Progeny

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This story is tentatively named, I will take suggestions on any better names!

This story starts 8 years after the final defeat of Voldemort. It respects canon through book 6. It does not attempt to predict anything that will happen in book 7, except in regards to which characters are still alive. These characters do not like talking about the past (for obvious reasons!)

Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own Harry Potter, the fact that I am a University of Illinois college student sort of gives it all away!

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Chapter 1: The Welcoming Feast

Nymphadora Tonks Lupin could not for the life of her concentrate on the sorting ceremony. Remus was conducting it quite admirably, she did notice that. She had looked up when Anna Shacklebolt was sorted, but quickly lost concentration and her mind wandered off on a tangent. It scared her a little, she started working with Kingsley when Anna was a baby.

Which reminder her. She looked out of the corner of her eyes and attempted to covertly nibble on her crackers. No one was supposed to be eating. All the other teachers were paying attention to the sorting. Well, all except for Hermione, who was sending her glares that clearly said 'what are you doing eating before the sorting is over?' McGonagall didn't seem to mind though, so Tonks –for everyone without a deathwish still called her Tonks though she and Remus had been married for nearly nine years now- ignored her.

Ginnie was laughing too, but at Hermione, not Tonks. It was clear that she was going to alert her sister-in-law to the hypocrisy in glaring at Tonks – when she had done the same thing the year before when she was pregnant with Nigel.

Tonks ignored them both, and concentrated on making her last two crackers last through the rest of the sorting and the opening speech. She sighed, and hoped McGonagall wouldn't get too longwinded this year.

Remus suddenly appeared next to her, and she looked up quickly. He gave her a look that clearly told her that he knew that she hadn't been paying attention, and took away her last cracker and stuck the whole thing in his mouth. Her jaw dropped, and he poked her a few times to make her pay attention to McGonagall's start of term notices. Tonks fought back a yawn. Yeah, yeah, no forbidden forest, Filch has now banned insert Weasley's Wizard Wheezes product here, lets all be nice to each other and have a good year, and let's eat. She was convinced that she could deliver the notices in half the time it took McGonagall to do it.

It was finally time to eaat, and Tonks managed to disgust everyone when she mixed her pumpkin juice with her kidney pie. Well, actually she accidentally spilled her pumpkin juice, and then pretended that she had done it on purpose – but it didn't taste so bad. She was very tired by the time dinner was over, and Remus had to help her up to their rooms in the staff wing.

The house elves had done a good job babysitting. Only Sirius was still up. At five years old, he decided that it was his right to stay awake to say goodnight to his parents. Or at least try to stay awake, he was half asleep curled up into a ball right inside the main door. Apparently, he didn't want to give his parents a chance to not see him.

Remus scooped him up, and they both put him in his bed, reminding him that he had to be good in order to get to have tea in their office the next day.

After that Remus and Tonks went to bed. Remus fell asleep immediately, but Tonks tossed and turned. For some reason, something about the next day worried her. It made no sense, she had been teaching for several years, and she had never felt like this the night before classes started – not even her first year!