A/N: Thank you for reading and your reviews, favourites and follows. For reference, the last chapter took place April 1966.

For the disclaimer, please see the prologue.

Chapter Sixty: June 1966

Poppy looked at Ro, a pondering expression on her face. They were in their quarters the day before the graduation ceremony was to take place, and Poppy had something uncomfortable on her mind. "Ro?"

"Yes, love?" Ro closed her Quidditch magazine and looked at her wife expectantly. "You're wearing that face of yours that means I'm not about to like whatever you have to say."

"I'm in a slight quandary," Poppy began, "and I'm torn between my head and my heart."

"A quandary?" Ro laughed. "All right, come and sit down."

"No, Ro, it's serious," Poppy said, sighing.

"Well, still come and sit down. We can figure it out together." Ro patted the couch cushion beside her. "Get yer arse over here."

"I never should have let you go drinking with Hagrid," Poppy grumbled good-naturedly. "You won't stop talking like him."

"I'll stop now, if this is serious as you're making it sound," Ro assured her, pulling Poppy beside her. "What's going on?"

"As you know, I'm bound by a certain code of ethics as a Medi-Witch. I'm not supposed to divulge any information about my patients unless—"

"It's for an investigation or for medical evaluation, I know," Ro finished. She smiled gently.

"For the first time in my career, I'm considering breaking that oath," Poppy admitted. "I'm worried about what will happen if I stay silent."

"This is about our darling pseudo niece and nephew, then, isn't it?" Ro surmised quietly. "They're not pregnant again, are they?"

Poppy glared at her wife. "No." When Poppy had first told Ro about the impending baby, Ro had laughed it off for a half-hour before realizing that her wife was serious. Then, Ro had dragged both Athena and Dalton to the Quidditch pitch and screamed at them for an hour until Poppy rescued them.

Poppy had paid for interrupting Ro's diatribe, and she wasn't keen to have the event repeated.

"Then what did they do?"

Poppy sighed. "It has to do with their chosen profession after graduation."

"Oooh, you know what it is?" Ro leaned in eagerly. "I thought only Filius knew!"

"Filius knows as a result of their career conversation two years ago. I am only aware because, when things became official earlier this year, I had to complete the medical examination."

Ro quirked an eyebrow. "Not many jobs require a medical examination, Poppy."

"I know." Poppy looked at Ro hopefully. "Can you piece it together?"

"Well, you wouldn't freak out about a role with the Aurors or the Curse-breakers, and they wouldn't be so stupid as to be Hitwizards." Ro blanched. "You're telling me because they want to be Unspeakables. Tell me that's not what they chose."

"I can neither confirm nor deny what they chose, but I will tell you that the only job that would worry me would be one with the Unspeakables."

"Shit." Ro dragged a hand through her spiky hair. "That's a bad idea, Pops. After all the hell that job caused me? Both times? I'm the riskiest adult in their lives, and I would tell them not to work there. Hell, they're the reason I'm Rolanda Hooch."

"I know," Poppy said gently. She had been Ro's comfort for many a night when the Unspeakables had forced Ro to come home screaming in frustration, or whenever the sadness of no longer being Rowena Lovegood became too much to bear.

"Do I talk to them?" Ro wondered. "Is there anything I can do to change their minds?"

"I doubt it." Poppy shook her head. "I tried, and didn't get anywhere—hell, even Filius tried in their initial conversations. He's the one who asked me to dissuade them."

"What does Filius have against the Unspeakables?" Poppy hesitated, causing Ro to roll her eyes. "Poppy, I'm not going to tell anyone whatever you have to tell me."

"Filius' partner works for the Unspeakables," Poppy said, "and his partner was pregnant a few years ago. They were terrible about handling the whole thing and refused to limit her workload. They kept saying she was too instrumental to their current projects."

"Isn't that illegal or something?" Ro asked. "Wait. What about Athena's pregnancy?"

"That's where this gets tricky. It sounds odd to say, but I wish that Athena had gotten pregnant earlier. I wouldn't have approved her medical clearance, and at least one of them would have been safe," Poppy admitted.

"Oh, for the love of Merlin," Ro grumbled. "Do Min and Albus know yet?"

"No, not to my knowledge."

Ro stared at her wife. "So what do you expect me to do? Be the big bad auntie who tattles and tells their parents? That'll get me banned from their wedding in a heartbeat."

"No." Poppy sucked in a breath. "I'm hoping you'll talk to them directly. Place the blame on me, and say that I accidentally let it slip when we were talking about their upcoming nuptials."

"Poppy, even if I talk to them, there is no guarantee that they'll listen to me. They may just get annoyed and banish us from their lives."

Poppy rolled her eyes. "They're not going to banish us from their lives. We're going to look like our responses were practically nonchalant once Albus and Minerva find out."

Ro snorted. "Those two are in for the surprise of a lifetime. They will not be happy."

"No, and we can't blame them," Poppy said quietly. "Will you do it?"

"I'll intercept them tonight, I suppose," Ro responded, sighing. "I'll talk to them after dinner—are you fine if we meet here?"

"Oh, yes." Poppy nodded. "I'll just head to my office and stay there. You never know, a student may be sick the night before the graduation ceremony."

"It's happened before," Ro agreed. She grinned. Three years ago, a few of the graduating students had taken it upon themselves to be perilously inebriated, resulting in a great deal of stress for Poppy.

"Yes, it has," Poppy said, almost bitterly. "Are you going to steal them away at dinner?"

Ro thought for a moment. "I'm going to have to do it discreetly lest Minerva or Albus sees me. I don't want to go toe to toe with their progeny and then end up with them interrogating me after about why I talked to Dalton and Athena in the first place."

"I am sorry for putting you in this position, love." Poppy looked at her wife apologetically.

"Don't be. This wasn't your uninformed decision," Ro chuckled. "Besides, I don't mind being the proverbial bad guy. I'll gladly yell at them if it will make them see reason. I can only hope they haven't signed their contracts yet," she added, a blanched look on her face. "If I don't kill them, Min or Albus might."

A few hours later, Poppy ran interference for Ro. As dinner was ending, Poppy distracted Minerva and Albus with talks of expanding the Hospital Wing budget and medical advancements that could be brought to Hogwarts. When Poppy delved into the details, Ro slipped away from the dais and walked quickly over to the Gryffindor table.

Approaching Athena and Dalton, Ro leaned in between them. "You two. My quarters. Now."

The couple looked at each other anxiously and quickly followed Ro to the quarters she shared with Poppy.

"Sit down, both of you." Ro pointed her chin in the direction of the couch. She moved the coffee table out of the way so she could stand in front of them.

Ro was in the mood to pace.

"So, you two," she began, looking at them with narrowed eyes, "I want to talk to you about what you're planning on doing after graduation."

"We haven't told anyone yet," Dalton answered slowly. He looked at Athena. "We want to tell our parents first. Surely you can understand that."

"I do understand that, but I also want to make sure that what you'll tell them won't rip their hearts out." Ro gave them her best "disappointed aunt" glare. "I have a feeling that you would have already told us if you thought you wouldn't meet any resistance."

"Geez, Ro, what's with the third degree? Athena snapped. "Just ask us what you want to ask us."

"Did you two sign on to work with the Unspeakables?" Ro asked sharply. "And I'd think twice before lying, if you know what's good for you."

Dalton and Athena looked at each other, seemingly having a silent conversation. Finally, Athena responded, "Yes, that is what we're planning. How did you figure it out?"

"I worked for them myself," Ro said, "and I know the secrecy they require."

"Or Poppy told you," Dalton accused. "Damn. I thought she had to keep our medical records a secret."

"She does," Ro confirmed, "and she did. I guessed that you were pursuing positions with the department, and her reaction told me all I needed to know."

Ro didn't feel the need to tell them that Poppy had broached the subject with her first.

"You're not going to stop us from joining, Ro," Athena said gently. "We have already made a commitment and signed the contracts. We start at the start of August, which gives us enough time to get married first."

"What about the baby?" Ro demanded. "You can't seriously expect to work with the Unspeakables while pregnant."

"Ro, the Unspeakables you left is not the same Unspeakables department that exists today," Dalton said. "They're allowing Athena to work at a desk job, and they have promised that she can do theoretical work until after she returns from maternity leave."

"We're not complete idiots," Athena added. "We had it written into the contract."

Ro's jaw dropped. "You two must be highly coveted if they agreed to that."

"We do have top marks," Dalton said, laughing.

"Hmph." Ro snorted. "But that still doesn't change the fact that you won't be safe, Dalton! And after the baby is born, you'll be at risk, too, Athena!"

"It can't be that unsafe, Ro. Uncle Cal has been working there for eons, and he's fine!" Dalton argued.

"He's fine because he has clout! Callum worked his way up and refuses to do anything risky. They may be lenient while Athena is pregnant, but you will not be able to make the same demands as your uncle. And if you think he'll be able to stick his neck out for you, you have another thing coming to you. The Unspeakables do not take kindly to that sort of thing."

"We wouldn't do that, Ro. We wouldn't put Callum in that sort of position." Athena inhaled deeply. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but we know what we signed up for, and we accept the risks."

"Do I even want to know why you thought this was a suitable career path?" Ro asked wearily. "You could have talked to me about this first. Or your uncle, for goodness' sakes."

Dalton replied, "We did ask Uncle Cal some general questions, but more so out of interest."

"And you hate talking about your experience there," Athena added.

"Did you ever think there might be a reason for that?" Ro looked at them and sighed. "Look, I get you're roped in. But I want you to make me two promises. One: you'll get the hell out if you feel the slightest bit uncomfortable. You two are smart enough that there will be a plethora of opportunities for you, I shouldn't wonder."

A flicker of a smile crossed Dalton's face. "I don't plan on working somewhere I hate forever, Ro. That's easy enough. And the second?"

"Be careful what you get involved in. They have a way of making you do things that you wouldn't wish on anyone. Not even your worst enemy," Ro said.

"Like what?" For the first time, Athena looked nervous.

"I really shouldn't be saying this," Ro sighed heavily, "but you need to know that time travel is permanent for some workers. They ask some people to go either into the past or the future, and then they don't come back."

"Surely they get your consent first," Dalton said, glancing at Athena.

"Yes, when it's intentional." Ro practically begged them to see how dangerous this was. "The Unspeakables work in unchartered magic. Sometimes, you're sent somewhere else in time and are supposed to come back, but can't. Sometimes the magic is wrong, and the calculations are off. I don't want either of you trapped somewhere, stuck in a different timeline, and unable to get home. Unable to be with your family."

"We don't want that, either. We'll stay away from time travel, we promise," Athena said earnestly.

"Oh, honey," Ro whispered, "you won't have a choice."

After the graduation ceremony the next morning and before the inevitable party that would occur in Gryffindor Tower later that night, Minerva and Albus hauled Dalton and Athena up to Minerva's quarters.

"It feels rather sad," Minerva said quietly, looking at their grown children fondly, "to think that you won't be coming around every Sunday from now on. I had gotten rather used to that over the last seven years."

"Don't worry, Min." Athena grinned cheekily. "Dad'll still be around. He can bother you all you like."

"You will visit us, won't you?" Albus asked, almost nervously. Even though it had taken him longer than it should have for him to grow into being a father, he didn't know what he would do when she left the school for good.

Athena smiled. "Yes, Dad. I promise we'll pay you many a visit."

"Can we please know what you're going to do after graduation now?" Minerva asked, sitting in a chair across from Albus. She looked expectantly at Athena and Dalton, who were sitting together on the couch. "I should hope that now that your graduation ceremony is over, you can tell us what you're planning to do. And where you'll be living, please and thank you. I know you're going to stay at the Manor until your wedding—and I'm more than happy to have you—but I'm sure you'll be moving out at some point."

"Can't we live at the Manor?" Dalton teased. "Wouldn't it be nice for you to have your grandchild around?"

"For a visit? Yes. To take care of on a permanent basis?" Minerva raised an eyebrow. "I'm not particularly fond of that idea, I must admit."

"Hear, hear!" Albus nodded enthusiastically. "Now that I am no longer in shock, I am learning to like the idea of a little baby that is my blood, but not my responsibility."

"So, where will you be working? Where will you be living?" Minerva asked again. "I presume you've taken the same job."

"Yes, we did," Dalton affirmed. "We took positions in London at the Ministry, so we're planning on moving there after the wedding."

"Aoife is moving out of her flat and in with her girlfriend, so we'll be taking over her lease," Athena added.

"Well, that all sounds encouraging," Albus said happily as he unwrapped one of his new favourite candies, a sherbet lemon. "Where in the Ministry? As you know, Minerva and I know several employees in a wide variety of departments."

Athena inhaled. "The Unspeakables."

Albus let his candy drop to the floor in shock. "I'm sorry?"

"Why is everyone against this?" Dalton groaned.

"Who else is against it?" Albus looked between the two of them, his eyes wild. "Who else knows?"

"Professor Flitwick told us it would be dangerous," Athena said quickly, "when we talked to him about it during our careers session."

Minerva looked at Albus. "Now we know why they didn't want me to oversee that particular session."

"We had to undergo medical examinations, so Poppy gave us an earful when she did that," Athena continued. "And before you ask, no, I wasn't pregnant at the time. Poppy has since told me on numerous occasions that she never would have approved my medical clearance if that had shown up."

"I would damn well hope not," Albus growled. "Does anyone else know?"

"Ro," Dalton admitted. "She found out. Don't ask me how; I'm fuzzy on the details, and her story sounded like a crock of shit."

"Language, Dalton," Minerva admonished wearily. "I would think Ro told you to reconsider, especially after what she went through during the—" She stopped herself, unwilling to reveal too much about Ro's past as Rowena.

"What happened to Auntie Ro?" Athena whispered.

"That's her story to tell," Albus said firmly. "Suffice it to say we would think she wouldn't be a proponent of you working for the Unspeakables."

"She didn't like it at all," Dalton replied. "But we've already signed the contracts. It's not like we can get out of them now."

"Oh, I can get you out of anything!" Albus said loudly. "I am Albus Dumbledore, and I'll be damned if I let the bloody bureaucracy prevent me from keeping you safe."

"Albus." Minerva stared at him firmly. "Breathe, dear."

"But—but—she's pregnant!" Albus sputtered. "You of all people know how dangerous it is—especially since they're bonded!"

"Yes, they will have to be extremely comfortable in the field," Minerva agreed. "But I'm sure the two of you asked for accommodations in your contracts, no? Parental endangerment should be a clause; it was during my time with the Auror office."

Dalton bit his lip. "We have Athena covered while she's pregnant, but not me."

"But you're bonded!" Albus cried. He felt a mass of nerves form in his belly. "Any risks you encounter are also a risk to Athena!"

"In hindsight, that would have been a good thing to ask for," Athena murmured. "Well, Dad, if you can get us out of anything, perhaps you can add that clause to Dalton's contract. I'm not sure what excuse we would give for you helping us, though. I don't particularly want to reveal that we're bonded."

"I can simply say that I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, helping two of my most accomplished students negotiate a better contract for themselves." Albus almost looked insulted at the insinuation that he couldn't accomplish this for them. "I don't often like to use my clout, but I certainly can use it for the two of you. The three of you."

"Thanks, Dad," Athena said softly, smiling. "I appreciate that."

"Don't take it as an endorsement of your career choice," Albus replied, his voice hardening again. "I still think it's idiotic. The two of you had your choice of anything in the wizarding world, and you decided to endanger yourselves for a living?"

Minerva could tell Albus was getting into one of his moods, so she thought she best nip this line of conversation in the bud.

"Perhaps we can discuss why you decided to be Unspeakables," Minerva suggested. "I'd like to know your rationale for this. After all, you two have top marks; you could have chosen to pursue any career path in the world.

"We're good at keeping secrets," Dalton responded bluntly, shrugging. "We like the research aspect. The knowledge that will come with these positions. The changes we can make to the wizarding world to make it better for everyone."

"It's fascinating work, truly," Athena added. "We have a chance to keep the world safe."

Something about that sentence struck Minerva.

"So, when you two said that there was a war going on," Minerva said slowly, "you were alluding to the knowledge you have from your preliminary conversations with the Unspeakables department?"

Albus spun around. "The Unspeakables have confirmed a war?"

Athena groaned and glared at Dalton. "See, you shouldn't have said anything about the war."

"To hell you shouldn't have!" Albus yelled, looking angrier than Minerva had seen him in years. "We are supposed to protect you, and you've just up and enrolled yourselves in a war that we don't even know about yet!"

"You can't protect us forever, Dad!" Athena yelled right back. "We are adults now. We're making our own career choices."

"And you're doing a piss poor job of it, Athena!" Albus' face turned red. "If you really cared about the baby you're carrying, you wouldn't be risking your life! Either of you!"

"Albus, that's enough!" Minerva snapped. She looked at Dalton, who had withdrawn his wand. "Dalton, put that away. You won't be duelling Albus—it's not necessary, and nor would you win, darling."

Dalton stared at his mother. "How can you defend him after he said that?"

"I'm not defending him. I just don't want you to lose in a ridiculous duel. I love you, Dalton, but you wouldn't win." Minerva turned back to her de facto parenting partner. "That was a horrible thing to say, Albus, and you know it."

"How could you say I don't care about this baby?" Athena whispered, but her voice was menacing. "I want to stop this war so the world is safe for this baby!"

"How can you keep this baby safe if you're not safe?" Albus faltered, looking at his daughter. "I just want you safe."

"Dad, you and Min haven't stopped your research into whoever the hell killed Aidan," Athena remarked. "Sorry, Min, to bring it up like that, but Dalton told me. If you are our parents, and you're allowed to go to war for us, surely we're allowed to do the same."

Minerva blanched. "While you have a point, I think Albus is more concerned about the fact that you're pregnant. That's a little different than being a parent whose baby is outside of the womb."

"He still won't apologize." Dalton glared stonily at Albus. "I get that you're worried, but sometimes you have to let us make our own choices."

"When have I ever stopped you from making your own choices?" Albus looked wondrously at Minerva. "Help me here, Min."

"I do not have the energy to deal with this," Minerva said bluntly. "I am already nursing a never-ending headache from end-of-term marking, coordinating the graduation ceremony, and handling the staff's budgeting requests for next year. Dalton and Athena, I do not like that you have chosen to join the Unspeakables, but I recognize that I cannot do anything about it. I believe Albus can help protect Dalton, as well, if you don't mind his meddling.

"I propose that you two new graduates go and celebrate with your friends in the Tower and enjoy your last night as students here. In a few days, we can all pick up this conversation again. We'll also have to talk about how many people we're going to tell about this pregnancy: we have to keep it well-hidden, especially if you'll be joining the Unspeakables." Minerva sighed and rubbed her temples. "Dalton and Athena, go. Thank you for telling us."

Dalton gave Minerva a quick kiss on the cheek as he led Athena back in the direction of the Gryffindor common room.

"They didn't say goodbye to me." Albus snorted humourlessly.

"Did you really expect them to? Albus, what you said was horrendous." Minerva shook her head. "That was such a horrible, wretched thing to say. I understand your worries, and I share them, but that was the wrong way to say it."

"I know," Albus said, conceding. "I know. I'm just worried about them—and they really should have come to us."

"They should have, but when have they ever come to us?" Minerva asked. "Look, this is not the path I would have chosen for them, but I'm more concerned about the fact that there's a war on the horizon." She hesitated. "Do you think...?

"Do I think it's Tom and Katrina?" Albus sighed. "I believe it might be, but I want more evidence before I get too worried. Granted, it's almost more worrisome to think of a new, unnamed enemy."

"Albus, this is a mess," Minerva groaned. "I had hoped that, eventually, we could tell them about our own relationship—especially now that they're bonded."

Albus had a sympathetic expression on his face. "I know, my dear, but we can never tell them now. They're already going to be targets. I'm already worried about these enemies discovering that we are their parents. What if the worst happens and they end up like Callum? I don't want people knowing we're soul-bonded. And what about the baby? The grandchild of two soul-bonded couples? Who knows what experimenting our enemies would want to do?"

"I get it, Albus. I do." To Minerva's horror, a sob escaped her mouth. "This is just not the life I wanted for them. I understand that we can't stop the horrors of the world, but the thought of it being Katrina and Tom makes me sick. Them, we could have stopped."

"And we will—if this is even Katrina and Tom," Albus reassured her. He stood and pulled her into his arms. "Come here. We will keep them safe, all right? We will figure this out."

"You should know better than to make promises you can't keep," Minerva sniffled, relaxing into his hold. "Nothing is certain in this world, especially during wartime."

Albus waved his hand. A gramophone appeared behind them, playing a slow waltz. "You know what is certain, my dear?"

"That this song is what we danced to at my Yule Ball?" Minerva asked, smiling slightly. "That wasn't my best night, I'm afraid."

"Exactly." Albus started to sway them in time with the music. "No matter what horrible things we've done in the past—or what horrible people we haven't managed to stop—there's always a reason to keep going. And we shall."

They danced around Minerva's quarters, still dancing long after the music had stopped.