Chapter 39

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Correction: I own the offspring of the characters you recognize. If you would like to baby-sit them for a day, I'd LOVE for you to take them off my hands. Just send me a message. ; D

A/N: Sorry for the delay. Fanfiction has been anal with me lately. Also, I remind you that I am a college student balancing two fanfictions as of now. Yeah, I know, I should have lain off the Lupin/Tonks one, but I couldn't resist. This one doesn't want to end. I hope you enjoy this little diversion with the Lupins.

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Nymphadora Tonks had never been so tired in her life. She had been baby-sitting Ron and Hermione's girls for nearing on three days, and was about to go mad. She already had two of her own, and she was pregnant.

Tonks was not very happy when she was pregnant.

She was having to watch three rambunctious toddlers, a clingy one year old, and trying not to heave up her digestive system.

Needless to say, it wasn't working.

She didn't remember being this sick with Sirius, and certainly not with James. She fell more often than usual now (which was really saying something), for she constantly felt dizzy. She had had a few dizzy spells with Sirius, but nothing like these.

As she prepared lunch for the children (warm formula for James and the usual Spagettios for Sirius, with some extra for Molly and Jane), Sirius and Jane argued. She had no idea over what—they themselves probably couldn't have told her.

"Nuh-uh!" Sirius cried.

"Yuh-huh!" Jane countered.

The litany went on and on.

Tonks' fuse had never been very long. When she was pregnant, however, it was near nonexistent. She reveled in being (as Remus called her) evil. And she was damn good at it. Of course, this was the third time, so she was beginning to be an old pro at it.

"SHUT UP, NOW!" she bellowed.

Sirius and Jane immediately closed their mouths. Jane had never seen this side of her baby-sitter. Sirius, on the other hand, had, and knew when to obey his mother. Today was not the day to push her buttons.

Of course, he didn't know why. She and Remus had refrained from telling him about the new addition to the family, just in case something happened. Tonks was a little more than two months along, so she doubted anything would happen, but it was better to be on the safe side.

"Sit down at the table," she ordered.

Sirius, Molly, and Jane all complied. Tonks sat a plate of Spagettios in front of all three. "Tuck in."

Sirius grinned and immediately began shoving his favorite food in his mouth. Jane and Molly looked at their helpings skeptically.

"I don't like this," Jane affirmed.

"Me either," Molly agreed.

"Have you ever had Spagettios before?" Tonks asked, her eyebrow arched.

"No," they answered.

"Then how do you know?"

"They look gross," Jane decided.

"Well, that's lunch, so I suggest you eat it."

Molly tried a bite. "It's okay."

Jane didn't budge. "No."

Tonks was not in the mood. "Why not?"

"You can't make me!"

"Can't I?"

"You're not my mummy!"

Tonks huffed. "Well, your mummy's not here, is she? No, she's off on some adventure leaving me alone with you two and my own two. And it's the full moon tonight!"

"Moon?" Molly asked. "Why?"

"Daddy's a werewolf," Sirius affirmed. He grinned broadly. "Grr!"

Molly opened her eyes wide in horror. "Wolf? Wolfies bite."

"Remus won't bite you," Tonks soothed. "I promise." She turned back to Jane. "Eat."

Jane crossed her arms over her chest. "No."

"Fine. Sirius, you can eat Jane's Spagettios too."

"Yay!" he cried, swiping the plate away from her and digging in.

"Hey, that's mine!" Jane pouted, prying the plate away from him and eating a few bites.

"Not that bad, huh?" Tonks asked, grinning. Children. Always wanted what someone else had.

As she fed James his bottle, she heard Remus come in the door.

"Feeling too poorly to apparate?"

"Yeah. Long day at work. The gits wouldn't let me get away. How's everything on the home front?" he asked, kissing her in greeting.

"Crazy." She paused. "Remus, I still haven't heard anything else from Ron and Hermione. I don't think they realize what time of the month it is."

He sighed. "I have to leave in a few hours. Maybe your mother can come over?"

Tonks rolled her eyes. "I don't want to endure another birth control lecture, Remus. It gets quite old." She sighed. "But I guess I'll have to." She went to the living room and picked up a piece of parchment and a quill. "Could you clean up?"

"Sure. Tell your mother I send her my thanks."

"Oh stop that," Tonks cringed. "She likes you, okay. Quit sucking up. It's me she likes getting on to. She still thinks I'm five years old."

"You'll be the same way with James, mark my words," he laughed. He disappeared into the kitchen, missing her reproachful glare.

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Two hours later, Remus kissed Tonks good night. "You sure you'll be alright until your mother gets here?"

"Oh, I'll be fine, Remus, really. I am an auror after all."

He smiled. "Indeed. Take care. Don't let them murder you." He turned to go, then spun back around. "Oh, and don't let your hormones take control."

"What are you talking about?"

"You were evil when you were pregnant with James. Don't bite the kids' heads off. Or your mother's. Definitely not your mother's."

"I'll try. I can't promise anything."

A few minutes later Tonks was left wondering why on earth she had given the terrible three (as she had begun to call them) a chocolate frog apiece. Now she was trying her hardest to pry them off the living room furniture.

"Bounce!" Molly cried.

"Higher!" Jane shrieked.

"Yay!" Sirius yelled.

Tonks got Sirius down first, though he managed to tug a good twig of hair out of her head in the process. "Sirius, no! Do you want me to spank you?"

"Mummy no spank. Daddy spank."

"Wanna bet?"

He yelped sat down on the couch as gently as a three year old could.

Jane and Molly didn't like the idea of a spanking either, so they soon sat down.

Finally, the doorbell rang. Tonks opened the door, allowing a woman in her late sixties in the door.

"Really, I don't know why you two insist on living in Muggle London, of all places!" she scoffed. She eyed her daughter. "You look awful. Well, I suppose being pregnant will do that to you. I didn't look so hot myself when I was expecting you. Of course, you were planned, which is more than I can say for your children."

"Mum," she hissed. "Sirius doesn't know about the baby yet."

"Oh, I don't suppose you're in any danger of losing it. You kept Sirius even after a Cruciatius Curse. You must have some determined reproductive organs in there, Nymphadora. That's why you should always use the potion, dear. It keeps you from finding yourself in these situations."

Tonks simply walked away from her mother. "Sirius, Grandma is here."

Sirius grinned and ran up to his Grandma. As much as she scolded Tonks for his unplanned arrival, she loved him to death. She had secretly been longing for a grandchild, even if it was horrible timing to have one in the middle of the war. She had been spoiling him rotten since the moment she'd laid eyes on him.

"Sirius! How are you dear? Behaving for your mother?" she asked cheerfully, scooping him up in a hug.

Tonks felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked down at Molly. "Yes, Molly?"

"Where my Grandma?"

Tonks had to hold back tears. The poor children. Sadly, they would have to grow up without them. She was trying to figure out what to say when Andromeda Tonks burst in.

"Well, dear, Sirius can share you with me. Everyone needs a grandma, especially you and your sister."

Tonks had never felt so indebted to her mother. Andromeda Tonks truly was a remarkable woman. She had cast aside everything—wealth, status, her family, her friends—to marry the man she loved. Then she had raised a metamorphagus to be proud of what she was, not ashamed. She had also accepted Remus much easier than Tonks had imagined. As her mother had put it 'He certainly is more refined than your father. You'd never know the Ministry classifies him as a Type III dangerous beast. Pity at that. I really like him Nymphadora. Don't know what he sees in you, but I'm not complaining."

She looked at the window, watching the full moon come out. She frowned at it. It was her greatest enemy, the one thing that made Remus suffer.

"Nymphadora! Come here! We're going to play dominoes."

Tonks smothered a laugh. The three eldest children looked like they were about to open presents. All over dominoes. Maybe asking her mother over wasn't such a bad idea. She could certainly learn from her mother's capable example. Maybe then she could hold Sirius in check more often.

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A/N: Ah, a little diversion with the Lupins. I hope you enjoyed. By the way, the jumping on the furniture bit comes from personal experience. Here I am, trying to keep my younger brother from killing himself, and he pulls a chunk of hair out of my head. He is the inspiration for both Sirius and James. Of course, now he's much older, but I still remember those days…Boy am I glad they're over.

Thanks to my beta jwoods471. She needs to stop being lazy and write her stories, Forgotten Memory and Opportune Mistake.

Please review!