Chapter Seven

A/N:

That very night, Harry Potter entered the Burrow, clutching the travelling basket tightly in his arms. He was a little nervous to return to the home he now shared with his girlfriend, Ginny, and her family, as Molly had insisted that she would not allow him to go anywhere else. He had not consulted any of the family before making the decision to take care of the twins himself, and truly did not know that they would be accepted in the household as he had been. There was only way to find out.

As he entered the house, he almost collided face to face with Ginny, who had been pacing up and down the living room, waiting for him to return home from Hogwarts, as she had done hours ago. There were faint tear tracks on her face, like she had been crying hours ago and had never bothered to wipe the tears away. Knowing the girl as he did, Harry assumed that that was what had happened.

"Harry!" the young woman exclaimed, wrapping her arms tightly around him, as if she were certain he would disappear in an instant should she let go of him. It took her a moment to spot the basket cradled in his arms, as she had pulled back, confused by the fact that he had not returned her embrace.

Before she could even get the chance to ask the question that was written in her eyes, Harry answered it, gazing tenderly down into the basket as his partner began to do the same, the pools of bright brown set in her face softening a great deal as she caught sight of the two sleeping infants.

"These are Remus and Tonks' children, aren't they?" Ginny asked, though she full well knew the answer, as she was godmother to the two of them as well as Harry. Even so, a slight nod from her boyfriend confirmed the fact. "Do you think that they know?"

Taking a deep breath as he realised the morbid direction in which the conversation was travelling, Harry gave his truthful answer, from both his own personal thoughts and what Andromeda had told him had occurred on the night they died. "I know that they know. Andromeda, Tonks' mother, said that the twins suddenly started crying when Tonks left the house, and again at around one o'clock in the morning, about the time that Tonks and Remus died. That can't have been a coincidence, could it?"

"No, it couldn't." the younger woman answered, not able to tear her gaze from the sleeping children, at how peaceful they seemed to be, yet how restless she knew they would be in the magical lands they visited in their dreams. "Anyone would be able to feel something that horrific."

"I know." Harry responded, and Ginny immediately felt terrible for having said it. The young man had never quite gotten over the death of his mother, and he still felt the pain of loss he had experienced when both of his parents had been taken from him by the Dark Lord.

"Did they wish for us to look after them?" the redhead questioned, changing the subject as swiftly as she could without it seeming too noticeable. "I would have thought that they'd leave them with Andromeda. She was Tonks' mother, after all, and she looked after them when the pair of them were with the rest of the Order at Hogwarts, and when they died."

"But Andromeda has given them over to their godparents. Us." the dark haired man told his girlfriend, as the pair of them looked up at each other briefly, before they glanced down once again to watch the babies sleep, each wrapping an arm around the other's waist as they did so. "She only wants the best for them, Gin, and she thought that it would be better for them to grow up in the family environment that we have here, rather than in an empty house where she couldn't cope with them on her own. I don't want to let Remus and Tonks down, not after all they've done for us over the years."

"I know. I don't want to let them down either." the young woman responded, ensuring that Harry was aware of how she felt, and that he knew that she was not against the idea, only a little shocked about the idea of becoming a parent before she was seventeen. "So we will take care of them."

"We can do it, Gin." the elder man assured his girlfriend, placing the basket down on the table, so he could wrap his arms fully around her. "But only if we do it together, because if we stay together, we can do anything."

"We've defeated the Dark Lord today, Harry." the redhead pointed out, holding on even tighter to her partner as he stiffened, evidently still affected by the mention of what he had done that day. "I think that we can tackle anything in the world after doing that, let alone two little children."

"Yeah." the man replied, in a slight sigh of relief. In truth, he had not been expecting Ginny to agree to the plan so quickly, but he was extremely glad that she had done so. An argument was the last thing either of them would have needed after the day that had passed, especially after the terrible fate that Fred had been dealt as he had fought to bring down the Death Eaters. He felt utterly reprieved that the argument had not come, and was pleased that they could concentrate on becoming good parents to the children.

"Harry?" the young redhead asked, glanced down at the basket once again, where the infants were beginning to toss and turn in their slumber. "We won't let them forget who their parents are, will we? We won't try to replace them?"

"Never." Harry responded, as they each took a child into their arms to comfort it, Harry taking Teddy and Ginny Selena. "They will always be Lupins. Always."

And so they were.

A/N: I know, it's a bit soppy, and it's not the best, but still. Please review, especially if you actually, somehow, liked the chapter!