Author's Notes: I am going to be extra fluffy in these chapters leading up to the end... and it really is very close now in their timeline, just a few months, so indulge me please!

Also go follow me on face book and - Sarah Jaune

Thank you Arnel for beta'ing!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

"Hypothetically speaking," Rose said to Nat as they sat in Nat and Al's kitchen while Claire played with baby Wyatt in the living room, "could you take the birth control potion out of me?"

Thankfully, Nat didn't think Rose was crazy. She could see it on her best friend's face that she understood. "Yes," Nat confirmed, which is what Rose suspected. "Is that what you want?"

"I don't know," Rose admitted as she glanced over at Claire while she sat next to the happy, cooing baby. "Claire keeps asking and I have to admit, having everyone else having one hasn't made it any easier. I thought it would." She'd truly thought that she'd simply enjoy having her cousins' children around to spoil and going home to the quiet of only one ten-year-old. Claire still enjoyed reading and cuddling and playing games, but she didn't require anyone to lose sleep or require nappy changes.

But as she held the babies, she also felt that tug in her gut. She didn't know if she was ready yet and it wasn't as though she had much longer to wait. It was barely March and her potion was done for the year in July. It wasn't a long wait.

But Claire kept asking and they kept telling her that they wanted this time with her, just her. She'd lost so much in her young life and she was their primary focus.

She wanted other things. She'd just turned ten and she wanted them to have a baby while she'd still be home to enjoy it before she left for school. Rose studied Claire's curly brown hair that she had pulled back in a tail, but still had corkscrews sticking out everywhere and she wondered if she and Andrew would have a child with curly hair. His was fairly straight… or she assumed it was. He kept it short enough that it was difficult to tell. She loved his blue eyes, though, and she would be happy if her children had them. Claire's blue eyes, just like her brothers, flicked up to meet hers and she grinned, before focusing again on the baby to make silly faces at him.

Then she realized she'd zoned out and Nat had still been talking to her. "Sorry, what?"

"What did Andrew say about me taking it out?" Nat asked with a small grin.

Rose sighed heavily and sat back, glad Claire couldn't hear their conversation. "I haven't even talked to him about it and I don't know what he would say. He wanted to wait just like I did. It's very nice being able to sleep in on weekends when we don't have plans. It's just… I dunno." She gave Nat a halfhearted smile. "You always knew you wanted to be a mum and I did too, but it wasn't something that called to me before."

"It's calling now?"

She considered Nat's question and realized that yes, it was. "I only have until the end of May for school, so I'm basically done. I have to finish up my final project by then, but it's essentially wrapped. I have some more documentation to prepare, but that's two or three weeks of work. Formally, I'm not done until the end of May, but practically speaking, I'm going to finish before April."

"What about Andrew's work?"

That was a question. He wasn't participating in the House of Lords which was part of the Muggle government. His father had been a member, but it wasn't as though it was passed down anymore. Andrew had already made it known that he would not do so, as per his agreement with the magical government. He managed their finances, which she found amusing. He said he enjoyed it and he was going to start taking classes in the fall from a Muggle university to become a financial planner for Muggles.

With Andrew in school, he truly might not want to take on a baby. Added to that, he still had duties to his title and estates. Rose rubbed at the tense spot near her temple and shook her head. "It's probably a bad idea. I told you he was going to start taking classes, right?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm asking," Nat said sympathetically. "You're just finishing school, which means you're going to get your career off the ground, and he's going to start classes so he can make more out of what he's doing."

"So, you don't think we should?"

"I didn't say that," Nat assured her. "I am saying that there is a lot to consider and I know your priority as a mother is to be a present mother, not one who left all the work to others."

Rose scrunched up her nose as she considered her own mother. She didn't speak to her mother, except at family dinners. They didn't exchange letters or anything. Sometimes she ran into her at the Ministry, but that was rare. She definitely didn't want that to be her relationship with her own children. "Would I have more time for children, now, when I'm unknown and unexperienced, or more time later when I'm known and experienced and in demand?"

Nat laughed and shook her head. "You're trying to talk yourself into it."

"I don't know what I'm trying to do," Rose admitted honestly. "I want to… but then I don't. But then I want to… and then I don't. It's all very convoluted."

"Well, keep thinking about it and actually discuss it with Andrew," Nat told her as she patted her hand. "You can always take the potion once a month from July on and you can always change your mind and I'll help by removing it from you, but you need to be sure."

Rose was as wishy-washy as it was possible to get, and she remained that way all the way through tea with Nat and then dinner with Andrew and Claire. He was dressed today for a Muggle meeting he'd had in London and he'd barely made it home in time for dinner, so he was still wearing a blue button-down shirt and black trousers, although he'd ditched the tie she knew he'd have worn for the majority of the day.

As soon as Claire was tucked in, Andrew led her to the sitting room attached to their bedchamber and pulled her down next to him onto their very squashy gray couch. It had been the only piece of furniture Rose had added to the house, but it was a definite favorite for the couple. "Tell me what's on your mind," Andrew prodded as he slowly kissed his way down her cheek, to her ear, and then down the length of her neck.

She rather thought she wouldn't and she'd simply let him continue his exploration until they both forgot everything.

But he stopped, the rat. "Keep going," she urged, shifting a bit to give him more access.

"I will," he promised, "After you tell me what's on your mind."

"I think this is blackmail," she grumbled, stalling as she tried to work out how to tell him. She knew she would tell him, but how was the question.

Andrew grinned, his handsome face lighting up with mirth. "You know you want to tell me."

And that was just it… she did want to tell him. She liked telling him everything. It was something she'd figured out very quickly when they'd started dating the second time. He was hers… hers to share with, the be with, the person who would listen to her… "I'm conflicted about something we agreed on," she finally said as she traced a finger along the button of his shirt.

"I am betting," Andrew began as he let his lips linger on her neck, "that it has something to do with babies."

She started a bit, pulling back until she could look into his stunning blue eyes. "How did you know?"

"Because, my beautiful Rose," Andrew said with an understanding smile, "You spent time with baby Wyatt today. I know you and I saw how much time you spent holding all of the babies at our last family dinner. I also see how sad you are when we talk about Claire starting at Hogwarts."

She felt tears prick at her eyes and she tried hard to not let them fall. She still had over a year and a half until Claire started. They had time with her, but she also knew it would go fast. However, having a baby wouldn't make her miss Claire any less. "I don't know what I want. I asked Nat if she could pull the birth control potion out of me."

"And I bet she can," Andrew said as he lifted a finger and traced it along her brow and down her cheek. "I don't know if now is the right time or not. I know Claire is asking and I understand why she is, but she can also go spend time with any of her cousins. She has… actually, I've lost count of how many babies there are and she's the perfect age to help out and play with them."

Rose had to go through and count, as well, but they were getting three more with Victoire's next set of twins and Molly's pregnancy. Another pulse of longing shot through her and she sighed, leaning into her husband. "I really think I do want to have a baby sooner rather than later." She waited for him to say something, but when he didn't, she poked him softly in the chest. "You have a say in this. You can say no."

"I'm thinking about it," he admitted quietly. "I sort of knew you were contemplating it, but I didn't know it was getting serious in your mind. I have to think about it, especially if I want to try to go to school in the fall."

And just like that, she felt utterly selfish. She knew he had other things he wanted to do and here she was, trying to put something on him that would mean he'd have to stop his dream. "I'm sorry… forget it. You're going to go to school for a few years and then we can. It makes more sense to do it that way."

"Rose, no," he said, squeezing her to him. "It isn't what you think. I actually started the idea of school because I thought about all the time I'd have on my hands once Claire was at Hogwarts and since I am good at managing money, but I only need to go to school to manage Muggle money. I can work for magical people without that and it was something I'd also considered since I'm managing the money for most of the family anyway. I just need time to think about it. I'm not saying no," he promised quietly. "It's not like I don't see the joy that being a parent can bring… but I'm… I'm also scared," he admitted and she heard the break in his voice.

Of course he was scared. They lived in a house with minimal wards and hired guards to protect them. He'd lost almost his entire family to an attack from Crabbe. She knew he worried he'd lose Rose and Claire as well.

So far Crabbe hadn't gone after Rose, not directly. And to be fair, Andrew was not the focus of the attack that took the lives of his parents and brothers. That attack had been massive and many, many Muggles had been killed. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"We can close up this house except for the basic staff," Rose told him, "And move into a home that's completely protected. We can do that at any time." It would be more of a challenge, as he still needed to travel to London for work from time to time, but that could be worked around.

They had a lot of money. They already had a townhouse and a car in London to use on the days he needed to get about. Getting it hooked up with the Floo through a fireplace might be a challenge. The townhouse didn't actually have a fireplace at the moment, but he could also Apparate there. They had possibilities, things that money could buy to ensure they were as safe as they possibly could be.

When he didn't speak, she left him be. She held on to him, running her fingers through the ends of his short, brown hair. She loved the feel of it. She loved the feel of him and his solid warmth against her. He was solid and steady. He always had been and he was always careful in how he considered things. When he'd suggested they arrange a marriage, it was probably the most spontaneous thing he'd ever done, but then they'd taken the time to be sure.

"Alright," he said slowly. "That's… that's the price. If we do this, we move to a house that's under the Fidelius Charm and we stay there until Crabbe is gone."

She considered leaving this massive house and knew that Claire would be very sad to leave the place that held all the memories and where all her friends were. She wouldn't be able to go to school with her friends anymore and she wondered if the little girl would like the idea. "We have to ask Claire if she's willing to give everything up for this."

"Agreed," Andrew said as he buried his nose in her neck. "Once she's at Hogwarts, it won't matter as much, but right now she still has friends here. But I just can't… we didn't have a choice, not with Aunt Emma being here and being so sick and I grew used to the mild anxiety and panic of having to live so exposed, but if you're off the potion and you're taken..." He didn't need to finish that statement. She knew exactly what he was saying. If Rose had the potion pulled from her and she was taken before she became pregnant, then she'd be having someone else's baby and she absolutely did not want that. Yes, they'd deal with it if that was the case, but it was not something either of them wanted.

"And also, once you're pregnant… and when we have a newborn… everyone is just more fragile," he said quietly. "I know that's weird to say because all life is fragile, but I just don't think I could cope with it."

"I'd still work," she reminded him. "But I can promise to only work in our house or at the Ministry where I'll have Aurors around me."

He nodded and gave her a tight smile. "I can live with that."

"Alright, we'll talk to Claire tomorrow," Rose said quietly before she pressed her lips to his. She felt good about this, but as she lay awake later that night she began to wonder if he was really agreeing because it was what he wanted… or if he simply wanted to make her happy.

She only fell asleep when she'd resolved that she'd put it off again until July to give them time to think.

Andrew circumvented her plans by telling Claire what they'd discussed before she'd made it down to breakfast and Claire was all in until they said she might not be able to finish the third term for school, which would run until July.

She was quiet all through breakfast and Rose thought she would change her mind, but Claire surprised them. "Can I finish until the Easter hols?"

That was only another two weeks. "Of course," Rose assured her. "You can finish out the year if you like. We don't need to do this now."

"No, just until the end of Spring Term," Claire told them definitively. "That's what I want."

"Alright," Andrew said as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I'll start working on a house for us. In the meantime, it's time for school, so go get your bag."

Claire's chair scraped as she pushed back and scrambled out of the room to get her school gear.

Rose studied her husband, who was studying her in return. "Are you sure this is what you want? You're not trying to make me happy, are you?"

Andrew chuckled and stood, coming over to leave a lingering kiss on her lips. "Of course I'm trying to make you happy." He cupped her cheek and ran the pad of his thumb along her skin as he gazed down at her. "But that doesn't mean it isn't also what I want."

~*~

There had been a lot of difficult days, but this was not one of them, even though it had involved four hours in the car to go pick up the dog and bring her baby to Lorelei.

Harry would do it over and over and over again, though. His granddaughter needed this. He glanced into the rearview mirror and saw the one-year-old chocolate brown dog that had to weigh nearly ten stone. She opened her brown eyes and looked at him for a moment before resting her head back down and going back to sleep.

Her name was Poppy and she was going to be perfect for Lorelei. The woman who had raised her told Harry she was the mellowest dog she'd ever trained and she would be happy to lay down near Lorelei anywhere the baby wanted to be.

He didn't know how much she would help with the prophecies, but hopefully it would help keep her calm until they could get Rick to her to give it out.

As yet, they hadn't found any record of a single baby doing what Lorelei could do, but they also might not know that's what a seer was doing because they wouldn't have someone like Nat or Rick to say what was really happening.

"Almost there," Harry told Poppy as he turned down his daughter's drive and pulled up in front of her large house. He didn't see Sera, Lily's dog, outside but it was a cool, damp morning, even for early March so he wasn't surprised. "Come on," he told the dog as he opened the door.

They went up the steps and Harry heard the crying before he could even knock. He opened the door and saw Lily pacing between the kitchen to the living room and she stopped as she saw him. "Hey," she said with utter exhaustion.

"Hey, Lily-Lu," he said as he came in and moved aside for Poppy to enter.

Sera, clearly catching Poppy's scent, scrambled in from another room and raced over to sniff at Poppy, who also gave her an initial sniff, continued on towards Lily and the very fretful Lorelei. Lily's eyes went wide for a moment and then tears began to pour down her cheeks.

Poppy stopped at Lily's side and sat, looking up at Lily, although the dog was so big that she didn't have to look up much.

"You… you…" Lily was beside herself, so Harry came forward and took Lorelei from her arms.

"Down, Poppy," he told the dog, and just as he'd seen James and Caroline do with Rufus, he laid the sobbing baby on the dog's back.

Lorelei grasped onto the dog and within moments she began to calm.

Harry stood and pulled his daughter into his arms, kissing the top of her head as she cried her heart out.

Yes, this had been worth every single minute in the car.

Sera sat down next to Poppy and then settled in, studying the big dog and the baby as Lorelei let out a few babbles and then fell silent, staring off at nothing as her tiny fist reflexively opened and closed in the big dog's brown fur.

Ducky, the wonder cat, strolled in and glared at Poppy for a moment before coming over to sniff at her. Then she wandered back out again, clearly unwilling to associate with yet another dog.

"Let's make you some tea," Harry told Lily as he guided her over to the kitchen table and sat her down.

"Dad…" Lily began again, but he put a hand on her shoulder and kept her sitting. "Thanks," she finally said.

"Any time," he promised as he went to make her tea. He brought over a few biscuits with it, as well, noting that it was Gran Molly's which were sugar-free.

Ah well. They didn't taste too bad.

Lorelei fell asleep on Poppy's back and Poppy stayed put, even when Sera grew bored and went over to the back door to be let out to run.

He sat with Lily and watched her drink her tea, eat her biscuits, and collect herself. "Do you need to sleep?"

"No," Lily told him through her stuffy nose from the crying jag. "I just… I just needed her to be okay. She's okay now," she said, studying her daughter. "She's really okay?"

"I think so," Harry said quietly. "We've seen her calm down for Rufus. Poppy should be able to do the same thing, at least until Rick can get here. But you can always bring her to the Ministry if you need to."

"I know," she said quietly. "It isn't what I thought it would be."

"What isn't, baby?" he asked, reaching over the table to take her hand.

"Being a mother," Lily admitted sadly. "I really thought… well, it isn't at all what I thought it would be. It's so much harder."

Harry thought about his three children and how each of them had been. "Lorelei is special. She's been given this gift that's just too much for her young body right now and that's what's making this so difficult. What I need you to know is how proud I am of you and how great of a job you're doing. This is the toughest form of parenting you're going to see. None of the rest of them are like this, so yes… this is very hard. And you're doing a good job."

She closed her eyes but tears fought their way out from her closed lids as she whispered, "Thank you."

Harry didn't know if she believed him, but he hoped she did. He'd simply keep saying it until she believed.