Teddy ran ahead of her as she thanked Kreacher, excited to see all the Weasleys. Helena shook her head as he barreled through the door without knocking. They left New Orleans in the early afternoon, but because of the time difference, they arrived as Mrs. Weasley was getting dinner ready.
"Teddy Lupin! You'll spoil your dinner if you eat that now!" Helena heard Mrs. Weasley yell as she approached the house.
"Teddy, listen to Mrs. Weasley!" Helena tried to help.
"Helena!" She was practically tackled by Mrs. Weasley.
"Mrs. Weasley." Tears filled her eyes. The woman was the closest thing she ever had to a mother. "I missed you."
Molly looked Helena up and down with tears in her eyes. "Oh, Helena, you've been gone too long! Look at you. Still too skinny." Helena laughed at the typical comment. "I heard the news from Ginny! Congratulations! We haven't told the boys yet, figured we'd leave that to you." She winked.
Helena glanced at Teddy quickly to make sure he was occupied. "Teddy doesn't know yet." She whispered.
"Of course, dear. You'll have to tell him soon before you start showing more. Sit. Would you like a cuppa tea?" She bustled around.
"I'm alright, thanks. Do you need any help for dinner?" She offered.
"Nonsense, rest." Molly waved her hand. "Arthur should be home soon." She glanced at the clock. "Still at work, I see." She spun around. "Teddy, dear, go tell Fleur and Bill that Helena is here, please."
"How is Virginia, Helena?" Molly questioned as she waved her wand at some vegetables to enter a pot.
"Actually, I moved to New Orleans. It's where the baby's father's family is, so…" She trailed off and shrugged, placing a hand on her small bump. She had worn a thickly knit sweater that was loose enough to hang to her thigh, hoping to keep her bump under wraps.
"Oh, how nice. What is this man like? His name?" Molly fired off questions.
Helena smiled sadly. "Klaus. He's…protective." She shrugged. "You'll probably meet him eventually. He has to pass the Molly Weasley approval test. And Arthur will surely want to question him about muggle technologies." Helena tried to distract from the topic of Klaus.
"Helena!" Bill swooped in and hugged the girl. She laughed as he spun her around. The Weasleys had come to consider her another sister, especially since Ron's death, they made more attempts to keep her close and involved, not wanting her to isolate herself.
"Bill, put 'er down." Fleur admonished.
"Fleur." Helena smile, glad to see her fellow Triwizard champion. They had become friendly over the years, and thankfully their friendship helped bridge Ginny to her sister-in-law and Fleur was no longer "phlegm".
After a quick discussion, she excused herself to find Teddy. She wanted to tell him about the baby before anyone found out and revealed it. She loved the Weasleys, but Merlin knows, they can't keep a secret.
"Ted, can I talk to you?" She asked after watching him play with Victoire for a moment. He nodded eagerly and scurried over to her. She led him out to the garden where she spent so much time with Ron de-gnoming the garden during summers.
"Teddy, there's something I need to tell you." She began as they sat together in a chair.
"Is it about the fight you and Klaus had?" He asked.
"No-well, maybe. We'll get to that in a second." She sighed. "Teddy, this isn't going to change anything about how much I love you, but I need a favor from you." She took a breath before continuing. "Teddy, I was wondering if you'd be okay with taking on a special role. I need you to be an older brother."
She waited for his response with baited breath. "You are having a baby?" He questioned.
"I am. With Klaus." She supplied.
"And I get to be big brother?" Teddy questioned, never having thought he'd get to have a sibling since he didn't have parents.
"Only if you don't mind." Helena teased, relieved that Teddy seemed excited.
"Where's the baby?" Teddy asked excitably, causing Helena to laugh.
"She's still in my tummy." She took Teddy's hand and brought it to her stomach. "Right here." She smiled at the boy.
"Teddy, about what happened. I'm really proud of how brave you were, but I need you to not say anything at dinner about someone breaking into the house, okay?" She said, feeling bad about manipulating her godson, but knowing that the Weasleys wouldn't let her out of their sites if they found out she'd been kidnapped. She was relived when Teddy nodded.
"Charlie!" Teddy yelled, causing Helena to wince as he clambered off her lap to greet another pseudo-uncle.
"Hey Ted." Charlie bent down and ruffled the boys hair. "Go inside, Victoire is looking for you." He pushed the kid inside and went to sit next to Helena who hadn't stood up yet.
"Hey, seeker." Charlie joked.
"Charlie, how's Romania." Helena smiled tiredly.
"The same." Charlie frowned. "Is everything alright, Helena. You seem exhausted."
"Oh, I'm fine. Just tired. It's been a rough couple days." Her eyes prickled. "I could have really used Ron and Hermione." She sniffed. "I'm sorry." She said, wiping a tear that spilled out. She felt bad, Ron was Charlie's youngest brother, she didn't want to bring him up, she just couldn't help it.
"Hey, Helena, it's fine." He rubbed her arm. Charlie waited a couple of minutes for her to recompose herself. "Ready to go back in?" He smiled. "The twins were arriving as I came to look for you, and everyone else should be here in the next few minutes."
She smiled and allowed Charlie to help her up, hoping her condition wasn't too obvious.
"Helena!" Fred and George (or George and Fred) engulfed her when she entered the kitchen.
"Fred, George! Leave her alone!" Mrs. Weasley swatted at them. "And no pranks tonight, boys." The twins smiled evilly.
"Arthur." Helena smiled warmly and hugged the older man.
"Helena, dear. We were happy to hear that you planned a visit. Molly has been absolutely beside her self with worry for you."
"Well, I found out all about how airplanes stay in the air. We'll discuss it tonight."She suggested and Arthur looked positively giddy.
Helena was passed around from Weasley to Weasley and was happily surprised when Ginny appeared with Andromeda in toe.
"Andy! How are you feeling?" Helena rushed over to the woman.
"Much better, my dear." She said fondly. "How was Teddy?"
"Exhausting." Helena said hesitantly. "He's fine, though we should talk before I leave."
"Of course." Andromeda frowned, but let the topic go. "Did you bring Klaus?" She questioned, her eyes sparkling.
"Who's Klaus?" George questioned.
"A boyfriend?" Fred glanced at George before they too off yelling "Helena has a boyfriend."
Helena sighed exasperatedly when everyone looked at her silently. "I do not." And she turned to Andromeda. "He didn't come." She smiled. "He was working." She lied.
"Who is this 'Klaus'?" Bill and Charlie asked her as she sat watching Teddy and Victoire play next to Andromeda and a very pregnant Fleur and Audrey.
Helena shrugged, keeping her eye on Teddy. "Just a friend."
Charlie narrowed his eyes. "Hey Ted." He called.
"Charlie, don't." Helena warned.
"Teddy." Charlie began, ignoring Helena's protests. "Who is Klaus?"
Teddy smiled excitably. "He's my godfather." Teddy smiled.
Helena coughed. "What?"
"You're my godmother." Teddy said logically. "So that means Klaus is my godfather."
The boys looked between the two. Bill was the first to speak. "So Klaus and Helena are very good friends, Teddy?" He asked.
Teddy nodded eagerly. "They're having a baby. I'm going to be the big brother." He said proudly.
Helena buried her face in her hands and the entire room looked at her.
"Helena-" Fred began.
"What does Teddy mean-" George tried to finish but was interrupted by Bill and Charlie, who both had faces redder than Gryfindor's scarlet banner.
"YOU'RE PREGNANT?" They shouted.
Helena winced as she heard telling them she was again.
She looked up and offered a meek smile. "It's a girl."
Dinner was slightly awkward affair. The boys had been fluttering around her to make sure she was safe now that they knew she was pregnant. She was forced to sit with the pregnant women instead of helping set the table, but only the women rolled their eyes, realizing how foolish the brothers were being.
"So 'elena" Fleur addressed, sitting across from her. "'oo eez zee father?"
And all eyes were back on Helena. "Klaus." She said tiredly rubbing her head. Mrs. Weasley was so curious, she hadn't stopped the inquisition.
"He likes Auntie Helena a lot." Teddy supplied.
"I'm sure he does." Charlie muttered next to Helena.
"When will we be meeting him?" Fred and George looked positively gleeful.
"If you meet him" Helena pointed to the twins "you will not perform any pranks unless you want your throats ripped out." They didn't know that the threat wasn't a warning about Klaus.
"Oh, leave her alone." Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Excuse me, Gin, but this guy knocked up our sister." Charlie hissed. "It's basically our job to make his life a living hell."
"Oh, stop." Helena rolled her eyes. "He's a decent guy." Sort of. She wasn't about to tell them that Klaus had a knack for killing people.
Andromeda had checked herself out of the hospital early and took Teddy back to her home. She had offered a room to Helena, but she refused, saying she wanted to check in Grimmauld Place. Molly and Andromeda tried to protest, telling her it wasn't fit for a pregnant woman, but Helena had shook off their warnings.
She flooed through the fire place and somehow managed to stay on her feet. She wanted to call Klaus, she really wanted to call him. He had given her a phone to use before she left, but she didn't want to send mixed signals. She rubbed her stomach.
"It's just you and me tonight, baby." She said softly. When she thought about it, this was the first time she and the baby were truly alone for an extended amount of time. She'd been cooped up in the plantation for five months with an Original almost always around.
She sighed as she walked up to the room she and Hermione had occupied so many years before and fell asleep.
She woke up to Ginny and Luna jumping on her bed.
"Oh, you two." She groaned.
"Get up!" Ginny laughed. "It's not everyday you're back in London!"
"We're going to shop." Luna informed Helena.
"Eventually you'll get fat." Ginny smiled. "Can't stay model skinny forever, thank Merlin." Ginny teased.
"Hey!" Helena laughed and hit Ginny with a pillow. "It's not my fault I have a little witch growing in my stomach!"
"No, but it's your fault you weren't more careful." Ginny pointed out, still laughing, causing Luna to giggle in agreement.
"Well, you're officially out of the running for aunts!" Helena stuck her tongue out. "I guess Klaus' sister only has to compete with Aunt Fleur."
"Oh, like phlegm is better than me!" Ginny protested.
"At least Fleur didn't go blabbing about my pregnancy to Molly." Helena teased.
"Hey! Mum sniffed it out of me! It's not my fault. She raised seven kids. She eats secrets for breakfast!"
They were sitting in the Grimmauld Place kitchen for dinner, having had a long day of shopping, and Helena sighed.
"If I tell you two something, you have to promise you won't tell anyone, especially Molly and Andy." Helena said seriously.
"It'll be harder to pry out of me than a crumple horn snorkack." Luna smiled.
"Alright." Helena sighed. "Klaus has a secret. Which means, I have one since it affects my baby." Ginny frowned, but didn't interrupt. "He isn't human."
"What is he? Werewolf?" Ginny questioned.
"No. Well, kind of. Not like the werewolfs we know. He is a hybrid. Of a muggle werewolf and a vampire."
"That's impossible." Ginny started.
"No." Luna disagreed looking at Helena with large eyes. "There is a tale of Original vampires: one-"
"Being bound by his mother, blah blah." Helena finished. "That's my baby daddy." She cringed.
"That's-"
"Not possible. I know. But believe me. He is the only possibility."
"I see why you don't want to tell my mum. And we best keep Fred and George from pranking them."
"Wise decision." Helena agreed.
"So, tell us the real story about Klaus." Luna insisted.
And Helena began telling them as much as she could without relaying the danger she was in.
The next day, Helena flooed over to Andromeda's house for lunch.
"Helena, just on time." Andy greeted kissing her cheek.
"Afternoon." Helena smiled when she saw Teddy run in. "Hello, little wolf." She ruffled his hair, now a vibrant pink. "Like the new color." She told him.
After they sat and had lunch, Teddy had gone off to play, leaving Andromeda and Helena to converse.
"There is something I have to tell you." Helena broached, dreading telling Andromeda what she had to.
"Yes, dear?" Andromeda said kindly, noting the seriousness that crossed Helena's face.
"Teddy and I came here early for a reason." She bit her lip. "There was an altercation in New Orleans." Seeing Andy's eyes widened, Helena was quick to reassure her. "Teddy was fine. Just scared. In short, though I was taken, Teddy got away. I'm so sorry."
Andromeda took a deep breath. "And you are alright as well, dear?"
Helena blinked back tears. The kindness Andromeda showed her was overwhelming. She had expected anger. "Yes, I am." She rubbed her stomach. "Just shaken up."
"I'm surprised your…Klaus let you go so soon after your…incident." Andy pried.
"I didn't exactly give him a choice." Helena smiled at Andy's wry look.
"Of course you didn't. Sometimes I question whether you're not truly Sirius' daughter." Andy smiled sadly.
"He was the only paternal figure I ever had. Apart from Remus, and maybe Arthur Weasley. I wish he was here to tell me what to do."
"He'd be so proud of how brave you are." Andy held her hand. "Sirius was so headstrong. Nothing could have knocked you from the pedestal he had you on."
"It got him killed. I got him killed." A tear dripped out of her eye.
"No, dear. Sirius would have done the same for anyone. And he would have gladly died one hundred times over for you."
"I worry, though. Would Klaus do the same for our daughter? Sometimes I don't know." She shook her head.
Andromeda rubbed her hand. "Teddy told me some things about Klaus. He seems quite enamored with the man you have. He asked when Klaus would visit."
Helena laughed, the dark mood lifting slightly. "I don't want to scare him." She lied. "Everyone can be a little daunting."
"You can only keep everyone away from him for so long. Bill and Charlie looked about ready to castrate him when they found out. And the twins looked gleeful at the prospect of having a new target to prank."
Helena snorted. "I doubt that would go over well."
"Come, let's find Teddy. You only get so much time with him. He's been talking all about how he's going to be a big brother."
Helena smiled, glad that everything was so uncomplicated here. She wished she didn't ever have to leave. She had another week of this bliss before returning and confronting Klaus. She'd try to enjoy it.
The day before she was slotted to leave, she finally made the trip to St. Mungo's.
"Hey, Neville." She sat next to him. She had felt some kinship with the boy. He could have easily been in her position if Voldemort had picked him over her. Neville had been in some type of deep-sleep for two years after being hit with an unidentified spell.
"Sorry I haven't visited lately." She held his hand. "I've been a tad busy. You'd laugh, really. I'm in as much danger as I ever have been, I'd wager." She smiled. Neville never understood her penchant for getting herself into dangerous situations. "You'd probably be having heart attack after heart attack if you knew what I've been up to." She smiled sadly and talked to him for a few hours before sighing and saying goodbye.
She kissed him on the forehead. "See you around, Nev."
She sighed in the back of the taxi when she pulled up to the plantation house. Helena had purposefully not told any of the Originals when she'd return exactly, not wanting them to pick her up. She thanked the driver before leaving. She shouldn't have been shocked to find the house empty, but she had held some hope to find Klaus waiting for her.
She went up to her room and quickly took out the necessary items out of her beaded clutch. She hesitated only a moment before unpacking a few of the gifts she had been given after revealing she was pregnant.
Fleur had given her an enchanted music box Madame Maxime had made for her after the second task. It sang the song (not in mermish, thank Merlin) that was inside the golden egg. Helena had tried to refuse, but Fleur insisted, saying that Helena had saved her sister, Gabrielle, when Fleur could not.
The Weasley brothers had given her a dragon mobile. She could tell that while the dragons were Charlie's idea, the spell that allowed the dragons to breathe fire was the twin's idea, Bill had been the one to assemble it, and Percy had insisted it was able to be "unenchanted", as he was the only one practical enough to remember that Klaus was a muggle (to their knowledge).
She put the gifts on her side table, thinking that perhaps she'd show Klaus later as an apology for leaving. She didn't regret taking a vacation from Klaus, but she hoped he wasn't upset.
She went downstairs to make herself dinner. It was lunch time, but the time difference was screwing with her mind. She hummed as she waited for the stove to heat. She placed a hand on her stomach. at five and half months pregnant, she was starting to grow noticably.
Helena had awoken sometime in the middle of the night. She had been tired because of the time difference, and only meant to take a nap, but evidently it turned into a rather deep sleep.
She moved out of bed and tried to move as silently as she could, looking around for any of the house's other occupants. When she found none, she frowned and cursed her stupidity. She hurried back to her room and turned her phone on for the first time. She wasn't used to the muggle device.
She was surprised that she had messages waiting for her. She ignored them and called Klaus, worrying that there was some type of emergency in the quarter.
He answered, and spoke before she could have. "Where the hell are you?" He shouted.
Helena furrowed her brows. "At the house. Where is everyone?"
Klaus had to take a few breaths to come himself. "We moved."
"What? How? Why?"
"I've taken over the quarter." He said proudly.
"Oh. Congratulations." She said unsurely, fiddling with the hem of her sleep shirt, suddenly feeling slightly lonely.
"Don't leave the plantation. I'll be there soon." He hung up and Helena huffed. He could have been a tad more polite.
"Helena." Klaus greeted.
"Hello. It seems you've been busy." She said stiffly.
"Indeed. We'll get you packed and ready to move tomorrow."
"Klaus, that's not necessary ."
"I beg to differ."
"Let me rephrase." She smiled condescendingly. "I don't want to move. I like it here."
"I wasn't giving you an option, Helena." Klaus approached her and she took a step back.
"Hey!" She protested when he took her arm. "Klaus, stop." She tried top pull back but he didn't let go.
"Helena. Just stop. You left because you didn't think I'd protect our child. Well, the compound will be safer."
"I won't feel safe, surrounded by vampires who resent you!" She argued.
"They wouldn't dare lay a hand on you." Klaus growled and flared his nostrils. "Helena, either get ready or I will drag you there kicking and screaming."
"Fine." She huffed and crossed her arms when Klaus let go of her's. "Well, are you going to leave and allow me to get ready?" She questioned, tapping her foot.
Klaus kissed her cheek, not quite maliciously. "It's nothing I haven't seen before." He glanced at her protruding stomach. "Clearly." He smirked and walked out. "Call me if you need help. I'll be waiting in the study." He called back.
She huffed and began to move clothes into boxes and repack the gifts Fleur and the boys gave her. She couldn't believe his audacity. When she was finished, she stomped down the stairs, the beaded bag contained everything irreplaceable and important to her.
"My boxes are upstairs." She told Klaus coldly.
"I'll send someone tomorrow to pick them up." He smiled, happy to be getting his way.
Helena rolled her eyes. "You are just as capable."
He got up and tucked her under his arm. "Come, darling. Time to go home." He couldn't help but smile despite the frown on Helena's face.
"Helena. We were just starting to wonder when you'd reappear." Elijah stood and Helena broke Klaus' grip on her, much to Elijah's amusement, and greeted him with a kiss on either cheek.
"Elijah. Glad to see that your manners haven't disappeared to the same dank hole Klaus' have." She smiled sweetly.
"That would be saying my brother's manners were once existent." Elijah gazed at his brother teasingly.
"Where is Rebekah?" Helena asked, looking around.
"Probably shacking up with Marcel." Klaus said flippantly as he walked past them.
Elijah rolled his eyes and placed a hand on Helena's back to lead her to the table he was reading at.
"Is that judgement I hear, Klaus?" Helena laughed as she placed a hand on her stomach.
Elijah, taking note of the movement smiled fondly. "And how are you Helena?"
"We're fine, thank you."
"And Teddy?" He inquired, knowing Klaus was curious despite appearances.
"Happy to be back. He cherished being the center of attention. He's positively bouncing at the idea of being a big brother." She glanced at Klaus before returning her gaze to Elijah. "My friends were shocked, to say the least, when they learned of the news. But they sent me back with some gifts after they got over it."
"That's nice." Elijah smiled back. He grew fond of the girl. If his brother had to impregnate a human, he was glad it was Helena. She was a lovely addition to the Mikaelson family and knew Klaus had feelings for the girl. The only question was how long it would take him to uncover them. "Rebekah will be jealous to hear that she has competition as aunt." He laughed.
Helena looked radiant as she smiled thinking of the acceptance of the family she was slowly coming to accept. "Yes, I think she will have competition. My friends have already complained how unfair it was that she would have more time with her." She rubbed her stomach. "I'm sure the baby will adore them all, though." She winked, causing Elijah to laugh. She continued her teasing by telling Elijah, "I think the true competition, however, will be lying with 'uncle', Elijah. Just a warning."
She'd been back for two days and was slowly growing accustomed to the compound. She wouldn't admit it, but it was nice to live somewhere around more people, even if they were vampires, and it was nice to see the Mikaelsons more often. She sat on the lower patio with a cup of tea and parchment.
When Klaus saw her, he approached her and sat down. "Good afternoon." He greeted, hoping her anger had continued to dissipate. He hadn't experienced a pregnant woman's hormones in a long time and hoped Helena's would soon become more controlled.
"Klaus." She smiled brightly, greeting him.
"What are you doing?" He inquired innocently and took the parchment out from in front of her.
"Oh! Wait, don't!"
"What is this?" He frowned softly, reading the list she had been assembling.
"While I was in England, my friends were inquiring about if I had thought of a name yet. I figured I'd start a list and narrow it down as the birth becomes closer." She shrugged, embarrassed.
"Where are you getting these names from?" He looked at her curiously. "They are quite…unusual."
Helena blushed and took the list from his hands softly and laid it out in the center of the table so they both could look. "I'm not finished. And it could change. Lily" she pointed to the top "was my mother's name. And Sirius was my godfather, but I was thinking it could be unisex. Um" She hummed as she looked down the list. "Hermione was my best friend" she said sadly "Molly was my best friend's mother. I was thinking of asking her if she minded being the baby's grandmother." She searched Klaus' eyes for any sign of malice as she continued. "Alba, derived from Albus, my headmaster. He was a very dear mentor…he meant a lot to me." She bit her lip and rolled the sheet up, snapping Klaus' attention back to her. "If you have any ideas, you have just as much right to add to the list." She shrugged, not looking at him.
Klaus felt the need to comfort her. "Those were all beautiful." He moved his hand to rest on top of his. "And I think Molly would be touched for you to name her grandmother." He hesitated before continuing. "We could also consider derivatives Henrik or Kol…my brothers." He smiled sadly thinking of them fondly.
"I like that." She smiled, letting him know his contribution was appreciated. "There was another I've been debating whether to write down." She hesitated to tell him. To let him in.
"Oh?" He was curious.
"There was a man I knew, the bravest man I'll probably ever meet. He-he was in love with my mother, and was slightly, indirectly the cause of her death, but he spent his entire life trying to make it up to her. He saved my life more times than I will ever know. And he never forgave himself." She gave Klaus a half smile.
"What was his name?" He asked softly.
"Severus. Severus Snape. My dad and godfather were absolutely awful to him when they were in school. Sirius would probably have a heart attack if he knew I was considering naming my first born after him." She smiled sadly and couldn't stop a tear from trickling down her cheek.
Klaus reached up and swiped the tear away with his thumb and cupped her face. "Maybe we shorten it to Sev? If we choose it." He suggested.
Helena snorted. "Maybe." She smiled and leaned over a kissed Klaus softly. "Thank you." She whispered, leaning her forehead against his.
"I'd do anything for you, love." He said softly.