Chapter Fifty:

Twenty-One Years Later

POV: Nymphandora Tonks

I rolled over, rubbing my growing belly. Ever since I'd gotten pregnant, it'd been so difficult to sleep. I slowly opened my eyes, expecting to find Remus staring at me anxiously like he usually was, but he was gone.

"Remus?" I mumbled.

No reply. Frowning, I sat up and looked around. I was sleeping in my childhood bedroom. The walls were bright yellow, and my Quidditch and Weird Sisters posters were still hung up on the walls from when I was a teenager. I had been meaning to take those down, but Remus found them endearing. In the corner, he had set up a crib for the baby. He and Arthur had painted that corner of the bedroom bright blue. Molly had sent over a package of some of her kids' old baby things, and Ginny had helped me unpack them all over Christmas break. It all looked very nice, but I couldn't wait until Remus and I could buy our own home, and our son would have his own bedroom.

"Dora, honey, are you alright?" Mum asked, poking her head inside.

"Can't sleep," I grumbled.

She smiled sympathetically. "Would you like me to make you a cup of tea?"

"I don't want to be a bother," I told her, shaking my head.

"Nonsense!" she said, softly closing the door.

"Mum, wait! Do you know where Remus is?" I asked.

"He's in the kitchen. Arthur just stopped by," she replied.

"At one in the morning?" I raised my eyebrows.

She nodded vigorously. "That historian...what was her name? Oh, yes! Bathilda Bagshot is dead!"

"Merlin's pants! That's horrible...wait, but wasn't she really old?"

Mum grimaced. "Kingsley reckons You-Know-Who's snake had something to do with it. And they think Harry might have been there too."

My jaw dropped and I quickly threw the covers off myself. "I'm going down."

Mum shook her head, gently pushing me back into bed.

"Dora," she coaxed, smoothing out my hair. "Dear, you're pregnant."

"Yes, mum, I'm pregnant. Not crippled," I snapped.

"Honey, we'll tell you all about it later. Right now, you need to try and get some sleep," she told me sternly. "I'll bring you some tea, okay," she said, closing the door behind her. I listened as she went downstairs, hearing the soft voices of Remus and Arthur as they discussed the latest attack.

Sighing, I turned on the lamp beside me. I was wide awake now, and there was no way I would get back to sleep. Getting up, I went into the closet, looking for a jumper. Instead, because I was about as graceful as an elephant in ballet class, I stubbed my toe on the boxes Remus had brought home the other day.

I swore under my breath, cursing Remus.

"What's in these ruddy boxes anyway?" I wondered, tearing them open. "Of course...books..." I snorted, rolling my eyes.

I grabbed the first book I saw and went back to bed.

"Dora, honey, I thought I told you to go back to bed," Mum sighed, coming in with a tray of tea.

"I can't sleep," I told her. "I thought I might read."

She shook her head, leaving the tray on my nightstand.

"Mum, any word on Harry?" I asked quietly.

She smiled sadly. "No, I'm sorry, honey."

I shook my head, grinning. "Mum, I reckon that's a good thing. It means the other side hasn't found him yet either."

"That's a nice way to look at it," Mum remarked, smiling. I watched her leave, her dark hair swaying behind her. It was nice that Remus and I were staying here with her. I think we took her mind off of Dad. Remus and Arthur had advised him to make a run for it a few weeks back, and we hadn't heard from him since. I figured no news was good news.

I turned the book over and opened to the first page. An old photograph fell out, and I frowned, staring at the smiling faces of a young group of people waving at the camera. I checked the inside cover of the book and found a note written in neat cursive.

Moony,

Merry Christmas! I know this book isn't much, but James and I haven't really had a chance to get out of the house much...Dumbledore's orders. Anyway, James is getting pretty restless. He's so used to fighting and being in the action. To tell you the truth, I'm getting a bit restless myself. Dorky and Mar were here a few days ago, and I'm so jealous of them. They're right in the middle of all the action. James won't even let me leave the house nowadays, especially with the pregnancy. One of the few things keeping me from going completely insane are all of these books you send over. They keep me really distracted. Anyway, James was helping me clean out some things, and we found this book. As soon as I saw it, I knew you would love it.

I'm so sorry I couldn't buy you something new.

Please come by soon! We miss you.

Love,

Lily

"What are you doing?" Remus asked, his dark eyes peering questioningly at me.

"Remus, this Lily...is she Harry's mum?" I asked, my eyes wide. Remus didn't talk much about James and Sirius. It hurt him too much.

Frowning, Remus took the book from my hand. He read over the note, his small smile transforming into a pained grimace.

"Where did you find this?" he asked quietly.

"In one of the boxes. Are you upset?" I asked. "I wasn't going through them or anything...I just thought I might like reading one of your books...I could put it back if you want..."

He shook his head, squeezing in beside me. "No...no...I just hadn't seen this in years," he told me, kissing my forehead.

"There's also this," I said quietly, showing him the old photograph.

He took the picture into his hand, laughing. "You know when this was taken? A few minutes after James proposed to Lily. Merlin, I remember we were all waiting in Marlene's kitchen, staring out the window, waiting for him to ask."

"Marlene? Which one is she?" I asked.

Remus pointed to a dark haired girl at the very end. She was grinning, her dark brown eyes bright and full of laughter.

"She was pretty," I commented, taking in her perfect figure, long legs, and beautiful smile.

Remus smiled. "Oh, she was so much more than just her beauty. Merlin, she was talented and smart...but she was so quiet about it. The most modest person I'd ever met. Silently incredible, she was. Oh, and blimey, besides Lily, she was probably the kindest one of all us. She never hurt anybody's feelings, she was brilliant in school, and she was gorgeous. She was like the little sister I never had. I could tell her anything, and I knew she would never judge, never look at me any differently."

"What happened to her?"

A dark look crossed Remus' face. "Vold-You-Know-Who happened," he said gruffly, almost forgetting that Voldemort's name was taboo. "They didn't just kill her...they got her whole family...her parents, her brother, her boyfriend Nate...I remember getting the news. I was the one that had to tell Dorcas and Lily that their best friend was dead. She put up a good fight, though, but we were outnumbered in the end."

"Who's the girl next to her?" I wondered. It seemed as if each girl just got prettier and prettier. The witch next to Marlene was blonde, her eyes bright and blue. Sirius had his arm around her, kissing her cheek.

"Dorcas Meadowes...the one girl Sirius ever loved," Remus replied.

I stared at him. "Sirius Black...my cousin? Mr. Broody McBrood was in love?"

He laughed. "Sirius wasn't always broody. He used to be the life of the party...he and James...always making others laugh...the most popular blokes in school."

I shook my head. "I don't buy it. The only time I ever saw Sirius ever truly smile was whenever you or Harry were around."

"Yeah, well, he never got over what happened to the others. Merlin, we had already lost Marlene...and then Dorcas died. And he was planning on proposing to her and everything. And then the next month James, his best friend, dies. The only thing he had left was me and Harry...and then we got taken away from him too..."

Remus's voice broke, a single tear running down his cheek.

"What was Sirius like...before all of this?" I asked, wiping away his tears.

He snorted. "He and James were...the most annoying gits in the world. They would sneak out, they would pull pranks, they would have detention nearly every weekend...it's a wonder how James ever got Headboy."

I laughed. "And Dorcas? What was she like?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Female version of Sirius. She was beautiful and confident and wild. But she was also loyal, and she always stood up for her friends. I don't know how many times she got detention for jinxing people that called Lily a 'mudblood.' Sometimes, I don't know how she and Marlene were even friends. The two of them were complete opposites...but they were inseparable..."

"And Sirius really loved her?"

"He worshipped the ground she walked on. Before her, he had never committed to a single girl, but the moment he and Dorcas got together, that was it for him. He never so much as looked at another girl."

"He was going to propose to her?" I asked quietly, trying to picture Sirius in love.

"James and I went with him to pick out the ring."

"And I'm guessing this one is James?" I said, pointing to the tall messy-haired boy in the center. "Blimey, it's true what they say...Harry looks just like his father. Except for the eyes. He has - "

" - his mother's eyes," Remus finished, nodding.

"Lily was very pretty," I remarked, studying the beaming face of the girl who James had his arms around. She was waving at the camera, showing off the large diamond ring on her finger.

Remus smiled. "Lily was beyond words. She and James...you wouldn't have met a better couple. Those two were made for each other, and they loved Harry so much. Everything they did in their last years was for him. I remember the day he was born...the look on James's face when he saw his son. It was the first time I ever saw him cry. And Lily...I don't think she loved anyone as much as she loved Harry. And Sirius and I were right there with them. We had never seen a more beautiful baby. Really, it was like Harry had six parents. Dorcas and Marlene would spoil him silly. I remember they would bring him new toys every week. It became a bit of a competition between Sirius and Dorcas to see who would bring the better gift. Meanwhile, Marlene and I would try to get him to stay still so we could read him books, but all he ever wanted to do was to ride the toy broomstick Sirius got him."

I giggled. "I had one of those too!"

Remus smiled. "Yeah, James would spend all day chasing Harry on that thing. Lily loved it. She would sit and watch them laughing for hours."

I rubbed my belly. "Sounds like Harry had a lot of people who really loved him."

"After Dorcas died...Lily was having a really hard time. She had just lost two of her best friends. She and James made me and Sirius promise that we would protect Harry no matter what in case something ever happened to them..." Remus got up and slammed his fists against the wall. "I hate that I don't know what's going on with Harry...I hate that I can't be there to protect him..."

I touched his arm. "Remus, Harry will be fine. You and Sirius did your jobs...you taught him and cared for him as best you could...Harry loves you. I know he does. I don't care what happened between the two of you at Grimmauld Place. When all of this is over, you'll get to see Harry, and I promise you everything will be okay."

Remus nodded. "I want him to the godfather," he said abruptly.

I blinked. "To our son?"

He nodded. "I want Harry to be his godfather."

I smiled, kissing him. "I couldn't think of anyone better."

"Good, good," he said, taking the tea from my hands. "Now, get some sleep Dora. I left Arthur down their with your mum for quite some time. I should really get back. We have a lot to discuss. I reckon Kingsley might stop by later too."

"You'll tell me everything later?" I pleaded.

"Of course," he assured me, softly closing the door behind him.

Sighing, I looked at the picture again, searching for Remus. He was standing between James and Peter, grinning up at the camera. His face was younger and happier. I hoped that once he saw our son that same smile would appear on his face again. I knew Remus loved me, but sometimes I wondered if I could ever make him happy...if anything could ever make him happy again. He'd lost so many people in his life already...and the worst part of it was that he blamed himself for most of those deaths.

Seething with anger, I turned my attention to Peter, glaring at his sniveling face. I tore the picture in half, ripping away Peter. In my mind, if it weren't for him James and Lily would still be alive, and Remus would be happy. Sirius might still be alive too, and Remus would be happy. Dorcas and Marlene might still be alive as well, and Remus would be happy.

I tossed Peter's picture into the trash and looked at the photograph again, focusing on the smiling faces of James and Lily Potter.

"Your son is loved, I promise you he is," I whispered, "and he'll make it through this...I just know it."