Had a fever and had to call in from work…so I had time to write!

HOPE YOU ENJOY!

Teddy:

Rose's fingers sifted through the earth around her thriving aconite plants. Her knees were wet from the grass. Rose leaned back slightly to admire her handywork. Neville had told her that aconite tends to grow best when fertilized in hippogriff manure. He was absolutely correct. Rose's garden had never been so vibrant before making friends with Neville Longbottom.

"Hi," said a soft voice.

Rose started and turned to look behind her.

A little boy stood in their back yard. He didn't look older than five but certainly older than Esme. He was chubby; his little belly was round beneath his jumper. He had bright blue hair.

He was adorable and he was looking up at Rose with an innocent smile, swaying slightly on the spot, completely at his ease.

"Hello," Rose returned gently. "What are you doing here?"

The little boy shrugged.

Rose vaguely wondered who would turn their little child's hair blue.

"Where did you come from?" Rose tried again.

The boy pointed behind him, beyond Rose's open garden gate.

"hmm," Rose hummed. She was getting nowhere with this kid. "Where are your parents?" she tried.

"They're died," the little boy told her.

Rose's eyes widened yet the child stated this as if telling Rose that the grass is green.

Rose brushed her dirty hands on her jeans. She stood and approached the child, kneeling to get closer to his level. "What's your name?" Hopefully that could give her some clue as to where he belonged.

"Teddy," the little boy cheered.

Rose smiled at his kindly. "Teddy, do you know your last name?"

The little boy tilted his head to one side. "I know my last name," he said unhelpfully.

Rose smirked. "Will you tell me what it is?"

"Lupin," said Teddy.

"Lupin," Rose repeated. "Teddy Lupin." She beamed. "Are you really?"

Teddy tilted his head to one side. "I think so," he said.

The blue hair suddenly made sense. Rose laughed lightly. "Well it's a pleasure to meet you Teddy Lupin."

"The pleasure is all mine," Teddy returned.

Rose pressed her lips together, her eyes glossy.

"Well Teddy," she said straightening herself. "I think I know where you must have come from. Shall we find your godfather."

Teddy nodded and then held out his arms to be carried.

Rose did not hesitate to scoop him up.

Rose walked with him down the road. Teddy rested his head on Rose's shoulders as if his little adventure had worn him out. He was such a trusting little kid. Thank Merlin he had ended up in the back garden of a friend. Rose snuggled the child close, protectively as they made their way to Hannah's and Neville's cottage.

She knocked on the door. From outside, she could hear chaos within.

Neville swung open the door, looking disheveled. The moment his eyes fell upon Teddy he sighed, and his expression relaxed.

"Did someone lose something in here?" Rose teased.

Neville gave a little shaky laugh. "Yes," he breathed. He turned away from Rose. "Harry, he's here."

The sounds of scuffling inside immediately stopped. Then Harry Potter and Ron Weasley appeared beside Neville in the doorway.

"Teddy," Harry exclaimed, a look of panic still evident in his eyes. He reached out for the child and Rose passed Teddy into Harry's arms. "Your grandmother would have my head if she knew that I lost you."

Rose chuckled.

Harry saw her for the first time. "Thank you. Where did you find him?"

"If anything," Rose answered, "he found me. He was in my back garden."

"Teddy," Harry addressed the little boy, shifting him in his arms. "You can't just leave like that."

The boy's eyes widened. "But I was hiding."

"In the house, Teddy," Harry explained. "You were supposed to hide in the house."

"Ah," Rose said. "I've been there. When you play hide-and-go-seek with a child you aren't actually supposed to close your eyes."

"Yeah," Harry replied. "I will have to remember that for next time."

"I had to use a locating spell the first time I played that with my little girl," Rose told Harry.

"You can hunt down horcruxes, mate" Ron said to Harry, "but finding a four-year-old…" Ron shook his head, smirking.

"Where's Hannah?" Rose asked.

"At her dad's," Neville answered. "We could have used her help today with this little man."

Rose reached out and stroked Teddy's blue locks. "I knew your parents, you know," she whispered.

Teddy looked at her pensively.

"Did you?" Harry asked in surprise.

"I did." A sad little smile formed on her lips. "They were some of the kindest people I have ever met."

"Would you like to come in for a cup of tea, Rose," Neville invited.

"If I wouldn't be intruding," Rose said shyly.

"Not at all," said Ron. "It would be bloody helpful to have a real adult looking after this kid."

Rose grinned as the boys stepped aside to let her across the threshold.

"How did you know Remus and Tonks?" Harry asked as the front door shut.

Later that evening Severus arrived back home with the children. It had been several months since Severus had moved back into the cottage following Tobias's death. Now that he was back, he felt as though he had so much lost time to make up for with the children and with Rose. Today he had decided to take the children into London and go to Diagon Alley. Rose lagged behind, stating that she would like to tend to her garden. In reality, Severus knew, that she was allowing him time alone with the children. He would have liked her company; although, Rose's and Severus's way for making up for lost time did not require them leaving the cottage.

The house was quiet as they entered, though Ephraim and Esme quickly filled the silence with happy chatter and the rustling of many treat bags.

"Rose," Severus called.

"I'm in the bath," Rose called back.

Severus's pulse quickened. He looked round at his children. "Go put away your things," he instructed them. "Ephraim help your sister."

"Sure," Ephraim consented as Severus moved towards the bathroom.

He opened the door a fraction of an inch and peered inside. Fragrant steam was rising from the tub. Rose's hair was tied into a messy knot atop her head. She was leaning back with her eyes closed, her pale breasts skimming the surface of the water. She sighed contently and sunk deeper into the warm water.

Severus could easily watch his wife sit in the bath all day. Merlin, she was beautiful. He stepped inside.

Rose opened her eyes. She smiled brilliantly as she saw him. "Hi," she hummed. "How long were you watching me?"

Severus sat beside the bath. He dipped a long finger into the water and stirred slowly as if he was brewing a potion. He gazed at her thoughtfully. "Not nearly long enough," he answered.

Rose sat up in the bath and turned so that her forearms were resting on the edge of the tub.

Her eyes were pleading. Severus loved it when she looked at him like that. He leaned in to meet her waiting lips. Immediately their lips parted, and their embrace deepened. Severus too held onto the cool porcelain edge of the bath to keep himself steady. Right before they pulled apart, Severus caught Rose's lower lip between his teeth lightly. Then he was smirking at her as he let her go.

Lights burned behind her brown eyes. "Would you like to join me," she said sweetly.

Severus groaned lightly. He stroked at her spine with one finger and Rose shivered in the hot water. "Very tempting," Severus told her.

"The children," Rose whispered back.

"Later," Severus hissed.

Rose smiled. "I look forward to it," she teased.

Severus took in a sharp draft of air.

Rose chuckled lightly. "How was your day, Darling?"

"Fine." He shook his head slightly. "I spent the day following around a teenager and toddler."

"You are a great father," Rose soothed.

Severus shrugged. "They seemed to enjoy themselves anyway. How was your day?"

Rose's face lit up. "Really good," she said. "Severus, you will never guess who I met today."

He raised his brows at her. "Perhaps if I have no chance of guessing, you might as well tell me."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Remus's and Tonks's son."

Severus's face was wiped of all amusement. She was correct; he never would have guessed that.

"He was spending the day with Harry and they were in the village with Neville. He wandered into out back garden. His name is Teddy." Rose smiled. "He has bright blue hair."

"Alright," Severus said with forced disinterest.

Rose surveyed her husband. "Were you and Remus ever friends?"

"What would give you that impression?" Severus returned.

Rose shrugged. "I don't know. I mean you said you went to school together. And I didn't know this at the time, but Remus and Tonks were in the Order of the Phoenix. I can't believe I never asked you about them before." Severus had lit a candle for the Lupins during the Hogwarts ball, but then any thoughts of Remus and Tonks were wiped from Rose's mind by later events of the evening. "You must have spent a lot of time together."

"Yes," Severus said bitterly.

"So, you weren't friends?" Rose rationalized.

"No," Severus said. "We were not friends."

"Odd," Rose said.

"Why is it odd?"

"I just thought you and Remus would have gotten along so well."

"Why?" Severus asked coldly.

"Because," Rose returned pointedly, "You both are intelligent and kind of serious. You both fought in the Order of the Phoenix." Rose grinned. "And, you both robbed the cradle."

Severus scowled.

"I'm joking," Rose stressed. "But Tonks must have been around my age. And Remus was the same age as you."

"Tonks was younger than you," Severus said firmly.

"By what? Two years?" Rose said with exasperation.

Severus said nothing.

"And you would have taught her, wouldn't you have?"

The look on Severus's face confirmed Rose was correct.

She nodded. "See? lots in common."

Severus sighed.

Something that Rose had always admired about Severus and Remus Lupin, whom Rose got the impression that he felt the same way, was that neither of them put a high premium on being with a younger woman like many men would. It just so happened that the women they fell in love with were younger.

"Tonks was an auror," Rose said. "She would have had to be a good student."

"She was a very trying student," Severus answered.

"How so?"

This whole encounter has started off so well, Severus thought, but had taken a very frustrating turn. Rose liked to ask questions. Most of the time Severus liked that about her.

"Nymphadora Tonks was relatively bright," he allowed, "but she also had the extremely irritating habit of showing off any chance she got. She had an inability to keep quiet long enough to listen. It was also immensely distracting to teach her when she was constantly doing weird things with her hair and face in the middle of lecture."

Rose grinned to herself. She had found Tonks extremely amusing. The days before the full moon it was clear that her husband was forlorn and ill, and Tonks made it her mission to try anything to make Remus laugh. And something about the pure silliness in her made Rose smile too at a time when she thought she would never find anything funny again.

"She clearly listened to you a bit," Rose reasoned. "Don't you need just as much potions to become an auror as you do a healer?"

Severus let out an irritant noise.

"Well I thought she was great," Rose told him.

"You are easily pleased," Severus returned drily.

"I'm very pleased by you," Rose sang.

Severus's lips twitched slightly. "Well that's a relief." He was thoughtful for a moment. "I will never understand what Lupin saw in her- or what she saw in him, being that he is a-"

"I don't know," Rose cut across him pointedly. "He was very kind and not bad looking either."

Severus narrowed his eyes at her. "Except for once a month when he transformed into a monster."

Rose winced. "Don't," she pleaded. "I would still want to be with you if you had been bitten. What if I was a werewolf? Would you still love me?

Severus wondered if all women were as fond of the 'what-if' questions as Rose was or if that was something specific to her. 'What if I was not a witch,' 'What if I don't lose my baby weight.'

"I don't know why you bother wasting your breath on questions like that," Severus told her. "My answers will always be the same."

Rose smiled slightly.

Severus chewed his tongue. "Regardless," he continued, "Lupin was always the type of person who tried his best not to draw attention to himself. It's strange that he would be able to tolerate a woman whose sole purpose in life is to be noticed." A grimace formed on his lips. "Then again, he was friends with Potter and Black. So perhaps he was used to it."

"James Potter and Sirius Black?" Rose mouthed. "Oh." She blinked. "Oh," she said again with contempt in her voice. "Did Remus bully you too."

A look of disgust crossed over Severus's face.

Severus had never really spoken to Rose about the time he spent at Hogwarts with James and Sirius but at the hearing to prove his innocents, Severus's private memories were described in detail in a very clinical sort of way. Despite the 'politeness' of the presentation, Rose still could clearly see a teenage Severus strung up by his ankles, his robes falling over his head. Then in his anger and embarrassment he called Lily the 'derogatory term' that had ended their friendship. Rose knew that Severus had called her 'mudblood.'

"No," Severus answered after a long pause. "He was just an 'innocent' bystander."

"hmm." Rose had that protective look in her eye and unconsciously she gripped Severus's hand.

Severus let out a humorless laugh. "Nothing you can do to him now, Rose," he said.

Rose frowned.

"Look," Severus said quickly. Rose had told him how important Lupin and Tonks had been to her after Tiberius's death. He didn't want to spoil that for her. "I hold no grudge against, Remus Lupin," he said begrudgingly.

Rose looked unconvinced.

Severus shook his head. "It would be unfair to say that I have never stood by and watch something I knew was wrong without trying to stop it in fear of rejection."

Rose hung her head slightly. "Thank you for saying that," she mumbled.

Severus gripped Rose's hand tighter.

"I still think you and Remus could have been friends," Rose said.

'Not likely,' Severus thought. "You, Ephraim, and Esme are all the friends I require."

"But what if I annoy you," Rose said. "Don't you want a guy friend to complain about me to."

A 'what-if' question again. "If you annoy me," Severus said, "I will tell you about it." Severus wouldn't even know what it would be like to have a close male friend. His best friend, which he had shared everything with, had been Lily. Now his best friend was Rose. In school, he was friends with some of the boys in his house, all had become deatheaters.

Rose was watching Severus carefully, vaguely wondering if she could meet all his needs for friendship as well as being his wife. She hoped she could. He, after all, was her best friend.

"The water's getting cold," Rose commented. She stood from the water and stepped from the tub; her beautiful naked body glistened. Severus stood too. Simultaneously he wrapped her in a towel and in his arms. "I'm getting your robes wet," she protested

"I don't care," Severus said in her ear.

Rose sighed.

"What?"

"Just, I'm so sorry they died," she whispered into his chest.

Severus remained silent.

"Their little boy is so sweet," she continued. "He seems really happy and well cared for."

Still Severus said nothing; he just held onto her tightly. This was one of those times where Severus wondered why he survived when others had died. He didn't believe it fate. He was not better than Remus Lupin. If the world had been just, it would have been Severus who die in place of Remus so that he could have seen his son grow up. Instead it was Severus who got to be a husband and father. And Severus figured that the best way to honor the memories of those who lost their lives was to live his life to the best of his ability.

He kissed the top of Rose's head.

"Why don't you get dressed," he told her gently. "And we can spend time with the children as a family."

XXX

Author's Note:

I have been obsessed with Remus and Tonks lately because I have been reading a great Fic called Pluto by Bikelock28 (Highly recommend if you are missing Remus and Tonks). I hope you enjoyed this latest one-shot. Please review (I get very excited to hear your thoughts on my story).

Thora Jane