The morning of the second of June, 1998, marked a month since the Battle of Hogwarts. In the last month, Remus Lupin and his fledgling family had seen a tremendous amount of change.
The first half of May was spent recovering from his injuries from the battle; his wife, Tonks, took just as long to recover, having been cursed by her now-dead aunt Bellatrix. Remus and Tonks were counted among the dead at first. Remus, having been unconscious and unresponsive, and Tonks, having been paralyzed from the inside out, were brought to the Great Hall to lay among the dead. Their bodies, cold and stiff from the cool May night, lay next to Fred Weasley's for an hour before Andromeda's Patronus arrived in front of Remus's body to alert him that Nymphadora was dying.
Their lives were saved by a bracelet imbued with Blood Magic, which burned if the one whose blood it contained was at risk of serious injury or death. Remus imbued a pendant with Blood Magic, tied to his life, for Dora. The bracelet, tied to Dora's life, was given to Andromeda. The Blood Magic jewelry was the only reason anyone knew to check on Remus or Tonks in the Great Hall; otherwise, both would have quietly slipped away from life to death and left their son an orphan.
Their injuries were severe enough that they spent almost two weeks taking potions for their recovery, during which they also attended too many funerals to count.
The Aurors' funerals came first. The Lupins dutifully attended the funerals of Aurors Savage, Proudfoot, and Wallace. Of those, Tonks felt guiltiest at Alfie Wallace's – he'd jumped in front of a Killing Curse to save her life. She would never be able to repay him.
The professors' funerals came second. Professors Sinistra, Vector, Babbling, and Snape all had their funerals held on Hogwarts's grounds. Only Snape was buried in the small Hogwarts cemetery, having had no family left to bury him in a family plot. Snape's true allegiances were revealed, including the shocking truth that he'd been loyal to Lily Potter until death, and Harry was the one to eulogize him. Remus had never been prouder of Harry for being able to forgive Snape's past wrongdoing. It was proof, thought Remus, that Harry truly was his mother's son.
The students' funerals were last. These were the hardest funerals to attend. Many of the students who had died had been Remus's former pupils. The youngest among them was Colin Creevey, the bright, enthusiastic second year Gryffindor who returned to fight at the battle despite his young age. The oldest among his former, now deceased pupils was Fred Weasley, but his was among the most heartbreaking funerals to attend. Few things hurt more than seeing the grief of the Weasley clan upon burying one of their own.
Memorial services followed the funerals, for all those who had died in the war but whose bodies were never recovered or were unable to have larger funerals. Charity Burbage, Alastor Moody, Rufus Scrimgeour, Ted Tonks, and Dirk Cresswell's memorial services were among them.
Nothing was easy about the month of May, but now that it was June, a new task was upon the survivors of the Battle of Hogwarts: reconstruction of Wizarding Britain.
But first, Remus had a different task ahead of him. It was early morning, and he could hear his son crying from his bedroom. Remus was thankful he had extra sensitive hearing, as he was always able to hear Teddy's cries before Dora could. Unless Teddy was screaming to be fed, Dora hardly ever had to wake up to change nappies, rock Teddy back to sleep, or merely to hold him through his cries.
Remus didn't mind waking up at odd hours to care for his son. Teddy was the child Remus never thought he'd have; Nymphadora was the wife he never thought he'd have. He would do anything to make Dora's life easier and he would do anything for his son. They gave him the greatest happiness he'd ever known.
Teddy was wailing, his hair a neon orange, indicating he was indeed unhappy.
"Good morning, Teddy," said Remus, picking up his son from his cot. "Let's get changed first and then we'll see mummy for your breakfast."
Remus changed Teddy's nappy and redressed him, all the while Teddy cried out of hunger. The baby was a little more comfortable in a fresh nappy, with his hair now a bright, canary yellow, but he still needed to eat. Once Teddy was ready, Remus brought him to the bedroom he still shared with Dora at Andromeda Tonks's home. They were to move out in the next month, once they'd finished removing all the curses from Moody's old home, which had been left to Tonks.
"Dora?" said Remus, gently shaking her awake. "Teddy's hungry."
"Hrmph."
"I know, but as my chest is useless, I think he needs yours." Remus smiled at her and Dora gestured for him to bring Teddy to her chest. She unbuttoned her night shirt and brought Teddy to feed. The baby quickly latched on and ate hungrily from his mother's breast. Remus waited patiently while Teddy ate his fill, until he slowed his eating and his hair morphed to a pale, satisfied blue.
"Good boy, Teddy," murmured Remus. "I'll burp you so we can let mummy sleep in."
"Thanks," Dora said sleepily, and she turned over, not bothering to rebutton herself. Remus brought Teddy up to his shoulder and gently patted his back, bringing him downstairs to the kitchen so Remus could get the kettle going for tea.
Remus was unsurprised when Andromeda already had tea waiting for him.
"Thank you, Andromeda." He sat down, with Teddy now snoozing on his shoulder, and took a sip of tea.
"You're hoping to move out by next month?"
"Yes," replied Remus. "We've gotten most of the wards undone but we've still got to clean the house itself. Mad-Eye didn't mind a cluttered life."
"There's space for you for the moon?" Andromeda flicked her wand at the kettle, which refilled itself with water and began heating up for the next few cups of tea.
"Yes. There are three bedrooms. One will be for Dora and me, another for Teddy, and the last for my transformations." Remus took a bite of toast and another sip of tea. "The kitchen's a bit small, but we'll make do. It's better than my ramshackle cottage on the moors."
"You don't expect you'll have more children?" asked Andromeda, while raising a brow at Remus.
He nearly spat out his tea. He sputtered and shook his head. "I don't know about Dora, but I feel lucky that we have one healthy child. He's plenty for me."
"If Nymphadora wants more?"
"We'll discuss it together, I'm sure," said Remus uncomfortably. He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Is it all right if Harry comes 'round today?"
"Of course. Will he bring Ginny?"
Remus grinned. "I hope so. I've got a good feeling about those two."
"About which two?" Dora appeared in the kitchen, having hastily wrapped her robe around her body, and bent down to kiss Remus's cheek and Teddy's forehead.
"Harry and Ginny. Remus wants to invite them to see us," said Andromeda.
Dora yawned, saying, "They're cute together. D'you think Harry will go back to finish his last year at Hogwarts?"
"Why don't we ask him when he comes over? I'll get a letter to him now," Remus said, standing. He began walking away when Andromeda cleared her throat.
"You're doing it again," Dora said wryly, pointing to Remus's shoulder. "You can let him go for a minute, you know."
Remus sheepishly brought Teddy to Dora, and she took him in her arms. Remus had a habit of taking Teddy everywhere he went, if only to marvel at his son wherever he was. He felt he would never get enough of seeing his son's face, changing hair colors, and tiny sounds. He couldn't quite explain it but having both Dora and Teddy with him made him feel whole in a way that nothing else could.
Remus scribbled a note to Harry and sent it off with Lyra, the owl Tonks had given him almost two years before for having cared for Ophelia, Tonks's cat. Ophelia was perched on the back of the sofa, snoozing lazily in the early morning sunlight.
Remus joined her on the sofa, surprised when Teddy was crying on his chest at what appeared to be the early afternoon.
"You fell asleep after breakfast," said Tonks, smiling. "I didn't have the heart to wake you so I put Teddy on you and the two of you took a kip all morning. It's one o'clock now and Harry will be here soon with Ginny."
Remus rubbed his eyes and let Tonks take Teddy upstairs for a change of clothes, while Andromeda brought snacks to the living room for Harry and Ginny.
"Thank you – you really didn't need to do all this," Remus said sheepishly. "I could've—"
"Nymphadora prepared most of it herself." Andromeda set the plates down and Remus noticed that while the snacks were plentiful, they were arranged haphazardly on several plates. He snorted but helped himself to uneven slices of cheese.
The Floo's flames turned emerald, and one figure emerged, dusting soot off their body. Harry Potter now stood in the living room, and he was quickly followed by Ginny Weasley.
"Oh, good," called Tonks. "I've just changed him!" Teddy's hair was turquoise, his obvious favorite color, and Tonks brought him to Harry.
"Err…how do I?" said Harry, peering awkwardly down at the baby.
"Put one hand under his bum and support his head," said Remus. "Why don't you sit?"
Ginny brought Harry to sit on the sofa opposite Remus, and she helped Harry adjust Teddy in his arms.
"He looks just like you, Professor Lupin," said Ginny.
"Please call me Remus – I haven't been your professor for years."
"Will you be the new Defense professor next year?" asked Harry. "Now that the curse is gone you can do it."
"We'll see," Remus said uneasily. "There's still a lot of work to do before I can walk back to Hogwarts and teach."
"He's being unnecessarily anxious," Tonks said impatiently, plopping down next to Remus. "I'm sure it will be fine."
Remus didn't agree and bit his tongue to keep from starting the argument again. Tonks was convinced he could take up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher again at Hogwarts; he was convinced that it was quite impossible, after being ousted as a werewolf years before. The war might have been won, thought Remus, but society's attitudes were no different towards werewolves, especially after their involvement on Voldemort's side.
"How about you, Tonks?" said Ginny, noting Remus's discomfort. "When do you go back to work…are you going back?"
"Kingsley told me to take as much time as I needed, but I'm coming back in July, after we move out. We need the gold," Tonks said bluntly, causing Remus to squirm in discomfort, knowing he'd have to find a way to support his family. "Besides, I know Kingsley's up to his eyebrows in work. Last I heard he's taking anyone with a pulse and a brain to help him catch whoever's left."
"That's what I'm doing," said Harry, while handing Teddy gingerly off to Ginny. "I'm not going back to school. Kingsley said that if we complete a few years of training, we'll qualify. Our 'experience' makes up for our exams."
Tonks chuckled, saying, "I'll say. You defeat Voldemort and I think you've got the best experience of all."
"I had a lot of help," replied Harry. "Ron and Hermione…even Snape and Dumbledore. I couldn't have done it without them."
Ginny patted Harry's arm and turned to Remus and Tonks. "Speaking of Ron and Hermione – they're together now."
"I knew it!" Tonks pumped her fist in the air triumphantly. "I told you, Remus."
Remus sighed, admitting defeat. Tonks had sworn she'd seen them holding hands at one of the many funerals, but he dismissed the idea, thinking it a sign of support between two friends.
"It was about time they did something about it," continued Ginny. "Ron's an idiot."
"Hermione didn't make it easy—" began Harry, but Ginny glared at him.
"Ronald had loads of chances. How any of my brothers have found girls to love them…" Ginny shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Bill's the only one who had a chance and he had to marry Fleur."
"Fleur's all right, Ginny," Tonks said gently. "She's French…really French…but she loves Bill and he loves her. She fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, too."
Ginny made a face and raised her eyebrows, but said no more. Harry glanced at Teddy, whose hair had shifted from its turquoise to a bright red, similar to Ginny's shade.
"Did he do that on purpose?" asked Harry, pointing to Teddy.
"If he starts wailing, no," said Remus, grinning widely. "If he stays quiet, then yes. He's starting to see more colors and the brighter ones catch his eye. He must like Ginny's hair to want to match it."
Ginny looked positively delighted by the sudden match of their shades of hair. Teddy, however, began whimpering, and his hair shifted from red to orange. "What does this mean?" asked Ginny.
"It means," said Tonks, rising from her seat, "that it's lunchtime." She took the now-crying baby from Ginny and was ready to rip off her shirt to feed him when Andromeda cleared her throat from the other side of the room.
"Nymphadora, Remus and Ginny may not mind, but remember that Harry's here," she said lightly. Harry gasped loudly upon seeing Andromeda and reached for his wand; Ginny was halfway out of her seat when Remus coughed to calm them. Andromeda looked offended, and Tonks, uncaring that Harry and Ginny nearly hexed her mother, looked ahead at Harry and said brusquely, "You don't have a problem with this, do you?"
Harry stared blankly at her. "With what?" Ginny burst into laughter when Harry looked away, blushing furiously, when Tonks began unbuttoning her shirt to feed Teddy. Harry glanced back at Andromeda, gazed at her for a few moments, and mumbled an apology to her.
Remus felt uncomfortable for Harry, who clearly hadn't known what was coming with Tonks's breastfeeding, orAndromeda's likeness to Bellatrix Lestrange, and cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Teddy's hair color tells us a lot," said Remus, choosing to focus on something happier. "His happiest shades are blues. Pale blue when he's been fed, turquoise when he's happy, which is most of the time, and darker blues when he's calm and sleepy. It's orange when he's hungry or uncomfortable, red if he's really upset, and yellow when he's losing his patience. There are other colors mixed in, but those are the primary ones. Hunger, discomfort, sleepy, and happy. I imagine we'll see more colors as he grows up."
"Nymphadora started changing colors more consciously the closer she got to a year old," explained Andromeda. "She could change her nose a little when she was about two, and by five she could change most of the features on her face to a limited degree. It'll take Teddy until he's at Hogwarts for him to be able to really control his morphing and make it precise."
Tonks scrunched her eyes together and changed her nose into a beak. "This took me years – to make my beak pointy like this." She scrunched her eyes again and her nose became a pig's snout. "When I was a kid this looked more like a pink blob than a nose – took me ages to get it right."
By now, Teddy had finished eating and Remus took him from Dora to burp him again. Teddy's hair had flashed from orange, to yellow, and was now a midnight blue.
"So he's sleepy now?" asked Ginny, pointing to Teddy's head.
"Post-lunch kip," Tonks said, smiling. She buttoned the rest of her shirt and Harry finally looked up, once Ginny had poked him in the side. Tonks chuckled and asked, "What about you, Ginny? Looking forward to your seventh year?"
"Nope," Ginny said flatly. "I'm only going back because mum's making me. The only good thing will be Quidditch. It's going to be hard to go back…last term was a nightmare."
"Do either of you know how reconstruction on the castle is going?" asked Remus. Both Ginny and Harry shook their heads. The last time any of them had seen the castle was during the professors' funerals, and many parts of it were still in ruins.
"Kreacher's helping," said Harry. "He went to Hogwarts to fight and I asked him to stay to help rebuild."
"He obeys you?" Andromeda interjected, astonished. Harry nodded, and Ginny poked him again, whispering about Regulus.
"Oh…err, you might want to know this," Harry said. "Sit?"
Andromeda joined the others in the living room while Harry explained the rise and fall of Voldemort, the horcruxes, which horrified Remus beyond comprehension, and the tale of Regulus Black and the locket horcrux. Andromeda was in tears by the time Harry hoarsely explained what had happened to Regulus and his belief that Regulus, while a Death Eater, had died a hero's death.
"Once I promised to destroy the horcrux for Regulus, Kreacher turned around," croaked Harry. "He still wears the fake locket for Regulus…haven't gotten around to asking him to get rid of the portrait yet though."
"Walburga's portrait, mum," informed Tonks. "Your great aunt, I think?"
"Aunt," Andromeda replied. "A nasty, horrible woman. She never much cared for me…she preferred Bella and Cissa."
"I'm sorry," Ginny blurted. "My mum…err…"
"Don't be sorry, Ginny," Andromeda said kindly. "I lost my sister many years ago. The world is a better place without her in it. If it hadn't been for Remus's Blood Magic, she would've killed my daughter."
"Blood Magic?" asked Harry, confused. Remus quickly explained the enchantments he'd placed upon jewelry, and how the connection to Tonks's life – and his – was the only reason they'd survived.
"It started when Tonks and I were dating, and she worried about me after the full moon," explained Remus, recalling a few instances in which he'd injured himself severely and needed help to survive. "It was a way she could make sure I was all right. By the time of the battle, both of us had Blood Magic charms and they let Andromeda know to check on us."
"Mrs. Malfoy helped us win, too," Harry said quietly, astounding Andromeda, Tonks, and Remus. "She lied to Voldemort."
Harry grew hoarse again after explaining what happened in the Forbidden Forest, and how Mrs. Malfoy's love for Draco had been the reason Harry had been able to survive to defeat Voldemort.
"Wow," said Andromeda softly. Remus had never seen his mother-in-law so genuinely taken aback. "I should write to her…perhaps she might be willing to talk to me, after all these years."
"I'm not coming to that family reunion," Tonks said boldly. "You do what you want, mum, but I want nothing to do with those people."
"I forgot you're Malfoy's cousin," Ginny said, grimacing. "He's a git."
"I'd like to reconcile with my remaining sister," Andromeda said evenly.
"Do you want to be back on the tree?" asked Harry. "The tapestry at Grimmauld Place? Your name was burned off."
"Only if everyone else is restored to the tree." Andromeda glanced at Remus, Teddy, and Tonks, looking pensive. "If my husband, daughter, and her family are added, along with all the other blood traitors, you can add my name to the tree again."
"I don't want to be on that—" began Tonks, but Harry talked over her, calling for Kreacher.
Remus's least favorite house elf popped into the living room, with wide, bloodshot eyes, gaping at the sight before him. "Master Harry calls for Kreacher?" The elf bowed deeply, and gasped upon seeing Andromeda.
"The blood traitor? The one who ran off with the Mud—"
"Kreacher, you are not to use that word," Harry said firmly. "I want you to restore all the names on the Black family tapestry, including Mrs. Andromeda Tonks, her husband Ted, her daughter…"
"Nymphadora," supplied Andromeda, and Kreacher turned to face Tonks, growling slightly.
"Shapeshifters and beasties," Kreacher mumbled, and Remus brought Teddy to Andromeda, to show Kreacher.
"Add the Tonkses, Remus – you know him, Kreacher," Harry continued, "and their son, Teddy. He's part of the Black family too."
Kreacher did not look overly pleased by his new task, but Harry reminded the elf that they had all helped defeat Voldemort, and Andromeda had loved Regulus too. Kreacher brightened slightly, and popped away with a snap of his fingers.
"There," Harry declared. "Done."
Remus turned back to him. "Is that where you're living now, Harry? Grimmauld Place?"
"No…I've been at the Burrow. I took Fred and—" he shook his head slightly, and Ginny's face fell. "George's room. Their old room."
"How is George? Everyone?" Tonks asked gently.
"George hasn't come out of his flat for weeks," said Harry, while a few tears fell down Ginny's cheeks. "Charlie moved in with him to help. Percy's helping too, with the shop. Lee, Percy, and Charlie are taking turns with the shop and George."
"That's good of them," said Tonks. "I'll have to come by to see Charlie. We were good friends at school."
"He's taking time away from the dragon reserve to be with us," Ginny said shakily, while Harry put an arm around her shoulder. "He knows mum…we all need him."
"That reminds me." Andromeda stood and went to the kitchen, where she returned with a large basket. "This is for your mother, Ginny. It's not much, but send her my best."
"Thanks," mumbled Ginny, not bothering to look in the basket. Teddy started shifting in Remus's arms, and his hair went from its previous blue to a soft peach as he strained his facial expressions. Remus could smell what Teddy was producing, and whisked him off for a nappy change.
By the time Remus was back downstairs, Harry and Ginny were gathering their things.
"We promised Mrs. Weasley we'd be home for dinner," said Harry. "Thank you for having us over."
"Teddy is so cute," said Ginny. "I think – if you want – you could bring him over to the Burrow. I reckon mum would like that."
"We will," replied Tonks. "Your parents supported us from the beginning, and I'm sure Molly would like to see our baby again."
Harry and Ginny said their goodbyes and disappeared through the Floo with the large basket Andromeda had given them.
"What was in the basket?" asked Tonks, as soon as the flames returned to their normal color.
"Pies, biscuits, scones…it's not much, but if I know anything about motherhood, Molly Weasley is going to be beside herself with grief for a long time," Andromeda said softly. "In the few moments I thought I might've lost you, Nymphadora, I thought my world had fallen apart. You'll understand now…you have Teddy."
Tonks took Teddy from Remus and held the baby close to her face, nuzzling her bubblegum pink hair into his soft turquoise. Remus couldn't help but agree with Andromeda; if anything happened to his son – or his wife - his heart would break beyond repair.
"I'll get dinner started," said Remus, after clearing his throat lightly. He strode into the kitchen and set himself to work, wondering how he would provide for his precious family in the future.
His wife and son meant more to him than anyone else, and he ruefully recalled that Tonks would return to work at the end of July because they needed the income. As he peeled and chopped potatoes for dinner, he came to the conclusion that he'd have to find a job – any job – and support his family with the little he could offer them.