Josey was sitting with Valentine on her lap, the young boy looking healthy and bubbly, by the fire in the Burrow. Ron was playing chess with Hermione, his eyes occasionally darting to Josey as she shared a conversation with him.

"No, I told you, Juliana's at work," she was saying. "Bill insisted he wear this. Juliana wouldn't let Valentine be caught dead in this hideous sweater." I got a look at the sweater Valentine was wearing and it was indeed hideous. The mustard yellow color was obviously stitched by someone that didn't know how to crochet. There were brown spots along the edges and I could only assume that it was meant to look like a giraffe."

"It really is dreadful," Ron snorted, moving his queen. Hermione frowned slightly.

I spotted Harry, Arthur, and Molly pouring over a map in the far corner, Bill and George with them.

"Oi! I think it's cute!" Bill snapped. "Now shut up. We're working over here to find Gin."

"You mean me?" Ginny asked suddenly.

All eyes flew to us, hanging in the doorway, previously unnoticed, and there was a tense silence before Molly pushed everyone out of the way to embrace her daughter. I slipped past them, Luca clutched in my arms, and I moved towards Josey, who was frozen and staring at me. "I told you I'd find him," I insisted teasingly. I glanced at the boy. "Luca? This is your mother... Do you remember her?"

I honestly didn't know if he could speak. He hadn't spoken a word since I had first seen him. But he watched Josey curiously before reaching out his arms to her.

Her eyes shown with tears, setting Valentine down on his blankets, before she took Luca from my arms and hugged him tightly to her. I could just barely hear her murmuring into his shoulder, "My darling baby... Oh, I missed you so much." It brought tears to my own eyes.

"He has a cough," I told her quietly. "It probably is just from the cold weather. I'll check it out later, if you'd like. But this girl named Emily was taking care of him when I got there... She seemed nice."

"Emily," Josey whispered, her eyes shining as she glanced up at me, standing. "I remember her. She helped me deliver him." She hugged me suddenly, Luca coughing as he was smashed between us. "Thank you. Oh, Juliana, thank you so much!"

"You know I'd do anything for you," I admitted.

The child in her arms finished coughing when she pulled away and sat back down. "Luca, this is your brother, Valentine." She set him on the blanket in front of the fire with Valentine. Honestly, he seemed very curious as he gazed at his new brother. "Can you say hi to him?"

"Hi," Luca said quietly, almost shyly. "Where's Daddy?"

It was a question neither of us expected. "He's not coming back to-" Josey struggled over what to say, glancing at me for help.

"He's in prison for doing bad things," I told Luca, kneeling down beside him. It was closest to the truth, anyway. He was really dead for doing bad things.

Luca seemed to consider this and gazed at his brother. "Will I see him again?"

"No."

"Good. He smelled bad." The words seemed to tumble out, because his eyes widened after he said them and he glanced at Josey. "I mean, he was nice-"

"He did smell bad," Josey agreed. "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you or get mad at you..."

Luca relaxed a bit and stared at his baby brother, only about a year old. "He's really little, like Emily's baby."

"Yes, he is little," Josey agreed. Her smile was so wide I didn't think it could get any bigger.

A hand touched my shoulder and I glanced up at Bill, who kneeled down beside me. "Who's this little guy?"

"This is Luca," I informed him. Suddenly Luca leaped forward and hugged Valentine to him. Valentine's eyes were wide with fright, like he didn't know what was going on.

I giggled, but immediately, Valentine started to cry. Luca hastily scrambled back. "I didn't mean to hurt him!"

"You didn't hurt him," I insisted as Josey picked up Valentine. "He was just surprised. He's not old enough to understand what's going on yet."

"So who are you?" Luca asked curiously, looking up to Bill and I.

I didn't know how to answer. "Well, I'm Juliana and this is Bill..."

"They're your grand parents," Josey said suddenly, as I trailed off. "Grandma Julie and Grandpa Bill."

I was oddly touched and felt a small smile tug at my lips. "I'm too young to be a grandparent. Jeeze, Josey. You're making me feel old."

"You are old," Josey smiled.

I laughed quietly and held out my arms, "I'll take Valentine, if you want to be with Luca. I'm thinking about going for a walk in the garden."

"I'll join you," Bill stated.

"No, you should stay here with Ginny," I insisted. "She's your sister."

He sighed, but agreed. The warm air quieted Valentine immediately. As I held him on my shoulder, I pictured having a child of my own in this world. I suppose Josey was that child, and while she went to Hogwarts this year, I'd take care of her kids as though they were my own.

The idea was sadly appealing. But with Bill still not deciding when we should tell his parents we were engaged, and me working extra shifts at work because of rogue wolves that are trying to avenge their lord that fell, we simply didn't have the time for a wedding, or anything related to it. We just wanted to be normal.

"Nice night," Ron commented.

"Why aren't you with Gin?" I asked, turning around to face the boy that had captured Josey's heart. "Shouldn't you be inside?"

"It's all stuffy. They won't know I'm gone," he shrugged. "Josey starts school this fall."

"She does..." I agreed.

"What about Valentine and … Luca?" Ron crossed his arms, a vulnerable expression on his face. I bit my lip in uncertainty to where he was going. "Are they to stay with you?"

I nodded, "I can hire a babysitter. Or even take a shorter shift, if I must. Josey needs to get her schooling..."

"She wants to be a healer, like you, you know?" Ron admitted. "She wants to work in the werewolf ward, too." It was news to me. "She wants nothing more."

"She needs to get through school first."

"I worry about her a lot."

"Why?" I asked, surprised. "The war is over. There are no more threats."

"She's been having nightmares."

I frowned, "What?"

He met my eyes then, surprised I hadn't heard of it. "Yeah, about Greyback."

"Why didn't she tell me?"

"I thought she had."

"She's never mentioned..." I frowned. "What has she said about them?"

"He comes back from the dead and attacks her when she's in the garden or something. She's absolutely terrified to walk out here alone."

"He's dead. They burned all the Death Eater's bodies to be sure."

"I keep telling her that, but she says the dream feels so real... And she doesn't say anything, but I know she thinks about the time she spent with that pack..." Ron sat down quietly, beside me on the grass. Valentine was quiet now, and he stared at Ron with wide eyes. "She doesn't talk about any of it, and it bothers me."

"She never liked to talk about it," I agreed. "I don't want to hire a therapist, because even the most guarded secrets can be leaked, but she needs to talk about it. If she keeps it quiet all the time, she'll start to rethink everything."

"Why don't you talk to her?"

I sighed, "I try. She says some small detail that she's already said before, and then she changes the subject. She doesn't want to talk about it."

"I've tried, as well," he admitted. "Told her that she can't keep it bottled up. She started to yell at me. And I started to yell back. And then she stormed away, crying. I don't know what else to do."

"She's strong, but even the strongest people have their limits," I muttered. "Maybe Luca being with her again will open her up to more conversation about it. Maybe I'll get her a therapist. I'm not sure what to do either. You're her boyfriend."

"You and Bill dated throughout your school years, right? Seven years?"

"Eternity," I agreed. "And it wasn't smooth, in the slightest. We always fought or something. Always broke up and got back together the next day. Do you two fight a lot?"

"Not really. It's mostly my fault," Ron muttered. "I have a horrid temper, and she knows it."

"For defeating the Dark Lord, you really have a low self-esteem."

He glanced at me, shrugging, "Hermione's been trying to give me these hints lately, as well. I spent six years caught up on her, and she didn't give me the light of day. And when I do find someone I really, really like, she's suddenly interested?"

"I don't like Hermione, to be honest," I sighed. "She's very self-obsessed with her knowledge and she tries to be humble, but she knows she's right to everything. Reminds me of Percy. Maybe those two should get together."

"She can't stand him. Says he's an arrogant prat."

I snorted, "So's she."

"Josey hates when her and I hang out. She trusts me, but she's insecure about our relationship. I'm eighteen, she's almost fifteen. We have a bit of an age different."

"So did your parents. Five years. It's not such a small gap, mind, but look how they are."

He nodded, his elbows resting on his knees as he ran his hands thorugh his hair. "I tell Hermione flat out she's my best friend, but she keeps... She wears revealing clothing, have you noticed? She's more 'look at me!' and it's frustrating."

"Do you like Hermione, still?"

"No, I love Josey," he said quietly and then froze. "I mean-"

"I won't tell her you said that," I smiled to myself, playing with Valentine's button up onesie. "In your own time."

"I don't think Josey's ready to take that step yet," he admitted. "I don't think she likes me like that, yet. I hope she will, of course."

"Well, you'll know when the time comes. There's loads of time in the world."

"There is now," he agreed.

I nodded slowly, "It took Bill and I five years to say we loved each other. And when that happened it was in the heat of an argument and he lost it. Professed his feelings and about had a heart attack in the silence as I tried to figure out what to say. Told him that he was an emotional little charmer and probably told that to every floozy that got close to him." I snorted. "I could have reacted a bit better, I realize."

He agreed, his hands tight in his hair. "And when Josey goes to school and meets other people her age and realizes that she can do better?"

"You're a great person, Ron," I sighed. "Really. If that happens, it happens, but I highly doubt it would. She's an incredibly loyal girl."

"Ginny switched places with her," Ron muttered. "She shouldn't have taken the spy job."

"She wasn't thinking. She wanted Luca. She's always wanted Luca. She didn't know they would take Ginny."

"I know," Ron admitted. "I just... How can she be loyal if she promised to spy?"

"She told me she was spying before we knew," I told him. "Before the battle... The day you came back to the Burrow, and she showed you Valentine. I've told you this, though. She not once put us in harm, intentially."

"I know," he sighed. "Does she talk about me, at the cottage?"

I giggled, "What kind of question's that?"

"Does she?"

"All the time. Why?"

"Mum says all I do is talk about her... Harry says that's all I do, too. I just wonder if maybe it's too good to be true. She's way too good for me."

"Do you really feel that way?" Ron's breath hitched as he spun around to face Josey, clutching Luca's hand as they approached. I watched her expression closely, and saw her in a more confused mood. "Do you not like me?" she continued.

"Josey-" Ron got to his feet quickly, shaking my head. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"You're a great person," he insisted. "I'm not. That's all."

She bit her lip, "Oh..." She glanced at the sky worriedly before tugging Luca's arm. "We were going to walk with Juliana."

"Oh, I gave up the walk. Valentine's getting a lot heavier than I remember," I admitted. I ran my hands through Valentine's hair, causing him to giggle.

"Oh." She glanced at Ron before biting her lip and looking away. "So, what's up?"

I sighed, "If you two want to go off to talk, you're more than welcome to."

"It can wait," she insisted, sitting down a few feet from me, Luca beside her. Ron took his seat back. "Ginny is being force-fed right now, even though she insists she is fine."

"She insists she wasn't hurt," I told her quietly. "Just a little stinky. Horrid."

"And the other girls?"

"They're living in my manor in Manchester right now," I admitted to them both. "I'm never going to use it and the Ministry emptied it all out. The elves will care for them. I made Emily promise me she'd try to get her life all sorted out."

"Don't they need to register at the Ministry?"

I bit my lip, "Not sure... I'll look into it, ask Arthur."

"How many are there?"

"I have room for as many as there are," I stated. "My manor is quite old and quite large... It'll be enough."

"I just wondered," she muttered.

"I only saw Emily and another child. I don't know how many. There was a man there, as well. Probably my age."

Josey's eyes widened, "Hamwell?"

"He didn't tell me his name," I admitted.

"It was Hamwell," she said quietly. "He's okay... Not as bad as some of them, but still tough."

"He said some of the girls went home, some stayed."

"We were all taken when we were young," Josey admitted. "Some of us five, some of us toddlers, some of us when we graduated from Hogwarts. Anyone that was young enough to be dependent."

"Well, it's over," I told her. "They're cared for now."

"Are you going to visit them?"

"Of course," I nodded. "Tomorrow, I think, she if they took my offer."

"I'll go with," she offered, giving me a hopeful look.

"No, you have to study for school," I told her simply. "I'll tell you everything that happens."

She frowned, but agreed with me on that part. "Every word," Josey requested quietly.

I grinned at her, hugging her softly., "Of course. Nothing less."


Sorry for the long time since the last update! On the other hand, I've started a new forum you all might be interested in. It's call fanficnowrimo. It's dedicated to helping YOU finish YOUR fanfiction in a month! Winners for this will be announced every month, if you accomplish your word goal, and a winners page will be created on my blog to congratulate you! (So basically, you have nothing to lose. It's a lot of fun!)

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Anastasia Beck