17
THE sound of a loud crack of thunder rent the otherwise silent night air almost the moment Lyall paused to draw in a breath, the noise startling Teddy as the five-year-old let out a yelp and bolted off of his grandfather's lap, clambering up onto the sofa and clung to his mother, starting to tremble.
Tonks exchanged a bemused but worried glance with Remus before patting her son's hair and shifting the five-year-old in her lap, looking towards her husband for confirmation.
"We should go, Remus," she murmured, casting a weary glance towards the thunderstorm outside, before shifting her attention to look at the clock on the wall.
"Nonsense," Lyall immediately objected in a rough and coarse voice as he pulled his gaze away from his pensive, thoughtful staring out the window to look his daughter-in-law in the eyes and fixing Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin with a rather pointed and firm, knowing little stare the young witch wasn't sure what to make of. "It's late enough as it is, I won't have you traveling home in this weather, even if you do Apparate. Stay, please do, it's not a burden or an imposition to me. I would welcome the company, my dear Dora. Please. Stay, I insist," he insisted, and there was a hint of steel that told Remus he had to listen to his father.
Lupin exchanged another brief glance with Dora, who merely shrugged her shoulders, too intent on calming Teddy down, who had started to violently shake.
Sensing his son and daughter-in-law were not convinced, Lyall rose from his rocking chair, wincing at the stiffness in his joints as he did so, and strode towards the sofa where they sat, holding an arm outstretched to help Mrs. Lupin up.
He instantly missed the warmth, the heat the flames from the roaring fire in the hearth gave off, but if he needed to ensure they stayed, then their spare bedroom was not about to make itself.
"Come on," he murmured in a low voice. "I won't hear of sending you home in this weather. You can stay in our spare bedroom. I'll make us breakfast in the morning and I can tell the rest of the story in the morning."
"But Grandpa—" Teddy started to protest in a low little whine, though he was immediately cut off the moment his mother shot him a slightly admonishing little look of anger.
"Don't argue with Grandpa, Teddy, your grandpa is right. It's getting late and you should be in bed. We should all be in bed," Tonks murmured softly, barely managing to stifle a yawn with the back of her hand, reaching up a hand to tousle her son's light brown hair that was so like his father's.
She heaved a groan as she hauled her son into her arms and rose to her feet, with Teddy practically clinging to her neck as another loud crack of thunder rent the air.
"We'd be delighted to stay, Lyall, thank you for having us, hopefully the storm will let up in the morning, it's looking nasty outside," she said, lowering her voice and looking towards Remus for confirmation, who quickly nodded his agreement. "What can I do to help you? I don't feel comfortable in taking advantage of your kindness and hospitality like this, sir. I—I want to do something to help you, Lyall. I could make breakfast for us in the morning if you want, sir?"
Lyall quickly turned his head as he caught his son's eye, his cheeks flushing a light pale pink color. It was no secret that Remus's wife was, well…for lack of a better word, clumsy.
She knew it about herself too, but from what little Lyall knew of his son's home life with his family, Remus was the one who did most of the cooking, or whenever there was a big family event, they headed over to the Weasley's home at the Burrow, where Molly never failed to scrounge up a feast.
He coughed once to clear his throat before turning back to Remus's wife while his mind struggled for something to say.
"Er, that's…that's very kind of you, my dear, but as you're a guest in mine and my Hope's home, I will not hear of it. You won't lift a finger tomorrow."
"But…" Tonks started to protest, though her voice trailed off the moment Remus shot his wife an admonishing look.
She let out a tiny sigh and relented, shifting Teddy to her other arm to better support her son's weight as she held him.
"Okay," Tonks conceded, and made to follow Lyall and Remus out of Lyall Lupin's living room, down the hallway, and to the first door on the left. "Thank you again, Mr. Lupin, sir."
Lyall chuckled softly as he twisted the bras doorknob and gently opened the door to his and Hope's spare bedroom.
It used to be Remus's old room, but ever since their son had turned twenty years ago and had moved out on his own, not wanting to burden his father and mother with his problems or risk endangering them every full moon, the two of them had converted it into a little guest room in case they had guests.
Tonks peeked inside the room the moment her eyes adjusted to the bright light, her heart warmed by the simplicity of the bedroom before her.
It was simple, and somewhat sparse in comparison to their guest room back home, but she knew that for poor widowed Lyall, it was more than enough.
"It's wonderful, Lyall, thank you so much. What time would you like us to wake up in the morning?" Tonks shifted Teddy in her arms as she turned to look her father-in-law in the eyes, feeling Remus give a nudge beside her as he moved to stand behind his wife, one hand on her shoulder giving it a light but firm reassuring little squeeze.
Lyall shrugged.
"Whenever you wake up, though with the amount of noise my Tandy makes, you'll be lucky if you manage to sleep in until six," he chuckled, sounding surprised when he responded as he lifted his chin to meet Remus's gaze, whose face was looking flushed with color. "She'll be delighted to see you again, Remus. She's missed you. And besides…"
His reserved voice trailed off as his gaze lingered upon his grandson, already falling asleep in his mother's warm and comforting embrace.
"She had a huge part in how your mother and I got together, and you remember, she doted on you as a child, Remus, don't you remember the times she would sneak you chocolate right before bed when she thought that Hope and I weren't looking?" he murmured, a faraway glint appearing in his eyes as he remembered how their Tandy was the first one to introduce Remus when he was just a young boy to the delectable sweet treat.
Tandy happened to be the one who implanted in him the idea, misguided though it was, that chocolate was poisonous to dogs, and if that was the case, then perhaps chocolate would be poisonous to werewolves too and could play a part in finding a cure for his lycanthropy.
It hadn't worked, of course, but Tandy's efforts had been noble and pure of heart.
It had been for that reason, and the reason beside that Tandy had taken an immense liking to Hope when she had first met Hope Howell the morning after her exhaustive night in the woods, the same night Lyall revealed to his growing crush that he just so happened to be a wizard, and when Remus was born, Tandy had doted on their only son.
He had sent her home for the day, though he suspected none would be more surprised than Tandy would be to learn her Remus had returned home, and Tandy had not yet met Remus's wife or his Teddy, either. Lyall was sure she would be ecstatic over breakfast.
Lyall suppressed a small smile at that. Remus, Lyall noticed, appeared extremely hesitant, for a minute or two, having sensed his wife's confusion as Dora had furrowed her eyebrows into a confused frown as she set about un-making the bed and getting Teddy tucked into bed, waving her wand, and magically conjuring up spare blankets.
"Tandy?" she questioned, a slight note of disbelief in her voice. "Who's that, Remus? You—you never mentioned another witch in your family before. Is she a relative of yours?" Tonks questioned softly, lowering her voice, careful not to wake Teddy, who was already sound asleep and resting peacefully.
Lupin stiffened, biting the wall of his cheek while he searched his brain for something to say, feeling his face drain of color at the mention of a name he'd never thought he would hear again, much less see throughout his adult life.
"She—she's my—my family's old house-elf, Dora," he murmured, shamefacedly as Lupin turned to meet his wife's piercing stare, visibly cringing at the look of surprise on her pale, heart-shaped face.
Remus felt something within him tighten as his heart, now little more than a quivering feeble muscle within his chest, gave a painful little lurch, and for a moment, as Tonks's lips parted open slightly in shock, he was sure that his heart had ceased its beating all together.
"Your…your house-elf?" Dora whispered, though a look of dawning comprehension had ignited in her pale grey-blue irises as a look of understanding flitted across her features, wondering if she had heard correctly. "I—I had no idea you had one…"
"Yes." Remus lowered his gaze to the wooden floor beneath them as he chose to sit down on the edge of the bed's mattress.
Here it was. It was coming. Dora was sure to yell at him once she learned his family had kept a house-elf, though not necessarily for the reasons that she might think.
She would yell at him, and Remus would do nothing to stop it, though he hoped that Dora would at least be willing to hear Lyall out, and she would come to understand his reasons, why they still continued to keep Tandy in his service.
For Remus and Lyall both, keeping Tandy by Lyall's side, especially now that Hope was gone, was more about companionship, to keep Lyall from sinking into a melancholic depression now that his dearly beloved wife was taken, gone from him now for a few years.
He'd not seen Tandy in a number of months, but he knew that the little creature played an instrumental role in ensuring his father carried on the strength to make it through another day without Hope, sometimes it was just enough for Lyall to have the house-elf sit by his side on the armchair by the fire.
Just to sit with the aging old wizard in silence, keep him company, listen to Lyall reminisce over stories of his time with Hope and Remus.
Tandy had been there in the midst of playing a game of Gobstones with Remus the night Dumbledore had strolled unannounced into their little home, the night that Albus had asked Remus if he would like to attend Hogwarts, despite his condition as a fully-fledged werewolf.
Tandy had been the one, alongside Hope, to convince Lyall to allow their son to take the chance and go.
Tandy, Merlin bless that sweet little house-elf, was more than just a servant to the Lupin family's bloodline, which, if he was understanding correctly, Tandy would immediately fall to Remus's service the moment his father passed away, considering house-elves led egregiously long, fruitful lives and Tandy for her age at fifty, was considered something of a youngling still.
He hoped, perhaps, though he still had yet to discuss it with Dora, that Tandy would come and live with him the moment his father passed from this world and to where his mother awaited him in the afterlife beyond this physical realm, but perhaps that was a conversation best saved for the morning.
Tandy was a friend, and Remus hoped that perhaps in the morning, once Lyall divulged the rest of his tale, Tonks would come to understand just how much she meant to him.
Though, the moment Tonks's sweet voice reached his eardrums and pulled him from her thoughts, it was not necessarily what she said rather, but instead, what Dora did.
Tonks rose from her perch where she had been absentmindedly stroking Teddy's hair, ensuring her son stayed fast asleep, offering a curt nod to Lyall, who merely grunted wordlessly in response before turning on his heels to leave them alone in peace, as well as to retire to his own room for the night, and set a gentle hand on Remus's arm.
"I'm sure you and your family treat her well, Remus. I look forward to meeting her in the morning and hearing how she took a liking to your mum," Tonks chuckled lightly at the somewhat-amusing mental image of the young Muggle woman meeting a house-elf for the very first time, knowing what a shock and a startling surprise that must have been. The glint in his wife's eyes was unmatched.
"I'm…grateful to hear that you don't think negatively of the fact that my family kept a house-elf, sweetheart," Remus murmured, still feeling his light pink blush start to intensify along his cheeks.
Dora stared at him as though he'd sprouted ears.
"Why would I? I couldn't see your father or your mother ever treating your house-elf poorly. Mr. Scamander would likely murder you in your sleep if you tried," she snorted, clamping a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggle as she moved to the other side of the bed, making Ted sleep in the middle of the bed, so Tonks would sleep on his left, Remus, to the right.
The smile that twitched at the corner of her mouth as enough to set Lupin's mind at ease as he looked at his wife as the pair got into bed and nestled against the mountain of pillows, with Ted sandwiched in between them, already fast asleep.
Warm and content, Lupin allowed his head to collapse back against the satin pillowcase as the thunder continued to roll outside, raging war on the elements.
He thought he'd be facing another sleepless night, as he and Dora usually tended to whenever there was a thunderstorm (Teddy was scared of them) but the thunder quickly lulled Remus and his wife to sleep, enjoying the first tranquil sleep the two of them had in a long time.
It felt as though he'd just lain down to sleep when the distinct smell of breakfast cooking wafting through the air woke up.
Remus, barely conscious and in the midst of a pleasant, vivid dream in which he spent some much-needed alone time with his wife, rolled over and buried his head under the green duvet, grumbling something unintelligible as his arm draped loosely over Tonks's middle, clutching her tightly in the midst of his pleasant dream with her.
It was early morning, far too early for any reasonable human to be up at this un-Merlin-like hour, or so he thought.
It only took a second thought of the sun and the soft bed underneath him, and the feeling of something hard poking his chest and arm, for Remus to realize that something was amiss.
Though when he woke up the next morning, it was to a pair of wide, unblinking, huge brown eyes staring straight into the depths of his very soul, that elicited a startled, terrified scream from Lupin's lips.
There was a female house-elf on his chest.
Tandy's huge eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, her round, almond-shaped eyes practically bugging out of her eye sockets as she shook her head and clamped her tiny, delicate little hands over her oversized, drooping ears.
The tiny elf staggered backward, hopping off of Master Remus's chest as he bolted upright, clutching at a fistful of his t-shirt, his light brown hair tousled and a hand over his racing heart.
She let out a terrified squeak the moment Master Lupin's wife and son bolted upright too, the moment they heard the scream tumble from Master's lips.
Tandy faltered backward and almost succeeded in falling off the edge of the mattress, though she clutched onto fistfuls of the quilt atop the pile of blankets on the bed and scrambled back up the side of the mattress.
"Screaming like that we save for outdoors, Master Remus, use inside voices, Master Lyall gets headaches these days if there's much noise," Tandy squeaked in a tone suggesting severe disapproval, shooting a withering glower in Remus's direction as she lowered her hands from her ears.
Her ears perked up as she noticed Master Lupin's youngling looking at her with wide, interested eyes.
"Come, come," she squealed in a breathless little voice, tugging on Teddy's hand, his other hand he was using to rub away at the sleep that had crusted on his eyes during the night. "Master Lyall sent me to wake you up, young master. Breakfast is ready, yes!"
Without even waiting for Lupin to get over the worst of his shock, or for Tonks to get dressed and follow her out the door, Lupin's house-elf proceeded to grab Teddy by the wrist and drag the boy out the door and down the hall, squealing in a high-pitched, squeaky voice to Lyall that the rest of them were up.
"The Doomsayer departs," Lupin sighed, carding his fingers through his hair, and glancing at his reflection in the small mirror that hung on the wall to the left side of the bed, just near the closet.
"That's Tandy?" Tonks questioned, already knowing the answer, looking like she was fighting against the urge to erupt into hysterical laughter at still seeing the look of fright and shock the Lupin family house-elf had given her husband by waking him up in such an unorthodox, surprise manner.
Remus chuckled as he swung his legs over the edge of the mattress, letting out a hiss as his bare feet touched the cold hardwood floor.
"Would it be anyone else, sweetheart?" he teased Dora lightly, though his smile slid off his face like Stinksap. "I apologize for that. She—she always woke me up like that, and I guess even after all this time, it's no different," he groaned as he strode to the door.
Tonks followed close behind as the married couple was drawn out of their bedroom by the good smells of bacon and sausage and eggs floating through the air.
Their stomachs growled in response, demanding the two follow Lyall's house-elf and their son in search of the delicious aroma.
Lupin cleared his throat to find Lyall standing at the stove, his father's back turned towards them as they stood in the doorway.
Tandy, Merlin bless that little house-elf, Remus noticed, was perched on top of a chair that looked suspiciously like Remus's old high-chair that his parents had used when he was a baby, using the platform of the high-chair's tray as a surface which she could sit upon while she poured cups of hot chocolate for Teddy, Remus, and Tonks. Tandy looked up from her work and offered a shy smile.
"Master Lupin!" she squeaked, turning her head to get Lyall's attention. Lyall shifted at the waist, chuckling as he noticed how his two houseguests seemed to have gotten adequate enough sleep last night, their hair disheveled, and sleeping clothes tousled, though they were looking better rested.
Lyall smiled softly as he waved his wand to turn off the burner on the stove and carry a heavily laden breakfast tray complete with plates, cups, and silverware towards the kitchen table. "Sit down."
Remus nodded. Coming from his father, it wasn't a request. He glanced towards Tandy, who he was pleased to see had taken an instant liking to his son and was piling more eggs onto his plate than he and Dora both knew that Teddy would be able to eat.
He chuckled softly, shaking his head to himself. Tandy was like Molly in that regard, with the little house-elf always ensuring they took more to eat.
"Good morning," Lyall said softly, studying Remus and Tonks over the rim of his coffee cup. "You must have slept rather nicely. Are you feeling any better?"
Lupin paused, who had been about to take a sip of hot chocolate, lowered his mug, looking startled at being addressed so early in the morning, suddenly looking weary.
"Peachy," he groaned, his tone brisk as he folded his arms across his chest. "I usually wake up great after finding a house-elf on my chest."
Lyall's smile instantly fell as he set his mug down. He noticed out of the corner of his eye how Tandy physically winced at the barb that came from his son's grumpiness.
Remus never had been a morning person, even on a good day. The little house-elf's large ears drooped, and she glanced away from affectionately feeding Teddy bits of egg with her own fork, shame marring her face as she ducked her head, a lock of her dark brown bob tumbling in front of her face.
It was clear Tandy hadn't meant any harm by coming into Lyall's guest bedroom and waking up Remus, but that did not mean that Tandy deserved to be treated in such a deplorable fashion.
"Remus." Lyall barked in a rough and curt tone, and Lupin slowly glanced up towards Tandy, a pink blush of embarrassment speckling its way on his cheeks.
A thick, uncomfortable silence hung in the air, and Lyall saw Nymphadora shoot Remus a look of severe disapproval for snapping at the house-elf.
"Sorry." Tandy glanced up from toying with the tines of her fork in time to see Master Remus rubbing the back of his neck gingerly, looking sheepish. "That was uncalled for." He rubbed his eyebrows and his eyes narrowed in contemplative thought before continuing embarrassedly, "I guess I'm not really…back to my usual self, Tandy. I'm sorry," he murmured, his face growing bright red.
Tandy nodded in understanding. "Understandable, Master Remus. It's not you, it's the moon, sir," she squeaked, looking towards Lyall for confirmation.
Lyall shot the dark-haired little house-elf a glance that suggested he did not approve of Tandy using the full moon and Remus's transformations as an excuse for such abrasive behavior toward his servant. It seemed an eternity before he spoke again.
"My dear, sweet Tandy, would you like to start this morning? I was just telling my son and his wife and my grandson of you and was about to get to the part in my story where you woke up Hope that morning at Newt Scamander's house, and the reaction she had," he announced proudly.
Lyall snorted at the look of shock dawning on the house-elf's face as her dark eyes bugged out almost out of their sockets as she whiplashed her head sharply up to look at them.
The tiny house-elf swallowed loudly and looked away, rubbing absently at her upper arm, and clutching onto a fistful of her neat tea cozy.
Then her expression softened as she felt a small hand pat the top of her head, and looked over to see Master Remus's young son, the cutest five-year-old boy she'd ever seen, aside from Master Remus himself when he was this age, smile affectionately at her.
"Very well, if it is what Master wishes, then I shall tell it," she muttered, looking towards her master with a puzzled expression, but she nodded. "Where would Master Lupin like me to start, sir?" Tandy squeaked, looking towards Lyall for help.
Lyall chuckled and wound his hands around his mug of coffee before shoveling a bite of egg and bacon and sausage into his mouth. He took his time chewing and swallowing his bite of food before answering.
"Well, Tandy, my dear, you could start with how my wife threw a plate at your head. That seems like it would make for an intriguing opener."
He could tell the instant the words left his mouth that they'd hit their mark as Remus choked on a bite of sausage. It took his wife thumping him on the back for it to dislodge before his son could find his voice.
"My mother threw a plate at you, Tandy?" he managed to gasp out in a hoarse voice, clutching at his chest as he reached for his cup of hot cocoa.
He looked towards the little house-elf, who nodded cheerfully, a faraway look in her dark brown eyes.
Tandy looked surprised at Remus's reaction. "Y—yes, Master Lupin. Mistress Hope did. She was scared of me, see, Master. She has never seen the likes of a house-elf before until that morning, sir."
Lyall nodded, a strangely melancholic look in his brown eyes as he pushed his plate of food away, propping his elbows upon the table and intertwining his fingers together, studying Tandy across the way.
He closed his eyes and listened as Tandy, in her breathless and squeaky way of speaking, launched into her version of events, combined with what his wife had told her from her perspective throughout the years they had been married and she'd gotten better acquainted with Tandy's presence in her life, what happened the morning after her ill-fated walk in the Welsh forest.
She told of how Hope Howell had woken up the next morning unexpectedly to find a house-elf perched at the foot of her bed…