Rosebud woke up shortly after the Sleeping Ward went down the next morning. She rose carefully and dressed to go downstairs. Her pain was more manageable, she realized, but it was still there. She met Thad at the top of the stairs, and carefully looked at his aura, seeing the worry, sadness, and sorrow there. "Did Mum tell you?" she asked him, slightly frightened at the black in his aura.
"That you love me still?" Thad said softly. "Yes. I don't deserve it, Love."
"Thad," Rosebud sighed, "I told you ages ago that I love you with an unconditional Hufflepuff love that covers everything. It's all right." She stepped forward and shyly put her arms around him. "Start over?" she asked him.
Thad loosely wrapped his arms around her. "Yes," he replied. "I love you, dearest." She smiled slightly, pressing her face against his robe. He hugged her carefully, and she smiled happily, enjoying his embrace.
Someone brushed past them, and Rosebud clung to Thad, losing her balance and nearly falling down. Thad watched Bethany go down the stairs, carrying her little girl. "Thad?" Rosebud asked. He looked down into her worried eyes, then gave her a reassuring smile and gently touched his lips to hers.
Julius and Cheyanne came down the hall together, him holding her hand. "Thad, Rosebud," Julius said with a grin. Cheyanne looked curiously at Thad and Rosebud.
"Jules," she asked, tilting her head, "who are they?"
"This is our brother Thad and his wife Rosebud," answered the ten year old boy.
Cheyanne grinned at Thad. "I know you," she said with a giggle. "You're Ethan's dad."
Thad grinned back at his little sister. "Yup," he agreed. Rosebud was silent, leaning on his shoulder and allowing him to speak for her. "Coming to breakfast?" he asked them.
"Yes," Julius said. "I was waking her up for Mum. She slept in this morning. I guess there was too much excitement last night."
"She went to bed really late," Thad said, leading Rosebud down the stairs. "After one o' clock, probably."
Cheyanne frowned. "That's late. Why'd she do that?"
Rosebud smiled at the little girl. "She was talking to me," she explained.
"And she talked to Dirk and Brenda," Julius added. "Did you know that Brenda's already expecting a baby?"
"You're joking," Thad said to his brother.
Julius laughed. "Seriously," he said. "Mum told me this morning: she learned of it last night."
Rosebud smiled. "What fun they will have," she said softly, almost dreamily, as Thad led her to the table. Several of Ginny's grandchildren had stayed and were sitting around the table when they came up. Kyle smiled at them and grinned at Julius: the two were fairly close in age although they were uncle and nephew.
Joshua, Justice, and Trescian were seated together quietly, watching the goings-on. Silvanus' children tended to be very quiet and observant, as he was. The twins had been severely scolded by their father for instigating a fight between their young cousins Ethan and Jerry. Being older, the two were very careful to keep from doing such things again: as Joshua put it: "They fight anyway. Why should we make them fight?"
Timothy, Kyle's little brother, was sitting between his friend Trescian and his sister Lydia. He greeted Cheyanne and asked, "Where is Ethan? We made sure that those boys didn't hurt him when they went after Theo."
"I think he's still asleep," Thad replied. "I'll go get him—"
"He's in the playroom," Bethany interrupted Thad. Titus looked up at his mother in surprise. It was bad to interrupt!
Thad nodded, seated Rosebud carefully, and hurried away. "Are you going to go with us to take Sarge and Serena to Azkaban?" Bethany asked Rosebud.
Rosebud was shocked at Bethany's use of her parents' first names, but nodded carefully. "I have to," she said.
Ginny walked into the room and grinned at her family. They all greeted her, and she sat down. She looked over at Rosebud and smiled slightly. "Good morning," she told all of them. "I suppose the children will stay here while you're gone, Rosebud, Bethany?"
"Yes," Bethany said. "I don't want them near the dementors."
"Nasty things," Cheyanne spat, and the table erupted in laughter.
Lydia grinned at Cheyanne. "Nasty dementors, or nasty children?"
Cheyanne frowned. "That's not nice."
"'course not," Timothy told Cheyanne. "Lydia's not nice."
"Miffy," Lydia cooed her old nickname for her brother, "no one asked you."
"Hush," Justice told the two sharply, and they became quiet.
Tara shook her head at them, disapproving of their "childish arguments." She, being just eleven the day before, considered herself grown up. Consequently, she drove Kitten and and her cousins crazy.
When Ethan ran on into the room, Timothy grinned. "Ethan," he said, "guess what I found out that makes Jerry furious?"
"Timothy," Thad said warningly, "don't instigate fights."
"I'm not," Timothy protested, then whispered to Ethan, "he hates when you speak Parseltongue around him. He's not a Parselmouth!"
Ethan grinned and nodded. "Wicked," he said.
"Where'd you hear that?" Rosebud asked him.
He looked up at his mother and said, "I heard Dirk, Tony, and Terry saying it. Is that okay?"
Rosebud smiled slightly. "It's better than some of his other expressions," she said, making Julius, Kyle, Joshua, and Justice laugh.
"I've heard those too," Ethan teased his mother. "Would you like to hear those?"
"No thanks," Rosebud giggled. "I too have heard them: I just prefer not to repeat them."
Ginny smiled. "He'll probably clean up his language after Brenda has her baby. I still can't believe those two..." her voice trailed off and she shook her head.
Thad agreed with his mother. "Possibly," he said.
Tara grinned at the mention of her brothers. "Or not," she added. "My brother will have two children soon, and his hasn't changed."
"He's not as bad as Dirk," Rosebud said, "and Saelia rather makes him be careful in front of Kayme."
The playful conversation went on until Thad stood. "I should be leaving now," he said. "I have to meet the others at the Ministry."
Rosebud rose with him. "I'm coming too."
"Ah," said Thad, just looking at her.
"Your aura is calling me insane," she whispered in his ear. "Make it stop."
He grinned and slipped his arm around her, leading her away. "Sorry," he murmured when they were heading up the stairs. "I guess that Occlumency doesn't work with auras?"
Rosebud looked at him again, then grinned. "Well, now your aura is pulled in close to you, like you're trying to hide it. It kind of...obscures it, I suppose. I think that the light blue in auras means that Occlumency is being used. A lot of your family has it, I've noticed. Thisbe just recently acquired it as well."
Thad raised an eyebrow. "Thisbe? Who would have taught her?"
"I have no idea," Rosebud sighed. "I hope it keeps Thisbe safe, though."
The two quickly dressed, then disapparated with Bethany to the Ministry. They met Alden Philips and several other Aurors who were waiting for them. "We didn't know you were coming," said Teddy to Rosebud. "And where's Bellatrix?"
Bethany lifted her chin and replied, "She is within the Ministry, most likely."
Rosebud smiled and pressed her face against Thad's arm. "I told Thad I had to come," she said.
"Very well," sighed James, "but you'll have to go through Harry for that one. I don't know what he'll say."
They went into the Ministry, finding Bellatrix laughing and skipping, Harry striding after her, a look of irritation on his face. "What happened?" Alden asked.
"She was role-playing in the Death Chamber," Harry spat, visibly upset.
"All that's left's to yell that you've killed Sirius Black," Thad told Bellatrix.
She giggled. "And to have a lousy Unforgivable thrown at me," she said to Harry.
Rosebud frowned. "But we're not in the Atrium," she pointed out, "and all that is behind us. Shall we move on?"
"Shall we move others on?" Bellatrix asked, grinning.
They went off to retrieve Sarge and Serena from the dentention rooms under the courtrooms. They were on their way, with Sarge and Serena shackled between their Auror guards.
Thad had his arm around Rosebud as they stepped into the boats that would take them to the Island of Azkaban. She looked over at Thad, and he held her close, whispering, "This might be hard for you, Rosebud. There is no magic here. No one can do magic on the island, not even wandless magic. Be careful: this place is nasty. Several prisoners from the Second Wizarding War are still here. They just don't up and die for some reason."
Bethany climbed into one of the boats, and her grandmother jumped down into one of them, landing on her backside on the floor of the boat. Laughing to herself, she got up and sat down on one of the benches.
Thad and Rosebud sat in the back of that boat, and the Aurors loaded the Lestranges into a second boat, making sure that they stayed secure. Harry drew his wand and tapped the boat with it, sending the boat quickly forward across the dark, rolling waves.
The Island loomed in the distant, Bellatrix's face growing drawn and pale as they came closer. "Are you sure you'll be all right, Grandmother?" Bethany asked her softly.
"Of course," Bellatrix said coldly, not taking her eyes from the dark Island. "We should have completely destroyed this place when we escaped so many years ago: collapsed it on the head of the three Aurors that dared oppose us."
Rosebud smiled slightly. "Yes," she said softly. "Destroy the Dark Island. It would have been bad to do so at the time. Perhaps, one day, it will be destroyed once and for all. Although I can't see how we could take care of the dementors: nothing makes them go away, except the Patronus Charm."
Bellatrix laughed. "If you tell them you have no soul, they go away," she said.
Bethany turned toward the island they were almost touching. Darkness and a piercing cold radiated from it. An almost inhuman scream rent the air, and Bellatrix shuddered. "Good memories, bad memories," she breathed, pressing her lips together tightly.
The boats stayed on the shore of the Dark Island, and Bellatrix jumped onto the shore easily, standing tall. "I said I'd never go back," she said. "Well, here I am."
"It's your own fault," Rosebud said to her. "You wanted to come."
"So I did," Bellatrix replied proudly. "Come along. There's nothing nasty out here except the sea."
The gates of Azkaban opened wide to receive the Aurors, their friends, and the prisoners. The keeper of Azkaban greeted Harry carefully, and Harry asked him where the dementors were.
"They're not on their rounds right now," replied Westmoreland. "They just went through, so there will be some prisoners yowling right now. They always do that: if you stick around, you can hear that old Umbridge woman scream. It's a riot."
Bellatrix's mouth moved slightly, but she did not smile. One does not simply smile at the gates of Azkaban. Harry nodded. "Where will these two" indicating Sarge and Serena "be staying?"
"Man's up in the East Tower," Westmoreland replied. "Woman's up in the South Tower. Follow me."
Alden walked beside Thad for a moment before saying to him, "On the way over, Harry told us that Rodolphus Lestrange is up in the North Tower. He was wondering if we would head up there."
"I don't know," Thad said. "It depends on how the towers are connected. I never really understood that."
"I think they're connected at the bottom, and that's all," Alden replied. "I was not happy about being on this mission."
Rosebud scowled. "Thad, we need to catch up with them."
Thad nodded, his arm around her carefully. Living without magic was something he could never imagine, and Thad hated the feelings that coursed through him. The only magic that could be felt there was another person's magic, and he stayed close to Rosebud, noticing the others sticking together as well.
Bellatrix seemed unaffected by walking through the corridors of the prison. Holding her head high, she followed the Aurors and their prisoners straight ahead. Bethany kept up with her grandmother, afraid of where she was and what might happen.
Rosebud glanced into some of the dark cells into which light never shone. "Oh," she gasped, upon seeing an emaciated person lying on the floor in a cell.
The person looked up, then cringed into a ball on the floor. "Rosebud, don't look at them," Thad hissed in her ear.
"Thad, they're dying like that," Rosebud whispered, tears coming to her eyes. "Don't you feel sorry for them?"
A frown crossed his face as he made her walk on. "Slightly. I didn't want you to come. I was worried that it would affect you badly." She didn't reply, but put her head on his shoulders as a tear ran down her cheek for the person she'd seen.
Other prisoners, fairly new, ran to the front of their cells to see who else was confined to their doom. "Ha ha!" cackled one man. "Lestranges for Azkaban! You like this place, do you?"
Sergillius looked a death glare at him, but the other prisoner didn't stop. "How long are you in?"
"Fifteen years," Rosebud told the man.
Several other prisoners peered out at her, and one woman shrieked, "Mudblood! What's she doing in here?"
"Shut up," said a tired voice from further down the corridor. "If she'll talk to you, ask her something important."
"Now they won't shut up," Westmoreland told Rosebud. "Don't talk to them."
Rosebud glared at him in defiance. "They're human," she hissed at him. "Ask me anything," she said to the prisoner who sounded tired.
Thad frowned in disapproval, and Bellatrix sneered at him. "Never seen such things, Riddle?I don't believe you knew the horrors of Azkaban, did you? Let her speak with them: these can't hurt her."
"What are you doing here?" asked the tired-voiced boy. He looked very young, around Dirk's age.
"We've come to put Sergillius and Serena Lestrange in prison," Rosebud said, standing next to the boy's cell. "They—they tortured and tried to kill me."
The boy grinned in a painful sort of way. "Wicked. I'm in because of Crucio as well," he told her. "I'm—"
"—an Auror troll," Thad said, appearing at Rosebud's side.
Rosebud saw the dark scowl on the boy's face and realized that he must have been the one who attacked Thad. "Thad, you never told me—"
Thad sighed. "Rosebud, I didn't want you to know. I told you not to look."
"Thaddeus!" Harry called down the corridor.
"We'll catch up," Thad called back.
"So you're the famous Rosebud Swensen Riddle," the boy said. "I was one of Dirk Riddle's dorm mates at school. I'm only doing five years here, I think."
Rosebud sighed. "I'm sorry," she told him. "I didn't know that Azkaban was such a horrible place."
He laughed coldly. "Well, don't ever come here," he told her. "If you can help it. It's horrible." Shudders ran through him, and Rosebud stretched out her hand as if she would help him. Thad snatched her hand back from the bars and drew her away from the cell so they couldn't reach each other. "Honestly, Riddle," spat the boy. "As if I could hurt her."
"No," Rosebud protested, pulling away from Thad. "I don't care if he's filthy: Azkaban looks like it needs a few house-elves anyway. And he's hurt. What happened to you?" Rosebud asked the boy.
"Rat bit me," the boy said. "I strangled it to death, but my bite's infected. Every person in the tower shouted Crucio with me as I killed it."
Rosebud nodded. "Let me see." She noticed Thad's dark blue aura, and knew that he wasn't happy with her at all.
The boy thrusted his red, infected, pus-leaking arm under Rosebud's nose. She knew that he expected her to be disgusted, but she carefully took a hold of his wrist and ran her other hand over his arm, allowing her healing power to wash over his arm and run to him.
He gasped in shock and jumped, but didn't pull his arm away. "How—how did you—what happened?" he asked, inspecting his fully healed arm.
"I...sort of have healing powers," Rosebud said. "Is that better?"
"Much better," he said. Catching her by the hand before she and Thad went on, he looked directly into her eyes. "Thank you," he said.
"You're welcome," she whispered, squeezing his hand. She released his hand and hurried off with Thad. Thad's aura was showing unhappiness and slight anger. "Are you angry, Thad?" she asked him.
Thad looked at her, his aura coming close to his body again. "Am I?" he asked her.
Rosebud sighed. "I wanted to help him, Thad," she said. "I could see that he was hurting. He desparately needed that to be healed. It was his wand arm."
"He would have been taken to the Azkaban infirmary," Thad replied.
"Westmoreland isn't that nice," Rosebud said flatly. "The prisoners have dementors to deal with: why rats, and lice, and all that as well? Are we returning evil for evil, Thad?"
Thad sighed and took her hand in his. "It's a hard thing to do," Thad told her softly as they came up to the other group. "But they're being punished, Rosebud." She shook her head, a sad look on her face. "I shouldn't have brought you here," he told his wife quietly.
Rosebud hid her face in his sleeve, and Bellatrix looked over at her with a frown. "Is she okay?" Bellatrix asked Thad.
"Yes," Rosebud said before Thad could reply. She looked up at Bellatrix carefully. "Just...not normal for me. Naivety, you know."
"Of course," Bellatrix said, stepping back as Westmoreland locked the door of Serena's cell. They headed off to the East Tower.
Watching Bellatrix, Rosebud saw when the witch shrank back into the shadows, heading back down the stairs. Without hesitation, Rosebud carefully stepped back from Thad, then turned and followed Bellatrix.
Rosebud caught up with her at the bottom of the tower. "Bellatrix, wait up!" she called.
Bellatrix turned around in astonishment. "What are you doing here?" she hissed. "You should be with the others!"
"So should you," Rosebud replied. "I had to follow you. Where are you going?"
Bellatrix sighed and turned, going on up the North Tower stairs. "To see Rodolphus," she said finally. "He was reincarcerated when you were still in school."
Rosebud caught up with Bellatrix again, walking with her. "I remember," she said softly. "I came to breakfast one morning to find James crowing about his arrest. Cursing a Muggle?"
"Yes," Bellatrix said. "The filthy creature deserved it: it was taunting him, for it had seen him use his wand to do a small spell, like levitation. It deserved the curse, and the curse was no more harmful than the Jelly Legs Curse. But, for their prejudice against us, and our family, and our blood, they convicted him before his trial even began. The trial did not even last half an hour, but he was taken that very day to his cell."
"I—I'm sorry," Rosebud said very quietly. "I'm beginning to understand why Bethany severely dislikes Aurors."
"Ha," spat the woman. "They came and took him right from our home. Right from our home! Potter himself was there, and I fought off several of the Aurors before Rodolphus explained to me what was going on. He went with them willingly, but he never expected that they would try him with such prejudice."
Rosebud sighed, then looked up at Bellatrix carefully. "At least he didn't get Kissed," she said softly.
A look of horror came into Bellatrix's eyes. "Yes," she whispered. "He was spared that. But the second time he escaped from Azkaban, he was very disturbed, and took some time to recover. When he gets out this time..." her voice trailed off and she shook her head.
"When will he be released?" Rosebud asked.
"In exactly one month," Bellatrix replied. "It will have been six years: I haven't seen him since the trial." Rosebud nodded sadly, and Bellatrix softly called, "Rodolphus?"
Silence reigned, and she called again. Finally, a horrible laugh came from someone in one of the cells. "He's dead," cackled the raggedy-looking woman. "They carried him out last month."
"He's alive," Rosebud said. "She's lying."
"How do you know that?" the prisoner spat at Rosebud's feet.
Rosebud grinned at her, a tantalizing look on her face. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
Bellatrix strode forward and grabbed the woman around the neck, her thumbs across the windpipe. "Tell me where he is, Umbridge," she snarled. "Or I'll make your life more miserable yet." She began to put pressure on the woman's throat.
"No!" shrieked the woman, gasping for breath. She gestured frantically down the dim, cold corridor. "Second—second from the end."
"If you're lying again," Bellatrix hissed a warning into the prisoner's face, then dropped her to the floor of her cell. "Come," Bellatrix told Rosebud as Umbridge knelt on the floor, coughing and choking.
Rosebud was very surprised at the quick way Bellatrix had dealt with the wayward prisoner. It had been clear in Umbridge's aura that she had been lying. She also seemed to hate Bellatrix for some reason. Rosebud supposed that Umbridge wished Bellatrix to be incarcerated in Azkaban as well.
Bellatrix stopped before coming to the cell Umbridge had mentioned. She collected herself carefully, then went to peer into the dim, unlit cell. "Rodolphus?" she whispered into the darkness. "Oh!"
A thin, wasted form lay on the floor, unmoving. "No," Bellatrix whispered, reaching through the bars. "Please don't be dead. Rodolphus, look at me." She sat down by the cell, stretching out her arm to reach his hand. "Rodolphus, I'm here now."
Rosebud teared up as she watched Bellatrix try to get a response from her husband. Desperation was in Bellatrix's aura, and Rosebud hated to see her that way: she had it in her mind that Bellatrix was not supposed to be desparate.
A slight movement came from the figure on the floor, and Bellatrix drew a breath of hope. "I'm here," she whispered softly, a greenish-yellow tinging her aura.
"Bella?" asked the person hoarsely. "No. I can't think that. They'll come." He sighed, cringing away from her.
"Rodolphus," Bellatrix whispered brokenly, "it is I: your Bella. Your TrixieBelle! You're not dreaming. I've come to see you."
He looked at her carefully. "The dark things—" he began weakly.
"—will not be coming around until tonight sometime," Bellatrix said. "It's safe for now."
"Bellatrix—" he reached out his hands and intertwined his fingers with hers. She allowed her magic to run over his hands, and he managed a tiny smile. She blinked away unshed tears, refusing to let too many see her weakness. He slowly allowed his magic to wash over her hands, and Bellatrix leaned her head against the bars, her aura turning a soft rose colour.
Rosebud watched them share magic, realizing that Bellatrix was very aware of what her husband was having to put up with in Azkaban. He could not use nor feel magic in the place, and she was allowing him to do so when he would not otherwise be able to.
She must feel more emotion than I ever thought was possible for her, Rosebud thought, and felt ashamed of her thoughts. I must have listened to James and Vi more than I thought. Of course, Bellatrix would ridicule any who said that she might actually care for Rodolphus.
"How are you doing?" Bellatrix asked him worriedly.
"Badly," he replied hoarsely, still drinking in the feel of her magic and refusing to release her hands. "It's horrible. They always come and take the good things away. I'm sick, you saw—I thought I would die. I wanted to: I thought no one cared, that no one would come."
Bellatrix nodded, looking into his eyes. "I couldn't just come for a visit," she explained softly. "I have to get special permission through the Ministry. But I came today with a group who brought a couple other prisoners in."
"Who? Why?" asked Rodolphus, his eyes more alert.
"Our—our son, Sergillius, and his wife, Serena," Bellatrix said haltingly, not wanting to upset him. "They were guilty of many illegal activities: Veritaserum, torturing, attempted murder." She looked up. "Come here, Rosebud." Rosebud came forward and knelt beside Bellatrix. Rodolphus stared at her, his eyes growing wider. "They've been disowned," Bellatrix said carefully. "They tried to kill this girl by the old ritual. She is Rosebud Swensen Riddle, married to Thaddeus Riddle, one of Estella's sons."
Rodolphus bowed his head in shame. "They should know better, after what we've done," he said.
"Yes," Bellatrix agreed. "However, now that Horatio knows his true heritage, he and his wife are going to come live at the Mansion with me."
Rosebud looked carefully at Bellatrix. "Would he let me heal him?" she asked Bellatrix very quietly so that he couldn't hear her.
"Rodolphus," Bellatrix continued, still holding his hands, "Rosebud has acquired some natural healing abilities, and would heal you as much as she could if you allow it."
He sighed and nodded, releasing one of his wife's hands. Rosebud gently took his hand in hers, letting her healing power flow over it. A cry came from him, and he squeezed her hand tightly, almost desparately. She allowed as much healing power to go into him as she could, leaning exhaustedly against the cell bars.
"Don't exhaust yourself completely," Bellatrix warned her. "We're probably going to have to explain ourselves to the others after this."
"Don't worry," Rosebud breathed, finally able to take her hand from Rodolphus' tight grasp. "I'm fine."
Bellatrix turned back to Rodolphus, still allowing her calm magic to flow over his hands and all around him. "Remember Bethany?" Rodolphus nodded, and Bellatrix added, "She's had two children: Titus, and Melanie."
"Pureblood?" asked Rodolphus.
"Of course," Bellatrix replied proudly. Her face fell. "Sarge and Serena Imperiused her into marrying Thad, who was already married to Rosebud, although Thad and Rosebud were separated. Titus and Melanie are her and Thad's children, but Thad and Bethany aren't together anymore."
Rodolphus was confused, but nodded anyway. Bellatrix sighed deeply. "I—I'm looking forward to your release," she told him. "In four weeks, in thirty days, in one month exactly, I'll be able to come take you home. No more dementors, or cells."
He grimaced. "No Muggles."
"Definitely not," Bellatrix agreed firmly. Cupping his chin in her hands, she leaned forward, her hair obscuring Rosebud's view of them. She murmured something in his ear, and magic crackled between them. She allowed her magic to splash over his face and down his back, comforting him. "I'll see you again," she told him firmly. "I promise I'll return. We waited for the Dark Lord; can you wait for me?"
"I've already done it once," he told her, looking into her dark eyes, "my Bella."
She rose from the floor. "Goodbye. I'll be back," she promised.
His eyes followed her until he could see her no more. Still, he sat, watching the corridor.
"You shouldn't have run off," Westmoreland snapped at Bellatrix and Rosebud. "It is too easy to get lost in here."
"Me?" Bellatrix asked indignantly. "Get lost in Azkaban? I think not!" She flounced out of the open gates, preparing to leave.
Thad looked at Rosebud, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, Thad," she whispered to him. "Rodolphus was sick too, and needed help."
He was surprised. "You saw him?"
"Yes," Rosebud confirmed. "He was very sick, almost dead. I helped him. Is he really getting out of Azkaban soon?"
"In one month," Thad replied, leading Rosebud toward the boats. "Did she tell him?"
Rosebud nodded. "They were so sweet, Thad." His aura flickered in disbelief, and she said no more about what she had seen.
In the boat on the way home, Bellatrix told Thad, "Make sure Rosebud gets rest: she doesn't know the extent of her healing powers and what it takes from her."
Thad nodded, then put his arm around Rosebud, feeding her bits of his magic to strengthen her. She leaned against his shoulder, closing her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Did it tire you out that much?" he asked her softly.
"He wasn't the only one I helped," Rosebud replied. "Rodolphus was very ill as well, and so I healed him."
Thad sighed as the boat moved along. Bellatrix was watching them out of the corner of her eye, knowing that Rosebud badly needed rest. The girl leaned on Thad as he helped her climb out of the boat onto the shore.
Bellatrix disapparated without a word to anyone, and Bethany followed her lead, going to the Riddle Mansion.
Thad took his wife home, telling his mother to make Rosebud rest. Ginny grinned. "I know," she said. "I can tell that she's tired."
Rosebud smiled and sank down onto the couch. Ethan dashed into the room and climbed up beside her. "Are you okay, Mum?" he asked her, gently taking her hand.
She smiled, putting her arm around him. "Yes, Ethan," she told him. "Your father took very good care of me."
Ethan looked up at his father, then squeezed his mother's hand. "Good," he said. "I love you, Mum."
"I love you too," she told him. Thad leaned down and kissed her lips softly.
"I have to go now," he said. "I'll see you later."
"Later," Rosebud agreed. Thad stepped back and disapparated.
Rosebud took a deep breath, and Ginny said, "Come away now, Ethan. Your mother needs to rest."
Her eyes opened quickly, and she protested, "He doesn't have to leave me, Mum. He can if he wants, but it's fine if he stays."
Ginny looked at Ethan for his decision, and the child leaned up to kiss his mother's cheek. "Sleep well," he told her, a small grin on his face. Then he hurried from the room.
Looking to Rosebud, Ginny asked, "Are you going to sleep in here or in your room?"
"Probably my room," Rosebud said. "If I stay awake long enough to get up the stairs." She giggled, and Ginny nodded.
"Here: I'll help you." She offered her hand to Rosebud, helping her to stand. Ginny helped Rosebud up to her room. "If you need anything, let me know," Ginny said. "You know, through the Channel?" She tapped her head with her finger, making Rosebud laugh as she pulled the blanket over herself.
"I will," Rosebud said with a sigh as she lay quietly in the bed. "I'll be glad when this little one is born. I have so many things happening right now."
Ginny nodded understandingly, and turned out the light in the room. "Rest well," she told the girl.
Rosebud breathed deeply, closing her eyes. Ginny left the room silently.
