The Eighth Year Universe

Love Wins

We Can't Stop This Real World From Spinning

The chapter title is from the song:

More Than My Hometown - Morgan Wallen


The Statute Saboteur Safehouse

An Unplottable Location in rural Wales

Almina was on babysitting duty at the Statute Saboteur safehouse. It was usually a pretty dull job (one that Teddy and Nick were not allowed to be assigned to because they were too close to it).

The Saboteurs didn't talk to the Aurors; they barely even spoke in English. Almina always went in with a translation charm on herself so she could understand what they said. Most of it was just offensive and not at all useful though. So she spent her shifts here drinking coffee and wishing the time would pass faster.

But on this occasion, things went differently. Almina was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in front of her. She was thinking about Harry and praying for Teddy's sake that he would wake up. The latest news they'd had was encouraging. Daphne had said something about internal and external awareness. She wasn't sure exactly what it meant, but she was glad to see progress.

Esma, the youngest of the Saboteurs, stepped into the room and asked in a small voice, "Sıcak içecek lütfen?"

It filtered through the translation charm, and Almina nodded. She took a tub of hot chocolate from the cupboard and pointed at it, "This?"

Esma nodded, "Burası çok soğuk."

"It is cold," Almina said softly, "Do you understand English?"

Esma shook her head, so Almina tapped on her ear to make the translation charm work in both directions.

"İngiltere çok soğuk (England is very cold)."

Esma was silent while Almina made the hot chocolate. She raked around in the cupboards, found some marshmallows and piled them in the top, then placed the mug down in front of Esma. She smiled and said.

"İngiliz teyzem böyle yaptı (That's what my English Aunt did)."

"Teyzen burada mı? (Is your Aunt here?)" Almina asked.

Esma shook her head and sipped the drink, "Hayır. O uzun zaman önce öldü (No. She died a long time ago)."

Almina nodded, and Esma continued, "Sonra babam sorumluydu. O zalimdi (Then my father was in charge. He was cruel)."

With a sigh, Almina sat down opposite her, "Katerina and Isaak, rescued you?"

Esma understood enough to nod.

"From your baba?" Almina asked.

"Numara," Esma replied with a shake of her head, "From bad English man."

Almina's frown deepened, "Senin üzerinde deney yapan adam İngiliz miydi? (Was the man experimenting on you British?"

"Rus değil? (Not Russian?)"

Esma shook her head again, "British. He in Russia."

Almina knew she had to get this information back to the Ministry, but this girl seemed to trust her, so she didn't want to cut the conversation short too soon either.

"Seni çaldırdı mı? (Did he make you steal?)" Almina asked.

Before Esma could reply, another voice did so.

"No."

Almina looked up at Jelena, who she estimated to be around her age. Perhaps a little younger. She was studying Almina with her eerily pale eyes.

"We stole from your department to help our friends," Jelena said quietly, "To undo this," she motioned to her eyes.

"So he did that to you?" Almina asked, "The English man?"

Jelena nodded, "Katrin broke us all out. Then we became the Statute Saboteurs. Katerina and Katrin said it was the only way to expose what he had done."

"It's not the only way," Almina promised, "Finding a ministry like ours who wants to help you is another way. A far more peaceful one."

"You do not want to help us," Scoffed Katerina.

Almina looked at the red-eyed witch who was standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Yes, we do," Almina promised.

"My Mum is the Minister for Magic, and she is in Switzerland right now trying to get permission for our Aurors to operate on foreign soil. She is doing that, so we can find this base in Russia and apprehend the people who did this to you."

Katerina's eyes flashed, "Your mother is the Minister we tried to have killed, and you are here, protecting us? Making hot drinks for Esma?"

"Yes," Almina replied, "Because I understand that people do stupid things when they are desperate, and I don't blame you for that. Your friends are like your family, and I would do anything to protect my family too."

Katerina stepped into the room, "Do you know why Katrin abandoned us?"

"No, I don't," Almina admitted, "The higher-ups in my department think she's working for whoever experimented on you in Russia."

"No," Katerina said fiercely, "Katrin would not."

"Unless she didn't have a choice," Jelena said quietly, "Until we came here, he could control me. He could get inside my head, and what if he can do the same to Katrin?"

Katerina's eyes darkened, "If he found her, he will punish her for her betrayal."

"Not if he needs her," Jelena said quietly, "If he needs her, he will punish her, but he won't kill her."

"What's his name, this man?" Almina asked.

Katerina and Jelena looked at each other but didn't say anything.

"I know you're scared," Almina said softly, "But the more you tell me, the better chance we have of finding him and sending him to prison for the rest of his life. That's what you want, isn't it? Justice?"

Jelena nodded, and Katerina sighed.

"He calls himself Lazarus."


Telling Charlus about the baby was probably the single hardest thing Victoire had ever had to do. She had asked to meet him at the castle, and now here they were, sitting outside on a bench.

"You didn't tell me you were back," Charlus said. He could sense the tension in the air. He figured she was probably going to tell him she'd been wrong, that she didn't want to try and make a go of this after all.

Victoire shook her head.

"I knew you'd come back," Charlus added, "My dad told me. But you didn't."

"You didn't come to find me," Victoire pointed out.

"You didn't tell me you were back," Charlus repeated, "I didn't think you wanted me to know. I figured you had…changed your mind."

"No," Victoire said. She cast her gaze down, "I just didn't know how to talk to you. I only just got out of the hospital too."

"What?" Charlus asked, his resigned tone changing instantly, "The hospital? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Victoire said. She swallowed and looked over at him, "I got shot with an arrow. Nevee and my dad healed it, and I was in the hospital for a few days."

Charlus cursed under his breath, "Well, I didn't know that, I'm sorry. If I had, I would have come to the hospital."

"I know, that's why I didn't tell you that I was back," Victoire said quietly, "Because I just needed a day to wrap my head around things before we talked."

Charlus frowned, "What do we need to talk about?"

Victoire didn't know how to say it, so she let her head drop down into her hands. Charlus rested his hand on her back, and she nearly sobbed at the sweetness of it all.

"I'm pregnant, Charlie."

She felt his entire body stiffen up, so Victoire kept talking.

"It came up in a blood test. It's called Magical Cryptic Pregnancy. You don't have any symptoms because your mind and your magic trick your body into thinking you aren't pregnant," Victoire said, all of this spilling out in a rush.

"It's most common in young mothers because they're scared, so they don't want to believe it," Victoire said breathily, "So it didn't show up until I had a blood test done, and I'm…I'm six months pregnant. The due date is late October, and Lilly thinks I conceived on the…."

She swallowed and blinked her tears away, "The 31st of January."

Charlus stared at her, "Vic…I…."

Victoire bit her lip. She felt sick to her stomach. It was funny how she was feeling it all now that she knew.

"I…"

Charlus got to his feet and ran a hand through his hair, he was as pale as a sheet, and for a moment, she thought he might actually pass out.

"I need…fuck, I'm gonna be sick. I'll floo you, Vic. I'll…floo you."

He disappeared in a dash, and Victoire let her head drop into her hands as her tears fell thick and fast.


"Almina Nott came in with some very useful information this morning," Ben was saying to the pen of people he trusted with this case.

Teddy crossed his arms and surveyed the Head Auror carefully.

"We verified the memories," Ben added, "And it seems that all is in order."

"What did she find out?" Nick asked from Teddy's side.

"That the man who operates out of Russia isn't Russian," Ben replied, "That's just where the base is. He calls himself Lazarus, but he cloaks his appearance, so all they know is the name and that he has an English accent."

Draco frowned from where he was leaning against Ben's desk, "Lazarus…that has to be a clue, right?"

Ben looked over at him, "How so?"

"Saint Lazarus of Bethany," Draco explained, "The Muggle Bible. He was resurrected to life by Jesus four days after his death."

Ben's frown deepened, "So this is someone who has come back to life?"

"No," Draco said darkly, "It's someone we think is dead whose death wasn't quite as permanent as we thought. It happens more often than you know, people faking their own deaths or finding ways around them."

"Great," Teddy said dryly, "So we're dealing with a dead man, which makes the trail cold before we even start."

"Correct," Ben agreed, "Do we have permission to send Aurors into Russia yet?"

"Not yet, but my latest progress report from the Minister was encouraging, so with any luck, you'll get the go-ahead in a day or two," Draco replied.

"Good. Until then, brace yourselves," Ben said to the Aurors in the room, "The worst is not past us yet. In fact, it's just coming."

There was an echo of 'yes sir', and the room emptied.


Charlus didn't know where he was going, but he knew he didn't want to be in the Garden Cottage. He headed for the main castle, with no real idea of where he would go when he got inside.

His head was spinning at a million miles an hour. He loved Victoire, but they had only just agreed to date, and then this, it was hitting him like a ton of bricks.

All he could think was, I'm too young for this. He had his whole life ahead of him; he would finish his training and work as a Curse Breaker out in Egypt. Getting married to Victoire and having a baby hadn't been in his life plan for at least five years. Not that he would ever admit to anyone that he had a life plan.

In his haste to disappear, he ended up heading downwards, past the kitchen to the lowest level of the castle.

Charlus felt sick. He was just a kid himself; he still lived at home; he was barely an adult. How the hell am I going to raise a kid? He felt nausea increasing with that very thought. All of his dreams had just gone up in smoke with that revelation because there was no way he could leave the country now. There was no way he could abandon this kid because Charlus Nott was many things, but his parents had raised him to be noble, to always do the right thing.

Abandoning your kid was never the right thing.

"There goes my life," Charlus muttered to himself.

And he was so lost in his thoughts that he nearly knocked his Pops over halfway down the staircase.

And Theo was very Theo about it.

"Fuck, dammit, Merlin, Charlus!" Theo cursed, catching himself and grabbing his cane before it clattered down the stairs.

"What on Helga's green earth are you playing at?"

Charlus looked at his Pops, and he must have looked as terrified as he felt – like a deer caught in the headlights because Theo's expression shifted.

"Wait, are you okay? Is your sister okay?"

Charlus could only nod. He gripped the railing and let out a shaky breath, "I'm fine, Mina is fine. I just…Pops, can you…I need to go somewhere dark and quiet, alright."

Without another word, he barrelled past his Pops down the stairs into the whiskey cellar. The moment he was inside, he sat down against a barrel and let out a shaky breath.

He knew his Pops was following him because of the tell-tale click of his cane. So when the door opened, he wasn't surprised, but he didn't say anything either.

"What's happened?" Theo asked.

Charlus looked up at Theo and lost it, "Victoire's pregnant," he said, choking on the words as they came out of his mouth.

Theo's eyebrows shot up, and he sat down next to his son, "Right, that explains the 'there goes my life' comment on the stairs."

Charlus didn't say anything.

"I thought that about you and your sister, you know?" Theo continued. He knew Charlus didn't want to talk, so he was happy to talk enough for both of them.

"I was 19," Theo said, "Training to be an Auror. I found out I would be a dad, and I thought, 'well, there goes my life'. But I was so wrong, Charlie."

Charlus looked up at him with tear-stained cheeks.

"Two years later, I realised quite how wrong I was," Theo admitted, "I was watching you two play in the back garden of 11 Grimmauld Place, and it just hit me like a ton of bricks. What I thought was a mistake when I was 19 was my whole world at 21."

Theo shook his head, "The first time you hear 'I love you Daddy', nothing feels like a mistake anymore."

Charlus swallowed and nodded.

"But it's okay to feel scared right now," Theo promised, "Because I did too. We were married, we had money and a house, but that didn't make me less scared."

"I don't have a house, and my job is okay, but it's not great," Charlus said weakly, "And we can't raise the kid in a beach shack."

"You know we can help you out with that, though," Theo said softly.

"You shouldn't have to, Pops," Charlus sighed, "I shouldn't have gotten myself into this mess."

"It's easy to say that, but this happens all of the time, Charlus," Theo assured him, "But you know how terrified you feel right now?"

Charlus nodded.

Theo reached over and gripped his arm, "Victoire feels twice as scared. I remember how your Mum felt when she found out she was pregnant. She was terrified; she didn't know how to be a good mother because hers had only ever been bitter and materialistic. I didn't know how to be a good father because mine had only been cruel."

"I actually fainted when we found out we were having twins. I didn't know how we would cope, I didn't think we would make it through, but your dad, he…he convinced me that we could be better than our fathers were, that we would be better because we didn't want to be like them."

"You never talk about them," Charlus admitted, wiping his eyes hastily, "Your fathers."

"No, we don't," Theo agreed, "They were bad people. They were abusive, violent; they hurt us and neglected us. Because of that, your dad and I weren't always good people, and we were both pretty scared that we would ruin our kids, the same way our parents ruined us. But I remembered something that an old friend said, and it really helped."

Charlus looked over at him, "What was it?"

"When I was in school, a close friend of mine got pregnant," Theo admitted, "She…she died in the war and her unborn baby with her. I won't tell you who that baby's father was, but I will tell you what Aunt Daphne said to him when he found out he was going to be a dad."

Charlus rubbed his eyes and nodded.

Theo smiled sadly, "Any fool can make a baby, but it takes a man to raise a child."

Charlus snorted, "Yeah, blunt. Sounds like Aunt Daphne."

Theo chuckled, "But on that occasion, she was right. I stepped up when I found out I would be a dad of twins, and I tried to do the best I could. I never wanted to raise you two the way I was raised."

"You didn't," Charlus said quietly, "You're the best, Pops. You're always there, for all of us. I know we joke and call you an old man or whatever, but you raised all six of us, and we all love you."

Theo smiled weakly, "And hearing that from you, it makes it all worthwhile. But back then, when you and Almina were just a concept, two babies whose heartbeats we could hear and who we could feel trying to kick their way out, I wasn't the same man that I am now. Still, every night after your mum told me, I was able to visualise it more, what my life would look like with these two amazing little kids in it."

Charlus smiled weakly.

"I couldn't wait to hold you, to rock you to sleep, to get you geared up and take you to your first Quidditch game, in Puddlemere Onesies obviously, just to spite Dad."

Charlus laughed tearfully.

Theo smiled warmly, "And then I thought about what it would be like when you were older. I told myself I'd never let you get tattoos, not after I got this one."

He motioned to the faded outline of the dark mark on his arm, which had been covered up with vines and flowers. It was not dissimilar to Draco's, which had narcissus flowers weaving around it.

"Of course, I got so many tattoos after that, I figured I'd be a hypocrite to stop you guys from doing it," Theo added.

Charlus smiled slightly because it was true. His dad didn't actually have that many tattoos. Still, two of them were huge – one, which was family-themed, took up his entire chest, and a huge magical dragon tattoo covered his back. The others were all small, dotted around his arms and legs, but still – he would have been hypocritical to tell Charlus he couldn't get one.

"I figured if I had a daughter, I'd have to tell her to slow down when she got her first serious boyfriend and boy, was I right when Teddy Potter appeared on the scene?" Theo said with a shake of his head.

"I grew up without a loving father," Theo finished with a nod, "So I decided that I would be the best one I could be."

"And you are," A new voice promised.

Theo and Charlus looked up at Almina, who had slunk into the cellar somehow. She smiled at Theo and said.

"You are the best, Pops. I remember when we lived in Grimmauld Place, and our room had all these shadows because of the big tree outside," Almina said. She dropped down next to her twin brother on the floor.

"I'd cry almost every night, and it was always you who came in unless you were on the graveyard shift at work. You would do a fake spell to get rid of the shadows. I knew it was all sparks and make-believe, but I fell asleep feeling safe every night."

Theo smiled a little tearfully, "Well, your Dad and I, when we became fathers, a lot of people expected our kids to turn out the way we did. They expected us to marry pureblooded women, produce heirs and be just like our fathers. History repeats itself, that's how the phrase goes, but it's not true. We chose not to let history repeat itself. We chose love."

Almina grabbed Charlus's hand, "Do you love Vic?"

Charlus nodded, "Of course I do."

"Then you know what you have to do, right?" Almina asked, prodding him in the ribs.

"Apologise for running away when she told me I was going to be a dad?" Charlus cringed.

"You ran away?!" Theo and Almina asked in unison.

Almina shook her head and looked at their father, "God, he's an idiot, isn't he?"

"Yes, but you sounded just like Mum then," Theo said, fighting a smile.

Charlus pushed himself to his feet, "I'll apologise, and I'll stand by her. I'm not going to marry her because I don't want to demean her by proposing because she's having a baby, but you're right."

Almina and Theo both nodded, one triumphantly and the other proudly.

"You've got plenty of time to get your head around it all before the baby comes, Charlie," Theo added, "Pregnancy takes nine months for a reason, after all."

"Yeah," Charlus said, feeling his throat constrict, "Except she's….six months pregnant."

"What?"

"How?"

Theo looked at Almina in disbelief, "Did you just say how?"

Almina rolled her eyes, "He knows what I mean!"

"She had this thing, Cryptic Magical Pregnancy or something," Charlus explained, "She said her mind tricked her body into thinking she wasn't pregnant."

"That is actually a thing," Almina said with a frown, "I read about it somewhere."

"I'll…I'll figure it out when I talk to her."

"Then you'll come back here and announce to everyone else that you're going to be a father?"

Charlus snorted, "Hell no. I'll stay with Victoire to figure things out. You can tell the others."

"Oh, so let me take the heat for you? I see how it is," Theo joked, "A true Slytherin you are."

Charlus actually chuckled. Then he stepped forward and hugged his father, "Thank you, Pops."

Then he drew his twin sister into a hug and murmured, "You're gonna be an awesome Aunt, Mimi."

"You're gonna be a great Dad, Charlie," Almina returned, kissing him on the cheek, "Now go, apologise to your baby mama."

Charlus shot her an exasperated look, but he disappeared out of the room, and Almina looked over at her father.

"Mum is going to go nuts, isn't she?"

"Oh yeah," Theo said, putting his arm around his daughter, "It's a good thing she's in Switzerland, really. Gives me a bit of time to work out how I'm going to break it to her. Still…how good are those shield charms of yours again? You might need to protect me from her."

Almina laughed and said, "No, I won't. It's just nice to have some good news. Even if they aren't married or anything. With everything going on…with my…you know."

Theo frowned and paused in the basement hallway, "You're talking about Teddy's dad?"

Almina swallowed and nodded, "Everything is falling apart, Pops. Teddy is worried sick about his dad, the whole family are and Nick…his sister died, and his dad won't stop drinking. It all seemed so perfect before."

"It does, before the storm," Theo said softly, "But it's surviving those storms, Mina, that's what makes a good relationship become a great relationship."

"But what if it isn't great, Pops?" Almina asked. She bit her lip and said, "I…I don't know if it's for me, a polyamorous relationship."

Theo raised an eyebrow, "You're gonna have to give me some context there, love."

Almina looked at him in disbelief, "You've been in one for years. You call it a family or whatever, but that's not what it is."

Theo just frowned.

"When I was in sixth year, some stupid kid picked on me and said my parents were freaks and cheaters," Almina confessed, "And I hexed that stupid arse and told him it straight. I said yeah, so my parent are polyamorous, but I grew up with four parents. I grew up healthy, loved, well educated and blessed."

Theo nodded, "Well, I don't know what that is, so I wouldn't have called it that. But I appreciate the sentiment."

"It just means that you are not in a monogamous relationship where you only love one person, and I do mean love, not sleep with," Almina said with a shrug. "And no polyamorous relationship looks the same, which is why it's so damn confusing. I mean, with us, it's easier, I suppose. Teddy's my boyfriend, Nick is his boyfriend, and Nina is his girlfriend."

"That's easier?" Theo joked.

Almina gave him an exasperated look, and they crossed the basement corridor into the kitchen.

"It's more complicated with you guys, probably because you've been together so long," Almina said as she set the kettle on to boil, "Like, Mama is your wife. Mum is Dad's wife, and Dad is your…?"

"Oh, call it husband, I basically am."

Theo chuckled and looked over to the doorway, "Hey. How was the cabinet meeting?"

"Wonderful," Draco said dryly. He stopped by Theo and gave his shoulder a squeeze, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Theo said honestly, reaching up to grab Draco's hand, "Princess still in Switzerland?"

"Yeah, she just floo-ed," Draco said, letting go of Theo's hand to grab a mug from the cupboard, "She's safe, and apparently she's making progress. Where's Sade?"

"Working," Theo yawned, "You wanna sit down for the girl chat? Mina is having relationship worries."

Draco looked over in surprise, "Really? I thought you and Teddy were solid."

Almina sighed and sat down at the table, "Things are hard right now, and I know you guys always say you shouldn't make a decision when things are bad. You should make it when things get good again, but Teddy's dad is…really sick and - "

"And your badass mothers are working their arses off to make that right," Draco cut in.

Theo nodded, "One in Switzerland and the other hitting the books harder than Mick Jagger hit the drugs."

Almina let out a reluctant laugh and said, "I know, but…it's not just that. Nick's got a lot going on too, losing Nat is tearing him apart, but Nina and I are hurt too. We feel a little like we've been left behind to deal with the damage while those two have each other."

Draco and Theo shared a look, and Almina noticed.

"What's that look about?" She asked, glancing between them.

Theo paused and tried to find the right words, "Your mums may have felt that way about us in the past. Your dad and I have always had a different relationship to the ones we have with your mothers. We grew up together. We have seen each other at our worst and lowest, which means sometimes, we get so tangled up in how well we know each other that we forget about the other people who matter."

"And Teddy and Nick are very similar," Draco admitted, "They grew up together. They are Auror partners, just like we were. They know each other inside out, Mina. It's easy for them to lean on each other and if you two are hurting and feeling left behind, the only thing you can do is tell them that. I can guarantee that they will have no idea about how they are making you feel, and when you tell them, they will feel awful."

Theo nodded, "Trust us, love. We're speaking from personal experience."

Mina sighed and rubbed her eyes, "So you do get jealous then? My friends, they say that I don't have any right to get jealous because I signed up for this when Teddy told me he was polyamorous."

Draco frowned, "Poly-what?"

"We've had this chat," Theo said, holding up a hand, "I'll fill you in later, but it means lots of relationships in a relationship, I think."

"So another word for a foursome then?"

Almina rolled her eyes, "It's more complicated than that. God, do I need to draw a chart?"

"That might actually be helpful," Theo mused.

With a snort, Almina picked up her coffee cup and had a sip.

"Not everyone in a polyamorous relationship is in a romantic relationship," Almina said with a wave of her hand. "Teddy is my boyfriend, Nick is his boyfriend, and Nina is his girlfriend."

"Ah," Draco said with a nod, "This is why you were talking about us being 'husbands' when I came in. Right, I understand now."

"Thank Merlin. You got there faster than Pops," Almina said with a roll of her eyes.

Draco chuckled, "Well, that wouldn't be hard."

Theo rolled his eyes, "Harsh."

Almina shook her head at their antics.

"And in answer to your question, of course there is jealousy," Draco added, "We're all human; we still get jealous. It's all about how you handle that jealousy. You can't be petty about it in a relationship like this. You need to be open about it."

Almina shook her head, "How can I be? How can I say, 'oh, I know your dad is sick, and your sister died guys but let's talk about me for a second'?"

"Sometimes, Mimi," Theo said softly, "And I know this is hard for you. But sometimes you need to accept that now isn't the right time and be patient."

Draco chuckled and patted Theo on the back, "Good joke, Theo."

Theo snorted, and Almina pouted.

"Sometimes having two dads to make stupid jokes sucks."

Draco barked out a laugh and stepped out of the kitchen with his mug of coffee in hand, his laughter echoing around the basement hallway.

- TBC -