Summary: Tonks wanted to show off Teddy to the one person who never got to meet him.

Genre: Family

Rated: K

Warning Tag: N/A


Competition/Challenge Block:
Written for/Stacked with:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Term 12); Monthly Challenges for All (Year 3)
House/Role: Ravenclaw; Prefect (Hogwarts)

Term (Assignment): Term 12 - Assignment 9
Subject (Task): Journalism Task 2 (Write about who doesn't care about sparing another's feelings (ex. Being brutally honest).
Other Hogwarts Challenges: IHC: 756. [AU] Afterlife; 365: [164 - Innocent]; Pinata; Quarterly; Seasonal; Fortnightly; Funfair; Writing Club; Writing Month; Dragon Breeding

Other MC4A Challenges: FPC; Star; SF; Link Maker; Chimera Creator; Scavenger Hunt; Sp Bingo (3C - Frog/Tadpole)
Representation: Nymphadora Tonks; Teddy Lupin; Mother & Child; Afterlife!AU
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Second Verse (Not a Lamp)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: N/A

Word Count: 530 words (per Google Docs)


Be Still, Baby Mine

Tonk had been watching Teddy sleep for the entire two-hour nap. She couldn't get over how peaceful and innocent his face was while he slumbered, and she found herself reaching for him before abruptly stopping herself. Teddy stirred some, and Tonks held her breath as he shifted in the mint-green frog onesie that matched the striped sheet underneath him. The tuft of cyan blue hair resting on his head was a nice contrast against it. When he started to blink his hazel eyes open, moving a jery arm toward his face to rub his hand over his face.

Tonks moved toward the door and whisper-shouted down the hallway.

"Come here Papa! This way! I want to show you someone!" she waved her arm aggressively despite how fluid it seemed when her father's figure appeared at the far end of the dull-grey hall. "He's waking up! Come meet your grandson!"

Ted slowly followed his daughter's voice, Tonks had bounded back into the room then, waiting for her dad to appear in the brightly lit nursery before leading him to the bassinet. They both looked down at the tiny little infant who now had his eyes fully open and taking in the world. Little Teddy yawned widely before focusing intently at the ceiling. A small smile formed on his little face, letting out a gurgly squeak while his arms and legs became more animated.

"Hey, there cutie!" Tonks reached out to him but stalled as if something was preventing her from touching him.

"Oh, Dora honey. You didn't—"

Tonks cuts her father off. "It was the right thing to do, Papa. I knew Teddy was, and still is, in very good hands. His life will be full of love and more family than he could possibly handle. You know Mama and Harry will make sure of that no matter what."

Ted looked saddened as he looked from Tonks back to Teddy. He, too, tried to reach for the baby but was stopped. "He is beautiful."

Teddy continued to kick and wiggle up at the ceiling, making small coos and bubbles with the slobber now dribbling down his chin. The pair grew quiet, even when Remus slipped in beside Tonks, putting a hand around her waist and pulling her close.

"Do you think he can see us?" Remus questioned, realizing how happy and animated Teddy was despite there being nothing for him to really look at and see.

Tonks shifted her face into a duck and quaked, setting Teddy off into hysterical squeals. "I think so."

Remus did what both Tonks and Ted had tried and reached out to his son, only to be abruptly stopped by something.

"Be still, baby mine," Remus whispered, finding Teddy's excitement almost concerning for a one-month-old.

They stepped back when Andromeda entered the room, alerted to Teddy's noises. Ted watched his wife with those saddened eyes again, and Tonks shifted in Remus' arms to drape her own arms around her father.

"They will be okay now, Papa. We won."

The three watched as Andromeda picked Teddy up and disappeared from the room, leaving them in a cold, grey world once again.

Everything was indeed going to be alright.