Baby Names II

Breakfast in the Great Hall. Not usually the most momentous setting-- unless you happened to be sitting at the Gryffindor table.

Lauren stared at the empty seat in front of her for a moment before turning to Remus. "What do you think of the name Kristen Elizabeth Lupin? Or Jason Todd Lupin?"

Remus gave her a blank look before answering slowly, "Errm... they're... nice. But why use the surname Lupin?"

Lauren gave him a confused look. "You don't remember?"

Remus glanced around quickly. "No... What should I be remembering?"

"Wait a minute..." Sirius leaned towards Remus and stared threateningly at him. "This better not be going where I think it's going."

Lauren seemed not to have heard. "Rosemary told me all about it."

James leaned in, an interested smirk on his face. Sirius and Remus looked at the strawberry blonde, a bit confused.

"So you're not talking--" Sirius' eyes flickered to Remus. "Lucky." Lauren gave him a dangerous look. "I meant about not having been with you, not-- nevermind."

"Mmm-hmm." Lauren looked back at Remus. "See? She's conveniently not here."

As if on cue, the Ravenclaw approached the table. She wore a slight grimace, looking a little queasy as she plopped down in front of Lauren. "Euurgh... I don't feel so good."

Lauren shot Remus an evil smile. "See? Morning sickness has already set in."

Remus' eyes grew wide as he looked to Rosemary, who had obviously not heard a word of what had just been said. James laughed aloud, punching Remus in the arm a little. "You too? Ironic, isn't it, that I'm the only one that hasn't gotten anyone pregnant?" Sirius flashed a glare his way.

Rosemary, who had been staring at the food in front of her for quite some time now, shoved her plate away. "Yeah, I'm definitely not hungry." She made an empty spot on the table in front of her and set her head down.

Remus looked to James. "But I haven't-- I mean, I don't remember--"

"Well," Lauren said. "You do say you don't have any memory of what happens when you transform..."

Remus' face grew surprisingly pale. "Ohh, I think I'm going to be sick now..." He looked towards Rosemary once more, taking hold of her arm. "Come here; we need to talk." Almost reluctantly, Rosemary left her seat and walked with him towards the doors leading out.

"Look," Lauren remarked to Sirius and James. "They're talking about names... Do you remember when we were discussing names not long ago?"

Sirius eyed her. "But... that was fake."

James' face brightened, which might have been impossible considering his mood already. "You're not saying you made this all up, are you? Ahh, a girl after my own heart."

Lauren laughed darkly. "Of course I made it up! Think about it: this is Rosemary and Remus we're talking about."

"Ohh. Right." The boys said simultaneously.

-----

"Are you alright?"

Rosemary looked at Remus. "Yeah... why?"

"Lauren told me." He said. "Well, told all of us, really."

Rosemary rubbed her face. "Really? I just need to go see Madam Pomfrey... Maybe she can tell me why I'm feeling sick and fix it before I go to class today."

"I think I can tell you why." He said gravely. "And I don't think Madam Pomfrey can fix it."

Her eyes grew wide. "I'm dying, aren't I? Ohh, Lauren said that potion wouldn't have any lasting effects, even though she mixed it wrong!"

"What? Dying? No!" Remus shook his head. "You're not dying. You don't die from something like this. Unless there are complications... I mean, no. You're not dying. But let's hope your father doesn't find out. Or, more importantly, your grandfather, from the way you and Lauren talk about him. Then I'd be the dead one."

"What are you talking about?"

"Lauren told us." He stated simply. "Look, we're going to work this out somehow."

"Work what out?"

-----

"Aww, look at them..." Lauren said loudly. "They look so happy... Don't they?" There was probably a whole lot of sarcasm in that sentence, but James and Sirius seemed not to catch it.

"You think she knows what's going on yet?" Sirius asked, craning his neck to see past Lauren. "And is she in on it?"

Lauren scoffed. "Of course not! Let her in on the joke just so she can ruin it before I have my fun? She'd never agree to taking part in this joke, anyways. It's better that she doesn't know what's going on."

Sirius smirked. "I knew there was a reason I started dating you." They watched as the Gryffindor, followed by the Ravenclaw, returned to the table.

"Soo... You ready to have a bunch of puppies running around? Ohh, are dogs even allowed at Hogwarts?" Lauren laughed as they took their respective seats.

James adjusted his glasses. "Technically they'd be wolves, wouldn't they? And I don't think they would be allowed inside the school. You'd just have to keep them at the Shack."

Remus shot them a look that clearly said he didn't think this was too funny a situation. "Ask them," He told Rosemary. "They can tell you what's going on."

Rosemary looked from James to Sirius to Lauren. "What's all this about?"

"Remember that time we were talking in the Ravenclaw common room and you mentioned Mister Moony here?" Lauren asked innocently. Rosemary's face grew red. "Well, I told them."

"You told them that? Even after I asked you not to?" Her eyes narrowed. "I'm never telling you anything again. Ever."

James laughed harder than he had since this whole ordeal had started, feeling the need to add in his own little twist. "You mean you really said you thought he was good?"

Rosemary seemed to put two and two together and not quite get four, but she was pretty close. Her jaw dropped. "I said nothing of the sort!" Remus looked over at her, not quite sure what to think of this. "I mean... Why would I ever say that?"

Lauren laughed, interrupting before Rosemary could ruin this whole thing. "Ohh, no need to be modest. We all know the truth. You can't hide it from us."

Rosemary looked as though she had stopped breathing. She forced herself to look at Remus. "So... you know I--" He nodded. "I'll be right back. I'm feeling sick again." They watched as she bolted for the doors, and was probably headed for the girl's lavatory.

"What was that about?" Sirius asked Lauren so that only they could hear.

"She thinks I just told you guys how she feels about Remus... Should we tell them this was all a joke?"

Sirius looked at her.

"Naah."

"What are you whispering about?" Remus asked a bit annoyedly.

"Nothing," James answered, despite the fact that he had not been in on the whispering.

Rosemary returned a little reluctantly, looking as though she would really rather be in the Hospital Wing right now. "What was this about puppies earlier," she asked, hoping that this would be a change in subject. "Did Sirius decide to jinx a few first-years again?" They all stared at her.

"No," Remus answered slowly before turning to Lauren. "She knows, doesn't she?"

"Knows? Knows what? What am I supposed to know?" The Ravenclaw looked a little worried.

"You don't know? Then how did Lauren know?" Remus asked suspiciously.

Rosemary frowned. "Alright, then. I want to know what's going on. Right now."

Nobody moved.

"No, I'm serious. No pun intended. I want to know what's going on right now. I don't want any 'Remember this time we were at this place and that thing happened...' No. I want it straight out."

"Lauren thought it would be funny to let us all think you were carrying Moony's baby." James said finally. "Not that bad of a joke, I think."

Lauren leaned across the table towards Mister Potter. "You weren't supposed to tell them! I'm never letting you in on any secrets anymore. Ever."

"You what? I should have known." Rosemary almost laughed. "And here I thought it was something serious."

Remus blinked. "What's more serious than that?"

"Nothing. Nevermind." Rosemary brushed off the question. "The real question is... who was this information coming from, Moony?"

"Errm... Lauren?"

"Any you still believed her? You're supposed to be the brains of this operation!" She smacked the back of his head and was briefly reminded of her father and grandfather. "Use your head, DiNozzo. I mean, Lupin. I'm appalled that you would think I'd do something like that. And I think I'd tell you first, don't you think? Rule number three: Don't believe what you're told. Always always double check."

Lauren smirked. "Rule number four, DiNozzo: The best way to keep a secret is to keep it to yourself."

Rosemary shot a glare her way. "I'll get you, my pretty..." With a glance at Sirius, she added. "And your little dog, too."

"Hey, what did I do?"

"You knew about this, no doubt. You'll pay as well." She nodded with a smile. "Now if you'll all excuse me, I've got a Hospital Wing to visit." With that she left.

Lauren leaned forward and looked at Remus. "You know, she's probably lying about this whole thing." Without another word on the matter, she returned to her breakfast, leaving him to wonder.