* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART FOUR

Brave New World

Chapter 87: Bless the Broken Road That Led Me to You

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

Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts.

"Sadie's given birth!" Harry announced the moment he stepped into the house.

"Has she?" Daphne asked, dashing out of the kitchen, "I thought she might have been in labour when she called, but wow, that must have been quick. Did she call Lilly? Are they all okay?"

"I think she must have called Lilly because Lilly and her supervisor Clara delivered the babies," Harry said, smiling at his wife, "And the babies are fine, but Sadie had a postpartum haemorrhage. She's getting an emergency transfusion."

Daphne paled, so Harry cut in, "But Elizabeth thinks she'll be fine, and she's had two kids, so I'm sure she knows her stuff."

At this, Daphne sighed in relief.

"We can visit at 6 pm," Harry said, glancing at the clock, "We might only be able to see the babies, though."

Daphne looked up at the clock as well, "You had better grab a shower then; you smell like the Closes."

Harry knew what she meant. When he worked in the Closes all day, he had a particular aroma about him, and it wasn't a pleasant one.

"Will do," Harry said, leaning in to kiss her, "Get Teddy ready, and we'll head as soon as I'm done."

Without another word, he dashed up the stairs.

"Hey, love," Draco said, walking into the kitchen with a skip in his step.

Hermione looked over, "You're in a good mood. Did you save a kid today?"

"No," Draco said, smiling broadly at her, "We became godparents, though."

"We became…" Hermione trailed off as the realisation hit her, "Oh my god, Sadie gave birth? Is she okay? Why didn't she floo me? I told her to floo me!"

"Love, calm down," Draco said, drawing her into a hug, "I want to get to the hospital as soon as we can because it sounds like it's a bit touch and go."

The colour drained from Hermione's face at those words.

"Theo missed the birth and had to rush off to the hospital. Sadie had a postpartum….something," Draco said, his concern for Sadie apparent in his eyes.

"Hemorrhage?" Hermione asked with wide eyes, "Did she give birth in the hospital?"

"No, but Lilly and Clara got her there really quickly," Draco answered, "And Elizabeth thinks she'll be okay. I think she is probably qualified to give advice since she's had two children."

Hermione nodded, "Thank Merlin for that," she sighed and ran her hands through her hair, "She has to be alright; she will be. Won't she?"

"Of course she will be," Draco said. Although it sounded like he was trying to convince himself, "She survived the Dark Tower and the Battle of Hogwarts."

"She's tougher than she looks," Hermione agreed, gripping Draco's hand tightly, "Go for a shower, then we'll head to the hospital."

"I will," Draco said. He drew back and started to walk up the stairs, then Hermione frowned and called, "Wait, did you say Lilly and Clara?"

"Yeah, Lilly delivered them!" Draco called back, disappearing up the basement stairs.

"Lilly delivered them?" Hermione repeated with a shake of her head, "Jesus Christ, Lil, is there anything you can't do?" she muttered to herself.

Theo let Lilly drag him through the hospital when they arrived. He was in a bit of a daze and feeling more things than he could comprehend. He was worried about Sadie, shocked by how early the twins had been born and also bubbling underneath all that, excited but nervous to meet his babies.

When they reached Sadie's hospital room, Lilly pushed Theo into a seat in the corridor then slipped inside. Theo heard her talking with someone else in hushed tones, then she emerged from the room and smiled at him. It wasn't a wholly happy smile, it was a relieved smile, but there was a sadness there too.

"Is she okay?" Theo asked, feeling the tears that he had been holding back pricking at the corners of his eyes.

"She's okay," Lilly replied, "The transfusion worked, and they managed to stop the bleeding. She's going to be alright."

Theo got to his feet, "Can I see her?"

Lilly nodded, "She's unconscious, but you can go in."

Theo frowned. Lilly hadn't moved away from the door yet.

"What aren't you telling me?" Theo asked quietly.

"She had a severe postpartum haemorrhage Theo," Lilly replied, her eyes meeting his, "She lost a lot of blood. She went into shock, and it was really touch and go for a few minutes. They gave her a blood transfusion, but she was losing so much blood that it wasn't working fast enough, so they," she paused for a moment and took a breath, "They had to act quickly since they couldn't slow or stop the bleeding. They…they removed her uterus, Theo."

Theo stared at Lilly for what felt like a very long moment. In actuality, it was less than 30 seconds.

"She can't have any more children," Lilly finished, her voice breaking, "I'm so sorry."

Theo shook his head, "It's not your fault, don't be sorry. Can I…can I just see her Lilly, please?"

Lilly nodded and stepped aside, allowing Theo to walk into the hospital room. She sighed and looked at the clock. It wasn't long until visiting hours, so she decided to wait for Neville in the foyer.

Theo's breath caught in his throat when he walked into the hospital room and saw Sadie. He had seen her pale and ill-looking in the past. When she had been in the Dark Tower for one, but this was different, he knew that Lilly hadn't been exaggerating. It had clearly been touch and go for a while.

He sat down by her side and placed his hand in hers. She had so many tubes attached to her. One gave her fluids, another still transfusing blood into her, and Merlin knew what the rest were for. Her hand was as cold as ice, but he could tell that she was breathing. Her chest moved up and down slowly underneath the crisp, white hospital sheets.

The Healer who Lilly had been speaking to gave Theo a sympathetic smile, "Would you like me to have the children brought in from the nursery Mr Nott?"

Theo nodded and swallowed a lump in his throat, "Yes, I want to meet them."

"Of course," He said, bowing his head and leaving the room. The nursery was obviously close to Sadie's room because less than five minutes later, he returned with two babies bundled together in one cot.

Theo looked down at the cot, at the two bundles, one in a pink blanket and the other in a blue. The tears he had been struggling to hold back finally spilt then, but they were happy tears.

"A boy and a girl," Theo breathed, touching their cheeks gently. Both of the babies were soundly asleep and looked positively angelic.

"Congratulations, Mr Nott," The Healer said with a smile, "I will leave the children here. I expect your wife will wake up soon, and the children will be hungry. They were bottle-fed in the nursery due to the conditions."

Theo nodded and said that he understood. The Healer left after that, so Theo sank into a seat next to Sadie's bed and stared at his children as they breathed slowly and snorted every so often in their sleep. He wasn't quite sure how much time had elapsed when a rustling sound next to him drew him out of his trance.

He looked up sharply as Sadie began to stir. He placed his hand on hers and said softly, "Don't move too much love, there are a lot of tubes attached to you right now."

Sadie opened her eyes and blinked a few times. She turned her head to the side to look at Theo, "Are they okay?"

"They are perfect," Theo said, tears pricking at his eyes again, "And they are right here."

Sadie looked down and saw the babies in the cot.

"I feel so weak," Sadie whispered, not taking her eyes off of them.

"You nearly died," Theo said, tightening his grip on her hand a little, "You had a severe postpartum haemorrhage, and they couldn't slow or stop the bleeding. You were losing blood so fast even the transfusion wasn't working, so they had to…" he frowned, "They had to remove your uterus."

Sadie's eyes widened, "You mean…."

"No more kids," Theo said with a nod, "Which is fine, isn't it? We got two this time around, so we're pretty damn lucky."

"But Theo, you always wanted a big family-" Sadie began to say.

"And I always wanted you," Theo cut in, "I have that, and I have two perfectly healthy, beautiful, but tiny kids. I don't need anything else, okay?"

Sadie searched his eyes for a moment, then she nodded, "Okay."

"You're going to be in the hospital for a little while," Theo said, touching her cheek gently, "The babies are small, and you need to be monitored for a while. They will let you go once they are satisfied that you can manage on your own, but that might be a couple of weeks."

"I understand," Sadie said quietly.

"I'll be here the whole time," Theo said, smiling at her, "I get two weeks off work, and if you need me to take a little bit of holiday at the end, Sumner is okay with that."

"That makes me feel better," Sadie admitted.

"The Midwifery Healers will help you out lots while you're here too," Theo added, "You're not alone in this Sade."

Sadie smiled and tore her eyes away from his to look down at their children, "A boy and a girl, just like you wanted."

"Yeah," Theo said, beaming proudly.

"We really need to agree on some names now, though," Sadie joked.

Theo laughed, "Yeah. I have one in mind for the girl, but I don't know if you'll like the idea or not."

"Almina?" Sadie guessed.

Theo looked at her, "Yeah."

She smiled, "Almina Tracey Nott."

Theo's smile turned a little tearful, "Yeah?"

"Of course, Theo," Sadie said, smiling weakly at her husband, "Why would I not want to name her after your mother? And Almina is a lovely name. We can shorten it to Mina, which is nice and normal. That was what we wanted, pureblood names that can be normal."

Theo nodded and smiled at his daughter, "Almina," he said, testing the name out on his lips. He wiped away a few stray tears and chuckled, "No idea what you're going to be called though mate," he said to the sleeping little boy.

"I have an idea," Sadie admitted, "But you're going to have to ask someone for permission first…."

Neville wasn't expecting to see Lilly at the house that evening, so he went home, showered, grabbed a sandwich and then headed for St Mungos. He figured Lilly would have hung around, expecting to meet him there, and his hunch was right because he found her in the large waiting room at reception.

"Hey," Lilly said with a tired smile.

"Hey you," Neville said, grinning at her, "You delivered Sadie's twins today."

"With help," Lilly added, "I couldn't have done it without Clara."

"I bet you could have," Neville said.

Lilly shook her head, "Not with what happened after."

"How is Sadie?" Neville asked anxiously.

"She's going to be fine," Lilly replied, "There are some consequences, but that's not for me to tell you. Theo is with her now. When she wakes up, they are going to bring the babies through to see her. With any luck, she'll be awake for visiting hours."

Neville nodded, "Good, Hermione and Draco will need to see her. They'll be as worried as Theo, no doubt. How are you?"

"Me?" Lilly laughed, "I'm fine, Nev. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you're shaking for one," Neville said, picking up her hand and holding her wrist. Surely enough, her hand shook a little.

"It's just the come down from the adrenaline rush," Lilly yawned, "You'd know about that."

Neville nodded. He remembered wrapping himself up in a blanket in the boy's dorm and sleeping for a whole day after the Battle of Hogwarts. He put his arms around Lilly and held her tightly, "Once we've visited, I think we should go home, stick a movie on and cuddle up under a blanket together."

"It's a greenhouse night, though," Lilly objected.

"The greenhouse can wait for one night," Neville said, kissing her on the top of the head. Usually, she hated it when he did that, she felt like he was making fun of her shortness, but it was just comforting on this occasion.

"It was awesome, you know," Lilly said as she leaned into Neville's embrace, "Delivering the babies, it was awesome but terrifying."

Neville chuckled, "Sounds like an accurate description of childbirth."

Lilly laughed weakly, "I think I could do that for a career one day. Once I'm old and fed up with being a Trauma Healer."

"I think you'll be great, whatever type of Healer you choose to be," Neville said supportively as he pulled her in closer.

Due to Sadie's condition, only two visitors at a time were allowed into her hospital room. That, combined with the fact that they only got an hour, meant that they would all have to be relatively quick.

Just after 6 pm, Theo stepped out of the hospital room. Draco got to his feet and crossed the room, gripping Theo tightly.

Theo hugged him back and murmured, "She's alright, mate."

"Yeah?" Draco asked, drawing back just as Hermione reached them.

Theo nodded, "Yeah. It's not all good news, but she's fine, and the babies are fine, and after all we've been through, that's enough."

Draco nodded too, "Thank Merlin. She's okay."

Hermione looked at Theo warily, "Why is it not all good news, Theo?"

"It's a long story," Theo said, meeting her eye, "I'll fill you in later, in private. Okay?"

Hermione accepted this answer with a nod.

"Don't get offended, you two," Theo said, raising his voice a little, "But I need to talk to Harry for a second."

Harry was intrigued, "Me?"

"Yeah," Theo said, stepping away from the door to talk to Harry a few metres away.

"It's about a name," Theo said in a whisper, "We have a name in mind that we like, but we sort of need your permission to use it."

"Oh God, you're not calling him Harry, are you?" Harry joked.

Theo made a face, "Definitely not, far too common. Wouldn't want him to think some loser in glasses was cool."

Harry grinned, "Good. What's the name then?"

"It's Charlus," Theo replied quietly, "It's a pureblood name, but it can be shortened to Charlie which is nice and normal. But it's a traditional Potter family name, not to mention that it's your great grandfather's name-"

"Theo," Harry cut in with a chuckle, "It's fine. If you want to use the name, go for it. I know that it's a Potter name, and I do like to have deep chats about shared war trauma with Charlus, but it's not a name I would use for my kids, so don't worry about it."

Theo grinned, "Thanks, Harry. I'm so glad you said that because we were drawing a blank on boys names, we had tons for a girl!"

Harry laughed and stepped away from him, "Go on then, make your announcement."

Theo beamed proudly, "Sorry about the brief interlude there, folks. I would like to announce the birth of Almina Tracey Nott and her younger brother, Charlus Draco Nott."

Draco immediately welled up, "You…his middle name is Draco?"

"Oh, sweet lord," Lilly muttered, looking between the two men.

Theo nodded, "There's no one else I would name him after," he said, meeting his best friends eye.

"Theo," Draco said as genuine tears pricked at his eyes, "That means so much to me. I just…I can't tell you how much that means to me."

"I know Draco," Theo said as he pulled Draco into another hug.

Hermione burst into tears, "I can't deal with this. I mean, I swear, I'm emotional at the best of times, but you two are …."

Theo laughed tearfully and said, "Come on, princess."

The others chuckled as Draco lifted his arms and pulled Hermione into the hug.

"We can't even judge them," Lilly whispered, "That's going to be us."

"With less crying," Daphne said, "We don't cry."

"Those two saps do, though," Lilly said, gesturing at Harry and Neville.

Harry and Neville were a little emotional just watching the other three.

"See?" Lilly asked with a smile.

Daphne hastily wiped her eyes and said, "I'm not crying. I just had something in my eye."

"Uh-huh," Lilly said in a sing-song voice.

"That's going to be us one day," Neville said, nudging Harry in the ribs.

"Nah, I'd never put 'Neville' in my kid's name," Harry said with a grin as he wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his jumper, "I don't wanna torture it."

"And why would I want to name my kid after the oblivious eejit who saved the world?" Neville snorted, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his cardigan.

"Shut up if you want to see my insanely cute kids, you two," Theo said, pulling back from the hug.

Harry chuckled, "Alright, fair play."

"Come on, guys," Theo said, smiling over at Hermione, "The kids should meet their godparents first."

The couple followed Theo into the hospital room where Sadie was sitting up in bed, looking exhausted but with a baby girl in her arms.

"Oh my gosh," Hermione breathed, "They are so small."

"It's because they were premature," Theo explained, "They are both under five pounds, but they are healthy."

"And so cute!" Hermione squealed as she looked down at the babies. Both had pure blonde hair and blue eyes, but she suspected that those with change as all babies were born with blue eyes.

She sat down on the edge of Sadie's bed carefully and kissed her on the forehead, "You look exhausted."

"From everything Theo told me, I nearly died," Sadie admitted.

Hermione grabbed her hand, "Then I'm glad you're such a fighter."

Sadie managed a weak smile, "Is this your way of telling me you were concerned?"

"Of course I was concerned," Hermione said, looking down at the baby girl in her arms, "I was terrified of losing you; we all were. Draco and I haven't had any dinner; we just felt sick."

Sadie caught her eye, "I'm fine, but they did have to take my uterus out, so we can't have any more kids."

"Oh, Sadie," Hermione breathed, "I'm so sorry."

Sadie's eyes welled up, "Thank you."

Hermione squeezed her hand.

"Thank you for not just saying 'well, at least you got two this time around' like everyone else will," Sadie said tearfully.

Hermione leant across the tubes and hugged her friend gently, "I'd never belittle it like that. It's a big thing to get your head around, but we're all right here, and we always will be. I promise."

Sadie nodded and let out a shaky breath, "Thanks, Hermione."

The little girl in Sadie's arms began to grumble, and Hermione ran her hand down her cheek, "Shh, your mother has had a hard time bringing you into the world, little one. She needs some rest."

Sadie smiled, "Do you want to hold her?"

"Can I?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Of course," Sadie said, handing Almina to Hermione.

Hermione smiled down at the baby and looked up just in time to see Theo handing Charlus to Draco.

"It's the same principle as with any other baby even though he's small," Theo was saying, "Just support his head here like…this."

Draco stared down at the tiny baby in his arms, "I feel like I'm holding a china doll," he breathed.

Hermione smiled at Theo, "You picked lovely names."

"Harry had no issues with Charlus," Theo told his wife.

"I told you he wouldn't," Sadie said with a knowing smile, "I'm sure he'll name his kids James, Sirius, Remus and Lily."

"Oh, given half a chance, I expect he would," Hermione chuckled, "But Daphne says he isn't allowed to name all of his kids after dead people because it isn't healthy."

"She does have a point," Draco said, unable to take his eyes off of the baby.

"Hello, Charlus," Hermione said, waving down at the baby, who blinked blearily.

"Aren't they just perfect?" Theo asked his best friend proudly.

"Yeah," Draco said, smiling up at him, "You make a perfect family, the four of you."

Something flashed in Theo's eyes, and Sadie's swallowed a lump in her throat. Draco opened his mouth, but Hermione said, "I'll fill you in later, love. It's nothing that Sadie and Theo want to talk about just now. We only get a little bit of time together, and I think we want to spend it staring at these adorable babies. Don't you?"

Draco smiled and shut his mouth, "Yes, I think so."

Harry and Daphne went into the hospital room next. At this point, Sadie was feeding Charlus.

"Oh, Sadie!" Daphne said, grinning from ear to ear, "You made such beautiful babies. How is that possible? Did you sleep with a hot French man?"

"Daphne," Sadie laughed weakly, "Don't make me laugh right now. It hurts."

"And that comment hurt my pride," Theo joked, but he was too happy even to pretend to sulk.

"You did make cute kids," Harry agreed, looking down at Almina, who was in Theo's arms, "But they are so tiny! Teddy was huge when he was born. I'm sure he was double the size of these two."

"He probably was since he was born at term," Daphne pointed out, "These babies were three weeks early, Harry."

"Sorry," Harry said sheepishly, "We adopted our kid. I don't know the ins and outs of pregnancy and childbirth."

"Read it up when I tell you I'm pregnant," Daphne joked.

Harry chuckled, "Noted. I love the name you chose for her, by the way, Theo. It's lovely honouring your mum like that."

"It felt right," Theo said, smiling at Sadie, "For both of us."

"That's all that matters," Daphne said honestly, "And the names will be lovely together when you shorten them too. Will you use Mina and Charlie?"

Theo nodded, "That's the plan, isn't it, Sade?"

"Yeah, it is," Sadie said. She yawned.

"Go on, Daph, have a cuddle," Theo said, holding Almina out to Daphne.

Daphne took the baby girl with ease and instantly had her comfy in a cradle position. Almina yawned, then shuffled a little and promptly fell asleep.

"Baby Whisperer," Harry said in amusement.

Daphne smiled over at Sadie, "I know it's not quite the same, but Harry and I have been through a lot of this with Teddy. He was older, and we didn't have him full-time, but if you need to ask me about anything, anytime, you can Sadie."

"I know," Sadie said, grabbing her friends hand.

"I mean it. If it's 4 am, and you can't stop them crying, just call me. I get woken up in the middle of the night by Robs angry patronuses anyway," Daphne said with a chuckle.

Theo snorted in amusement, "Yeah, he doesn't like working nights, does he?"

"No," Harry laughed, "No, he really doesn't. What Daph says goes for me too though Sadie, if she's working and you're struggling, I'll do whatever I can to help too."

"We're all here for you, Sadie," Daphne promised, squeezing her best friends hand.

After Harry and Daphne had visited, they collected a hyperactive Teddy, whose Uncle Neville had let him run around the hospital play area. Then they headed home for the night. Visiting hours were nearing their end when Neville and Lilly stepped into the room.

"Thank you so much, Lilly," Sadie said the moment she saw her friend.

Lilly smiled, "You don't have to thank me, Sadie. You did all of the hard work."

"And I don't know if I would have survived it without you and Clara, so thank you," Sadie said. Both of the babies were fast asleep in their cot again.

"I can't believe you were almost fully dilated, and you only had a little bit of back pain, nausea and cramping," Lilly said with a shake of her head, "Your pain threshold must be through the roof."

"I always knew it was pretty good," Sadie admitted, "But that one took even me by surprise."

Neville chuckled, "You did great, Sadie. Bet you're glad it's over now, though."

"Yeah," Sadie said, smiling a little sadly, "I just wish we could go home with our babies now, but I understand why they have to keep us in here."

"It's for your safety," Lilly said, "And I spoke to the Healer in charge of the ward. They normally make the husbands go away at night time, but I've convinced them to let Theo set up a camp bed in here for the first few nights."

"Did you?" Sadie asked, relief flooding her face, "Oh Lilly, thank you so much."

Lilly smiled warmly, "Anything for a friend, especially a friend with adorable, really tiny babies."

"They are so cute," Neville agreed, "And so tiny."

"They remind me of the dolls I played with as a kid," Lilly said, immediately regretting saying that one out loud.

"You had dolls?" Theo asked, grinning at her, "Punk rocker Moon had dolls?"

Neville chuckled so as not to wake up the babies, "Oh yeah, she's a liar. She's a big softy underneath it all, played with dolls, loves the colour pink and romantic comedies."

"He's a liar," Lilly said matter of factly.

Sadie chuckled, "I've known you for years. We both know he's not lying."

"They are all liars, Almina," Lilly said to the little girl who had just stirred in her sleep, "Your Aunt Lilly is a punk rocker all the way."

"Their Aunt Lilly is the reason they and their mother survived childbirth," Theo said, reaching out and grabbing her hand, "That's all they need to know about her as they grow up."

Lilly looked at Theo in surprise, "Wow…okay, uh…I genuinely don't know what to do with this uncommon sincerity and sentimentality from you, Theo. It's making me uncomfortable, really uncomfortable. Make a joke or be a dick or something, please."

Theo laughed and dropped her hand, "Get used to it; I'm a dad now. I'm only going to get more sappy and sincere."

"Miracles do happen," Neville said, grinning at Sadie.

Sadie chuckled, then yawned.

Lilly grabbed Neville's hand and got to her feet, "Anyway, we'll leave you guys in peace. Sadie needs rest, and I think you should get some too, Theo, before these two little angels wake up again."

Theo yawned as well and nodded, "You'll visit again, won't you?"

"Of course we will," Lilly promised, "See you in a few days. If you need anything, anything at all, just floo or send a Patronus, okay?"

They both said okay, so Neville and Lilly left them to enjoy their babies in peace for a while.

"Morning," Rob yawned when Harry and Neville traipsed into the office.

"Good morning," Harry said with a smirk.

"For you maybe, not for me," Rob remarked, "Where's Black?"

"Not with us," Neville replied, sitting down on one of the desks in the room.

"Yeah, he normally comes in with Theo," Harry said with a shrug.

"Why do they always arrive together?" Elizabeth asked as she stepped into the office.

"Because they live next door to each other," Harry and Neville replied in unison.

Rob looked at them in disbelief, "Really? I thought you were kidding about them living in one house."

"Nope," Harry said, "Two houses, with a door that connects them."

"A warded door?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, just an ordinary door," Neville answered.

Rob just shook his head, but before he could say anything else, Draco stepped into the room and smiled, "Morning."

Before Rob could start slagging him off, Elizabeth smiled and asked, "So how are Theo's wife and babies?"

"Sadie is fine now," Draco replied, "Although she will have to stay in the hospital for a while. The babies are fine too, but they are tiny because they were so early. They called them Almina and Charlus."

"Oh, go on," Harry said, smirking at his friend, "Tell Rob and Elizabeth Charlus's full name."

"I'm not that vain."

"Yes, you are," Neville said with a chuckle, "Tell them, you know you want to."

Draco conceded, "They called him Charlus Draco Nott."

"Oh fuck me," Rob said with a shake of his head, "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Harry grinned, "Draco cried."

"Like a girl," Neville added with a wicked laugh.

"There were tears and hugs. It was like a scene from one of those shitty romantic comedies that Daphne keeps leaving lying around the house," Harry said with a grin.

"The ones you read on the toilet and pretend you hate?" Draco quipped, raising an eyebrow at Harry.

"Shut up. I told Hermione to keep that to herself," Harry interjected.

Rob snorted and shook his head, "I'm starting to get suspicious about you and Theo, Draco."

"We've been suspicious about them since eighth year of school," Harry joked.

"Ah well, you know these ancient pureblood families," Rob smirked.

Draco rolled his eyes, "It's not like that."

Harry snorted, "Apart from when you're isolated from the world for two weeks."

"Shut up, Potter," Draco warned him.

"No, no, no," Rob said, grinning and leaning forward, "Are you talking about Auror training isolation?"

"Uh-huh," Harry grinned.

"What happened during your isolation?" Rob asked eagerly.

Draco glared at Harry, "Don't you dare tell that story."

"Alright then, I'll tell it," Neville said, smirking in Draco's general direction. He then turned back to Rob (and Elizabeth, who was pretending that she wasn't listening).

"Fatbottom-"

"Shut up," Neville said smoothly, "So Draco and Theo ended up camping in the Scottish highlands together. They met a couple of muggle fellow campers, and Theo said that they were together. That couple then spent the next two weeks with them, so Draco and Theo had to keep up the act for two whole weeks."

Rob stared at Draco with a blank expression.

"And," Harry cut in, "To make matters worse, it turned out that the muggle couple were actually Carter and Mitchell, who had been observing them."

That was it; Rob burst out laughing.

Draco glared at Harry and covered his face with his hand, "I hate you, Potter."

"Nah, you don't," Harry said, far too cheerfully.

Rob was crying with laughter, to the point that he didn't notice a memo appearing on the desk. Harry reached past him to grab it and saw Elizabeth smirking.

"Now Rob, it's hardly fair that you get to laugh at Draco's isolation story when our new colleagues haven't heard yours," Elizabeth said.

Rob stopped laughing and looked up at her, "Oh no, you don't-"

Elizabeth just placed her hand over his mouth and smiled at the younger Aurors, "Rob's Auror partner back then was John Sheppard."

Harry had already known this, but that news took both Neville and Draco by surprise.

"They ended up in Canada. Back then, it wasn't confined to Britain," Elizabeth explained, "And a few days in, they were desperate for food, so Rob killed a bear. He then had a mental breakdown over the fact he had killed a poor, innocent bear and spent a good few hours crying to John about how he missed me and how he was going to be a useless Auror who would never be as good as John."

Harry snorted, "You've still not got over those issues, mate. But if I ever see you welling up near a bear, at least I'll know why."

"I regret sticking up for your scrawny little arse when you said Voldemort was back," Rob retorted, glaring at Harry.

"Yeah, to be fair, I didn't know who you were then, Rob," Harry pointed out in amusement, "I was just a 15-year-old kid who you had an unnatural obsession with."

"There have been a lot of men like that in your life," Neville said with a frown.

"Yeah, it's pretty weird," Harry said with a nod.

"Yep," Draco agreed, thinking back to Snape, "I feel your pain there actually."

"You two are not getting into the whole, we're two sides of the same coin, one light, one dark, destined to be friends thing right now," Neville said, pointing his finger between them, "It's not even 7 am yet, and the last time you had that chat, there was a lot of crying."

"We were quite drunk, to be fair," Harry said in his defence.

"I don't even remember that," Draco admitted.

"You wouldn't; it was at Susan and Percy's wedding," Harry filled him in, "About ten minutes before you dragged Hermione off into the bushes."

Neville snorted and nearly spat out his coffee.

Harry chuckled and handed the memo to Rob.

Rob was still chuckling as he scanned it, "Call in the Closes. Harry, Neville, finish filing the reports for those calls you attended yesterday. Elizabeth…do whatever it is you do while we're out on-call all day. Loverboy, you're with me."

Draco glared at Harry and Neville, "I'm going to be saddled with that for the rest of my career, thanks."

"You're welcome," They said in unison.

Rob patted Draco on the back as they left the office together, "It's alright, Draco, you don't want to work in Vice like your boyfriend. He's going to have the fun of retelling that entire story to his work colleagues when he gets the promotion. I'll make sure of it."

Draco raised an eyebrow at Rob, "I want to work in Homicide, so that's not much better, is it?"

Rob grinned, "Oh, you'll be fine in Homicide Draco. That's all the old pureblood Aurors; they are all shagging their best friends, hell half of them even live with them, so you'll fit in just fine."

"I'm not shagging Theo!" Draco objected as Harry and Neville laughed out loud.

* ~ TBC ~ *