Remus ripped the bread in two and handed the smaller piece to his son.

Teddy was just beginning to chew solid foods, and bread was becoming the easiest thing for him to eat. Only sometimes did he have a problem with the chewy substance, and today was one of those days. Remus chuckled and coaxed the bread from the boy's chubby hands, dipping the end of it in milk and handing it back to his son. It was soft enough now for the boy to enjoy, and they both sat in silence to enjoy their small snack. It was nearing noon, and Remus had still heard no word for Minerva about his wife. He didn't know if she had been found; if she was alive. Remus brushed a strand of purple hair from Teddy's face, and it changed to a bright orange almost immediately as they boy giggled.

"Your hair grows abnormally fast, son, we'll have to get it cut soon."

The baby didn't reply, but this one-ended conversation was Remus's only company.

The lights in their home were off, so Remus was glad it was morning. A storm had knocked off all their electricity last night, so when it fell dark Remus would have to walk around with his wand tip lit, and sing his son to sleep. The child couldn't understand why the small moon nightlight in his bedroom wouldn't light, and Remus had to divert his attention from it to keep him from crying. Remus handed Teddy another bit of bread when he reached out his hand for more, and he ate it quicker than the last piece. As Remus watched his son, he heard a soft knock on the door and stood a bit quicker than he should have. He stumbled around the chair he knocked over, and lifted it up before pulling his wand from his cloak.

"Who's there?" He asked evenly, glancing back at his son who's eyes were locked on his father.

"It's Minerva, Remus," McGonagall called back, waiting patiently on the other side of the door.

Remus let his guard down and let her in quickly, locking the door back up behind her. He took her cloak for her and offered her a seat at the table where Teddy was sitting in his highchair. She mumbled a few words to the small child of affirmation and excitement, kissing one of his chubby fists before turning to Remus.

"How is he doing?"

"Great. He's eating solids now," he gestured to the bits of bread loitering the table of his high chair.

"And he's taking them well? No meat yet?" Minerva joked lightly.

Remus smiled. "No. Hopefully as Teddy grows meat will be an acquired taste- not one he craves."

Minerva nodded and dropped the subject; anxiety filled the air. Remus watched her as she swallowed thickly, forcing her attention back on the toddler.

"Remus, I don't know how to tell you this," she began, and Remus could hear the tears in her voice, beckoning to spill over.

"Then just say it, Minerva, please," he all but begged, taking a seat next to her. He rested a hand on her shoulder, beseeching her to look into his eyes. "I've been waiting for weeks. Did you find her?"

Minerva looked into his eyes then, and the tears he had hard in her voice were quite apparent in her eyes as she released her hold on Teddy's fist.

"We found her body, Remus. She's gone."

Remus felt as though he had been punched violently in the stomach, and for a moment he felt as though he'd pass out there in front of his son and the older woman.

"Where did you find her?" Remus asked- his eyebrows were furrowed and his face was etched with disbelief.

"On the outskirts of town."

"Did it look bad?" He pressed on.

Minerva seemed hesitant, but nodded mutely.

"Then perhaps it wasn't here; if the body was so mangled or bloodied up then you wouldn't be able to tell, would you?"

Minerva saw the wolf creep onto Remus's face. She saw the despair; the madness.

"Remus, it was Nymphadora."

"Don't call her Nymphadora," he replied quickly.

Minerva stared at him before biting her bottom lip and reaching into her cloak.

"Remus, it was her. This is all we could recover."

There it was, then, in his hand: her wedding band. He stared at the engraved words for a long moment before setting it on the table silently. Teddy sensed the tension in the air; the sadness and wailed loudly. He continued crying until Minerva took the child somberly into her arms. Sternly, she addressed her former pupil.

"You can't abandon your son, Remus. Not everything can be about you and this child is going to need you now."

Remus didn't look up at her. Instead he let his head sink into his hands as he fought back bitter tears.

"If you'd like I can keep him until you get yourself together," Minerva offered. The child had stopped crying now, and was staring at his father with big brown eyes.

Remus looked up then, slowly, and held out his arms. Teddy immediately reached for his father and Remus held his son close as he buried his head against the baby's chest.

"I can't have him away from me," he whispered.

"Then you're going to have to take care of him. I'm sorry, Remus, but you may not have time to grieve for many years. You've got a child."

Minerva stood then, not wanting to reprimand him any longer after unleashing the news. Gingerly she rubbed Teddy's tuft of jet black hair.

"Your son is mourning too. He's old enough to know his Mummy isn't around anymore."

Remus shook his head. "Why'd did she have to go? Why did she get called?" His eyes were full of anger; remorse.

"She wanted to go, Remus. You know she was the best auror they had."

"I told her I didn't want her confronting the pack," Remus whispered. "But she didn't listen."

Minerva knew he was more so talking to himself than her, and she wanted to allow him that time to sort out his thoughts.

"Harry will be by sometime after he gets off work. I'm sure he can tell you more."

Remus said nothing, but watched as his son's eyes slowly closed.

"If you need anything, I'm a floo away."

Remus nodded tensely then, and rested his head back against the chair. Minerva noticed then his tired features. His eyes were encased in black circles, and his lips formed a thin, cracked line. His body was thin and his skin was pale. His hair was graying more now, and Minerva could have sworn she saw Teddy's flicker with soft flecks of gray as well. She knew there were no further words she could say, so she let herself out in silence and shut the door gently behind her. She stepped out into the cold air, and continued down the street until the apparated with a pop.

00000000000000000000

"Are you sure?" Harry asked into the phone.

"I'm sure," Hermione replied. "We ran blood tests. It wasn't her blood."

"Who's was it?" Harry asked, exasperated and knocking over a pile of freshly stacked papers with his violent hand motions.

"Greybacks," Hermione whispered.

"Greyback's?" Harry inquired. "He killed her?"

"She was so mangled, Harry it makes sense."

Harry stared blankly ahead as Arthur walked by the door to his office.

"I'm heading over to Remus's now."

"I'm coming too," Hermione cried into the phone. "I have to."

"We can't tell him that it was Fenrir, Hermione," Harry urged before they hung-up. "Knowing that Tonks was killed because of him, will kill him too."

Author's Note: Wizards using phones…Whaaaat? I know. I know. For the sake of this story, the Ministry has those old time phones that stay on the desks, just to talk easier to each department. Plus, this is set after the battle a few months to a year, so Harry and Hermione immediately began re-building the Ministry.

Also, obviously Remus and Tonks survived the actual battle, but now we ultimately did lose Tonks. More will be explained in the chapters to come. I just needed to write this story to give Remus the healing that Jo never showed despite his brief happiness over Teddy's birth. I also wanted to experiment with Teddy having some different..traits, then Jo led onto.

Please review!

God Bless.