Seeking

by Hecateslover

Fem!HP/Theodore Nott. Post OOTP AU. Rosemary and Theo make a life together after the war is over. It's nice and sweet, but of course, there's always bumps along the way. First story after a LOOONG Hiatus. Hope you like. D/s, Het. Unedited. COMPLETE!

Starts off summer after fifth year. She and Theodore Nott start exchanging letters.

X-x-x

Rosemary saw an ad in the Daily Prophet, lips quirking as read it.

Seeking:

M(16) Seeking F(16)- Guy looking for a girl who likes animals, is a good cook, likes kids, and has a nice sense of humor. Must be willing to get her hands dirty, go on dates in the muggle world, and be looking for something serious. I'm not the sort to date around. As for me, I've been told I can be pretty intense, and I like working with my hands. If you're interested, please respond to 'Somerset Farm Boy'.

Rosemary couldn't help but laugh quietly at this, leaning on her elbow. She reached for some of her doodling parchment and her pencil, and began to write a letter. She had filled out a couple of these other personal ads before, on a lark, just to see what would happen, but so far they turned out to be all guys that just wanted to hook up and that was that. It never went past a couple of letters, especially once she was able to read between the lines and figure out what these guys really wanted from her. She hadn't ever met any of them- she wanted to wait for the right guy. So far, she hadn't met anyone like that at school, because there were…complications. Hence, why she had turned to the personal ads in the back of the Daily Prophet.

Somerset Farm Boy,

I saw your ad just now while perusing the Daily Prophet personals, and I couldn't help but reply in response. You listed all sorts of things you're looking for in a girl, but not a whole lot about you. But if you're sixteen, you are already in my year at school, so that is something we have in common.

I like animals, big and small, and often spend my time at Hogwarts either out on the forest or grounds with them. Sometimes by choice, haha. Seriously, though, I enjoy working with animals, I do pretty well in my COMC class. And that just sort of goes hand in hand with getting your hands dirty, right? Unless you mean working with plants, and I'm not bad at that either. I'm very hands on.

I'm a halfblood, but I grew up in the muggle world. I'm very familiar with it, so I have no problem going out and doing things there socially. Sometimes, I even prefer it, because the magical community is so small and it's hard to have any privacy. I like to read and draw, and I love to sew, knit, crochet and embroider- very girly things that most of the people who know me aren't aware that I can do.

I like to cook and bake, but I enjoy it more when I have someone to appreciate it. Also something people don't realize about me. For some reason, they seem to think I'm sort of a tomboy- I suppose people just see what they want to see. I don't have much experience with kids, but I do hope to have kids one day. I don't really date- should you and I get together, it would be my very first date. So if you fuck things up, I won't have anything to compare it to, haha. Really, though, I'm looking for something serious. I'm not the kind of girl who would want to date around and play the market.

To be honest, I don't really know my classmates very well, despite having been in classes with them for the past five years. Even my best friends don't know everything about me for a very good reason. So…I would at least like to see where this goes, and possibly make a new friend.

But it would be nice to have a boyfriend. Lover. Whatever you would want to call it. There are just some things you can't do alone. Ack, that sounded perverted and depressing at the same time.

Right. I'll end this now before I embarrass myself further.

-Wanna-be Farmer's Wife.

She didn't have to wait very long for a response, for it came a couple of days later. She'd been working in the back garden, pruning her Aunt's rose bushes. She sat back on her heels, glancing towards the kitchen window. Hedwig flew back into the tree, and Rosemary opened the letter with a grin, feeling hopeful.

Dear Wanna-be Farmer's Wife-

First of all, cute nickname. I like it.

Second of all, you sound like a lot of fun. And someone I would definitely like to get to know. I kind of keep to myself at school, I'm not terribly popular or anything. I don't really know the others either. It's unlikely we've actually talked, but I know we possibly may have had COMC together. I like Hagrid. I help him sometimes in the forest and in the Paddock.

I grew up on a farm in Somerset, and I have a lot of experience with animals, so it helps. There's orchards too, and a greenhouse. I live just outside a small muggle town, it's fairly nice and quiet. I've been fixing up the place for a few years now, even hired some muggle contractors to wire it for electricity and all that. Yeah…it's just me now. Unfortunately, I will not be returning to Hogwarts in the fall, and I figured I would never get to meet a girl properly with my work and all…hence, why I put out the ad.

Anyways, you sound really great. What kinds of things do you like to cook and bake? I prefer eating stuff right from the garden or the orchards, so I eat pretty healthy when I'm here at home. I don't really enjoy the food at Hogwarts- it's always the same old crap every day that isn't very good for you at all. I don't have much time for going out and running errands, so I just eat what I have on hand.

I like to read too, and I'm alright with drawing. I'm not one to rest on my laurels when there is so much work to be done. Same at school- I much preferred practical stuff to bookwork. I'm glad you like to sew and things, that's a very useful skill. I can do a bit, not anything fancy though- mostly just mending things. I sure as hell can't knit or crochet, and definitely have never embroidered. I do like to sing while I work, though.

I'm glad you like kids. I do too. I want a big family, one day. As you can probably tell, I don't have the time or want to date around and goof off. I just want to find the right girl and take her home with me.

So, you want to continue exchanging these letters?

Somerset Farm Boy

Rosemary couldn't help but grin to herself, putting the letter to her chest. She tucked it into her pocket, and returned to work, feeling…happy. The guy wasn't a creep, he actually sounded pretty genuine.

It wasn't until the evening that she was able to write back, after she'd been locked into her room for the night. Rosemary wrote, ignoring the feeling of bruises on her cheek.

Somerset Farm Boy,

I'm glad you wrote me back. You sound like a very interesting person, and I would love to get to know you better. So yes, I'd like to continue exchanging letters with you.

Your home, from what I've heard so far, sounds lovely. I bet it's nice and quiet, and you have lots of privacy and space. Wish I had that. My guardians aren't the nicest people in the world.

I'm sorry to hear that you will not be returning to Hogwarts .It would have been nice to hang out with you in the forest there. I really don't want to go back, either, but I don't think I have much of a choice. People…expect things of me, things I really don't want to do, but I have to. I just feel like there is no other option, that I'm simply just biding my time until I can finish school. I'm the same way, preferring practical stuff over bookwork. Besides COMC and herbology, I really enjoyed dueling. Yes, dueling. I like to run, too, keep in shape. Speaking of keeping in shape, what do you look like, if I may ask? It might give me a hint as to who you are, haha.

As far as what I like to cook and bake, most of the stuff I make is pretty unhealthy, but that's because of who I am cooking for. I have a lot of recipes I've written down over the years I'm just dying to try out- mostly healthier or foreign dishes that would not be welcome in this house…Anyways, I really like making breads and cakes, and I'd love to be able to grow all of my own food and use everything I've grown in a meal.

What sorts of trees do you have in your orchard? Do you have animals on your farm? A friend of mine, their family keeps chickens. I know Hagrid does too- I've helped him look after the chickens more than a few times. I wish I could sing, but I'm not very good at it.

May I ask what happened with your family? Why do you live on your own? It's okay if you don't want to answer that. I understand.

Hoping to hear from you soon,

Wanna-be Farmer's Wife

Rosemary woke up to a response the very next morning, but with her Aunt yelling at her to start her chores, she could not get back to the letter until lunch time.

Dear Wanna-be Farmer's Wife,

Thank you for responding so quickly. Alright…so the deal with my family is kind of a loaded question. It's complicated, but…I suppose I ought to tell you. Alright, so I am a halfblood as well. But it's not just that- my Father was a Deatheater, my Mother a muggleborn woman he'd raped and kidnapped and forced her to marry him after she got pregnant with me. Yeah. Told you, kind of heavy. I don't really talk about that with people. He killed her after she had me. After I got to be about six or seven, old enough to do things on my own, he sort of…left me to my own devices. He was never home, usually frequenting pubs and things, making trouble for people. When he was home, he made trouble here. But I managed to get it sorted out eventually, with some help.

He was killed at the Ministry of Magic in June, the same night that Voldemort was killed. Unlike some of my other classmates whose Fathers had been killed, I…I couldn't have been happier. He deserved what he got. It sounds horrible, but he really was a very bad guy. I promised myself a very long time ago that I would not be like him.

I've been on my own for a very long time, and…well, I suppose that's why I want a family.

You have probably figured out who I am by now. If you don't write back, I will understand.

-Theo

Rosemary exhaled slowly, lowering the letter to her lap.

Theodore Nott. She'd been writing Theodore Nott.

Rosemary laid back in her bed, staring up at her ceiling, thinking about her classmate, and what she knew about him. Tall, very tall, with dark hair, olive colored skin. He usually hung around the back of the classrooms, not really responding to teachers calling on him or anything. He didn't come off as stupid, though, just simply not interested. She remembered seeing him here and there by the Paddock during her visits to Hagrid. They'd never really spoken to one another. He was pretty quiet, she couldn't even recall what his voice sounded like. He definitely did not hang around Malfoy and his stupid friends.

It sounded like he'd been through a lot.

And it sounded like they might have more than one thing in common.

Rosemary sat up quickly, her heart racing as she went to her rickety desk and grabbed a fresh piece of parchment. She began to write her response, trying to keep her handwriting legible- it shook a little.

Theo,

Thank you for sharing some of your family history with me. I understand your hesitance. Most people automatically assume Deatheaters' families are just like them, when I know families can be complicated. Your Father was Evil. You are most certainly not.

I know it must have been very hard for you. I…can't say that I understand what you went through completely, but I will tell you that…I've been through some things too.

My Guardians, like I said in my previous letter, are unkind. It was an understatement. As I'm writing this, I've got bruises on my face and neck. I'm not allowed to eat the food I make, and I'm locked in my room anytime I'm punished. They feed me leftovers through a slot in the door, if I'm locked in here long enough. I don't mind doing the chores, since that lets me get outside and things, but…it's hard. They do this because they don't like people like us, people who can do magic. They…treat me as if I have a disease or something. And I have no doubt in my mind that things were hard on you as well. I don't really talk about this stuff with anyone, but if anyone knows what's it like to be hurt by someone who is blood, it would be you.

But now your Father is gone, and you are able to make a life for yourself, and be free from his shadow. Be thankful that you no longer have to worry about him.

I remember you from classes. It's true, we've never spoken. But I did notice you. I remember seeing you in the Paddock every once in a while, in classes, in the corridors. I think you're rather handsome, to be honest. I know you aren't like the others. Malfoy would still be bragging about his Father and throwing his money around if it meant something anymore. You were never a part of their group. I should have seen it, maybe even approached you just to get to know you, but I had enough to be dealing with.

You must be a very strong person, to have gone through what you have, and have been able to stick to your convictions. I most certainly want to continue getting to know you.

Sincerely,

(Still) Wanna-be Farmer's Wife

There was no response to her letter for a few days. Rosemary felt rather…bereft, wondering if her letter had scared him off, or if he was simply just busy. She didn't know.

One evening, she was just about to clean up the dinner table when the doorbell rang.

"Girl, go get the door! If it's a salesperson, yell at them to leave us alone!" Her Aunt ordered, and Rosemary hurried towards the front door. She opened it, eyes widening as she looked at Theodore Nott, who stood on her doorstep.

He was wearing a nice pair of black trousers and a white shirt, his usually dark brown messy hair combed back. His skin was a bit darker than it normally was during the school year. He seemed to freeze, his eyes on her face. For some reason, he looked as shocked as she did.

Rosemary's mouth dropped open. "…Nott…what are you doing here?" She whispered, glancing towards the kitchen. "How…how did you know it was me, and…how did you-"

"GIRL!" Rosemary flinched, looking towards the kitchen. Her grip on the front door tightened. "SEND THE SOLICITOR ON THEIR WAY!"

Rosemary looked back to Nott, her heart racing, taking in his stiff posture, how his hands fisted at his sides, and how his mouth was turning down ever so slightly into a frown. Was he angry? Disappointed at finding out who she was? She knew this had been too good to be true-

"Pack your bag. You're leaving." He said, his voice rough and low, stepping inside the door and heading towards the kitchen. Rosemary watched him go, heart racing, and then she ran up the stairs as she heard yelling.

Rosemary's hands shook as she grabbed her bookbag- a matter of habit already had everything important inside- her photo album, Invisibility Cloak, her map, Sirius' knife, her vault key, sewing kit, and various other odds and ends. She shoved her old Weasley sweaters inside the bag, along with another pair of denims. She shoved her feet into her flats, pulling on her bag. She grabbed her hoodie on her way out the door. She was running down the stairs, seeing Nott standing at the door, waiting for her.

She looked to the kitchen- there was silence.

"What…happened?"

"I put them to sleep, nothing more. I'm not leaving you here." He said, taking her hand roughly, pulling her out the front door. Rosemary stumbled after him as they walked down the path, going out towards the street.

Nott was putting his wand out, and the Knight Bus arrived with a bang. "Put your jacket on." He ordered, and Rosemary pulled it on quickly, pulling the hood over her face. Her bookbag was lumpy under the jacket, but she didn't care. He was pulling her onto the bus, shoving a galleon into Stan's face. "Nott Farm, Somerset. Make it fast."

Rosemary clung to the bar as the bus zipped down the street. She couldn't help but look to Nott, her heart still racing.

He'd taken her away from the Dursleys.

Not that she wasn't thankful, but how had he found her? How had he known who she was?

The bus was stopping abruptly on a dark road out the middle of nowhere, it looked like. There were a lot of trees. The two of them got off the bus, and Nott spoke. "Let's go." He said, walking.

"Wait!" Rosemary called after him, hurrying. She was breathing hard, her hands shaking a little. "Wait…just a second."

He stopped, his body still a little tense.

Rosemary spoke. "…How did you find me?" She asked in a small voice. "How did you know it was me?"

Nott hesitated. "I didn't know it was you. I put a tracking spell on my owl, to find your location. I wish I could have gotten there sooner, but…" He sighed, turning towards her. "Are you alright?" His voice wasn't as rough as it was before, though it still was a deep baritone. He had a nice voice.

"…Yes. Thank you. For your help." Rosemary said in a small voice, pulling off her hood.

"…You're welcome. Look, you can spend a couple of days here, rest up a bit. You don't have to feel…obligated to stay." Nott said, and started walking once more. Rosemary hurried to catch up with him, reaching for his hand.

He looked down at their joined hands, blinking in surprise, and Rosemary gave him a shy smile. She looked down at the ground as they continued to walk. His hand was much bigger than her own, and it made her feel…safe. He was taller than she remembered too- she barely reached his shoulder.

They stopped in front of a tall stone wall and a wooden gate. He was leading her through, and Rosemary could feel the wards crawling over her. "No magical people will have access to this place besides you and me." Nott said quietly. "You'll be safe here." Rosemary looked at the circular courtyard before her.

At the center of the courtyard, there was a large well. Behind it was a tall house, three stories, and on one side was an old looking barn, on the other side was a greenhouse. She could see fields and orchards stretching out on the property behind the buildings, but she really couldn't get a good look because of how dark it was. She could hear animals.

Nott was pulling her up to the porch of the house, and taking her inside. "If you need to eat, the kitchen's through the back. There's a loo upstairs, I've prepared a guest room for you-"

Rosemary was dropping her bag to the floor, and was pulling at the front of his shirt, their lips meeting clumsily in the dark foyer. Rosemary moaned into the kiss as arms wrapped around her tightly, pulling her close up against a lean, muscular body. Her first kiss. A well-deserved first kiss, in her opinion.

Nott's mouth pulled away from her own. "…That was…unexpected." He breathed, his eyes wide.

Rosemary smiled, feeling shy. "Not unwelcome?"

"…No." Came the murmur, his tone gentle. His grip loosened on her just a bit.

"…Thank you. For coming. It's…it's more than most would have done." Rosemary said softly.

"…It's okay." He said, bending down and picking up her bag. He led her up the stairs by the hand, and turned on the light to the loo- the first door on the right side of the stairs. "Get cleaned up. You hungry?"

"…Not really."

"Alright. You can either sleep in the guest bedroom, or with me, it's up to you. My door is connected to the loo. The other room is at the end of the hallway. Okay?"

"…Okay." Rosemary said quietly, stepping inside the loo. He handed her the bag, and closed the loo door. Rosemary stared down at her bag, exhaling slowly.

This had been…unexpected. But not unwelcome. She closed her eyes, thinking of her kiss with Nott. His lips had been warm and soft, yet demanding, forcing her to yield- it had been perfect. She definitely wanted to kiss him again. And there had just been something about how he'd taken control of that situation at the Dursleys, and…how he'd been looking out for her, even though she had not asked for help. And it definitely hadn't been for her fame or whatever other reason- he hadn't known who she was until she had opened the door.

Rosemary turned on the shower, looking around the loo. It was very…classy, but not overly ostentatious or anything- there was a mix of magical and muggle elements in the plumbing fixtures. There was a Victorian clawed tub, but a modern shower head on the tiled wall. There was a very nice sink and cabinet, with a very modern looking mirror. The toilet looked brand new. The old looking tiny ceramic tiles were black and white, with plain white walls, and there was a deep plum rug on the floor.

Rosemary undressed, setting her clothes aside, and got into the shower. The soap and shampoo were…different. Handmade, she was pretty sure. They smelled really good, and she felt really clean, cleaner than she had in a while. After a good scrubbing, she got out and dried herself off with a shaggy plum colored towel that matched the rug.

She hung the towel back up, hesitating as she grabbed her bag. She hadn't packed pajamas.

Well, she could be completely forward and go into the bedroom naked, but…she grabbed the towel once more, wrapping it around her body. She turned off the light.

Rosemary went through the other door in the loo, into a darkened bedroom. She could barely make everything out, moonlight coming through the window. She could hear the bed shifting a little, and Rosemary spoke quietly.

"I didn't pack pajamas."

"…Ah. You can borrow something. Hold on." She heard the bed shifting as he got up, and in the darkness, she could make out him going to a dresser, hearing the drawer pull open. "Here we go." Something was being pushed into her hand.

"Thank you." Rosemary said, and went back to the loo. She left the door open, and dressed in the darkness, hanging the towel up. She could hear the bed shifting again. She'd been given an oversized t-shirt. The hem hung halfway down her thighs, but without knickers or anything, she still felt rather exposed.

Rosemary crept back into the bedroom, heading for the bed. She held her breath as she pulled the blankets back, and climbed into the bed. She exhaled slowly, lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. It was dark, so she could not tell if he was facing her or not- he was far enough away that they were not touching.

Nott spoke in the darkness. "…You okay?"

"…Much better." Rosemary said softly, turning her head towards him, knowing he was lying on his side, facing her, judging by his voice. "…You didn't have to come for me. I-I wasn't expecting that."

"I'm not going to just sit idly by while you get hurt, Rosemary." Nott said, his voice soft, yet weirdly stern. And she kind of liked how he said her name.

"…Thank you." She hesitated. "…May I call you Theo? Like in your letter?"

"…Of course."

Rosemary smiled in the darkness, rolling over to face him, drawing her hands up by her face.

"…Thank you, Theo."

A hand reached over, grazing the side of her face, touching her wet hair. Rosemary turned into the touch, closing her eyes. His thumb slid over her brow, his fingertips going down over her face, making her eyes close.

"Go to sleep, sweetheart. We will talk in the morning." Theo murmured, drawing close to her, his other hand intertwining with hers between them. Rosemary smiled, feeling…much happier and safer than she had in a long time.

"Yes Sir." She whispered with a tired sigh. "Good night." She began to doze, not realizing her slip of the tongue, enjoying Theo's hand stroking her face and hair.

x-x-x

Rosemary awoke to a hand stroking her hair, and she realised immediately she was no longer at the Dursleys, that she was with Theo, and that she was safe. She opened her eyes, seeing Theo lying next to her, propped up on his elbow. His hand stopped stroking her hair, just resting atop her head.

"…Good morning." Rosemary greeted with a sleepy smile.

"…Good morning." Theo said, staring down at her. It was early, very early, just after dawn. She guessed this by the amount of light coming through the window. "How are you feeling?"

"Good." Rosemary said, still smiling. She turned and shifted closer to him, burying her face against his chest. He was wearing a white t-shirt, and she could feel his muscles through the thin fabric. An arm draped over her middle, and he pulled her close. Rosemary turned her head upwards, rubbing her cheek up against his chest, their eyes meeting. This was okay, right? She was pretty sure this was okay. He was smiling.

This was nice. She liked lying with him, like this. She felt warm, safe, comfortable. Better than she had in a very long time. And no nightmares for the first time in months. A very good thing, in her books.

"…We have to get up. We've got breakfast, and I need to start on my chores for the morning."

"Can I help?"

"…Of course." Theo said, sitting up, and she sat up as well. She watched him get out of the bed, and she stared at his arse and legs- he was wearing baggy boxer shorts. His legs were muscular too- he had a very lean and lanky body, like someone who had done a lot of growing in a short amount of time. But he was muscular in the way that told you he'd gotten it from hard work outside. He was turning away from her, bending over to grab a pair of denims from the floor, pulling them on.

Rosemary realised she was staring, and got out of bed as well. She pulled a little at the t-shirt, feeling a little shy. She went to the loo, where her bag still was, and got ready for the day. She came out to see Theo sitting at the end of the bed, pulling on work boots. He looked her over.

"You haven't any work shoes?"

"…No, unfortunately." Rosemary said with a sigh. "Left my trainers at the house, and they were falling apart anyways. So, what sort of chores need to be done?"

"Feeding the animals, gathering eggs, milking the ewe." At her look, he added. "I have chickens and ducks that wander about freely. I also have a small flock of sheep- six ewes. I only have one ewe pregnant at a time- I lend her out to another farm so that their ram could impregnate her, I shear them twice a year. I sell the wool in town, but you said you knit and things, right?"

Rosemary grinned. "I do. I've never spun wool, but I know the spells for it."

"Great." Theo said thoughtfully, as the two of them headed down the stairs together. Rosemary noticed that the house was very nice looking. The wallpaper was a deep sage green, though it looked like a lot of things had been removed from the walls and shelves- it seemed a little empty.

The sitting room had a lot of empty bookshelves, but she did not comment on it. They passed through a formal dining room- a table big enough to seat twelve. They entered the kitchen, and Rosemary's jaw dropped at the size of it. All the cabinets looked like they had been stripped of their stain and not been repainted, the counters a hard, smooth granite. There was a large island in the middle. A wood burning stove. Off to the side was a large pantry- it looked as though its shelves were full of preserves, and she saw a couple of huge sacks of stuff on the floor.

Theo was showing her where everything was. Old cast iron skillets and copper pots and pans hung above the island on a rack. Jars of dried herbs in the cabinet beside the stove. A charmed cold cupboard, not unlike the Weasley's, holding milk, meat, cheese, and leftovers. Several cabinets that held dishware- a casual set, and a formal one. Everyday cutlery, and a formal set. Mugs and teacups that looked chipped and worn with age, and fine crystal drinking glasses for formal use. A couple of drawers of utensils, one full of various knives. Pewter measuring spoons, glass measuring cups. Sieves and sifters, a rolling pin- everything one would need for baking. This was a fully stocked kitchen. She couldn't help but be impressed.

They made eggs and toast together, and sat down at the kitchen table- it was large enough to seat six. As they ate, Rosemary looked out the windows, noting the huge stretch of orchards.

"What kind of trees do you have?" Rosemary asked.

"Oh, all sorts. I've got Pears, dates, plums, apples, cherries, apricots, peaches, olives, and pomengranates- those are the fruit trees. And I've also got almond, walnut, chestnut, and hazelnut trees. I've got two different types of apples growing- Crabapple and Red Delicious. I have the greenhouse, which is full of vegetables and herbs of all sorts- none of the animals are allowed inside, so it's warded. The chickens and ducks are free to roam the orchards though. Have to keep the sheep in their pen, unfortunately, because they would gorge themselves on the fruit and make themselves sick. The space is big enough that it's comfortable for them, though."

Rosemary ate, wondering what she should say about the previous night. It was clear Theo wasn't going to bring up her relatives, so she was going to have to. "…Thank you. For getting me out of there."

"…Like I said, no problem." Theo said, getting up from the table, and started to clean up the table. She could tell he was a little uncomfortable, though she did not understand why. Rosemary helped him, and spoke quietly.

"Theo…could we still get to know one another? I-I know you probably weren't expecting…me to be me." Rosemary said in a small voice. "And I-I know I'm not very pretty, but-"

Theo turned towards her, looking incredulous. "Potter, you're gorgeous! No, I wasn't expecting you to be you, but…I…well, are you sure you still want to get to know me? My Father was a Deatheater, I'm a Slytherin-"

"I don't care. You aren't your Father, just like I'm not anything like my Aunt or Uncle." Rosemary said softly, looking him in the eye. "…I'd really like to give this a chance. I slept better last night than I have in years." She said, her voice still soft.

Theo gave her a long look. "…Alright. But if you ever change your mind, or have any misgivings, tell me right away and you can go. I don't want you to stay because you feel obligated, or because you have to. Understand?"

"I understand." Rosemary said with a smile. "So, these chores?"

"Right." He said, heading out the kitchen door. Rosemary looked around the back garden. Off to the side, behind the barn, was a large covered pen, with an open area behind it, the fenced area approximately ¾ of an acre. The six ewes were bleating under the metal canopy.

Theo was going through the large back door of the barn, and pulling out a huge sack, making Rosemary stare. He was definitely really strong. He opened the bag and started putting feed into the troughs. Rosemary approached the pen, watching the ewes eat the mixture of straw, grass, and leftover cabbage. It looked as though they had been sheared recently.

"The ewes eat straw, clover, grass, all sorts of goodies. I usually feed them this at the start of the day, or while I'm shearing them. The rest of the day, they graze on the grass in the pasture. The chickens and ducks sometimes wander into the pasture, I don't mind so much, but we have to keep an eye out for eggs- we don't want them getting squashed. Speaking of eggs…"

Theo was grabbing a large basket from the porch. "Accio eggs!" He called out, and out of every little nook and cranny, from all over, eggs started popping up and coming over. Rosemary grinned, joining Theo as they grabbed eggs out of mid-air, putting them into the basket. She saw that the chickens and ducks began to wander over expectantly. There were a good two dozen eggs in the basket, and Theo had Rosemary put the basket up on to the porch again while he grabbed the bag of feed once more. He spread it out over the ground- lettuce, cabbage, and grass.

Rosemary laughed, helping him spread out the feed, grinning as the ducks and chickens swarmed around them, making a noisy mess. Over the din, Theo spoke. "The ducks and chickens eat this stuff too, though they often eat worms, bugs, that kind of thing. Keeps the pests down in the orchards. I've got a pond out the orchard the ducks tend to hang around in."

"What do you do during the winter?" Rosemary asked.

"Ah, the ducks and chickens go inside the barn. It's plenty big enough for them. The sheep stay outside- I time it so that their thickest wool comes in in time for winter. Their natural oils and things protect them from rain and snow, and they're likely to have less respiratory problems and things if they stay outside."

"Huh."

"I time lambing so that they aren't born until the early spring. But now that I've finished with school, I'll be able to do more work here and see if I can get more ewes, or maybe increase my vegetable and fruit yields."

Rosemary watched him put the bag of feed away into the barn, and she watched the chickens and ducks feed, fighting over the bits of cabbage, grass, and lettuce. He returned with a pail. "I have to milk the ewe- she won't like you around, so just stay out there."

Rosemary nodded, standing just outside the pen, watching Theo approach a bigger ewe. It didn't take long for him to catch up with her- he grabbed her firmly, and knelt at her side. She watched him milk the ewe. Rosemary had experience milking animals during her time helping Hagrid- but she'd never milked a sheep before. Still, it didn't seem so hard- Theo looked like he was pretty experienced at it.

As Theo came out of the pen with a pail full of milk, Rosemary couldn't help but speak. "What happened when you weren't here? Who looked after the farm then?"

Theo hesitated. "…My Father looked after things. I had an arrangement with Dumbledore that allowed me to go home on the weekends. Otherwise, nothing would have gotten done."

"Oh." Rosemary said quietly. She peered into the pail. "So we've got milk!"

"Yup. Don't drink it much, myself. Sometimes I'll use it for cooking. Most of the time, I just make it into cheese once I've got enough stored- preservation charms help. I sometimes trade for cow's milk, so I can make other kinds of cheese. I make the cheese in the cellar, I'll show you how to do that another time." He carried it into the house, and came back out with a small smile. "Let me show you the greenhouse."

Rosemary smiled, and he took her by the hand. He led her around the outside of the house, to the back of the greenhouse. It was very large, about the size of the barn- at least 700 sq feet. Theo was opening the door, and Rosemary grinned, looking at everything. "Wow!" She couldn't but exclaim.

"So, as you can tell, I grow a lot of different vegetables and things- most of the bigger crops are for feed for the animals. Lettuce, cabbage, that sort of thing. With the vegetables, I've got a lot of herbs here too. Some of it's for cooking, others are for healing potions and what not." Rosemary nodded, recognizing a lot of the varieties from the greenhouses at their school.

"Around the courtyard, I've got blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and other herbs and things, stuff I don't want the animals getting to, but they would take too much space in the greenhouse. I use the manure from the chicken, ducks, and sheep in here, but I sometimes grab some of the special grade stuff from Diagon or Hogsmeade once in a while." He was grabbing a pair of work gloves from the table and handing them to her with a grin. "Care to help me out?"

"Of course. This is something I definitely can do." Rosemary said.

The two of them got to work, checking out the plants and putting things into a basket once it was determined they were ready to be eaten. It was summertime, in the height of the growing period, so there was a lot to choose from. Rosemary was impressed by the selection and variety.

"So….you eat all this?" Rosemary asked incredulously.

Theo laughed. "I sell most of it in the village, or use it for feed. I go to the village on Saturdays. I sell the eggs, vegetables, wool when I have it. I haven't sold any cheese yet, I'm waiting until they're aged right. I figure I should start selling them soon, though, I'm going to run out of shelf space."

"So what do you have to buy?" Rosemary asked.

"Stuff I can't make or grow here. Flour, oats, rice, baking soda…I make my own bread, but only enough for a loaf or two at a time."

"I love making bread. You'll like the bread I make." Rosemary said with a smile. She looked over her shoulder at him, and Theo smiled back.

"…I think the work around here will be easier with another pair of hands. So…you're really okay with staying here?"

"Of course I am. So, um, you said you like to read and draw? How do you find the time?"

Theo laughed, putting a few potatoes in the basket. "My mornings are always busy. I try to get as much done as possible. Depending on the time of year, is how much work I have. Winter, as you probably guessed, is the slowest. I also have a rule that I don't do work outside after dark unless one of the animals are sick. That's when I read and things. I spend all Saturday in the village after taking care of the animals in the morning. After I take care of the animals on Sunday, I putter about the house."

"Ah." Rosemary smiled. "Well, hopefully things will be a little easier." She said, digging out a few carrots. "These look great. My Aunt was never really fond of growing vegetables- she liked her flowers and roses- of course, I did all the work, she got the credit." She said with a chuckle.

"…Did you ever tell anyone? About…your relatives?" Theo asked softly.

Rosemary's smile fell a little, and she knelt back on her heels, turning over the carrots in her hands, rubbing the dirt off of them. "…Yes. I told Dumbledore back in my first year." She whispered.

"What?!" Theo exclaimed, turning towards her with wide eyes. "…Why didn't he remove you from them?"

Rosemary gave him a sad smile. "Had no choice. There were blood wards that protected me from Voldemort and his people-"

"Blood wards?" Blood wards don't work like that! What a load of shite! Wards aren't selective like that, and I was able to get in just fine without being granted access to a key or anything." Theo said angrily, making Rosemary's eyes widen. She flinched as he threw a few more potatoes into the basket roughly, and he was turning around from where he knelt, his body tense. His gaze softened as he saw her frightened look. "…Sorry." He said, his voice getting quiet. "…I shouldn't have yelled. But he did lie to you."

Rosemary looked down, her thoughts racing. A spike of anger filled her, and then dropped into sadness. She sighed quietly. "I practically begged him to let me stay at the school, to let me work as Hagrid's assistant or something." She shook her head. Never again, would she trust him with her safety. "Anyways, um, did you ever tell anyone?"

Theo nodded. "I did. Professor Snape. Didn't really have to tell him, he kind of figured it out. He…was the one to help me convince Dumbledore to let me go home on the weekends to work. He also talked to my Father. Pretty sure he did more than talk-" Theo chuckled at this. "Because after that, my Father could barely look at me. He stayed away after that. I'd have the house to myself during the weekends and summer holidays."

"…I'm glad he was able to help you." Rosemary said softly. "Snape and I…we never really got along, but…he's still a good guy." She said, turning back to continue her work. The vegetables looked positively delicious, and Rosemary was itching to make a salad or stew or something with them. Growing up, she had often wished for a vegetable garden because she'd been able to sneak in food.

"Alright, I think we're done here." Theo said with a smile, and they both stood up. The basket was full of vegetables. "We'll come back on Friday and do a last round of picking before we pack everything up for Saturday." He said, and picked up the basket with one arm. As they left the greenhouse, he flicked his wand, and water spouted out, showering the food like a light rainfall. Rosemary smiled at this.

Theo carried the basket of vegetables inside the house, while she carried the eggs. They both took off their shoes at the door. They spread everything out on the kitchen table, sorting through everything.

"Alright, these eggs will be put into the smaller basket on the shelf." He instructed, and Rosemary carried the eggs and put them into a small woven basket not very far away from the stove. The others were set aside to take to the village. Beside the door there were two large baskets, and two smaller ones on the shelf above it. They looked in far better condition than the ones that they'd used to gather everything from outside. They all had things in them already- Rosemary put the eggs in with the other ones. She watched Theo count everything out as he put them into the baskets that he would take to the village- a sort of inventory.

"Do you make your own soap and shampoo too?" Rosemary asked with a smile. "I noticed in the loo that it was handmade."

"Oh, no, I buy that in the village. Most of the stuff I buy in the village is stuff I don't have time to make, cannot make myself, or just think their quality is better. So, like, sometimes I buy meat in the village, since I'd be sick of having chicken all the time, and I wouldn't want to eat all of my chickens. I buy clothes in the village when I need them, because I don't know how to really sew anything like that." He gave her a grin. "They have a very nice place there that I sell the wool to, and we trade. Their cloth is pretty cheap, much cheaper than the clothes they make, so maybe we could do that instead?"

Rosemary smiled. "As long as you don't expect anything fancy. I'm used to sewing the muggle way, but I'm learning the spells. I've got the hang of the knitting and crocheting spells, but nothing fancy-yet. I'll get there, with practice."

"Good. Everything on this farm has a purpose. It's all used in some way, if it's not used, it's sold." Theo said, picking up a very nice looking tomato, looking thoughtful. "If things had been left up to my Father, he probably would have sold all the animals, let the greenhouse and orchard fall to waste, and probably spent all of our money in Knockturne on whores and the pubs. But since I controlled all the money, we didn't lose our shirts." He gave her a Look. "I'm not really into extravagance. Don't expect parties and trips abroad, chocolates, or fancy dresses that have no place here."

"I wasn't expecting that at all." Rosemary said softly. "I hate parties, never owned a fancy gown in my life, and I far prefer treacle tarts over chocolates any day." Remus would have killed her over such a blaspheme, but it was true. She liked treacle tarts so much better.

"…Good." They continued to sort out the food. Theo set aside the herbs, gathering them in his hands. "Come on, let me show you the cellar."

Rosemary nodded, and the two went down a narrow staircase that was hidden inside the walk-in pantry. Rosemary looked around as Theo turned on the lights. The cellar was cool and dark, pretty big too. From the ceiling hung dried or drying herbs and strings of berries, cut up fruits and vegetables that were being dried. Shelves were lined up along one wall. On the shelves, there were cheeses of all different sorts. Some looked older than others, different colors, different textures.

"I started making cheese when I was pretty young. One of the guys in the village showed me. I've been letting the cheese age, so I haven't sold any. And since I have only been sticking to having one milking ewe at a time, and trading for cow's milk, I don't have a lot of milk to work with, even with preservation charms and things." She saw a small work table with a few different items on it- stacks of cloth, a few different sized buckets, a couple of trays, a big sieve and a little one. "I don't really make butter either, I just get that in town."

Theo put his hand on her shoulder, pointing up to the hanging herbs, fruits, vegetables, and berries. That little touch had her body feeling funny things. "Sometimes I preserve or pickle things, sometimes I dry them out. It takes a while for all of this to happen, I usually do this with the stuff I don't sell in the market. Once they're fully dried out, I'll try to sell them in the market again, and whatever I don't sell, I keep."

Rosemary reached up, fingering a strand of Chile peppers that were brittle to the touch. She smiled, going up onto her tippy toes. "Wow."

Theo squeezed her shoulder, and guided her over to the other wall, where the shelves were stocked with dried or preserved fruits and vegetables. There were stacks of empty jars sitting on top of a nearby work table. "See, everything's labeled, and I make sure to rotate everything. The jars I have in the pantry upstairs are the ones that need to be eaten first."

"A good system to have. You don't want to waste any food."

"That's for sure. That doesn't happen very often. Extras are put in with the feed, or I compost it for the plants, depending on what they are. Even the chicken bones are used for soup."

Rosemary grinned at this, taking hold of his hand. "Seems like you've got everything sorted out." She said softly.

"…Eh, not everything." Theo said, studying her face. "As you probably saw upstairs, there's a lot of empty spaces. After my Father was killed and found out to be a Deatheater, they raided the house and took anything that looked suspicious." He rolled his eyes, and he spread out the herbs over the work table, taking a bit of twine around the ends and tying them up with practiced ease. With a flick of his wand, the herbs were then hoisted up to hang from the bar on a small hook. He did them with each bunch of herbs while Rosemary watched. "So…a lot of the art, books, and other artifacts are gone. That means a lot of empty spaces on the walls, shelves, and cabinets."

Rosemary smiled. "I understand. I inherited my Godfather's townhouse in London, but it's been completely stripped down and emptied of stuff. Pretty sure the Order would have destroyed the library if I hadn't been able to rescue the books from the rubbish bin and have it sent to my vault."

"…Wait…your Godfather is Sirius Black." Theo said, as if realizing something. "You have the Black Library?" He asked incredulously, as if that meant something.

"…Yes?" Rosemary said.

"…Oh. Wow. That's…quite a collection of books. It's supposedly the largest collection of Dark Arts books in the country."

"Hence, why the Order had wanted to destroy it all." Rosemary said quietly. She saw his curious look, and she added. "I don't see the sense in destroying books- books don't hurt people, people do."

"Very true." Theo said, smiling. He leant down, pressing his lips to hers gently. Rosemary's eyes widened at the kiss, and he pulled away. It had been a brief kiss, but it was…very nice.

"What was that for?" Rosemary asked.

Theo just continued to smile, and they headed up the stairs. "Let me show you the rest of the house." He said, and so he did. On the other side of the staircase in the foyer, there was a large library that took up that whole side of the house. Among the bookshelves, there were also glass covered display cases every so often. They were dusty, and clearly had been holding things previously, but they were all gone.

Up the stairs were the bedrooms and bathrooms. Besides the bedroom they had slept in, there was a room that had clearly been a nursery at one point, but obviously empty. Then there was a guest room- the room Theo had prepared for her. It was really nice. A twin bed with a white metal frame was tucked into the corner of the room, and there was a dresser, and a desk, and a small closet. There were white clean linens on the bed, not unlike the queen sized bed in the Master bedroom, and there was a very old looking quilt folded neatly at the end. There were a vase of flowers sitting on the bedside table.

"…It's lovely." Rosemary said quietly, looking around the room. The walls were white, bare, but the window gave a lovely view.

"You can sleep here if you want." Theo said, still standing by the door. "It's up to you."

Rosemary shook her head, smiling as she approached him. She put her hands on his chest, going up on her tippy toes- he bent down, wrapping his arms about her middle as he kissed her oh-so-carefully.

He smelled of sunshine, grass, and herbs, and his skin was so warm and inviting- Rosemary deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms about his neck and shoulders, pressing her body up against his. Theo moaned against her mouth, holding her tighter. He was deepening the kiss, forcing her mouth open, his tongue sliding in and taking over her mouth. Rosemary clutched at him, her body trembling as he pushed her up against the doorway roughly. Her heart spiked at this- she liked that a lot!

Rosemary pulled her mouth away from his, moaning as she felt him continue to kiss her neck and ear, nipping at her ear hard- she hissed in pain, and Theo withdrew quite suddenly, his face flushed, chest heaving.

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

Rosemary gave him a breathless grin, eyes shining. "Did I tell you to stop?"

Theo let out a great big laugh, deep and loud, making something warm curl up inside her. She liked the way he looked when he laughed. "Come on, let me show you the other rooms." He was pulling her by the hand and leading her up to the third floor. There was another loo there, with the same old black and white tiles, but there were no towels or rug or linens- it clearly was not in use.

There were four small bedrooms on the third floor, each with a small twin bed, but the mattresses had been stripped, and everything was rather dusty. Theo spoke, motioning to the built-in ladder at the end of the hallway, right beside a narrow window. "That leads up to the attic. It's big enough to easily be converted into another bedroom, big enough for two. The ministry took everything out of there too. All these other bedrooms had a ton of boxes and things in them- those are gone, obviously. At least they left the beds and dressers."

"This house is really big."

"Well, the Nott family used to be pretty big. But after Voldemort, Grindenwald, WW2, WW1, and…everything else…it's just me now." Theo said with a sigh. "This house is way too empty."

Rosemary took his hand. "We can change that." She suddenly flushed at his wide eyed look. "Merlin, not yet!" She sputtered, putting her other hand to her face.

Theo laughed at this.

x-x-x

Lunch was a salad with a vinaigrette dressing. After lunch was finished, Theo took her out and showed her the orchards. Mushrooms and clover grew amongst the trees. It wasn't quite time for harvesting. Theo explained that certain things, like the olives, normally didn't grow well in this climate, but with the help of magic, they managed just fine. He said that their orchards had been around for over 250 years, so that the trees were fully mature and strong. Magic further strengthened them, their yield always pretty good. Rosemary could feel the ambient magic around the trees- she thought that they would one day be strong enough to be wand-grade trees. Their ambient magic strengthened the wards on the property.

Theo said that his family had lived on this land for about 300 years, right around the time that the village had been founded. In the past, his family had always kept to themselves, with him being the oddball and going out the muggle village whenever he could. He liked muggles, and their technology, which was why he'd gotten the house wired for electricity, and had solar panels installed on the roof of the house and barn. He liked having a telly to watch in the evenings, and was interested in getting a computer. He had purchased a truck for himself, which was currently sitting in the barn. He had taught himself how to drive when he was thirteen. It came in handy on market days.

They walked around the pond, and Rosemary enjoyed watching the ducks as they swam around. The pond had lots fish and frogs in it, but Theo said he didn't really fish- if he wanted fish, he'd buy some. As they sat by the pond, they laughed at the ducks, and Theo assured Rosemary that the ducks would wander up to her freely once they got used to her. At the moment, they were spread out far.

Rosemary smiled at Theo, watching him. It was clear he had something on his mind, other than the stuff about the farm. So she couldn't help but ask- "Everything okay? You look like you're thinking about something."

Theo looked at her, hesitating. "…I…I liked kissing you, earlier."

"Me too." Rosemary said with a shy grin, bumping her shoulder into his. She really wanted to kiss him again- maybe he wanted to too?

"…When I was kissing you…was it okay? It wasn't weird or anything?" Theo asked, sounding nervous.

"No. Why would it be weird?"

"I-I just thought I was too rough on you." He said, turning his head away from her.

Rosemary stared at him for a long moment. "Theo…look at me."

He turned his head towards her, their eyes meeting. She took his hand and squeezed it, trying to assure him that she absolutely meant what she was about to say. "I really liked kissing you. A lot. E-even when you bit me." She said, watching him smile a little at her stutter. "I-I might be small, but I'm far from delicate. You don't have to be…afraid. If I don't like something, I'll tell you. But you have to tell me if-if you want me to do something, okay?"

"…Okay." Theo said, studying her face. "I'm just…much bigger than you."

"I know. I like that." Rosemary said with a whisper, her face reddening.

"I like how small you are. You're…cute." Theo said, leaning forward. Rosemary grinned at this. She was not used to being called cute or pretty- most of the guys called her a gangly stick or whatever else came into their minds at the time. Their lips connected in another kiss, and Theo's hand came to rest on the side of her face, sliding towards the back of her hair as he deepened it.

Rosemary leant into his side, putting her hand on his shoulder, pulling him closer to her. Their tongues intertwined- he coaxed her to suck on his tongue. It was really weird, but it made her body feel hot and tingly. He was leaning them back on the grass, legs intertwining as they continued to kiss.

Their mouths parted, and they stared at one another, breathing hard. Theo's hand stroked her hair, the back of her neck, making her eyes close. His hand went to her shoulder, and he spoke, his voice husky and ragged. "You must be really warm in that jumper. We'll have to see about getting you some lightweight clothing to wear on Saturday."

Rosemary could only nod, her mind a jumbled mess, not trusting herself to speak. His hand caressed her cheek, and she was turning into the touch, kissing his callused palm. His fingertips slid down over her mouth, and he was inserting a digit- Rosemary opened her eyes, sucking on his index finger, feeling naughty, and loving the look in his eyes.

"God, that feels…wow." Theo whispered, leaning up on his elbow. "Rosemary…oh baby-" He was leaning in and kissing her hard, taking both of his hands and cradling her face. Theo was half on top of her, kissing her deeply. Rosemary's arms wrapped around his middle, holding him close as they kissed. She squirmed beneath him, her body feeling all tingly. He was so much bigger than her, but it wasn't scary at all. It was…lovely. She loved kissing Theo. It felt amazing.

He was kissing her neck again, his breathing tickling her, making her erupt into giggles. He pulled away quickly, eyes shining, smiling. "Did that tickle?"

"A little." Rosemary said, pulling down her jumper a little. She sat up, running her hands through her hair, trying to calm herself down. "Um…so all of the chores are done for the day?"

"Eh. Usually this time of day I spend time doing whatever needs to be done. We got things done earlier than normal. I suppose it helps to have an extra pair of hands." He said this with a wink to her. "Or I'll read for a bit, take a break. Depends on what needs to be done. There will be times harvesting will take up a lot of time, there will be days shearing needs to be done- of course, if any of the animals get sick, that changes things too."

Rosemary nodded at this, and Theo studied her as he sat up. "You okay? I didn't…push too far, did I?"

"No." Rosemary whispered, staring into his eyes, wandering how brave she could be. "If-if you told me to strip right now and spread my legs for you, I'd…" She watched his eyes widen. "…Theo, I really like you. I've never felt so happy before. Why shouldn't I make you as happy as I feel?"

"Wow. Alright, then. It's…uh, something to certainly think about." Theo said, rubbing the back of his head as he looked away. "…Um, are you on the potion or anything?"

"…No." Rosemary said in a small voice. "You're the first person I've ever done anything with." She said quietly. It was true. It was also true she wanted to give her virginity to him. She had never felt this way about anyone else before, and a part of her told herself that she could trust him.

"…Okay. Well, I don't have the supplies for a contraceptive potion, but we could easily, um, pick up some condoms at the pharmacy while we're in the village."

Rosemary blinked in surprise. She was glad he'd thought of it, because she really hadn't. She flushed, looking down at her lap. "Typical Gryffindor, that's me. I just jump into things without thinking about them…" She mumbled.

"It's a good thing I'm not a Gryffindor, then." Theo said with a soft laugh, putting his arm about her shoulders. "Let's take it slow. We have all summer."

"…Just the summer?" Rosemary couldn't help but ask, and Theo looked down at her, his gaze soft.

"…Don't you want to return to Hogwarts?"

"No." Rosemary replied instantly, smiling shyly up at him. She wanted to stay as long as he'd let her.

Theo kissed the top of her head, and then helped her to her feet. "Well, it's not a decision to make light of. I had to leave school because I had no option. You still have that choice." He said, and the two of them headed back towards the house.

x-x-x

The following day, being Friday, was spent outside again. Rosemary helped Theo with the animals, and he showed her how to milk the ewe. The sheep was rightfully nervous around her, so it took a bit of coaxing and running about the pasture. They spent some time in the greenhouse and in the orchard again, and also collecting berries from the blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry bushes out in front. It was the perfect season for them, so there were a lot.

The afternoon was spent sorting through everything and packing up the goods for market the following day. Rosemary was in charge of putting dinner together. As they had dinner, Rosemary spoke.

"I was wondering if I could go into Diagon Alley tonight?" She asked, making Theo look at her. "I need to go to Gringott's." She said quietly. "Is that okay?"

Theo gave her a long look. "I'm not making you stay here. You don't need permission to come and go, since you're now accepted by the wards."

Rosemary looked down at her lap. "I might not…need permission, but I want permission. Or you could even join me, if you like?"

"…No, that's okay. We're going to have to get up really early to feed the animals before we go. Don't stay out too late." He said, standing up with his plate and starting to clear the table. Rosemary watched him, and hurried to help.

"Theo…Sir, do you understand what I'm asking?" Rosemary asked, making his head jerk towards her at the title. He gave her a long look.

"…You may go to Gringott's. Use the floo. Be back by eight at the latest." His tone was different as he said this, more stern, making a warmth creep over her.

"Thank you." Rosemary whispered with a smile, glad he understood. "I-I was thinking about bringing my books here? And some other things? Is that okay?"

Theo blinked. "…Of course, we've got the room. I don't see why not."

Rosemary smiled, kissing his cheek. She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Do you need any more help? I should get going if I'm going to be back by eight."

"No, go on. I'll see you later." Theo said with a small smile.

Rosemary hurried upstairs and grabbed her hoodie, and pulled it on. She used the floo in the kitchen and flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. Because of the time, everyone was in the middle of dinner or just starting to drink, so no one paid much attention to her. She was glad about that, having worried about someone figuring out who she was and a possible mob of well-wishers blocking her path. Some of the shops were still open, but she ignored them, hurrying towards Gringott's.

After making her withdrawals, she had everything packed and shrank down so she could carry them easily in the floo. She arrived back to the house at 7:30, and carried her boxes into the sitting room. She found Theo sitting there, dressed in his boxers and t-shirt.

"…Get everything you needed?" He asked, watching her take out more shrunken boxes from her jacket pockets. She tapped her wand to each box, unshrinking all of them- they took up a lot of space. It made her glad that the wards on the property allowed her to cast magic, even though she was underage. It made things a lot easier.

"The Black Library, and the Potter Ceramics collection." She said proudly, making Theo put his book aside and get to his feet. They opened the boxes together, and Theo held up a delicate looking tea cup.

"…These would look really nice in all of the display cabinets." He said softly, studying it. "These are all really rare collectibles- most pureblood families only have a few pieces if they're lucky."

"Well, we've got…a lot. Helps that it was my ancestors who made them, right?" Rosemary said with a laugh, holding out a beautiful hand-painted plate. "Guess it's where my drawing skills come from. Wish I was as good as they were, though. For now, let's just keep these in the boxes until we can clean all the displays and the dishes, and figure out how to arrange everything."

"Good idea. Let's put these boxes of books in the library though- there's a ton of them."

"You've got that right."

The two of them worked for a good hour together, moving all the books into the library and putting them on the shelves. Theo kept oohing and ahhing about the books, saying how rare some of them were, and how hard it was to find them. While he wasn't the bookish sort, he still appreciated the collection.

After 8:30, Theo checked the time, and spoke. "We should get on to bed. We're getting up at four tomorrow." Rosemary groaned at this, and the two headed upstairs. Theo went to bed, while Rosemary took a quick shower- Theo had taken his shower while she'd been gone. She wore a borrowed t-shirt again, still feeling a little shy and exposed as she crawled into bed with Theo.

Not a moment after she got into the bed, he was pulling her close and kissing her on the forehead. Rosemary smiled, curling up against his body. "Good night, my Rosemary." He whispered, squeezing her. Rosemary's smile widened, and she did a little happy wriggle at his possessive tone.

"Good night, Sir." She whispered, rubbing her face against his thin t-shirt.

They were quiet after that for a long time, so long that Rosemary had thought Theo had fallen asleep. But then he was suddenly speaking. "Why do you do that?"

"…Do what?"

"…Call me Sir?"

Rosemary flushed, squirming a little as she peered up at him in the darkness. "Do you not want me to?"

"…No, It's just…I was just wondering why. I don't mind. Just wanted to know."

Rosemary bit at her bottom lip. "Well…I…I guess I want to show respect? You're…you're the head of this household, even if it's just the two of us, and…well, it's proper. But…but if you don't like it, I don't have to-"

"Rosemary…" A hand was coming to her mouth, resting there, making her shut up. "Thank you. You can call me Sir if you like. I do like it." He paused. "…It's just a little unusual, which is why I asked. I'm used to being called Boy, Lad, Kid….whatever. Not Sir."

"Well…it's time that you ought to be." Rosemary said, putting her face back against his chest. His hand began to stroke her hair again, and she could tell he was thinking. She slid her leg between his, enjoying the feel of her skin sliding against his own. He turned slightly, and she could feel the fabric of his boxers on her thigh, and the hear radiating from his- oh wow. Was that his…his erection?

Rosemary laid very still, trying to figure out how big it was exactly. She wanted to touch it, but was resisting the urge. She could feel it twitching a little- was it getting bigger? Theo was kissing the top of her head, making her look up at him. Her leg shifted a little, pressing firmly against his erection. She could feel and hear his breathing change.

His lips met hers in the dark, his other hand sliding down her back, up, down, up again, pulling up her shirt a little. Rosemary moaned against his lips, feeling the shirt being pulled up, then his hand going downwards- her hips jerked a little before he could touch her bare skin, and her bare pussy came in contact with Theo's boxers. His hand was going downwards again, and everything seemed to freeze as his hand slid over her bare bottom.

"Rosemary, where are your knickers!?" He asked, clearly sounding startled, but his voice was low and husky- his erection was definitely getting bigger now.

"…I haven't any." Rosemary said in a small voice. "I forgot to pack them."

Theo moaned, burying his face in her hair. "God, you're so…"

"Stupid? Silly? Weird-"

"No, no, no-" He was pulling her so that she was on top of him, sitting on his stomach. His hands slid over her bare hips and over her bottom, squeezing. His big, callused hands felt good against her bare skin- she really liked the way he touched her. "I was going to say…amazing. Perverted. And very, very tempting. Take your shirt off for me, sweetheart."

Rosemary did not hesitate, pulling the t-shirt over her head, her heart racing. She tossed it to the floor, and her hands came to rest on his chest. In the darkness of the room, she knew he could not see her naked body very well, so it made her feel a little braver. Her nipples were hard, and she could feel herself getting wetter. His hands slid up over her bare back, and she moaned quietly, her body arching into the touch. "Good girl…" He whispered huskily. Rosemary squirmed atop him, leaning down. They began to kiss, his hands sliding over her back, sides, hips, and bottom, squeezing and groping. She rubbed up against him, enjoying the feel of his body against hers, wishing he wasn't wearing clothes.

He was pushing down on her hips a little, making her adjust, and she realised he was pushing her down so that she could rub up against his erection. They both moaned, grinding against each other. His hands grabbed her bum firmly, controlling her movements. She liked that- she liked that a lot. His erection was so hard, and the heat was driving her wild- he was sliding her up and down the length of his dick forcefully, the fabric of his boxers getting wet

Rosemary pulled at his shirt, her heart racing, aching to feel more of his skin against her. He helped her pull off his shirt, tossing it over the side of their bed. Her hands slid over his chest, feeling his lovely warm skin, his muscular body, the light hair on his chest.

"Theo…" She moaned, leaning down to kiss him again, pressing her chest against him. His arms tightened around her, and the angle had the head of his erection sliding teasingly against her pussy.

"Not Theo." He breathed into her ear. "I want you to call me something else, pet." He said, grabbing her bum firmly, pushing her hips downwards- oh, if he wasn't wearing his boxers, he'd be so close to going inside- "God, you're so wet." He moaned.

"…Sir? You want me to call you Sir again?" Rosemary asked, grinning.

"...Sometimes. But you know what would be really naughty? What I think would be really hot?" He whispered, thrusting up against her.

"You taking those boxers off and fucking me for real?" Rosemary asked with a laugh.

"Aw, don't tempt me." Theo moaned. "Babydoll, what happens if I fuck you right now?"

"We have sex."

"And…"

"And I would definitely knock you up. I won't want to pull out of you, baby. What would happen, then?"

Rosemary exhaled slowly, burying her face in his shoulder, feeling really aroused. She really wanted him to do just that. "We'd have a baby." She whispered.

"Good girl. And who would you be?"

"I-I'd be…" Rosemary hesitated. "The Mum?"

"Uh huh, and who would I be?" Rosemary hesitated again, and she moaned as he grabbed her arse hard- her hips jerked.

"...Daddy." She moaned.

"Oh yes…call me that again, sweetheart."

"Daddy." Rosemary panted, feeling his thrusts get faster. The front of his boxers were soaked, she was pretty sure it was because she was so wet. "Daddy, please…please take your boxers off."

Theo was shoving her off of him, making her roll onto her back, lying beside him. He shifted in the bed beside her, and she could tell something was dropping onto the floor- holy crap, he'd really done it-

Theo was shifting on the bed, shoving her legs apart, and kneeling between them. He was leaning down, both of them moaning as they rubbed up against each other. His erection slid wetly against her groin, his mouth joining his hands on her breasts. Rosemary clutched at him, breathing hard as he humped her body. His dick jerked along her wet slit, teasing her. Rosemary ground against him, moaning as he leant back, his hands sliding down to her stomach and hips. One of his hands left her body, and she could tell he was touching himself, by the sounds, and the movement of the bed.

"Touch yourself baby." He breathed, ordering her. Rosemary didn't hesitate to comply. She reached down, fingers sliding along her slit, and she began to finger herself furiously, teasing her clit and hole, but not quite going inside. It didn't take very long at all for her to cum, her body arching up as she cried out, her body throbbing with pleasure. She hadn't felt this good in a really, really long time.

"Good girl…such a good girl. You came, didn't you baby?"

"Yes Sir." Rosemary breathed moaning as the hand on her body went down to her slit, fingers exploring her carefully. She twitched, still sensitive. His hand withdrew and he was leaning forward, his breathing changing. Suddenly, he was groaning, and she could feel what had to be his semen spurting onto her stomach. His body shook, and he laid on top of her, not caring if they got messier.

They laid there together like that for a long moment, breathing hard.

"…I'm getting condoms tomorrow. Don't let me forget." Theo murmured.

"I won't, Sir." Rosemary said with a small smile, running her hands through his hair. She felt excited, eager, not at all scared. The girls at school had talked about boys and things, and the sorts of things they had done with them- Lavender and Parvati were rather popular with them, after all, and Lavender loved to share all the juicy details. Rosemary had always pretended to not listen or care about such conversations, but she'd always been keen to learn about sex and such things.

She was glad that Theo didn't seem to be shy about things, that he was able to take control so effortlessly. It felt…right, doing things this way. She wanted to do all sorts of naughty things, things that she'd heard or read about, things that would even have Lavender Brown going red. And she was sure that Theo would want to do those things with her.

x-x-x

The market was full of people, despite the early hour. According to Theo, people came from the surrounding villages to this open-air market to look for hand-made goods, food, and other odds and ends.

Theo's table wasn't as fancy or organized as some of the other tables were, but people were still lining up to buy his food. Rosemary heard more than one comment about how Theo's food tasted better than most in the region, for some reason. She couldn't help but wonder if it was because of the magic he used, and the lack of chemical pesticides, ect. She was introduced to a lot of people, and helped Theo sell his food.

Theo let her run the table for a bit while he went to the pharmacy. He returned with a small paper bag and gave her a wink and a smile at her flushed face. He hadn't forgotten. Good. A sort of warmth filled her at the thought of more kisses, more touches, that they might…go all the way that night.

Not long afterwards, he gave her a break and let her wander around the village. She went to the bank and opened up an account, depositing some of her converted money into the account. It was about 5000, not even close to the amount in her Gringott's vault. Theo also had an account in the Bank, but they hadn't spoken about how much he'd saved up. She was planning on slowly withdrawing and converting a good sum of money and putting it into the muggle bank- she really didn't want to be in the magical world unless it was necessary. Too many people knew her.

Rosemary wandered around for a bit. Theo had told her to purchase some work clothes for herself. She went into a store and bought a pair of work shoes, and then found the sewing supply shop he'd told her about. Rosemary bought more thread and sewing needles for her sewing kit, another set of crochet hooks, and more knitting needles- different sizes than she already had.

Knitting and Crochet hooks had to be enchanted in order to make things magically. With more hooks and needles, she could make more garments at once. Mrs. Weasley was able to make quite a few things all at the same time, most could only manage one or two sets of knitting needles at the same time.

Rosemary bought some buttons and zippers too. She wanted to make some clothes for herself. She bought a lot of different types of fabric, mostly cottons, all in white. With magic, she could turn the fabric into any color or pattern she wanted, the same with the thread, zippers, and buttons. She just had to reapply the charms if they started to fade.

Rosemary returned to the market with her purchases, putting her bags down at their table. Theo was currently haggling with the older lady who made soap- she wanted to trade him some of his cucumbers and peppers in exchange for a few bars of the solid soap. Theo flashed her a smile, and the woman glanced her way.

"And who is this?"

Theo wrapped his arm around Rosemary's shoulders. "Elise, this is Rosemary. Rosemary, this is Elise. She made that soap you like, sweetheart."

"Oh! That soap was simply lovely, I loved the smell." Rosemary said with a bright smile. She glanced to Theo. "Theo, we don't…really need anymore, do we? You have plenty in storage already…" She said, noting the expression on the woman's face. She hoped to prove to Theo that she was good at haggling. She had done it earlier on in the day, but she didn't know if he had realised it.

Elise spoke up quickly. "I'll let you have the two bars for the Chile peppers and the cucumbers. Forget the red peppers."

Theo's brows rose. "…Alright. We've got a deal." They shook on it, and the woman grabbed a handful of several varieties of Chile peppers, and the cucumbers. She handed over two very large bars of soap wrapped in wax paper. Elise walked away with a grin, and Theo gave Rosemary a speculative look.

"That's not the first time I've seen you manage to talk somebody down."

Rosemary just gave him a little grin. "So, I got some goodies- I thought I could make some clothes." She said, letting him peek into the bags of stuff she got. Theo nodded, looking thoughtful.

"Go to the older ladies at the end there. Tell them you're with me, go get some more fabric. They buy their wool from me, you should get a really good deal."

"Yes Sir." Rosemary said with a smile. "Is there anything else you want me to get?" He nodded, and handed her a list. "If you can't haggle the prices down, don't worry about it. I can get the stuff after we pack up."

"Yes Sir." Rosemary said, and kissed his cheek quickly, and went off. She got what was needed- oil, sugar, cinnamon, salt, butter. He didn't say specific kinds or anything, so she got powdered sugar as well, knowing she could make some icing and things like that. Maybe the following week she could make some baked goods to sell?

Rosemary went to a table where two old ladies sat knitting. They had huge baskets full of colorful yarn and fabrics, with labels saying that all wool was local, the dyes made from all organic materials, ect, ect. They also had bolts of various fabrics, some of them nicer than the ones she'd purchased in the shop on the High Street. One of the ladies saw her looking, and grinned at Rosemary.

"Can I help you, young lady?"

Rosemary smiled nervously. "Yes, actually. I'm a friend of Theo's. I like to sew. He recommended that I come to you guys to get some fabric?"

"Oh! Yes- I'm Andrea, and this is Geraldine. Theo sells us his wool at a very reasonable price, we would be happy to give you a discount, dear. Won't we, Geraldine?" She asked the other woman, who was frowning slightly.

Andrea stood, and held out some fabric to Rosemary. "Wish we could say we make all of the fabric by hand, but neither of us simply has the time for that!" She laughed. "But we do make the lace and yarn by hand, and we dye everything ourselves. The wool is all local, we also have wool-cotton blends. We buy fruits and vegetables from the locals here to make our own dyes as well. We'd buy our veggies from Theo too, but they're just simply too yummy to turn into dye-" She said with a laugh.

Rosemary smiled, pulling out a very pretty white material that was rather sturdy- a very durable material that would be good for a work apron. "I think I'd like to get some of this. This material would make a good work apron."

"A very good choice! It's very strong, durable…you sew a lot, then?"

"A bit here and there. Though I hope to do more." Rosemary said, looking over the material, smoothing it out over the table. "Very nice."

"Do you knit and crochet too?"

"Yes, actually, I do. A friend's mother taught me several years ago. I don't know how to do anything fancy, yet."

"Well, you know, us ladies host a knitting/sewing/crafting get together every Sunday after church! You're more than welcome. You pick up a thing or two from us old biddies."

Rosemary giggled at this. "Maybe."

"You're new to town, right?" Geraldine asked, finally getting up from her seat. Andrea had grey hair, while Geraldine had white. They were similar enough in features that they looked to be sisters. Their clothes were very different from one another, though. Andrea dressed very colorfully, with lots of necklaces and bracelets, while Geraldine wore simpler clothing, not as flashy.

"Yes, I just arrived a few days ago." Rosemary said with a smile.

"Thought so. Didn't recognize you. You and the lad together?"

Rosemary flushed. "…Yes." She said in a small voice, unsure of what Theo would want her to say in this situation. "We went to school together."

"Ah! London! Did you like it there?" Andrea asked excitedly. Rosemary assumed Theo told people he went to school in London- why London, she didn't know, but better than St. Brutis' like the Dursleys had told everyone.

"It was okay. It's too busy. I like it here." Rosemary said with a smile.

"Are you just visiting for a bit, or are you planning on sticking around for a while?" Andrea asked, unfolding the fabric. "You've got twelve yards here, dear, do you want the whole lot?"

"Um, sure. Might as well. Maybe I can make something for Theo too." Rosemary said quietly to herself. She didn't answer Andrea's other question. She saw some un-dyed yarn, and knew that Theo wouldn't be doing his next shearing until the spring. She would definitely need more jumpers, and she hoped to make one for Theo too. She selected a big batch of a wool-cotton blend. "I've never made my own yarn before. Is it very hard?"

"It's certainly time consuming. Perhaps if you drop by our group, we could show you!" Andrea said brightly. "We all get together right after church, we meet in the meeting room there. Are you Church of England?"

"Oh…well, I've never been to church before." Rosemary said in a small voice.

"Perhaps you two could come by tomorrow?" Geraldine said softly, studying Rosemary's face. "Better late than never, I say. The lad should come with. He spends far too much time alone-" Andrea was swatting the woman's arm, smiling at Rosemary.

"We're just glad Theo's got a friend looking after him. When we heard about his Father passing away while he was away on his business trip, everyone was just so sad for him- but the boy just plugged right along, still working away. Take care of him, will you?"

"I will." Rosemary said, and looked over the items she wanted to get. "So…how much?"

"Twenty." Geraldine said abruptly.

"No, no, fifteen, no more than that." Andrea argued, and Geraldine nodded reluctantly.

"…Thank you." Rosemary said, and handed the money over. Everything was put into two paper bags for her, and she smiled. "And I hope to see you two tomorrow. I'll talk to Theo about church." Geraldine seemed to warm up a little at this, and both of the women waved goodbye to her.

Rosemary went back to the table, and grinned as she saw that many of the baskets were far more empty than they had been. Theo gave her a grin. "Everyone's coming to visit the table because you're with me. All the ladies want to introduce themselves, and all the guys want to ogle you."

Rosemary giggled at this, putting her bags on the ground under the table. "I got the items on your list. I also got us some fabric and yarn. Andrea and Geraldine are…nice."

"Eh, yeah. Geraldine's a bit of a tough nut to crack, but once you get to know her, she's alright."

"They asked if we were going to go to church tomorrow?" Rosemary asked.

Theo groaned, still smiling. "No surprise. They've been trying to convince me for ages. My Father would have killed me if he heard that I'd gone."

"Well…you can go now, can't you?"

Theo perked up at this realization. "Huh. I guess so."

"They also invited me to a craft group that meets up after church." Rosemary said shyly. "It could be fun."

"…Hmm. Well, as long as we do our work in the morning, I don't see why we can't go to church and have a bit of fun. You're going to need something to wear. Will you be able to manage?" He asked, motioning to the bags on the ground.

Rosemary nodded, grinning. "I'm fast with the simpler sewing spells, even Mrs. Weasley said I was really good for a beginner. Oh, and I got some yarn. I know you won't have another shearing until the spring, but I thought I could make us some jumpers and things for when the weather is colder? Is that okay?"

Theo's gaze softened. "That is fine, darling. Now, the market will be closing in about an hour or so, and I'm going to need your help packing everything up. Is there anything else you want to get before we go?"

"…Oh, no, I think I've gotten more than enough today." Rosemary said with a grin.

"Alright. Let's try to sell the last of these eggs- let's bring the price down, yeah?"

"Sure thing." Rosemary grabbed the basket of eggs with a wink, and carried them out into the crowd of shoppers. "Eggs for sale! Delicious, nutritious, and LOCAL chicken and duck eggs for sale! Picked fresh daily! Only 10pence!" She saw a few older guys looking her way, and a few amused women- She continued her spiel, and people started approaching her. In fifteen minutes, the basket was empty of eggs, and coins were rolling about the basket.

Theo was grinning broadly as she returned, and he pulled her close, kissing her cheek. He leant in, and whispered. "Thank you, sweetheart." He said, and put the coins into his money box. It was a silent agreement that whatever money was made was for the household. The money Rosemary had spent on items for the household had been given to her by Theo. The fabric and other things had been purchased with Rosemary's own money.

They packed everything up into Theo's beat-up truck, Rosemary feeling very proud of herself. She had helped Theo sell a lot of his goods, and she felt like she had really contributed, other than just the physical labor she'd done the past few days.

After getting back to the farm, they put everything away, and Rosemary got to work on sewing while Theo cleaned the display cases, and carefully began to clean the ceramic pieces and setting them out around the library and sitting room in the cases.

Rosemary made herself a simple dress to wear for church, out of some very nice linen she'd gotten from the store. Short sleeves, with a modest scooped neckline. It was all in one piece, straight down the sides, not really form fitting- a shift dress. But with a matching fabric belt, it would show off her slender waist and give it a bit of a shape. The hemline of the skirt would fall just above her knees- as Rosemary was rather short, it would make her look just a little leaner and taller with a bit more leg showing.

She discovered it would need a lining, since the fabric was a bit thin for more formal wear. With a color charm, she changed the outer fabric to a deep emerald green to match her eyes, the inside lining was charmed an inky black. When she moved, the skirt would flip out slightly and show off the lining. Of course, with a flick of a wand, she could change the colors of the material anytime she wanted. She made a belt out of the fabric to match, charming it to be the same emerald green, wrapping it around her slender waist and knotting it nicely. She tried it on, whirling about.

"Theo, what do you think?" Rosemary asked with a grin, whirling around again.

"Very nice. But if you're going to whirl around like that, you really need to make a pair of knickers." Rosemary pulled down her skirt, her face red.

"Theo!"

"What, it's true. You don't want to give those old guys a show, do you?" He asked with a laugh.

x-x-x

That night, Rosemary was dreadfully nervous as she went to bed, knowing Theo had gotten the condoms earlier that day. Rosemary got into the bed, exhaling slowly, waiting for Theo to join her. She hadn't bothered putting a t-shirt on, knowing it was likely it would be taken off anyways. She laid in bed, hearing Theo in the loo. She could feel herself getting aroused, thinking about kissing him again, about going further than they had the previous night…Merlin, she was so nervous, but excited too.

The light was being flicked off, and Theo entered the dark bedroom. He got into bed with her, and they both laid there for a long moment. "…Do you…you know?" Theo asked carefully. "We don't have to." He added quickly.

Rosemary swallowed nervously, sitting up a little. "It's okay. I want to."

She heard Theo exhale, and he was leaning over, opening the drawer to his bedside table. She felt him sit up on the edge of the bed, and heard a wrapper- he grunted. "Damn thing… I'm going to turn on the light." He mumbled, reaching over and turning on the lamp.

Rosemary swallowed nervously, sitting up. She stared at his back as he struggled to put the condom on, trying to figure it out. He was just as naked as she was- her heart raced, seeing his bare back, his bum, his broad shoulders.

"Well…I hope it's on right." Theo murmured with a chuckle, turning towards her. Not a moment later, he was pushing the blankets off of her, pinning her arms back. He was looking at her naked body for the first time, his eyes lighting up. Rosemary wished she could get a better look at him, but there wasn't time-she moaned as they kissed, him getting on top of her, kneeling between her spread thighs. He reached down, clumsily trying to guide himself into her. The rubber felt weird, and a small part of her wished he wasn't wearing it at all, but she would not complain-

Theo was pushing himself inside of her, making her let out a ragged moan- Theo was breathing hard, leaning over her on his elbows, slowly pushing into her tight channel. It hurt, but in a strangely good way. She felt uncomfortably full, like she'd eaten too much, and there was this sort of hot…throbby feeling coming over her.

She wished that they hadn't just sort of dived right into things, that they'd fooled around a little bit first, but it felt…kind of good, in a strange way.

Theo was kissing her again, holding her face in his hands, slowly withdrawing, and then pushing back in all the way to the hilt. They both moaned, and he began to thrust into her with earnest. Oh wow.

This was sex. They were having sex. Oh wow, they were doing it! Rosemary clutched at him, holding on tightly as he picked up speed. "Yes…oh god, yes…" Theo moaned into her hair, thrusting into her harder. It hurt, but it felt good, really good. Rosemary buried her face into his shoulder, moaning as he fucked her into the mattress. She didn't want this to end- it felt really good. Her toes curled, and she began to push back into his thrusts, wanting him to do her harder, faster. It hurt, but it just spurred her on more.

Lavender had always complained about it hurting, but how it felt so good- and now she understood.

"…Aw fuck, yes….good girl…so good." Theo moaned, and Rosemary could feel that tugging inside her at his words, knowing that she'd made him feel good. This was what it was all about. Having fun, feeling good, making him feel good. Like everything else in the farm, she wanted to be useful, and this was one way he could use her.

Rosemary reached for his face, making him pull away from her hair. They stared at one another in the dim light of the bedroom, and Rosemary gave him a small smile. Her face felt suspiciously wet- had she been crying?

Theo stroked her face, staring down at her. His gaze was hungry, yet soft, and so full of need…

"Cum inside me." Rosemary whispered, pushing herself up to her elbows. She was aware of him staring at her bare body now, her chest heaving. She was on display for him, spread open, all just for him. She wanted to make him cum, she wanted him to use her body to make himself feel good- and that thought of him using her made her feel good too.

The change of angle made both of them groan- kissing each other hard. Rosemary's head fell back as he fucked her, his body shaking and tensing as he came with a lovely sounding moan. It was a strange sensation, inside her, full but not full, his prick softening, the rubber getting loose.

Theo pulled out of her with a sated looking smile, and he looked down. "You're bleeding." He said, looking concerned as he pulled off the condom carefully.

"…Yeah. I heard it's normal, the first time." Rosemary said, looking down at her pussy. She felt really sore now, and wanted him to stick it back inside to make her feel better. She looked at the condom in his hand, staring at the cum inside. Huh. He saw her looking, and he stared at it too.

"I know. Weird, right?"

"…Yeah. " Rosemary said with a small laugh. "That little rubber thing is the only thing that's keeping you from getting me pregnant." She said, and looked towards him. He was looking around, as if trying to figure out what to do with it. "Maybe we should put a trash can by the bed next time?"

"Good idea. Hold on. I'll be right back." Theo said with a grin, and lumbered off to the loo. Rosemary laid there with a sigh, lying back.

She was no longer a virgin. While it had felt good, the previous night had felt…naughtier, somehow. Maybe when things weren't so awkward and new, it would be better. Still, it had been an enjoyable experience, even if she hadn't cum. She heard the water running in the loo, and Theo was coming back out with a towel.

He gave her a warm smile as he cleaned her up, sharing a gentle kiss with her. She thanked him quietly, and he left to go put the towel in the hamper. He came back to the bedroom, turned off the light, and laid down next to her once more.

Rosemary curled up next to Theo, putting her head on his shoulder. She winced a little in pain at her movements. If she still hurt too much in the morning, she'd take a pain relieving potion. Theo kissed the top of her head, wrapping his arm around her. "Are you okay?"

"Just a little sore." Rosemary said quietly. "…Not too bad for our first time, eh?"

"…Yeah. Hopefully things won't be so…"

"Awkward?" Rosemary suggested.

"Yeah. We'll get the hang of it." Theo said, squeezing her a little. "There's a lot of stuff I want to try out- stuff I've seen in books and things. But not tonight. We should get some rest."

Rosemary nodded, snuggling into him as she thought about some of the dirty things she'd heard about from classmates, and things she'd seen in her cousin's dirty magazines. Yeah…that would be fun to try out. She was glad that Theo felt comfortable enough talking about those sorts of things with her.

x-x-x

Rosemary felt nervous, approaching the church on Theo's arm. She was wearing the linen dress she made, with him wearing his nicest shirt, trousers, and jacket. She hadn't gotten around to making knickers, still, so she made sure that her skirt wouldn't be flying up for any reason. She carried a bag on her shoulder, which held her wand inside, along with the project she wanted to work on at this crafting group that she'd been invited to. She saw many people looking their way, smiling and waving.

"…People really are friendly around here." She whispered.

"It's because you're new to town, and they've been trying to convince my family to come to church for years. Relax, don't be nervous."

Rosemary nodded, smiling a little as they climbed up the stairs to the large double doors. The Minister was there, greeting people as they passed, his wife was beside him. The older man smiled as he saw them.

"Mr. Nott, it is great to finally see you here! And this must be your…friend?" He asked, shaking Theo's hand, then looking to Rosemary.

"Yes, this is my girlfriend, Rosemary Potter. We went to school together." Theo said, smiling back. "Mrs. Jones, it's nice to see you again." He said, shaking her hand as well. Meanwhile, Rosemary was feeling a little fuzzy headed at being called Theo's girlfriend.

"It's nice to see you as well, Mr. Nott. Miss Potter." The woman said primly. She wore a boxy three piece blue dress set, her dyed blonde hair perfectly curled. She was looking Rosemary over carefully. "So, you come from London, Miss Potter?"

"Oh no, I grew up in Surrey. I only went to school in London." Rosemary said, lying through her teeth.

"Well, it's great to see you both here." The Minister said jovially. "Please feel free to sit wherever you like! Though the young people like yourself tend to sit right in the front together."

"Thank you, Minister." Theo said, and the two of them entered the church together. Rosemary's breath hitched as they entered. It really was a nice looking place. The tall glass windows were beautifully designed, and let in a lot of sunlight. Everyone was greeting one another, looking for their seats. There was a lot more people than Rosemary had expected- this village was far larger than she had thought.

Rosemary and Theo approached the front, and They sat together near the middle of the aisle, with Theo on the outside. Other people around their age and younger started to sit down together, greeting one another. Some looked like they were happy to be there, while others clearly had been dragged there by their parents. Many of them looked over curiously at Theo and Rosemary and began to whisper and stare. Rosemary sighed, putting up with it, used to it. Theo put his arm around her shoulders, and she leant into his side.

Rosemary felt like she stood out a little in her emerald green dress, when most of the women wore pastels, and the other girls wore cute little floral numbers. Many of them wore hats, stockings, heels, jewelry, and makeup, while she had none of that. She had her hair pulled back into a simple bun like it usually was, and wore her old black school flats. Still, her dress looked pretty darn good. She was proud of it.

A couple of girls sat close to them, a blonde speaking up and introducing herself. "Hi! You must be Nott, right?" She asked, looking at Theo.

"Yes. I'm Theo Nott." Theo said, leaning over and shaking her hand. The blonde smiled a little, blushing. Rosemary didn't blame her, he really was good looking. "And this is my girlfriend, Rosemary Potter."

The girl smiled at Rosemary. "Nice to meet you, Rosemary. I'm Eleanor, Minister Jones' daughter. These are my friends Tabitha and Anne." She motioned to her friends, who giggled in a similar way that reminded Rosemary of her classmates back in school. She felt so…old compared to them.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Rosemary said.

"So what's London like? I want to go to University there, I bet it's like, really busy!" The girl said with a bright smile.

"It is. Very loud, and very busy. I'm not a fan, which is why I'm living here." Theo said evenly. He looked over. "Oh, Rosemary, that's the guy that sold me the truck." He said, motioning to a middle aged man. "Huh, and that's the fellow I send my ewes to."

"Ewes? What's that?" Eleanor asked, clearly listening in.

"Female sheep." Theo replied, not even looking at her. "Huh. Maybe this was a good idea, Rosemary. A lot of the people I plan on doing business with are here."

"Good." Rosemary said with a smile. "Oh, and there's Geraldine and Andrea." She said, seeing the two older ladies sitting across the way. They spotted each other, and she waved. The women smiled and waved back to her. Next to them, Eleanor snickered for some reason, but Rosemary did not know why.

Soon, everyone was quieting down as the Minister stood at the front. He began his sermon, and at odd random times, they were instructed to stand up and sing- Rosemary and Theo shared a book and sang together. Theo really did have a good voice, she couldn't help but notice, deep and strong. She sang quietly, so she could hear him, and so no one would hear her own horrid voice.

The Sermon was good, talking about doing good works, helping others in need, to serve God's will. Rosemary didn't know much about God, or religion, but the message was good. She knew helping others always made her feel good, and it was just simply the right thing to do. There was no arguing with that.

There was a silent prayer for a man's family after he'd passed away, and announcements were made about various goings-on in the community. A soccer game at the local park, a lady's upcoming 90th birthday, a couple's 30th anniversary…and then he was looking at Rosemary and Theo with a wide smile.

"And I'd like to welcome our two newest members of the congregation- a Mr. Theo Nott, and a Miss Rosemary Potter! Mr. Nott's family has been around for ages, but Miss Potter is new to town, so please make her feel welcome, everyone!"

And that…was that. Everyone stood and the younger kids were herded off to Youth Group, while some of the guys gathered together- Theo turned to Rosemary and spoke. "I'm going to chat with some of the guys, I know you have your craft thing you want to do. You going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine, Theo." She said, and he kissed her cheek before going off.

"You're so lucky! Theo's really handsome." Eleanor said with a jealous little grin, the other girls approaching her. "So, your parents are okay with you staying with him?" She asked.

Rosemary blinked. "Oh. No. My parents are dead." The girls' eyes widened.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Eleanor said in a small voice.

"No, it's okay. It happened when I was a baby, I don't even remember them." Rosemary said, looking around the crowd of people. She spotted Andrea approaching her.

"Oh, look at you, you look simply darling in that dress!" The woman exclaimed, hugging her. Rosemary hugged her back awkwardly, and Andrea turned to Eleanor and the other girls. "Miss Jones, how are you today?"

"I'm good, Miss Andrea, how are you?" The girl asked, her tone polite, her expression bored.

Andrea turned to Rosemary. "So, we're all going to the meeting room now for the craft group, would you like to join us?"

Rosemary held up her bag. "I've already got a project I want to work on." She said with a laugh.

"Fantastic." The woman said, and looked to the others. "Girls, you are more than welcome to join, unless you're going to the Youth Group meeting?"

Eleanor's mouth pinched a little. "I'm a little old for that, Miss Andrea. I'm seventeen now. We-" She motioned to herself and the girls. "Are headed over to the mall." She looked to Rosemary. "Would you like to join us later?"

"Oh…well…thanks for the offer, but I can't stay out all day. I'm sure Theo's going to need my help later on." She said with a smile. Eleanor was a year older than her, yet Rosemary felt as though she was older. "Thanks anyways." And she and Andrea walked off.

Andrea spoke to her quietly. "Miss Eleanor is a nice girl, but watch her carefully. She's getting to be just like her Mother, so watch what you say around her, or your business will be spread all over town."

Rosemary moaned in dismay. "Great." Andrea led her into a small meeting room where all of the chairs were arranged around a large round table. Most of the women in the room were old enough to be her Mother. She could hear kid's laughter and singing in the next room- probably where the Youth Group met.

The women in the room greeted her warmly, sitting down and setting themselves up with various projects- sewing, knitting, crocheting, one lady was even getting beads and wire out to make some jewelry. Rosemary sat down next to Andrea with a nervous smile, taking out her material and embroidery kit. She saw Mrs. Jones, the Minister's wife, come into the room, going about and making everyone tea.

She smiled as she saw Rosemary. "And what are you making, dear?"

"Oh. Um, an apron." Rosemary said, spreading it out over the table. She had sewed it together with a few quick spells that morning. The apron was a rather old fashioned kind, a full pinafore, with deep pockets in the front with a small one just big enough for her wand off to the side. It was made out of the sturdy white material she had purchased from Andrea and Geraldine. The cut was very similar to the apron that Mrs. Weasley wore, though Mrs. Weasley's faded floral fabric, rickrack, and other elements would be quite different from what Rosemary's planned for her own apron.

"Wow, it's lovely. You sewed this?" Andrea asked, peering at it.

"Yup."

"Oh! This is the material you bought from me yesterday- did you do this by hand?"

"…Yes. I don't have a machine. I, um, sew pretty fast." Rosemary said, watching the other women look over now. "I was planning on embroidering it, dressing it up, since it looks so plain." She said, choosing a white embroidery thread. With the nice white fabric and white embroidery, she was hoping for a simple, yet classic look. Very different from Mrs. Weasley's.

"Perhaps you should choose pink or purple thread? It would look cute." Andrea said brightly.

Rosemary shook her head, and began to work. "No, I…don't really want it to look…cute. I just want it to look nice."

Geraldine spoke up. "You want something classy looking, like that dress of yours, eh?"

Rosemary flushed. "Yes, I suppose so." She said, starting her embroidery. It wasn't overly complicated, just little tiny diamond shapes in a little row. The others continued their own projects, and at one point, one of the younger women looked over.

"Wow, that looks really good, and you aren't even following a pattern!"

Rosemary flushed, grinning a little. "Thanks. Um, your blanket looks really nice. Is it a baby blanket?"

"It is. My sister's having a baby in a couple of months." The woman said, holding out the pale blue crocheted blanket. The yarn was very thin and soft looking- Rosemary resisted the urge to reach out and stroke the material.

Mrs. Jones sat down, sipping at her tea once everyone was situated with their drinks. "So, Miss Rosemary, your parents are okay with you staying with Theo for the summer? It's just the two of you at that farm of his, right?"

Rosemary flushed at being put on the spot like that, and at how similar the Mother was to the daughter. "My parents are dead." All the woman looked to her in surprise. "And my Guardians didn't really care where I go, one way or another. We aren't exactly close. Theo's good to me." She said, keeping her eyes on her embroidery, her face pink. She adjusted the material in her hands. She'd sewn white embroidery thread into tiny little diamonds across the top edge of the apron, and she was planning on doing several tidy rows, then doing a similar trim along the bottom of the apron, and the tops of the pockets.

"…I'm sorry to hear about your parents, Miss Rosemary. But…those that leave us are never truly gone." Mrs. Jones said.

"…One of my friends said that to me, once, after a couple of other people close to me passed away." Rosemary said, thinking of Luna, who had only said that to her only a couple of months before hand after she'd lost Sirius and Remus.

"Poor thing!" Andrea gasped. "You've been through a lot, haven't you?"

"You've no idea. Anyways, I think that's why I like it here. This town is nice and quiet, and you've got lots of fresh open air, and everyone's really nice so far. I'm glad Theo asked me to come stay with him." He hadn't really asked, more like had taken her, but she was definitely not complaining.

"I hear the Nott farm has a huge orchard, is that true?" One of the women asked, looking very interested. "He's always got a big variety at the market when he's able to get there, but he's so far off, and nobody's ever actually seen his property since it's a little out of the way…"

Rosemary nodded. "There's an acre or so for the ewes, another three for the orchards; the house, greenhouse, and barn sit on an acre. He said that the land has been in his family for 300 years, and the orchards have been there for 250 years."

The women stared at her. She could tell that they were kind of surprised, for some reason, making Rosemary silently wonder if she'd spoken out of turn or something. One hesitantly spoke. "You think he'd ever sell it?"

"No way." Rosemary said immediately. "He loves that farm, he's put way too much work into it to let it go."

"So…he's finished with school? I thought he was only sixteen, seventeen." Mrs. Jones said with a small frown.

Rosemary hesitated. "He's seventeen, I just turned sixteen a month ago. We've both completed our GSCE's. Neither of us are planning on going further." Theo's birthday was late in the spring.

"Well, at least you managed that!" One of the women said with a laugh. "I got pregnant with my first before I managed to get that far." Some of the women laughed at this, though Rosemary noticed a couple did not, looking as though they disapproved.

"Still, in order to get a good job, you need a good education. My Eleanor is looking to get into a University in London." Mrs. Jones said, lips pinching slightly. Rosemary recognized that look- it was one her Aunt often wore around her. Like she thought she was better than Rosemary. Whatever. That lady had no idea what she'd gone through. "What do you plan on doing for work?"

Rosemary shrugged, shrinking down in her chair a little, concentrating on her embroidery. "Don't really need to work. I have money. When I was in school, I worked a lot with animals and in our greenhouse, I like it. I enjoy working with Theo, helping him. So I'd like to keep doing that."

Andrea spoke. "That's great, dear. It's obvious he's sweet on you. How long have you been dating?"

Rosemary didn't answer, holding out her apron to the woman. "Is this stitching okay? It looks like I got a little smaller towards the end there."

"Hmm, let me see…"

It was around lunchtime that the group ended. Conversation basically consisted of gossip, about their children and husbands, recipes, the local shops, but a lot of it was the women trying to get to know Rosemary. Rosemary tried to answer their questions truthfully without revealing magic and all that. Like she had been on a sports team- track. And she'd enjoyed botany but hated chemistry (potions), and often had fallen asleep in history class, but enjoyed reading about it in her own time. She had grown up in Surrey, and had no relatives in the area, and her Father's rather old and wealthy family had come from Wales, but she didn't really know anything about them. She enjoyed cooking and baking, which ended up turning into a long discussion about recipes and the like. She had fun, despite the interrogation. She had learned some things, and it was nice to talk to the ladies about…normal stuff.

Everyone was soon getting together in the main hall for a potluck. Rosemary, dismayed that she and Theo hadn't brought anything, promised the Minister and Mrs. Jones that she would make something for next time.

"It's great to hear that you will be here next week!" Minister Jones said with a broad smile, clapping Theo on the shoulder. Theo gave the man a small smile.

The food was okay, not fantastic, but it allowed Rosemary to meet some more people. Theo introduced her to some of the guys he did business with. Apparently Theo was planning on breeding more than one Ewe the following spring, since he was able to handle the costs and he wanted to be able to start selling his cheese. This time, he thought it might be a good idea to keep one or two of the lambs rather than selling them all. Apparently, because he had Romney ewes, they were in high demand in the region, because their wool was high quality and sold better, less resistant to illnesses, and did well even in winter. Theo hadn't really realised this, since his family had always bred that breed, and he now knew he should have been offering more for his goods.

They headed back to the farm with leftovers, Rosemary finishing up her embroidery while Theo puttered about in the library. She sat on the sofa with the telly going, thinking about her day. The embroidery went a lot faster with a spell, only taking a couple of minutes. After that, she put out her materials, made a handful of knickers in thin stretchy cotton, and a camisole.

Then she made two simple cotton swing dresses with a few flicks of her wand. They had short sleeves and an empire waistline, with a loose skirt that flared out and fell to her knees. One buttoned all the way down the front, the other did not, the material stretchy enough she could just pull it over her head. She left them a plain white so she could charm them whatever color she wanted.

She put one on, and stepped into the library with a shy grin, and laughed at Theo's expression.

"…Wow. You look really cute in that."

"Really?" Rosemary said with a playful smile, holding out her skirts. He was stepping towards her, looking a little hungry. She flipped her skirt at him playfully and ran out of the library. He chased her up the stairs.

Rosemary squealed as he caught her, his arms wrapping around her middle from behind. He carried her into the bedroom, dropping her onto the bed. She made to roll over, but he was pushing her back down onto her stomach, making her squeal again-

"Theo-" She moaned, jerking as he swat at her bottom, yanking up her skirt.

"What was that?" He asked, his voice husky.

"…Daddy, don't spank me!" Rosemary exclaimed, but the laughter ruined it. She squirmed and tried to push him away with her foot, but he was having none of that. He was yanking down her brand new knickers, and pulling her by her hips to the edge of the bed. He swatted her rear lots and lots, making her cry and gasp and moan into a big blubbering mess.

Merlin, she really liked it. She felt vulnerable, weak, but not in a bad way. She liked that he was strong, manhandling her the way he had, striking her playfully and doing as he liked- it made her feel good. Her body shook, she was hardly able to support herself. She clutched at the blankets, her face hot and wet with her tears. Her rear hurt- throbbing with a warm heat- not just in pain, but it filled her with arousal too. That need was making itself known as her insides squirmed, that heat going to her slit, making her wet, her nipples getting hard, her skin becoming more sensitive as she rubbed herself up against the bed bed linens.

She turned her head, looking over her shoulder, sniffling as she saw Theo standing there, undoing his trousers with a hungry look.

Rosemary silently spread her legs a little wider, inviting him. She loved doing that, and seeing the expression on his face. It made her feel slutty, wanted, needed, desired- dirty. She stared at his prick properly for the first time, eyes widening as warmth spread through her body. That had been inside her?

His cock was hard and thick, jutting outwards from a nest of dark hair that matched the hair on his stomach and chest, arching just slightly upwards, the skin pulled taut, red, glistening. It jerked just slightly under her gaze, twitching with need.

Theo was going around to the other side of the bed, diving into the drawer of his bedside table with shaking hands. She watched him pull out a condom and put it on after dropping his trousers to the floor- his hands were shaking, she noticed.

He was going back around the bed again, and with no preparation, he was grabbing her hips and shoving himself into her. Rosemary clutched the blankets, moaning, her toes skimming the hardwood floor as he pummeled into her, using her. Oh, this felt…amazing. Far better than their first time.

His hips held her hard enough to bruise, their skin slapping together loudly as his body slammed into hers over and over. Her body felt like it was on the edge of breaking, and she…loved it. She utterly felt as though she truly belonged to Theo, that she was his, as if he owned her like one of the animals he owned. This sudden thought had her body throbbing quite suddenly, her back arching as she came, her toes curling.

She could only lie there, her body limp and sated as he continued to fuck her, one of his hands grabbing her hair firmly, pulling like a handle, his other hand still on her hip. Rosemary smiled, eyes closing. Theo moaned his release, his body tensing, thrusting into her shallowly.

He stood there like that for a moment, and then pulled out of her. Rosemary grasped the blankets tighter, having trouble keeping upright. He seemed to sense this, and was pushing her onto the bed. She laid there, watching him pull off his condom and tossing it aside into the bin he had moved into the bedroom. He joined her on the bed, propping himself up on his elbow.

"…How do you feel, baby?" He asked, his voice still raspy and out of breath.

Rosemary could only smile, reaching for him, pulling herself towards him. They laid there like that for a little bit, and he began to stroke her hair, pushing her hair back away from her face. He stared at her face, looking concerned.

"You were crying. Was I too rough on you?"

"No. It was perfect." Rosemary whispered throatily, pushing herself up a little. It took all of her strength to move her leg over, so that she straddled his stomach. He was pulling her dress up over her head and tossing it to the floor. Rosemary smiled down at him, pulling his shirt up and off- he hadn't bothered taking it off. They were now naked on the bed together, the back of his thighs cradling her heated bottom.

Theo was leaning up a little, kissing her gently, and she leant down, kissing him back. He was holding her tightly against him, one of his hands stroking her back.

"…I came thinking about you owning me." Rosemary confessed with a smile.

Theo's hands froze. "…Wow." He chuckled, and they looked at one another. "…You're a dirty girl."

"…You were the one spanking me and telling me to call you Daddy. Who's dirty now?" She asked with a laugh. Theo grinned at her, his hand sliding down to her bottom. She moaned at the sensation of her aching bottom being rubbed by his callused hand.

It said something about the relationship that was quickly forming between the two of them that he didn't think it strange she would like the thought of him owning her. She was comfortable telling him this, and he was comfortable enough with her to make that demand of her calling him 'Daddy'. It was sexy, fun, exciting, arousing- naughty.

"I wonder what it would feel like, you cumming inside me." Rosemary wondered aloud, her hands sliding over his shoulders.

"You know I can't cum inside you." He whispered.

"Why not?" Rosemary asked with a smile.

"Because…because we aren't ready yet. We're still getting to know each other." Theo murmured, kissing her hair. "I'm not saying no, just not right now. I don't want to take that risk until we're…absolutely certain we are able to handle…whatever happens because of that."

Was it strange to think that Rosemary wasn't at all scared of possibly getting pregnant? She leant against Theo, closing her eyes, imagining herself with a large stomach, a baby inside her- Theo's child inside her. They'd be a family. Was that so bad?

But she knew he was right. There was so much that they didn't know about each other, there was no need to rush. But she knew she was still going to think about it. She rubbed her cheek against Theo's chest, listening to his heartbeat.

x-x-x

And so, the week began the following day. Cleaning up and having breakfast, then feeding the animals, milking the ewe, collecting the eggs, then working in the greenhouse. After that, there was lunch, and each day seemed to work a little different, depending on what needed to be done.

Theo showed her how to preserve, pickle, and dry out vegetables and fruits over a couple of afternoons, one day he'd showed her how he made cheese, and another afternoon was spent in the orchards, collecting some of the fruit that was ripe enough. One afternoon was spent with Rosemary doing their laundry.

The late afternoons was dedicated to Rosemary cooking dinner and baking things in the kitchen. She told Theo about her idea of making breads and pastries, and having tasted her food, he encouraged her to make some for the Sunday potluck at the church for people to try out before they started trying to sell them at the market. Rosemary tried out different dishes for their meals each day, and Theo happily taste tested them all.

After dinner, Rosemary often worked on a sewing, knitting, or crocheting project, managing to finish one a day. Magic helped things along, of course. Theo sometimes joined her on the sofa, either reading or drawing, the two of them chatting about the day's work, or what needed to be done later on in the week.

Theo had taken to carrying a condom in his pocket, because the two of them would often start kissing in the orchard, greenhouse, the cellar, wherever, and would up shagging like rabbits right then and there. He quickly learned to just vanish the condom, rather than look around for a bin. It got to the point where Rosemary didn't bother wearing knickers unless they had to leave the farm.

Sex was often quick and dirty, and they were still figuring out how it worked. Awkward positioning, fumbling insertions, uncomfortable floors- but they'd get the hang of it. It felt good, they had fun, and that was the point, wasn't it?

Market day arrived on Saturday, and Rosemary was excited. Now she knew what to expect, and stood with Theo at his table, haggling over prices and trading goods. Many people came over to say hello and to introduce themselves to Rosemary, and most of them walked away with something.

Theo had decided to start selling some of his cheese. He'd only put out two rinds, and cut them into eighths, wrapping them in wax paper. One rind was Cheddar (naturally a favorite in Somerset, where it originated), while the other was a Leicestershire Cheddar (also a favorite of the region). He'd made both of them several years before hand, after he'd gotten comfortable with the process of making cheese, and thought they had turned out successful. They were very sharp and flavorful, after being aged for so long.

They were sold out by the end of the day. People took a bite of the cheese just to try it out, and word had spread- apparently people really, really liked it. Before they left, someone approached Theo and said he would deliver some of his cow's milk to the farm so Theo could produce more cheese. They haggled it over, and made an agreement.

Needless to say, the plans for that afternoon after they returned was to make more cheese in the cellar, using what milk he'd had under stasis charms. Rosemary helped Theo. It helped that they had magic- heating the milk, separating the curds and whey, draining the liquids, pressing it- all the fiddly bits were a lot less time consuming and much easier to do, and allowed more control of texture, denseness, ectera. Some of the sheep and cow cheeses he'd made over the years had herbs, and various spices added to them. He even had a few that he'd added fruit or vegetable juice the mix, experimenting with different flavors. Each one was very unique, and had to be labeled with what exactly he made them with. He was certainly no expert, only using the techniques he'd been taught as a kid, and from what he was able to read in books. It was something fun for him to experiment with, like one would be making or potion, or cooking a meal.

Rosemary enjoyed helping him, but much preferred to spend her time sewing and things, and she was looking forward to the spring when they had wool to work with and she could use their own yarn to make things. Rosemary decided to write Mrs. Weasley late that afternoon for spells or suggestions to improve her needlework.

x-x-x

Sunday morning arrived, and Rosemary and Theo woke very early to feed the animals, collect the eggs, and milk the ewe. The two showered and cleaned up for church, and drove into town. Rosemary wore her nice church dress again, though this time it had been charmed a dusky pink color with very light colored pinstripes that added a slight curvy affect to her slender body. Theo had a hard time keeping his hands off of her while they'd been getting ready. Rosemary put a bit more effort into her hair, plaiting it and twisting it into a bun.

The two walked hand in hand into the church, and instead of sitting with the kids their age, they sat by the people Theo talked business with the last time. Everyone was very happy to see them, greeting them warmly. The sermon was about Growth, specifically, a person's spiritual growth, and how it grows during times of pain and suffering, and how those times can make a person stronger. It really resonated within Rosemary, who'd had her fair share of pain in the past, and Theo too. They held hands during the sermon, both affected by it deeply.

Minister Jones' powerful voice rang out through the church as he said- "That's just the way it is - Just as fire purifies gold, Just as abrasion polishes metal, just as heat strengthens and tempers steel, Just as boiling water brings out the flavor of tea. We, too, must enter times of adversity, fire, pain and suffering if we are going to ever be fully refined in our character, and drawn to a deep abiding relationship with Christ, apart from the brokenness and pain, that comes through suffering and adversity. Suffering Truly is God's Instrument for Growth!" People began to clap at this, and Rosemary reeled. Theo let go of her hand, wrapping his arm around her shoulders tightly.

Jones wasn't finished. "Job said in Job 23:10, ''when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. And David said in Ps. 66:10-12, ''For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.''

The Minister went on, and Rosemary could only sit there, wanting to cry, but could not- his words had really gotten to her. The service was ending with a song, though Rosemary could not sing- Theo gave her a gentle smile and sang loud enough for both of them while they shared their book.

Everyone started to go their separate ways, and Theo put his hands on Rosemary's shoulders, peering down at her. "You okay?" He asked gently.

Rosemary gave him a wan smile. "I'll be alright. Quite the sermon, wasn't it?"

"It was. I think we should get a bible, don't you?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I think so too." Rosemary said softly.

"Mr. Nott, Miss Potter, how you two doing today?" Minister Jones asked, approaching them with a smile, passing a few parishioners, shaking their hands.

Theo put his arm around Rosemary's shoulders again, facing the man. "We're doing just fine, Minister. We were talking about getting a Bible, actually. Um, have any in particular you recommend?" He asked.

The man's smile widened. "Ah, a good family Bible is a must in any home. They sell some very nice ones in the book shop. King Richard's is always a very good one, I really recommend a hardbound copy." He said, looking to Rosemary. "You okay? You seem a little upset."

Theo spoke up, squeezing her shoulder. "She's been through a lot. Your speech just…really affected her. Neither of our families were particularly religious, growing up, and…well, I figure it's time for both of us to really learn what it's all about."

"Of course. Miss Potter, the women's craft group isn't all about gossip and whatnot, they do talk about scripture from time to time. And Mr. Nott, the lads don't just talk business in the break room. We also have bible study classes with the Youth group, though most of the kids are a bit younger than yourselves, you're welcome to join in."

"…Thank you, Sir." Theo said softly. He looked over and saw Andrea and Geraldine standing a respectful distance away. "I think Rosemary's being summoned for her group. May I talk to you privately for a moment, Sir?"

"Of course, young man." Theo led Rosemary to Andrea and Geraldine, who seemed to be understanding that Rosemary really didn't feel like talking. She followed them to the women's meeting room.

Meanwhile, Theo and Minister Jones were having a little heart to heart in the man's office once they were able to get there. "So…here's the thing. Anything we say between us is kept private, right?" Theo started out nervously.

"Of course, Mr. Nott."

"Please, call me Theo, Sir." Theo said, and the man nodded.

Theo leant back in the chair, and sighed. "So…as you know, Rosemary and I are living together. I'm seventeen, she's sixteen. We've had classes together for five years." He hesitated. "Living together so far is pretty good. We work well together, really well together, and it's nice to have someone to talk to, someone to work with on the farm. For so long, I was used to being on my own, so it's nice."

Minister Jones nodded. "Of course. At your age, it's natural for a young man to start thinking of the future, what he wants out of life. You think it's serious, between you two?"

"…Yeah. The crazy thing is, we haven't even been dating that long, but I can't imagine being with anyone else. I just…know she's the one." Theo said softly. "My Father, he was never around. I know all of you in town didn't see him much…but the thing is, he basically abandoned me when I was six or seven, leaving me to manage things on my own. When he was home, he was drunk, and…he wasn't very nice." Theo sighed, running his hands through his hair.

To his merit, Jones only nodded at this.

"Thankfully, a teacher at my school was able to help me out a few years back, and my Father stopped coming around completely when I was home. I tried my best to muddle along and make things work on the farm when I went home on the weekends and holidays. It's my home, you know? When…when I heard he'd died, back in June, I…"

"You were glad, but you felt guilty about it." Jones said softly.

"Yeah. Is that terrible?"

"…No. He'd made life very hard for you. Have you told Rosemary about all this?"

"Yes. Everything. I don't want to keep things from her."

"Good. Keep doing that. Honesty and communication are very important for a relationship. Believe me, I know." The man said with a dry chuckle, making Theo smile. "So…Rosemary's been a help to you."

"Yes." Theo dropped his eyes to his lap. "She's…had a really hard time of things too. Believe it or not, it's been much worse off than me. I-I don't really want to talk details, but she's been through a lot. I think that's why she likes it here. It's quiet, peaceful, nobody makes any trouble. She feels safe, here." Theo hesitated. "A part of me just wants to keep her close and have her stay with me forever, if she wanted that. And I think she does. Like me, she didn't…have much of a family life. I think what both of us wants, more than anything, is to have a family, a sort of unconditional love that never goes away."

Minister Jones gave Theo a gentle smile. "That sounds pretty nice to me. You seem like a level-headed lad, smart, intelligent. What do you think you should do?"

"…I want to marry her. And I'm pretty sure she'd say yes in a heartbeat. You…you don't think we're too young, do you?"

Jones shrugged. "Well, let's think about this logically. Are you able to financially support her?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Okay, and would you be able to support any children you may have in the future?"

Theo nodded quickly. "My family is old money- we've had that land for centuries, along with investments and things in London. Her family is the same. Money isn't a problem."

Jones blinked in surprise. Theo knew he didn't look like he had a lot of money, nor did Rosemary- they lived simply. "Okay…would you both be…emotionally ready to have a family? Do you know how to take care of a child?"

"…No. Not really." Theo admitted. "I can take care of animals just fine, but I imagine babies are…delicate."

"Eh, babies can sometimes be tough little buggers. But if you feel a little nervous about it, talk to Rosemary. And perhaps you two can volunteer with the Youth group to get comfortable around kids?"

"Hmm. Maybe." Theo said, lost in thought. "We…we've talked about kids." He admitted. "I know she wants them eventually. But…I think it's best we focus on the farm for now, on us for a bit, before we…ah, get into that."

"A wise decision. I recommend to most newlyweds to wait at least a year before trying to have children. Of course, some don't wait, but it's best to give a little time just for the two of you first, hmm?"

"I suppose so."

"Of course, they're married, and the two of you are not." At Theo's guilty look, he added. "Look, it's the modern era, you two are most certainly old enough to make your own decisions. You're both legally old enough to get married if you wanted to. Just be safe about things, and if…an accident happens, you know what to do,right?"

"Oh, of course!" Theo said, blinking in surprise. "I'm just…startled that you're…okay with this."

"I was a young man once, too." Jones said with a smile. "I know how it is. You two seem to be okay, more levelheaded and mature than most people your age I know. There's no need to rush into anything, you have plenty of time. You'll make the right decisions. Now…" The man was opening his drawer, going through it. "Have you a family doctor?"

"Oh…no. Always took care of things, myself."

"Well, you're going to need one, especially if things progress with you two." The man said gently, handing him two cards. "I don't know all that you two have been through, but…it's okay to ask for help. If either of you ever need to talk, my personal phone number is on the back of my office card." Theo looked at the cards. One was for the village doctor, the other was for the Minister's information.

Theo doubted they would go the village doctor for anything they could handle themselves with potions, but he wasn't sure if…Rosemary would be comfortable going to St. Mungo's, should she want to have children and have to go in for appointments and things. The press would likely jump all over that. As it was, so far, they were very lucky that no one had noticed Rosemary's disappearance yet.

"So!" The man said brightly, his gaze warm. "I heard you were selling some very good cheddar at the market yesterday, did you happen to bring any to the potluck?"

Theo laughed. "No, I didn't, but Rosemary baked some things. Maybe I'll bring some next time. I've got a really nice apple spiced cheddar in the cellar that I've been thinking about getting out."

"Sounds very good. So, how long have you been making cheeses? From what I remember, you mostly just sold fruits and vegetables at the weekend market for years. Since you finished school, now you're selling eggs, now cheese- what else are you going to branch out to?"

"…Oh, well, now that I'll be on the farm full time, I have a lot more time with the animals and in the orchards and greenhouse. I'll be able to produce more, certainly. I started making cheese when I was just a kid- one of the guys in the village here was showing people at the Market how to make a basic cheddar. Kind of took off from there. I've read up a lot on it, practiced a while before I got really comfortable. The ones I sold yesterday I made a few years ago, so they aged really nicely."

"I'll say. I heard they tasted very good. So your Rosemary likes to bake, right?"

"Yes. Bakes, cooks, sews, knits…really knows her way with plants too. She's definitely been a big help. I think she's looking forward to spring when I do my next shearing so we have wool to work with. I think she wants to learn how to make her own yarn and knits. She already is making her own clothes- the dress she wore last week and today is stuff she's made herself."

"Impressive. I imagine she's having fun with the ladies' group, eh?"

"Probably."

x-x-x

Rosemary was pleased with her dress. It was another casual work dress made out of thin cotton, and she'd spent the ladies' meeting embroidering the hems in a cute little pattern. The dress was a pale green, with white stitching, another empire waistline dress that would fit her rather loosely. She kept making those patterns because…well, she looked cute in them, and she hoped that she would still be able to wear them if she ever got pregnant. She'd been quiet throughout the meeting, but had relaxed some as she worked.

"That's a cute little dress. I love the stitching, dear." Andrea said with a smile, making Rosemary look over. The woman was knitting a chunky scarf in dark purple.

"Thank you." Rosemary said quietly.

"…Is everything alright? You've been quiet today."

Rosemary sighed, glancing to the other women, who were happily gossiping about the upcoming school year, and the shopping they were going to have to do for their kids. "Well…I suppose the sermon really affected me today. I…wasn't expecting it."

Andrea nodded. "I understand. For a long time, I didn't really believe in God, but…well, he just showed up one day and shook the hell out of me-" She laughed at Rosemary's expression. "I'd made poor decisions. Came to bite me back on the arse. But I put my life back together, came back here to town, and got close with my sister again. While things aren't…easy, it's a lot better than it used to be. So you work with what you have, and make the most of it."

Rosemary smiled. "…I'm glad you're okay now."

"Me too." The woman said with a small laugh. "But what about you? You're happy here, aren't you?"

"Yes, very. I definitely would not have said that a year ago." Rosemary said. "Things are a LOT less stressful than they used to be."

"Well, you have a lot of things going for you right now, don't you?" Andrea said with a grin. "You've got a cute boyfriend, you're making cute little dresses, and you're living a nice and stress-free life. Not too bad, eh?"

"…I suppose so." Rosemary said quietly. "…I'm just so used to things going badly, I'm worried about when the other shoe will drop."

Andrea sighed at this. "Life will never be perfect and go exactly how you want it to go. But if you make an effort and do the right thing, you'll find the right path for you."

There was a knock at the door, and one of the kids yelled. "Time for food!"

The group started to pack up their things quickly, and Andrea laughed. "Notice that we're the ones to have to put the food out- did you manage to bring anything this time, dear?"

"Oh, yes!"

"I hope you two brought some of that delicious cheese from yesterday?" One of the other women called out to Rosemary, making her laugh.

"No, not this time, sorry. I baked some bread and tarts, I hope you guys like them." Rosemary said, putting her dress into her bag.

x-x-x

A couple of days later, a letter from Mrs. Weasley came, a reply to her letter about the sewing and knitting techniques.

Dear Rosemary,

It was lovely to hear from you! I hope everything is going well with your relatives, we hadn't heard from you in a little while. Alright, so on the other page I've included a list of all the sewing, knitting, and crocheting spells I know! I've also written down a few titles of handicraft spellbooks that I've been using for years. If you can't find them in the shops, let me know, I'd be happy to let you borrow mine.

Speaking of the shops, I was wondering if you've done your school shopping yet? Ron and Ginny need to get their school supplies, we've been procrastinating a bit. I just spoke with the Headmaster, and he said that we could pick you up from the Dursleys anytime, so just name a date!

I know you had a little tiff with Ron and Hermione at the end of term, I really hope that things have smoothed out between the three of you.

Just write and let me know when you'd like us to get you,

All my love,

Mrs. Weasley

Rosemary leant back in her chair at the kitchen table. Across the table, Theo looked up from his Daily Prophet. "Well?"

Rosemary hesitated. "The letter was from Mrs. Weasley." She said weakly. "She sent along that list of handicraft spells I'd asked her for, along with book titles. Um…she also invited me to do school shopping with them."

Theo set his paper aside, leaning forward on his elbows. "…So…have you decided on what you want to do?"

Rosemary nodded, setting the letter aside. "I'd like to stay. If that's okay." She said this quietly, feeling nervous. She'd been thinking this for a good long while. Theo had every right to say no- it was his home, after all.

Theo nodded. "Alright. You can stay as long as you like." He said softly, with a small smile. "This is your home now too." Rosemary couldn't help but smile at this, feeling happy.

"Now, I know you had that fight with Weasley and Granger, but you're pretty close to the rest of his family. They probably ought to hear the news from you in person, rather than through a letter. Tomorrow afternoon, we can floo over together." Theo said, still watching her face, his voice dropping into that sort of stern tone he sometimes took when he mentioned something Rosemary knew he really wanted her to do. Not really an order, but…well, it was kind of implied.

"…Are you sure? You aren't too busy-" Rosemary said nervously. Theo meeting everyone was bound to be…complicated.

"Rosemary…it's okay. This needs to be done, and I'm not going to make you do it alone." Theo said gently. So sweet! Yes, it would be complicated, but easier with Theo supporting her. "Write a response, tell her that the situation as changed…or something, and that you'll be flooing there with a friend tomorrow afternoon."

Rosemary nodded, summoning a piece of parchment and a pencil, and began to write a response. Theo was standing up, and leaving the kitchen. She assumed to give her a bit of privacy.

Dear Mrs. Weasley,

Thank you so much for the list of spells. They will be very handy (pun intended).

Seriously, though, thank you. Also, thank you very much for the invite. I would like it very much to come to your home tomorrow afternoon for tea. My situation has changed- I haven't been staying with the Dursleys for a couple of weeks now. I've been staying with someone- I'll introduce all of you to him tomorrow afternoon. Yes, a him. He's very important to me.

See you tomorrow,

Rosemary

She folded the letter carefully, and handed it to Hedwig, who flew away through the open kitchen door. She watched her owl go, and went back to eating her lunch. They usually reviewed post at lunchtime, since they had breakfast too early for the Daily Prophet and things to arrive.

x-x-x

Rosemary and Theo were getting ready for tea with the Weasleys after a very productive morning. As usual, they had fed the animals, milked the ewe, collected the eggs, and had worked in the green house. Rosemary made lunch while Theo walked the orchard. After lunch, they had started to get ready for their tea with the Weasleys.

After taking their baths, Theo had gotten dressed pretty quickly, while Rosemary had fretted about what to wear. She didn't think they'd be comfortable with her wearing something more formal, but Theo pointed out she'd look rather…young in one of her casual dresses. So church dress it was. But then she had to figure out the color and design…

Theo wore a nice pair of denims with a button down shirt and his boots. He'd rolled up the sleeves on his shirt, and left a couple of buttons unbuttoned. It was a pale blue shirt that looked really nice on his tanned skin.

"Rosemary, if you wait any longer, you're not going to be ready for tea."

"…I just don't know what to wear." Rosemary said with a sigh, turning towards Theo. "I don't want to wear anything dark colored or black, that would be way too formal and wouldn't fit at all."

"Pink?"

"No way. I'd be made fun of terribly by the guys." Rosemary said, making a face.

Theo thought about it for a second. "How about blue? Not light blue like mine, but a grey-blue? It'd look nice with your coloring."

Rosemary smiled, and tapped her wand to the fabric, and it transformed to a nice cloudy blue color. She tapped the belt, changing it to a similar blue, but a few shades darker. She ran her hands through her long hair, looking at it in the mirror. "I don't want to plait it, or put it in a bun like I usually do…"

"Leave it down. Your hair is beautiful."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You should leave it down more often." Theo said with a smile.

Rosemary slipped into her flats, and headed down to the kitchen, with Theo following her. Rosemary peered into the basket. "Do you think they'll like the things we brought?"

"They'd be mad not to. Don't worry about it, pet. Everything will turn out fine."

"I hope so." Rosemary said. "Let me pass through the floo first. Give it a minute for them to say their hellos and get everyone together, and then pass through."

"Alright." Theo said, kissing her cheek. Rosemary smiled at him, clutching the basket to her chest as she passed through the kitchen floo.

To her credit, Rosemary only stumbled a little bit on the other side, stepping aside quickly. Mrs. Weasley practically lit up as she saw Rosemary, looking excited. "Wow! You look great!"

"Thanks-"

Mrs. Weasley cupped her hand around her mouth. "KIDS! ROSEMARY's HERE!" She called out, and then turned to Rosemary. "Everyone's here, they were so excited to see you and meet your young man- and a few others dropped by too-" The woman paused as Theo stepped out of the floo, and she blinked. Mrs. Weasley flashed a grin at Rosemary, winking at her as she passed, and instead of shaking hands with Theo as he clearly expected, she gave him a great big hug.

"Welcome to our home! I'm Molly Weasley, it's very nice to meet you!"

Theo smiled back at her. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley." Theo said with a small bow of his head. Rosemary could hear footsteps on the stairs now, and excited talking. The Weasleys (and more) were entering the kitchen in full force, their excited expressions turning into startled ones as the younger ones recognized Theo.

Mr. Weasley, dressed nicer than he normally was, was stepping forward and shaking Theo's hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you, lad, I'm Arthur-"

"DAD! His Dad was a Deatheater!" Ron exclaimed, looking horrified.

Mr. Weasley, to his credit, did not automatically pull away, but she could tell he was slightly taken aback. Rosemary tried to smile, taking Theo's arm. "Everyone, this is Theo, Theodore Nott."

Everyone was coming into the kitchen properly, and Rosemary noticed that Moody was there, along with Tonks and Shack- what was all this? This was just tea…right?

Bill was stepping forward with a tight smile, shaking Theo's hand firmly. "Nice to meet you, Theo. So, how long have you two been seeing each other?"

"For a while." Theo said vaguely.

"I didn't tell anyone because I thought you guys might react like this." Rosemary said, giving a Look to Ron. She then looked to Mrs. Weasley, wondering why all the people were there.

Mrs. Weasley looked a little sheepish. "Well, we all missed your birthday, and we thought a little celebration would be in order, and you'd still need an escort to go out shopping…"

Rosemary sighed, and looked down to the basket in her arms. "Oh! We brought some stuff from the farm." She said, giving the basket to Mrs. Weasley. "Some berry preserves, and some really, really good cheese- Theo made it all, and I made the loaf of sweetbread."

"…Wow, this looks great." Mrs. Weasley said with a smile, picking up the jar of blackberry preserves. She then looked to Theo. "And you did this yourself?"

"Yes Ma'am, I did."

Mrs. Weasley set the basket down, looking suitably impressed, and started to get everything out for tea. Rosemary saw everyone looking at Theo suspiciously, except for the twins, who were grinning like maniacs- she didn't even want to know what they were up to.

"Rosemary, that dress is very nice on you." Mr. Weasley said, sitting at the head of the table. Ginny hurried to get everyone's drinks ready.

"Thanks." Rosemary looked across the table to see Ron glowering at Theo, while Hermione's expression was unreadable as she looked at Rosemary. "So, what have you guys been up to, during the summer hols?"

"I've been working, obviously-" Mr. Weasley laughed. "The twins are getting their shop ready to open very soon-"

"The Grand opening is next week, hope to see all of you there!" Fred plugged in shamelessly. Rosemary grinned at this.

"Yes, and Ron and Ginny have been helping them out when they haven't been doing their chores. What about you? How have your holidays been going? When did you leave the Dursleys?"

Rosemary could tell this was what everyone really wanted to know. She squirmed in her seat.

Theo spoke up. "A few weeks ago, I brought her to the farm. We've been exchanging letters for a while, and…well, I could tell she wasn't very happy there." He said carefully, not wanting to reveal anything.

Mrs. Weasley sighed roughly as she passed out plates of cake she'd prepared. "I told Dumbledore those people were nothing but trouble! I'm glad you were looking out for her, dear." Mrs. Weasley said to Theo with a smile. Mr. Weasley and the twins seemed to relax a little as well.

"…Mum, his Dad was a Deatheater!" Ron said with a scowl, gripping his fork tightly in his hand. "He's a dirty rotten Slytherin, just as bad as his Dad." He growled.

To his credit, Theo didn't react, only taking a sip of his tea. Rosemary, of course, couldn't sit there while Ron insulted Theo to his face. "For your information, Theo is nothing like his Father, nothing at all. He's a good guy." She said angrily.

Shack cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. "…Actually, when the Ministry did their search on the property, he was helping us out. He showed us where his Father kept a few things hidden about the place, and provided us with evidence on some of the crimes his Father had committed in the past."

Everyone was silent at this, and Rosemary looked up at Theo. He hadn't told her that, he'd just complained about how much had been taken away. Theo shrugged his shoulder. "It was the right thing to do. Anyways, we've got a lot more space now, eh?"

"…True." Rosemary said with a grin.

"You two shagging?" George blurted, making Rosemary's face beet red, while Theo couldn't help but start laughing. Others began to laugh, though Ron and Hermione did not. The twins talked about their shop for a bit, and about some of the stuff that had been going on at the Ministry- apparently they were gearing up for an election soon, since Fudge had been voted out of office. Madam Bones had been elected as Interim Minister in the meantime.

Once it looked like there wasn't going to be a fight or anything, people calmed down and relaxed a bit. Mrs. Weasley, of course, noticed Rosemary's quiet mood, and asked Rosemary to go out into the garden with her.

Mrs. Weasley smiled, putting her on the shoulder. "Everything okay? She asked cautiously.

"…I don't want you to be disappointed." Rosemary whispered, looking down.

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "…How far along are you?"

Rosemary's head jerked, and she shook her head. "No, goodness no, I'm not pregnant…" She said, her face red.

"Oh!" The woman said, putting her hand to her chest, clearly relieved. "Okay. So what's the problem, then?"

Rosemary fidgeted. "Theo's not going back to school, because he has to look after things on the farm."

Mrs. Weasley gave her a long look. "And you want to stay with him."

"…Yes. Is…is that okay?"

Mrs. Weasley turned, and looked out over the apple orchards the Weasleys owned. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking thoughtful. "…It's up to you, dear. It would be different if I was your Mother, but I am not. You're old enough to make your own decisions. What do you want to do?"

"I'd like to stay with him. I think I could really help him."

"…You could. But I thought you wanted to be an Auror?"

Rosemary shook her head. "I was only talking like that because I thought Voldemort would still be around, and what better way to train?" She asked quietly. "But he's gone, and all the Deatheaters are either dead or locked up. And…I just want to move on with my life. But I can't do that at Hogwarts where I'm constantly surrounded by reminders of the things I've done in the past."

Mrs. Weasley sighed, hugging her again. "Then I suppose you've already made your decision." She gave Rosemary a long look. "…You would tell me if you were pregnant, though, right?"

"I'm NOT pregnant, Mrs. Weasley." Rosemary said with a laugh.

"Okay. Good. Focus on you for a while, figure out what you really want to do. Even if you don't go to Hogwarts, you can still sign up to take your NEWT exams at the Ministry of Magic's Education office, should you figure out you want to go into a career that requires NEWT scores. And don't be afraid to come around sometimes for tea, hmm?"

"Of course. Thank you." Rosemary said with a smile.

x-x-x

It didn't very long at all for word to spread, for it was in the Daily Prophet just a couple of days later that Rosemary and Theo were together, and that neither of them would be going to Hogwarts in the fall. It was speculated that they'd had a secret romance for some time now, explaining why Rosemary had never been seen casually dating like other girls. And that their romance was especially 'tragic' sounding because of Theo's family history. He was sort of painted as a white sheep of a black family, since it was apparently documented that he had helped the Ministry with their investigation after his Father's death. It was assumed that he was NOT a Dark wizard, like the rest of his family. I mean, after all, he was dating the Girl Who Lived, who couldn't be anything but a Light witch, right?

Their status of halfblood heirs to very wealthy Ancient and Noble families had not gone uncommented upon, and it was speculated that if they married, their joint wealth might catapault them up in the wealthy ranks of the Malfoys, Greengrasses, and the Bones' families. Any children they would have together would be considered first generation purebloods.

It wasn't all that unusual for Rosemary's decision to leave Hogwarts. More wealthy girls like herself often left Hogwarts after completing their OWLS or NEWTS for more specialized training in the arts and finer things of life, to prepare themselves for being married off to wealthy men.

If the magical world knew the truth…

Rosemary was glad that Mrs. Weasley had been understanding about her decision to not go to Hogwarts. While she wasn't exactly friendly with Ron after their fight and everything at the end of term, she was glad that Mrs. Weasley wasn't getting on to her about going back to school and all of that.

Some people thought it a bit weird, and there were many speculations about her getting pregnant- it amused both Theo and Rosemary. Some guys wrote Theo, congratulating him on snagging the Girl-Who-Lived, but there were many who sent warnings to him about keeping her safe and out of trouble.

Still, life went on. Working with the animals and plants, doing their projects. It was quiet, and while not exactly stress free, they both were very happy with each other. Rosemary continued to withdraw money and items from her vault at Gringott's, converting her money and putting it into her bank in town. No longer having to think about Rosemary possibly going to Hogwarts in the fall, they made more plans for the Greenhouse and the upcoming orchard harvest.

Theo explained that the harvest overall would be better the following year, after cultivating the trees all year and giving them the attention that they needed. Just tending to things on the weekends and holidays for the past five years wasn't nearly enough, so it would take a little time for everything to get up to ship-shape. But Theo knew with a bit of time and hard work, there was no reason for them to not do well, especially when spring time came.

The ewe was slowly getting bigger, though lambing wouldn't be happening for months yet. He spoiled that ewe, but Rosemary understood. They did thorough cleanings of the ewes' wool, and Rosemary was looking forward to helping Theo shear them all. Apparently, for most people, shearing sheep and other animals was a big bloody mess, but magic made things a whole lot safer and cleaner, and it didn't even hurt the animals. Also, because of the spells, Theo was able to remove more wool since he could cut closer to the skin of the ewes without worrying about injuring them.

Rosemary inquired about Theo possibly getting a ram, because their wool generally grew thicker and faster (she'd done some reading), but Theo explained that having a ram would cause all sorts of problems he just didn't have the space for yet. He said that if he ever decided to get more space for the ewes, maybe add on another acre and grow his herd, he'd think about getting a ram. But rams could sometimes be very violent and willful, and he really just wanted to keep ewes. After that explanation, Rosemary understood his hesitance.

Saturdays were spent at the Market, selling whatever they had on hand. As summer progressed towards fall, people began to sell their harvests in bulk, and prices were being driven down a little. Still, they managed to do just fine, especially after including the sale of the specialty cheeses Theo made, and some of the baked goods Rosemary made. They sold these things sparingly, wanting to see what people liked. Still, Theo's cheese was definitely getting noticed- a reporter had even come by and did a review on them. Some people even suggested, perhaps in the spring, he should participate in the regional agricultural festival. It was something to think about.

According to Theo, winter time was the slow time at the Market and in the village, but that was a good season for him to sell his roasted chestnuts and things. With the addition of the cheese, he was thinking he might manage to do just fine during the winter. They didn't have to worry about money, but working on the house and buying various odds and ends did add up after a while, and both of them were rather spend-thrifts. They didn't like losing money, for whatever reasons, even if they had a good amount of it. Because of the economy, some people in town were having some money problems, and some of the other farmers were too- but Theo and Rosemary didn't have that problem.

The house was coming along very nicely. The library was full, as were all the display cabinets. Everything was neat and tidy, and looking more and more like a proper home. The cellar and pantry shelves slowly filled up as they prepared for winter, and they spent more time in the evenings together as the days grew shorter.

Rosemary was still busy with her sewing projects and things. She made some things for Theo too- shirts and knitted jumpers for the winter, mostly. The spells and things Mrs. Weasley had given her, and the books she'd ordered through the owl post were really making her work come along. She couldn't do any fancy knits like Mrs. Weasley did, but at least nothing came out lopsided or the wrong size anymore.

Sundays were spent at church every week- they hadn't missed one day. Rosemary and Theo sometimes read the Bible together at home, trying to figure it all out. Neither of them had grown up hearing the stories, so they muddled their way through and talked to the Minister and various other people of the church. They were more than happy to help Rosemary and Theo sort the stories out.

While Theo and Rosemary were definitely getting closer to the community, it had certainly been noticed by everyone that neither of them were very forthcoming about their pasts, and liked their privacy. Some people, like Mrs. Jones, tried to push Rosemary into talking about some of the things that had happened over the years, but thankfully some of the other ladies kept her from going too far. Anyways, she was able to talk about magic and things like that to Theo, and sometimes Mrs. Weasley through their letters. She had kept herself distant from everyone else in the magical community, just…sort of needing a break from all the hype and stuff after the war.

Rosemary and Theo explored the muggle town more, carefully inquiring about land for sale that was close to the farm. They really did want to expand. Theo put in a few offers, but it would take time for the banks and the owners to talk about money and things. He wasn't expecting anything to be happening in a hurry.

As September passed, Rosemary had gotten her period. A part of her was a little disappointed, but she knew that since they'd always used protection, it would have been very unlikely for her to have gotten pregnant. Still, watching some of the women at church with their children had her thinking of the future, and she knew Theo was too.

She and Theo had very busy lives- working on the farm took a lot of time, and their separate projects too. They still found time for one another, of course, managing to have a bit of fun wherever they could find the time and place. Rosemary knew that introducing a child to their lives would change their routines and…well, everything else. And she honestly didn't know that much about children.

Later that fall, she decided to start volunteering with the youth group, helping them out for craft projects. She even helped in the nursery with the infants- some of the ladies sort of understood why she was doing this, and were more than happy to teach her the ropes and show her how babies worked. Or didn't work. They cried an awful lot, and they were messy, but as the fall turned to winter, she got comfortable handling them.

Theo was a bit nervous around infants, afraid he'd hurt them, so he didn't really join her in the nursery. Sometimes he'd work with the older kids, but most of his free time with the church was spent talking business with the guys. He really wanted to increase his profits and expand the business in the spring, and the guys were more than happy to help him figure it out. If he was somehow able to attract more business to the village, that was only a plus for them. The economy wasn't doing so hot, a factory in a neighboring town had closed, and some people had lost their jobs.

Everyone, for the most part, was very nice to them. Probably because they were young, and didn't have a family to back them up. They were also very kind to others, and were more than happy to haggle prices down in the market if they thought it was a good deal. And it was obvious that they were both hard workers, that they just needed a little help starting out.

Winter began to settle in, and things at the market slowed. The Orchards were done for the season, allowing more time to work on other things. The ducks and chickens were brought inside the barn, and the plants in the greenhouse were mostly finished for the season as well- composting and fertilizing and preparing for spring was a sort of slow ongoing project. They probably could have continued to grow a lot of certain things, but Theo said it was good to let the ground take a break for a little while.

They finally managed to purchase the empty fields that surrounded the farm. Because there weren't a ton of neighbors close by that passed by the farm, no one noticed that the fencing that surrounded the ewe's enclosure was suddenly expanded by two acres, and that it happened overnight.

On the other side of the property, Theo added another tall fence, and he started making plans on building more greenhouses. He thought to hire some contractors in the village to build them, but at the moment, he was still trying to lay out everything he wanted to do on the property.

Rosemary had promised the Weasleys the two of them would be there for Yule, at least for the day, but she knew Theo wanted to do something special, just for the two of them. The two of them had a lot of poor memories associated with holidays, and wanted to make better ones. She understood.

The day before Yule, Rosemary and Theo woke up early in the morning in the bed they had shared. Despite warming charms and things, they were buried under a mountain of quilts and knitted blankets- both of them liked to bury themselves together in their little nest. Rosemary woke to Theo stroking her hair, as he often did, and she smiled sleepily at him. Theo was leaning in and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Time for work, sweetheart." He murmured.

"…Just one little-" Rosemary was leaning up into him, pressing their mouths together lazily in the dawning morning light. Theo began to kiss her back, slowly getting on top of her, his hands in her hair. They snogged, their naked bodies undulating under the blankets, feeling…happy. Theo withdrew, looking down at her, his gaze soft.

"I'll never get tired of kissing you."

Rosemary giggled. "I sure hope not." She said, shoving at his shoulder. She wriggled beneath him, feeling his groin pressing against her stomach, his erection getting hotter and heavier. "…Want me to take care of that?" She asked with a teasing smile, reaching down between them. Before her hand could come in contact with his groin, he was pulling her hand away, kissing her fingers with a little smile.

"Later, pet." He said chidingly. "We'll have plenty of time after we take care of the animals."

Rosemary pouted, but they were getting up all the same. After dressing for the day warmly in denims, jumpers, jackets, and boots, they headed out and took care of the animals. It was mid-morning by the time they were finished, and came back inside to get cleaned up.

Theo was smacking Rosemary on the rear as he passed her- she was setting up the kettle to start the tea. She laughed at this, the two of them sharing a grin. "So, I know we have the Weasleys to go to this evening, and then tomorrow evening is the church service- you said you wanted to make some food for both, right?" Theo asked, sitting down at the kitchen table and grabbing the newspaper.

"Yes, that's right. Did you finish wrapping the presents?"

"Most of them. There's a few more that need to be done today." Theo said, frowning as he looked through the paper. "Ugh."

"What is it?"

"Malfoy and his Mother. They're in the paper- they had some sort of Charity Auction at their place last night. I hate people like that."

"People who pretend to be good when they're really full of shite?" Rosemary said with a grin, setting down Theo's tea in front of him.

"It just feels so…ugh. Why can't they just donate anonymously like other people do?"

"Because it makes them look good and furthers their agenda?" Rosemary said, and went to the stove. "Eggs, bacon, toast?"

"Sounds good to me." Theo murmured, turning the page in his paper. "Hmm. Bones had a party of her own last night, but specifically a charity function for St. Mungo's. Tis the season, I suppose."

"Hmm." Rosemary murmured, cracking the eggs open into the cast-iron skillet. "I'm so glad we don't do stuff like that. Could you imagine either of us at a fancy party, all dolled up like that?"

"Yeah, I know." Theo said with a laugh. "We'd probably skip out early anyways."

"I bet the food is good." Rosemary murmured, pushing the eggs about the pan.

"Your food is good." Theo said, making her stick her tongue out at him. She continued to cook while Theo made little comments about whatever was in the paper, switching over to the local muggle paper by the time Rosemary was finished cooking, and they sat together. It was a nice and easy breakfast- no stress or worries. The paper was full of the usual political crap- big political meetings were planned after the hols were over, a summit or something. It made Rosemary and Theo glad they lived simply. No drama.

The morning was spent with Rosemary cooking- a few dishes for the church's potluck for the following day, and a few things to bring to the Weasley home that evening. It was going to be a full house, apparently, with all of the Weasleys together, and various others, and Rosemary expected things would be a little crazy.

She took her time dressing, wearing a very nice dark green dress with long sleeves, empire waistline, and a modest v-neckline. She paired it with black stockings and black flats- her hair was let loose, though she did her very best to tame it a little. Theo wore a dark green shirt with black trousers and a vest. Rosemary quietly worried that Ron would say something about the two of them looking so 'Slytherin' when it was just the fact that they both looked good in green.

Rosemary carried the basket of food, while Theo carried the packages through the floo. The house was already full of guests, and it was quite loud upon their arrival. It took nearly twenty minutes to say their hellos and get their jackets off. Finally, everyone was settling around a lengthened kitchen table, with Rosemary and Theo seated next to one another near the end by Mrs. Weasley.

The twins were regaling everyone about their business, laughing uproariously. Firewhiskey was poured, and everyone seemed to be having a pretty good time. A part of Rosemary wished that Sirius and Remus could have been there to see it all, but she knew their spirit was there- she'd had a warm, happy glow all afternoon, and hoped to keep it- this was already shaping up to be one of the best Yule hols she'd ever had.

Presents were exchanged before dessert, and everyone was quite pleased with their haul- though it was a little amusing when Mrs. Weasley burst into tears when she saw some of the patterns Rosemary had used in her knits were very similar to her own. Rosemary, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Fleur went about getting everything ready for dessert while some of the guys cleaned up the mess, and a few others went to the garden for a chat- Rosemary noticed that Theo had gone out to the garden with Mr. Weasley, and were the last two in, with Theo wearing a strange little smile that made her feel all fluttery inside.

During dessert, Fleur and Bill talked wedding plans- they'd been engaged for a few months now, and had finally set a date for the Easter hols. It was decided that the wedding would be hosted there at the Burrow. Then this sort of set off Percy, who'd been a little quiet all evening, and he confessed that he and Penny (the girl he'd been seeing since their seventh year at Hogwarts, and whom had also been rather quiet that evening) eloped a couple of days previously, and that she was pregnant.

Of course, well, everything went sort of crazy after that.

It was late into the evening before Theo and Rosemary finally made it back to the farm. The two of the exchanged a tired smile as they headed up the stairs together, hands entwined. Feeling slightly drunk off of firewhiskey and their good moods, they playfully wrestled their way to their bed, clothes falling to the floor messily.

Theo was soon on top of Rosemary, pushing inside her- it only took a moment for them to realize that they had both forgotten the condom- Theo made to pull out, but Rosemary just reached for him anyways, pulling him tighter into her.

Theo moaned against her throat, slowly rocking into her. This was their first time doing it without a rubber- it felt sinfully good. Rosemary's body was hot, and she knew that they really shouldn't do it, but she just simply didn't care. He thrust into her body hard and fast, making her clutch at the headboard as he bent her in half.

Theo was pulling out of her with a strangled moan, his cum spurting onto her thighs and groin, making Rosemary's body jolt. They laid there together, breathing hard, staring at one another. She wanted more. So did he. A lot more.

Theo was still breathing hard as he was rolling her over onto her stomach, yanking her up onto her knees, legs spread. Rosemary could only hold on, painfully aroused as he used her from behind, taking her arse- another first without a condom. This time, he came inside her, his cum filling her rectum- it felt quite strange, but no less enjoyable. She loved the sensation of his cum spilling out of her and dripping down her thighs, and she ached to have it inside her cunt like that as well-

Theo was grabbing at her hair, rubbing himself up against her as he whispered. "One day…" His hand was snaking underneath them, pressing up against her stomach. Rosemary moaned at this, head dropping forward, her dark curls spilling on the linens. She knew what he was thinking. She wanted it too.

"Please." She begged, arching up against him invitingly.

"One day. I swear it." Theo whispered raggedly. "I want it too, baby. I really want it too."

x-x-x

The next morning, Rosemary woke feeling tired and sated. Then, almost immediately, she noticed that it was mid-morning, and she was the only one in bed. She sat upright, eyes widening. Then she noticed a note flutter from her chest down to her lap. She looked at it, blinking, and she opened it up.

Wanna-Be Farmer's Wife,

Breakfast is ready downstairs. Put on the dressing gown I laid out for you. Keep your hair down.

Somerset Farm Boy

Rosemary blinked, looking over to the dressing table, and she saw a gauzy white silk dressing gown. That was new- she'd never seen anything so fancy before! Rosemary got out of bed, noting that Theo must have applied cleaning charms to her while she had slept, because she was clean of their mess from the previous night. She pulled on the thin dressing gown- it was luxuriously soft, the thin fabric showing every bulge and ripple of her slender body. She ran her hands through her long hair, feeling sort of…sexy.

Chores were done, breakfast already prepared, a cute little note- what was Theo up to?

Rosemary headed down stairs to the kitchen, smiling as she saw that the table was laid out for breakfast, and that Theo was sitting there and reading the paper. None of the food had been touched- it was clear he'd been waiting for her.

"Ahem."

Theo looked up abruptly from his newspaper, eyes widening as he looked Rosemary over. "…Merlin, you look beautiful." He breathed.

Rosemary blushed at this, going to him. She bent down, and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for the dressing gown, Theo. It is very beautiful." She sat down beside him, smiling at all the food. "This looks delicious!"

"You're welcome." Theo said with a grin, setting the newspaper aside. "I did the chores already too. I want you to have the best holiday ever."

Rosemary's gaze softened, and she took his hand. They began to eat breakfast quietly, enjoying the company and the quiet, and Rosemary was wondering what she could do in exchange for Theo's thoughtful gestures of the morning. Somehow, the jumper she'd made for him simply wouldn't do it. Nothing sexual, because everything was already fair game, so…what to do?

"What are you thinking about?" Theo asked with a soft smile.

Rosemary blushed. "Trying to figure out how to pay you back for all this." She murmured, motioning to the table.

Theo hesitated. "Well…there is one way." He murmured, reaching into his trouser pocket. Rosemary watched as he pulled out a band of metal- a ring- putting it onto the kitchen table with a shaking hand.

Rosemary's mouth dropped open, and she could only stare at the band. That was…wow.

"Theo…" Rosemary croaked, her hands shaking as she reached for the slender metal band- it was a white, silvery material- not a metal she recognized. She could feel magic radiating off of it as she picked up the ring carefully- she noticed that the inside was covered in intricate runes, while the outside was simply a smooth metal. "It's beautiful." She whispered, hushed.

"…So…you will?" Theo asked, looking so hopeful. "You'll marry me?"

Rosemary could only grin and nod, tears falling down her cheeks as Theo clumsily reached for her hands, slipping the ring onto her finger. Theo was pulling her out of her chair and into his lap clumsily, they hugged one another tightly, Rosemary burying her face into Theo's neck, feeling so…stupidly happy. They pulled away from one another, and Rosemary looked down at the ring on her hand. She could feel its magic upon her finger, like a little tingling buzz. "It's a beautiful ring." Rosemary said quietly, leaning against Theo's chest, putting her head on his shoulder. She could feel his heart still racing through the thin t-shirt he wore, and her dressing gown.

"It was my great-great-great Grandmother's. Goblin forged. Very powerful protective enchantments on it." Theo murmured gently, picking up her hand so that they could study it together. "I've been walking around with it for ages now. I-I had this whole day planned out, and I sort of…well, just bolloxed it-"

Rosemary shook her head, kissing him gently, smiling up at Theo. "No, you didn't. Now we can enjoy the day even more, without you being all nervous- did you think I would actually say no to you?"

Theo looked a little sheepish, his face slightly pink. "I wasn't sure." He said in a small voice.

"Well, I've clearly accepted." Rosemary said with a smile, using her hand to stroke up and down his chest. "So you've nothing to worry about." She perked up a little from where she sat in his lap. "Is that what you and Mr. Weasley were talking about in the garden last night?"

"…Yeah." Theo said with a small smile. "I didn't even have to say anything, he just sort of figured out what I wanted to say. Said that he's never seen you happier, and that there's no reason we shouldn't be together if I can keep you happy like that."

Rosemary melted a little at this. "Aw…Merlin, I'm getting all sappy!" She said, touching at her eyes. "Merlin, Mrs. Weasley and everyone else are going to freak-"

"Shush. Let's not think about that today." Theo said, holding her close. "Today, right now, this is all about you and me. We're going to be a family from now on- this is our first family holiday together."

Rosemary's mouth trembled at this- she wanted to cry. Wow. She could only nod, curling up against her fiancé, closing her eyes. "…When do you want to get married?" She asked with a whisper.

"If it was just you and me, I'd be happy with just doing it tonight after the church services. But then all of your friends would be disappointed they missed it."

"…While I'd like the white wedding thing, I…I sort of just want to do it quietly, not make a big splash of things." Rosemary admitted. "I'd be happy just having people here for dinner, that sort of thing."

"Me too. Let's just think on it for a bit, hmm? This is kind of once in a lifetime sort of thing, I want it to be perfect for you."

Rosemary kissed his cheek quickly. "Well, its already pretty good so far." She made to get up from Theo's lap, but his hold about her waist tightened. "Theo!"

"Nope." Theo laughed teasingly at her, hand working between the front of her gown. Rosemary moaned as his hand contacted her bare skin, and she tried to squirm out of the way, but he held on fast. "Who am I, baby?" He whispered, huskily, making her giggle and moan in his lap as she playfully tried to get away from him.

"Daddy…." Rosemary moaned as his other hand found its way into her hair, forcing her head backwards, yanking her into a bruising kiss. She clutched at him as they kissed, his free hand yanking her dressing gown open, and he was pulling at the fabric, baring her right there in the kitchen. He began to touch her body, groping possessively, kissing and biting at her neck and ear. "You're mine, aren't you baby?" He whispered raggedly into her ear.

Rosemary moaned, nodding as his hand snaked down her body, down between her thighs, going to rest on her groin- he grasped her labia firmly in his hand, making her moan again, bowing her head.

"Who owns you, baby?" Theo whispered.

"You do, Sir." Rosemary whispered back with a moan. It was a game they had played since the beginning, but was it really a game anymore? It really felt as though he truly owned her body, her heart, her soul- sure, she was free to do as she liked, but when he did things like this, it reminded her of where exactly she stood with him.

She chose this. Choosing to submit, perhaps, made it all the more special than being forced to submit.

He was sliding his fingers up and down her wet slit, then into her, making her body thrash as he fingered her expertly. With time, he knew how to touch her body- they had come a long way from the awkward, fumbling touches from their first, second, third times. How many times had it been now?

Rosemary arched up with a gasp, her head dropping back. "Theo…" She moaned, her voice crying out as his fingers found her clit deftly and pinched hard- her legs locked, toes curling. "Please…." She begged. "Please, please fuck me…" She rasped.

His hand was leaving her snatch, and he was pushing her upwards, and over the edge of the kitchen table. Her arms shook as Rosemary held herself up, her legs beginning to shake as he forced her legs further apart. Rosemary shoved at the breakfast dishes on the table, pushing them aside, because she knew-

Rosemary moaned as Theo shoved himself into her, and her body curled up slightly at the sensation- oh Merlin, he wasn't wearing the condom again-

"Theo, the-the condom-"

"Don't care." Theo said raggedly, and he was thrusting into her all the way to the hilt, making her hips lift at the force- her IQ was suddenly going into the single digits. Rosemary could only clutch at the table, her heart racing, that heat inside her body bursting into flames as he used her in the way she was meant to be used.

Without that condom, he wasn't using her for just fun and games, but he was using her to procreate, to-to-

Rosemary moaned, her insides throbbing. She desperately wanted him to cum inside her this time, and her snatch was tightening. "Theo…Merlin, please…" She begged, and he was bending downwards, his hands tightening on her hips. "Cum inside me. Knock me up."

"Aw fuck…" Theo moaned, her only warning, before she felt his warm cum spurting into her tight channel.

"YES!" Rosemary screamed, her body shaking. Around them, various items in the kitchen were knocked backwards, away from them. Theo, who had been about to withdraw from her body, she was pushing back against him, and he was pushing back into her, milking out the rest of his cum and depositing it inside her cunt. His hand was coming to rest on her back, forcing her back down on the table, and she could feel his dick getting hard again inside her, and his thrusts began to pick up. Usually, it took a little bit of time before he was ready to go again, but it was clear Theo liked this as much as she did.

His cum was hot and wet inside her, dripping down her thighs. She loved it. She never wanted to use a condom ever again- it felt just…perfect.

His other hand was sliding from her hip to her hair, grabbing it firmly, pulling. Rosemary moaned, going up onto her toes, holding onto the table tightly as he fucked her harder. The table shifted slightly with each thrust, scraping across the kitchen floor. She could feel his cum being pushed out with each thrust, and she was already eager for him to cum inside her again.

The hand on the small of her back was sliding upwards, slowly going to the back of her neck, holding her head down firmly. The hand in her hair was letting go, joining the other around her neck. Rosemary moaned at the grip. He wasn't quite choking her, but made her very aware that he could. It was dangerous, exciting- Theo was so much bigger and stronger than her. While he could seriously hurt her, he didn't.

His hands were pulling, forcing her upright, and he was pulling out of her well-used cunt. Rosemary stumbled drunkenly as he turned her, and he was sitting back down in his chair, pulling her on top of him, guiding her onto his cock.

Rosemary stared into Theo's eyes as she slowly sank onto his cock. He was breathing hard, his face flushed like hers, his chest rising and falling with his heavy breathing. Her white dressing gown had long since been deposited to the kitchen floor, so she was naked, and Theo's own dark blue terrycloth bathrobe had merely been opened.

Rosemary rocked up and down on Theo's length slowly, intending for this to last, her hands sliding up and down his chest and shoulders, her arms coming to wrap around his shoulders. Theo was kissing her gently, coaxing her mouth open, his arms wrapping around her middle.

Rosemary moaned his callused hands found her bottom, and he was grabbing her firmly. They continued to kiss as he forced her to move, and his own hips were jerking upwards. Rosemary's thighs began to burn, and they had to reposition themselves on the floor- she laid on her back on the floor, bent in half as Theo fucked her hard and deep.

Rosemary could only hold on to Theo's shoulders, staring up at him, unable to speak because she was so breathless. He was the same, but his eyes said everything she needed to know. He was cumming inside her again, his spent body withdrawing, the two of them lying on the cold kitchen floor.

They laid there for a long moment, catching their breath. Rosemary finally spoke after a long bit. "…Let's get married after the services today. At least, this way, we'll never forget our anniversary."

Theo let out a laugh, deep and loud, making her giggle. He sat up a little, looking down at her. "Are you sure?" He asked quietly.

"I'm sure." Rosemary said with a shy smile. "I don't want to wait anymore."

"…Me either." Theo said, his hand coming to rest over her stomach. She knew what he meant. She leant up and kissed him gently, and he held her close to him.

x-x-x

People's heads turned as Theo took off Rosemary's winter jacket. Rosemary could only smile, looking down a bit, settling into her seat. Theo sat down next to her in the pew. Both of them were smiling- how could they not be? Theo was wearing his new black handmade knit jumper that Rosemary had made for him. He'd paired the jumper with a black blazer and trousers, and had polished his old black school shoes. He'd even brushed back his hair for the occasion. The jumper was very nice, made out of the best and softest wool Rosemary could find, and the pattern was beautifully done. She had worked very hard on it, and it showed.

Next to him, Rosemary wore a new dress that hugged her slender curves about the shoulders and bust, draped and ruched in a way that couldn't help but draw the eye towards her. The pencil skirt hugged her curves all the way down to her knees, with a little kickpleat in the back. She wore very nice nude silk stockings. The neckline was at a modest V shape in front, just off the shoulders, but the back was deeper down, showing a bit more skin than Rosemary normally would have, the sleeves were snug, going just past her elbows. Also, the dress was made of cream colored matte silk fabric she had been saving. She had been planning on using the fabric into a dress to wear for Bill and Fleur's wedding. For their wedding, she'd have to charm it into another color, then perhaps to black or a jeweltone for a night out. The dress was very different than anything else she'd worn before, much more sexier and more revealing than anything she'd ever worn in public. It made her feel…well, like a woman. And she loved how Theo looked at her in it.

Rosemary put up her hair into a pretty chignon that day, and indulged herself with a makeup charm- her lips had been painted a dark classic red, and there was a bit of color to her cheeks. She wore no other jewelry other than the ring on her finger- she didn't own any. That was okay, she looked terrific.

The Service that day was all about the night Jesus was born, and the life he led, and what he represented to many people- hope and forgiveness. After the service, everyone forwent the usual group meetings and went right for the potluck, which was much larger than usual.

During the potluck, Theo spoke quietly to the Minister whilst Rosemary received many compliments on her dress. She felt beautiful and grown up, happy, radiant, as though this was the best day of her life.

Theo came back to his seat after talking to the Minister, who was leaving the room quietly. Theo leant in and spoke to Rosemary. "He agreed. He's getting his things now. We'll have to go to the courthouse on Monday to fill out some paperwork, though."

"What did the Minister agree to, dear?" Geraldine asked, looking very interested to know.

Theo and Rosemary exchanged a glance, and he wrapped his arm around Rosemary's shoulders. He spoke. "We would like to get married today."

Rosemary smiled. "This way, we won't forget our anniversary!" She said with a laugh.

Andrea squealed beside a shocked looking Geraldine, hugging Rosemary quickly. Word spread very quickly, and everyone was full of excitement. The guys congratulated Theo, shaking his hand and clapping him on the shoulder and back, while the girls and women hugged Rosemary and complimented her on her dress again, now knowing why the two of them were dressed up far more than usual.

Everyone was going back into the main church, settling into the pews, while Theo and Rosemary went to the front with the Minister, holding hands as they said their vows. The two exchanged their vows in front of the small congregation, a few people, who'd brought their cameras for the holiday potluck and things, took pictures of them too. Rosemary and Theo exchanged a chaste kiss as man and wife for the first time.

"Mr. and Mrs. Nott, congratulations. I hope you both have a very happy and long life together." The Minister said warmly, shaking both of their hands.

Rosemary flushed, realizing that she was no longer a Potter, and that was going to take some getting used to. People gathered around, congratulating them again, and someone said something about dessert, so people went back to the main hall and had dessert.

x-x-x

It was the morning after Rosemary and Theo's wedding night. They both were very tired and sore. It was tradition for older magical families to also complete a Bonding ritual the night of their wedding. Ancient Fertility rites. It took a while to complete, and it was exhausting- it involved a lot of sex, in very specific ways. Theo's family Athame was used to draw symbols across their skin, and the whole ritual had to be done outside. They had chosen the empty field where the greenhouses would be. Theo had said that it was good luck, and would possibly increase their yields in the future. It had taken all of the energy they had to crawl back into the house afterwards.

Rosemary awoke slowly, covering her eyes at the sunlight. She'd slept in. "Theo." She rasped. Beside her, Theo was still fast asleep. "…Theo, we slept in." She said, shaking his shoulder. "We have to take care of the animals."

Theo groaned. "…Ugh…alright." He said, and the two got out of bed and got dressed. As they stepped out of the back of the house, they stopped for a moment and stared.

"…Is it just me, or do the trees in the orchard look bigger?" Rosemary asked softly.

Theo nodded slowly, and continued to look around. "…Hmm. Maybe the fertility rites managed to cover the whole property? That would be pretty nifty, eh?"

"Yeah." Rosemary said with a grin. The two walked to the barn together, and started gathering eggs. They were shocked to find out that they had quadruple the eggs they normally gathered. Theo stared at the very full baskets, and spoke quietly. "…I think…we should let these eggs sit. They might be fertilized." He said quietly.

"…You might be right. How do we find out if they're fertilized or not?"

"It will take a couple of days before I can cast the spell." Theo's lips twitched. "We might have a load of chickens and ducks to sell in the spring."

"Which means more to feed in the meantime." Rosemary pointed out.

"Hey, we'll be okay. We'll figure it out." Theo said quietly. They checked all the animals over- some of them were a little out of sorts, but otherwise alright. The eggs were put back in their spots carefully.

They headed out to the ewes, feeding them- the pregnant ewe produced more milk than usual, and they all ate more. They were certainly a bit restless, but okay.

After taking care of the animals, the two of them checked the property. As it was in the middle of winter, and snow covered most of the ground, they couldn't see any changes there. But the trees were indeed bigger- most had grown a couple of inches overnight. Theo guessed that once spring arrived, the trees would be producing a lot. The two looked over the open field, checking the soil. It was hard, since the weather made the ground half-frozen, but Theo said he would not be surprised if the ground was especially fertile where they had done the ritual the previous night. They checked the greenhouse, and found the previously empty plot of dirt was covered in lush grass and the hints of things sprouting. They decided to feed the grass to the ewes after harvesting it with a few spells. Whatever was growing in the greenhouse would probably take them a couple of days to really identify it.

After all of that, Rosemary and Theo cleaned up, had a bit of breakfast, and sat down with their post. They wrote letters- one to Mr and Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Fleur, Hagrid, McGonagall, the twins, Ron and Ginny, and to Hermione. They were sure they would receive letters from people, freaking out, but…neither of them cared.

In the next couple of days that followed, they received lots of congratulatory letters. Hagrid's letter was almost unintelligible, because of him crying. It was rather sweet. Mr and Mrs. Weasley were very happy for them both, as were Bill and Fleur. The twin's letter was full of innuendo that made the couple laugh. McGonagall was very formal in her congratulations, wishing them both the best. Ron and Ginny were awkwardly formal- it was clear they had been coached in what to say. Hermione's letter…well, it was clear she disapproved. They were too young, ect. Whatever.

The lush grass and various bits of plants continued to grow in the greenhouse- the grass was collected for the ewes once more. They found out that the vegetables were mostly all cabbage and spinach, probably leftover roots from the previous harvest. They decided to let the plants grow. They also discovered that every single egg in the barn from the night of the ritual had been fertilized, and the hens were now sitting on them. In twenty-one days, Theo guessed they would probably have twenty chicks and in about thirty days, they'd have about fifteen more ducks. Unfortunately, this meant that the hens and the ducks would not be laying any more eggs until the babies were hatched.

On Monday, Rosemary and Theo went to the Courthouse to fill out all the required paperwork. They decided to have lunch out, in a restaurant on the High Street. With people shopping on Boxing Day, the town was very busy. Rosemary was in the middle of eating her lunch when she saw Theo staring at the telly above the counter, and everyone else in the restaurant was going completely silent.

"What is it?" Rosemary asked, turning. She turned, and looked at the telly, eyes widening as she saw the images there.

Complete destruction. Fires blazing, mushroom clouds miles high-

And along the bottom-

NUCLEAR BOMBS HIT 10 MAJOR CITIES!

London. Paris. Geneva. Washington D.C. Berlin. Rome. New York. Cape Town. Israel. Mumbai.

"Oh my god." Rosemary breathed, something squeezing painfully in her chest. She and Theo were getting up from their table, as was everyone else, watching the telly with wide eyes. Various officials were freaking out and trying to figure out who had planned this, who had caused this- speculations were running wild. It was noticed that the Russians nor the Chinese had none of their cities attacked, so people assumed it was all their fault. People thought there was religious reasons for the attacks, since both Rome, Israel, and Mumbai, three major centers of religion, had been hit.

"Theo…" Rosemary breathed, looking to her husband. "…London…Diagon…the Ministry…" Her hands began to shake. "…Aren't the students going back to Hogwarts today?" All those students would have been in London with their families, waiting to get on the Hogwarts Express-

Theo's eyes widened, and he rushed out of the restaurant. Rosemary followed him. The two of them were headed to the truck- a lot of other people seemed to have the same idea, heading to their cars too, probably heading out to check on loved ones. Both Rosemary and Theo were silent as they headed home.

"We have to bring the sheep inside." Rosemary whispered. "I-I'm not sure if we're far enough away to not feel the affects from London."

"I know." Theo said, hands gripping the steering wheel tight "I'll get the sheep. You cast protection spells over all of the trees and the pond, and I'll get the fields."

"Yes Sir." Rosemary whispered. Theo parked the truck, and the two hurried out. Theo went to the ewes' pasture, gathering them all together. Rosemary headed for the orchard, and enchanted shielding and protection spells over the trees. She wasn't sure if it would protect them completely, but she hoped it would lessen whatever affects that would occur. It took a while to get the trees done, and she and Theo worked together to blanket the fields with protective spells, as well as the pond. They went around the front of the house and did the same with all the berry bushes, and then added more protection spells to the house itself, the greenhouse, the well in the courtyard, and the barn.

The two were completely exhausted by the time they headed into the kitchen. Rosemary sat down in the kitchen chair, feeling completely numb. Theo squeezed her shoulder, and went to the telly. He turned it on. Nothing happened. They checked the lights. The power was out.

Rosemary knew that there was no way that the Ministry hadn't been affected, or St. Mungo's, or Diagon- she was sure that numerous people they knew had died that day. She was afraid to find out.

"Do you think we could take the Knight Bus to Hogwarts?" Rosemary asked quietly.

"…Let's just sit tight here. At least until we know what's going on." Theo whispered, staring at the telly. "…Hogwarts is still standing, so is Hogsmeade."

Rosemary put her head on Theo's shoulder, and the two jerked as there was a sudden knock on the front door. She looked to Theo worriedly, and he went to the door. He opened it, revealing one of the guys Theo sometimes haggled with.

"Hey Theo, all of us are going to get together at the church tonight, if you and Rosemary want to come."

Rosemary stood, joining Theo. "Is it safe?" She asked quietly. "…How do we know we're not going to get…acid rain or whatever they're talking about on the telly?"

"That's why the meeting is tonight. If we're going to get that rain or whatever, it should pass by this afternoon. You guys okay?" He asked worried.

"…We went to school in London." Theo said hollowly. "A lot of people we know probably died today."

"…Shit, man, I'm sorry. Come to the meeting tonight, okay? 7pm. We'll pray for everyone." And then he was off, hurrying back to his own truck.

They watched him go, and Rosemary spoke quietly. "We should go. At least to find out what people are going to do in town and things."

"…People are going to freak out and panic. We need to be cautious." Theo whispered.

"I know." Rosemary hesitated. "I think…our friends are past prayer. And none of them believed in God anyways."

"…I think the praying is more to put us at ease then everyone else." Theo said, taking her hand. The power stayed out all evening- something must have happened to it. Theo had thought, with the solar panels, they would still have power, since they weren't connected to the town's grid, but apparently something else was keeping the power from coming on.

Rosemary and Theo got ready to head out to the town. The radio didn't work in the truck. People seemed to be having the same idea, all of them leaving their homes and heading into town. All of the power was off- everything was dark, except for the headlights of cars and people's flashlights. They saw a lot more people than they normally did in town- a lot of people worked in neighboring towns, since the local area was so rural. Everyone seemed to have come home tonight.

Rosemary and Theo found a crowd of upset people by the town hall- and that was where they found Pastor Jones, along with some other important looking people.

"Alright everyone, please calm down!" One man said. His white hair was mussed, his suit crumpled. Police officers were stationed around the front steps of the courthouse. "I know everyone's upset by what's going on-"

Someone bumped into Rosemary, and Theo held onto her tightly, the two of them pushing their way to the front of the crowd. The Pastor seemed to spot the two of them, giving them a sad smile.

"Alright, so here's what's going on-" The man continued. He must have been the Mayor or something- the two of them weren't really familiar with him, but he talked like he was important. "The power is out here in town, and just before the power went out, I got reports of power going out all over southern England and Wales. From what we understand, it's a natural phenomena, a side affect of these…bombs. No, we are not sure how long the power will be out-"

People yelled at this, getting upset. It was hard to hear the guy.

People were asking if there was a war happening now, who was to blame, when to expect the power to come back on, how they could expect to reach their loved ones if they were clear across the country-

It was a mess. A big, heaping mess.

Pastor Jones spoke up. "EVERYONE, please settle down. Let us return to our homes and pray for those that have been lost today. I'm sure we will find out answers to your questions soon, it will simply take a bit of time. Be patient, we will get through this."

People still bickered and argued, but some were walking away. They saw several others coming forward and joining the Pastor and the other man on the steps. Theo climbed the stairs, still holding Rosemary's hand- the cops made to stop them, but the Pastor motioned for the cops to let them pass.

"Sir, how can we help?" Theo asked quickly.

Pastor Jones gave him a small smile. "Theo, Rosemary, allow me to introduce you to some people. This is Mayor Grey-" The man who had spoken earlier gave them a distracted nod, running his hands through his white hair. "Mr. Andrews- you teach science, correct?"

"That's right, Pastor." The man said quietly.

"Then we have Ms. Warren, who owns-" The group turned as they heard glass shattering. People were now breaking into the stores, getting into fights again. The Mayor was yelling at the cops to apprehend people now- it was a mess.

"…Sir, we have to do something. We don't know how long we're going to be without help here."

"I'm hoping that help will arrive soon, and things will calm down. Why don't you two go home, hmm? It might be a mess here tonight, I don't think you want to get caught up in that."

"…You're right." Theo said quietly.

"Theo, we have to help-"

"We can't help people if they're too panicked to help themselves. Let them cool off." Theo said firmly, and the two made their way through the riotous crowd. They drove back to their place, keeping an eye out. Many of the houses they passed had people in their front yards, talking to each other, looking upset. Most were headed into town- they passed a lot of cars.

Theo quickened his steps. "Theo?"

"…We've got to raise a ward to keep the muggles out." He said, as if he'd just realised something.

"…What?"

"…What do you think is going to happen when they've looted everything in town?" Theo asked quickly, and Rosemary's eyes widened.

x-x-x

It was near dawn when Rosemary and Theo finished the wards around their property. No muggles would be able to get into the house without their permission. It had already been enchanted that way for magicals. They could knock on the front door, sure, but they couldn't climb over the fence, or pass any of the property lines. Magicals and muggles alike would only be able to access the property from the front. Proximity wards would tell the couple if anyone approached, if they were not at home.

The couple tiredly took care of the animals, and with the morning light, they saw that the trees in the orchard had grown another inch in height, the trunks just a bit larger around. After checking the fields and pond as well, the rain didn't seem to have any effect on the property.

Hedwig arrived with a letter. There was no Daily Prophet. No muggle newspaper. Just one letter.

Dear Miss Pot-Mr and Mrs. Nott,

I regretfully inform you that London was destroyed in a muggle nuclear attack yesterday morning. The Ministry of Magic, St. Mungo's, and Diagon are completely destroyed. Yesterday, many of our students and their families were killed at Charring Cross. As most of the magical population was centered around London, our community has been decimated. Unfortunately, London was not the only city attacked- the ICW Headquarters in Geneva no longer exist, as well as other important cities around the globe.

We do not know yet who caused these attacks, or why.

None can call for the Knight Bus- presumably, it was destroyed as well. Floo access is also impossible. We have people working on it right now. We are searching the country for survivors. If you would like to come to Hogwarts, please respond to this letter, so that we can send someone to get you. I know both of you do not know how to apparate yet. Flying is inadvisable, especially around the London area.

Miss Po- Mrs. Nott, I regretfully inform you that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have passed on, along with their children Percy, Fred, George, Ginny, and Ronald. Hermione Granger and her parents have also passed, along with many other students and their families.

There were some students here at the school who remained for the holidays- Miss Lovegood and Mr. Longbottom, for instance. Alastor Moody is here at the school, organizing search teams. Mr. Bill Weasley and his wife Fleur are also here at the school, along with the remaining Order members. The Headmaster was at the Ministry at the time of the attacks, unfortunately. I am now running the school. The rest of the staff is here, and they are...the best they can be, in this situation.

For your safety, I implore that you come to Hogwarts. There have been reports all over the country of muggle towns and villages falling to rioting and looting. We need to protect what remains of the magical community, and its people.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

"…What do we do?" Rosemary whispered, lowering the letter with shaking hands.

"…Write back. Let them know we're okay." Theo said quietly. "…But I'm not leaving this house."

"I know. It's our home." Rosemary whispered. "And…and we could help people here in town too. This is much bigger than the magical world. Hogwarts…Hogwarts will be okay. Muggles can't get past the wards, and there's nothing nearby for them to want to attack anyways. They have plenty of space, and food, and…they'll be okay, right?"

"…I think so." Theo said quietly. "We offer our assistance, but we aren't leaving here."

Rosemary nodded, and the two began to write a response back.

Dear Professor McGonagall,

Thank you for writing. We found out yesterday what had happened- the muggles had it on the telly. The town we are staying in was rather chaotic, but we're far enough out in the country that no one should bother us. We have wards to protect the property, and we're completely self-sustainable. Theo and I have decided to stay here in our home. These bombs did not just affect the magical community, but the muggle as well- we are going to stay here and help people.

We have the farm here, and people are going to need food, so we need to maintain everything. We were very distraught when we first heard the news about London, knowing that many people we knew had died that day, and that the Ministry, 's, and Diagon were gone.

Theo suggests that you turn the fields into farmland, and add more greenhouses to the school. He also suggests that you try to gather more species of magical animals at the school, so you will have a ready supply of food and materials used in healing potions. We are planning on building two more greenhouses on our land. We could trade you some of our harvest in exchange for some cuttings for magical plants? We will need access to materials for potions since we cannot buy any more from the apothecary.

Also, if you need it, there is the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. It's in Moaning Myrtle's Loo, the entrance is at the sinks. You could salvage those materials and trade them for goods or whatever else you need to get everything running. It's probably worth a lot of money.

Should you need us to come by, just write, and we'll make arrangements.

Sincerely,

Rosemary and Theodore Nott

x-x-x

Over the next couple of days, Rosemary and Theo remained in their home, focusing on looking after the animals and the property. They let the ewes out of the barn once more, letting them roam in their snowy field. They simply didn't have the time or energy to grieve for the people that they had suddenly lost- it was just too much. So they focused on their work. They were busy trying to preserve what they could in the cellar- Theo decided to hold off on going to the Market on Saturday, until he knew what shape everyone else was in.

On Friday morning, they received another owl. There was a letter and a small package. Rosemary opened the letter, while Theo opened the package- it was a small cedar box, with lots of little compartments. Each compartment had seeds and small cuttings inside, each one meticulously labeled.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Nott,

Thank you very much for your response. Your ideas were sound, and we are implementing a plan to grow crops on Hogwarts grounds as soon as the ground thaws. We have managed to open the Chamber of Secrets, and sent a salvaging team to collect the remains of the Basilisk. We plan on selling and trading the remains for materials for the school. This assistance is invaluable.

Those who remain in the magical community have gathered together and decided that Hogwarts will house our new Ministry and Hospital until new ones can be built in Hogsmeade. Many witches and wizards from abroad are coming here to meet and discuss something very important- the Statute of Secrecy.

In the past week, there have been numerous reports of magicals assisting non-magicals all over the world, breaking the Statute of Secrecy. I have taken into account of your thoughts on helping your community, and agree- desperate times call for desperate measures. It has not officially been decided yet, but I am sure everyone will be in favor of lowering the restrictions on the Statute of Secrecy. I will let you know if and when it goes into affect. We are also trying to reestablish the Daily Prophet, so everyone can get their news again soon.

Mr. Longbottom is assisting Professor Sprout in the greenhouses, and they arranged for this kit for you. A test-run, if you will, for other kits that we may send to other magical homes if they are requested. All of the seeds and cuttings inside the kit are commonly used for healing potions and salves. They are under preservation spells- they will break when you remove the seeds or cuttings from their containers. Professor Snape has instructed that only Mr. Nott brew the potion, lest Mrs. Nott poison the muggles. (He told me to write that in here, the scamp). Your ideas were certainly worthwhile, and locating the Basilisk will help us get the supplies we will need.

Thank you very much for the assistance. I hope the kit will help.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Rosemary and Theo were quiet for a long moment. Theo spoke. "…The seeds and cuttings they sent are good quality."

"We really should get those other greenhouses up. We could designate one just for these materials." Rosemary said quietly, folding the letter.

"We're going to have to get the supplies, and the muggles might notice greenhouses suddenly popping up- fences aren't so noticeable."

"…Guess we're going to town, then?"

"Sunday. We'll go to the church, and I'll talk to this contractor bloke I was speaking to before."

"…Do you think they'll really do away with the statute of secrecy?" Rosemary asked quietly.

"…It's possible. But…should we tell people what we can do?" Theo asked.

"…I think we should wait." Rosemary said, and then paused as she saw another owl flying through the kitchen window. The two exchanged a look, and the owl dropped a letter onto the table, perching beside Hedwig.

Theo got his notes together for the greenhouses he wanted to get built. He made some notes for supplies they were going to need to get. The cellar was thankfully full of supplies and foodstuffs, but Rosemary had told him that the winter may be lengthened, that temperatures in the region might drop because of these bombs. He wasn't as familiar with nuclear bombs as Rosemary was, since he didn't go to muggle school. But it was better to be safe than sorry. Thankfully, they had magic, and they could use warming charms if needed.

It was another long day, the two of them tiredly crawling into bed together, cuddling under their mound of blankets. All of the planning and preparations in the world could not prepare them for what would happen in the future. Not really. Nor allow them to grieve for all of those that they had lost so suddenly. No funerals, no last words, no goodbyes. They were just…gone.

x-x-x-

The couple got cleaned up and had breakfast, and Theo drove them into town. As they headed into town, they noticed that some places looked all smashed up, others vandalized, other homes looking vacant.

They headed to the church, where it seemed there was a lot more people than normal, and people were walking, rather than driving. The four of them got out of the truck and headed inside. It was a lot more colder, they noticed, and realised that the heating system was not working. Of course. No power, no heat. At least Rosemary and Theo could cast warming charms on themselves. The Pastor shook Theo's hand, smiling as he saw him. "Theo, Rosemary, glad to see you two. You kids doing okay? How are you holding up?"

"…We're okay." Theo said quietly. "What happened in town?"

"…Oh, it kind of got messy, but…anyways, I think we've got it sorted out." He said, motioning for them to go on inside. Rosemary spotted Geraldine and Andrea. They seemed to light up as they saw Rosemary, and they hugged each other. "Rosemary, how are you? You two holding up okay?" Andrea asked worriedly.

"We're okay- okay as we can be, I guess."

Everyone was sitting down together- people were packed into the church tightly. The Pastor was walking up towards the front, and he was joined by Mayor Grey. It seemed like the whole town was there- there wasn't enough seats for everyone, a lot of people were standing up against the walls.

"Welcome, everyone. Now, I know these past few days have been very hard on everyone, and I am very glad that all of you are here. The people we sent out for news returned late last night, so Mayor Grey is going to tell us what we found out." Pastor Jones explained.

The Mayor stood from his seat, and spoke. "We sent out teams of people over the past few days to different cities to find out what we could. From what we understand, various governments are still trying to figure out who did the initial attack, and some are even saying it may be a terrorist group, outside of any government control. No one is claiming responsibility. What we do know is that Scotland and Ireland are sending relief teams down here to the southern U.K. Fallout radiation affected London and it's immediate surrounding areas, so we urge everyone to avoid it."

The man paused in his reading. "From what we understand, many countries are accepting refugees and offering assistance to those that need it. We received word that countries like Spain, Japan, and Canada have already started delivering supplies to various communities here in the U.K and in Europe." He paused again. "The U.S has reestablished their capital in Dallas, Texas. Russia has reestablished their capital to St. Petersburg. Ireland and Scotland are doing what they can to get our power working correctly. Radio, Telly, and Video aren't on at all. With no power, there's no heat, so everyone please ration your firewood as well."

The man lowered his notes. "I ask for everyone in this community to keep rationing their gas, food, and other supplies. We know that help is coming, we are just not sure when it will happen. This is only January, we've got a few months yet before we can start growing crops in the fields again. Now, you may have heard rumors about contaminated water and food supplies, but I can assure you that we're okay here. We're far enough away from London that we weren't affected by the fall-out." The man looked out over the crowd. "What happened a few nights ago here in town will not happen again. There is no reason to panic about supplies- everyone will do just fine."

The Pastor spoke now. "I would like all of us to pray for those we have lost, and those who are currently suffering all over the world. Let us pray." He bowed his head, and everyone followed.

Rosemary thought about all the people she'd lost. It seemed…surreal. Losing almost all of her classmates. She'd lost people before, but this…this was different. The man began his sermon- it was all about hope, hard work, and prayer, and how God never gives someone more they can't handle. Rosemary just sat there, looking around, realizing that some people had sort of given up already, that this was just…too much for them to handle.

Maybe it was just because she'd been through too much crap over the years, but she knew that things weren't so terrible. They would get through it, it would just take some adjusting, and time. Life would move on.

There was the usual singing and things, but it all felt…different, than normal. There wasn't any crafting done that day- the women mostly talked about what was happening in town. People talked about some of the people they had known in London, and then Mrs. Jones remembered that Rosemary had gone to school there-

"…Oh, that's right- you went to school in London." Mrs. Jones whispered, looking to Rosemary.

"That's right." Rosemary said evenly. "…Nearly all of my classmates are dead. My best friends…" Rosemary's breath hitched, and she looked down. "…At least we got to talk to everyone at Yule." She whispered.

"So, I heard that you two bought some property a while back." Another woman said, trying to change the subject. "Are you going to be planting more, this spring?"

Rosemary cleared her throat, nodding. "We're planning on building two more greenhouses."

"Fantastic! We didn't see you two at the market yesterday, everything alright on the farm?" One of the women asked.

"Oh…yes, we're alright." Rosemary said quietly.

"Things could certainly be worse for us- at least we didn't get caught in the fall-out, right? And I'm sure help will be coming soon." Mrs. Jones said with a smile.

"I hope so." Another woman said. "My kids are terrified. They're afraid to leave the house, and I don't blame them."

"... I just hope help arrives soon. My son's in the hospital right now- they already lost some people when the power went down. What if they run out of supplies and people get sick? It's the right time of year for it, and-"

Rosemary spoke firmly. "Mrs. Chester, there's no use in panicking. Hopefully, help will be arriving soon. But if they are not able to, they we do what we can to prepare. Thankfully, Theo and I have some books on herbal remedies, and we have supplies. We'll see what we can do."

"…Does that stuff work?" Geraldine asked cautiously.

"You'd be very surprised." Rosemary said with a little grin. "I know some remedies that can cure up a headcold in just a few short hours, ease a stomachache, and prevent infection. There's a reason why you never see me or Theo at the clinic." She said with a wink to the woman. "We never need to go there. It's just a matter of planting what we have so we'll have a crop ready in case we need it."

"Well, if you lot ever need help on the farm, I'm sure there's plenty of people willing to help." Mrs. Jones said with a smile.

"Thank you, Mrs. Jones." Rosemary said quietly.

There wasn't much of a dinner after the meetings were over- everyone was rationing their food. Theo had spoken to the contractor about the greenhouses, and they were going to send some people out the following day to start planning it out.

The next day, Rosemary and Theo woke early, taking care of the animals. The ewes were doing just fine- the pregnant one would be having her lambs in just a couple more weeks, Theo estimated. She was getting very big, now. He said, because of her size, that it might be possible that she would have three lambs, not just one or two like normal. This would be this ewe's third set of lambs- she was six years old, and was at her prime birthing age.

They checked on the ducks and chickens, who were still nesting- both Rosemary and Theo were anxious to see how the chicks and ducks turned out once they hatched. They checked in on the greenhouse. They harvested the grass and put it into the ewe's feed, and harvested the cabbage and lettuce as well.

After a quick breakfast, the team arrived to the property to work on the greenhouses. Rosemary smiled nervously as the men entered her and Theo's home, and she noticed how they stared at all of their books, the pottery, the fine furniture- she could tell that they had realised she and Theo were doing alright, financially.

Theo greeted the guy in charge- Mr. Thomas. They were shaking hands, and Theo was taking them out to the back. Rosemary hung behind, feeling uncomfortable, hugging herself as she watched the guys look over the fields, the orchards. She was partly glad it wasn't spring yet, because then the men would have realised that their property was worth a lot.

Rosemary watched as the men gathered together, talking over plans, and she stiffened as she saw one guy take out a gun. In a flash, her wand was out, and the gun was falling to the ground. She had tried to make it look like he dropped it, but it was a little too fast for that.

Everyone turned and looked at her with wide eyes, and Rosemary strode over.

"No guns!" She yelled firmly. "Not here."

The guy who had taken out the gun gave Rosemary a nervous look. "How…how did you…"

Theo spoke, cautiously. "Rosemary, they were offering it as a trade."

Rosemary tensed. "Oh." She subtly put her wand back into her skirt pocket.

"…What's with the stick?" One of the guys asked.

"And how did you make my gun fly out of my hand like that?" The other guy asked, picking up his gun from the ground.

Theo cleared his throat. "Rosemary and I are…well, we're gifted with rather… unique abilities. I won't say anything more than that. Thank you for the offer, Sir, but I cannot accept the gun."

"…You should protect what you've got. A lot of people will want to get their hands on this property, once spring comes."

"I'm sure they will. But Rosemary and I can look after ourselves." Theo said evenly. Rosemary went to his side, and Theo wrapped his arm about her shoulders. "Instead of the gun, I will be happy to take one of your goats, Graham, if you want ten pounds of chestnuts. And Ethan, I would accept one of your cows in exchange for those dried olives and dates you like so much. We've got a good bulk stored up, I'd be happy to trade. The rest of you, I am willing to part with our food supplies in order to get these Greenhouses built before spring arrives. What do you think?"

The guys talked it over, and agreed. The cow and the goat would be delivered the next day, and Rosemary and Theo would hand over the food. A small supply of food would be given to the rest of the workers while they worked over the next couple of weeks.

Neither Rosemary or Theo liked having strangers on the property, but it was necessary. Theo helped the guys with the construction of the new greenhouses while Rosemary focused on acclimating their new goat and cow to the rest of the animals, and vice-versa. The barn was really starting to get rather crowded.

The rest of the village struggled, food supplies dwindling along with the heat. Some people left town, hoping to get someplace warmer. Others came to town, seeking refuge. Rosemary and Theo kept to their property, except on Sundays when they went to church.

By the end of January, the greenhouses had been built, and both Rosemary and Theo were getting them ready for planting in the spring. The chickens and the ducks were moved into the greenhouses, to allow room for the other animals in the barn. Emma, their new cow, hadn't produced a lot of milk when she had first started staying on the farm, but as she had gotten acclimated, she was producing more. Theo guessed it also might be from the ambient magic from the property as well. They also found out that their new goat was actually expecting kids.

The pregnant ewe finally had her lambs- Rosemary and Theo had worked for a good part of the day with the ewe in the barn, birthing her three lambs and getting them properly cleaned up and things. Theo had prepared immunization spells straight away, so that the lambs would be as healthy as possible. They were cute little things, rickety and frail, but Theo said they would grow up to be strong. One of them was a boy, the other two were girls.

They added more shelter space for the sheep, and another trough. They also built an open air shelter in the middle of the pasture too. The chickens and the ducks had their babies- almost all of eggs hatched over a period of two days. Rosemary and Theo were very glad for the empty greenhouses now, because those little babies under the feet of the sheep, cow, and goat would have gotten squashed.

Rosemary got her period- both she and Theo were a little disappointed that she hadn't gotten pregnant right away. It wasn't for a lack of trying, certainly- they fucked nearly every night. Not much else to do, after it got too dark and cold to do anything outside.

Help finally arrived at the start of February. Supplies from Ireland and Scotland were delivered, and everyone in town breathed a little easier. Most were just hoping for spring to arrive soon- winter was bitterly cold that year, and it snowed quite a bit in February and March.

The Daily Prophet was started up again, and Rosemary and Theo kept a close eye on the goings on at Hogwarts. St. Mungo's was now reduced to a small clinic in Hogsmeade, and the Ministry of Magic was now a two story building in the same village. There were a lot less magical people in the country now, a lot less people to manage.

The ICW decided to lower the Statute of Secrecy, but it looked like most people were cautious and wanted to keep their distance from muggles. After all, most reasoned, it was a MUGGLE bomb that had killed so many of their people. Most magical people left their ancestral homes and were settling in Hogsmeade.

Rosemary and Theo kept contact with those at the school every so often. Neville kept sending them cuttings and seeds, Hagrid sent them various things that caught his interest- unicorn hair, acromantula silk, Threstral hide- stuff that wouldn't ordinarily be available even in an apothecary normally.

As the snow thawed in April, the couple realised that their property and the surrounding forest had been more affected by the binding ritual than they had thought. All of the trees in the orchard were wand-grade standard, as well the trees surrounding the property- illustrated by the influx of bowtruckles that literally came out of the woodwork as soon as the snow began to melt. The trees began to blossom, their bare branches quickly filling with leaves.

Also, amongst the trees, mushrooms, clover, and various magical flowers and herbs began to grow on the ground. They had to take care to remove them from the Sheep pasture. The animals were let out of the barn once the pond thawed out. The new lambs frolicked along the pasture, pestering the goat, cow, and the older ewes. They grew every day, it seemed.

Rosemary and Theo got some dragon manure sent in from Charlie in Romania, mixing it with the compost and the manure from their animals. They began to plant in their greenhouses. One was strictly for vegetables, another was for plants commonly used in healing potions, and the third was strictly for herbs and spices. They had a lot of each type of plant, because the couple knew that with everything going on, people were more likely to get their food locally. And it was likely they were going to have to barter for goods, rather than get money. Until the power came back on, money was rather useless to everyone.

Rosemary and Theo continued to go to church every Sunday, bringing food for the potluck for each meal. It was well received. Food was scarce for everyone- most of the other farmers had some saved up too, so everyone did their best to share.

One Sunday morning, Rosemary and Theo were singing along to a hymn when they heard the church doors bang open. Everyone turned instantly, hearing a man yell out.

"Everyone to the ground!" He shot a gun into the air. Rosemary saw that he was flanked by six other men- they all looked worse for wear, each of them carrying large shotguns. People began to cry and scream, dropping to the ground. Rosemary and Theo exchanged a look, cautiously getting down to the ground.

"Alright, I want all of you to hand over watches, jewelry, anything that's worth a bit of money!" The man yelled, and people hurried to do just that. Both Rosemary and Theo didn't move a muscle. Rosemary peered across the aisle to see Geraldine clutching her cross neckace, looking frightened. Her lips moved silently- she looked as if she was praying. She looked over to the front, seeing the kids that were sitting together, all of them crying.

Everyone had had a rough winter- and Rosemary got the feeling that now that the snow was gone, trouble would be coming.

"Hey girlie, what are you waiting for? Give me that ring!" The man screamed at her, pointing his gun in her face. Beside her, Theo stiffened.

Rosemary froze for a long moment, staring at the gun, and up at the man. The man was snarling, grabbing her hand firmly, yanking her to her feet. "Give me the ring, bitch!" He screamed in her face, forcing her to turn, putting his gun to her temple. People began to cry louder now, and hurried to hand over their things to the criminals.

Rosemary begged with her eyes to Theo, forcing him to not react, to stay down. He looked upset.

They wanted her wedding ring.

"Sir, it's my wedding ring. Please-" Rosemary pleaded quietly, but the man pressed the gun firmly against her head, and she heard a whimpering sound. The man's other hand, which had been on her waist, snaked around her middle, hugging her tightly to him. He smelled awful. He was probably one of those bands of people going from town to town, making trouble. She'd heard the stories, just like everyone else. No one had thought they were anywhere near the village.

"Wedding ring, eh? Bit young to be married." The man breathed in her ear. "How old are you, girlie?" He asked, and she could tell he wanted to…do things to her. Disgusting.

"Sixteen." Rosemary said evenly. She looked to the other men, who were all busy gathering stuff from the other parishioners. She saw the Pastor at the front of the church, looking terrified.

"…Hmm…young and sweet. You smell good. Clean. I'm gonna take you back to my place. Treat you real nice-"

That did it.

Rosemary elbowed the man in the gut, grabbing the gun and pivoting on her heel, pointing the gun right at the man's head. The man froze, eyes wide, raising his hands.

Everyone else went silent, and the other guys pointed their guns to Rosemary.

"Drop the guns. Or he gets it." Rosemary said evenly. She wasn't joking around.

"You won't shoot me." The man said, smirking.

Rosemary lowered the gun to the man's shoulder, aimed, and fired. The man screamed, dropping to the ground, clutching his arm. Everyone else in the church began to scream too.

"GET OUT!" Rosemary screamed at the other men. "AND STAY OUT!"

The guys fled the church, dragging their buddy with them, dropping their stash. The guy that she shot glared at her heatedly. "YOU made a mistake, bitch! I'm COMING BACK FOR YOU!"

Rosemary watched him go, still holding the gun aloft. "Like that's the first time I've heard that. GET OUT!"

And the doors of the church closed with a slam. Rosemary lowered the gun, and people slowly got to their feet, looking cautious, but happy.

"Rosemary! Dear God, are you okay?" Geraldine asked, hugging her tightly. Rosemary let the woman hug her, and she spotted Theo, who gave her a proud smile. People were hugging her tightly, clapping her on the shoulder. Theo pulled her close, kissing her soundly right there in front of everyone.

"Ahem."

The couple pulled away, blushing, realizing that Pastor Jones was standing next to them with a little smile. "Miss Rosemary, that was quite the heroism. Where did you learn a move like that?"

Rosemary blushed, and Theo spoke. "It's not the first time Rosemary's gotten in a spot of trouble. Back in school, she saved several people's lives."

This was the first anyone had heard of that, as the two of them were rather closed mouth about themselves. People began to murmur around them, and Rosemary ducked her head shyly.

"Well! I think we're in need of a bit of celebration! Let's have our potluck, shall we?"

Everyone split up to get the food out, while people tried to sort out their things, getting back their stuff from the bags that the guys had left behind. More than one person approached Rosemary and thanked her. And she heard the guys stating that they should bring their guns with them to the church too, just in case. Most of them had taken to carrying them around outside the church, for protection, but it was now clear that these guys had no problem attacking a church full of parishioners.

At the potluck, people talked about starting up the Market again- most of the townspeople had their own basic gardens and things, and the farmers had already started planting their crops as soon as the ground had thawed.

Rosemary and Theo walked home that day from the church, hand in hand, discussing on whether the should reveal their abilities to the people in town. There was bound to be more trouble, and the two of them knew how to defend themselves magically. In order to save themselves and innocent people, they might just have to reveal their abilities.

That night, Theo took Rosemary to bed, being quite through in thanking her for her heroism. Rosemary laid there with a tired grin, sweaty and achy as she draped herself atop Theo. The two of them laid in their bed, and Rosemary spoke.

"…I want to do another fertility ritual." Rosemary said quietly.

Theo blinked, brows raising. "You do, do you?"

Rosemary gave him a sheepish smile. "We've been fucking like rabbits with no protection. I want you to knock me up. I think another fertility ritual ought to do the trick. And it will undoubtedly benefit our property too. I think, because it's spring, the effects might be stronger."

"…Hmm. Well, Imbolc passed already. We should have tried to do it then. Do you want to wait until the spring solstice?"

Rosemary hesitated. "…I suppose. If I don't get pregnant before then." She said quietly.

"Hey, while I would love to knock you up, I'm in no rush. We've got plenty to do in the meantime, hmm?"

"You're right." Rosemary said with a little grin. "Anyways, things are a bit, um…unsteady right now with safety and all, right?"

"Too true. You think Scotland and Ireland will ever do more than supply drops?"

"…I think they've got enough to worry about." Rosemary murmured. "We're doing alright."

"But the people in town aren't used to doing without electricity and things like we are. And they haven't magic to help them with cleaning and things."

"…True."

Rosemary paused. "McGonagall said that the Americans and the Chinese are at the brink of war. Do you think we'll get caught in the crossfire?"

"I sure hope not." Theo said quietly. "Let's not think about that, okay?"

"…Okay."

x-x-x

"CARROTS! POTATOES! CHESTNUTS!" Rosemary called out with a grin. The market was packed full of people, both selling and buying. Everyone was in a very good mood. The spring harvests, so far, had been very good. Apparently their little village had grown even more than usual in their crops, and Rosemary and Theo quickly realised these farms were in their general vicinity.

They had been very busy that winter and spring, their table full of goods, baskets nearly bursting with produce. Underneath their table, they had a couple of crates full of young chicks and ducks- those were selling very well- everyone seemed to want their own chicken or duck for their backyard garden. They also had lots of cheese on sale. Now that they had a cow and a goat, they were producing a lot more milk, and would be able to make different kinds of cheeses. Theo was already talking about expanding the cellar.

They also dried and preserved goods from the previous harvest that hadn't been eaten yet, and various potions and salves that were sold as 'herbal remedies'.

More than one person looked askance at the homemade jars and bottles full with the strange colored liquids. Theo was in charge of selling those, since he had made most of them. Rosemary was in charge of trying to sell and haggle their produce.

Things were bartered, instead of money being exchanged. Rosemary and Theo stocked up on handmade soaps and shampoo, honey, flour, oatmeal, fish, barley, and smoked meats. People from other villages and towns were making the trek, and kept remarking that the people in their village seemed to be doing so much better than everyone else- none better than Rosemary and Theo.

The following week, people were lining up at their table again.

x-x-x

May arrived, and Rosemary missed her period. After a few spells and a pregnancy test at the clinic, it was determined that Rosemary was pregnant. She and Theo were elated about their first child, and wrote to everyone at Hogwarts about the good news. Hagrid promptly sent them a puppy, of all things. Apparently kids loved them. It wasn't as though they didn't have enough animals.

In honor of Hagrid, Rosemary named him Fluffy. Thankfully, it didn't seem as though there was anything remotely magical about it, but you never knew.

McGonagall sent her best wishes, and updated them about the school and things. Everything seemed to running as smoothly as possible now. The Ministry was reestablished, St. Mungo's Clinic in Hogsmeade was doing just fine, and all of the students were busy with their classes. Neville had been hired on by McGonagall full-time as Sprout's assistant in the Greenhouses. He was very happy. Luna was working with Hagrid in the Forbidden forest now. She was very happy too, getting to spend lots of time with the animals. Both Luna and Neville sent them gifts too.

Rosemary and Theo started working on the nursery together. Theo haggled with a carpenter to get a couple pieces of furniture made- a rocking chair, and a baby bassinette.

Everyone in the village was very happy about their news- their good mood was infectious. With everything going on lately, people needed a reason to celebrate.

At the end of June, Rosemary was startled one afternoon while walking towards the house, coming upon several Hippogriffs on the dirt road. "What the…"

She bowed, and the Hippogriffs bowed back to her, clacking their beaks, looking pleased. How…how did the Hippogriffs get down here?

Rosemary continued towards the house, and noticed the Hippogriffs trailing after her. As she continued to walk, she noticed several Threstrals were trotting in the forest, and she swore she saw a Unicorn too. Her steps quickened, and she entered the house. "THEO!" She called out.

Theo was coming into the foyer, looking a little breathless.

"I saw Hippogriffs! And Threstrals!"

"I know." Theo said, grinning, eyes lighting up. "Apparently it's the ambient magic from our land and the forest! It's bringing them here!"

"…Theo…what if the muggles see them?"

"Then they see them. Anyways, the animals look after themselves. And we now have our own source of unicorn hair and hippogriff feathers- Hagrid won't keep having to send us any. And their manure is likely to be more potent for all of the magical plants."

"I know, but…people are going to find out about us." Rosemary whispered worriedly.

"Let them. The Statute of Secrecy is down, remember? We don't have to worry about them finding out about us."

"…I know, but...people are scared of things that are different." Rosemary said.

Theo's gaze softened, and he pulled her into a hug. "Alright. So…we could bring them onto our land. Create a paddock for them."

"More mouths to feed." Rosemary said with a small smile. "Will we have the room?"

"Yeah, all that pasture we have gives us plenty of space. Come on." Theo said, grabbing his jacket. The two of them headed back out together, and worked together to lead the Hippogriffs and Threstrals onto their pasture. As both animals flew, they could simply fly over the fence. They seemed happy to get onto the property. The unicorns were hard to see, let alone catch, so they let them roam in the forest.

Rosemary and Theo now had six Threstrals and four Hippogriffs grazing on their pasture. Adding this to the six ewes, three quickly growing lambs, a cow, a pregnant goat, multiple chickens and ducks…it was quite a bit.

They were going to need some help.

And so, they wrote Neville and Luna. From their letters, Rosemary had found out her two friends were still considered outcasts at the school, despite the small classes and their acts of heroism at the Ministry of Magic the previous year. She and Theo extended an invitation for the two of them to stay at the house to help them manage the animals and the greenhouses- they were too happy to oblige.

Within the week, they arrived at Rosemary and Theo's front doorstep.

Rosemary felt as though she was going to cry as she saw her two friends. They had changed so much in the year that she had been separated from them. Neville had shot up to six foot even, and had filled out. He even had a bit of a tan, probably from spending all that time in the Greenhouses with sprout. Luna had grown too, mostly in height, still rather slender and willowy.

Luna and Neville hugged her tightly, the three of them too tearful to say anything for a long moment. For a moment, Rosemary wished the rest of her friends could be there with them, but she was still glad that Neville and Luna were there.

They pulled away from her, and Rosemary spoke. "Neville, Luna, this is Theo, obviously." She said, smiling, motioning to her husband.

"Nott." Neville greeted nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"None of that, here. Just call me Theo." Theo said easily. "We've prepared rooms for the two of you. Rosemary's made lunch. After lunch, we'll show you around. Luna, let me take that bag for you."

"Oh! Thank you!" The blonde said happily, and Theo grabbed her huge suitcase, lugging it up the stairs. Everyone else followed him up the stairs. Luna looked delighted with her room, which was the room that Theo had prepared for Rosemary when she had first arrived to the house, but now it had pale blue walls, and a lovely knitted blanket on the bed made by Rosemary.

They put Neville in one of the other guest rooms- it had sage green walls, with yellow accents, and Neville liked the view of the forest from the window. Rosemary had thought he would like that. After lunch, they showed Neville and Luna around the house. The two of them were shocked at the collection of ceramics and books they had. They showed them the cellar, and Theo talked about how he wanted to expand it. Luna said she knew how to do that too, and it was decided that she and Theo would work on that together.

They then showed their friends the property outside, starting with the animals. Neville wasn't so good with animals, he stuck by the fence while Luna walked right up to them and treated the Threstrals like old friends. She knew all sorts of things on how to care for them, as well as Hippogriffs, and the other animals they had, making Rosemary very glad they had decided to invite her and Neville to stay with them.

Both Neville and Luna loved Fluffy, who was growing by leaps and bounds. At least he didn't have three heads. He ate like he did, though. The puppy never seemed to stop growing. Rosemary and Theo were training him to be non-violent around the other animals, though the chickens seemed to be very vicious around him. Fluffy was a playful little thing, its black fur reminding Rosemary of Sirius. She decided, if they ever got another dog, she would call it Padfoot.

In the Greenhouses, Neville admired their plants, and was full of ideas on how to grow even more. Apparently there was a lot of space they weren't utilizing. He explained they could hang pots from the ceiling, or even have containers on shelves attached to the walls. He was very eager to get to work on the greenhouses.

Rosemary and Theo then showed them the orchards, and both Neville and Luna admired the old trees. Luna commented upon the bowtruckles, and Theo confirmed that they were now wand-grade trees. She mentioned that with Ollivander's wand shop gone, that most people were having to go abroad to get new wands. She mentioned that they should start researching on how to make new wands, or at least get in contact with someone who knew how to make wands, and become a supplier. It certainly was an idea. Luna loved all the various animals wandered about the property, and said that the ambient magic was very likely to attract more animals. She said that they wouldn't all be very friendly, either, so they would have to be careful.

The four of them worked together to increase the wards on the property to protect the animals from predators. They already had wards, but Neville and Luna leant their magic to increase the effects even further. Hippogriffs and Threstrals did like to eat meat, she explained, but they both were scavengers, at least. But others, like foxes, snakes, and various others would attack their chickens and ducks, definitely. Luna also pointed out several dens of wild rabbits hidden on the property, which neither Rosemary or Theo had noticed. They had decided to let them stay. She also pointed out that some of the fish and frogs spawning in the pond and somehow introduced magical species- she said it happened, if the ambient magic was very powerful.

Of course, then Rosemary and Theo had to explain why the ambient magic was so powerful on the property. Rosemary was blushing the entire time as they spoke about their bonding ritual and the effects, but Luna seemed to take it in stride. She seemed to be rather familiar with such rituals- apparently her parents had done that sort of thing on their property too, as had the Weasleys. She volunteered herself and Neville to do the next ritual at the spring solstice in a couple of weeks, which had Neville blushing and stammering profusely. It was cute.

They then went inside the house, and Rosemary showed Neville and Luna the nursery, and talked about the baby. It was still too early to find out the gender yet, but both Rosemary and Theo were hoping for a boy. From what they were able to gather from people in town, boys were easier to care for, the first go around. Luna, of course, asked how many children they wanted, and Theo declared that he wanted Rosemary pregnant all the time.

Luna had laughed loudly at this, while Rosemary could only blush and look down, while Neville teased her.

x-x-x

Time passed. Luna and Neville were introduced to the muggles in town. Everyone thought that Luna was a bit strange, but they were too nice to say it to her face. And many of the guys rather undestimated Neville, which happened often, but once he started talking about crops and plants, he made fast friends with the local farmers.

Neville and Luna certainly pulled their weight around the farm. Neither of them had any problem getting up early with Rosemary and Theo. Neville spent a great deal of time in the greenhouses, while Luna spent a lot of her time with the animals. Theo and Rosemary did these things too, of course, but now had more time to focus on other projects. Theo had more time to produce more cheese, as well as healing salves and potions.

After shearing all the sheep, Rosemary dove wholeheartedly into spinning wool and making thread and yarn under the tutelage of Andrea and Geraldine. She loved making knits and finely knitted and crocheted material to sell in the market. Luna wasn't much for such 'householdy' things, and it was often up to Rosemary to do the majority of the cooking and cleaning for the household, which she was fine with, considering how much everyone else did.

Theo sent three of his ewes to be bred by one of the rams right before the spring solstice.

The night of the spring solstice, Rosemary and Theo went off to the pasture, while Luna and Neville went off to the orchards. Each couple did the ritual from sunset to dawn, collapsing in exhaustion in the early morning light. A couple of days later, Theo brought back the three ewes to the farm, all three were confirmed to be pregnant not very much later.

And so was Luna.

And half of the women in town. Even those using contraceptives or those who thought they were too old to conceive. It was called a miracle, or a curse, depending on who you asked.

Luna and Neville promptly got married at the church, though neither of them were really Christian. There were a lot of other rushed weddings that summer as well.

Thankfully, everyone's farms seemed to be flourishing, with plenty of food to go around. By the fall, Rosemary really started showing with her pregnancy, and the nursery was long since completed. Theo's 'herbal remedies' were used readily at the clinic and by the townspeople, and they had found a wandmaker to send materials to so that he could make wands for new Hogwarts students.

The surrounding forest had attracted more animals, and even the muggles were commenting on how the village seemed more and more 'magical', like in the 'ancient' days of the druids and the like. It was rather amusing.

Not long after Boxing Day, the first anniversary of the bombs going off, Rosemary and Theo's first child was born. A boy. He was promptly named Rowan Alistair. He had his Father's eyes and hair, and there was something 'old' about him. He had wise eyes, they decided, which was how they came up with the name. He was surprisingly quiet for a baby, and so Rosemary and Theo decided to try for another, thinking that they might have lucked out.

In March, Luna had her baby, who she and Neville named Marigold Diana. The baby had her Mother's white-blonde hair, and her Father's dark blue eyes. A couple of weeks afterwards, Rosemary discovered she was pregnant again. It was a busy year. Rowan was not an easy baby after all, he'd just merely been biding his time, lulling his parents into a false sense of security. He got into EVERYTHING. Somehow, he kept ending up out in the orchard, though no one knew how he managed to get out there, since he could hardly crawl. Rosemary was convinced it was accidental magic, but Theo kept telling her that accidental magic didn't show that early.

More goats and sheep were added to their herd, another black dog named Padfoot, and more babies too. Rosemary had twins, next- Hazel Georgina and Holly Francine, their middle names after George and Fred, after a fashion. Luna and Neville had wisely waited to have another child, after Marigold, who seemed to be as thick as thieves with Rowan. The two seemed to get up to all sorts of mischief together. Rosemary and Theo had wanted to wait a little while longer before having another child, but somehow she ended up getting pregnant again less than a month after giving birth to the twins.

People in the village laughed, after hearing this, but it was something nice to laugh about. Little Rowan, after his terrible twos, was calming down again, and often spent a great deal of time in the orchards and Greenhouses with his Uncle Neville and Marigold. That year, Neville and Luna built a cottage on the opposite end of the property, deciding that if Rosemary and Theo kept going the way they were, they were going to need all the room they could get. Neville and Luna decided not to have any more children, and stocked up on lots of contraceptive potions.

The next child was very small and delicate. His name was Ash Severus, and he was a very quiet baby, and often got sick at the drop of a bat. With the twins and Rowan, and sickly Ash, Rosemary and Theo simply didn't have time for sex for a while, and managed to stay abstinent for six months. Rosemary then promptly got pregnant with their next child as soon as they started having sex again, even with the condoms and contraceptive potions.

It was a good thing that they had built-in babysitters with Neville and Luna, because with all these children running around, there would have never been any peace. But the farm was full of love and laughter, and every single room was full in the house.

On September first, 2008, which would be Rowan's and Marigold's first year at Hogwarts, the large family gathered together in Hogsmeade with the rest of the magical community to watch the students go off. Rosemary watched the children go, waving goodbye to her oldest son and his best friend. Marigold was a bossy little thing, who strangely reminded her of Hermione at times, but it was probably the effect of being the eldest girl of such a large brood of children. Rowan was so smart- far smarter than she had ever been at his age. She hoped that their time at Hogwarts would be even better than hers and Theo's.

Beside her, Theo was waving goodbye to the children, his arm about her shoulders. One of Rosemary's arms was tucked around an infant- their youngest, Olive. Another quiet one. Hazel and Holly were being loud and rambunctious, like usual, chasing each other about. Luna was no help- she was egging them on, giggling as she changed the girl's hair colors. Auntie Luna helped the children get into all sorts of mischief.

Ash looked like he was near nears, wanting to join Rowan and Marigold at Hogwarts. He was getting so grown up already! Iris was giggling along with Luna, while Ivy was in her Uncle Neville's arms, waving to the kids as well. Juniper leant against her Father's side, his hand on her shoulder as she looked around the crowd of people with large eyes. Only two boys and loads of girls. They were woefully outnumbered. Theo was determined to even it up a bit, but he kept giving Rosemary girls.

Rosemary stared up at the castle, feeling nostalgic, but…happy. Happy that she could, without a doubt, say that she was loved, and that she had a full life, and despite all of the horrid things that had happened in the past, it had all led to this.

Rosemary turned her head, looking to Theo with a soft smile, and he smiled back. "…Want another?"

Rosemary couldn't help but laugh at this. "Down boy. You're going to have to wait."

"We'll see about that." Theo said with a small smirk. Rosemary rolled her eyes, adjusting her hold on the infant in her arms. They were already up to seven children, eight if you counted Marigold, who was at their house as often as the rest of their children were.

She looked around at the other families in Hogsmeade- some of them stared openly at them, probably gaping at the number of children they had. Funny- the muggles did that too. Now she knew how Mrs. Weasley felt. But she wouldn't give it up for anything in the world.

"Okay kids, show's over!" She called out, and she heard the older kids groan in annoyance.

"Uncle Neville, can we go get ice cream at Florean's?" Holly asked eagerly.

Theo and Rosemary exchanged a grin. Neville was a bit of a pushover when it came to the kids, and the kids knew it. That was why they always asked him first.

"Ask your Mother." Neville promptly said. Good man.

Hogsmeade was a bustling village now, full of people from all over. The magical community had rebuilt itself, and while it still felt the affects from the bombs, people were quick to rebuild their lives. The muggle world was still struggling, but people like Rosemary and Theo were doing what they could to help them out when they were able to. It was a 'new normal' where magicals freely helped their muggle neighbors just as they did so long ago. After so much destruction, it was nice to believe in magic again.

The English community seemed to take the transition smoothly- perhaps it was just because of all the ancient stories and traditions so steeped in magic. Other countries, not so much. But that's another story.

The Nott family walked down Hogsmeade together, and Rosemary groaned as she saw Rita Skeeter, of all people, heading their way with a gleam in her eye. Of all the people…

"Miss Potter!"

Rosemary glared. "Mrs. Nott." She corrected quickly. Her children looked on, with wide eyes. It wasn't very often that they were in the magical world, and it was for this very reason. She had told them stories, of course, about her time at Hogwarts, but was also quick to tell them that there was nothing glamorous about danger, and the last thing you wanted to be famous for was killing a man.

The reporter approached her with a manic grin, eyes lighting up. She looked the same as ever, just a touch older. Rosemary was sure that she probably wore a glamour, or dyed that hair of hers.

"Mrs. Nott, I understand you've just sent your oldest son off to Hogwarts! How does it feel to return to the magical community you left behind so many years ago?"

Rosemary's brows rose. "I never left it." She said. She might not have been there physically all the time, but she had always kept in regular contact with everyone at Hogwarts.

"…Where were you, after the attacks?" Skeeter asked, hushed. "Everyone expected you to come to Hogsmeade, to help with the rebuilding, to lead our community-" She looked around at the children. "Dear Merlin, are all of these children yours?"

"Yes." Rosemary smirked slightly, glancing towards Theo, who seemed to know what she was thinking. "And after those…attacks, as you put it, I was with my family. I was taking care of things at home, like so many others were. Ms. Skeeter, if you remember correctly, I had killed Voldemort, and had lost two people very close to me. I had sacrificed a great deal already. Especially after the attacks, were I lost many friends, including my best friends. I needed space and privacy. Which I got. Which I will continue to get. And if I hear that you pester my son, or any of my other children, I will make sure to alert the Ministry that you're…bugging me. Do you understand?"

The woman's eyes widened, and she gave a shaky nod.

"Good."

Rosemary was about to turn away, and was going to herd her children away when Skeeter spoke again. "Mr. Nott, many want to know- how does the son of a Deatheater end up with the Girl Who Lived?"

Theo froze in place, and he openly scowled at Skeeter. "…She fell in love with me. And I fell in love with her. Why else does anyone else fall for anyone? I am far, far more than a Deatheater's son, Ms. Skeeter. I'm a Father. I'm a husband. I'm a farmer. Now, if you don't mind, my wife and I will be taking our children home. Kids! Let's go!"

The children were quiet and surprisingly well-behaved as they all gathered around their portkey, and vanished out of thin air. They knew their parents had gotten upset by the stupid reporter.

Skeeter sighed, staring at the spot they had vanished from and then looked down at her notes. "Well…at least I have-" She squawked in dismay as her notepad and quill suddenly vanished from her hands.

The end.