A/N: In case I haven't said it enough, anything belonging to JK Rowling, needless to say, does not belong to me. Thankyou very much to those who have reviewed, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. Sorry this chapter is so short, but it seemed like the right place to stop, and I'm hoping to post 45 tonight too, so it's not really cheating... Thankyou again for reading, and I hope you enjoy.

xJL

Chapter 44

Severus searched his wife's face for some sign of what he might be missing as he sat in shock, desperately trying to grasp all that had been said in the last few minutes. "When?" he asked when he finally recovered his ability to speak. "How do you know for sure?"

"When we were working on the astral projection, I could see a different energy around my body," she began slowly, trying to explain even though so much of her wanted nothing more than to just break down. "I had Dr. Williams do a spell on me a few days ago; he said that I'd been pregnant for just under a few weeks… since the night before I got shot." Severus stared at her, still as death as emotions raced through his eyes.

"I'm not going to let you die," he said quietly before turning to Albus. "Our letters of resignation will be on your desk in the morning, effective immediately. I'm taking my wife somewhere safe. Somewhere away from this school, and that bastard, and this bloody war."

"I'm not leaving, Severus. I have a job to do," Andraste said before the headmaster had a chance to respond.

"You're right. You do have a job to do. It's called being a mother, and Damnit, my child is not going to grow up without one!"

"Maybe he's right, Andi," Albus said, the resignation in his voice clear on his face. "Maybe you should go."

"And what then, Albus?" Andraste asked angrily as she stood. "Run away and let Harry die and Voldemort win? Maybe I should just go tell the kids now that I was full of shit, and my life really is more important to me than their entire world! I am not leaving, and it would do you both good to accept that!" Both men started to reply, but were met with the door slamming behind Andraste as she stormed out of the office. Andraste ran blindly down the stairs and headed towards the main door, pulling it open quickly and charging forward only to find herself colliding with someone and ending up in a pile on the front steps.

"Andi," Remus said, standing up and offering her his hand, "I didn't think I'd run into anyone out here, or" he said with a smirk, "anyone would run into me."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, dusting herself off.

"Think nothing of it. Where were you in such a hurry to?"

"I'm not really sure. Flying I guess."

"Really?" he asked, his smile brightening. "Would you mind if I join you? Harry was telling me about it, I'd like to try myself."

"Um, yeah, I guess." Andraste leaned forward and spread her own glow to Remus, briefly explaining the basics of flying to him. He picked it up quickly, and soon he had followed her to the spot above the lake that she seemed to prefer.

"Now that we're up here," he began, his demeanor turning serious, "would you like to tell me what's wrong?" Andraste sighed and put her head in her hands.

"This wouldn't be anything like you wanting to go to the boat, just to see the boat would it?"

"A bit. So what's going on?"

"Are you sure you want to know? Because I think I'd rather not even know myself."

"Try me," he said with a sincere smile.

"Okay." Andraste took a deep breath and quickly summed up all of her worries. "I'm stressed. I'm hormonal. I'm pregnant. I'm scared. I'm going to die. There."

"Whoa. Did you say your pregnant? That's wonderful, Andi. Congratulations." Andraste just gave him a weak smile in response so he continued. "As for the stressed and hormonal, I'm pretty sure it comes with pregnancy. As for the dying," he said, his voice softening a bit as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Everyone is scared. It's natural in war. But we're all going to get through this together." Andi looked away from him, the tears she had refused to cry in Dumbledore's office starting to flow.

"I think you misunderstood me, Remus. I'm not scared that I'm going to die. I'm scared because I am going to." Remus gently turned her facing him and wiped away one of her tears.

"What would make you think that, Andi?"

"That thing that Dumbledore's been hiding, it was a prophecy. He knew I was coming here before I did." Andraste quietly told Remus of the prophecy and it meant, along with the rest of the conversation she had with Albus and Severus. "How could they want me to just desert everything and leave? I don't understand."

"Come on," Remus said, gently pulling her hand downward. "Let's go down, I want to show you something." He led her in silence to the shore, and then around the border of the lake until they reached a large boulder. "I used to come here at night when I was a student, and now that I'm a teacher I still do sometimes. I used to just sit here and throw rocks and wonder why the world seemed to have made so many choices for me. Why I couldn't just be normal. Eventually, I started putting a mark down each time I visited." Andraste looked at the boulder for the first time, seeing that the side of it was covered in hundreds of lines, some old, and some obviously more recent. "You know what I figured out?"

"That life's a bitch and then we die?" she asked quietly, making a half hearted attempt at a joke.

"No, Andi. That the world doesn't have control, no matter how much it seems like it does. We're the ones that get to make the final decisions and we're the ones that have to live with those choices. I made the choice to go wondering into the forest at night, and I have to live with the consequence of that. You made the choice to stay, even though you know what the prophecy says, because I don't think you could live with the consequences of leaving. But what you have to understand, is that a prophecy is nothing more than a prediction of what might happen; and often times, we, ourselves, put it in motion to be part of the past, instead of a potential in the future."

"How so?"

"Well, take Harry for example. Had Voldemort not tried to kill him to stop the prophecy, he never would have marked him as his equal. The entire thing would have been null and void from the start. Voldemort himself put the prophecy in motion. And with what you're doing now, you're using it to your advantage. Harry is supposed to kill him, but you plan on doing it. Just from Harry's body. Are you following me?"

"But I'm already here, Sarine's ashes have already given us a way to defeat him, and with any luck, Unity House will bring the four houses together. It's already in motion."

"It is, Andi; but that doesn't mean we can't find a way to bend the rules a bit." Remus pulled Andraste into a much needed hug, before sliding his hands to her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. "You have a child that needs their mother, a husband that needs his wife, and a lot of people that love you. We are going to keep you alive, prophecies be damned. Understood?"

"Yeah, I think I understand." Remus gave her another quick hug before pulling her by the hand back towards the school.

"Come on. I suspect that husband of yours is crazy with worry."

"I guess we should go back," Andraste said, a small, but sincere smile finally on her face again. "You want to walk or fly?"

"Definitely fly," he said with a huge grin. Moments later they had soared the distance between the lake and the school, and were parting ways by the stairs that led to the dungeon.

"Thank you, Remus. Really, you have no idea how much better I feel."

"You're important to me, Andi. To all of us. I will always be here if you need me." Andraste gave Remus a smile and headed downstairs, finally feeling capable of facing the storm that was her husband again.

"Where have you been, Andi?" Severus asked, embracing her as soon as she walked in. "I was so worried when I couldn't contact you with the ring. Where were you?"

"I ran into Remus. We talked for a bit."

"Are you okay?" he asked, not even blinking about her being with Lupin.

"Yeah, I am. He gave me a much needed pep talk. Let's sit. I think that maybe we need to talk."

"Listen to me, Andi," Severus said, cupping her face in one hand while pushing her hair back with the other. "You can't die. I need you. Our child needs you. Please, let me take you away from here. I don't beg, and I'm begging you."

"Severus, you know I can't leave. But we're going to find a way, and we're going to get through this; prophecy or not." Andraste led him over to the couch and pushed him down, situating herself on his lap, and running her hand through the hair that she loved so much. "You know, when Remus and I were talking, he made a really good point. We're bending prophecy rules by me going after Voldemort in Harry's body, but it's going to work; I'm sure of it. We can find a way to bend this one too. I don't want to leave you Severus, and I want to be there to watch our child grow up."

"Child. We're going to have a baby," he said softly, his face registering the realization of her pregnancy.

"And how do you feel about that?" Andraste asked, still uncertain that she herself had fully accepted that she had another life inside her.

"I don't know. I suspect Voldemort scares me less."

"I think I might be with you on that one, but I'm excited at the same time, does that make sense?"

"Of course it does, it's exactly how I feel. However," he said, his voice getting a much firmer tone. "You are going to start taking care of yourself."

"What are you talking about?" she said indignantly. "I take fine care of myself."

"Andi, it's a miracle that you're still pregnant after getting shot. And you have to start eating healthier."

"Well, I'll do my best not to get shot again," she said sarcastically.

"I'm serious, Andi. That's our baby inside of you, and," he said, an angry realization dawning in his eyes, "what the bloody hell do you think you were doing getting drunk?"

"De-stressing."

"No more, Andi. Not until after the baby is born. You know it's not good for him."

"Him?" Andi asked, getting sidetracked by Severus' assumption.

"Of course it's going to be a him," Severus re-iterated arrogantly. "And he will grow up to be proud and honest and strong, and a seeker for Slytherin."

"And what if it's a girl?" Andraste asked, crossing her arms and glaring at him defiantly.

"Then she will grow up to be just as beautiful and kind and intelligent as her mother. And, of course, we will have to keep trying until we get a boy."

"You know what they say, Sev," Andi wiggled suggestively as she leaned towards him. "Practice makes perfect."

"They say that, do they?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in mock questioning.

"I'm not really sure, but it's a good excuse." Instead of responding, Severus stood, with Andi still in his arms and kissed her as he carried her to the bedroom.

Later that night, he laid in bed watching her sleep as he so often did, thoughts running through his mind as he brushed his fingers across her stomach. "You need to give me some inspiration here, baby," he said, moving down so that his head was laying just above Andi's hipbone. "You need your mommy and so do I." For the first time in his life, Severus felt truly unsure of what to do, or where to go. For all the fear he'd faced, none of it compared the constant ache that came with the potential of losing the world he'd so recently found. Not knowing the answers was never something he handled well, and now that so much was at stake it felt like his entire life was breaking around him. Without the solutions he so desperately craved, he did something he hadn't done since he was a very small child. With his head laying on her stomach, and his arm wrapped around her waist, Severus Snape silently cried himself to sleep.