Notes:

Hi guys. I am glad you are here to read my story. Have to warn you that I am new to this platform and only write for the joy and entertainment of the process. A little disclaimer: English is not my first language and I am trying my best to comply with the grammar rules and spelling. Let me know your thoughts on this work. With no further ado, enjoy!

"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path." – Agatha Christie

Rose Evans was a happy woman: she had a successful career, a loving husband and a beautiful baby girl who she loved and cherished. When doctors told her that in two years she would probably become barren, she decided it was time to have a second child. Her family could afford it; her husband John, if it were up to him, would have not only 2 children, but a small soccer team, and Petunia had been talking non-stop about how wonderful it would be to have a little sister. So Rose summed all pros and cons, and not a year later charming redhead came into their lives.

Rose was hoping for a boy in all honesty, but she would never admit that to anyone including herself. Despite everything, Lily Marian Evans was a perfection; when Petunia clearly took after John with her blond hair and pale blue eyes, Lily was a small copy of herself. Straight auburn hair and green eyes spoke to her mother Irish origin, and Rose was glad that she passed some of that cultural beauty to her daughter.

Overall, the Evans were a standard of a perfectly normal family living on the outskirts of London. All the neighbors secretly referred to them while speaking of the happy marriage; not that it was of any importance to Rose, but a praise was a praise, and she considered it flattering nonetheless.

Rose Evans has achieved everything she wanted and was really content with her life.

One morning, only 2 months after Lily was born, she came out of the bed feeling familiar sickness in her stomach. That was concerning, but she decided to fully blame yesterday's pumpkin pie, her husband's creation. John should not be allowed anywhere near the kitchen, she thought to herself in disapproval. But the next day was no different, even though Rose took full control of the food preparation. Few more days she tried to ignore the growing pain, but when John spotted her throwing up in the bathroom, they headed straight to the hospital.

"Missis Evans?" lean young doctor (probably just graduated, Rose thought disapprovingly) called her out from the crowded corridor of one of the typical London's hospitals, where everything was dull and the air was saturated with the smell of medication.

"Missis Evans, your blood test results came. Did you know you are pregnant?"

"Pregnant?" Rose said in a sharp voice. That could not be happening. No, there should be some mistake there. Maybe some absent-minded nurse mixed up analysis or laboratory assistant rearranged flasks. Rose froze inside; she just gave birth to one child and clearly wasn't ready for another. Two infants in one year. Dear Lord, how will she handle it? "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, Missis. I am sorry to tell you such news right after you found out about your condition, but the pregnancy could be dangerous for you. There is a high risk of miscarriage and even if you carry the baby to term, birth will be associated with serious problems." He continued talking, using some alien medical terms Rose hardly understood.

"What are you saying, Doctor?"

"I am saying, Missis, that I would recommend terminating the pregnancy."

The ground just shifted under her feet. The worries of taking care of two newborns somehow faded from her mind. The only thing she was feeling was the love for the creature inside of her, the love stronger than any science prediction.

"Thank you, doctor. I will consider it."

She didn't.

It took her a week of arguing with John, which involved broken plates (that was her favorite porcelain service!) and shuttered doors to convince him that everything will be fine. She didn't quite know it herself, to be honest, but God wouldn't let her conceive that child in such an unusual time just to get rid of it. That was her first line of defense when doctors looked in her like she was absolutely crazy and tried to talk her into abortion. How dared they? It was her child's life they were talking about. Bunch of fools, all of them, if they thought Rose Evans was going to give up fighting for it.

What the medics were right about, however, was the fact that this pregnancy was hard. When she carried Tuney and Lily, the only discomfort was a huge protruding belly that made her look like a ridiculously round sumo fighter. Now every day was accompanied by nausea, swollen knees and back pains. But when nine months later, on the 21st of December, miraculously healthy girl was born, Rose decided that every minute of pain was totally worth it.

"You hoped for a team of boys and look at us now", Rose laughed in exhaustion. "Three girls, who would have thought?"

"Guess I'll have my personal little garden instead," John whispered lovingly, holding newborn daughter in his arms. Baby grimaced in half-smile, exposing her toothless mouth and widely opened her large emerald eyes. "She got your smile. What shall we name her?"

Rode observed her smiling tiny face for a second before saying, "Thalia"

"Thalia," John repeated after his wife, trying it on sound. "I like that. Welcome to the family, Thalia Jasmine Evans"

Time passes by in a blur when you have three children, so when Roses 30th birthday approached she felt odd. Not unhappy, no! It was just a little strange that one-third of her life (hopefully, she'll beat aunt Mary's record and make it to her late eighties) was gone. But Rose didn't complain, her every day was filled with joy and, Lord, would she lie if she said her life was not exciting. Every half a year John made sure they traveled to a new place, even though Rose would prefer to go no further than England (not because she wasn't adventurous, but can you imagine going to Sri-Lanka with 3 children? Rose could, and let her tell it was not pleasant.) The last time when they were in Thailand, Lily had caught some nasty bug and they spend the whole vacation in the hospital. After that incident Rose made John promise her they would only travel around Europe, at least until all girls will turn 13. Aside from that kind of adventures, Rose days were full of "children bringing up" excitement. Honestly, her girls were the most fascinating little things.

Petunia looooved to be in charge or to pretend she was. She commanded her sisters like they were her personal little army when they were young enough to allow her. This bossy blondie loved praise and shone like a brand new coin when someone complimented her.

Lily, on the other hand, cared little about what other thought of her. She was cheerful and always involved, her sharp tongue often outpaced her thoughts and caught by surprise those who were unfamiliar with her.

Her youngest was inquisitive, witty and felt acutely the emotions of others. It was Thalia who climbed to her parents' bed when Rose felt bad and let Rose bury her head in her daughter's curly chestnut color hair (where did that color come from?) and comforted her mother as much as a five-year-old could. She wasn't as bubbly as her redheaded sister, but there was something magical about how she found a way around people (neighbor grannies will completely spoil that child, as John once noticed with laughter).

But behind that charming smile hid a true rebel. Sometimes Rose wondered how such a gentle heart and hot head could be combined in one person.

If Lily was fire, Thalia was pure dynamite. As mentioned, she was gentle and amiable…most of the time. She eagerly forgave Lily for unintentionally breaking her toys and didn't even cry when she and Petunia played in an imaginary hair salon and the latest accidentally cut off all of her hair, giving Thalia the shortest bob. When John, being amused with such a reaction, asked her why wasn't she crying "Aren't you angry at your sister, sweetie?" she only looked at him in the bewilderment. "Why would I be, Daddy? It's Tuney. I love her." With that simple answer, Thalia completely won off her father's heart. "She is something else, isn't she?" John muttered to himself. Thalia could not hold a grudge, all the members of the family knew it and, let's be honest, used it in their own interest sometimes. But when the neighbor boys chased the homeless cat she screamed at them like a banshee and was it not for Lily who came and scared them off, Rose would bet all of the family savings her little duckling would have fought those boys, no doubts. She was a sweetheart when everything seemed just to her, otherwise, you wouldn't want to be the subject of her anger. God, was that girl fierce!

John was fond of all his daughters, bur Rose knew better. Rose was never fooled by the illusion that girls were angels. She was a mother, after all. She saw how Petunia intentionally fell off the bike just to attract her friends' attention and how Lily ate all the candies from the cupboard and blamed Petunia for it afterward without hesitation, with Thalia…well, remember the cat situation (poor boys were never seen near their house ever again).

But in the end, they were no more but children, and Rose had more than enough time to explain to them the rights and wrongs. According to the plan (and she planned everything in the family life to the point of her and John babysitting grandchildren in the small cottage somewhere in French Riviera), they will live under her roof till marriages. That's plenty of time, Rose comforted herself with the thought.

Then Lily's Hogwarts letter came and Rose plans were thrown under the bus… or whatever wizards used for transportation.