CHAPTER 12
Dumbledore's office looked exactly the same as it always did. It was as if time stood still and left everything as it was before she left Hogwarts. Fawkes was humming quietly on his perch, the late headmasters snoozed in their respective frames, various trinkets and magical doodads spun and whirled in their swift, incomprehensible ballet, and Dumbledore was leaning back in his comfy oversized, purple suede chair with that irritating yet loveable knowing smile on his face. His beard seemed to glow in the moonlight that streamed through the small office windows.
Nothing had changed.
Lyca stared at the cup of hot coco she held in her lap, absentmindedly stirring her spoon in a counterclockwise direction. She needed to speak to him about something very strange and important, but she didn't know how to approach the subject. So she continued to sit in her chair on the opposite side of Dumbledore's desk, shuffling her feet and twirling her thumbs, while Dumbledore steepled his long, pale fingers and stared at her curiously through his half-moon glasses.
After what felt like an eternity, Lyca gathered enough of courage to enable her to look straight into Dumbledore's bright blue eyes, and with a shaky voice exclaimed, "I think I'm pregnant!"
Dumbledore smiled with a twinkle in his eyes, "Well, congratulations are in order than. Shall I get some noise makers and party hats?"
Lyca sat in complete silence, legitimately confused, thinking Is he serious? Than promptly shook her head and tried to explain everything. Meanwhile Dumbledore was already starting to conjure what looked decorations for a baby shower.
"You don't understand," she replied earnestly. "The father is Remus Lupin." Lyca knew that this little bit of information had caught Dumbledore's attention; he stopped mid-incantation and raised his eyebrows in an expression of piqued curiosity. Lyca waited for a response, but didn't receive and launched into a lengthy explanation anyway. She described everything that happened on that fateful Halloween night, when the moon was full and round and bright. She ended the story with her fists clenched her lap, her head held high, jaw firmly set and tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I know that it's nearly impossible to conceive werewolf pups, but I know that we did it. I just know it!"
Dumbledore remained as still as a statue, while Lyca trembled under the weight of her own thoughts. It was one thing to think about something as insanely impossible as this, but it was another thing to tell someone, let alone one's wise, old headmaster. I must sound like a raving lunatic, Lyca thought grimly, but ultimately she had said what she felt she needed to say. All that she could now was wait for a reply.
Finally, in a voice that sounded as deep and unknowable as the sea, Dumbledore spoke. "No matter that the circumstances, I maintain my original opinion that congratulations are still in order." Lyca let out a wide breath that she didn't even know she had been holding.
"Still, this does present a problem" he replied. "I must tell you that Remus Lupin is gainfully unemployed at the moment, one of his best friends was arrested and taken to Azkaban for betraying the Potter family to Voldemort, as well as killing Peter Pettigrew – another one of Remus's friends – and a dozen muggles." Lyca flinched as Dumbledore uttered the Dark Lord's name, but Dumbledore continued unabated. "Remus has suffered a lot of pain and heartache in a very short period of time. While it is your choice to inform Remus now or later, I should think that news such as this, as astounding and unexpected as it is, might burden him rather than make him happy."
In one sentence, Lyca's dreams of becoming Mrs. Remus Lupin were shot, dashed, and otherwise obliterated. She could no longer look Dumbledore straight in the eyes, and contented herself with staring at the plush, carpeted floor.
"My suggestion," Dumbledore said, seemingly unaware of Lyca's sudden discomfort. "Is to lay low. I will help you with the pup or pups when the time arrives. And when they get to be of schooling age you can make the decision to tell Remus."
Lyca perked up at the idea of surprising Remus with his children. While she wasn't entirely thrilled with Dumbledore's plan, it was the best and only one she had. She inhaled and exhaled deeply; letting her brain process all of this new information. She would wait until the appointed time to tell Remus about his children. She nodded silently in agreement, and Dumbledore uttered some extra words of assurance mixed with encouragement.
Suddenly, as if her body had been waiting for that final decision, fatigue descended upon her. All the events of the past few days had finally caught up with her, and Lyca quickly slipped into blissful unconsciousness, still sitting in one of Dumbledore's chairs, where she dreamed sweet, wonderful dreams of her future offspring.