Disclaimer: Characters etc. belong to J. K. Rowling, I am borrowing them for a few minutes. Situations belong to me.
Author's note:SPOILER WARNING!If you have not read HBP, turnback now, before it's too late! Okay, so the spoilers aren'tthatbig, but still. A spoiler is a spoiler.Enjoy!
Am I Ready?
Remus sat, watching her every movement across the table. The Weasley household buzzed with chatter around him. She sat across from him, absently playing with her food as she talked to Charlie. Arthur and Molly were next to him anxiously talking about Bill's return from St. Mungo's, but he was only half listening.
It was the summer of '96 and Arthur and Molly had graciously invited him to their house for a get together before Fleur and Bill's wedding. Bill would be returning from the wizarding hospital the next day and almost straight away, a week later, Fleur and he were going to get married. Married… That had sparked a thought in Remus's mind.
Remus amused himself for several minutes by putting her name with his in every way possible. Mrs. Lupin… Mrs. Remus Lupin… Mrs. Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin… Mrs. Nymphadora Lupin… He smiled at that. That sounded right. But he countered his own thoughts. Am I ready to take this step? Do I want to put her life in danger? Realizing he was frowning he focused again on his surroundings. He would think of that later. Right now was happy. She was there, and she cared for him. He knew that, now.
"Would you ever want children, Remus?" Charlie asked him, leaning back in his chair and pushing his empty plate away from him. Remus hesitated.
"I'm not quite sure, to tell you the truth." He answered. He hadn't thought of that. What if she wanted kids? There was a fifty-fifty chance that their children would have the werewolf gene. He wouldn't want to put his child through that pain and humiliation. But he had always wondered what it would be like to have a son or daughter of his own. A baby… My own Daddy's little girl or boy… that would be nice… He shook his head absently, dismissing the thought. It wouldn't be fair. But what if-
"I think I'd like children of my own someday," Nymphadora's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Unless Remus decides that he doesn't want any. I understand that there's a risk in it." He looked up at her, shocked. She smiled at him and winked. Realizing his mouth was hanging open, he shut it and smiled. It was a true smile. He wanted to be with her, and she understood him.
Later that night, Remus had time to think by himself. He had conjured a tent in the backyard and say cosily in a lounge chair. He thought long and hard about everything that was bothering him. Finally, he came to the conclusion that he was both ready to be married and ready, if Nymphadora was, to have children and hope for the best. He smiled to himself and walked down the hall to his bedroom to retire for the night. It felt as if a weight had been lifted from the pit of his stomach.
He turned off the lights, lay down in his bed and turned to the side. Am I ready? As ready as I'm ever going to be. And with that, he fell into a deep sleep with dreams of one day having a family to call his own.
Author's note: I know, I know- another short one, but what can you expect? I'm not over my writers block yet. This a possible one shot- haven't decided yet. Please read and review!