A/N: Hello boys and girls or gloys and birls! I'm not here to judge. PLEASE NOTE THE DISCLAIMER. Thanks. Please review dudes!

Disclaimer: In the next few chapters you will find out something about Calla at this point it seems like a good idea to say that there is a real Duke of Rutland and I'm sure he's a wonderful man I'm just borrowing the name and some of the info. This story is not meant to pass any judgment on the real man or his family or anything. For this reason I've changed the surname of the Duke of Rutland to something else. Oh and a few of the things coming out of James and Kira might have been inspired by "How I Met Your Mother" and "Scrubs." And by 'might have' I mean 'have.'

"Heavy is the head that wears the crown." – the commercial for The Tudors

Chapter Thirty Six

A Bit More than Unexpected

It was early morning. Grimmauld Place was utterly silent. In his sleep Albus rolled over and curled his arm around Calla's middle. She sighed happily and laid her head on the shoulder of her wizard. Calla gazed up at Albus and thought about how lucky she was. Had any other wizard come upon her she wouldn't be where she was now. She would probably be at home arguing with her father about her right to marry whomever she liked. She had gotten so lucky with Albus.

Not only was he smart, funny, passionate, magical and wonderfully kind, he was rich. Not that she cared much about his money but her father did. He wanted her married to a rich man. Not a man who earned his own riches but a man who inherited. Old money. That's what he wanted for her. The very best option for her father would be if she married the younger brother of man who was to inherit a title. Albus was a tolerable second option. A man made rich by old money, not his own hard work.

Of course Calla knew that a healthy bit of his wealth did come from his work as a dark wizard catcher, but her father didn't need to know that. All he needed to know was that she was getting very serious with a man who seemed like the right sort of fellow.

Calla's face fell. She remembered how Albus had reacted when she told him about her family. He'd panicked for a moment and her heart had dropped. It was foolish, utterly foolish to think that the only living heir to the Duke of Rutland could marry a wizard. Her great-grandfather only had one child, a son, her grandfather only had one child, a son, and her father only had one child, her. The dukedom would pass to her husband and then her son. Her father had only allowed her to work in the dance studio so she wouldn't get into trouble. He fully expected her to marry well and then stop working. After she married her only job would be to give him a grandson.

Calla laid a gentle kiss on Albus' throat. He didn't know it but he was the first man she'd ever kissed. Her father had guarded her from her infancy from all men. She hadn't even been allowed to play with her peers if they were male. Her father begrudgingly approved of her working in a children's dance studio because catered to girls and he reasoned that mothers would be bringing their daughters and she wouldn't be exposed to the male gender. The dark wizard who had taken her captive was the first man other than her father to hold her close. That afternoon in the front hall of Grimmauld Place Albus had given her her very first kiss.

She smiled at that kiss. It had been utterly perfect.

Calla's face flushed with the memory of how her every curve had pressed against the hard lines of his body. His job kept him in perfect physical condition and she liked to think that that suited her vanity. But that wasn't entirely true. Albus was so generous with her. Their first night as a couple he'd taken her on his broomstick. They'd flown over London, under an enchantment that made them invisible, and he'd pointed out the magical places hiding all over the city. He bought her butterbeer and pumpkin juice and jellybeans of every flavor even gross flavors like worms. But her favorite were the chocolate frogs that hopped around before you caught and ate them.

It was all so wonderful that Calla worried it would all go away as soon as Albus found out about her family. When he'd been quiet, unable to look her in the eye, she'd panicked and blurted out. "The Rutlands have been only children for generations. I'm the only one left. Trust me my father doesn't want to leave the title to me. If there was a male cousin a thousand times removed he would inherit! But there's no one. I've begged father to keep looking but it's hopeless. I-"

"Calla," Albus had said, gripping her shoulders, a determined look in his eye, "we'll figure this out. We'll make it work. I promise you."

She hadn't been convinced, but as per usual Albus had surprised her. He'd invited her father to the penthouse flat he'd rented in a chic part of London for dinner. He'd selected the penthouse to impress her father. It had done the trick. Her father was smitten with rich, proper, gentlemanly Albus Potter. A few days later her father had messengered some of the family wedding set. It included a pearl, ruby and diamond necklace, earrings, bracelet, tiara, engagement ring and wedding band all set in twenty four karat yellow Welsh gold. It was worth a fortune and she really hadn't been comfortable keeping them just anywhere so Albus had secured them in his vault at the wizard bank.

Until they actually decided to get married she was happy to wear the small diamond flower ring Albus had given her. While she had been eyeing the family set since she was a little girl, for now the sweet little ring that graced her fourth finger was absolutely perfect. Just like Albus. She might have only known him for a little over three months but she had no doubt that she loved him.

He'd done so much for her and for seemingly no reason. What did he really have to gain by being with her? He was a wizard so titles are meaningless. He already had plenty of his own money, so it wasn't that. In fact it was far more likely that he would get in trouble for being with her. If anyone found out that he'd told her about witches and wizards before they became engaged he could lose his job. He had everything to lose and nothing to gain except her.

That seemed to be enough for him though.

Calla sat up and stretched. She was wearing one of Albus' shirts that said, 'Auror in Training' over the front. It hit her mid-thigh. She'd never been in this state of undress in front of anyone before. Over the past few months she'd gotten increasingly more comfortable with her body around Albus. He'd taken to spending the night at her luxury flat. They only ever kissed a bit and then fell asleep. But he slept in nothing but a pair of boxers, so Calla had gotten the chance to see most of his body. She'd blushed and looked away the first few times but now she was bold.

Calla reached out a hand to trace the strong length of Albus' neck to his firm pectorals and rippled abdomens. The arm that rested around her waist pulled her into his chest. She giggled and gave him a few closed mouth kisses until his eyes opened. He reached over to the bedside table for his glasses before putting them on.

"There she is," his voice rich with sleep. He reached up for her, but she put hand over her mouth. "What?"

"Morning breath."

"You are absolutely mental if you think I care about that."

"That's very sweet, Albus," Calla said, smiling fondly. "But I'm not the only one with morning breath."

He pressed the hand not busy toying with the hem of her shirt to his bare chest. "You wound me. I think I'll need you to kiss it better."

She pushed the hand on his chest away, and blushing profusely, kissed his chest right over his heart. When she looked up at his face his eyes had gone dark. She could always tell what was going on his head by the color beautiful green eyes. She blushed deeper, knowing why his eyes had turned such a deep emerald. Albus cupped her cheek and pulled her up for a scorching kiss. All thoughts of morning breath seeped from her mind. She could think of nothing, all she could do was feel. He very subtle shifted them so that he was on top of her, pressing his whole body against hers. She gave little gasp when she felt how much he was enjoying being close to her. He pulled away from her mouth and began kissing his way down her throat. His hands slowly pushed up her shirt as his leg wedged itself between hers.

When his hands covered her breasts he was officially closer to her than any man had ever been. She struggled to remember why she hadn't let him even closer and why it was so important that she keep from getting closer still. She throbbed for him. She wanted him. She felt indescribably empty and she knew, she just knew that he could make all those feelings go away. She just had to let him.

And then she remembered.

Calla pushed gently on Albus' chest. He gave no fight, but he did groan and roll off of her. She straightened her shirt. "Albus, I-"

"I know, Calla," he said. "I know. Not until we're married. As per your father's medieval wishes."

Calla bit her lip to keep from laughing. "It is a bit silly, considering the modern world we live in. If my inheritance didn't hinge on it-"

Albus snorted. "I couldn't care less about your inheritance, love. And I don't believe for a second that that's why you're holding off. Whatever paltry amount of money your father's giving you on your wedding day certainly-"

"Fifty five million pounds."

Albus cleared his throat. "Well then…"

"I'll be getting the entire fortune once my father dies."

He laughed, humorlessly. "Which is how much?"

"Over two hundred million. But considering how much my father seems to like you he might up the amount that I get when I marry you."

"So we'll want for nothing. Brilliant, but beside the point. Whatever price tag your father puts on your virginity I think I know you well enough to say that you would never hold off on something you really wanted for money."

"But Albus I do want to be with you… that way!"

"Very flattering," he grinned. "But not entirely what I meant."

"Well do go on. This is getting rather tiresome."

"There is another reason why we're not rolling around naked right now, Calla. It's not money, it's not lack of desire, it's something else."

Albus hit the nail on the head. She straddled his lap and cupped his cheeks. "I just want it to be special."

He smiled fondly. "I know what you mean. I wanted my first time to be special too."

Her heart seized her chest at the thought of him with another girl. "Was it?" She tried to make the question casual but secretly hoped that his first time had been horrible.

"Not in the slightest. She was tart and I was an idiot and we did it on the dirty floor of a broom closet and I felt ruddy miserable afterwards."

Calla was hopping up and down mentally. "How, um…"

"Only two. My first and then my last girlfriend. Which isn't to say I haven't kissed other girls. I'm pretty sure my family is convinced I've shagged my way through half of London's slags, but that is thankfully not the truth." He sighed. "I wish I had waited. My brother inadvertently waited for Kira and Scorpius waited for Lily. It's like there's a… bond between them. They waited for just the right person and now… nothing can tear them apart. Or so it seems."

Calla leaned forward and kissed the corner of Albus' mouth. "We'll have that bond," she promised. She could feel his smile against her hair.

That evening they stood outside of the Potter house. Inside were Albus' parents, his siblings and their significant others. While she'd spent the night in Albus' house and heard Lily and Scorpius moving around Albus had kept her occupied in his room, with kisses and books and magical pranks from his uncle's joke shop. She'd never gotten a chance to meet them.

Albus threw his arm over her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. She looked up at him and her panic faded. If these people loved Albus how could she ever worry? They had to be the best people in the world if they were related to him.

"You all right?" he asked.

"I'll be fine."

"It's just my mum, dad, brother and sister and Kira and Scorpius. Six people."

"Six. Only six."

"And you've already met one of them. Even though he was being a prat at the time."

Calla took a deep breath and smiled. Albus turned the knob and pushed the door open. Calla's eyes widened. There were definitely more than six people in that house.

"WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK!" Albus roared.

The crowd of redheads (with a few exceptions) stopped talking as one and looked over at Albus, who was fuming in the doorway. Calla gripped his arm and looked around with wide eyes. She'd been expected three witches and three wizards. Six. Only six. Who were all these other people? As the initial shock faded Calla began to recognize people. She'd seen all of these people before in the pictures in the halls of Grimmauld Place. She relaxed. This was Albus' extended family.

Albus grabbed Calla's hand and dragged her into the house. He elbowed past people and she gave them apologetic smiles as they gawked at her. He stopped in front of the pale wizard with long blonde hair that she'd met yesterday. Scorpius.

"How in the HELL did this happen? I was going to introduce Calla to the immediate family. Not-" Albus waved his hand at the crowd of people all listening in. "You're the only one I told, Scorpius," he snapped.

"I ran into James at the Leaky Cauldron. You know he can't keep his trap shut," Scorpius said, shortly.

"Apparently he's not the only one," Albus sneered.

Calla yanked on Albus' sleeve until he looked at her. She sent him a silent message with her eyes, Be nice.

A pretty redhead walked up and wrapped an arm around Scorpius' waist. Calla took a moment to remember who Albus said she was. The girl smiled. "You must Albus' sister Lily," Calla said, kindly. "I'm Calla Cambray." She held out her hand.

"Lily Potter, for now anyway." Lily sent a meaningful look at her boyfriend, before grasping Calla's hand and pulling her into a hug. "I am so happy that you're moving in with us! That house has been a hotbed of testosterone for too long!"

"Don't get your hopes up, Lily," Albus said, pulling Calla from his sister's embrace. "I may just buy that penthouse."

He steered her into the kitchen before she could comment, shouldering Scorpius out of the way harshly as he passed. An older redheaded woman was standing by the stove with her wand out directing the pots and pans with a bevy of other woman milling around and one woman with pure white hair seemingly directing them all.

"Mum," Albus called.

"I thought I heard you out there swearing," the woman by the stove said, disapprovingly.

"This was supposed to be an intimate meal with my immediate family so as not to overwhelm Calla."

Albus' mother turned. "If you had told your father or I that you intended to introduce us to the woman you mean to marry we might have done more to prevent this. But considering the fact that your grandparents arrived demanding to know why we never told them you were getting so serious about a Muggle girl that you asked her to marry you was the way that we found out you were engaged I can honestly say that we have little sympathy. For you- not your fiancé. I'm sure it wasn't her idea. I'm Ginny by the way, dear."

Ginny Potter came over and pulled Calla into another hug. When she moved back to take a look at Calla, she smiled approvingly.

"Just like his father, his older brother and his grandfather," she whispered.

"I-I'm sorry?" Calla said, confused.

"Potter boys fall for redheads as a rule. I was wondering if my Albus was exempt."

"It seems not."

Calla looked over. An older version of Albus had entered the kitchen. She recognized this man right away as Harry Potter, Albus' father.

"A pleasure to meet you, Calla," he said, kindly.

"And you as well, sir," she said, shyly. This man looked so much like the one she loved. It was odd.

He smiled and chuckled softly. "Please. You're a part of our manic family now. Call me Harry."

Calla nodded and blushed.

The door to the kitchen burst open. "I heard Allie's betrothed has arrived!"

"Calla, this is my idiotic brother James," Albus said.

Yet another man who looked something like Albus. His eyes were different and so was his personality which shown through his pours.

"Charmed I'm sure," James said, shaking her hand. "This is my lady, Kira." Another redhead stood by James' side a wide grin on her face.

At a loss for what to say, Calla just said the first thing that popped into her head. "That dress is beautiful."

"Oh, thank you!" She reached behind her back and ripped the tag out. "Totally keeping it now."

"You got three compliments on it?" James asked.

"Yes. There's Calla's, then this morning you told me I looked 'scrumdidiliumpous' and the homeless bloke who lives in the ally by our flat told me he wanted to eat my eyeballs which I'm taking as a compliment because this dress really does make my eyes pop."

"You mean Crazy Frank? Crazy Frank wants to eat your eyeballs?" Kira grinned and nodded. "I have to pay him a pound every day, you know."

"Why?"

"I accidentally threw away one of our prototype baby pacifiers and he was selling it at the corner of the ally. I offered him a fiver but he said it was million pounds. So I made up some lie about the ATM—which apparently stands for Alien Time Machine—only letting me take out so much money at a time so I said I'd pay him a pound a day for a million days for the damn thing."

"I'm about sixty-five percent sure that ATM does not stand for Alien Time Machine."

"And that's my brother and the woman he's going to marry," Albus said.

"In thirty days," James said.

"What?" Albus' Mum asked. Albus shuffled them both out of the way, clearly aware of something that she wasn't.

"Kira and I want to get married in the next thirty days," James explained.

Harry immediately looked suspicious. "Why?"

"Why's there gotta be a why?" James asked.

"Tell me or we'll make you wait six months," Ginny said, ruthlessly.

"Kira's pregnant."

"James!" Kira exclaimed.

"I can't lie to my parents. I'd've thought you'd know that by now."

"Clearly. I thought we going to go to the continent for a few months after we got married, just come back with a baby and say it came early because I smoked. What happened to that plan?"

"I thought you were joking."

Kira rolled her eyes.

The woman with white hair bustled over. "No need to fret. Bill was early for me if you catch my drift-"

"MUM!" someone yelled from another room, probably Bill.

"-but it all worked out in the end. The important thing is that the two of you are finally going to get married. Properly married. And you're going to give me another great grandbaby!" She seized Kira and James and hugged them fiercely. "And you," she turned to Albus and Calla, "naughty boy. Keeping a respectable redhead from me," she shook her finger at him. "I'm Albus' Grand Molly, dear."

"Calla Lilly Cambray."

Grand Molly pulled her in for a hug. "We don't shake hands in this family, dear."

"Mum," Ginny said. "Could you hold down the fort while our immediate family talks upstairs?"

"Of course."

Ginny shuffled her husband, her sons (Calla and Kira with them) and her daughter (dragging Scorpius along) to an office upstairs. The door closed, Harry pulled out his wand and cast a few charms on it. Calla assumed they were to keep the people downstairs from hearing what was going on in the office.

Albus took her hand and led her to the large bay windows. They sat side by side on the bench with the sparkling stars shining behind them. For a moment, looking at the man she would marry, Calla thought she might be in a dream. Just her and Albus bathed in moonlight. Her father approved, his family was kind, they loved each other, all was right in the world.

That is until his parents started talking.