"Mmm."

Arthur Weasley woke with a start, opening his eyes sleepily and looking around the room. His gaze landed on his heavily pregnant wife who was lying curled up with her back to him. He sat there for a few minutes, and sure enough, she gave another small sigh in her sleep.

The man hesitated to wake her up, because even though she usually didn't make noises in her sleep and he was concerned about her, Andromeda had also not been sleeping well the last few nights. Finally, he decided he'd better make sure she was okay and turned, reaching out and beginning to rub her back. "Dromeda," he said softly. "Dromeda, are you okay?"

Minutes later, as she let out another sigh, her brow furrowing, she stirred and made a small sound before opening her eyes to see her husband looking down at her. "What's going on?" she asked sleepily. "Is it one of the children?"

"Were you having a dream?" her husband asked. "You were making some strange sounds."

"No," said Andromeda, curling back into her pillows and closing her eyes. "I don't know why I—" She stopped talking, her arms cradling her stomach as her mouth opened slightly. "Oh," was all she said.

"Do you need me to get you anything?" Arthur asked her, gently rubbing her back.

"No," she said, and after the moment had passed, she turned toward him and said, "Let's just stay here for a while. It's not too painful yet, and I'd rather not be fussed over for hours on end."

Arthur lay down again, cuddling with his wife as she silently laboured, breathing through her contractions. A few hours passed, and Arthur sent a note to the Ministry saying he wouldn't be coming in.

As morning broke over the Burrow, Andromeda swung herself to sit on the edge of the bed. "We need someone to stay with the children," Andromeda winced, her brow furrowed again.

"Didn't you ask Alice?" Arthur said in surprise.

"She can't: she's unwell," Andromeda answered wryly. "Poor Alice underestimated pregnancy—oh." She grimaced. "I hate to consider it," she winced, "but perhaps Sirius would come over and help?"

"Well, I'll ask," Arthur said and raised his wand, sending a Patronus to his wife's cousin.

"I need to get into the bath as soon as the Healer arrives," Andromeda informed her husband. "If Sirius says no, you'll have to put Sleeping Wards on the children."

"On the twins," Arthur agreed, "but the older ones should be fine."

Andromeda took a deep breath. "Get the Healer," she said firmly. "We only have an hour or two until the baby will be here."

Arthur nodded and got to his feet to do her bidding. His wife glanced toward the door. "Charlie's awake," she said, just as a large Patronus burst into the room.

"I'll be there as soon as possible," said the dog in Sirius' voice, and the Patronus disappeared.

"Be back soon," Arthur said and hurried from the room.

As the door shut behind Arthur, Andromeda got to her feet and moved to gather her things for the bath. She was pacing the floor with her arms around her stomach, the bathwater running as her husband arrived, the Healer after him.

"Sirius is here," Arthur told her as the Healer approached Andromeda.

"Good," Andromeda breathed, batting the Healer's hands away as another contraction came over her. "Just a minute." When it was over, they helped her lie back on the bed so that the Healer could check her. Andromeda let out a groan, laying her head back and squeezing her eyes shut. "That hurts!" she panted.

The Healer withdrew her hand after a moment and said, "You're between a five and a six."

Andromeda didn't move, her eyes still squeezed shut. "Oh," she groaned again.

"Sorry it was so uncomfortable," the other woman said. "When you're ready, we'll help you to the bath."

A few minutes later, Arthur and the Healer assisted Andromeda into the bathroom and lowered her into the bathtub where she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. "Your contractions aren't too painful, though?" the Healer asked Andromeda.

"No, but—they're getting worse all the time," Andromeda said, cradling her stomach. She was about to meet her seventh child and she could not wait until it was over.

"But you can still speak and breathe through them?"

"Yes," Andromeda answered, her brow furrowing as she took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. "It won't take long," she murmured. "Not long now, baby."

The contractions became more painful, and Andromeda took her husband's hands, holding onto him as she hummed in pain, swaying back and forth. After one of them, Andromeda breathed, "Oh, there's so much pressure—he's almost here!"

"You've got this, Andromeda," he answered, his forehead against hers. "You're doing well."

"Very well, Mumma," the Healer said with a smile. "You just have a natural way in labour."

Andromeda didn't answer, her grip tightening on her husband's hands. "Mmm," she moaned. "Come on, baby, you're almost here." And at that moment, her eyes flew open and she whispered, "I can feel the baby...it's right there."

"Ready to push?" the Healer asked her with an encouraging smile.

"Not yet," Andromeda breathed. "Ohhh, I hate this part." She got up onto her knees, pulling her hands away from her husband and resting her arms on the side of the tub. "He needs to come down more." And she began to sway again, wanting to feel the baby even lower before she started pushing.

It was about fifteen minutes later when Andromeda finally acknowledged that she needed to push, and Arthur moved to the side to rub her back. The Healer moved to Andromeda's other side as the witch began to push, groaning as she did so.

Arthur didn't say much of anything, letting his wife concentrate, and when she gave a cry, clenching her fists, he glanced down into the water and saw with a thrill of delight that the baby was quickly joining them. Andromeda let out another cry, and he murmured, "Baby's almost here, Andromeda; I can see him. You've got this."

"Oh!" Andromeda cried, a tear leaking from her tightly closed eyes. "Oh, get it out of me!"

"Wait til the next contraction," the Healer said softly. "You'll have him out the next time. Ready to catch your baby?"

Andromeda looked down, but she never ceased to be shocked at the sight of a human baby coming out of herself. "Oh—yes," she gasped.

The Healer nodded and moved closer. "Right," she said. "Here we go." And she counted out the seconds as Andromeda pushed, reaching down for the little one as he fully made his way into the world.

"Oh!" Andromeda cried, instantly pulling the babe close to herself and she sank back down into the water to rest. "Oh, baby!"

"Another boy, I see," the Healer smiled, shaking her head. "And such healthy lungs," she added as the child began to cry.

"Well done, Dromeda," Arthur said, brushing her hair out of her face and smiling proudly at her and the little one.

But everything from that moment seemed to blur for Andromeda, because the child she was holding was not what she had wanted: she had wanted a daughter. The next few hours passed in a haze of habit, caring for the newborn and making sure that he was okay before Arthur went to check on the rest of the family.

Andromeda watched her husband leave the room, then looked down at her youngest son and had the strongest desire to just put him in the bassinet nearby and get him out of her arms. She hesitated for a few long moments, then held him closer, bowed her head, and began to weep softly. She would not say the words out loud, would not admit that she would mean them more now than when she'd said she didn't want Dora and Charlie.

Another son, her sixth, and his mother held him and cried because she wanted a daughter to raise since her first daughter had been taken from her. She'd gladly give away this child in exchange for a little girl—and then the guilt of her thoughts overwhelmed her and she cringed, tears streaming down her face even faster. She shouldn't feel like this; she couldn't feel like this—and yet she did feel exactly that way.

She was still crying when Arthur entered the room, asking, "So, shall we have—why, Andromeda, what's the matter?"

The young mother tried to control her tears, quickly wiping her face on her sleeve. "I'm fine," she sniffed. "Just more emotional this time, I guess."

Arthur studied her for a few moments, then sat down on the bed next to her and said, "That's not quite the truth now, is it, love?"

Andromeda crumbled again, tears running down her face as she cringed, unable to speak. She felt his hand brush her hair back before he gently rubbed her back, then slipped his arm around her. He didn't ask her anything for a few minutes and didn't speak as she simply cried in his embrace, their new baby clutched in her arms.

"I love you, Dromeda," he murmured against her head after a while.

She just cried, and he held her carefully, wondering what to say and what else to do for her. Finally, she whispered, "I'm a horrible mother."

"You've done nothing for you to say that," Arthur said softly. "You're a great mother, Andromeda; you've done really well."

"I won't say it this time," Andromeda whispered, glancing up at her husband. "But you must know, don't you?"

"You wanted a little girl," he nodded, keeping her gaze as her eyes overflowed with tears again. "I'm sorry, Dromeda."

"I know you warned me, but I—I was hoping!" Andromeda cried, burying her face in his robes. "I'm a terrible mother!"

Arthur continued to rub her back as he merely said, "I disagree."

The witch sniffed, "You don't understand. You don't know—"

He kissed her head again and asked, "Do you remember what I told you when we conceived Will?"

"Oh—yes," Andromeda sniffed, tearing up again. "Children must—must be loved. Arthur, I—"

"Then you know," he said gently. "It's okay to want something you don't have. It's okay to feel disappointed, and it's okay to be upset about things we can't control. It doesn't make you horrible, or terrible, Andromeda: it makes you human."

"I feel awful," she whispered.

"Give yourself time," Arthur told her, stroking her hair comfortingly. "Be gentle with yourself, Andromeda. It's okay to be human."

"You think I try not to be?" she said, cracking a watery smile.

"Perfection isn't required," her husband answered, reaching out and touching the baby's cheek. "Only your best efforts are required. Now, what were we going to call little Edward for a nickname?"

"He'll go by his middle name," Andromeda sniffed. "Thomas, or Tom."

"Is he ever going to know who he's named after?" asked Arthur thoughtfully.

Andromeda sniffed slightly, trying to sit up straight as she winced at a sudden cramp. "He probably will," she answered. "Like Dora with her first name."

Arthur looked surprised. "Oh, I forgot about that," he said. "I'm so used to her just being Dora or Nymphadora."

"I wonder what she's doing right now," Andromeda sighed and leaned back into her pillows with her newborn on her chest.

At that moment, Nymphadora was at Malfoy Manor with Ronan—where they had been the entire night because Rodolphus and Bellatrix had been out on an extended mission. Sure, the house elves could have watched the children, but Mum and Dad Lestrange didn't want to bother Desmond and they also wanted someone to be able to keep a closer eye on Dora since she'd taken to experimenting more and more with her abilities.

Nymphadora was curled up next to her aunt on the couch in the woman's dayroom, her hand resting on Cissa's sizeable baby bump as she hummed to herself. It annoyed Ronan that the girl was so fascinated by Narcissa and their future cousin, but Dora loved to be around her pregnant aunt and to be curled up next to the unborn child.

Narcissa had been disturbed at her niece's obsession with her and had discussed it at length with Bella before coming to the conclusion that Dora simply remembered her mother being very pregnant with the second twins and that Dora felt secure next to her pregnant aunt. They were careful with Dora, but Rodolphus had made a snide comment to Bellatrix that if she'd had another child as he had suggested, Dora would have liked her better.

Ronan was alone in one of the guest rooms, and Narcissa finally had Dora get up and go with her to check on him. The boy was awake, and greeted Dora and Narcissa before following them from the room to receive a snack. To their surprise, it was Ronan's Uncle Rabastan that came to pick up the two children, and Dora demanded to know where Rod and Bella were.

"They're at home," Rabastan told the girl. "Rodolphus sent me to get you and Ronan."

"Where is Lucius?" Narcissa asked. "Wasn't he with you?"

"He stayed to give the report," Rabastan said with a secret smirk. "He'll be fine. Come on, children."

Nymphadora hugged her aunt tightly and whispered something to the baby before walking forward and joining Ronan in following his uncle from the manor. When Rabastan apparated home with them, Dora fell down after the apparition, making Rabastan laugh.

"Don't laugh at her," said Ronan crossly. "Are you okay, Dora?"

"Yeah," Dora huffed, jumping to her feet. "He's not good at that."

"That's hardly fair, Nymphadora," Rabastan told her with a smirk.

"Oh really?" The three turned to see Bellatrix standing in the doorway to the Entrance Hall. "Honestly, trusting these two to you," she said disapprovingly and moved forward to greet the children. "How was Aunt Cissa?"

Ronan simply sighed and shook his head, but Dora smiled eagerly. "She's good," she told Aunt Bella. "She let me feel the baby moving, and I stayed with her almost the whole time."

Rabastan raised an eyebrow at his nephew. "And what did you do?" he asked Ronan.

"Stayed away," Ronan answered, making the adults laugh. "Where's Dad?"

"Showering," said Bellatrix. "Are you two hungry?"

"No," Dora said as Ronan replied, "Yes."

"You told Cissa you weren't," Dora huffed at her cousin.

"I didn't want eggs," Ronan replied, "and you wouldn't leave Aunt Narcissa alone long enough for me to ask her for something else."

Bellatrix looked at Dora, who would not meet her eyes but scowled at Ronan. "Oh dear," said Bellatrix. "Well, you needn't go hungry here, Ronan. Dora, why don't you have Lacie run a bath for you so you can get cleaned up."

"Okay," Dora sighed, then turned and walked away toward her room.

Bellatrix turned to her son as Rabastan wandered off as well. Ronan looked annoyed, and finally asked, "Mum, why does Dora like Cissa's baby so much?"

The woman sighed, leading Ronan toward the kitchen. "I think when she sees Aunt Cissa all pregnant it reminds her of when her mother was pregnant, just before Dora came to us," she told the boy. "I think she likes to be around Cissa right now because it makes her feel safer."

"But why?" Ronan asked again. "She's safe with us, isn't she?"

"Well yes, of course," Bellatrix smiled, "but she misses her family, doesn't she? And her mother has lots of children—Dora probably remembers her mother as being very pregnant, so she wants to be around Cissa because it's something she's used to."

"Dora wouldn't play with me," Ronan told his mother. "She was mad that you and Dad sent us over there, and then she only wanted to be with Cissa."

"You'll understand a lot more about Dora when you're a bit older," Bellatrix told her son seriously. "But for now, just be nice to her."

"I am," Ronan sighed, sitting down at the table. "But she still tried to hit me."

"Girls can be mean," Bellatrix agreed. "But Dora was probably upset that we sent you and her over there without telling you what was happening."

Ronan frowned, then said, "She did yell something about being sent away again."

Bellatrix nodded, seeing a house elf appear and place a bowl in front of Ronan. "Dora wants to be safe and feel loved and wanted," she told the boy. "And I don't blame her. Little girls don't like having to leave their families to go to an aunt and uncle they don't know. It's scary to leave Mum and Dad and go live with someone else."

Ronan studied his mother for a few moments, then asked, "Did you really steal Dora from her mum and dad?"

"Where did you hear that?" his mother asked him with a tolerant smile.

"Is it true?" Ronan asked. "Dora didn't want to be here, I remember. She screamed and cried because she wanted to go home."

"I brought her here to give her a better chance in life," Bellatrix told her son, looking into his young face and seeing the worry in his eyes. "Her parents have too many children to afford clothes and food and school things for all of them. Dora's better off with us."

"Her mother didn't send her away," Ronan stated, keeping his mother's gaze. "Her mother loves her."

Bellatrix merely nodded, and Ronan began to look worried. "You lied to Dora? Why?"

Taking a deep breath, Bellatrix said, "The Dark Lord wishes your father and I to raise Dora, so I took her, and Andromeda just let her go. No one ever came after Dora, Ronan. No one ever tried to get her back."

"Her mother said you'd hurt Dora if they tried to take her back," Ronan breathed, realising what Andromeda had said at the memorial service. "Mum, you wouldn't hurt Dora, would you?"

"Of course not, Ronan," said Bellatrix. "She's a sweet girl."

"Her family misses her, and she misses them," Ronan sighed. "Poor Dora."

"Don't say a word of this to her," Bellatrix warned her son.

"She'll learn what you did," Ronan told his mother. "People talk about her."

"Do they?" Bellatrix smirked. "What do they say?"

"They say that you only want her because she can do special things," Ronan said hesitantly, recalling his father telling him never to repeat such things.

"That is why the Dark Lord wants her here," Bellatrix answered. "But I like Dora: she's a lot like me when I was a little girl. I like having a daughter like me."

"She's not yours," Ronan said, setting down his fork.

"She is now," Bellatrix replied firmly. "She's not going back to the Weasleys. No more questions, Ronan."

The boy got to his feet, looking more troubled than when he had first come home, and left the kitchen, going to his room. He was smart enough to know that he could not tell Dora anything he had discussed with his mother, but he didn't like what he had learned.

That night as he lay awake in bed, freshly washed, he heard a soft knock at the door before it clicked open. "Ronan?" came Dora's voice.

"What, Dora?" he asked, sitting up.

"Can't sleep," Dora sighed, walking to the bed and climbing up to sit beside her cousin.

"Me either," Ronan told her. "You can stay here if you want: there's room."

Dora crawled under the blanket next to him, and she asked, "Are you still mad?"

"No," Ronan answered, turning to face her. "I was just bored at Cissa's house. I like being at home better."

"I know," Dora grinned. "I like Cissa, but I want to be home with Bella."

"Yeah," was all Ronan could think of saying to the girl his mother had stolen from her family. He pulled the blanket up further, and Dora moved closer to him for warmth as they settled in to sleep for the night.

"Nymphadora!"

The six-year-old startled awake at the sound of Rodolphus Lestrange yelling her name. She found herself in Ronan's room, the boy sleepily stretching and sitting up next to her. "Dad," the boy groaned, "what's wrong?"

"What are you doing in here? Why aren't you in your own room?" Rodolphus demanded of Dora, who was now rubbing her eyes in an effort to wake up some more.

"She couldn't sleep, Dad," Ronan yawned.

"Rodolphus, what's the matter?" Bellatrix's voice sounded from the hall.

"Dora's sleeping in Ronan's bed," Rodolphus said darkly.

"She probably didn't want to be by herself," Bellatrix said, poking her head into the room. "Good morning, Ronan, Dora."

"Morning," Ronan replied, but Dora didn't answer.

"Bella—" Rodolphus began, but she shook her head.

"They're children, Roddy; don't be ridiculous." Bellatrix smiled at the two. "Breakfast is in fifteen minutes, so I suggest you two hurry up if you want some."

Rodolphus fixed his gaze on Nymphadora until she scrambled out of her cousin's bed and dashed out of the room, feeling like she'd done something wrong when she'd only wanted to be by her only friend. "Dad," Ronan sighed, but his father cut him off and said, "Don't let her sleep in here again."

Ronan could not help scowling resentfully at his father because of the ridiculous rule the man was putting in place. "She wasn't hurting anything," he huffed. "She was sad and didn't want to be alone."

"Do not argue with me, boy," Rodolphus warned his son. "Be at breakfast." He then left to go complain to Bella about the girl she'd brought into their home.

"Roddy, they're just kids," Bella pouted. "And Dora's having a bit of a hard time again right now. Let the children bond, and it'll help Dora settle in better."

"But—"

"No," Bellatrix said. "Dora is insecure, and if you take away something that she can do herself to make her feel better, she'll be furious. Let them be children, Rodolphus."

He did not approve of the idea, but it was true that Dora and Ronan were only six years old, so at breakfast he did tell the children that he hadn't meant to yell and that he had just been surprised to find Dora there. Rodolphus had a weird feeling that Ronan somehow knew what his father was concerned about, but the boy didn't say anything, and the two sleeping in the same room didn't last for very many days in a row.

Andromeda sat in one of the arm chairs in her living room, her youngest son against her shoulder as she gently patted his back, her eyelids threatening to droop shut. Silas and Regis had turned two a few days before and they were zooming around the living room on the brooms that their cousin Sirius had got them for their birthday. She had wanted the twins to only fly out in the orchard, but she couldn't be out there with the baby all the time and had made due with placing safety wards up so the toddlers couldn't crash into any shelves or corners.

Charlie and Will had dragged Percy outside to play, and Andromeda occasionally looked out one of the windows to check on them, though she was had her hands full with the twins and Thomas.

Andromeda smiled at the twins, who had nicknamed their baby brother Tommy. Her youngest son was destined to be called Tommy for the rest of his childhood, it seemed, as his other older brothers had immediately adopted the nickname as well.

"Mum!" came Silas' voice as the child crash-landed his miniature broomstick in the middle of the living room, "why doesn't it go fast?"

"It only goes so fast, love," Andromeda told him, inwardly glad that she had replaced the speed limit charms that Sirius had removed.

"Can't catch me!" Regis shouted to his twin and zoomed out of the room. Silas let out a yell, snatched up his broom and took off again, and Andromeda sighed, hoping that they would be okay and knowing that this behaviour was likely to be repeated very often.