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Chapter 28

Artemis P.O.V

I avoided everyone for the rest of the day, and just wandered around outside in my wolf form, with my shields up. Was this what it was going to be like for the next nine months? Being treated like some sort of fragile china fucking doll that could break at a moment's notice? I wasn't weak. Not anymore. I couldn't be weak anymore. There were still threats out there. Threats to my unborn child and to everyone else I loved. Threats to me. I realised long ago that I couldn't be weak. I realised it in fifth year.

When I started to feel tired, I went back inside, but I didn't feel like seeing Logan or Victor tonight. So, in wolf form, I wandered to the room I had first stayed in when I arrived. I changed back, and opened the door. It was still empty. No one else had claimed it yet. I closed the door behind me, and cast a locking and silencing spell. There was a tapping at the window, and I went over to it, to see Fawkes. I opened the window, and let him in. He flew inside, and landed on the bedside table.

I climbed into bed, and listened as my familiar started to sing. It was beautiful, but tonight, not even Fawkes' song could stop the tears. I cried myself to sleep.


No P.O.V

"What the hell do you mean, she's not opening up?" Victor asked his brother.

"She won't even answer me." Logan said. "If it wasn't for the bond and her scent I wouldn't think she was in there. She won't answer me. And she hasn't opened the bond up to me, either. You messed up, Victor."

"I just don't want to see her hurt, Jimmy."

"Well she is hurt Victor. She may have her walls up, but I doubt even you can't sense that. Damn it Victor, you should have just treated it like a normal training session."

"Like you would have." Victor snorted.

"I know I wouldn't have. And so does Artemis! Why do you think she didn't come to me for our normal sparring session? She knew I'd hold back, but she didn't think you would!"

Victor groaned in frustration. "What about the cub, Jimmy?"

"We may have seen her memories of the wizarding world, but we don't know everything. If Artemis is confident in her abilities and the protection of the dragon hide, you should be too. I mean, it's not as if you know as much about it as she does!"

"What am I supposed to do, Jimmy?"

"First chance you get, apologise to her!" Logan said.

"What if she doesn't give me a chance?"

"Make one. She can't shut herself away from us forever." Logan said. "Grab her and bring her in here, and make her listen to you. And maybe train like normal too. If you're worried about the baby, then compromise. Cut down on the amount of training sessions a week or something like that."

"She's not coming out tonight, is she?"

"Probably not. That means you have all day tomorrow to work on her."

The two brothers got very little sleep that night. Logan left the room early the next morning, and stood to the side of the door to the room Artemis was in. He had offered to help Victor out with this. It was best for Artemis. She had been hurting yesterday, and he didn't want that.

Logan was outside the room for ten minutes before the door opened slowly, and carefully. Artemis tentatively took a step out of the room. Logan moved quickly, grabbing Artemis, and throwing her over his shoulder, closing the door, and heading back to their shared room.

Artemis didn't fight to get down. He had no doubt that had he been Victor, she would have struggled. That was one of the reasons he wasn't going to tell her that he was taking her to Victor.

At the room, he opened the door, and deposited her inside, before stepping back out of the room, and closing the door. She was going to yell at him later.


Artemis P.O.V

I looked round to see Victor leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, face impassive. I leant against the wall opposite him, and copied him. After a long moment of silence, I raised an eyebrow.

"Well?"

"You're avoiding me."

"I am."

"Why?"

"Because you need to learn that I'm not some frail that's only seen war in movies. I've been part of a war since Voldemort decided to believe some fucking prophecy! Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean you have to wrap me in cotton wool!"

Victor sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. I saw his jaw clench. When he looked up, his shoulders were slumped. I'd never seen him like this. I doubted anyone had. Even Logan. "It's just; I don't know anything about this whole being a father thing. I don't want anything to go wrong. I've never had anything going this good for me before. Jimmy and I almost lost you and the cub, my instincts are in overdrive. Protecting you is the only thing that matters to me now."

"Then give me the space I need, and respect my decisions. I may know some forms of self defence, but the more I know the better able I am to protect myself. If you treat me like I can't look after myself I'm going to go insane! The amount of times people have done that, and I've done something that's ended up in a bad situation are amazing! I mean, I snuck out of Order Headquarters just to do Christmas shopping with Hermione because people thought it was too dangerous for me to step one foot out of the bloody place. Look what happened then!"

"I'm sorry, Artemis. I just don't want to loose this." He gestured with his arms. "I've never been so happy with my life. Even when I was getting paid to do what I do best. I came here, expecting to maybe get my brother back, but I got so much more. I got a mate. And now I'm going to be a father. The fact that there are people out there who are adamant about taking you away from me has made it even harder for me to attack you."

"But you aren't, Victor. You're helping me. You're teaching me how to protect myself when you aren't there to do watch my back."

Victor ran a hand down his face. "I'll keep training you with katanas but you need to meet me halfway here."

"What are the conditions?" I asked.

"We cut the sessions down to two a week, and at four months, we stop until you've given birth, and recovered."

"Four and a half."

"Pardon?"

"Four and a half months. That's halfway through the pregnancy."

"Fine. Four and a half months. Am I forgiven?"

"Just don't hold back in training sessions." I said, smiling at him.


A/N: Please review!