Mrs. Lovegood Remembers:

Disclaimer: I own nothing; I am making nothing; and I am playing in someone else's sandbox.

A/N: This is a follow on for "Mr. Lovegood Thinks". It covers things that I had wanted to say, but could not fit into that tale. Thanks to Dave Gerecke for acting as a Beta.

Starting at the End

Mrs. Lovegood was up late tonight. The baby had a cold and was fussing. The only thing that seemed to help was holding the little tyke and rocking. And while that helped the baby sleep, it did not help Mrs. Lovegood sleep. Twice she had put the sleeping child down and before she could even get back into bed; the crying started all over again. So here she was again, holding little Anthony Mars Lovegood while rocking them both. It was just like when Luna had been a baby and was sick. Luna had also wanted to be rocked, and only by her mother. Mr. Lovegood tried, he really did try, but the poor man was not really any good around anything that could not talk to him and tell him what was wrong. Of course once Anthony was big enough to talk while making sense and listen, Mrs. Lovegood had not doubt but that Mr. Lovegood would make just as big a difference in Anthony's life that he had made in so many other lives. Mrs. Lovegood still remembered how she had found the wellspring of life she had in her husband…

The meeting

She was upset, very upset. She had been working to get this spell crafting job for months. Here she was attending a seminar trying to get some 'face to face' time with the person she hoped would soon be her boss, when it was announced that someone else had been hired! The part that was hard to swallow was the fact that she knew she was a better fit for the job than the idiot male they had hired! As she sat fuming an unknown man sat down at little round table she had found. She had selected this table as it was in a dark corner and she needed to get some control back before she went back into the meeting room.

"You know, the only reason you were not hired was because you are single and a witch."

"Huh?" He looked to be a bit older than she was; he had the start of a receding hairline; was not muscular by any stretch; and it looked like he had dyed the ends of his fingers black.

"Please let me introduce myself. I am Mr. Lovegood, and the only reason you were not hired was because you are single and a witch."

"How would you know that? I am sure I didn't see you there while I was interviewing for the position."

"The man that runs the company you want to work with has very definite issues concerning single women. He has never allowed a woman who was single to work under him. He does not allow the daughters of his older employees to show up with their dads. And yes I know that is a very old fashioned view."

"That does not explain how you would know this little tidbit. I know nothing about you."

"I have only recently rejoined the magical world. I was a bit of a maverick while I was younger. That caused my father and older brother to throw me out of the house. Since all I wanted to do with my life was to work on a newspaper, I really can not say that I suffered when I was cut off from the rest of my family. Other than a sister of mine that died some years ago, I had missed my family not at all. Now thanks to He-Who-Can't-Be-Named, I am the last of the Lovegood family, and the goblins have insisted that I return. That is my life in a nutshell. I know about the 'no single witches' rule because my now deceased older brother's wife also ran into it. Until she married my brother they would not hire her either. Once she was married, they hired her within a week."

Unfortunately she had to believe this strange man. As she thought back over the interviews she had. They always seemed to end as soon as she reported that she was single and not engaged. And although she had not realized it till now, each and every interview had included a question about her marital status.

"Why?"

"Why he refuses to hire a single woman stems from his wife…"

"No, why did you go out of you way to tell me."

"I was bored. I was hoping there would be some intelligent conversation here and so far I have been unable to find anyone willing to even talk to me. Being a newspaper reporter tends to make people clam up."

"Do you mean to say you understand the basics they are trying to explain?"

"Well it seems to me that they are going the long way around this issue. The way I see it, you could get the same results by..."

She really was surprised; he actually knew what he was talking about. When she asked her new acquaintance why he was not working as a spell crafter, he had blushed a bit and admitted that while he could handle the theory, he was nowhere near strong enough of a wizard to actually craft spells. The two of them spent the rest of the day and all of the next talking about different theories. At the end of the seminar she considered him to be a friend even if he would not tell her his given name. It had turned into something like a joke that she had started playing as well. Since he would not let her call him by his given name, she demanded he only address her by her surname.

She agreed to meet Mr. Lovegood for a luncheon a couple of days after the seminar, and while she had not been hired, she had found someone that could keep up with her as she spouted theory. A quick and quiet check with her family confirmed that all but one Lovegood had been killed by the Dark Lord recently, and the only survivor had been living as a muggle in Dover.

Six months later she and Mr. Lovegood were dating regularly when as they both had predicted, the spell crafting job again became available. Knowing what she did about her prospective employer, she took a look at Mr. Lovegood, and then a look at herself. It took three days to work up her courage, but before she could 'pop the question' Mr. Lovegood asked what was bothering her. She admitted that she was thinking of using him as a trophy husband in order to get her dream job. It turned out that her choice of words could have been better. Much better as Mr. Lovegood turned very pale, and left without saying another word.

Finding What Was Lost

It took over two months before she was able to reconnect with her missing friend. And when she finally found him, it became apparent that he had been truly and deeply hurt by her. Mr. Lovegood knew he was not much of a catch, but he had a pureblood's pride and a muggle's wish for a partner that wanted more than just his name.

She had not applied for the spell crafting job since she was still not engaged or married. So yet again it had gone to a person that would not be able to keep up with the demands. But that did not matter as much as she had thought it would. The one person she could discuss all the wild eyed theories she kept pondering was gone. Even when she found him, in his place was the shell of the man she had known. He had done just exactly as he had dreamed he would. He now owned a magical newspaper, "The Quibbler". He was owner, publisher, printer, editor, and at least so far he also did most of the writing. But what he was writing made no sense. I mean really Crumple-Horned Snorkacks? Nargles? The paper was what most people would call a joke.

After locating Mr. Lovegood it took another two weeks before she could sit him down and actually talk. By the time she had managed that, she was upset and more than a little angry. The talk did not go well, and it was another two weeks before she could pin the man down again. This time she managed to apologize for her thoughtless words, both when she was looking for a trophy husband and that had taken place two weeks previously. But the man's keen intelligence seemed to have dried up. The phrases 'What ever you think' and 'If you say so' seemed to sprout up whenever she tried to get him to open up to her. He could not seem to disagree with anything she said. It made her so mad; but as she had already tried anger and that just drove him away, she kept quiet. After a month of trying to find what had happened to her friend, she had to take a step back and decide if it was worth it to keep trying to rekindle the spark she knew he had buried. The fact that her words had caused the man to bury both his feelings and intelligence was something she could not walk away from however. She had no idea that he was going to react in this manner. Finally she cornered him in his office after hours…

"I have had enough! What have you done to my friend Mr. Lovegood? What happened to the man I was sure knew more about spell crafting than I did? And why did my wish to marry you upset you so much?"

The man did not want to look at her and was staring at the floor; that was not a good sign.

"I am still here, but the Mr. Lovegood you knew was only a part of who I am. You wanted me as husband to help secure a good job. I wanted more than you would be willing to give."

"Huh?"

"I wanted more. I am not handsome; I am not super wealthy; I have been a disgrace to my family name. But I want someone that wants me. All of me. I want: someone that will support me while I get this paper off of the ground; someone that will be willing to have children with me; someone that might learn to love me. … Like I have started to love you."

The last had been said very quietly, but Mr. Lovegood had finally raised his eyes from the ground and said that last bit not to the floor, but to her. He loved her? He wanted to make love with her? He wanted children with her? He wanted a love match? This was the man that could best her in her chosen field; a field that demanded a lack of emotion. He was so right, there was more to him than she had suspected. But what should she do? She did not really think that her body was something men would lust after. Her best attribute was her long straight blond hair. Thank goodness for magic or it would never be clean and dry at the same time. She had only a slight flaring of her hips, and a small bust. Several at school had teased her about having no more curves than a board. Working in a mostly man's world had taught her to hide what physical attributes she had, and here she sat with a man that had just claimed he wanted her and wanted to start a family with her.

"You want me?"

"Very much. I have wanted you since I first introduced myself to you at that seminar."

"I was not my best that night. I was upset and mad."

"Did you know your eyes light up when your emotions are engaged? They were flashing with fire that night. I was attracted to that fire like a moth to a flame. And now I have been burned."

That last had been said just as quietly as his announcement that he loved her. Damn he really did love her. And now he felt she was going to leave. Well maybe she was going to leave. Did she really want to leave?

"Good thing you are not a moth. A little burn will not stop you like it would a moth."

She continued while he did a fair impression of a fish…

"Mr. Lovegood, my emotions are not as engaged as yours appear to be. … But I find that I really can not do without you at this time. I am willing to learn about this paper of yours, and learn about your family history and why you feel you are a disgrace. I don't see it that way so you know. But in exchange you need to learn about me and my family. You need to see the real me. I am not a beauty. You could find someone much better looking than I. If as we learn more about each other we decide that we really do suit, then we will again address the idea of marriage."

"You are not going to just leave?"

"No, I am going to fight for the man I know you to be, and hope you will be willing to fight for the woman you see in me."

"Are we dating again?"

"A bit more than that I think. In school we would call this 'going steady'."

A Reason to Celebrate

It only took a bit over two more months before she was sure. The man would never be her ideal, but life with him would be quite satisfying. And life without him would be unbearable. She actually managed to ask him if he would please ask her to marry him, so she could say yes, and they could get on with learning to be a family. And yes by the way, she would look forward to all the activities that were involved with the production of children. Thus she became Mrs. Lovegood. He had a pet name for her, 'Dearheart', which he used very rarely. Otherwise he and the world came to know her as Mrs. Lovegood.

Shortly after the wedding and honeymoon, her new husband took her to a place outside of Ottery St. Catchpole and announced that a new house would be built here. And by the way don't you think we should design how this house would look? Based on that information, Mrs. Lovegood decided that perhaps Mr. Lovegood had a bit more wealth than she had first believed. Planning a house was quite challenging, turning that house into a home would be quite rewarding.

The night they moved into their new house they celebrated life, much like several other nights since the wedding. There was a difference to that night however. Nine months later they had a wonderful baby girl whom they named Luna.

Luna was only a few months old when another reason to celebrate came crashing down on them. The Dark Lord was defeated! Mr. and Mrs. Lovegood celebrated with the rest of magical Britain. In fact they discovered there was another magical family near by during that time. But Mr. and Mrs. Lovegood decided that at least one person would not be happy about events that happened at Godric's Hollow. Harry Potter was now an orphan. Neither of the Lovegoods had known the Potters well. Mrs. Lovegood had attended school with them, but they had been in different years, and Mrs. Lovegood had completed school before James and Lily had become a 'thing'. The Lovegoods put in a request to be considered as adoptive parents to young Harry. It was never even considered.

The Quibbler started making money right after Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord. Mr. Lovegood put aside his intense dislike of Dumbledore and asked if he could at least donate a part of the profits to assist with Harry Potter's upkeep. The headmaster did not reject the plan right away, and actually had several meetings with the Lovegoods. The fact that the Lovegoods did not demand knowledge of where the child was; just that he was getting a benefit from the gift seemed to please the headmaster. But in the end, the gift was rejected as suggested, but if the Lovegoods wanted to fund a scholarship at Hogwarts in Harry's name, that could be arranged. So a part of all profits made by the Quibbler went to Hogwarts in the name of Harry Potter.

Luna made it to her first birthday, and started to learn to talk. Mr. Lovegood began to feel he was not a dead weight, and could start actively helping teach the child. Like many men, a crying baby when nothing seemed to be wrong was an event so frightful that Mr. Lovegood would hand the child over to Mrs. Lovegood and lock himself away.

Also as Luna turned one, Mrs. Lovegood was finally able to secure the job of her dreams. A schedule was worked out so that Mrs. Lovegood spent at least a couple of work days at home so she could be near her child.

With the exception of the deaths of James and Lily Potter, there was a great deal to celebrate that year.

Disaster Adverted

Mrs. Lovegood was standing beside her body and Luna appeared to be crying and this was really quite strange. Muggles would call it astral projection. She called it disturbing. She was dieing and there was nothing she could do about it. And assuming she was ever able to tell anyone, she had just figured out what made the killing curse so damn effective. Hind sight being so much better than foresight; she should have made a few adjustments to her research to prevent this kind of accident.

There was a flash of light, and an old house elf appeared near Luna and looked around. The elf appeared to look right at Mrs. Lovegood's spirit rather than through it as she expected. Luna was not able to see her; Mrs. Lovegood had already tried to get her daughter's attention. The elf and Luna spoke briefly, about what she could not be sure as she could not hear anything. The elf looked at her body, then her spirit, and Mrs. Lovegood felt a pull from her navel (if a spirit had a navel) and she found herself sucked back into her body. This was mostly a good thing, as she could continue to live and love her family, however, her body had not been breathing for a few moments and in general she felt like, (what was the term her husband used? oh yesss) crap!

"Who are you?" Mrs. Lovegood asked the little person that had both saved her and at the same time given her a very severe head and stomach ache.

"Sneezy is Sneezy," the house elf replied. "Is you ok now?"

"I think so," Or at lest she hoped she would be "What are you doing here?"

"Sneezy came to find a Loveygood girl," Sneezy replied.

"Why'd you do that?" A calming Luna managed to whisper.

"Sneezy thinks there need to be more Potter sirs," Sneezy replied. "And Sneezy thinks that a Loveygood would be good for Harry Potter sir."

Mr. and Mrs. Lovegood both had grown up around house elves, and while Mr. Lovegood seemed to able to understand their scrambled sentence syntax, Mrs. Lovegood was usually only able to understand one thought in three. Not understanding the need for more Potters when the only one in existence was not even at Hogwarts yet, the elf seemed to think that Luna would make a good playmate? Well the Lovegoods had tried to support Harry as a baby, maybe the elf knew? Mrs. Lovegood's head was still hurting, and deep thought in her current condition was not going to happen. Mrs. Lovegood asked the elf if he would wait while they prepared to go visit 'Harry Potter sir'. The elf was overjoyed that: 1) they would go meet 'Harry Potter sir', and his 'Hermy'(What is a Hermy?) and 2) the elf had been asked, not ordered to wait. The joy on the old elf's face at such a common courtesy was not something Mrs. Lovegood would soon forget. Mrs. Lovegood sent Luna in to change into some clean play cloths, and to wash her face. Mrs. Lovegood also went in to change and tidy up, but the first order of business was a healing potion for her head, and stomach.

The rest of the day was just as strange. Harry was a quiet tentative boy, his 'Hermy' turned out to be a little girl named Hermione, and Hermione's mother and father did not remember anything about magic or Hogwarts, or even the house elves that they must have sent to get Mrs. Lovegood and Luna. The healers from St. Mungo's were just as confused and by the end of the day, Harry had been returned to 'the bad place with wards' (really couldn't the house elves just speak the Queen's English?) and Luna found she had a new friend and house guest, as Hermione was going to stay with them until her parents were discharged from St. Mungos. Of more immediate concern, the reaction of nearly dieing was setting in. Mrs. Lovegood was not ready to die yet, and Mrs. Lovegood came to the rather startling conclusion that she had truly fallen in love with of all people her husband!

Mrs. Lovegood was still a bit bemused by this turn of events when the man she had learned to love returned home from work to find that: Luna had been on a play date with Harry; and this was Hermione and she was fun; and Hermione was smart too; and Harry was fun; oh and Hermione was her new friend; and Harry was Harry Potter, can you believe that; and Hermione was going share her room; and Hermione's mum and dad were at the healers; and Harry really did have a scar on his forehead just like you told me; and Sneezy and Dobby were house elves; and house elves talked funny; and house elves were short; and house elves did not know how to play house; and Sneezy could be a healer; and did you know Sneezy would dance with joy if you asked him to wait for you? The look of blank astonishment on the man she had just decided she loved more than anyone in the world was just too cute.

Once the situation was explained in a slightly more understandable sequence and with a few more pauses for breath, Mr. Lovegood again proved to his wife that he really was the best kind of a man as he spent over an hour just talking to Hermione. Making her more comfortable and listening to her side of the day. Mr. Lovegood helped the two girls settle the squabbles that always seem to happen when two children are forced into a confined space for more than an hour, and sent the girls up to bed only after giving Hermione the same kind of hug and attention he lavished on his daughter. Further explanations to his questions however were not happening that night as: Mrs. Lovegood had decided that she was married to a wonderful man; and had discovered that she was in love with that same man; and against all odds was still alive to express that love. Love in its physical form was the only thing that was happening to that wonderful man for this night. Of course the fact that he loved her and had loved her for a very long time was going to make the night even better…

Consequences

Mrs. Lovegood resigned from her spell crafting position, and asked Mr. Lovegood if there was any position in his paper that she could take. She could not face the fact that she had died, and if not for the unlikely appearance of Sneezy, she would have left Mr. Lovegood alone to raise their daughter by himself. He was a good man, in many ways the best she knew, but raising Luna alone was more than he would be able to do without serious issues. Mrs. Lovegood also started working on becoming a Potions Master. She really was not that far from the title because of the knowledge required in her ex-position as a spell crafter. Once Hermione's parents were officially squibs and released from St Mungos life began falling into a comfortable pattern. There was a slight bump when Mr. Lovegood found out that Mrs. Lovegood had pretty much died. They ended up spending nearly three days together with very little time in those first two days being spent very far from the bed. But very little time on that bed was spent sleeping. A few days later and Mrs. Lovegood figured that she was pregnant again. Then came the day Mr. Lovegood got to meet Harry and see Dr and Dr Granger.

Mr. Lovegood came back from that meeting with a very faraway look on his face. Shortly after than Mr. Lovegood made several pronouncements. First, Harry Potter appeared to be living in an abusive environment; second, Dobby scared Mr. Lovegood quite a bit; third, the Dr. Grangers were not and in fact had never been magical, the fact that St Mungo's was able to turn them into squibs was a feat of some ability; and fourth, Sneezy and Dobby the house elves had decided that Harry was going to marryboth Hermione and Luna when Harry was older. As a side note the elves appeared to consider this to be some kind of contest with the winner being the wife the produced the largest number of children. The whole purpose was to produce more 'Potter sirs'… Mr. Lovegood had managed to get the elves to agree to accept any 'Potter ma'ams' as well.

This brought on several late night conversations about both Hermione and Luna, and the time Mr. Lovegood was spending with each of them. Luna had decided she wanted to write articles for the Quibbler, and was making good progress in that direction. Then Hermione wanted to write as well, and Mr. Lovegood rather than teach the two girls together managed to spend time each week with just Hermione. But her husband also made sure that the two girls spent a lot of time together, and when ever Harry could be there as well, both girls needed to be present. It seems that Mr. Lovegood had decided that the three children really should end up married to each other. Mrs. Lovegood was not as sure that was a good idea, but figured they had several years before any of the kids got old enough to worry about the final relationship the three developed.

Much time was also spent discussing Dobby. Really Mr. Lovegood was obsessing about a house elf. Dobby this, Dobby that, what did Dobby say again? Mr. Lovegood appeared to forget Harry in this time. Once her husband had pointed it out, Mrs. Lovegood had to agree, Harry was being abused, and nothing was being done about it. Of course the fact that only Dobby seemed to know how to bring Harry to the play times the children where enjoying might mean that Mr. Lovegood was attacking one problem by addressing a different problem. Then Mr. Lovegood found an article in the Daily Prophet about a house elf named Dobby. It was not until he explained that the names of the living elves were not duplicated that Mrs. Lovegood decided that he might be on to something. But the plan he came up with was really dumb. Introducing two house elves with the same name to each other in the presence of children was not smart.

Something was not right with Luna. Both of the elves named Dobby were staring at each other, when Mrs. Lovegood glanced at how the children were taking the unusual occurrence. Luna was shaking and flushed at the same time. Then she let out a cry for her father and the entire world turned very bright and then quite black…

Disaster not adverted

Mrs. Lovegood was quite sure something was wrong. She was lying on a bed she did not find comfortable, quite unlike her bed at home. Also she had that horrible after taste in her mouth that comes from drinking too many potions. She could not move much. And finally no one was holding her hand. She had been to St Mungos only a couple of times since her marriage, and each time she woke up it was with her husband holding her hand. And St. Mungos must be where she was. No other place would give such foul tasting potions. After cracking her eyes open she confirmed her fears, a sterile white room with no one to hold her hand. Now what had happened exactly? Yes she was watching Luna… No wait Luna! Luna must have had an accidental magical discharge! Her groan was answered with a quiet gasp. Turning to face the sound she found herself looking at Hermione.

"Luna! Where is Luna?"

The little smile that answered that question did a bit to calm her nerves.

"I told her that you would ask about her right away."

Hermione glanced towards the foot of the bed and a very scared and miserable looking Luna looked up into her mother's eyes. No wonder she could not move much, Luna was lying at the foot of the bed, and the bed was not really made for more than one.

"Luna, love, come here! It was not your fault."

"Mummy! I hurt you! I hurt Daddy! I nearly killed the baby!"

"Luna, I asked you to come here. I can not make sure that you are ok with you at the foot of my bed. Are you hurt? Come here."

Luna crawled up the bed's length and started sobbing into her mother's shoulder. The crying was quiet for a short time, but grew in strength. Hermione stood and started to leave the room.

"No, Hermione, please stay."

"You need time alone with Luna."

"Yes, but first I need to know what has happened. How long have I been here? How is my husband? Are you ok? Did you get hurt? Are your parents ok?"

"My folks are fine. They were only bruised a bit. I was knocked around but I landed on a patch of ground. The healers claim it was soft, I think it was pretty hard. You have been here for three days. The healers actually did not want you to wake up yesterday until they had stabilized the baby. Right now they think both of you are going to be fine…"

"And my husband?"

"Mr. Lovegood is still in the intensive care unit. He is pretty badly hurt and is currently in a coma."

Hermione paused a moment and then continued.

"You know, you and your husband are pretty special people. You care about more than just yourselves. I need to floo my folks and tell them you woke up."

"Thank you Hermione. You and your folks are good people too. I am sure Luna has been in good hands while I was healing."

After Hermione left, Mrs. Lovegood turned her entire attention to her daughter. Even so it was over an hour before Luna slipped into an exhausted sleep, holding on to her mother like she never planned on letting her go.

It was another two days before Mrs. Lovegood was discharged from St. Mungos, but even after she was allowed to leave, every day at least some time was spent at her husband's bedside. Life however did not pause and all too soon the responsibilities of life started interfering. The Quibbler needed attention, Luna needed some counseling and the Grangers needed to be guided through the maze that made up magical Britain. Both Luna and Hermione were continuing with their writing and that helped while away the lonely time waiting for her husband to wake up. The healers were sure he would, they were just not sure when. And even when he did awake, his injuries were severe enough that the healers were not sure that he would ever walk again.

It took all of two more months before a call from Hermione brought the news that her husband was awake. Mrs. Lovegood and Luna dropped everything and hurried to get to his bedside. Mrs. Lovegood stopped long enough to hear how he was doing, and smiled at the attending healer's comments about a man that would not drink his sleeping potion. This after that same man had just had a more than two month 'nap'. The Auror assigned to speak with her husband when he woke up commented that he was already doing better with his speech than others he had seen after such a 'nap'.

It was a very thin and frail looking man that waited for her at St. Mungos, gone was any of the muscle that he had once possessed, but the smile he gave her when she came in the door nearly knocked the breath out of her. Weak in body he might be, but this man had the same sprit as the man she had known and loved. And if anything his intelligence was even sharper than before. Within hours of waking up, he had plans afoot to deal with Harry, Luna, and the adult Grangers. As well as surprising Mrs. Lovegood with his confidence that he would be able to walk again, well - maybe not right away, but he would walk. The biggest surprise however had to be the fact that the Lovegood family owned other houses, Mr. Lovegood expected that they would need to live in one of those houses, and that he intended to invite the Grangers to live with them. It had taken Mrs. Lovegood nearly a week from the time she was discharged before she could say she was able to really think and plan. Her husband must have been doing nothing but think the entire time he was in a coma!

Team Work

If there was one good thing that came from the time her husband had been in a coma, it was that he no longer planned on doing everything himself. Suddenly everyone had tasks to do. He even included tasks for the girls. He was now firmly committed to the girls both marrying Harry, he had even bullied her into agreeing, and then in a twist that was as masterful as it was unexpected, he got the adult Grangers to agree, by getting Hermione to agree.

Mrs. Lovegood had not expected that she would suddenly be thrust into a new spell crafting position, this time working for her husband, but here she was researching the Fidelus charm, and if that was not enough, after the girls researched betrothal vows, she was now researching warding rituals…

But the hardest task was Harry watching. Dobby Willy had been talked into showing them where Harry lived, and she and the Grangers each spent time watching number four Privet Drive. Recording the dates and times when Harry suffered some kind of abuse. This task was not hard because of the time spent or weather; it was hard because it had been impressed on everyone that unless Harry was being killed, no help could be offered. Several complaints had been filed in the past, mostly by some of Harry's teachers; none of those complaints had come to anything. Someone was hiding these crimes and protecting the criminals. Mr. Lovegood was sure it was the headmaster, so until there was enough evidence for the muggle law enforcement to act without additional research, nothing could be done to ease Harry's living conditions. Using some new muggle devices called video cameras, which the Grangers could use, tapes were made and events logged.

Her husband was not idle during this time but since he was still confined to a muggle device called a walker, he could not help with the Harry watching. Instead he pushed the girls in their research, and proved again that if he had a bit more magic he could have been a spell crafter by doing a lot of the leg work for her spell research. A lot of his time was also spent undergoing a muggle torture program called physical therapy. It seems he was sure that in order to walk unaided again, he had to re-learn to use his legs and feet. And in order to re-learn that, he had to undergo painful exercises, stretches, and abuse by people that claimed he was doing quite well, even when he was in so much pain that he could not speak. And much as she wanted to curse these muggles, Mrs. Lovegood had to admit; her husband was getting around much better than he had been.

Mr. Lovegood also found a medical doctor that was also a muggle born witch. This confused Mrs. Lovegood, as she was quite happy with the healer she was seeing about her pregnancy, at least it confused her until the doctor was brought into the plan to free Harry. It seems that there were a couple of procedures that were in place in the muggle hospitals, so that if a magical person was brought in they could be transferred to St. Mugos. Her husband had also found a Remus Lupin. Remus had been a good friend with Harry's parents, and was listed in their will as someone that should have a say in what happened to Harry. He was also a werewolf. The werewolf thing was a bit of a setback, but with a bit of construction to a set of in-law quarters that resided on the property, Remus was now in easy reach, yet he could be secured during the full moon. He could not help much with the Harry watching as he tended to get very angry about Harry's living conditions. He could however watch the girls, and he was an excellent foil to her husband. He was able to bring sanity some of the plans, and even helped with the spell research.

The Rescue

Finally all was ready: A new version of the Fidelus charm had been created and cast. It allowed for multiple secret keepers, and even required that two of the secret keepers be present for the secret to be shared.

A betrothal vow was ready for Harry and the girls, and once they had recited the vow; a new kind of ward that should protect all three of them was ready to be cast.

The medical doctor in the know was on duty at the hospital used by the muggle law enforcement for child abuse cases.

Harry had just been beaten by his guardians, which had been caught on tape by the Grangers.

Mr. Lovegood was able to get the headmaster to meet him away from Hogwarts, so when muggle law enforcement raided the house, he would not know until he returned to the school. Mrs. Lovegood and Mrs. Granger were to go to the authorities while Mr. Granger watched the house. Remus was primed to notify friends in the Ministry of Magic and would call in some favors to get some votes on the Wizengamot. Other votes could be counted upon as the headmaster had some enemies that would vote for anything that would embarrass the man.

The plan went off exactly as the planners had hoped. The muggles in the child abuse area of law enforcement were also sure something fishy was going on, they had been asked to investigate Harry's living conditions too many times, and to finally have the proof on video tape was such a blessing to them that they overlooked the fact that the recording of that tape was most likely illegal. In less than two hours the house was being raided. In less than three hours Harry was in the hospital, and was being treated. He was also questioned and photographed by multiple prosecutors. There was no way Harry's ex guardians were going to get off of these charges. By four hours Harry had been transferred to St. Mugos, and Magical Law Enforcement had been brought in. They also questioned Harry. At five hours an emergency order to convene the Wizengamot had been issued. At six hours headmaster Dumbledore was stripped of his rights as trustee of the Potter estate, and he remained at the Ministry of Magic offices under guard. Harry was transferred to the temporary care of the 'brave and resourceful' Granger family for their part in bringing the abuse to light.

That night Harry Potter found himself being the center of attention, and for once in his life that did not mean a beating. He was fed, his injuries were treated and he did not hurt, his friends Luna and Hermione were sitting beside him, and when it was time to go to bed, he was given a very big hug by no less than 5 adults. Of course it was overwhelming and he started to cry, but instead of backing off, Mr. Lovegood just kept on hugging him.

"Don't worry Harry; we are not going to let you go." became the mantra of the Lovegood house.

Two weeks later and it was official. Harry had been placed under the combined guardianship of the Lovegoods, Grangers, and Remus Lupin.

Harry agreed to the betrothal after it was explained to him by the girls and Remus. The vow and following ward were completed within the week.

And only a couple days after that Mrs. Lovegood gave birth to a son. Mr. Lovegood wanted him named Mars, but she felt Anthony was a better first name, but accepted Mars for the middle name. Her husband was still so pleased with his new son and life in general that he did not argue much, and gave in almost gracefully.

New Plans, New Troubles

Dumbledore had been removed from his position at Hogwarts. Child abuse by the headmaster was not something that could be accepted. With his removal a new potions instructor was also needed as, according to the Daily Prophet, one of the first acts of the new headmistress was to sack her long time foe.

Now here she was with her husband and Remus at a meeting with the ex-headmaster. Mrs. Lovegood was not sure why Mr. Lovegood wanted this meeting. He was not the kind of man to crow over the defeat of a foe. Nor was she sure why she was here. Until she found out about him being the person that placed Harry in his past abusive house, she had nothing but respect for the old man. But her husband wanted her here.

"Mr. Dumbledore, thank you for meeting with us."

"Why did you want to see me? I have nothing left."

"I was hoping you would share why you felt Harry needed to be protected by the blood wards you created."

"… What? …"

"Sir, you are not the kind of person to cause this kind of abuse unless you felt there was a very real and valid reason. I… we are Harry's protectors now. And we would be foolish indeed to assume that you caused Harry to be abused for spite. I am hoping you will be willing to share with us you reasons. And even help us plan methods to circumvent any future dangers you foresee for Harry."

Mrs. Lovegood turned to her husband and stared. Then she glanced around and found what expected was the same dumbstruck face she had on the faces of both Remus and Dumbledore. It was just like her husband to be thinking like this. She even expected that he had a list somewhere that convinced him that he needed more information, and Dumbledore was the man to give the information. At least this time her husband did not go it alone. He had brought both Remus and herself.

"… So you do not think me abusive?"

"No, I am sure what you did was abusive. I am also sure that being abusive was not you plan. You wanted Harry to be safe from someone or something. Those wards were extremely strong, and it must have taken weeks to actually cast all of the parts and then to meld them into a whole. So you felt whatever abuse Harry would receive at the hands of his magic hating muggle relatives was minor to whatever you were protecting him from with those wards."

"I had hoped Harry's aunt would not persecute her sister's innocent baby, but you are right, the ward protections where intended to keep Harry from harm from others in the magical world."

"Who? Deatheaters?" Remus asked, his first words since we had arrived at the meeting place.

"Them too."

"Sir, I, my wife, and Remus will swear never to reveal from what you were protecting Harry. We will tell no one except the Grangers now, and to Harry and our girls to whom Harry is betrothed when they get a bit older."

"You do not like me."

"As you are aware, I believe you are at fault, and helped cause my youngest sister's death. That was a case where you did not act early enough or quick enough. I have learned you were moving towards her rescue, but did not get there in time."

This was a bit of a shock to Mrs. Lovegood. She had known since before they were wed that one of his sisters had died just after he had been kicked out of the family. And she knew her husband did not like or trust the ex-headmaster. That they were related was unexpected. Her husband continued with his speech.

"Remus has told me that you learned from that sad time, and helped the Potters into hiding before the old Dark Lord came calling. The Potters were betrayed, that you could not foresee or avoid. I am asking you to help us protect Harry. Again I am hoping it will be before it is too late."

"Actually, it is from the Dark Lord that Harry will need protection."

"What? He's Dead! Isn't He? Harry Killed Him!"

"I agree with Remus sir, what do you mean that Harry will need protection from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"I should not have said that, please swear the oaths not to tell. I should like that Harry and your girls never to be told."

"That we will not do!" Mrs. Lovegood entered the conversation on behalf of her children. Well Luna was really the only one that was a child of her body, but Harry and Hermione counted as children of her heart. "Not now, and maybe not for some years, but when they are mature enough to understand, they will be told. I can agree to tell no one else besides the Grangers however."

Dumbledore finally agreed and after the oaths where given, the suspicions and knowledge of the ex-headmaster about one Tom Riddle was given to three additional people. While Mrs. Lovegood and Remus were digesting the new information, Dumbledore asked about the girls and how Harry came to be betrothed to not one but two very different girls, from vastly different families. Her husband gave the headmaster a very quick explanation leaving out everything about there being two Dobbys, and that one was a time traveler. Mrs. Lovegood and her husband had heard that Voldemort, now to be called Tom Riddle, would be returning, but hearing the theories from a man that was renown for his researching ability was very different from trying to decipher the same information as explained by a very upset house elf.

Dumbledore was more than a bit bemused by the fact that all of his plans had come apart because a house elf that belonged to the Potter estate decided that there needed to be more 'Harry Potter sirs'. He chuckled at the idea of two house elves having a contest to see which elf chosen wife would be the better at producing said 'Harry Potter sirs'. He was beside himself when he figured out that the Grangers never had been magical, and that St. Mungos had actually converted two normal muggles into squibs. When Mr. Lovegood explained that the Ministry of Magic had actually issued a decree that allowed the double betrothal just to avoid upsetting the house elves, the ex-headmaster actually got his first good laugh since he was removed has the headmaster of Hogwarts.

Consequences Again

"Now that you know, what will happen to me?" Dumbledore was asking the same question Mrs. Lovegood was wondering.

"Sir, as I mentioned, if you are willing to help, we would be willing to accept your help. But it will be help, not leadership we want from you. We have a long road to pull before some of the abuse Harry suffered will be healed. Some of his abuse may never heal completely, but with a loving family I hope we can give him the kind of self worth he never would have had if he had stayed where you placed him. I will not allow you to do anything to hinder that healing. But you are someone that can help. Since Luna had the accidental discharge, we were able to get a special exception to the underage magic act. I plan on using that to start training Harry, Luna and Hermione on the use of magic. That is something I expect you would excel at assisting us to complete. They will also be getting additional training in some sort of physical activity. Currently they are going to soccer, perhaps a muggle style of fighting. The girls were all crazy about something called martial arts that they saw at the pitch a couple of months ago. It seems they were having some kind of contest in the same park where the girls were practicing. I also do not want the children separated by a year in school. I was asking you about the chances of Luna being admitted a year early. I will contact the new headmistress and ask the same from her. If she refuses, then both Hermione and Harry will be held back a year and go when Luna can…"

"Love!" Mrs. Lovegood broke her husband's train of thought, and prevented the poor man from rambling any longer. He had proven himself to be very intelligent for one or two items at a time, but if the problem got more complicated, he really did need to make his lists. She suspected that he was still processing some of the information Dumbledore had given them.

"Let the poor man breath! May we call you Albus? If you are going to be teaching the kids I expect you will be in house quite often."

"You will let me teach?"

Remus was smirking at Mr. Lovegood's bright red face, but he turned to his ex-headmaster. "Yes, I think we can let you teach. There will always be a house elf on duty during the lessons, and I think we will sit in on some of the lessons as well, but you are an excellent instructor, and can give the kids a good grounding in the basics that they can learn."

"And don't stop just because 'they are too young'." Mrs. Lovegood added. "All three have just about mastered occlumeny while the common belief is that as kids they should not have be able to even start working on it. The three of them have already started working as a team, and have brought Harry up to speed on the things we have had the girls doing while we were getting ready to free Harry from his abusive past."

Albus had the grace to blush a bit at the jab about Harry's abuse, but agreed to start teaching the children. Then his teaching instincts kicked in and a two hour discussion took place on how Mr. Lovegood was able to teach such an advanced topic to not just one under aged child but three. The conversation would have lasted longer, but Mrs. Lovegood brought it to a close by firmly reminding the men that she had an infant to feed, and it was getting to be very late for said feeding.

Albus was not given the secret of the Fidelus protected house that Mr. Lovegood called 'Lovesrest'. Instead their old home at Ottery St. Catchpole was likewise protected by the new Fidelus, and the ex-headmaster's face when he figured out that the new Fidelus had multiple secret keepers, and it took two of them to share the location of a location so protected, was priceless. It took nearly three months before he gave up on asking to see the new spell. He was likewise quite impressed by the wards put on the kids. And it was Albus that figured out that a side effect of the changed betrothal oaths and the wards based on said oaths was that the kids had been granted a kind of bond. Much like the bonds that were common among twins. While they were not able to actually speak to each other through the bonds, yet, the kids were able to sense each other and Albus expected that they would learn to talk to each other as the bonds grew.

Mr. Lovegood contacted the new headmistress at Hogwarts, and she agreed reluctantly to allow Luna to enroll in what would normally be a year early. Provided Mrs. Lovegood became the new potions instructor. At least for the first year, just in case Luna needed some extra attention because she was a bit younger than any of the other kids in school. It was agreed, as long as Mrs. Lovegood was not a Head of House as the old potions instructor had been and that Mrs. Lovegood could tend to baby Anthony as needed.

Back to the Future

And that was how she came to be rocking a fussy baby the night before she was expected be introduced as the potions instructor at the same school she never expected to return to once she had graduated. And even stranger, she would be teaching her kids. Since Luna, Hermione, and Harry were more than just friends, the headmistress expected that she would have to open the married quarters at Hogwarts for the first time in a century. It would be up to the sorting hat to decide if the three had bonded to that degree. Or the hat could put all three in the same house, but not into the married quarters. About the only thing that could not happen would be for them to be sorted into different houses. In the long ago past, children could be betrothed as early as eight years old. The sorting hat therefore had some rules it had to follow whenever members of a betrothal were attending the school at the same time.

Remus had volunteered to assist with the teaching while Anthony was sick, but Mrs. Lovegood planned on using Remus as an unpaid babysitter instead of as a substitute teacher. She really needed to attend the opening feast, and the first session for all of the classes she was teaching.

Mr. Lovegood would also be spending time at Hogwarts this term. He refused to be parted from his wife for such a long period of time. The headmistress therefore had decided that a new teacher of history was in order, and as a result Mr. Lovegood would be teaching history.

About the only people in her extended family that would not be at Hogwarts were the adult Grangers. But they had promised to keep the Quibbler going, and keep the house elves out of too much mischief. If the kids ended up in the married quarters then the Dobbys would be asked to join them with one taking care of the kid's quarters and one helping with Mr. and Mrs. Lovegood's quarters.

The rocking chair suddenly grew quite a bit wider, and a blanket and her husband joined her on the chair. The man she had grown to love was almost done with the thrice damned walker. He could go days without it now. She expected he would take it to Hogwarts tomorrow, because of all of the stairs. He still had trouble with lots of stairs. The headmistress had promised that the history classroom and their living quarters would all be on the ground floor, so fewer stairs would have to be navigated. But she expected he would take it anyway. He was not too proud to use it if he needed to. Rather he was proud that he did not need to use as much as when he first started using it. For that matter, she was proud of him for the same thing. The healers at St. Mungos still could not believe that all it took was a whole lot of pain, and muggles, of all things, helping the man to re-learn to use his legs. A couple of the newer "not so set in their ways" healers were even looking into what this 'physical therapy' involved. The fact that muggles were able to assist with injuries to the back and spine was re-writing the way some wizards and witches were being treated.

But all thoughts about healing, and history, and potions went out the window when her husband wrapped his arms around her and Anthony, and started whispering in her ear. And to start the whispers was that silly pet name she so loved to hear him say. 'Dearheart'.