"Remus. Go. I'll be FINE! And so will the baby."
It was 4:30 pm on the evening of the full moon, and we were standing together outside the Hogs Head pub. "If anything happens..."
"I'll go home. Now go, before it gets dark and you kill me." She must have sensed the worry in my eyes because she kissed me. "I'm joking. Go now, okay? I love you."
"I love you too," I managed. "Be safe." With that, she walked away from me. And even though I knew I was being irrational, I was so terrified that that would be the last time I saw her.
**
I awoke with a start sometime after midnight. I sensed something, and quietly, following my wolf-instinct, started toward the Hog's Head.
It was simple enough to get through to the upstairs rooms where she was located because mostly the pub was empty except a few drunken ghouls who barely acknowledged a large tawny wolf with gray flecks and watchful gray eyes.
I crept upstairs and tried to find her scent. I sensed it at the far end of the corridor and perked, padding toward the last room in the hall.
When I got there, the door was nearly closed but not quite, so I was able to nudge it open and get through. She lay on the bed, hair long and pink, sound asleep. She looks like an angel, I thought, a tiny, slightly pregnant, pink-haired angel. I climbed up on the bed and curled up next to her. Then I fell asleep.
I woke sometime the next morning with a pounding headache. Where am I? I thought, panicked. "Nymphadora?"
"In here, m'love! How are you doing? I thought it was sooo cute when I woke up to go to the toilet and there was a wolf in my bed." She came in and kissed me. "Here love, aspirin."
I took it gratefully. "Thanks love. How was YOUR night?"
"I got a lot of shopping done for the baby. Hold on I'll show you." She disappeared into the small bathroom again, returning with her arms full of bags. "Some I bought here in Hogsmead but a lot of it I bought when I apparated to Diagon Alley." She started taking things out of the bags. I just lay back, propped against the pillows, and let her voice wash over me.
The next time I awoke it was in our bed at home, and she lay next to me. I quietly got up and headed to the kitchen to fix myself a cup of tea. Then, I crept up to the attic.
Once up there, I didn't really know what I was doing. What are you doing, Lupin? I silently asked myself, while walking to the corner of the attic where her hope chest was stored, sat down before it, said a silent prayer, and slowly opened it.
As soon as I opened it, I caught a whiff of something that was purely she and smiled. Lying on top of everything else was a photograph of myself, her, and Sirius, all smiling and waving in the park near her childhood house. She looked to be about 4 or 5, and as I stared, the day slowly came back to me.
** "REMMY WATCH ME!" the tiny purple-haired pixie called from the middle of the field. 13-year-old Remus Lupin turned to face her. "I'm watching, Nymphie." The little girl laughed delightedly and turned a cartwheel. He clapped and she came running over and planted herself in his lap. Her 2nd- cousin, Sirius, came up behind Remus and gave him bunny ears, and then offered a passer-by his camera. "Take a picture, mate. I wanna remember this."
** "Remus?"
I startled and jumped. "Oh, hello Nymphadora dear, you scared me."
"Oh, I'm sorry... What are you doing up here?"
I pulled her into my arms. "Oh, you know. Just reminiscing about all things passed."
A/N: DAMN that was fun!
It was 4:30 pm on the evening of the full moon, and we were standing together outside the Hogs Head pub. "If anything happens..."
"I'll go home. Now go, before it gets dark and you kill me." She must have sensed the worry in my eyes because she kissed me. "I'm joking. Go now, okay? I love you."
"I love you too," I managed. "Be safe." With that, she walked away from me. And even though I knew I was being irrational, I was so terrified that that would be the last time I saw her.
**
I awoke with a start sometime after midnight. I sensed something, and quietly, following my wolf-instinct, started toward the Hog's Head.
It was simple enough to get through to the upstairs rooms where she was located because mostly the pub was empty except a few drunken ghouls who barely acknowledged a large tawny wolf with gray flecks and watchful gray eyes.
I crept upstairs and tried to find her scent. I sensed it at the far end of the corridor and perked, padding toward the last room in the hall.
When I got there, the door was nearly closed but not quite, so I was able to nudge it open and get through. She lay on the bed, hair long and pink, sound asleep. She looks like an angel, I thought, a tiny, slightly pregnant, pink-haired angel. I climbed up on the bed and curled up next to her. Then I fell asleep.
I woke sometime the next morning with a pounding headache. Where am I? I thought, panicked. "Nymphadora?"
"In here, m'love! How are you doing? I thought it was sooo cute when I woke up to go to the toilet and there was a wolf in my bed." She came in and kissed me. "Here love, aspirin."
I took it gratefully. "Thanks love. How was YOUR night?"
"I got a lot of shopping done for the baby. Hold on I'll show you." She disappeared into the small bathroom again, returning with her arms full of bags. "Some I bought here in Hogsmead but a lot of it I bought when I apparated to Diagon Alley." She started taking things out of the bags. I just lay back, propped against the pillows, and let her voice wash over me.
The next time I awoke it was in our bed at home, and she lay next to me. I quietly got up and headed to the kitchen to fix myself a cup of tea. Then, I crept up to the attic.
Once up there, I didn't really know what I was doing. What are you doing, Lupin? I silently asked myself, while walking to the corner of the attic where her hope chest was stored, sat down before it, said a silent prayer, and slowly opened it.
As soon as I opened it, I caught a whiff of something that was purely she and smiled. Lying on top of everything else was a photograph of myself, her, and Sirius, all smiling and waving in the park near her childhood house. She looked to be about 4 or 5, and as I stared, the day slowly came back to me.
** "REMMY WATCH ME!" the tiny purple-haired pixie called from the middle of the field. 13-year-old Remus Lupin turned to face her. "I'm watching, Nymphie." The little girl laughed delightedly and turned a cartwheel. He clapped and she came running over and planted herself in his lap. Her 2nd- cousin, Sirius, came up behind Remus and gave him bunny ears, and then offered a passer-by his camera. "Take a picture, mate. I wanna remember this."
** "Remus?"
I startled and jumped. "Oh, hello Nymphadora dear, you scared me."
"Oh, I'm sorry... What are you doing up here?"
I pulled her into my arms. "Oh, you know. Just reminiscing about all things passed."
A/N: DAMN that was fun!