Title: Tough Love
Author: OCDegrassi (Holly)
Pairings: Remus/James, One-Sided Remus/Sirius
Rating: M
Warnings: Slash, Graphic Sexual Situations, Mpreg
Note: Ok, so I know it's been forever since I've updated this story, and I feel so guilty! But I'm trying to start writing it again, so hopefully there are still some people who are interested in reading it. Well, here we go. We're finally at chapter 7.

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Halloween arrived quickly for the Marauder's. Remus was now 12 weeks pregnant, and his morning sickness had all but subsided. Unfortunately, he still had headaches quite frequently, but he wasn't complaining. He'd gladly take the dull throbbing of his head in place of throwing up at random times, with little warning. Remus was lying out in the sun by the Black Lake. A cool autumns breeze was blowing, and Remus could have easily fallen asleep if the other three Marauder's weren't wrestling loudly. Remus watched them in amusement. When James saw him looking, he jumped out of the fight and sat down next to Remus.

James gave him a quick peck on the lips before turning towards the lake. He was biting his lip and looked like he was deep in thought. Remus felt his curiosity stir, but he waited patiently for James to speak up. After about 3 minutes of sitting in silence, James finally pulled himself out of his own head. "Babe, I've been thinking…" he paused, but continued staring at the lake, seemingly unable to meet his boyfriend's eyes. "We're going to have to tell our parents about the baby soon, and the headmaster will have to know, so we can make arrangements to take care of the baby and still finish school."

He chanced a look at Remus, whose facial expression was blank. Remus had never even realized that he'd have to tell his parents and the headmaster. He supposed that he knew in the back of his mind, but he'd managed to ignore it up to this point. The reality suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks, and he started to hyperventilate. James looked panicked. "Oh my god, Remus, I'm sorry, calm down, please. I'm sorry." He looked like he wanted to reach out and hug Remus, but wasn't sure if he should or not. Sirius and Peter stopped their wrestling and hurried over to their friend.

"Remus, are you alright?" James looked helplessly at Sirius, who grabbed Remus by the shoulders and forced him to look into his eyes. "Just take deep breaths, ok Moony? Deep breaths." Remus did what he was told and slowly calmed down. James breathed a sigh of relief and pulled his boyfriend into a hug. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Remus sighed. "It's alright; I needed to think about it sooner or later anyway. I guess I just would have preferred later." James gave him a reassuring smile. "It'll be okay; I promise." He said it with such sincerity that Remus found himself believing it.

"I just hope the headmaster doesn't hate me. He's already risking enough by letting me go here when I'm a werewolf, and now, I'm pregnant to top it off? What if he kicks me out?" James sensed that the other boy was starting to panic again, so he quickly pulled him in for a hug. "He won't. Everything is going to work out. You'll see." Remus nodded and stood up. "Well, let's go tell the headmaster." James' mouth opened in shock. "Now?" Remus nodded. "I have to do it before I lose my nerve. So, let's just get this over with." James gulped and stood up too. "Well, if you're sure…" He was the one who brought up the subject, but he didn't think they'd do it right away.

They approached Headmaster Dippet's office and then realized that they didn't know the password. They looked at each other and started to spout off random words. "Balderdash", "Phoenix", "Hogwarts!" At the last word, the portrait swung open. Remus and James laughed at the headmaster's lack of originality, before cautiously entering the office. Headmaster Dippet smiled at the boys when he saw them. "Ah, yes, Lupin and Potter, come in. Sit down." They did so, and waited for the headmaster to finish writing what appeared to be a letter.

"Now, what can I do for you boys today?" They exchanged looks and Remus took the lead. "Er, Headmaster, we, um, we have something to tell you. That is, I'm, well, as odd as it sounds, I'm pregnant." He held his breath for Dippet's response, but if he was shocked, he certainly didn't show it. He merely smiled. "I know." Moony and Prong's mouths dropped. "You know? But how?" James practically shouted. "Madame Pomfrey told me. You didn't really think she'd keep this from me, did you?" He sounded amused and at that moment, Remus wasn't sure whether to be relieved or annoyed.

He was happy that Dippet had taken the news well, but he couldn't help but be annoyed that Madame Pomfrey broke his trust and told the headmaster. This was his secret, so it should have been up to him when he decided to tell people. But, he decided that he could forgive her, because she did make it easier on him. At least this way, he didn't have to wait for Dippet to process the information and possibly have a bad first-reaction. Dippet continued. "Now, when were you two planning on telling your parents?" Remus and James looked at each other, in hopes that the other would answer. When it didn't seem like either was going to say anything, the headmaster interjected for them.

"Would you two like to tell them today? I can send an OWL and have them come here. That way, you could tell them in person." Remus nodded nervously, and grabbed James' hand. "Yea, that sounds good. Thanks." James squeezed his hand in response and gave him another reassuring smile. The headmaster sent the letters out, and offered the boys some tea while they waited. They played three games of Wizard's Chess by the time their parents arrived. James' parents were old and fragile looking, and Remus feared that the news would give them a heart attack. They hugged their son, and Remus' parents did the same.

Although much younger than Prongs' parents, Moony's parents still looked old beyond their years. Gray hairs were starting to cover their heads, and they looked worn out. Remus felt a pang of guilt. He knew this would add stress to their lives, and he felt horrible for causing it. All four of the parents looked worried, but considerably less than when they arrived. They had calmed down when they saw that the boys were both safe and didn't appear to be hurt. They all sat down and the headmaster began. "Now that we're all here, the boys have something that they want to tell you." Remus opened his mouth to speak, but his throat was suddenly dry and no words came out. Luckily, James took over for him.

"What we wanted to tell you is that we're having a baby. Remus is pregnant." The room fell into silence for what seemed like an eternity to the teenagers. Finally, James' mom broke the silence when she started to sob. Her husband held her in his arms and rubbed her back to calm her down. Remus' mom had silent tears running down her face, but she embraced her son tightly. "It's going to be okay, honey. We'll figure this out." Remus broke down in his mother's arms. His father looked unsure of what to do, but he patted his son's back in an effort to be supportive.

James started to cry too. He felt horrible for causing his parents so much heartache. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you both. Please don't hate me." His father spoke up. "Now, James, we don't hate you. Your mother and I love you very much. We're just a bit shocked, that's all. But everything is going to be fine. We will always love you, and we will love this child too." His mother sniffed and nodded in agreement. She opened her arms for James, who practically leapt into the embrace.

After many more tears and several minutes later, Dippet entered the conversation again. "I know this has been a very trying and exhausting meeting, so why don't you all take some time to relax. Plans can be made later." He really was a kind man, and Remus was grateful for his support. He was lucky to have such an understanding person as the headmaster. Otherwise, he would've been out of the school in a heartbeat. Everyone nodded and wiped away their tears. More hugs were given before both sets of parents returned home.

Remus and James made their way back to the dormitory. They were emotionally drained and all they wanted to do was sleep, but they took a few minutes to recount the meeting to Peter and Sirius, before they passed out for the rest of the night in each other's arms. Sirius watched Remus sleep and thanked god that things had gone alright. Everything was fine so far, and he just prayed that it would stay that way. Unfortunately, that was one prayer that wasn't answered.

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A/N: So, what did you think? This chapter was rather hard to write, because this is a challenging topic to me, but hopefully it ended up alright. Please review and let me know! Next chapter: Another student finds out about Remus' pregnancy, and is not so kind about it.