A/N: The following takes place June 2015, June 2016, and today, 22 October 2016.

Everything was quiet as the little family laid together in bed, as was customary after the end of a long business trip. Sorcha was snuggled comfortably between her parents, fast asleep while the adults talked in hushed whispers, barely loud enough for one another to hear.

"You need to stop getting sent off for the tiniest of shit," Malcolm said. "One day, our daughter won't know you, and it will fucking break both our hearts."

"That won't happen… you're worrying too much," Clara replied. She stroked their daughter's hair and watched the little girl sleep peacefully, unaware of what was going on around her. "You know… that just brings me to something I've been wanting to talk with you for a while now."

"Lay it on me, darling."

"How are you doing with Sorcha? She's not been too much of a hassle for you, has she?"

"She has her days, just like any toddler, but she's our bairn—there's gonna be fight in her." He glanced at her from across the pillow, knitting his brows in thought. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I was wondering how you would feel about being on nappy duty again," she said.

"Are you…?"

"No; this is me asking if you want to start trying for another child," she said. "Sorcha came because we didn't give a shit and decided to let nature take its course, but I think giving her a little sibling should be something we do soon if we do so at all. So, do you?"

"Obviously not now, but you are going to soon discover that you do not need to ask permission for a shag, no matter the consequences," he grinned, his teeth gleaming in the moonlight. "Before I knew Sorcha existed, I thought I was going to die a cunt without a legacy, that I was going to head to prison and get out after you hit menopause, but now…" He placed his hand on the one she was using to fuss over their daughter's hair. "…now I have you both, as well as my freedom, and I'm more than happy to take up any offer to increase the happiness you two give me by adding another wee one to the family."

"No backing out now, Mr. Oswald," Clara giggled. "I don't want to hear you complaining about nappies and bottle feedings and spit-up in a year."

"You know me—I plan on it."

It took longer than the couple had originally anticipated, and early the following year, Clara discovered she was pregnant again. She and Malcolm were overjoyed, though they wondered what to do about the child they already had and how to prepare her for the one who was coming. They waited until the day before Sorcha's third birthday before sitting her down for a talk—the baby was almost showing and there was little time to waste so they could properly prepare for the incoming arrival.

"Mummy, Daddy, am I in trouble?" Sorcha wondered. She had been called downstairs in the middle of playtime, over to the kitchen where the tea service was preparing itself.

"No, not at all," Malcolm assured her. "Mam and I need to have a talk with you—things are going to change around here really soon."

"Change? What do you mean by that, Daddy?"

"What Daddy means is that we've got something a little extra special to tell you about what we're going to do between your birthday and Halloween this year," Clara explained.

"Why Halloween?"

"Someone special is coming just before then, and we need to do plenty of things to prepare," Malcolm said. "We're going to paint one of the spare rooms, maybe yours too if you want it, and decorate and make everything comfortable for when they arrive."

"Who's coming?" Sorcha asked. "Is it Granddad? Granny?"

"Nope—they might not be very fun at first, but they will be one day, and for a long time to come," Malcolm told her.

"Who?!"

"Your new baby sibling," Clara said, having had enough of the tension. "You're going to be a big sister the week before Halloween."

"Really…?" the girl said, tilting her head. "How come your tummy isn't big?"

"The baby is still really little, but soon they'll start to make my tummy big," Clara said. "How do you feel about this, Sorcha? Being a big sister is a lot of hard work, and you are going to need to help Daddy with taking care of the baby while I'm at work."

"Will the baby be a boy or a girl?"

"We don't know—the only way we'll know is when they're born."

"Will they be able to use magic like me or will they be a Muggle like Daddy?"

"Only time will tell for that."

"How did the baby happen?"

"Mam and Dad did a very special sort of spell—one even Muggles can do," Malcolm cut in. "You need to be able to control magic a bit better before we can tell you, so my guess is your first year of Hogwarts or so."

"Oh, okay. Can I say hello to the baby?"

"Of course you can, sweetie," Clara said. She gave her husband a worried look as their daughter rounded the table and she shifted so the girl could see her stomach.

"How do you know the baby's there, Mummy?"

"I can feel them move," she said. "You moved a lot too when you were in my tummy."

"That's neat." Sorcha then slid her hand underneath the fabric of her mother's blouse, touching her skin lightly. "Hello, Baby. I'm your sister, Sorcha. We're gonna play one day, okay?"

"I think they'll like that very much," Malcolm said, patting her on the head. Sorcha grinned up at him, happy as could be—a baby was supposed to be fun, or that's what she was told. Being a big sister was going to be fun.

The day the baby came wasn't very fun, according to Sorcha Oswald.

First off, she had to go to Granddad's. While Granddad was pretty fun, Gran wasn't at all. Sorcha had to go shopping with her for things for the baby, like formula powder and nappies and things that she and Daddy already bought but weren't at Granddad's anymore. She wasn't allowed to do anything magic because otherwise Gran would freak out, and everything was just boring. There weren't any good toys or good snacks and the house smelled like kitty farts.

It was Saturday though, and at least she got to watch telly until her favorite channel went off air, so that made it a bit better (Gran was visiting a friend a few doors down). Sorcha laid on the sitting room floor, watching the Pontipines board the Ninky Nonk, when Granddad came into the room all smiles.

"Hey there, Big Sister—your dad just called and we can go to the hospital to see your mum and the baby."

"We can?!"

"We can," he repeated.

"Come on—let's get a jumper on you and we'll get going."

Jumpers on, booster seat locked into place, and soon Sorcha and Granddad were on the way to the hospital. Granddad almost missed the exit, but Sorcha knew it was because he was Muggle and they were going to a magic hospital, so she made sure to remind him when to turn off the main road. The building they pulled up to looked like an old, spooky, run-down stately home from the outside, except for the fact that Daddy was standing outside and waving at them.

"Thanks for keeping her, Dave," Daddy said as Granddad got out of the car to get Sorcha. "If it wasn't so graphic, I would've said you should've been there—Clara gave the sodding Healer scales and gills like a fish."

"Sounds about right," Granddad laughed. He let Sorcha run up to Daddy, who picked her up and carried her into the building. As they went past what looked like a beaten-down door, the three passed through the magic barrier and into the hospital proper. Daddy brought Sorcha and Granddad up the stairs and down a couple corridors, where Mummy was sitting up in a bed, looking very sweaty and tired as she fed a baby from a bottle.

"Mummy!" Sorcha cried happily. Daddy put her down next to Mummy on the bed and she gave her a hug.

"Were you a good girl for Granddad and Gran?" she asked.

"Yeah! I did my best, even when Gran was being a bore."

"Then I think it's time for you to meet your new little sister, Catriona," Mummy chuckled. She tilted the baby so that Sorcha could see. Catriona's eyes were closed, her face was red, and she looked ready to cry at any moment.

"…this is my new sister…?"

"You looked a lot like she did the day you were born," Daddy said. He took the bottle from Mummy so that she could burp Catriona. "Would you like to hold her, Sorchie?"

"Okay."

Daddy had Sorcha sit in a nearby chair as he took the baby from Mummy. He then carefully brought Catriona over and knelt in front of the chair. "Just like we practiced on the dolly, okay?"

"Uh-huh."

Once she was in Sorcha's arms, Catriona finally opened her eyes, looking up at her sister for the first time. They stared at one another until the baby went to sleep, which was only about a minute.

"You were right, Daddy—Catriona isn't very much fun right now," Sorcha frowned, wrinkling her nose. "Granddad can hold her now."

"Don't mind if I do," Granddad said. He took the baby from Sorcha, which freed her up to climb back into bed with Mummy, curling up into her side.

"When will Catriona be fun?" she asked.

"In time," Mummy replied. She stroked Sorcha's hair and kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry—she'll be fun before you know it."

It wasn't a very fun day overall, but Sorcha knew it was very important, because that was the day she met her sister for the first time, and that was what was supposed to count.