I've had this chapter ready for a while but I'm going to try and focus on monthly updates to stay consistent for you guys. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 108 - Mental breaks

The pack had been working hard all day, the first day of May always brought with it hard work. Their biggest job was clearing the cave of what supplies they had left. It had taken most of the day to do this and Fenrir was now debating whether or not they needed more storage space and he was pretty sure they did.

He had decided that he would build a shelter close by the cave so that they had more secure space to store things they needed and he would talk to Harry about spells to make it secure and to make sure what they stored in there was kept fresh and safe. Also, it would give him something to do to keep his mind off missing Harry.

Fenrir found himself to be a little disappointed when Remus came to visit them but he didn't bring Harry with him. It had only been a few days since he had last seen his mate but every day Harry was absent from his side was difficult for him.

Remus, however, had come to the pack for a purpose. He wanted to talk to Tessie. Their wolves had drawn them together, they were mates, but they knew very little about one another and Remus wished to rectify that. No sooner had he arrived within the clearing, did he ask Tessie to join him on a walk through the forest. She had not hesitated in accepting.

"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" Tessie asked, a little concerned that even after she had accepted him and he had claimed her, that Remus might have changed his mind. After all she was pretty useless with her arm as damaged as it was.

"Not at all," Remus reassured her. "I would just like us to get to know each other a little more," he said with a smile, linking his hand in her's as they walked.

"I suppose we haven't really had much time to talk," Tessie said, accepting that this was something that they needed to do and probably should have done before she accepted him and he claimed her.

"Shall I start or would you like to?" Remus asked, keen to know more about his new mate but not wanting to demand it from her.

"You can," Tessie said, though this was mainly because she had no idea how she was going to start. With all her pack dead she wasn't sure what to say, it was all still raw for her and difficult to think about too deeply.

"I was bitten at an early age, by Fenrir actually, I don't' remember much about it, only that my father had taken me camping for my fifth birthday."

"Did your family support you after that?" Tessie asked, she knew that a lot of wizarding families would disown family members that had been bitten, even their own children.

"They did, my mother struggled as she was a muggle, however my father felt guilty about what had happened, not only because he should have been watching me, but also, Fenrir only did it because my father made some rather cruel comments about werewolves."

"A lot of people say horrible things about us, why did Fenrir seek revenge on your father?" Tessie was overly curious because it all seemed so strange.

"My father worked for the Ministry for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical creatures, which of course includes Werewolves. He wasn't kind about them before I was bitten, however once his son became one, he made some swift U-turns on the policies he was trying to implement."

"Well, I can't say I agree with what Fenrir did but I'm certainly not complaining about it now," she said, giving Remus' hand a little squeeze. "Do you still talk to your parents?"

"My father, sometimes but not often. They divorced soon after I left Hogwarts, mostly because my father wanted to protect my mother from the war. He was a half-blood who had married a muggle so he was looked down on by a lot of purebloods. My mother is no longer with us, though she lived a long and happy life, I believe it was a peaceful death, or so I was told."

"That's awful," Tessie said. She had had no idea just how much Remus had been through in his life.

"I had a good life, I'd made three amazing friends during my time at school. James, Harry's biological father, though he and his wife were killed by Voldemort, though you know the story there. Peter, he was the one who betrayed James to Voldemort, I believe he's still alive but I can't be sure, if he is then he's in league with Voldemort now. Then there was Sirius, my childhood sweetheart, which seems silly now I say it out loud."

"What happened to him?" Tessie asked, she admitted that she was a little jealous but she wasn't stupid, she had known that she can't have been Remus' first, though she hadn't thought that her new mate had once had a thing for men, that was a little shocking to her.

"He was blamed for what Peter did and he spent quite a few years in Azkaban. At this point I was travelling, looking for other werewolf packs, wanting to branch out and make connections, though very few were interested. When Sirius finally got out he was already half mad and desperate to find Harry, to have us both take care of him."

"I'm guessing that didn't end well," Tessie said.

"No, it did not. Harry already had a father in Severus, someone that we hadn't got along with in school. I think it pushed Sirius over the edge, that and the fact that Harry didn't want to know him. He went completely mad, tortured Severus until he was almost dead and drove Harry to make the unbreakable vow with Dumbledore to save Severus."

"Wow, is he still around now?" Tessie asked, thinking about just how much Harry had had to deal with, what he was still dealing with. It made her appreciate how strong an Alpha mate he was.

"No, well… I don't know. He was kidnapped by deatheaters. I assume he's in the same dungeon as Jilly but I can't be sure. He could be dead by now for all I know." Remus said sadly.

"Do you still care for him?" Tessie asked.

"No," Remus said bluntly. He was sure of this fact without a doubt. He had fallen out of love with Sirius long before he had even realised it. "I loved him a very long time ago, we were teenagers and it wasn't something that was ever going to last, I realise that now."

"You left him to travel to other packs," Tessie said, "That must have been a difficult decision to make."

"It wasn't as difficult as you would think," Remus said, realising just how easy it was to make the decision and when he had returned it had just been the easy thing to do to go back to him. "Did you have anyone else in your pack before you came here?"

"In a way," Tessie said, "I didn't really love him and I didn't really want to be with him but I was actually promised to my cousin, he was going to be the Alpha when his father died."

"So not Aiden then?" Remus asked.

"No, we were a really small pack but I had two cousins, not many outsiders were allowed to remain with us, though a few tried. Honestly, if Voldemort hadn't tried to recruit us all and destroyed the pack when he did, we wouldn't have survived much longer."

"Pack's have a way of surviving," Remus responded, hearing the pain in her voice as she spoke of her previous pack. "You don't have to tell me anything else about them if you don't want to," he added.

"I haven't spoken about them in a long time. Aiden won't, I think it's too much for him. I've pushed what happened to the back of my mind and try not to think about it. Watching them all die…"

"It's alright," Remus said, stopping them from going any further and bringing her into his arms, holding her there. Tessie returned the embrace, allowing a tear to escape from the corner of her eye and trickle down her cheek. "You don't have to say anything more if you don't want to."

"I got so wrapped up in surviving, I couldn't think about it while I was with the strays. I was scared that Aiden would become one of them just to fit in. He was always the rebellious one in the pack," Tessie said with a small laugh as she wiped the tear away.

"He doesn't seem that way now," Remus mused, wondering if Fenrir knew how rebellious Aiden could be in the right circumstances.

"He's good at adapting. If we had been with the strays too long he would have done what he needed to survive being one of them. I could never have done that. Being here is good for him, having Jaylon is good for him, it's grounded him and given him something to be proud of."

"I never thought that I would ever have anyone, I didn't think that I deserved anyone. I have lived with so much guilt for biting Lukas, though I thought that I had killed him at the time. When I found Harry, I thought helping him win the war against Voldemort would amend for my sins, but instead it led me to you."

"I know we have Jaylon and I love him dearly," Tessie said, "But do you think that one day we might have a pup of our own?"

"You would want a child with me?" Remus asked, completely dumbfounded once again. In the beginning he hadn't thought that Tessie would want anything to do with him, then when she had accepted him as her mate, he had thought that it would just be a platonic relationship. She had shocked him when she had wanted more, to be physical. Once again she had taken him by surprise by wanting everything with him.

"Do you not?" Tessie asked. She had been brought up to believe that she was to marry the future Alpha of the Davenport pack and it would be her duty to produce an heir to carry on the Alpha line. She might not have been chuffed with the choice of mate that her parents had made for her but she had been looking forward to being a mother.

"I never thought about it, it was never a possibility with Sirius and I never thought I would find anyone who wanted to be with me in that way, let alone have a family with me," Remus said, still in a state of shock.

"I won't pressure you on the matter," Tessie said, feeling a little downhearted.

"I want it if you do," Remus said with a smile, counting himself extremely lucky that he had someone as amazing as Tessie to call his mate. "I would be honoured if you decided to carry my child, though perhaps we wait until the war is over."

"Agreed," Tessie said, allowing Remus to take her hand once again and the two of them resumed their walk, simply enjoying one anothers company.

FGHP

Tuesday morning and Romy was far too preoccupied to eat very much. The others were starting to notice that something wasn't quite right with her and she knew that she was going to have to sort it out this morning because otherwise Harry and Clay were going to start asking difficult questions.

"I'll see you guys later, I have something I need to do before class," Romy said, picking up her bag and making a swift exit before anyone could question it.

"I'll go with her," Rosie said quickly, grabbing her things and following after Romy. The boys all looking between themselves confused at what had just happened.

"Do you know what that's all about?" Harry asked Clay who shook his head in the negative. He knew that Romy had been a little distracted the last couple days but he had put it down to the upcoming exams, as Romy had said.

"Are those two going to be okay going off on their own?" Aspen asked, a little worried about Rosie, something that had become a habit since they had ended up at Atwood together.

"I'm sure they'll be okay," Harry reassured. "They're strong enough to look after each other, if they need us they know where to find us."

FGHP

Rosie caught up to Romy as she neared the hospital wing, having underestimated just how fast Romy could move when she wanted to. "Wow, you're fast, it's almost as if you didn't want anyone following you."

"I kinda didn't," Romy said a little nervously. "Though better you than any of the boys, I don't really want them to know."

"Know what?" Rosie asked, starting to get a little worried about what Romy could be hiding. Romy had never struck Rosie as the kind of person to hide things from her family.

"If I tell you, will you promise to keep it a secret? At least until I know more?" Romy asked. In all honesty she could use someone to talk to, at fourteen the thought of being pregnant was terrifying. She wouldn't be fifteen for another six months, her parents would go mad if she was carrying Clay's child already.

"I promise," Rosie said, knowing that it was serious if she didn't even want Harry or Clay to know.

"With the whole thing with Tracey, it's got me thinking… I'm late and I've been feeling a little sick recently… I shouldn't be, I mean I took the contraceptive potion, but I can't stop thinking about it."

"So you were coming to the hospital wing to check to see if you are?" Rosie asked and Romy nodded. "Want me to come with you for moral support?"

Romy thought about it for a minute but finally nodded. If she was then it would be nice to have someone to talk to about it while she figured out what to do and if she wasn't then it would be nice to be able to celebrate with someone.

The two girls entered the hospital wing quietly, wanting to make sure they would have some privacy. They were fortunate that they seemed to be the only ones there apart from the medi-witch herself.

"How can I help the two of you today?" Poppy asked through pursed lips, clearly not happy to see the two of them in her infirmary.

"I need you to do a test on me," Romy said quietly. Poppy sighed and pointed towards a bed at the end of the hospital wing, as far away from the main door as possible. Clearly she had an inkling what it could be about.

"Pregnancy or disease?" Poppy asked a little rudely.

"Pregnancy," Romy said nervously, trying to ignore the rude tone the medi-witch had taken with her. She knew that Madame Pomfrey was not a fan of werewolves but there was nothing she could do about that.

"Lie down," Poppy said, somewhat forcefully. Romy did what she was instructed, though Rosie was looking a little offended by the tone the medi-witch was taking with the two of them, not having experienced it before.

"I've been taking a contraception potion," Romy told her as Madame Pomfrey started waving her wand and muttering spells. A frown on her face and she cast a few more spells, clearly not just casting a simple pregnancy indicator.

"You should not be having sex at your age," Poppy said with disapproval as she continued to wave her wand, muttering spells as she did, a look of confusion on her face.

"What's taking so long?" Rosie asked a minute later when Madame Pomfrey still wasn't done. "It doesn't take this long to perform a simple pregnancy test."

"No, it does not," Madame Pomfrey said firmly, "I found some abnormalities and I'm checking them," she said but then did not elaborate any further.

"Complications?" Romy asked, suddenly a little concerned. She had come to find out if she was pregnant or not, it should have been a yes or no simple answer, she had not been expecting anything else. A million things flashed through her mind, was she pregnant? Was there something wrong with the baby, with her?

"Firstly, the contraception potion you've been taking, there are still traces of it in your system but it's potency is not what it should be," she informed them both, "a potion you brewed yourself I presume?"

"A friend," Romy said, knowing that Harry would never have given it to her if it hadn't been right.

"Well, your friend over brewed it, contraception potions are tricky, over brew them and they don't work as well as they should," Poppy said formally, starting to feel a little bit sorry for the werewolf. She wasn't sure how to tell her what she had found.

"So, she's pregnant?" Rosie asked, wanting an answer to the question they had come in about in the first place.

"No," Poppy said with a sigh, "you never were either," she added, looking a little concerned.

"So, what's the problem?" Romy asked, sitting up on the bed. She could tell that there was one, the medi-witch didn't usually have any sympathy at all for them, she had never hidden her dislike for werewolves but whatever she was holding back had changed her attitude and Romy was suddenly feeling rather nervous.

"You have been through a serious trauma in your life, physical violence?" Poppy asked.

"Yes, the night I was bitten, I almost died because of what they did to me," Romy said, trying to hold back tears as she started to make the connections in her mind.

"A lot of damage was done from what I can see, the extent of which I would have to run a few more tests to determine but from what I can see, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible for you to conceive," Madame Pomfrey said, feeling awful that she had to be the one to deliver this news to such a young girl.

Never before had she seen such a young girl with such severe damage to her womb and internal organs. She knew that the lycanthropy disease had been used in extreme cases to prevent death from other causes and she had a strong suspicion that if Romy hadn't have been turned into a werewolf when she did then her internal injuries would have been enough to kill her.

"So I can't ever be a mother?" Romy said, suddenly feeling extremely empty inside. When she thought she might have been pregnant she had felt shocked, confused and knew that it was too soon, that she was too young, but now… knowing that she would never be able to carry a baby for her mate. It was a devastating blow.

"Is there anything you can do?" Rosie asked, watching as Romy broke. There were no tears, no screaming or yelling, the young girl just sat on the hospital bed in silence, everything about her shattering.

"If she hadn't have become a werewolf then she would have died," Poppy tried to explain, "Lycanthropy as a disease can only do so much, in this case it saved her life but the damage was severe, the best medical witches and wizards in the world wouldn't have been able to do anything for her."

"So this is just something she has to live with?" Rosie said, trying not to get angry. After everything that Romy had been through in her life, this just didn't seem to be fair.

"It's fine Rosie," Romy said, appreciating that Rosie was trying to stand up for her but she knew that there wasn't anything that could be done for her. She was broken and as soon as Clay found out she knew that he wouldn't want her any more and she wouldn't blame him either. He deserved someone who could carry his child.

"I will have to write to your parents that you've been to see me and why," Poppy said, knowing that this was not going to be an easy thing to put in a letter.

"No," Romy said at once. That was the last thing she needed, she didn't want to add any more worry to her mother, her condition was already precarious. "My mum is pregnant and her health has never been good. I don't want her to worry about me and make her condition worse."

Poppy considered this for a moment, "What about your father?"

"He's the Beta wolf of our pack, he has other things that he needs to worry about with the war coming, please just let me tell them when I'm ready. I don't want them to find out in a letter," Romy pleaded. "I know you don't owe me anything and I know you don't like what we are but we're on the same side, I'm helping Harry and Dumbledore fight against Voldemort, please do this for me?"

Madame Pomfrey let out a sigh, knowing that it was her duty as a medi-witch to write to the students' parents every time they came to visit her. However, in this case she didn't want to make the situation at home any worse. She always had a little bit of leeway in special circumstances.

"Alright, I will not write to them this time, but I urge you to tell them as soon as you can, you're going to need support getting through this," Poppy said, directing this to Rosie as well as Romy. She needed to know that the young girl wasn't going to try and deal with this all on her own.

"I'll keep an eye on her," Rosie said, helping Romy off the bed and back on to her feet. She had no idea how she was going to help Romy, in her own experience coping meant drinking yourself into oblivion. That was not a road she wanted to start down again and she certainly didn't want Romy to head that way either.

The two girls headed for the exit, Romy still in a state of complete shock. She knew that night had been awful, the days following it even worse but she had never thought that it would come back to haunt her, to alter her life even more than it had done already.

"Are you alright?" Rosie asked, knowing that it was a stupid question but not knowing what else to really say.

"I don't know," Romy said honestly, she felt lost, as if she didn't really know who she was anymore. She had dreamed of finishing school, maybe trying to make a difference to werewolves all over the world one day, making their lives better and more than anything she had dreamed of becoming a mum, of giving Clay pups because he was going to make an excellent father one day. She just wasn't going to be the mother of those children like she thought she would have been.

FGHP

"Would you mind if I went to Hogwarts after the full moon?" Jaylon asked as he snuggled up to Aiden, neither of them had bothered getting out of bed yet, both were far too warm and comfortable to move, even with breakfast being offered up.

"That's after this weekend," Aiden said. He had known that Jaylon wanted to go but he hadn't thought that it would actually happen that soon.

"Yeah," Jaylon said, "Would that be okay?"

"I don't see why not, though we would have to arrange with Remus and Fenrir when we could go and get you everything you'd need." Aiden knew that getting the school supplies was not going to be easy in the current state of the world but he was going to make sure that Jaylon got everything he wanted and needed.

"Thank you," Jaylon said, giving Aiden a kiss to the cheek and the dominant held on to his mate a little tighter. It was going to be hard to let the teenager go but he would because that was what Jaylon wanted.

FGHP

Draco had been thinking alot about what was going to happen when his mother came through the cabinet. He had no plan about where they would go or how they would manage. As much as he hated the idea, he knew he was going to have to go and see Dumbledore and ask for help.

Now the headmaster had no reason to grant him help and Draco knew that if he approached the old man on his own then he would be refused point blank so Draco had come up with a plan and he was going to need Harry's help to do it. Harry seemed to have a way with Dumbledore and it meant getting what he wanted.

So once they had had their fill of lunch, Draco and Harry climbed the stairs, heading for the headmasters office. Harry had been all too happy to help, for a start he owed Draco a lot for helping to find not one but two horcruxes and also Harry just liked to mess with the headmaster. It was a win, win situation.

As per his usual attitude towards the headmaster, Harry didn't bother knocking before entering and once again found a rather irate Dumbledore on the other side of the door.

"Another horcrux?" Dumbledore asked, sounding less than amused at the intrusion into his day. He had not been expecting to see Harry for a little while, it hadn't been long since they had destroyed the Diadem and Cup together.

"Not quite, I want a favour," Harry said and at this, Dumbledore raised an amused eyebrow, fascinated about what Harry could want from him now.

"As Draco has helped so greatly in our hunt for horcruxes, I want you to help him," Harry said bluntly, glaring at the elderly wizard, daring him to say no.

"And why would I be in a position to help young Mr Malfoy?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Well, due to our unbreakable vow, you swore to protect my pack," Harry stated simply.

"Mr Malfoy is not part of your pack," Dumbledore said firmly, not willing to have any more people come under that umbrella.

"He's Clay's half brother so he may as well be, he's family by extension," Harry said with a wicked grin on his face.

"What is it you want from me?" Dumbledore asked, interested to know what it was that Harry really wanted from him before he flat out refused.

"Narcissa will be coming here, fleeing from Malfoy Manor. She is an ally to us in the war and is the reason we were able to get the Cup at all, you owe her this and she deserves your help." Harry made sure he kept his voice firm, he wasn't going to take no for an answer on this matter.

Dumbledore considered this for a moment, he couldn't argue with the fact that Narcissa had done her bit for the war effort and he also knew she was a powerful witch that could help them when the time came to fight Voldemort. There were certainly a few advantages to allowing her refuge at the castle.

"If I were to allow her to be here at the castle, I would need some guarantees," Dumbledore said, already knowing that he was going to agree.

"Like what?" Draco asked, wondering what on earth the headmaster could want from them.

"I want your allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix, and also the agreement that you will fight against Voldemort when the time comes," Dumbledore said.

"I can't speak for my mother, but you have my allegiance," Draco said at once, knowing that even if Dumbledore hadn't asked he would have fought against Voldemort regardless. However he didn't think that his mother would agree so easily, not when she had Brax to think about.

"Very well, when she arrives she will be able to stay here until it is safe for her to leave," Dumbledore agreed. To have Draco's agreement was a step in the right direction, if he could secure Narcissa's allegiance too then he would have gained two valuable fighters in the war against Voldemort.

FGHP

Romy had blown off all her classes for the rest of the day, hiding herself away in the library. She didn't want to talk to anyone, not even Rosie, who had respected her wishes and left her alone, promising not to tell the others anything.

Even though she had been sat with all her text books, trying to study, Romy hadn't read a single word. She had been lost in her own head, the thoughts of what Madame Pomfrey had said to her going round and round in her mind. She couldn't escape it, she was going to have to tell Clay, she couldn't lie to him, she just didn't know how to tell him.

The thought of losing Clay forever was breaking her down, she loved him so much but she knew it wasn't fair to him. He would want to stay with her, he would keep his promise they had made as mates because that was who Clay was. Romy just didn't want their relationship to be like that, she didn't want Clay to stay with her out of pity or sympathy or because he had to.

The last thing she wanted to do was to go back to the forest classroom and face her fellow pack mates, especially Clay. She just wanted to go home and be in the territory with her mother and father and not have to think about the mess her life had become.

FGHP

Robin was loving the new found freedom she had within the pack. As long as she did her chores and didn't speak out of turn to any of them, she was pretty much left alone to do what she wanted to do.

This meant that she was able to meet Russ pretty much whatever evening she wanted to. Not wanting to draw attention to what she was doing, she didn't go all the time, however she had been thinking about him a lot the last couple of days and wanted to try to see him tonight.

Waiting for everyone to fall asleep was something she was used to, even sneaking away in the dark without any light was getting easier every time she did it. Silently, she crept through the forest to the edge of the wards, their usual meeting place.

"Hi," Robin said with relief when she saw Russ standing there. As he approached her, her stomach had butterflies and her heart rate sped up, a sign of just how she felt about him.

"I was hoping you'd come," Russ said as he reached her, placing a hand on her cheek, which she leaned into, her breathing becoming unsteady.

"I've wanted to for days, I just don't want them getting suspicious of what I'm doing," Robin explained, reaching out for him for a hug, which he allowed, wanting her to think that he cared for her.

"Have you made any progress?" Russ asked, wanting more than anything for Robin to have done the job he asked of her, giving him and the other strays the opportunity to retrieve Greyback and his mate for Voldemort.

"Not yet but the full moon is this weekend and the pack member who likes me, he's coming back to the territory, I'll be able to get the information for you then," Robin said hoping that this would be enough to make Russ happy for the moment.

"Make sure you get it," Russ said, resting his forehead against hers in a loving gesture, "otherwise we won't ever be able to be together," he added, though his tone was soft and gentle, leaning in for a kiss.

Robin kissed him back, wanting him so much. She was going to make sure that she got the information that Russ needed so that the two of them could take over the territory and be the Alpha and the Alpha mate. Russ started to undress her, making it clear what it was that he wanted.

"You know that to succeed in our plan we'll have to take them by surprise," Russ said as he slowly peeled off her clothes.

"How do we do that?" Robin asked, finding herself a little breathless as his hands wandered across her bare skin.

"While they're sleeping," Russ said, his voice a whisper as he caressed her breasts through her bra. "Do you think you could do that?"

Robin hesitated for a moment, she hated the way that they had treated her and she knew she deserved so much better than what the Greyback pack were giving her. However, Romy was able to slit a man's throat while he slept, there was no reason she wouldn't be able to do it too. "Yes," Robin said eventually, though she wasn't sure that she would actually be able to.

"Good," Russ said, knowing now that he had complete control over her. He could hear and sense her uncertainty but she had agreed and that was what mattered. He knew that he could ask anything of this girl and she was so desperate for his approval that she would do anything for him.

FGHP

Romy hadn't slept that night, although she had returned to the forest classroom. She had been in two minds about it, thinking that it might be better to just sleep in the Ravenclaw dormitories, but she couldn't do that to Clay. She didn't want him to worry.

Instead she had sat up and watched as he slept, thinking about how she was going to tell him what had happened. She needed to know how she was going to say goodbye and allow him to live his own life, away from her, while still living in the same pack, she just didn't think that it was going to be possible.

After everything she had done in her life, even killing men twice her size and she didn't have the courage to talk to her mate. Scared of losing him altogether. She knew that it was selfish on her part, he deserved so much better than her but she didn't think she could live her life without him.

As the others started to stir, Romy began to gather a few of her books into her school bag, knowing that she wasn't going to be going to class today. "What are you doing?" Clay asked, sitting up rather suddenly when he realised that Romy wasn't in bed with him. He had panicked a little, only calming when he saw her just across the room.

"I'm going to go and see my mum," Romy said to him, knowing that he deserved an explanation as to why she was leaving but not being able to tell him the truth just yet. "I love you, Clay," she added quickly, going to him and kneeling down beside him to kiss him.

"Is Callie alright?" Harry asked as he sat up in his bed, looking a little confused as to why Romy had chosen to leave so suddenly.

"Fine, I just need to go and see her, I'll see you at the weekend for the full moon though," Romy said, getting to her feet and heading for the door.

"Wait, you're not coming back until after the weekend?" Clay asked, trying to pull himself out of bed to go to her, confused as to what was going on and why she was leaving to go home already. He was still half asleep and only wearing some boxer shorts, though Romy tried desperately not to look anywhere but his face.

"I'll see you soon Clay," Romy said, quickly opening the door and making her escape, taking her full bag of books with her. She had had to get out of there quickly because as Clay had tried to talk to her, she had felt tears welling up in her eyes and she didn't want him to see her cry.

"What was that about?" Harry asked, looking to Rosie, hoping that she might have some kind of answer. The two of them had gone off together the day before and since then Romy just hadn't been her usual self.

"I can't tell you," Rosie said solemnly. She wanted to tell them about the fact that the contraception potion was over brewed and therefore not working correctly. However, she knew that if she did that then it would only raise questions about how she knew that, which would lead right back to Romy and what she was going through. For the moment she couldn't say anything, not until Romy had the courage to talk to Clay.

"But there is something to tell," Clay demanded, annoyed that he had realised that something wasn't right the night before but hadn't questioned his mate about it. He had been trying to be a good mate and give her some space until she wanted to talk about it on her own terms. He now realised how much of a mistake that had been.

"She's okay, if it was anything serious then I'd tell you, but this is something that she needs to talk to you about herself," Rosie said firmly, knowing that no matter what any one of the boys said, she was not going to spill Romy's secret.

"Romy would want to tell you herself," Aspen pointed out to Clay, "Not hear it from anyone else." He didn't want to see Rosie bullied into betraying a friend and her secret.

"We'll be going home soon, you can talk to her then," Quinn said, trying to reassure his fellow pack mate.

"Give her some time, whatever it is, she still told you that she loved you before she left," Seamus pointed out as he too emerged from his bed, stretching and stifling a yawn.

"They're right," Harry said as he finished getting dressed. "Romy loves you so much, if she can't explain it to you now then there will be a reason. Let her spend some time with Callie and Jenson, sort out whatever is bothering her and then at the weekend you can talk to her."

"I know," Clay said with a sigh, understanding that his fellow pack mates all had valid points, "I just don't know if I can be without her for another few days, I hate it when we're not together."

FGHP

Remus had been in a rather good mood when he had woken up, wanting to get a little bit of work done before breakfast, he had headed straight for his office, only to find Romy sitting outside of the door waiting for him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, realising instantly that she had been crying.

"Yes, I just really need to go home," she said, wiping the tears away. "Please, professor, I can't be here, please let me go home."

"Alright," Remus said at once, sensing just how desperate the young girl was. "Has something happened, is everyone else okay?"

"Yes, it's just me and nothing happened, not really, it's hard to explain, I can't even tell Clay, I just need to go home," she explained. She knew she had to say something to Remus, needing him to understand how urgently she needed to get home to her parents.

"I'll take you home then," Remus said, magically unlocking his office door and allowing her inside. "Do the others know that you're going home or would you like me to tell them?"

"I've told them," Romy said as Remus shut the door and ushered her over to the fireplace, grabbing the floo powder. "They don't know why, only that I'm going home."

"I'll tell them I got you there safely then so that they don't worry," Remus said kindly as he threw the floo powder into the fire and together they stepped inside, heading for Lukas' home.

FGHP

The pack were already waking up when Remus and Romy arrived, very few of them were still in bed as there was still a lot of work that needed to be done. Jenson, who had come to investigate when he heard the sound of someone apparating into the clearing was shocked when he saw that it was Romy and Remus.

"What's wrong?" Jenson asked when he saw that Romy was in floods of tears.

"Where's mum?" she asked through her tears, passing by her father, needing Callie more than anything else in that moment.

"Remus?" Jenson asked, confused as to what was going on as he watched Romy run to the clearing, looking for Callie.

"She didn't tell me what was wrong," Remus said quickly. "She told the others what she was doing and then came to me from what she said. Romy told me that she just wanted to see Callie and wouldn't say anything else to me about why."

"If that Clayton has hurt her…" Jenson said, his fists clenching in anger.

"Before anyone jumps to conclusions I think we need to talk to Romy," Remus suggested. He knew how much Jenson loved his adopted daughter but he didn't want to jump to any conclusions until they had figured out what was wrong and what had spurred Romy to return to the territory early, clearly in some kind of distress.

FGHP

Callie was shocked to see her daughter come running into the clearing, tears streaming down her cheeks. Romy carefully placed herself into the arms of her mother, cuddling into her and inhaling her scent, trying to calm herself down.

"What on earth is the matter?" Callie asked, embracing Romy, stroking her hair in a state of shock. Romy was not usually like this, she was so strong and independent, it was rare that she ever let herself be seen as weak.

"I can't tell you here," Romy said with a sob, "can we go somewhere else?" she asked as Jenson came over to the two of them. The rest of the pack were watching what was going on with heightened curiosity, never having seen Romy like this, not even after she had killed Dean.

"Did Clay?" Jenson asked and Romy immediately shook her head, not wanting for her father to hate Clay when he had done nothing wrong.

"Come on my darling," Callie said, pulling herself to her feet and bringing Romy with her. "Let's go for a walk and you can tell me whatever it is that's bothering you."

"Let me come with you," Jenson said, not only did he want to get to the bottom of what had happened with his daughter to have her in such a state but he didn't want either of them to go wandering off into the forest alone.

"No, please dad, just let me talk to mum," Romy begged. She was really not ready for her father to know what had happened, not yet. He would only blame himself for not getting to her sooner.

"Go no further than the stream," Jenson warned, hating that he was going to even let the two of them go that far without himself or another dominant there to protect them.

"I have to go back," Remus said to Jenson. He could do nothing more, he didn't know what had happened and he had work to do before his first class of the day. He headed over to Tessie and kissed her, long and passionately, leaving both with a big smile on their faces, "I'll see you soon," he promised.

Jenson watched as Remus went off in one direct back to the apparition point and his pregnant mate and his daughter headed off in the opposite direction. He hated not knowing what was going on with his family. He had thought that he didn't need to worry about Romy, that she could take care of herself, clearly he had been mistaken.

FGHP

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Callie asked Romy as the two of them reached the stream and settled themselves on the ground under a tree near the edge of the stream.

"Oh, mum," Romy said, drawing her knees up to her chest, hugging them close to her as she made herself as small as possible.

"Did Clay hurt you?" She asked, wanting to clear that up straight away. She never thought in a million years that Clay would do anything to hurt her but she didn't know what else could upset her so much.

"No," Romy said, shaking her head, "but we can't be together any more," she said, unable to stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks as she said this.

"Why on earth not, what happened between you two?" Callie asked, confused.

"There was this girl…" Romy began.

"Did he cheat on you?" Callie asked.

"No, he would never do that to me. There was this girl who said she was pregnant and it got me thinking that I might be as I wasn't feeling well and I was late too," Romy explained.

"You did take the contraception potion Harry gave you though?" Callie asked and Romy nodded her head.

"I was just worried, so I went to the hospital wing to get checked out, it was more just to give me peace of mind but, oh mum, Clay is going to hate me forever."

"He would never hate you my darling," Callie said, really not understanding what had happened. "Why on earth would you think he would hate you?"

"When the medi-witch was doing the test, she found something else. She said that the damage done to me was too much, that I'd never be able to carry a baby. She said that becoming a werewolf saved my life but there was a lot of internal damage done, too much," Romy said, burying her head into her knees and sobbing.

Callie's heart broke in that moment as she realised why Romy was so devastated. "Did Clay tell you he didn't want to be with you because of that?" She asked.

"No, I haven't told him yet, but why would he want to be with me, I can't give him pups because I'm too damaged," Romy said, her head still buried in her knees.

"I think you need to give him the benefit of the doubt my darling, I think you underestimate just how much he loves you," Callie said, trying to comfort her young daughter but even she was a little lost for words. She had healed the young girl as best she could when Jenson had brought her into the pack but she was no healer and clearly she hadn't done a good enough job.

"Mum, how can I ask him to be with me when I can't even give him pups? It's a core instinct in all the dominants, it's what they look for in a mate even if they don't realise it. If he stays with me it'll only be because he thinks he has to and I can't be that selfish, I can't let him stay with me."

"Clay is a good man and he was so patient in pursuing you, even in the face of your father threatening him constantly," Callie said, thinking back fondly on the memories of the two of them as Clay attempted to court Romy and convince her that he wanted to be with her. "I think that you need to talk to him and let him make up his own mind. You shouldn't make the decision for him."

"I don't know what I want anymore mum. I don't want him to stay with me because he feels as if he has to but I don't want to lose him either," Romy said, raising her head to look at her mother, wishing that Callie could just give her the answer.

"I don't think for one second that that boy will leave you," Callie said comfortingly, "but for the moment, stay here and process what has happened. You need to come to terms with it before explaining it to anyone else. You have three days before they all come back for the full moon."

"Don't tell anyone else, not even Dad, I don't want everyone to pity me," Romy said, she didn't want anyone to think differently of her because of this.

"I won't," Callie promised, "But you do have to tell him eventually, he will already be worried about you."

"I know, I'm just not ready yet," Romy admitted as Callie put an arm around her daughter before placing a kiss to her temple.

"Whatever happens my darling, you are loved and nothing is ever going to change that," Callie said, holding the teenager close, wishing that she could take her pain away.

FGHP

Remus didn't get the chance to catch up with Harry and the others until lunch time. He caught them all just as they were heading into the Great Half for lunch.

"I just wanted to let you all know that Romy got home safely," he told them.

"Thank you Professor," Harry said gratefully. He had been worrying about Romy and wondering if he needed to make the trip home himself to check that she was alright.

"Did she tell you what was wrong with her?" Clay asked.

"No, she went off with Callie as soon as she got back to the territory, she didn't even tell Jenson what the matter was," Remus told them.

"I wish I knew what was going on with her," Clay said, a little irritably. He hated that he couldn't be with his mate to help her when she was this upset and clearly needed him to be there.

"She will tell you eventually," Rosie said, feeling very pressured with the knowledge she had, though she knew she couldn't say anything, it wasn't her secret to tell.

"We'll be going back on Friday night after Quidditch practice, if that's alright with you Professor," Harry said, thinking that they all needed an extra night back at home.

"I think that's perfectly acceptable," Remus said with a smile, knowing that even if he didn't agree they were likely to find their own way regardless. He also had no reason to deny them this request and he would be able to spend an extra night away from the castle with his mate too, it was a win, win situation.

FGHP

Thursday morning and Romy woke up feeling warm and content. For a moment she thought that she was back in the forest classroom with Clay cuddling her, however it soon all came rushing back to her. She was nestled between her parents, Callie's pregnant belly against her stomach, Jenson's large arms around both of them and the small bump.

She could feel her sibling wriggling around in her mum's belly and it broke Romy's heart that this was the closest she was ever going to get to being pregnant herself. It made her heart hurt but she knew it was something she was going to have to live with.

Other pack members were going to get pregnant, there were so many mateships in the pack that it was inevitable. She couldn't avoid it, she just hoped that Clayton would be by her side for it all. Now that she had had a chance to sleep on it, she knew that she was going to have to tell him sooner rather than later.

After brooding over it most of the night, she knew that there might be other ways that she could be a mum. Fenrir and Harry already had Niko, she had been adopted by Jenson and Callie, Damon had taken on Clay with his former mate Eric. She hoped that one day she got the opportunity to help raise a child. Though that would only be if Clay was okay adopting and never having his own. If he stayed with her at all.

More than anything, Romy was just happy to be back in the territory, spending time with her parents and the rest of her family. Though there was a pang of guilt for leaving the others as abruptly as she had.

She did think it funny that she had spent so long pretending that she didn't like Clayton, turning him down, feigning disinterest and now she might end up losing him because she was just too broken. After all that time of thinking she could resist him and now she was head over heels in love with him and on the verge of losing him forever.

FGHP

Draco had finally figured out how to put into words the concern he had for his mother and her safety along with that of Brax, his little brother. He explained to her that no piece of jewelry, no matter how valuable, was worth her life and that when she did travel through the cabinet, he had ensured that she had refuge at the castle.

He also told her that there was currently no plan for the werewolves to storm the castle in an attempt to rescue Jilly but if that changed then he would let her know. All he wanted was for his mother and brother to be safe and away from the manor.

It was nice to just sit in the room of requirement away from everyone, it was peaceful. Despite his chat with Tracey, he couldn't stop the fact that the rumour had already begun circulating and everyone had already heard that she was pregnant with his baby. Of course he denied all knowledge of it and would continue doing so.

If his mother was going to be coming to the castle though, he was going to have to tell her. That news was best said in person rather than in a letter so he had left it out for the moment. There was no use worrying her when she had other things to concern herself with.

FGHP

"Please cheer up Clay," Harry said as they left their last class of the day.

"How can I, Romy isn't here, she's hiding something from me and I can't go home to see her until tomorrow." Clay had been in a mood since Romy had left, the same mood he had been in when she had been told to remain in the territory as a punishment for killing Dean.

"But at least you know that you're going to see her tomorrow," Harry said, trying to look on the bright side.

"I just wish Rosie would tell me what the problem is, I just want to know so I can help her," Clay said, feeling utterly hopeless about the whole situation.

"Romy will have a good reason," Seamus said, "she usually does, it'll all make sense soon enough," he added. Not having a mate, he had no idea what either Harry or Clayton were going through, he only wished that he did.

"I know it's hard," Harry said, wanting to cheer Clay up at least a little, "but we have a lot to be happy about. It's the full moon this weekend, meaning we all get a weekend at home. There is only one horcrux left to find, yes it's a giant fucking snake but still that's better than still having five left to find."

"I suppose," Clay said with a sigh. He didn't really agree that there were a lot of positives, to him there weren't any positives unless Romy was by his side. He just hoped that she was okay.

FGHP

"Do I need to worry?" Fenrir asked Jenson when he had the opportunity to speak to his Beta. When Romy had returned in the state she had he had been concerned about Harry and if something was wrong.

"Callie has said that it's a personal issue and Romy will tell me in time," Jenson said rather irritably. He didn't like knowing when there was something clearly wrong with his little girl.

"And the others?" Fenrir asked.

"She hasn't said anything about them, other than to make it very clear that whatever is upsetting her, isn't Clay's fault." Jenson had had to take his daughter at her word in this matter. Though until he knew he was going to reserve the right to pass judgement on the boy for himself. Just because Romy didn't blame him didn't mean that he couldn't.

"They will be back soon," Fenrir said, but this was more to reassure himself than anything else. He was very much looking forward to having Harry back for the weekend and the full moon.

"I patrolled the wards this afternoon," Jenson said, steering the conversation into another direction. "I couldn't tell you who it is but I recognise the scent of the werewolf that has been crossing into the territory, it's one of Gideon's."

"I knew one of them was coming in, but only one," Fenrir mused, he wasn't sure what to make of this. Only one was coming in and never more than a metre or so. He didn't understand what this stray was gaining.

"Interestingly I think Robin has been around the same area the stray has. If it was at the same time I have no idea but it might be something to watch," Jenson explained. He couldn't tell the Alpha what he didn't know, he wasn't as good with scents as the Alpha was.

"I will do the next patrol, I'll take Seamus with me too when he returns, he has a good nose," Fenrir said decidedly. Seamus certainly had a talent for deciphering scents, almost as good as him and the Alpha wanted to nurture that ability.

"Shall we keep a closer eye on her?" Jenson asked, he had always thought it a little suspicious that the girl had suddenly started doing as she was told and not causing any arguments.

"She is told nothing of value and has no wand either. Even if she is talking to one of the strays it won't hurt us. I don't want her to think she is being watched," Fenrir siad, thinking that if he wanted a reason to kick her out of the pack then this was going to be it. However it wasn't an urgent matter, Robin wasn't going to hurt them as a pack, he just didn't think she was smart enough.

FGHP

Narcissa got Draco's letter in the early hours of Friday morning. She had been unconscious for the majority of Thursday. It had taken a lot for the house elves to heal her when Lucius had refused to send for a healer.

She was still covered in bruises that just wouldn't go away, no matter how much bruise salve she applied. The house elves had done a good job, but they were not healers and she was going to have some scars to show for the beating her husband had given her.

She had no idea what had set Lucius off, but whatever had, had put him in a foul mood, which he had taken out on her. She didn't care though, she would have taken the beating ten times over if she had to because Brax didn't have a scratch on him. Lucius had focused all of his attention on her and their son had no idea what had happened.

As she clutched the letter close to her, Narcissa realised that she might have to leave her mother's ring behind and hope there might be a chance to retrieve it later, perhaps after the war was over. However, she didn't want anyone, especially not Draco, to see her in the state she was in. Narcissa decided that she was going to do her best to avoid her husband at all costs until she was healed enough that she could travel through the cabinet and be safe from Lucius and Voldemort.

Narcissa was glad that there were no immediate plans to storm the castle to rescue Jilly, that wasn't something she wanted to be around to witness, let alone be caught in the crossfire. Burning the letter, Narcissa decided that she would write back in the morning but for now she needed to rest. Every inch of her body hurt when she moved and it wouldn't be long until Brax woke up, hungry and needing her attention.

FGHP

With Draco nowhere to be seen, Daphne wanted to talk to Tracey. She had heard the rumours and knew that Draco had gone on a date with Tracey but Daphne didn't believe for one second that Tracey was pregnant with Draco's baby.

In the girls dormitories, Daphne was able to find Tracey without her usual gaggle of girls surrounding her. "We need to talk," Daphne said, making sure Tracey knew that she wasn't messing around.

"Did Draco send you?" Tracey asked.

"He didn't need to send me," Daphne said, "I think what you're doing to him is shit and you need to stop."

"It doesn't matter what you say," Tracey replied rather smuggly, "I'm still carrying his baby, he slept with me, not you. As soon as his father finds out he'll force him to marry me." Tracey was pretty sure that Daphne had no clue about the conversation Draco had had with her.

"I don't care that he slept with you but I've seen you sneaking off in the middle of the night, I'm not the only one who sees your empty bed some mornings and I'm pretty sure that you're not always with Draco." Daphne wasn't going to allow Draco to be taken advantage of like this.

"Just because you have had a crush on Draco since you got to this school," Tracey said spitefully, "You aren't anywhere near good enough for him."

"And you are?" Daphne said with a small laugh. "He doesn't want anything to do with you, he's never going to propose to you, baby or no baby."

"He won't have a choice," Tracey said confidently.

"Draco is one of the most eligible bachelors in British Pureblood Wizarding Society and you think he won't have a choice, I think you're delusional!" Daphne said with a laugh.

"We'll see," Tracey said, confident that she knew what she was doing. "I'm going to marry him, I don't care if he's miserable, I don't even care if this baby is his or not, I'm going to marry into the Malfoy name."

"I hope you know what you're doing because no one of worth will touch you again if they find out the kind of person you are," Daphne said, knowing that she was going to do everything possible to make sure that Tracey ended up a sad, lonely witch with no husband and no money.

Really hope you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to leave a review. I truly live for them. I do try and respond to each and everyone, that is one of my jobs today! I've almost finished the next chapter already and it's over 11,000 words! So I've already got next months update sorted for you guys. Much love and thank you for all of the support!