For a few minutes, Jen just stared at the pink mist. When it did nothing but hang there, she swiped her wand through it and repeated the test.

Once again, the mist turned pink.

"Are you alright?" Meredith asked.

"I don't know," Jen said faintly. "I mean … we've been …"

"Careful?" Meredith finished. "Is magical contraception more effective than Muggle contraception?"

"Well, I assumed it was," Jen said. "Obviously not. I mean … we're in a war, and it's hardly the best time, and …" she could feel the smile spreading across her face. "And I'm going to have a baby."

"There it is!" Meredith said with a laugh. "Alright then?"

Jen nodded, grinning. "Very alright. Okay, you ready?"

Meredith nodded, her humour disappearing beneath nerves, and Jen repeated the spell.

Once again, the mist turned pink, and Meredith started crying.

A box of tissues and some chairs appeared, and Jen sat her down, wrapping an arm around her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm alright," Meredith said, taking one of the tissues. "I never wanted Catherine to be an only child and I'm not getting any younger and I really thought it would never happen!"

Eventually, the shock wore off, and Meredith excused herself to go and tell her husband, which prompted Jen to do the same.

Remus, love, where are you?

I'm in the library. What's wrong?

Jen smiled. As soon as the pink mist had appeared, she had carefully shielded her thoughts, which she rarely did, so his concern was unsurprising. Nothing. Stay there; I'll come to you.

She would have to get Sirius to carry on with the potions, until she was sure there was no risk to the baby. Contrary to popular belief, her brother was quite a skilled potions maker.

He was nowhere near as good as Mandy (or Snape, loathed she was to admit it), but he had enough talent to handle pain relievers.

She found Remus in one of the small study rooms in the middle of the library, rather predictably half-buried in books, and she stood in the doorway, watching him for a few minutes.

Their research was split between searching for the location of Rowena's diadem and searching for James and Lily. Originally, their plan had been to delve into the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, but Dumbledore had done them the huge favour of treating Hermione and Jen to his life story before Obliviating them.

Besides, since they only had two Horcruxes left and they knew what they were, his life story was unlikely to help.

Remus waved his wand at a world map on the wall. It flashed once, but nothing else happened.

"Dammit," Remus muttered. "Jen, you know I don't like people watching over my shoulder."

"Technically speaking, I'm too far away for that," Jen said with a smirk, finally entering the room. "Take a break, sweetheart. We need to talk."

"Those words never bode well," Remus said, putting his quill down. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Jen said with a smile, taking a seat on the small loveseat in the corner. "Come on. Any luck finding Lily and James?"

"None," Remus sighed, coming over to join her. "It's like this place doesn't exist."

"We'll get there," Jen said, kissing him softly. "We have to."

"I know," Remus said, taking her hand. "What did you want to talk about?"

Jen took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

He stared at her for a few seconds. "How?"

Jen rolled her eyes. "Come on; you don't really need me to answer that." Aside from the initial surprise, he wasn't letting anything through the bond, and it was starting to worry her. "You are happy, aren't you?"

"Of course," Remus said, attempting a smile "It's just that …"

"I know we weren't planning on it," Jen said, shifting to allow him to get up and start pacing. "I know the timing is really terrible and we're in the middle of a war and we said that James and Lily were mad when we found out they were having Harry and that makes us complete hypocrites …"

"That's not what I'm worried about," Remus interrupted. "I mean, yes, it does make us hypocrites, but I'm a werewolf, Jen …"

"I hadn't noticed," Jen said dryly. "Remus, there's really no need to worry about that. We've never slipped up on a full moon."

"Harry's third year," Remus said.

Jen rolled her eyes. "I said we haven't, not you haven't."

"And that's not what I meant either," Remus continued. "What if the baby's a werewolf?"

"They won't be," Jen said quietly. "They will probably be a carrier, yes, but lycanthropy only passes through birth if both parents are carriers."

"You could be a carrier," Remus whispered. "There's no reason why you couldn't."

"Aside from the fact that the only way to become a carrier is to be a child of a werewolf," Jen pointed out dryly. "Now take a look at my family and tell me the odds of that happening and me still being in a line that hadn't been disowned and disavowed."

Remus chuckled, visibly relaxing. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. How far along are you?"

"I don't know," Jen admitted, standing up. "The only reason I even tested myself was to demonstrate the spell to Meredith – I could be a couple of days, or it could be months and I've had an easy time of it." She ran a hand over her stomach, frowning. "Actually … I think it's more likely to be the latter. I hadn't really noticed, but … I think I'm starting to show. I thought I was just putting on weight, but it feels too firm for that." She took his hand and pulled it to her stomach, showing him the tiny bump just above her pelvis.

"Have you made an appointment with St Mungo's?" Remus asked.

"Not yet," Jen said. "And I'm not sure that's a good idea. Amelia's still wading through paperwork; technically, this baby's illegal."

"What about a Muggle hospital?" Remus suggested. "You can use Jessica's name and address; Dobby's picking the mail up anyway."

"Could do," Jen said. "But then there's Meredith to consider. I was showing her the spell for a reason; she's pregnant too. The Death Eaters could have gone two ways – "who cares if a couple of Muggles got away" or "they got away and they must pay for it". It might not even be safe for her to go to a Muggle hospital."

"Well, there is a third option," Remus said. "Would Andie agree to home visits?"

"Always," Jen said. "That's almost definitely the safest option."

Remus nodded, a wide smile breaking out onto his face, and he pulled her closer and kissed her, one hand still caressing her stomach. We're having a baby, Jen. I love you so much.


December 18th 1997

Finally, the Christmas holidays arrived. The ground was covered in a blanket of snow, Peeves had started singing Christmas carols with alternative lyrics (half taught by the Marauders, half by the Weasley twins), and the Great Hall was adorned with holly and Christmas trees and (real) fairy lights.

Unfortunately for Harry, he ended the term by being summoned to Dumbledore's office.

Not really wanting to open hostilities (yet), he went alone, letting just enough through his Occlumency shields to make Dumbledore think they didn't exist.

"Harry, my boy!" He greeted. "Sit down. Sherbet lemon?"

Harry smiled politely. "No, thank you, Professor."

Dumbledore peered at him over the bowl of sweets. "Harry, you didn't put your name down on the list to stay over Christmas."

Harry managed to look politely puzzled. "No, Professor. I'm going home for Christmas. To Jen and Remus, I mean. I've never had a proper Christmas with a family before."

Dumbledore smiled sadly at him. "I understand that Harry, but I must insist you stay at Hogwarts over Christmas. I have no doubt Remus and Jennifer mean well, but your safety is of the utmost importance."

"Do I have to, Professor?" Harry asked, managing to push a pleading note into his voice. "There must be some extra wards you could put up, aren't there?"

If he hadn't been looking for it, he'd have missed the way Dumbledore seemed to swell up a little, the same way Percy had every time his job had been mentioned during fourth year, and Harry knew that the subtle compliment had worked. Maybe the Hat was right about Slytherin.

"I'm afraid not, Harry," Dumbledore said. "But I'm sure we can find some way for them to visit."

"Really?" Harry said, grinning. "Thanks, Professor." Wow, letting me see my legal guardian at Christmas; aren't you generous?

"You're quite welcome, my boy," Dumbledore said. "And how are your Occlumency lessons going with Professor Snape?"

Harry pulled a face. "Terribly. Professor, do I …?"

"Yes, Harry," Dumbledore said firmly. "It's very important that you learn to close your mind."

Harry sighed, slumping in his chair. "Alright, sir."

"Now, off your trot," Dumbledore said, "and remember what I said."

"I will, sir," Harry said. "I promise I won't floo home for Christmas." He let himself out of the office and made his way towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, where Addie had just about given up trying to keep the second years' minds on work.

The best part was, he mused, leaning against the door-frame, he hadn't lied.

The Occlumency part of the 'lessons' was going terribly – because it wasn't happening. He spent the time in Snape's office doing homework and getting Snape's input on the castle's defence plan.

"One more time!" Addie called over the noise. "Shield Charms on three!"

"Come on, Professor!" One of the students groaned. "We're going home tomorrow; we're not going to need them any time soon."

Harry smirked, pushing away from the doorframe, and raised his wand. "Rictusempra."

The boy in question fell to the ground, laughing hysterically, and the other students all fell silent.

Addie narrowed her eyes. "Mr Potter, I'll thank you to refrain from jinxing students in my class."

"Sorry, Professor," Harry said, not missing the amusement in her eyes. "You know, if he'd had a Shield Charm up, I'd be the one laughing. Finite Incantatem." He offered a hand to the no-longer-laughing student on the floor, who took it with an awestruck expression.

"You're Harry Potter," he whispered as he was pulled to his feet.

"I know," Harry said, ignoring the whispers that erupted around them.

"But I couldn't have stopped you!" The Hufflepuff burst out. "You're a hero!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I've just been in the right place at the right time."

"Or the wrong place at the wrong time," Addie said.

Harry grinned at her for a second, before turning back to the kid in front of him. "What's your name?"

"John," he said excitedly. "John Burrows."

"Alright, John," Harry said. "Let's see if you can show the rest of the class what a real Shield Charm looks like."

"Harry, don't scare him," Addie cautioned.

"Who's scaring him?" Harry asked. "Either he ends up laughing hysterically, or I do."

Addie sighed. "Alright, then. On your own head, be it."

"I'm just another student, John," Harry said quietly, seeing his hesitation. "If you don't think you can stop me, you can't stop anyone. Ready?"

John looked pale, but nodded, drawing his wand. "Ready."

Harry lifted his wand. "Rictusempra."

"Protego!"

The shield that erupted between them caused Harry's jinks to rebound and hit him square in the chest, knocking him off his feet.

While Harry began laughing, Addie broke into a smile. "Well done, Mr Burrows. Twenty points to Hufflepuff." With a wave of her wand, she removed the jinx on Harry.

Still chuckling he got to his feet. "That was fantastic. I can normally dodge the backlash, but I couldn't do anything about that one." He held out a hand and shook John's firmly. "Good job, kid."

"On that note," Addie said, over the mutterings of the class, "you're all dismissed. Have a lovely Christmas."

The class trooped out amidst congratulations and Christmas wishes. Once they had gone, Addie closed the door with another wave of her wand, leaning against her desk. "You're a good teacher, Harry. How's the DA going?"

Harry pulled a face. "We need to change the name. I'm not happy leading a group called 'Dumbledore's Army'."

"I meant the actually club itself," Addie said. "But now you mention it, how's that going?"

"Well, people are still reeling from everything I've told them," Harry said. "So we're taking it one step at a time."

Addie began clearing her desk. "Was there a reason you interrupted my class?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "Dumbledore doesn't want me to go home. I promised I wouldn't floo home – and Draco and Daphne can't exactly be seen flooing to the Burrow …"

"My office," Addie said. "Tomorrow morning."

Harry grinned at her. "Thanks, Addie. I love loopholes."


December 19th 1997

The next morning, Hermione hung back with the Muggle-borns who were returning home, waiting for everyone else to floo from the fireplace in McGonagall's office.

Hermione never saw the point of Muggle-borns flooing home for Christmas, when they would just end up on the platform anyway, but it was 'tradition'.

The only time the floo was not used was if the floo network at Hogwarts had been cut off for some reason.

Finally, she was the only one left who knew what she was doing. She left Catherine at the back of the line and offered the floo powder to the first student. "Take a pinch and throw it into the flames. Once they turn green, step into them and say 'Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters' nice and clearly."

He nodded, looking determined, and followed her instructions, the fire whisking him away.

Once he'd made the trip successfully, the line moved quickly and soon Catherine and Hermione were the only two left.

"Now, Catherine, you need to do the same thing, but say 'The Burrow'," Hermione said quietly. "Got it?"

Catherine nodded, throwing the powder into the flames. "The Burrow!"

"Have you ever thought of teaching, Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked.

Hermione chuckled. "I don't think that's a good idea, Professor. I catch on to things too quickly; I can't always explain every step of understanding something. The only reason I can help with this is because I've been there. Have a nice Christmas, Professor."

"You as well, Hermione."

Hermione threw a pinch of powder into the fire and stepped in after it. "The Burrow!"

Emerald green swirled around her and she stepped forwards, stumbling into the Weasleys' kitchen.

A hand snagged her under the arm before she could hit the floor. "Careful, Mya!"

"Could've been a Seeker with those reflexes," Hermione joked, brushing the soot from her clothes.

"Are we expecting anyone else?" Fred asked.

"No," Hermione answered. "Neville, Susan and Luna all flooed to their homes. Amelia and Augusta will take them on from there, and Luna's spending Christmas with her dad. This is Catherine Barter, Gryffindor first year. Catherine, this is Fred and George Weasley, former Gryffindors and pranksters extraordinaire." She narrowed her eyes at them "Be nice to her."

"Mya, we're …"

"… always nice."

"Hello, Catherine; I'm Fred …"

"… and I'm George."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's the other way round."

Fred gaped at her. "How'd you know?"

Hermione smirked. "Like I'd tell you!"

"Are you the people who own Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley?" Catherine asked shyly.

"We are indeed!" George said cheerfully. "Are you ready?"

"Fred and George are going to apparate us to where we need to go," Hermione said. "Take George's arm and hold on tight."

"Does it hurt?" Catherine asked, doing as she was told.

"Not at all," George said. "You might be a tad uncomfortable, but it'll be over in a pinch. One, two, three …"

With a loud crack, the disappeared.

Fred bowed to Hermione. "M'lady?"

Hermione took his arm with a smile. "Thank you."

Fred twisted away from her and she tightened her grip, feeling the horrible, squeezing sensation of apparition.

"I hate doing that," she muttered, when it stopped.

Fred chuckled. "Yeah, it's not the nicest way to travel, is it? It gets better when you do it yourself."

"If you say so," Hermione said as they crossed the wards.

They caught up with George and Catherine, who had stopped dead, gaping at Potter Manor.

"It's beautiful!"

"Yeah, it is," Hermione said fondly. "Come on." She led the way up the pathway to the house and tapped the door handle with her wand, pushing it open. "We're home!"

On either side of the entrance hall were two large, sweeping staircases, which led up to a balcony that doubled as a corridor, linking one side of the house to the other. The banisters were adorned with green wreaths, decorated with baubles and fairy lights, and, right in the middle of the hall, stood a huge Christmas tree.

"Wow …" Catherine whispered. "Are those fairy lights?"

"Sort of," Hermione said. "They're the same as the ones at Hogwarts – they're real fairies."

Catherine's mouth dropped open and she gaped at the tree for a few minutes.

"That's exactly how we reacted," an unfamiliar female voice said from the family room doorway.

Catherine turned towards it, her face lighting up. "Mum!" She ran into her mother's open arms and hugged her tightly.

Meredith clung to her daughter for a few minutes, but did not release her, even as she extended a hand to the three behind her. "How do you do; I'm Meredith Barter."

"Hello, Mrs Barter," Hermione said, shaking her hand. "I'm Hermione Granger. And this is Fred and George Weasley."

"Ah yes," Meredith said with a smile. "I've heard a lot about you two."

"Relax," Hermione said in an undertone. "Only about fifty percent of the rumours are true. Trick is, figuring out which fifty."

Meredith laughed. "Well, I've only heard good, so I'm not too worried." She shuffled her daughter to one side, allowing Hermione to slip past her into the family room.

Sirius stood up in time to catch her, hugging her tightly. "Welcome home, Kitten. Good term?"

Hermione nodded. "It was very educational."

"In more way than one, I'm guessing," Jen said, standing up to hug her as well.

"Of course." Hermione gave her aunt an extra squeeze, letting her shields down just a little.

Yes, she was definitely hugging two people – and not just because of the soul bond.

Still, it was not her place to say anything, and she was instantly distracted by the two women sitting on the sofa. "Angie! Alicia!"

The former Chasers greeted Hermione happily.

"Boys get you here alright then?" Angelina asked. "They brought us over so we could talk to Jen about some new products."

"Where's Harry?" Alicia asked.

Jen frowned "Where is Harry?"

"He didn't come with us," Hermione answered.

Before Jen could respond, Addie, Harry, Draco and Daphne appeared in front of them, making Sirius jump to one side to avoid getting squashed.

"Bloody hell," Sirius muttered. "Did you change the portkey, Jen?"

"No," Jen said. "Only to let her through the Hogwarts wards."

"But I landed in Ravenscroft last time," Addie said, kissing Sirius hello. "Where exactly does the Portkey take me?"

"I told you," Jen said with a smirk. "It takes you home. I was expecting Draco and Daphne, but Harry?"

"Dumbledore didn't want me home for Christmas," Harry explained. "I promised him I wouldn't floo." He smirked. "I never said anything about a Portkey."

Jen shook her head. "You sneaky little Slytherin," she said, without heat. "I'm impressed."

"You're a bad influence, Jen," Sirius said, grinning.

Jen pulled a face at him and tugged Harry into a hug. "How are you, sweetheart?"

"Tired," Harry muttered. "And mad at Dumbledore."

"Well, we're all that." Jen released him, holding him at arms' length and looking him over. "Still, at least you look better than every other time you've come home."

"That's because no one's tried to kill me yet," Harry said, before catching sight of the two women standing with his girlfriend. "Well, look what the twins dragged in!"

Angelina and Alicia both embraced him, kissing a cheek each. "You've replaced us then."

"Ron replaced you," Harry said. "Ginny Weasley and Demelza Robbins. They don't work quite as well with Katie as you used to, but we won our first game, so we'll make do."

Jen shook her head, stepping over to greet Addie.

Once she'd been hugged and Jen was speaking to Daphne, Addie glanced over at Hermione, who nodded.

"Thanks for the advice, Jen," Alicia called across the room. "We've got to get back to the shop."

"Of course," Jen said, waving them off. "See you later. Now, Catherine. Welcome to Potter Manor; I'm Jen, Harry's godmother."

As Jen and the Barters led Catherine out of the room so they could show the young girl where she'd be staying, Addie caught sight of Sirius nodding towards the door.

Leaving the kids to chat amongst themselves, she followed him back out the front door and round the side of the house, into the part of the garden James's mother, Emily, had so carefully cultivated. After her death, the house-elves had continued to maintain it.

It had taken a while, but Dobby and Winky had managed to restore it to its former glory. Sirius led her through the raised flowerbeds to a cobbled path that led to a fountain that spilled over into a small fishpond.

A charm on the area made sure the water never froze and small golden fish ventured to the surface every now and then, before darting back into warmer depths.

It was snowing, which was unusual for Hampshire, even in December, but Addie was fairly that the wards had been altered to make sure that the Potter family always had a white Christmas, just as she was fairly sure that the Quidditch pitch would be completely snow-free.

"It's beautiful out here," Addie said.

"Aunt Emily loved her garden," Sirius said, leading her over to the bench beside the pond. "But I didn't bring you out here to look at the scenery."

Addie chuckled. "No, I didn't think you did. Is there a reason you wanted me in the cold?"

It wasn't that cold out there – probably due to the wards again – but Sirius wrapped an arm around her shoulders anyway. "Do I need an excuse to want to see you? I don't like being away from you, you know that."

Addie bit her lip, then finally asked the question that had been bothering her for over eighteen years. "Is that why you came to visit me during the Easter break in seventh year?"

Sirius smiled. "Funny you should mention that. I was just thinking I should probably tell you."

Addie waited, her heart beating a little faster. Ever since Sirius had appeared in the doorway of her bedroom, trying desperately to keep her from fading away in front of his eyes – literally – she had wondered if she had imagined him.

Once Lily had confirmed that he had been there, she had wondered why.

"Well?" She said, after a few minutes. "What was it?"

Sirius took a deep breath. "I wanted to talk to your father."

Addie frowned. Certainly her father had liked Sirius well enough, but she couldn't think of a single thing they would need to talk about. "My father."

"I had a question," Sirius said, looking at her intently. "A very important question I had to ask him."

"A …" Addie froze, as the meaning of his words suddenly registered. "Oh, Sirius … You mean you were …"

"Yes. Yes, I was."

It hadn't crossed her mind.

Crazy, perhaps.

After all, Sirius had never made a secret of how he felt about her.

"When?" She asked curiously.

"Does it matter?" Sirius asked. "Graduation."

Addie rolled her eyes. "In front of everyone, no doubt."

"Hey, Lily agreed it was a good plan," Sirius protested. "She was going to shoehorn it into her Head Girl speech and everything." He fell silent for a few minutes. "What do you think he would have said?"

Addie frowned. "My father?"

Now it was Sirius's turn to roll his eyes. "No, Merlin. Of course your father."

"He would have said yes, Sirius," Addie said. "He liked you."

Sirius nodded. "Good to know."

Addie waited, her heart still beating somewhere in her throat. "Don't you want to know whether I would have said yes?"

Sirius shrugged. "Not really."

"Oh," Addie managed to say, her throat closing up. "Well, if that's all …"

He let her shrug off the arm around her shoulders, but caught her arm gently. "I'm not really interested in whether you would have said yes. I'm more interested in whether you still will."

Addie froze, sinking back on to the bench. "Oh my God."

Sirius smiled at her, pulling a small box from his pocket. "Addie, I have been in love with you since before I knew what that word meant. You make every day shine just by smiling. The moment you first let me hold you … I never wanted to let you go. I never want to let you go. You are my light … my strength … I thought losing you was the hardest thing I would ever experience, until I had to live without you." He released her arm to cup her face, wiping away the tears she hadn't realised were falling. "Addison Marlene McKinnon, will you marry me?"