Ch 9 Maria Guadalupe (Lupin?)
Again minor but most helpful suggestions and changes by my Beta readers.
The morning of the fifteenth of March Pippa Lewis waddled into the kitchen of the New Burrow. It was just before breakfast. Molly looked at the middle-aged witch.
Pippa reached for her stomach, tension on her face, before relaxing some.
"Are you in Labor, dear?" Molly wondered.
"Real labor," Pippa replied. "This is not my first child."
"How many?" Molly wondered.
"I don't want to talk about it, and that perverted island," Pippa snapped, agony and sorrow on her face.
"I will call one of the two midwives who know of your existence," Molly advised, as she took out her mobile to place a very private call.
Pippa paced. "I want to walk this baby out," she informed Molly. "I'm better off standing than lying in a bed."
A short time later a midwife came through the Floo. She asked Pippa, "Do you have a private room we can go to?"
"I have a little apartment upstairs," Pippa answered. "I usually run up and down stairs, but it is on the third floor, and I think we ought to take the elevator."
Molly announced, "I will have the Elves fix breakfast for the household, and then I can be your labor coach."
"Thank you, Molly," Pippa replied, holding onto Molly's arm as another contraction hit her.
Maria Guadalupe was born the middle of the afternoon. The record of her birth was hidden.
Since everybody in the family had been vaccinated, the family gathered to meet their newest member the next Sunday. Everybody was there, including of course Charlie and his two caregivers, Caroline and Pippa. Pippa had her new baby, and they explained that Caroline was back to doing most of the caregiving, but Pippa was going to start helping a little right away, and that she could both take care of Maria and Charlie with help.
"I will help take care of my grandchild as well," Andromeda let the group know. "She does look like she is Teddy's child."
Everyone in the family knew who Maria's father was, but neither Pippa nor Maria's existence was ever mentioned outside of the family.
The middle of the week Victoire met with Harry at Grimmauld Place, and asked him, "What are the chances that Teddy will escape?"
"I cannot give you odds," Harry let Victoire know. "There is an all too real chance that he will not escape alive, and a very good chance that he will be wounded, body and soul, if he does."
"That is like the for better or worse part of a marriage, isn't it?" Victoire pondered, biting her lip. "Like mum and all the scars on my father's face. Like you and Aunt Ginny's injuries. I told Teddy that I would marry him no matter what, and if he escapes … if he escapes, I'm just going to do my best to love the hurts away.
"And if he does die, well there is a little bit of Teddy in Maria Guadalupe to love."
Victoire looked both very sad and very determined. When Victoire left Harry thought that maybe it was better for Victoire to come to grips with some of the wounds Teddy would be carrying before he escaped, if he escaped.
It was Saturday, March twenty-seventh, and the students of Hogwarts were finally heading home for a long anticipated two week Easter break. It had been a year since most of the students had been home, but almost all the Magi had been vaccinated against Covid-19, and everyone was eager to get back to a more normal life.
Because of all the schoolwork they had been able to do over the summer, autumn and Christmas, they were still going to be able to have summer vacation start the end of May, something everyone was looking forward to.
Some of the students took the train, but because of the security risks Albus and Cleo posed, they and the other members of their household took secure Floo connections.
Both sets of parents were there to meet James, Albus and Lily, Rose and Hugo, when they came through the Potter's Floo. "You are all eating with your parents," Hermione announced to the five children. "Tomorrow we are all going over to Grandmother and Grandfather Weasley's home."
"I know the Lionheart children are going to stay home for the next week," Ginny remarked at dinner that night. "Louis is going to go into work with his father both weeks, and I am not sure how much we will see him. I have not heard anything about Scorpius and Cleo visiting,"
Albus indicated, "I do not know anything either. I know that Cleo really wants to go to all the Easter services with us this year. She and Scorpius are both talking about getting baptized next Easter, but I do not think the Malfoy family would allow that."
As the meal was finishing Albus remarked, "I can feel that there is a big fight going on at Malfoy Manor. Cleo is upset, but I cannot get more information."
"Grandmother Narcissa Malfoy and your Grandmother Weasley usually arrange visiting," Ginny suggested. "We will probably find out more tomorrow."
After a great deal of hugging and "You have grown so much" and other greetings from everybody, but no one more than Molly Weasley, the subject of the Malfoy household came up.
"I talked briefly to Narcissa this morning," Molly told the group. "I gather there is a big argument going on. We should find out more Thursday, when I understand Scorpius, Cleo, and a girl named Cassiopeia Starkey will be over until Easter. Narcissa was reasonably sure Scorpius and Cassie were going to have to go back to Malfoy Manor Sunday night, but Cleo could stay."
Albus put his head in his hands and shook his head, before commenting, "I am sure Scorpius did not arrange this."
Rose had a sour look, but did not say anything.
Charlie and Caroline came down for lunch. At dinner not only were Charlie and Caroline down, but Pippa Lewis and her daughter Maria Guadalupe were there. Of course Ginny had to explain the whole situation, including that Maria was Teddy's child. Cleo and Albus had not known anything about Rosa/Pippa, nor had the other children. They were told, and spells were done to reinforce it, that the knowledge of Rosa/Pippa and her daughter was not to even be hinted at outside of the New Burrow.
Sunday after dinner Narcissa brought Cleo through the Floo to Potter's New Burrow. James, Albus, Lily, Rose and Hugo were still there, grandmother Molly reluctant to let them go home. Harry was with them, along with Hermione. Ginny had some work she had to do on the Quidditch column, and Ron was working at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
Cleo went right over to Albus, bawling. It took her a long time to calm down, and when she did she went over to Molly for a long hug as well.
"I will let Cleo explain," Narcissa told the group, as she started to take her leave.
"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy," Cleo cried, hugging Narcissa, before letting her go.
"Do you want to go to the living room?" Molly wondered. "The seating is more comfortable there."
Everyone went into the large living room, and arranged themselves in a comfortable seating group. Cleo sat next to Albus, bodies touching, still obviously very upset.
"Saturday night Cassiopeia Starkey came over for dinner, along with her parents and her Starkey grandparents," Cleo started. "I don't like them!
"It seems that grandmother Starkey and grandmother Druella Rosier Black have known each other since before Hogwarts, and they have decided that Scorpius needs to marry Cassie.
"Mrs. Astoria Malfoy and grandmother Godiva Greengrass Malfoy are furious at the whole idea. Mrs. Godiva Malfoy insists that Scorpius needs to marry me. Astoria, I hate to even call her Mrs. Malfoy she is … well, she isn't, that is the problem. She, I do not know what she thinks about the whole idea. It is like she is supposed to be for me marrying Scorpius but she really is not and she hates me but I think in some way she hates everybody. And grandmother Godiva Greengrass Malfoy loves her son maybe more than her grandson Mr. Draco, and it is like she is just using Scorpius, or, I don't know. It is really messed up.
"They have been fighting all day. I've just lived with yech Astoria," Cleo's facial expression when she said 'yech' gave you no doubt how she felt about the witch, "expressing her hate for me, even though she, how can you think someone you hate should marry your son? It is twisted. And I don't think grandmother Druella Rosier Black hates me, but she hates the idea of Scorpius not marrying a pure blooded witch. And Mr. Draco is not very good arguing when more people are on one side, and I don't hate him, but I have a hard time respecting him. At least they are going to let me stay here until we go back to Hogwarts." Cleo was crying again. "It is hard to live in a house with so much hate."
Molly went over to Cleo, and pulled her up into a big hug. Everyone let Cleo cry again, Molly rubbing her back soothingly. Eventually Cleo let the group know. "Scorpius is going to be able to come over here Thursday afternoon, and go back Sunday afternoon, but only if Cassie is with him. He left for Casslie's house when grandmother took me over here, and will be staying there until they come here for Easter, and then Cassie and Scorpius are going to spend the week after Easter at Malfoy Manor."
"What does Scorpius think about this?" Molly wondered, letting Cleo sit back down with Albus, and sitting back down herself.
"He is putting up with it, but he doesn't like it," Cleo thought. "I think that Cassie's parents want Cassie to get pregnant with Scorpius's baby, so they would have to marry. I do not know the law, but I understand that unless you can prove rape it is almost impossible not to marry the father of your baby."
"You are expected to marry the father of your baby, and the exceptions are rare and seldom used," Molly confirmed. "It is not always a good thing. Just like soul bonds are for life, so even if there is no way to live together, if your husband is in prison for the rest of his life like Narcissa's, you cannot marry again.
"I am all for vows being 'until death do us part,' but I think there are other kinds of death." Molly sighed. "Nothing is as simple as you think it should be when you are young."
Eventually Pippa found the group. "I have to work, to give Caroline a break, Molly," she said, "and Maria is wide awake. Could you take care of her for a while, until she falls asleep?"
"May I hold her?" Cleo wondered. They gave the baby to Cleo, and she played with the baby until Maria started to yawn, and then put the baby on her shoulder and let the baby fall asleep. Holding the baby seemed to calm Cleo down. After putting Maria in her cot, the Potter and Weasley-Granger families left for Grimmauld Place, promising to be back to see grandmother and grandfather Weasley often the next two weeks.
"Jane has moved back in with her uncle and aunt and their new baby," Ginny explained to Cleo when they were back at Grimmauld Place. "Do you want to stay with us, or room with Rose?"
"I need to talk to Rose," Cleo thought, with a tired sigh, "but I will have plenty of time to talk to her. I do not know what to say to her. She and Scorpius would make an ideal couple, but then she would have to deal with Scorpius's family, and I would not wish that on anyone. It is difficult."
Cleo did not want to force Rose to have a roommate in what was her own private room, so she told Ginny, "I will stay in Jane's old room for right now."
"Put your luggage in Jane's old room, then," Ginny told the young girl.
Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione met Wednesday afternoon.
"What are we going to do with Cassiopeia Starkey?" Hermione wondered. "I am not comfortable doing the spells over her to keep her from talking about Pippa and Maria. They are not foolproof, and they work better within members of a household or relationship than with an outsider. The stronger the spell the less I want to use it with … we don't know her, or her parents."
"Have them stay here in Grimmauld Place?" Ginny wondered.
"Putting Cassiopeia in with Rose is recipe for disaster," Hermione noted. "Rose is jealous and dismissive of her at the same time."
"She really likes Scorpius, and is upset that Cassiopeia has glommed on to him," Ron observed. "Scorpius is nothing like his father!"
"Do you want Rose to start dating Scorpius?" Ginny kidded, grinning.
"She could do a lot worse," Ron admitted, sheepishly grinning.
They all turned and blinked at him and he gave an awkward one shoulder shrug.
"I guess Cassie could stay with us," Ginny suggested. "I will ask Cleo to move in with Rose. I do not want to put Cassie with Lily, but I cannot tell you why. Jane has moved out, so Cassie could stay in the extra bedroom on the top floor."
"That is better than having Cassie at our house with Rose," Hermione thought.
2021