes. Her memory had been wiped, and you were the last person to see her. So what happened?”
I stayed silent for a minute, trying to carefully phrase my words. “I love my sister, and you know that, so I wouldn’t have wiped her memory if it hadn’t been for a damn good reason.”
“And just what is this reason?”
I started playing with my fingers, deliberately avoiding his eyes. “She said that you had been acting weird lately. You have to understand, the guilt was eating me away, Teddy! I couldn’t stand hiding it from her! But I couldn’t lose my sister’s support…”
Realization dawned on his face. And then it changed to a mix of anger and relief. “What were you thinking? I can’t believe you told her about what happened that night!”
“I’m sorry. But she needed to know! And you clearly weren’t man enough to own up to what happened, so I did.”
I think I touched a nerve. Teddy’s skin color now had a red tint, his hair was fiery red, and his eyes were an icy blue, colder than Antarctica. Knowing a metamorphagus was quite cool most of the time, but it was times like this that his ability terrified me.
“I didn’t tell her because I wanted to protect her, because I didn’t want to ruin the relationship again!”
“I’m sorry that you can’t accept that we had sex, again, because if you had, you would’ve come to your senses and admitted the truth to her!”
Teddy was clenching his fists, and I knew that he wanted to throttle me. “But the fact that you told her made things even more complicated!”
“Would you rather I not wiped her memory? I couldn’t stand keeping it a secret anymore, and I know that I was selfish, but I wanted to have my cake and eat it too! Be happy that I did what I did, because I saved our asses and I cleared my conscious.”
“You’re saying that you don’t feel guilty about wiping Vic’s memory?”
“Of course I feel guilty! But it’s not eating my insides away like it was before.”
I’m not sure what I said, but some word triggered a calming agent in Teddy’s body because I saw him return to his normal appearance. “I’m sorry for yelling at you, and I’m sorry for the way I acted when I showed up here.” I nodded, not replying. “And you’re right. I should’ve told Vic what happened. I kept it a secret because I didn’t want to lose her, but I didn’t want to lose you either.”
I had been looking out of my window until he said that, and then my head snapped around at him. “What do you mean?”
“If I told Vic what happened, and she decided to stay with me by some odd chance, do you think she’d ever let us spend any time together? You and I both know that she’d never let us out of her sight again, and I couldn’t stand the thought of that.” I knew what he was going to say next, and part of me wished that he wouldn’t say it. “I’m in love with you.”
I covered my eyes, shaking my head. “I can’t listen to this! You won’t leave my sister, and I don’t understand why if you love me as much as you say you do!” I stopped talking for a moment, and regained my breath and calm demeanor. “I’m in love with you too, that’s why it hurts me so much to be in this unhealthy relationship. So please leave.”
Teddy stood there for a moment while looking me over. I could tell that he was debating it. But then he silently nodded, and disappeared with a crack. I sat down on my bed, not wanting to deal with anyone else tonight. I just wanted to be alone with my growing baby. But tonight was just not going to be my night. My door opened again. It was Nate.
I immediately knew that something was wrong by the blank expression on his face. I couldn’t remember a single time that he didn’t greet me with a smile, a hug, and a kiss. But he stood there in the doorway just looking at me.
“Nate, what’s wrong?” I asked, and I tried to get up, but I no longer had the energy to heave my heavy body off of the bed. As I looked Nate over, the answer suddenly hit me. “How much did you hear?”
Nate licked his lips, still displaying a blank expression. “I heard everything.”
My stomach sank, and fear welled up inside of me. “Oh Merlin, Nate, I never wanted you to know. I’ve been trying to stop it, and I’ve been successful for quite awhile. I haven’t done anything with Teddy is awhile!” He still looked at me with that blank expression. It was infuriating while at the same time fear-instilling. “Please, Nate, say something! I’m sorry! I love you, and I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to lose you.”
Nate opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but he just closed it again and turned around. “Wait!” I shouted, heaving myself off of my bed. Keeping Nate was more important than my comfort. “Where are you going?”
“I’m leaving, Dom. I can barely even look at you right now.” He said in a cold voice. It chilled my blood. And then he started down the stairs.
I hurried after him as fast as my pregnant body would allow me, ignoring the odd look that I was getting from James. Nate opened the front door and walked out. I stood in the doorway, and I felt compelled to say, “Nate, please, I love you! I know what I did was wrong, but I don’t want to lose you.”
Nate stopped. That right there shocked me. But what he said next shocked me even more. “I need to be with someone that can give her entire heart to me. It’s selfish, but that’s the way it needs to be. You and Teddy clearly love each other, and I hope that you two find happiness.”
I felt like a part of me was collapsing. As I watched him walk away and eventually Disapparate, salty droplets of water caressed my cheeks. I didn’t bother to wipe them away.
A/N: Please refrain from throwing the rotten fruit at me. I promise that this is not the last that you'll see of Nate.
A/N: I apologize for the late update. And I apologize, for this is a filler chapter. But in the next chapter, you shall see why this story is rated the way it is...enjoy the chapter!
It had been a little over a week since he walked out of my life. A little more than a week since he shattered my heart. But honestly, my name is Dominique Weasley, and Dominique Weasley will not mope too much over a boy. But Merlin, how I missed him…
However, I didn’t have time to think about that. James was visiting the Ministry of Magic to interview with the Auror Department, and many of us were quickly throwing festive decorations all over the dining room. Today was James’s 19th birthday, and we were throwing him a surprise party. Grandma Weasley had made a large cake that was resting on the table, and just thinking about it made my mouth water. I couldn’t wait to taste the rich, creamy, goodness….
No! Don’t think about cake! It’ll just make you hungrier.
But I couldn’t think about the cake much longer because Aunt Ginny wanted me to help set the table. Therefore, my mind would be distracted by that task instead of dwelling on cake or Nate or even Teddy…
For the last week, once I had stopped crying myself into a dreamless sleep, I kept dreaming about that night when Teddy confessed that he was in love with me. It was like a nightmare. A pleasant, wonderful, yet devastating nightmare. It felt so weird to have such a happy occasion such as a birthday party when I was still fighting depression. And it didn’t help that I was fat…
I looked out the window, and saw my dad appear in the front yard. He had recently moved out of this house and into Grandma and Grandpa Weasley’s house. He waved to me and sent me a huge smile. Even though it had been awhile since he entered my life again, it still brought me a huge sense of relief whenever I saw him. But I knew he missed my mother, and to be honest, I missed her too.
I continued to look outside, and I noticed how dark and gloomy it looked. I knew that there was a possibility of snow today, but I sincerely hoped that there wouldn’t be any. I wanted rain again, but it’s too cold now to have any rain.
I felt the weight of someone sit down next to me. I knew by the flowery scent who it was without even looking at her. “Hello, Rose.”
“Hi, Dom. You looked deep in thought, so I wanted to make sure that you were okay.” She informed me. There seemed to be a special glow around Rose today, but I had no idea why. Maybe it’s because she just got a letter from Scorpius…
“Well, I’m as okay as I can be in my current situation.” I assured her, giving her a genuine smile. It felt uncomfortable to smile because I hadn’t used those face muscles in awhile. “So, what’s new with you since we talked a couple of hours ago?”
She grinned. “Scorpius and I decided on the baby names.”
My perked up now because I was interested. I wanted to know what my Goddaughter and Godson were going to be named. “Yeah, what are they?”
“Well, we’re naming the boy Cameron, and the girl Caitlin.”
I thought about it for a moment. “Well, I think those are good names, so I officially give you my approval. Have you told your parents?”
“Yeah, and they like the names too, so I’m pretty sure that the names are official.” Rose looked at me. “Does it bother you to not know the gender of your baby?”
I looked down at my large belly and rubbed it. “Sometimes it does. It can really drive me up the wall if I dwell on it. But I think it’ll be a nice surprise for when my baby comes out of…there.”
Rose chuckled, and nodded. My eyes returned to watching the front yard, and my baby’s father appeared. I saw him give me a quick glance, but then Victoire appeared, so he didn’t do anything else directed at me.
“So,” I heard Uncle Ron shouting over the increasing noise. “When’s the birthday boy going to be here?”
“He should be home soon.” Harry replied, using his wand to hang up another banner.
“He better be.” I muttered darkly to Rose. “I don’t know about your babies, but my baby wants some food.”
Rose chuckled and nodded in agreement. She gently placed her hand on mine. “I’m here for you, you know that. Things will get better.”
“I know. I just wish they were better now.”
The lights were all out, and we were all hiding in various places. James had just Floo called and informed us that he was on his way home with some good news. But to be honest, I wasn’t hiding anymore. I couldn’t handle carrying this weight with some swollen ankles. My ankles were bigger than my sister’s ass, and that was saying something. It never used to be so big. The only reason I’m thinking of it is because she’s crouched in front of me, hiding behind a chair. So it wasn’t exactly hard to miss.
She told me not long ago that she had put on a little weight. I guess I know where.
From the chair I was occupying, I had a clear view of the front yard through the window. I was surprised to see so much snow so early in the year. I could already see the snow piling up, so it wasn’t hard to miss the head of black hair that suddenly appeared amidst it. Excitement started bubbling up inside of me. The door opened…
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”
The lights were on now, everyone was on their feet, and confetti was falling from the ceiling. James looked stunned. “Wow, thank you everyone. You didn’t need to go through this trouble.”
Harry and Ginny were hugging him tightly and grinning away. Just looking at them made me grin. “Now James,” Harry said, an arm around James’s shoulders still. “What’s the big news you wanted to tell us?”
James looked incredibly proud right before he revealed, “I was at the Ministry of Magic. I’ve been accepted into the Auror Training Program!”
There was a huge mass of chaos. Everyone in the room was trying to shove their way to James to hug the sheer breath out of his lungs. I chose to hang back. I didn’t feel like standing up. I didn’t even get up when he first walked in the door. I knew he would get to me eventually. I glanced over there and saw Percy and his family clapping James on the back.
It was times like this that I was happy to have such a large, loving family. For the most part, we all supported each other and each other’s endeavors. Excluding my mother, of course.
I saw one of my favorite cousins avoiding the mass mob of people surrounding one of my best friends. I beckoned her over. “Hey, Roxie. Avoiding the mob, too?”
She sighed and nodded. “I like having the ability to breathe, thank you very much.” She sat down by me, gazing longingly at the cake. I longed for it too. “Plus, I can give him a better hug when there aren’t a bunch of people trying to get to him.”
“A full-body hug?” I remarked slyly. She snorted at me. “What? You still like him, don’t you? And you aren’t cousins…”
“Yeah, I do still like him. But it’s weird right now. I’m still waiting for a bit before I try to make anything happen.”
“I guess that’s the smart thing to do.”
I saw the crowd start to disperse, and Rose was dragging James over here by the arm. Roxie stood up and hugged him first. Then it was my turn. “I’m so happy for you, James. You’re going to be a great Auror.”
“I hope so.” He smiled. “They said if I’m anything like my dad or my granddad, I’ll be a spectacular addition.”
I hugged him one more time before I was distracted by the front door opening again. My jaw dropped to the floor. It was my mother, dusting the deposits of snow off of her jacket.
I wasn’t aware of the fact that I was shaking now, just at the sight of her. How dare she show up? But I guess she is still James’s aunt…
I now had Roxie, James, and Rose looking at me worriedly. James quietly apologized and excused himself to greet the guest. “Sweetie, are you okay?” Roxie whispered. I shook my head. “Come on, we’ll get you out of here.”
I felt them grab my arms, support my weight (an accomplishment in itself), and haul me to my bedroom. Rose brushed the hair out of my face. “Do you want anything? Do you want us to stay with you?”
“No,” I told them. “Go enjoy the party. Just bring me some food when it’s served.”
Roxie nodded, and followed Rose out of my room. I laid back on my bed, not sure what to think of what happened.
I apparently had dozed off. The next thing I was aware of was Rose shaking me lightly. “Dom, come on. Let’s go for a little walk. I know there’s a lot of snow, but the fresh air will do you some good.”
Once I was fully conscious, I agreed. “So how did, um, my parents react?” I questioned as I hobbled down the steps.
“They stayed on separate sides of the room. It was the same way with George and Angelina.” There was a moment of silence. “It’s sad that part of our family is falling apart.”
“I know.” I agreed while I put my winter outerwear on.
When I entered the pure white outside world, the cold rush of air surprised me. But Rose was right, the fresh air was nice. It was clearing my head. But I didn’t have much time to finish clearing my head. It got hit by a giant snowball. Somehow, I knew who it was.
I bent down, created a snowball, did a quick turn and the snowball it James right in the face. He wiped the snow off of his face just in time to have Rose shove some snow down the back of his coat.
“Time for some paybacks.” He whispered.
I just hoped that my baby wouldn’t object.
A/N: I am giving a fair warning to all that are reading this. This chapter has incredibly sensitive material, and is the sole reason that this story is rated Mature. But I still hope you enjoy it. There is a huge plot twist.
It’s official. My dad has gone insane.
“Dom, I honestly feel like I can talk some sense into her. I’d love it if we could all be a family again.” My dad was telling me. We were discussing this insane topic in the Potters’ sitting room. Maybe someone spiked his water…or maybe he started using drugs…surely he didn’t miss that horrendous woman…
“Dad, I think she made it clear that she didn’t want anything to do with me. And you even said that she never gave indication of wanting to make amends.” I pointed out.
My dad rubbed his eyes. I could see that he wanted to do this. But maybe someone slipped some potion to him, and he didn’t really want to do this. Because who on earth would want to go back to a woman like that.
“Please, just let me talk to your mother. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
I sighed. That was my agreement to this insane idea. But what’s life without some insanity?
He gave me hug, which was quite a feat considering how fat I was, kissed me on the head, and left. I had a bad feeling about this…
But I didn’t think too long about this. I had given Louis my owl, Stormy, and that owl was tapping on the window. I smiled, and opened the window with an owl treat ready. I extracted the letter from Stormy, and gave him the treat. He hooted softly, his way of saying “thanks.”
I tore open the letter, eager to see how my baby brother was doing in Hogwarts.
Hi Dom!
I miss you. But Hogwarts is fun! I made a bunch of friends, but there are three that I’m best friends with. Alan Tedmon and Nellie Walters are both in Gryffindor like me, and there’s Hannah Nedry who’s in Hufflepuff. I think Nellie is kind of pretty, and she’s really smart.
I grinned. My brother had his first crush.
Scorpius, Lucy, and Fred are being really cool. Especially Scorpius. There’s this mean kid in Ravenclaw that was bullying me, but Scorpius stood up for me. And Lucy and Fred help me with some of my homework.
I loved how wonderful my family was with each other. Plus, if I was at school, I would’ve hexed that Ravenclaw. I’m sure that Scorpius handled with class…okay, this is Scorpius I’m talking about. Of course he put a jinx on the kid.
I really do miss you, and Vic, and Teddy, and Mum, and Dad. But I’ll see you during the holidays!
Love, Louis
I missed my brother. I thought about him a lot, especially when I thought about Hogwarts. But as I sat in the chair, looking at this letter, I couldn’t help but hope that my dad would be able to make our family whole again.
Roxie had showed up not too long ago, begging to take a nap somewhere in the Potter house. Apparently George and Angelina were having a loud, obnoxious fight. Harry had no problem with that, and showed her a good place to sleep. I had just gone to check on her. Maybe she wanted some soup…after all, I know the pain of having parental issues.
I stopped outside of the door, and heard a quiet moan. And then another one. I could tell it was Roxie. I silently opened the door, and went beside her bed. She moaning again. “Oh…oh, James.”
I had to literally slap my hand over my mouth to keep myself from laughing. Roxie was having a dirty dream about one of my best friends! This was too fun of an opportunity to pass up. I softly cleared my throat, and said in my best impression of James, “Oh, Roxie. Oh, this feels so good.”
“Oh, James…”
“Roxie, I want you so bad.” I said, half snickering. Roxie still thought I was James! But then I felt kind of bad for leading her on like that, so I decided to end her steamy dream. “Roxie,” I said, lightly shaking her, “wake up.”
She jerked awake, and her face fell when she saw it was just me and that there was not a certain James Potter next to her. Then she looked embarrassed.
“So,” I smirked. “How was it? Was it everything you thought it would be?”
She snarled, and threw a pillow at me. Luckily, I was able to catch it. I threw it back it her when I heard the front door open. “Dom, I need to talk to you.” It was my dad, and he sounded a bit distraught. That worried me.
I hobbled out to the sitting room, where my dad was sitting. He was sheet white, whiter than the freshly fallen snow. And his eyes were a bit red. This was disconcerting.
“I called Victoire and told her to come here right now. There’s some news I need to tell you. I have already made arrangements with the Headmaster to tell Louis about this.”
Now I was really worried. There wasn’t enough time to start formulating ideas about what this news could be because my sister joined us in the sitting room. She sat down beside me, looking just as perplexed as I was.
“Girls, I just back from the house to see your mom. But—”
“Let me guess,” I interrupted. “Mum’s fat.”
“No—“
“Was she drunk? Did she shave her head?”
“Dom, no! You’re mum’s dead!” my father shouted at me, standing up.
I felt like the shock had shot a bullet into my chest. Surely I must’ve heard him wrong.
Vic had tears in her eyes. “Dad, there’s got to be a mistake. Mum can’t be dead.”
Dad nodded, holding his head in his hands. I couldn’t believe it. Now my dad and my sister were crying. Why couldn’t I cry? It’s not like I’m not sad. Maybe I’m still in too much shock…
He sighed, and then came and sat between me and Vic. He put his arms around us, providing whatever comfort he could. “I’m so sorry, girls.”
Finally piecing some thoughts together, I whispered, “How did she die?”
Dad started sobbing again. “It looks like she…she…she must’ve gotten depressed…”
I couldn’t believe it. My mother, the woman who had always been so strong, got to a point where she couldn’t handle life anymore. She clearly was not the woman I had known for most of my life. I may not have been on good terms with her…actually, I was on no terms with her, but I would never wish death upon her.
“I was hoping that you two might help me start cleaning out the house. I’m going to sell it. I can’t even contemplate living there again. Dom, you can just do small stuff so you don’t overexert yourself.”
I nodded my agreement, and the three of us Apparated to Shell Cottage.
As I stood outside of my old bedroom, only a wooden door separating me from it, a part of me wanted to tell my friends what had happened. I wanted their support in this. But then another part of me realized that I should do this by myself. I smiled at the silver plate on my door that had “Dominique Weasley” written in beautiful calligraphy. Taking a deep breath, I pushed open my bedroom door.
Everything was exactly the way I left it. Everything from the powder blue shade of paint on my walls, to the mahogany desk that sat in front of the large pane window, to my favorite stuffed animal that was sitting on my pillow. It was a lion, for Gryffindor. I couldn’t stop the tears that suddenly flowed down my cheeks. And I didn’t try to stop them.
I could barely remember folding up blankets and sheets, and packing away trinkets into boxes. But then my room was bare, with very little remaining in it. It was an odd sensation. I took one full look at my childhood bedroom, and slowly shut the door behind me.
I saw my dad shrinking boxes, and saw Victoire pocketing tiny boxes filled with Louis’ things. Most of her stuff had been moved out when she moved in with Teddy, so she had very little to pack up. I hobbled down the stairs, feeling quite numb about the whole situation.
I sat down on one of the remaining boxes, legs getting weak. I hated being fat. I loved growing my baby, but I hated the effects that came with it. My dad walked over to me, and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a letter.
“I found this in your mother’s desk. It’s addressed to you. I’m guessing she forgot to send it to you.” I nodded, accepting the letter. “Dom, I’m staying with Grandma Weasley for a few days, and then I’m going to buy a new home. And I’d like it if you could stay with me. And the baby can have its own room too.”
I gave my dad a small smile. “I’d love that. When are you going to talk to Louis?”
“I’m leaving for Hogwarts as soon as we’re done here. And he’ll be staying with me until after the funeral.” He stroked my hair for a moment before getting back to work.
I stared at the letter in my hands. I recognized my mother’s handwriting on the envelope. I felt like I should open it and read it, but my Gryffindor courage failed me. I merely put it in my pocket.
Oh Merlin, I needed to make sure I was emotionally stable for when Louis showed up. I had a feeling that the four of us would be spending lots of time together in the next couple of days. And someone needed to keep their head during this time.
This entire day seemed like a blur. I was sitting in a church in the front row, dressed entirely in black, and I barely heard what the man up front was saying. I only focused on two things: the soft sobbing I heard from throughout the sanctuary, and the body of my mother laying peacefully in a black casket. This was such a solemn event for a family reunion.
I was sitting next to my aunt Gabrielle, or Gabi for short. I hadn’t seen her since my second year in Hogwarts. Mum and Dad hadn’t even told her about my pregnancy. So for her, it was a bittersweet occasion. I reveled in how much Gabi looked like my mum. Of course, they were sisters, but there was a strong resemblance, kind of like me and Vic.
I looked behind me, and observed my entire family, looking mournful. Harry, Ginny, James, Albus, and Lily were here. Al and Lily were here for just one day. And then I saw Ron, Hermione, Rose, and Hugo. Hugo was home for today, too. He even had a tear or two on his cheek. Percy and Audrey were here, along with Molly and Lucy. I was slightly surprised to see them, because I saw them seldomly. Charlie was sitting by Lucy, rubbing her back. And then George, Angelina, Roxie, and Fred were there as well. Roxie and Fred were sitting between the separated couple. I just hoped there wouldn't be a scene later on.
So far, there had been a sea of hugs, apologies for my loss, and quite a bit of free food. I had never really been around death until now, so I didn’t know that many people brought families that lost loved ones some food.
I thought about that letter that Dad found in Mum’s writing desk, and how it was now resting on my desk. I had spent many hours over the last two days staring at it, but I still didn’t have the courage to open it. But as I sat here, slowly acknowledging my mother’s death, a big part of me wanted to open that letter.
There was a bit of a blur, and suddenly I was aware of being at the graveyard that Mum was being buried at. Everyone had gathered around, and all of the close family members were holding red roses. My dad took one last look at my Mum’s face, as did my brother, sister, and aunt. I refused to look at it.
Then, one by one, we all placed the roses on top of her casket. After Louis had placed his, he came over to me and hugged me. I felt his tears soaking the side of my blouse. I rubbed his head, providing whatever comfort I could give him. It pained me to see my baby brother in dealing with so much sorrow.
I put my face close to his ear, and whispered, “Just think about this. I know you miss Mum, but I’m sure she’s happy to see Granddad and Grandma Delacour.”
Louis nodded, wiping some of his tears away. He looked so innocent, so young. I wanted to keep him this way forever, to not let him face anymore horrors of life.
I gave my family a hug, and then left to go home and read the letter.
My bedroom was peaceful. I had locked the door behind me, so no one would disturb me during what would for sure be an emotional moment. And now I was holding the letter in my hand, willing myself to open it. And with great effort, I did.
My dear sweet Dominique,
I am not sure where to begin. You are my beautiful daughter. And I love you. As I look back over your life, I realize that I never said those words to you in person. And for that I am sorry.
But there are other things that I am sorry for. Especially the way I reacted when you told me your news. I was not expecting it. I’m sure no one else was expecting it either. I was confused, upset, angry, and disappointed. Any mother would be. But I handled it so wrong. I wasn’t acting like a mother that day. And I failed you when you needed me the most. I should’ve pulled you into my arms and hugged you, taking away any fright like a real mother should. I want to be a part of your life and of your baby’s life. I love that baby already.
I hope that we can have a second chance. I want to be the mother that I should’ve been. You are one of the best daughters that a mother could ask for. And if I made you feel otherwise, well then I deserve to go to Hell. If you ever felt unloved, please know that I have always loved you, and I’ve always been proud of the woman that you are becoming.
I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I can’t imagine my life without you. You are my beautiful daughter, and I love you.
Love, Mum
I couldn’t believe it. My mum wanted to make up with me. But Dad leaving was probably the last straw.
For the first time since my dad told me my mum was dead, I laid on my bed with my lights now off, and sobbed, wanting nothing more than for her to be alive.
Hello all! I cannot apologize enough for making you all wait this long for me to update. I took a much needed break from my life on here to focus on my personal life. I sincerely hope I will never have to make you wait this long ever again. So, without further ado, here's the next chapter. Enjoy. :)
I wasn’t aware of much as I lay on my bed, curled up under the blankets, refusing to leave the comfort of my room. Why was this affecting me so hard? Perhaps because that bitch finally showed that she had a heart, except it was a bit too late. And maybe because she said that she loved me. It was strange, because I had rarely missed my mother when she was alive, but ever since reading that letter, I missed her more than ever, even when I first went to Hogwarts and begged to be homeschooled because I got so homesick.
I wasn’t sure how much time had gone by exactly, but Ginny always made sure to bring me three meals every day, not only for me but for my baby. Which was smart because I couldn’t starve my baby even though I didn’t want to eat. I had to think about my baby...since when did I actually start thinking like a grownup? I guess Dad was right. Having a kid changes you and how you view life. But judging by the amount of meals, I would say that a little over a week has passed by.
In that time, I had been visited by most of my closest family members, all of whom happened to be my friends. Is it kind of sad that I’m related by blood to all of my friends? Maybe I really don’t have a life, or proper social skills…
Harry and Ginny both had come to see me, both separately. Ginny, as wonderful as she is, didn’t help much except for sitting with me, which is sometimes better than having a heart-to-heart, like everyone else seems to want. Harry, on the other hand, could relate to me. He had lost his parents, and though he didn’t know them, still understood the absence of a parent in one’s life. He even got me to laugh by telling me about how he blew his aunt up once.
Roxie had seen me briefly, and then Rose and James decided to do a double team to make me feel better. I ended up sobbing on both of them. It was a bit of damper…
Dad and Vic came to see me too, and we all ended up reminiscing about the old times, and how much we missed Mum. And that didn’t help matters, obviously…
So when there was a knock on my door, I wasn’t sure who to expect this time. So I said, “Come in.” It was the one friend, if you could call him a friend, that wasn’t a relative of mine. It was Teddy.
“Hey.” He simply said.
“Hey.” I replied. “What’s up?”
He sat down next to me on my bed. “I heard that no one really had much luck with making you feel better. So I figured I’d give it a shot. I hate that you’re so miserable.”
“Well, don’t worry. Ginny has been helping me keep our baby fed.”
“I never doubted that. I’m here because I want to help you.” He gently touched my shoulder. I was still lying beneath the covers. “I never knew my parents, so I can’t entirely understand your pain. But both of my parents died. And I’ve spent my entire life missing them, so I have a bit of perspective.”
I turned so that I was looking at him now. “I had never thought of that. I know Harry talked about the same thing for him.”
Teddy nodded. He looked so handsome. I hated that. “The point is, you can mope and mourn for a little bit, but you can’t let it overwhelm you like this. You’ve become a hermit! And that’s not healthy. Your mother would not want you to isolate yourself like this.”
He was actually making sense. How could that be possible? I guess he could be right on occasion. Just because he had his stupid moments doesn’t mean he isn’t intelligent. That is one of his best qualities. If only he could apply it to every aspect of his life.
He hesitated for a moment, and then softly grabbed my hand. He repeated in a whisper, “Your mother would not want that. Please get that through your head. She would not want this.”
Suddenly, the flood washed over me, and the tears started falling. I couldn’t help it. Teddy pulled me towards him, and held me in his arms. And I cried.
His presence was comforting, along with the silence we sat in even as I continued to cry. I’m pretty sure that by the time I stopped crying, my tear ducts would not be able to produce tears for several days. Surely it needed time to recover. I finally wiped away the final tears, and looked up at Teddy’s face. It was full of sympathy, understanding, and love. He had a very attractive face. I hoped our baby would look like him.
He slowly leaned into me, and was about to brush his lips against mine when I pulled away. He had a confused look on his face. I sighed. “Look, Teddy, I do love you. And I have a lot to give to this relationship. I think you know that, or else we wouldn’t have ever been involved.” He nodded. “And as much as I would love to give into my temptations, I can’t. You are not ready for what I have to give. If you were, you wouldn’t be with Vic right now. And that is okay. I can wait.”
“Okay,” he said. “I completely understand.” He squeezed my shoulder, and then left me alone in my room.
I sat on the couch, bowl of chocolate in hand, watching the Potter house practically vomit Halloween decorations. Don’t get me wrong, Halloween was one of my absolute favorite holidays. But there was such thing as too much Halloween. Harry was at work since this one of their busiest nights. Ginny was busy cooking dinner for us. I was pretty sure James was on a date, but I didn’t care. I was tired of him being a prat and reminding me of all the things I couldn’t do since I was pregnant. And he kept calling me fat.
Both Percy and Audrey were expected to work today as well, so Molly was staying at the house for the day. And Ginny, being a sucker for her niece, let Molly be in charge of decorating the house. “It’s just this one time” she reminded me. So right now, I had a bossy, nine year old spawn of Percy telling me what decorations there would be, and where they would go. And I was supposed to do it.
The dining table didn’t look too bad. It had a couple of small pumpkins on it, along with some black candles. But orange and black streamers were all over the walls and ceiling, along with these electronically powered bats that hung from the ceiling. Grandpa Weasley thought they would be charming. Candles were everywhere. I felt genuine fear for the house, until I made it so they couldn’t light anything else on fire. There was a gigantic banner that was orange with the words, “Happy Halloween” on it, and the sound of a cat hissing would go off whenever someone entered the house. Needless to say, I will never put my child in charge of decorating…ever.
After we were finished, Molly ran over to me, a gleeful look in her eyes. I already didn’t like where this was going. “Yes, Molly?”
“Dom, will you take me trick-or-treating? Normally, my mommy takes me, but she’s working. I even have a costume and everything!” She showed me her costume. It was a pink leotard with shimmery wings, and a pink tutu. “See, it’s a fairy costume!”
I internally groaned. Molly was the last child I wanted to take trick-or-treating. Lucy wasn’t entirely bad, which is a miracle considered how obnoxious her parents could be. But Molly was a mini female clone of Percy, which meant an uptight, better-than-you attitude. I didn’t say anything for a minute, but then Ginny peeked into the room, glaring me down. I hoped to have hearing like that when I was a mother.
“Alright, go get dressed. Let’s go before it gets chilly.”
“But Dom, where’s your costume?” She pouted.
“Sorry, but that’s not going to happen. I’m wearing my fat people clothes.”
“So you’re a fat person for Halloween?” Ah, naiveté.
No patience to explain that I didn’t have a choice, I nodded. She squealed, and scurried off to change. Just as I managed to pull myself off of the couch, I heard the door open. It was Teddy. “Happy Halloween, Dom.” He gave me a bar of chocolate, which was my craving as of late.
“Why thank you, Teddy. Now I’ll have chocolate to go with my chocolate tonight.” He grinned at me, causing me to roll my eyes. “Molly, hurry up!”
“Hold on! I’m putting my shoes on!”
“What’s going on?” Teddy asked as he took in the disaster of decorations around him. “And what happened in here?”
“Molly’s here. Ginny let her decorate.” As I looked at him, I made a split second decision. I gripped his shirt, startling him. “Listen, Molly is making me go trick-or-treating with her. You have to come with me. I don’t think I can handle an outing with just me and her.”
Teddy’s hand went to his chin, looking amused as he pretended to stroke a beard. “What is it worth to you?”
“Honestly, if you don’t come with me, I’ll shove this chocolate down your throat, and you’ll choke.” I held it close to his mouth, trying to emphasize my point.
“Alright, I’ll go with. But don’t try to ditch me. That’s exactly the kind of thing James would expect you to do.”
I snorted. “Oh please, James is maturing now. He wouldn’t commend me for doing that.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “Alright, he’s a man-child. Of course, he’d be proud of me.”
Molly came running out, and curtsied for us. “Isn’t it pretty?”
I felt my eyes try to roll, but I restrained myself. “Yes, Molly, you are the prettiest fairy I’ve ever seen. Now let’s go. You’ll freeze if it gets dark outside.”
“You know,” Teddy said as we followed her through the door. “That’ll be our kid someday. Perhaps it will be more tolerable then.”
“If our child turns out be like her, I’m blaming you.”
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