Remus groaned beside her when her alarm went off at one in the morning. He was asleep on his stomach, one arm draped across her and he tightened his grip, pulling her towards him. The full moon had only passed a few days before, two days before Harry and Ginny's announcement, so he was still very fatigued. He had been handling full moons better in the last couple of years, but they weren't entirely sure why. Perhaps, it was simply because he was living a healthier life.

Dora patted his arm. "I have to go, Remus."

"No, just stay." He muttered, moving his hand to her baby bump, brushing his thumb back and forth. "They won't notice."

"Yes, they will." She said, and he relinquished his hold, rolling onto his back. She sat up, turning on the lamp on her side. "I'm leaving the car keys, can you take it in to David?"

Her father had always taken his car to David, and he had been excited to see the car again when she took it in after the war. He had been very upset to hear Ted had died. The car itself, a burnt orange Ford Cortina that Ted had bought the same year Dora was born, was kept in nearly perfect condition by David's constant work on it even after Dora had hit a lamp post when Ted was teaching her how to drive.

She still drove her father's car, not often, but it had recently begun to make a horrible grinding sound. The three of them were working on teaching Ginny how to drive, but between everyone's work schedules, her lessons were very sporadic and they hadn't driven Ted's car since the noise started a week before. Luckily, Harry had a newer car and it didn't make any weird noises.

"I can probably do it before I go to Diagon tomorrow. Sunday morning I have an appointment."

"Thank you." She said, heading for the shower. After she showered and was dressed, she could tell Remus hadn't fallen back asleep yet, so she walked around to his side of the bed and leaned down. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her as close as her stomach would allow. "Can you also remember mandrake leaves?"

"Yes, I have a list." He said. "Be safe this weekend."

"I will be." She promised, giving him a kiss. "Get some sleep, I'll be home late on Sunday night."

They arrived at the Ministry just before three, where Neville and Jefferson were already waiting, along with the few Aurors who were working the overnight. The department had been able to add three more Aurors after Harry and his group finished their training, plus a few who transferred permanently from different Ministries around the world. Germany, Italy and France lent them Aurors frequently, too. Currently, they had a few from the Italian Ministry helping out, and they were by far the friendliest group that had come to work with them. It would be a long time before their department was sufficiently staffed and did not rely on traveling Aurors to help. Dora's personal favourite had been a German Auror named Sabinne Adler, and she hoped she'd come back soon, but she had four children and had only been able to stay for a short time before going home.

"The Beast office should be ready for the transfer soon." Dawlish said, checking his watch. "The portkeys leave in half an hour, so head down and see if they're prepared."

The four of them left the Auror department, heading for the lifts. They were tasked with ensuring the eggs discovered during the cull of Elroy's dragons made it to the Romanian reserve. They knew Elroy could have accomplices, or customers who had never received their dragons from the black market transactions, and it could put the eggs at risk of disappearing. None of them wore their robes, so they could blend in with the employees from the Beast Division- though, Dora had no choice in whether she wore her robes or not- which would help to not draw attention. If the Beast Division was being watched, the presence of Aurors could be a giveaway to the value of the eggs. They had found three from the Korean Kingsnout herself, which the Romanian reserve was eager to receive. Dora didn't know how the adult dragons had been culled, only that the Beast Division had harvested the bodies for potion and wand ingredients to ensure nothing had gone to waste.

To her surprise, Charlie was in the office when they entered. "I didn't know you'd be here, I figured we wouldn't see you until we got to Romania." She said.

"Got sent to help. They want as many trusted hands as possible." Charlie said, gesturing to some crates. "Very important cargo, gotta ensure it makes it safely. Figure that's why Aurors are coming too."

"Actually, we're just making sure no one steals or sells them." Dora said. "Are we ready?"

"Should be, let me find out."

The reserve was kept hidden with many of the same spells Hogwarts used, and Dora was impressed. It was so large, she was amazed Muggles didn't notice anything. It was nestled in mountains, with spells keeping different areas climate controlled to match the different climates these dragons came from. They delivered the eggs to the reserve's hatchery, and then went to Charlie's flat for the night. The next day, they'd go back to the reserve to finish any paperwork. They'd only be away from home for two nights, which was really nothing considering how often they'd end up away for a few weeks to a month.

To Dora's surprise, Charlie no longer lived alone- he had a boyfriend. "Sam, this is Dora and Harry." Charlie said. "Harry's my brother in law, Dora's my friend from school."

Sam had dark hair and a dark beard, and a brilliant smile. "The ones helping you with your project?" Sam asked as they all sat. After the portkey, Dora had a nagging backache and wasn't looking forward to having to use one again when they went home.

"Yes, the Aurors. I explained to you, right?" Charlie asked, and Sam nodded. "Oh, Sam's a Muggle." He explained to Dora and Harry. "We've been together a year, I've only just told him about magic."

"It's a bit mad, ya know. I grew up in Scotland, I had no idea this entire other world was there."

"Means our hard work pays off, then." Dora said. "But Charlie also kept you a secret-"

"It won't be long." Charlie said. "We're moving back to London. I just... don't know how to tell my parents."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "Just tell them you're moving home and dating a Muggle, they'll be thrilled."

"If your parents are a fraction of how you've described them, they'll be accepting. They sound wonderful."

"Yeah, but Mum's obsessed with having grandkids, and we're not exactly contributing-"

"If the rest of the boys have as many as Bill, Molly won't even notice." Dora said. "She may even forget who belongs to who if there's enough of them."

"Ah, shit, that's right, I did get Gin's letter." Charlie said, clapping Harry on the shoulder. "Congrats, Harry, can't believe you two are having a kid!"

"Thanks, Gin will be thrilled to have you back in the area. Not sure we'll have as many as Bill and Fleur, but at least the one will help distract Molly from you not having any."

"One?! Has Ginny never said how many she wants? She used to talk about it when she was younger-"

"She did but she also wants to keep playing Quidditch so we think one or two is enough."

Sam had looked at Charlie, clearly unaware of what Quidditch meant. "It's a sport." Charlie said. "I'll take you to a game sometime, when Gin's playing again. She's the best."

"Will you be back before March?" Harry asked.

"We'll be moving in November." Sam said. "When is your sister due, Char?"

Charlie looked at Harry. "I assume March if you asked-"

"Yeah, end of."

"Oh, just after yours!" Charlie said to Dora. "They'll go to Hogwarts together, right?"

Dora nodded. "I mean, I'm hoping our kids will be Hufflepuffs like me but they'll at least share classes."


"So, what do you do, Sam?" Dora asked, as she helped Sam make dinner. He had tried to insist she didn't need to, but she wanted to get to know him a bit better. Harry and Charlie were currently in the spare bedroom, making room to conjure cots.

"I work at the library, actually. Not very exciting, but I like it. I like being among the books, reading the classics, meeting the locals..." Sam said. "Your family, are they all magical like Charlie's?"

"No, not everyone. My Dad was a Muggleborn. It means his entire family, until him, were Muggles." She said. "My Mum's side is more like Charlie's family. They're called purebloods. Has Charlie explained the blood status thing to you?"

"Briefly, yes." Sam said. "And the wars, a bit. Mad how entire wars could be fought without the rest of the world knowing."

"But Muggles did know, even if they didn't realise." Dora said. "Weird and unexplained events happen all the time. A lot of the time it's just our lot."

"Does that mean there are no aliens?" Sam asked with a teasing tone. "Child me would be so disappointed."

"Well- I mean, if we exist and Muggles don't know... I guess aliens could too." Dora said with a laugh. "Muggles don't think dragons exist, yet..." She gestured around.

"Alright, what else?" Sam asked, turning to her. "So, dragons exist, but what else?"

"What has Charlie told you?"

"He's shown me dragons, but we haven't really gone over much else. We've only just moved in together, I thought he worked at a zoo but then he sprung this magic thing on me."

"Okay, well, a lot of things exist that Muggles don't know about." Dora said. "Uh... in terms of creatures from old Muggle stories, we have dragons, goblins, elves, fairies... werewolves..." She was trying to remember the stories her father and grandmother shared with her. "... mermaids. There are so many books that you'd find fascinating, filled with this stuff."

"Are they like the stories say?" Sam asked.

"Not at all, no." She said. "But, what about your family?"

"Oh, still in Scotland." Sam said. "They know about Charlie. They're excited to meet him. Dad's a lawyer, Mum works at his office some days. You're married, I believe Charlie said, what does your husband do? Does he do what you do?"

"No, he's a teacher. He has quite the collection of classic books, his Mum used to collect them. We don't have all of them anymore because of a house fire, but we have his favourites. I'm sure he'd love to talk to someone else who can appreciate them, because I don't, apparently."

A moment of quiet passed. "What about vampires? Do those exist?"

"Yeah, but they don't often interact with the rest of the population." She said. "Our society isn't exactly welcoming to people who are different like that. We're working on changing that, though."

"So, not much different than the non-magical people."

"I suppose not."


"Dora?" Remus called, exiting the bathroom. Dora had just gotten home and wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed. It was nearly eleven at night, so she was surprised he was up. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair wet from a recent shower, but his body language made it clear he probably wouldn't be receptive to whatever joke she'd make about his undressed state.

"Hey, I didn't know you'd still be awake." She said, dropping her overnight bag by the bed.

"Took a while to get Teddy to sleep, I wanted to shower before bed. Dora, can you sit?" He asked and she listened, a sense of dread filling her.

"What wrong?" She asked as he sat, taking one of her hands.

"I want to tell you this before I talk myself out of doing so. At my appointment this morning, Healer Davis noticed that one of my kidneys does not appear to be functioning normally." Remus said, and her heart dropped. "He also doesn't like my white blood cell count."

"But you're... you're not even forty five." She said quietly. "I thought we'd have time."

"It doesn't mean anything yet." Remus said. "He assured me, it could still be a very long time before we have any real issues."

"Those sound like real issues." She said, but this was the point of Healer Davis' very thorough examinations every few months. Maybe if they found these issues sooner, werewolves would live longer. "So, what now? We're just on a countdown?"

"No, absolutely not." Remus said. "He gave me a couple of potions, I'll take them for a few months and we'll see how things are progressing."

"Teddy's so young, and then we have this one coming..." She said quietly. "I can't do this alone."

"You won't." Remus said. "There's no indication that it's anything to actually worry about."

Dora gave him a look. "And what if the potions don't work? Does it just get worse and worse until-"

"No, no, Dora, I'm sorry. He's not worried and I'm choosing to trust that." He said, turning to take both of her hands. "I believe if it was something to be concerned about, he'd tell me. We'll be okay, I promise."


October 31st, 2003

"Why am I not getting anything interesting to do?" Harry asked, pulling his chair closer to her desk and dropping into it.

"Policy." Dora said. "Unless there's a massive event, any parents-to-be lose the fun cases."

"Yeah but I'm not pregnant-"

"Which is why you still get to leave the Ministry." Dora said. "You could join me at my desk all day, every day, trying to find out why some numpty keeps sending us birds."

"Well, you know, that sounds so fun, but..." Harry said, and then he paused. "Doesn't an augurey mean death?"

"Depending on how old the book you've read is." Dora said. "It's still some kind of message but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to figure it out. Maybe I'm not and Dawlish just wants me to feel like I'm actually doing something."

Her slow training to become deputy had gotten put on a short hiatus while Dawlish was away helping on a mission. Rodolphus Lestrange had been spotted again and Dawlish decided to join the taskforce. For now, Robards watched the Auror department while Dawlish was away so she was stuck trying to figure out the augurey they kept finding in places.

She had even asked Remus, wondering if he had ever read anything about it being related to dark magic. He hadn't. Despite being told in August that his health was slowly beginning to deteriorate despite full moons taking less of a toll on him, nothing had really changed since. Dora wasn't sure if that was good or not, because the potion he took now was supposed to reverse the issues with his kidneys, yet it hadn't, but his white blood cell count had improved. He said they should be happy with any improvement.

"Are you coming with us tonight?" Harry asked, now fiddling with a quill.

"To see your parents? Of course."

They went every Halloween, starting in 1999. The first two years, Remus and Harry had gone alone but then insisted on Dora and Ginny joining them. They went other times too, Remus feeling bad that he had barely done so before and Harry wanting to make sure he went frequently. Harry had said it felt weird at first, to go and share pieces of news with the graves, but it became routine after a while.

"We were thinking of using their names." Harry said. "Lily for a girl, James for a boy. We kind of want to find out before so we can plan the nursery. Are you two finding out? Or have you and just haven't told us?"

"No, we don't know." Dora said. "Not sure we're going to, might let it be a surprise like Teddy was."

"See, I don't know if I like surprises-"

"Yes, but this is a different type of surprise than you'd be used to." Dora said. "Either way, it's a baby, that part won't be a surprise."

Harry nodded thoughtfully.

"Unless it's twins." Dora added and he paled a bit. "That would be a surprise."

"Do you think there's a chance of that? The Healer would have told us by now right? Or the Muggle doctor we saw for those scans?"

"Yeah, probably." Dora said. She had considered seeing a Muggle doctor for ultrasounds, like Ginny had done, but it was rare for witches to do. The risk of accidental magic during pregnancy was high and with her morphing once again seemingly being controlled by her hormones, she didn't want to risk it. At least she had the Healers and their spells at St Mungo's this time so they knew things were going smoothly. It was insane to her, how different this pregnancy was to her pregnancy with Teddy. They had simply had to hope everything was going well, because Andromeda hadn't known enough of the spells Healers knew to monitor it. Now, they actually got to know it was going smoothly.

"Have you discussed names?" Harry asked.

"We're just letting things happen, I think. We felt like we had to rush with Teddy, to make sure everything was prepared. We wanted to have his name chosen, just in case Remus didn't come home one day or if Death Eaters found us but then we changed our minds at the last moment anyway. We don't feel so rushed this time, it's kind of been nice. We've thought of one or two options, but only for boys. We wanted to ask, if you'd be okay with us using the name Evan? We obviously didn't want to take your parents' first names, and Remus said James called Lily 'Evans' as a joke even after they got married. It would mean a lot to him-"

"Of course." Harry said quickly.

"What about middle names? Have you discussed those?"

"We're not sure on middle names. Ginny said it's normal for wizarding families to use the parents' names for firstborns." Harry said, and Dora nodded. "Lily Ginevra would sound okay, but James Harry sounds like I just have a massive ego."

She laughed. "Rita Skeeter would love that." Dora said. Harry and Ginny had been shocked when Rita had published the pregnancy less than three weeks after they had told everyone. How she found out was still a mystery. Now Harry was lucky if he got to go anywhere without being asked about it by Daily Prophet reporters or random people. Even if he was working, people weren't afraid to start asking him about it. It made him very uncomfortable. Ginny was lucky, it was easier for her to slip by people unnoticed, but she did have times where she was recognised. However, she admittedly had less patience than Harry and could shut down the encounters a lot faster than he could. Rita had called Ginny "fiery tempered" on many occasions now.

"Ginny doesn't want to go to St Mungo's because of Rita." Harry said. "I don't know how I feel about that."

"I had Teddy at home, wasn't ideal, but I survived. You guys could have an actual midwife help if you decided that. Women have been having babies without hospitals for thousands of years, Harry." She said. "But, don't worry, Remus and I will keep the Prophet away when the time comes. We're not sure how yet, but we'll find a way. The rest of the Weasleys will probably help too."