Monday afternoon, 26 August, 1991
The cottage at the end of the lane was freshly painted. Tonks rarely ventured into this part of Hogsmeade, even as a student, as it was where the villagers lived, but she was visiting a friend and had every right to be there.
Number Eight-Four had white shutters and an array of unusual plants in its window planters. Several of them were moving. Tonks was sure a set were baby Venomous Tentaculas; she supposed that if her best friend had married the future potions professor at Hogwarts, she should get used to seeing lethal plants every time she visited Blythe, whose new last name Tonks had already forgotten.
Blythe Anderson, Chaser of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and Tonks's best friend of fifteen years, was now Mrs. Potion Professor.
Tonks strolled up to the white door, knocked, and was immediately wrapped in Blythe's familiar arms.
"You made it!" Blythe shouted. "You're here, you're here!"
"Blimey, Blythe," Tonks said, her voice muffled by Blythe's tight hug, "it's only been a month!"
"It's felt like a year! A month ago I was just like you and now I'm married, I'm starting a job next week, and I've got a kid!"
Blythe took Tonks's hand and dragged her inside the cottage. It was clean and had two distinctive styles: Tonks recognized Blythe's favorite, violently orange decorations, and she supposed the husband liked greys, black, and white, given the drabness of the other spaces.
"Ugh, it's good timing that Severus took Silvie out," Blythe nattered on. "We can talk, just the two of us."
"Who are—"
"Severus is my husband," Blythe said, with a small sigh. She presented her left hand. A silver ring with a petite sapphire was on her ring finger. "He's not so bad, I s'pose. It could be worse."
A million questions were on the tip of Tonks's tongue, but it seemed Blythe needed to talk, at least more than Tonks needed to question.
"Silvie—Silvia, that's her proper name—is his kid. She's kind of warming up to me." Blythe shrugged, pulled a picture frame from the table nearby, and handed it to Tonks. "I got the flying instructor job at Hogsmeade Primary. I'll be teaching her and the other little kids how to fly. All the schools are desperate for teachers, if you decide to change your mind about becoming an Auror."
Tonks shook her head and focused her attention on the wedding picture. Within the frame were eight people, taken on what must have been Blythe's wedding day. Tonks recognized Blythe's family, the Andersons. Blythe's parents were slightly apart, with her brother in the middle, which wasn't unusual; Tonks knew Blythe's parents had been married through the catalogue and were friendly with each other, but not in love. The other four had sallow faces; an older woman with grey hair stood next to a man with a hooked nose, black eyes, and limp hair, and in front of him stood a girl of no more than six, whose eyes were round and fearful. The last person, also an older woman, looked nothing like the others, but she held the girl's shoulder.
"The redhead's Severus's mother-in-law from his first marriage," Blythe explained, pointing to the woman. "She's called Dolya and she can't speak any English. She hates me, I'm pretty sure, but it's not my bloody fault her daughter died and Severus had to come back to Britain because his exemption was up."
"And this is—" Tonks pointed to the other, long-faced woman.
"This is my actual mother-in-law, Eileen. She's as unpleasant as she looks. She's nice to Silvie and that's it," Blythe replied. She then pointed to the man with long, inky-black hair. "That's Severus. He's—" Blythe exhaled forcefully through her nostrils and put the frame back on the table. "He's an okay husband. He's a better dad. I shouldn't complain about that."
"So what happened?" asked Tonks. "Where was he before?"
"Bulgaria. He got a prestigious potions fellowship right out of school and got an exemption for ten years. He met Silvie's mum, Siyka, they got married, and had a kid. I shouldn't be so hard on Dolya, Siyka's mum. Siyka died in childbirth and the baby didn't make it either. That was a few years ago, so Silvie doesn't remember her mum at all. The exemption was extended for Severus for a little while but Britain wanted him back and he brought Dolya with him for Silvie to keep up her Bulgarian."
"Okay, er, that's . . . a lot," Tonks murmured. She gazed up at Blythe through her burgundy fringe. "But Silvie's warming up to you?"
"I've been bribing her with sweets," Blythe said, snorting to herself. "With Honeydukes so close, who can blame me? Severus doesn't like it, but I don't care. When she starts at school I'll be her flying teacher, and I'll practice with her on the weekends. That should get her to like me more."
"Where are they now?"
"They went to see the grandmothers—Eileen lives up in Cokeworth, she's got a heavy Midlands accent—and Dolya lives in Barking, with a distant relative. After that, Severus is taking Silvie to enroll her at Hogsmeade Primary."
Tonks felt too young to imagine herself in Blythe's place. Mothers-in-law, children, and primary school seemed like abstract ideas, rather than a reality that Tonks would be joining soon.
"But that's enough of me. It's your turn," Blythe said, raising an eyebrow at Tonks. "Wedding's on Friday?"
"Yeah." Tonks ran her hands through her limp hair and morphed it to her favorite pink spikes. "Obviously I can't tell you anything about him, but I think I'm allowed to say he doesn't have kids."
"Is he very old?"
Tonks shook her head. "It's a big age gap, but not creepy big. Almost-creepy big."
"Like me and Severus?" Blythe asked. "He's 31."
Tonks had to fight to keep her mouth shut. If Blythe's husband was the same age as Tonks's future husband, it was almost guaranteed they knew each other. However, any attempts to discover one's spouse's identity would be punishable: if the Ministry discovered anything, Tonks would be married to a Ministry-chosen wizard.
"You're keeping something from me," Blythe said knowingly. She sat back on the grey sofa and tucked her legs underneath her. "I won't ask, but I'm dying to know."
"I want to tell you badly," said Tonks, "but you know I can't. You know what you can tell me?"
Blythe crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you want to know?"
"What was it like when you . . . well, your wedding night? And other nights . . . like that one?"
Bright red bloomed over Blythe's cheeks. "Erm, okay. What about it?"
"Is it," Tonks ventured, "painful?"
Blythe made a face, which made Tonks grow immediately suspicious.
"It hurt the first time," Blythe said, with her cheeks flaming with color and her eyes shut closed. "But we didn't do it right away. I was on my period and he said we'd wait, and then when we did it, it hurt so he cast a special charm for, er, er. . ."
"My mum told me about that," Tonks mumbled, "it's okay."
"The charm helped and it was over quickly. He brewed this potion for me, to maximize our chances of getting pregnant right away. We're doing it every third day."
Tonks had already gotten the lecture from her mother about baby-making; there were charts, charms, and potions that could make it easier and faster. It would still require frequent intimacy, at least until the pregnancy was confirmed. Seeing Blythe grow crimson increased Tonks's worry. She and Blythe were the fearless ones in their dormitory! What had become of Blythe, and what would become of Tonks?
"It's not—" Blythe began, and stopped herself, her lips twitching up and down, as if she couldn't decide whether to be amused or frustrated. "It can be okay, really. It can feel good even if you're not into him."
Tonks glanced at the picture from Blythe's wedding day. The husband—Severus—was no Adonis.
"Do you just close your eyes, or . . .?" Tonks's voice trailed off, thinking of what werewolves looked like, but they looked like normal people outside the full moon.
"Sometimes. Other times I just pretend we're doing something else, or he's someone else, but that makes me feel bad, so I imagine he's thinking of his dead wife and no one's happy."
"Blythe, that's—that's really sad. He's kind of okay looking?" Tonks picked up the picture frame and scrutinized the man's image. "I reckon I'd have to see him in person."
Blythe shrugged. "It's whatever. I don't think he likes me very much as a wife, but he's fine with me being Silvie's stepmother. It's not like he had a say in this. He's all right with me working any job I like and doesn't care if I go flying as much as I want. I'm trying to be a good step-mum for Silvie. I'm just doing what my mum did. She lives her life, Dad lives his, and they're friendly enough."
"Do you ever think they'll change the laws?" Tonks asked, wishing her friend had found greater happiness in her marriage. "What if they make it like a matching service?"
"Nah," Blythe dismissed. "My granddad was one of the people who wrote the law. They tried that the first year and then everyone was lying about who they were and what they wanted. That's why they had it changed so witches would be the ones in charge, because wizards were being dickheads about it. Anyway, it's us who've got to get pregnant and have the babies. Their part is over in five minutes, but we've got to grow the kid and pop them out."
"Still seems unfair for them," said Tonks, while looking at the little girl in the wedding picture, who was lucky that Blythe was trying to be a good stepmother. "Especially blokes with kids."
"I can't argue with that." Blythe's gaze landed on another, bigger picture of Silvie that was hanging up on the wall. "Severus seemed relieved when I told him I wanted to teach primary flying. I could've been worse."
"Are they really desperate for more teachers?"
"It's going to happen at Hogwarts soon," Blythe said. "The Ministry didn't think about this law and all the kids that would be born. They're opening up another primary school by my parents'. Mum said that when she was growing up all the magical kids were homeschooled, but then the law was passed and everyone started having more babies."
"That's what my mum said too. She would've homeschooled me, but Madam Malkin needed more people at her shop and Mum didn't want to pass up the extra gold."
"If she had homeschooled you, we would've never become friends so fast!" Blythe said, now grinning at Tonks. "Diagon Day School, where it all started!"
Tonks returned her friend's smile. Despite the unusual situation, Blythe seemed happy. She got her dream of being a teacher, she had a cottage in Hogsmeade, and she might be pregnant soon. As they said their goodbyes, Tonks imagined having a baby around the same time as Blythe. Their kids could be best friends, just like their mothers, and if the fathers were the same age, maybe they'd be good friends too.
Tuesday evening, 27 August, 1991
It was past sundown when Remus made it to his father's house in Cardiff. He'd worked twelve hours, after starting earlier than usual to make up for his absence over the upcoming weekend, and worked past closing time to keep up with the shop's needs. He wanted to be in his bed, expecting another twelve-hour day the next day, but the news he had for his father couldn't be shared by letter.
As it was, Remus should've written to him on Saturday when he got the news, but time got away from him.
Lyall opened the door even before Remus could knock.
"What's wrong?" Lyall said, scrutinizing Remus up and down, "did something happen? Work? Friends? Your letter was short—"
"No, not wrong, er . . . I didn't have a lot of time to write today, or recently," Remus replied, his muscles still sore from the recent transformation. "I'm here because, erm, I'm getting married."
"Married?" Lyall's eyes went wide as saucers. "To whom?"
Remus handed his father the short information card sent with the Ministry notice.
"You got chosen?" Lyall gasped, looking between the Ministry notice and Remus's face.
"Apparently," Remus sighed. "Can I come in?"
"Yes—come, son, come in."
Lyall moved out of the way and ushered Remus into the house. It was the last house the Lupins moved to, when Remus was in his fourth year at Hogwarts. It was the closest thing Remus had to a childhood home, and memories of lazy, summer days flitted through his memory. They were happy there, when for the most part, Remus could be like any other boy on holiday from school.
Remus and Lyall sat down in the living room with fresh cups of tea. The Ministry notice and information card were laid out on the coffee table, unable to be ignored.
"Is this all you know about her?" Lyall finally said, when Remus couldn't find anything to say.
"That's all I'm allowed to know."
Remus had memorized the information given to him.
Eligible Witch #72-W18-1798M
Age: Under 20 years old.
Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff.
Wand core: unicorn hair.
Family information: Pureblood mother and Muggleborn father. No siblings. Ministry requirement for son not applicable due to marriage date of parents. No previous marriages or children.
"This is . . ." Lyall began, after setting the card back down on the table.
"Nothing?" Remus suggested. "She's just out of school."
"Do you think she could be . . . like you?"
"I was going to say blind or illiterate, but not a werewolf." Remus pulled out a copy of his file that had been in the catalogue. His notes had a single, big, bolded word. "There is no way this poor girl missed this. Anyway, lycanthrope women are rare and they're sterilized."
Lyall let out a low whistle. "I'd no idea."
"Not as bad as castration," Remus muttered, which would've been his fate if this young Hufflepuff hadn't chosen him.
"When is the wedding?" asked Lyall, ignoring Remus's comment.
"Friday morning—" Remus groaned into his hands. "No exceptions."
"You sound upset about that."
"I'm needed at work. It's the second busiest time of year for us."
"You're getting married," said Lyall. "They can spare you for a few days."
"I suppose." Remus flumped back into the old armchair in his father's living room, the one that had been his mother's favorite. He wished more than ever that she was still alive and could see him now.
"Do you want me to come, Remus?"
"Please," Remus replied. "It's why I came. I'd like you to meet her with me."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world, son. Do you need a ring for her?"
"Do I?" Remus frowned. Neither Lily nor Amelia mentioned needing a ring.
"She may not need a ring, but you should offer her one if she wants it," said Lyall. "Let me get your mother's ring. She might like that."
Remus sat back and thought of the weekend ahead while his father went upstairs to get the ring. He knew he should be grateful for the new development in his life. His home was newly redecorated, he would have three consecutive days off from work, and if he was very lucky, he would have a family. While his friends worked the weekend around their own families, Remus would be a newlywed, trying to get to know his new wife, if she let him.
"Do you have dress robes?" called Lyall. He came downstairs with a plain black box in his hand.
"Lily is making them for me," replied Remus. "They'll be ready by Thursday. She and Amelia, Sirius's wife, worked on my house yesterday."
"Worked?"
"Lily suggested a few changes to make it homier for a witch. Amelia had the idea to put in some plants and decorations that would make it feel like the Hufflepuff common room."
"That's generous of them."
Remus hummed in response. He'd thought his house was in fine shape. It needed some cleaning, which he was happy to do himself, but Lily came in with more 'feminine' touches and Amelia joined in with florals and greenery. It wasn't all to his taste, but it looked bright, and his new wife might feel better in a home that reminded her of being a Hufflepuff.
"Have you thought of what you'll do after the wedding?" asked Lyall.
". . . no?" Remus furrowed his brow. "You don't mean the wedding night, do you?"
Lyall coughed and grew pink. "You need . . . advice? For that?"
"No! No, not at all, I just thought—" Remus's face grew hot. "That's not—what did you have in mind?"
"You might want to invite her parents over for tea," Lyall said, handing the ring box to Remus, as if the wedding night had never been mentioned. "They would appreciate that, I'm sure I'll offer to take us out for lunch."
"You don't have to, Dad—"
"It's a good idea to put our best foot forward."
"You mean to show them that I'm not a monster who will eat their only daughter?"
"Remus, even if you weren't—" Lyall shook his head. "Even if you weren't infected, we'd still want to make a good first impression."
"Well then," Remus sighed and rubbed his palms over his eyes.
Remus opened the jewelry box and found the golden yellow ring within. A petite but sparkly diamond sat in the center, with two smaller diamonds on either side of it. It had been years since Remus saw it, and it brought back memories of his mother's gentle hands, soothing his broken body after every childhood full moon.
"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Lyall offered. "You're exhausted."
Remus shook his head, his mind swimming with his imminent nuptials.
The mention of the wedding night hadn't left his memory; he hadn't given it much thought, but he felt he needed to see Lily as soon as his schedule allowed it. He planned on taking things at his new wife's pace, but perhaps there was something else he needed to know or do.
Remus thanked his father for the ring, reminded him of the details of the wedding, and decided that as tired as he was, he needed to make one more stop before he got home.
A strong cup of tea kept Remus going as the night wore on. He was at the Potters', with James taking charge of the children, which allowed Remus to take a few moments to speak with Lily.
As embarrassing as it was, he needed all the advice he could get, and he was too knackered to hold back his inhibitions. There was no point holding back his fears, not with an old friend.
"She's going to be terrified," said Lily, as soon as she understood what Remus needed to hear. "She chose you knowing you're a werewolf. There's no way an 18, 19-year-old is prepared for what that means unless—"
"She isn't a werewolf, her parents aren't werewolves, she has no siblings, no other family to speak of," Remus said, assuming that the only family listed on his future wife's information card was all that existed. "Why would she pick me if I'll horrify her?"
"It's not you she'll be frightened of, exactly." Lily put her hands on her ever-expanding belly. "If she's this young, it's possible she's never had sex before. She's got to marry a man she's never met and have sex with him. If I were her, I'd be terrified that the bloke I picked would hurt me, or wouldn't know what he was doing, or—"
"I don't know what I'm doing."
"You're not a virgin," Lily said, arching her brow at him.
"No, but it's been a while and . . . what if she's like Laura?"
"Laura's a moron," Lily said with a scoff. "She thought she knew better than anyone else and she thought Peter would be tall, dark, and handsome. Pete's short, pale, and—well, not James."
"And me?"
Lily stared at him for an uncomfortably long moment.
"You look older than you are, but it makes you distinguished."
Remus thought it was a nice way for Lily to tell him he was just as unfortunate looking as Peter.
"Listen, Remus. She's going to be scared of having sex, or she'll try to be brave about it. You need to let her set the pace. Go slow. Don't rush into anything. You have five years to try to get a son, or show you're doing your best. Be gentle, don't forget foreplay, and stop if she tells you to stop. Don't make her do anything. She already knows what she's got to do. If you force her into anything, it's going to make it harder."
"How do I—"
"Tell her you want to go as slow as she wants. Take it one day, one week, one month at a time. Work your way up from holding hands to more. Ask her before you do anything so she's not taken by surprise. If you focus on her pleasure, yours will come too. Trust me on that."
She winked at him and Remus wrinkled his nose. He had more than enough information about his friends' marriages to know that James and Lily and Sirius and Amelia were extremely active in their bedrooms.
"Mummy! Mummy! Mummy!" a small voice called. Lily braced herself as four year old Monty ambled up to her with a book. "Read to me!"
"Monty, I'm with Uncle Moony," Lily said. "Ask Daddy."
"No! Mummy! Mummy read!" Monty protested.
"Sweetheart—"
"It's fine, Lily," Remus interrupted, getting up from his chair. "I need to sleep. Long days ahead, you know."
"Come back Thursday for your robes!" Lily said, waving as Remus sped to the door. "We can talk more about the birds and the bees, too!"
Remus pretended he didn't hear the last bit. He needed to get home, flop into his bed, and put aside all thoughts of wedding nights until his finally arrived.