Author's note: Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and you know I'm not J.K. because #transrights
Hogwarts: Assignment #3, Calligraphy Task #2 Write about providing an important service
Warnings: NA
Made From Scratch
It had felt like ages upon ages since they had sat down and had a cup of tea together. The Order had been forced even further underground than it had normally operated to the extent that they had not fully met in weeks now. With Kingsley out of the country, the trio on the run, their Muggleborn members in hiding, most members placed on watch lists, and things getting worse by the minute… well, it didn't seem that that would change anytime soon. The Order was barely hanging on as it was with Bill and Fleur leaking the Ministry's financial information from their spot at Gringotts, their handful of Aurors playing the Auror Department as best as they could without blowing their cover, orchestrating the few ambushes on Death Eaters that they could organize with their eager numbers, and with their operations to smuggle Muggleborns out of Britain.
But it was nice now. Sitting in the living room of the Burrow, Remus and Tonks sipping their tea while he lazily and casually had an arm draped around her shoulders… it was almost as if it was normal, as if Molly didn't have a ghoul living in her son's bedroom, and as if her clock wasn't reminding her of how much trouble they all were in with every tic and toc.
Arthur refilled tea cups and Tonks helped herself to one of the biscuits on the table—it was the shortbread drizzled in chocolate that Molly had known they both loved and had therefore made an extra batch of.
"Work is work," Arthur said with a shrug when Remus politely inquired. He put the teapot down and sat back down, his gaze catching Tonks' eyes which, today, were an electric blue that made her pink hair look even more vivid than it was. "I'm sure it's the same for you, Tonks. It's not quite the work that I fell in love with or signed up to do."
"Cheers to that," Tonks said. She took a sip of tea before resting her cup on her saucer. "I have to be honest, I'm looking forwards to my maternity leave as an excuse to get out of there since Aurors tend to get grounded quite early."
She turned to Remus and caught his eye. Something unspoken happened between the two of them and Remus nodded, so Tonks turned back to look to Molly.
"That's actually one of the reasons we came, we… we have to talk to you, Molly," Tonks said. She set her cup on the coffee table, tea only slightly sloshing in her cup. Remus straightened up too.
"What is it, dears?" Molly asked, suddenly nervous. The worst case scenario came to her mind, but no—Tonks had just spoken of her maternity leave, and the beginnings of a baby bump was definitely straining against her pine green sweater.
Tonks turned to Remus and when he didn't speak, she turned back to Molly.
"St. Mungo's has banned werewolves from their premises," Tonks said flatly.
Molly's eyebrows arched.
"I didn't hear about that!" she cried.
"It wasn't in the papers," Remus said quietly. "Some of us were politely notified by owl."
"Politely?" Tonks scoffed. "It's nonsense. Complete nonsense."
"St. Mungo's is struggling to protect its patients during the war," Remus explained. "They… they're trying to protect them from Greyback, if nothing else. That's what this is about."
"As if Greyback will listen to an order like that," Arthur said.
"That's what I said!" she said.
"I agree," Remus said quietly. He squeezed Tonks' knee. "Tell them why you brought it up."
"Right," Tonks said, refocusing away from her anger. "The reason I'm bringing it up is that I don't want to go to St. Mungo's without Remus anymore."
"Tonks, you're four months pregnant!" Molly said.
"I don't want to," Tonks repeated.
"She's refusing to, actually," Remus clarified in a mutter.
"Yes, I am," Tonks said, turning to him. "You're the father of my child, my husband, and I did not sign up to do this alone so I won't."
"Tonks, love, you must understand that you and the baby will need some support and check-ins," Molly said, trying to be as gentle as she could.
"Oh, I do," Tonks said. "And I absolutely intend to do everything needed to make sure we're both as fit as possible. I just thought that I'd find myself a midwife instead of going to the hospital."
It dawned on Molly then.
"Oh," she said quietly.
"My mum worked as a Healer for the longest time," Tonks said. "She mentioned that you were quite the midwife before you had your lot and retired."
"I… I was," Molly said. Those had been an incredible five years until she'd made a baby of her own and had found herself on the other end of the business.
"I know it's a lot to ask, but I was wondering if you would consider coming out of retirement," Tonks said.
Molly was quite conscious of her jaw dropping in surprise.
She remembered her midwifery training quite well, and she had carried out multiple pregnancies herself, too. She still had her kit and her books somewhere in the bowels of the house and had considered returning to work once or twice once Ginny had been sent off to Hogwarts as well—especially with the way that the Ministry kept undervaluing Arthur's work more and more every year. But it was chaotic, often unpredictable, and extremely emotional work; with her own children going through so much and then with the state of the world and the Order rising… well, the timing had never been quite right.
She looked at the young woman sitting across from her. Her clothes and looks were loud and colourful, as they almost always were, but Molly knew for a fact that her timing hadn't been quite right either. She was having a baby in a war, in a world that would undoubtedly make it harder for her than having a baby already had to be. She was scared, Molly could tell by how fiercely she had pledged to make everything go right. And she trusted Molly. That was nearly invaluable, and Molly knew it.
"You can take the time to think about it," Tonks promised. "We just wanted to ask sooner rather than…"
"No, no, dear," Molly said. "I was just trying to remember where in the world I had stored my bag. Of course I'll do it, love."
It was good that Tonks had already had her ten week check at St. Mungo's, but since they hadn't sent her home with her maternity notes Molly had to start from scratch. She turned up at the flat in London that she and Remus shared with her kit full of herbs and potions, her stethoscope, and a blank journal with a turquoise cover. It had been the most colourful she had found and had therefore seemed appropriate.
She wrote Tonks' name on the inside of the cover when she sat at their kitchen table. Writing down Tonks Lupin seemed ridiculous but mitigating the double surname with a Nymphaodra seemed borderline traitorous to her young friend.
"These are going to be your maternity notes," Molly said. "You keep this book with you at all times in case of an emergency, understood?"
"Yes ma'am," Tonks said. Remus sat next to her, observing the exchange.
"Right," Molly said. "When you went to St. Mungo's the first time, did they take a blood sample and do a full set of tests?"
"Yes," Tonks said.
"And they haven't sent you any owls since?" Molly asked. Tonks shook her head.
"Wonderful," Molly said. She scribbled a note in the journal. "We'll assume that nothing turned up worth worrying about, then… I've got a battery of questions to ask about your health and lifestyle and family history. Remus, it helps that you're here for this too."
"Molly means business," Tonks said, shooting Remus a smile.
"Of course I do," Molly said, smiling back. "This is your baby we're talking about."
"I really didn't think through the fact that you'd be so involved in my urine," Tonks said as she leaned against the bathroom door and watched Molly work, swirling vials of mixed herbs over the sink. She had spent all of last night agonizingly measuring the herbs and powders she had mixed together, preparing the tests and following her old textbooks to the tee.
"It isn't the most glorious part of the job, but it is important to run these tests," Molly said. "It helps us check in on the parts of the baby and of your health that I can't necessarily see from the outside—things like blood sugar, proteins… we'll move on to blood samples if anything comes up here."
The vial Molly was holding turned a happy sky blue colour.
"What does that mean?" Tonks asked.
"It means that the baby's exactly where we want him or her to be," Molly said with a smile.
"Well done," she said quietly, looking down at her baby bump. She looked up to Molly and smiled. "Is this the part where we get to listen to the heartbeat now?"
"It is," Molly smiled.
"Brilliant," Tonks said. She disappeared from the bathroom door frame and Molly heard her call out to Remus, who was tidying up after lunch. "Love, we're done playing with piss and talking privately, come listen to the heartbeat!"
Remus was waiting to speak to Molly in the living room while Tonks washed off the sticky blue ointment Molly had spread over her midriff so that she could get a better sense of the baby's shape, breathing, and oxygen flow.
"Hello, love," Molly said as she packed up her things. Vials and sachets of herbs and powders were left all over the kitchen counter from when she'd gone digging in her bag earlier.
"Hello," Remus said. "More tea, Molly?"
"I'm alright," Molly said. "Just on my way out. Arthur gets nervous if I'm not home when he comes back from work because of… well, you know. Everything happening."
"I know," Remus said, nodding along. He was chewing on his lip and hanging about uselessly, arms hanging purposeless at his side, so Molly knew he wanted something. She finished packing and shut her back.
"What's the matter, love?" Molly asked.
"All of the checks and tests you're doing on the baby, to find out about its health…" Remus said. He chewed on his lip. "Is there any way to find out if I passed on… if it's..."
"A werewolf?" Molly asked.
Remus closed his eyes, breathed in deeply, and nodded. Molly knew that there had been fights when Tonks had first become pregnant, that Remus had nearly collapsed under the weight of guilt and concern. She knew the grey areas were causes for anxiety. Truth be told, she herself hadn't ever worked on a baby with werwolf ancestry before—at least not that she'd known of. When Tonks had asked her for her help, one of the first things Molly had done was scour through her books and reach out to former coworkers and mentors but… nothing. Meeting Remus and seeing the way that he was treated now gave her a greater appreciation for how valuable and painful silence was in the lives of werewolves.
"I have a friend—I mean, had a friend," Remus said. "She's… she's with Greyback's pack now, completely so. But she lost two pregnancies when we were much younger, the full moons and the transformations were just too much, and it broke her every time—it cost her her marriage. I know that Dora's different, Dora's healthy and well and I thank the lucky stars I didn't know I had for that, but I… I worry."
"I would worry too," Molly said quietly, reaching out to take Remus' hands. "There's not much known."
"My kind doesn't usually breed," Remus said.
"Don't talk about yourself like that," Molly said sternly. Honestly, this man. He had kindness and patience for everyone in the world but himself, and it was maddening. "You're a man, Remus. You're allowed to have a family."
"I just want the best for my family," Remus said quietly. "That is all."
"Well that doesn't make you special," Molly said sternly. "Everybody does."
"I feel like I got huge all of a sudden," Tonks said, laying back in bed.
"Your measurements certainly make it seem so," Molly said. She continued running her hands over Tonks' belly to try and find the baby's other foot and determine just how he was positioned in there.
"Aha," she said with a smile when she found him. "There you are."
She continued to feel out the baby's position. He was about the right size for where they needed him to be, growing well...
"Oh," Molly said. "There are those kicks you were talking about, love."
"See?" Tonks said, smiling and then turning to Remus. "He feels so strong! He's strong, right?"
"I'm sure he is," Remus said.
"You have lousy timing, but one day you'll feel it," Tonks said, before turning back to look at Molly.
"Beautiful," Molly said, pulling her hands away and pulling Tonks' shirt back down. "You've both been saying 'he' today, does that mean you're interested in finding out the sex of the baby?"
"Oh," Tonks said. "Oh, no, we switch—he, she, they… depends on the day, really."
"But would you like to find out?" Molly asked. She didn't have the potion ready, but she did have all the herbs she would need with her, and a collapsible cauldron too…
"I think this baby started off as a surprise, so we can wait a little bit longer for our next one," Tonks said finally. She turned to Remus who nodded and kissed her forehead. Molly smiled.
"I always liked to wait too," she said.
"You've been drinking the tea I gave you?"
"Yes," Tonks promised. "It's helping lots, I barely have morning sickness anymore."
"We wrote in the book when she did," Remus chimed in.
"That's good," Molly said, flipping through the pages until she found the note Remus mentioned. "Oh, this is much better… wonderful, I'll mix you more, then."
"Thank you," Tonks said, sitting up in bed.
"How are you feeling, otherwise?" Molly asked. "Are you sleeping alright, eating alright.."
Tonks nodded. "I think so."
Molly nodded and looked from Tonks to Remus.
"You know," she said kindly. "You're having a baby during a war…"
"The timing is terrible," Tonks said.
"So terrible," Remus echoed.
"Honestly, that's the absolute worst—"
Molly sat down on the edge of the bed and listened to their chatter and rants now that she had opened the floodgates. Part of being a midwife, after all, was the emotional support.
"I want to just punch a Death Eater," Tonks spat out. "I'd just love to deck one."
"You are not to go near any Death Eater until you are far less pregnant, and even then I wouldn't be sold on the idea," Remus said, eyes wide with worry.
"Oh, but if I did, I'd punch it really good," Tonks said.
They were meeting at the Burrow today since Remus was currently sleeping off the full moon. Besides, Ginny was home for the holidays and she had been quite excited to see Tonks again—though Molly wondered if she would be quite as cool to her daughter now that she was married and expecting. She'd had a cool cousin who had drifted away when she'd gotten married and Molly remembered feeling bitterly betrayed at the mighty age of six.
They got through the business of their midwifery appointment first, that way it was done. Molly took a blood sample to mix with her herbs and watched the colours shift to tell the tale of a happy, healthy baby. She made some notes about Tonks' general health and was happy to hear that now, five months pregnant, she would soon be taking leave of the Auror Department.
"I'm just thankful that it's over," Tonks said.
"What do you mean by 'it'?" Molly asked. "The work?"
"Yes, and…" Tonks bit her tongue after that. Molly could see her play with the piercing in her tongue, nervously.
"Nymphadora Tonks Lupin," she said sternly. "Whatever it is you have to say, you can and you will tell me as either your friend or your midwife."
"There was just a lot of teasing," Tonks said quietly. "That's all."
"That's not 'all,' darling, that's awful," Molly said, deflated.
Tonks shrugged.
"People can say what they want and what they will," Tonks said. One of her hands found its way to rest on the baby. "They can call my baby a cub and they can joke about teeth all they want. I know who I married and I know that this child's going to be nothing but beautiful."
"Good," Molly said quietly. "Still, love, you shouldn't have to face that and I'm sorry."
"It's done now," Tonks said. She leaned back into the sofa. "I just… I worry about what I'll do when the baby's growing up, when it can hear those things for itself. I worry about Remus and how he'll weather the entire world telling him our family's wrong."
"He came back to you," Molly said gently.
"I'm so glad he did," Tonks said breathlessly. "But everyone keeps pushing him away except me."
"Except you and except himself," Molly asked. She picked up the blue journal from the coffee table and flipped through it. "I don't pretend to know what happens behind closed doors, love, but looking here… these are some of the most careful, clean, detailed, and loving notes I've ever read. I think he knows that this is something to stay for, not to run away from."
Tonks smiled.
"He sings to it too."
"Does he really?" Molly asked.
"In Welsh and in English. This baby's going to be so bright. He's quite adorable for someone who didn't think he wanted a baby," she said. "I fucking told him so! Shit, Molly, when should I start watching my swearing because babies start hearing things? None of the books said…"
Molly chuckled. "You're a few weeks late, darling."
"You must have started to talk about names," Molly said as she mixed the potions together and waited for them to change colours.
"Of course we have," Tonks said. "Those are mum's favourite conversations of ours to eavesdrop on."
"They're usually good ones," Remus said.
"No, no—Molly has to hear this—Molly, guess what my foolish husband suggested as a name for a girl…"
"It was not that bad!" Remus protested.
"It was nearly as bad as Nymphadora," Tonks complained.
"Nothing is as bad as Nymphadora," Remus said. "I say with so much love and respect for your mother…"
Tonks burst out laughing and Molly couldn't help but join.
"Tell me," Molly said. "Don't leave me out of it now… and then next week I want to see a serious list."
Andromeda Tonks' house was already encircled by dozens upon dozens of protective charms, which Tonks had cast there at the very eve of the war before it had become suspicious to the eyes of the Death-Eater-run Ministry. Since they couldn't replicate that level of protection without arousing suspicion, the birth plan was moved to the Tonks' house.
"You need to send me a Patronus as soon as the contractions are only five to seven minutes apart, and let's ere on the side of caution and make it seven," Molly said. "Tonks, you can produce a full-bodied Patronus, yes?"
"Remus can too," she said.
"Can you, Remus?" Molly asked. She had always found it odd that a man of Remus' talent, and a former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher no less, had never produced a corporeal Patronus in front of her. Especially since he had been the one to teach Harry…
"It looks like a wolf," Remus said shortly. "I avoid it, but yes. I can and I will send you a Patronus when the time comes."
"Wonderful. And you'll want to be at your mother's far before then. Tonks, you'll have to side-along apparate with Remus," Molly said. "Starting at the third trimester, you don't want to be Apparating on your own, love. The risk of splinching increases and the consequences…"
"I'll pick you up from work, then," Remus promised Tonks.
"Work?" Molly said. "What do you mean, work? Tonks I thought you were off, now…"
"So did I," Tonks said with a grimace. "As it turns out, under Pius Thickness Aurors apparently don't need maternity leave. I'm drowning in paperwork instead."
"That's hardly acceptable," Molly said bitterly.
"They're hunting Muggleborns for sport, Molly," Tonks said. "We're far past 'acceptable' now. I just wish they had maternity robes, if they're forcing us in uniforms now."
"I'll write them," Molly huffed. "I remain a registered midwife, I can send a well-worded letter when I need to! Nevermind, I'll make it a Howler! You've seen my children, you can imagine how good I am at sending Howlers."
Tonks burst out laughing.
"As much as I would love to see Pius Thickness on the receiving end of one of those, notably as I think he would wet himself before the first line was done, I don't think that would make my situation particularly better," Tonks said, running a hand over the baby bump. "At least I'm on desk duty, now."
"Yes, I only have about half as many heart attacks a day," Remus grumbled.
"Is the baby still breeched?" Tonks asked, propping herself up on her elbows.
"I told you, love, 'breech position' isn't a bad word," Molly said as she ran her hands over Tonks' belly to determine just that. "We can work with whatever this little one has to throw our way."
"But is she though?" Tonks asked anxiously.
"No," Molly said with a smile. "No, your little one turned herself around, all by herself."
"That's my girl," she heard Remus whisper quietly just as Tonks laughed.
"What a bugger," Tonks said. "Already getting herself in and out of trouble and leaving us to worry."
"Sounds like someone else I know," Remus said, looking at her with a grin.
"I have no idea what you're referring to," Tonks said innocently.
Tonks was on time to their appointment, even if Molly had moved their location to the Burrow after her last conversation with Remus. He had been worried enough and helpless enough that Molly thought she needed to take things into her own hands.
Tonks walked into the kitchen where Arthur had sent her after letting her in, canola yellow hair tied back loosely and pockets sunk in cardigan pockets, when she saw Molly cooking away. Molly immediately saw what Remus was worried about; she looked pale and her cheeks were sunken.
"I thought we had an appointment," she said.
"We do," Molly said. She tapped the excess soup from her ladle before going to flip the brie and pear paninis she had cooking on the frying plan. The bread had gotten nice and gold and she could see the cheese mostly melted—just like she wanted it.
Tonks looked around the kitchen, not sure what to do with herself.
"Sit," Molly said. She waved her wand so that a kitchen chair drew itself away from the table. There was no sense in keeping a pregnant woman on her feet too long.
"Was I supposed to bring something?" Tonks asked, even as she sat down.
"Not at all," Molly said. "Just yourself and your maternity notes."
"In my bag," she said.
"Wonderful, then," Molly said. With another flick of her wand, the pitcher poured Tonks a glass of water. One more complicated swish later, a bowl of soup and a sandwich set themselves down before Tonks.
Molly went to sit next to her.
"When my brothers died, both of them within a week during the first war, I was an outright mess," Molly said. "But I was pregnant with Ron. So even if the world looked wrong and time passed differently and food tasted bland, I ate."
Tonks looked into her bowl of soup and Molly saw tears shimmering in her eyes.
She reached out and took her hand.
"What did your dad tell you before going on the run?" Molly asked quietly.
"To take care because he couldn't wait to meet his grandchild," Tonks said, her voice shaking.
Molly squeezed her hand.
"I'm so, so very sorry that that won't happen love," she said. "But you can still do things to make him a health grandbaby."
Tonks swallowed hard and wiped at the tears in her eyes.
"What kind of soup is this?" she asked quietly.
"Turkey and vegetable," Molly said.
"Will you eat with me?"
"Of course, love."
"Molly, come see," Tonks said when she opened the front door after Molly successfully answered their security questions. Her hair was back to its usual pink self and she looked far healthier than when Molly had last seen her, though they'd been corresponding since. Not to mention, she looked particularly big now.
Tonks tripped as she turned around, but luckily Remus was there to catch her—though his eyes did widen in fear and shock as he did. The man was practised, if nothing else.
"It's not going anywhere, slow down," he said.
"I'm just excited," Tonks said. "Took us long enough to get around to this! Come on Molly."
Molly followed Tonks into the apartment to the second bedroom which, as far as Molly knew, had so far been used to keep and hide all signs of magic from their Muggle landlord—quite a common occurrence for wizards living in Muggle areas.
Tonks pulled open the door and Remus held it open for Molly as she stepped into the room, which had been painted a pine green shade with a mustard yellow door. The furniture inside was mismatched and eccentric; cardboard children's books were lining a bookshelf alongside a parade of stuffed animals and soft toys.
"Ta-dah!" Tonks said. "We finally got around to putting the nursery together."
"It's beautiful," Molly said with a smile.
"That rocking chair is already my absolute favourite thing in the world," Tonks said. She crossed the room to go sit in it and Remus put a hand on her arm.
"You know if you sit, you're spending the whole day on it," Remus warned.
"Yes," Molly said. "Let's go check on the baby first and then we can finish talking in here, so you can have your chair."
Tonks and Molly were going for a walk around the block today; it was a full moon so Remus was in no shape to be accompanying her himself, and there was no way either of them would sanction Tonks wandering into the world alone. Capable as she was, she was far too pregnant to be as quick on her feet or as sharp as her Auror self.
"I was nervous every time," Molly told Tonks. "It's normal."
"What? But you have seven children, Molly," Tonks said.
"I know," Molly said. "Though I was only pregnant six times, since George was a bit of a surprise. It's always exciting to meet the little one you've been making from scratch for all this time, and there's always enough risk involved to be worried for them. It's normal. A healthy worry is good. Celestina Warbeck says the same thing about stage fright; it means you care."
"Well, if Celestina Warbeck says it..."
Molly clucked her tongue and Tonks laughed.
"I am excited," Tonks said. "Not exactly thrilled at the prospect of trying to squeeze a watermelon out, especially since my body and I usually get along quite well what with the morphing…"
"You'll see," Molly said. "It's the worst few hours of your life for a lifetime of happiness. You breakeven rather quickly."
"Molly, it's risky," Arthur said, brown eyes wide and helpless with concern behind his glasses.
"I know," Molly said. Hestia Jones, the last of the Order of the Phoenix's Auror members, had barely had time to warn them that Ron had been seen at large and nearly captured before the Death Eaters had come—and nobody had heard from her since, though Molly was quite hoping Tonks would have news. Molly didn't want to imagine what might have happened had Ginny been at Hogwarts at the time, when they couldn't have gotten to her in time... They had been hiding at Auntie Muriel's for a week now, but she had an appointment to get to.
"Molly," Arthur said. His lip shook. "Molly, everyone's already in too much danger… and the children…"
"I know," Molly said. "But there's someone else with a child I need to watch over now, someone who needs the help I can give. We've made our children as strong as we could make them, Arthur, and I… I'm strong too."
"That was never in question," Arthur said.
"Come here," Molly said, gathering him to her chest and wrapping her arms around her shoulders—somewhat awkwardly since she was holding her midwifery kit in one hand. "I'll be so very careful."
"I've decided I no longer want to be pregnant," Tonks declared. She looked Molly dead in the eyes. "I've been there, done that, I did not in fact get the t-shirt, but I think I've got the gist of it. It was alright and I'm very done now."
"Who gave you a t-shirt?" Remus asked.
"He's late. He's taking his time to come around just like his bloody father," Tonks said.
"I can add that to the long list of apologies about my genetic contributions," Remus said. He kissed her forehead and continued pouring out tea.
"He's only late by a few days," Molly said. "We can start talking about ways to coax him out if you'd like, but really he's not overdue enough for me to worry."
Tonks leaned back in the rocking chair and scowled down at her belly bump.
"There's a few things you can do," Molly said. "Raspberry leaf tea works for some women."
"I'm drinking it by the gallon," Tonks said.
"Keep going on your walks," Molly said. "I'll leave you with some evening primrose oil, which you can dab on your temples twice a day. Eating spice can help some women—there's a tincture I can make, if you don't want to find your own spicy dish…"
"We could do Thai food," she said, turning to Remus who nodded along. She turned back to Molly. "Anything else, Molly?"
"Well, intercourse can be helpful," Molly said.
Tonks turned to Remus again even if his eyes went a little wide and his cheeks blushed some.
"No, no blushing," Tonks said. "We fucked our way into this, we'll fuck our way out."
"At least let Molly finish her tea first," Remus said.
"Hour ten, love," Molly said, wiping at Tonks' cheeks and forehead with a wet cloth as she panted, coming down from the latest contraction. She was standing and leaning against Remus quite heavily, eyes closed as her breathing slowed again. "You're doing beautifully."
"And how's he doing? How's the baby?" Tonks asked, leaning her forehead against Remus' shoulder.
Molly crouched down and got her stethoscope ready to listen for a heartbeat.
"I thought today was a day to use 'she,'" Andromeda said from where Molly had stationed her to stir a postpartum potion that was brewing.
"No," Tonks said. "Nope. We're doing 'he' now."
"His heartbeat is exactly where we want it to be," Molly said. "He's doing perfectly fine."
Tonks sobbed—whether out of fatigue or relief or both, Molly wasn't sure.
"I want him healthy," Tonks said. "I'm not losing someone else."
"Hey," Remus said, kissing her hair. "Hey, Dora, you're healthy and he's healthy. His heart is strong and so is yours. You're doing amazingly. Molly's here, your mum's here… we're not losing anyone, alright?"
"Alright," Tonks repeated, still not looking up from his shoulder. "Merlin, I'm tired."
"I… can only imagine," Remus said. He kissed her hair again.
"We're nearly there, love," Molly said. She squeezed Tonks' hand. "Do you remember what I told you?"
"The worst hours of your life for a lifetime of happiness," Tonks said between clenched teeth.
"That's true, Dora," Andromeda said. She put her hand on Tonks' back and ran it in circles. "Believe me, baby girl, it's true."
"I think we've already broken even," Tonks said when Molly came by again to rub more ointment on the baby's chest. He was resting cradled in his mother's arms now, but his lungs weren't quite as developed as Molly would like even if he'd cooked longer than anticipated. She wondered if it was perhaps by virtue of being a Metamorphmagus like his mother; if his body was already changing in small, minute ways. The mixture of dittany, spider plant, gerbera daisy, and crushed billywig wing would clear that up in no time.
Molly smiled.
"I told you so," Molly said.
"You really do know everything," Tonks said.
"Tell my children that, when you have the time," Molly said. She ruffled the baby's feathery indigo hair as he slept before going back to the desk where she had laid out her things. She had to finish brewing the tea she liked to make to ease postpartum aches and pains, so it still wasn't quite time for her to pack up her midwifery kit. She tried not to worry about her own family, though she had been away from Auntie Muriel's for thirteen hours now. Arthur would be worried sick, not to mention Ginny…
"Molly?"
She turned back around to look at Tonks, who was leaning on a pile of pillows and a very stunned looking Remus who had barely been able to string together more than three words at a time in the last hour. The baby rested on her chest.
"You really do know everything," Tonks repeated more seriously now. "Thank you. Thank you… so much."
"Oh, sweetheart," Molly said. She smiled when she saw the little baby yawn in his sleep, as if he weren't already doing everything he could to recharge after a very exhausting entry in the world. "It was my absolute pleasure and blessing to see this little one come to."
"Still, it wouldn't have happened without you," Tonks said. "Not like this."
"We'll never be able to repay you," Remus said.
"Well," Molly said, crossing her arms. "You can start by getting some sleep, Tonks. And you, you should be out sharing the news for good luck, Remus!"
"We need to settle on a name first," Tonks said.
"Well for Merlin's sake, go on, then," Molly said. "Where's that list you two have been working on for months?"
"Well, it's not so much a list now," Remus said. "I think we know what we want to do…"
"We've known ever since Remus suggested it," Tonks corrected. "We just needed to get Mum's blessing—and she said yes—and then yours."
"Mine doesn't matter," Molly scoffed. "But do tell me."
"Teddy," Tonks said. "We'll put Edward Remus Lupin on his birth certificate, but we'll call him Teddy."
Molly smiled and her heart squeezed in her chest.
"That's beautiful," Molly said. "Just as beautiful as sleep is for you Tonks and sharing good news is for you Remus, go!"
Remus kissed Tonks' hair one last time and slipped out of their current seating arrangement, gently lowering his wife back onto the tower of pillows. When he was up he leaned down and kissed baby Teddy's forehead. His son barely stirred.
"I'll go to Shell Cottage," Remus said. "It'll be quick, I promise."
"Okay," Tonks said. She yawned and her eyes fluttered. "I'm going to sleep."
Remus leaned down again to kiss her properly and whisper something about sweet dreams. He came to see Molly on his way out and asked in a quiet voice;
"You'll stay with her until I'm back?"
"Of course dear," Molly said. "Say hello to Bill for me and… and whoever else might be at Shell Cottage."
He surprised Molly by hugging her. She wrapped her arms around him and patted his back.
"Thank you," he said so quietly only she could hear. "I never thought I'd have a family and you… you helped make the best one."
Tears welled in Molly's eyes and she squeezed him a little harder. Her own children were scattered to the winds and wanted by the world and maybe not even alive anymore, but Molly couldn't do an awful lot about that. She'd already made them from scratch, dragged them into this messy world, and made them as strong and good and kind as she had been able to. But this new little life, bundled in his mother's arms, and this new little family of people who had all the time in the world to love each other…
"No," Molly said. "No, Remus, you three will make it yourselves."
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