Chapter two
A/N so I wrote this faster than expected eh?
Outside, with the wind whipping her hair and the rain beating down hard on the shoulders of her black dress like needles in a pin-cushion, Narcissa smiled sadly, as her beautiful angel was with the boy she should have married in the first place. Narcissa blew a kiss in the closed window and disappeared on the spot.
Remus hurried over to the small boy, and buried him into his chest again, startled by the screaming the frightened young boy emitted before scurrying over to the door and glaring at whoever was at his door, if it was a sales person he would punch them so hard-
"Who's that?" James said obnoxiously, covering his ears with his hands and yelling over the noise.
Glaring fiercely but opening the door wider and letting the bespectacled man into his apartment, still attempting to quiet the child.
James, making himself at home and strutting to the kitchen, flicked the kettle on and busied himself making tea while Remus desperately tried to hush the trembling boy.
"Is it hungry?" James asked over the noise, raising one eyebrow, Remus snorted, just because he had one 6 month old son does not mean that he knew absolutely everything about babies.
Except he totally did.
"He's not an it!" Remus protested furiously, bouncing on the balls on his feet, "He's a well-he!" Was the child hungry? What kind of stuff did children eat? That powdery stuff right?
"Well, who's is he?" James asked curiously, while Remus tried to find that powdered milk Lily left here ages ago when she was visiting with Harry.
"Mine." Remus said off-handling, and jumped when James dropped his tea on the floor and Dra-Teddy cried louder.
"What?" James stammered, "Did you have a one night stand ages ago or something?"
"No." Remus managed to squeeze a tear from his ear, and sat down opposite James on one of the rickety chairs his table had, clutching the boy close, "M-my cousin died." He began, burying his face in the child's hair and sub-consciously rocking side to side, his many years of lying talent resurfacing quickly, his ability to cry on the spot was really helping his case too, "Both him and his wife died in a house-fire, this little guy was rescued by a fireman, an angel in disguise really." Remus sniffed and reached for a tissue, "We grew up together, me and Andrew, we were both only children so we were basically brothers." When James reached across and took his hand, he only felt mildly guilty.
"He's mine-I gotta raise him, I can't leave him in an orphanage! Do you know how horrible that would be?" Remus said, standing up and hugging the young boy close to his chest, god, he should have been an actor than a librarian, but he hated lying like this, "He's still so small." Remus whispered, gazing down at the infant in his arms, who still snuffled ruefully, at least that was the truth.
"Have you adopted him?"
Remus gazed up at him, with eyes of a man who'd had his world changed in a matter of minutes, which he supposed he had, "I-I did, just before you left."
James laid a hand on his shoulder protectively, "Have you got much for him, like baby stuff? Bottles, clothes? Y'know," he asked concerned, his glasses askew.
Remus shook his head, and brushed some hair off Teddy's forehead, "Just whatever's on the counter, I suppose the majority of his stuff got burned in the fire."
"Have you fed him yet?" James asked, the fatherly side of him coming out, making Remus sit down in front of the fire.
"He only got here an hour ago." Remus answered, staring up at him, his amber eyes swimming.
"I'm going to go get Lily, and then bring some of Harry's old stuff, he's grown out of most of his stuff already, then we're going to sort out something's okay?" James said making his way towards Remus's fireplace and grabbing his floo pot from the shelf, watching as Remus nodded his head silently, staring at the snuffling child in his arms. He'd never seem him like this, apart from the first time Remus held Harry.
Stepping into the fire, and spinning violently, James's last image of his best friend was him kissing the babies head sweetly.
Bracing himself and bending his knees, he sprung from the fireplace on the other side of town.
(Pagebreak)
Lily's mind was spinning as James ushered her towards the fireplace, she'd just put Harry to bed when James had come in from the fireplace in a whirlwind of green and ran upstairs to the attic and grabbed some of Harry's baby clothes, and nappies and soap, thrust them at her before running to the kitchen and grabbing some of the baby milk and bottles from Harry's early weeks and too, thrust them at her, shouting something like Remus's address before shoving her unceremoniously in the fire with a whole potful of floo powder.
She landed on her knees on the carpet of Remus's apartment, she knew it was his from the chocolate smell and the heavy books that tumbled from the mantle on top of her, glancing up, she seen Remus putting a child into a white wicker basket.
Wait-what?
"Remus?" She asked, startled, scrambling to her feet and scurrying to the boy at the counter, peering at the child in the aforementioned basket, he was a stunning child obviously, high cheekbones and pudgy limbs, long lashes catching in the light. She resisted the urge to coo, fearful it would wake the child up. He was dirty, she concluded, covered in soot and a layer of grime.
"It's a long story." Remus whispered, not taking his eyes off the sleeping child, he seemed to sleep a lot, "But he's orphaned, and mine." Finally sparing a glance in Lily's direction, she found herself trapped in Remus's terrified gaze, "James said you'd help?"
Cautiously asking Remus if she could hold the baby he nodded hesitantly, she peeled back the blanket slowly, and lifted the child from his bed, when his eyes opened, she braced herself for the cry that would have found its way from Harry's throat but instead found herself drowning in the gaze of an exquisite pair of eyes the second time that night. Reaching up to stroke a finger along a soft cheek, she asked awed, "What's his name?"
Remus grinned proudly, having only been a father for an hour and a half, he was accepting the role rather well, "Teddy Lupin."
When Lily pulled her finger away, she laid it against his forehead frowning, "he's a little hot, did he come by train?"
Remus shook his head furiously, "I don't know! Is he sick? Should I get a doctor?" He asked frantically. Lily smiled at his nervousness, he was obviously a new parent.
"No, don't worry, he's just a bit flushed, We'll top n' tail him, feed him and by then James'll have come with Harry's first crib." She said, handing him Teddy, who he handled with utmost care, and heading for his kettle, flicking it on and checking his cupboards for a measuring jug, finding one and heading to his bathroom for cotton wool.
Returning, Lily filled the jug halfway with cold water from the tap and added some boiled so it was luke-warm. Taking the jug and cotton wool she went and sat on Remus's sofa, pushing piles of books out of the way to make room for her objects and sitting on the sofa she motioned for Remus to come and give her the baby.
When he hesitated, she smiled and murmured, "Don't worry Rem, I'm only showing you what to do." Cautiously, Remus handed the child to her. Sitting back, she laid the angelic child on her denim clad knees, divesting the baby of his clothes, she ran the cotton pad over him, showing Remus to put emphasis in between his toes and behind his ears, telling Remus to fetch her a soft towel, he returned with a fluffy brown hand towel, she rubbed the sleepy child dry.
Giving Remus the child to dress, she watches as he clumsily attempted to fasten one of the too big nappies she'd brought, fumbled with the dark green sleepsuit which hung off Teddy's frame but made Remus smile with happiness when he finally popped the last button and causing the infant to let out a loud yawn which Remus cooed delightedly at.
Leaving Remus to his moment, she went to the kitchen to prepare the bottle.
Glancing over at Remus and Teddy in the armchair, she couldn't help but think, despite their appearance differences, they looked just like father and son.
A/N so guys! Does anyone like this? Should I continue? Am I rushing?
Still no slash. I apologise.
~Lupin3Black