A/N: Yes, Christmas is here! In August! Please excuse this ridiculous un-angsty chapter! It will literally make your teeth hurt. I recommend a hefty dose of angst for balance-how about a good teenage Teddy fic? Obviously I can't predict the future, but I have a feeling that the next three chapters will be chock-a-block with fluffy (pun not intended) baby stuff. What can I say? Hope you enjoy. Thank you to all reviewers and readers!
Chapter Seven: Christmas
The seasons shifted, and autumn showed its colours. October, the third month of Nymphadora's pregnancy, arrived quickly, and they shyly announced their news to their friends and relations. Andromeda, who had always talked very tensely to Remus despite being welcoming when he returned, was delighted and even told him he would be a good father. Ted was also very happy with the news; so much in fact, that he decided he could not allow his unborn grandchild to be at risk on his account. He slipped away quietly one night, but not before his son-in-law had introduced him to the Order's secret technique of communicating by Patronus. Though she and her mother were devastated by his leaving, Tonks tried to remain positive that her father, like her husband, would not leave the family for long.
What Tonks had dreaded most about the three month mark was announcing it to the Order. She got mixed reactions, of course. Several of the women, including Fleur and Molly, were delighted for them and were keen to have girly chats with Tonks about morning sickness and stretch marks (being a Metamorphmagus, she wouldn't have much trouble with the latter, but the former, unfortunately, was something she was fully able to discuss). Some of the others were shocked and annoyed at their irresponsibility, but after they explained what had happened and insisted that they would not retreat into their family unit and go out of the war (defended, as promised, by Ginny ), things began to settle down. Indeed, their baby become something of a mascot, almost an official source of hope. Not only were they fighting for the honour of the dead, but for the safety of future generations, symbolised by their little boy or girl.
The baby, and its mother, grew slowly over the next two months, but Dora was refusing to stop working. Remus worried for her and sometimes endeavoured, with the help of her parents, to stop her going on missions. However, she would give him a hard look and tell him in a severe tone that baby or no baby, she joined the Order to fight, and fight she would. The main disadvantage of all this for him was that he would lose concentration panicking that a Death Eater would throw a simple Stunning Spell at her and they would lose their baby, or worse, they would find out about her pregnancy and make a concentrated effort to end it. However, as she reminded him every time they came home to curl up in front of their warm fire, or go straight to bed, their child took after its parents, and one good hex would certainly not finish it off.
The war went on, but it was hard to keep going when so little was known about Harry. They continued with missions large and small, and Tonks consistently applied her morphing skills though she was a little worried about 'big' morphs. There was no authority to report Death Eaters to; they had had a role reversal and it was their side that was Public Enemy. And so they spent many hours indoors, sharing their building nerves in various ways; some days they could hardly talk to each other, other days he would be simply sitting and suddenly have his face grabbed into a passionate kiss. The new baby, in addition to being a source of hope, was a useful distraction, as there were endless things to buy and they had to work out how to buy them with their low budget. She craved various fantastical foods, including a drink she hadn't had in ten years but remembered vividly, cereal with no milk, and steak and kidney pie.
He adored the way she was getting larger; by December she had a proper 'bump'. She herself had mixed feelings on it; some days she was happy to show off her tummy, other days she felt fat and wished to cover it up. Unfortunately, before getting pregnant she had had a preference for well-fitted clothes, so many of her clothes no longer fitted her as well as they used to, and they had enough things to buy without purchasing maternity clothes. Remus would frequently return to find her sitting on the sofa comfortably compromising the situation in one of his patched jumpers or jackets. She developed, in her unemployment, a fondness for reading much like his own, and a lot of children's books she read too. She decided that their baby was naturally going to be read mostly wizarding stories, but it could not and would not grow up without Winnie The Pooh. Remus quite agreed, though he did wonder if that was her only reason for reacquainting herself with the 'silly old bear'.
Before long, it was Christmas. He had not had a particularly good Christmas in years, but he knew the second he woke up that this would be one that would stick in his memory for a long time. He turned to see her, very much awake and impatiently watching him, with a book in her hand.
"Good morning," he said, smiling at her. "It's a nice day today."
"Merry Christmas." she responded, with mock indignation. "I've been awake for ages, waiting for you."
"You could have gone downstairs..." he told her, shifting himself upwards to sit beside her. She looked away.
"Call me immature, but I would rather not go downstairs on my own on Christmas Day. There's something wrong about it. I did it last year and I absolutely hated it."
"Forget last Christmas." he told her, lovingly. "Look to the future. Today will be an excellent day. We're going to see the Weasleys and company this evening, aren't we?"
She nodded; "Oh, I have been looking to the future." she held up the book she had been reading. It was called 'Your Baby and You; From Conception through to the First Year'. "You know, the baby will be eight months old next Christmas."
If it survives, Remus thought morbidly, but the exhilarated and optimistic flush in her cheeks prevented him from saying this.Acquiring an academic tone, she continued; "'At this stage, your baby will try to crawl...' although it also says some babies never learn to crawl and just bum-shuffle about the place. That is so my kid. And...Remus, listen to this...'Babies this age love to experiment with sound and will often sit and babble to themselves...They may be able to sing some notes from nursery rhymes'! Is that not the cutest thing?"
Remus had to laugh at her girly enthusiasm, and had to agree that that was kind of cute, though he could not yet imagine it.
They went downstairs together in their pyjamas and were welcomed by Andromeda. They exchanged gifts; Andromeda gave Remus a bottle of French mead, as well as an interesting-looking book. In turn, he offered her a Christmas cake he had made and decorated himself while she was at work, which she was very pleased with. From Tonks, he had two presents; one being a bag containing one of every sweet Honeydukes had ("Except Acid Pops, I've heard they don't agree with you. I didn't know if you like Cockroach Clusters...").
The other gift was not so orthodox. She shared it with him after Christmas dinner, when they relaxed on the sofa while her mother washed up. Feeling stuffed, he turned his head towards her. Her hair was red and green for the festive season and her cheeks had a consistent redness despite the cold weather outside. She had her eyes closed, possibly due to indigestion, and her hands were on her tummy. Suddenly, she opened them, and a smile spread across her face. Slipping her hand down towards his, she gently gripped his hand and placed it over her stomach.
Remus had to beam for her sentimentality.
"Oh, this is very sweet, Dora..." Suddenly, he felt something. It was like...a flutter. Very brief, but definite. "...was that what I think it was?" She nodded, and her smile widened, exposing her teeth which had bits of Christmas cake between them. Remus put his other hand over his mouth in awe and surprise. He had never doubted, of course, that there was a baby in there, but somehow it seemed more ...real. There was a living, moving person, and it was theirs.
"What a coincidence that it started moving on Christmas Day!" he said, overwhelmed with elation. "You know how to stir my emotions, don't you, little one?"
Dora bowed her head a little. "Actually, it started moving a week or so ago. I just decided to tell you about it today."
Not knowing how else to thank her, Remus brushed a finger past her cheek and kissed her. There came a groan from behind them.
"There's too much sugar about, don't you think? It makes my teeth hurt." Andromeda said, and they laughed.
That evening, before they went to Auntie Muriel's, Remus gave Tonks her present; a pretty set of pink dress robes that would continue to fit during her pregnancy. She was very pleased with them, though part of her had hoped he would give her something unrelated to the baby, after all, it was their first Christmas as husband and wife as well.
"There is also the second half of the present...although you can wear that even later this evening..." he said, with a wolfish edge to his smile. She blushed.
"I don't know how you could afford this." she asked, already changing her red and green hair to blue to go better with them.
"Oh, a little here, a little there..." he said, modestly, not wanting to admit to having put away too much, and prompted her to change into her robes.
When they arrived at the location, they stopped inexplicably in front of the row of fine, large houses. His wife slapped her forehead in frustration. "I forgot to do the Secret thing! Excuse me one moment, I have to ask their permission to give you the address..." she dashed forward, and seemed to disappear, only to return a short while later.
"The address is Number Seventeen, Kingsmill Road, Cambridge." A house materialised in front of him after she said this, and taking his hand, she lead him to the door.
"I am Nymphadora Andromeda Lupin, known as 'Tonks' or 'Dora', married to Remus Lupin, formerly an Auror with the Ministry of Magic. I am a Metamorphmagus...I am going to have my first baby in April...and...er...my favourite colour is pink."
"I am Remus John Lupin, I am a werewolf, married to Nymphadora Tonks, formerly a teacher at Hogwarts school for one year...and...er..."
"Alright, alright, we're convinced!" The door was opened by Charlie Weasley, who grinned at them. He had a jumper with gold and red stripes. Tonks gasped and squashed her old friend with an enormous hug, and he laughed, putting his arms around her. As she did this, Remus was greeted warmly by Molly, who hugged him.
"Remus, dear! Merry Christmas!" she said. "Have you had a good day?"
"Wonderful, thank you."
"You're not too full up, I hope. We have lots of food in the living room...how are you, are you well?"
"Never better, yourself?"
"Well, it's Christmas, so we're all very jolly!" she said, delightedly. "But generally, I can't say the same...anyway! Come join everyone! Charlie, let go of her, she's a married woman!"
Remus, Tonks, Molly and a slightly embarrassed Charlie proceeded to the living room, where the Weasleys, including Fleur but not Ron, were gathered, along with a sullen-looking old woman Remus presumed was Aunt Muriel.
The evening was a pleasant one. They ate, drank and socialised; Tonks was excitedly received by Molly, Ginny and Fleur, who were eager to learn how her pregnancy was going. Of course, only Molly understood what she was going through, but Fleur was eager to find out and Ginny was just glad to see her friend again.
"I've stopped having morning sickness, thank Merlin..."
"Do you know, I never had that." Molly said, sipping eggnogg. Tonks almost spat out her apple juice.
"What? You had seven children and you never...? Molly, you're not my friend any more."
They all giggled, and Fleur asked. "Do you know if you are 'aving a boy or a girl?"
Tonks shook her head. "Nope, and we don't plan to find out. I like the idea of knowing when it's born, you know?"
"Have a girl." Ginny said. "Boys are so...blech."
Her friend chuckled. "Ginny, if I'm having a boy, there isn't much I can do! Though of course, I'd be just as happy with a boy as I would with a girl..."
"What are you going to call it?" Ginny asked. Tonks was then able to pull out her present from the Weasleys; 'The Bumper Book of Baby Names; Traditional, Modern, Wizarding, Muggle, Popular, Unusual...' and the four women pored over it, pointing out names that sounded nice to them. Of course, Tonks told them all, she would have to pick two girls' names, because while she'd be happy to give her son the middle name of Remus, she would never burden her daughter with 'Nymphadora'.
Watching this display from a distance, Fred shook his head.
"Look at my mum." he said to Remus. "You'd think she was the pregnant one. Still, she'll be a grandma before she knows it, so she'd better get some practise."
"My parents are dead, so perhaps your mum can fill in the void."
"Don't tell her that!" he laughed. "She'll do it!"
The wireless crackled, and something seemed to occur to Fred. His face acquired a serious expression (for him, anyway), and he looked directly at Remus.
"That reminds me, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. My friend, Lee Jordan...he's involved in broadcasting, and he's had this idea..."
"Fred!" George's head appeared in the door. "The fireworks are ready!" he whispered.
"Pulling a prank, are we?" Remus asked.
"Could be..." Fred said. "Shh."
"Fireworks are such a New Year thing." Remus said, feeling a buried spirit of adventure resurfacing with the word 'prank'. "You should try charming the Christmas decorations."
"We did it with the Christmas food." George explained.
"Inspired!" Remus commented.
"Hang on..." Fred said, regarding his ex-professor with some scrutiny. "What do you know about pulling pranks? You're a teacher, or you were."
"I was a Marauder before that! We were the prank masters." Remus protested, only for Fred and George to look at each other, then at him, with stunned expressions on their faces.
"No...way..."
Remus and Tonks returned home shortly after midnight, feeling somewhat warm and fuzzy. Tonks had the names Anthony, Ashley and Aurora in her mind (they hadn't gotten that far through the book) and Remus had gotten quite the ego boost from two deeply respectful fans. However, tired as they both Christmas was not quite over for them. Remus had another present to give Tonks, and, taking her gently into his arms, he carried her upstairs where the silky nightgown was waiting for her.
