Andromeda faced Remus Lupin in the Entrance Hall, having escorted him away from her daughter's room. She observed him for a moment, then said, "If we must leave Nymphadora to your care, there are things you must know."

Remus didn't say anything, seeming to be listening to her. "We are her family and will always stand by her," Andromeda warned him. "She may seem tough, but she has a gentle side that most people never see."

"She's got some nice things about her," Remus said simply. "I know that she's had some difficult things in her life—"

"You don't know her at all," Andromeda retorted, then smiled. "I'm sure she'll tell you the same thing. Just be aware that she doesn't trust men, and she has more than enough reason."

"Sirius told me about that," Remus nodded. "His brother told him what Cygnus did to her."

"Did he happen to mention the death of my father as well?" Andromeda asked, unable to keep the grin from her face.

"He...might have," mused Remus. "It doesn't surprise me. Also, Dora killed Rabastan as a favour to you, whether you consider it that way or not."

Andromeda did not respond to this, but said quietly, "You had better take good care of my daughter, Lupin. She is the only thing I have left from her father."

A look of amusement flashed across the man's face. "And yet, she's the worst one out of all of your children," he said.

"She has had the most directly influence from Bellatrix and Rabastan, since she is the oldest," Andromeda answered. "She did what she had to in order to remain with our family, and I do not take that lightly." She felt the wards on Nymphadora's room fall, and knew she had little time. "I expect my daughter to visit us as often as she likes, and that you will not interfere," she said firmly. "Merlin knows everyone but Bellatrix stops causing trouble when the Dark Lord isn't around, anyway."

"Of course," Remus agreed, looking up to see the mother of his child enter the room, Arielle at her side. "Ready to go?"

"Never," Dora answered with a cold smile, and he realised that she had her wand in her hand.

"How did you get your wand back?" he asked.

Arielle smirked at him. "I had it," she said. "I mean, if she's not going to Azkaban, she's going to need it." The young witch faced Remus squarely. "You had better treat my sister well, do you understand? She may have a child to take care of, but I don't give two shits about going to Azkaban, all right?"

Remus simply nodded, though it seemed that there were a few things that he would like to have said to the girl. Dora strode past him to the gates and turned to Andromeda. "Once I'm gone, close the ward," she told her mother. "There's no reason for me to have full access."

"I'll have to see what Laverne says," Andromeda answered as Arielle whispered something in her ear. "Good luck, Dora."

Dora nodded, then turned and walked through the gates with Remus at her side.

Lauren Lestrange sat next to her husband, Teddy in her arms as she watched him sleep. Laverne was definitely doing better, since he could speak in sentences and move his hands, but he still couldn't get out of bed. The young woman took a deep breath, glancing at the clock and seeing that it was nearly time to wake her husband for his potions.

Carefully holding Teddy on her hip, she reached out and touched her husband's face lovingly. "Laverne," she said softly. "Wake up, dear." She smiled as he stirred, turning his head toward her and making a soft sound as his eyes just barely flickered open. "It's time for—ow, Teddy!"

For the baby had grabbed her hair and tugged on it as he giggled. Laverne's left hand twitched, and his eyes flickered open. "Is Dora here?" he said hoarsely.

Lauren sighed softly. "She hasn't been back since she left: I've been taking care of Teddy for the last couple weeks," she explained, beginning to pour his potions for him.

She stopped what she was doing when he lifted his hand and reached out, touching her stomach. "Are you...?" he whispered.

The young woman blushed, placing her free hand over his hand on her stomach. "Yes," she said, a beautiful smile on her face. "We're having a baby, Laverne."

Mixed emotions crossed the young man's face, and he finally said, "I'm excited." He gave her a small smile as she moved closer to help him with drinking the potions. "I've got to get better, though."

After he had finished the vials she had given to him, she helped him lie back and said, "You're so much better than you were at first, and you're getting better every day. You'll soon be up and around."

"I hope," he smiled weakly. "I want to spend time with you, Lauren."

The young woman squeezed her husband's hand and answered, "We have our whole lives now, Laverne. There's no Dark Lord to hurt us, and our family can grow in relative peace."

Laverne gave a tiny nod. "I'm sorry you got hurt."

"I'm fine," she laughed. "And baby's fine too—Athena's been giving me advice, and since your mother's learned of our child, she's been helping too."

"And Arielle?" Laverne asked.

"She's here," Lauren said. "She's visited a few times, but you were asleep or unaware. Did you want to see her?"

Laverne tried to sit up a bit more, and Lauren quickly set Teddy down for a moment to help him. "Yeah," Laverne said, once he was situated.

The woman lifted Teddy into her arms and said, "I'll send her in and come back when she's finished, okay?" Her husband agreed, and she went off to retrieve his little sister.

Remus Lupin approached the young woman that he had brought into his home and quietly addressed her. "Dora?"

"Remus." She looked askance at him before returning to battling the training dummy before her. "Here to distract me?"

"Well, it's been almost two weeks," the man began. "Do you suppose it's time to bring Teddy home?

"He is home," Dora muttered, concentrating on her duel. "Where I should be."

"Dora," Remus sighed, but she interrupted.

"No," she said sharply. "Teddy will not feel safe here as long as I feel endangered. He's far better off at Mum's right now."

The werewolf sighed. "You are safe here," he said, but she laughed at him, and he continued, "I may have volunteered to keep an eye on you, but I am fascinated with you anyway. I never would have noticed you if you hadn't introduced yourself to me so thoroughly."

Dora smirked. "You liked me from the start—that was apparent, even through the torture."

Remus gave her a slight grin. "You're very entertaining, you know," he said. "In spite of the occasional torture, I enjoyed the time we spent together."

"Well, most men would," Dora huffed in annoyance. "I didn't expect you to pull a Rabastan and kidnap me."

"Have I hurt you?" Remus asked quietly. "I think you'll find I have not."

"You have the potential for it," Dora retorted, turning from the training dummy after she finished her duel.

"Most men could," Remus smirked. "And some men would."

She scowled at him, but a smirk slowly spread across her face. "Addicted to me, Mr. Lupin?"

He gave her a wry smile, and after hesitating, nodded. "Oh dear," Dora pouted, and in the next second, she had lunged forward and shoved him up against the wall, smashing her lips into his.

This seemed to be exactly what he wanted, as he immediately pulled her to himself and fervently returned her kisses. A few minutes later, he drew back to breathe and murmured, "What does it mean?"

"Nothing," Nymphadora replied almost as breathlessly, and gasped, then started laughing when he picked her up and carried her up and carried her into his room.

One thing bothered Dora a lot, even as she stayed with Remus in his home. Even though she wanted to be back with Teddy, she worried. At her first opportunity, she left the house and apparated to Malfoy Manor.

She fully expected them to ignore her questions, but she very much wanted to know what was going on with her baby cousin. Dora set off the chimes and waited.

"Cissa," Dora said quietly. "May I have a private word with you?"

Narcissa didn't say a word, but let her niece into the house, leading her to a private room. "Have you even visited your mother yet?" she asked the girl. "Why are you here?"

"Is Delphi still here?" Dora asked intensely, and Narcissa immediately looked uncomfortable.

"You are in no position to take her, so why do you ask?" Narcissa replied, regarding her niece with a very serious expression.

"I want to know that she stays out of trouble," Dora answered. "Laverne made a prophecy about her that she'd try to bring her father back, but fail. I want to know where she is and what she's doing so I can keep my family safe."

Narcissa frowned. "She isn't here," the witch said quietly. "She's being cared for by another family."

"Who?" asked Dora.

The blonde woman hesitated, then said, "She's at the Rowle's—don't try to visit her: you won't be welcomed."

Dora nodded, quickly realising that Bellatrix's little girl wasn't going to have the nicest childhood. "They won't hurt her?"

"She's His daughter," Narcissa replied. "They know better. Is this all you came here for, Dora?"

"I have to take care of my family, just like you have to take care of yours," answered Dora.

"Sure," Narcissa scoffed. "Go visit your mother: she's worried about you."

"I will," Dora sighed. "It's complicated, Cissa."

Narcissa nodded, and Dora allowed herself to be escorted out of the Manor. At least Delphini Riddle wouldn't be causing trouble for a few years.

Arielle cautiously knocked at her brother's door, then peeked into the room quietly. "Oh," she said, seeing him awake and alert. She walked forward. "Glad to see you awake for once," Arielle told him.

Laverne smiled slightly. "How have you been? And how's Mum?"

Arielle smirked. "I'm fine," she answered. "As for Mother, I don't know. I've been kind of scared to talk to her."

"Because you helped Dora?"

The girl looked up at her brother. "She didn't need help; she did it pretty much by herself." Arielle sighed, shaking her head slightly. "I don't know how Mum feels about it—but he'd still be gone, either way."

"Most likely," Laverne agreed. "I will not scold, as I don't wish to be your next target."

"Well, you're not harming Mum and making the family miserable, are you?" Arielle asked, raising an eyebrow at her brother.

"Not yet," sighed Laverne, then changed the subject. "I assume Hogwarts is being restored and you'll return to school in the fall?"

"Yes," Arielle answered with a sigh. "Two more years, Laverne, and I'm done." She moved closer and sat down on his bed. "Dora's been kidnapped."

Laverne's brow furrowed. "I know," he said. "Have you seen her?"

Arielle shook her head. "I'm about to go find that werewolf and murder him."

"Is it true that you helped him escape?" questioned Laverne.

"Yes, and I shouldn't have," huffed Arielle. "But I was stupid. I don't know what possessed me to do any of what I did."

"She'd be in Azkaban if he hadn't taken her," Laverne pointed out.

The girl rolled her eyes. "She's not much better off."

Laverne chuckled. "Oh, I don't know about that," he said.

Arielle looked confused for a split second, then gasped, "No! No—did she lie to us?"

"No," Laverne answered, "but if she can find happiness, she deserves it. Mum was never happy with Dad, but there was nothing we could really do for her." He sat up a little straighter. "I will not stand in the way of Dora's happiness, whatever her choice."

"Well, you couldn't," Arielle mused. "You were pretty much dead."

"Arielle," he scolded, and she grinned.

"I'm glad you're recovering," she said. "And I agree about Dora—but I still don't like the werewolf."

One afternoon a couple months laters, Andromeda entered the sitting room at her home, grinning from ear to ear. "The baby's here," she said proudly. "It's a boy."

Dora and her sisters all looked up with joyful exclamations. "May we see them?" Arielle asked excitedly.

"Yes," Andromeda smiled. "But quietly, of course. Lauren is tired, and they're trying to keep the baby quiet."

Athena laughed slightly, getting to her feet and hurrying forward with her sisters. "What have they named him?" she asked.

Andromeda smirked. "I have been ordered not to tell," she replied as she knocked softly on her son and daughter-in-law's door before peeking into the room. "I have the girls," she said. "Are you ready?"

Laverne smiled at his tired-looking wife and gently wiped her tears away, cleaning her face. "I think so," he said. "Right?"

Lauren attempted a smile at Andromeda. "Okay," she said.

Andromeda held the door open and allowed her daughters to tiptoe into the room where the new parents waited with their baby boy. Athena's mouth opened slightly when she saw Lauren cradling the little one. "Oh," she breathed. "He's so sweet! How was it?"

Lauren raised an eyebrow at Athena, making her friend laugh. "I'm glad it's over," she sighed, and looked back down at her son.

"What did you name him?" Dora asked curiously, approaching on Laverne's side and looking down at the newborn.

"His name is Desmond Rodolphus Lestrange," Laverne replied, smiling at his wife and child before smirking up at Dora.

"Oh, that's so nice!" Arielle said happily. "He's so cute."

"Well done," Athena said to Lauren. "I'm guessing you probably need to rest for a good long while, so I'm not going to stay. Congratulations, Lauren." She patted the girl on the shoulder before walking around to hug her brother. "Congratulations, Dad," she teased.

Laverne chuckled. "Thanks," he told her.

Arielle also congratulated the couple, and the girls finally left the room respectfully. Andromeda approached and made sure the new mother was as comfortable as she could be before leaving the little family alone together.

Laverne looked at his wife and asked, "What were you saying earlier?"

"That was way harder than I expected," Lauren murmured, and he nodded, listening carefully. "Athena told me it wouldn't be that bad."

"Perhaps we ought to have reminded you of the Lestrange pain tolerance," Laverne mused. "Or that our children like being difficult."

She gave him a slight glare, and he kissed her head gently. "I love you," he told her. "When you're ready, let me take him and you rest, okay?"

"Okay," Lauren sighed, shaking her head as she looked down at her little boy. She understood now why she was an only child.