Beautiful Boy

Written for the "Birth of a Name" challenge by selenehekate on HPFC. I picked Remus and Dora as my couple, because I love them. This is how they decided that Teddy would be called Teddy. It goes more in-depth than just "he was named for his grandfather", because they surely wouldn't name him for just that reason alone. Both titles are from a John Lennon song, "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)", I don't own the song. On that note, I also don't own the Harry Potter world (oh what I'd do if I did) so I, therefore, own none of the characters in this story.

Chapter One: Darling Boy

"Remus, if we ever had a child what would we call it?" his wife asked from behind him as he put on his cardigan.

"Well," the man started with a slight frown, "I sincerely don't think that will happen; it would be irresponsible of us if it did, Dora; so it doesn't matter."

"But what if it does? Accidents happen, right?" she asked a small smile playing on her lips.

"It won't and that's my final answer, Dora" the man answered a hard frown now in place on his face.

"Why not, Remus? Is it because of your problem? Your child wouldn't care that you're a werewolf, his or her love for you would shine past that; you are an amazing man no matter what you become once a month," she reassured her husband, without dropping the grin once.

"That's not the only problem," he said as his eyebrows moved to the middle "there are many others. Would you like to hear them?"

"Of course I would, because at this bloody moment I can't see any of them!" Dora said throwing herself onto the bed in the room and looking up expectedly at her husband. When he didn't speak she urged him saying, "Well go on, we're not waiting for the bloody Minister; are we?"

"No," he said "we're not. You've already, kindly may I add, highlighted my greatest fear. It would hate me; hate me for what I am, hate me for the cursed name, hate me for our financial problems and hate me for passing the curse on."

Before he could go on his wife interrupted him; saying, confusion running through her voice and over her face, "What do you mean, pass the curse on? I thought the only way to become a werewolf was to be bitten."

"That's the only proven way, but werewolves don't have children therefore I have no idea what may happen to the child if we were to have one. As I said, though, that's not the only reason that we can't have children. We're in the middle of a war! If we had a child we would be risking far too much, and far more, in this war. That child would have the chance to grow up without parents, Dora. I'm not sure that you realize how bad that is but I do, just look at poor Harry!"

"Remus, love, what if I was to tell you that I was pregnant?" Dora asked her husband with a low voice as a blush crept into her cheeks.

"That's absurd, you're surely only trying to make me reconsider my words. You can't be pregnant," he said with a scowl before finishing, with big eyes, "can you?"

"I'm sorry, Remus; I'm sorry I didn't tell you when I first found out, we had Bill's wedding to go to. I hoped that you'd accept it and maybe, even, love the idea. I was wrong, right? I was wrong to have such high hope?"

"Yes, Dora, you were bloody wrong! Why would I embrace such a mistake? It's my fault and it'll be shunned if anyone finds out that it's a monster's baby! How could we have been so irresponsible?" the man rampaged, his voice becoming louder and louder.

"Remus! A baby is not a mistake and it does not mean we're irresponsible! I wish that you could just put your bloody head problems aside for one minute and realize how wonderful it'll end up. You're going to be a father! And the baby will love you, like I love you. It's not going to care as I don't care. Why can't you be happy for once?" she screamed at her husband before storming out of the room and down the stairs.

Remus had to force the, odd, urge to laugh away as he realized, once again, the similarities between his wife and his late best friend. He sat on the bed and put his face in his hands, attempting to clear his mind. Once that was achieved he set off down the stairs, ready to tell Dora what they had to do for her and the baby to live well; even though it would make his life miserable he had to go through with it.

Once he entered the living room he found his wife asleep on the couch, he marveled at how beautiful she was; even in sleep but didn't let himself dwell on it. He took a parchment out of his desk and scrawled a letter to his wife before pecking her cheek, laying the letter down next to her and walking out the front door.

Dora woke up hours later, and began to look around for her husband; only to find a sheet of parchment lying on the floor. Picking it up, she looked at it and immediately recognized her husband's handwriting. Hoping that he was only out at the store, buying chocolate maybe she began to read:

Dora,

By the time you're reading this I'll be long gone. Please, don't take it personally; I've only left for your, and the baby's, sake. I will tell you, once again, that you shouldn't have ever married me; you're out casted because of me and I don't want the baby to be as well. If you're still reading this I have some things that you must do: first burn this letter once you've finished reading it, second change the baby's last name and make up a story if anyone asks, and third (which is also the most important) go to your parents' house, tell your mother that she was right, obviously I'm no good for you, and live there. Whatever you do, Dora, please don't put the baby in danger. I would tell you where I was going, but doing so would put the both of you in harm's way. Goodbye Nymphadora, remember; I love you, no matter what my actions are, I swear I do.

Love forever,

Remus

Dora threw the paper into the fire, she couldn't believe that he would do this, and went to their, no her bedroom. She decided to listen to him and packed to go to her parents' house. As she arrived on their doorstep she couldn't believe that she would be living here again. She broke down, into her mother's arms as she opened the door and began to sob about what Remus had done to her. Her mother brought her to her old bedroom; laying her on the bed and giving her a calming potion before letting her tell her story.

Andromeda stopped herself from telling her daughter 'I told you so' many times during the story. In fact, she was rather surprised at Remus Lupin's actions. While she had worried for her daughter when she had decided to marry the man she never thought that he would leave her, at least not in health. She was equally surprised, though in a much happier way, that her only daughter was expecting a baby. She told Nymphadora that she may stay for as long as she needed.

Three weeks passed and still neither head nor tail was seen of Remus John Lupin. Dora had supposed that he had gone and seen Harry, he would definitely know where the boy and his friends were staying, but she didn't know where that was so she stayed. She was very worried for her husband but didn't dare to voice her concern to her mother. Andromeda was set on blocking Lupin out of her daughter's life, and his child's life, were he to come back because he was the one who left in the first place, Dora felt the opposite way. The running argument was whether or not Remus would be allowed back, Dora on the affirmative and Andy on the negative with Ted taking middle ground, for the week that he was in the house. He had recently left, running and hiding, to avoid the Muggle-Born Registration Committee, this made his daughter and wife's arguments even more heated and long.

One day, in mid-September, the arguments in the Tonks residence had ceased. Nymphadora had gone into St. Mungo's for her first checkup while staying with her mother, all was well and they now had a picture of the baby on the mantel. Both women were extremely happy and couldn't find the anger to argue, at least not before a knock came on the door.

"You stay here, Dora darling, I'll get the door" Andromeda said to her daughter, who was residing on the couch, before running to the door and peeking out the peephole. Who she found standing outside was no other than the notorious, in her eyes at least, Remus Lupin.

"Andromeda let me in, please. I need to see Dora, I have to apologize. I feel like shit because of what I did, believe me" the man, who with the rain in his hair and sadness in his eyes looked more like a boy, begged through the door.

"Prove you're Remus Lupin and I'll think about it" Andromeda answered coldly.

Before he could answer Dora came running to the door and threw it open. She shouted his name and jumped into his arms. His eyes widened with surprise before he embraced his wife, taking in her scent for the first time in over a month.

"NYMPHADORA! You had no proof that he's your husband and you just throw caution to the wind and pounce on him like that. I can't believe you, and in your condition!" her mother scolded.

"Mother, I knew it was Remus" Dora insisted.

"How?"

"It was wife's intuition."

"May I come in, Andromeda?" Remus asked, speaking for the first time since he first requested entrance into the house.

"I suppose so" she answered almost completely forgetting her reasons to not let him in.

As soon as Remus sat down Dora forgot her happiness and began to scream at him about how she was so worried and she had no idea where he was. He could've been dead and she wouldn't have known! She yelled at him for an hour before settling down and sitting next to him on the couch. Andromeda was, originally, going to reprimand him for what he had done to her daughter but they seemed so happy again so she let it go.

The couple went to Dora's bedroom, to talk things over no doubt and didn't emerge for about two hours. Once they came out Remus' eyes wandered around the living room, he and Dora had already discussed her father's disappearance so he wasn't looking for him; his eyes rested on the mantel.

"Dora," he started grabbing his wife's hand and pointing to the picture, "is that the baby?"

"Yes, that's him or her. Isn't it beautiful?" she asked her husband beaming as he slowly nodded.

"I can't, I can't believe that- uh that it's our baby. It's a perfect mix of you and me but it's so tiny" he smiled before frowning and asking, "When is it due?"

"Late March, if that's all right with you" Dora started before furrowing her eyebrows and going on, "well even if it's not all right with you."

Remus laughed and embraced his wife, giving her a deep, sweet kiss and carrying her to the couch. They were in love and they were comfortable, this continued for four months, a happy family living in the countryside, before the horrible news came; Ted Tonks was dead.

After that the whole family became more anxious and twitchy, fearing everything, especially how to protect Dora and the baby. The day came about, in early February that the Lupins decided it was time to decide what the baby would be named.

"I'm voting for John Ted Lupin if it's a boy" Dora said smiling up at her husband from his lap.

"I disagree. I hate my middle name, my father's name, and would prefer that we either put Ted first or name him George, if he's a boy, with Ted still second."

"So we agree that Ted should be somewhere in the name if it's a boy?" Dora confirmed.

"Yes, Ted will have to be there your dad was a special man and we need to give the baby his name in some way."

"Why do you want George, Remus?"

"It's my Godfather's name, his son will never name anyone George so I figured if you agreed we could do it" Remus told her with a shrug.

"I like the name John better than George," she said before adding, "Anyway John Lennon was my favorite Beatle."

"And George Harrison is mine. So we agree that he can't be named George or John?" he questioned.

"No, neither John or George. So we're left with Ted?"

"Yes, his first name will be Ted. And a middle name?"

"Is the middle name really necessary, Remus? I don't have one."

"I just like them, they add more to the baby and then, when he's older, we have a longer name to yell at him with." Remus said with a smile.

"How about Ted Remus Lupin?" Dora asked with a smile.

"We'd be cursing him with more than just my last name with that name." Remus said with uneasiness evident in his voice.

"Please, Remus, I love your name and I think that he will too."

"I suppose, if you like it so much. Now what about girl names?"

"I don't think we need girl names, I think he's a boy"

"But if he's not than what? We'll be between the devil and the deep blue sea; we'd have a baby with no name!" Remus said worriedly.

"If it is a girl then we'll think of a name than okay? Just trust me."

"Okay Dora, I trust you, I trust you with my life."

Two more months passed and on the morning of April fourth, 1998 Nymphadora Lupin's water broke and Ted Remus Lupin began to make his way into the world. The mediwitch came instantly and helped her through the labor. Remus and Andromeda were at her side through the whole labor process and at two pm the baby was out. Andromeda followed the mediwitch to the bathroom to watch her clean the baby off and Remus stayed with Dora, assuring her that the baby was beautiful and telling her how well she had done.

Hours later the small family was sitting in the bedroom, both parents were fondly admiring the bundle of joy that they had just been gifted. His hair was turquoise at the moment and it already seemed to be his favorite color to wear. Remus had already taken many pictures of Ted; some along with Dora, some with his grandmother and some with him as well as one of the four of them. He looked lovingly from his son to his wife, who had begun to doze when he realized that they had left an important detail out of this.

"Dora" he whispered feeling guilty for waking her after her hard day. "Dora, please wake up."

"What is it, Remus? She asked with concern slowly filling her face.

"We need a Godfather for Teddy!" he exclaimed with a smile at her concern over nothing.

"Oh" she said her eyebrows furrowing, "who do you have in mind?"

"Harry" Remus said with a small smile.

"Why, may I ask? Not that he wouldn't do a good job, it's just he's young, not even eighteen, and the poor boy already seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders without our child."

"Well, yes, he does but I was going to allow him a choice as to whether or not he would accept to do so. The whole thing is, Dora, that the other Marauders meant a lot to me…" he paused as she glared at him and answered her silent jab, "No, Dora, I am not doing what Sirius did and pretending that Harry is James, let me finish. So the other three, even Peter before he was what he is now, they meant the world to me and I planned, if I ever was to somehow have a child, to make one of them, my only true friends, the Godfather. James is gone, Sirius is gone, and Pete is essentially gone as well, I'm left with no one… No one except James' son, little Harry and I want James and Lily to know that I love their little boy enough to make him the guardian of my son should I die."

"I understand, Remus, and I encourage you to do it. Tell Harry; show him one of the pictures of Teddy."

"I'll be back soon Dora" he said as he walked out of the room with his coat. "I'll take Ted to his room."

"All right" she said as she lied down. "I love you, Teddy" she said, kissing her son's head and then turned to her husband "I love you, Remus"

Remus picked the bright haired boy up also pecking the hairline with a kiss, "I love you too Dora."

He then walked to the bedroom across the corridor, Teddy's bedroom, and put the baby in the crib; Dora watching him through the open doors from her position on the bed. Teddy started to cry but she knew that Remus would calm him, that man could calm anyone.

"Shh, Ted, it's all right. Daddy will be right back, I promise" Remus whispered to the baby, who showed no signs of quieting before softly singing "Close your eyes, have no fear. The monster's gone; he's on the run and your daddy's here. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy."

He then added, in an incredibly low whisper "Goodnight beautiful boy, my darling Teddy" before leaving the house with a glance into his and Dora's room where she appeared to be asleep. He then apparated away from his family, this time not to run away but to spread the joyous news of his beautiful son's birth.

Dora heard her husband's singing die down, along with her son's cries. She looked over to see Remus hunched over the crib, whispering something that she couldn't hear to him. She slammed her eyes together as Remus left the room and looked into theirs. She heard the soft pop as he left, this time, though, he'd definitely be coming back; when she woke up in the morning Remus John Lupin would be right by her side, where he belonged.

The song that Remus sings to Teddy is the song that is also the title of this story by John Lennon; needless to say I don't own that either.