If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't be writing this on when I could sell it to a bunch of obsessed Potter fans (like myself) for a load of money or for a charity.

"I need you to go and get Draught of Depression," Tori had told her. It was stored further down from the ward where they were. Someone had majorly overdosed on self-given Cheering Charms and had apparently spent the last twenty-four hours laughing manically until they had been brought into the hospital by a friend. Since the potion with the opposite effect, the Draught of Depression, could be quite devastating if given to someone at the wrong time, whoever placed it in the bottle, made the bottle un-summonable. Andromeda had been told to play gopher-girl and was now walking back through the hallway with the deep black potion, a slight cold seeming to creep through the bottle and into her fingers. And suddenly she stopped, gasping and leaned against the wall, pressing one hand over her stomach, the other holding the bottle loosely dangling from her fingers. Her two hours were up. She would have to take the pain-relieving potion again as soon as she got the bottle to Tori. And this one hurt far more than the first one had, back when she had taken the potion when she came into work this morning. Breathing heavily, and confident it was finished, Andromeda moved further along the hallway and back into the ward where Tori was waiting.

"What took you so long?" she called, over the hysterical laughter of the young woman seated on a bed beside her. The woman had short, curly reddish-brown hair that was completely uncombed and uncared for at the moment. Her friend had come by to check on her after he returned from a trip because he'd heard that her parents had been killed in a recent Death Eater attack. She had apparently tried to treat her sadness with a charm but, not being in a completely right state of mind, hadn't been able to achieve the effect she'd been after.

"I got held up in the hallway," Andromeda answered, not wanting to tell Tori the truth just yet. She knew first labors usually took hours and she would prefer not to be sitting around doing nothing. Instead she decided to mask the pain with a potion while she kept on working. Andromeda handed the Draught of Depression to Tori, who pulled a set of measuring spoons out of a pocket in her robes. She opened the potion flask and poured out a tiny amount.

"We may have to immobilize her in order to get her to take it," Tori commented. Andromeda nodded and pulled out her wand, stopping the young woman. The sudden quiet that came when her laughter dispelled seemed deafening. She watched as Tori poured the tiny amount of potion down the woman's throat and then lifted the spell. The woman's laughter had subsided into feeble giggling.

"Do we have to give her more?" Andromeda asked.

"No, we should probably be able to just give her some peppermint. The potion can be very dangerous in larger amoun-" Andromeda clutched the table harshly as the pain began to move through her again. It was supposed to be more spaced out than this.

"What's wrong?" Tori asked hurriedly, her eyes firmly on Andromeda. "Andromeda what's-" she stopped, taking in the image as Andromeda clutched at her stomach. "How long have they been going on?"

"They started this- this morning but I took a potion for it," Andromeda managed, hoping it would desist soon. Tori was listening to her but was summoning a sprig of peppermint. "It must have worn out."

"When was the last one?" Tori asked while the peppermint she had summoned came rushing into her hand.

Andromeda nodded, breathing harshly for a moment before managing to speak. "Out in the hall- hallway." Tori handed over the peppermint to the curly-haired woman.

"Chew on this for me," she instructed the red-head. Still giggling, the woman nodded and took it from her. "Andromeda, that's less than seven minutes ago."

"I'd realized," she growled through clenched teeth.

"What are you still doing here?" Tori asked as though she were stupid.

"I thought first times were supposed to take longer."

"Usually," Tori stressed. "Usually they take longer. But I'm guessing that you were nearly late again and got ready in about fifteen minutes or less, didn't you?" Andromeda nodded meekly. "It's quite possible you went into labor in your sleep but since you're a deep sleeper you didn't wake. Anyway, let's get you out of here. Ackerley!" she called out to another healer who was walking by. "Do you have anything going on?"

"Not at the moment. I was just headed down to the front desk," he admitted.

"Could you take over here? She overdid a Cheering Charm and she's had a small amount of the Draught of Depression and is chewing on some peppermint," Tori told him, glancing over at the giggling girl.

"I suppose so. What's wrong?" he asked, looking over the situation. Andromeda straightened up, beginning to breathe normally again.

"My trainee here just went into labor," she answered jabbing a thumb in Andromeda's direction. Andromeda felt she would have blushed if her face didn't already feel a bit flushed. Jim Ackerley laughed, much to Andromeda's distaste.

"Alright then," he agreed as Tori grabbed Andromeda's arm and pulled her from the room. "Congratulations!" he called out after them.

"Are you Flooing someone to your house or going to the clinic in Diagon Alley?" Tori asked as she kept pulling on Andromeda's arm.

"Diagon Alley," Andromeda answered.

"Is Ted at your house or at work?"

"Work."

"Okay, I'll Floo him for you once you're through the fireplace," Tori said as they reached her office. She gave Andromeda a smile and squeezed her shoulder. "Good luck."

"Good luck?" Andromeda asked. Tori didn't say anything more. She just pulled a square box off her desk and handed it over. It was filled with green powder. Andromeda sighed and reached out to grab some. Tori suddenly jerked it back.

"Go to the clinic, not home. Ted can bring you what you need later and wearing your robes from here might give you some clout. Got it?" Andromeda nodded and Tori let her take a handful. She threw it on to the flames and called out the name of the clinic, wishing there were some way she could avoid spinning in the flames to get there.

Andromeda nearly tripped as she arrived. The waiting room was not at all to her taste; it was far too frilly and pink. She saw three groups sitting in the waiting room in front of the desk where a pretty brunette witch around Andromeda's age was writing something with a quill, but she looked up when Andromeda came through the Floo. Then she turned back to her writing before Andromeda even got to the desk. "Um, hello?" Andromeda greeted uncertainly.

"One second," she replied dully. Andromeda opened her mouth to retort but got cut off right as the pain returned again. Her hands gripped on to the desk, hoping the witch at the desk would pay some bit of attention. Nothing. Behind her, Andromeda became vaguely aware of the sound of someone coming out of the fireplace and someone walking behind her. Suddenly, the witch at the desk looked up and grinned. "Hi there, you lost?" the girl at the front asked, her eyes fixing on the person behind Andromeda.

"Wotcher," Ted's voice returned distractedly. "I've got her file. Tori said she forgot to hand it to you," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"No," Andromeda replied sharply, glaring at a spot on the desk.

"Are you the father?" the witch at the desk asked incredulously.

"Yes," Ted sighed.

"Really?" she questioned, getting to her feet.

"Yes," Ted replied shortly as Andromeda began to relax again. "Are you okay?" he asked again.

"I've been better," she told him, a little short of breath. She looked up to find that the girl had returned to writing something. It was just then that a woman came from down the hallway and her eyes narrowed a slight bit as the took in Ted's dirt covered face, hands, and robe then glared deeper at the girl sitting at the desk.

"Nessie!" she scolded.

"I was just finish-" the girl began to argue but the woman wasn't listening.

"How far along?" she asked Andromeda.

"Forty-one weeks."

"Post-term. Your file?" she asked, pointing to it.

"Yes." The older witch grabbed it off the desk where Ted had laid it and opened it.

"Andromeda Tonks?"

"Yes."

"Eighteen, nineteen in November." Andromeda nodded. "Your hair's been," she glanced upwards, "changing like that since your third month?" Ted nodded at her. Her eyes were drawn to him.

"Father?"

"Yes," he replied in exasperation. Andromeda grimaced again as the pain came back. She felt Ted's arms around her, trying his best to support her.

"Come," the older witch said. "Nessie, pay attention!" she hollered back at the witch at the desk as she led the way down the hallway. She was about halfway down when she came to an open door and walked inside, holding out her hand. "Wand."

"No," Andromeda answered, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"What?" Ted asked. The witch's eyes shot to him again.

"You can give it to him. But you'll eventually be glad you don't have it," she said to Andromeda, her eyes still on Ted. "Scourgify!" she went on without a break, pointing her wand at Ted. He made a face as he wiped at his nose with the back of his hand. "Wand," she persisted. Andromeda pulled it out of the pocket of her robes and handed it over to Ted. He placed it carefully into his pocket. The witch stepped out of the doorway, letting them into the room and letting the door close behind her. Andromeda looked around. She saw a bed. She saw a small crib. She saw the woman in light pink robes who she didn't know. Suddenly, the idea of giving birth seemed very, very strange and unpleasant. Whose brilliant idea was this birth concept anyway? Why couldn't Ted do it instead? After all, she was only eighteen and he was twenty.

"He's older than me!" she said suddenly, pointing at Ted. The woman stared at her strangely and Ted rubbed her shoulders.

"That has nothing to do with it," the woman replied shortly. "He is male."

Drat.

Okay, so maybe the maternity witch had known what she was doing. Andromeda had to admit she had wanted to hex Ted about ten times. He still hadn't dared to give her back her wand, not that she had the energy to use it right now anyway. She didn't even have the energy to sit up straight. Cautiously, torn between a fear of getting hexed and his natural curiosity, Ted had sat down next to her on the bed. Andromeda was leaning against him, her eyes feeling very heavy, even as she looked at the baby girl in her arms. The maternity witch had left the room not long after their daughter was born. There was no reason for her to stay on constant watch; Andromeda's little girl was perfect. Perfect tiny hands and feet, perfect nose, perfect mouth, perfect eyes and tummy, Andromeda could go on forever but most importantly, she had perfect health. After all of the chaos that had gone on in Andromeda's life since her conception, that baby girl still pulled through without any physical problem.

"She's pretty," Ted said quietly before he kissed Andromeda's recently sweaty forehead. One of his arms was around his wife, and the other was brushing up against the cheek of his daughter or playing with her fingers. "Really pretty."

"Mmm," Andromeda agreed sleepily, feeling herself slipping downward in the bed. Ted chuckled lightly as he pulled his arm out from behind her and reached out to take the baby.

"Dromeda?" he asked after a moment.

"Hm?" she questioned.

"Her hair's red."

"Brown," Andromeda told him. "It was brown."

"It was. Now it's red. Look," he told her, turning his body so she could better see her daughter's head. There it was, a gingery reddish color. Andromeda pushed herself upward in the bed again, staring at the hair.

"Did you change it when I wasn't looking?"

"No," Ted answered with a slight chuckle. Andromeda held out her arms and Ted slipped the baby gently back into her arms. Her steel grey eyes looked around, unfocused but somehow seeming to like looking at her mother. Her hair was indeed orange.

"Ted, close your eyes for a long time and see if it seems like her hair changes," Andromeda instructed. Ted gave her a confused look.

"Aren't you supposed to be better at the whole colors thing than I am? I'm a guy or did you forget that again?"

"If I close my eyes, I'm going to fall asleep," Andromeda insisted. Ted cocked his head to the side and grinned to say he understood then his eyes focused on his daughter's head for a moment before he closed them. She saw him moving his eyes underneath his eyelids before starting to whistle. She smiled at him and shook her head, knowing he couldn't see her. Then he began to walk around in a circle, and Andromeda gave a small snort. Ted opened his eyes and smiled at her before looking back at their baby's head. He grinned.

"Could be just me, but it looks a little blonder."

"So it could still be changing?" Andromeda asked him. "I didn't know it was supposed to change that fast."

"It doesn't in muggle kids," Ted told her, sitting down on the edge of the bed, his feet still on the floor.

"Wizards either. Sirius and Regulus's hair didn't change at all," she told him.

"Maybe it's just because your hair kept changing," Ted suggested. Andromeda nodded a little as she blinked. It took her a second to open her eyes again. Ted gave a slight chuckle and then slid off the bed. "Go to sleep Dromeda," he told her, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "I don't think you're going to have an easy time catching up on it for a while," he added as he gently took the baby from her arms. Andromeda fell asleep to the sight of her husband holding her daughter in his arms, a silly sort of grin on his face.

So I intended to squeeze how Nymphadora got saddled with the name Nymphadora (which is still loads better than Reneesme) in this chapter but instead it's in the next one because this got longer than I intended.

Hope you liked this chapter. Thanks again to Emma for betaing my grammar and spelling, and thanks to everybody who reviewed the last chapter!