A/N: apologies for the length of this chapter. I had thought about splitting it into 2 segments, but neither section had the impact I wanted it to give. Thanks for bearing with me.
24
LYALL blinked himself out of his stupor as his hand ghosted along the surface of the photograph that Teddy had taken from his and Hope's bedroom without his or Tandy's knowledge. He let the pad of his rough, calloused fingertip ghost over the moving photograph of his wife, taken the day that she had testified against Fenrir Greyback in front of the full Wizengamot for the man's crimes against humanity. Hope Lupin's smile in the photograph was so white and blindingly beautiful, that for a moment, Lyall's breaths caught in his throat.
His wife in the photograph was beaming so widely that Lyall almost let himself imagine that at that moment that Lyall had snapped the photograph to mark the occasion, how the triumph must have been singing in her veins.
She stood next to the Fountain of Magical Brethren, located in the Atrium of the Ministry, her hands on her hips, her gold wedding ring visible in the photo, and glinting even back then.
Not even the curse of time could take away how her ring sparkled on her finger. Hope's brown hair in the photograph was curled and neatly styled, makeup pristine and perfect, ever a vision of loveliness in a black plaid pencil dress and black heels, the strap of her bag swung over her shoulder.
It had been on that day that they had discovered Hope was pregnant with Remus. A wistful smile tugged the edges of his lips upward, and Lyall could feel warm water brimming at the edges of his eyes.
He remembered fondly at how, when the Wizengamot had announced Greyback to be sentenced to over ten years in Azkaban Prison for his crimes, Lyall, in a moment of triumph, placed the entire contents of his wallet, all thirty Galleons, six Knuts, and two Sickles, into the fountain.
He affectionately remembered Hope following suit and taking from her purse a Muggle note or two and placing it into the fountain in triumph as well, growing immensely satisfied that a person of non-magical blood had helped to put away a monster like Greyback for life. Or so the two had thought.
That had all been before. Before Lyall had been summoned by the committee and questioned. Before Fenrir Greyback had overpowered two members of the committee and escaped. Before. Before.
This photograph had been taken before. What Lyall thought he wouldn't give to have his wife alongside his son and daughter-in-law right now and to be telling the story to their grandson alongside him.
As he had launched into his story for his grandson detailing his and Hope's lives together, Lyall had privately resolved to himself that while his family sat in his living room, that neither anger, nor bitterness, nor hurt, nor heartbreak, would be the cause of anything other than apathy in his storytelling.
However, the longer he kept hold of the photograph that was now by rights, his grandson's, as Lyall had told Teddy earlier that he could keep it, his resolve was fast failing him, and the mask of calm he wore for his family was crumbling.
The fingers of his hand not clutching onto the photograph of Hope dug into the sensitive skin of his palm in an effort to quell back the heartbroken tears that swamped his throat to flow to the surface.
"He escaped, Remus, Dora, the day that we found out Hope was pregnant with you, he escaped. I—I didn't know it at the time, the committee did not think to tell me until it was too late," he said hoarsely, the tone of his voice flat, his brown eyes betraying his hurt as Lyall forced himself to tear his gaze away from the moving photograph of his smiling wife and look up to regard Remus, Dora, and Teddy.
For a moment, Remus was struck speechless. His mind was stricken by several unanswerable questions that had haunted him growing up, the moment he was old enough to understand, and tried now as he clung to Dora's hand, Teddy on his lap, to understand what it was he could not imagine.
Why hadn't Dad at least, told him the truth? Had it been his father had not wished him to know, that he thought he could not handle the truth?
"You never told me, Dad," he murmured lowly in a hoarse, subdued tone, his eyes quietly betraying his new hurt. A wave of cold anger slowly overtook Remus's hurt. "Why did the Ministry never look harder for him?" he voiced quietly, his words sounding more of a hollow statement than a question. His mind felt like it was reeling at the notions that were forming in his thoughts. "They could have sent out search committees."
Cruel, bitter sobs welled within his chest. He swallowed hard and forced them back down as he tried not to think of Fenrir Greyback, though it was difficult not to on a daily basis when he thought of how much the werewolf had ruined his life, and his parents.
Lyall lifted his gaze and looked painfully across the room at his son and daughter-in-law. He could see the shadow of agony under which poor Remus had lived for so very long.
"Greyback was a clever man, smarter than anybody at the Ministry, me included, ever gave him credit for," Lyall replied, unable to disguise the note of bitterness seeping its way into the surface of his voice. "He knew well enough to stay under the Aurors' radar, and went underground until you were five years old, and the rest…well. You know the rest, Remus."
Lyall's voice cracked and faltered as he let his voice trail off, unable to finish the thought. He was not relishing getting to this part of the story, hoping hearing of his father's vicious mauling would not give Teddy nightmares for weeks on end to come.
Remus took a deep breath and steadied himself, desirous of giving off the appropriate emphasis of his words to his father. He lifted his pleading gaze to Lyall. "She…she did…want me, didn't she, Dad?" he whispered, his voice choking with emotion. "Even after learning he escaped?"
Lyall straightened his posture in his chair, his face growing angered, his need to reassure his son and comfort Remus overwhelmed him.
"How could you think that?! Of course, she did! How could you say such a thing, son? Your mother loved you, Remus. With all of her heart. It—it was not my intention to trouble you by telling you this," he stammered awkwardly. A light pink blush found its way to his cheeks as he tore his gaze away from his son, looking instead at his grandson. "The day that Greyback escaped…" He breathed out a steadying breath, turning his attention back to his son and his daughter-in-law.
There was a regret in Lyall's brown eyes that made Remus flinch, and he knew immediately that he did not like to see his father this way, so…defeated.
"It was my fault, Remus. I should not have angered him," Lyall spoke up, after a lengthy, awkward pause.
Remus hesitated and bit down on his lip as he took in a moment to process Lyall's words. He knew his father was referring to the night Fenrir Greyback snuck in through his bedroom window and bit him when he was only five years old and still so very young.
Though he had never once blamed Lyall for the bite, that did not necessarily mean he did not harbor anger and resentment still towards his father, even to this day, for allowing his temper to get the better of his emotional control. They were complicated feelings, what he felt for his father, and he had been burdened with them ever since he was sixteen and his father had confessed the truth to him seated at his father's kitchen table alongside his mother.
"I know." It was all that Remus could think to say and were it not for the tempered strength of Dora's hand holding onto his, and Teddy on his lap, eager to hear the rest of the story, this would have been an appropriate time for him to flee the room and his home.
Lyall nodded. Not for the first time, as Remus studied his father's tired and careworn face, he immensely regretted making his father and mother's lives so difficult from the time he was turned into a fully-fledged werewolf.
Lyall's thin lips pressed together tightly and then he parted them to speak.
"There were many things I could have done better as your father, Remus, even…excluding that…outburst." His eyelids fluttered closed tiredly for a moment before he opened them and trudged onward. "But I like to think that being here for you made a difference, and your mother, Merlin bless her soul, if she were alive, would tell you the exact same thing, Remus. Of course, she wanted you when we found out. We wouldn't have had it any other way."
Remus looked as though he wanted to say more but trailed off and let his gaze drift towards Lyall's mantle above the fireplace. Perched neatly next to a framed photograph of his mother and father on their wedding day, stood their black boggart-shaped cake topper. Remus allowed himself a small smile, the edges of his lips curling upward as he turned back to look at his father.
"Dad. I take it then that this is Mr. Kowalski's design?" Remus guessed, sure he already knew the answer, having been told stories of Newt Scamander's Muggle relative and his fantastical bakery in New York City.
Lyall nodded, the beginnings of affection brimming in his eyes once more as he allowed his temper to cool a little at the implication his own son had just made that they had not wanted him when they learned of Hope's pregnancy that day.
"Yes. Hope insisted," he chuckled. "Your mother's idea of a joke. Jacob was only too happy to indulge."
A low muffled whine from the back of Teddy's throat pulled the father and son out of their pensive staring of the boggart-shaped topper that Hope had insisted be featured on top of their wedding cake the day Lyall and Hope had promised their lives to one another and had exchanged their rings.
"Will you tell the rest of the story now, Grandpa?" Teddy whined, sticking out his bottom lip in an adorable little pout that caused Remus to chuckle lovingly and ruffle his son's thick head of light brown hair that was so very like his own. "I want to hear the rest!" he squeaked.
Before Teddy could plead with his grandfather further, a loud crack of thunder rent through the air outside, eliciting a startled jump from Teddy, who turned and instantly buried his face in fistfuls of his father's sweater, clinging to Remus for support. Remus could only pat his son affectionately on the back and soothe him, that the storm was going to pass soon.
"It's going to be alright, Ted," Remus murmured, glancing out the window at the harsh deluge of rain that had begun this morning. He looked towards Dora and sighed. "I suppose we can't go walking this morning as we planned, Dora," he frowned, though before Dora could open her mouth to speak, Tandy came bustling in from the kitchen bearing a heavily laden metal tray of a plate of biscuits and steaming mugs of tea.
"Tandy wishes everyone would have a small bite to eat if you's is going to keep telling stories, Master Lyall. Tandy thinks Young Master Remus is looking much too peaky, sir!" Tandy squeaked in a disapproving tone, though the tiny little house-elf knew full well the latest full moon cycle had been but a few days prior to Remus and Dora visiting Lyall with Teddy. "Won't Master have a biscuit?"
Remus could only comply and plucked one of the biscuits off the plate and took a bite, letting the savory chocolate linger on his tongue, feeling a rush of affection for Tandy as he watched his family's old house-elf fuss over Lyall, ensuring the pillow he was resting against in his chair was fluffed, that her master had a refill of his drink and a fresh cookie to be mindful of his low blood sugar levels.
Tandy offered the group an awkward little half-bow and was already mumbling under her breath about the cleaning around Lyall's cottage that needed doing, though before the house-elf could disappear from the living room and down the hallway again, Remus remembered something.
"Tandy," he called out to the house-elf as her back was turned. "You were there, weren't you? The night that I was born?" he asked, confusion furrowing his brows as he tried to recall if Tandy or his parents had ever made mention.
Tandy was halfway across the threshold of the living room's exit and had to step back slightly into the room to attend to her youngest master's words.
"Tandy was, Young Master Remus, the whole time. Tandy went with your parents to a Naming Seer during Mistress Hope's eighth month of pregnancy, where the Seer told Master and Mistress Lupin that you's would be named Remus, that your life would be spent in the moonlight." Tandy shuddered as the house-elf realized, wide-eyed, that the Seer had been referring at the time to Young Master Remus's affliction.
Tandy tried to force away from the memory and continued. "Master Lyall sent Tandy to fetch Mistress Scamander the night you's was born. Mistress Scamander was acting as Mistress Hope's midwife, sir's! Master, you's was born during a storm much like this one, Master Lyall did not want Tandy to go," she said softly, her large, bat-like ears perking up slightly as her eyes grew wide and round.
Remus's eyes studied the floor as he wracked his brain, trying to think of something to say to his family's house-elf or his father. There was a part of him that felt as though somehow none of them should be hearing this, the story of his birth, but some locked away place in his mind cherished the details he was learning. This was the first time his father had chosen to open up to him about his mother and their life story in this manner.
"Will you tell us?" Remus asked, looking at Tandy while he spoke, though his words were directed to Lyall, who remained still and unmoved in his chair. His father was attempting to hide his emotional reaction, however, sadness still tinged his expression.
Lyall considered the idea for no more than a moment before feeling the soft skin of Tandy's hand upon his leg as his house-elf gave his knee a rather affectionate little pat, her silent way of encouraging her master to continue. A wide grin softened the lines of his face as he lifted his gaze to study his family across the way.
He noticed how Remus's eyes never strayed far from his wife and child, much how he had done when Hope was still alive, and especially in the early days of Remus's life. Lyall heaved a tired sigh and nodded.
They deserved to hear the rest.
"Very well. Your mother's laboring began late in the morning of a day that promised an all-day thunderstorm. Much like this one…"
HOPE'S labor began late in the afternoon on March 10th, 1965, going on into the early evening of an evening that promised a particularly nasty thunderstorm that was supposed to last well into the night and following morning. She had been standing in the kitchen at the counter, in the middle of kneading bread dough for a homemade bread loaf to go along with the hearty vegetable soup she and Tandy were preparing for dinner tonight on this cold afternoon when her swollen abdomen twisted with a particularly painful cramp.
Dropping the wooden rolling pin that she had been using, Hope gasped loudly and brought one hand up to cradle her large, rounded stomach through her loose and comfortable dress, trying to will her racing heart to relax and to breathe slowly.
With her other hand no longer clutching onto the rolling pin, she grabbed onto the countertop, her knuckles white with the effort to steady herself, squeezing onto the counter as hard as she could against the pain.
As the months of Hope's pregnancy progressed, Lyall's house-elf Tandy grew increasingly more doting on Hope and protective of her, eager for her 'Special Young Master or Mistress,' as Tandy was fond of calling Hope's unborn baby, to make their appearance into the world.
Hope, though apprehensive at first on accepting Tandy into her life when she had moved in with Lyall into their new home in Cardiff following their wedding ceremony, now would not have it any other way.
Tandy was a help to Hope around the house while Lyall worked during the day at the Ministry, with Lyall being glad there was an extra set of eyes to watch over his wife as her time grew closer. Hope was overjoyed that Tandy would be close when her and Lyall's baby was born.
The house-elf doted on Hope and was a welcome addition to their little home. Life was peaceful and happy for Hope, Lyall, and Tandy, as the Lupin family anxiously awaited the arrival of their newest addition.
It was Tandy who noticed Hope's pain, having been working at chopping up onions and carrots and bits of salted beef for the pot of vegetable stew she was supervising as the soup boiled on the cooker. The tiny little house-elf's large, batlike ears perked up upon hearing the sound of her mistress letting out a low, guttural groan of pain and whirled around from her perch on the stool.
Sliding off the stool, Tandy ran to Hope, alarmed.
"Mistress Hope!" Tandy squeaked, breathlessly, craning her neck up to stare at her master's wife, wide-eyed, alarmed, and fearful. "Is it the baby, Mistress?" she asked nervously.
Hope could only nod and bent down slightly to grasp onto Tandy's outstretched hand, as the little house-elf was clutching onto a fistful of the hem of Hope's dress for support, tugging on it.
"Mistress must try to stay calm, Tandy will fetch Master Lyall!" she squeaked fearfully and made to Disapparate using her own magic out of the small kitchen, though not before Tandy squeezed onto Hope's shaking, bone-white fingers before reluctantly loosening her grip.
The house-elf's already round and wide eyes threatened to bug out of her sockets as Tandy turned quickly and was scampering out of the kitchen and down the hallway before Hope had even bravely attempted to straighten her gait.
Outside, Lyall was putting the finishing touches on the final three protective enchantments around their home in order to ensure his family's safety. Tandy screamed for her master as the house-elf came bonding out of the simple two-story cottage.
"Master Lupin, sir!" she squeaked, her voice echoing over the crisp wind as the breeze had begun to pick up, the sky above their heads darkening as black and purple thunderclouds rolled nearer, promising a storm.
Lyall flinched, hoping it was not an ill omen of things to come so close to their child's birth.
His face paled in alarm upon seeing how stricken and fearful his house-elf was looking, and he allowed Tandy to lead him back inside. The full force of the contraction was hitting Hope exceptionally hard by the time Lyall reached her, unmoved from where Tandy had left her in the kitchen. The pain of it had his wife doubled over, clutching the countertop with white-boned, shaking fingers, groaning against it.
She clutched nervously at her stomach, desperately trying to make it stop so she could breathe. Lyall had never felt more helpless, only able to grab her hand and rub small circles into her spine as she winced in pain. With wide, fearful eyes, his wife finally looked up at Lyall as her wave of pain slowly began to subside a little.
Gasping for breath as her lungs burned, Hope straightened a bit and tried to smile reassuringly at her husband, though Lyall thought her smile looked strained. It was not enough to mask the fear and uncertainty in her eyes. "I—I think it might be time, Lyall," Hope said, trembling.
"What can I do? Do we need to fetch Tina?" he asked, all the while Hope valiantly continued to try to smile as her body slowly, finally, relaxed. With one hand, she grasped onto Lyall's waist and lifted the other to caress his face. She lifted her gaze to Lyall's and did not immediately answer her loving, doting husband.
The past seven months had been the happiest that Hope had ever known since she and Lyall had learned the news they were expecting a child. She had never dreamed she could be so content. Her heart swelled with love for her family as did her stomach as her pregnancy progressed. She was sure there had never been a more doting, loving, concerned, or caring husband in all of Great Britain than Lyall was.
The last few months, Lyall had barely allowed Hope to lift a finger, insisting Tandy take over a majority of the household chores he deemed too strenuous for a woman in Hope's condition.
Hope was sure that Lyall had not removed his hands from her expanding abdomen for longer than a moment ever since the Healer had told the couple that she was carrying his baby.
Hope loved Lyall with all of her heart, and already, unconditionally, she loved the baby that she was about to bring into the world. Likely tonight if the pains in her abdomen were any indication.
Hope allowed herself a moment to think how the two of them had settled so easily into their new home in Cardiff in a simple wizarding village that Hope would have never known existed had Lyall not shown her their cottage on their wedding night, his gift to his new wife.
Their home upon the two of them moving in together as soon as they were married soon became teeming with activity as they settled in.
Friends of Lyall's, and fellow new neighbors visited them to welcome the world-renowned expert on Non-Spirituous Apparitions into their simple wizarding village of Caelfall in Cardiff. All of whom had been more than eager for a glimpse of the bewitching, beautiful young Muggle woman who was rumored to have captured the shy and lonely Ministry worker's heart while taking an ill-fated walk through a dense Welsh boggart-infested forest. They offered their congratulations on Hope's pregnancy.
Newt and Tina Scamander became constant and cherished regular friends to Hope, as helpful to her as Tandy and Lyall were whenever they would come over for Sunday dinner and a source of immeasurable joy that usually culminated whenever Mr. Scamander would bring along in his magically enchanted briefcase a new creature for Hope to get a glimpse of.
Just last week, he had brought a baby Niffler that had very nearly stolen Hope's gold wedding ring right off her finger. The chase Newt and Lyall had to engage in to get Hope's wedding ring back had almost culminated in their kitchen being destroyed, much to Hope and Tandy's horror, and Tina's embarrassment.
It had been Hope, surprisingly enough, who had managed to capture it by enticing it with a gold Galleon on a string and trapping it underneath a pot until Newt could see the little creature safely returned to his briefcase.
Even still, despite that little disaster that now made for a good laugh and would be a story to tell their baby one day, Newt and Tina continued to remain cherished friends in their lives, and Hope could not love the Scamander's any more than if they were her own family members.
This sweet life of domestic bliss was everything that she never knew, but that she had always wanted for herself, only about to be made even more perfect by the arrival of their child.
As the days passed by while Hope was on maternity leave from her job, despite Lyall's repeated insistence that she did not have to continue to work for the insurance office in Cardiff, that she could quit such a menial position and stay at home if she wanted, or if she wished, he could get her a job at the Ministry, Hope soon discovered her favorite time of the day was the nighttime, just shortly before bed.
When the sun had set below the horizon and their little wizarding village had gone quiet, she and Lyall would lay in their warm, comfortable bed and delight in the nearness of one another.
As the baby burgeoning in her womb grew, and Hope's body began to feel the effects of carrying a tiny human being to full term, she relished taking some of the pressure off her aching bones and nestling underneath the warm quilted covers alongside her husband, her heavy swollen abdomen resting against Lyall's support of his own body. Lyall would never hesitate to wrap his arms around Hope and trace tiny circles on her abdomen until his hands would come to stop, where he would wait until he felt their child kick his palms through his wife's skin. The happy couple would laugh and sigh contently together until Hope drifted off to sleep.
She would never dare admit it to anyone, but this pregnancy was exhausting her, more than she cared to admit. Lyall would more times often than naught, lay awake well into the hours of the night, enjoying feeling the strong sensations of their baby in Hope's stomach.
Oftentimes, Hope would wake early in the mornings to either see Lyall hovering over her and smiling, or to find her neck wet from the joyful tears that he had shed at the prospect of becoming a father to a fine witch or wizard. Both of them were eager and excited for their child to make its way into the world and join their happy life.
Hope's smile faltered, however, and she was pulled out of her happy fantasy of imagining the last seven months with Lyall by her side, however, as the first pain of her labor subsided, and she could already feel another.
Lyall, sensing Hope's growing discomfort, quickly but gently guided her away from the countertop and down into one of the kitchen chairs around their small circular kitchen table where he and Hope took their meals.
Finally able to catch her breath, at least somewhat, Hope tried to regulate her breaths back to something that resembled normalcy and force her facial features to mold into a mask of calm in order to exhibit a sense of bravery she did not feel. Her shaking hand still held tight to Lyall's.
Behind Lyall, she saw out of the corner of her gaze as she sucked in large gulps of air, that Tandy was hovering behind Lyall's legs, peeking over his right leg, clutching a fistful of his pant leg, her large eyes drooped and her eyes fearful.
Hope slowly and steadily lifted her gaze, craning her neck up to better look at Lyall. Her pain had not been the most terrible pain she had ever felt in her life, however, she knew from what Tina had told her, considering Tina had given Newt two children who were now grown, that her pains were only going to get much worse as the night progressed and the hours went on. Hope flinched, trying desperately to keep her mind firmly locked in the present and not think about the difficult ordeal that lay ahead of her, trying to think of something else.
"Tandy," Lyall barked in a rough and coarse voice that at first, Hope was sure did not sound like him, but then she realized the barbed edges of the wizard's voice were merely his own fears, manifesting themselves in the form of irritation. "Go to Newt Scamander's home and fetch his wife. Before this thunderstorm gets any worse," he ordered his house-elf urgently.
The sky outside, he noticed, as he tore his gaze away from Hope for a moment to peer out the kitchen window, was only getting darker. He knew there was a bad storm on its way, and he wanted the old witch by his wife's side, and fast.
Tandy sank into an awkward little half-bow, eager to bring help for her Special Mistress, as Tandy had taken to calling Hope since Hope had become a pivotal part of her master's life, and before the words had left Lyall's lips, the house-elf was already scuttling out of the kitchen and towards the door, planning to Disapparate.
"Not yet, Tandy," Hope called out in as level-headed a voice as she could possibly manage, her tone warbling as she tried desperately to alleviate the house-elf's worry as well as Lyall's.
Tandy, who had been halfway to the door, turned on her heels and shot her mistress a look of trepidation, and slowly came back to the kitchen and lingered uncertainly in the doorway.
"Is Mistress Hope sure?" Tandy squeaked, painfully wringing her hands together in vexation.
Tandy was all vexed and on the brink of hyperventilation, Hope realized and sighed.
The house-elf had quickly proven herself to be edgy and constantly fussing over her and Lyall, which was one of the first things Hope had noticed about Tandy when getting more familiar with her.
When she had pulled Lyall aside privately to ask him about it, he did his best to reassure her that Tandy's sometimes overbearing demeanor was simply a house-elf's natural way. Hope nodded, though Tandy did not seem entirely convinced. Sensing their house-elf was going to need yet more coaxing, she pressed on.
"Remember what Tina said?" She tried to calm down both her husband and house-elf. "It could be some time yet before I feel another pain." Tina had birthed two children and had helped the countless number of witches in their wizarding village where she and Newt lived deliver their babies when the midwife was not available, and Hope would have been more comfortable if Tina Scamander were nearby. However, Hope also understood that Newt's wife's help would hopefully not be needed until much later tonight.
She could only hope for it.
"But we need to get someone here who knows what she's doing!" Lyall begged, sitting down beside Hope and continuing to rub her spine. His nervousness and anxiety were quickly getting the better of him, with Lyall desperate to get his wife the help he knew she would need.
Hope smiled reassuringly and leaned forward in her chair to caress Lyall's cheek.
"Lyall, I don't want you to worry," she soothed in a calming tone. "Everything is going to be alright."
Lyall furrowed his brows as Hope's hazel eyes took on a faraway, glossy look as she briefly tore her gaze away from Lyall to look out the window at the pitch-black sky outside, hearing the howling of the wind and the rapping scratching of the tree branches against their window.
He was not sure if his wife's words were intended for him, or for herself, but Lyall did not have a chance to ponder their meaning as Hope turned back around in her chair, remembering that she still owed Tandy a reply.
"Why don't we finish preparing dinner, Tandy, and then we'll eat?" she asked bravely, motioning with her arm towards the counter.
Tandy's ears dropped a fraction as the house-elf looked hesitantly towards her master, unsure what to do. Lyall grunted nonverbally and nodded his approval, though it looked as though he disapproved of his wife lifting a finger in her fragile condition, he was not about to argue now.
"Very well, Mistress," Tandy squeaked. "But let Tandy take care of most of the work," she huffed, her statement more of an insistent demand than a request, coming from her.
Hope assented, nodding. With a pained groan and with the help of her husband, she rose to her feet and carefully padded barefoot back towards the countertop, having seen to it that most of the food was already ready, save for a few last-minute key ingredients to go into the soup.
Some produce was already perched on top of wooden cutting boards along with the necessary cooking utensils such as knives, ladles, and a couple of measuring tools. Tandy snapped her fingers and Hope watched, mesmerized still, even after all this time that magic could exist and was now an integral part of her life, as the knives rose in midair and began to chop up the onions that remained.
Hope helped where she could, chopping up the last of one of the onions by hand, while Tandy finished the bread loaf Hope had been in the midst of preparing to put into the oven when her first contraction had interrupted her work. Their house-elf put the loaf of bread in the oven to bake, and then proceeded to scramble on top of the stool she had been using to supervise the cooking of the vegetable stew, snapping her fingers again and the spoon in the pot of soup began to stir itself of its own accord.
"Something is missing," Tandy murmured, sipping a small bit of the soup that she and Hope had prepared, turning towards Hope, and letting Lyall's wife have a taste. "Mistress?"
The tiny little house-elf blinked owlishly in alarm to find Hope staring at the knife in her hand, transfixed by its pristine gleam in the fading light of the late afternoon that streamed in through the window as the storm started to come. Hope could see a distorted reflection along the blade of the simple kitchen utensil.
Droplets of water slid down her face without any sort of warning as she fought back the swamp of sobs that gathered in the back of her throat, trying not to let her worry over the fears of childbirth consume her.
Tandy had scampered across the countertop to collect the last of the ingredients for the pot of soup, gathering them in her arms when she heard Master Lupin's young wife sniffle just then.
Without looking as the house-elf dumped the remaining ingredients into the pot of soup, Tandy curiously muttered, "Is the onions finally getting to Mistress Hope?" she squeaked, afraid.
Hope nodded and wiped at the edges of her eyes with the back of her hand, turning away, sensing that Tandy had everything from here.
"I think so," she mumbled, as she moved to sit back down at the kitchen table next to Lyall.
Tandy did not say a word, for which Hope was grateful, as they both knew the onions had nothing to do with Hope Lupin's sudden tears. Tandy ladled steaming soup into two bowls once the soup was ready and brought the freshly-baked loaf of bread to the table once it was ready, the scent making Lyall's mouth water.
Hope and Lyall ate quietly, as did Tandy, who joined them at Lyall's insistence, and all tried to be cheerful as they sat around the modest kitchen table despite the tense atmosphere. Hope could only pick at her bowl of vegetable beef stew and bites of bread that she had shredded into pieces and was dunking them into the broth and eating them that way, in hopes of settling her stomach, delicious though the supper was, she tried to hide the fact that she was sick to her stomach. But Tina had warned her that this might happen, and not to worry.
But Lyall noticed, attentive to every shift in his wife's behavior, and all throughout dinner, alongside Tandy, kept a watchful eye on Hope. Hope had been right in the fact that her body's next contraction had taken some time to arrive, but not as long as she had thought it would.
Once dinner was over, Tandy took over in cleaning up. Hope rose from her chair and shuffled towards the fridge to put away the leftovers, her hand resting on her back, which was beginning to ache, dull and constant now. Just as she closed the fridge door with her hip once she'd packaged up the leftovers, her stomach clenched again.
Hope gasped, drawing in a sharp breath and trying to hold it in to fight against the onslaught of pain ravaging her lower body.
Lyall reached Hope's side in an instant, racing to place his comforting arms around her. She gratefully took hold of her husband's forearms and let a low groan escape her barely cracked lips as the contraction's full force hit her. Lyall helped Hope to stand as best she could as her knees buckled, and her strength was threatening to give out as her labor progressed.
All he could do was continue to rub small circles into her back and hold her hand as she paced restlessly throughout the evening as the hours passed and her labor grew steadily worse. She tried to keep herself occupied so thoughts would not race ahead of her body.
Tandy tidied up the cottage and then helped Hope to set out the clean blankets and clothes she thought she might need for her delivery. Lyall and Hope straightened up the baby's nursery and together, they padded the bottom of the bassinet where they would lay their baby.
Inside the cradle, they laid out a new quilt that Tina had sewn for her, and a small stuffed plush version of a Bowtruckle that Newt had picked up in a gift shop in Diagon Alley a week ago.
As Hope and Lyall finished their work of putting the final touches onto their baby's nursery, an exceptionally powerful contraction ravaged Hope's inside. Lyall did not hesitate to take his wife into his arms and gingerly ease her down into the rocking chair, as he knelt beside her, feeling helpless and at a loss for what to do.
Her fingers shook as she desperately clutched her swollen abdomen. Hope's eyes were tinged with panic and her breaths left her lungs in frantic, shallow pants.
As the worst of her pain took hold, she let herself collapse against Lyall and wailed in agony into her husband's shoulder. All Lyall could do was hold her close and tight, wishing he could take away her pains.
Finally, the contraction subsided, though the sheer force of it left his wife feeling exhausted.
For a few precious moments, Hope's body allowed her a moment to rest, but only a moment. Her starving lungs were filled once more as at last, she was able to get in a breath. She bravely nodded at Lyall, who nervously helped her to stand. Relaxing somewhat, she gratefully accepted Lyall's outstretched hand.
Lyall and Hope had only taken a few steps out of their baby's nursery and to head towards their bedroom, when Hope froze, halting in her tracks. Confused and growing afraid, Lyall could only stare at his wife, wondering what was wrong. Hope's eyes grew wide as she felt a gush of warm liquid fall from between her legs and splatter into a pool on the hardwood floor around her feet. She could not stifle her gasp.
Lyall's face paled a shade further, and the poor flustered wizard was hardly able to maintain control over the calm emotions he had been faking for the last few hours for the sake of his wife.
"Hope, darling, what is it?" he demanded, clinging tightly to her bicep, looking down, utterly alarmed. "Is it the baby?" he asked frantically, fearing that something was terribly wrong with his wife.
Hope shook her head, remembering what Tina had told her about the fluid that surrounded the baby and how Tina and Janey both had said it would rupture when her time was close to delivering the baby.
"No, no," she tried to soothe her frantic husband. "My—my water broke, Lyall, that's all." Hope smiled nervously, though even that felt strained. "But it means it's coming." She tried to calm her frantic breaths and racing heartbeat as best as she could. "I think we need to send for Tina," Hope said.
His anxiety mounting in his chest faster than he could keep up with, Lyall felt like his mind was reeling against the notions forming in his thoughts. At that precise moment, he could scarcely remember how to Apparate, let alone Newt and Tina's address, much less determine what could be done for Hope.
"Tandy," he called out, his attention going towards Tandy who had been in the kitchen fetching whatever towels she could. "Come and see to Hope, please," he ordered, motioning for the house-elf to hold her hand.
Tandy turned around slowly and faced her master with a surprisingly stone glare. And it was in that moment that Tandy did something that no other house-elf in the history of their species had done before.
She defied her master's direct order.
"No," she insisted in a breathless squeak, putting her hands on her hips, shaking her head, though her bat-like ears drooped a bit.
"Tandy." Lyall frowned disapprovingly at his servant. "We do not have time for this, I am not arguing with you about this. I have to go!" he protested, his tone growing vexed.
But the Lupin's family house-elf would not budge from the entryway of the kitchen.
"Tandy will go, you's must stay here with Mistress Hope, Master Lyall, she is needing you!" Tandy replied hotly as she raised her chin defiantly as she was already heading towards the front door of the Lupin's home.
"What, I—I don't—no!" Lyall shook his head forcefully as he fumbled over his words, flabbergasted at the fact that for the first time since Tandy had served the Lupin family household, she was disobeying him. "There is a thunderstorm out there! You can't go, Tandy! Let me!" he shouted after his house-elf. The weather had grown even more violent as the night went on. Even now, they heard the wind outside their simple two-story cottage howling and circling their home like a wild animal. "You can't even see five paces in front of you!"
"Tandy," Hope called out weakly, stopping Lyall's house-elf before the little creature could fling open the front door and Disapparate, her face shimmering with affection and gratitude underneath her fatigue. "Please be careful," she said.
Tandy offered an affirmative nod of her head, giving her mistress a smile. Then, she bolted out of the front door and into the thick of the violent storm, the cracking! sound of her Disapparating to the Scamander's home drowned out by the sound of the thunder before her master had a change of heart.
Hope leaned heavily against Lyall for support and looked reassuringly into her husband's worried dark eyes as he stared momentarily after the front door.
"She'll be fine," she told him, resting her hand lovingly over her belly. She secretly hoped she could be sure of her own declaration and prayed for Tandy's safe return with Tina in tow.
Lyall kissed her head by way of response and lowered his hand just in time to feel the baby give a strong kick.
She breathed deeply through her nose and tried to relax and remain calm.
She knew Lyall worried for Tandy. She would be as calm and brave as she could, so he wouldn't need to worry about her too, even though Hope knew he was. Hope brought her lips sweetly to his and kissed him.
For a moment, Lyall relaxed, and let himself focus on just how succulent his wife tasted, letting himself get lost in the sweet warmth of her kiss.
When they broke apart, she smiled sweetly. "Would you please help me change?" she asked, knowing he would.
"I'd love to, Hope, of course," Lyall responded gently, proceeding to take her carefully by the elbows and guide her slowly towards their bedroom.
He slipped her loose dress over her head, waving his wand to conjure a clean rag, kneeling down to wipe off the fluid that had trailed down his wife's legs as she changed into a loose, flowing nightgown.
He straightened when he had finished, leaving her only once for a fraction of a second to clean the spot in the hallway where her water had broken, and returned to Hope's side just as quickly as he had left her.
Thankfully, this time, she was not in the middle of another contraction. Lyall stood hesitantly in their bedroom, not sure what to do next, and looked at Hope.
"Thank you, Lyall," Hope smiled at her husband after a moment, her hands sliding up to rest on his face as she shuffled towards him slowly. She looked at him in silence for a moment, grateful that Lyall was right by her side.
"For what?" Lyall murmured, reaching up and brushing her hair out of her eyes and caressing her cheek with his thumb as he held onto her tightly.
Hope's voice trembled, choked with emotion as she found all the right words to convey her gratitude towards him.
"I don't know what kind of a wreck I would be without you here by my side, Lyall," she whispered. "I don't know if I could do this without you," she confessed.
Lyall pressed his forehead to hers. "No, no, my love," he was quick to correct his wife with a wide, white grin. "I'm the one who should be thanking you," he breathed, the tears in his eyes slowly matching hers. "You've given me everything that I could ever want…" he paused as his voice trailed off, running his hand softly along her round abdomen. He stared deeply into Hope's eyes, his heart bursting with love for his wife and their unborn son who would soon make his way into the world. "The both of you are my whole world, Hope Lupin, and I don't think I could love you more than I do now," he reassured her.
The man's smile was so warm and filled with happiness that it made Hope temporarily forget for a moment about her labor.
Hope focused her red-rimmed and tired eyes solely on Lyall. "I love you," she whispered passionately, as her hand drifted to her middle. "And our son," Hope sighed happily, smiling.
"As do I, darling." Lyall drew Hope closer and kissed her again a second time.
Before they could allow themselves to get lost in the moment, Hope drew in a sharp, pained breath, flinching and pulling away from him as she felt another contraction coming on.
"I—I think I need to lie down now," she gasped, panic starting to overtake her features.
Lyall was quick to react and held Hope closely as he dared, escorting her to their bed. Pulling back the blankets, thick scratchy woolen ones that Tandy had conjured so there would be something to birth their baby onto that would not ruin their nice bed linens, he helped his wife to lay down and guided her head down to rest gently against the pillow.
She groaned with the intensity of her contraction as he helped lift her legs onto the mattress and get Hope situated. Lyall perched himself on the edge of the mattress, worry lining his face and crinkling his brows. Hope squeezed onto Lyall's hand and tried to breathe through the spasm as it passed.
"Tell me a story, please, Lyall," Hope begged. "To take my mind off it," she pleaded through clenched teeth as her lungs burned for breath.
Lyall wracked his brain for an appropriate story. Trying to find something monumental enough in order to take his wife's mind off thoughts of giving birth to their son. He started his tale with a stammer, still uncertain what his woven story would hold. But then he thought of how strong and skilled Hope was, though she had not a drop of magical blood in her veins, it was more than enough.
Finally, Lyall launched into the best animated-retelling that he could think of the day they had met, what he had been doing leading up to that fated walk in the thick dense Welsh forest that night.
Hope smiled as the memory of meeting her savior in the woods came to her eyes and he described how stricken he was when he first got a good look at her, noticing how very beautiful she was, and how glad he was that he had made the wise decision not to talk about Boggarts anymore when he had sensed her confusion.
Before he could reach the end of his re-telling of events, however, poor Hope's back started to throb from her sore muscles. She let out a pained groan as she rolled away from Lyall so her back was facing him and onto her side. Lyall paused in the middle of his tale, uncertain whether or not he should continue.
"Please. Keep going. I'm listening," Hope murmured wearily through closed eyes.
Lyall nervously continued, trying to sound as descriptive as he had before, though his own worry and anxiety was mounting in his chest as he wondered what was taking Tandy and Tina so very long to arrive, wondering how much longer the two of them would be. Almost as if on cue, as if Hope was sensing he was thinking of them, she let out another guttural groan and rolled back over so she was facing him.
"Where's Tina and Tandy, Lyall?" she begged pleadingly through her gritted teeth.
Lyall could only hold steadfast to Hope's hand and try to assuage her worries and fear.
"She's coming, sweetheart, she'll be here soon," he told his wife, though he himself was not sure of his own words. Finally, only a few minutes later, there came a loud knock at the front door.
Though Tina Scamander did not wait for Lyall to bolt from their bedside to enter. Newt's wife opened the door of her own accord and walked inside the entryway, not waiting to be invited or for Tandy to see her in. She threw her heavy coat off her shoulder and tossed it at Tandy and began to make her way towards the Lupin's bedroom. Tina's wizened, wrinkled face was utterly exhausted, but the seriousness of her stride made it painstakingly clear Hope was her priority.
Standing angrily, Lyall blocked Tina's path.
"Where have you been, Tina?" he seethed at her, only hardly able to contain his full fury.
Hope simply chose to watch her friend approach in silence, relieved to see her at last. Tina had the impudence to raise her eyebrows at Hope's husband and instantly took a defensive stance and narrowed her eyes.
"If you must know, Newt was tied up with his Niffler, who's also having her third litter of babies tonight, so he was having me help with that," Tina informed him haughtily. "Be careful how you speak to me, Lupin, or I'll go back home, and you and your house-elf can deliver this baby yourself!" Tina threatened.
"No, Tina!" Hope desperately cried from the bed, grunting, and struggling with the effort to prop herself up onto the mattress to try to stop Tina Scamander from leaving. "Please," she begged, her voice cracking as salty, briny tears came to the edges of her eyes.
Turning around to face her friend, Tina's expression and tone immediately softened. She shoved her way past Lyall and took hold of Hope's outstretched hand, bending at the waist to smooth back her hair.
"Don't worry, Hope," Tina smiled kindly at her. "I just had to put him in his place," she chuckled, pointing towards Lyall with a jerk of her thumb over her shoulder at him and rolling her eyes in a playful manner. "I wouldn't dream of leaving you," she told her.
Hope nodded, settling back against the pillow, still gasping desperately against her latest contraction, as Tina swiftly swept aside the quilted blanket that Hope nestled under, and began to lift the nightgown that she wore.
"I need to see where you are," she smiled. Hope winced in pain as Tina began to probe her stomach, feeling for the baby's position. "You still think it's going to be a boy after visiting the Naming Seer?" Tina asked in an attempt to make casual conversation as she finished checking and stood back, smiling reassuringly at Hope.
Hope nodded earnestly and stole a glance at Lyall, who hovered over his wife protectively, watching Tina over her shoulder.
"We're sure of it." She tried to smile as she held tightly to Lyall's hand as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Hope's face twisted in pain. "I don't think I can wait anymore, Oh, God, it's coming! I can feel him, he's moved down in my hips!" she cried. "I—I need to push," she gasped, her tone insistent, unable to wait a second longer.
"Then by all means," Tina suggested happily in a calm and level-headed voice. "Don't try to fight it. Go ahead. You're ready." She waved her wand and conjured a chair at the base of Lyall and Hope's bed, pausing to roll up the sleeves of her shirt and gather a few of the fresh cloths that Tandy had laid out, grateful their house-elf was prepared.
Hope could not resist. Her body called to her with an urge she had no wish to fight against. Breathing deeply, she lowered her chin to her chest, gritted her teeth, and strained against the overwhelming need in her body.
Her guttural groan became a painful wail as she pushed through the pain.
Tina's voice reached her ears. "Hope, Hope, stop crying and look at me, look into my eyes!"
Tina Scamander's tone was harsh, but confident, and made Hope focus through the haze of agony she was in while Lyall smoothed back her hair, held her hand, and whispered words of encouragement into the shell of her ear. She bravely made eye contact and tried to breathe deeply.
This was it. Soon she and Lyall would meet their baby. A fleeting fear overcame Hope for a moment, and then was replaced with the same strong and steadfast determination she had been feeling for months.
The powers of existence and nature themselves took over, and with a strength Hope didn't even know she had, she began to bear down hard, pushing the baby out of her womb, her guttural cry turning into a pain-filled scream. The pain was horrible, worse than anything Hope had ever felt in her life, but it did not stop her. Hope propelled herself onwards, feeling the head beginning to emerge between her widespread legs. She thought she saw a smile appear on Tina's lined and tired face, and Hope chose to take it as a good sign.
"That's it, Hope, I see it! The top of the head is showing, brown hair, light, just like its father! Keep going, Hope, it's almost over!"
For all of Hope's inner strength and resolve, Hope could not overcome the immense pain, and her bloodcurdling screams carried well on into the late hours of the night, but they brought with them the announcement of a birth, a new life brought into the world.
Hope could not control the burning demands of her sore and screaming muscles, as they forced her baby from her. It took her a few more attempts and a loud, mighty scream, but their baby was finally born, at long last. She relaxed, gasping as she collapsed back against the pillows, searching for breath as the sound of their child's first angry cry flooded the room.
She had done it. She had birthed their son.
Tears of joy flowed from Lyall's eyes as Tina held up a squalling and scrunched little red face to meet its parents.
"It's a boy, you two," Tina happily announced. "You have a son," she told the new proud parents with pride, beaming. She quickly severed the cord connecting mother and son with a wave of her wand and gave her wand another rap to clean Hope off the remnants of the afterbirth, and then hurried to lay the tiny infant in Hope's outstretched, eager arms.
Lyall quickly scooted further onto their mattress to take his little family into his embrace. His wife's ecstatic tears met Lyall's as the new parents proudly welcomed their son into the world.
Hope cradled their newborn son against her breast, sighing with the unconditional love of a mother finally holding her infant after waiting impatiently for his arrival for nine months.
"He's so handsome, just like his father," Hope whispered, as Lyall cupped his hand around his new son protectively, tracing the line of Remus's ears with the pad of his thumb. Hope smiled. "He's got your face, love, and your ears and your hair. My nose," she said affectionately. Barely able to control her happy sobs, Hope instinctively reached for Lyall's face. "I love you, Lyall, so much," she whispered, tenderly.
Lyall's response was to hold onto Hope tightly as he dared, his heart threatening to burst with joy with thoughts of the family that the two of them had created, and how much he adored his wife.
"I love you too," he passionately swore, leaning over and pressing his lips against hers.
Tina mumbled under her breath that she would be by to check on them in a few days, sensing the new parents wanted the time alone with their son and allowed Tandy to escort her out of the house.
Hope and Lyall barely noticed Tina's absence, so focused on reveling at the moment with their son. Hope raised their son to her face, kissing his slick little head, reveling in the sound of her son's first cries. Lyall nestled his wife and son back against the pillows.
"Remus," Hope declared with conviction. "Just like the Naming Seer told us. Our son's name will be Remus. Remus John Lupin, with John for my father, and our son will be a fine young wizard in the making, Lyall," she said lovingly, lifting her tired eyes to Lyall.
Her body spent from her arduous ordeal, Hope allowed herself to collapse against her husband's chest, her fatigue beginning to catch up to her and take over.
Feeling an overwhelming need in her body to nurse her infant, Hope unbuttoned a few buttons of her nightgown and held her son gently to her breast. The infant took to his mother happily, suckling greedily, sighing with contentment between gulps.
Lyall laid his hand softly against their new bundle of joy, sheltering Hope in his embrace as she fed their son, considering himself the luckiest wizard in all of Europe.
Once the baby's stomach was full, and Hope could fight against her urge to sleep no longer, Lyall took it upon himself to tenderly lift Remus from Hope's arms, and happily took charge of his son's care for the remainder of the night. He settled Hope against the pillows and kissed her forehead.
His wife was already fast asleep. He would sit beside her the entire night, holding their newborn son, Remus John Lupin, while Hope slept soundly and recovered.
As she lay against the pillows in her well-deserved and much-needed sleep, the smile on her lips said everything that Hope Lupin didn't have the strength to voice.
That she was the luckiest woman in all the world.