Remus' mind was racing a hundred times a minute at the information Dora just gave him. Molly? Molly knew that they were expecting a baby?

"She knows? Did she say something?"

"No," Dora admitted. "But she was giving me these looks and I can just tell that she knows. Is that crazy?"

Remus thought for a moment and then shook his head. Molly Weasley was a very intuitive woman, after all, and he supposed that after going through seven pregnancies of her own that she would know all the signs. So, no, he was t particularly surprised that the Weasley matriarch knew in hindsight.

"Did you say anything to her? Confirm it?"

He suspected not or else Molly would have congratulated them but he may not have heard her so he had to ask.

Dora shook her head. "No. I didn't. I couldn't."

Remus furrowed his eyebrows at her. What did she mean that she couldn't?

"It's just," she floundered to say something. "Molly loves gushing over babies and pregnancy and all that. She'll be so happy. And I... I don't think I have it in me to be that happy right now."

She was already wrapped in his arms as she explained. Oh, poor Dora. His poor Dora.

"And that's fine," he reassured her.

"Is it?" She asked, her voice cracking. "I should be happy about this baby, right? We want this baby. We already love this baby."

Remus nodded along his agreement, knowing she didn't need him to talk right now. But he needed to reiterate that he's, they loved this baby, they wanted this baby. This baby was already very much loved. And that was the truth. He already loved this baby. He really did. The very feeling of it had him in awe every day. He didn't think such feelings were possible.

"But... I can't get excited. Or happy. I don't feel much of anything. Why am I not feeling anything, Remus?"

She was crying now and he didn't blame her. She had been trying for so long to be strong and brave that she had just bottled everything up. Which wasn't good for anyone, never mind for as an emotional and open person as his wife.

"Thays perfectly natural," he said soothingly, stroking the back of her head as she buried her head into his chest.

He liked how she did this but he didn't like that she was upset while doing this.

"It feels unnatural."

"Because everything that's been happening is unnatural. Deaths. Ministry takeover. Your father..." he couldn't finish that sentence and he coughed. "Well, everything. Kts been a lot. None of it any good. No wonder your numb."

"But I shouldn't be numb!" She said, leaning back to look at him with red-rimmed eyes.

"But you are and that's okay."

"No." She said stubbornly, shaking her head as if she could get rid of the negative thoughts. "No. It's not okay. I need to fix it."

"It's a trauma response, Dora," he said with a sigh. "Your brain is trying to protect you."

"Well, I don't need protected."

"You might do in this case," he tried to say gently.

He wasn't trying to be condescending or overprotective or anything like that. Remus just wanted to make her see that maybe her brain was protecting her for a reason. That it might be too much to deal with.

"I don't."

Remus sighed but didn't say anything to dissuade her. This was probably a good thing, right? It was a sign that she was starting to accept her circumstances and wanted to get on with life. That was a good thing. Right?

"Well, I'm going to make myself not be numb," she said with conviction.

"If anyone could do it, it would be you."

And he really believed that. Dora was certainly stubborn enough to do so. Certainly, strong enough.

That earned him a smile. A proper smile. She hadn't done that for a few days. Not since Ted... Remus tried to banish that thought from his head and took a page out of Dora's book. He had to make himself feel positive thoughts.

"Exactly," she said with satisfaction.

"But how are you going to do it?"

Dora frowned, apparently not having thought that far ahead. Her nose scrunched up into that adorable expression of hers as she thought. She swatted him away as he tried to kiss her.

"Let me think," she complained.

"You could try just thinking of things that make you happy as you drunk hot chocolate," he suggested.

It was easy, in his opinion, to think happy thoughts when you had chocolate. Mmmm, chocolate.

Dora giggled and rolled her eyes. "You and your chocolate."

"It works," he defended himself.

"I'm sure," she said sarcastically and then her face brighted. "Wait, you might be right!"

"I'm always right about chocolate."

"No, not about that," she said dismissively, which made him pout. "I meant about the thinking happy thoughts! That's it! I need to think happy thoughts about our baby. Nothing dark can touch those thoughts!"

Remus gaped, her mouth pretty much on the floor. What? Actually, no, he wasn't that confused but he was in awe. He never would have thought of something like that. And it had to work, didn't it? For the reasons Dora said. Their child didn't have any negative emotions attached to them. Well, not since he had... no, there wasn't any use in dwelling on that. Focus on the good. That was the whole point.

"So, what's your happy thoughts about being pregnant?" He asked, settling back into the sofa.

This was a good way to figure out how she was feeling about this whole pregnancy as well.

"Well, I think I actually have better balance now that I'm pregnant," Dora said, a small smile appearing on her face. "I haven't fallen or tripped nearly as much."

"Maybe because your centre of mass is more stable with a child growing inside of you?"

"Maybe," Dora shrugged. "It makes sense. Though, it's not like we have much data to go on when it comes to Metamorphmagus."

Remus frowned at the reminder. It was incredibly frustrating to him that there wasn't a wide array of comprehensive books on Metamorphmagus. Actually, the books that there were (and they were few) weren't even that comprehensive because even they were mostly speculation. Which they admitted to on the first page. That wasn't useful!

"But, hey, I'm not going to impaling about a good thing," she continued.

"Fair," Remus replied with a teasing smile. "Hopefully it will last the entire pregnancy and not somehow make you worse."

Which, you know, was a possibility because of all the extra weight she would eventually be carrying.

Of course, that comment earned him a thump on the arm.

"Don't even joke about that, Remus Lupin!"

"I won't, I won't."

He didn't want to jinx fate, after all.

"What about you, then?" Dora asked him expectantly.

"Sorry?"

What was she talking about?

"What positive thoughts do you have on this pregnancy?"

"This might come to a surprise you, Dora, but I am not pregnant."

And there was another shove. She was becoming quite adept at these.

"You know what I mean."

He did but he was trying to buy himself time. What happy thought did he have about her pregnancy? Except, you know, the obvious joy of going to be able to have a child of their own.

"My happy thought about this pregnancy the glow that surrounds you now."

He couldn't explain it. Dora glowed with happiness these days. Remus had thought that that particular stereotype of pregnancy was just that. A stereotype. But apparently not.

"Aw, you're so sweet."

Remus smiled at her just happy that she was smiling and laughing again.