Chapter 13

Chris walked along side John with his hands shoved in his pockets of his cloak and a thoughtful look on his face. The women who were expecting or were the only parent to their child available were told they couldn't be apart of any of the upcoming missions. The men were to be told their assignments and expectations next. No one had received any explanations behind these sudden orders either. They were sent for a break at the moment and were expected to meet and greet with the incoming aurors from across the world. Chris was not looking too forward to that however. "Jess is gonna go insane when I tell her about all this… You don't think they'll try to assign her to anything once the baby is older do you?" he asked, looking at his best friend worriedly.

"No way. Who would raise the kid if anything happens to one of you guys? Neither of you are in touch with your mums enough. Your dad's could I guess… and Angela's just too young." Chris nodded in understanding and let out a sigh of relief.

"Makes sense." He said and a smile crossed his face. "Wow, so Josh is gonna be a dad. Everyone is moving along pretty quick, huh?"

"Really quick." John pushed open the doors to the hall and the two friends stared in a mixture of annoyance and amazement at the new faces that had taken over. "Welcome new guys." There were witches and wizards spread through out the hall were a mixture of faces and the sounds of different accents as the large mass of individuals talked amongst each other.

"Bloody hell!" Chris looked around with a shocked expression. "They said we were getting some transfers, but nothing like this."

"Some of them were called in." The two friends glanced over their shoulder to see Harry standing there looking coolly out at the new comers mixed in with their bunch. "I don't really know why so many are here. I was told the minister called in extras."

"Is there something that's going on that we weren't told about?" asked John. Harry was about to say something until Ron came up and nudged him.

"Oy, we're suppose to be meeting up with someone right now." He informed, waving about a piece of parchment. He looked at his son and smiled a bit. "Eh, aren't you suppose to be with your wife right now?"

"Can't leave til the chief gives me my orders." Ron raised an eyebrow.

"You're still expecting orders? You might not get any with Janet so far along."

"You never know with the information I got. Its one thing they're excusing the females." Said Harry, giving Ron a knowing look. The younger males looked at the older pair in confusion. Harry snapped out of his serious state at that moment and slapped the two on the shoulders. "All the same, go and get to know these new comers. I need to know what you think before any of them are put on a team with me." He said brightly and excused himself as he followed Ron off.

"What do you think they have to take care of?" asked Chris curiously. John shrugged.

"Dunno. We'll find out eventually. Lets go talk to that bunch over there." He said with a sigh.

Sirius looked up from his paper as Remus came walking in. He raised an eyebrow at his friend, expecting some form of dialogue and being disappointed. He cleared his throat as his long time friend went walking clear past him. "Hey, mate. Can't speak anymore? Was your trip really just that life changing?" Remus snapped his attention up and looked over at his friend in complete confusion. Sirius made a face.

"I'm sorry, Sirius. What were you saying?" Sirius made a face and grunted, looking back down at his paper.

"I was asking how your trip went. You were gone longer than expected," Sirius took a moment to take in his friend's appearance. "Looks as though you got some shocking news while you were away." Remus came and sat across from his friend, putting his face in his hands and proceeding to run them back through his hair.

"I went to see Tonks."

"Eh, and how was that?" Sirius asked in an uninterested manner.

"She has a kid."

"A kid huh? Wow, uncle Ted must be pretty excited. How old's the little monster? A few months or so?"

"Four years old."

"Eh? Wow… how'd I miss that? Wonder who the lucky guy is."

"Its me." There was a long silence and Sirius allowed the paper to slip from his hands while he stared at his best friend in complete shock.

"WHAT!?"

"His name is Teddy. He's four…. His facial features are mine, but his eyes and hair color... he's definitely Tonks' son."

"You never knew about him?!"

"Oh no, I knew about him. I've seen him a few times, but with all the insanity going on, Tonks had him and her parents taken somewhere for safety and she just brought him back recently." Remus explained, not looking up at his friend. "He's grown so much since I've last seen him…"

"Why the bloody hell don't I know about this kid?!" Sirius demanded, glaring down at the distracted man.

"I don't much feel like going into the details right now, Sirius."

"And why not? I mean, this is MY family we are talking about! We're best friends. Didn't you think you could trust me? And who might I ask is the god father!?"

"We haven't asked yet, but we wanted Harry to be." Answered Remus, finally looking up at his long time friend. Sirius stared at him for a while and slowly calmed down.

"I see… Good choice." He said quietly. "When do I get to meet the little monster?"

"Going to pick him up tomorrow. Tonks has an assignment and wants me to take him for a week or so." Remus answered and stood up, stretching a bit. "I'm thinking it would be a good chance to bond a bit and such." Sirius nodded and watched as Remus left the room before shaking his head.

"Unbelievable… Moony is a father… and with Tonks of all people!" he muttered to himself. He sat back with the thought and laughed to himself. This was going to be all to interesting. He couldn't wait to meet the spawn of his best friend and favorite cousin. He could only imagine would kind of child little Teddy Lupin (he assumed) could be like.