If I owned it, I would be rich and not at all worried about the economy. As it is, I'm not rich, I don't own Harry Potter. Sorry.

Part Three: Until They're Before Your Eyes

January 1971

"So guess what? I'm pregnant." Andromeda sat down on the foot of his bed, holding her wand in her right hand with the tip illuminated. As far as she could see, the other beds in the room were empty. Ted blinked groggily and looked up at her.

"Dromeda! You're okay! They told me you were but- They couldn't fix your arm?" he asked as he propped himself up, looking at her left arm which was held in a sling to keep it from flopping everywhere.

"Did you hear me?"

"No."

"You know, you're such a guy. Here I make a potentially life changing declaration and you don't even listen!"

"Dromeda, I was asleep. I heard you mumble something and then I saw a light in front of me. If I remember correctly when I tried to wake you two days ago, you didn't even realize that I had spoken and you kept right on sleeping." She glared at him. "No wait a minute. You tried to hit me, missed, nearly fell out of bed, and then went back to sleep."

"You know, maybe I shouldn't have been in your bed anyway. Then maybe they could have just given me stupid skelo-grow!" Ted looked at her in bewilderment and then reached forward slowly and grabbed her wand, guiding it towards her face, studying her carefully. "What are you doing?"

"Checking that you're not sleep walking and talking," he answered carefully, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I've never done either."

"Yeah, well, it was worth checking. Did you have a concussion or something?"

"Yes, but they fixed that easy," she told him. "They could have fixed my arm easy but they won't and that's your fault!"

"Is it?" he asked in confusion. "Okay, I take full blame."

"Well, okay it's my fault too."

"If you insist."

"But I'm going to blame you."

"I'm really trying hard to follow this." Andromeda looked away from him, her eyes turning down at the floor, feeling her eyes welling up with tears. Her right hand rested on her knee, lowering the source of light. "Dromeda," he said quietly. "Come on, I'm sorry I didn't hear you, okay?" he said, reaching out to brush back a strand of her hair. She reached up and lightly touched his arm.

"You're all covered in bandages," she told him quietly.

"I'm going to heal alright. They just can't magic them shut," he assured her, gently stroking her cheek. "They won't even scar too bad. They put dittany on it." Gently she began to cry, feeling the tears falling down her cheek. Ted pulled back the blanket and scooted closer to her. "Dromeda, it's okay. I'll be fine. You'll be fine. It'll be okay."

"I don't know how to do this. I really don't. I always thought- I mean I guess, maybe, someday- but then it might go away anyway, problem solved, right?"

"Problem solved?"

"Yes, but no. No, now I don't want the problem to be solved at the same time but that's fully stupid and- and-" she let out a sob and tried to brush her tears away with her left hand but it wouldn't move from the sling and it made her sob again before she swatted away Ted's hand on the right side of her face and used that arm to slosh away her tears, her wand still held firmly in her right hand, the light moving across the room for an instant.

"Dromeda, what's-"

"She'd be happy you know."

"Who?"

"Bella. That she did it. That she took it away. Ha, ha, ha, she'd find it a bloody good thing."

"Took what away? Dromeda you're worrying me."

"Ted, don't you get it?" she pleaded desperately.

"No," he replied shaking his head, his eyes wide.

"They won't give me stupid skelo-grow! They won't give me skelo-grow because it goes to any bones that aren't complete and therefore it can screw things up really badly if I'm- if there's a baby." She heard Ted's teeth clink together as she shrugged her shoulders forward, continuing to cry. A second later she felt his hand lightly on her back. She began to lean forward and she heard him groan in pain; she pulled back sharply, tears still in her eyes. "I-I'm sorry," she sobbed.

"S'kay," he replied. "You didn't know. It'll heal and-"

"No I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! If it weren't for me you wouldn't- wouldn't be here anyway and- and-" She pushed away tears with her right arm again.

"Dromeda, please," he begged, reaching out and touching her cheek again. "I knew it going in! I did. So this is the worst we come out, fine! It gets worse, whatever! I love you, do you understand that? And we'll get through this, baby or not." She looked up at him, his eyes studying her carefully. She was silent, brushing away the tears again and sniffling. "Dromeda?"

"I think your mother already knows," she said quietly.

"I wouldn't put it past her."

"She mentioned something at Christmas. I'm so stupid. I didn't even think twice about it."

"Oh, she does that. I think on purpose. Kind of her way of saying ha, ha, I know what you've been up to. It's a mother thing."

"My mother never did that." Suddenly she flinched. "I can't do that." Ted snorted. "No, seriously, I can't! I've never had a gift like that. I can't keep track of someone else. I can barely keep track of myself. Doesn't getting pregnant show that? I can't, really I can't. Stop laughing! It's not funny Ted!"

"No, it's not. But your panic is," he said, beginning to full out laugh. He flinched a little and she glared at him.

"Stop it. You're going to hurt yourself."

"Okay, okay," he chuckled, his laughs starting to subside. Andromeda sighed and looked away.

"I don't really know what to think," she said quietly. "I can't do this Ted. I really can't. But I don't want- I don't want-" she felt tears beginning to stream down her face again.

"Come here," he told her.

"I'll hurt you."

"No, you won't. Come here." Slowly, she consented and crawled forward, her wand behind her ear as Ted scooted over. He reached out and lightly grabbed her left shoulder to help steady her as she went forward. She stretched her legs out next to his on top the blanket and leaned back against the pillows same as he was. He put his hand on her leg, rubbing it gently.

"I don't want to lose it Ted," she said quietly. "I know it's wrong, but I kind of want to stick it in her face and say ha, see here, you couldn't even stop a baby. You couldn't stop me from having a family. You couldn't- you couldn't-"

"I know." He suddenly grinned. "Although I sure hope you don't literally intend to shove a baby in her face."

"Not funny, Ted," she growled at him.

"Seriously, maybe you should never be a mother if that's what you're going to do."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"We should have you sterilized, ASAP."

"You know it's easier to sterilize a guy and since I don't intend on being with anyone but you it would seem that making you sterile would work far better."

"Not funny. Not funny at all," he told her. She raised her eyebrows at him with a smirk on her face before leaning back further on the pillows, her eyes blinking tiredly. "Dromeda, are you going to fall asleep?"

"Maybe."

"Fine. But if you get caught it's all your fault."

"Mmm, okay," Andromeda agreed sleepily as she stared up at the ceiling in the dark, her resting her wand on her stomach. "Ted?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you get there anyway?"

"Get where?"

"Aunt Walburga's."

"That was your aunt's house?"

"Yes."

"I thought I remembered seeing a little boy. Then again everything's a bit cloudy."

"Do you remember getting there?"

"Yes but I have no recollection of getting out. I heard you apparated. I mean seriously, that's impressive. Technically, you were apparating three if I was as out of it as they say and apparently you're on the nest."

"What?"

"On the nest, in delicate condition, knocked up, bun in the-"

"Oh forget I asked. How do you get so many weird sayings?" she asked, rolling her eyes as she looked up at the ceiling.

"To have a hairy heart?"

"It's raining cats and dogs?"

"Never did understand that one myself. Where did you pick it up?"

"Your father said it at some point I think."

"Ah. Marianne got him to tell the story of how he met my mother again. Between her and Kitty I'm not sure how I survived childhood. Although, did I ever tell you how my parents-"

"Ted, you're very good at avoiding the question," Andromeda told him.

"Aren't I?" he sighed. "So anyway it was actually raining-"

"Ted."

"Fine. I told you we can't just apparate right to work anymore, right?"

"Yes. Security."

"Well, I was supposed to meet Jeremy at a point where we could walk, the whole not going alone thing, but he didn't show. Came by here later today. Said he was terribly sorry, practically a wreck. He had to come to work last night because one of the other workers nearly got strangled by the venomous tentaculus and had to go home to recover. It's not like he purposefully left me or any-"

"Ted, you're stalling again."

"You want no details?"

"Simplest form please."

"I was walking, someone hit me from a spell with behind, and I ended up stunned. I woke up at the house you later showed up at with the Lestrange guy and your sister."

"Rodolphus and Bellatrix?"

"I thought you wanted no details."

"Fine, some details wanted."

"Right, then Rodolphus and Narcissa, that better?"

"Narcissa?"

"Yes, blonde hair, blue eyes, very similar bone structure to you, looking terrified as hell."

"I'm just surprised."

"Yeah, I thought I might be seeing things too at first but then again Narcissa and Bellatrix don't look much a like. They're rather like night and day aren't they?"

"Ted," Andromeda told him lightly.

"Dromeda, can't we just talk about this some other time?" Andromeda looked at him, his blue eyes seeming downcast and sad. Biting her lip, she brushed her hand over his. He twisted his left hand and gave her hand a squeeze before pulling it away, reaching for the hem of the pajama shirt he was wearing. Andromeda's eyes grew wide as she saw a long bumpy cut stretching from his right shoulder to just above his left hip. Quickly, she tried to move away, sending her wand clattering to the ground, afraid she would hurt him if she accidentally touched him but he dropped his shirt and placed both his hands on her right arm. "I'm okay."

"Rodolphus did that?" Ted nodded. "But I didn't see it. It-it wasn't bleeding or-"

"He healed it back up again for me? I guess? I don't know. I fainted. Next thing I remember was waking up when you were there."

"Why would he do that? I don't-"

"I got him back though," Ted protested. "I'm not going to tell you all my cruel ways."

"Ted," Andromeda growled.

"I'm not. You're too young and innocent," he laughed. Andromeda looked away from him and a moment later she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Ted," she said faintly.

"Dromeda, stop, please, it's not your fault."

"It's more my fault than anyone else's. It was my family and being with you was my choice."

"I had a say too you know," he told her in frustration. Slowly she nodded, still not turning back to face him. Silence came over the room.

"So you never did tell me who the father is," Ted broke out into the quiet. She turned to look at him again and glared hard at him. "Does that mean you don't know?"

"Ted," she growled.

"Tut, tut Dromeda."

"You know I really want to hit you right now for that, but as you're injured I will refrain."

"Thank you."

"I'll just wallop you all the harder once you're better."

Ted had fallen asleep when Andromeda got out of the bed, intending to head back up to her bed. She scooped up her wand from the ground and began heading through the quiet hallways, her ears perked up as she heard the snippets of conversations between healers, nearly the only noises. She was putting most of her attention into a conversation of how to get rid of the large green spots a child had suddenly broken out in, when she became aware of a tall woman standing in front of her. Sheepishly, she met her eyes. "Where's the bathroom?" she suggested.

"Come on Andromeda," she dictated, pointing her towards the stairs. With a sigh she agreed, leading the way with Healer Brigham behind her. "Going down to see your boyfriend?"

"Fiancé actually," she told her.

"You couldn't have believed me that he was alright?"

"I wanted to talk to him."

"Did you tell him then?"

"Yes," she agreed as she reached the top of the stairs and turned around to see the older woman's blue eyes studying her in the dimly lit corridor. She bit her lip, feeling suddenly quite self-conscience.

"Any guesses on how his cut on his chest got to be the way it is?"

"It looks like somebody healed in a real hurry or- or-" she looked away from the other woman.

"Or?" she questioned lightly.

"Inexperienced." Brigham nodded.

"Leaning more in which direction?"

"Excuse me?"

"Was it more likely hurry or inexperience?"

"I guess inexperience."

"Good. That was our guess too."

"But that wouldn't make sense unless- Cissy!" Andromeda said suddenly.

"And the sissy is?"

"Cissy, short for Narcissa. My younger sister. She's barely sixteen. She doesn't like him but- I guess I wouldn't have thought she would but-"

"Good. That does sound logical. And your interested in this because?"

"I love him," she said, raising her eyebrow at the woman.

"No, not that. I meant, why have you been interested enough in healing to be able to distinguish between hurry and inexperience?" Andromeda gave her a confused look. Healer Brigham smiled. "For your information, you're being interviewed. Normally we do this during the Easter holiday but since you're here now, we might as well get it over with."

"Um," Andromeda started.

"Besides, I'm tired of eager to please Ravenclaws and humble helpful Hufflepuffs," she said, rolling her eyes. "Don't get me wrong; they can make great Healers in the end. But that first year or so it's almost annoying. I want someone with a bit more attitude. Now, answer the question." Andromeda stared at her wide eyed for a moment before she found her voice again and began to speak. She saw Healer Brigham smile and hoped it was a good sign.

Today is a good day. I am happy. I got cookies at work because my boss is really nice and the next chapter actually consented to be written. I'm pretty smiley. And high on sugar. Go cookies…

Anyway, yes, there are two chapters left total. Both are kind of wrap ups with different people I guess. Hopefully I'll get them posted soon. Although I'm not sure what I'll do with myself then. I might actually have to study.