"Dora. Dora!"
Lupin frowned when he couldn't find his wife anywhere in the house. It was rather curious since he could swear he had just heard her voice screaming along to the new song from her favorite band.
Walking to the nursery, he peeked in and his frown turned into a worried look when he saw that his son too was apparently missing.
Sitting down in his armchair, he tried to recall the last time the house had been this peaceful. His eyes drifted towards the photograph on the wall. A grinning Sirius winked at him and his heart constricted with pain and all of a sudden he craved the company of his exuberant wife.
He stood up and was about to grab some floo powder when the front door flew open with a bang. His hand automatically went to his wand and then he stared.
His family stood there.
Covered in dust and dirt.
With broad grins on both their faces.
"Remus! You will never believe what just happened. No Teddy, don't pull that! Sit still. So, I took Teddy to Mum's and her friend was there. Stop moving, Teddy! And she said she knew Melinda from that party I dragged you to. And then - fuck! Take your son!"
She thrust a dirty bedraggled child towards her husband who wondered for a moment whether this was even his son till his hair changed to yellow and he thrust his fat fists towards his father, grinning widely.
Not caring of the dirt covering his child, Remus held him and then taking out his wand, he flicked it, very effectively cleaning both his wife and child as Tonks prattled on.
He smiled, leading his excited wife towards the kitchen and putting on a kettle to boil. She could barely sit still as she filled him in with details of an event he was sure she would drag him to. He smiled fondly at her and when she finally stopped talking to take a breath, he covered her mouth with his.
She sighed in the kiss, a happy sigh and where it had previously felt that his heart would burst with pain, it filled with a warm golden feeling that made him want to lose himself in her.
Leaning his forehead against hers, he asked, "Let's go out tonight."
Her eyes widened, "Oh, yes! I'll call Harry and Ginny and tell them to call - Let's just throw a dinner. It'll be fun."
Remus burst into laughter, "Whatever, you want, dear."
Tonks smiled at the image of him laughing, "Do that more often."
"Do what?"
Her eyes were soft, as she leaned forward to cup his face, "Laugh. Sometimes, it feels that you've forgotten how to and I hate it."
Lupin squeezed her wrists, gently, "How can I forget when I have you to teach me?"
His wife actually blushed and then she gave him a quick peck on the lips. Teddy bumped his head against her, insistently, demanding the same treatment and giving a delighted laugh she gave him a peck too which resulted in peals of childish laughter.
Remus watched the two of them, quietly, his heart content.
"So this is a gathering then?"
"Why not?" Tonks coo-ed at Teddy and changed her hair to a neon green. Her husband winced and then shook his head when his son attempted to copy his wife.
Sighing, he scooped up the one year old, "I will change Teddy." He told Tonks, firmly. "You send the invites."
Leaving his scatterbrained wife to her own devices, he allowed the green haired child to clamber over him, finally settling on his shoulders.
Changing Teddy was one task he usually left to Tonks because the boy would squirm and wriggle till he was told off and then he would change his hair to outrageous colors in protest of being forced to be clean.
However, today for a change, although his green eyes were bright with mischief, he seemed to be in a forgiving mood and chose to chew on his rubber toy, his eyes fixed on his father.
When Remus was done, he placed his hand on both sides of that tiny body and narrowed his eyes, "What are you up to?"
His son opened his mouth and blew a raspberry.
Remus pursed his lips. "I know that look, son. My best friends invented that look."
His son just smiled innocently and his father shook his head. "You take after your mother, I swear."
From the door, a familiar voice spoke up, "He does, doesn't he?"
Startled, Remus stepped in front of his son, protectively before relaxing as he recognized the intruder, "Andromeda. Dora already called you? That was rather fast."
His mother-in-law slipped past him to take a look at her grandson who raised his arms towards her in a demanding gesture. She picked him up, and shook her head as his hair turned golden indicating that he was happy, "I just came to drop off Dora's dress. She forgot it at the house."
She made faces at Teddy, who tried his best to imitate her, "She just told me about the gathering."
Remus sighed, affectionately, "I meant for it to be a date."
His mother-in-law laughed, "Well, a gathering will be nice. We all met at Molly's a fortnight ago."
"Has it really been that long? What with everyone dropping over every now and then, you can never tell."
"Remus! Remus I think the curtain is on fire! Remus!"
"At least life is never dull."
He left his Andromeda with the parting comment and answered his wife's frantic calls, "So just put it out, Dora."
"I can't remember the stupid spell. Damn it! Those were my favorite set!"
"What were you trying to cook?"
Seeing his wife in such distress had Remus trying to pacify her, "I'll fix these. Let's just ask Molly for help with the cooking."
All of Tonk's despair changed to annoyance, "Are you trying to say I can't cook?"
"That is not what I -"
"I'll show you. Just you wait! Get out of my kitchen! Mum! Mum, get down here! No, you go! Go to Harry's. And take Teddy with you. Men!"
"But Teddy didn't even -"
"Out Lupin! Mum, hurry up!"
In a matter of seconds, Remus and Edward Lupin had the front door of their house slammed in their face. From the window they could see Tonks bustling about, her hair a bright red indicating her anger. It amused Lupin to no end. He knew she was a horrible cook but he ate every bite on his plate and even asked for seconds just to see the smile on her face. He looked down at his son, "It's off to Harry's then. Maybe we should take a small detour and send your mum some flowers, hmm? It'll improve her mood, no?"
Teddy hummed in approval and the father and son pair departed.
A.N: I know it's been a long time and I start random fics without finishing others which I will eventually. But I just wanted to write a story about Lupins family with them surviving the war.
I also write small pieces on tumblr now and then. The link is in my profile.