Sohalia stumbled a bit before looking around. She was in a large
front hall, even larger than the one at SMI. "Where are we?" she mumbled,
not really expecting anyone to answer. She felt her dad at her elbow a
second later though.
"Hogwarts, my old school and, if we decide to stay, your new school." She smiled at him. It had taken a week for the two to pack their things. They left their house to the realtor, hoping that they wouldn't be crawling back there in a month or so. Strangely, it was Remus who had the misgivings. It shouldn't have surprised him; Sohalia had always gone with the punches; but it was still odd to him. She didn't appear to feel any pain about leaving their house and home.
"It's HUGE!" she grinned and walked foreword in the direction of James. Harry stayed behind to help Remus with the luggage.
"She always seems to leave me with these kinds of things," he muttered good naturedly.
"Kind of like James," Harry added, shouldering a weightless duffle bag and a box of books. "The two of them seem to get along."
"Yeah, James is a good kid and so is Sohalia. Why shouldn't they get along?" Remus asked, looking at Harry strangely. The young man seemed to be hinting at something but, for the life of him, Remus couldn't guess what. "I keep having to remind myself that you're not seventeen anymore." He added as an afterthought
"I keep having to remind myself you're Remus Lupin, father of Sohalia Lupin," Harry countered, giving Remus a roguish grin.
"Harry, why did we go to Hogwarts? Why not to your house or something?"
"You'll see," Harry jogged on ahead, leaving Remus to catch up with him. When they got to the Great Hall, Remus did indeed "see" what Harry meant. The whole of Hogwarts' personnel as well as a few guests all gave him a huge cheer. He scanned the room for Sohalia and saw her off to the side, conversing with a tall, red-haired girl, James, and some other, miscellaneous teens.
He was torn away from looking at his daughter by two arms clasping around his neck. He looked down and saw Hermione. "Hello Hermione," he smiled warmly at the girl. He noticed she was quite pregnant. She hadn't changed very much since her seventh year besides that though. She was still short with the same bushy hair that was now tied back. The only difference was the addition of a slim pair of glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.
"Hello Professor," she said, kissing him on the cheek.
"I see you're expecting, congratulations!"
"Yes, happy number five," she laughed and patted her bulging abdomen. "Ron and I are very excited; it could be the first girl."
"Really? So you've got four boys?"
"Yes indeed: Arthur, David, Ron Jr., and Alastor."
"That's quite the brood," Remus smiled again, even broader. He imagined Ron and Hermione's kids would be quite interesting.
"You have no idea," she stepped aside to let her husband in. Remus was surprised by a greeting much like Hermione's. It was, of course, hindered by the fact that Ron had a child hanging from the back of his neck and one firmly attached to his leg.
"It's so good to have you back!" Ron exclaimed, smiling a huge, eye- to-eye grin. This is Ronny who's 5 and Ally who's 4."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Ronny and Ally, I'm Remus," Remus extended his hand in greeting to the two who were now standing behind Ron's legs shyly.
"I know!" Ronny exclaimed. "Mummy told us that you were our Uncle Remus. That's funny because all of our other Uncles have red hair. You don't have red hair."
"Yeah but at least he has hair," Ally voiced timidly. "Not like Grandpa Arty." Remus let out a small laugh. Yep, definitely Ron and Hermione's children.
"I think Arthur and David are around here somewhere," Ron mumbled half to himself. "Oy, Arthur, David, come over here." Remus was surprised that Arthur knew who was being called. It would get pretty confusing he guessed. "This is your Uncle Remus, the one about whom we've told you." The first and tallest, Arthur, looked like Ron and, subsequently, Ronny. David looked more like his mother and Ally. David even had the glasses to match.
"It's good to meet you sir," David said, smiling and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"It's nice to meet you as well David. How old are you?"
"Eleven, I'll be starting at Hogwarts next year!" he said proudly, pushing out his chest.
"Ignore him," Arthur stated dryly. "I'm Arthur and I'm fifteen, same as James," he too extended his hand.
"You'll be in my daughter's year too then."
"Who's your daughter?" he asked, looking around.
"Sohalia, she's over there talking with James. She's the one with the long, curly, black hair. Sohalia was looking particularly pretty that night. She had opted for her flow-y, floral skirt and a simple, white T- shirt. She had her hair half-back. She laughed softly and her eyes crinkled, showing off her perfectly white teeth.
"Oh," was all Arthur could say. He exited the company of his father and Remus to join that of Ms. Lupin and his best friend, James.
"She's really lovely," Ron remarked, patting his old professor on the back.
"I know," was his faint reply. "So," he said, smiling and turning to the red head. "How's fatherhood serving you? I daresay you've been doing it for about as long as me."
"It's fantastic! Well, it is most of the time. I just, well, it's like my love for them is so big and so great that I can't possibly describe it, do you know what I'm saying?"
"Yeah, all consuming."
"Like if anyone tried to even touch Arthur, David, Ronny, or Ally, I don't think I'd be able to hold myself back. I'd kill them!" Remus laughed softly.
"I completely understand. I think I'll call Hallie over here so you can see her. Oy, Sohalia!" he yelled across the room. She looked up and smiled at him. "Come here and meet Professor Weasley. She waved goodbye to James, Arthur and the girl (Risa, George's daughter). She glided over to her father Ron, and Hermione who had come back to join the conversation.
"Hello Professor Weasley," she smiled, putting out her hand to Ron who hugged her instead.
"Call me Ron out of school. You're family!" She smiled a true smile; one that reached up the crinkles in her eyes, a Sohalia smile.
"I'm Hermione, the wife of this git," Hermione grinned. "I'm the Headmistress of Hogwarts and he's the Charms teacher." Hermione hugged her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Headmistress-"
"Hermione please."
"Alright, Hermione," she smiled again. "I see you're expecting another?"
"Yes, how'd you know I had any to begin with?" Hermione asked impishly.
"Arthur pointed you out," Sohalia answered simply.
"Come along Sohalia, we've got other people to meet. Bye Hermione, Ron; I hope we meet up with again this evening." The couple waved.
"Who are we going to greet next Dad?"
"Harry's wife, Ginny."
"Virginia? Should I call her Virginia or Mrs. Potter-what?"
"Well, you definatly shouldn't call her Virginia, her name's Ginevra. It's up to her with the other things. She's Ron's sister and James's mother obviously." They met the redhead with another redhead in her arms.
"Remus!" she exclaimed, giving him a one-armed hug. "It's so smashing to see you! It feels like it's been forever! I heard about your little offspring, where is she?" Ginny looked around, obviously not registering that Sohalia was the "offspring" about which she'd heard.
"She's right here. Ginny, meet Sohalia, my daughter." Ginny smiled.
"My goodness! I never expected you to have such a grown daughter! She must be around James's age."
"Yes, I'm fifteen. It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Potter."
"Please, call me Ginny. This is Lily by the way. She's our youngest. I'm sure Sirius and the other Remus are running around here somewhere. I'm guessing they're out and about with one cousin or another."
"How old are they?"
"Oh, Sirius is eleven, just like David, and Remus is 7, a year older then Ronny." She was beaming. Remus wasn't sure if she was glowing just thinking about her babies or if she was simply glad to see him.
For Sohalia and Remus, the night was a blur. People came to greet them; they reciprocated. They ate, or rather, Sohalia forced Remus to eat while taking a few bites of her own. Harry came by midway through the evening and stayed with them. The party went on for hours, stretching until the wee hours of the morning at which point everyone besides the Weasleys and Potters had gone back to their own beds.
"I bet you're exhausted," Hermione said, smiling at the two. "I'll show you to your room. It's just for a little while but I think it'll do." Remus smiled gratefully and helped Sohalia to her feet .
"Come on honey bunch. It's time to go to bed." Sohalia gave him a weak smile. She followed her father and Hermione with only a vague understanding and consciousness about what was going on. They got to their suite and Hermione took out a key.
"I'm sorry but this room hasn't been used for a while. It might be a little musty but I think it'll do for the time being."
"I'm sure it'll be great Hermione," Remus gave her a smile which she returned, swinging the door open with a flourish. Sohalia was too dazed to notice the magnificence of the room. The floor was completely marble with vast marble columns and great mahogany buttresses. The walls were made up of mahogany panels that were a deep, rich brown. The room into which they entered was the sitting room as it had a large, red, velvet couch with brown, leather armchairs sitting on either side. A large coffee table sat in front made of the same wood as everything else. A huge, red rug lay on the hearth with two red, velvet arm chairs. One wall held row after row of books that looked too ancient to name. As I said, though, Sohalia was not aware enough to take it in. She only half remembered stumbling behind Hermione into her room. She collapsed on the bed. In a dead sleep.
"I guess she was really tired," Hermione whispered, sitting down opposite Remus in one of the fireside armchairs.
"Yeah it's been a very long day," the aged Professor smiled softly at his former student.
"She's great Remus, really she is. I'm going to leave you to sleep. The little one is wanting to be with Daddy." She grinned and patted her bulging middle.
"Of course, goodnight Hermione. It's really wonderful seeing you all again." She smiled back warmly and moved toward the door.
"It's wonderful to see you again too Professor." The door clicked closed and Remus went into Sohalia's room. He cracked a smile upon seeing her sprawled out in all directions. Her cloths from that day were still on her though a bit more crumpled then they had been that morning. He walked over to her and gently slipped off her shoes. He didn't feel right taking off her cloths anymore so he just straightened her into a natural position and tucked the sheets around her. He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead before tiptoeing out the door. He found his room quite acceptable and gratefully pulled on his tattered pajamas and climbed into bed. Whatever his qualms, it was still nice to back in the only place (aside from his and Sohalia's house) he had ever called home.
A/N- Sorry it took so long to update. We just moved and it's taken forever to get on the internet! Hope you enjoyed the ficcey- R&R!!!!!
-Lizzy
"Hogwarts, my old school and, if we decide to stay, your new school." She smiled at him. It had taken a week for the two to pack their things. They left their house to the realtor, hoping that they wouldn't be crawling back there in a month or so. Strangely, it was Remus who had the misgivings. It shouldn't have surprised him; Sohalia had always gone with the punches; but it was still odd to him. She didn't appear to feel any pain about leaving their house and home.
"It's HUGE!" she grinned and walked foreword in the direction of James. Harry stayed behind to help Remus with the luggage.
"She always seems to leave me with these kinds of things," he muttered good naturedly.
"Kind of like James," Harry added, shouldering a weightless duffle bag and a box of books. "The two of them seem to get along."
"Yeah, James is a good kid and so is Sohalia. Why shouldn't they get along?" Remus asked, looking at Harry strangely. The young man seemed to be hinting at something but, for the life of him, Remus couldn't guess what. "I keep having to remind myself that you're not seventeen anymore." He added as an afterthought
"I keep having to remind myself you're Remus Lupin, father of Sohalia Lupin," Harry countered, giving Remus a roguish grin.
"Harry, why did we go to Hogwarts? Why not to your house or something?"
"You'll see," Harry jogged on ahead, leaving Remus to catch up with him. When they got to the Great Hall, Remus did indeed "see" what Harry meant. The whole of Hogwarts' personnel as well as a few guests all gave him a huge cheer. He scanned the room for Sohalia and saw her off to the side, conversing with a tall, red-haired girl, James, and some other, miscellaneous teens.
He was torn away from looking at his daughter by two arms clasping around his neck. He looked down and saw Hermione. "Hello Hermione," he smiled warmly at the girl. He noticed she was quite pregnant. She hadn't changed very much since her seventh year besides that though. She was still short with the same bushy hair that was now tied back. The only difference was the addition of a slim pair of glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.
"Hello Professor," she said, kissing him on the cheek.
"I see you're expecting, congratulations!"
"Yes, happy number five," she laughed and patted her bulging abdomen. "Ron and I are very excited; it could be the first girl."
"Really? So you've got four boys?"
"Yes indeed: Arthur, David, Ron Jr., and Alastor."
"That's quite the brood," Remus smiled again, even broader. He imagined Ron and Hermione's kids would be quite interesting.
"You have no idea," she stepped aside to let her husband in. Remus was surprised by a greeting much like Hermione's. It was, of course, hindered by the fact that Ron had a child hanging from the back of his neck and one firmly attached to his leg.
"It's so good to have you back!" Ron exclaimed, smiling a huge, eye- to-eye grin. This is Ronny who's 5 and Ally who's 4."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Ronny and Ally, I'm Remus," Remus extended his hand in greeting to the two who were now standing behind Ron's legs shyly.
"I know!" Ronny exclaimed. "Mummy told us that you were our Uncle Remus. That's funny because all of our other Uncles have red hair. You don't have red hair."
"Yeah but at least he has hair," Ally voiced timidly. "Not like Grandpa Arty." Remus let out a small laugh. Yep, definitely Ron and Hermione's children.
"I think Arthur and David are around here somewhere," Ron mumbled half to himself. "Oy, Arthur, David, come over here." Remus was surprised that Arthur knew who was being called. It would get pretty confusing he guessed. "This is your Uncle Remus, the one about whom we've told you." The first and tallest, Arthur, looked like Ron and, subsequently, Ronny. David looked more like his mother and Ally. David even had the glasses to match.
"It's good to meet you sir," David said, smiling and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"It's nice to meet you as well David. How old are you?"
"Eleven, I'll be starting at Hogwarts next year!" he said proudly, pushing out his chest.
"Ignore him," Arthur stated dryly. "I'm Arthur and I'm fifteen, same as James," he too extended his hand.
"You'll be in my daughter's year too then."
"Who's your daughter?" he asked, looking around.
"Sohalia, she's over there talking with James. She's the one with the long, curly, black hair. Sohalia was looking particularly pretty that night. She had opted for her flow-y, floral skirt and a simple, white T- shirt. She had her hair half-back. She laughed softly and her eyes crinkled, showing off her perfectly white teeth.
"Oh," was all Arthur could say. He exited the company of his father and Remus to join that of Ms. Lupin and his best friend, James.
"She's really lovely," Ron remarked, patting his old professor on the back.
"I know," was his faint reply. "So," he said, smiling and turning to the red head. "How's fatherhood serving you? I daresay you've been doing it for about as long as me."
"It's fantastic! Well, it is most of the time. I just, well, it's like my love for them is so big and so great that I can't possibly describe it, do you know what I'm saying?"
"Yeah, all consuming."
"Like if anyone tried to even touch Arthur, David, Ronny, or Ally, I don't think I'd be able to hold myself back. I'd kill them!" Remus laughed softly.
"I completely understand. I think I'll call Hallie over here so you can see her. Oy, Sohalia!" he yelled across the room. She looked up and smiled at him. "Come here and meet Professor Weasley. She waved goodbye to James, Arthur and the girl (Risa, George's daughter). She glided over to her father Ron, and Hermione who had come back to join the conversation.
"Hello Professor Weasley," she smiled, putting out her hand to Ron who hugged her instead.
"Call me Ron out of school. You're family!" She smiled a true smile; one that reached up the crinkles in her eyes, a Sohalia smile.
"I'm Hermione, the wife of this git," Hermione grinned. "I'm the Headmistress of Hogwarts and he's the Charms teacher." Hermione hugged her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Headmistress-"
"Hermione please."
"Alright, Hermione," she smiled again. "I see you're expecting another?"
"Yes, how'd you know I had any to begin with?" Hermione asked impishly.
"Arthur pointed you out," Sohalia answered simply.
"Come along Sohalia, we've got other people to meet. Bye Hermione, Ron; I hope we meet up with again this evening." The couple waved.
"Who are we going to greet next Dad?"
"Harry's wife, Ginny."
"Virginia? Should I call her Virginia or Mrs. Potter-what?"
"Well, you definatly shouldn't call her Virginia, her name's Ginevra. It's up to her with the other things. She's Ron's sister and James's mother obviously." They met the redhead with another redhead in her arms.
"Remus!" she exclaimed, giving him a one-armed hug. "It's so smashing to see you! It feels like it's been forever! I heard about your little offspring, where is she?" Ginny looked around, obviously not registering that Sohalia was the "offspring" about which she'd heard.
"She's right here. Ginny, meet Sohalia, my daughter." Ginny smiled.
"My goodness! I never expected you to have such a grown daughter! She must be around James's age."
"Yes, I'm fifteen. It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Potter."
"Please, call me Ginny. This is Lily by the way. She's our youngest. I'm sure Sirius and the other Remus are running around here somewhere. I'm guessing they're out and about with one cousin or another."
"How old are they?"
"Oh, Sirius is eleven, just like David, and Remus is 7, a year older then Ronny." She was beaming. Remus wasn't sure if she was glowing just thinking about her babies or if she was simply glad to see him.
For Sohalia and Remus, the night was a blur. People came to greet them; they reciprocated. They ate, or rather, Sohalia forced Remus to eat while taking a few bites of her own. Harry came by midway through the evening and stayed with them. The party went on for hours, stretching until the wee hours of the morning at which point everyone besides the Weasleys and Potters had gone back to their own beds.
"I bet you're exhausted," Hermione said, smiling at the two. "I'll show you to your room. It's just for a little while but I think it'll do." Remus smiled gratefully and helped Sohalia to her feet .
"Come on honey bunch. It's time to go to bed." Sohalia gave him a weak smile. She followed her father and Hermione with only a vague understanding and consciousness about what was going on. They got to their suite and Hermione took out a key.
"I'm sorry but this room hasn't been used for a while. It might be a little musty but I think it'll do for the time being."
"I'm sure it'll be great Hermione," Remus gave her a smile which she returned, swinging the door open with a flourish. Sohalia was too dazed to notice the magnificence of the room. The floor was completely marble with vast marble columns and great mahogany buttresses. The walls were made up of mahogany panels that were a deep, rich brown. The room into which they entered was the sitting room as it had a large, red, velvet couch with brown, leather armchairs sitting on either side. A large coffee table sat in front made of the same wood as everything else. A huge, red rug lay on the hearth with two red, velvet arm chairs. One wall held row after row of books that looked too ancient to name. As I said, though, Sohalia was not aware enough to take it in. She only half remembered stumbling behind Hermione into her room. She collapsed on the bed. In a dead sleep.
"I guess she was really tired," Hermione whispered, sitting down opposite Remus in one of the fireside armchairs.
"Yeah it's been a very long day," the aged Professor smiled softly at his former student.
"She's great Remus, really she is. I'm going to leave you to sleep. The little one is wanting to be with Daddy." She grinned and patted her bulging middle.
"Of course, goodnight Hermione. It's really wonderful seeing you all again." She smiled back warmly and moved toward the door.
"It's wonderful to see you again too Professor." The door clicked closed and Remus went into Sohalia's room. He cracked a smile upon seeing her sprawled out in all directions. Her cloths from that day were still on her though a bit more crumpled then they had been that morning. He walked over to her and gently slipped off her shoes. He didn't feel right taking off her cloths anymore so he just straightened her into a natural position and tucked the sheets around her. He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead before tiptoeing out the door. He found his room quite acceptable and gratefully pulled on his tattered pajamas and climbed into bed. Whatever his qualms, it was still nice to back in the only place (aside from his and Sohalia's house) he had ever called home.
A/N- Sorry it took so long to update. We just moved and it's taken forever to get on the internet! Hope you enjoyed the ficcey- R&R!!!!!
-Lizzy