February 1978
Rosalee was sitting in the library, working on a Charms essay, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to look and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Severus Snape standing behind her in a Slytherin uniform. Snape asked politely, "May I join you?"
Rosalee hesitated, then nodded. Snape sat across the table from her, pulling out a potions book that looked far too advanced to be any Hogwarts textbook, even for a seventh year. As he flipped to the middle of the book, he said casually, "There's a rumor going around school that Lupin has gotten you pregnant." Rosalee's eyes hardened as she stared at him silently, waiting for him to get to the point. Snape pulled out parchment, a quill, and ink. He continued, "Frankly, whether or not you are pregnant is none of my concern. However, if the rumor is true, I believe you have a right to know certain truths about Mr. Lupin that you may not otherwise know, so I am asking you if he has indeed gotten you pregnant."
Rosalee replied, trying to be equally nonchalant, "Yes, it is true. However, I am already aware of these truths you feel so obliged to inform me of, Snape. You have no right to share what you know about him with anyone, no matter what the situation."
"Perhaps not," Snape said. "But it would be unwise of me to allow anyone to reproduce with that Lupin fellow without warning one about him."
"Well, this one is entirely aware of his issues," Rosalee whispered. "Although your concern is certainly appreciated."
"Were you aware that there are no records of werewolves reproducing with humans?" Snape said informatively. "The only recorded reproductions of werewolves were between two werewolves who mated on the night of the full moon, fully turned. Apparently, the offspring were permanently wolves with a near-human intelligence."
"What fascinating trivia," Rosalee said, struggling to remain calm.
"Isn't it?" Snape said.
"Do you have anything else you wish to tell me?" Rosalee asked.
Snape thought for a moment. "There is no moment in my life that I regret more than when I called Lily Evans a mudblood," he said, and despite his attempt to hide all emotions, for a moment Rosalee could see massive amounts of pain lurking just behind his eyes.
"I don't believe I have a close enough friendship with Lily Evans to be of much influence on your behalf," Rosalee replied gently.
Snape snapped, "I am not asking you to influence her in my favor."
A thought occurred to Rosalee. "Snape," she said. "You love Lily."
Snape met her gaze unflinchingly. "More than life itself," he admitted.
Rosalee tilted her head slightly. "Lily might be in danger one day soon. You would want to protect her, wouldn't you?" Snape nodded. "I don't know what your intentions are in regards to joining the Death Eaters." Snape paled ever so slightly. "But if you wish to keep her safe, if you do join the Death Eaters, you should become a spy for the Order of the Phoenix from day one. If you do, you might be able to prevent her death."
Snape's eyes widened. "So, it's true," Snape said quietly. "You are a seer."
Rosalee shrugged. "I neither confirm nor deny that statement," she whispered. "But if you want to prevent Lily's death, then you will spy for Albus Dumbledore rather than fight for Voldemort."
"I don't know if I would make a very good spy," Snape said cautiously.
Rosalee said, "Well, I do. In fact, I believe you would be so good a spy that no one but Professor Dumbledore will be one hundred percent certain which side you are on."
Snape thought for a moment. "This conversation has certainly given us both much to think about," Snape said, gathering his things and packing them up again. He stood up, throwing his bag over his shoulder, and said, "Good day, Miss Dumbledore."
Rosalee replied, "Good day, Mr. Snape."
As Snape quickly turned and walked away in the opposite direction, Rosalee felt a hand fall on her shoulder and lips plant a kiss on her cheek. "Hello, love," Remus's voice breathed in her ear.
Rosalee smiled and turned her head to kiss Remus on the lips. "Hello, baby daddy," she teased.
Remus rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile. He sat down next to her and asked, "Why was Snape here?"
Rosalee lied casually, "Apparently Professor Slughorn asked him to offer me tutoring for potions class. I've not been doing very well in that class lately. All the smells in Potions class just make me so nauseated these days."
Remus frowned. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'd help, but I'm not much at potions myself. If you need help, maybe Lily would be willing to help you."
Rosalee smiled at Remus. "I think I'll be ok. I understand the material and can usually make a passable potion. I think once the morning sickness goes away I'll be ok."
Remus nodded. "Oh, hey, I've got some good news."
"You do?"
"Yes," Remus said, grinning as he entwined their fingers to hold her hand. "I wrote a letter home to my parents the other night and told them about us and Elijah. They're thrilled."
Rosalee's brown eyes widened in surprise. "They are?"
Remus laughed. "Love, their son has a furry problem. If they can accept dealing with that every month, a curveball like this is practically nothing. All they care about is that we love each other and that I'm happy. They want to meet you."
Rosalee froze. "Th-they do?"
Remus used his free hand to smooth the hair on the back of Rosalee's head reassuringly. "Don't worry, Rose," he encouraged. "They're really nice, and I'm sure they'll love you as much as I do. So I promised them we'd meet them for dinner in Hogsmeade on Saturday."
Rosalee said anxiously, "That's in two days."
Remus said, "It'll be fine, I promise. They'll love you like a daughter, and I'm sure you'll love them too." Rosalee nodded slowly. "Hey," Remus continued. "I know you've said before how much you miss your parents and the Muggle world sometimes, and, well, I know it's not the same, but my mum is a Muggle."
Rosalee gasped softly. "That's right; I'd forgotten about that."
"Yeah," Remus said. "I think you two might get on really well. I mean, I know it's not the same, but I think my mum might like it if she could sort of be a mum to you, too."
Rosalee smiled and gently touched his cheek. "I would honestly like that very much."
"Good," Remus said happily. "So Saturday?"
"Yes, Saturday," Rosalee agreed.
When Saturday came, Rosalee and Remus walked down to Hogsmeade together hand in hand. They had to meet Aberforth for lunch in the Hog's Head, so they went ahead and went there before exploring the shops while they waited for Remus's parents to meet them for dinner at the Three Broomsticks. When they arrived, the bar was empty except for Aberforth and his goats, and he had set a shepherd's pie out on the bar for their lunch. Aberforth didn't greet them, just said, "Eat up, kids."
Rosalee and Remus sat at the bar as Aberforth stood on the other side cleaning glasses. They dug into the food, Rosalee with more gusto than Remus. She'd been struggling so much with morning sickness the past couple of months that the moments where she wasn't nauseous, she was absolutely starving. Still, she'd somehow managed to put on a couple pounds in spite of the inability to keep food down most days. Suddenly, Rosalee asked, "How are the goats doing?"
Remus looked at her curiously. Aberforth raised an eyebrow at her. "The goats are good," he said gruffly.
"What are their names?" Rosalee pressed.
Aberforth furrowed his brow, obviously confused by someone showing any sort of interest in his pet goats. "Cygnus and Cecily," Aberforth answered.
Remus chuckled. "I think the pregnancy hormones are getting to your head," Remus teased.
"That reminds me," Aberforth said. "You kids sure you know what you're doing?"
Rosalee frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," Aberforth said. "There have never been any recorded cases of werewolves having children with humans, you're both barely seventeen, you're still in school, you've got no jobs and currently no job prospects, and you've got the added complication of one of you being a time traveler whose mind has been slowly unraveling."
"Hey," Rosalee snapped. "I'll have you know that my visions have stabilized, and my panic attacks have been happening less and less over the last couple months. I would hardly say that my mind is unraveling."
"All right, and what about everything else I mentioned?" Aberforth persisted.
"It's a bit too late to be worrying about whether or not the werewolf gene gets passed on to the child; he already exists," Remus pointed out as calmly as he could manage.
"We can get jobs after we finish Hogwarts, and the baby won't arrive until after we graduate, so I'm not seeing any issues there," Rosalee said before taking another large bite of shepherd's pie.
"It's not easy for a werewolf or their family members to get jobs out in the real world," Aberforth said roughly. "Albus has got you two up there in that castle living in a fantasy where hardly anyone knows about your lycanthropy, and the few who do know don't care. The reality is when you get out of there, everyone will figure it out fast, and when they do you won't be able to get jobs. Hell, you'll be lucky to be able to put food on the table for you and your kid."
"All right; I think that's enough," Remus said hotly, dropping his fork onto his plate. "Dumbledore, if you've got a problem with me, then just say so."
"All right," Aberforth said. "I don't like that you've impregnated my granddaughter."
Rosalee tossed in, "Let's all try to remember that I'm not actually related to you."
Remus retorted, "Well, it doesn't really matter at this point how you feel about it since it's already done. We're happy; we love each other."
"Love doesn't mean a damn thing during a war," Aberforth snapped. "Love doesn't put food on the table and a roof over your heads."
Rosalee said angrily, "Aberforth, it's none of your damn business what happens to us."
"Oh, isn't it? Well, then, I suppose I just won't bother offering your man here a job here with me."
Rosalee and Remus's jaws both dropped, and they gaped at him in surprise. "Come again?" Remus said, shocked.
"I don't like that you've got one up the spout, but I'm supposed to be your grandfather. How would it look if I let you go unprovided for?" Aberforth said curtly. "I'll put him behind the bar, but you, young lady, are on your own for finding work after Hogwarts once you can stand to be away from that baby for more than five minutes."
Rosalee bit her lip to hold back a smile. "I don't know," Rosalee said. "We don't need your charity, Aberforth."
"It's hardly charity," Aberforth growled. "I've met house elves who weren't willing to work in this dump. It's hard work with long days and long nights. He won't be able to spend too much time at home with you and the baby to help me keep this place going."
Rosalee glanced at Remus, who was still processing what was happening. "Well, I suppose we don't have much choice, although I'm sure he'll be leaving here the second a better opportunity comes around, so I wouldn't plan on keeping him long," Rosalee said, struggling to keep the happy lilt out of her voice.
Aberforth huffed. "Oh, yes, of course. Silly me, thinking I'd have help around here for years. I completely forgot the upcoming werewolf hiring spree in July."
Remus's mind finally caught up with the conversation, and he sprang to life. Jumping up from his stool, Remus grabbed Aberforth's hand and shook it hard. "Thank you," Remus said, a bit over enthusiastically.
That evening, Remus pulled Rosalee excitedly by the hand into the Three Broomsticks. He could feel the slight tremble in her hand as she shook with nerves, so he pulled her closer and threw an arm over her shoulders, saying softly in her ear, "It's all going to be just fine, sweetheart."
Her palms felt sweaty as Rosalee whispered back, "What if they don't like me?"
"They'll love you," Remus reassured. Spotting his parents at a table in a corner of the pub, a huge smile crept over Remus's face, and he let go of Rosalee to race over and give his mother a hug. Her graying light brown hair made Rosalee wonder just how much of a toll the wizarding world had taken on Muggles like her. The thought reminded her of her parents, how nervous they must have felt when they sent her to Hogwarts for her first year, the fear they must have experienced when the Second Wizarding War began, their terror when she'd run away in the middle of the night to hide from the Snatchers and Death Eaters when the Ministry fell to Voldemort… "Rosalee, these are my parents, Hope and Lyall."
Remus's voice broke her out of her reverie. Rosalee smiled as best she could and shook Lyall's hand, but Hope pulled her into a hug. "It's so very good to meet you, Rose," Hope said cheerfully. "Remus has told us so much about you."
Lyall added, "We hear you're very good at Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Rosalee nodded as the four sat down. "Yes, I've had some very good teachers," Rosalee replied, fidgeting with the trinity knot pendant around her neck that Remus had given her for Christmas.
Hope reached across the table and held Rosalee's hand. She said softly, "He also told us that you're a seer, but don't worry, sweetheart. You're secret is safe with us."
Lyall elbowed Hope. "Darling," Lyall warned, still wearing a loving smile as he looked at the love of his life.
Hope laughed. "What?"
Cheeks burning, Remus said, "I hope you don't mind me telling them. They've done such a wonderful job keeping my secret and protecting me my whole life, so I just knew we could trust them to keep you safe, too."
Heart racing, Rosalee tried to recover from the surprise and said as casually as she could manage, "Oh yes, of course. That's perfectly fine."
Hope asked, "So, Rose, dear, when are you due?"
Rosalee could feel her face heating up as she answered, "August 26."
"Oh, that'll be such a nice time of year to have a baby," Hope said with a smile. "Have you seen anything in the future about it?"
"Mum," Remus groaned. "Please."
Hope laughed. "What's the matter, sweetheart? I'm just making conversation."
Lyall shook his head with a smile. "It's not considered particularly polite in the wizarding world to ask seers about their visions, unless of course they've been paid to look into your future," Lyall informed Hope as Remus's face grew even redder.
Rosalee laughed softly. "Honestly, I'm more than used to it from our friends," Rosalee said. "I've only had one vision about him so far, but he's a boy. His name is Elijah Remus, and he's the most beautiful little boy I've ever seen."
"Awww, how lovely," Hope cooed. "I have an idea. Would you like to go shopping for the baby with me? We can get baby clothes, toys, diapers… Unless you'd rather go with your mother, which would be completely fine, of course."
Remus nearly choked on his butterbeer. Rosalee hit his back a few times as he coughed it up. "Mum," Remus gasped. "Rose's parents were killed by a dragon last summer."
Paling, Hope mumbled, "Oh, dear goodness. I'm so terribly sorry, Rose; I didn't realize…"
Rosalee shrugged. "It's all right."
"I got so caught up in telling them everything else, I forgot to mention that," Remus rushed. "Rose, I'm so sorry…"
Rosalee gently rubbed Remus's back with one hand, placing her other hand on his shoulder. "Really, it's fine," Rosalee said softly. "It's totally fine. I can handle it." Looking back at Hope and her green eyes, so like Remus's, she added, "I'd love to go shopping with you, Mrs. Lupin."
Her face relaxing, Hope replied, "Oh, please, call me Hope."
Lyall said, "Rose, what are your plans for after Hogwarts?"
Rosalee bit her lip for a moment. "I'm not really sure. I was going to join the Order of the Phoenix straight after school, but given the circumstances…"
Lyall nodded, tapping his fingers on the glass of his mug of butterbeer. "Well, perhaps then you could move in with us after school is over."
This time it was Rosalee who choked on her pumpkin juice. Remus patted her back soothingly as she recovered. "Really?" Rosalee wheezed as she caught her breath.
Hope smiled widely and exclaimed, "Oh, yes, of course! That'd be perfect. You and Remus could stay together that way so it'd be easy for him to be with baby Elijah, and that way Lyall and I can help take care of you two and our little grandbaby."
Remus started, "Mum, maybe…" but was cut off by Rosalee suddenly grabbing hold of his arm hard enough to cause him pain as black smoke began to lick at the edges of her vision. "Rose, what's happening?" Remus asked as Rosalee gasped. The room dissolved and reformed as a bright, sunny yard. There was a tiny cottage off in the distance, and Remus looked at Rosalee, eyes wide. "Is this what happens with Sirius?" Remus asked.
Rosalee nodded, then glanced around. She spotted herself and Remus under an apple tree, looking a few years older. The older Rosalee stood at the base of the tree, staring up it and shouting, "Harry James Potter, you come down here right this minute."
Remus was a few feet away from Rosalee, laughing. "Rose, just leave the poor boy be," Remus said.
The real Remus squeezed Rosalee's hand tighter and whispered, "Is that your friend Harry? Was he James's son?"
Rosalee nodded as the Rosalee from the vision insisted, "Absolutely not. He broke a lamp flying around on that silly broomstick Sirius gave him, knowing full well he's only supposed to fly outside. He's coming down right now, and I'm taking away that broom for a week."
The scene dissipated in a cloud of black smoke, and Rosalee blinked as the Three Broomsticks came back into her sight. Remus's parents were watching them with worried eyes. Lyall was saying, "It's nice to know that a simple Reviving Spell can bring you back from a vision in an emergency situation."
Remus swallowed hard. "Rose, is it just me or did it sound like we were —"
"Yes, I think so," Rosalee said breathlessly. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to show you…"
"It's all right," Remus said before quickly downing the rest of his butterbeer.
Hope asked softly, "Are you two ok?"
Her stomach felt rather cramped and she was shaking like a leaf, but she said anyway, "Oh yes, we're fine. Thank you."
