They had gotten a large roast beef, knowing how hungry werewolves got, potatoes, salad fixings, and butterbeer to drink.
"Are you excited about seeing Emily again, Remus?"
He grabbed her around the waist as she tried to set the table and pulled her to him. He looked into her eyes and then his gaze moved down to her mouth. Without hesitating he gave her a slow and lingering kiss intended to make her knees weak. She sighed in his arms and he grinned as they pulled away from each other. "I think it will be good for you to meet another female werewolf," he admitted, but then a reminiscent smile passed over his face, "it will be good to see Emily again. After her attack Dumbledore asked me to be with her on her first transformation. After that we became even closer than we had before, she really was a sweet girl. I'm sure she still is."
Tonks smiled back at him, then nipped at his ear playfully. "It's a wonder you never got together, the two of you. I mean, you two were close. Why was it that you didn't end up together?" She asked, hoping that it wasn't too personal of a question. It had been on her mind since he told her the story.
He smiled and kissed her again. "Actually, we did try to make it work, there was just no spark between Emily and I. We had fun together, enjoyed each other's company, but we both knew it would never be love. Neither of us were willing to settle for less than that." He remembered the awkward feeling he and Emily had shared after their first and only kiss. They had laughed nervously and hugged each other tight. "You are family Remus, part of my pack. Nothing will ever change that I suppose," She had said. He had to agree with her, she had always been more like a little sister taken under his wing than a romantic interest. He was just glad they had agreed on it.
"She is my little sister Dora, I could never see her otherwise," he said with a soft smile.
Tonks smiled back at him. "You know, it's kind of funny when you think about it. You helped her, and now her and her husband will be helping us. There are so many things I want to ask her," She said, trailing her fingertips across his face gently.
With a flick of her wand, she set the table for five, then turned her attention back on Remus. "For example, if I become pregnant what happens to the baby when I transform?"
Remus pressed a kiss to her forehead and smiled down at her. "You can ask them all the questions you want tonight, I'm sure they will answer anything you ask. I wish I could tell you, but you are going to have to realize that your Ulfric may be older and wiser in the way of the werewolf, but he doesn't know everything," he said with a teasing glint in his eyes. He hugged her tight and was content to have her relax against them while they waited for their guests.
Tonks chuckled, then remembered something. Using her wand again, she summoned a box which contained the chocolate frog cards that she had put aside to give Candice.
"I went through my chocolate frog cards and made her a little collection of ones that I had multiples of. I thought maybe she would enjoy looking at them while the grownups talk."
Just then they heard a whoosh from the fireplace and Curtis, Emily and Candice emerged. Emily cleaned off Candice and smiled at Remus and Tonks.
"You must be Tonks, I have heard so much about you. It sure has been a long time, Remus."
"Emily," Remus said in a cheerful voice. She grinned and they enveloped each other in a tight hug. "It's been much too long, I've missed you cub," he teased and Emily blushed.
"It's just like you to treat me like your little sister after all of these years," she said with a wide smile. She caught her daughter's eye, hiding behind Curtis's legs. "Candice, come meet mommy's friends."
The little girl walked over and took her mother's hand, looking at everyone nervously. She caught Remus's eyes and a dazzling smile crossed her face. "Uncle Remus?" she asked her mother. Emily nodded and Remus felt his throat constrict. Emily had never forgotten him, not in all the years they had been apart. It warmed his heart.
"Hello Candice," he said bending down to her height and holding out his hand. She didn't take it, instead she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He was taken by surprise, but he hugged her back tightly. "This is Dora," he told the little girl as she looked up at Tonks with questioning eyes.
Tonks squatted down to greet the little girl too. "Very nice to meet you, Candice. Your daddy has told us so much about you." The little girl was beautiful. She had long brown hair in a pigtail and big blue eyes. "You can call me Aunt Dora if you like."
"Okay, Aunt Dora!" Candice said, throwing her arms around Tonks and giving her a hug as well.
"She's beautiful, Emily and Curtis. Just beautiful."
"Thank you. It's so nice to finally meet you as well, Dora," Emily said, giving Tonks a hug. "I've heard a lot about you."
"It's nice to meet you as well, Emily."
"Well, I don't want to be a spoil sport and ruin this nice chatter we have here, but I'm starving," Curtis said with a wink. Remus chuckled and led everyone into the kitchen where he and Tonks had laid out a large dinner for everyone.
"We are having Roast, potatoes, and an assortment of delicious things," Remus said as they all took their seats. "My Dora is an amazing cook."
Tonks passed the plates and smiled. She really wanted to talk about their appointment with Curtis, but wasn't sure if Candice knew.
"So, are you two like my mummy and daddy? Are you werewolves?"
Emily stifled a chuckle and turned to Candice. "Now Candice, that is not polite."
"It's okay, Candice. Yes, we are werewolves. Just like your mummy and daddy."
Remus grinned at the little girl, she was very astute. "Candice, how much do you know about werewolves?" he asked, very interested in what her parents had told her. When he and Tonks had children he wanted to be able to handle them the way Emily and Curtis handled their own child. Candice looked up at him with big blue eyes and when she smiled he noticed that she was missing one of her teeth, it was incredibly endearing.
"I know lots of things!" she said excitedly, bouncing up and down in her chair, "Mummy and Daddy drink a funny smelling potion for a week when the moon is gonna be big and round. Then I get to go to Nana's for a few days. She says that Mummy and Daddy grow hair and howl at the moon. I don't see why they never do that fun stuff around me."
Emily chuckled. "Well, we wanted to be honest with her about things. But she does understand that she can't talk about it with her friends, right Candice?"
"Of course, Mummy. It's our little secret. Yo know what, Uncle Remus? I have a secret too!" She said, looking around secretively and then beaming at him, "I can do magic. Well, I can't really do magic. Someday Mummy says I'll get to go to Hogwarts. But now I just do it sometimes."
"Hogwarts is a great place, Candice. Your Uncle Remus and I went there, along with your mummy and daddy. By the way, if you eat all your dinner, I have something really yummy for dessert. But you have to clean your plate."
"We get to have dessert?" Candice asked excitedly look at her parents. Emily smiled and glanced pointedly at Candice's still uneaten portion of roast beef. The little girl leaned over toward Remus and as if she were going to tell him the most important secret in the world said, "I hate meat."
Remus burst out laughing, unable to keep himself under control. He could just imagine the dinner times at their house, the poor child must have been fed dozens of different types of meat in her life because of the way her parents were. He turned to look at Emily who was trying hard to keep a stern look on her face, but couldn't manage it. "We have some salad too if she would rather have that," he suggested.
Emily smiled at her daughter. "Don't worry about the meat, sweetheart, just eat your salad and vegetables." Turning to Tonks and Remus, she apologized, "I'm so sorry, I should have warned you."
"Think nothing of it, Emily. It's fine, really. I'll just remember to have plenty of veggies for you when you come over again, Candice."
"Thank you Aunt Dora. Do you think you and Uncle Remus could show me some cool magic after we have our dessert? I know I can't do magic yet with a wand, but I want to see what I can do someday."
Remus grinned down at Candice as she ate her salad with dainty bites, wiping her mouth after every bite to make sure she got rid of all the excess dressing. "I think Dora and I can show you some 'cool magic'," he said turning a smile on Tonks. Their eyes met and they shared a private smile across the table.
"My Mummy and Daddy do that too. What's so interesting about someone else's eyes?" Candice said with an exasperated sigh.
Emily chuckled, "Well, Candice it's just something that people do when they are in love. You'll understand someday when you're older."
Tonks stood up and saw everyone had finished eating. "Are we all ready for some dessert?" She asked.
"I know I am!" Candice bounced up and down excitedly.
"Hmm..I hope you like chocolate cake because that's what we're having."
Candice began to chatter excitedly as Tonks left the kitchen to go and get the cake from the pantry. "I think she may need some help bringing it in here," he told her with a wink and left the children in the care of her parents and followed Tonks into the pantry. He shut the door and pulled her tightly against him. "I needed to touch you," he whispered against her neck as he kissed it softly. They held each other, nearly forgetting that they weren't alone. "I think they are going to realize that we weren't just trying to find a cake," he teased as they walked back out of the large pantry.
Candice looked excited as she saw Tonks and Remus coming out with the cake. "You guys took so long in there! I didn't think you were ever going to come out!"
Tonks laughed. "She doesn't miss much, does she?"
Emily smiled at her daughter. "No she doesn't."
Candice looked at the cake, and then looked at the table. "There aren't any plates to eat it off of. There are just our supper dishes."
"Oh, yeah, I knew I forgot something." Tonks waved her wand and sent all the dirty dishes to the sink, then brought out clean forks and plates for the cake. "How's that? Better?"
Remus let everyone else eat Tonks' cake while he watched them. After spending so many years eating it with the Marauders, he had quite an aversion to it, though he willingly kept some on hand for others in case they were feeling off color. "It looks delicious love," he said smiling softly at Tonks.
"Why aren't you having any? Do you have a tummy ache Uncle Remus?" Candice asked worriedly as she looked at the empty space in front of him.
"Candice, why do you hate meat sweetheart?" he kindly asked the little girl. Her face scrunched up at his question.
"I don't like meat cause we have it all the time, we never eat anything else," she said simply.
"That's the same reason I don't like chocolate. My friends and I ate it all the time and I got sick of it," he explained. She seemed to understand, yet she was still confused to why anyone would hate chocolate.
"Well, when you don't want your chocolate you can give it to me, and I'll give you my meat," Candice said, taking a big bite of cake.
"Candice! Eat slowly. The cake isn't going anywhere," Emily said sternly. "You must let me have this recipe, Dora. This is delicious."
When dessert was finally over, Tonks got up and got the box she had put aside for Candice. "I have something to give you Candice. I thought maybe you'd like to look at these while your mummy, daddy, Uncle Remus and I talk, and then we'll show you some magic." She handed the box to the little girl.
The adults left Candice to her own devices as she opened up the box of chocolate frog cards. She gasped with delight over each card and the adults moved into the corner of the room where they sat on the comfortable and worn furniture. "You must have a million questions for us," Emily began and both Tonks and Remus nodded. She smiled at them and then at her husband. "There is a lot of joy in being a werewolf couple. You get to experience things that many other couples could never even dream of, the mating of course being a more obvious one. There are hardships as well, and I won't deny them."
"We have been doing a lot of talking about things. One thing that we were both wondering is, when you were pregnant with Candice how did that affect her when you transformed?"
"Well, when your body transforms, everything transforms. Obviously, it didn't affect her adversely. She's a normal child, no trace of the werewolf gene."
Tonks took Remus' hand and squeezed it. "That's good to know."
Outside, a small pop was heard as an unwelcome guest arrived at the house. He knew that he couldn't get inside but that wasn't going to stop him from seeing if he could give the people inside a good scare, especially the young girl.
Remus suddenly went still, the hair on the back of his neck was prickling uncomfortably. "He's here," he whispered softly. Emily and Curtis shared a terrified look and Emily turned to her daughter.
"Candice sweetie, come show mummy what you are playing with," Emily called out. Candice hurriedly threw all the cards haphazardly into the box and brought it over to her mother. Remus could tell that Emily was relieved to have her child close to her.
"I'm so sorry for inviting you here," Remus tried to apologize as they all listened intently to the shuffling of feet outside.
Tonks hurriedly put a silencing charm on the wall closest to the room they were in so that they wouldn't hear him. Turning to Emily and Curtis, she said quietly, "Don't worry, the house is guarded by many wards. He can't get in. Remus did it after an incident over a month ago."
Candice looked scared. "Is that the big bad wolf outside, Mummy?"
Emily hugged her daughter to her chest while Curtis wrapped his arms around them. "He can't get in and hurt you Candice, Uncle Remus has protected the house," Emily explained to her crying daughter. She kissed the top of her head and patted her back soothingly.
Remus watched them with with a mixture of worry and longing. He was terrified that Fenrir would be outside the house now, trying to get back at them all for defying him, and yet he wished that he and Tonks had children that they would protect and love like Candice was loved. A noise outside the kitchen door brought his attention to that room. "He's outside the door," he whispered to Tonks.
Tonks thought fast. "Maybe we ought to all go down into the safe room," She whispered, a note of fear in her voice. "I don't think he can get past the wards but that is more heavily guarded than the rest of the house."
A growl and long howl was heard outside.
"How is he changing without it being the full moon, Remus?" Emily asked as she rocked Candice back and forth.
"He is an older werewolf than you or I am Emily; sometimes they can change at will," he said softly, trying not to alert Candice to the worry in his voice. "He would have to stay in his wolf form for nearly seven hours though if he wanted to change back without having to sleep for a day. It requires a lot of energy to transform at will, and if he tries to change back too soon after transforming," he paused and smiled, "He won't be after us for much longer this evening."
Tonks thought of the chocolate frogs that Remus had given her as part of her birthday present. Remembering what Remus had said about chocolate helping when you were scared, she summoned five of them and handed one of them to Candice. "Eat these, it will help you feel better." She passed one out to Emily and Curtis, and then ate one herself. "Remus, have one too. For me."
Looking at Emily and Curtis, she smiled. "Remus was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for a year at Hogwarts. He was always giving the children chocolate."
"One of the best cures around," Curtis said, laughing nervously.
"I think they all enjoyed the chocolate more than my teaching," he said with a grin, attempting to lighten the mood.
"Uncle Remus, you taught at Hogwarts?" Candice asked as she nibbled at her chocolate frog. She was cuddled into her mothers arms, her terrified look gradually fading from her face.
"I taught for one year, and then I decided that I wasn't safe around the children there," he explained. He was going to leave out the specific details because he didn't want to scare her.
"That's not fair!" Candice said, scrunching up her face. "I bet you were the bestest teacher that Hogwarts ever saw!"
"He was," Tonks said with pride. "One day you'll be able to read about it in your Hogwarts: A History book. Do you like books, Candice?"
"I love books! Of course, I can't read that good myself yet, but Mummy reads to me."
"Do you like stories Candice?" Remus asked with a soft smile. They had succeeded in getting the child's mind off of Fenrir, and he intended to keep it that way. She nodded as she realized that he was about to tell her one. "Do you know the story of the Boy-Who-Lived and the girl who loved him?" Candice looked up at her mother.
"Isn't that Harry Potter?" she asked her. Emily grinned at her daughter.
"Yes it is, Remus is very close to him and his friends," she explained, smoothing down her daughters hair. Candice's eyes grew round.
"Could I meet him someday?"
"I think we can arrange that, Candice," Tonks said with a smile. "In fact your Uncle Remus and I are going to get married very soon. Would you like to be my flower girl for the wedding? Harry and his friends will be there, and it's going to right at Hogwarts. You'll be able to see where we and your parents went to school"
"Oh Aunt Dora, that would be great! Thank you!" Feeling better, she wiggled off of Emily's lap and ran over to Tonks to give her a hug.
Remus smiled at them all and then feigned a look of hurt. "Did you not want to hear my story then?" he asked. Candice immediately climbed onto his lap and looked at him expectantly. "Well you see, it all began with James and Lily I suppose. I don't remember two people who were ever more in love than they were, though they argued constantly and teased each other mercilessly," he began.
"Do you remember the time Professor McGonagall gave them a detention because they wouldn't stop arguing during Transfiguration class?" Emily asked with a glint in her eyes. Remus laughed and Curtis and Tonks listened intently.
"They were supposed to be polishing the trophies in the Trophy room. I found them an hour later snogging in a broom closet in the back corner. Professor McGonagall didn't give them any detentions together after that," he said winking at Tonks.
"Oooo I know all about snogging. My mummy and daddy do that a lot!" She said, giggling.
Emily blushed. "Now Candice," she said, laughing, "I'm sure Uncle Remus and Aunt Dora don't want to hear about that."
"Why not? Snogging's fun!" Tonks said, going over and planting a big kiss on Remus' lips.
"Ewww, more icky snogging. So, now that you are done snogging with Aunt Dora, can you tell me the rest of the story pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?" She said, her eyes wide. "And no more snogging parts!"
Remus tousled Candice's hair and smiled thoughtfully. "Now, where did I leave off?" he teased.
"Uncle Remus!" Candice whined and he laughed.
"Oh yes, I remember now. Well, when James and Lily died they left Harry with a lasting protection, it was their love for him that kept saving him from Voldemort," he explained and he heard a crashing noise outside the kitchen. His eyes met Curtis's and the man understood and he went to check it out while Remus kept Candice interested in the story. "Harry entered school and became best friends with a boy named Ron Weasley, as it turned out, Ron had a younger sister."
Curtis went to check out the crashing noise and found another animal was outside fighting with the wolf. He couldn't tell what it was but the animal was finally able to chase Fenrir off, then the animal itself ran off into the night.
Coming back out to where the rest were, he smiled. "He's gone. Some huge animal chased him off. I don't think he'll be back tonight."
Tonks breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness."
Remus took her hand and squeezed it tightly, he was relieved that Fenrir wasn't going to bother them anymore tonight. "How are you doing sweetheart? You aren't scared anymore?" Remus asked Candice tenderly. The little girl smiled up at him.
"Course I'm not afraid Uncle Remus, I'm a big girl," she said nodding. He tousled her hair and grinned at the way she could handle things. "You gonna finish your story?" she asked.
"I completely forgot," he teased her, "so where was I?"
Tonks smiled at him. "I think you were telling her about James and Lily's love life. But I really think she'd rather hear about Harry Potter, wouldn't you sweetheart?"
Candice nodded happily. "I can't wait to meet him! Everyone talks about how famous he is and everything."
Emily glanced at her watch. "I just realized how late it's getting and someone needs to get to bed." She said, looking at Candice.
"Aw, Mummy, I want to stay up some more."
"Tell you what. We'll have Uncle Remus and Aunt Dora over real soon so he can finish the story, okay?" Turning to Tonks and Remus, she smiled. "How does that sound to you two?"
Remus hugged Candice tight and then turned to Emily. "We would love to see your family whenever you have time to see us," he said and hugged his friend tightly.
"Do we have to go mum?" Candice complained. Emily and Curtis smiled at their daughter and took her hands in theirs.
"It's time for us to leave, we intruded on their hospitality for long enough," Curtis said with a wink at Remus and Tonks. Everyone exchanged goodnights and suddenly they were gone from the house, leaving Tonks and Remus once again alone.
"Curtis and Emily are great," Tonks said, giving Remus a kiss and a hug, "but I couldn't wait for them to leave so that I could be alone with you again."
She pressed her body up against his and trailed her fingers over his back. "I missed you so much."
He grinned as he returned her soft kiss. "I don't think I will ever get tired of holding you in my arms," he admitted as he ran his hands up and down her arms. "I never expected to feel so dependent on another person. I guess we all have to grow up and accept the facts sooner or later. We all need someone in our lives to complete us." He took her hand and kissed it softly, looking into her eyes. "Come upstairs with me?"
Tonks smiled coyly at him. "Do you really need to ask me?" She said, laughing. As she followed him up the stairs, she said pensively, "Candice is such a sweet little girl. I hope that one day we have a son or daughter just like her."
"Do you think Emily would like to be in the wedding? As one of my attendants?"
He grinned down at her and placed a kiss on her smiling lips. "I think Emily would love to be an attendant, as far as I know she doesn't have many friends because she is a werewolf. I know that your friendship would mean a lot to her," he said softly. He opened the door to their room and led the way in. "Do you have any other ideas for getting pregnant love?" There was a twinkle in his eye as he shut the door behind them, "I am looking forward to trying yet again."
Tonks smiled sadly. "That's horrible that she doesn't have many friends. Perhaps we should introduce her and Curtis to our circle of friends, we know how they treat us and I know they would treat them the same way."
"As for ideas for getting pregnant," She said, smiling in a toothy way, "I think maybe we should try it where I take charge, what do you think?"
She pounced on him and they landed together on their bed.
"Love, I think you are right. I think Emily and Curtis would be well accepted with our friends," he said pressing a searching kiss to her lips. His hands moved over her, "As for your other idea, I think I can let you take charge for one night."
