* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART FOUR

Brave New World

Chapter 42: I Would Like to Thank You

A/N: The chapter title is from the song:

Thank You by Dido.

"Please don't make me do it!"

Sadie raised an eyebrow at her husband, "I'm not making you do anything. But we really ought to go over and say sorry to Daphne."

Theo opened his eyes and looked up at her from where he was kneeling on the floor, "Oh, I wasn't talking to you."

"Who were you talking to then?" Sadie asked incredulously.

"God," Theo replied.

"You don't believe in God," Sadie reminded him.

"I know this," Theo said with a nod, "But the thing is, I'm not looking forward to getting on my knees and apologising to Daphne Greengrass. May I remind you that Daphne Greengrass is the only girl who has ever turned me down, and may I also remind you that she literally lives for my humiliation? I mean, come on, she probably gets off on guys being on their knees-"

Sadie snorted.

"Sadie!" Theo scoffed, "I was going to finish with, apologising to her, honestly! You're meant to be the innocent one?"

"The innocent one?" Sadie asked. She raised an eyebrow, "The pregnant innocent one who did what we did on graduation?"

"I did kind of goad you into that," Theo admitted.

"I didn't need much goading," Sadie muttered under her breath, "Anyway, you were the one who told me that we should apologise because you were a dick to her-"

"I need to say sorry, and I know that," Theo muttered. He pushed himself to his feet, "But I'm not looking forward to it. It's just going to be her and Harry there, isn't it?"

"We're going over at 10 am on a Sunday. Who else is going to be there?"

"Well, you never know what kind of questionable relationship Harry has with Neville," Theo joked, "Daphne might turn a blind eye. She's a pureblood after all."

Sadie snorted and threw her coat on, "So am I, and I wouldn't turn a blind eye if you started screwing Draco."

"I know," Theo said. He put an arm around her shoulder, "That's why I do it behind your back."

"Shut up, Theo."

"Do you want me to side-apparate you there?"

"I'm pregnant, not terminally ill," Sadie muttered as they stepped outside together.

"For the next few months, aren't they basically the same thing?"

"Shut up, Theo!"

When Sadie and Theo stepped into the kitchen of Potter Manor, they both had to stifle laughs as they walked in on the occupants eating their breakfast.

"Morning guys," Daphne said with a smile, "There are some bagels left, and there's coffee in the pot. Oh wait, can you have coffee, Sadie?"

"As long as I don't have too much, yes," Sadie replied, "Morning, Harry."

"Morning, Sadie," Harry yawned. He had a bagel halfway to his mouth and was holding a spoon near Teddy's mouth. The little boy kept trying to grab it, and Harry was unsuccessfully trying to make sure that it was out of his reach.

"Morning, Neville," Sadie said. She shot Theo an amused look, "What are you doing here?"

"I force him to come over for breakfast when Lilly's not around," Daphne said as she poured out two cups of coffee, "Otherwise, he doesn't eat properly. Why did you think he was here?"

"Oh, Theo was suggesting that you might be turning a blind eye to their questionable relationship because you're a pureblood," Sadie retorted.

Daphne snorted, "Those two? No. Harry's not the one in this relationship who has diverse tastes."

Theo grinned, "Oh, now that is interesting. If you and Lilly ever develop a relationship like the one you had with Ginny during the war, I would like to see the memories."

"That's never going to happen," Daphne smirked, "Just like you will never see the memory of Ginny and me."

"I've seen it," Harry grinned.

"So have I," Neville remarked.

"How have you seen it?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Ginny showed me," Neville grinned.

"It was the hottest thing ever, right?" Harry asked his best friend.

"See? Unbelievably straight," Daphne said with a roll of her eyes.

"But you and Draco, on the other hand?" Neville scoffed, "Less straight."

Harry sniggered, "I mean, you guys have a door in-between your houses."

"Yeah, but I don't eat breakfast with Draco," Theo pointed out.

"That's because you drink till 4 am with Draco and then sleep through breakfast," Sadie whispered.

"Oh yeah…good point," Theo mused, "Still, drinking till 4 am is more manly than eating breakfast together. Are you reading Witch Weekly, by the way?"

"Yes, I am," Neville said irritably, "They happen to have an excellent feature on magical herb gardens, okay?"

"Merlin, you are so gay," Theo said with a shake of his head.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "Leave Neville alone, Theo. Why did you want to come over for breakfast anyway?"

"You don't even eat breakfast," Neville pointed out.

Before Theo could explain or begin to apologise to Daphne, a loud clatter distracted them all. Harry had fallen asleep while holding Teddy's bowl of cereal, and Teddy had grabbed the bowl and thrown it halfway across the kitchen.

Harry woke up with a start and fell off his chair.

Neville laughed loudly and hi-fived Teddy, "You two have got one hell of a chaser in the making!"

Theo sniggered, and Daphne glared at him, "That will be you soon, so I wouldn't laugh if I were you. We were up half the night with this one because one of his canines is coming in, and it's bloody sharp too."

"Werewolf baby," Harry whispered jokingly as he picked himself up from the floor and dusted bits of muesli off of his dressing gown.

Theo shook his head in amusement, "I came over to talk to you, Daphne, in private, if you don't mind?"

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "I don't think I've heard you sound that serious for a long time."

Theo smiled, "It does happen."

"I know it does," Daphne said, "Come up to the potions lab with me. I could use a second set of eyes on a new potion I'm trying to develop."

"Alright," Theo said, he stepped into the entrance hall with her, "What kind of potion?"

"The next step in the search for a cure for lycanthropy," Daphne answered, "I'm using a couple of potions as a basis."

"I'm guessing that one of them is wolfsbane?"

"Yeah," Daphne nodded, "It represses the violent nature of the wolf and makes the transformation a little bit less painful, but it isn't a complete cure. I've been studying the potion that we created to make Melody human again."

Theo's eyes widened, "I never even thought about that as a possible cure for lycanthropy."

Daphne shrugged, "There are a few other elements to consider because of what becoming a werewolf does to someone's genetics, but I think it's possible. After all, that potion made it possible for Melody to become human again after a long time."

Theo nodded, "It's brilliant. Are you doing it for Teddy?"

"A little," Daphne admitted, "There's a little part of me that's doing it for Teddy and Bill. But mostly, I'm doing it because it might make the Ministry rethink the fact that werewolves are classified as beasts rather than humans."

Theo wasn't sure what to say to that.

"Anyway," Daphne said, she opened the door to the potions lab and stepped inside, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Theo nodded, "Thank you for saving Draco's life after the war when I couldn't. I avoided him all summer. I was bitchy and petty, just like you were when you saw him kissing Pansy when we came back for our seventh year. I should never have called you bitchy because I reckon I'm probably bitchier."

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him.

"If you hadn't been there for Draco that summer after the war, I dread to think what he might have done, so I'm sorry for being a dick," Theo said, "And thank you for saving his life for me."

"What did Lilly say to you?"

"Nothing…"

"Bullshit," Daphne said.

"She called me an obsceneword, like rude by my standards and threatened me with a Chelsea smile which sounds horrific," Theo admitted, "She said I was a dick, and she was right. You gave up a summer with Tracey to save Draco, and nobody ever gave you enough credit for that."

"Thanks, Theo," Daphne said, her tone laced with surprise, "It means a lot to hear a genuine apology from you."

Theo grinned mischievously, "I know, it's rare, right? But if Lilly is defending you so fiercely, does that mean you're shagging her?"

"Oh, for the love of Merlin," Daphne muttered, "Say that again, I dare you."

Theo looked like he was thinking about it.

"Need I remind you that when you and I first met, I was an 11-year-old girl with some homemade spells that I bet still make you squirm?" Daphne said calmly, "But now, I'm training to be a curse breaker under Bill Weasley, and I know curses that would make you scream like a little girl."

"Well, I didn't know that you were under Bill Weasley. I wonder what Harry would have to say about – ahhhhhh!"

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, that was Theo screaming like a pussy."

"Language Nev!" Harry exclaimed. He covered Teddy's ears, and the little boy giggled.

"Sorry, Teddy," Neville said sheepishly. He turned to Sadie and asked, "What do you think he said?"

"I've given up trying to work out how his brain works," Sadie said. She picked a bagel up from the table, "But if they are arguing, that means that order has been restored to the world."

"You know, we've focused so much on the adoption lately that we haven't talked much about the wedding."

Daphne glanced up at Harry, "It's still a few months away, and there isn't that much to plan since we're going to have it here."

"Can we do that? You know, have the whole thing here?" Harry asked cluelessly, "We don't have to get married in a church or something?"

Daphne frowned, "Do you want to get married in a church?"

"No," Harry replied, "Do you?"

"Nope," Daphne said, "So let's just do it all here with all of our friends and family around."

"Alright," Harry said with a smile, "But there are still things to plan, aren't there? Like food-"

"I've already worked out a menu with the elves. I'll bring a few in from Hogwarts to help out," Daphne cut in.

"And dresses and robes-"

"I'll get my dress sorted out soon. I'll have to tell Sadie because she'll want to be there," Daphne cut in, "I've already got Sadie's dress sorted. I'll have to expand it a little, but that's easy enough done. As for you, I've made an appointment for you and Neville to go down in December and sort your robes out."

"What about decorations?"

"Arranged. They just need to be paid for in December."

"Wedding rings?"

"I've picked out ones that I like. We just need to try them on and buy them."

"Entertainment?"

"Bill's calling in a favour to get us the Weird Sisters for a good price."

"The Weird Sisters?" Harry asked in disbelief, "Seriously?"

"Yep," Daphne smirked, "Bill went to school with the lead singer."

Harry shook his head slowly, "You amaze me."

"I told you that I could throw a wedding together easily. The only thing we do need to work out is the honeymoon," Daphne said, "You have to go back to work on the 2nd of January, so we don't really have time for one."

"I'll ask Sumner if I can have a few days leave so that we can go somewhere," Harry said, "Do you know where you want to go?"

"Not really," Daphne admitted, "It will just be nice to go away for a few days."

Harry nodded in agreement, "So you really have everything under control?"

"Mostly," Daphne said, she sighed, "I need to talk to my Uncle Phineas about my inheritance. My mother said that he was in charge of the estate now, but I haven't seen him for years. I don't know if there is any money in that fund anymore and if there is, I don't know if he will release it to me upon my marriage like he's supposed to."

"We can go and see him together if you want?"

Daphne shook her head, "No, Harry. I love you, which is exactly why I don't want to drag you into my family drama. I'll do it on my own a bit closer to the wedding."

Harry opened his mouth to insist that he didn't mind being dragged into her family drama, but before he could do so, Daphne added, "You're late, by the way, look at the time."

"Bugger!" Harry cursed, he kissed her lightly, "Love you, Daph, see you tonight."

Theo felt incredibly nervous as he stood in Sumner's office on Monday morning. After flying practice, he had asked Sheppard if he would be able to have a quiet word with him and Sumner at some point, but he hadn't expected Sheppard to say that right now would be a convenient time.

As he stood in the office, waiting for Sumner to arrive, Theo realised that he was nervous because he didn't know what to expect. A part of him was expecting to be judged or told off when he told his bosses his news, but he wasn't a teenager who had knocked his girlfriend up. He was just here to inform them that his wife was pregnant.

Theo jumped when the door opened loudly. Sumner stepped in and frowned when he saw Sheppard sitting on one of the desks and Theo standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"What's going on here, Sheppard?"

"Recruit Nott asked to have a quiet word with us," Sheppard explained.

Sumner sat down behind his desk and looked at Theo, "Dropping out then, are you, son? I didn't expect you to be the first and not so soon either."

"I'm not dropping out, sir," Theo promised, "I'm just here because my personal situation has changed, and I feel like you have a right to know in case it changes my mindset here at work."

Sumner bowed his head, "That's very mature of you, Nott. Continue."

"I found out a few days ago that my wife is pregnant, sir," Theo said nervously, "With our first child."

Theo really didn't know what to expect, but he certainly didn't expect Sumner to smile and stand up, "Congratulations, Nott," he said as he extended his hand.

Theo took Sumner's hand and shook it, "Uh…thank you, sir."

Sheppard chuckled and clapped him on the back, "Enjoy the next few months while you can. Life changes completely when that first one comes along."

Sumner nodded, "It certainly does. I suppose you will need this. It outlines all the benefits you are entitled to when you become a parent."

"Benefits?" Theo asked in surprise.

"You don't think we just leave you to your own devices, do you?" Sumner asked, "This job is demanding, and we recognise that it's hard to be a parent when you do what we do. You will get free childcare at the creche on the east side of the base. Not to mention two weeks paid leave when your wife gives birth and two further weeks of optional unpaid leave."

Theo looked down at the little information pack that he had just been handed, "Woah…thank you, sir. I never expected anything like this. I was actually pretty nervous about telling you."

Sheppard smiled, "We aren't as tough as we look, Nott. I thought you might have worked that out by now. What is your wife going to do? She was working in Egypt, wasn't she?"

Theo nodded, "Yes, sir, but she's going to have to drop out of her course. I'm not sure what she's going to do now, but she will have to find something, or she'll drive herself crazy until the baby is born."

"Well, I'll get the HR department to get in touch with her," Sheppard said, "They are always looking for temporary clerical assistants and research assistants up at the DMLE, and it would keep her busy for a few months; without any heavy lifting."

"That would be great, sir, thank you."

Sheppard shrugged and said, "Liz was an Auror, so you can imagine how much she was climbing the walls with boredom when she was pregnant with our two boys. I had to find something for her to do."

Theo hadn't realised that Sheppard had been married to an Auror, but he supposed that made sense, "Sadie's a bit like that too," he admitted, "So I appreciate your help."

"If we can do anything else to help out, let us know," Sumner said, "And once your wife has seen a Healer for her 3-month review, make sure you get a note confirming the pregnancy. We'll need a copy for our books."

"Anyway, get yourself back to class before Auror Carter storms in here looking for you," Sheppard added.

"None of us want that to happen," Sumner agreed.

Theo smiled and nodded, "I will, thanks again, sirs."

"Why are you so late?" Draco whispered when Theo sat down next to him in Disguise class.

"I had to inform Sumner and Sheppard of Sadie's pregnancy," Theo whispered back as he grabbed his notebook and a pencil from his bag.

"How did that go?"

"Better than I expected to be honest," Theo murmured under his breath, "Did you know that Sheppard is married to an Auror, by the way?"

Draco shook his head, "No, do you think it's Carter?"

Theo looked up at the Auror, who was glaring at him from the front of the class, "Nah…I think it's someone a bit nicer."

Draco snorted in amusement as Carter barked out, "Nott! You do not show up to my class late and then get to sit and have a conversation with your partner. Get up here and demonstrate the three most obvious forms of disguise for me now!"

Theo rolled his eyes and muttered, "Definitely not her."

"Did you guys know that Sheppard is married to another Auror?" Theo asked conversationally over lunch later that day.

Neville shook his head, "One who works here?"

"Probably," Theo said, "They have two kids, so I doubt she's an active Auror."

"She might be," Draco said, "Sheppard isn't an active Auror anymore, and only one parent needs to have a stable job."

"I suppose," Theo reasoned, "But I just got the impression it was someone here."

"Did you say that he has two kids?" Harry asked curiously.

"Two boys," Theo nodded.

"Auror Weir has two boys," Harry said thoughtfully.

"What's her first name?" Theo asked, "Because Sheppard referred to his wife as Liz."

Harry shot Theo an amused look, "So there's every chance his wife is Auror Elizabeth Weir then, isn't there?"

Theo rolled his eyes, "Shut up; I don't know their first names!"

"If you ever looked at the staff board in the entrance hallway, you would," Draco said after snorting in amusement.

"I wonder what other Aurors are together," Draco mused as he looked over at the staff table. Sumner and Sheppard weren't there. They very rarely were. The boys always assumed that the bosses just ate in their offices.

"Carter and Mitchell are definitely together," Theo said, "Draco and I worked that out during our isolation week."

"What are you boys gossiping about?" Ophelia asked as she and Blanche sat down at their table.

"Our Senior Aurors," Harry said matter of factly, "We think some of them are together."

"Well, I reckon McKay and Brown have got something going on," Blanche said, "They are together all of the time."

"Probably just because Potions and Herbology are interconnecting disciplines," Neville reasoned.

"I'm with Neville here," Ophelia cut in, "I think something is going on between McKay and Carson; I see him up at the hospital wing a lot."

"Again, Potions and Healing, interconnecting disciplines," Neville said.

Harry shook his head, "No, I see that actually, Ophelia. I think Carson is gay, and I'm not convinced about McKay."

"My gay-dar definitely clocks Carson as gay," Blanche agreed.

The others snorted in amusement.

"I thought McKay was up at the hospital wing because he had a thing for Keller actually," Draco cut in, "Him and Carson come across as friends to me."

"No way, Keller is way too good looking for him!" Harry objected.

"Well, look at you and your other half. You're you, which I guess some straight girls find appealing. You killed a dark lord and all, even if you're not as good with a sword as Neville," Blanche said with a smirk, "Then there's Daphne, who is basically perfect."

"She's really not," Harry chuckled.

"She's super-model hot, though," Blanche said.

"Yeah, she really is," Draco agreed.

Even Theo nodded, and Neville said, "And you get to shag her, no wonder you two are always at it."

"Shut up, fatbottom."

"Oi!" Theo objected, "That's my pet name for him!"

"I'm not your pet," Neville snorted.

"And I call him fatbottom too," Draco chimed in.

"Yeah, so find your own name," Theo said with a mock glare, "Call him darling or something."

"Isn't that what you call Draco in the bedroom?" Blanche retorted.

Harry and Neville burst out laughing. Blanche was becoming a staple in their work-based friend group.

When Theo came home on Monday night, it was to find Sadie curled up under a blanket with her favourite book.

"That bad, huh?"

Sadie looked up and nodded, "Yeah, it was about as bad as I expected."

"Did they throw you out with immediate effect?" Theo asked. His eyes fell on the trunk at the foot of the bed.

"Yes, they did," Sadie said. She shut her book and pulled Theo under the blanket with her, "They were very rude to me about the whole thing, to be honest. They told me that I was throwing away a promising career and that I was very foolish. When I told them that this was definitely what I wanted, they said if that was the case, then I should pack my things, leave immediately and never apply for the course again."

Theo shook his head angrily, "I will march over there tonight and tell them what I think of that."

"I know you would," Sadie said quietly, "But please don't, Theo."

"After what they said to you?" Theo asked hotly, "You expect me just to leave it be?"

"Yes, because it's over now," Sadie said, "You going over there won't make anything better. It won't make them take me back, and it won't make them apologise. All it might do is harm your career, so please, just let it go."

"Can you let it go?" Theo asked. He looked her directly in the eye.

"I already have," Sadie said honestly, "I didn't like it in the first place and the way they reacted just made me hate them and that place even more. I'm glad to be shot of them, to be honest."

"Alright," Theo said calmly, "In that case, I will let it go."

"Thank you."

"But I have to ask…if you're glad to be shot of them, why are you so sad?" Theo asked his wife.

"Because I don't know where I'm going to go now," Sadie replied, "This baby is due in March, and it's September. What am I going to do for the next seven months? I mean, there's the apothecary, but if I'm on bed rest, I can't do that so-"

"I might have an answer to that question," Theo said with a smile, "Because I had a chat with my bosses today, and they gave me lots of good news. Let me tell you all about it over a cup of tea?"

"Can I bring the blanket with me?"

Theo laughed, "Yeah, you can."

Sadie smiled and wrapped the blanket around herself before getting to her feet, "In that case, okay."

"So what's on the cards this morning?"

"I'll tell you when you tell me what's in the bag."

"A breakfast muffin for you and a coffee for me," Daphne replied. She put the bag down on his desk, "Because I need to lose weight for my wedding."

"You don't need to lose weight," Bill scoffed, "Honestly, you sound like my wife."

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "So, do we have a case?"

"Oh yeah," Bill said. He had become distracted by the breakfast muffin that he was stuffing in his mouth. He swallowed his mouthful and said, "Interesting case, so we're heading out as soon as I finish this."

"Which won't be long at the rate you eat," Daphne said distastefully.

Bill swallowed another mouthful, "That sounded disdainful."

"You reminded me of Ron for a moment there," Daphne said, "And that isn't a good thing."

Bill shuddered, "No, it isn't," he agreed.

"When you say interesting case, by the way, do you mean an old curse or just an interesting one?" Daphne asked while she sipped her coffee.

Bill finished his muffin and said, "Both. We are going to investigate a chair in a muggle museum. Apparently, a convicted murderer ate his last meal at his favourite pub, then stood up and said that death would come to anyone who dared to sit in his chair."

"And death has come to them?" Daphne guessed as they left the office together.

Bill nodded, "Yep, the murderer was hanged for his crimes, and since then, 63 people have died after sitting on the chair."

"63?" Daphne asked in disbelief, "And nobody has thought to investigate it yet?"

"We don't know how many of them actually died from natural causes, though," Bill pointed out, "We will need to work that out so we can have a look at our final number. Either way, the museum called in 'specialists', aka us, after a prank went wrong and the 63rd person died last night."

"So someone sat in the chair then?"

Bill nodded again, "A couple of the apprentices were playing around in the museum at night, and one dared the other to sit on the chair. Apparently, it's suspended 5 foot in the air to stop anyone else from dying. Early this morning, that apprentice dropped dead."

"And in come the specialists," Daphne said, she shot Bill a grin, "You're right, it's interesting."

"Are you going to tell me why you've been so distracted this week?"

"I haven't been distracted."

"Daphne, you nearly sat on the death chair."

"Is that what we're calling it now?" Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a chair that causes death. What else would we call it?"

"I don't know, something more original than the death chair," Daphne muttered, "And I didn't nearly sit on it. I just had a closer look."

"Until you fell," Bill pointed out, "And you would have landed on it if it weren't for my amazing reflexes."

"I wouldn't have landed on it," Daphne muttered under her breath. They were currently holed up in a makeshift office, which was essentially a storeroom, in the depths of the museum.

"Seriously, Daphne, what's distracting you?"

Daphne knew Bill's policy; they told each other everything as Auror partners would. She knew that meant that she had to come clean.

"My best friend just found out that she's pregnant," Daphne admitted, "That's what's been going on with me for the last few days."

"Wow," Bill said, "I didn't expect that from Sadie…."

"Neither did I," Daphne admitted, "She's smart, career-minded, logical…it was completely out of character, but I suppose you only get one honeymoon."

"Oh yeah, I can sympathise with that," Bill said with a nod, "How is she feeling? She's still young, isn't she?"

"Everyone is having a kid young these days," Daphne muttered, "Look at your family; war breeds babies, that's what they say, isn't it?"

"Something like that," Bill said, "But you can't be judgemental about people having kids young, can you?"

Daphne frowned at him, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're adopting Teddy," Bill pointed out.

Daphne scoffed, "That's not the same."

"How is that not the same?" Bill asked, "You will legally be a parent just like my sister and my brother and your best friend. Tell me how that's different?"

"It just is," Daphne said irritably, "I won't have to give up nine months of my life to carry a baby for a start. I won't have to watch what jobs I do or what cases I take because I'm pregnant. Then there's the fact I don't have the sleepless nights that come with a newborn baby or any of that stress. I get to come in at the good part, the part where we can do things together, where Teddy can talk to me and tell me what's wrong with him when he's crying."

Bill nodded slowly, "Yeah, you're right; it's totally different."

Daphne smiled a little smugly.

"But not necessarily any easier," Bill added.

Daphne groaned, "Ugh, come on, Bill!"

"I'm serious, Daphne," Bill said sincerely, "Yes, you don't have the sleepless nights, the screaming, the endless cycle of feed, change, sleep repeat, but what you do have is a child who isn't yours by blood. A child that you love but that you know will never be truly yours because one day, when he's old enough, he'll find out about his birth parents. When he does, he will have to divide his love for you and Harry between you two and the birth parents that he never got a chance to know. That's not easy, Daphne; it's not the easy way out that you seem to think it is."

"I know that, Bill," Daphne snapped, "I know he will never truly be ours, but we can love him as if he is, and I think that's enough. Nothing about coming into Teddy's life late and raising him has been easy. We were still in school when he started calling Harry Daddy, for crying out loud. I never for a moment meant to imply that it was easier than having a child young. I know how hard it's going to be for Sadie because I've been living it since Harry and I got together!"

"Do I need to tell you that-"

"I know it sounded bitter," Daphne said quickly, "But I didn't mean for it to sound that way. I'm just stressed because of the adoption and the wedding, and…well, Teddy isn't an average child to adopt."

Bill frowned, "Because he's Harry's godson?"

"No, because his father was a werewolf," Daphne sighed. She could feel one hell of a headache coming on, "And we have no idea how that's going to affect him. I know that once he's two years old, we need to start getting him tested at St. Mungo's every year like some lab rat so that they can work out if he's going to be dangerous. I know that I got terrified when he got his first canine at the weekend because of how bloody sharp it was. I don't know if my son is going to have to get registered if he starts showing too many werewolf traits, and I don't know if he's going to be enough of a werewolf to be classified as a beast rather than a human, but the thought of that scares the shit out of me Bill."

Bill got to his feet and gave her a hug, "Hey, if anyone knows how scary that is, it's me," he said quietly, "I had no idea what was going to happen to me while I waited for that first full moon and I think that was probably the scariest month of my life."

"But you turned out fine," Daphne said. She rubbed her eyes, "Geez, it's bloody dusty down here."

Bill knew she was covering up the fact that she had been crying, but he didn't want to call her out on that, "I wouldn't say that I turned out fine. Luckily enough, I had a partner who was willing to stick with me, even when she didn't know the outcome. I might have become a full wolf for all we knew, but Fleur was adamant that she wasn't going to leave me."

"Harry always says that Tonks loved Remus even though he was a werewolf," Daphne mused.

"Dora was a very kind person with a beautiful heart," Bill smiled, "I was gutted when Charlie broke up with her to go chasing dragons in Romania because I thought she was brilliant, but Remus needed her, and I'm glad she made him happy in that last year… Anyway, the point I'm making is that I'm not fine. Once a month, when the full moon is out, I change, and I don't just mean that I get a bit cranky. We have that outhouse for a reason, Daph; I get angry, scarily angry."

"I don't think I've ever seen you scarily angry," Daphne said, "I mean, you got close when I told you about Fawley, but you didn't lose it like Harry does."

"Exactly, it's not in my nature," Bill said, "But when the full moon is out, I get angry and violent, so I lock myself away from the people that I love. Fleur and my family all joke about it. They say that I prefer my meat a bit rarer now but that I'm fine. The only people who know that I'm not fine are Fleur and Charlie."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better about Teddy?" Daphne asked, "Because it's making me feel worse."

"It's supposed to make you feel better," Bill said sheepishly, "I'm trying to make you see that if the werewolf genetics in Teddy were going to affect him, you would have noticed it already."

"But Harry says that the specialist at the hospital thinks that puberty might trigger it," Daphne told him.

"I suppose it might, but I think it's unlikely," Bill said honestly, "Does he change at all at the full moon?"

"He gets cranky," Daphne admitted, "And he wants to stay up and play all night instead of sleep."

Bill laughed, "I think you're going to be fine, but I know that won't ease your worries about the future."

Daphne shrugged, "I just wish it wasn't so uncertain," she admitted. She looked back down at her notes, "Anyway, don't you think we should be getting on with this? Before someone accidentally falls onto the death chair?"

"I thought you said that was a terrible name."

"It is, but I can't think of anything better."

* ~ TBC ~ *