Jenny's POV – December 1979
As I walked across the grounds of my home the snow crunched beneath my feet. I could see the small footsteps of the small dog that Lee had bought my son after his first transformation. It pained me to see my son transform into a werewolf while he was so young. He could barely even sit crawl and he was transforming into a werewolf. The dog that Lee had bought was to ease the transformations. I held my son closer to my chest and he let out a gurgle. I looked at him and kissed his forehead. I had decided to call him Bo. It meant Precious, my grandmother had chosen it. I wanted to give him an English name but I didn't because my grandmother couldn't pronounce it and my dad refused to let Bo take the surname Lupin. I sighed and crouched in the snow.
"Look Bo. Here." I placed him carefully on the snow and let him hit it a few times. His dog, Ling, came running up to us barking. Bo looked up and gave a happy gurgle, that's all he seemed to be able to do but according to mother it was normal for a baby. Ling touched his damp nose against Bo's face and he waved his hands in the air to stroke the dog. I smiled to myself. Bo had the same eyes as his father even if the rest of him looked Chinese. Well his eyes were a slightly different shape to mine but they still looked more like my eyes then-
I shook my head. I couldn't think of those I had left behind, it was too painful. I still don't entirely know why I did it. At first I convinced myself that it was safer in China. No one would say anything but when Bo was born I had isolated myself within the grounds of our estate. It had been roughly a year since I got pregnant, ten months since I had seen my friends. It seemed that now it was only Lee and Zhao that wanted anything to do with me who were more my age. Them and their spouse or boyfriend.
I picked up Bo and cradled him in my arms. Despite the happy gurgling it was a full moon tonight so I would have to give him to my father. My father had nothing to do with me except to see to Bo's Transformations. He had converted one of the stables into a small enclosure and would only trust himself to put Bo in there. He always put Ling in as well after I had convinced him that animals helped calm a werewolf's transformations.
"Jenny!" Lee shouted over the grounds. I turned to look at her and she ran over to me in her winter clothes.
"What?" I asked. Lee grinned and held her arms out.
"Bo" She said. I rolled my eyes and carefully passed Bo to Jenny. She loved her nephew even if he was a werewolf. So did Zhao and his wife and daughter. Cho got along very well with Bo and had loved to play with him when he was born. She sometimes begged her parents by crying to let her play with Bo for longer when she had to go to sleep.
"It's the full moon tonight isn't it?" Lee asked me. I nodded and crossed my arms against the cold. "And it's Christmas tomorrow?"
"Of course it's Christmas tomorrow!" I said to her. She smiled.
"I'm just saying." She said, "Have you sent anything to the guys in England?"
"They think I'm dead." I said quietly. That had been the hardest thing for me to do. I constantly cursed myself for saying that and getting Lee to pass on the message. There was one friend however whom I think didn't quite believe it. Lily had sent me letters almost every week just telling me how everyone was doing, even if she didn't get a reply she still sent the letters. Lee gave me a sympathetic look
"You know what I think you should do?" She asked me in English.
"What?" I replied in the same language.
"You know how I'm going to England tomorrow afternoon?" Lee said, rocking Bo slightly
"You don't have to rub it in" I said bitterly. Lee had been going on and on about it since November when it was planned.
"Well it's not my fault your friends think you're dead."
"What's your idea?" I asked her. Lee gave me a look.
"Alright, alright. Merlin those motherly hormones really kicking in aren't they?" Lee said. She carried on before I bit off her head...not literally though. "But why don't you go tonight, before Father comes home and I'll take Bo to England with me tomorrow and drop by Lily's to drop him off after the full moon?" Lee said. I looked at her. She was incredibly stupid sometimes yet incredibly clever.
"You know father will kill us?" I asked her. We continued to speak in English because we knew that if anyone over heard they wouldn't understand. Lee sighed and put Bo on her hip while holding him.
"Jenny, you haven't seen your friends in ages, they think you're dead and I think Bo deserves to see his father or the other way round. I read those letters that Lily sends you and he doesn't sound like he's doing well." Lee said. I looked at her for a moment then kissed her cheek.
It was probably colder in England then it was in China. I pulled my cloak around me tighter to try and block out the cold. A cloak, a muggle coat, some thick muggle clothes and I was still cold. I had a small travelling bag over my shoulder. Lee said she was going to bring Bo's stuff with her. I trusted her enough to do so but I still felt very anxious about leaving Bo in China, particularly during a full moon. I looked up and into the sky. It was thick with white clouds and it was snowing but there was a tiny crack in the clouds where I could see the moon. I lowered my gaze to a house where the lights were on and some music was being played very loudly. I walked up to it in the snow and looked in through one of the windows but tried not to be seen. I had read the news and any strangers could be considered deatheaters. The curtains were opened and the windows were only steamed in the corners. I looked in and saw April and Lily dancing. I felt my heart give a tug. I missed them so much, they were like my sisters. What if I went in and they didn't want to see me. What if they turned me away? April spun on her foot and put on a Muggle policewoman's cap. Lily laughed and conjured a baton. I saw James walking in with Sirius and Lily turned. I could just hear the music and the words.
"I just want you for my own, more then you could ever know, make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is you!" I heard the song go. At that last lyric James picked up Lily and dropped her on the sofa. Then he started doing the weirdest thing. I think he was talking to Lily's belly. I took a deep breath and turned for the door. I stood at the door and held my hand ready to knock on it. Ok. I could do this, so what if they all think I'm dead. I just want to see my friends, it's Christmas and it'll be the perfect present. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I kept my eyes closed.
"I'll get it." I heard Lily shout from inside the house. The door opened and I could feel light and warmth on my face. I opened my eyes and looked into Lily's completely shocked face and smiled.
"Hi, I was just passing by and I was wondering if you had a place I could-" Lily let out a happy scream and launched herself at me. She wrapped her arms around me and I hugged her back.
"You're back!" She screamed. "Oh my god." She pulled me into the house and closed the door. "Oh my god you're back." She turned and gave me another hug. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and hugged me even tighter then she was.
"Who is it?" April asked coming out from the room they had been in. "AH!" She said. Typical girly reunion this was. Al three of us went into a large group hug and I was being squeezed to death! The boys came running out with their wands out looking alert.
"What is it!" Sirius asked.
"Jenny's back!" April said. Sirius' face went deathly pale for a few moments then he grinned. James grinned as well and both boys came to hug me. Sirius even planted a kiss on my cheek.
"JENNY!" Sirius said. I laughed and let Sirius keep an arm on my shoulder.
"How have you been?" Lily asked. I grinned.
"Tired. I haven't had a good night's sleep for months. Bo keeps me up and-"
"Oh, who's Bo?" April asked. "Is he your son?" I looked at her slightly surprised then smiled.
"Yeah. He's my son." I answered. Sirius lifted up my cloak and looked into my cloak.
"Where is he? You've hidden him well." He said. I laughed and pushed Sirius away gently. I really missed this joking around. No one could beat Sirius, he was just so weird.
"It's the full moon. He's in the middle of his transformation. Lee is bringing him to England tomorrow." I said.
"Oh wait until Remus sees you he'll-" April said but I didn't hear the rest. I turned off at Remus as a shiver went through me. How was I going to face Remus? I had been so excited and psyched up about seeing Lily and April I'd completely forgotten about how Remus was going to react. April must have seen this and put an arm around my shoulders and held me tightly.
"Hey, don't worry. He'll be delighted." April said. I looked at her.
"Are you sure?" I asked him. "I know you all though I was dead."
"Actually, Lily, April and I knew you were alive" James confessed. He pulled Lily towards him and wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his hands on his stomach.
"Will you stop touching my stomach?" Lily asked turning around and touching her lips against James'. I'd forgotten what a cute couple they were. I was actually quite surprised at how close they seemed. It was a lot closer then when I'd left.
"I'm sorry, it's just I can't wait." James said. Lily grinned. I looked to April for an explanation. She waved a hand.
"You'll figure it out quick enough." She said. She put her arm around my waist and we all moved from the hall to the living room. It was absolutely boiling so I started to shed a few layers and placed them over the back of the sofa.
"So, how's China?" April asked.
"It's great." I said, "A bit boring though. I sank into depression after I moved back there and Lee pretty much had to look after Bo for a few months after I had him. Post Natal Depression is a bitch." I said. April laughed and sat on my lap and wrapped her arms around me protectively like she didn't want me to go away again.
"You're in great shape though." Lily said. I smiled. Sirius stood up.
"Well, I'm off to fetch Yasmine. I will be back in about half an hour if you're lucky." He said clapping his hands.
"Ok darling, have fun. Don't shag too much." April said with a slight pout.
"Don't worry mummy" Sirius said. April laughed and Sirius went outside. I heard a Motorbike engine revving and it faded into the distance.
"Aren't you and Sirius dating?" I asked April.
"Oh, no. We broke up. Still friends though." April said.
"-And when you come out I'll teach you to fly-"
"James get off me." Lily said pushing James away from her stomach.
"Why, I love you." He kissed her stomach. Lily couldn't push him away so she just gave up and collapsed on the sofa. She looked at me
"You're so lucky you didn't have this when you were pregnant." She said. I scowled.
"Are you pregnant?" I asked. Lily gave me a smile and James started whispering to her stomach again. April laughed.
"He's been doing that since they found out about a month ago that Lily was pregnant."
"Why didn't you Owl me?" I asked Lily. She grinned.
"So you've been getting my owls then?"
"Of course." I said.
"Well, I kinda got a bit busy with Healer training, pregnancy stuff, order stuff, training, order stuff. Really hectic, James!" Lily snapped at James who now had his head under Lily's shirt and was in the process of stretching it. I laughed and April put her head on my shoulder.
"When are you going back to China?" She asked.
"New Years day, European new year, not Chinese new year." I said. "That's when Lee goes back." April gave me another hug.
"Never never leave like that again." She said hugging me as tightly as she could like I was going to go away again.
"Don't worry." I said hugging her back.
"James!" Lily snapped again and this time James was flown half way across the room. He got to his feet and looked ready to tackle Lily. She held her hand out. "You don't want to hurt the baby." She said in a sing song voice. James's eyes narrowed and there was a pop. In the middle of the living room stood Peter. He looked a bit thinner then I remembered.
"Hi guys." He said.
"Hey, Peter, look who we found!" April said. Peter turned and was about to say something when his mouth fell open and he looked at me in shock.
"Bloody hell!" was all he managed to say. I laughed and made April slide off my legs and got up. I gave him a hug, which he returned hesitantly.
"Nice to see you too Peter." I said.
"You-you're alive!" He asked. I held my hands out.
"All here and in one piece." I was about to say something else when a yawn racked my body. I turned to Lily. "Do you think I could rest? In China it's like six in the morning and I haven't slept since yesterday." I said. Lily smiled and came to my side as quickly as she could, dodging James in the process.
"Come on. You can have the spare room. Tomorrow, you tell me everything you can tell me about anything. What does Bo look like?"
"How have you been coping?" April asked taking my other arm. "Why didn't you write?"
"Can I tell you tomorrow? I'm absolutely shattered." I think I must have accidentally slipped into Chinese because a look of confusion spread across Lily's face then she smiled.
"Whatever you said I didn't understand but I'll let you rest, you look shattered." She said. I laughed and gave her a hug while we walked. I missed April and Lily so much! Lily put her head on my shoulder.
"Never go away without contacting us again." April said. "We knew you were safe but we still want you to tell us." I nodded with a smile. Lily took us to a spare room and I threw my bag onto the bed and sat down on it. I looked around.
"I've really missed you guys." I said to them. April and Lily sat either side of me.
"We've missed you to. Why did you tell us that you had died?" Lily asked. I shrugged. Even I didn't know the answer.
"It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. It's what I wanted to do. I just wanted to kill myself and leave Bo with Lee." I confessed. My smiled had gone and I played with the corner of the duvet. Lily took my hand and held it tightly.
"Well I for one am Glad you didn't do that." Lily said. I gave a weak smile
"How's-" I started to say before Lily could say anything else but I couldn't say his name. I couldn't see him, not after I hurt him so badly by just leaving.
"Remus is fine." April answered as she looked into my eyes. "He's slowly getting used to life as a bachelor."
"He'll be glad to see you." Lily said.
"I don't know if I can see him again." I told them. "Not after what I did."
"Trust us Jenny, he'll be fine with it. A bit shocked but fine." April said giving me a hug.
"And James told me that Remus is constantly wishing you were by his side still." Lily added. I gave a weak smile. "So when's Bo coming?"
"With Lee, tomorrow morning." I answered after a few moments of trying to figure out the time difference between China and England.
"What does he look like? Is he cute?" April asked.
"Of course he's cute. He's Jenny's son!" Lily said. I laughed.
"He's the cutest baby I've seen. He has his father's eyes." I said as a mental picture of my son came to my head.
"Aw, well I think April and I will leave you to get some sleep." Lily said. "After all, you did tell us that you haven't had any sleep for months."
"Yeah, Bo has only just started sleeping through the entire night. I hope you don't mind having a baby here." I said to Lily, looking at her. Her emerald eyes shone brightly.
"Are you kidding, it'll be some practice for me. I am having a baby of my own." Lily said patting her stomach. April leant over my legs and put her hands on Lily's waist and put her head near Lily's stomach.
"And a cute ickle baby it will be to." April said in a baby like voice. Lily rolled her eyes and I laughed at her. "I will be an aunty to another baby and it will learn to love me and- ow" Together Lily and I had pushed April off our legs and she rolled onto the floor. She stood up and rubbed her bum. "That hurt"
"Don't talk to my stomach! It's irritating" Lily said. April gave a grin and stuck out her tongue and we all laughed. Yep, I definitely missed them
I walked down to the kitchen of Lily's house. It had taken me a while to remember why I was in a strange bed and why Bo was nowhere to be seen. Lily was sitting on the counter of her kitchen bopping her head to some music she was playing from the radio. She had a mug of coffee in her hands and she seemed to be thinking. When I opened the door she snapped out of her trance like state and looked at me and grinned. She put the mug down, jumped of the kitchen counter and ran to give me a hug.
"Jenny, Jenny, Jenny." She said.
"Lily, Lily, Lily" I said back. Lily let go of me and grinned.
"What do you want for breakfast?" She asked.
"I really don't mind. Anything that's not Chinese I guess." I said as I went to the kitchen table and sat down. Lily nodded.
"Where's James?" I asked,
"Asleep." Lily said, "He's a lazy arse sometimes. Especially when he gets a holiday and he can't actually have sex with me he just sleeps." I looked at Lily, smile then shook my head. Lily grinned. "What? That's what he does though."
"You two are unbelievable," I said.
"Thank you." Lily said as she got some bread and put it under the grille in the oven.
"You two seem a lot closer then when I left." I said, I took the mug that Lily had left and took a sip. Ah, Coffee. I didn't get it in China and I craved it so badly. Lily didn't quite look at me but she had that sort of geeky smile of someone who was head over heels in love and knew that she was as well.
"He's amazing. He took me on this cruise for our anniversary. It was the most amazing time I'd ever had" Lily said. "Two weeks of just him and me and we would just sit and look at the ocean and just stay with each other. It was absolutely perfect." I felt a pang of jealousy and hurt in my heart. I knew I could have had that too if I hadn't run off when I discovered I was pregnant. I could have had the world but no, I had panicked and sought the refuge of my family instead of stay here and face a long hard pregnancy on my own. Lily saw the expression on my face change and she suddenly looked sympathetic and came and sat next to me.
"I'm sorry." She said, "I'm a bit tactless."
"No, it's fine." I said quietly. "I've accepted the fact that I'm not going to have a normal relationship anymore"
"Well I wouldn't call my relationship with James normal. We might be giving birth to the boy who's been prophesised to bring down Voldemort!" Lily said. I looked at her confused but before I could ask her what she meant by that there was a crack behind us and Lily turned and her face went slightly serious. I didn't need to turn around or see her expression to know who was standing behind me.
"Hi Lily." Came Remus' voice. My heart sped up slightly and I felt a now strange tingle going through me.
"Remus, hi." Lily said forcing a smile and getting up. I picked up a piece of silver cutlery that was on the table and used it like a mirror to try and see Remus. The image was distorted but I could still see him. "How was the transformation?" Lily asked.
"Rough as usual. Who's tha-" I turned around and looked at Remus. He was pale enough as it was but now he looked like a ghost. We held each other's gaze for a moment before I broke away and looked at Lily.
"I'm not feeling hungry anymore. I'm going to have a shower and maybe transfigure something into a cot, if that's ok with you." I said. I couldn't talk to Remus yet. I just couldn't. I don't know what I would say.
"Um, yeah. Sure." Lily said. "Do you want me to show you where everything is?" I gave her a smile.
"No it's fine, I'll find it all on my own." I said. I avoided Remus' gaze but I could feel his eyes on me. I turned around and left the kitchen. I closed the door until there was only a crack and listened.
"Was I just dreaming?" Remus asked.
"No, that is really Jenny. She turned up last night out of the blue and she's staying here for about a week or so." Lily said. "Are you ok?"
"All this time I thought she was dead and she's alive! Why didn't she contact me, did you know?"
"Honestly, yes I did know she was alive but she wanted us to all think she was dead. Dumbledore told us that she did nearly die giving birth. It's not easy having a werewolf baby. Most women die during their pregnancy." Lily said. I could tell she'd been doing her research and that some of her Healer knowledge was coming through. I turned and got ready to go upstairs when there was another crack and my sister stood in front of me carrying two bags and a bundle in her arms. Lily came out of the kitchen at the sound of someone apparating.
"Lee." She said with a smile.
"Hi Lily, just here to drop my nephew." Lee said. She looked at me and smiled, it looked slightly forced. She handed over the bundle that happened to be Bo, fast asleep in her arms and the smaller of the bags.
"Any trouble?" I asked.
"No, he was a little angel, oh, and Ling is in that bag, he snuck into it and I didn't realise until I got to the Ministry in England." Lee said as the bag gave a bark, I looked at the bag.
"I didn't mean Bo." I said. Lee frowned and he gave a sharp breath.
"Well, father is incredibly angry but mother and grandmother have managed to calm him down." Lee said. I nodded and Lee gave me a hug. "I have to go. It's nice seeing you Lily." She gave Lily a hug as well. "Merry Christmas"
"Merry Christmas to you" Lily said. Lee disapparated and Lily turned to me. "Let me see Bo" She said excitedly. I moved away some blankets that were obscuring his face. He was fast asleep.
"Let me put all this stuff down and let Ling out of the bag." I said. I returned to the kitchen where Remus was sitting at the table. I tried not to look at him but he looked up. Lily helped me put the bag onto the table and she opened it up. Ling poked his head out and barked. Lily smiled.
"He's such a cute dog." Lily said scratching Ling behind the ears. The bag shook as Ling wagged his tail. Ling took to Lily instantly which was a bit of a surprise to me. I glanced at Remus and smiled.
"Do you want to see your son or not?" I asked him gently. He looked at me slightly surprised and stood up to come around the table. I felt slightly awkward being near him. I removed a few blankets and Remus stopped a few feet away slightly hesitant. Lily glanced at me and smiled. Bo gave a yawn as I took off the last blanket, Lee believed in wrapping up Bo didn't she? And he opened his eyes and smiled.
"Good morning precious." I said. Bo gave a gurgle of delight. Remus straightened and looked like he was trying to get a look of Bo without permission. I looked at him and walked over.
"Here, hold him like this." I said as I put Bo into Remus' arms and showed him how to hold Bo without hurting him. When Remus was holding Bo properly I stepped back and Lily put an arm around my waist and gave me a look as if to say 'well done'. I kept my gaze on Remus. He looked so much more tired then I thought he'd look. He was just looking at Bo in silence then he looked up at me.
"What's his name?" He asked
"Bo Chang. My grandmother can't pronounce English names so I gave him a Chinese name and my father wouldn't let me give Bo the surname Lupin" I said nervously. Remus looked pleasantly surprised that I even considered it then looked at Bo again. Bo was looking at Remus with that look of baby curiosity and raised his hand and stroked Remus' rough, stubbly chin and laughed. He raised his other hand and began rubbing Remus' chin. Remus smiled and laughed as well. I smiled and put my head on Lily's shoulder.
"Well done." She whispered.
"Thanks." I answered. The door was pushed open and James came in yawning and stretching. His shirt coming up slightly as he did so.
"Lily." He said as he wrapped his arms around my friend from behind and kissed the back of her neck. "mm, you smell nice." He said tiredly. I detached myself from Lily and Lily laughed.
"So do you James."
"How's little baby James?" James asked. Lily rolled her eyes.
"He's fine." Lily said.
"Good." James seemed to only just notice the presence of Remus and myself in the room and he grinned "Is that baby Remus?" He asked. I looked at him confused the turned and saw Remus with Bo and knew what he was talking about.
"Oh, yeah, James, meet Bo Chang." I said. James let go of Lily and went to the baby.
"Good morning Bo Chang." James said to the baby. Bo looked at James and pulled off his glasses. Bo let out a stream of gurgling noises and tried to put the glasses into his mouth.
"No, Bo." I said taking Bo back and taking the glasses away. Bo made grabbing motions for the glasses as I handed them back to James. James laughed and clapped Remus on the back.
"You did a good job." He said. "Hope I've done just as good."
"Um thanks?" Remus asked James. I gave a small laugh as Lily rolled her eyes. It wasn't as difficult being with Remus after everything as I expected. Remus looked at me and gave me a smile, I returned the smile and looked away.
"I'm going to go and sort out Bo, he smells like he needs to change his nappy." I said. Lily nodded.
"Can I come and see how it's done?" Lily asked sheepishly.
"Yeah." I said. Lily picked up Bo's bag and I clicked my tongue to get Ling's attention. He was currently circling James and Remus' legs and sniffing them. He ran after me and Lily as we went upstairs.
It was later on Christmas day. Everyone was down stairs and talking happily. I had come upstairs to try and calm down Bo, he seemed intimidated by so many people that and the fact that April kept fussing over him and hugging him. He sat at the top of my bed playing peek-a-boo with me using the duvet. I was lying on my stomach and Bo was hiding behind the duvet. Every time he saw me he squealed with laughter. He hid behind the duvet again and lowered it.
"Boo." I said. Bo laughed and tried to push himself forwards onto his front. Carefully he tried to lift himself on his arms and legs but I picked him up and put him on his back.
"You know you're not strong enough to crawl." I said as I tickled Bo's stomach. He gave a gurgle of delight and caught my fingers in his tiny hands and started playing with them. There was a knock at the door and I turned to look. No one had come in.
"Come in." I called. I turned back to Bo and wiggled my fingers. Bo gurgled as he tried to keep my fingers still and began sucking on one. The door opened and someone came in. I turned and saw Remus at the door. He looked slightly awkward and shy. I didn't move, I just looked at him. He closed the door and took a deep breath ready to say something.
"How have you been?" He asked hesitantly. We had spent some time together downstairs with the others but the most we'd said to each other were polite pleasantries.
"Tired, depressed. Babies, they cry all night." I said, Remus gave a slight smile, "What about you?"
"Similar, except I haven't had the baby problem." He said coming nearer the bed. I sat up properly and crossed my legs. Bo gave a slight baby protest at having my fingers being pulled away from his mouth. I picked up Bo and settled him in my lap, which was when he grabbed my fingers again.
"Do you want to sit down and, I don't know, catch up?" I asked Remus nervously. He nodded and smiled
"I'd like that" He said, sitting down in front of my on the bed. Bo turned his head and looked at the curious man who looked tired and seemed to be making me nervous. I think Bo sensed my feelings because he seemed to be acting a bit calmer then usual.
"So, what's happened since I left?" I asked Remus.
A/N:-Sorry i haven't updated recently, i've been really really busy with exams and revision. Took a break today and went up to London to go and see the premiere of Harry Potter. Didn't actually go in but it was amazing. I have photos on my website, if you click on my website on the author page thing