The day was nice, despite it still being rainy. Al was thrilled that he didn't have to go to school- and the kids slept until almost ten o'clock.

I helped Harry shower and applied more medicine to the wounds. They were almost healed. A very long weekend was finally drawing to a close, and I almost couldn't wait to get to work tomorrow. I wanted to talk to Cor and find out what had happened. I was almost surprised she hadn't come to find me.

Harry even convinced me to stay over again, for the fourth night in a row. It was nice, that he wanted me here, but I was starting to miss my own bed.

I woke up to him bringing me breakfast- just coffee and toast and fruit, to eat in bed before the work day started. Then I showered and dressed and got ready. I did my hair extra nice, wanting to make a good impression on my first day.

Finally, I picked up the silver sash that tied around my waist and let people know I was a Head Healer. Harry took it out of my hands and fastened it around me, tying it tightly. I looked in the mirror and admired it, feeling a swell of pride.

"Go show 'em what you've got." he murmured, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"I will." I said, a smile spreading across my face.

"And then come back here." he said.

"We'll see." I said. "I'll send you a message."

He nodded. "All right."

I bit my lip. "No word from Teddy yet." I said.

"It's fine." he assured me. "He is probably just thinking. I'm sure, that's what it is. Give him a day or two."

I nodded, and got a kiss from him before Flooing to work. Once I clocked in, it was a whirlwind few hours. Making schedules, finding replacements for sick employees, checking in with my healers, assigning patients, checking up on patients... it all kept me really busy. I barely even had time to eat lunch.

I knew Cor wasn't working, so it was no use looking on the other side of the ward for her. She was working the night shift. And Keith had taken some time off between job positions, as was common. Looking at the schedule book, it only looked like a few weeks, though, three at most. Most Healers took a few months, up to a year for the women who had children during their time off. That would probably be me in about two years.

Brynne came over during a slow time and checked up on me. It was her second week in her new position, and she was pleased. She hadn't taken any time off between being a Head Healer and an Executive one. I appreciated the fact she came to see me, though, and even called me by my first name. A trait I'd been assured was really, very rare and I should take it with great pride.

The day went on, passing quickly. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, the sense of freedom, especially. But at six o'clock, I was ready to leave. I clocked out with pride, and made it back to the flat.

Cor was sitting at the table, drinking a glass of juice. "Well?" I asked, coming inside and taking off my travelling cloak.

"Long time no see, stranger." she said.

"I'll get to that in a second. What happened Friday night?"

She smiled, slyly, to herself. "It went well." she said. "Really, really well."

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"And he stayed over?"

"How'd you know?"

"I came back for clothing on Saturday and saw that he was here."

"Oh." she blushed. "Yeah. We were together... pretty much all weekend."

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "I hope it works out." she said. "I..." she hesitated, and I could tell there was more she wanted to say.

"You...?" I asked.

"I... he's a little clingy." she said, looking apologetic. I sighed- she hated clingy. She wanted to be able to live her life without a constant shadow. "All weekend. Do you want to go here for dinner? Do you want to go for a walk to the park? Do you want to come visit my flat? Do you wanna, do you wanna, do you wanna..."

"Maybe it's just a new thing." I supposed, hoping this would work out. "He's just excited about how well your dates went."

"I hope so."

"When do you have plans together?" I asked.

"Breakfast in the morning." she replied, picking at a nail.

"Well, maybe things will be better then." I said.

She nodded. "I hope so." she stood up and straightened herself. It was time for her to go to work. I said good bye to her, and changed. I sent Harry a message and said I would come over.

"Hello." I said, coming into the house. It was pretty quiet, I could hear a TV on in the living room, so I went in there. Harry was on the couch with Lily. Lily was nearly asleep, it was almost seven. And Al sat in the opposite corner of the room, nose in a book.

"Hello." Harry said softly. He looked exhausted, which was to be expected. I'm sure it was a long day for him.

Lily murmured a greeting, and I could tell Al could care less about what was going on outside the pages of his book. I sat down next to him, and we finished the last few minutes of the television show. Then, he nudged Lily. "It's time to get ready for bed." he said.

She nodded and stood up, walking up the stairs. He turned to me. "I'm going to go help her." he said. "Have you eaten?"

I shook my head. "I was just about to ask if you had anything I could eat." I admitted.

"There's leftover pizza or a casserole from Molly." he said. "They're both in the ice box. Come up when you're done."

I went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water and slice of pizza. I ate the pizza, cold, on my way upstairs. He had already tucked Lily in. "How do you feel today?" I asked, sitting down next to him, and leaning up to kiss him.

He indulged me, then leaned back. "I'm sore." he admitted. "I mean, I took the potions you left for me how you said I should take them, but I still feel like I've been run over."

"Your muscles have had a great deal of damage done to them." I said, rubbing his back. "You will probably be in pain for a few weeks, it will get less over time."

"I could definitely not be at work through this. Thank you, Sadie." he nuzzled me.

"You're welcome."

"How was your first day of work as a Head Healer?" he asked.

I nodded. "Good. Long. Exhausting." I spat out.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I liked it more than I thought I would. I have a feeling I'll be knocking off my two days as a normal Healer soon and being a full-time Head Healer."

"I bet you're good at it." he said.

I just shrugged. I could probably fall asleep here. I yawned. "Do you think I should write Jay?" I asked.

"Why?"

"Because I wrote Teddy."

"It's not a bad idea." he said. He reached around for some parchment, and I started writing.

Dear Jay,

How's school going? I know it's only the second week, but I hope it's going well for you. Have you had try outs yet? I'm sure you made the team again, you're such a good player. When is the first Hogsmeade trip? I always thought it was exciting to get to go into Hogsmeade.

Everything is fine at home. I've just been helping your father get back on his feet after his accident at work last week. He's going to be fine, if I can convince him to rest. You know how he is.

I sent Teddy a letter like you suggested. So far no response from him, but your father says he is probably just thinking about what he has to say.

Anyways, I just thought I would send you a letter and say hello. I hope everything is good.

Sadie.

I didn't stay over, because I wanted to get a good night's sleep in my own bed. I spent some quality time with Sam, and went to bed early. Taking care of him had been like working all weekend, so I didn't feel relaxed like I usually did in the beginning of the week.

I got a letter from Jay the next day, and it had made me smile.

Dear Sadie,

School is good. It's great to be back with all my friends. Classes are going well so far, and I think my favorite this year is Defense. Tryouts were on Saturday morning, and I made the team again! The first game will be on October 30th.

Hogsmeade trips start October 9th, and Pa mentioned you all would probably come visit us. Lily's birthday is the week before and he said yours is at the end of October, so I think it's to celebrate birthdays.

I'm glad you could help him, and I'm glad he's getting better. I know how he is, but hopefully he is listening to you.

I made sure Teddy has received your letter, but I don't know how much of it he has read. He's being really stubborn, but I've been trying to help out your case with him. You'll get through eventually. I'm glad you wrote and I hope you are good.

Jay.

Jay's Point of View:

I held the letter in my hand from Sadie, and smiled slightly as I read it. I was glad she had written to Teddy and happy she wrote to me. It was taking me awhile, but I was getting kind of fond of her.

I was a little angry Teddy hadn't responded to it. She was trying, and he was being an arse.

I knew where to find him, coming back from Care of Magical Creatures as I headed to the greenhouse for Herbology. I saw him coming up with some of his mates. His hair was bright blue today, and he was happy. He nodded as he saw me coming, and I waved him over.

"Hey, Jay!" he called, stopping. "What's up?"

"Can we talk?" I asked. This was going to be hard, I knew. He scrunched up his face in confusion, and nodded. He waved his friends on.

"What's the matter?" he asked, beginning to look concerned.

"Sadie wrote you?" I asked, though I knew what the answer was.

"Yeah." he said. "How'd you know?"

"I've talked to her." I said, gauging his reaction. I couldn't discern it, but the bright blue was starting to turn purple.

Anyone who knew Teddy knew that was not a good sign. "Oh." he said, rubbing his chin.

"Are you going to write her back?" I asked. I was trying to play innocent in the whole situation, but that wasn't working out so well.

He shrugged. "Possibly."

"She's trying, Ted." I begged.

"Oh." he said, really quickly. Something in him had shifted and he was angry now. "So you're on her side, now? Did she send you here to snoop on me?"

"No!" I said, getting closer to him. "I'm just trying to get some peace in the family. The first time in years it looks like we might be edging closer to a normal family unit and you want to get rid of her. I don't care what you think, she's good for him- and at this point, you're just being an arse!" I shouted.

"Boys?" Professor Longbottom- Neville, really, to us, came up behind us. "Everything all right?" he looked to each of us and saw my clenched fists and Teddy's dark indigo hair.

"Fine." Teddy bit, and walked away.

Neville looked to me. "You sure?"

I didn't want to start anything or for anything to get back to Pa, so I nodded. "Yeah, of course." I said. "Just stupid stuff..."

He nodded back, and I followed him to class.

Time passed weird, the late half of September. I'd let Harry go to the birthday party for Dominique without any conflict. I decided it wasn't worth it. But I knew I would soon have to face them for Lily's birthday. We fell into a great rhythm, I thought. I would stay at his house during the weekends, and usually Monday and Friday as well, as stay at the flat during the work week.

And Cor and Keith had remained together. I'm not sure if they worked out their clinging issues or what, but they seemed happy when I saw them. And she spent most of her time at his flat, which she told me made ours look trashy.

I was sure it did.

I was just pretty happy, right now. Teddy had never written back, but Jay and I had exchanged a few letters. He was good to have as a pen pal. Letters would always be returned to me within a day, almost like he was excited to get my letters.

I helped Harry plan Lily's birthday party, as well. Her actual birthday would be spent at home, a dinner of her favorite foods, with just Harry and Al and she wanted me to be there. I was hesitant to go in on that, because I sort of thought it should have been just them. But all three of them insisted so I obliged.

And in a way, I was really pleased she had invited me. I never wondered where I stood with Lily. Or Al, for that matter. Al had always made it clear that he liked me. And for them, I was grateful.

But I was really looking forward to her family birthday party, in a way. It would give me a chance to show myself off in front of the Weasley family. We were "out" enough now that I could be on Harry's arm for the party and get to take some credit for planning it. I would show them that I wasn't going anywhere.

Author's Note: Thanks for all the super nice reviews, everyone. They were awesome and made me smile. So, what'd you think of this chapter? Got to see a little bit inside Jay's head, a little more stuff with the kids like you wanted. Anyways, let me know what you think! I have some time off from school in the next two weeks and will hopefully be updating a little more frequently for the time being. But please, keep reviewing. I appreciate all the support so much