"How about," Addy Lupin suggested, "Something Roman?"

Dan raised an eyebrow at his wife. "Roman?" he repeated.

"Yes, silly." She replied, giggling a bit. "We were talking about our baby, remember? His name? Just like yours is Daniel and mine is Adele?"

He rolled his eyes at her. But when he realized that she could barely see his eyes through the curtain of brown hair, he slid closer and snuggled up with her. "Exactly what connection do our names have to Roman names?"

"None… does there have to be one?"

He shrugged. "Wizards, you know. Family hierarchies and everything." Not that our son will be a pureblood, he thought without remorse, so it doesn't really matter. "I once knew a family that named every child a flower name. Even the boys."

"Poor kids."

"Mmmf," Dan agreed, and buried his face in her neck.

"He's going to like Hogwarts, isn't he?"

"If he's anything like you."

"How about… 'Romulus'?"

"What?" He raised his head.

"As a name. Romulus."

"Isn't that a little… too Roman?"

"I suppose. And it's three syllables. Two-syllable names sound the best."

"Your name is three!"

"I know. I much prefer yours. What about Remus?"

"Isn't he the one who gets killed?"

Addy smiled. "It's not like he'll have a twin named Romulus to do the killing, now is it? I think Remus is a nice name."

"I still say we skip the Roman. There's this pureblood Slytherin family that I hate, and almost every generation they have at least one pompous Roman officer." Danny frowned. There was something else about Romulus and Remus, something that he remembered that sounded weird…. Oh. Yeah. "Besides, Remus was raised by a wolf! Don't you think it's going a bit too heavy with the wolf imagery, considering his last name?"

"Oh, come on! By the time any of his peers understand the reference, they'll be too old for childish teasing. And I think it's cute."

"I think it's asking for bad luck," Danny said, but less enthusiastically. "Remus Lupin" did have a nice ring to it.

"What? You think he'll turn into a wolf or something? Start howling at the moon before he says his first word?"

"Well, there are werewolves."

Addy blinked. After all the years of knowing Daniel, she was still unaccustomed to the truth behind all the myths.

Dan inspected his wife's pale, determinedly optimistic face. "Nevertheless," he said slowly, "I'm afraid I'll have to concede to your superior naming abilities. Remus Lupin it is."

"You sure?" she asked. "I mean, you could give some suggestions… names from your family… or we could look into normal names, Muggle ones I mean."

"No. I like it. Though you'd best start finding picture books about wolves," he added teasingly.

"Oh, you!" Addy tilted her head back against the couch, trying to keep from grinning as she looked at her love. "You know, I always run into these books where the character's name fits their occupation exactly. 'Aqua Droughtender' is a water seller or something. And it just never happens that way in real life. So I figure that if we name Remus Remus-"

"There'll be no chance of him actually being wolfish?" Dan finished the sentence for her.

"You know me too well. He'll probably act more like a mouse or a squirrel or something, just you watch."

"Gods, not a squirrel!" Dan said in horror. "I don't want to have to deal with one of those running around the house! Especially one with magic."

"Fine, then. A deer or, or, a bird. I don't know."

"Or just a normal kid. And by the way…"

"Yes?"

"How about a simple, common, ordinary middle name?"